Imoen 4 Ever Overview and Readme

[jastey]

Imoen 4 Ever

Mod languages: English, German, Polish

This mod aims at making Imoen a steady companion throughout the whole BG-Saga. Imoen-related story content is being considered, therefore Imoen will be out of party temporarily to reflect the most crucial original game events. This mod makes her rejoin the party after such incidents, so that she can be seen as an actual travel companion in SoD and BGII.

The mod tries to use as many originally voiced lines as possible, but some had to be taken out because they didn't make any sense without Imoen being there (BGII) or with Imoen catually being in the party (SoD).

The mod is compatible with SoD and all BGII games: BGII, BGT, BGII:EE, EET. For EET, install the mod dirctly into your EET game folder. For order of install, this mod is to be considered to be a questmod, i.e. should be installd before any NPC or other mods that add interjections into chapters 2&3 in BGII.

Promotion Artwork by Acifer!

As of v10, the mod has 14 components. The first 5 are for BGII; for these, the 1st component is required to install any of the other, optional components (numbers 2 to 5). Components  6 to 13 are for SoD; for these, components 6 or 7 are required to install any of the other, optional components. Component 14 offers and alternate portrait for Imoen by Acifer. It will be used for all parts of the present game /BG1, SoD, BGII).

Content BGII:

This mod gives back Imoen in Chapter 2 and 3, right after the first dialogue with Gaelan. The player can then explore and play all quests without any time pressure or moral dilemma about a friend needing rescue. The original game content kicks in again after the arrival in Brynnlaw: Imoen will now be kidnapped. If the optional component is installed, Yoshimo will be then available for recruitment in the Brynnlaw tavern.

All(most all) lines referring to Imoen being taken and needing rescue where replaced with references to Irenicus, instead.

Content SoD:

With this mod, Imoen will be recruitable in SoD. There are several optional components. For one of them, Imoen will remain in your group in the beginning of SoD if she was in BG:EE (If Imoen was not in party in the transition from BG:EE, her presence in Korlasz' Crypt will play like in the original game with no changes.). She will be a party member in Korlasz's crypt up until the point where all party members leave and the PC finds themselves in the Ducal Palace. From there, Imoen will take her role as in the original game.

Another component lets Imoen return to the group when the group arrives at the first camp after marching out against the crusade. She will then be available as a party member until the original game events after the PC's fall kick in.

More content for SoD offered is reactions to game events and dialogues for Imoen, the original "Imoen studies with Jannath" scene from the scrying pool as a cutscene, the possibility to toggle between Imoen's BG1 and SoD Portrait, and an altered dialogue after the poison attack to give a better reason why she will stay behind.

Please refer to the readme to see which other components are available.

Alternate portrait by Acifer (component14):

 

Link to Modpage and Readme

 

[Ulb]

Awesome, I wanted a mod like this for years.

Thank you!

Maybe compiling a list of NPC mods which are/aren't compatible (dialogue wise) would be convenient for people.

[Vlan]

All of them should be incompatible, at least dialogue-wise.

[Istfemer]

Ambitious! Mods that attempt this kind of major plot rearrangement are tough to handle for modders; tough to write for & around. I wish jastey luck.

---

Can't comment on SoD stuff much as I haven't bought & played EEs yet, but from what I've read it doesn't make sense to me that Imoen skips all the action of SoD. Why wouldn't she help CHARNAME in the finale at least? In BG2:SoA her absence is better justified but even there it feels somewhat forced (no alternatives there). And I happen to really like Imoen as a Sorceress in my party. That class fits her really well (especially when taking in account her heritage & her fairly high Charisma score). Much better than a generalist mage in my opinion. So when Thief-to-Sorcerer duals become a possibility (via GemRB or otherwise) that's what I'll be changing her into. I justify this by alluding to the established fact that it doesn't take a long time to train as a Sorcerer. I think a short but special magic ritual would be enough to awaken the latent powers. That's how I'm personally going to explain her short absence in SoD when I'll be playing with this mod.

[Istfemer]

I have a few questions/suggestions:

1. Do I understand correctly that the player will meet Yoshimo for the first time only in Brynnlaw and not earlier? Why so late? Yes, I can imagine why a famous bounty hunter (FEARED BY ALL) would be hanging in Brynnlaw (e.g: he took a contract & he's currently busy shadowing a target). However, with Yoshimo available so late the player will miss out on much of Yoshimo's thieving expertise & most of his interactions. Not sure I'd like that. I'd like an ability to have both Imoen & Yoshimo in my party during chapters 2 & 3. Have you considered adding content for Yoshimo as well?
2. So, Yoshi won't greet the party inside Chateau Irenicus anymore? Doesn't he have some nice dialogue in there? (Of course letting Yoshimo appear where he appears in vanilla was a somewhat strange decision in my eyes -- Yoshimo comes off as a bit too suspicious. A more sensible choice would've been to put him just outside Chateau Irenicus & let him engage the player's party in dialogue either just before or right after the encounter with Irenicus.)
3. What will happen to Imoen if CHARNAME doesn't want to let her into the party and take her to Brynnlaw? I reckon she either persuades CHARNAME to let her journey with the party anyway or she ends up kidnapped by other means.
   Spoiler

   Perhaps if you leave Yoshimo in Athkatla he can somehow do this stealthily with his special snares, assuming that Yoshimo isn't recruited into the party & he stays alive up until that point? Hmm...

    

4. On 7/1/2019 at 6:57 PM, jastey said:

   All(most all) lines referring to Imoen being taken and needing rescue where replaced with references to Irenicus, instead.

   Rescue Irenicus? That sounds like a mighty odd adventure to me! I mean, I'm intrigued!

[jastey]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

@Ulb: I started a list here. Did you see this one or should I place it in a more obvious spot? I guess you won't be the only one looking for this.

@Istfemer I don't know about Imoen being a Sorceres but I do agree on her not having to be out of the party. (Well, obviously, considering the mod content.)

Concerning Yoshimo: No worries, I didn't change any of his original content, so he's to be met in Irenicus Dungeon etc. just like in the original game. Despite the fact that my mods might change things in the game (like this one or also Ajantis BGII that gives a solution for him to still being alive in the Windspear Hills), I try to change as *little* as possible of the (other) original game content.

Spoiler

Yoshimo will only appear in Brynnlaw if he's still alive - he'll reveal being a secret passanger on the same ship the PC took. I thought it logical that he'd try to stay near the PC, and also that he's try to get near Irenicus by himself.

If he's in party or dead, the player is out of luck and loses a party member when Imoen is taken in Brynnlaw. No miracles here.

Concerning Imoen: I think I covered all instances without forsing the player to having to take Imoen into the party. You can just let her wait in the Copper Coronet or even let her die. Irenicus has a great interest in her, and will see to her being in Spellhold himself.

Hope that answers the questions.

[khelban12]

Greetings.

Thank you for another great mod. All mods that give more content to Imoen are welcome. I have some questions:

1) Is there a different story incentive to go to Brynnlaw if you have Imoen in the party ?

2) Do you have any idea about compatibility with the "Imoen Friendship" and "Imoen Romance" mods ? I guess since the dialogs start when you rescue Imoen from Spellhold, the mods should work fine (but you won't get any dialogs during your travels before brynnlaw ofcourse) ?

3) The mods that mess with Imoen2 and Imoen variables like "Eternal Imoen" or "Continuous Imoen" are incompatible i guess ?

Thank you

[jastey]

3. currently these are inkompatible, because the mod assumes the Imoen in ID to be the temporarily one - for BGII(:EE). It would be no problem to use a continuous Imoen if these mods could be detected ingame, though.

2. Imoen Romance bases around Imoen being away for one third of the game (the PC has dreams about her during that time), and also that Imoen never met any of the BGII NPCs. This mod will never be compatible with the Imoen Romance mod unless the Romance mod is heavily rewritten.

Imoen Friendship I wanted to have a look at, if this mod makes the whole story on Imoen having been away then there is no chance, either, but I didn't check on that, yet.

For all other mods, the problem is that no mod checks the chapter number but only whether Imoen is in party, so usually banters with her that are supposed to fire post Spellhold will fire in chapter 2&3.

1. there is no other story arch than that there is Irenicus who made it clear that he will come for the PC, so the PC going after him when they feel ready is the idea here.

[jmaeq]

Congratulations on the release and thank you for your hard work!

[jastey]

Thanks!

[cdx]

Awesome, can't wait for the full SoD content!

It was so strange for Imoen to be away studying, not at all like her. It would be great to have the SoD and BG2 parts install separately, as planned, so she can join in SoD but the BG2 story wouldn't be disrupted. That plus Imoen Is Stone would be great for story reasons and avoiding issues with other mods.

Are there plans for banters in SoD?

[jastey]

Thanks for the kind words!

Plans, yes, but I really don't know when I'll come to those, as NPC-NPC banters is nothing that flows easily for me. Giving her a base structure with joining the group and moving with the camps is easy enough, but filling her with life is the actual task. And probably, she will never be as fledged out as the original NPCs, the mod wasn't meant to turn out into (another) NPC mod I have to write...

[Guest LZenn]

I just wanted to send out kudos to jastey for an awesome mod.  Love what you did with the movies - just stellar!  Great job on the whole thing.  I've enjoyed every mod you've done (that I've tried), but this one  outshines them all.

The only suggestion I might throw out would be to give good aligned characters more motivation to go to the island.  I'm not much into revenge killing.  Perhaps, after a certain number of days or at a certain experience level, have someone request I go to investigate or run up to me panic stricken because they've received word that Irenicus has escaped, or something like that.  For evil characters perhaps a lure of vast treasure.  I don't know.  I'm a programmer and role player, not an story-teller.  Never did the DM side of things.

I'm really looking forward to seeing it in action for SoD because I really don't like that game much (that and ToB - led around by the nose too much, no real character motivation for getting involved AND I hate being manipulated) but this would give me a reason to play through it again.

Again, kudos on a job very well done!

 

[jastey]

Thank you for the kind words!

Interesting point, I try to make that motivation point the moment Imoen returns (kind of "Irenicus is away for now but who knows what he's planning") but I guess it fades away during playing on (just as kidnapped Imoen kind of got forgotten when CHARNAME was about to investigate the lands, ahem...)

I see what you mean and will think about it. Although, not having anything that rushs the player to Brynnlaw was the aim of this mod. I do have an idea for a separate mod where investigating Irenicus' doings in Spellhold will be the actual quest, so maybe those two together might do the trick.

[Guest LZenn]

What I miss in the game is an avenue to try to pursue legal methods to bring Irenicus to trial for his many misdeeds.  He's off to Spellhold for a petty crime and all the horrendous things he's done are completely ignored by the officials.  As a good aligned character, I'd eagerly volunteer to escort his head to the chopping block.  That would get me to the island for certain. An evil one - eh - revenge would be enough - treasure would be icing.

Meh - maybe I hang around with paladins too much...

BTW - I could never bring myself to let Imoen rot in Spellhold any more than necessary.  I went there pretty much right away and did all the world exploring with her when we got back.  Couldn't even stand to let her go without her soul for very long, either.  I'm a softy, what can I say.  So most of my world-exploring was at the cost of the elves - oh well.  Something had to wait.   I like playing with your mod SO much better.  Part of the beauty of the mage/sorc stronghold quest is that you learn that things might not be alright with in Spellhold-world.  Adds some underlying tension.

Looking forward to your next fray into the modding world.