Stopping NPCs Leaving the Party

[Shadowblade]

Minsc got fed up of "inactivity", just as we got to the Gnoll Fortress map, and attacked us!

Then Kivan got fed up and left, with our composite longbow and other goodies, just as we got to the map with the Bandit Camp on it.

In both cases I had to load an earlier save and miss a bit of loot in order to get a shift on.

Is there any way to stop them leaving, other than just getting to their goal faster?

 

Cheers!

[Thacobell]

No, you get one dialogue asking them to be patient that resets the timer once. Thats it. With the exception of Minsc, you REALLY have to be taking your time to miss the timers. iirc, you get something like 14 days.

[subtledoctor]

You’re sleeping too much. Stop casting spells at people and just bash them in the head instead. 

EDIT - or use a mod that lets you cast more low-level spells

Edited September 3, 2022 by subtledoctor

[Shadowblade]

4 hours ago, Thacobell said:

No, you get one dialogue asking them to be patient that resets the timer once. Thats it. With the exception of Minsc, you REALLY have to be taking your time to miss the timers. iirc, you get something like 14 days.

Yeah, I left Kivan at the Gnoll Fortress, by the bridge at the edge of the map. Sold the loot, went back, saved and he left immediately. So I reloaded, rehired him and then went straight to Bandit Camp map, and he left again. But I had stripped all his gear, so good riddance to him! I don't know why they cannot be aware of which map they are on.

He was the only one strong enough to use the Composite Longbow, though. Apart from Minsc, who i still have after Dynaheir had an unfortunate accident. He has the +1 Composite now.

So Dynamohum and Khalid's corpses are at the temple in Nashkel, and all the other NPCs I dumped at The Friendly Arm. I just couldn't stand Jaheira and her "Yee-EESSS Oh OMMM-ni-present authority fee-gee-ORR?"

Why make a decent NPC so unbearable with such irritating dialogue?  I will never take her back until I can delete that sound file.

Cheers!

[Shadowblade]

3 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

You’re sleeping too much.

Not really, I was clearing the maps on the way to Gnoll Fortress and going back to town to sell loot.

[subtledoctor]

Ah yeah, that’ll take a long time. Some of those maps in the southwest are like two days from the nearest shop. I usually do that circuit in one long loop. (Nashkel to Gnoll Fortress with a 5-man party; then up to Mulahey; then over to Brage, who teleports me back to Nashkel.)

[Thacobell]

Oh yeap, second with subtle. There's yer problem.

[subtledoctor]

Ah, as to Kivan - it’s pretty bad design that you can meet him before ever going to Nashkel and he immediately wants to go to the Bandit Camp. I always ignore him until *right* before I do Peldvale/Larswood/Bandit Camp. 

Edited September 4, 2022 by subtledoctor

[Endarire]

BG1 NPC quests are normally timered and you're expected to focus on them.

[Thacobell]

In a mild defense of Kivan, I still hate timed content in games in general, he at least gets an extra long timer if you get him right away. So its not "as" big of a rush.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Thacobell
"have" to "hate"

[Shadowblade]

10 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

Ah, as to Kivan - it’s pretty bad design that you can meet him before ever going to Nashkel and he immediately wants to go to the Bandit Camp. I always ignore him until *right* before I do Peldvale/Larswood/Bandit Camp. 

Yes, I wonder why he's even on the High Hedge map. I tend to go there before even going to Nashkel, to see if there are any goodies I can afford and so on.

It would make a lot more sense if he was in Peldvale or Larswood, or somewhere in the Wood of Sharp Teeth. I came across Viconia and Shar-Teel somewhere around there.

But I'll know next time! Another thing I learned was having Branwen is pretty important for killing Mulahey. A judicious use of Chant and  Silence, 15 feet radius, made all the difference. So I later dumped Jaheira at the Friendly Arm.

[Shadowblade]

5 hours ago, Endarire said:

BG1 NPC quests are normally timered and you're expected to focus on them.

And how does one go from High Hedge to the Bandit Camp when we have yet to set foot in Nashkel?

[Endarire]

@Shadowblade
1: Console warp.

2: Foreknowledge and only letting him join your group once the Bandit Camp is reachable on the world map.

[subtledoctor]

16 hours ago, Thacobell said:

Kivan … gets an extra long timer if you get him right away. So its not "as" big of a rush.

This is worth repeating. 

Also High Hedge was probably not designed to be explored before killing Mulahey. All those skeletons could be pretty lethal for a 1st-/2nd-level Charname. Of course repeat players may go there early - I go there before FAI, these days - but the game wasn’t designed in 1998 for these players. 

Ultimately, though, these characters are scripted with desires to get somewhere, and sleeping too much or making too many trips to the store to sell gobs of near-worthless halberds and short swords. If a character says their business is urgent, the game wants you to treat it as urgent. 

I recommend using some mods that add containers. I usually have at least a gem bag and a potion bag when I’m in Nashkel, and sometimes a Bag of Holding too. 

[Shadowblade]

8 hours ago, Endarire said:

@Shadowblade
2: Foreknowledge and only letting him join your group once the Bandit Camp is reachable on the world map.

Yes, this is what I decided a few posts back!