Baldur's Gate Investigations

[David FoxFire]

Notice: This is a fan-work based on Dungeon & Dragons with the Forgotten Realms setting, both owned by Wizards of the Coast, and uses a variation of both Fifth Edition rules and the mentioned campaign setting. This project is made to learn RPG Maker MV, and is considered a Transformative Work under United States Fair Use Laws. Wizards of the Coast has neither authorized nor endorsed this Fan-Game.

Foxfire Studios of Saint Louis Presents​

A D&D Foxfire Forgotten Realms
fanwork on RPG Maker MV

How do you yell "Objection!" in Faerunian Common?​

Wealth flows into the city of Baldur’s Gate like water. As the rich luxuriate in their mansions atop the bluff and artisans ply their trades on the steep streets, masses of poor laborers swell the slums. Money and power beget political scandal, religious fervor, crime . . . and murder. No one feels safe on the rain-darkened streets. Strange, foreign gods are beseeched in secret shrines. The city is rife with corruption. And through it all, the body count keeps rising.

Amongst all this death are three groups going at each other’s throats over control of the city: The Patriars under Duke Silvershield, the rich and affluent elitists looking down, figuratively and literally, on all the others; The Flaming Fist Company under Marshall Ulder Ravenguard, the police force overwhelmed with the crime in the city, and lashing out in force; and the Guild, the underground group of rogues, thieves, and assassins, under Rilsa Rael, who is convinced that the only way to save Baldur’s Gate is to burn it to the ground.

In the middle of all this stands Grand Inquisitor Florence, Chosen of Oghma and forerunner of Forensic Knowledge. With a mere strand, blood splatter, or parchment, she could solve cases that would prove impossible even by Elminister’s standards. She came to Baldur’s Gate to help bring justice to a city where intrigue flows like the river-born fog, and where not even the noonday sun can drive out every shadow. Accompanying her is a Elven Sorcerer, a couple of rogues, and one of the best loved rangers in Faerun, as they track down the mechanizations of a deity that everyone thought was long dead.


About the Adventure:

Baldur’s Gate Investigations is the first of a series of games I’m making to supplement my online Dungeon Mastering presence, where I make a player recap of events that happened on offline tables of the past and bring them into the cannon of my own personalized version of D&D’s Forgotten Realms setting. In this case, I combine the first campaign that I’ve Dungeon Mastered, Murder in Baldur’s Gate, which I modified into a Crime Scene Investigation adventure, with the IDW comic Legends of Baldur’s Gate, where the characters in the comic form Florence’s Party.

In Murder of Baldur’s Gate, (A D&D module from Wizards of the Coast) a series of ever increasing intrigues and dramatic events bring up the resurrection of Bhaal, the God of Murder, threatening to cover Baldur’s Gate in shed blood. As the party members follow the trail of broken bodies and defeated souls to stop the massacre from enveloping every square inch of the city, it is not clear who is right or wrong, and the characters wonder if they’re going to go through the ordeal as corrupted as the rest of the city.

In Legends of Baldur’s Gate, (An IDW comic) The Wild Mage Elf Delina goes into the city to search for her brother. While attacked by an evil force, her defensive spell goes wide, and hits the statue of Minsc, the Beloved Ranger. The spell transports the real Beloved Ranger and his Miniature Giant Space Hamster back to Faerun after an over hundred year’s absence.

....now you know why I made that disclaimer on top. This project is definitely not commerical.

Characters:

Grand Inquisitor Florence

Lawful Good Female Human Cleric Investigator Background, Chosen of Oghma

Florence was called on to be Baldur’s Gate’s ‘Grand Inquisitor,’ a new office created by the Council of Four in the city, because of the rising fame brought on by her newly discovered Forensic Lore, an uncanny eye for minute details, and ‘flashes of insight’ brought on by her being Chosen of Oghma. This made her the perfect candidate in spite of not being a Baldurian.

While renowned for her intelligence, it doesn’t make her the most sociable of folk, although she does appreciate the help of her friends in her investigation team.

She likes long luxurious baths, a good draft of local brew, and pipeweed that Elminister would appreciate. She’s also not the most co-ordinated lady and can be out of sorts in social events.

Delina

Chaotic Good Female Moon Elf Wild Mage Sorcerer

Delina came to Baldur’s Gate to look for her twin brother, whom she fears that has fallen into some dark and sinister plan in the city. Not knowing how she’ll settle into the city while she’s there, she agreed to become Florence’s assistant. Inquisitive and fearless, she may look vulnerable but she carries a great strength within, far greater than the sometimes chaotic nature of her innate magical abilities.

Minsc

Chaotic Good Male Human Ranger/Barbarian

The Beloved Ranger of Baldur’s Gate’s history, recently spirited back to Faerun after vanishing over a hundred years ago.

Minsc is very capable physically, but countless concussions had rendered him perpetually addle-headed. Besides talking to the hamster Boo, whom he believes to be a miniature giant space hamster, he has a very simplistic view of the world, and he's often quick to decide someone is evil and should be attacked. Fortunately, he's also kind by nature and determined to be a hero. He was escorting a Rashemen witch named Neera when he vanished, and sort of taken to Delina as a replacement, even calling her Neera by accident for a time. Although he has ranger’s skills, he is more known for what resembles a barbarian's or berserker's rage. He will also react violently to his friends being threatened.

He keeps trying to snatch at anything Florence says that goes over his head.

Krydle

Chaotic Neutral Male Half-Elf Fighter/Rogue

The son of well-known patriar Coran, Krydle begins to show a bit of independence—and some distaste over the politics of Baldur’s Gate and the schism between upper and lower cities—when he finds himself part of Florence’s Team by his father’s bequest. He has his father’s mischievous nature and want for unique experiences. His political stance might make him shallow at first, and grating to his father’s shenanigans, but in truth he’s looking for close friends and adventure. Over time, he grown to connect with Florence enough to become a couple, her intelligence and down-to-earth attitude being quite a draw for him.

Shandie

Neutral Good Female Halfling Archer/Rogue

Krydle’s best friend who answered Florence’s want ad for an additional set of hands on crime scene investigation—and for some leads that require a rogue’s skill—because it includes an exemption from gate tolls and it provides a legal cover for her talents. Shandie dreams of becoming a crackshot longbow archer in spite of being a Halfling, although with a short bow, she’s capable of shots that few humans could attempt. In fact, the only sure way to best her in a contest is to use a rifle. She has the charismatic and lighthearted nature common to halflings, but she favors being blunt and to the point.

Features

• A detailed representation of the city of Baldur’s Gate, with more nooks and crannies possible in a tabletop version, using a combination of classic fantasy and steampunk.
• A set of three-dimensional characters with their own different personalities and dynamics.
• An Old School Renaissance representation of Forensics, Investigation, Research, and even an occasional Ace Attorney-style Court Battle.
• At least 30 Investigation Cases planned, including the main story. And that’s not including the more classical D&D-style quests.
• An exploration and interactive system inspired by Dungeon & Dragon’s Fifth Edition rules, using a proprietary “Elminister Fifty” engine.
• An elegantly detailed players guide accompanies the game, providing useful lore behind the game, and designer notes from the author.
• And in their Old School RPG debut: The Anarchic Hackers Group Anonymous joins in on the fun, as a fourth faction in Baldur’s Gate trying to keep the city from falling off into the abyss. And of course making a lot of good-hearted lulz along the way.

Progress

The game has just started its design, and progressive WIP projects will be made available as the process goes. The first one will focus on the actual city itself, with limited interactivity and no storyline. You will be free to explore the entire map without danger or encounters, and make comments and suggestions back to the author to improve the game.

You can also provide some input and discusion on some of the minor details behind the project, especially with quest design and the investigational mechanics involved. (Yeah, yeah, I know this will not be a for profit game already :) ) Feel free to drop in some questions here or in a more private venue and I'll do what I can to chat with you, maybe even bat some design ideas around. It'll be a great help (and will be much appreciated) in the process of learning RPG Maker MV and hopefully use the experience to move on to more original, (and commerical) projects.

 

[Macro]

NO idea how this is going to play out, but I'm curious. I'm a fan of D&D and Ace Attorney so this should be interesting for me.

 

[David FoxFire]

Well, it'll be closer to Ace Attourney Investigations, since it will focus more on forensic investigation.

And to avoid a double post, I might as well edit in a wish list:

1. Additional armors and helmets for SV Battler Fun, which will be added to the Character Builder.
2. The Notebook Plugin a la EST's Notebook System to show Florence's ever-present notebook. This will cover quests, cases, lore, clues, items, creatures....it'll be a one stop place for all the info.
   
3. A way to create a HUD with three graphics that can be changed on command. It'll be used as a navigational aid to traverse the many locations in Baldur's Gate (It's going to be a biiiiiig city)
4. Arrow Sprites for Navigation Assistance
5. Donated character sprites to populate the city
   
6. Window Graphics for buildings.
7. A Jazz-style sountract that won't get me sued by the RIAA.
   
8. And of course, people to help turn brainstormed ideas into a working system for various features:
   1. Questioning Witnesses, which will resemble Court Battles
   2. A way to piece clues together in an logical fashion.

 

[Companion Wulf]

This is a very intriguing concept. I'm a big fan of BG to begin with, and D&D before it. So...It'll be interesting - and cool - to see how it progresses. :)

 

[David FoxFire]

Since I now have a main forum for me to discuss my project, I might has well move all the discussions (and public brainstorms) in here.

Item: Ace Attourney style Court Battles

This might occur not just in a court setting, when Florence presents her evidence to a judge, but also on the street when questioning someone or even getting the Watch or Flaming Fist (Both Law Enforcement with "If you see them in the act, no need to arrest them" priviliges.) I'd like to have Florence have the ability to page back and forth among the conservation and then do the "Hold it!" or "Objection!" moves. (Of course, I'll be using different graphics--and possibily differnet lines--for these moves) There should also be an Authority meter that doesn't always mean a Game Over in some cases, but will provide a setback.

Item: Deduction System

I've already got a system of finding the clues--Sensor SelfSwitch where the clue twinkles on-screen when Florence goes near it--but I need something for what to do with it. I need a system of saving, collating, and connecting clues together to provide Florence's deductions. This might prove a bigger problem than implementing a d20 engine.

I'm thinking that, whenever a clue is found or a bit of interest is found, a card is shown representing the clue. The player can then page over the clues, and even set up a Logic-style funciton where the player can put two cards together to see if there is an connection.

I'll definitly going to need some coding help on this one.

Item: An On Board Notebook

Still waiting for that plugin.

Item: Converting D&D monsters to RMMV

I think I could do this one by using an spreadsheet; but I need to do some number manipulation first. (And see how other projects rank their monsters.

Unless I get a response, I'll be editing this post with my progress. No sense making multiple posts up in the double digits and pissing off the mods. I have more creative ways of doing that, thank you so much.

Besides, I've already remember something...

Item: Jazz Sountrack

I keep hearing a Film Noirish Jazz background whenever I think of scenes in Baldur's Gate. I wonder if there are BGMs in this genre available for use in RPG Maker.

 

[cav_dan]

Jazz soundtrack should be actually easy to find. I don't know if you're intending on selling your game, but if not, I'm sure you can find GuitarPro tabs of Jazz Classics. Those tabs can be converted to midi files pretty easily.

You can also just take Jazz songs and compress them a lot (not sure, but you'll probably need .wmv and .ogg versions).

 

[David FoxFire]

I'm not going to sell the game (Look up at the top post) but while I believe that WotC won't mine me using Fair Use Laws to learn RPG Maker, I doube the RIAA would feel the same way. Hence my desire for public access jazz.

If I weren't so jitterish, I would just download the Peter Gunn theme and use that.

 

[cav_dan]

Hotline Miami devs searched SoundCloud until they found good music for their project. After that, they contacted the artists for permission. Maybe that's all you need

 

[David FoxFire]

Hotline Miami devs searched SoundCloud until they found good music for their project. After that, they contacted the artists for permission. Maybe that's all you need

Yeah, that would work. I've also been searching for Creative Commons licensed music as well.

I do hope that the Restaff series comes back again with more traditional stuff. With this non-commercial project of mine, it'll prove valuable.

Addendum: A couple more items here

ITEM: 5ED to MV: I did some number jumbling in an Excel sheet to provide something to work with when it comes to monsters. I'll be able to shelve this part for later, since I'm working on maps now.



ITEM: A HUD. I'll be interested in making a small heads-up display that will be in an inconspicious place in the upper right corner. It'll show the estimated time of the day (referred to as "Morning," "Afternoon," "Evening," and "Night") and a trio of arrows that point in cordial directions. These Arrows will be a form of GPS, one will be for a location that the player will designate, and will depend on the current quest; the middle one will direct them to the nearest tavern, where the player can save the game; the last one will direct them to a stable home base which will be frequented in the game. It will be where the Crime Lab is, after all.

It'll probably be a simple HUD with four small graphics that I can adjust by events, after all. (And the time of day will change by events instead of a clock. (Think Ratcheteer)

 

[cav_dan]

Hey, what happens if the objective is in a diagonal? Two arrows light up?

Also, I want to try my hands on scripting, care if I try to get this one running?

Also also, Persona vibes all over my face!

 

[David FoxFire]

I never thought about diagonals. All of the maps are squares so I only thought of up down left and right.

Although to some places, such as player destinations and homebase, diagonals might come in handy. (I'll have plenty of taverns around for the middle one.

Addendum: I've created a page in my web site for this project, where the WIP and Playable Game will be posted. The link will be a part of my Signature as well.

Addendum #2: I thought up some mechanics for Florence's Crimesolving...

The first departure I have to state from Ace Attorney is that, instead of a Game Over if the player screws up, I instead lead with the stick. No penalties for an incorrect deduction or a choice, but if the player guesses right on the first attempt, the player gets a bonus. Usually in the form of an Insight Point or some bonus to XP, but also buffs, upgrades, and other improvements that will assist in other gameplay modes. (Such as combat or exploring.)

At this point, I need to discuss Insight Points. Florence is known as "The Chosen of Oghma." During the Sundering Era, where all of my D&D games take place in, there is an opprotunity for the deities in Faerun to chose champions for themselves. Such champions will have special abilities that link the character to the deity, above and beyond any cleric or paladin. In Florence's Case, her gift as "Chosen of Oghma" is "Flashes of Insight" where she suddenly gains knowledge of some very important thing, item, lore, or something else that she didn't know of before. (In layman's terms, think of Pat Robertson's 'Word of Knowledge,' only without the pomp and circumstance and with a lot more revealency.) The game begins with three Insight Points, which can be spent to aquire a Flash of Insight. Good investigation skills will reward the player with more Insight Points. As you can guess, this will be of help when a player is stuck somewhere and needs a big hint.

Now, on to the mechanics.

The first part would be gathering clues, which shouldn't be too difficult: I use Sensor Self-Switch; if Florence is nearby something, it'll 'sparkle'. Actioning the event will come up with a "Clue" which will be part of the Key Items.

Some clues can be examined closer, in which case a cross-hairs style point and click interface is called for.

The hard part is manipulating these Key Items.

The first part would be organization. I'll have that when the EST Notebook is finally out. That way, I'll have what I need to put all the major depictions of each Clue in an user-friendly format.

Now for Logic. I need to find a way for a subset of Clue Key Items to show on the screen for the player, and the player would need to select two of them. (No need to penalize for wrong connections; this isn't Ace Attorney, and Florence would already know if the connection won't fly. I might deliver an Insight Point if the player connects them on the first try.) If there is a connection between the two cards, Florence will make her deduction and create new Clue Cards.
In the case of 'contradictions,' they become apparent as Florence continues her investigation, so that she'll focus more on the clues to deduce the contradictions.



For conversations, I'll have a two part approach, the set-up and the press. In Set-Up. The person Florence is talking to states her case and tells her story. In Press, gameplay resembles Ace Attorney's Cross Examination, where the Set-Up Conversation is paged and Florence can press or object to any particular page. In normal conversations, she has a limited number of presses--and sometimes less presses than possible responses to the press--before she runs out of time to question the NPC. Of course, in Court Battles, time limits are not a problem.

I feel that there should be one more mechanic here, Something that would be Florence's answer to Psylocks (Phoenix Wright) or Logic Chess (Miles Edgeworth). I haven't thought of it yet at this time.

Also, I wonder if anyone would want me to make a more organized forum for my public notes for this game, or would this forum thread would be enough for everyone here. In the meantime, I'm going back to doing mapwork.

 

[cav_dan]

I think a blog can help, but the Forum is nice for dumping updates we can discuss more openly about.

 

[David FoxFire]

I think a blog can help, but the Forum is nice for dumping updates we can discuss more openly about.

I've compiled all the brainstorms I have so far and started a blog with it. That'll keep me from breaking any rules.

I also would like to put up a progress chart of my maping:

That's the map of Baldur's Gate, where most of the game will tale place in. The area in green is what I have on RPG Maker at this time, they might not be completed or finished, but it's coded in there, so it's progress.

What I'm working on now is a tall pagoda known as Ramazith's Tower, Florence's Home and Lab at the souther point of the green area. And the Wide, which is that triangular open space to the right of the green section. It might not be triangular by the time I put it in the game, however. RPG Maker's known for being rather...blocky...with their maps. Not that I mind; I'm not striving for perfection and polish in this game.

 

[cav_dan]

Wow, are you going to map the entire Baldur's Gate?

 

[David FoxFire]

Yeah. And eventually a good bit of what's inside it to boot. Although for now I'll just put in what I need, the outdoor scenes and whatever is necessary to begin scripting the story. I've even sketched out the chunks of city I need to break this big chore into so I can have manageable (and loadable) maps. I am not putting the entire city into one major map. The RPG Maker Engine will jump out of the computer it's installed in and do unwanted NSFW things to me.