Reaction Baldur's Gate
The previous post covered reputational reactivity in Baldur's Gate. This one? Reactivity based on Reaction. Sounds odd, doesn't it. That's what happens when I mix my vocab with BioWare's.
Reaction-based Reactivity
By the latter I mean reactivity that pertains to the Reaction adjustment which is itself adjusted by both our Charisma and reputation scores. Reaction affects our ability to recruit companions and receive quests and quest rewards. It also affects how the authorities perceive us (the Amnish, the Fist, and the bounty hunters in their employ); whether they simply pass us by or actively hunt us down for summary execution. Thus, I will provide examples of each in this write-up; to wit:
• Reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to companion recruitment
• ... as it pertains to quest acquisition and quest rewards
• ... as it pertains to how the authorities perceive us
Starting Reaction adjustment extremes are as follows:
• Chaotic Evil Charname with Charisma of 2: -9.
Maximum Reaction possible: reputation 20 + Charisma 25 (Friends) = Reaction +14. (min possible is -9, as above).
From my experience, the manual is wrong in that 2d10 is rolled +Reaction. Instead, the Reaction adjustment seems to be added to a flat number, and the result is then compared to a variable that indicates a target number (what Reaction we need in order to, say, recruit Kivan), which are not known short of extensive experimentation or by peering into the DLGs using Near Infinity. That said, you will see in this post that the under-the-hood stuff doesn't need to be known, anyway. Just go by your Reaction.
In looking at the above screencap, please note that the Reaction adjustment that appears on the character sheet is actually the reputation adjustment to Reaction, and is already factored into the Reaction adjustment. The Charisma adjustment is not shown separately (a pity), but it definitely is also factored in.
So, first up, we have reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to companion recruitment. As with reputational reactivity as it pertains to companion happiness (covered in Part II), this one is very important because it governs our party composition potential (in contrast to the latter which governs maintenance). With low Reaction adjustments we may not be able to recruit upstanding companions (or some of ill-repute like Viconia). And while the opposite is not true (with maximum Reaction we can still recruit companions of ill-repute), the flavor of the dialogue does sometimes change based on Reaction.
So, let's try to recruit a companion:
The sharp-shooting ranger, Kivan, is found camped under a tree in the High Hedge wilderness zone. Charname, who is of ill-repute (Reaction adjustment of -8), attempts to speak with him. This is the response:
Thus, Kivan cannot be recruited by Charname.
As we can see, though, Imoen's Reaction adjustment of +4 is enough to recruit Kivan:
In fact, even Montaron can pull it off with Reaction -1. Quayle with -5 (the worst of all companions)? No.
Minsc also rebuffs our vile Charname in no uncertain terms:
So, this time, Kivan engages instead of Charname:
Success. I would have preferred it if only Charname's Reaction adjustment were taken into account. However, this would have made forming a party more difficult for new players.
Unfortunately, Ajantis does not check Reaction - or anything - during the recruitment dialogue. A pity, since a Paladin should have a nose for Evil. And Ajantis otherwise does:
He will actually direct this at Charname soon after recruitment. And yes, he will even eventually unsheathe his sword and start waving it Charname's way. But this is exclusively reputational reactivity.
Next we have reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to quest acquisition and quest rewards. Other than companion-based quests such as Minsc's quest to save Dynaheir from the gnolls (covered here), no quests occur to me off-hand that close off due to subpar Reaction adjustment. There are, however, several instances of not receiving rewards due to lack of Reaction. The most obvious of these is Fuller's sidequest in the Candlekeep prologue. He wants us to fetch a quarrel of crossbow bolts from Winthrop in the Candlekeep Inn.
Having delivered the goods we receive a magical dagger - if our Reaction is high enough.
If not, we just receive 50 XP and some chump change.
Interestingly, a high reaction adjustment can actually limit our options. Take the example of Oublek in Nashkel. If we're not clearly upstanding, we have the option to impersonate Greywolf and receive an undeserved reward:
Or be honest and receive a one-point reputation bonus:
But if we're already clearly upstanding, no such option to dupe or be honest appears:
I like this. It shows that word has gotten around that Charame is an upstanding citizen. He or she is well-known and cannot be mistaken for a ruthless bounty hunter, which is what Greywolf is (please refer to Part III of my prime retrospective for more info on Greywolf/Prism).
Lastly, we have Reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to how the authorities perceive us. While global and non-trivial, the ramifications of this one are rarely felt by reason of most people rolling with decent Charisma and decent reputation scores. Thus, the authorities just pass on by. However, if our Reaction plummets, we're in for it.
First, we receive the following message:
At this point things can get chaotic not just because the guards are coming but also because our upstanding companions are at breaking-point and leaving. Depending on the player's outlook and agenda, this can be utterly devastating or just part of the fun and laughter. That said, most players take this sort of thing very seriously and deem them both to be highly undersirable.
Anyway, what happens next is sort of random. We may be hunted down by a bounty hunter...
...who, however, can be paid off:
(That may hurt the back pocket, though!)
We may be attacked by Flaming Fist Enforcers...
... who cannot be paid off. We are simply charged with our crimes on the spot, and an attempt is made at slaying us on the spot (summary execution). This is global and won't stop until we make ammends.
And the same goes for the Amnish Soldiers in Nashkel, who will attack on-sight (above right pic).
It is possible to fight them all off or just run away. And where would be our next port of call? Well, we would likely bee-line to a temple for a little... philanthropic therapy.
In conclusion, if we have a decent reputation score along with a decent charisma score (or have access to a companion with decent Charisma), we'll be able to recruit any companion, win most rewards, and avoid clashes with the authorities. That is Reaction in a nutshell.
So, this time, Kivan engages instead of Charname:
Success. I would have preferred it if only Charname's Reaction adjustment were taken into account. However, this would have made forming a party more difficult for new players.
Unfortunately, Ajantis does not check Reaction - or anything - during the recruitment dialogue. A pity, since a Paladin should have a nose for Evil. And Ajantis otherwise does:
He will actually direct this at Charname soon after recruitment. And yes, he will even eventually unsheathe his sword and start waving it Charname's way. But this is exclusively reputational reactivity.
Next we have reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to quest acquisition and quest rewards. Other than companion-based quests such as Minsc's quest to save Dynaheir from the gnolls (covered here), no quests occur to me off-hand that close off due to subpar Reaction adjustment. There are, however, several instances of not receiving rewards due to lack of Reaction. The most obvious of these is Fuller's sidequest in the Candlekeep prologue. He wants us to fetch a quarrel of crossbow bolts from Winthrop in the Candlekeep Inn.
Having delivered the goods we receive a magical dagger - if our Reaction is high enough.
If not, we just receive 50 XP and some chump change.
Interestingly, a high reaction adjustment can actually limit our options. Take the example of Oublek in Nashkel. If we're not clearly upstanding, we have the option to impersonate Greywolf and receive an undeserved reward:
Or be honest and receive a one-point reputation bonus:
But if we're already clearly upstanding, no such option to dupe or be honest appears:
I like this. It shows that word has gotten around that Charame is an upstanding citizen. He or she is well-known and cannot be mistaken for a ruthless bounty hunter, which is what Greywolf is (please refer to Part III of my prime retrospective for more info on Greywolf/Prism).
Lastly, we have Reaction-based reactivity as it pertains to how the authorities perceive us. While global and non-trivial, the ramifications of this one are rarely felt by reason of most people rolling with decent Charisma and decent reputation scores. Thus, the authorities just pass on by. However, if our Reaction plummets, we're in for it.
First, we receive the following message:
At this point things can get chaotic not just because the guards are coming but also because our upstanding companions are at breaking-point and leaving. Depending on the player's outlook and agenda, this can be utterly devastating or just part of the fun and laughter. That said, most players take this sort of thing very seriously and deem them both to be highly undersirable.
Anyway, what happens next is sort of random. We may be hunted down by a bounty hunter...
...who, however, can be paid off:
(That may hurt the back pocket, though!)
We may be attacked by Flaming Fist Enforcers...
... who cannot be paid off. We are simply charged with our crimes on the spot, and an attempt is made at slaying us on the spot (summary execution). This is global and won't stop until we make ammends.
|
| Bounty Hunter, Flaming Fist Enforcers, Amnish Soldiers |
And the same goes for the Amnish Soldiers in Nashkel, who will attack on-sight (above right pic).
It is possible to fight them all off or just run away. And where would be our next port of call? Well, we would likely bee-line to a temple for a little... philanthropic therapy.
In conclusion, if we have a decent reputation score along with a decent charisma score (or have access to a companion with decent Charisma), we'll be able to recruit any companion, win most rewards, and avoid clashes with the authorities. That is Reaction in a nutshell.
Overall, in retrospect, I think BioWare didn't employ enough reaction-based reactivity. For example, how we are are perceived by Ajantis, paladins such as Bjornin (a quest-giver), and by noble NPCs in general. Or how we are perceived by the forces of evil. Nor did BioWare make the checks tough enough in regard to rewards and companion recruitment. Still, it's a sound implementation overall (remember: 1998; a fledgling developer coding an engine and designing a campaign, side-by-side), and one which modders could certainly have expanded upon for the veterans, if there was demand. Which there hasn't been. So it's clear to me that BioWare did a good enough job in this respect.
| cRPG Blog | 1. Reactivity Baldur's Gate | 4. Factional Rivalry Baldur's Gate |
| cRPG Reactivity | 2. Reputation Baldur's Gate | 5. Personality Clashes Baldur's Gate |
| Baldur's Gate 1 | 3. Reaction Baldur's Gate | 6. Companions Baldur's Gate |
Reaction was one of those things that I discovered very late, because I thought tha only reputation is the one factor that is important for how e.g. the dialogues will play out. As it turns out Charisma is not all that useless. I don't remember right now, but I might check later whether the manual mentions the Reaction parameter at all.
ReplyDeletePS: Happy 20th birthday Baldur's Gate!
The manual briefly covers Reaction under Encounter Adjustments on p.74. There is also a table on Reputation Reaction adjustment on p.144.
DeleteAnd, yes, happy 20th to BG!