Introduce Your...self?

[Sister Vigilante]

Demarra Sugar, my most recent paladin, has that covered.

 

I can just imagine Gorion "discussing" this name with Jaheria...

[Amaurea]

doing a portrait for Mirima

 

Also: pretty!

 

::::blushing:::: Seriously, that's me morphed with Kate Bosworth then overpainted. Amazing what a few swipes of a paintbrush does...

[Amaurea]

Say, I was messing around with the settings in my PSP program today, and doing a portrait for Mirima. I finally stumbled on the right combination of settings to get a better resolution in my images, and I would like to redo the Angelo alternate so that it could be updated in the next release. Would that be okay?

 

Certainly! I'm hearing six months or so on the next release, so maybe in the meantime we could package it as a download, and people could just rename the files. I'd be more than happy to have it replace my edit. I would three-size it myself to save you the trouble, but I'm afraid I might mess it up again...

 

Coolness. I will three size the new elongated face Angelo, and do a new "Amaurea" alternate for him. The higher resolution will eliminate the issues I personally have with the current one from me.

[berelinde]

Demarra Sugar, my most recent paladin, has that covered.

 

I can just imagine Gorion "discussing" this name with Jaheria...

After a while, the traditional grasping for names becomes more desperate...

[Cal Jones]

You're more original with naming than I am...all my Bhaalspawn end up being called "Cal" whether male or female (I'm female in RL). Laziness I suppose.

 

So why Angelo? Well I was tired of only having Anomen to choose from - he is actually not that bad, ultimately, but his flowery dialogue is a total turn off and I can't envisage my character finding him remotely appealing.

I wanted to try an NPC and whittled it down to a few. Being a bit older myself (not quite as old as Angelo, but not that young either) I found him more appealing than some of the younger characters available. I'm also very interested in the whole Sarevok backstory - I tend to think that, rather than feeling satisfied at having ground her brother into the dirt, she would actually feel pretty bad about it. Think about it this way: you're an orphan with no knowledge of what your roots are. You find out you have a brother, and alright, he's a mad bastard who killed your foster father, but what you learn from Tamoko is that there's a man under there somewhere. She would rather have saved him if possible.

Naturally, when Angelo shows up she is wary, but takes him along because she wants to know more about her brother. She doesn't know about Imoen at this point, so Sarevok, though now dead, is the only family she has.

 

So far I'm enjoying Angelo immensely. There are a couple of small quibbles regarding his background (pretty sure he was a blond guy in BG - he certainly is when you fight his double in the Pocket Plane in ToB - and of course Shar-Teel is a blonde valkyrie-type - so the ancestry bit seems a bit unlikely. I'll let it go, though, because you really don't know anything about him in BG so anything is plausible...including hair dye). The other thing was why doesn't he have any pips in bows when he was a pretty awesome archer in BG? (A pain in the bum archer, in fact...) Other than that, it's a very cool mod and has breathed new life into a game that was getting a bit stale from countless runthroughs. So kudos for that. Still early days for me (currently getting my butt handed to me by Sawara, but I'm in chapter 2 with a party of 4 at this point so the chain timestops and wiltings are a bit difficult to deal with at this stage. I guess if I let him keep the sword I will miss out on subsequent encounters, no? Anyway, that's me, and my reasons, and I'll look forward to continuing with this fine mod.

[Amaurea]

Hi Cal, I'm sort of Angelo's caretaker while Sister V is busy with his semester abroad. He pops in on occasion, though, so I know he'll be happy to see the feedback!

 

Like you, I'm much closer to Angelo's age in real life than any of the Bio gang (though, I admit it, I'm a sucker for Anomen and yes, even his flowery language--it is fantasy, after all).

 

Can't wait to hear how your game progresses! What level is your party at? You're brave going up against Sawara without some serious arcane power of your own. I'm too chicken to do that. Then again, tactics aren't exactly my strong suit.

[Cal Jones]

They're around level 12 or so. My PC is a level 13 fighter - she's actually pretty hard (imported from BG with post tomes-stats of 19,19,19,13,13,15 - no cheating involved!). I also have Valygar and Viconia on board, which makes Angelo my primary spellcaster. What a responsibility for the poor guy!

 

I leave a slot free for Imoen (usually picking up Yoshi just before I leave for Spellhold) and then go through SoA with five characters. This is because I always pick up Sarevok in ToB and feel guilty about dumping someone else in the Pocket Plane. I mean, they've been to Hell for you - Hell! And you're leaving them?

It means less room for experimentation but on the other hand, the party levels a little faster.

 

Usually I pick up Edwin and have him as my primary caster, but I've just been through a game with him and wanted a change. I'll be sure to have him and Angelo together in a party in future, though (and Yoshi for that matter).

 

Anyway, if I go away and leave the crazy katana man in the Government district, he'll still be there when I return, right?

[Sister Vigilante]

You're more original with naming than I am...all my Bhaalspawn end up being called "Cal" whether male or female (I'm female in RL). Laziness I suppose.

 

So why Angelo? Well I was tired of only having Anomen to choose from - he is actually not that bad, ultimately, but his flowery dialogue is a total turn off and I can't envisage my character finding him remotely appealing.

I wanted to try an NPC and whittled it down to a few. Being a bit older myself (not quite as old as Angelo, but not that young either) I found him more appealing than some of the younger characters available. I'm also very interested in the whole Sarevok backstory - I tend to think that, rather than feeling satisfied at having ground her brother into the dirt, she would actually feel pretty bad about it. Think about it this way: you're an orphan with no knowledge of what your roots are. You find out you have a brother, and alright, he's a mad bastard who killed your foster father, but what you learn from Tamoko is that there's a man under there somewhere. She would rather have saved him if possible.

Naturally, when Angelo shows up she is wary, but takes him along because she wants to know more about her brother. She doesn't know about Imoen at this point, so Sarevok, though now dead, is the only family she has.

 

So far I'm enjoying Angelo immensely. There are a couple of small quibbles regarding his background (pretty sure he was a blond guy in BG - he certainly is when you fight his double in the Pocket Plane in ToB - and of course Shar-Teel is a blonde valkyrie-type - so the ancestry bit seems a bit unlikely. I'll let it go, though, because you really don't know anything about him in BG so anything is plausible...including hair dye). The other thing was why doesn't he have any pips in bows when he was a pretty awesome archer in BG? (A pain in the bum archer, in fact...) Other than that, it's a very cool mod and has breathed new life into a game that was getting a bit stale from countless runthroughs. So kudos for that. Still early days for me (currently getting my butt handed to me by Sawara, but I'm in chapter 2 with a party of 4 at this point so the chain timestops and wiltings are a bit difficult to deal with at this stage. I guess if I let him keep the sword I will miss out on subsequent encounters, no? Anyway, that's me, and my reasons, and I'll look forward to continuing with this fine mod.

 

Heya! Great to hear from you, and I wish both you and your PC the best from Angelo. Thank you!

 

And yes, it's becoming increasingly clear to me how little he has in common with his BG1 self--even less than I originally thought. Now, come to think of it, giving him a pip with the bow to start with might not be such a bad idea, for versatility's sake as well as versimilitude...I'll earmark this...It certainly makes sense with the history I've given him, with an army background...

 

Incidentally, although it must be clear to those who have been around since I first posted this, I should officially announce that the whole "fanfic tie-in" thing is on indefinite hold--but I'd never say "never"

 

And yes, you are quite brave to take on Sawara in chapter 2. Personally, I'd wait until I had absolutely the toughest party I could muster before leaving for Spellhold, at least. But

 

Anyway, if I go away and leave the crazy katana man in the Government district, he'll still be there when I return, right?

 

Yes, this is the best way to postpone the quest.

[Guest Guest]

That's good to know. I've often completed Twisted Rune and Kangaxx before Chapter 4 (Kangaxx can be tricky if you don't have Keldorn and Carsomyr, mind you, as you need a +4 weapon to hit him, and there aren't too many of these around in Chapter 2/3 - so sometimes he's left until after).

So yes, it may well be doable, but I'd still rate it tougher than either of those fights based on what I've seen so far. Who knew foxes could be so mean? )

Might be tempted to leave until Chapter 6 if the katana man is prepared to wait around that long.

 

Incidentally, Dakkon's Zerth Blade is perfect for Angelo - +1 to AC, and extra spells - up until the point he starts meeting monsters that need more than +2 to hit. (By that point, though, he should be levelled up enough to be for more effective flinging spells).

 

I've said I'll do a review of the mod over at Sorcerer's Place once I'm finished with it - I'm a former PC games journalist (and reviewed BG and BG2 for my magazine back in the day) so I know my onions. I'll let you know when that happens, of course.

[Cal Jones]

Sorry, that was me...my work machine got logged out for some reason.

[Amaurea]

I always give Angelo Dakkon Zerth's blade as well.

 

Another mod that you might want to check out is berelinde's Homeward Bound. It was made expressly for people like yourself who hate to leave beloved party members languishing in the Pocket Plane. With it, you can use the Fate Spirits to send any of the Bioware gang back home.

[Cal Jones]

I've heard of that one, yes. Seems like a good idea.

 

Another mod I want to try is Romantic Encounters - do you happen to know if Angelo is compatible with it?

[Daulmakan]

Another mod I want to try is Romantic Encounters - do you happen to know if Angelo is compatible with it?

They were both coded by Kulyok, so I'm guessing they are compatible.

[Amaurea]

Angelo is definitely compatible with Romantic Encounters, though he does not react to it. You can sleep around all you want and not ruin your romance with him

[Cal Jones]

Angelo is definitely compatible with Romantic Encounters, though he does not react to it. You can sleep around all you want and not ruin your romance with him

 

So I can whore myself around with impunity. Awesome! (It's just one that sounded really fun, so I will have to try with both male and female PCs at some point).