"The" story (potential spoilers)

[theGrimm]

I realise a lot about BG is the "alternate reality" concept, where one could effectively play the same story a hundred different ways.

But what do you suppose might be "the" story. The story intended by Bioware perhaps (such as, in the beginning of BG II, they suggest the protaganist was in a party with Minsc, Dynahair, Jaheira, Khalid and Imoen), or the story that would be told if, for example, they made a movie or a book of BG II?

-What class would the protaganist be?
-What characters would eventually be in the party?
-Would the protaganist be involved in a romance, and with whom?
-What would the alignment of the protaganist likely be?

I ask, because I'd like to play the story "as intended."

So, now we get to argue about "as intended".

Cheers.

[Armen]

i'm sure this has been done before but i don't mind [img]smile.gif[/img] so . .

> -What class would the protaganist be?

most classes are acceptable i reckon although given the upbringing from a child in (stuck right inside) Candlekeep i think good arguments can be made against allowing barbarians, druids or even rangers - lets look at who else is in the party

> -What characters would eventually be in the party?
i guess the starting set from BG1 plus yoshimo giving you a couple of spare slots for NPCs as you do their quests (or for two extra regular members - let's assume this) - the basic set of characters therefore have no magic and no cleric which you could interpret as meaning that your character should probably be a magic user - here's another clue - only the PC can cast find familiar so the PC should be a mage of some kind (or a bard)

i'm thinking of that cut-scene where the PC embraces power within and blasts away 'creatures mysterous and magical' - clearly a sorcerer then and a sorcerer's stronghold quest is associated with . . . valygar

> -Would the protaganist be involved in a romance, and with whom?
ah yes - looking at the numbers of romance options the PC should obviously be male - we've already got jahiera so you could romance her but romance conflict is good for the plot so we need aerie or viconia - it's a faerun story - gotta have an atypical drow so that's viconia and she's our cleric

> -What would the alignment of the protaganist likely be?
chaotic good - no question in my mind

so:
PC Sorcerer
Minsc
Jahiera
Imoen ->*
Yoshimo
Viconia (romance)
Valygar

* most appropriate NPC dropped once Imoen rescued

and if anybody should be irredemably killed in SoA - ToB NPC

> So, now we get to argue about "as intended".

argue away [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by theGrimm: -What class would the protaganist be?

Ah yes... the classic question since the game's beginning. The top three popular choices were Mage, Cleric, and Bard.

Sorcerer, Monk, Wild Mage, Barbarian, and Kits can mostly be discounted, since those did not exist in BG1.

Mage was a popular choice, due to the presence of Gorion, Elminister and Khelben. The protaganist was surrounded by some of the most famous Mages in the realm, and brought up in Candlekeep, a veritable heaven for aspiring spellcasters. This was even reflected in Imoen's BG2 character. Originally a Thief, she eventually dualled to a Mage, and the point of dual was implied to be in BG1.

Cleric was the other popular choice, because it was missing in the party setup of PC, Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc, and Dynaheir. Also, with this party setup, it is heavily implied that the PC chose the path of good. The good Bhaalspawn powers are all clerical in nature( Cure Light Wounds, Slow Poison, and Draw Upon Holy Might). Clerics were also a strong presence in Candlekeep, and thus the environment was also conducive for clerical studies.

The third one, Bard, was due to the snippets of history garnered from various folks throughout the saga. The PC is well known for being a scoundrel in his/her youth, and carefree. Which befits that of a Roguish Bard. It also allows for the PC to pick up various arcane arts from fooling around in the library. Bards also have fighting skills, which the PC did have in Candlekeep, but nothing as intensive as that of Fighters.

Ranger/Druid is unlikely... giving the nature( or lack of nature) of his environment.

Paladin is also unlikely, since that implies squireship.

Thief is possible, but that overlaps with Imoen, and overlapping is best avoided in stories.

Fighter is unlikely, unless the PC was a really weak-arsed one, given various comments by foes that the PC is a scrawny little brat.

-What characters would eventually be in the party?

Imoen is a given. Jaheira and Minsc too. Yoshimo as well. Throw in the ToB NPC, and that gives us a party of five.

Jaheira is unlikely to be a real love-interest, unless she really did not give a damn about Khalid. So the last slot is probably for completely various NPC quests before finally getting a real love interest.

PC
Imoen/Yoshimo
Jaheira
Minsc
ToB-NPC
Love Interest

-Would the protaganist be involved in a romance, and with whom?

As explained above, Jaheira is unlikely. So it is either Aerie, Viconia, or Anomen. If the PC is female... then it is automatically Anomen. Given that three females were given as choices however, it is far more likely that the game makers conceived the PC to be a male.

So... Aerie or Viconia?

Given the alignment of the party, it is probably Aerie. She even becomes Minsc's witch( Minsc rages when Aerie gets hurt). Aside from the romance dialogues, Viconia only has superficial interactions with the rest of the party.

-What would the alignment of the protaganist likely be?

Most probably good-aligned.

Lawful Good is highly unlikely, given the PC's nature.

Either Neutral Good or Chaotic Good.

[timothy trotter]

some well made points people.

what class should the pc be?
0 I agree that druid and ranger should be out.
0 Sorcerer, although, i belive is an option. probably a better one than a mage.
0 Cleric, possily the best option, as it could fit the plot to have twists, such as the pc being devoted to a good god, lathander for example then finding out that they are the spawn of the evil god of murder. Good movie potential there.
0 Fighter seems plauseable, but not highly probable. It would be easier for them movie maker to have another charicter to play teh fighter.
0 Bard i like. I like dundee's suggestion that a average fighter, that picked up some mage like abilities from lessons in candlekeep.
0 totally agree with the suggestion against thief, there should not be overlaps in professions.

what characters should accompany the pc?
0 there should be conflicts between the party members. so maybe viconia would be good with jahera.
0 There should be a good mix of races, haer dalis would be a good option if the pc was not a bard, because of his race.
0 minsc or jan should be taken for comic value, which one depends on the class of the pc. both are not needed for a movie, but a book, possibly.

should the pc be involved in a romance?
yes.

with who?
viconia,she is attracted to leadership, and there is a possibility to make viconia a 'nicer' person.

alignment?
neutral good

[Iron Greasel]

I think he should be a Fighterish/Spell caster multi- or dual-class. Swahsbuckler -> Mage. Conjurer -> Fighter. Something like that anyway.

[slimjimosu]

Aren't there actual BG books written? I think I remember seeing them in the bookstore but reading they were terrible. If I remember the commentaries I read (here or elsewhere on the net) the books only follow the main quest and leave MUCH to be desired. From what I remember, the general consensus was that most of the fan-generated stories were far superior to those published versions.

BTW - I believe the published versions had the PC as a plain fighter.

[Klorox]

slimjim is right.

a human fighter named abdel

i've always been much more fond of a half-elf (half-heritage) f/m or f/c or f/m/c

the bg1 party is defined by what it was at the beginning of bg2 (khalid, minsc, dynaheir, imoen, and jaheira)

the bg2 party should have the surviving members of that party (why would you drop them?), plus yoshimo and I think Aerie. Aerie is in the first quest you can take, the first new npc. she offers an alternative to the jaheira romance, but I think the jah romance is what was intended based on the amount of work and detail that was put into it.

[timothy trotter]

a tiefling instead maybe? i know you cant choose to be one, but it sorta fits

[True_Moose]

I believe the character should be either a human or a half-elf, just because so many things (in particular the romances) are targeted towards such a character. It sort of seems strange that a fighter would grow in a place like Candlekeep, but that or a fighter/mage, I believe, are the most likely characters. As for the party:

Protagonist
Jaheira
Minsc
Yoshimo => Imoen (the timing's too good to be a coincidence)

These are obvious. The last two are, I believe, Aerie and Anomen. Why those two? Aerie is the first non-Irenicus dungeon NPC, and you're sort of pushed towards that quest. Anomen because as a good party, which is who the game is targeted towards (Gorion as well as the returning NPCs), he's who'll you want out of the Copper Coronet. Nalia is more of a transient NPC IMHO (do her quest, and then end the association.) I think you're intended to romance both Aerie and Jaheira until they split, and then you go with Jaheira.

[Shrietkar]

Originally posted by slimjimosu: Aren't there actual BG books written? I think I remember seeing them in the bookstore but reading they were terrible. If I remember the commentaries I read (here or elsewhere on the net) the books only follow the main quest and leave MUCH to be desired. From what I remember, the general consensus was that most of the fan-generated stories were far superior to those published versions. BTW - I believe the published versions had the PC as a plain fighter.

Sadly yes. BG 1 and BG II written by Philip Athans which are awful. And ToB written by Drew Karpyshan (Sp?) which is also awful. The protagonist in which is the ever-unimaginitive Abdel (See TotSC Mission-pack). I'd advise to give them a read simply because it will make you want to rant about them. see what you think.

P.S. BOOK SPOILERS:
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I don't believe Imoen is featured. Khalid dies and Jaheira and Abdel have their way with one another. Xan dies. Xzar and Montaron die. Not many other characters featured.

[ 06-07-2006, 07:33 PM: Message edited by: Shrietkar ]