Unfortunately there is no way to double-cross the Shadow Thieves. If you attack them before you depart, you'll either get murdered by Arkanis Gath or (assuming you survive) have screwed up things beyond repair. After you accept their help in departing the city, there is no opportunity to attack them before you leave, though I suppose you could do it after you return. It won't be in line with the story the same way it would be if you side with Bodhi, but both factions would be gone.
I've killed the Shadow Thieves upon returning from Spellhold before; it's not as satisfying as doing it as part of the plot, but it works and doesn't break anything.
Yes, as I also mentioned earlier, attacking certain Shadow Thieves NPCs at the wrong time (or at all) will cause Arkanis Gath to spawn and wtfpwn you.
However, unlike what the people in that thread reported, there *are* ways to both get around his insta-kill, and to outright kill him. His weapons (which cause the instant kill) are +3 magical weapons; if you cannot get hit by them you do not die. Protection from Magic Weapons, for example, stops him completely. Also the cleric spell Death Ward will stop him from killing you instantly; he will however still cause damage.
If you then want to kill Arkanis, you can only do so by draining an ability score, or his level. The "easiest" way to do this is via the Shapechange spell, which allows you to transform into a Mind Flayer and drain his Intelligence. Once it reaches 0, he will die, immunities or not. Note that Arkanis himself doesn't drop anything too special, but Renal Bloodscalp does hold a pair of the coveted Boots of Speed (the 6th pair in the entire game, afaik, so if you want a full party with boots...).
If i'm not wrong some romance events (if you're pursuing one) are related to certain chapters.
I am not sure if I should continue. Aerie is insufferable with her "I have minor a physical disability and therefore life is meaningless, you lesser races wouldn't understand!" (I can forgive the former, but the latter is what really gets me; she is the most insufferably arrogant elf stereotype I have ever seen, and she is all passive aggressive about her bigotry), Viconia is an utter bitch who tries her hardest to break the spirits of my other companions and treat everyone else like crap. And Jehira keeps on prattling about how evil cities and society are and balance balance balance. And she shoe horn the concept of balance into every freaking little thing. I just got the "pick between aerie and viconia" banter and dropped viconia (and by that I mean, I refused to join her in bullying aerie)
I am getting close to sending all 3 of them alone into battle without armor and going gay for anomen. Except I bet he will be equally insufferable.
My most fulfilling NPC interactions so far have been with minsk and Yoshimo. And there are a bunch of non romancable NPCs out there that look like they will be an utter hoot to party with. However, I have had exactly 1 non quest related banter session with each of minsk and yoshiomo, while the 3 girls triggered about 30 banters put together. (many times their banters are combined. But only with each other, never yoshimo or minsk)
Go for anomen isn't a gay thing unless you main char is always a male. I play female main chars many times, and while many people hate Anomen, let me give you my perspective of this:
While all the 3 female NPC romances aren't so full of personality defects as Anomen is, all the 3 romances with them seems a bit... artificial. I like Jaheira romance above the others but 2 things bother me a bit, first she's mature in common sense but a bit naive about principles, too much black and white in her view and too much political correct for my taste. And her romance appears to me like an RD (relation discussion) from the very first banter until the end, no sweet time pratically. Still the better between the 3.
Anomen is an asshole, arrogant, petulant, cocky, bullier and other thousand adjectives of the like that you can attribute to him, still this make him... human, and his romance feel more real. He's not going to say the right things at the begin and will give you all the reasons to kick him out many times in the begin, but after his Order trial, no matter the result, as all humans with a bit of value, he grows up, and that can be seen in his character.
It's a nice history the romance between main char and Anomen, if you don't mind roleplay a female character you can like it (just remember to put yourself in Anomen's place in the romance roleplay moments). Ps: you can ignore him (not now, not this time, now isn't the best moment...) for some times (don't know how much exactly) without breaking the romance.
So to go on-topic, i believe that some parts of Anomen's romance run in real time gameplay and if you rush the game too fast you loose the conclusion of the romance.
Yes, as I also mentioned earlier, attacking certain Shadow Thieves NPCs at the wrong time (or at all) will cause Arkanis Gath to spawn and wtfpwn you.
However, unlike what the people in that thread reported, there *are* ways to both get around his insta-kill, and to outright kill him. His weapons (which cause the instant kill) are +3 magical weapons; if you cannot get hit by them you do not die. Protection from Magic Weapons, for example, stops him completely. Also the cleric spell Death Ward will stop him from killing you instantly; he will however still cause damage.
If you then want to kill Arkanis, you can only do so by draining an ability score, or his level. The "easiest" way to do this is via the Shapechange spell, which allows you to transform into a Mind Flayer and drain his Intelligence. Once it reaches 0, he will die, immunities or not. Note that Arkanis himself doesn't drop anything too special, but Renal Bloodscalp does hold a pair of the coveted Boots of Speed (the 6th pair in the entire game, afaik, so if you want a full party with boots...).
If i'm not wrong some romance events (if you're pursuing one) are related to certain chapters.
I think there are several romance events which can only happen in Chapters 2, 3, or 6, with most lovetalks being put on hold in chapters 4 and 5 (for obvious reasons).
Each of the romances has their own character flaws. I find I like Aerie a lot better when I'm not romancing her (and I genuinely enjoy watching the Aerie/Haer'Dalis romance unfold), and I've never been interested enough in Viconia to see her romance all the way through. I like Jaheira's romance, but she's definitely all business 90% of the time, as @kamuizin points out (part of the reason why I feel her romance benefits the most from the addition of the flirtpack mod). Anomen rates high on the insufferability scale, but improves noticeably once he's through with the knighthood test, though it's a shame that improvement doesn't extend into his banters with other party members (aside from Keldorn).
Hey Jaheira, being GOOD all the time is not the same as being BALANCED. They are not synonyms.
Also: I was there when you were whipping on Khalid, I know what you're like. Do you really think anyone with a spine would ever love you? Khalid was a nice man and you crushed him - it was you who should have died!
CHARNAME has a rather HUGE stake in it that you seem to be ignoring which has nothing to do with Elves
Like... his or her SOUL.
Except being soulless apparently doesn't do anything. It has zero cosequences gameplay-wise, and the ONLY time anything happens roleplaying-wise is when you stumble on the steps in Spellhold Maze.
Hey Jaheira, being GOOD all the time is not the same as being BALANCED. They are not synonyms.
Also: I was there when you were whipping on Khalid, I know what you're like. Do you really think anyone with a spine would ever love you? Khalid was a nice man and you crushed him - it was you who should have died!
So, I ended up doing most sidequsts and will probably finish all before leaving. Still can't decide who to side with. The vamps are tempting for my righteous crusader (not a paladin because FREEDOM!) because they can root out the shadow thieves... and then I can destroy them (if the cowled wizards don't beat me to it). While the corrupt government is perfectly happy to cooperate with the shadow thieves.
Comments
See this thread: http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/threads/killing-renal-bloodscalp.2328/
However, unlike what the people in that thread reported, there *are* ways to both get around his insta-kill, and to outright kill him. His weapons (which cause the instant kill) are +3 magical weapons; if you cannot get hit by them you do not die. Protection from Magic Weapons, for example, stops him completely. Also the cleric spell Death Ward will stop him from killing you instantly; he will however still cause damage.
If you then want to kill Arkanis, you can only do so by draining an ability score, or his level. The "easiest" way to do this is via the Shapechange spell, which allows you to transform into a Mind Flayer and drain his Intelligence. Once it reaches 0, he will die, immunities or not. Note that Arkanis himself doesn't drop anything too special, but Renal Bloodscalp does hold a pair of the coveted Boots of Speed (the 6th pair in the entire game, afaik, so if you want a full party with boots...).
Let them rot.
I am getting close to sending all 3 of them alone into battle without armor and going gay for anomen. Except I bet he will be equally insufferable.
My most fulfilling NPC interactions so far have been with minsk and Yoshimo. And there are a bunch of non romancable NPCs out there that look like they will be an utter hoot to party with.
However, I have had exactly 1 non quest related banter session with each of minsk and yoshiomo, while the 3 girls triggered about 30 banters put together. (many times their banters are combined. But only with each other, never yoshimo or minsk)
While all the 3 female NPC romances aren't so full of personality defects as Anomen is, all the 3 romances with them seems a bit... artificial. I like Jaheira romance above the others but 2 things bother me a bit, first she's mature in common sense but a bit naive about principles, too much black and white in her view and too much political correct for my taste. And her romance appears to me like an RD (relation discussion) from the very first banter until the end, no sweet time pratically. Still the better between the 3.
Anomen is an asshole, arrogant, petulant, cocky, bullier and other thousand adjectives of the like that you can attribute to him, still this make him... human, and his romance feel more real. He's not going to say the right things at the begin and will give you all the reasons to kick him out many times in the begin, but after his Order trial, no matter the result, as all humans with a bit of value, he grows up, and that can be seen in his character.
It's a nice history the romance between main char and Anomen, if you don't mind roleplay a female character you can like it (just remember to put yourself in Anomen's place in the romance roleplay moments). Ps: you can ignore him (not now, not this time, now isn't the best moment...) for some times (don't know how much exactly) without breaking the romance.
So to go on-topic, i believe that some parts of Anomen's romance run in real time gameplay and if you rush the game too fast you loose the conclusion of the romance.
Also, turns out there is a way to kill renal without triggering arkanes.
Basically, feeblemind him and all the thieves in the room with him. a feebleminded individual cannot go hostile
EDIT: doh, a comment said that this is because after ch6 you can kill him without arkanis appearing.
Each of the romances has their own character flaws. I find I like Aerie a lot better when I'm not romancing her (and I genuinely enjoy watching the Aerie/Haer'Dalis romance unfold), and I've never been interested enough in Viconia to see her romance all the way through. I like Jaheira's romance, but she's definitely all business 90% of the time, as @kamuizin points out (part of the reason why I feel her romance benefits the most from the addition of the flirtpack mod). Anomen rates high on the insufferability scale, but improves noticeably once he's through with the knighthood test, though it's a shame that improvement doesn't extend into his banters with other party members (aside from Keldorn).
Hey Jaheira, being GOOD all the time is not the same as being BALANCED. They are not synonyms.
Also: I was there when you were whipping on Khalid, I know what you're like. Do you really think anyone with a spine would ever love you? Khalid was a nice man and you crushed him - it was you who should have died!
I got 99 problems but a soul ain't one.
If you're roleplaying, your soul matters.