The IWD2 NPC Project

The IWD2 NPC Project is a fan-made modification put together for fun, and not for profit. So, don't try to sell it. Two games in particular provided the major source of inspiration for this mod: Baldur's Gate II and Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare developed both of those excellent games.

The main goal of IWD2 NPC is to give an IWD2 player the opportunity to play with joinable NPCs that are not silent.

The mod is rated M, for coarse language and adult situations. You can go to T rating if you exclude Salomeya and Sir Wind Nord from the party and tell the eligible characters that you are not interested in their romantic advances.

Mods which extend material presented here (new NPCs for IWD2 who banter with IWD2 NPCs, or romance for one of the IWD2 NPCs) are welcome as separate modifications, with the appropriate credit given to the authors. If you want something to become a direct part of this mod, you will need to contact G3.

Creating Your IWD2 Character to Play the Mod:

There are a few things you need to know before plunging into your Northern adventure with your new companions by your side.

Please, don't forget to patch your game with the official Patch 2.01. This may not be needed depending on where you get your game, e.g. installing IWD2 from GOG will already include the v2.01 patch.

The IWD2 NPC Project should be fully compatible with IWD2EE.

If you want the party members to recognize a character as the main character, like the main PC in BG or BG2, and banter with him/her you will need to:

  • Create him or her first.
  • Keep him or her in the first, leader's slot.
  • Have him or her as the only custom-created (i.e. not supplied by the mod) character.

These three limitations are the direct effect of the difference between the BG2 and IWD2 engines. If you don't do this, the IWD2 NPCs will banter between one another and comment on the events in the game, but will not talk to the leader.

Other things to keep in mind are:

  • The game displays only one portrait during each dialogue in the dialogue window: the portrait of the character talked to.
  • So far, the mod is not able to fix the quiet murmur of the characters that fight unarmed.
  • The PC's biography cannot be put into the designated spot, so the generic IWD2 biography will still show there. Your PC's background introduced by the mod, and to which the NPCs will refer to, will be written in your journal early in the game.
  • Until Weimer's Ease of Use is updated to be compatible with the most recent version of WeiDU, Ease of Use should be installed prior to The IWD2 NPC Project.
  • If any NPC was petrified, and then restored to life via Stone to Flesh, it will interfere with the character's file, and will eventually cause the game to crash when the character is called upon to say anything. You will need to either re-load and avoid the petrification, or import a new copy of the character via the Character Arbitration screen.

Components for Installation

The IWD2 NPC Project has three separate components:

Install joinable NPCs for IWD2

This is the main component and will make 10 joinable NPCs available. More information is provided in the following sections

Female Gnome Avatars

This component lets you select a different avatar for female gnomes:

  • Use Female Mage Elf Avatars for Female Mage Gnome Avatars
  • Use Female Thief Halfling Avatars for Female Mage Gnome Avatars
  • Use Male Mage Dwarf Avatars for Female Mage Gnome Avatars (Game default)

Use Alternate NWN-Style Portraits for All NPCs

This component will swap the default, IWD2-style portraits of the ten NPCs with an alternative, NWN-style set of portraits. You can view the original IWD2-style portraits side-by-side with the NWN-style portraits in the IWD2 NPC gallery.

The Characters

There are currently 10 joinable NPCs available to choose from (full information is available on their linked pages):

  • Diriel, a Neutral Evil Elven Druid Male (A Romantic Option for an Elven Female PC)
  • Hildury, a Chaotic Good Half-Orc Barbarian Female
  • Jaemal, a Neutral Good Aasimar Sorcerer Male (A Romantic Option for a Male or Female PC)
  • Nikosh Bracegirdle, a True Neutral Halfling Rogue Male
  • (Sir) Wind Nord, a Lawful Good Human Paladin Male
  • Peony, a Chaotic Neutral Gnome Wizard-Illusionist Female (A Romantic Option for a Male PC)
  • Prachi, a Lawful Neutral Human Monk Female
  • Rizdaer, a Lawful Evil Drow Fighter Male (A Romantic Option for a Female PC)
  • Salomeya, a Chaotic Evil Half-Elven Bard Female (A Romantic Option for a Male PC)
  • Valeero, a Neutral Good Human Priestess of Lathander Female

At the start of the game, you will have two options – either importing the full pre-created party of 6 NPCs which will appear in your party selection menu as "Nord's Company" or you can select "New Party", create your Protagonist and add 5 NPCs. You will handle NPC joining and removal via Import/Export.

Each NPC can be imported at different levels. Sir Nord, Salomeya, Jaemal, Diriel, Valeero and Rizdaer lend themselves more easily to having higher levels at party creation than the PC, Hildury, Peony, Prachi and Nikosh. Suggested levels are:

  • Level 6: Sir Nord and Valeero
  • Level 3: Diriel, Jaemal, Salomeya and Rizdaer
  • Level 1: Hildury, Nikosh, Peony and Prachi

When you are creating the character it is up to you if you want to use the portraits, colors and soundsets that are provided by the mod. Keeping each NPC's name as it was given by the mod will save you a bit of confusion when you start seeing the banter.

PCs will also have some low-power items equipped on them. Your PC will get a small gift as well in the very beginning of the game from Sir Nord (he does not have to be in the party for that).