@ZelgadisGW i don't agree with you, but it's a nice line of thought, has solid bases and acceptable reasons. By the way, skin color is on real life, one of many reasons for racism (if it's even possible to say that exist reasons to racism), so i just take it as an example, not a direct association.
@nizhidrhamannit, so you don't care if i have my beholder npc too, do you? By the way i want a Sarevok into a pink dress for the final battle, and a motorcycle, cos walk is too mainstream , after all why should we preserve coherence if it's the fun that matter. Don't take too serious this post, by the way, it's just a funny way to show that "don't like drows don't play it" don't solve anything.
@Kamuizin Sorry, but speaking as a woman, Pink is so NOT Sarevok's color. He's a winter, and would look far, far better in Ruby Red. He's also a Dramatic type, so makeup and bright red lipstick is a MUST with that outfit. Something classically styled- maybe based on Greek Chitons? Or a Sapphire Blue... my dear, he'd KILL in that color.
I personally am not interested in playing a drow (at least in BGEE anyway) but I think the option should be more of a cosmetic choice (for an elf) otherwise it would be OP. I can't imagine interacting with merchants and townsfolk and maintaining a sense of realism in the story line.
The options are available for any PC to 'look' like a Drow... and they can personally believe they are one. But they shouldn't be implemented for game play purposes... namely the fact that Drow are treated with revulsion and fear by 99% of the surface population and it simply wouldn't work.
It just occurred to me, for those who say the 50% magic resist isn't OP because Viconia has it. Well, Viconia can't wear the Robe of the Archmagi or be a Wizard Slayer. 52% Magic Resistance at bare minimum.
@nizhidrhamannit, so you don't care if i have my beholder npc too, do you? By the way i want a Sarevok into a pink dress for the final battle, and a motorcycle, cos walk is too mainstream , after all why should we preserve coherence if it's the fun that matter. Don't take too serious this post, by the way, it's just a funny way to show that "don't like drows don't play it" don't solve anything.
It does solve everything. Choosing to play or not play a Drow is a choice you can make before the game has actually started. If you choose to play anything but a Drow, nothing in the game is affected by Drow being a playable race to you.
On the other hand, Sarevoks in pink dresses and motorcycles are something that you would encounter during the game, breaking your suspension of disbelief. Even if you don't want them, they'd still be there in the game.
Also, for all the people commenting on Half-Orcs: Half-Orcs aren't Orcs. They look different and are also half human (though the common folk will usually notice the orc half first, since that's the strange looking half). The playable half-orcs are practically all grown up in a human society, with the human mother being raped by the orc father at some time. Because they grew up in a human society, they will also talk and dress like humans. Sure, they're still butt-ugly, but they're not Orcs, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Otherwise, if every ugly race should receive bad NPC reactions, why don't Dwarves receive them?
@Thels, so based on your plea, you support my beholder main char? Damn i got it, hey ppl now there's 2 ppl on the forum that want a beholder main char! Waiting for more ! (and @LadyRhian, don't spoil my fun with the lore of how beholders are born plz, XD)
Do you mind to support my mind flayer main char too?! I would ask for a Chuck Norris race too, but it's obvious that we should get a Chuck Norris race, so that would be "preach to the choir"!
By the way, Korgan didn't like your comment, not a nice thing to say ...
@kamuizin: Beholder and Mindflayer characters would require quite an extra workload on the development team for those few people that would think such investments would make it worth it, in contrast to Drow, which could use the same model as elves, just with different colors.
I voted for, but that is assuming it makes sense in the story. The problem is that as soon as most people in faerun see a drow, they start throwing rocks at him/her, or try to burn him/her to death, and so on and so forth. But I suppose you can imagine that you always keep your hood down, concealing your face.
Then there is the issure of being overpowered...yeah, I'm actually not sure this would be a good idea. But the way I see it, if it were there as a choice and I didn't like it, I just wouldn't play it. Problem solved.
@Mornmagor What does Gorion have to do with it? He's a mage, not a mind-reader. He doesn't interrogate every single person at Candlekeep. Keep in mind, some two-bit assassins with mundane daggers manage to sneak into Candlekeep to try and kill the PC. Do you really think a trained spy or dark priest couldn't hide there?
@Schneidend Gorion might certainly not notice someone sent to kill you, but a blackguard is not something spontaneous, he could have noticed something is wrong with your demeanor or the powers you wield, unless a child was smart enough to trick him. If you are a blackguard, then you practice some powers of this kit sooner or later, and with all the eyes in Candlekeep, it's not that difficult to spread a rumor about you around, unless all of Candlekeep is plotting in favor of you being a blackguard.
It's not his magic ability, it's that he's your foster father and you grew up with him. A father will notice easily a change in his child's demeanor or powers, and most of the time the child will run up to him to happily announce what he discovered anyway.
It's not that it's impossible lore wise to raise a blackguard in Candlekeep, but you need a lot of coincidences or convenient stuff to happen.
You supposedly grew up with Gorion, and a mage is certainly cunning enough to notice something different about you.
Also, why would a dark priest train you to become a blackguard? There needs to be a conspiracy behind the walls of Candlekeep, and one that would gain something by you becoming a blackguard.
So Gorion has notified Elminster about you, and he just pops up conveniently where you appear to give you hints, i do have the impression that it would be too easy for mages that have scry, and we are talking about some powerful mages here, to understand if someone is trying to corrupt you. They might as well let the assasins try to kill you to see if you're up to snuff, since, if you can't deal with an assassin, how can you deal with what awaits you? But harpers, allowing one of their members' son to be corrupted to a blackguard? No i'm not convinced it's as easy as that. It is possible, but stretched.
@Thels Because Dwarves are a good race, and people know that. And any character with a low charisma recieves minuses to their reaction rolls, not just (fill in race you think is ugly here). Remember, Charisma isn't prettiness, it's force of personality. Low charisma can seem wishy-washy, shy, boorish or crude, depending on how you play the character. Even downright cruel and offensive to others.
But if people know that Dwarves are a good race, then they would also know that Half-Orcs aren't a bad race, either. They are basically the children of human women that were raped during one raid or another.
I'm not saying Dwarves should be a problem to play. I was merely using it as an analog as to why Half-Orcs shouldn't be a problem to play either.
@Thels I wish prejudice was that simple! Characters who come from evil races (Drow, Half-Orcs, Half Ogres) get a great deal of crap from people in the Realms, because they are assumed to be like their Daddy (Or whatever) and therefore actively suspicious, if not downright evil.
I think its a bit of a fallacy to assume that a Drow NPC would be immediately burned on a stake. If stuff like that always happened Drizzt would be long dead by now. Even Jarlaxle entered towns without hiding his drow race (though sometimes he did tell people that he was Drizzt, lol). Just being in a party with other humans would help a Drow NPC to get by.
As for the Blackguard issues. Would CHARNAME really need to be trained by someone to become a Blackguard? Blackguard's do seem to be similar to Paladins, and there are cases of people becoming Paladins without being part of an order or being trained (just look at Jherek Wolf's-Get from Mel Odom's "Threat from the Sea" trilogy).
I don't want playable Drow i don't think they could be implemented well in to the game. I could be swayed to want them but only if they have to be evil! Im bored stiff of "Im a drow, but I'm a good drow"
Ppl is simple, without adjustments on the sctipts of the game and the plot, will be impossible to work with drows main chars. "If don't like, don't use" is bullshit, just to remember all the base and argues of ppl that don't want drow on the game resume in the worry of get inconsistence on the history, so everything that's asked is to supress that.
So, it's time to call one of the devs here and ask, no? Ask if it's possible to change the content of the game, to adapt a drow main char on the game plot. If that's not possible, so no drow, end of history. Wait a modder to make drow race an option.
He could have noticed, and he could have not. That's just it. No coincidences required. If you're a sinister little brat and the Bane-worshiper in hiding teaches you to be an acolyte and later a blackguard, and instructs you to always practice in private, the chances of being caught go to nil. This is an old fortress we're talking about, with some rooms and houses nobody even uses. You grew up there, and had the mischievous Imoen as a constant companion. By now, the two of you know plenty of places to hide. Hell, if your CHARNAME is male you probably made out in one of those hidden places at one point.
Further, your character can figure out how to be an Evil Cleric of Whoever, a DRUID, or a Thief capable of stealing Elminster's beard right off his face, and apparently he either didn't spot this or doesn't particularly care.
And, as it's been pointed out, becoming a Blackguard could be more of an awakening on the part of the PC. Perhaps, due to your special nature, you've been visited by dark gods in your prayers, or Bhaal himself unlocked this potential through dreams as he does with innate powers later in the game.
Comments
@nizhidrhamannit, so you don't care if i have my beholder npc too, do you? By the way i want a Sarevok into a pink dress for the final battle, and a motorcycle, cos walk is too mainstream
Cyanide!? but I'm allergic to apricot! The maniac is trying to kill me!!!
On the other hand, Sarevoks in pink dresses and motorcycles are something that you would encounter during the game, breaking your suspension of disbelief. Even if you don't want them, they'd still be there in the game.
Also, for all the people commenting on Half-Orcs: Half-Orcs aren't Orcs. They look different and are also half human (though the common folk will usually notice the orc half first, since that's the strange looking half). The playable half-orcs are practically all grown up in a human society, with the human mother being raped by the orc father at some time. Because they grew up in a human society, they will also talk and dress like humans. Sure, they're still butt-ugly, but they're not Orcs, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Otherwise, if every ugly race should receive bad NPC reactions, why don't Dwarves receive them?
Do you mind to support my mind flayer main char too?! I would ask for a Chuck Norris race too, but it's obvious that we should get a Chuck Norris race, so that would be "preach to the choir"!
By the way, Korgan didn't like your comment, not a nice thing to say ...
So no, I do not agree. :P
Elf + dark skin tone + evil alignment.
@FrozenDervish You don't say? Bad Sarevok! No Bhaalspawn nummies for you!
Then there is the issure of being overpowered...yeah, I'm actually not sure this would be a good idea. But the way I see it, if it were there as a choice and I didn't like it, I just wouldn't play it. Problem solved.
It's not his magic ability, it's that he's your foster father and you grew up with him. A father will notice easily a change in his child's demeanor or powers, and most of the time the child will run up to him to happily announce what he discovered anyway.
It's not that it's impossible lore wise to raise a blackguard in Candlekeep, but you need a lot of coincidences or convenient stuff to happen.
You supposedly grew up with Gorion, and a mage is certainly cunning enough to notice something different about you.
Also, why would a dark priest train you to become a blackguard? There needs to be a conspiracy behind the walls of Candlekeep, and one that would gain something by you becoming a blackguard.
So Gorion has notified Elminster about you, and he just pops up conveniently where you appear to give you hints, i do have the impression that it would be too easy for mages that have scry, and we are talking about some powerful mages here, to understand if someone is trying to corrupt you. They might as well let the assasins try to kill you to see if you're up to snuff, since, if you can't deal with an assassin, how can you deal with what awaits you? But harpers, allowing one of their members' son to be corrupted to a blackguard? No i'm not convinced it's as easy as that. It is possible, but stretched.
I'm not saying Dwarves should be a problem to play. I was merely using it as an analog as to why Half-Orcs shouldn't be a problem to play either.
As for the Blackguard issues. Would CHARNAME really need to be trained by someone to become a Blackguard? Blackguard's do seem to be similar to Paladins, and there are cases of people becoming Paladins without being part of an order or being trained (just look at Jherek Wolf's-Get from Mel Odom's "Threat from the Sea" trilogy).
As for the drow, indeed, i'll tell everyone that i'm drizzt or his close friend lol
Yes i know there are some good drow but jezz
So, it's time to call one of the devs here and ask, no? Ask if it's possible to change the content of the game, to adapt a drow main char on the game plot. If that's not possible, so no drow, end of history. Wait a modder to make drow race an option.
He could have noticed, and he could have not. That's just it. No coincidences required. If you're a sinister little brat and the Bane-worshiper in hiding teaches you to be an acolyte and later a blackguard, and instructs you to always practice in private, the chances of being caught go to nil. This is an old fortress we're talking about, with some rooms and houses nobody even uses. You grew up there, and had the mischievous Imoen as a constant companion. By now, the two of you know plenty of places to hide. Hell, if your CHARNAME is male you probably made out in one of those hidden places at one point.
Further, your character can figure out how to be an Evil Cleric of Whoever, a DRUID, or a Thief capable of stealing Elminster's beard right off his face, and apparently he either didn't spot this or doesn't particularly care.
And, as it's been pointed out, becoming a Blackguard could be more of an awakening on the part of the PC. Perhaps, due to your special nature, you've been visited by dark gods in your prayers, or Bhaal himself unlocked this potential through dreams as he does with innate powers later in the game.