Suggested quests, sound off Options

[Sir-Kill]

There are some that would like to see particular quests in Baldur’s Gate, that were not in the original game. So this is where this mod comes into play, we know what we would like to see, but we would like to hear what you would like to see. This is your chance to be heard, what did you think was missing as far as quests go in the original game? The ideas put forth will be taken in under advisement and may be implemented if you have what it takes to make a good quest , or just a good idea that we can build on.

[NiGHTMARE]

Something involving the church of Cyric would be good. It could somehow tie-in with the various priests of Cyric who're already in the game (i.e. Mulahey, Bassilus, and of course Tiax).

I've just been reading the novel Crucible: the Trials of Cyric the Mad and it seems there's a Calimshan spy called Malik, who at the time of BG1 ought to be hanging around near Candlekeep disguised as a begger. This fella went on to become the Chosen of Cyric, after helping to cure Cyric's insanity. Could be useful for either the above quest, or something entirely different.

Also, how about something involving the Shadow Thieves? They're supposed to have a presence in Baldur's Gate (have a look in the Lands of Intrigue sourcebook, which you can download from wizards.com), yet are conspicous by their absence in the game. The quest could involve them trying to either get the existing thieves' guild to join the Shadow Thieves, run them out of the city, or whatever . Or alternatively, work for the regular thieves' guild and kick the Shadow Thieves out of the city .

Another idea is good old fashioned detective work. Solve a murder or a kidnapping, crack a smuggling or distortion ring, etc. The Flaming Fist would be the obvious choice for the quest-givers.

If you're going to include some Underdark locations, it would prove the perfect opportunity to create an explanation for a flaw in BG2. In pnp, Myconids (the mushroomoid creatures) are supposed to be peaceful and neutral, but in BG2 they're distinctly hostile. Perhaps you could introduce some kind of Myconid plague to explain it away .

This post has been edited by NiGHTMARE: Oct 6 2004, 04:17 PM

[Sir-Kill]

intersting, thanks for your input, all very good

[The Warlock Sun of a Witch.]

How about not looking at the sun for a time.
After you get to Gnoll Stronghold (AR5100) & resque Dynaheir Minsc bitch.
she'll tell to she seen the gnoll chieftain comeing out of a cave
to the south. You go the cave and find a secret door.
You can get the underdark areas Form BGII IWD & IWD II.
you well allso need an Store & inn. In the underdark
And you come out of the cave Northeast of Nashkel (AR4400).
Where you meet Hulrik & Arabelle the cow.
that way you dont spend 36hr's going back to Nashkel.
Or you can come out of 1 of about 10 cave's or a secret door
on the Sword Coast.

[Salk]

Hello! I read about exploring the Underdark...If possible, I would then introduce quests involving the Dark Elves, one of my ever favourite race. It was great to meet Drizzt in the game but the interaction was pretty limited. I would love to meet more of them and see what we can get out of it. Baldurs Gate 1 is undoubtedly the best installment of the series. BG2 and Newerwinter Nights cant just compare. Thanks to modding, I think the experience can be furtherly enhanced although Baldurs Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast is *already* the best RPG ever for PC and extremely hard to push off the throne. Cheers!

This post has been edited by Salk: Oct 17 2004, 07:00 AM

[Rabain]

There will be a fairly extensive underdark area in the Questpack...with drow.

we won't be using Drizzt much (if at all, maybe one etra line of dialogue) as he doesn't get along with other drow very well and well we don't want to get caught up in whole super Drizzt deal!

if you have any ideas, lore, aspects of drow culture you would like to see explored please feel free to post here!

[Salk]

Well...I was always fascinated by the Drow society's overturn of the general concept of males being the superior and the stronger of the sexes so I would perhaps implement a very "political" quest which might involve secret and clandestine meeting of drow males conspirators. Perhaps they would assist each other sometimes when needed so that the matron would have some unfortunate accident...Surely their submission would not make all of them lead a completely passive life in the shadows of the females. I know religion is involved too and I would say that the male conspirators would just be a very minor group...But still it could be interesting to get something out of it, involving the party somehow. Perhaps the group of rebels would offer something to the party in exchange of their help ? If you are interested, tell me and I might think of something more precise...Thanks!

[Black Elk]

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Druid Quest

If I wrote a druid quest would you guys include it?

Black Elk is my oldest and favorite D&D character. I first played with him over a decade ago in 2ed and got him up to a lvl 7 druid in Pen and Paper (a big deal for me at the time). When BG came out I played him through the entire saga.

He's a Neutral (Evil) Avenger hell bent on thwarting the progress of civilization. An old fashioned misanthropic villain with a slightly different motivation. I can't tell you how cool it would for me be if he was bad guy that people could encounter in BG1.

I'll post some more info:

Jah-din: Black Elk



"This master of the flame and stone can be found frequenting the backwaters and lesser traveled woodlands of the Sword Coast. A solitary wanderer, Jah-din spends his days seeking out the enemies of the forest and crushing all who set themselves in opposition to the greater balance. Unchallenged in his skill with the scimitar, Jah-din descends upon the infidel with all the fury of the ancient storms. With the Dread Helm of the Northern Elk tribes fixed acrest his brow, this champion of the wild is truly an ominous sight to behold. It is said of Jah-din that no fleet footed hunter, be they man or beast, can match his stride when he assumes his kindred form. It is said also that many a formidable foe has met with an untimely and painful death... caught at unawares by a prick of the Great Stag’s antlers. One would do best to tread softly in the forest where the black elk makes his home"

The basic idea for the character was a kind of split personality. Jah-din was initially a human hunter who, through an unfortunate twist of fate, came to be possessed by a malevolent animal spirit. The Black Elk aspect of his persona actually resides in the cursed helmet he wears (which is adorned with the anlters of ancient and powerfull Dire Elk) and also in his hide armor (taken form the same kill)

As you can imagine, I have a lot more info on this cat. But I just wanted to give you a basic sketch

Race: Human
Age: ?
Class: Avenger lvl 7

Str 13
Dex 10
Con 8 (from the physical stress of having his body inhabited by another spirit)
Int 12
Wis 17
Cha 15 base (14 modified)

Favored weapon: Scimitar
Totem: The Black Stagg

What do you think? Is there any chance I could write in a small part for this guy in the quest pack? Myabe as just another encounter in one of the new wilderness areas?

I can type up some nice dialogue strings and post more detailed character specs in a few days. I was thinking something simple for the plot hook like a burnt out homestead on the edge of the wilderness. For the final encounter I was envisioning a forest clearing with plenty of deer around. Perhaps Black Elk could summon a few bears to lend him a hand. When slain I was hoping he could drop some of the following items.

The Dread Helm of the Black Elk (cursed): Charisma -1, Alignment set to Neutral Evil. Grants the wearer the ability to summon lightning once per day. Usable only by druids and rangers. I'll have to see which helmet model is best

Scimitar +1 (maybe +2)

Hide armor: dark grey


Jah-din's pipe: I've been trying to think of a cool minor ability for this one appropriate to BG1. Maybe someone here can give me an idea. I figured I oculd just use the club image for the in game inventory.


Diety: A Vision of Nature



MORE INFO TO COME

I'm working on a painted character portrait (I also want to attempt one with Black Elk in his full war regelia) as well as some more item drawings. I could tweak them in photoshop if you guys want to include them

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edit*

It might be intersting to have a few quests involving Pirates. Yarrrrrhghg

I always got the impression the Baldur's Gate was an important maritime trading center, but found it soarly lacking in the Docks department.

Maybe a new tavern, "The Scurvy Dog" could help to flesh things out. hehe You could litter it with a healthy mix of smugglers and scoundrels... Perhaps even a brothel in back... "Madame Black's Precious Gems"

This would be an ideal staging point for some of those beloved "seedy underbelly of the city" type quests. Throw in a captain and a ship (both with catchy names of course) and it would also allow for the addition of an extra island or 2 that people could explore.

Just an idea.

This post has been edited by Black Elk: Oct 19 2004, 11:43 PM

[jastey]

An evil druid encounter in the woods... Sure, why not? It seems like a pity, though, if the only encounter would be a fight (it's the "easiest" sort of quest, though ). And there is actually such an encounter in BG1 already (can't remember the name of the guy, he takes the PC as someone who killed his men and attacks.) Maybe you want to think about a quest where the PC has to solve a problem of some sort, Jah-din being the clue (either being the quest requester or the "solution")

"Madame Black's Precious Gems"

We... will... consider this suggestion.


Thanks to all for their input so far!

[Black Elk]

We... will... consider this suggestion

Sorry... Didn't mean to offend. I actually have some pretty funny dialogue strings for a clumsy male dancer named Lance that I used in one of my NWN mods. I always thought Brothels were a good place for villains to congregate. Gambling, Licentous Booze guzzling, the occasional planning of a hit... you know, all that Jazz

About the Druid Thing

I'd love to write a larger quest... I just didn't want to overstep my bounds I have no experience with modding in the infinity engine, though I suppose I could try and learn. Writing dialogue and plot hooks will be the fun part, but I didn't want to drop a multipronged advanture on you guys and then expect someone else to do all my work for me. lol

Just so I can get a feel for what would be reasonable:

How many enounters, NPCs, dialogue strings etc would be manageble? Can I use item retrievals and quests that span more than one Area? Would a sub-plot arch be too hard work in? I've been playing a druid for most of time in D&D and I have a lot of writings sitting on my hard drive that could be adapted to BG. I'd love to work on something that centers on a Druidic Circle if thats ok.

If you guys give the go ahead I can start working on it tonight. But I wanted to get a sense of my parameters and make sure it was OK first

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This post has been edited by Black Elk: Oct 20 2004, 09:02 PM

[Black Elk]

Also,

Dialogue Banters for 9 background NPCs:

Three Wise Sages
The Honest Politician
The Politicians Aid
The Dejected Diplomat
The Unscroupulus Lawyer
The Cynical Intellectual
and the The Witty Street Heckler

I've been studying Philosophy and Classics for the past five years and have amassed quite a collection of assorted maxims and aphorisms. I have adapted many of them to a Faerun setting and used them in some of my NWN modules with great success. I wonder if I might be able to help make a couple sage-type NPCs? Just the random wise guy scattered here and to indulge a talkative PC with a bit of learned conversation. I gathered from the opening sequence of BG that we at least a few Nietzsche fans out there. Right now I have about 300 aphorisms ready to go.

Here are some ideas for characters.
Each NPC is designed to fire off a random comment when spoken to ( about 1-10):


Wise Sage 1:

Condition for being a hero.- If a man wants to become a hero, the snake must first become a dragon: otherwise he is lacking his proper enemy.

When paradoxes are appropriate.- At times, one can win clever people over to a principle merely by presenting it in the form of an outrageous paradox.

Good memory.- Many a man fails to become a thinker for the sole reason that his memory is too good.

In dull society.- No one thanks the witty man for the courtesy of adapting himself to a society in which it is not courteous to display wit.

Traitor's tour de force.- To express to your fellow conspirator the hurtful suspicion that he might be betraying you, and this at the very moment when you are yourself engaged in betraying him, is a tour de force of malice, because it makes the other person aware of himself and forces him to behave very unsuspiciously and openly for a time, giving you, the true traitor, a free hand.

Casting One's Skin.- The snake that cannot cast its skin perishes. So too with those minds which are prevented from changing their views: they cease to be minds

Sensuality often hastens the growth of love so much that the roots remain weak and are easily torn up

The champions of truth.- Truth does not find the fewest champions when it is dangerous to speak it, but when it is dull.

Against an enemy. How good bad music and bad reasons sound when one marches against an enemy!

Destination and paths.- Many people are obstinate about the path once it is taken; few people about the destination.

Wise Sage 2:

The life of the enemy.- Whoever lives for the sake of combating an enemy has an interest in the enemy's staying alive.

The Way to equality.-A few hours of mountain climbing turn a villain and a saint into two rather equal creatures. Exhaustion is the shortest way to equality and fraternity- and liberty is added eventually by sleep.

Punishment.-A strange thing, our punishment! It does not cleanse the criminal, it is no atonement; on the contrary, it pollutes worse than the crime does.

Being deep and appearing deep.-Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.

Those who deny chance.-No victor believes in chance.

The friend's secret.- There will be but few people who, when at a loss for topics of conversation, will not reveal the more secret affairs of their friends.

Confession.- We forget our guilt when we have confessed it to another, but usually the other person does not forget it.

Love and respect.- Love desires; fear avoids. That is why it is impossible, at least in the same time span, to be loved and respected by the same person. For the man who respects another, acknowledges his power; that is, he fears it: his condition is one of awe. But love acknowledges no power, nothing that separates, differentiates, ranks higher or subordinates. Because the state of being loved carries with it no respect, ambitious men secretly or openly balk against it.

In the stream.- Strong currents draw many stones and bushes along with them; strong minds many stupid and muddled heads.

Age and truth.- Young people love what is interesting and odd, no matter how true or false it is. More mature minds love what is interesting and odd about truth. Fully mature intellects, finally, love truth, even when it appears plain and simple, boring to the ordinary person; for they have noticed that truth tends to reveal its highest wisdom in the guise of simplicity.

The day's length.- If a man has a great deal to put into it, a day can have a hundred pockets

Wise Sage 3:

Shadows in the flame.- The flame is not so bright to itself as to those whom it illuminates, so also the wise man.

Never Forget!- The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly

Iron necessity.- Iron necessity is a thing which has been found, in the course of history, to be neither iron nor necessary.

Malice is rare.- Most people are far too much occupied with themselves to be malicious.

Madness is rare in individuals-but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule.

Dreams.-We either have no dreams at all or interesting ones. We should learn to be awake the same way- not at all or in an interesting manner.

One would make a fit little boy stare if one asked him: 'Would you like to become virtuous?'-but he will open his eyes wide if asked: 'Would you like to become stronger than your friends?

Forbidden generosity.-There is not sufficient love and goodness in the world to permit us to give some of it away to imaginary causes.

Jokes. A joke is the epigram on the death of a feeling.

The Honest Politician:

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.

It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.

Committee: A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit to do the unnecessary.

Efficiency is intelligent laziness.

It is time I stepped aside for a less experienced and less able man.

Official Project Stages: (1) Uncritical Acceptance. (2) Wild Enthusiasm. (3) Dejected Disillusionment. (4) Total Confusion. (5) Search for the Guilty. (6) Punishment of the Innocent. (7) Promotion of the Non-participants.

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought

I wish I were what I was when I wanted to be what I am now.

The problem with political jokes is they get elected

The Politicians Aid

Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you just how busy they are?

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect each from the other.

The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of management is that success equals skill

When everyone is against you, it means you are absolutely wrong -- or you are absolutely right.

We will burn that bridge when we come to it.

To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of them absent.

A political campaign starts when a politician stops working and goes about making speeches about all the work he intends to do.

Isn't it strange? The same people who laugh at gypsy fortune-tellers take economists seriously.

The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding bureaucracy.

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising budget is big enough.

The Dejected Diplomat:

Alliance: In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted into each others' pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third

Diplomacy: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on

I'm left on the right issues and right on what's left. Now that's an issue I left right
in front of you to debate.

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never her age.

No man who needs a monument ever ought to have one.

Teamwork is wasting half of one's time explaining to others why they are wrong.

When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.

The Unscrupulous Lawyer

Jury: Twelve people who determine which client has the better lawyer

To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.

When skunks duel, wind direction is everything

The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency.

A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation.

If you cannot convince them, confuse them.

The Cynical Intellectual:

There's a fine line between participation and mockery.

It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.

The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well

Bigot: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain

Egoist: A person of low taste, more interested in themselves than in me

Politeness: The most acceptable hypocrisy.

I either want less corruption, or more chance to participate in it.

My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right.

I am not a vegetarian because I love animals; I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.

The only absolute knowledge worth attaining is that your life is meaningless. -- My life? Well now, that's another story

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate

The Witty Street Heckler:

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four citizens in Baldur's Gate is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.

Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them

Getting caught is the mother of invention

If I can be of any help, you're in worse trouble than I thought.

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?

I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally

Start every day off with a smile and get it over with

Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighborhood

A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.

No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next.

You can't be truly rude until you understand good manners.


Oh yeah I almost forgot my favorite one...
The Depressed Drunk

I always said I wanted to be somebody... Guess I should have been more specific.

hehehe
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So what do you guys think? Not bad eh?

This post has been edited by Black Elk: Oct 20 2004, 09:10 PM

[igi]

I think it's a good decision to stay away from Drizzt.
I would also think it would be a good decision to stay away from Drow - try something that has less exposure, rather than the same old ideas.
I'd also stay away from 1-liner comments.

[Sir-Kill]

good decision to stay away from Drow

Hmmm. thats an Idea

@Black Elk, there is some good stuff there

[Black Elk]

I'd also stay away from 1-liner comments

Really? Those were always one of my favorite aspects of Baldurs Gate I've always felt that having bantering NPCs helps to layer the backdrop. The first time I played through BG I clicked every NPC just to see what they might say lol

Black Elk, there is some good stuff there  

Glad you like them

We could even chop them down into segments of 5. That way you could have a few wisecrackers in each major settlement. Just to give the place a little color
Maybe if you talked to all of them you could the most famous artifact of all... The Bottomless Bottle of Ale

Anyhow just trying to help out. Hope you guys like the banters and maybe include a few

This post has been edited by Black Elk: Oct 20 2004, 09:06 PM

[NiGHTMARE]

Following some discussion in the Lands of Intrigue workroom, I think it would be a good idea to create a few quests which result in you being granted a certain kit. I mean, it isn't exactly feasible that you'd learn the art of assassination or bounty hunting, or be encouraged to worship Talos (and considering the only gods with permanent representatives in Candlekeep are Deneir, Gond, Oghma and Milil, even Lathander and Helm are unlikely) whilst growing up in Candlekeep .

Obviously this would only work in Tutu games, so these quests would need to have alternate rewards for those people playing regular BG1 (perhaps a scroll of Tutu Advertising? )

This post has been edited by NiGHTMARE: Oct 23 2004, 10:36 PM

[Sir-Kill]

Black Elk you have a pm

[Black Elk]

I have msn, but yeah my usage is kind of sporadic though. My girlfriend is always booting me off to chat with her friends

MSN: jdigszarathustra@hotmail.com

Gmail: jasonwclark@gmail.com

Just let me know

edit... Oh wait hehehe

I get ya. Checking it right now. Thanks for the heads up Sir Kill

This post has been edited by Black Elk: Oct 26 2004, 05:16 AM

[Apeman]

Hey I'm new on the boards. Great project I have to say.

I'm currently through another Baldur's gate run (with tutu and bg1NPC) and I have an idea of a good quest but I don't know what areas are open for quests and have space to do so.

My idea takes place on the west side of the firewine bridge. I'm still working on it and I want to make sure there is room.

Let me know

[jastey]

Hi Apeman,
you are at the right place! We are all ears. Do your checking and then let us know your idea! Just keep in mind that the BG1 Questpack won't add any NPC-related quests to the game.

[Apeman]

Well my first idea (I have a bunch of them) concerns the firewine bridge ruins. To be honest it's one of the most frustrating dungeons of them all. All you get is the 1500exp from returning the armor and killing that ogre mage. Especially after all the commoners in Beregost and Nashkal keep talking about the treasures there. Anyway I want to create an evil party of adventurers on the west side of the bridge who will ask our heroes to get them the broken armor in the ruins (I thought about getting rid of the ghosts in the ruins). That would be the evil side of the quest.

The good side I thought about a small museam in Beregost who buys old artifacts (maybe even the idol from the archeological site) and may even restory the armor into a usable.

I have a whole lot of things in side my head: dialogues, equipment actually everything. How far can I go (I wanna go far, yet stay within balance and bg spirt limits).

What I don't have is the knowledge of what can be done code wise and stuff.

Also I heard the BG1NPC project has a quest planned in the firewine ruins concerning Coran. Maybe I'll give domi an e-mail. You still planning to make the mod compatable with the NPC project right?

Last question: with an extra 100 quests will the endgame and several other late-game encounters be more difficult and or raise the official exp cap? It sounds logical.