79 replies to this topic

[vilkacis]

I seem to have picked up an irrational dislike for elves

I'm pretty sure I had nothing to do with that. They told me it wasn't contagious! I admit nothing. Nothing!

The problem is, no one'd take a druid with CHA 9 along

Why not? You need 15 to become a druiid IIRC, but I don't think there's anything saying you lose your dr00d powers if it drops later. If the character has gone through an experience that made her more reserved and less sociable, it would certainly make sense that the score has dropped as a result of that. (Compare this to Minsc, who no longer meets ranger requirements but retains his class.) A CHA of 9 is not as likely to drive people away as a score of 17 on a character who's obviously not written that way.

If you keep the other stats but give her 15 WIS and 9 CHA, her stats add up to 82, which is pretty close to the average for Bioware's NPCs. It sounds more in line with what you had in mind, as well.

[berelinde]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't be a big fan of NPCs that "break the rules." I prefer NPCs that would meet the same requirements as a PC of the same class or kit.

Except when the rules are stupid. In the case of a druid with a 15 CHA requirement, that makes no sense. How much charisma does it take to commune with trees? And druids aren't really required to be social creatures. So if a 9 charisma is more in keeping with your vision of Dalayna, go for it.

[Crazee]

I seem to have picked up an irrational dislike for elves

I'm pretty sure I had nothing to do with that. They told me it wasn't contagious! I admit nothing. Nothing!

Hmm. What next, hilarious stick figure pictures? (I hope).

The problem is, no one'd take a druid with CHA 9 along

Why not? You need 15 to become a druiid IIRC, but I don't think there's anything saying you lose your dr00d powers if it drops later. If the character has gone through an experience that made her more reserved and less sociable, it would certainly make sense that the score has dropped as a result of that. (Compare this to Minsc, who no longer meets ranger requirements but retains his class.) A CHA of 9 is not as likely to drive people away as a score of 17 on a character who's obviously not written that way.

If you keep the other stats but give her 15 WIS and 9 CHA, her stats add up to 82, which is pretty close to the average for Bioware's NPCs. It sounds more in line with what you had in mind, as well.

I think that's a really good idea. She doesn't seem like the charismatic type, anyway, and the significant drop of her overall stats is a good thing. I wouldn't worry about the low charisma affecting people wanting to take her along. Kivan's got 9, I think, and his romance is one of the most popular out there.

[Cal Jones]

I think Kivan had 9 because he was a silent, brooding type with occassional grumpy outburts (in BG anyway...) rather than because he was unappealing. It's a cliche but ladies do like the strong, silent types, especially when there is a tragic past to rescue them from.

And yes, it always peed me off that all the romances were healer types (and specifically clerics). What do you need most when you go to clear out a vampire nest? A cleric, of course, who can turn undead, cast negative plane protection and restoration, and not to mention sunray. And who does Bodhi kidnap just before you clear out her nest? The bloody cleric! Bah! (Druids are less crucial, of course, especially if you also have a cleric in party).

Anyway, good luck with your mod. Good call on making her human (all the female Bioware romances have elf blood, and I don't care for the pointy eared folk either...Kivan excepted). And I read bios too.

[Jarley]

Today I've been trying to use my non-existent drawing skills to draw Dalayna. These two are just colourless pencil sketches and show how truly useless I am at drawing things but I hope they give you a bit better image of how she's supposed to look like and what she's supposed to wear.

Dalayna portrait

Her clothes

Edited by Jarley, 12 July 2008 - 11:31 AM.

[vilkacis]

Note: moved stats discussion to Delusions. Sorry for the derail.


(Edit: stats, not alignment. Brane not werk so gud today.)

Edited by vilkacis, 15 July 2008 - 12:43 AM.

[Azkyroth]

(Reproducing the on-topic section of my last post):

Jarley, any thoughts on a revised stat set? (My advice would actually be to, rather than looking too much at other NPCs for comparison in terms of balance, go through the stats and rationalize each in terms of her background and how you imagine the character. I'll PM you an example that I did with Arkalian).

[Jarley]

First, sorry I haven't been around for a while. I went to my graduation ceremony in UK for a couple of days.

Yes, revised stat sets sounds better than abiding by the rules set by the game character creation. So, here's pretty much what I had in mind.

STR/CON: 14

Living in the woods (since she's a druid) has imrpoved Dalayna's durability and strength over the years. She is not the strongest, nor the healthiest, person around but not the weakest either. Her life has included times of hardship but not enough to make her really 'work' on her body.

DEX: 11

She has never touched a bow, a sling or a dart and mostly only uses dexterity when working with smaller animals and not causing destruction wherever she goes.

INT: 14

She has a solid mind with close to no loopholes. She can reason her way through tough spots but doesn't achieve similar kind of mental discipline than wizards.

WIS: 15

Her wisdom, like her intelligence, stems from her bond with nature. She has seen much and been through enough to be able to tell an outright lie, for example.

CHA: 9

She isn't the most joyous person to be around, with her inability to believe there being goodness in mortals and gods. She doesn't say much and when she does, her voice is either bitter or cold. Her opinions on justice and right differ from most people's if they exist at all.

I count it comes to 77. Shouldn't be too much.

I'll be spending the next two weeks at our summer cottage and there's no internet there. So no modding will take place (well, modding-practise) during that time but I'll be writing a lot. So it's possible I'll have some banters/flirts/lovetalks to show when I return.

[Azkyroth]

First, sorry I haven't been around for a while. I went to my graduation ceremony in UK for a couple of days.

Yes, revised stat sets sounds better than abiding by the rules set by the game character creation. So, here's pretty much what I had in mind.

STR/CON: 14

Living in the woods (since she's a druid) has imrpoved Dalayna's durability and strength over the years. She is not the strongest, nor the healthiest, person around but not the weakest either. Her life has included times of hardship but not enough to make her really 'work' on her body.

DEX: 11

She has never touched a bow, a sling or a dart and mostly only uses dexterity when working with smaller animals and not causing destruction wherever she goes.

INT: 14

She has a solid mind with close to no loopholes. She can reason her way through tough spots but doesn't achieve similar kind of mental discipline than wizards.

WIS: 15

Her wisdom, like her intelligence, stems from her bond with nature. She has seen much and been through enough to be able to tell an outright lie, for example.

CHA: 9

She isn't the most joyous person to be around, with her inability to believe there being goodness in mortals and gods. She doesn't say much and when she does, her voice is either bitter or cold. Her opinions on justice and right differ from most people's if they exist at all.

I count it comes to 77. Shouldn't be too much.

Sounds about right. Incidentally, the average for the Bioware characters is about 83.2, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[Jarley]

Okies, I tried my hand in writing some banters during my holiday. Since there's still some NPCs I've never played the game through with, I'm starting with the ones most familiar to me. So, here's one with Minsc. I've written a banter for Aerie, Haer'Dalis and Imoen as well but they're heavy on the spoiler side and won't be shown here. I'd also like to note that this is the first version and, more than likely, there'll be some changes in the final ones.

Minsc - Dalayna

Minsc: Boo tells me he has been keeping a keen eye on you, friend druid, and what he sees makes him worried.

Dalayna: Worried? About me?

Minsc: He says you do not seem interested in firmly planting your boot in the backside of evil!

Dalayna: Oh Minsc...evil has had more than its share of my boots in its behind. It just changes so very little. Too little.

Minsc: Boo shakes his head in shame. There is a lot of evil in line for buttkicking and Dalayna's boots are needed.

Dalayna: I have punished evil for its trespasses but never once have I seen a day rid of it entirely. No matter what we do it will always lurk in the dark corners of someone's heart. In everyone's heart. Some might claim their souls to be resistant to its whispers during twilight but these paragons of goodness just hide what they're afraid to admit existing.

Minsc: Both Boo and Minsc disagree. It took some words with him to make Minsc understand. Boo says that if evil is within us we must first kick our own butts.

Dalayna: What a spectacle that would be, I'm sure. But evil - it doesn't simply disappear from a kick to the buttocks nor does it vaporise as it hears a cry of a mighty warrior. It leaves us all capable, when the right moment comes, tp abandon what we believed in and embrace the darkness dwelling within. It might happen to any of us, just like it has to so many before.

Misnc: If Dalayna is ever in need of buttkicking Minsc will make sure his boot will not miss the mark.

Dalayna: Thank you Minsc but there is no need. Time has already taken care of that for me...with plated boots.

Edited by Jarley, 05 August 2008 - 09:15 AM.

[Jarley]

I thought I'd do the introduction bit properly now because I think I've finally got it the way I want it.

---------------------------------------

Name: Dalayna

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Class: Totemic Druid

Alingment: True Neutral

STATS:

STR: 14
DEX: 11
CON: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 15
CHA: 9

Biography: (Stilll to be written)

Notes:

- She will not join a lawful party leader, no matter how charismatic s/he may be.
- Will have approximately 23 LTs in SoA and banter 4 times with each Bioware NPC she's able to tolerate (these are throughout the game, so probably 3:1 when it comes to SoA:ToB. I haven't really thought the ToB LTs that much yet.)
- Has a flirtpack but isn't, in the beginning, hugely interested in flirting.
- Has a friendship track that's about 14 talks long altogether.
- Has some of her own equipment, like a unique staff and armtbands.
- Cannot be level-drained (yes, there's a reason for this and it's not because I just chose it to be so.)
- Will be romanceable by human, haf-elven, elven males. I'm thinking about half-orcs as well but haven't decided yet.

Portrait

This is where I ran into trouble. I could either wait until I can afford a new scanner or a drawing table. But I think asking can't hurt - has anyone here come across a portrait that would suit her. Here's the description: She has messy, uneven and quite shineless black hair, most of which reaches her shoulders. Some is a bit longer. Her skin is light gray and she has no wrinkles/eyebags/scars etc. Her eyes are dark brown, nearing black. They're also lifeless and dim, showing no emotions. She has quite a thin face and even though her eyes are emotionless, her mouth is always serious, with no hint of a smile.

Edited by Jarley, 11 August 2008 - 02:18 AM.

[Aeviannce]

I could draw make a portrait if you want. I could make sample drafts for you and you could choose what suits her... then i can begin from there

Edited by Aeviannce, 13 August 2008 - 08:21 AM.

[Jarley]

Oooh, that would be wonderful. Are you sure it wouldn't be a problem?

[Aeviannce]

No problem. I'll try to post some sketches hopefully by this weekend.

[Aeviannce]

Here ya go.

Attached Images

• 
• 

Edited by Aeviannce, 18 August 2008 - 04:35 AM.

[Jarley]

I really like her, especially in the second picture. Her eyes look just like I've always thought they would! Maginificently done!

[Aeviannce]

Okay then, I'll be working on the second picture, do you have a suggestion what clothes she would be wearing? I'll be posting a cleaner version of this after.

[Jarley]

I can sketch her clothing this weekend but at the moment I'm too busy with arranging graduation party to even write the mod ^^

[Jarley]

First, I'm terribly sorry for the delay. It appears I misplaced the cord of my digital camera (since I don't have a scanner) and had to turn the houde upside down to find it. And eventually I did, so here's what I had in mind for her clothing.

Front&side
Side&back
Legs(probably won't need this one)
A horribly bright pic of her 'jacket'

I thought that the 'jacket' part of the clothes would be light brown, leather, with signs of use. The dress would probably be light green, the colour almost fading away.

Edited by Jarley, 31 August 2008 - 08:03 AM.

[Jarley]

I know I'm once again double-posting, please forgive me. I've written some of Dalayna's flirts and they include poetry. Put it in the flirts so no one has to listen to it if they don't want to. Here is one of the poems:

I don't care how you see me
As the sun goes down
And darkness crawls onto your skin
Revealing the hidden beauty

Can you feel my breath
On your cheek then
When darkness falls?

Or taste my thirst
From a single touch?

I let my fingers
Feast upon your flesh
Drawing new memories of love
Of misty moonlit nights
And shadows in the corners
Of your smile

From your eyes
I can read the beat
Of your heart
Sketch the outline
Of your soul

Be mine tonight
As light dies out
Let me drown
In your essence
Suffocate on your kiss

Give me a reason
To want to live forever
And hate Immortality