|
|
| # ? Dec 5, 2024 13:51 |
|
|
Fan Art:  Victims of The Beast as of chapter 114, by System Metternich  GIF by By popular demand      By Midnight Voyager    By Vilkacis  By Ramc  Sandrah Devouring Her Prey by Caros and Midnight Voyager  By Explopyro  By Comrade Koba Vichan fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Mar 5, 2022 |
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 19:03
|
|
|
Chapter I - Buzzurk! Gorschabarmarzabuldarvel!quote:Nestled atop the cliffs that rise from the Sword Coast, the citadel of Candlekeep houses the finest and most comprehensive collection of writings on the face of Faerûn. It is an imposing fortress, kept in strict isolation from the intrigues that occasionally plague the rest of the Forgotten Realms. It is secluded, highly regimented, and it is home.  We begin our tale in front of Winthrop's inn in Candlekeep. Let me introduce our main character for the next few minutes:  Young Vichan (or CHARNAME if you prefer) is eager to make his mark on the outside world with his extraordinary acrobatic skills, impressive swordfighting abilities and dazzling charm and good looks. Nobody is going to upstage this budding protagonist, let me tell you! From my experience most mods don't really add all that much to Candlekeep so let's just enter the inn to get some gear so we ca-   ...Oh. It seems we've already stumbled on our first NPC mod right out of the gate. While the dwarf runs off to sulk in the corner we approach Winthrop, the jovial innkeeper.  A mysterious gift, eh? Let's see what it is!  Interesting...  ...Though a bit too light on the information part. The unofficial guide mentions that the sword “has limited enchantments and is usable by any class.“ It'll probably be a while before we're able to identify the thing so let's just equip it and see what we're working with here.   drat, those 'limited enhancements' are quite something. A -1 AC bonus, a -3 for Thac0 and 1d10 + 2 damage? Not bad considering we haven't even left Candlekeep yet. It also protects us from fire, I guess the flames on the sword cancel out other fires.  Looks pretty snazzy as well. I can't wait to meet this 'Sanna' so I can thank her in person! First we've got to deal with the elephant in the room, though. Said elephant being the eccentric dwarf still hanging around the inn.  (In screenshots I will be highlighting my chosen dialogue options)  And with that we get our first quest.  Breagar doesn't seem to appreciate our helpfulness. While all this is going on a noblewoman is wandering around the inn, let's see what she has to say for herself.    Making a mental note to visit the infirmary I decide to circle around to do the usual Candlekeep quests, most of which seems to be unchanged from the original. I do run in to the errand boy, however.   Rather stereotypical, don't you think?  Ah, clearing rats out of the cellar. The way all great adventures start!  Funny, I don't remember him being here. Let's oblige him.  He's as much of a pushover as the other Candlekeep assassins. The studded leather armor on his corpse is appreciated though. I wonder which mod he's connected to?  Boy, is he going to be in for a surprise when he checks the basement!  Inside the infirmary we meet Sir Trun, Linda's husband-to-be.    Shortly after leaving the infirmary Linda approaches us.  What a nice moment.  We also get a reputation point for playing psychiatrist. We finish off the miscellaneous quests before heading through the gardens back to the inn. On our way Imoen greets us. Try to guess where the original dialogue ends and the mod dialogue begins.   Hard to tell, right?  Sandrah mod allows you to pick Imoen's class here. Thief, mage or mage/thief. We'll go with the middle option because 1. I'm already playing as a swashbuckler. 2. We're probably going to go through NPCs like nobody's business and having a steady mage on hand makes sense. 3. Mage Imoen apparently has extra content with Sandrah. I also don't want to diminish Sandrah's effort in teaching Imoen magic. Anyway, onward to th-   Could this be this Sanna girl I've heard so much about? Before I can thank her for her gift she storms off and Gorion doesn't seem to have anything to say about what just happened. Oh well. In the gardens we meet Finch.  (A lot of dialogue options here, I'll be sure to get better screenshots of them in future)  I love Finch. One of the better NPC mods for Baldur's Gate 1. She's supposed to have crossmod content with Sandrah so we'll definitely be seeing her again. Now all that's left is to deliver the book!   We'll definitely look him up should we ever pass by Beregost. After completing this quest I gained a level, I don't think I've ever had this happen to me this quickly before. All these mods are really paying off!  Enough long-winded silliness though, it's finally time to leave this boring place. Vichan fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Nov 7, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 19:12
|
|
|
I'm excited to see how wild this trainwreck gets! I was a member of the Baldur's Gate modding community, and a staff member on one of the largest modding sites, for years. Besides all the modding drama and horror stories I witnessed, I even made two mod NPCs who may turn up in this LP (without my permission for Sandrah's modder to do crossmod with them, for the record), one of whom I'm still rather proud of, and one not so much. This Sandrah Saga, though, happened after I parted ways with that community so this is going to be all-new to me. I'm familiar with the likes of Chloe, Saerileth, and the Imoen Romance, so I'm quite interested to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes on this one.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 19:19
|
|
|
Oh dear. Good thing they let you know right away that she is beautiful. Judging by the average fan romance, this is going to be... a thing. Definitely interested in seeing the trainwreck develop.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 20:07
|
|
|
Oh my god..it's even more atrocious than some of the screens you posted in the other thread. Can't wait to see this progress.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 20:12
|
|
|
Getting in on the ground floor!  I'm looking forward to this glorious trainwreck. May you manage to maintain at least a tenuous grip on your sanity.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 20:20
|
|
|
Oh. Oh dear. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 20:30
|
|
|
Ground floor of an amazing thread. I got into CRPGs somewhat after Baldur's Gate was a thing, so it'll be interesting to see what the ~community~ made of it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 21:14
|
|
|
Something is bothering me about nuImoen I can't quite articulate - mostly the portrait.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 21:23
|
|
|
Here we go, this is going to be a wonderful trip.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 21:24
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 22:32
|
|
|
So is the mod setting up Sandrah to be the understudy of a god but a cooler and more badass one than you-know or some lore legend like Elminster? Could see that overheard conversation being indicative of either.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 22:33
|
|
|
I've never heard of the Sandrah Saga before this thread (though admittedly I've never really poked my nose into mod NPCs) so I'm very, uh, curious. I think my first question is: Why? Like, this is easily one of the most ambitious and comprehensive efforts I've ever seen for an NPC mod. How did that wind up paired with an NPC concept so... ill-conceived?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 22:54
|
|
|
This looks like a loving trainwreck. Tell me about the Finch mod though, is it a similar epic spanning mod, or is it limited to bg1?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 22:59
|
|
|
Ground floor, first page, etc. I'm hyped to see Sandrah in all her terribad glory.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:04
|
|
|
JohnKilltrane posted:I think my first question is: Why? Like, this is easily one of the most ambitious and comprehensive efforts I've ever seen for an NPC mod. How did that wind up paired with an NPC concept so... ill-conceived? I can't speak to Sandrah specifically, she was made after I parted ways with the Baldur's Gate modding community, but making mods for the Infinity Engine is a huge amount of work. It's not exactly a mod-friendly engine. You don't make a mod for these games without being very passionate about what you're doing and, well, what one person is passionate about can seem rather off to others. It's like any artistic community, really. If I had to guess, Sandrah's modder really, truly loves her and wants to share their artistic vision with the world. And sad to say, but it was my experience with the community that many of the most technically brilliant and talented modders were also the most broken human beings. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:07
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:So is the mod setting up Sandrah to be the understudy of a god but a cooler and more badass one than you-know or some lore legend like Elminster? Could see that overheard conversation being indicative of either. Judging by the things posted in the IE thread it's possible that you will figure out what her deal is from the mod's deft and subtle hints. It's worse than you think, and far as I can tell the mod will beat you about the face with her absurd Mary Sue backstory at every opportunity. Are the portrait changes to Imoen and Finch part of the Sandrah mod?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:10
|
|
|
tithin posted:This looks like a loving trainwreck. quote:This mod includes: BG1 NPC mods were few and far between in the early days, especially compared to its sequel. Finch stood out to me as one of the few that was actually worthwhile, though my knowledge of BG1 NPC mods is somewhat limited. She does not have content for BG2. From looking at the unofficial guide she has quite a bit of content with Sandrah, including a quest. Xerophyte posted:Judging by the things posted in the IE thread it's possible that you will figure out what her deal is from the mod's deft and subtle hints. It's worse than you think, and far as I can tell the mod will beat you about the face with her absurd Mary Sue backstory at every opportunity. I have no idea, the only portrait mod I knowingly installed was an alternate portrait for Sandrah since I didn't really care for the original:  It just doesn't capture how truly amazing she is, you know? Cythereal posted:If I had to guess, Sandrah's modder really, truly loves her and wants to share their artistic vision with the world. We're probably going to say some nasty things about her project further along the road but I want to go on the record that I truly admire the tremendous amount of work she put in to make this mod. It does make it all the more baffling that her VO work is one of the laziest I've ever encountered, though not for the reason you might think. More on that later on. Vichan fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Jan 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:11
|
|
|
I'm hyped as hell for this trainwreck.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:20
|
|
|
Was Sandrah around for the OG games, or is this an enhanced edition only thing
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:37
|
|
|
If you're going to use a modern name instead of a fantasy one, why not just go with Sandra instead of adding an extra h?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2021 23:40
|
|
|
Sindai posted:If you're going to use a modern name instead of a fantasy one, why not just go with Sandra instead of adding an extra h? Part of her backstory is inheriting Jon Irenicus’ missing H.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 00:14
|
|
|
Here we go. I'm excited for this.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 01:38
|
|
|
what the hell is that imoen portrait
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 05:54
|
|
|
Seyser Koze posted:what the hell is that imoen portrait I hear Britney Spears did the voice work.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 06:35
|
|
|
Nissin Cup Nudist posted:Was Sandrah around for the OG games, or is this an enhanced edition only thing I think it's been around for about 8 years or so? Which is to say OG games.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 06:48
|
|
|
Getting in on the ground floor of this trainwreck.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 09:29
|
|
|
Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I've been avoiding Sandrah Saga and its developer for a variety or reasons for a while but I guess i'll just keep an eye on what its actually like here.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 10:34
|
|
|
My eyes glaze over as an instinctual defensive reaction to the concept, but I'm bloody well still going to try and watch this glorious trainwreck to its conclusion
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 11:32
|
|
|
Oh boy, hitting the ground running with my "favorite" BG Dialogue Mod sin: character assassinating poor Imoen. I swear, there does not seem to be a single mod author who knows how to write Imoen in a non-terrible manner and it's frustrating as hell.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 11:52
|
|
|
An LP of my favourite game ever, with an obnoxious Mary Sue NPC megamod? This sounds amazing, really looking forward to seeing where this goes.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 12:16
|
|
|
Private Speech posted:I think it's been around for about 8 years or so? Which is to say OG games. Nah, the EE games came out almost ten years ago. I was very active in the Baldur's Gate modding community until that time, and Sandrah came after I parted ways. However... I do recognize this portrait. Either Sandrah's modder used an existing portrait that was around (plausible), or they'd just started work on Sandrah at that time.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 13:33
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:I do recognize this portrait. Either Sandrah's modder used an existing portrait that was around (plausible), or they'd just started work on Sandrah at that time. I thought the exact same thing, it might be a NWN portrait. EDIT:  I knew it. Vichan fucked around with this message at 13:40 on Jan 19, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 13:37
|
|
|
Ah, the terrible mod shoe is on the other foot now!
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 14:13
|
|
|
Part II - *sadly* Me too.  Our escape from Candlekeep seems to have hit a snag.  Oh dear...   Crap.  10 year old me got teary-eyed at this bit.  *record scratch* Yep, that's me. You're probably asking yourself how I g-  God drat it, Imoen! Quit stealing my thunder!  Because Imoen was added to the game in the 11th hour of development this is the last time she speaks during the vanilla experience, at least in BG1. But because we're punishing ourselves with mods she'll have a *lot* more to say. Most of this content will be from both the Sandrah mod and the BG1NPC project which adds BG2-style banters and even romances with some characters. The BG1NPC additions range from okay to obnoxious, going by her Sandrah-related dialogue in the previous chapter I'm beginning to fear that her Sandrah mod content is much, much worse. What I'm saying is that it's all downhill from here, folks. Strap in.  You've probably already noticed but Imoen is sporting a new portrait. It's a bit too grainy but I actually quite like it. I've always had the sneaking suspicion that Imoen's vanilla BG1 portrait was supposed to be the default female CHARNAME portrait. Since her lore skill is higher than mine I let her identify my mysterious gift for me.  Anyway, time to go back to the scene of the ambush to see if there's anything we can do for Gorion, when we arrive however...  SANNA!   Sandrah's not only extraordinarily beautiful as well but also pretty loaded. Before I could even enter the menu Imoen interjects.  A Xvart village? As if such a thing actually exists! Silly Imoen... Speaking of Gorion, let's strip his remains and have a eulogy.    Gorion's corpse actually disappears after this. A nice touch. Gorion had a dagger on him, when we examine it further:  Interesting, I wonder who this 'A' person is. Better keep it close. Anyway, let's examine Sandrah more closely. Biography first:  What the hell, Roxanne, you aren't going to go with the 'When asked about her past' format?  Anyway, the identity of Sandrah's father is something of a mystery. Each time you pick up a clue you gain a 'sanpoint' and if you get enough you can finally ask her about it and learn the truth once and for all. The game will drop some subtle hints as to her father's identity, see if you can spot them all! On to stats:  Yes, you read that right. Sandrah has a whopping 60 lore which means she can easily identify early BG2 items. She also has a book in her inventory that can sometimes boost her lore skill up to 120. Speaking of her inventory:  That's quite a bit of unique items. Let's take a closer look:     Oh, our first clue! I almost missed it. Time to exit the inventory and go check on Gori-  poo poo, to arms!  I spit my cashews all over my keyboard the first time this happened to me. Having a wolf companion show up was the last thing I expected. I'm still at a loss for words.  We also get this whistle:  Before setting off on our adventure proper I wanted to circle back to Candlekeep to see if anything's changed, before I could talk to the gatekeeper, however...  Wait, what just happened?  What the hell....? Let's rewind a bit.   Before you ask: She pulls the exact same poo poo if you're rude to her at the end there. Let's see if the keeper of the portal will let us in.  Hey! No fair!  Say what you want about Imoen, at least she's loyal!  Well, it seems like there's nothing left to do but press onward!   There's a new world map, by the way. From the dales to Calimshan and from Waterdeep to Thay. It's *huge* and would take dozens of screenshots to show in its entirety. We barely take one step before  ...Could we be so lucky? Not two minutes later we run into Kollsed, a merchant on the road.  It really can't be overstated how much Imoen babbles. Xzar and Montaron are met shortly afterwards.  Heeding the sage advice of my companions I tell them to hit the curb, I do accept their potion however. Almost done with this map, let's take the diamond that's hidden in a nearby tree and get the h-  Oh, for heaven's sa-  ...We're never going to get through it all, are we? Vichan fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Nov 7, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 16:04
|
|
|
A bit disappointed at my lack of progress here but I wanted you all to suffer along with me for this one. The next post should take us all the way to the Friendly Arm Inn.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 16:10
|
|
|
I don't think any of the writers involved with these mods would know subtlety if it hit them with a brick.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 16:14
|
|
|
I cannot stress enough how much modders love Imoen. At the time I left the modding community there were three separate mod NPCs who romance her, a mod for the PC to romance Imoen, and I'm sure there's more now. That 'Sandra's hammer can assimilate abilities from slain enemies' seems interesting to me. In a 'oh God how broken is this going to get?" way.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 16:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? Dec 5, 2024 13:51 |
|
|
I'm sorry, I can't get past the description of Sandrah's armour. That just sets the tone for this entire shitshow and I can't stop laughing. Also the hilarious tone whiplash of 'you have a pet wolf! Except gently caress you it likes Sandrah better despite you having raised it for four years and she literally only just appearing'.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2021 16:24
|
|