Poll: Toughest/Easiest BG2 NPC's to write "in characte

For me, at least, some characters are much harder to develop and script according to their "true" character. I was just curious if anyone else had the same experience.

The toughest ones for me are Jan Jansen and Viconia.

-Jansen's not hard in short bursts (i.e. his zingers to Anomen, etc.). But I find writing original material for his lengthy yarns is pretty difficult to do.


-I've been working on Viconia for quite a while now, and I'm pretty happy with her development. I think she's a bit tougher than others because she is so complex and nuanced a personality. Or maybe it's just because I long to be her pool boy.


By contrast, the easiest ones for me have been Minsc and Haer'Dalis.

-I find Minsc to be a joy to work with. I tend to use him in small doses, but it's not hard to come up with a decent zinger (or war cry) for him when I do script him.


-Haer'Dalis is good fodder to work with, IMO, because he is so chaotic. You can reshape him and take him in different directions and still be within the basic character the BG2 team put together.

Interesting question.

Minsc is fun to write. I find him normally pretty easy. Jaheira, too.

I haven't written a lot with Jan, or Haer, so I can't say much on that yet.

The hardest. . . . Yoshimo. It is so hard to write him and keep the 'mysterious rogue' feel. And Aerie. It's so hard to keep her from really sounding like a whiner. I actually don't mind her in-game, though she's not my favorites, but if she's not written properly, she can be a major pain.

I tend to agree on Aerie. She's my protagonist's love interest, so I've tried to bring out the more sympathetic aspects of her character and downplay the whiny aspects. I'm giving her lots of time to develop, since I'm making her romance with Theodoric advance slowly (it seemed proper, given he's a paladin and she's a pure of heart maiden )

For me, at least, some characters are much harder to develop and script according to their "true" character. I was just curious if anyone else had the same experience.

It's hard to say what the "true" personality of an NPC is. Everyone here will most likely see a different one, so there's no one way to write a character. Even when I looks clear (like Minsc), a person still can take an NPC to different places while keeping the character presentation in what people will find believable.

For me, I find it easier to write characters that are similar to me or to people I know, since then I can apply my life's experience in making the character more believable.

As for individual characters:

Intelligent and unemotional villains like Jon Irenicus (and similar calculating evil schemers) are really a walk in the park for me. Here plays the familiarity of the personality in my favor, since I have a rather similar one myself. All I have to do is imagine myself in their position, add a good dose of crazy megalomania (a characteristic I don't have but can perfectly understand in others) and write a really Evil villain.

Also easy for me are natural, opportunistic fellows, like Yoshimo and Haer'Dalis. I can easily imagine what that kind of person will do. Also I understanding (but haven’t got the personal trait) of Yoshimo's eastern sense of honor.

Another easy character is Keldorn. I always found his mature, tactful and wise personality easy to relate to and write about.

Nalia and Valygar are also pretty easy to me.

The hardest characters for me to write are the highly emotional and the highly motivated. The highly emotional would be Aerie. The highly motivated are LN/LG Anomen, Mazzy (both are paladinicly motivated), Edwin (all that egoisem ) and Korgan (I can never understand people wasting away with alcohol/drugs).

Jan is just plain hard because I don't have the inclination to writing any of those stupid tales of his. Most likely I will never write anything about him because of this, although I do like his other characteristics and could probably write them in a decent manner.

Cheers, Eli

It's hard to say what the "true" personality of an NPC is. Everyone here will most likely see a different one, so there's no one way to write a character. Even when I looks clear (like Minsc), a person still can take an NPC to different places while keeping the character presentation in what people will find believable.

Agree for the most part. Certainly, any of the characters from BG, or any game, are going to have room to grow and develop. It'd pretty boring if everyone had the same take. But I do think there are certain integral elements in each of the NPC's that can't be ignored. Taken beyond a certain point, the character ceases to be who he or she claims to be and becomes a new character altogether. But again, there would be disagreement about exactly where that line is. Which is what makes this site so cool.

Also easy for me are natural, opportunistic fellows, like Yoshimo and Haer'Dalis. I can easily imagine what that kind of person will do. Also I understanding (but haven’t got the personal trait) of Yoshimo's eastern sense of honor.

Agree totally. Haer'Dalis especially is easy to work with. He's so mercurial, you can take him almost anywhere and keep him familar to most readers, I think.

Hardest?

Mostly the evil NPCs since I've used them so little in-game. I don't have their particular personality quirks down, nor their speech patterns, to the extent that t have some of the good and nuetral NPCs'. I also find Valygar a little difficult, also because I haven't used him much.

Haer'Dalis and Yoshimo are easiest for me to write, though I have some difficulty at times working out the more poetic tone to Haer'Dalis' speech. Keldorn, Cernd and Anomen come with relative ease too.

-Blue

I haven't tried them all. But I'd say that I find Haer'Dalis hard because of his alien mindset. Cernd because he doesn't really feel like a real person.

Also easy for me are natural, opportunistic fellows, like Yoshimo and Haer'Dalis. I can easily imagine what that kind of person will do. Also I understanding (but haven’t got the personal trait) of Yoshimo's eastern sense of honor.

I think Yoshi is only so far opportunistic. He still adheres to an Oriental honor code, as any Oriental character would. He knows he has committed a mortal sin - and expects to be brought down.

For me, at least, some characters are much harder to develop and script according to their "true" character. I was just curious if anyone else had the same experience.

Obviously, the question that begs to be asked is, what is to be considered their "true" character.

But in any case, there are a few characters that I have written and that gave me some problems... for some reason they all seem to be male characters. For me, the hardest part is not to get into the NPC's mind, but to emulate his speech patterns... subsequently, I found it difficult to write Jan (sorry folks, but those Jansen stories require a special talent that I do not possess) and Anomen. I never wrote Cernd (he died without uttering a word), Haer'Dalis and Korgan for those very same reasons - though I've been practising my Dwarven lately. I haven't written Minsc at all, but not because I can't, but because I didn't see any room for character development for him.

The easy male characters for me to write were Keldorn and Valygar. Yoshimo wasn't all too difficult.

The two male characters who are currently in Theodur's party, Edwin and Sarevok, can both be a challenge to write, but I think I'm managing semi-adequately.

Female NPC's are very easy for me to write. Especially Viconia, Mazzy and Nalia. Some may feel my Imoen is not mischievous and childish enough, but that's a conscious decision of mine to write her that way.

Jaheira can sometimes be pretty hard to write, but since she's my favorite character, I think I've done a fair job with her. She may seem easy to write, but I think it's very deceptive because she has a very complex personality, more so than the most of the other NPC's in the game.

Aerie is a character that I basically can't push myself to write about as I passionately hate her guts, but then I am of opinion that the way her character is presented in the game, is way beyond the bounds of credibility. If I was to ever write her seriously, I'd go with the consciously manipulative, closer to Laufey's Evil Aerie (now that version I adore), or I would just make her very bitter, depressive and vengeful as torture victims tend to become. The naivete, cheerful "innocence" and optimism do not fit the picture, so I'd get rid of those first.

Hmmm... well, let's see... for me, it's

Easy:

1. Anomen (He annoys me sometimes, especially when he tries too hard to impress people, but I can understand his reasons for that, and I can sympathize with them.)

2. Imoen (Easily my favorite of the bunch. When I write her, she really -does- feel like a kid sister to me. She's smart, she's sassy, and definitely the most fun.)

3. Jaheira
4. Keldorn (Jaheira and Keldorn both strike me as being very... driven types... and I can really get on board with their motivations... their whole "fight the good fight" spiels, and that helps me get a handle on them)

5. Mazzy (Ditto for Mazzy, with a little bit of "Don't tread on me!" angst)

6. Minsc (I love Minsc. There's not a whole -lot- of complexity to him; he's a pretty straightforward guy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.)

7. Nalia (I'm not a spoiled brat... at least I like to think I'm not, but Nalia seems to come fairly easily to me. She's a bit on the naive side, but she's so charmingly earnest about things. It's kinda endearing. )

8. Valygar (Your classic stoic type... the perfect Army noncom. Watch any war movie and pick out the 'gruff, veteran Sergeant' and that's Valygar.)

Hard:

1. Aerie (Only because I tend to actually make her a bit more rough & tumble than she really should be. My versions tend to be a good deal more resilient than the game versions)

2. Cernd (Hard to write his character, because... well... does he really even have one? (Shrug) )

3. Edwin (I just find him kinda hard to stomach at times - at least I feel that way about the game version. His attitudes just rub me the wrong way, and I don't really want to try and replicate them... unless it'd be funny.)

4. Haer'Dalis (I actually find him difficult; some people think the chaotic nature gives you more freedom, and it does... but it also means less direction, and that makes it a lot harder for me.)

5. Jan (I think you have to be a little crazy, yourself, in order to pull off Jan. I try, but I always wonder if I'm doing things right. You really need to be able to come up with those hopeless complicated and yet pointless stories. It's an integral part of his character, and that's real difficult.)

6. Korgan (Bloodthirsty dwarf. A ruthless and effective killer... and yet, for whatever reason, I just can't write him terribly well. I think I need to hang around some sailors and pick up some more colorful language.)

7. Sarevok (He's still a bit of a mystery to me, and while I love the idea of an 'evil' character finding redemption, that is not an easy thing to pull off. It's a difficult concept to do justice, too.)

8. Viconia (Ditto for Viconia, actually... if you take her along the "non-evil" route, that is.)

9. Yoshimo (Definitely hard to find that balance between competence, seeming haplessness, and out and out mystery.)

Oh well. That's all of 'em. That's not bad. 8 easy, 9 hard. Kinda evens out.

Well, there are a lot of characters I have yet to write, but I have ideas for all of them which I believe are pretty much consistant with the all the dialog and behaviour of each character in the game. Obviously, there are some twists of my own I give all them.

Aerie's talent as a cartoonist, for example, is never hinted at in the game. But as she comes from the aesthete class of avariel she's bound some interest in philosophies and art, and she's shown an eye for light and colour in the game.

A lot of people seem to have trouble writing Aerie, but I find her very easy. I have no problems with her credibility as I've a bit of experience with victims of long-running abuse and done plenty of research, so I know the nice Aerie as presented in the game is perfectly realistic.

Probably the one character I truly dread ever having to write is Haer'Dalis, with all his flowery and poetic speeches. Basically any character who speaks in an unusual manner presents a problem as it's hard to write dialog that feels natural to me.

Korgan not really a problem. My aunt lived in glasgow so I'm kind of familiar with that dialect.

A lot of people seem to have trouble writing Aerie, but I find her very easy. I have no problems with her credibility as I've a bit of experience with victims of long-running abuse and done plenty of research, so I know the nice Aerie as presented in the game is perfectly realistic.

You see a lot of redeeming qualities in her that many others (the anti-fan variety) don't - including people who have experience and research knowledge about abuse. So I'm guessing that the realism or lack thereof is in the eye of beholder, like so many other things.

(I don't think she is nice, actually, but she is non-nice in a different way than I'd expect an abuse victim to be. If someone is interested in looking up discussions on this, I refer you to the archives. It's been said and done before.)

A lot of people seem to have trouble writing Aerie, but I find her very easy. I have no problems with her credibility as I've a bit of experience with victims of long-running abuse and done plenty of research, so I know the nice Aerie as presented in the game is perfectly realistic.

You see a lot of redeeming qualities in her that many others (the anti-fan variety) don't - including people who have experience and research knowledge about abuse. So I'm guessing that the realism or lack thereof is in the eye of beholder, like so many other things.

Well psychology and sociology are not sciences despite what anyone says. You will often find two individuals with very similar experiences but who are very different people, and for every 'rule' you will find numerous exceptions.

You can write a good-Aerie or an evil-Aerie, and both can be realistic, in my opinion, as you can find examples in real-life of each type of character being created from that kind of abuse. I would say that the later seems less common, but neither Aerie is more or less realistic than the other.

Oooh, it's nice we've started to use the Smithy more. That's what it's all about, folks.

Hmm, hard or not hard? Guess I'd better break it down. I find Jaheira generally rather easy, possibly because in many ways she's an older and a good few shades more bitter version of myself. I think one of the most important things to capture about Jaheira is her sense of humour, the understated sarcasm and cutting words, but I find that surprisingly easy.

Anomen's also a doddle. I can produce the overly-eloquent tones easily enough, though I'm not entirely sure why I find so much of his nature coming easily to me in writing. I suppose many aspects of his personality are shared by friends I've known in the past, and the ego-covering-insecurity is shared by someone I know very well. So that's more a question of observation.

Imoen... I can cope with my Imoen, but I wouldn't really like to write happy-go-lucky cheerful Imoen so much. I don't know if I could do it, but I make a conscious decision to stay away from 100% fluff (or even 90%) because it wouldn't be as interesting. I find the balance between the whimsical and the dark more intriguing, and I guess I manage it.

Haer'Dalis I find surprisingly easy. I don't always know his motivations, but he tends to write himself. If I'm having a hard time with his speech, ten minutes of reading some Trollope/Austen/Shakespeare will put me in the more lyrical sense. Keldorn's quite straightforward too, I find, as is Nalia (the half of me which isn't Jaheira, is Nalia. Odd, no?).

I've never tried to write Valygar or Mazzy. I've only vaguely attempted Viconia, who was surprisingly difficult, and Jan, who I abandoned before even finding out if I could write him.

Aerie... never tried to write what I see as 'game' Aerie, because I always give her a much more serious and cynical nature. At the time, it was more suitable for the plot, but I find it exasperating because the game version drives me up the wall but I see so much potential in her. Any Aerie I would write, and I like to have all of my characters be sympathetic, wouldn't be the Aerie making slurs against Khalid. I just can't get on with that, whatever the reason.

Edwin I found a challenge, but he did come along the more I wrote him, and as he's a firm placement in the project snapping at my heels, I think I'll get my head wrapped around him. Sarevok... he's a toughie. It's been taking me some time to work him out, especially as I've had to be doing it just as his perspective on life is changing. I have a problem with writing villains sometimes because 'liking killing' often seems like a flat motivation, and if I give them much more they tend to be much less villainous.

I suppose all villains would be less evil if we could understand and sympathise...

And as for the really hard... Minsc. Minsc Minsc Minsc. Can't write him. I occasionally got flashes of inspiration for him every once in a while, and those have been some of my favourite written things, but in general, I never did him justice. He just didn't come. And the fact that I can write Haer'Dalis with ease does rather suggest it's not just a question of the random characters giving me issues.

Hmm. Ought to give Jan and Xzar a shot. A problem with Jan is that I find the Jansen stories, well... so bloody dull!

I've never tried to write Valygar or Mazzy. I've only vaguely attempted Viconia, who was surprisingly difficult, and Jan, who I abandoned before even finding out if I could write him.

Agreed. As I posted above, I find Viconia to be very complex and nuanced.

Aerie... never tried to write what I see as 'game' Aerie, because I always give her a much more serious and cynical nature. At the time, it was more suitable for the plot, but I find it exasperating because the game version drives me up the wall but I see so much potential in her. Any Aerie I would write, and I like to have all of my characters be sympathetic, wouldn't be the Aerie making slurs against Khalid. I just can't get on with that, whatever the reason.

I feel the same way. Aerie has a lot to offer, but she's written a little too catty for my tastes some times. I've tried to write her with that aspect down a bit, while keeping her sweetness, her innocence, and her compassion.

Edwin I found a challenge, but he did come along the more I wrote him, and as he's a firm placement in the project snapping at my heels, I think I'll get my head wrapped around him.

"Edwin 2", as I like to call his BG2 character, is more palatable to me as a player (and amateur fan fic writer ) than the BG 1 incarnation. I simply could not stand his screaming "WHAT IS IT NOW?!?" whenever I wanted him to do something. The sarcasm and harried "why me?" attitude added to his character made him a bit easier to work with, IMO.

Hmm. Ought to give Jan and Xzar a shot.

I often wonder where the BG team would have taken Xzar if he had been more than a bit player in BG2. I mean, let's face it - the guy's a loon! Writing him would be a challenge, but it could be a lot of fun, too. Hmm....I may make that my next project.

Edwin is perhaps the toughest one for me to write. He's got a more complex personality than one realizes and a lot of charater. Korgan I never played so I can't say if he's hard to write or not.

Cernd, I'm not so sure how to write him 'cause he wasn't well developed in game, so I suppose that makes him more of a blank slate to work with.

Agreed on both counts, since I know your view of Aerie's personality differs from us who find her unrealistic.

For me, at least, some characters are much harder to develop and script according to their "true" character. I was just curious if anyone else had the same experience.

Hmm...interesting discussion here. Now let me see.

I think the toughest for me are Jan, Cernd and Haer'Dalis, mostly because I never use them much in my games so I don't really have a good grip on their characters. The thought of trying to use Jan and write one of his stories scares me half to death.

Aerie I can write easily enough, but I don't like her so she always ends up coming across as an annoying, whining bitch. I also have a similar problem with Mazzy, currently can't stand her so I can't write her in a likable way.

Keldorn, Anomen and Minsc are okay and I've always found it easy to write Jaheira. I've never had any problems with Nalia either.

Imoen is probably the NPC I have the least trouble with, even though it's a challenge trying to write her with a darker side than she displays in the game whle still keeping her as Imoen.

Edwin and Viconia are both a challenge as I use them both as love interests and therefore take them in very different directions from the game. But I'm gradually growing more confident writing about them.

Hm, no dislike for any characters holding me back, so it's just 'being able to'


I find Imoen hard to write, especially when dealing with angst. Sometimes I've got the feeling that BG2 caused me to write her as an angstmachine of Anomen-like proportions, so I add some chirpy Imoen (which I find hard) but then I feel like THAT comes over forced.

Khalid. On one hand, I don't want to make him 'a spineless coward' but I ALS don't want to make him 'man of the year' because I DO think he's one of the most likely in the current party to lose his nerve. I also see the man as kind and soft-hearted, but I've heard I'm sometimes going too far.

Minsc: Every time he speaks I need to think fo analogies. Also, I'm a bit in doubt about how naive he is regarding matters fo the flesh (he does mention his face is the face the ladies love which SUGGESTS some interest)

I gave writing a scene much further up the line a try, and I discovered that I actually can write Jan in character, but trying to figure out one of his stories is brutal.

And Haer'Dalis, simply because his character can go almost anywhere, given the base of the NPC in-game. They're both writeable, just hard.

I haven't even tried to write Cernd. I don't even know if I'll use him at all yet.