Chronicles of Charnia - possible companions

I started working on some potential companions and their background stories. I will probably allow two companions to start with and maybe one more later on. Even if you do not pick up a companion, they may still appear later on in the story doing their own thing. Here are a few that will be encountered very early on in the first chapter (no names just yet):

1. Bear (male barbarian) - Lived most of his life with the belief that he is one of the few talking beasts still living. He has longed to return to the Charnia region, to see if the rumors of talking beast in hiding are true.
2. Badger (male rogue) - A valiant, brave, little creature who thinks he is a great fighter, but is really a better rogue. Highly intelligent, devote follower of Elos (talking beast never change), believed to be one of the few surviving talking beasts. Good at not being seen, opening locks, traps, etc. Very skilled with a small bow made for him by the Wood Elves.
3. Dwarf (male fighter) - Until recently, he had given up hope of finding any survivors of his lost clan. He was captured and escaped during the Great Wars.
4. Halfling (male cleric) - basically your Mr. Know-it-all. Well versed in the Deep Magic of Elos. Always willing to interrupt others conversations with solutions to their problems.
5. Elf (female sorcerer) - not sure about her background just yet.

Any suggestions or comments are welcome...

Jer

Tests

Tests and projects for the next couple of weeks. Spring break is three weeks away. Hopefully, I will be able to start working on the storyline for the next campaign. I have a basic outline of main events. I want to have strong stories for the companions. I'll start releasing information, in a few weeks, about the possible companions (background, personality) for the first chapter.

School

School is keeping me very busy right now. Lots of home work and a couple of test. Only 3 weeks til spring break, yeah ;) Congrats on Prophecy of Aracas-Chapter 1 making the Top Rated list and recently updated, as well. Also, PoRR has been updated. I won't be able to play any modules for a couple of weeks (tests for the next two weeks).

Chronicles of Charnia

I've been working on the storyline for my upcoming campaign in the Charnia setting. It takes place around 50 years after "The Exile". I would like to have a few characters from "The Exile" make an appearance in the campaign (maybe Sildor, Gildor, Veloria, Belin, and/or Fifur). I would like to have 3 or 4 chapters (each about 5 hours of play time). Here are some of the design ideas:

• It will be designed for good and neutral characters.
• I plan on having multiple paths to the end, plus companion specific quests.
• I would like to include a few options for talking beasts as companions (bear, badger, etc.). I loved Reepicheep (the mouse) and Trufflehunter (the badger) from Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia). Also, I will have a few dwarves, humans, halflings, and elves for optional companions.
• You can keep the same companions for the whole campaign. I hated swaping out companions in the OC. Just when you were building some interaction between them, you have to split them up, Ugh.
• A number of optional side quests that are interesting and add to the main story.
• More scripting and animations to create more immersion, I want this to feel very cinematic.
• I probably will ask for help. Anyone interested in helping on this project? I will need scripters, writters (story and dialogue), custom content modelers, etc.

That's all for now. Thanks for your support.

Jer

My Rating System

I created a system for rating NWN2 modules which I have played. It involves the five areas that mean the most to me. It also adds a weight factor to each area, since some aspects are more important than others for me. Here are the areas:

1. Story (plot holds my attention, NPC/companion interaction, etc.)
2. Replayablility (enjoyed it and would play again)
3. Strategic Combat (challenging, makes me think)
4. Atmosphere (area design, music/sounds, scripting, etc.)
5. Polish (bugs, grammer, spelling, etc.)

I am scoring each area with a 1-5 vote:

1. didn't like it
2. weak
3. OK
4. Good
5. Excellent

The vote for each area is multiplied by the following weight factors: 6x (story), 4x (replayable), 4x (combat), 4x (atmosphere), and 2x (polish).

Here are my current scores (and their vault equivalent):

1. Tragedy in Tragidor (76/100) (9 on vault)
2. Prophecy of Aracas (56/100) (7.5 on vault)
3. PoRR (50/100) (7.5 on vault)
4. From Within (40/100) (7 on vault)
5. Willowbow (46/100) (7 on vault)
6. Avendale (26/100) (5 on vault)

For comparison, I have the NWN2 OC at (66/100), Baldur's Gate (92/100), and Icewind Dale (94/100).

Plans

I need to figure out how to use this blog thing and how best to organize all my stuff. I would like to have information about the Charnia setting, history, updates on the upcoming campaign, and possibly organizing a team to help me (scripters, conversations, custom content, QA, etc.). I'm not sure if I should use this blog or create a web site with forums. My spare time is limited, so I may just stick with this basic blog for awhile.

First Post

Well, I decided I need a place to record my progress on different NWN2 projects. I will also leave various comments on different modules I have played.

Anyway, I need to get back to working on my homework assignment. I'm currently taking 4 classes at ASU:
EEE471 Power System Analysis and Design
EEE425 Digital Systems/Circuits
EEE488 Senior Design
EEE498 Solar Energy (Photovoltaics)

Lots of fun stuff...