A Quiet Group

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I'm looking for a group composition that's the opposite of RP in that the characters don't have a whole lot to say and interrupt all the time. Romance is ok I guess, but not random sub-quests that the silly NPCs have..short ones are alright. I can't stand the banter that you have to select answers and it's just pointless.

 

That's the beauty of NPC mods - you can tell Xan(Sorcerer/Mage/Fighter/Mage), for example, that you don't want him to talk by clicking on him and choosing: "May I talk to you?"-"Yes?"-"Shut up.", and later tell him you don't want to do his quest. Silent? Yes.


With Kivan(Archer), it's a bit more difficult, but possible: you only have to offend him a few times(you arrogant elf, Tazok rules, etc), and he'll clamp his mouth shut.



It's possible with some other NPCs, too: for example, Kelsey(Sorcerer) has as much content as Bio NPCs without his romance. But, yes, their quests are mandatory, unfortunately, especially when they are abduction quests(Amber, Fade, etc).

 

I'd say go with an own-made party, with the exception of one character for romance (if you want to romance ofc).

 

Turn the specific sounds off in the soundsetup ingame

 

Play Icewind Dale.

 

Especially with IWD NPC installed!

 

It sounds like the option to build your own party in MP is a really good one for the OP. This will allow you to get rid of your banter AND build a party that you particularly enjoy. As others have mentioned, keeping one slot open for a romance option is probably a good idea and/or to complete some of the additional quests offered by the Bioware NPCs.

I would do this more often myself, except that I particularly enjoy the inter party banter, and greatly miss it when it's not there.

 

This is a challenge - but fun, so I will try it. Goal: find recommendations for the absolute *opposite* of my usual playstyle, where I sniff distainfully if there are not full, frequent, and fun banters, many dialogue options, and the party doesn't sound like the cast of every Sorkin (West Wing, Sports Night) or Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, FireFly/Serenity)...

ok.

Multi-Player parties are great silent optons, and there are definite advantages to creating the multiplayer party (minus one slot) and copying it over to the Single Player side so that you can keep swapping one NPC at a time in for the quests and materials. Or, simply play a multiplayer game and stick to the basic plot. Advantages: you can load up on tactics mods, and your playtime is shorter; you will have much less chance of anything going wrong, because you won't have a big or messy install. Probably patched, perhaps Ding0 QuestPack, perhaps Unfinished Business, and a tactics mod or so.

If you want NPCs with really no content but don't want to roll your own up, there are a ton of "silent npcs" with little or no content (see the PPG modlist, and take a gander at the NPCs here on SP and over at IEGMC/mirrors); some also are available at SpellholdStudios. None that I am aware of at G3 - the design philosophy behind most G3 NPCs has tended to be more interactive storytelling NPCs. Most of the "silent" NPCs are character concepts that add no content at all (though sometimes they come with a kit, and usually they have a joining and parting dialogue).

Unfortunately for your playstyle, creating a true unmodded IWD or IWD2 "silent party" style game in BG2 and still getting more added quest content is more difficult. Most solid NPCs are developed with roleplay in mind, creating a character that interacts with his or her environment and <CHARNAME>. Reluctantly adding in a strong, romanceable PC just to get quests really relies on finding NPC additions that are not fully fleshed out, which also means not much in the way of quests... and may lead to disappointment.


I guess Amber at G3 would be a good candidate, and she could romance PC2, which (slightly, but not much) decreases the Player1 action and still allows all quests. Her advantage is that she was designed as a Multi-Player NPC - most others assume you are going to be playing a single-player game, but Miera and darious set her up fr their own joint multi game, so she has been tested extensively in that environment.

You could drop by SHS's forums and offer to playetste for Cuv, as he has a playtestable extension to the King Strohm/Windspeare sequuence that does not require other party members.

It is definitely not my playstyle and I truly did not enjoy the heavy reload... but it sounds like you just want BG2, with some added quests and stuff, without all the extra banter and talk. If that really is what you want, I suggest taking a gander at BWL and looking at some of the game-rebuilds there. IA adds and changes quests and the game environment. It is as far opposite my playstyle as I can come, so it might be right up your alley. Advantages for your playstyle include a more "puzzle-like" play, where the party is pitted against the AI and needs to figure out specific combinations of attacks, tactics, and defense to win battles; I found it more akin to console play than roleplay (but there will be a bunch of folks along to debate this all out for you).

These kinds of posts remind me that there really are folks who see the game as a more direct D&D swords & spells romp than a set of interactive stories. Gotta remember that when doing design - some folks want less talk, more action