NPC thief skill points not well spent

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There's two parts to the topic of this thread. The first (and probably most popular ) is ragging on how they screwed up the NPC thief skills distribution. The second is a question: Is there any mod out there that redistributes the points in a way that makes more sense for each of the NPCs?

 

Playing a multiclass PC, I notice Imoen is level 2 and her stealth and find traps are up to 40%. Is she 'programmed' to increase those skills and if so, what do the other NPC thieves spend their points in? Monty has 50% in stealth, which I can understand what with him being a sneaky, evil backstabber.

I've learned to get to whoever I want as my main thief early, so I can develop the skills I want. Usually Imoen or Monty, depending on my alignment but sometimes I can make a run for Safana.

 

Yeah, multi-class does some weird things to the levels of NPCs you meet. What you're getting then is IMOEN2.cre, a level 2 variant of Imoen (without the Wand ). All NPCs put skill points into an even number of skills; IOW, either just two or all four.

Alora puts hers into Pick Pockets and Open Locks, Coran puts his into Open Locks and Stealth, Imoen puts her into Detect Traps and Stealth, Montaron puts his into Pick Pockets and Stealth, Safana puts hers into Open Locks and Detect Traps, and Skie & Tiax put theirs evenly into all four.

What I posit is that some should put points into three, or just a different two. Alora is the only one who I would say should put theirs in evenly, due to her profession as a pickpocket and burglar and her high start with a combo of level, race, and Dex. Coran, on the other hand, should be dumping all of his points into OL and DT due to his profession as an adventurer. The same applies to Safana, though as a pure-class thief she ought to have a bit in stealth for sneaking away when the going gets too tough.

Imoen should have PP and OL; she's not likely to run across any traps in sheltered Candlekeep, and she's too "bouncy" for stealth. Tiax also should be upping his OL and DT exclusively by method of elimination; picking pockets and sneaking about are unworthy of a future god. Skie should be sticking everything into OL and stealth too, since her skills are primarily used for sneaking out.

The only one I actually agree with is Monty. Picking pockets and stealth (for backstabs) are the perfect skills for an evil thug like him.

 

Alright, this has bugged me just long enough, so I'm making a (very small) mod. I'll be doing it in accordance to the third and fourth paragraphs in my previous post unless I hear any other suggestions in the next week.

 

Hi Felinoid,
I am always taking Imoen at the start and do the nashkel mines right after nashkel 1 . Getting Algeron's Cloak has never been an 'issue' either with her. In Bergerost she has opened all the doors that were needed to advance through the town the first time (lawful good party, haven't 'messed' with 'evil' yet). So,
Question: What specifically do you feel like she can't do as she is right now in actual gameplay?

On a Side note, I've read, that you can get her at higher levels and then w/o the MM - how do you do that since she joins you right in the beginning???

 

Be a multiclass PC. Immy will be level 2 when she joins you outside Candlekeep.

 

The mod is called Gatekeeper.

 

Thanks Kuemper -
guess I should have read your first reply more thorough

 

It might also work out if you imported your character... how does Immy start out if you're 6th level when Chapter 1 starts?

 

@MrNexx:
There are four versions of Imoen (IMOEN1, IMOEN2, IMOEN4, & IMOEN6), and the 6th level version has:
PP: 25%
OL: 25%
DT: 80%
MS: 80%

@C-F:
What she can do is precisely the problem. It just doesn't make sense. And note that even with the mod I'm making, if you grab someone early there won't be a whole lot of difference as you start distributing the points yourself, so Imoen won't be effected greatly. (Though I wouldn't use the new Imoen as a trap-detector if I were you. )

 

Well, she might have just been sneeking to the 'catacombs' while growing up ( I always went and did what I wasn't supposed to while growing up )and 'learned' a thing or two - btw, thats where she found the MM-wand too .

 

@C-F:
Nope. If you remember, the only door to the catacombs is shut by a spell too powerful to overcome, even by Chapter 6. Besides, any one of those traps would have cut her to pieces if she tried; they're not exactly newbie material. And I suspect that the MM wand was pickpocketed off of that stuffy meany Ulraunt.