Brei's NPC Idea

[Brei]

I have been thinking over the idea for a while and have decided to consider making my OC Brei into an NPC for BG2. Her name will most likely change though. She has always been my favorite OC. I would like opinions on this idea. Constructive critics are welcome. Anyway here is some stuff you should know about her.

 

Name: Brei (May change later)

 

Race: Half-Elf

 

Age:Early to Mid Twenties

 

Class: Mage (She is orginally a Necromancer but I would not mind changing her school to Evocation or Transmutation)

 

Alignment: Somewhere between True Neutral and Chaotic Neutral

 

Likes: Cats, Sarcasm, Complex People, Coffee, Rain, Evenings, Rare Books and Scrolls, the Color Black, Things she does not fully understand, Challenges, A comfortable bed

 

Dislikes: Over-Insistant Suitors, Ignorant People, Mornings, Loud Noises, The Colors Pink and Yellow, Religious talks, People that are easy to figure out, any creature with more than four legs.

 

A Bit of Background: Orginally from Neverwinter she left home at an early age. She never tells the whole story always dropping hints but never fully revealing everything. She claims to have adventured for about four years and doing rather well untill she decided she had had enough. She sellted in Multhorand opened a shop and did good bussiness in books, scrolls, and spells. She claims to have left the city in a hurry after turning a lord son to stone for his unwelcome advances. She had no choice but to return to the road. her recent travels led her to Amn.

 

Personality: Her smart mouth and sharp tounge are what you tend to remember her by. True she is beautiful but behind that facade is a woman with few morals and even less patience. She is clever and loves anything that is not easy to figure out. Complex personalities are like puzzles for her. She seems more comforable on the sidelines though. She is a follower though she likes to do her own thing and resents those who pull her back. She has a few minor problems with men. Not that she doesn't like them but certian types tend to set her off. This possibly has some connection to her past but if it does she will not say. She prefers to let other form there own opion of her rather than tell them everything just as she resents being told all about someones past and life expreinces. She would much rather figure it out. She has a somewhat skewed veiw on the way things work and dismisses the concept of right and wrong outright.

 

Notable Quotes:

"There is no right and wrong, there is only our choices and how we deal with them."

"Whether or not I did the right thing is irrelavent, I did what I wanted to and thats all that matters"

"Back up Paladin I've got a Finger of Death spell and I'm NOT afraid to use it"

"You have five seconds to put a cup of coffee in my hands before things get ugly"

[Brei]

So let me know if you like her, if you would like to see her come to life. She can be snarky and testy to those she does not get along with and even to her friends at times. We all have bad days. If she does like you however she won't push her problems onto you, she's too indepentant for that. She also won't whine and she only complains when she's angry or drunk. She probally won't kill anyone in your party but expect some....interesting things. She hates asking for help even when she needs it so excpect some arguements and a lot of drama. Basicly this is my first mod (if it gets enough support and I actually do it) I'm tempted to make her a romance option but that is a disscussion for a later time. So people....

 

Brei....Or no Brei?

[berelinde]

Encouragement from others is always nice, but ultimately, it's the modder's own determination that sees a mod through to completion. There will be people that love every NPC, but there will always be people who don't like the NPC, too, and they can be pretty vocal. You need a thick skin, true, but more importantly, you need to be able to work through periods when encouragement is sparse.

 

One thing I do notice, though. You use her name as a screen name. Or vice versa. It's probably unintentional, but it's a big red flag that there might be some self-insertion going on. Not that there is! It's just that that's the first thing that goes through peoples' minds when they read them together. It's likely to discourage people from posting opinions of the character. Would you post something about someone you don't know? Or even someone you do know? If the mod were finished, would you download it, knowing that most cases of modder self-insertion result in NPCs that never lose a single banter and have this nasty habit of stealing the spotlight? And if you did decide to give the mod a try, how much of the game would you spend speculating about whether you just recruited the modder's fantasy self?

 

Modders write characters they like. No harm in that! If you didn't care about the character, why would you bother with it? But, speaking from experience here, the characters that are the most fun to write are the ones the modder can laugh at. Slapstick flaws are great fun, I won't lie, but sometimes, it's therapeutic to take a step back and say "Man, my NPC really can be an ass."

 

PS- There are a lot of mod ideas out there. The ones that include sample banters, portraits, and the like generally get more reader feedback.

[ericp07]

Totally develop this mod! (Or else add it to the "mod ideas" pile) Looks to me like the makings of an interesting NPC I'd consider making her either a Conjurer or an Enchanter (conjurer being particularly useful, and enchanter being perhaps thematically consistent with the character).

 

I like the fact that she comes from the same area as one of my own PnP characters (who I added to the NPC idea thread over at SHS), who is a male elf Wilderness Runner ranger. Perhaps the two have met... Also very interesting that she's spent time in Mulhorand, as I find that region and culture fascinating, and it doesn't get a lot of attention. Nice backstory details

 

Hope this serves as encouragement!

Happy modding,

Eric

[Andarielle]

Encouragement from others is always nice, but ultimately, it's the modder's own determination that sees a mod through to completion. There will be people that love every NPC, but there will always be people who don't like the NPC, too, and they can be pretty vocal. You need a thick skin, true, but more importantly, you need to be able to work through periods when encouragement is sparse.

 

One thing I do notice, though. You use her name as a screen name. Or vice versa. It's probably unintentional, but it's a big red flag that there might be some self-insertion going on. Not that there is! It's just that that's the first thing that goes through peoples' minds when they read them together. It's likely to discourage people from posting opinions of the character. Would you post something about someone you don't know? Or even someone you do know? If the mod were finished, would you download it, knowing that most cases of modder self-insertion result in NPCs that never lose a single banter and have this nasty habit of stealing the spotlight? And if you did decide to give the mod a try, how much of the game would you spend speculating about whether you just recruited the modder's fantasy self?

 

Modders write characters they like. No harm in that! If you didn't care about the character, why would you bother with it? But, speaking from experience here, the characters that are the most fun to write are the ones the modder can laugh at. Slapstick flaws are great fun, I won't lie, but sometimes, it's therapeutic to take a step back and say "Man, my NPC really can be an ass."

 

PS- There are a lot of mod ideas out there. The ones that include sample banters, portraits, and the like generally get more reader feedback.

 

What you say here is very interesting! And very true!

 

I also think it's fun to write NPCs that have flaws, because the absolutely too perfect NPC tends to be boring. There's nothing like making our dear NPC walk into a pile of dung while he's taking a peek at <charname>'s behind..

[Keldor]

I don't like her because she sounds so unpleasant, cliché, and random (which fits with chaotic neutral, at least). From the bio it sounds to me likes she's actually very unsuited to joining a party since she's so headstrong and selfish. An evil character would probably slit her throat; her quote notwithstanding no paladin would ever adventure with her; and regular good-aligned characters would soon give her the boot.

 

The alignment choice is the killer, for me. In my experience alignments are commonly misunderstood and True Neutral is often selected under the mistaken belief that it allows a character to act without much restraint. In fact, it's an incredibly rare alignment and one which definitely presents a serious challenge to any role-player. TN characters are habitual fence-sitters and odd-balls (from the perspective of normal folks); they often even switch allegiances as if at the drop of a hat in order to seek to maintain balance.

 

What good character would want to know someone to whom goodness (and evilness) are irrelevancies? Remember (according to the 2nd ed. p&p rules) AD&D is a game for heroes (and not being good is hardly heroic).

Then, what evil character would want to know her? They'll quickly find she has no consistent interest in the things they get up to. Indeed, evil is just as much anathema to her as good is. How dull.

 

As for Chaotic Neutral, this alignment is the one most closely associated with insanity. CN characters absolutely cannot be relied upon for the least thing. They can't be trusted, so no one will want them watching their back (or even standing behind them) and they won't develop a desire to want to watch theirs. Unpredictable behaviour is scary to be around.

 

I understand the desire to create a character that isn't perfect but this needn't mean taking a radical alignment. My advice would be to choose an alignment that dictates a consistent choice structure along which her character can develop i.e. anything but TN, CN, or LN (Lawful Neutral is just bland; most normal people are LN) - and thereby endear herself to more than just Druids. Even LG characters can be cantankerous, lazy, struggle with a selfish streak, etc. and there's nothing to stop them from having dark secrets, hidden fears, a string of bad relationships, etc.

 

Another piece of advice would be to think about how the NPCs in BG2 have been written because each one is beautifully true to their alignments. Have you noticed how broad a range they cover? Consider which ones are the least likeable i.e. you don't want to write an unlikeable NPC or players will simply not use her. In my experience, the good characters are most loved, then the evil; but the overwhelming champions for being disliked seem to be Jan (CN) and Cernd (TN)! Furthermore I've yet to hear anyone say Haer'Dalis (CN) is a favourite and Jaheira (TN) is also widely disliked. The others that are commonly disliked (Mazzy and Anomen) are disliked not for their alignment but for their voices or accent. In other words, player dislike is generally down to the CN or TN alignment. Where these are accurately played, the characters tend to be too inexplicable, moody, or downright annoying to be enjoyable.

[Zavrian]

Can never have enough NPCs, and she sounds interesting! I say go for it!

[Brei]

Thank you for all your votes and opinions. I have decided to put this idea on hold as I have another idea that I feel much more inclinded to work on. So from now until I decide otherwise I'm putting this on the back burner.

[ericp07]

Thank you for all your votes and opinions. I have decided to put this idea on hold as I have another idea that I feel much more inclinded to work on. So from now until I decide otherwise I'm putting this on the back burner.

 

That might turn out to the mod's benefit, as you'll likely have some inspirations while doing other things. Glad you haven't abandoned it!

[Aion]

I disagree with Keldor on several things.

 

First of all, TN characters often switch sides for the sake of balance? I know that's the general description and I'm aware Yoshimo betrays the PC, however I don't believe that "balance" is the goal of most TN characters, nor is it as black and white as you describe, with good and evil and/or law and chaos being irrelevant to them. -shakes head- Yes, TN characters are a challenge to write, but not all are indifferent turncoats. I have at least three TN characters in my Soul Exchange mod, and all of them have their own view of things, own morals and values, and own personality. And yet, they're all TN, for that fits them most.

 

Also, CN characters are insane and can't be relied upon? Some are, certainly. And some are just chaotic in nature. Eccentric, unorganized, brilliant master thieves, pretty much doing whatever the bloody hell they feel like without much dependence or consideration on/for others. Even highly emotional characters can be CN, but despite that, they can still be sweet, reliable, caring... you just have to treat them in a certain way. I should know, one of my friends is CN. Still one of my best friends, though.

 

Most people are LN? I think you'd be surprised. No, most people are not LN, or even TN. Game or RL.

 

Jaheira acts out her alignment perfectly? She totally acts like a NG character. She was only made TN because 2nd edition D&D restricts all druids to just TN alignment. If it was 3rd edition, she'd be NG. I prefer tweaking that when I play Baldur's Gate 1 or 2. From a modding standpoint, I like staying true to the character, without overdoing it in my opinion. Like my Jester in Soul Exchange. Bards can't be CE, but he is. Only the purest of purists would dislike a bard because he's CE rather than NE, because that's "impossible". Says who? I'd direct them to Aerie, who is a multiclass elven cleric/mage, and elves can't even choose that class. Only half-elves can, and gnomes if you count cleric/illusionist. Rules are nice, but being a bit flexible is nicer. A modder has a degree of creative freedom, which I think should be used. Being anal about all the itty-bitty rules never did anyone any good. Not saying you're anal, just saying in general to any obsessive-compulsive purist.

 

Alignment is basically a stepping stone, a general idea of what a character is like. Any alignment covers a very very wide range of aspects that shape a character. It's by no means the ultimate decisive factor that a character is built on. I also don't think you can accurately claim that the majority of the players dislike Jan, Cernd, Jaheira, Haer'Dalis and Anomen because of their Neutral alignment and/or personality. Rather, I get the feeling you dislike those characters, possibly for that very reason too. That's fine, but please speak for yourself, and not for all players as a whole. I've seen plenty of players loving Haer'Dalis (Haer'Dalis romance, anyone?), Jaheira, Cernd, Anomen, and even Jan.

 

So I guess my point is, you generalize too much. Alignment isn't as black and white as you make it out to be. However, you're entitled to your opinion, however negative it is.

 

 

As for Brei, keep up the good work.