NPCs experiment. Do you like it?

AS: corrected ranger's bug, feel free to dowload.
Hi, since I've not so much time left, I tried to make some interesting work on NPCs. Basically, I re-made many of them, fixing errors here and there and creating something new.

The most frequent errors were that:
1 - looking at 1st level NPCs, it was clear that programmers forgot to add the +1 bonus to stats gained every 4 levels
2 - often human PNGs were without the extra skill points granted by their race.
3 - some priest was still without domains.

before that you donwload the files, know that:
- I did it for making experience with the files and, since the result is nice, I thought it was the case to show it to the Co8.
- it is still a beta, so, even if the game does not quit to desktop, this does not means that it is bugs free. I'm especially afraid about leveling up barbarian/ranger classes but I don't have to test them right now, even if they should be right.
- this file does not want to be a new standard, only an experiment to see if it was possible to refresh a bit some unused NPCs. Pals, please send me your feedback!

More specifically, I did what follows:
Burne: changed feats accordingly with his role
Kobort: no changes
Elmo: now he starts as a 2-levels fighter and 2-levels ranger, so that he gains some important benefits from fighter class and then may level up as ranger. Since he started with an axe, I made him proficient with my dwarven urgosh, since it is an axe by half. Now he has something good to use those fighters levels and his great strength. I removed his shield and chainmail: too powerful and not in role accordingly with the ranger role.
Rufus: fixed stats and feats, minor changes.
Furnok: nothing
Meleny: modified feats
Fruella: no changes
Spugnoir: modified feats. Now he doesn't have those unuseful point blank shot and other ranged-fighting feats that were lightly useful for rays only.
Raimol: now he is lawful neutral, that's to explain why he fill fight for you if you hired him or for ranos if you didn't. He is stupid as a stone, stats lightly improved. Now may be used.
Turuko: minor changes to stats. It was almsot fine already.
Zert: minor changes to stats. It was almsot fine already.
Lareth: I never ment to deal with him, it's Liv's possession
Murfles (aka Hruda): for somebody else joy, now is a fighter/rogue that greatly uses the spiked chain with cleave and combat reflexes.
Otis: since he is a spy from the good-alligned factions in the game, I made him with 4 thief levels so that he could stay under cover in Nulb, 4 warrior levels to simulate his smith profession and... 2 paladins level. He is lawful good and IMHO, they are fine for him. I only wished to give them to it through level up, but since I still have doubts about the levelup.tab, I added them by the protos. He kicks ass and is more interesting than before. Try to belive.
Y'Dey: added domains and other minor fixes.
Bertram: now he is a ranger that fights with the rapier. After all, it is the closest role to healer/dentist and far away fom thief/criminal concept. A fighter with heavy armor was not for such a gentle preson.
Jenelda: who's her??? :|
Riana and Serena now are a good team: one fights with bows, the other with 2 shortswords and skill points are separated so that one is an intruder and the other a dungeon rider.
Ashrem: now he is a powerful war-priest, with restored domains and adjusted characteristics even if I still think to him as an useless member. Maybe I should level him up, what do you think?
Brigand prisoner: a pure rogue that fights with spiked chain.
Sailor prisoner: now he is good for everything. Just one fighter level with generic feats and is clay for any player.
Man-at-arms prisoner #1 Is a real soldier specialized with crossbow. A nice variation since he is not strong.
Man-at-arms prisoner #2 is specialized with glaive now, as a real soldier.
Jaer: I removed feats so that he is less a warrior and more a normal person.
Kella: adjusted feats. Her feats were crappy.
Paida: she is a normal person. 1d4 of HPs and no level up.
Prince Thrommel is now a paladin that greatly uses fragrach.
Sargen: crazyer than ever, no changes.
Taki: modified feats so that he is more an archer instead than a generic ranged fighter.
Tuellek and Pintark now are a couple of chaotic neutral orcs that just want their freedom.... and revenge. Stats are lightly better than before and now they are not useless. The strongrest of them now is the classical strong barbarian, the other onse instead is a fighter, but I didn't decide yet what is his favourited weapon. Maybe a 2-weapons fighting warrior (not ranger!!) with orcish waraxe?
Wonnilon: decreased strenght for dexterity. It was an absurde character. Now he goes fine with weapon finesse and he uses his crossbow because he is not strong enough to effectively use a powerful composite longbow.
Zaxis: I've changed his spells a bit, now he is a bit more functional and interesting.
Darley: removed those redundant HDs and applied on a human the half-demon archetipe. It is better than before, even if she is less melee-oriented (but not completely unuseful even in melee) than before. I'm still asking mysefl if she would feeld better the role of a half-erinni, so that she would be lawful evil instead than chaotic evil and her allignment would be in line with her hate against the temple.
Oorgrist: applied fixes to changes, feats and stats. Now he is a Barbarian 2nd and a ranger 2nd, as suggested from 3.5 core rules. (trolls are hunters, so what better class than a ranger to emphatize their skills?)
Scropp: added missing feats and fixed some more stats. Now he is really a lord of hill giants (even if his ass would have been kicked by all other kind of giants )

PS: Allyx, would you post a long_description.mes updated with the background of your magic weapons? Would you like me to add some in Tamir's inventory in the place of some other item? Or are they met to be used in other circumstances?

 

Thanks for the starting feedback, but there are some open questions that need an answer: would you? I really care about your opinion.

 

As this game is my first D&D experence I like most of the changes (I don't know any better), Darly is the one that I don't really like, there are others that I'm a bit so-so about but I never use those NPCs anyway and as its only a couple...

...I know how to mod a protos. (let someone else do all the work and just change 2 back to how they were)

 

Why don't you like her? Just the character or my modifications? For me, she is really cool and a very powerful sorceress but I'm not sure if her allignment is right or not. As told before, maybe I better see her for a lawful-evil party.

 

Yes, except some minor fixes. Just to be sure, download it the 1st so that you'll be sure that I uploaded all smaller fixes and corrections that I may have thought about. Do you mind to use this protos with new NPCs or the "old" one?

 

Shininged, I understand your point of view but I ask you to reconsider. Except Elmo and Otis, that have been drastically changed and are the real experiment, the other NPCs basically are modified FIXING skill points, FIXING the proper number of feats and with minor changes that makes some, from crappy to useful and give them a stronger personality. It would be a waste to loose those fixes and, for the changes, it is the same concept that Liv wished to use to remake them in her 2.0, that sadly isn't out yet.
For example, Ted, Ed and Ed were completely useful: I think that you would have never used a crappy looser with 10 in all scores or the two Ed that were like Ted but with a 15 in STR or in DEX. Now Ted's scores are all 14, so that it may be used like clay from the player,while the two Ed have a 18 in the primary stat and 11 in all the others, so that they may be builded up at pleasure at level 4th and 8th. More they have a better feat selection that gives them a stronger identity. At the end, more a NPC as unused, more I modified it. Less used, less changes. Fruella's fanatics will find her almost the same, as well the most popular available in Homelet. So, if you agree, you could use this one but with Elmo and Otis that are back to their original stats.
The point is that only you and Cujo gave your feedback and it is hard, indeed, to apply changes if the community does not express his preferences!
I'm gonna to end the works on the protos right now....

 

Well, if you want feedback...

First, good work on this. I've modified Meleny for my own games (18 Wis, 14 in all other stats, SF:Conjuration, Augment Summonins), but that was with NPCs leveling as PCs. Doing it with every NPC and then building a development path for them must have been a job and a half.

As to agreeing with the changes, I'd rather just leave character classes alone. You don't need to be a rogue to be sneaky. Alternatively, I'd like to see all joinable NPCs start at level 1 and allow the Player to build them up from there, but I'm sure that wouldn't be a popular choice.

 

Yes, I was just waiting for it!

I did the same Every druid would do it as soon as possible, except not-clever NPCs that still are part of D&D world. I still have to work about the levelup.tab because there are some values that are unclear for me. I don't understand why many feats are repeated in that tab and the protos and how's the right order to assign them, because they are mixed with class abilities like barbarian rage. As well, UI don't understand why some columns are empty, why someother not.

What do you mean with this? are u talking about Otis? I may agree with you, but for sure a NPCs with diplomacy, gather information, sense motive and bluff is more suited to work as a spy and a good smith should be able to work on locks too. He is the only NPC that I dualclassed to rogue thus. Hruda was a rogue/fighter even before. Anyway, if you want Otis back as a pure warrior, nothing easyer.

 

Yup, I was thinking of Otis. I could see giving him cross-class skills in "spy stuff", and maybe Persuasive, Negotiator, and Nimble Fingers if I think he needed more. I agree that he would need to be a skilled spy and (as a smith) able to work with locks and devices; I'd just like to keep my NPCs close to the module. Besides, it's a good chance to show off how cross-class skills and skill boosting feats can be used in 3.5.

Still, your mod, your choices, and thanks for sharing it.