Overview: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 bears the marks of experimentation and learning how to implement various features that are present in the later parts of this mod. For example, we added a conversational cutscene that plays immediately after Hulrun is killed, and we learned how to check the Commander's background to see if they are of noble birth.

We also learned how to put a hat on Lann. Definitely worth the time.

Killing Hulrun#

Parts in this chapter: 4

The MC—not yet a Commander—and their companions kill the official governor of Kenabres, the man who is a pillar of religious authority in Mendev and one of the main organizers of the city's defense at the time.

Parts of the Killing Hulrun reactivity pack in Chapter 1 focus on the immediate reactions of companions and NPCs (Aranka, Ramien, and Irabeth) to the news of Hulrun's death. Other components of this pack, such as Informing Inquisitor Liotr of Hulrun's death, come into play in later chapters.

Background#

The author of our Chinese localization asked us if it would be possible to add lines for noble commanders, since their conversations with Camellia and Daeran in Chapter 1 need to be at least slightly different. We found a way to do this, and since it's a very cool idea that adds more depth to the playthrough, we plan to add more such interactions in other chapters in the future.

Nobles ask differently about Camellia’s ties to Horgus#

The Commander's question about Camellia and Horgus, as well as her reaction to it, are slightly different from the standard game lines. Here, the Commander understands the potential restrictions that come with being the daughter of a nobleman, and Camellia is just a tiny bit more tolerant of this prodding into her life than in the default lines.

Nobles recognize Daeran in his house#

During the quest No Better Time for a Banquet, we meet Daeran in his party house for the first time. Queen Galfrey's only cousin, a potential heir to the throne, and a well-known figure in Mendev's high society—it is safe to assume that a Commander of noble birth has heard at least some of the rumors about striking Count Arendae.

NOTE: Players can also ask Daeran here about seeing him earlier in the Market Square at the start of the game, right before the Deskari's attack.

Nobles can ask Daeran about a party gone wrong#

Commanders of noble birth may have crossed paths with Daeran in the past, and now there is a chance to ask him about it. After all, no one knows who publicly revealed the scandalous information about King Noleski and his sister Natala at that party, right? Riiight.

Lann’s romance#

Talking about Lann’s parents and Wenduag#

We have slightly changed the lines in the "Talk about parents" and "Talk about Wenduag" dialog branches so that the lines that can start Lann's romance in Chapter 1 sound softer and less blunt.

We have also added the lines for talking about his parents, which depend on the chapter and the stage of his romance.

Closing lines#

Every companion in the game has a closing line when the Commander exits dialogs started in the general dialog tree. Only Daeran, Lann, and Regill do not have such lines. So, we added the closing lines for those three to unify the engagement style and get rid of Commander Shepard's "I should go"vibe.

We have seen the opinion that some players are not interested in such additions, since the number of clicks should be minimized with each dialog start, but we... disagree. Closing lines point out the character's quirks or attitude towards the Commander; they can also be reactive (Lann's case) or randomized (Regill's case). Besides, the vanilla game already has such lines for all other companions and some NPCs, so we did not add anything drastically different. However, we do respect this point of view, so these components will be optional starting with the 0.9.9e release.

Closing lines for Lann#

We experimented here with the priority and order of conditions for lines of text (LIFO, by the way, so we found the solution to avoid writing and checking complex conditions for multiple alternative lines by stacking them in the right order).

As a result, Lann has several closing lines that are reactive to the timeline and the state of his romance. Huh. Interesting!

Closing line for Daeran#

We tried to make Daeran's closing line sound as Daeran-ish as possible to have it fit with all of his dialog, be it romantic or otherwise.

Other reactivity#

Putting a hat on Lann#

If the Commander asks Lann about wearing hats and has the Magnificent Plume Hat from the Commander's Pack DLC in their inventory, a new option to put the hat on Lann will appear.

Select "I want to know more about you" and then "So, can you wear a hat with your one horn?" in his general dialog tree to see this option.

For now, this only works with the Magnificent Plume Hat, as it was the earliest hat we had available in the game. But we plan to include other in-game hats as well.

Reminding Daeran about his visit to the festivities#

At the beginning of the game, the Commander watches Daeran and his followers abruptly leave the Market Square before the disaster happens. It's now possible to ask him about this earlier meeting during the No Better Time for a Banquet quest, when the Commander comes to his party house.

NOTE: Noble commanders can also recognize Daeran here, as they are aware of the rumors about him.

Reminding Daeran about his attitude in the Market Square#

After Daeran is recruited, he can be reminded of his sincerity and welcoming attitude at the very beginning of the game. Depending on the player's approach, this can be an opportunity to flirt, insult, or perhaps both.

Apologizing to Staunton Vhane#

If the Commander decides to succumb to rage in the Gray Garrison, Staunton Vhane will be elbowed in the nose by them. So now there is a chance to apologize to him. It will not make up for the decades of humiliation, but maybe... decency, anyone?