Statting BG 2 NPCs

[Braininthejar]

I hope this is the right spot to do it.

As some of you might remember, I have been converting Baldur's Gate series into a campaign. The party somehow survived part 1 and I'm expecting them to be escaping Irenicus' dungeon on the next session. Now, it is inevitable that they will meet some of the game's original party members and might rope some of them into helping them (the party isn't very numerous)

So, since the game was written for 2nd edition, lots of stuff has changed. I need to decide what classes those NPC's would be, so they are consistent with what they were in the game and also at least marginally useful.

So:

Viconia. was: Priest                                        would be: probably still Priest
Edwin:  was: Conjurer                                   would be: probably still Conjurer. Any suggestions for prestige class?
Minsk:   was Ranger with access to rage       would be: ?
Ian Iansen  was: Thrief/Mage with gadgets  would be: Artificer?
Anomen: was fighter/priest                           would be : warpriest?
Aerie: was Mage/Priest                                  would be: ?
Yoshimo: was thief (bounty hunter)               would be: rogue with a fighter dip?
Korgan: was a dwarf berserker                      would be:?
Valygar: was a ranger (wizard slayer)           would be: ?
Nalia: was thief/mage                                    would be: ?
Keldorn: was paladin (inquisitor)                    would be: ? (3,5 inquisitor is something entirely different)

[Garryl]

Edwin is the iconic Red Wizard, so Conjurer/Red Wizard.

Minsc is probably a Barbarian, possibly going into Runescarred Berserker if the spellcasting part of Rangerdom is important to you (but it really is a minor thing). His background is a Rashemi berserker, and the were basically converted whole hog to Barbarians in 3E Forgotten Realms, to my knowledge.

I agree, Jan Jansen is definitely an Artificer. It fits both his abilities and his personality.

Aerie would be a Wizard/Cleric/Mystic Theurge.

Korgan is a Barbarian through and through.

For Valygar, I'd consider making him a Swordsage. It seems in keeping with what the Stalker kit could do, especially the Shadow Hand maneuvers.

Nalia could just be a Wizard with a 1 level dip in Rogue for the first level. Personally, I think Sorcerer fits her personality better than Wizard, though.

If you like homebrew, I wrote this Witch Slayer Paladin variant with the Inquisitor kit in mind. It should fit Keldorn quite well.

[Braininthejar]

Thank you. I was beginning to fear nobody would answer (does noone play classics these days?

Any alternative prestige class for Minsk? Becoming a runescarred berserker requires training he is unlikely to get in the Sword Coast.  And no, I don't need him to be a caster - stat-wise his hamster really has more wisdom than him 

[Rebel7284]

Viconia. was: Priest                                        would be: Well cleric is a good class, the +2LA for drow hurts though... try half-drow?
Edwin:  was: Conjurer                                   would be: Red Wizard....
Minsk:   was Ranger with access to rage       would be: Champion Of Gwynharwyf or just Barbarian 1/Ranger X or alternatively, Frenzied Berserker (his rage can't be controlled)
Ian Iansen  was: Thrief/Mage with gadgets  would be: Artificer
Anomen: was fighter/priest                           would be : Ordained Champion maybe with Prestige Paladin dip if he becomes good.
Aerie: was Mage/Priest                                  would be: Cleric/Mage/Mystic Theurge IS doable, but pretty weak in 3.5.  Early entry may be closer to what 2nd ed was like.
Yoshimo: was thief (bounty hunter)               would be: Plenty of options including levels in swashbuckler/rogue/trapsmith/thug fighter/etc etc.
Korgan: was a dwarf berserker                      would be: Barbarian, maybe with a fighter dip for more feats.  Warblade works too. 
Valygar: was a ranger (wizard slayer)           would be: Take the mage slayer line of beats on a two weapon fighting character. Perhaps ranger.
Nalia: was thief/mage                                    would be: Rogue 1/Wizard X reflects her abilities best.
Keldorn: was paladin (inquisitor)                    would be: Well strait paladin or crusader still works.  Perhaps Divine Crusader for access to dispel magic from a domain?

[Garryl]

Btw, Valygar was a Stalker, not a Wizard Slayer (which is a Fighter kit). Also, Jan Jansen's name is spelled with a pair of 'J's, not 'I's.

Any thoughts on the rest of the gang? I notice you left out Imoen and Jaheira from the NPCs you find in Irenicus's dungeon. Mazzy and Haer'Dalis are also missing from your list.

[Braininthejar]

I didn't put Jaheira and Imoen, bacause they had already appeared.

I went for Fighter 1 / Druid X for Jaheira and Rogue / Sorcerer / Unseen Seer for Imoen (weaker than a wizard version, but I figured a sorcerer fits her personality better)

I completely forgot about Haer'Dalis

[Tonymitsu]

Well there's two ways to approach this:  mechanically or thematically

Yoshimo specialized in setting traps and snares as a theif with the Bounty Hunter kit.  Trapsmith is probably the closest you are going to be able to find, even though arcane casting on him makes no sense.

For Nalia Rogue 1 or 2 into Wizard X is your best bet.  Mechanically, she starts to become a terrible thief almost immediately, but ends up being one of the best arcane casters in the game, second only to Edwin.

Don't forget that Imoen, like the player character was a Bhaalspawn, and both of them gained a number of unique SLA's depending on their alignment (Vampiric Touch, Magic Circle, Curse, Cause Fear, and the like... man I can't remember any of the good-aligned ones  ).  And the PC had the ability to turn into the Slayer.  They never really describe what it looks like in the novels (they say "human-sized but bestial"), but they use the model for a demon (a miniature Balor I think) in the acutal game.

Haer'dalis was a tiefling, and a Blade (class kit for a bard).  He gains potent combat abilities in offensive spin and defensive spin but gives up some of his spellcasting and the effectiveness of his his bard song.  It's probably easiest to just stat him as a dervish, but bard could also be made to work with snowflake wardance, slipper of battledancing and the like.
HOWEVER... personality-wise he was a Doomguard, that is, a person who believes that the descent of all existence into entropic annihilation is not only inevitable, but a good thing.  It's possible that there is a presitge class for that faction printed in some obscure Planescape book that might fit him better than bard or dervish.

Do you already have plans for the antagonists too? (Irenicus, Bodhi, Aran Linvail, Saemon Havarian, etc)

[WarlockLord]

Minsc should be a Frenzied Berserker, to represent his berserk having him flip out and murder your PCs.

[Bananaphone]

For Keldorn, to keep it close to the Inquisitor class, True Seeing should be something to aim for, either as a castable spell, SLA, or continuous.   
I can't tell you the number of times Keldorn with that spell (as well as his Carsomyr  ) has saved my butt.  His Dispel Magic too.

Soulguard-1 (FCII) has an ability to grant limited duration True Seeing

(click to show/hide)

Pierce Deception (Sp): You gain the ability to channel
your spell power to pierce all deceptions. For a number of
times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum
one), as a standard action, you can sacrifice a prepared spell
or spell slot to use true seeing, as the spell (no material component
needed). This effect lasts for a number of rounds
equal to the level of the spell sacrificed, and you can target
only yourself with this spell-like ability. The caster level
equals your caster level.

Eye of Horus-Re (PgtF) grants continuous True Seeing as a capstone ability.  Would need reflavoring to fit a Paladin of Torm though.
Platinum Knight 10 (Drc) SLA True Seeing 1/day, hour long duration.

What about adorable little Mazzy?  Or deadbeat Druid dad, Cernd?
Mazzy Fentan would be a Paladin in 3.5, since 2nd Ed. did not allow non-humans to become Paladins.
Is this restricted to BG2 characters?  Just asking since Sarevok is in Throne of Bhaal.
Are you going to stat up any of the non-playable npc's?  Bodhi, Kangaxxx, Neb (one evil SOB), Saemon Havarian, Tiax (he rules all!), Noober?   

[Braininthejar]

They never really describe what it looks like in the novels (they say "human-sized but bestial

I remember a black, hunched body with tiny extra arms... I think his in-game look is based off a dreagloth. But since our Bhaalspawn is a druid, she is unlikely to want it or need it. (after we finished part 1 and showed her the final animation as her last "dream", she instantly figured out its meaning and asked for jungle's rapture for her next level up - so she can get rid of any other crazy siblings without "feeding Bhaal". )

It's possible that there is a presitge class for that faction printed in some obscure Planescape book that might fit him better than bard or dervish.

there is one, but it is considered bad. And since his attitude to Doomguard philosophy seems to be "We're all going to die, so let's make it epic", a bard fits quite well personality-wise.

Are you going to stat up any of the non-playable npc's?  Bodhi, Kangaxxx, Neb (one evil SOB), Saemon Havarian, Tiax (he rules all!), Noober?

Well, as much as they come up in the actual campaign. So, I will need Tiax, Seamon and Bohdi. (Kagnaxx is unlikely to appear - his location in the game was completely out of the blue and besides... he is the kind of obvious schmuck bait that only the dumbest players would fall for in a pen and paper game. - As for Neb, he didn't make it to part 2. He escaped from prison in part 1 and managed to get aboard a ship, but on his way to Anthakla the ship was caught in a storm and Neb was swept off the deck along with several sailors. ( I don't quite remember what our druid had said to the high priestess of Umberlee to achieve that)

Is this restricted to BG2 characters?  Just asking since Sarevok is in Throne of Bhaal.

Sarevok was a crusader 12 / warblade 4 when he appeared as a boss - managable as long as he was handled properly, but capable of ripping the party to pieces if they acted stupidly (they didn't)

As for Irenicus, I have added all the stuff he needs to be able to do and I think only an epic incantatrix can get all the needed feats.

Soulguard-1 (FCII)

Jackpot. Soulguard it is 

Minsc should be a Frenzied Berserker, to represent his berserk having him flip out and murder your PCs.

I'm considering that. But that would probably get him killed quickly. Again, druid team leader. The defining trait of her character is how she applies druid philosophy to everything ( robbers and killers are ok in the city, because they are an apex predator of their environment. Crazy killers are not, because "rabid animals need to be put down".)

[Demelain]

If I recall correctly, there is an ACF in one of the Dragon Magazines which allows Rangers to give up their combat specialty and gain Rage as a Barbarian. And, really, combat specialties are just bonus feats - no big loss, he can take them normally.

[Braininthejar]

Looks like I need an unexpected NPC. The party managed to subdue the crazy Ellesime clone and drag her out of the dungeon.

Anyone knows what I could do with her? (I think there was a mod for making her recruitable )

[Bananaphone]

Looks like I need an unexpected NPC. The party managed to subdue the crazy Ellesime clone and drag her out of the dungeon.

Anyone knows what I could do with her? (I think there was a mod for making her recruitable )

I'm not sure what her powers were, but assuming she is as powerful as the real Ellesime...
perhaps she would be an Arcane Hierophant from Races of the Wild?  Combining nature(druid) with the arcane(wizard) might fit her.

Assuming you would like advice on her besides stats.  She is a clone, so she may have the compulsion to seek out and exterminate the real Ellesime, unless she is able to overcome said compulsion.

[Braininthejar]

She doesn't seem to - she is well aware of being a clone - her craziness comes from being repeatably killed for not being Ellesime (this also allows me to nerf her as much as I need to prevent imbalance - she has memory gaps, including not remembering anything that would spoil the plot)

[Braininthejar]

Valygar is supposed to be a ranger, but he is an atheist, so by Toril rules, no spells for him. There is a variant that gives extra feats in return for spellcasting, but perhaps there is some arcane spellcasting rangr variant. Do you know of any?

[StreamOfTheSky]

Aerie is clearly a Wiz/Cleric/MT.  It's not "weak", it's weaker than full caster, those are two entirely different thresholds.

Minsc: I agree w/ dip in Barb, Ranger, into Frenzied Berserker.  I think Boo should be a familiar gained from Urban Companion variant (cityscape web enhancement), not an animal companion.  I suppose FB is not required if it makes you uneasy.

Valygar: Ranger type build, as you said, remember the variant for Arcanists as a favored enemy.

Haer'Dalis: Like Tony said, some sort of Dervish build, or a Bard w/ all that stuff (Snowflake Wardance, the battle slippers, harmonizing crystal echoblade, Song of the Heart...).  Maybe insead of Dervish you could make him a Bard w/ a dip in Binder, just enough to get Paimon (iirc, 2 levels if you take Improved Binding feat) to get the dervish-y type stuff.

And yeah, Jan is an artificer.

[Braininthejar]

I was trying to write down Valygar today, but he is supposed to be using a katana, while the only non-caster ranger version I could find pushes him firmly towards twf.

Assuming that I use him with a single weapon and he is level 11 by the time they meet him, I ended with something like this:

Ranger: arcane hunter, champion of the wild (at least the blind-fight should be of some use)
*Improved initiative
*Mage slayer
*Power attack
*Favoured Power attack
*Improved Bull Rush (for pushing casters to the walls, so they can't render mage-slayer moot just by stepping away.)
Since he doesn't have a companion of any kind in the game, I might exchange it for another feat

Surely it can be done better... (should I make him an Occult slayer?)

[Braininthejar]

I did make him an occult slayer - In the end I only had one compulsory feat I had to assign, and since I wanted him with a single katana, I assigned that one to archery.

Mazzy wasn't as hard to stat as I had feared - just one feat left to assign and I have all the archery feats I need: would improved initiative or extra smite work better? (she has ranged smite)


I was thinking of how to stat the Shade Lord, but in the end I decided to homebrew him. He seems to be some kind of unique monster anyway.

I will be making him a greater shadow advanced to 13 HD,  with malevolence and an ability to cast as a sorcerer of his level, as long as he is possessing a body (once Merelle's body is destroyed, he will try to possess another, starting with any NPCs accompanying the party - or just go berserk if it turns out the players have done their homework and everybody is protected from evil.

As in the game, he will be accompanied by Mazzy's undead ex-teammate and shadows that keep spawning until someone smashes the altar.

[Braininthejar]

Ok, an actual build this time, trying to stat Aerie

I was thinking along these lines:

Cloistered cleric 3, wizard (elven generalist) 3, mystic theurge 10, then either loremaster or divine oracle

Domains: knowledge, plant, travel
one flaw ( spell failure for armour on divine spells)
familiar traded for extra feat.

1 Skill focus knowledge (religion) (meets the requirements of either prc, plus they might need it since they dumped Viconia)
1 Extend spell
1 whatever (to be retrained to easy metamagic - quicken)
3 Craft wonderous item
6 Practiced spellcaster (divine)
9 Alternative source spell
12 Quicken spell
15 Divine metamagic: quicken
18 Practiced spellcaster (arcane)


Thoughts?

[Empirate]

For Valygar, how about the Sword of the Arcane Order feat, to prepare some Wizard spells in your Rangers slots?

Cernd I can see as a Druid/Master of Many Forms - or just go with some of the Wildshape feats (Aberration Wildshape, Exalted Wildshape), and retool/reflavor as needed.

Mazzy - can finally be a real Paladin now! Alternately, Crusader. Ranged doesn't work too well on either chassis, though.

Aerie - standard fare Mystic Theurge without early entry fits the bill well. She was never too powerful in the game, just came with a loooot of spell slots. That's a MT. Since she had no special abilities that didn't come from the bland base classes, no Cloistered Cleric, no Loremaster etc., IMO.

Viconia isn't actually hampered too much by the LA, since she's an NPC... just ignore LA in this case, and remember the annoying side effects of spell resistance wrt buffs and heals etc. These were present in the game, to a certain degree. Found that out the hard way when I wanted to save her shapely butt with a Resilient Sphere once...