[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Hank Parsons: My characters went from Level 7 to Level 25 in a few weeks (not years BTW), and were able to slay things like Demons and Dragons....

Which would not have been the case in any "normal" D&D setting. Let's face it, BG is a candy store of a game. Whack a few Slavers and collect enough gold to buy a +3 Axe at the local tavern. Use that Axe to kill a few Trolls and collect the Flail of the Ages. Take that Flail and go kill a Dragon that's guarding a weapon that any self-respecting DM wouldn't let fall into the player's hands until they were at least Level 20--which would take years of campaigning, in a game setting that dished out EXP in a reasonable way. In BG1, you had to adventure for weeks before you were capable of killing anything worth more than 1000 EXP. At the start of BG2, you get 3000 just for talking to Minsc, and another 3000 for talking to Jaheira, and the third cage holds Monty Haul.

OK, Link. You can have your wish: normal BG2 Bodhi. No Special Powers. Tactics is 100% optional. OR remove some of her special powers with the difficulty slider -- a feature that even original BG2 didn't offer.

This is true. But wouldn't it be better to create a Bodhi that's as challenging (or even more so) as the current version, yet makes as much sense (or even more so) as her original incarnation?

My "Ideal" Bodhi:

• Does not blatantly disregard the laws of magic
• Does not display nonsensical or contradictory powers or immunities
• Does not wait until you've slaughtered her entire band of followers before she even considers fighting you herself
• Be resistant, but NOT immune, to the swarm of anti-Undead crap flying around
• Knows that she's not going to be able to take you out by herself

My "Ideal" Bodhi would be rather low on hitpoints, but have high resistance to Magic damage--thus shrugging off most of the damage from Sunray, False Dawn, Sol's Searing Orb, etc. This would obviously make her resistant to ADHW as well, but since Undead are dry as dust already, this only makes sense. She would have the standard Boss immunities of Hold, Charm, Death, and also Blindness and Turn Undead. Her Physical resistances would be about 40% to let her still be a formidable melee opponent, and her Claws would heal her of 1D4 damage per hit, taking sustenance from the blood she draws.
Spells: Bodhi and her minions all use Vampriric Touch, and frequently, too. They also cast Chill Touch along with their Domination and Vampire Fear. Bodhi does indeed know spells like Buried Alive and Chill of the Grave, but 'at lower levels' (does less damage and/or allows a Save with higher bonuses) than the high-level Vampire-Mages who guard the lair as well. In this sense, Bodhi's eagerness to acquire new powers has spread to learning the spells of the Archvampires, although she still casts like a Ranger or Paladin while her elder tutors cast them like Clerics and Mages.
Behavior: When she ambushes the party entering the Graveyard in Chapter 6, she's more interested in neutralizing your cheesy weaponry (Azuredge, etc) than stealing your sweetie--although she'll do that, too. Perhaps each weapon could be guarded by a Vampire-Mage, perhaps you'll have to kill Bodhi herself to get them back. Inside her lair, Bodhi and her high-ranking friends annoy the entire party by constantly flapping up to you in Bat form, fighting for 4 rounds, and then going Bat again and flapping off to some other random part of the level. They travel separately, and there's no telling which Bat is which Vampire until they polymorph back. No more sending your Cleric or Tank out to kill everything while the rest of the party plays Parcheesi at the entrance! Each named Vampire must be gotten down to Near Death before they retreat to the lower level, and you must knock them all down there before you can enter there yourself.

Your ideas sound cool. Have you released this as a mod, or it's just speculation on what would be cool if you were in Weimer's shoes?

If/when Link or I ever actually release our ideas in a usable form, trust me, you'll know about it. Until then, I know that at least I will be actively critiquing anything that comes out, handing out kudos, put-downs, and suggestions where they are deserved.