Tamoko Mod

[Fyorl]

I was toying with the idea of creating a romanceable Tamoko NPC because I've always liked her character from BGI.

 

I've got a voice actor who's rather good so I was just making sure this hasn't been done or is in progress before I start.

 

I've never made a mod before but I don't think an NPC-mod will be particularly difficult as long as I get the hang of WeiDU (What's the latest Linux version of that btw because the one I've got seems to ignore the fact that Linux has a case-sensitive filesystem).

 

Anyway I had a few thoughts I wanted to run by you all.

 

Firstly I was thinking a good place to have her join would be along with Sarevok at the beginning of ToB. However you miss out all of SoA with that which would be a great shame. So I thought I could add her into Irenicus' dungeon. It would involve some backstory modification - she was also a Bhaalspawn (perhaps a bit dodgey due to her relationship with Sarevok?) who was Irenicus' first attempt. He made some mistakes which caused her to lose all her memories. A nice starting point that gives some good plot opportunity with recovering past memories. The problem with that idea is that in BGI you have the opportunity to kill her (but you can get her to walk away with some careful dialogue choices). If you did happen to do that then there'd be no way she could appear in Irenicus' dungeon. While the other NPCs you meet could quite easily have been Raised since BGI, if Tamoko was a Bhaalspawn there'd be no chance of that - she'd have to fight her way back to the living like Sarevok.

 

So I'm stuck really. I want to include her in the dungeon but I don't want to do it lamely. I think my best bet would be to say that if your character killed her in BGI it could be twisted so that she appeared to be dead but was really just rather badly wounded. What do you guys think?

 

The second dilemma is what class to make her. In BGI I'm pretty sure she was a Cleric. However in the book she wields a Katana - definitely not a Cleric's weapon. I'd really like to make her a Kensai with the single Katana but there's already Yoshimo and Valygar that use Katanas so I'm less inclined. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

[Guest erik]

re: linux weidu ... tolower is your friend. Included in the weidu download.

[Miloch]

I want to include her in the dungeon but I don't want to do it lamely. I think my best bet would be to say that if your character killed her in BGI it could be twisted so that she appeared to be dead but was really just rather badly wounded. What do you guys think?

I don't think that's too much of a stretch. It's not like there aren't other potential inconsistencies between BG1 and BG2 anyway.

The second dilemma is what class to make her. In BGI I'm pretty sure she was a Cleric. However in the book she wields a Katana - definitely not a Cleric's weapon. I'd really like to make her a Kensai with the single Katana but there's already Yoshimo and Valygar that use Katanas so I'm less inclined. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

We had a discussion about that a while ago. The Dragon article has her as a "ninja shadow warrior" - a sort of assassin I guess, whereas BG1 has her as a cleric.

 

I reckon she'd be a specialty cleric allowed by PnP rules to wield a katana, as SixOfSpades seems to think too. I even drafted up a potential kit for her, but never coded or implemented it. I don't know if I planned to do anything with it in Lost Items for Tutu, except give her some of the abilities as a sort of pseudo-kit.

Sohei of Hachiman

 

Hachiman is the god of war and divine protector of the Kara-Turan island nation of Kozakura. He always knows the location, strength and readiness of any army. He also has the power to read the thoughts of any military commander. Hachiman's avatar is a well-armed samurai who rides a huge black horse. Since he was originally a deity of agriculture and fishing, his followers range from peasants to samurai. Hachiman's symbol is a katana.

 

Sohei of Hachiman are soldier-priests who must always be prepared to fight for their lord and can never shirk from battle. They can be of any alignment.

 

Abilities:

At 1st level, a sohei can designate one of his weapons as a weapon of choice. He must have proficiency with the chosen weapon. Thereafter, the sohei gains a +1 bonus on hit and damage dice rolls when using that weapon. [Probably just implemented as a +3 undroppable weapon that becomes a +2 droppable weapon, or even just a permanent +1 hit/dmg bonus for non-joinables]

 

At 3rd level the sohei can focus his ki power. This fills his body with berserk energy. It lasts one turn and can be used once per day. [+1 THAC0, dmg, saves, AC and attacks per round; +3 movement; can deflect missiles by saving vs. breath weapons]

 

At 5th level the sohei's fanaticism allows him to fight on even after he reaches 0 HP. This, however, is a final act on the part of the sohei. [+10 HP, +2 THAC0/dmg, dies when the ability expires]

 

Major sphere access: all, combat, divination, healing, weather

Can use swords, bows, daggers, spears and polearms

Cannot turn undead

Use THAC0 and saving throw tables of a warrior

 

Sources:

Oriental Adventures

Legends & Lore

http://www.taots.co.uk/content/view/32/27/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachiman

[Fyorl]

I hadn't thought of creating a custom kit for her. But that would solve the problem rather nicely, plus that looks like a really cool kit. I think the abilities would need to be improved as extra levels were gained or perhaps more abilities at other levels. Maybe restricting some of the priest spells (if it's possible) to balance out any extra abilities. There are certain spells that wouldn't fit well with a deity of war. Some druid spells would work too.

 

re: linux weidu ... tolower is your friend. Included in the weidu download.

Yes, I did see that but I seem to remember it not working properly or working badly (I think the filenames weren't encased in quotes and so failed when it came across anything with a space or something)

 

Also, using tolower kills NearInfinity because it uses the chitin.key for the filenames and because it's Java it's case-sensitive on Linux.

[Kulyok]

So I'm stuck really. I want to include her in the dungeon but I don't want to do it lamely. I think my best bet would be to say that if your character killed her in BGI it could be twisted so that she appeared to be dead but was really just rather badly wounded. What do you guys think?

 

Two characters from Kara-Tur in Irenicus Dungeon? I'd say there is a risk of overdoing it, yes.

[Rabain]

Yes but then there is all that Yoshimo/Tamoko brother/sister jazz going on.

 

Not inconceivable that they might be in the same dungeon.

[Kulyok]

I know about Yoshimo-Tamoko brother/sister plot, but it never made it into the game, so, by Gaider's words(and I agree) it's not canon. But, yep, exploring this alley might make bringing her seem more plausible.

[berelinde]

It might not be canon, but I always liked it.

[Fyorl]

I think it would fit really well. E.g. Tamoko is a Bhaalspawn and gets experimented on by Irenicus, subsequently losing her memory. Yoshimo could be her half-brother (i.e. The same mother).

 

The question then is if Yoshimo remembers her. Perhaps they never met before or only knew eachother during their childhood? Perhaps Yoshimo came to Irenicus to rescue Tamoko and was then put under the Geas.

 

The best would be that they have no knowledge of eachother at all and gradually it's hinted at through banter as the game goes on.

 

I'm open to suggestions.

[Evaine Dian]

I've always liked the idea that Yoshi and Tamoko are siblings, too.

I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but I thought part of the story was that Yoshi only got involved in the betrayal of <Charname> because he was looking for Tamoko or hoping to find her this way. I'd find it very moving and interesting if Tamoko only appeared after Yoshi's inevitable death, it would be so tragic if they missed each other.

 

I find the whole memory loss thing so overused and cheesy.

[Choo Choo]

I've always liked the idea that Yoshi and Tamoko are siblings, too.

I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but I thought part of the story was that Yoshi only got involved in the betrayal of <Charname> because he was looking for Tamoko or hoping to find her this way. I'd find it very moving and interesting if Tamoko only appeared after Yoshi's inevitable death, it would be so tragic if they missed each other.

 

I find the whole memory loss thing so overused and cheesy.

 

Wasn't it this way - Yoshimo seeked REVENGE for the murder of his sister, Tamoko, and he thought <CHARNAME> to be the murderer, which is why he agreed to betray him/her to Irenicus?

 

..if Yoshimo and Tamoko remember each other, that might have to re-do the whole Yoshimo plot, too.

 

Or maybe not. Irenicus still has him on geas. Yoshimo is (obviously) afraid to die, since he states it as his main reason for betraying the PC.

 

Nevermind me.

[Rabain]

Me too, I'm against the memory loss and the Bhaalspawn idea.

 

It's going to be difficult to have them both in the same party as brother and sister and not have someone have memory loss.

 

Why was Yoshimo under a geas again?

[Choo Choo]

Me too, I'm against the memory loss and the Bhaalspawn idea.

 

It's going to be difficult to have them both in the same party as brother and sister and not have someone have memory loss.

 

Why was Yoshimo under a geas again?

 

He's a servant to Irenicus, who puts all his lackeys under geas. "Serve me or die. Literally."

 

In any case, I really liked Tamoko in BG1 and would love to see her in BG2. I do not, however, think it'd be suitable for her to be a Bhaalspawn. Don't we have enough of those around already? Le Charname, Imoen, Sarevok, the entire ToB..

 

Neither does she seem like a Bhaalspawn in BG1. If she was one and hung out with Sarevok that long, he'd tell her (and kill her). Her actions and words also indicate she's.. well.. not Bhaalspawn.

[Rabain]

Why not link the geas to Tamoko?

 

Irenicus knows of Tamoko through his research on Sarevok (he looked him up after the sword coast incident). Then he heard about charname, he needed a spy to spy on him so he enlists Yoshimo. Threatens Yoshimo with Tamoko's death, Yoshimo submits to the geas. Later when Tamoko actually joins the party Yoshimo is torn between protecting his sister, betraying charname and living with the geas. Could be an interesting dynamic there.

 

But that becomes more of a Yoshimo mod than a Tamoko one.

[sisterpatrick]

Why not link the geas to Tamoko?

 

-snip-

 

Oh, I like this idea. I really like the idea of a Tamoko mod, but like some of the others here, I think there are enough Bhaalspawn kicking around the game. I see your problem in terms of plot, but I think simple is better. Irenicus using Tamoko as a pawn is nice and straightforward, and since you'd have to do a lot of tinkering with Yoshimo in any case, I don't think it would be more work to do it this way.

 

Just my two cents. Best of luck with it - I hope you do it!