<CloudGC> Ding ding ding
<Kae_> hehe
<CloudGC> So what kind of character are we talking about?
<Kae_> do you have an account on the SHS forums?
<CloudGC> Nope.
<CloudGC> give me a moment though
<CloudGC> oh snap, I do
<CloudGC> My mistake
<CloudGC> Haha, I need to get that renamed, I signed up on that display name by mistake
<Kae_> Illyria is a half-elven woman from the Isle of Evermeet. She's serious, has a slight tendency to worry, is caring... uhm... and other stuff. Lol. She speaks very formally, without any colloquialisms or slang, and doesn't compress words.
<Kae_> I have the majority of NPC banters done, starting to focus on her PC dialogue which is proving daunting, lol
<CloudGC> I see, what's her perogative for joining the PC?
<CloudGC> I'm a beginner at writing and such myself, but it's something I'm interested in, so I'll do my best to assist
<Kae_> Well, in the old story it was because they were both looking for someone, and either she or the PC thought it would be beneficial to work together. In the new version, its probably going to be because she wants to learn about him/her- long story... basically, the woman she was travelling with, Oralle (who Illyria considered to be a family member) left Illyria to travel by herself. 
<Kae_> After a year or so, Illyria decided to search Oralle out, because she was totally aimless; Oralle hadn't mentioned where she would be going, but she DID mention the PC
<Kae_> thats very tentative, though
<Kae_> and will probably be changed entirely XD
<Kae_> go check out the workforums - password: nd9twkxq
<Kae_> http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showforum=284
<CloudGC> Hmm, the isle of evermeet, I'm assuming this is an island of trade, similar to trademeet in amn?
<Kae_> nope
<Kae_> the Isle of Evermeet is a loooooooong way from Amn, Tethyr or anywhere near there. It is a solely Elven island
<Kae_> shrouded in mystery, very few humans even know about it
<Kae_> (this is canon)
<CloudGC> I'll say, I've never even heard about it!
<Kae_> It's also called 'The Elven Retreat', because Elves began to move there in groups as time went on, abandoning the lands of Faerun for their own place where they could do what they wanted without humans or other races
<Kae_> lol :)
<CloudGC> So her perogative is that she's searching for her best friend who left her alone, but mentioned in passing she would be seeking out the PC?
<Kae_> but as I mentioned - major rewrite going on, so... 
<Kae_> thats the idea atm :)
<Kae_> Have yet to speak to my co-storyline-writer about it (we've only gotten a little bit into her history so far, lol; we're very thorough on this sort of thing)
<Kae_> the fact we live in totally different timezones doesn't help at all, either :P
<CloudGC> What sort of person is she, For example, why did she become a cleric, as opposed to a mage?
<CloudGC> Might be a bit easier with someone in this timezone :)
<Kae_> On Evermeet, she never really got along with her elven counterparts (though nobody, not even she, knew she was half-elven at the time) so she threw herself into studies to please her mother. becoming a cleric was as good as anything else, and she had absolutely no aptitude for magic whatsoever
<Kae_> heh, yeah XD
<Kae_> the crux of the mod though, is that before Oralle left, she gave Illyria an amulet.
<Kae_> It was originally a soul gem, though Oralle created a spell (she's a very powerful mage) to remove the soul-binding enchantments and get rid of the beholder soul within... it didn't quite work as planned. Oralle is somewhat lazy with spellcasting due to her power, so she also made the very same spell bind the amulet to Illyria herself.
<Kae_> Basically, the spell didn't work properly, and though the soul-binding enchantments were destroyed, the Beholder soul somehow became fused to the amulet itself.
<CloudGC> now theres an interesting thing you could do with the story
<Kae_> Oralle wasn't aware of this, and thought the had removed the soul, so she gave the amulet to Lyr as a parting gift
<CloudGC> instead of fusing with the amulet, why not fuse it to illyria?
<Kae_> over time, Illyria realised the amulet had an awareness
<Kae_> Well, it is, kind of :)
<Kae_> L'Sirr (the Beholder) can speak to Illyria and Illyria to L'Sirr, telepathically
<CloudGC> The beholders personality, is it like the standard beholders? IE, self aware, but not caring about others outside of its species and overly aggressive?
<Kae_> L'Sirr is evil, but not in the usual sense of the word; she is evil because her race can't be anything but. She was raised that way. When she was bound to the gem and Illyria, she began to experience new emotions - confusion, hesitation, friendship, pain.
<Kae_> The mod is all about what Illyria decides to do with the amulet, and the PC (and the other NPCs) can influence her decision greatly. There are 3 'paths' within the mod, each with different rewards and consequences
<Kae_> Lyr can choose to fully bond herself to L'Sirr, show her more about life and give her a 'second chance', so to speak. That's the Neutral Good path
<CloudGC> Hmm, I like conflict within a party, I all of a sudden picture l'sirr taking over lyrs body fully, and battling the PC in slayer form, that would amuse me, heh, but continue
<Kae_> She can choose to destroy the amulet (And L'Sirr), but it has big consequences; her soul is linked to L'Sirr's, and in doing that she destroys a part of her own soul, as well. She begins to see things, which are in actuality lost souls looking for a body to inhabit. She goes kind of insane.
<Kae_> She can also choose not to do anything, and wait. This causes her to go down the 'evil' path, where L'Sirr begins to turn truly evil and fights for possession of Lyr's body. Eventually, Lyr gives up and L'Sirr and Illyria merge into a person who isn't entirely human... obsessed with sensation
<Kae_> lust, pain... causing fear in others
<Kae_> lots of fun :D
<Kae_> in ToB she tries to seduce the PC or some of the other NPCs (Sarevok, Imoen or Viconia)
<CloudGC> That would be amusing, I like the evil path
<Kae_> me too :D
<CloudGC> What sort of conflict are you considering for that?
<Kae_> oh! I forgot to mention... in the good path, she gains a wicked sense of humour. before her choice, she's kind of a bit black and white... almost deals in absolutes. In the Good path, she deals with the greys more
<CloudGC> So what are you focusing on at the moment?
<Kae_> I'm not sure yet, lol - one of the things for the rewrite. I'm thinking if another romance is happening, Lyr will try to get the PC to shut up about it - then she herself tells the NPC in question, and a fight ensues. Or something. The NPC seductions would all be different depending on the character
<Kae_> mostly her history, and making the bits and pieces I have in mind all fit together. :) So, the big rewrite of plot & history
<CloudGC> you mentioned you'd mostly done banter, what parts of banter haven't you done, and what npc mods will you have interactions with?
<Kae_> Auren, Khadion, Nathaniel, the Luxley two, and Arkalian for certain; I haven't spoken to other mod authors, but most of the good ones. There's a list in the discussion workforum :)
<Kae_> As many as I can, really
<Kae_> check the SoA ToDo thread in the discussion forum for the banters I haven't done
<CloudGC> That's going to dramatically increase the time on the mod
<Kae_> Bah, not really.
<Kae_> NPC banters take, like, an hour to do 3 or more. Absolutely easy in comparison to PC dialogue XD which will be the most work
<CloudGC> that would be difficult, considering all the class choices,etc etc
<CloudGC> So what would you like me to write? In what format?
<Kae_> Whatever you'd like to do, lol. The SoA ToDo thread details what hasn't been done- probably PC dialogue is the thing in most need of doing, but I'm not sure what I'll need there. Another thing which needs doing is detailing the village of Rayen, a large new village area which comes with Lyr - each of the inhabitants needs a dialogue, and quests for it need to be planned etc. Doesn't really relate to Illyria except peripherally
<CloudGC> A whole new town eh?
<Kae_> yep. It'll probably become its own mod, but its the scene for the vast majority of Illyria's quest(s)
<Kae_> it's where Oralle has her mansion/house, and where Lyr's mother lives
<CloudGC> Hmm
<CloudGC> Have you done up the 'picture' for the village?
<Kae_> not yet- one of the things that needs doing. :)
<Kae_> I'm going to model it in 3d
<Kae_> but it needs to be concepted and drawn up, lol
<CloudGC> that does make writing for it more difficult
<CloudGC> Can you give me more details on the type of town it is? Secluded? well defended? Fortified? Overpopulated?
<Kae_> Kind of, yeah *grins* Of course, wait a moment
<Kae_> http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=22357 :)
<Kae_> that has the information I've written up about it... well, most of it, anyway
<Kae_> it also means its easier to write quests for, because I can make areas specific to them, lol
<CloudGC> are we talking a town with districts, like amn? or a big villager like trademeet?
<Kae_> More like Trademeet - but perhaps separating it into several areas might be easier. :)
<CloudGC> How about political differences in the town, reading this it looks like oralle/oralles mother run the town?
<Kae_> Kind of - they don't have an official leader, its more of a democratic situation. Oralle isn't actually around there anymore; she's never seen in the village, anyway. Sara is a bit of a recluse, but her opinion is highly valued
<CloudGC> Sara is her mother, right?
<Kae_> Yep
<CloudGC> Hmm
<CloudGC> Are there any nearby encampments? Any military threats?
<Kae_> Tethyr is almost constantly in a state of war; Rayen probably has a military group which defend the town, but nothing big. People mostly tend to ignore it
<CloudGC> Like you said, it's a town with a lot of questionable people
<CloudGC> sorry for asking all these questions, I'm trying to get an idea for the clime of the town
<Kae_> Yeah; I'd imagine the more powerful members of the town would keep the thieves etc in line, but there aren't that many - Oralle and Sara were their main mages; one of the characters I've come up with is a cleric/druid herbalist, who is kind of like the town wisewoman. She can predict the future a bit- well... kind of. She can predict the various possibilities of what could happen, so she warns the military 'forces' if anything is up
<Kae_> thats absolutely FINE - it helps me define it myself, too ;P
<CloudGC> Hmm
<CloudGC> For the whole town
<CloudGC> I'm imagining something split up into 3 towns
<CloudGC> The west side is where everyone lives, the westernmost edge of the village is where the nobles and magii live, the eastern part of the town is where the trade takes place, where most of the inns are and such, it's also where the main entrance to the town should be
<Kae_> So we have 3 factions - traders, nobles/magii, and commoners.
<CloudGC> the northern part of the village is where matters of justice are conducted, where the military barracks are located and where training is conducted
<CloudGC> Yes
<Kae_> and the military.
<CloudGC> The military isnt really a faction seeing as they wont really be involved in the political intrigue
<Kae_> Yeah, they're more 'neutrals'
<CloudGC> Now the question is, to what region would Rayen owe its allegiance, or would it be a neutral town?
<CloudGC> now there's an idea for a quest
<CloudGC> Bear with me here, tethyr forest is the home of the suldenesselar elves, right?
<Kae_> I'd say neutral, because its kind of in the middle of Amnish and Tethyrian territory - technically within Tethyr, but the forest itself is huge.
<Kae_> Yep
<Kae_> I'd forgotten about the elves- if they had an alleigance, it would be to the elves because the elves could best protect them.
<Kae_> they'd need the elves for trade
<CloudGC> Say theres a bit of a conflict brewing between tethyr over borders, over to which region the town actually belongs, amn, or, suldenessalar
<CloudGC> As the player characters come around to the town, they see a bit of a scuffle break out between the suldenesselarian ambassador party, and the amnish ambassador party
<CloudGC> The characters then have a week to help the nobility of the town decide to which region they owe their allegiance
<CloudGC> I'm imagining 3 possible outcomes for this
<Kae_> (Tethyr is full of political intrigue; I wouldn't be surprised if they tried something underhanded there)
<CloudGC> 1) They decide to go with suldenessalar, this has a noticable impact on the population, with humans becoming more scarce as elves 'move in' to take over the town (IE, to help fortify it), depending on the PC's race, costs for everything will increase/decrease
<Kae_> I can't really see the elves taking over the town; the suldenesselarian elves are reclusive, keep to themselves - there's a bit of racism within Suldenesselar, too
<CloudGC> 2) They decide that they owe neither region their allegiance, and decide to become a fully neutral town, this has no real affect on the town, costs for everything will slightly increase (after all, they have to get their supplies from one of two, now foreign, regions and because they owe neither their allegiance, they gain no discounts) this has the effect of an increased military presence
<CloudGC> When I say take over the town, I mean more along the lines of fortifying it heavily, as it has now officially become a border guard of their territory
<CloudGC> IE, right on their border
<Kae_> Ah, okay. I'm just not sure if Ellesime would care enough about it... :P She's a very selfish woman
<Kae_> the elves would most likely intervene if it meant more military presence within the woods
<Kae_> or a threat to the woods or elves themselves
<Kae_> I can't see them becoming involved otherwise.
<CloudGC> Well, we could say that's the whole reason for the initial conflict the player character comes across (both ambassadorial parties attacking each other)
<CloudGC> Both claim the town as part of their territory
<CloudGC> Amn decides to fortify its border guards against possible invasions
<CloudGC> The elves see this fortification as an aggressive military move against them
<Kae_> So the elves decide to intervene because it means increased risk to them. nice touch. :D
<CloudGC> Thanks
<CloudGC> the third outcome is that the town decides to change their allegiance to amn, this would mean the elves would leave
<CloudGC> Depending on when the town / pc makes their choices
<CloudGC> could affect several things
<CloudGC> For example, if its one of the first things you do
<CloudGC> Is make it so the town changes their allegiance to the elves, the cost for everything in amn will rise significantly
<CloudGC> After all, your character essentially 'took' a town from amn, the officials wouldnt like that
<Kae_> Yeah
<CloudGC> It could also have the added effect of later in the game, it being a target for joneleth on his way to the world tree
<Kae_> oooh, thats great - angst for the NPCs and PC! Always good
<CloudGC> Or, if you make it an amnish town, you would see an increase in vampire/thief attacks against you, as amn would have a larger population to draw off
<Kae_> making the player actually care about the village, and then destroying it is a great motivation, too
<CloudGC> It could also be a way for you to reintroduce the mothers daughter, say , her mother is killed, and she finds out
<Kae_> Yeah - probably not *that* much, though; I can't see Rayen being all that large. 300-400 people?
<CloudGC> She tracks joneleth down to the tree and helps you attack him
<CloudGC> Yeah, well, 3-400, of that 3-400, I'd imagine maybe a quarter, or an eighth being of questionable legality?
<CloudGC> so between 50-100 of that 400, would still be enough for one, or maybe two attacks, depending on which faction you choose in amn :)
<CloudGC> especially if you consider that most random encounters are more than two, and less than six
<Kae_> Yep. :) This is such a brilliant idea - congrats :D It could really help bring a lot more life back into BG2 - make players care again. At least, about one aspect of the game. ;)
<CloudGC> Sorry if I appear to be taking over, I'm just tossing out ideas here as they come to me
<Kae_> Oh! the town is also available during ToB
<Kae_> thats absolutely fine - you're doing much better than I would
<CloudGC> If its available during tob we could have a secondary quest
<CloudGC> Say the default faction the town chooses is the elves
<Kae_> which would be one of the quests I was originally planning for Illyria, I'd think; near Rayen is a Beholder 'nest'. Far below it, of course
<Kae_> *could be, lol
<Kae_> so we could actually extend ToB a bit... :)
<Kae_> *waits for your idea* sorry, lol
<CloudGC> Yeah, we could make that a quest, I'll get to that shortly
<CloudGC> say the default faction for the town is the elves
<CloudGC> as the party ventures into ToB
<CloudGC> they start to hear worrying reports from amn by messenger
<CloudGC> say the first one comes as they take out gromnir in saradush
<CloudGC> that amn has decided the elves are too weak to defend the town, and take it by force
<CloudGC> and that the player characters forces, by virtue of persuading the townspeople in the first place to change their loyalties to the elves, are condemned criminals, and are to be executed
<CloudGC> if the party stays away from the town
<Kae_> VERY nice. Sometime tomorrow I'll get Rayen its own workroom at SHS :) Make it a bit more separate from Lyr
<CloudGC> And does nothing
<CloudGC> The amnish forces join forces with the army that attacks you in the desert
<CloudGC> making that a MUCH tougher fight
<Kae_> :D
<CloudGC> but if you take the town, they have no staging post with which to join armies, so there would only be the one there
<CloudGC> You could also enlist drizzt one final time to help retake the town, say his party was captured there when the town was taken, and his group was imprisoned for the crime of helping your party back in amn
<Kae_> So, we're looking at: 4 areas for the town itself; 2 smaller foresty areas for Sara and Oralle's houses; and a destroyed version. I've already made a sort of general foresty area where the entrance to the Beholder Lair is, too (except thats cut + paste work - may not fit in with the rest, we'll see)
<Kae_> I think involving Drizzt is a big nono, lol... I think we should avoid Drizzt even just to poke him with a ten foot pole - he's a bit too well known... people tend to get annoyed if characters like Drizzt are just taken into captivity XD
<CloudGC> Yeah, true, like I said, I'm just tossing out ideas
<Kae_> :)
<CloudGC> What sort of character could we have institute a breakout/revolution to overthrow the town?
<CloudGC> I'm not too familiar withthe canon/lore surrounding well known parties/major npcs
<Kae_> We could probably make the thieves faction attempt to take over, because... you know... they're thieves. Or put a twist on the situation, and have one of the mages try to take over
<Kae> bah
<Kae> silly thing
<CloudGC> (00:30:52) (Kae_) :)
<CloudGC> (00:31:03) (CloudGC) What sort of character could we have institute a breakout/revolution to overthrow the town?
<CloudGC> (00:31:33) (CloudGC) I'm not too familiar withthe canon/lore surrounding well known parties/major npcs
<CloudGC> (00:34:25) (CloudGC) hmm, no, that'd probably be a bad idea
<CloudGC> Something that came to me
<CloudGC> Is a questline involving the beholder nest near rayen
<Kae> <Kae_> We could probably make the thieves faction attempt to take over, because... you know... they're thieves. Or put a twist on the situation, and have one of the mages try to take over
<CloudGC> in ToB, depending on how illyria performs, (IE, which brance is taken)
<CloudGC> lets say
<CloudGC> lets say she merges fully, and is in control, becoming a new person
<Kae> (ie good path)
<CloudGC> depending on stats, she should be able to communicate / convince the beholders to assist the rebellion
<CloudGC> it is probably a bad idea
<CloudGC> but I figured I'd throw it out there
<Kae> Well... the Beholders there are totally evil, so... :P Unless the player had a bargaining chip of some sort... hmm. What I was planning was that the Beholder nest could eventually be used as a stronghold in ToB; it would have human-enabled parts. Ooh... we could have several different strongholds, really; Oralle's mansion, the Caves, and perhaps some other places
<CloudGC> now THAT'S an interesting idea
<CloudGC> What would the beholder hives perogative to be controlled by a human though, from my understanding l'sirr isn't the head of the hive, right?
<Kae> I'm not sure of L'Sirr's relation to the hive, but it won't be anything like hivemistress or anything - she might have lived there in the past, but nothing important
<CloudGC> we'd need to make a reason for them to accept l'sirr/illyria
<Kae> yeah - and it'd have to be based on something the PC or Illyria can provide the Beholders with. Protection from the elves or something, perhaps. Beholders aren't interested in money, only expanding their caves
<CloudGC> I may be mistaken here, but dont beholders value treasure?
<Kae> I was under the impression they didn't really care... *shrugs* What use would they have for it?
<CloudGC> so what would they value?
<CloudGC> They dont strike me as a very... friendly race, even closed to outsiders, I dont think theres terribly much cooperation
<CloudGC> hah
<CloudGC> now theres a thought
<CloudGC> Remember the awesome beholder?
<Kae> They definately aren't the happiest of campers..
<Kae> Spectator? :D
<CloudGC> yeah
<Kae> Spectator is one damned odd beholder, lol
<CloudGC> mayhaps the beholder hive near rayen
<CloudGC> Is his hive
<CloudGC> He could remember the Player character as a fair and decent character, and knows l'sirr
<Kae> yeah, but he's probably not going to be accepted within the Beholder community. One thing I DO know about Beholders is that they absolutely detest anything different - free thinking, for example. If one beholder has different markings than the rest, the others will kill it on that basis alone
<CloudGC> Maybe his hive is all the same way he is
<CloudGC> Remember the 'casual' conversation he has with the PC in sendais enclave?
<CloudGC> When he discusses the hive he makes it sound like a damned bar
<Kae> Nope? (long time since I've played ToB, lol)
<Kae> LOL... my worry about doing that is that it makes it less of a threat to the village; and it adds the element of 'joke mod' to what is otherwise a very serious mod
<CloudGC> its something along the lines of 'Well, now that that business is sorted out, I think I'll be off' 'What're you gonna do?' 'Go back to the hive, check out some chicks, you?' 'Same'
<CloudGC> Well, that incredibly disturbing thought aside
<Kae> (/shudders)
<Kae> I'd personally want to steer clear of a somewhat neutral, good or funny aligned Beholder hive... ;P but thats just me. :D
<CloudGC> i wouldn't say they're neutral, good, or funny aligned
<CloudGC> but perhaps neutral evil as an alignment?
<Kae> neutral evil- or lawful evil
<Kae> I can't remember...
<CloudGC> they're still evil, but they're not out and out hostile
<Kae> I wish I had my D&D monster manual immediately on hand... *goes to get it*
<CloudGC> Lawful evil would probably work best
<CloudGC> I have an ebook version now that you've reminded me
<Kae> Ahcrap, not here... XD
<Kae> would you mind looking?
<CloudGC> second, and I'll have a look
<CloudGC> Alignment: lawful evil
<Kae> thought so
<CloudGC> Hmm
<Kae> http://www.answers.com/topic/beholder-1
<CloudGC> I hope thats not beholder porn
<Kae> lol
<Kae> nope
<Kae> There isn't actually much information on Beholders out there
<CloudGC> What do you know of the Zhentarim?
<Kae> We don't have to have anything about beholders in there at all, really, I just thought it'd be a cool quest to show the player how different the incarnations are
<Kae> virtually nothing :)
<CloudGC> sec, doing some quickreading about the zhentarim, I have something of an idea
<CloudGC> a seed of an idea.
<Kae> Cool :D
<CloudGC> Alright, I can see something here
<CloudGC> The zhentarim, are essentially a giant spy network, they're comparable to
<CloudGC> SAy
<CloudGC> Say the kgb became its own political party, with all of their ambition, assassins and all
<CloudGC> comparable to that
<Kae> kgp? *ignorant!person*
<Kae> *b
<CloudGC> They have no bases in the sword coast because they have only just recently recovered from a civil war
<CloudGC> KGB, russian secret service
<Kae> ahk :)
<CloudGC> incredibly unscrupulous, blackmail, extortion, kidnapping, nothing is beneath them
<CloudGC> the zhentarim are in a 'semi' alliance with the beholder leadership
<CloudGC> a beholder named
<CloudGC> Xulla
<Kae> ooh, cool... so the Beholder population is allowing Zhents in?
<CloudGC> Not so much 'allowing' but 'tolerating'
<CloudGC> we could say, just for example, that this particular hive is not instinctly aggressive, they're more passive than regular beholders, not saying much, but yknow
<Kae> *grins* And the village notices an influx of strange new people, and the Beholders are becoming violent? 
<CloudGC> Yep
<CloudGC> you can see where I'm going with this
<Kae> how would the Zhents affect the village?
<CloudGC> Essentially, prices rise, at first, that's it, until the party is attacked by beholder-kin for 'the crime of being zhentarim'
<CloudGC> Basically, the zhentarim start building a power base in the town, because this particular beholder hive is no longer 'playing ball' with them, because they're fed up tolerating blatant thieves in their midst
<Kae> Why would the Beholders attack zhents if they're in a semi-alliance with them? :|
<Kae> ah, okay. Maybe the Zhents were taking up more room and resources than the Beholders agreed to, rather than basing it on thievery
<CloudGC> Because not every hive is in the alliance, from what I understand, every hive is like a kingdom, they have their own alliances
<Kae> thats what I got, too
<CloudGC> overall, they may be in a 'semialliance' but whether or not each hive decides to honour that alliance is another matter
<Kae> :)
<CloudGC> perhaps an item of power was stolen from that hive mother by the zhentarim, I'm not sure what because I've not given it much thought
<Kae> Hmm... thats a good idea- some sort of thing which protects the Beholders, I'd say... which would allow the PC into the lair when he/she usually wouldn't be able to get in
<CloudGC> Yep, definitely, something thats made this particular beholder hive declare war on the local zhentarim, hence the influx
<CloudGC> that could be the second big mission, ridding the town of the local violent zhentarim, or wiping out l'sirrs kin
<CloudGC> wiping out the zhentarim will lower prices in the town, and pacify the beholderkin somewhat
<Kae> yep :) thats really cool. Enough to allow you access into certain parts of their cave, anyway; go beyond those bounds and they attack, perhaps
<CloudGC> While wiping out the beholderkin will corrupt the town, and you'd be unwelcome there for being a bhaalspawn
<CloudGC> Yeah :)


Had a very indepth discussion with CloudGC on IRC earlier today, and after an hour or so of throwing ideas around we decided that Rayen really deserves its own mod. Going to create its own workforum sometime soon. Though Rayen ties in with Illyria, they aren't really related beyond that, so there isn't much point having them in the same mod together.

Just some basic information:

    * Rayen will have 4 'districts' kind of like Athkatla, but smaller. They are: Trade District, Living District, Noble's District and Military district. Each has its own 'faction'.
    * 300-400 people living in Rayen
    * Composed of several different types; thieves/those on the run from the law, outcasts from society, tradesmen who prefer isolaton and a smaller community, various nobles and mages who don't live in mainstream society
    * It is on the border of Tethyr and Amn - negotiations are underway as to which country it belongs to. Amn fortifies its border, as does Tethyr, so the elves of Suldanesselar become involved (they don't want increased military presence.)
    * Basically, the PC needs to help the town decide who they want to go with - each path has its own consequences and rewards. There isn't really a 'good' or an 'evil' choice here.
    * Certain town members have their own opinions, and it is up to the PC to appease/anger/whatever these people. Consequences, of course.
    * The ToB section of Rayen also has its own quest - Beholders in the area are becoming increasingly violent, and the Zhentarim are somehow involved. Up to the PC to investigate and solve the problem- 2 possible solutions: side with beholders against Zhentarim, or against the Beholders.
    * New strongholds independant of class or alignment which are available throughout SoA & ToB