SO yea... @Southpaw I don't find Neera's voice "Needy" Aerie's voice is Needy, I find Neera's voice to be more adolescent menacing... if that can even be a proper adjective.
She's kind of a brat, but I find every female NPC annoying. That's what silence spells are for.
SO yea... @Southpaw I don't find Neera's voice "Needy" Aerie's voice is Needy, I find Neera's voice to be more adolescent menacing... if that can even be a proper adjective.
'Snarky' is the word I'd use for Neera. She's a little needy but at least she tries to hide it behind snark. Unlike Aerie who's full on Needy. It gives Neera some fun banters at least. Especially when picking swashbuckler-appropriate lines involving rescuing distressed damsels.
As already mentioned, it's Xan and Faldorn whose personalities don't really match their charisma scores.
I believe I cleared that up and related it to my previous posts. Xan affects people with his fatalistic attitude. Faldorn takes over an entire grove and converts them to Shadow Druid philosophy.
While I completely prefer the charisma-is-force-of-personality interpretation, in BG specifically, that idea isn't really supported, with reaction modifier pretty much being how much people like you, and it going down for low reputations.
Getting people to like you at first glance is only possible with strong force of personality. But, you can be the most Charismatic sumbitch on the face of Toril, and it won't matter if you're a known baby eater.
But honestly... you guys don't find Dorn physically appealing? I find him RAVASHING!!!
Dorn is damn sexy, but what really tips me over is that voice of his... So deep. So powerful. I'd argue his high Charisma stems solely from his voice-actor's talent. XD
They threw him through a vocal filter, but that's not to say he didn't do a good job regardless.
It's been a while since I played PnP, but as I remember it, all the primary stats had two sub-stats with charisma being divided into leadership & appearence.
These could have different values up to +/- 4 from the base stat (at least that's how I remember it), so someone like Faldorn (or Dorn for that matter) might not be much to look at appearence wise, but could stil have a very commanding presence, just as the opposite could be the case like with Xan.
I think about the evolution of Charisma into 3e, where the stat modified Intimidate and Taunt just as much as Diplomacy and Bluff. So imagine Dorn as a high Charisma character with all his points in Intimidate and Taunt and none at all beyond base in Diplomacy and Bluff. As a Blackguard, that would be legit, as he wouldn't be getting a ton of extra skill points per level up.
For anyone who wants to better understand Charisma as not 'Necessarily' as good looks, consider for a moment Al Pachino and Jessica Simpson.
On the one hand, Al is not the most attractive man in the world. He is short and gruff and not exactly physically imposing. But when he gets on stage, he has an incredible stage presence. You know he is there and you will listen to him. he is Charismatic, if not particularly attractive.
Jessica Simpson on the other hand, may be physically comely in appearance. She is tall and blonde and has nice curves. But she couldn't lead a bunch of people out of a burning room. She is attractive, but doesn't have Charisma.
To take things a slightly different path, consider Darth Vader. James Earl Jones did an absolutely superb voice for everyone's Favorite Star Wars villain. Sure, he is REALLY tall and imposing. He is dressed in all black, which is coolness itself, but..... If the voice hadn't been right, he would have been just another baddie. Imagine if Pee Wee Herman had done the voice. It just wouldn't fly. What we saw there was JEJ's Charisma shining through even though we couldn't see what he looked like.
At the end of the day, consider this. Someone who is charismatic is someone who you will listen too, even if they are telling you something you don't want to hear. And you will actually listen to them.
Dorn doesn't need to be charming or attractive or a people person to be someone that. But when he barks a command, people jump and do as he says. That is the essence of his particular brand of Charisma.
Comments
EDIT: except Branwen, she's solid.
Faldorn takes over an entire grove and converts them to Shadow Druid philosophy. Getting people to like you at first glance is only possible with strong force of personality. But, you can be the most Charismatic sumbitch on the face of Toril, and it won't matter if you're a known baby eater.
That's GARR(manly).
He deserves more than 16 charisma
I mean, you are awesome, you're Dorn after all.
These could have different values up to +/- 4 from the base stat (at least that's how I remember it), so someone like Faldorn (or Dorn for that matter) might not be much to look at appearence wise, but could stil have a very commanding presence, just as the opposite could be the case like with Xan.
A bit of a twat but when he starts shouting, everyone does exactly what they are told!
Hehe
On the one hand, Al is not the most attractive man in the world. He is short and gruff and not exactly physically imposing. But when he gets on stage, he has an incredible stage presence. You know he is there and you will listen to him. he is Charismatic, if not particularly attractive.
Jessica Simpson on the other hand, may be physically comely in appearance. She is tall and blonde and has nice curves. But she couldn't lead a bunch of people out of a burning room. She is attractive, but doesn't have Charisma.
To take things a slightly different path, consider Darth Vader. James Earl Jones did an absolutely superb voice for everyone's Favorite Star Wars villain. Sure, he is REALLY tall and imposing. He is dressed in all black, which is coolness itself, but..... If the voice hadn't been right, he would have been just another baddie. Imagine if Pee Wee Herman had done the voice. It just wouldn't fly. What we saw there was JEJ's Charisma shining through even though we couldn't see what he looked like.
At the end of the day, consider this. Someone who is charismatic is someone who you will listen too, even if they are telling you something you don't want to hear. And you will actually listen to them.
Dorn doesn't need to be charming or attractive or a people person to be someone that. But when he barks a command, people jump and do as he says. That is the essence of his particular brand of Charisma.