Tamoko Mod

[Kulyok]

I believe SisterVigilante's NPC project I mentioned earlier in various threads expands on Tamoko quite a bit, though it doesn't introduce her into the game.

 

(I'm done coding it, by the way. But don't mention the word 'playtesting', or I'll scream and do something nice).

[berelinde]

Playtesting.

[Kulyok]

Three seconds ago I uploaded the first (closed, since the author needs to have a look, first) working beta version, so NOBODY WILL SCARE ME ANYMORE!

 

But since I promised, good luck with your mod.

[Hide and Seek]

Tamoko fascinated me in BG1, and still does. At least, her profession. In BG1, she was a cleric, but yet she had access to the Flame Arrow spell that granted, didn't hurt the PC much at all, and in ToB, she's a Kensai, but sounds like a female Assassin.

 

I just wonder, would a possible PC-Tamoko romance change Sarevoks original epilouge where he goes to Kara-Tur to bury her? And imagine the PC having to clash with Sarevok over Tamokos affections. Oh, the angst.

[Miloch]

In BG1, she was a cleric, but yet she had access to the Flame Arrow spell

I believe I changed this to Magic Stone at SixOfSpades's request. Details.

[Guest Guest]

I can always give her a 'special' flame arrow spell (like Jaheira gets Harper's Call) for nostalgia's sake?

[Rabain]

Yes to be honest I think "fixing" this type of thing is not good. That's the magic of BG1, Tamoko casts flame arrow, she doesn't cast magic stone.

 

It's not like she says afterwards, ooops how did that happen...that was meant to be a magic stone.

 

I'd prefer she had a magic ring, a magic wand, a magic whistle or whatever that cast flame arrow rather than changing the core game.

 

all for nostalgia's sake yes.

[Cashews]

Ok, so I already missed the big brainstorm, so i'll keep my comments short and honest.

 

- The memory loss is too easy an option. It's overused and too often badly-used. Stay away from those kinds of cliché if you want to make your mod a memorable one.

- Tamoko and Yoshimo together is a bad idea. There's too much conflicts involved and, as it was said earlier, you probably don't want to turn this into a Yoshimo mod.

- Making Tamoko a Bhaalspawn would severely hamper the quality of such a mod. Being a Bhaalspawn should be a unique feature. Making an optional NPC a unique Bhaalspawn just doesn't make sense. There's already Imoen.

 

Be unique, be creative. Find a theme and use it. You have a great character here.

 

Alternatively, throw Tamoko in Spellhold as one of the inmates. Yoshimo may or may not know that she is here depending on how you want to write it. Jon can be either involved or not involved in her being there.

 

Why doesn't Tamoko herself kills Yoshimo? He might be her brother, but it's not the first time she would betray someone for a greater purpose.

 

Why doesn't she still work for Sarevok? Isn't love supposed to be stronger than death?

[Miloch]

I can always give her a 'special' flame arrow spell (like Jaheira gets Harper's Call) for nostalgia's sake?

"Nostalgia" outweighs sensible rules? You guys are weird .

 

A cleric-usable Wand of Flame Arrow? Hmm... sounds dodgy. Now if she had a specialty cleric kit (see Sohei of Hachiman) above, I'd be all for giving her a cleric version of the Flame Arrow wizard spell. But as an assassin/cleric, that isn't possible.

 

Now, it could have been some sort of Kara-Turan artifact... a sort of primitive flamethrower (inasmuch as gunpowder was known to medieval Asian sages) with only a few charges. That option is actually less of a stretch than the others IMO, if you're adamant about keeping her Flame Arrow in the game.

[Kulyok]

"Nostalgia" outweighs sensible rules?

 

Always. Something that changes "the way it had always been" will always be under extra scrutiny, especially if "the way it had always been" makes sense.

 

Tamoko had been flaming PC for eight years. Period. Whether it makes sense or not is irrelevant - the starting cutscene is here. "Objective reality given to us in sensation", as Hegel would say(though his grammar would undoubtedly be better than mine). I wouldn't mess up with that.

[Miloch]

Always. Something that changes "the way it had always been" will always be under extra scrutiny, especially if "the way it had always been" makes sense.

There are strong proponents and dissidents for either side of that argument (conservatism or "preserving the status quo" vs. liberalism or "openness to change"). Just like there are folks who want things done by the book (usually with respect to game balance) and people who don't care much about balance.

 

Since that kind of makes it a political thing, I don't see the need to pursue it further. Plus, I'm kind of liking this Kara-Turan flamethrower idea now. It's given me a few ideas for a rather unique quest/item upgrade sort of mod for BG1/Tutu. I won't say much more for those who don't like spoilers, but if I come up with any reusable content, Fyorl is free to use it for BG2 if he wants.

[Rabain]

Flame Arrow rules...but we all knew that right?

[Fyorl]

Yeah it would be really good to give her a few custom items such as a Flamethrower. I was also thinking that her special robe would be a very handy addition for those that want to use her assassin's abilities in combat - otherwise wearing heavy armour as a cleric will disable her thief abilities.

 

I'm not sure how much work that would take to accomplish though. I think the 'Flamethrower' will be relatively easy. The Robe may take some more resources depending on how well it needs to be done. Making it wearable only by Tamoko seems easy (thanks to Miloch for that). It will need a special BAM I think which will take some sort of artist talent (that's a no go for me, I'm just a humble writer). Finding a model seems like the hardest part though, I'm not sure if any current robe models will look right?

 

As for plot, I think I've settled on a rough outline (mostly as I mentioned before):

- Depending on how you left Tamoko at the end of BGI (if the PC can't remember then it will default to 'killing' her as it's quite difficult to make her walk away as I remember) she will either have been accosted by Irenicus as she was left mortally wounded or as she walked off.

- Irenicus was after her in order to get to Sarevok whom he wanted the soul of, being a rather powerful Bhaalspawn at the time.

- After the PC defeats Sarevok, Irenicus has no more use for Tamoko. That's where Yoshimo turns up. He had been sent by his father to retrieve Tamoko (presumably he considers her part of his property).

- Irenicus realises Yoshimo's usefulness and uses his power over Tamoko to get Yoshimo to submit to the Geas and watch over the PC.

- Tamoko doesn't know who Yoshimo is as she never saw him during her childhood and knows nothing of him trying to rescue her.

- Cut to Château Irenicus where Tamoko is locked up in stasis in one of the glass jars.

- The PC grabs the power cells from Rielev and uses them on a well-marked jar. Tamoko pops out.

 

The rest should be fairly straight-forward. I plan on having variations to a lot of dialogues and banter depending on the party's reputation (or Virtue) to show how she's affected by the PC's influence. There's little to no change to Yoshimo as he has to keep quiet about everything until his Geas is fulfilled. Obviously there's lots of drama at Spellhold. Also I'll add some extra banters and some extra stuff if you decide to kick either of the two out the party.

 

The Sarevok encounter will also be very dramatic. Once the main stuff's done I'll work on unique additions such as giving her special items (a special Katana useable by just her?) and the ability to upgrade them at certain points in the game.

 

So that's the main outline, this topic has really helped me to get a focus to this Mod so that the only thing left to do is the actual content

 

If anyone has any questions, suggestions or complaints please tell me because I want to keep an open mind on this as I think a lot of people like Tamoko and I don't want to ruin her for them.

[Miloch]

Yeah it would be really good to give her a few custom items such as a Flamethrower. I was also thinking that her special robe would be a very handy addition for those that want to use her assassin's abilities in combat - otherwise wearing heavy armour as a cleric will disable her thief abilities.

 

I'm not sure how much work that would take to accomplish though. I think the 'Flamethrower' will be relatively easy. The Robe may take some more resources depending on how well it needs to be done. Making it wearable only by Tamoko seems easy (thanks to Miloch for that). It will need a special BAM I think which will take some sort of artist talent (that's a no go for me, I'm just a humble writer). Finding a model seems like the hardest part though, I'm not sure if any current robe models will look right?

Eh... what about your voice actor you said was also an artist?

 

I'm not an artist either, but I had already done some rough drafts of the robe and a special katana for Tamoko in Lost Items (really how this all started was a discussion of katanas in general, and the fact it would be cool if Tamoko had one, even though she's a cleric).

Yeah, they're out of proportion to each other, but they're the same sizes as default robes and katanas. Like I said, these were just first drafts I put aside to finish another mod. And these are just the large inventory icons - I didn't mess with the description BAMs. The katana will probably be fairly easy but yeah, the robe could probably use a sketch artist. Or at least some decent source material, if anyone finds some good looking sketches or photos. I didn't have a whole lot of luck there.

 

I haven't done the flamethrower as yet because it's a new idea - shouldn't be too tough though. I might even have a book or two on medieval Asian firearms I can pinch some source material from.

 

I guess I'll give a low-level spoiler on what I had in mind. First of all, the device requires a high wisdom to use. (Sure, high intelligence could help someone analyze it and possibly even reproduce it, but common sense is what will prevent you from shooting your own comrades in their faces with it, Cheney-style .) The device won't be traditionally rechargable - you'll just end up with a used-up item after its charges are gone. Like traditional firearms though, you can reload it *if* you have the proper ammo. Well this is no easy task in western Faerun. Although Tamoko has a vague idea of what gunpowder is, she has no real concrete knowledge of how to make it. So you have to discover the formula, scour the Realms for the raw ingredients (sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal) and *then* find an eastern alchemist who can make the stuff. Ok, I sort of stole this idea from Origin's "Savage Empire" game that came out in the 90s (heh... maybe I can pinch some BAMs for the ingredients too...).

 

Feel free to use any or none of whatever I come up with. I've been building for BG1/Tutu up to now, so I really had no designs on BG2, but it would be a cool extension.

[Fyorl]

Eh... what about your voice actor you said was also an artist?

I don't think she's ever played Baldur's Gate before in her life and has no experience with making BAMs. Portraits are easier because she's done stuff like that before but she's never done game art. I'm sure she could do some good sketches for the items' description screens but she's busy and so I don't plan on asking her to do anything until I've done most of the mod.

 

Feel free to use any or none of whatever I come up with.

I may just take you up on that. Thanks for the offer, it's appreciated ^_^

 

I also like the idea of finding a way to reload her firearm as I plan on adding quite a few sub-quests for her and this could easily be one of them.