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Imrahil · 01-02-2005, 04:16 PM

Name: Alassa 1.0
Characteristics: NE Female Human Thief
Str: 10 Dex: 15 Con: 9 Int: 14 Wis: 12 Cha: 16
Equipment: Short Sword +1
Personality: C-
Alassa is a One Day NPC, so there's obviously not going to be a lot of banter, but she's intriguing. She comes across as an adventure-seeking youth & I kind of hope she gets fleshed out a bit more. She doesn't comment on much & doesn't talk to the NPC's very often, though.
Implementation: D+
Sorry, but most of the One Day NPC's have to suffer here. They're all going to be only marginally better than a secondary character created by the player & this category not only measures bugs (none encountered), but how close the character "feels" to a Bioware NPC. All of your standard NPC's & most of the better MOD NPC's will talk ten times more than Alassa. One of the standard tests I give NPC's is Salvanas in the Copper Coronet, & he had nothing to say to Alassa. Still, nice voice, good portrait.
Power: C-
She's a Thief, so her power isn't all that high, but for Evil parties (although other than being a bit of a liar, Alassa didn't seem all that Evil) in need of a Thief with a few banters, she'll do.
Ease: A-
Alassa can be found in the Slums (in the street in front of the Jansen home), which is one of the first areas you visit, so it's easy to pick her up (however, you have to do it when she first asks, otherwise she walks off).
ToB: Yes (basic)
Overall: D+
Cool character who I'd like to see More Than One Day put into.

Name: Ninafer 100b
Characteristics: LN Female Elf Fighter/Mage
Str: 15 Dex: 19 Con: 12 Int: 18 Wis: 9 Cha: 11
Equipment: Vigilance (+3 Longsword, +2 Fire damage, +2 Electricity damage, +4 vs. Evil), Short Sword +1, Elixer of Health x5, Elven Chain +1, Nina's Ring (unknown properties, but unequippable)
Personality: C-
Ninafer is an Elf with a grudge against Irenicus, but she doesn't talk about it very much. She has a few banters with the PC & Imoen, but ignores the other NPC's for the most part. An Elf hunting Irenicus is a good concept, but it needs a lot of fleshing out. Decent voicing, although the portrait looks derivative of Viconia's.
Implementation: D+
Nina doesn't talk or comment on events nearly often enough. When she does, there's some spelling errors & some major punctuation issues - there's an extremely noticeable lack of commas in her dialogues (e.g. "A good lesson in battle to.") In her conversations with Imoen, Imoen sounds very formal & stilted (no contractions), & Nina's response is "Haha your humor never cease to amaze me." Plus, 'Salvanas- has nothing to say to you'.
Power: B+
Nina is a Fighter/Mage with a +3 weapon right off the bat, so she'll make a strong addition to any party.
Ease: A-
Ninafer approaches you in the Copper Coronet, one of the easiest areas to reach, so adding her to your party is very easy.
ToB: No
Overall: D+
She's a One Day NPC with a good concept but subpar implementation.

Name: Wikaede 1.1
Characteristics: LN Male Human Priest of Helm
Str: 16 Dex: 8 Con: 17 Int: 10 Wis: 16 Cha: 12
Equipment: Double Sting (Flail +2, does extra Cold & Fire damage), Plate Mail +1, Large Shield, Boots of the North, 2 Potions of Extra-Healing
Personality: D+
Wikaede is a devout follower of Helm who has come to Athkatla from Nashkel. He only has 1 banter with each of the NPC’s, but they’re well written.
Implementation: D+
The voicing (generic lines only) is a bit louder than other NPC’s & there’s noticeable feedback & static. Wikaede could certainly use more banters & interjections to make him worthwhile. At the Tree of Life & in Hell, his dialogue would break the chain, preventing other characters from speaking. His flail, Double Sting, doesn’t have a standard weapon description & will wind up in the PC’s inventory if you boot him out.
Power: B-
Wikaede is a fairly straight-forward Cleric, although the Priest of Helm kit gives him Seeking Sword & True Sight to make him a little more useful.
Ease: B
Wikaede can be found in the Temple of Helm in the Temple District.
ToB: Yes (basic)
Overall: D+
A fairly interesting One Day NPC who I’d like to see expanded upon, but until that happens, he’s only good for 1 banter with each of the Bioware NPC’s.

Name: Yikari 1.0
Characteristics: LN Male Human Monk
Str: 16 Dex: 18 Con: 14 Int: 8 Wis: 19 Cha: 4
Equipment: Yikari's Robe, Yikari's Ninja-to (both initially unknown properties, but you find out after his quest), several potions
Personality: D
Yikari is a Monk from Kara-Tur on a quest to retrieve a certain katana which was stolen from his monastery. He's under a vow of silence until he succeeds, so your initial meeting involves an interesting bit of charades. Yikari is more of an alpha release at this point, though, so he has joining-up dialogue, quest dialogue, & leaving dialogue, but that's it as far as personality goes.
Implementation: C-
There's very little of him, but what's there is well done (no spelling errors, even). At the moment, he might better be considered a mini-quest for players who'd like to trade a certain katana for some XP, then let Yikari return home while you go find a more talkative NPC (if you just use him for that purpose, he'd probably rate a B in this category).
Power: B-
Yikari is available fairly early in the game & starts out at level 12 (potentially 18 if you wait long enough to talk to him), so he can be a powerhouse relatively quickly. Still, as a Monk, you won't want to Tank with him, but rather have him as a secondary attacker.
Ease: B+
Yikari can be found in the Temple District, on one of the long north-south bridges in the middle of the map.
ToB: No
Overall: D+
As I mentioned earlier, Yikari might serve best as a nice little quest at this point rather than a full-fledged NPC. He shows some good promise, though, & once he gets some banters & interjections he should be worth keeping around (note: version 1.1 has been released with more banters).

Name: Bruce (The Cockney Barfighter by Jason Compton) 1.0
Characteristics: CN Male Human Barbarian
Str: 18/17 Dex: 15 Con: 16 Int: 9 Wis: 6 Cha: 9
Equipment: Leather +1
Personality: D
Bruce came about as part of the not-so-serious One Day Bruce-athon. This particular Bruce only has a couple of banters with Aerie, Nalia, & a female PC. He has decent voicing, but don't expect a lot of commentary.
Implementation: D
No bugs, but you'll barely notice he's in the party.
Power: B-
Bruce is a pretty straight-forward Barbarian who makes a decent Tank.
Ease: B-
Bruce can be recruited after you complete the slaver quest for Hendak in the Copper Coronet.
ToB: Yes (basic)
Overall: D
Simply not enough content to use extensively, but you might want to let him join for a brief period of time for the amusement value.

Name: Cassius 1.0
Characteristics: NG Male Human Skald
Str: 16 Dex: 17 Con: 13 Int: 16 Wis: 9 Cha: 15
Equipment: Studded Leather +4 (with a +15 Lore bonus), Light Crossbow of Speed, Long Sword +1, Cassius' Cloak (+20% Pick Pockets), other minor items
Personality: C-
Cassius doesn't banter much, and when he does he sounds like English is his second language. He never commented on some of the more obvious events (the Playhouse, meeting Haer Dalis', the Harpers quest). He talks to you about turning into the "ravager" long before it's even an issue.
Implementation: D
I understand why some very skilled MOD'ers may view designing an NPC in One Day as a challenge ("how much can I cram in?"), but it seems like too many people use the One Day concept as an excuse to turn out an unfinished product. Cassius is one of the latter ones, with numerous spelling & grammar mistakes, little banter, & poor equipment choices (his over-powered Studded Leather disables his Wizard spells & he has no proficiency in Crossbows).
Power: B-
A Skald is an interesting choice for a character, but not high on the power scale (which isn't a bad thing). I wound up using Cassius as a support mage & had him singing in the background during a lot of fights, which helped indirectly.
Ease: A-
Cassius can be found in the Mithrest Inn in Waukeen's Promenade, so he can be added right after Chateau Irenicus.
ToB: Yes (basic)
Overall: D
Definitely needs More Than One Day.

Name: Gozaloth (Goo) 1.0
Characteristics: Male Floating Eyeball Fighter
Str: 17 Dex: 7 Con: 20 Int: 15 Wis: 9 Cha: 4
Equipment: Goo's Mouth, a... Dagger (as far as the game's concerned) with unusual properties
Personality: B
Can I base my review off of one banter? If so, Goo's banter with Jan is worth the download all by itself.
Implementation: D
He looks like a Gauth, so equipping certain items will cause crashes. Also, I got a dialogue loop when I approached him - he repeatedly asked to join even if I declined, so I had to add him to the party or kill him. His garbled voice is kinda fun to hear from time to time, though.
Power: C+
He's a Fighter with equipment restrictions. His Mouth is a decent weapon (& droppable when he's killed [img]smile.gif[/img] )
Ease: D+
Goo is found in the Planar Sphere in the same area as the first set of Dark Sun Halflings you run into.
ToB: No
Overall: D
I just thought I'd include Goo in this, 'cause he's kind of cool, if really limited. As I said earlier, you should install him at least once just for the Goo-Jan banter.

Name: Hessa 1.0
Characteristics: NE Female Half-Elf Thief
Str: 15 Dex: 16 Con: 16 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 10
Equipment: some minor +1 items plus an item, simply called "Arrows" which appears to function like unlimited normal arrows
Personality: C
Hessa's intriguing, has an excellent voice set, & a really cool portrait, but it seems a little odd for her to be in charge of her own little thieving racket & still want to join up with you (leaving her Flunkies behind to tell you to speak to Hessa, even). She hires you for a little minor quest, complete with its own new area (& unique item), then joins up if you ask her. It seems a little strange, but I won't hold it against her personality. Instead, I'll hold it against her...
Implementation: D-
In addition to the drawbacks of all the One Day NPC's, Hessa's story doesn't fit as well as the others. Also, due to the added area, you have to start a whole new game to try her out (i.e you can't install her with a party that has a CN Anomen - see below - & go pick her up). She doesn't banter very much. The creator admits she's a sneak peak at a larger MOD, & it shows (she even "breaks the 4th wall" & tells you this is the end of the One Day NPC Quest).
Power: C-
I guess someone (or several someones) noticed the lack of Evil Thieves. Well, now there are a few of them & they all get C's or C-'s.
Ease: D
Meeting Hessa is more like an Easter Egg than a true NPC. You have to have Anomen fail his test (not officially, from the Order, just seek revenge), then go to the City Gates.
ToB: No
Overall: D
It was too much build up (waiting for the whole Anomen thing to play out) for too little reward. The unique item is kind of cool, though.

Name: Allison 1.0
Characteristics: N Female Elf Druid
Str: 14 Dex: 14 Con: 7 Int: 12 Wis: 18 Cha: 12
Equipment: Studded Leather +1
Personality: D-
Personality? Very little. Aside from the basic joining-up (differs before & after Faldorn's death, but with Improved Faldorn, there's about 0% chance you'd pick her up after) & leaving dialogues, Allison doesn't speak up much, if at all. One time, Jan mentioned something about an Aunt taking walks through the woods (not the one who wore flowers because it was the style at the time, though), which I think may have been an Allison dialogue, but then it just ended after one pane - that's about as close as I came to seeing a personality. She does have Tree of Life dialogue, but it breaks the script, meaning no one else gets to talk.
Implementation: D-
Aside from her lack of dialogue, I had to manually give her her portrait using ShadowKeeper. She has Aerie's soundset (even the circus comments). Her initial spells of all levels are somehow classified as Level 6 spells & are uncastable (you have to re-assign all her spells & then rest).
Power: B
Allison is a single-classed Druid with no kit, so while she can get very powerful at higher levels, she's relatively weak until she hits level 15. She starts off at level 13, though, so her power level is decent.
Ease: C+
She's located just southwest of the Troll Mound in the Druid Grove, but you'll have to fight your way to her & look carefully (she's tough to see).
ToB: Yes
Overall: D-
A One Day NPC that's kind of pointless. Makes Cernd look appealing. (note: version 1.2 may have cleaned up a lot of the problems, though)

Name: Anishai 1.0
Characteristics: CN Female Human Monk
Str: 14 Dex: 17 Con: 10 Int: 13 Wis: 9 Cha: 16
Equipment: Anishai's Dagger (+3, inflicts Poison damage, +2 attacks/round)
Personality: D-
Anishai is already in the game as a flirtatious member of Mae'Var's Guild on the 2nd floor. Turns out she's a spy for Renal & will join up with you (only if you accept her offer right away, though, otherwise she walks around a few seconds, then vanishes). I thought she'd be an interesting character, so I took her with me back to Renal (nothing), through the De'Arnise Keep (nothing), & through the Umar Hills quest (nothing). I can't really comment on her personality, since I never saw it.
Implementation: D-
She has BG I proficiency slots. 'Nuff said.
Power: B-
I tried to think of what I'd rate a PC Monk & drop it slightly.
Ease: C+
Slightly tougher to recruit than Edwin.
ToB: No
Overall: D-
If you want a Monk, I'd suggest Kiara, Yikari, or creating one from scratch.

Name: Ny'Yber 1.0
Characteristics: N Male Elf Fighter
Str: 9 Dex: 9 Con: 9 Int: 9 Wis: 9 Cha: 9
Equipment: none
Personality: D+
Ny'Yber is Domi's entry for Iron Modder 6, & is included just for utter completeness (is that a word? what's a cleric? have you seen Jon?). If you've ever wanted to recruit Noober or Neeber, here's your chance, as Ny'Yber is an elven equivalent (or long lost semi-sibling). He'll pester you at the Tree of Life & then forcibly join your party (you can kick him right back out if you want, though). He provides a relatively large amount of amusement given the small size of the MOD.
Implementation: D
Ny'Yber is there for a brief bit of entertainment prior to the Final Battle, & serves that purpose fairly well. He has no dialogue after you've entered the Tree, though, so if you dropped a useful party member, oh well...
Power: B-
When he joins, Ny'Yber is Level 1, but has a million XP, so you can level him up to 12 & assign his proficiencies as you like. Still, for an endgame player, he's less than optimal. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Ease: D-
You run into Ny'Yber at the Tree of Life, so you have to complete practically the whole game to get to him.
ToB: No
Overall: D-
The character is about as serious as this particular review, but let it not be said that I'm not thorough. Try him out once just for fun, then forget about him.

Name: Therrin 1.0
Characteristics: NE Male Elf Stalker (Fallen)
Str: 18/75 Dex: 17 Con: 17 Int: 16 Wis: 14 Cha: 10
Equipment: Leather +1, Wakizashi +1 (neither is identified to begin with)
Personality: F
Therrin has joining up dialogue, which is pretty generic, & leaving dialogue (also generic), but nothing else as far as personality goes.
Implementation: D
The Fallen Stalker idea is nice, but since it's not expounded upon, the character serves no real purpose. 92 ability points is a bit on the high side, as well.
Power: C+
Due to being Fallen, Therrin has all the drawbacks of being a Ranger compared to a Fighter, but none of the advantages.
Ease: B
Therrin is upstairs in the Crooked Crane inn, so he can be added to your party early on.
ToB: No
Overall: D-
A nice idea for a character, but with no dialogue at all there's not much point to using him.

Name: Azrael 1.0
Characteristics: NG Male Elf Archer (Ranger)
Str: 14 Dex: 17 Con: 14 Int: 12 Wis: 14 Cha: 11
Equipment: Elven Chain +1

Name: Mike 1.0
Characteristics: N Male Human Fighter
Str: 16 Dex: 14 Con: 16 Int: 17 Wis: 6 Cha: 12
Equipment: Two-Handed Sword +3, Crimson Chain +5, Kiel's Helmet, Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Extraoardinary Specialization

Personality: F
Other than when they join up, Mike & Azrael have no personality & never talk to the other NPC's or comment on events. Azrael has Kivan's portrait & Mike has Cernd's. Despite reviewing them together, they can be added separately.
Implementation: D-
Neither will crash your game, but they serve no real purpose other than to occupy a slot in your party.
Power: B
Both start at level 2, but Azrael has 40 hp & Mike has 84 (& some powerful equipment), so I guess they could wind up being useful.
Ease: F
Mike & Azrael have to be CLUA'd in as far as I can tell - I've never run into either one in game (& Mike even references being "summoned" in his joining-up dialogue).
ToB: No
Overall: F
I'm not sure what purpose Mike or Azrael is meant to serve, unless you don't feel like rolling up your own characters. Hardly worth the time it takes to download & install.

Hope people find these useful, as I had very little to go on when first deciding which NPC's to download. I'm certainly open to comments & people disagreeing with my ratings (or posting their own in response) or pointing out things that I missed. It's all just my opinion, of course, & I'm bound to enjoy different aspects of a character than everyone else.

It'd not surprise me a bit for someone else to feel a character I rated as a C- is actually a B+, or vice versa (people disagree about the merits of the various Bioware NPC's after all), so post your own views on the various NPC's in order to provide differing opinions.

COMING SOON: I'll revisit some of the NPC's I've already played with that have had version updates

- Imrahil

[ 06-12-2005, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: Imrahil ]

01-02-2005, 04:16 PM	#3
Imrahil Elminster Join Date: November 4, 2001 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 469	Name: Alassa 1.0 Characteristics: NE Female Human Thief Str: 10 Dex: 15 Con: 9 Int: 14 Wis: 12 Cha: 16 Equipment: Short Sword +1 Personality: C- Alassa is a One Day NPC, so there's obviously not going to be a lot of banter, but she's intriguing. She comes across as an adventure-seeking youth & I kind of hope she gets fleshed out a bit more. She doesn't comment on much & doesn't talk to the NPC's very often, though. Implementation: D+ Sorry, but most of the One Day NPC's have to suffer here. They're all going to be only marginally better than a secondary character created by the player & this category not only measures bugs (none encountered), but how close the character "feels" to a Bioware NPC. All of your standard NPC's & most of the better MOD NPC's will talk ten times more than Alassa. One of the standard tests I give NPC's is Salvanas in the Copper Coronet, & he had nothing to say to Alassa. Still, nice voice, good portrait. Power: C- She's a Thief, so her power isn't all that high, but for Evil parties (although other than being a bit of a liar, Alassa didn't seem all that Evil) in need of a Thief with a few banters, she'll do. Ease: A- Alassa can be found in the Slums (in the street in front of the Jansen home), which is one of the first areas you visit, so it's easy to pick her up (however, you have to do it when she first asks, otherwise she walks off). ToB: Yes (basic) Overall: D+ Cool character who I'd like to see More Than One Day put into. Name: Ninafer 100b Characteristics: LN Female Elf Fighter/Mage Str: 15 Dex: 19 Con: 12 Int: 18 Wis: 9 Cha: 11 Equipment: Vigilance (+3 Longsword, +2 Fire damage, +2 Electricity damage, +4 vs. Evil), Short Sword +1, Elixer of Health x5, Elven Chain +1, Nina's Ring (unknown properties, but unequippable) Personality: C- Ninafer is an Elf with a grudge against Irenicus, but she doesn't talk about it very much. She has a few banters with the PC & Imoen, but ignores the other NPC's for the most part. An Elf hunting Irenicus is a good concept, but it needs a lot of fleshing out. Decent voicing, although the portrait looks derivative of Viconia's. Implementation: D+ Nina doesn't talk or comment on events nearly often enough. When she does, there's some spelling errors & some major punctuation issues - there's an extremely noticeable lack of commas in her dialogues (e.g. "A good lesson in battle to.") In her conversations with Imoen, Imoen sounds very formal & stilted (no contractions), & Nina's response is "Haha your humor never cease to amaze me." Plus, 'Salvanas- has nothing to say to you'. Power: B+ Nina is a Fighter/Mage with a +3 weapon right off the bat, so she'll make a strong addition to any party. Ease: A- Ninafer approaches you in the Copper Coronet, one of the easiest areas to reach, so adding her to your party is very easy. ToB: No Overall: D+ She's a One Day NPC with a good concept but subpar implementation. Name: Wikaede 1.1 Characteristics: LN Male Human Priest of Helm Str: 16 Dex: 8 Con: 17 Int: 10 Wis: 16 Cha: 12 Equipment: Double Sting (Flail +2, does extra Cold & Fire damage), Plate Mail +1, Large Shield, Boots of the North, 2 Potions of Extra-Healing Personality: D+ Wikaede is a devout follower of Helm who has come to Athkatla from Nashkel. He only has 1 banter with each of the NPC’s, but they’re well written. Implementation: D+ The voicing (generic lines only) is a bit louder than other NPC’s & there’s noticeable feedback & static. Wikaede could certainly use more banters & interjections to make him worthwhile. At the Tree of Life & in Hell, his dialogue would break the chain, preventing other characters from speaking. His flail, Double Sting, doesn’t have a standard weapon description & will wind up in the PC’s inventory if you boot him out. Power: B- Wikaede is a fairly straight-forward Cleric, although the Priest of Helm kit gives him Seeking Sword & True Sight to make him a little more useful. Ease: B Wikaede can be found in the Temple of Helm in the Temple District. ToB: Yes (basic) Overall: D+ A fairly interesting One Day NPC who I’d like to see expanded upon, but until that happens, he’s only good for 1 banter with each of the Bioware NPC’s. Name: Yikari 1.0 Characteristics: LN Male Human Monk Str: 16 Dex: 18 Con: 14 Int: 8 Wis: 19 Cha: 4 Equipment: Yikari's Robe, Yikari's Ninja-to (both initially unknown properties, but you find out after his quest), several potions Personality: D Yikari is a Monk from Kara-Tur on a quest to retrieve a certain katana which was stolen from his monastery. He's under a vow of silence until he succeeds, so your initial meeting involves an interesting bit of charades. Yikari is more of an alpha release at this point, though, so he has joining-up dialogue, quest dialogue, & leaving dialogue, but that's it as far as personality goes. Implementation: C- There's very little of him, but what's there is well done (no spelling errors, even). At the moment, he might better be considered a mini-quest for players who'd like to trade a certain katana for some XP, then let Yikari return home while you go find a more talkative NPC (if you just use him for that purpose, he'd probably rate a B in this category). Power: B- Yikari is available fairly early in the game & starts out at level 12 (potentially 18 if you wait long enough to talk to him), so he can be a powerhouse relatively quickly. Still, as a Monk, you won't want to Tank with him, but rather have him as a secondary attacker. Ease: B+ Yikari can be found in the Temple District, on one of the long north-south bridges in the middle of the map. ToB: No Overall: D+ As I mentioned earlier, Yikari might serve best as a nice little quest at this point rather than a full-fledged NPC. He shows some good promise, though, & once he gets some banters & interjections he should be worth keeping around (note: version 1.1 has been released with more banters). Name: Bruce (The Cockney Barfighter by Jason Compton) 1.0 Characteristics: CN Male Human Barbarian Str: 18/17 Dex: 15 Con: 16 Int: 9 Wis: 6 Cha: 9 Equipment: Leather +1 Personality: D Bruce came about as part of the not-so-serious One Day Bruce-athon. This particular Bruce only has a couple of banters with Aerie, Nalia, & a female PC. He has decent voicing, but don't expect a lot of commentary. Implementation: D No bugs, but you'll barely notice he's in the party. Power: B- Bruce is a pretty straight-forward Barbarian who makes a decent Tank. Ease: B- Bruce can be recruited after you complete the slaver quest for Hendak in the Copper Coronet. ToB: Yes (basic) Overall: D Simply not enough content to use extensively, but you might want to let him join for a brief period of time for the amusement value. Name: Cassius 1.0 Characteristics: NG Male Human Skald Str: 16 Dex: 17 Con: 13 Int: 16 Wis: 9 Cha: 15 Equipment: Studded Leather +4 (with a +15 Lore bonus), Light Crossbow of Speed, Long Sword +1, Cassius' Cloak (+20% Pick Pockets), other minor items Personality: C- Cassius doesn't banter much, and when he does he sounds like English is his second language. He never commented on some of the more obvious events (the Playhouse, meeting Haer Dalis', the Harpers quest). He talks to you about turning into the "ravager" long before it's even an issue. Implementation: D I understand why some very skilled MOD'ers may view designing an NPC in One Day as a challenge ("how much can I cram in?"), but it seems like too many people use the One Day concept as an excuse to turn out an unfinished product. Cassius is one of the latter ones, with numerous spelling & grammar mistakes, little banter, & poor equipment choices (his over-powered Studded Leather disables his Wizard spells & he has no proficiency in Crossbows). Power: B- A Skald is an interesting choice for a character, but not high on the power scale (which isn't a bad thing). I wound up using Cassius as a support mage & had him singing in the background during a lot of fights, which helped indirectly. Ease: A- Cassius can be found in the Mithrest Inn in Waukeen's Promenade, so he can be added right after Chateau Irenicus. ToB: Yes (basic) Overall: D Definitely needs More Than One Day. Name: Gozaloth (Goo) 1.0 Characteristics: Male Floating Eyeball Fighter Str: 17 Dex: 7 Con: 20 Int: 15 Wis: 9 Cha: 4 Equipment: Goo's Mouth, a... Dagger (as far as the game's concerned) with unusual properties Personality: B Can I base my review off of one banter? If so, Goo's banter with Jan is worth the download all by itself. Implementation: D He looks like a Gauth, so equipping certain items will cause crashes. Also, I got a dialogue loop when I approached him - he repeatedly asked to join even if I declined, so I had to add him to the party or kill him. His garbled voice is kinda fun to hear from time to time, though. Power: C+ He's a Fighter with equipment restrictions. His Mouth is a decent weapon (& droppable when he's killed [img]smile.gif[/img] ) Ease: D+ Goo is found in the Planar Sphere in the same area as the first set of Dark Sun Halflings you run into. ToB: No Overall: D I just thought I'd include Goo in this, 'cause he's kind of cool, if really limited. As I said earlier, you should install him at least once just for the Goo-Jan banter. Name: Hessa 1.0 Characteristics: NE Female Half-Elf Thief Str: 15 Dex: 16 Con: 16 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 10 Equipment: some minor +1 items plus an item, simply called "Arrows" which appears to function like unlimited normal arrows Personality: C Hessa's intriguing, has an excellent voice set, & a really cool portrait, but it seems a little odd for her to be in charge of her own little thieving racket & still want to join up with you (leaving her Flunkies behind to tell you to speak to Hessa, even). She hires you for a little minor quest, complete with its own new area (& unique item), then joins up if you ask her. It seems a little strange, but I won't hold it against her personality. Instead, I'll hold it against her... Implementation: D- In addition to the drawbacks of all the One Day NPC's, Hessa's story doesn't fit as well as the others. Also, due to the added area, you have to start a whole new game to try her out (i.e you can't install her with a party that has a CN Anomen - see below - & go pick her up). She doesn't banter very much. The creator admits she's a sneak peak at a larger MOD, & it shows (she even "breaks the 4th wall" & tells you this is the end of the One Day NPC Quest). Power: C- I guess someone (or several someones) noticed the lack of Evil Thieves. Well, now there are a few of them & they all get C's or C-'s. Ease: D Meeting Hessa is more like an Easter Egg than a true NPC. You have to have Anomen fail his test (not officially, from the Order, just seek revenge), then go to the City Gates. ToB: No Overall: D It was too much build up (waiting for the whole Anomen thing to play out) for too little reward. The unique item is kind of cool, though. Name: Allison 1.0 Characteristics: N Female Elf Druid Str: 14 Dex: 14 Con: 7 Int: 12 Wis: 18 Cha: 12 Equipment: Studded Leather +1 Personality: D- Personality? Very little. Aside from the basic joining-up (differs before & after Faldorn's death, but with Improved Faldorn, there's about 0% chance you'd pick her up after) & leaving dialogues, Allison doesn't speak up much, if at all. One time, Jan mentioned something about an Aunt taking walks through the woods (not the one who wore flowers because it was the style at the time, though), which I think may have been an Allison dialogue, but then it just ended after one pane - that's about as close as I came to seeing a personality. She does have Tree of Life dialogue, but it breaks the script, meaning no one else gets to talk. Implementation: D- Aside from her lack of dialogue, I had to manually give her her portrait using ShadowKeeper. She has Aerie's soundset (even the circus comments). Her initial spells of all levels are somehow classified as Level 6 spells & are uncastable (you have to re-assign all her spells & then rest). Power: B Allison is a single-classed Druid with no kit, so while she can get very powerful at higher levels, she's relatively weak until she hits level 15. She starts off at level 13, though, so her power level is decent. Ease: C+ She's located just southwest of the Troll Mound in the Druid Grove, but you'll have to fight your way to her & look carefully (she's tough to see). ToB: Yes Overall: D- A One Day NPC that's kind of pointless. Makes Cernd look appealing. (note: version 1.2 may have cleaned up a lot of the problems, though) Name: Anishai 1.0 Characteristics: CN Female Human Monk Str: 14 Dex: 17 Con: 10 Int: 13 Wis: 9 Cha: 16 Equipment: Anishai's Dagger (+3, inflicts Poison damage, +2 attacks/round) Personality: D- Anishai is already in the game as a flirtatious member of Mae'Var's Guild on the 2nd floor. Turns out she's a spy for Renal & will join up with you (only if you accept her offer right away, though, otherwise she walks around a few seconds, then vanishes). I thought she'd be an interesting character, so I took her with me back to Renal (nothing), through the De'Arnise Keep (nothing), & through the Umar Hills quest (nothing). I can't really comment on her personality, since I never saw it. Implementation: D- She has BG I proficiency slots. 'Nuff said. Power: B- I tried to think of what I'd rate a PC Monk & drop it slightly. Ease: C+ Slightly tougher to recruit than Edwin. ToB: No Overall: D- If you want a Monk, I'd suggest Kiara, Yikari, or creating one from scratch. Name: Ny'Yber 1.0 Characteristics: N Male Elf Fighter Str: 9 Dex: 9 Con: 9 Int: 9 Wis: 9 Cha: 9 Equipment: none Personality: D+ Ny'Yber is Domi's entry for Iron Modder 6, & is included just for utter completeness (is that a word? what's a cleric? have you seen Jon?). If you've ever wanted to recruit Noober or Neeber, here's your chance, as Ny'Yber is an elven equivalent (or long lost semi-sibling). He'll pester you at the Tree of Life & then forcibly join your party (you can kick him right back out if you want, though). He provides a relatively large amount of amusement given the small size of the MOD. Implementation: D Ny'Yber is there for a brief bit of entertainment prior to the Final Battle, & serves that purpose fairly well. He has no dialogue after you've entered the Tree, though, so if you dropped a useful party member, oh well... Power: B- When he joins, Ny'Yber is Level 1, but has a million XP, so you can level him up to 12 & assign his proficiencies as you like. Still, for an endgame player, he's less than optimal. [img]smile.gif[/img] Ease: D- You run into Ny'Yber at the Tree of Life, so you have to complete practically the whole game to get to him. ToB: No Overall: D- The character is about as serious as this particular review, but let it not be said that I'm not thorough. Try him out once just for fun, then forget about him. Name: Therrin 1.0 Characteristics: NE Male Elf Stalker (Fallen) Str: 18/75 Dex: 17 Con: 17 Int: 16 Wis: 14 Cha: 10 Equipment: Leather +1, Wakizashi +1 (neither is identified to begin with) Personality: F Therrin has joining up dialogue, which is pretty generic, & leaving dialogue (also generic), but nothing else as far as personality goes. Implementation: D The Fallen Stalker idea is nice, but since it's not expounded upon, the character serves no real purpose. 92 ability points is a bit on the high side, as well. Power: C+ Due to being Fallen, Therrin has all the drawbacks of being a Ranger compared to a Fighter, but none of the advantages. Ease: B Therrin is upstairs in the Crooked Crane inn, so he can be added to your party early on. ToB: No Overall: D- A nice idea for a character, but with no dialogue at all there's not much point to using him. Name: Azrael 1.0 Characteristics: NG Male Elf Archer (Ranger) Str: 14 Dex: 17 Con: 14 Int: 12 Wis: 14 Cha: 11 Equipment: Elven Chain +1 Name: Mike 1.0 Characteristics: N Male Human Fighter Str: 16 Dex: 14 Con: 16 Int: 17 Wis: 6 Cha: 12 Equipment: Two-Handed Sword +3, Crimson Chain +5, Kiel's Helmet, Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Extraoardinary Specialization Personality: F Other than when they join up, Mike & Azrael have no personality & never talk to the other NPC's or comment on events. Azrael has Kivan's portrait & Mike has Cernd's. Despite reviewing them together, they can be added separately. Implementation: D- Neither will crash your game, but they serve no real purpose other than to occupy a slot in your party. Power: B Both start at level 2, but Azrael has 40 hp & Mike has 84 (& some powerful equipment), so I guess they could wind up being useful. Ease: F Mike & Azrael have to be CLUA'd in as far as I can tell - I've never run into either one in game (& Mike even references being "summoned" in his joining-up dialogue). ToB: No Overall: F I'm not sure what purpose Mike or Azrael is meant to serve, unless you don't feel like rolling up your own characters. Hardly worth the time it takes to download & install. Hope people find these useful, as I had very little to go on when first deciding which NPC's to download. I'm certainly open to comments & people disagreeing with my ratings (or posting their own in response) or pointing out things that I missed. It's all just my opinion, of course, & I'm bound to enjoy different aspects of a character than everyone else. It'd not surprise me a bit for someone else to feel a character I rated as a C- is actually a B+, or vice versa (people disagree about the merits of the various Bioware NPC's after all), so post your own views on the various NPC's in order to provide differing opinions. COMING SOON: I'll revisit some of the NPC's I've already played with that have had version updates - Imrahil [ 06-12-2005, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: Imrahil ]