It was working last time I checked... admittedly that was a while ago now, and I don't know if patch 1.3 has changed anything. Unfortunately, I again went and deleted all my save games (don't know why I keep doing that), so it will be a little while before I can check it myself.
I'll basically be rewriting and adding stuff as I next play through. Good dialogue should be concise I feel, but right now a lot of it still rambles, although I can split up and expand on some themes as well by adding more talks to her friendship path.
So, as I said, I'm in the midst of rewriting and adding stuff as I playthrough. Which is making it a very slow playthrough, but it's better to see how things actually look like.
In the mean time, I wrote some fiction as well which I'll post more of as I update the mod. Obviously contains spoilers, so I'll share it inside tags and maybe share more as I update the mod as well. Set a couple of generations after the game, Aerie tries to help a young woman and save her from a life of banditry and crime, by telling her about her own past, and that of her ancestors:
One thousand.
Tonight’s ‘battle’, for want of a better word, Sunugug would claim his one thousandth victim. Nine hundred and ninety nine peons had fallen to his blade, and for each of them the half-orc had kept an ear as a memento. Some of the older ones, at the bottom of the bag, obviously were starting to stink. But nevertheless the rest of the camp let out a hearty, albeit fearfully compliant, cheer as he held them aloft and roared.
In contrast, this was to be Talyn’s first raid. The young human woman had smeared black paint across her face. Up the ridge of her nose, around her eyes, ending in tips by her temples. It was supposed to resemble the outstretched wings of a bird, because… well, her given name happened to be very close in spelling to the word talon. All the other bandits had their own markings, deliberate quirks, or plumages on their helms that they hoped made them stand out as individuals in battle and earn a reputation. Like the late Bunny Bill, who insisted on wearing slippers made of bunny skin into battle, before he slipped on one of the ears and landed on a peasant’s pitch-fork. Still, not everyone in the rest of society appreciated that there was a great deal of creativity and even artistry involved in banditry.
In any case, having done that to herself, Talyn spent the rest of the afternoon fretting, anxiously awaiting the call from the scouts spying the road from the tree line. She paced about the camp, swinging her arms, trying to stay loose, occasionally unbuckling the staps of her armor then redoing them to make sure they were tight. She grimaced slightly as she overheard Sunugug chuckle how he hoped his thousandth would be some prissy elf he could snap like a twig and rip the guts out of… it had been suggested, due to her looks, that she might have had some elven blood in her ancestry. If she did, it was only a little. Her ears hardly pointed at all. Certainly not enough that the enormous half-orc might in the heat of battle mistake her for a tree-hugger. She hoped.
Of course, there might not even be a battle at all. The caravaneers might surrender and hand over their goods as soon as they saw the bandits, because that’s what any sane, reasonable person would do. It was just stuff, after all. Wasn’t worth anyone’s life. Not that she wanted that to happen, of course… obviously, she was hoping for a good heart racing fight. But surely, that had to be just how it went sometimes, and what could you do? Slaughter them anyway, she supposed… but then, how would you get your reputation? Had to leave some people alive, didn’t you?
She had done well in the fights the bandits arranged among themselves for their own entertainment, but she was aware she wouldn’t be fully accepted by them until she had tested her mettle in actual battle. Drawn blood. She hoped it would be an actual fight rather than some cowering commoner… but, fine. If there was anyone stupid enough not to run they surely deserved to be put down. That was what she told herself.
Night had fallen when the horns sounded, and every bandit in the camp dropped their skulls, tankards, and whatever else they’d been playing with and rushed into the forest. Sunugug took the lead, the huge half-orc pumping a mighty fist into the air at the tree line, several lieutenant relaying the order to wait to the rest of the band.
Talyn’s heart was already racing, and it seemed to take hours before finally wagon’s trundled over the hill and began to wind their way down. She counted three wagons, and maybe half a dozen men on horseback around them… hired guards, no doubt. Didn’t seem like much of a challenge for their thirty strong gang, unless there were others inside the wagons. She peered as the first one rolled past her position, hoping to catch inside, which she did. There were… crap… there was a family on board. Children.
Well, that was that, then. They had to surrender, didn’t they? No one would be fool enough to risk their own child’s life trying to be brave… just don’t be bloody stupid…
From then on, everything happened extremely fast. Sunugug roared and thrust his sword arm forward, the bandits stampeding out of the trees, Talyn carried along with them. The wagons stopped and, to her dismay, the mercenaries turned drawing their weapons while those driving the wagons let go of the reins and trained crossbows on the coming horde. They were going to fight. Stupid. So, fine. Whatever happened to them next was their own bloody stupid fault. She drew her own short sword and screamed, running straight toward the nearest mercenary. She never got close. None of them did.
A wall of fire burst in front of her. On one side the mercenary’s horse whinnied, and on the other Talyn was blown back by the sudden blast of hot air. On her back, stunned, she blinked as her followed the streak of flame that had suddenly appeared between the bandits and their would-be victims. In the sky in the distance she was sure she saw a spark rising rapidly high above the field, then beginning to circle back round… but then she was distracted by various whistles and hisses, not of the flames in front of her, followed by moans and screams of her comrades as a strange metallic smell began to fill the air. She turned just as more magic missiles shot through the flames, perforating the armor of the bandit nearest to her.
A short distance away, some of the band had formed a circle, fighting the heat and ash as their eyes desperately sought their attacker. Another bandit, also flat on his back, just stared up at the sky. His eyes suddenly went wide in terror, just a second or two before a fireball exploded over him. Above… they were being attacked from the skies! Talyn rolled herself to her feet and looked up, not catching sight of anything. She did see that through the flame wall, the members of the caravan were just as confused as the bandits, although no spells had been thrown their way. No chance that they had arranged any of this, Talyn reasoned. This much magic definitely could not be hired cheap, and was way, way overkill for what they were – just a gang of thugs looking for some action and easy money.
Talyn had thought this was what she wanted. To be in a gang, that is. Not the crimson fiery death. She had just wanted to be accepted somewhere. Belong to a group. And maybe let out some of the anger and aggression she’d accumulated over the seventeen years of her life. This… none of this was what she had expected at all.
A soft but firm feminine voice suddenly spoke in her ear, “your grand-mother would be so disappointed in you…”
With a startled yelp, Talyn spun and leapt back from the grey cloaked figure. It was, well, definitely female. Not very tall – just a little over five feet. Her facial features were, for now, hidden by her hood, Talyn only able to see a small mouth and chin as the warm orange glow of the flames flickered around her.
The young would-be bandit blinked in fear and confusion. “Er… what?”
“Please,” the cloaked figure said, slowly raising out an arm, “I don’t want to force you, but this path… I know you can do better than this.”
That didn’t clear anything up. Who the hell was this person and what the hell did she think she knew about her? Talyn shook her head, turned, and started to run.
The cloaked figure let out a barely audible sigh, but before she could pursue some of the other bandits noticed her. Bolts and arrows flew in her direction… they were caught in some hidden field, orbited around her, and flew back along the trajectory they had came. Only one of the bandits who had unleashed managed to duck in time. Others then came at her with melee weapons. Most were left scorched and blistered by the magical energies that leapt from the woman’s fingertips. One managed to reach her, taking a wild swing with his club which missed, although as she leant back to avoid the blow, her hood fell off. Talyn turned to see a blonde haired elf whose cobalt blue eyes seemed to burn with steely determination.
The bandit near to the elf fell, sparks of electricity coursing through his body. All of the remaining had started fleeing back into the woods. Talyn made to go after them, but then a bird of flame fell from the sky raining fire down on them. The young woman was blasted back again, and again was on her back. She propped herself on her elbows and looked for the phoenix. All she saw was the elf strolling toward her…
But, there was one bandit left who hadn’t fled - Sunugug. The huge half-orc had spotted the elf now as well. Roaring and beating his chest with one hand, while holding a two handed sword aloft with the other, the huge half-orc began to slowly build momentum and then charge. The elf turned to face him, the blue flames in her eyes showing no sign of fading. Indeed, she started to step toward him, a mace materializing in her hand as she started to run and then, just as they were close enough that Sunugug’s sword was about to cleave down through her, she suddenly flashed into a burst of supernatural speed, leaping to the side and around him while swinging her mace. She caught the half-orcs and he staggered back, although only slightly. He roared and swung again, but again she was too fast, rolling under it and then striking him on the back of his knees. Sunugug screamed and limped back, his eyes now bulging with rage…
No, Talyn realized as she watched the fight, it wasn’t rage. The half-orc bellowed and swung wildly again and again, desperate to make contact with the magically enhanced elf. This was panic. The nine hundred and ninety nine victims he had claimed before now had all been commoners, peasants, even slaves, people ill prepared or ill equipped to fight back. No-one had ever hurt him like this before and now, for the first, he realized he might lose. That he was not, in fact, immortal. And that fear prompted all these ill-judged and poorly calculated attacks as he sought to end the threat as quickly as possible.
The half-orc's blade came down again, taking a good chunk out of the ground but missing the elf entirely. Her mace then struck his arm, which bent and contorted with a sickening crack. He roared once more, falling to his knees. He slowly lifted his head, tears streaming down his face as he… he laughed. Perhaps it was just the sight of the one who had defeated him… a little blonde-haired elven woman probably less than a third his size.
The elf regarded him sorrowfully for a second, then whispered, “find peace.” The whole top of his head then disappeared in an instant as the mace smashed through it.
And now, Talyn was alone, still on her back, dazed, confused, long since abandoned by any of her gang who were left. It was only when the elf’s eyes fell on her again that she was jerked into motion. Again she ran, and again the elf sighed.
This time, Talyn didn’t stop to look back. She willed her legs to keep pumping faster and faster, although it never felt like enough. This felt like a bad dream. She was well away from the flames by now, but the moon light was bright enough that she could clearly see the trees in front of her. The woods still seemed like her best chance of escape. But, as a shadow passed above her, she remembered – the first attacks had been from above. She trotted, somewhat resignedly, to halt, her eyes drifted up to where the elf now floated in front of her, a pair of blue, transluscent wings spread either side of the blonde.
“Give me a break!” Talyn screeched tearfully, pulling at her own red hair as the elf’s feet gently touched the ground and the wings disappeared. The young human reached down, grabbing a handful of dirt and flinging it. “Who are you?! What do you want?!”
The blonde tilted her head to one side, beginning to speak slowly, calmly. “I’m… a friend.”
“What?” Talyn sneered. “I don’t know you, lady.”
“No… well, perhaps that isn’t right,” the elf pondered, pursing her lips. “I… made a promise to my friends, a long time ago, that I would watch over their families after they were gone.”
“And what the hells has that got to with me?” Talyn snorted, as if the answer wasn’t obvious. “I don’t have a family. I grew up alone, learnt to pick pockets soon as I could waddle and, you know what? I’ve been doing pretty damn by myself, without any flying yellow tarts poking their noses in. So if that’s all, think I’ll be on my way now…”
“That isn’t true,” the elf answered sternly. She then sighed, lowering her head a little. “None of it is. I… I’m sorry. I should have been here to help you sooner, but I… I was caught up in things. It’s no excuse, I know, but… it’s how it was. But,” she looked up again. She looked different now from how she had in the battle. The determination was still there but now it was hopeful rather than fierce. “I’m here now, and I want to help.”
Exasperated, Talyn snarled. She spoke loud and slow so that hopefully this time her message would be understood. “I – don’t – care. I don’t care who you are, who your friends were, or who you think I am. I just want to be left alone.”
The blonde’s eyes narrowed sadly. “Alone to do what? Join another bandit group and prey on innocent travellers? I’m afraid regardless of anything else, I cannot allow that.”
“Well, one, it’s none of your business, and two, there are such things as innocents in this world,” Talyn scoffed with typical teenage arrogance.
Now the elf just looked disappointed. “Well, one, since I or any other person I know could be targeted by you or your friends it rather is my business, and two, even if it were true that everyone else in the world were as bad or worse, it’s still no excuse for you to act like a… a jerk.”
A small smile began to creep onto Talyn’s face. A few moments ago she had actually been terrified of this, who now away from the flames she could see was just a typical very pale, pasty, fair-haired elfling and worse than that, a goody-two shoes. Even with all the magical power at her disposal, the blonde wasn’t going to raise a finger to Talyn, who for some reason she had decided she wanted to help. All of which meant, she could pretty much just walk away.
“Whatever girl,” Talyn smirked and waved dismissively. “Whatever promise you made a long time ago, that has nothing to do with me. So I’ll leave you to live your life, and I’ll live mine. Got it? Good.”
The fair elf frowned as the young woman brushed by her. “You think I won’t hurt you?” She said, sagging and then sighing, “you… you’re right. I wouldn’t.”
Talyn grinned and swaggered. Good girls were such push overs… but then she eeped and jumped back as a pillar of flame fell down striking the ground of her. The fire bird swooshed over head, perching itself in a high up branch and fixing the human with a predatory glare.
“Oh,” the elf murmured, “but he might…”
The blonde didn’t give Talyn any time to recover from her shock. She produced a cube from under her cloak, which she rolled along the ground like a dice. When it came to rest the sides split open, spreading themselves out along the ground then growing in size. The elf then twisted Talyn’s arm behind her back and forced the woman into the centre of the box. It wasn’t painful, but it was a firm, the elf having a strength she clearly could not have possessed naturally. The elf then raised her free fore arm, offering it as a perch for the phoenix who immediately flapped onto it. And with that, the sides of the cube raised themselves into the air, closing above and swallowing the trio.
Talyn blacked out. She wasn’t sure for how long, although it didn’t seem like it could have been a great length of time. Maybe just minutes. When she came around, she found herself staring up at a very distant circular ceiling, lilac in colour but with several gold rings decreasing in diameter until they reached a large crystal hanging in the middle which throbbed and glowed with energy. And she heard voices. One was the elf who had abducted her, and the other was male. Very well spoken, like a noble, or possibly a servant…
“I can do that all myself,” the elf said. “Ever since Quayle saved me I’ve always fed, washed and mended things for myself. Sometimes for other people. I’m unused to having other people do any of that for me…”
“Oh, tosh now, ma’am,” the other voice answered. “You’ve been working all day, and this place… this place is a sanctuary for you to just relax and unwind. Now you just hand over that dirty torn cloak and let me take of it, hm?”
“I…” the elf resigned, “oh, very well. I suppose I’ll have enough to keep me occupied this evening anyway.”
“Indeed.”
Talyn shook the cobwebs out of her hair and made to get up, when the most ghastly visage she had ever seen shot above her eliciting a small cry. Orc, she thought. Half-pig, half skull, and all green. But this one was uglier even than Sunugug with huge uneven tusks and horribly stretched skin. It grinned, leaning close as Talyn recoiled.
“And what of this one, ma’am?” It said, the same male voice that had been talking to the elf, even though it clearly did not fit the face. “Boiled, steamed, or broiled?”
The elf chuckled lightly. “She’s not for eating.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” The orc said, poking the young woman in the belly, “this one has some meat on her.”
“I’m sure.”
“Pity,” the creature sighed, standing up and rolling a grey cloak over his arm. “Vegetable soup again, then. You really should have a more varied diet.”
The orc backed away then, being replaced in Talyn’s field of view by the elven woman reaching out a hand to her. “He’s just teasing,” the blonde gently said, “I think…”
Talyn blinked in bedazzlement, looking suspiciously at the hand being offered to her. It took a moment to decide that it was better to face all this craziness on her feet and pulled herself up. But then, she immediately slapped the elf’s hand away, screeching, “what in the hells is going on?!”
“I will explain everything, I promise,” the blonde sighed. “First, I really should introduce everyone. You already met Ammale, my familiar.”
Talyn looked across to where the elf had gestured. Like the ceiling, the room she was in was round. At the centre was a pedestal above which floated the cube that had brought them here, or at least a representation of it. Around that was a recessed part of the floor that they were standing in, and every quarter were steps leading up to a ring around which were eight doors spread evenly all around and in between them shelves stacked up to the ceiling filled with an eclectic collection of books, scrolls, potions, toys and artefacts. About half way up was a perch from which the phoenix tilted it’s head curiously at her.
“He can talk,” the elf explained, “but he doesn’t really like to say very much. Otho on the other hand,” she said indicating the orc, “you will find has no end of conversation.”
“Othograkk Gro-Bogrash the Third,” the green skinned monster announced proudly, taking a bow. “At your service. No doubt you are thinking the voice does not go with that face, as have many casting directors before you. Well,” the orc raised a finger to his head, “this is my face,” he pointed out, then lowered the finger to his wide mouth. “And this is my voice,” which he then lowered slightly to a growl, “Deal with it.”
The elf whispered, “I rescued him from slavers a short while ago, and he decided to repay me by being my servant. I tried telling him that he was free now and didn’t have to serve anyone, but he just would not have it. I suppose letting him keep this place in order is better than him crushing skulls out there…” she sighed, trailing off. “Oh!” She seemed to suddenly remember something and shot up the steps to a table, upon which rested a large glass enclosure, inside which was a house with a little round door and a windows and a picket fence. “Come on,” the elf whispered gently as Talyn ascended the steps to see what the fuss was about. “It’s time for your tea,” she purred, sprinkling sunflower seeds on the straw floor of the enclosure.
Whiskers appeared at the door, then an orange and white little face. The hamster yawned, rubbing its dark eyes as it stepped out. It stood up right, it’s nose wrinkling happily at the elf. But then it tilted his head and turned to regard Talyn, its mouth agape.
“This is Boo,” the elf introduced them. “Boo, this is Talyn. She’s our guest, so please be kind to her.” The hamster shrugged, then set to work gathering the seeds in his cheeks.
As the elf smiled warmly at the little mammal, Talyn slapped herself in the face. “This place is a circus,” she groaned. “You’re all freaks…”
There was much mumbling from both the elf and the orc, “well now, that’s… not very nice… different, certainly, but freaks?” They went on, until the elf said, “well, we kind of are. I was once, anyway.”
“And just who are you?” Talyn demanded.
“Oh, I’m Aerie.”
The young woman narrowed her eyes. “Just ‘Aerie’?”
“Well,” the elf placed a finger under her lip, “some people call me The Witch, or The Traveller, or The Wingless Wonder. One person, for reasons I’ve never ascertained, calls me Bob… but yes, my birth name is just Aerie. And this my home. Well, one of them. I have a cottage as well, which is nice. It has a garden. But, the truth is, I’ve never enjoyed staying still for long, and this home I can take with me anywhere.”
Talyn rubbed her eyes, as if she hoped doing so would erase the strange dream she was having. “This is all so crazy…”
“And are you,” the elf stepped forward, “just Talyn?”
“Told you before. Don’t have no family, therefore no family name or title or anything. So yeah, just Talyn.”
Aerie looked away, sadly. “You… really don’t know anything about who you are, do you? I mean, who… where you came from…”
“Look, you seem like a real nice and all, so let me give it to you straight. I don’t care where I came from. I live for me, and that’s it. Nothing and no-one else matters.”
“Is that why you wanted to become a bandit?”
“Ha! I wanted the freedom. Go anywhere, do anything I wanted. No constraints, y’know?”
“And the people on those wagons? What about their freedom?”
“Ain’t no concern of mine.”
Aerie shook her head sadly again. Talyn thought for a moment that she looked old and tired, and maybe she was. That was the discomforting thing about elves – a lot of them were extremely old people trapped in a young person’s body. “I don’t think you understand what freedom is,” the elf said, a tint of bitterness in her voice. “Few people really do, until they’ve had all of theirs taken away.”
“Aha!” Talyn snapped. “That’s it, isn’t it? You said I was a guest, but actually, I’m your prisoner.”
“One day,” the elf said, looking up the determination she’d shown in battle returning to her eyes. “I should never have let this happen, so give me one day to try and make it right. At the very least, there are things you should know, that you need to know, and then, you’ll be free to go and live life as you wish.”
“Yeah? And what’s to stop me from leaving now?” Talyn taunted, although she was knew of course that there were likely lots of things.
“Aside from the fact that only myself and Otho are able to operate the door back to your world, nothing, really.”
Talyn snorted, realizing she really didn’t have much choice. “One day then, Bob. Then we’ll see if you keep your promise.”
“I always keep my word,” Aerie assured her, wincing slightly as she did so. “Or at least, I try to.”
***
Otho bowed and left through one of this, and shortly after Aerie led Talyn through an opposite to a long seemingly endless hallway lit intermittently by smaller versions of the crystal on the ceiling in the main room.
“How big is this place?” Talyn asked after several minutes of walking.
“I’m not actually sure,” Aerie answered. “Behind each of the doors in the hub is a hall like this. Behind each of the doors here are rooms, stairs and hallways that branch off from this one, in turn leading to more rooms, stairs and halls… like an enormous snow flake. Thing is, I’ve never made it to the end of any of these main halls, even after walking for hours. It could be infinite.”
“Well that’s just impossible.”
“Perhaps. As I said, I’m not sure, and we’re not about to find out. We’re here,” she stopped, placing a golden key in one of the doors.
Another round room, smaller and much darker than the first. This one also had shelves, upon which rested many glass spheres of various colours, and at the centre another pedestal, this one with a recess that seemed like any of the spheres could comfortably rest, although currently it was empty.
“These are memory orbs,” Aerie explained. “Similar to the one’s Sensates use, although with a few differences.”
The word ‘Sensate’ meant nothing to Talyn, so she merely screwed up her face and shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” the elf sighed, “I don’t have time to explain everything. Suffice to say, these things record memories, and the pedestal projects them into this room so that we can walk through them.” She said, lifting a sky blue orb that matched the colour of her tunic from one of the shelves, carrying it in both hands toward the pedestal. “You have to know about your past, or rather your ancestors past. It’s easiest if I just show you. Think of it like a play. You’ll be able to see and hear and even smell everything around you, but not touch or interact with the world in any way. We will be like ghosts in the past, only able to observe.”
“A play, huh?” Talyn stretched back, hands behind her head. “Better not some soppy romantic drivel… unless everyone kills themselves in the end. That might make that worth watching. But really, I want to see some action.”
“You will,” Aerie assured her. “But first…”
The elf placed the sphere in the pedestal and immediately the room they were in was replaced by flashes of different places, people… they all went by so fast as the elf moved her hands over the glass ball. Talyn caught sight of cities under siege, elven forests, demons, dragons, a wizard dressed all in red, a huge bald man with purple tattoos, drow, Athkatla, a circus, and it kept going until Aerie said, “stop… here will do.”
The image stabilized, and they were in a cold stone room with damp walls and a barred door, beyond which were flickering torches.
“It’s a dungeon,” Talyn observed.
“Very astute,” Aerie nodded.
“It stinks,” the human sniffed, then gagged. “Damn… what is that stench?”
Aerie grimaced too, and explained. “This is a slaver fort. On the floor below us there are hundreds of people, all packed into cages so tight that they’re like one great mass of sweaty flesh. Many of them will die down there. Many are already dead… the masters just haven’t noticed.”
Listening carefully, Talyn could hear the murmured moans rising through the floor as well. “And… that’s what the smell is?”
“Among other things.”
“What other things?”
Aerie groaned frustratedly. “Just… use your imagination. Do you think they’re able to just ask to be let out whenever they’re… desperate? Anyway, that’s not what we’re here to see. Follow me.”
The fair haired just stepped through the door. Talyn hesitated a moment, then remembered – none of this was real. It wasn’t happening, not now at any rate. They were like ghosts. Tentatively she stuck out an arm, the heavy wooden offering no resistance as her hand passed through it. Then, with a shrug, she jumped across.
“Freaky,” she exclaimed on the other side. She then asked the elf, “hey, if we’re like ghosts, then how come we don’t sink through the floor or anything?”
The elf sighed. “Because, we are still standing on the floor in the orb room. This is an illusion. While I admire curiosity, that… was a particularly stupid question and really we should move along.”
“Whatever. So, what are we here to see?”
“You think you’re bad, don’t you? Well, I thought I’d give you a taste of really bad… of what true evil is like. Look…”
Across the dungeon, in a corner, was a pair of white wings. More cream coloured, actually, due to dirt that had accumulated on them. Talyn didn’t understand what she was looking at, until the wings shifted and parted slightly, revealing a dirty pale child sat behind them wearing a stony stare.
“Is that… you?” Talyn asked.
“It… was,” Aerie confirmed.
“And who’s that?” Talyn nodded. Stood over a table across from the littler Aerie, inspecting some tools bound in leather was a half-elven with thick brown hair. In another setting, he might have been quite handsome, but here even Talyn had to admit to feeling a slight chill from him as he pored over the implement.
Adult Aerie glared, flames rising behind her eyes. “Praxis…” she almost hissed. Before Talyn could ask any more, the man, Praxis, started to speak.
“With these instruments,” he said, “I could keep you awake and in pain every minute for fifteen years… or, make you experience fifteen years’ worth of pain in a minute.” He strolled across, bending down on his knees in front of the winged child. “Would you like to choose, or would you prefer to be a good girl from now, and cooperate?”
“Cooperate?” Talyn asked.
“Behave like he wants,” adult Aerie sighed. “I was wrenched from my home, from my family, into a world I did not understand. I was scared, confused, angry… I may have scratched or bitten my captors a few times. But honestly, they should not be surprised if the people they treat like animals start to act like animals as well.”
On cue, littler Aerie looked up, still wearing the same stony expression, leant her head back, and spat. Praxis feigned a smile as he stood and wiped the gob from his eye.
“Good aim,” he noted, then turned to the one other person in the dungeon. An elven woman with black hair and chain armor, leant casually against a far wall with a constant grin on her face. He nodded, and she reached up nonchalantly to ring a bell.
“’There shall be wings!’” Praxis proclaimed suddenly as he skipped back to the table. “Do you know who said that?” he asked, sitting down with a grin. Littler Aerie shook her head. “Well, of course you don’t. How could you? It was a gnome, a long time ago. He was saying that anything is possible, when we put our minds to it. Any mountain can be climbed, any river bridged, any beast,” he said, suddenly staring coldly at the child, “can be tamed, or at least, controlled… if you understand what motivates it.”
Praxis leant back, massaging his fingertips before carrying on. “From what I understand, you were caught trying to rescue somebody else. Some squealing gypsy brat… it doesn’t matter – he wouldn’t have been worth anything anyway. Getting you instead was more than a fair trade to us. The point is, you didn’t think about it at all, did you? The danger you were putting yourself in? No, you saw, you acted. Your instinct is that of a protector. Which is admirable. Noble, even…”
“Sheez,” Talyn yawned, “does he always talk this much?”
Adult Aerie nodded. “I’m afraid so. But,” she winced, “he knows as well that actions speak louder.”
A ragged human boy appeared by the room’s entrance, physically a bit older than the littler-Aerie, possibly in his mid-teens. He bowed timidly, saying “you rang, my lord?”
Praxis tilted his head, regarding the newcomer in the way another person might regard a mouse scurrying across the floor. Just a moment’s interest, and then he stood up from the chair. “Come in, boy,” he gestured, “take a seat.”
Fearfully and obediently the boy padded across the floor, placing himself tentatively in the seat Praxis had previously occupied. His eyes suddenly went wide as the slaver spun about, kicking a bar which slammed shut across the boy’s ankles. He immediately started to plead and struggle, the elven woman pressing down on his shoulders while Praxis bound him to the chair with heavy leather belts.
“N-no!” The boy stammered, terrified. “I don’t understand, my lord… w-what have I done?”
“You?” Praxis snorted as he considered his tools. “Nothing at all. Don’t try to make sense of chaos, boy. That way is the path to madness.”
Littler Aerie had lifted her head, leaning forward as far as her chains would allow, mouth agape as she didn’t yet fully comprehend what was happening, but knew to fear it anyway.
Praxis finally settled on something, picking up a small vice with sharp metal teeth. “Thumbscrews,” he sighed in a theatrical wistful manner, “I’ve always found them rather beautiful in their simplicity.”
Although he shifted and struggled desperately, bound as he was the boy could do nothing to resist as the slaver forced his thumb into the vice. He screamed painfully as Praxis turned the screw, the teeth of the vice digging into his flesh drawing a trickle of blood. Littler Aerie jumped up, her wings beating her wings desperately as she tried to push forward with her legs, but the chains held her firmly down. She spoke for the first time, screaming out curses in elven that Talyn couldn’t understand. Praxis ignored her and kept twisting the screw. There was a sickening crack of bone, the boy’s screaming became impossibly loud.
“S-stop!” Little Aerie cried out, tears streaming down her face as she lowered it. “I’ll… be good…”
Praxis regarded her coolly, giving one last twist before going across and once bending down at his knees in front of the girl.
“Do you understand?” He asked. “This happened because of you. These other slaves are all worthless to me. So from now, any time you defy me, it won’t be you that I hurt. It will be them. Their suffering will be your fault. Their lives in your hands. Do you understand?” The girl meekly nodded. “Good,” Praxis stood. “Take her back to her cell. Make sure she has plenty of time to think about what she’s done here.”
The scene froze, with Praxis stood over the weeping child like a triumphant wax statue. Talyn had stopped watching the scene the moment the thumbscrews went on, and had spent the last several minutes trying to fight the gag reflex she’d had when she’d heard the bones crack.
“The word ‘evil’ is overused sometimes, I think,” the present day Aerie said as she stepped up to the statue of Praxis her eyes burning. “I’ve been guilty of that myself. But, looking back now, this is one man I think was truly evil.”
“Yeah, well,” Talyn furtively made little circles on the ground with her toes. “I may rob some people, but I’m no slaver. I would never torture anyone.”
“But how do feel when you’re the one being robbed? You see, slavers justify their actions by imagining they’ve somehow been selected by nature to be masters over everyone else. They try not to think about what would happen should the table one day be turned, but must live in constant fear of that anyway. It’s what drives them to be so brutal. Well… most of them. Praxis is s a different story, but we’ll get to that.”
Talyn bit her lip, not looking Aerie in the eye. She hadn’t exactly she’d been chosen by nature, but she had tried to convince herself that it was other people’s own stupid fault if they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if they might have had no choice… and she’d never thought being the victim of her crimes because she was just too street wise and tough to be. Yet there were a number of bandits who would no doubt have turned on her if given the opportunity. Still, she kept telling herself she was different, for a moment, then just tried to change the subject. “What was that stuff you were shouting at him before?”
“Oh,” Aerie blushed slightly, “well, roughly translated, I said ‘You bastard… you will die a thousand deaths for this… I swear I will kill you’, and other things more or less along those lines.”
“So, what did happen to him?”
“I… tried very hard to forget this place,” Aerie sighed, “but in the end…” she turned to Praxis, cobalt flames behind her eyes. “I always keep my word.”
One goal I have with this mod is to not spend much time talking about Aerie's wings. Partly because it's already well covered, and mostly because there are other sides to Aerie that should be shown more. For example, she never actually talks about her wings with other NPC's. The PC is possibly just someone she decides she can trust who isn't a father figure, although even when you meet her the first time you have to press her to get her to admit to being a winged elf who lost her wings. Most of the time when she starts a conversation with someone, she's curious about them and is asking questions about what they believe and feel. She also has moments of being a bit more light hearted and silly, so I want to show a bit more of that.
For example, here's a banter where she talks about what it was like for her being imprisioned:
Aerie: Even caged and unable to interact with the outside world, the mind never stops completely. I spent a long time pondering all kinds of puzzles. Like… moths…
PC: Moths?
Aerie: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moth during the day. Not a live one. They’re supposed to be attracted to light, and yet there’s all that light and you never see them. Then, someone lights a tiny lamp at night and there are suddenly moths all around it! Where were they before?
Also, as I'm rewriting this mod during my next playthrough, I'll be changing the format of all the code to match what I've seen in other mods and hopefully be a bit more tidy (I'll do the same to my Tenya mod for BG1).
So I can't say for sure how long until another release. Maybe I'll try to get all the non main-quest related stuff done and out of the way first (banters, few little enounters, etc). At the moment, I feel this mod just a collection of ideas. I suppose the advantage of being a modder is being able to experiment. But now I think is time to start the final push.
I'm probably going to cut out the path with Aerie if your evil where you save her from situations and then possibly fight her several times. It wasn't intended to just be beating up Aerrers (although to be honest, I do actually bash her a lot...) but I thought it would be fun to show that Aerie is actually capable of getting by without you. She has problems, but in the end she gets by and ends up joining another adventuring party and all that. But I don't think it works. Partly because I have no idea how to script fights, and mostly because it needs a hell of a lot more work and I really should focus on editing and finishing all the other stuff right now.
Here are a few notes I've scribbled on how I think Aerie should be written. Obviously, we know there's some PTSD going on there and certain things may trigger her in some way, but here some things that are less obvious I think, and more nice (mostly), that maybe I'll try to have more of in this mod:
Sometimes she can seem, dare I say, air-headed, but actually she’s just thoughtful. Being more introspective by nature she tends to think very deeply and critically about things, but rarely fills everyone else in on all the processes going on.
Being from a travelling circus, she’s not unused to roughing it and going without luxury really doesn’t bother her... she is claustrophobic, although obviously not severely so since she enters all the time and is mostly just uncomfortable. Maybe in a much tighter space, or if she hadn't any friends around to support it would affect her more.
Curious and with a yearning to explore and understand the entire world around her. Also, having been taught magic by a gnome only enhanced her predisposition to investigate things and maybe experiment with them. Maybe even spells, at times.
I'm an Aerie hater, but I come in peace and just wanted to say that I actually enjoyed playing through the last version and look forward to the finished product. Not going to lie, the chance to beat up and then kill Aerie was definitely part of what made me download it, but I did end up liking most of it on its own terms.
I guess I even agree with some, though obviously not all, of your analysis of the character (not here to argue, so I won't elaborate on what I don't agree with), but I generally do think that there was a lot of potential for a stronger character. I really like her development in her romance track with Haer'Dalis, for example, and if she'd act like that the rest of the time, I'd think that I'd actually like her a lot. Which, I guess, is a way of saying that although I don't necessarily think it always resembles the canon Aerie, I do generally like the Aerie character that you've created (although I think that having her say "I'm not a coward" and "I always keep my word" can come across as protesting too much, but then, I think the same of when she says that she's "not a child" and "not weak" in the unmodded game as well).
I've always thought the Underdark as a great missed opportunity for her character development. I actually don't generally think of Aerie as stupid or airheaded (naive and sheltered, yes, but that's slightly different) except in the Underdark, where she seems to be entirely unfamiliar with the basic concept of "being in disguise" in a way that goes well beyond the general "protest when told to kill someone" that one would expect of a good character. But other than that and her numerous other interjections complaining about being there, there's no functional impairment in her as a member of the party. Nor do we ever really see her actually face her fear, she just complains about it a lot and yet is totally fine otherwise. I think there was an opportunity to show some development, to have her realize that all of that time that she's been forced to spend on the ground has helped her be able to handle being underground, and that even if she doesn't really think of herself as one of her people and can't really go home, she can now do things that her people can't do and go places where her people can't go. I'm not sure how that would work gameplay or engine-wise (maybe have her be "drained" a couple of levels in the Underdark until, say, Ust Natha. By that point, she'll have survived several encounters and then she'll get a dialogue that shows what I just said - that she's learning she can do this - and at that point you could restore the lost levels).
I don't really like Aerie's romance (with the PC that is). I don't want to go over it all again, so I'll copy what I've said about it before in the spoiler tag below:
Yup. Even I have things I don’t like about Aerie, or at least about the way she’s written at certain points in the game. Most of the time I defend her, since most of the criticisms aimed at her most of the time I feel aren’t really justified. She doesn’t ‘constantly whine about her wings’. In fact, when you meet her you have to press her to get her to admit she was actually a winged elf who lost her wings. And then every time she talks to another NPC, she’s almost always asking about them and what their feelings are beliefs are. More than any other character, Aerie is the newbie in BG2. She’s there learning from everyone else around her while trying to figure out the world and her new place in it. Kind of a dajemma she’s on, which likely one of the reasons why Minsc chooses her above anyone else to be his new witch.
And then, there’s her romance. The things I don’t like pretty much all are in there. It’s almost like she’s a completely different character with the way she just jumps in about her loss. I think where Dave Gaider went wrong writing this was that he spent way too much of it - in fact, nearly all of it - dwelling on one aspect of her character, and not nearly enough time on all of her other development. She’s obviously very bright and brave, very curious about all the people and things around her, she’s an adopted gnome so we could have a little more fun with that. I feel the romance should have had more build up to it so that Aerie could get to know and trust you enough to actually open up and confide, making it more consistent with the way she is around every other character, and also to show you that there is a lot of sweetness and things to admire about this character that make her worth helping through the little bit of depression she goes through later (obviously the terrible events of her past shouldn’t be ignored, but some of the dialogue really should have been toned down in places). And there’s the strange obsession Bioware had with forcing all the female love interests into fighting over you, which just often feels… well, forced, particularly between Aerie and Jaheira. And don’t even get me started on all the ill-conceived nonsense that went down in Throne of Bhaal.
You might think there’s an inconsistency here… I said Aerie didn’t really complain that much about her wings, and then saying that in her romance she spends too much time talking about it. I think you have to imagine that her confiding in you is a brave step for her and is showing a lot of trust, to maintain character consistency. Obviously anyone who knows her past and sees that she’s sad can figure out why on their own.
Yet, despite the fact that I feel a lot of mistakes were made in her romance and that Aerie was never really utilized to her full potential… Aerie seems to be a popular character anyway. I think she’s great, although that has little to do with her romance and a whole lot to do with the character she is out of it, where she’s kind, caring, brave and curious.
But apparently, some people do really like her romance as well. Even the ToB stuff. I still say it could have been much, much better. It’s just, when you romance the other characters you learn a lot about. You don’t really learn anything about Aerie through her romance, yet there’s actually a lot to work with. Her relationship with her parents, how she feels not knowing about them now, Quayle, what she did/learned in the circus, why she wants to explore and her growth as an adventurer.
She is a popular character and romance anyway, so I'm not going to change any of the original stuff that was there. Rather, I've just got to try and work around it while expanding on more and developing her character in other areas that weren't shown enough of originally.
I guess I even agree with some, though obviously not all, of your analysis of the character (not here to argue, so I won't elaborate on what I don't agree with), but I generally do think that there was a lot of potential for a stronger character. I really like her development in her romance track with Haer'Dalis, for example, and if she'd act like that the rest of the time, I'd think that I'd actually like her a lot. Which, I guess, is a way of saying that although I don't necessarily think it always resembles the canon Aerie, I do generally like the Aerie character that you've created (although I think that having her say "I'm not a coward" and "I always keep my word" can come across as protesting too much, but then, I think the same of when she says that she's "not a child" and "not weak" in the unmodded game as well).
Maybe. I think Aerie knows the way she's seen by other people and kind of assumptions they will make about her - she's small, fair, not the most physically imposing person - and maybe that does lead to her protesting too much at times (and being underestimated can definitely be an advantage sometimes as well).
But as I'm rewriting I will try and think of alternatives to her saying those kind of things.
I've always thought the Underdark as a great missed opportunity for her character development. I actually don't generally think of Aerie as stupid or airheaded (naive and sheltered, yes, but that's slightly different) except in the Underdark, where she seems to be entirely unfamiliar with the basic concept of "being in disguise" in a way that goes well beyond the general "protest when told to kill someone" that one would expect of a good character. But other than that and her numerous other interjections complaining about being there, there's no functional impairment in her as a member of the party. Nor do we ever really see her actually face her fear, she just complains about it a lot and yet is totally fine otherwise. I think there was an opportunity to show some development, to have her realize that all of that time that she's been forced to spend on the ground has helped her be able to handle being underground, and that even if she doesn't really think of herself as one of her people and can't really go home, she can now do things that her people can't do and go places where her people can't go. I'm not sure how that would work gameplay or engine-wise (maybe have her be "drained" a couple of levels in the Underdark until, say, Ust Natha. By that point, she'll have survived several encounters and then she'll get a dialogue that shows what I just said - that she's learning she can do this - and at that point you could restore the lost levels).
I think she will eventually acknowledge that her time on the ground has enabled her to do things that she would never have been to do where she still living as an avariel. I think there's a dialogue in ToB that hints at that (with Neera, I think... but I'll have to check. I might have dreamt it). I didn't really notice her complaining much more than other good characters, except at the beginning of the Underdark section. She's claustrophobic, although obviously not really crippling so since she does go into places and dungeons all the time and just feels uncomfortable... over time she'll probably become used to it. Although, perhaps the reason it doesn't really affect her abilities in the game is that she's always with other people. If I could engineer an situation where she's cut off from the rest of the group temporarily and has to find a way to cope by herself... well, I have thought about that. But I don't know if I could implement it.
I don't really like Aerie's romance (with the PC that is). I don't want to go over it all again, so I'll copy what I've said about it before in the spoiler tag below:
Yup. Even I have things I don’t like about Aerie, or at least about the way she’s written at certain points in the game. Most of the time I defend her, since most of the criticisms aimed at her most of the time I feel aren’t really justified. She doesn’t ‘constantly whine about her wings’. In fact, when you meet her you have to press her to get her to admit she was actually a winged elf who lost her wings. And then every time she talks to another NPC, she’s almost always asking about them and what their feelings are beliefs are. More than any other character, Aerie is the newbie in BG2. She’s there learning from everyone else around her while trying to figure out the world and her new place in it. Kind of a dajemma she’s on, which likely one of the reasons why Minsc chooses her above anyone else to be his new witch.
And then, there’s her romance. The things I don’t like pretty much all are in there. It’s almost like she’s a completely different character with the way she just jumps in about her loss. I think where Dave Gaider went wrong writing this was that he spent way too much of it - in fact, nearly all of it - dwelling on one aspect of her character, and not nearly enough time on all of her other development. She’s obviously very bright and brave, very curious about all the people and things around her, she’s an adopted gnome so we could have a little more fun with that. I feel the romance should have had more build up to it so that Aerie could get to know and trust you enough to actually open up and confide, making it more consistent with the way she is around every other character, and also to show you that there is a lot of sweetness and things to admire about this character that make her worth helping through the little bit of depression she goes through later (obviously the terrible events of her past shouldn’t be ignored, but some of the dialogue really should have been toned down in places). And there’s the strange obsession Bioware had with forcing all the female love interests into fighting over you, which just often feels… well, forced, particularly between Aerie and Jaheira. And don’t even get me started on all the ill-conceived nonsense that went down in Throne of Bhaal.
You might think there’s an inconsistency here… I said Aerie didn’t really complain that much about her wings, and then saying that in her romance she spends too much time talking about it. I think you have to imagine that her confiding in you is a brave step for her and is showing a lot of trust, to maintain character consistency. Obviously anyone who knows her past and sees that she’s sad can figure out why on their own.
Yet, despite the fact that I feel a lot of mistakes were made in her romance and that Aerie was never really utilized to her full potential… Aerie seems to be a popular character anyway. I think she’s great, although that has little to do with her romance and a whole lot to do with the character she is out of it, where she’s kind, caring, brave and curious.
But apparently, some people do really like her romance as well. Even the ToB stuff. I still say it could have been much, much better. It’s just, when you romance the other characters you learn a lot about. You don’t really learn anything about Aerie through her romance, yet there’s actually a lot to work with. Her relationship with her parents, how she feels not knowing about them now, Quayle, what she did/learned in the circus, why she wants to explore and her growth as an adventurer.
She is a popular character and romance anyway, so I'm not going to change any of the original stuff that was there. Rather, I've just got to try and work around it while expanding on more and developing her character in other areas that weren't shown enough of originally.
Right, I totally get not wanting to change the original stuff and agree with that decision, although I think I might have perhaps the exact opposite take on Aerie and the wings. I'm not an Aerie fan, but not because she "constantly whines about her wings" and I don't think the romance focuses too much on the wings per se as her capture and enslavement are such an important part, if not the defining part, of her past, although I do think it gets slightly repetitive in the middle section and I absolutely hate how melodramatic, passive aggressive, and needy her dialogues and responses are (being enslaved and put in a cage is cruelty, telling her that you can't help her or convince her that life is worth living because you've already had, essentially, the exact same conversation two lovetalks ago and it apparently hasn't helped is not the least bit comparable even though she literally makes that exact comparison) and that you have to give her the absolute kid glove treatment, that your responses often don't give you an option to be compassionate without also fawning over her or matching her melodramatic nature, and that there are so many dialogue choices that result in her leaving the party (for that matter, I get why she'd lash out and bring up Khalid so I don't hate her for that alone; I hate that I literally cannot call her on it and have her remain in the party and that she never apologizes for it - ever. In my very first SoA playthrough ever many many years ago, I honestly thought the choice that made her run away - again, the only choice that includes 'don't insult my dead friend and his grieving widow' - WAS being easy and I thought that if I didn't defend Khalid's honor I'd somehow screw up the Jaheira romance that I was trying to complete).
I also think starting off with "My wings have been clipped" is entirely consistent with how she is towards other people, and I guess this is one of the areas where we disagree a lot - the idea that she generally doesn't talk about her wings unless it's to open up to someone she trusts. I actually went back to the .dlg file to check because you almost have me convinced that it might have been some mod I had or that I had imagined it. But I ended up looking in the unmodded original .dlg file and found that Aerie has no less than three dialogues with random townspeople in Athkatla - complete strangers to her - about her wings. Also, I don't think "How can a monster like you have such a sweet voice" really counts as pressing her and if Quayle dies, she just up and mentions her wings. And she'll do that to anyone in the party who talks to her too, not just Charname - even, say, Korgan or Viconia. Plus, if you go to the forest, her panel dialogue is about how awesome it was flying over the forest. She doesn't actually say "wings" but talking about how great this thing she once could do when she had wings is close enough in my book.
So, to sum up - I think that she's very willing to talk about her wings, and she'll do that to anyone who she thinks might listen at any opportunity. Most people she meets find it awkward and off-putting or worse, either because it's kind of a downer, because they don't really know what to say or they're just kind of tired of hearing it and/or don't want to hear it. So when Charname listens and actually offers meaningful words of encouragement, and keeps listening, she keeps going. I actually don't mind how much she talks about her wings because, well, being kept in a cage is kind of a huge deal and it's something that's entirely natural to want to talk about and have a hard time getting over. My complaint is with the way it's actually written and her response to your replies, and not merely that she talks about her wings a lot.
Everything else she complains about, on the other hand, I find far more annoying.
I guess I even agree with some, though obviously not all, of your analysis of the character (not here to argue, so I won't elaborate on what I don't agree with), but I generally do think that there was a lot of potential for a stronger character. I really like her development in her romance track with Haer'Dalis, for example, and if she'd act like that the rest of the time, I'd think that I'd actually like her a lot. Which, I guess, is a way of saying that although I don't necessarily think it always resembles the canon Aerie, I do generally like the Aerie character that you've created (although I think that having her say "I'm not a coward" and "I always keep my word" can come across as protesting too much, but then, I think the same of when she says that she's "not a child" and "not weak" in the unmodded game as well).
Maybe. I think Aerie knows the way she's seen by other people and kind of assumptions they will make about her - she's small, fair, not the most physically imposing person - and maybe that does lead to her protesting too much at times (and being underestimated can definitely be an advantage sometimes as well).
But as I'm rewriting I will try and think of alternatives to her saying those kind of things.
To me, it comes across like, well, a kid insisting to their parents that they're big boys or big girls now and that they can stay home alone/go out alone/stay up past a certain time/wear certain clothing/etc. So instead of having it be an example of her standing up for herself, it actually makes her seem more immature and childlike. Again, that's just my opinion though.
It might also just be an example of "telling not showing." I think that's one of the main reasons why I like the Haer'Dalis track so much - it shows not tells. You can actually see how he helps her through one of her interests (acting), how the stage actually helps her develop her confidence through the various scenes, and then when the romance actually occurs, you can slowly see how their conflicting worldviews lead to its end, first through her questions about the future, then through her questions about his philosophy itself, and then through the end when they finally break up. You can actually see the development and evolution.
On the other hand, I find that in the PC romance and when un-romanced, she starts off acting like a child, continues to do so throughout, and then all of a sudden at the very end of the game and in TOB talks about how she's "proved herself" and spouts off badass lines. It feels like someone just really liked the idea of having a scared little girl actually being badass and powerful without but didn't show she got there, and as a result it just feels unearned to me. Which is why I talked about the Underdark above - it was a way to really show how she got there, instead of just having her tell me that she's there at the end. But that might just be a limitation of the medium. It is a game, after all, and an NPC that not everyone is going to play with, as opposed to, say, a novel.
I've always thought the Underdark as a great missed opportunity for her character development. I actually don't generally think of Aerie as stupid or airheaded (naive and sheltered, yes, but that's slightly different) except in the Underdark, where she seems to be entirely unfamiliar with the basic concept of "being in disguise" in a way that goes well beyond the general "protest when told to kill someone" that one would expect of a good character. But other than that and her numerous other interjections complaining about being there, there's no functional impairment in her as a member of the party. Nor do we ever really see her actually face her fear, she just complains about it a lot and yet is totally fine otherwise. I think there was an opportunity to show some development, to have her realize that all of that time that she's been forced to spend on the ground has helped her be able to handle being underground, and that even if she doesn't really think of herself as one of her people and can't really go home, she can now do things that her people can't do and go places where her people can't go. I'm not sure how that would work gameplay or engine-wise (maybe have her be "drained" a couple of levels in the Underdark until, say, Ust Natha. By that point, she'll have survived several encounters and then she'll get a dialogue that shows what I just said - that she's learning she can do this - and at that point you could restore the lost levels).
I think she will eventually acknowledge that her time on the ground has enabled her to do things that she would never have been to do where she still living as an avariel. I think there's a dialogue in ToB that hints at that (with Neera, I think... but I'll have to check. I might have dreamt it). I didn't really notice her complaining much more than other good characters, except at the beginning of the Underdark section. She's claustrophobic, although obviously not really crippling so since she does go into places and dungeons all the time and just feels uncomfortable... over time she'll probably become used to it. Although, perhaps the reason it doesn't really affect her abilities in the game is that she's always with other people. If I could engineer an situation where she's cut off from the rest of the group temporarily and has to find a way to cope by herself... well, I have thought about that. But I don't know if I could implement it.
I didn't notice any of the good NPCs complaining about the Underdark at all, unless
it's to try and stop you if you try and kill the gnomes or sacrifice Adalon's eggs or stuff like that. Your standard good NPC telling you not to do evil stuff that takes place elsewhere in the game as well.
But you're right, I think, about most of it coming in the beginning section - I do remember a bunch of her complaints and not-understanding-what-being-undercover-means moments, but I think most of them are interjections that come up in conversation with the Duergar merchants or gnomes, with maybe one in Ust Natha itself.
So, to sum up - I think that she's very willing to talk about her wings, and she'll do that to anyone who she thinks might listen at any opportunity.
I've been over the dlg many times. The only times I ever see her mention it, outside of romance, are when someone else brings it's up (like Mazzy and Jan do). And just like when you ask what she really is when you meet her and she tells you she's a winged elf who lost her wings, she just answers the question and then moves on or changes the subject. There's a kid who asks if she's a gargoyle, to which she obviously doesn't really know what to say, although she seems to find it funny more than anything else... and really not much else. She'll mention things sometimes like what it was like to fly above the forest, but that doesn't really count as 'talking' about it. And it would be great if you could that... let's be honest, everyone has had dreams like that. Again, every conversation she starts with another NPC is not about her wings. The PC is the one exception, so it's most logical to assume that the way she talks to him is not how she usually behaves or talks.
The other things she complains about are mostly just to do with her claustrophobia or not being used to walking... but in the later case, when she actually brings it up in conversation then regardless of what you say she'll stiffen up and just keep going anyway.
When you take the romance out of the picture, what you're left with is a girl who is obviously very sad. When someone asks her a question about her past, she'll answer, but doesn't go into all that much detail, and occassionally remembers stuff that happened, good and bad. But mostly she's quiet, and mostly she is more curious about the other people and the world around her then she is concerned about herself, even though internally she must be struggling with her past and instincts a lot.
But I agree her romance could be far better written, and personally I would have toned a lot of it down.
To me, it comes across like, well, a kid insisting to their parents that they're big boys or big girls now and that they can stay home alone/go out alone/stay up past a certain time/wear certain clothing/etc. So instead of having it be an example of her standing up for herself, it actually makes her seem more immature and childlike. Again, that's just my opinion though.
I think she wants to be strong. She knows she has problems, emotional and physical, and lacks as much experience as most the other people around her, but having been a slave a long time she is quite determined to be seen as a peer and equal.
Actually showing more of her development as a hero and adventurer, which admittedly was more or less hidden and only happening in the background before, is obviously most of the motivation for wanting to do this mod.
I've been over the dlg many times. The only times I ever see her mention it, outside of romance, are when someone else brings it's up (like Mazzy and Jan do). And just like when you ask what she really is when you meet her and she tells you she's a winged elf who lost her wings, she just answers the question and then moves on or changes the subject. There's a kid who asks if she's a gargoyle, to which she obviously doesn't really know what to say, although she seems to find it funny more than anything else... and really not much else. She'll mention things sometimes like what it was like to fly above the forest, but that doesn't really count as 'talking' about it. And it would be great if you could that... let's be honest, everyone has had dreams like that. Again, every conversation she starts with another NPC is not about her wings. The PC is the one exception, so it's most logical to assume that the way she talks to him is not how she usually behaves or talks.
There's this:
Tavern Patron: Ahhh, lass, yer a sight fer old eyes, lovely as ye are. Mayhap ye'll sit with a lonely man? Aerie: I do not think much of myself without my wings, but thank you for your kind comment, sir.
Okay, Aerie isn't the one who initiates that dialogue but she's clearly the one who brings up the topic of wings in response to an entirely unrelated comment from a total stranger.
And yes, she initiates all of the conversations with charname, because the PC doesn't really initiate conversations with joined party members, for whatever reason. I don't think it's reasonable to therefore assume that charname is silent-unless-spoken-to with his companions. I think it's far more logical to instead assume that this is an out-of-universe, metagame quirk and not to read too much into whether or not she is the one who initiates conversations.
The other things she complains about are mostly just to do with her claustrophobia or not being used to walking... but in the later case, when she actually brings it up in conversation then regardless of what you say she'll stiffen up and just keep going anyway.
She's also scared of the dark. Not "darkness" as in evil, not the Underdark, not "the dark" as a metaphorical or philosophical construct representing the absence of hope, joy, or virtue, but the literal dark, as in what happens when the sun goes down. It bothers her so much that she has at least three separate lines talking about how she's scared of the dark. This annoys me far, far more than the wings because while I totally get being traumatized by losing such an important part of yourself and being enslaved, as a player, I just have a hard time taking someone who's scared of the dark seriously (and yes, I get character development and the idea of facing your fears and appreciate it when it comes to claustrophobia and monsters and just being able to live on the ground, but not when the fear is something that most people get over by around 7 or 8).
When you take the romance out of the picture, what you're left with is a girl who is obviously very sad. When someone asks her a question about her past, she'll answer, but doesn't go into all that much detail, and occassionally remembers stuff that happened, good and bad. But mostly she's quiet, and mostly she is more curious about the other people and the world around her then she is concerned about herself, even though internally she must be struggling with her past and instincts a lot.
She's one of the chattiest NPCs in the game. I don't mean this in a pejorative sense and I don't consider it a bad thing, I just don't think that quiet is an accurate description of her. The number of dialogue lines and sound files and the comments of other NPCs all support this. While yes, "number of dialogue lines and sound files" is also somewhat of an out-of-universe/metagame thing that is inflated by the fact that she has a romance track, I do think that it is significant that she has more non-romance and non-quest related dialogues than any other NPC, and that they're about such weighty, plot-advancing subjects as "the sunsets are pretty" and "men steal all the blankets." She's quite willing to make small talk about relative banalities/
Actually showing more of her development as a hero and adventurer, which admittedly was more or less hidden and only happening in the background before, is obviously most of the motivation for wanting to do this mod.
Right, which ultimately is why regardless of what it might seem from all of that above, I did like the mod and do look forward to playing the finished verson.
I've been over the dlg many times. The only times I ever see her mention it, outside of romance, are when someone else brings it's up (like Mazzy and Jan do). And just like when you ask what she really is when you meet her and she tells you she's a winged elf who lost her wings, she just answers the question and then moves on or changes the subject. There's a kid who asks if she's a gargoyle, to which she obviously doesn't really know what to say, although she seems to find it funny more than anything else... and really not much else. She'll mention things sometimes like what it was like to fly above the forest, but that doesn't really count as 'talking' about it. And it would be great if you could that... let's be honest, everyone has had dreams like that. Again, every conversation she starts with another NPC is not about her wings. The PC is the one exception, so it's most logical to assume that the way she talks to him is not how she usually behaves or talks.
There's this:
Tavern Patron: Ahhh, lass, yer a sight fer old eyes, lovely as ye are. Mayhap ye'll sit with a lonely man? Aerie: I do not think much of myself without my wings, but thank you for your kind comment, sir.
Okay, Aerie isn't the one who initiates that dialogue but she's clearly the one who brings up the topic of wings in response to an entirely unrelated comment from a total stranger.
It's a harmless enough comment, and could also be interpreted as her not really wanting to talk to a stranger and just answering with the first thing that pops into her head to politely back it. And again, it's certainly not the norm with her.
And yes, she initiates all of the conversations with charname, because the PC doesn't really initiate conversations with joined party members, for whatever reason. I don't think it's reasonable to therefore assume that charname is silent-unless-spoken-to with his companions. I think it's far more logical to instead assume that this is an out-of-universe, metagame quirk and not to read too much into whether or not she is the one who initiates conversations.
Absolutely. Which is why I think there must be a little more that's gone on first and that she has some reason to trust the PC enough to talk to about these things.
The other things she complains about are mostly just to do with her claustrophobia or not being used to walking... but in the later case, when she actually brings it up in conversation then regardless of what you say she'll stiffen up and just keep going anyway.
She's also scared of the dark. Not "darkness" as in evil, not the Underdark, not "the dark" as a metaphorical or philosophical construct representing the absence of hope, joy, or virtue, but the literal dark, as in what happens when the sun goes down. It bothers her so much that she has at least three separate lines talking about how she's scared of the dark. This annoys me far, far more than the wings because while I totally get being traumatized by losing such an important part of yourself and being enslaved, as a player, I just have a hard time taking someone who's scared of the dark seriously (and yes, I get character development and the idea of facing your fears and appreciate it when it comes to claustrophobia and monsters and just being able to live on the ground, but not when the fear is something that most people get over by around 7 or 8).
Don't recall her really talking about the dark much, at least not specifically, except in her one of her soundbites that goes 'at least in the dark you can see what's coming', or something. Which... actually is pretty dumb since Aerie can see in the dark. Maybe not in so much detail as in daylight, but still... but I'll let it pass as not much is really ever made of it.
When you take the romance out of the picture, what you're left with is a girl who is obviously very sad. When someone asks her a question about her past, she'll answer, but doesn't go into all that much detail, and occassionally remembers stuff that happened, good and bad. But mostly she's quiet, and mostly she is more curious about the other people and the world around her then she is concerned about herself, even though internally she must be struggling with her past and instincts a lot.
She's one of the chattiest NPCs in the game. I don't mean this in a pejorative sense and I don't consider it a bad thing, I just don't think that quiet is an accurate description of her. The number of dialogue lines and sound files and the comments of other NPCs all support this. While yes, "number of dialogue lines and sound files" is also somewhat of an out-of-universe/metagame thing that is inflated by the fact that she has a romance track, I do think that it is significant that she has more non-romance and non-quest related dialogues than any other NPC, and that they're about such weighty, plot-advancing subjects as "the sunsets are pretty" and "men steal all the blankets." She's quite willing to make small talk about relative banalities
On occasion, sure. She's not a total shut-in - she wants to be friendly with people. And again, most of that dialogue is her asking questions of the other characters. And both Anomen and Edwin point out the fact that she is usually pretty quiet. Korgan calls her a whiny brat, but as he is obviously just antagonizing and trying to provoke a reaction from her, I consider the first two more reliable since they have no real interest in her at all. Of course, when she's involved in dialogue she has to speak, so it's a hard thing to show except for the fact that obviously she does pause and stutter a fair bit when she talks, as it's not something she's used to.
Actually showing more of her development as a hero and adventurer, which admittedly was more or less hidden and only happening in the background before, is obviously most of the motivation for wanting to do this mod.
Right, which ultimately is why regardless of what it might seem from all of that above, I did like the mod and do look forward to playing the finished verson.
Like I said, I want to develop the positive things about her character that weren't given enough attention before. Her wings are indeed quite well covered by her romance.
So, here are some of the Aerie and other NPC banters that I've got so far. Not really worth posting a new mod version just for these, so I'll just post them here in spoiler tags
I've got some banter with most NPC's... a few I haven't yet really thought of anything yet. Like I've got nothing for Valygar. Korgan... not really much else to be said between. He bullies her in SoA and she stands up to him in ToB. Dorn... just such a shamefully shallow character that I can't really think of anything. Haer'Dalis she talks enough to already I feel. Jan I haven't taken the time for another crazy story from, but I restored a banter with him already so might just skip him anyway.
Neera and Imoen I'll post seperately. Those are Aerie's favorite people since they're young, female, and kind of silly, reminding her of what she was a carefree child and much happier. Especially Imoen she gets along with really well, even though they fight a little bit as well. They're kind of besties. And Minsc I'm planning to do a mini-quest with so I'll deal with him then.
So, here are some banters (for the most part, these are first drafts, so may be changed a bit before I release the next version. Not all have been place yet, so some will be SoA and some in ToB):
Anomen:
Anomen: Fair Aerie, I can see you struggling there. Allow me to carry some of that load.
Aerie: No, Anomen… that is very kind of you, but I can manage on my own. I really don’t want to always rely on others to carry my weight for me.
Anomen: I understand wanting to prove yourself. But keep in mind that you’ll be of little help fighting our enemies if at the same time you are fighting your own fatigue. There is no shame in accepting a helping hand every now and then.
Aerie: I… suppose. But, what about you, Anomen? Is there any problem you need help with?
Anomen: Of course not. I am a knight.
(alternative if Anomen has failed his test):
Anomen: Aerie… you should not be carrying a load like that.
Aerie: R-really?
Anomen: No. You should keep your back straight and bend at the knees.
Aerie: Ugh… just stay away from me, Anomen.
Cernd:
Cernd: You seem nervous, Aerie.
Aerie: That’s rather normal, for me.
Cernd: Perhaps I meant, apprehensive.
Aerie: I-I suppose. I don’t understand how you and others can be so calm when we may face danger at any moment. Aren’t you ever afraid?
Cernd: It is not that I or anyone else are never afraid. To be without fear leads to foolhardiness, which quickly gets one killed. Fear should not be treated as an enemy – it is a gift from nature to preserve us. But, you must be careful not to let it control you. You must be in control of it.
Aerie: I understand, Cernd. I think. Thank you.
Aerie: Edwin? Are you okay?
Edwin: (Ha! Of course, NOW she cares). *sniffs* Of course, girl. Everything is just peachy (aside from the little niggle of being at death’s door, that is). *sneezes*
Aerie: Are… you sure?
Edwin: I AM DYING, YOU FOOL!
Aerie: You’re really not…
Edwin: (Bah! No sympathy even from this sappy tarsiiforme…) Eh, it matters not, now. Take this.
Aerie: What is this?
Edwin: Requests for my funeral. I would like it to be an austere and sombre occasion…
Aerie: Uh-huh… and, w-where do you expect me to find a dozen black horses… or a string orchestra?
Edwin: Oh… you are resourceful. You will think of something.
Aerie: Okay, Edwin, enough. I told you already, you are not dying. All you have is a cold.
Edwin: For which YOU claim to have NO cure!
Aerie: I just cannot waste party resources on something you will recover from perfectly well on your own in just a day or two.
Edwin: Tell me, why are you never ill?
Aerie: Oh… j-just, lucky, I guess…
Keldorn:
Keldorn: You have a brave and pure heart, young Aerie.
Aerie: I’m no angel, Keldorn. I just do the best I can. But… thank you.
Keldorn: But what is it you wish to fight for?
Aerie: Fight for? I suppose… my friends?
Keldorn: You have no grander goal? Do you not wish to see the forces of evil driven from this world?
Aerie: I do. But… honestly, my goal is to see and understand the world. Not to change all of it. Of course, I will help when I am able.
Keldorn: And what of the slavers? You know that others are still suffering as you once did.
Aerie: I will help them when I can… but slavers have taken too much from me already. This is my life, now. I will not let them keep me from living it the way I want.
Keldorn: I fear the path will not be easy for you. Evil has a way of forcing itself into our lives, whether you want it there or not.
Mazzy:
Mazzy: You grow stronger with each passing day.
Aerie: I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much stronger. I am trying, but there are so many others who I know are more powerful, faster, and stronger than I will ever be.
Mazzy: Your modesty would be charming, were it not so misplaced. You are already far stronger and more powerful than most.
Aerie: I am?
Mazzy: Keep trying, Aerie. One day, you will have no choice but to believe my words.
Nalia:
Nalia: Aerie?
Aerie: Oh… N-Nalia, I… what is it?
Nalia: Nothing. You’ve just been quiet for a while. I thought I would check on you.
Aerie: Oh. I-I’m fine. I was just lost in thought, dreams, memories… the usual.
Nalia: I just feel like, ever since I showed you my ring earlier, you’ve been avoiding me.
Aerie: I haven’t! I-I was just…
Nalia: Aerie, I want you to tell me the truth. Have you ever seen a ring like this before?
Aerie: I… n-no. It’s… not important. I’m sorry.
Nalia: Aerie… tell me!
Aerie: I… I-I can’t. I’m sorry…
Yoshimo:
Aerie: You have certainly travelled a long way! What was life in your homeland like?
Yoshimo: People you find are much the same the world over, even if the dress or the customs or the sounds they make are different.
Aerie: I would like to learn some of your language.
Yoshimo: Wherever a caged bird sings, young Aerie, you need not understand its words to know what it is it sings about.
Aerie: That’s beautiful… although, also rather rude. Heh! But… will you ever go back home?
Yoshimo: Perhaps.
Aerie: What about… I mean, do you have a family?
Yoshimo: I… a sister. Yes.
Aerie: I-I’m sorry. You must miss her a lot.
Yoshimo: Perhaps… Ahh, but your pleasant company makes me feel truly at home again. Come!
Rasaad:
Aerie: What are they?
Rasaad: You mean the stars?
Aerie: Yes. So distant, and… so beautiful. But what are they? Why are they there?
Rasaad: Lost souls, some say, or the spirits of long dead gods drifting through the void. Still, others have claimed that they are other suns, each with worlds around them like ours.
Aerie: Or not like ours… that is what my father thought as well.
Rasaad: What do you think they are?
Aerie: I don’t know. I think… I think sometimes it’s okay not to know. It means there’s still a journey left, and that new things are waiting to be found. In the mean-time, I’ll just let my spirit soar and dream of the endless possibilities…
Blimey... I had no idea there were so many posts in this thread. A lot of it is me just posting random thoughts and ideas I've had, I think.
But anyway, I've decided now that this is the plan:
In addition to the banters, I'll be repackaging and doing another of draft of most of the other stuff, like her friendship path, etc. I'll cut out the storyline with her if you're evil, at least for now. Maybe it will return after everything else is done and I have time to work on it. THEN I will post the next version (I will not be rushed this time.)
Then I'll do the mini-quest with Minsc and Aerie that I promised, since she is his witch there obviously needs to be some more stuff involving the two of them, and release that.
Then I can concentrate on Aerie's main personal quest and deal with Amra and Praxis.
It's a harmless enough comment, and could also be interpreted as her not really wanting to talk to a stranger and just answering with the first thing that pops into her head to politely back it. And again, it's certainly not the norm with her.
Maybe. Although if the first thing on her mind is wings and she's going to use it in that way, it would really go to show that she's quite willing to talk about them and doesn't need to build up much trust or confidence before broaching the subject. And really, none of the NPCs get that much dialogue, as is fitting since ultimately this is a roleplaying game and not just an interactive novel; silence is the norm for what the player experiences and what we do get is essentially a sampler and we just have to decide how to extrapolate from what we do get. I think that it would be repetitive to have a huge number of "random comment, wings in response" dialogues and that it comes up the amount it does indicates that it isn't unusual for her, which I think is supported by her other behavior.
Don't recall her really talking about the dark much, at least not specifically, except in her one of her soundbites that goes 'at least in the dark you can see what's coming', or something. Which... actually is pretty dumb since Aerie can see in the dark. Maybe not in so much detail as in daylight, but still... but I'll let it pass as not much is really ever made of it.
She's got two panel dialogues - one is "at least in the day you can see what's coming" and another about "my mother used to tell my stories of the things that come out at night". Then there's the dialogue that triggers when she's fatigued and it's dark. Yeah, fatigue is a big part of it, but the dark also bothers her a lot and a couple of her possible responses make it pretty clear.
I rolled a CG fighter the first time I played the game and Nalia's keep was the first of the big quests I did. That dialogue popped up after I traveled to the keep as did Aerie's scared-of-the-dark panel sound, and I think that impression is what stuck with me and colored my impression of the character. I didn't remember much about the game in the intervening decade and a half between leaving home, earning degrees, and getting a job but the biggest was that I loved it and that it was an epic story. But one of the details was that there was this character who was kind of annoying and scared of the dark. When I finally played it again with the EE, I remembered a lot, lot more and some things changed (I used to think Nalia was also super-annoying; now I think that she was intentionally meant to be at least a little bit grating and some of her condescension was tongue-in-cheek and I appreciate her a lot more; I think Aerie was meant to be huggable and heartstring-tugging so I'm still not a fan) but I again rolled a chaotic-good fighter and headed over with Aerie and my fellow dungeon-escapees and Nalia to the keep and got the same dialogue and thought, "yep, exactly as I remembered."
On occasion, sure. She's not a total shut-in - she wants to be friendly with people. And again, most of that dialogue is her asking questions of the other characters. And both Anomen and Edwin point out the fact that she is usually pretty quiet. Korgan calls her a whiny brat, but as he is obviously just antagonizing and trying to provoke a reaction from her, I consider the first two more reliable since they have no real interest in her at all. Of course, when she's involved in dialogue she has to speak, so it's a hard thing to show except for the fact that obviously she does pause and stutter a fair bit when she talks, as it's not something she's used to.
Edwin's actually saying that she talks too much. She essentially proves the old saying that nothing is a great thing to say to be true because she talks a lot while saying nothing [that Edwin considers to be of value, like, well, sunsets and sunrises.] The key is how he describes it as an "unfortunate fact" and the subsequent conversation. For someone as arrogant and dismissive of others and so in love with his own voice as to literally talk to himself as Edwin to find it an "unfortunate fact" that Aerie doesn't speak up strikes me as wildly out of character. Moreover, telling her that she's too quiet hardly serves to put her in her place, as Edwin says he's doing. Telling her she talks a lot and says little of value? That does.
Note, also, that he compares her to a chickadee. Plenty of birds are symbolically associated with mournfulness. Nightingales, for one, and mourning doves (as Haer'dalis, and on one occasion, Viconia call her). Chickadees are not among them. They, and magpies (as Viconia once compares her to) are both known for their voluminous chirping (especially the magpie, which is known for its constant obnoxious chattering). And yeah, I realize this might be a stretch but I do think there's something to the bird species choices that are used.
Anomen's dialogue is closer and does say that on face value, but I think that it's more of a commentary on how she talks - that is, the fact that she stammers - than the quantity of her speech and reflects that she's not used to speaking because she's been a slave for so long and not how much she speaks now.
It's a harmless enough comment, and could also be interpreted as her not really wanting to talk to a stranger and just answering with the first thing that pops into her head to politely back it. And again, it's certainly not the norm with her.
Maybe. Although if the first thing on her mind is wings and she's going to use it in that way, it would really go to show that she's quite willing to talk about them and doesn't need to build up much trust or confidence before broaching the subject. And really, none of the NPCs get that much dialogue, as is fitting since ultimately this is a roleplaying game and not just an interactive novel; silence is the norm for what the player experiences and what we do get is essentially a sampler and we just have to decide how to extrapolate from what we do get. I think that it would be repetitive to have a huge number of "random comment, wings in response" dialogues and that it comes up the amount it does indicates that it isn't unusual for her, which I think is supported by her other behavior.
I think in that case she is trying to get out of the conversations with that man. I really, there are many more examples where she doesn't mention her wings. Obviously, it is/was a big part of her life, so you expect it to be on her mind her lot, but she doesn't always verbalize it and does think about lots of other things too.
Don't recall her really talking about the dark much, at least not specifically, except in her one of her soundbites that goes 'at least in the dark you can see what's coming', or something. Which... actually is pretty dumb since Aerie can see in the dark. Maybe not in so much detail as in daylight, but still... but I'll let it pass as not much is really ever made of it.
She's got two panel dialogues - one is "at least in the day you can see what's coming" and another about "my mother used to tell my stories of the things that come out at night". Then there's the dialogue that triggers when she's fatigued and it's dark. Yeah, fatigue is a big part of it, but the dark also bothers her a lot and a couple of her possible responses make it pretty clear.
Yeah, but I don't think it's really the dark so much. It's usually just mentioned in conjunction with other things which I expect are really what's bothering her more. On reflection, I think the 'at least in the day' line may actually be her attempting to lighten the mood.
On occasion, sure. She's not a total shut-in - she wants to be friendly with people. And again, most of that dialogue is her asking questions of the other characters. And both Anomen and Edwin point out the fact that she is usually pretty quiet. Korgan calls her a whiny brat, but as he is obviously just antagonizing and trying to provoke a reaction from her, I consider the first two more reliable since they have no real interest in her at all. Of course, when she's involved in dialogue she has to speak, so it's a hard thing to show except for the fact that obviously she does pause and stutter a fair bit when she talks, as it's not something she's used to.
Edwin's actually saying that she talks too much. She essentially proves the old saying that nothing is a great thing to say to be true because she talks a lot while saying nothing [that Edwin considers to be of value, like, well, sunsets and sunrises.] The key is how he describes it as an "unfortunate fact" and the subsequent conversation. For someone as arrogant and dismissive of others and so in love with his own voice as to literally talk to himself as Edwin to find it an "unfortunate fact" that Aerie doesn't speak up strikes me as wildly out of character. Moreover, telling her that she's too quiet hardly serves to put her in her place, as Edwin says he's doing. Telling her she talks a lot and says little of value? That does.
His line is 'Aerie, I've noticed the unfortunate fact that you live by one of the great lessons of history that nothing is often a good thing to do and a clever thing to say.'
He is clearly stating that she doesn't say a lot. He then says 'Just clipping your wings to ensure you remain obsequious to your vastly superiors, my little chickadee.' He's comparing her to servant, someone submissive and subserviant who usually stays quiet and keeps their head down, and wanting her to remain that way. Chickadee seems to just be to annoy her and a bit sarcastic.
And then consider her background, a former slave who was kept in a cage and cut off from meaningful contact with people for a long time. It makes sense that character isn't used to chatting and is more given to introspection. But I will say that Aerie is trying to change all that. She wants to be friendly and accepted by the people around her and so does attempt to be chatty. It's just obviously not what comes most naturally to her at this point.
Blimey... I had no idea there were so many posts in this thread. A lot of it is me just posting random thoughts and ideas I've had, I think.
Well, hopefully I haven't crowded it too much, although I think this is a good discussion and I'm more than happy to agree to disagree on most of it.
Indeed. But I am trying to avoid what's been done before with and develop the rest of her character. Of course, the rest of it will still be there, but hopefully when it's all done you'll find, possibly, more things to like about her.
REWRITES! Yeah lots of things have been either corrected or rewritten (note to self: use a proper word processor to write with in future, and don't just write dialogues in notepad).
I've also added a bit more NPC-NPC banter, and an option to remove the conflict with Hexxat (it just removes a banter from SoA, and alters one in ToB).
Otherwise though, this version has actually been stripped down from the previous. I removed a couple characters from the Copper Coronet who... I can't even remember why they were there in the first place. I'm sure there was a point to them, but I forgot it ages ago. I also took out Aerie becoming your enemy if your evil. It may return once I've done everything else. And also I removed the little bit of the main quest I'm still working on. But, I kept in the bit of finding Aerie's familiar.
So, basically you can install this and just get a lot of extra banter and a familiar for Aerie, and not be left hanging by the other stuff.
I'll add another mini-quest, involving Minsc as well, and then the main personal quest for Aerie, when those things are done.
What's important for any kind of writer I feel, is to do research on the subjects you're writing about. That's what 'write what you know' really means I believe - do research (usually that research is guided by the subjects that interest you, because those are the topics you are likely to naturally write about). Yes, even in fantasy there are things to research. Avariel may not be real, but slavery, post-traumatic stress, circuses and killer aqua-bunnies all are, except for the last one.
Those old-timey circuses that Aerie was a part of, with the freak shows and animals, many people won't ever see in real life now. They're banned in many places because of the amount of cruelty and abuse that would go on in them, especially toward the animals. And where they do still exist, people are trying to get them banned. Obviously being in small cages that are almost constantly on the move is not the best conditions for those kind of animals, who would often be stressed. The human keepers would often be stressed too because of always being in a rush to prepare each show when they arrived in a place, and when they needed to blow off steam, well the creatures in the cages couldn't really fight back.
But there were positive aspects to them as well. For example, throughout history they've mostly been very egalitarian little micro-societies, where female workers and performers did the same work and got the same pay as the men. And obviously lots of people who visited them really enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately, in modern times people started to look more closely at what went on behind the curtains and found out a lot of it was very unpleasant, spelling the beginning of the end for the circus.
Now though, those traditional circuses have been replaced by other monstrosities, like cirque du soleil.
A small update just correcting a few things. Mainly the little adventure Neera and Aerie have in the Copper Coronet, and for some reason all my apostrophes went missing when I copied the text into notepad, which you'll see on a screenshot below. It's now corrected.
In what order would you suggest people install this? After any other npc party member mods?
I personally haven't been able to test with many other mods apart from the tweak pack. I would think at about the same time as other Quest and NPC mods, but bear in mind there are still going to be little corrections and changes to be made, so place it low down and after the others I would say.
And while I'm here, I have changed/corrected a couple of small things, like scripting it so The Spectrum Knights only appear during the day:
I remember when this was just an idea and one or two screen shots. Great to have seen it come so far. Keep up the good work.
There have been lots and lots of ideas ths far, but it's been a matter of having to work out which ones struck the right balance between being good but also feasible for me to do on my own. I stripped the last version a bit, so I'll add in new components like quests when at least the first draft is complete. But at least I have a much better idea of what I'm going to do than back when I started.
So I've a little more dialogue and some more characters around the circus that I'll add shortly.
The next 'phase' is to add a mini-quest for Minsc and Aerie. Right now I'm thinking it'll be a straightforward little slay, fetch and return quest, but it's still open for any suggestions or ideas.
What I'm planning is, if you have Minsc and Aerie in your group and Aerie is Minsc's witch, you'll come across a couple of characters in Trademeet, most likely. They will be rashemi and will recognise Minsc and ask about Dynaheir. Minsc expains and then announces that Aerie is his witch now. They, of course, do not recognise Aerie as such and tell Minsc that he cannot simply acquire a new witch, yet alone one who isn't even from Rasheman. Nevertheless, they then start to humor Minsc, while taunting Aerie and saying that maybe if she proves herself they'll accept that she's a witch. Aerie, not wanting to disappoint Minsc, accepts the challenge.
You're told to go kill some wyverns and retrieve a treasure they're guarding. Aerie will research the monsters in the Monster Manual she got from Quayle, so you'll be well prepared to deal with their venom even if you weren't before. Where this will take place I'm not sure... maybe just on a random encounter map. After killing them, you've got to remember to pick up a skull and some treasue and then return it. They'll accept then that Aerie is worthy of being Minsc's witch, give a reward and then depart, having been spared her simply kicking their asses (that might be an option too, although you'll likely get a lesser reward for it.)
Your work looks fantastic - I haven't installed it because I want to see it all at once when it's finished but still, from your screenshots and teasers, it might as well be one of the best mods around when it comes to the writing and overall quality.
I have two questions.
1) What did you use to make the familiar paperdoll? It is a phoenix, right? Did you make one yourself or did you use something from existing game files and modified it a little? 2) It might be too early for that question, but still: it's obvious that you try to take into consideration many variables and many NPC interactions. I would like to know what would be, in your opinion, the optimal party setup if the only criteria would be to get as much fun and content from this mod as possible? From what I can see here it might be male char romancing Aerie and having Minsc and Imoen in the party, am I correct? It might be also a good idea to take Neera?
Comments
I'll basically be rewriting and adding stuff as I next play through. Good dialogue should be concise I feel, but right now a lot of it still rambles, although I can split up and expand on some themes as well by adding more talks to her friendship path.
In the mean time, I wrote some fiction as well which I'll post more of as I update the mod. Obviously contains spoilers, so I'll share it inside tags and maybe share more as I update the mod as well. Set a couple of generations after the game, Aerie tries to help a young woman and save her from a life of banditry and crime, by telling her about her own past, and that of her ancestors:
One thousand.
Tonight’s ‘battle’, for want of a better word, Sunugug would claim his one thousandth victim. Nine hundred and ninety nine peons had fallen to his blade, and for each of them the half-orc had kept an ear as a memento. Some of the older ones, at the bottom of the bag, obviously were starting to stink. But nevertheless the rest of the camp let out a hearty, albeit fearfully compliant, cheer as he held them aloft and roared.
In contrast, this was to be Talyn’s first raid. The young human woman had smeared black paint across her face. Up the ridge of her nose, around her eyes, ending in tips by her temples. It was supposed to resemble the outstretched wings of a bird, because… well, her given name happened to be very close in spelling to the word talon. All the other bandits had their own markings, deliberate quirks, or plumages on their helms that they hoped made them stand out as individuals in battle and earn a reputation. Like the late Bunny Bill, who insisted on wearing slippers made of bunny skin into battle, before he slipped on one of the ears and landed on a peasant’s pitch-fork. Still, not everyone in the rest of society appreciated that there was a great deal of creativity and even artistry involved in banditry.
In any case, having done that to herself, Talyn spent the rest of the afternoon fretting, anxiously awaiting the call from the scouts spying the road from the tree line. She paced about the camp, swinging her arms, trying to stay loose, occasionally unbuckling the staps of her armor then redoing them to make sure they were tight. She grimaced slightly as she overheard Sunugug chuckle how he hoped his thousandth would be some prissy elf he could snap like a twig and rip the guts out of… it had been suggested, due to her looks, that she might have had some elven blood in her ancestry. If she did, it was only a little. Her ears hardly pointed at all. Certainly not enough that the enormous half-orc might in the heat of battle mistake her for a tree-hugger. She hoped.
Of course, there might not even be a battle at all. The caravaneers might surrender and hand over their goods as soon as they saw the bandits, because that’s what any sane, reasonable person would do. It was just stuff, after all. Wasn’t worth anyone’s life. Not that she wanted that to happen, of course… obviously, she was hoping for a good heart racing fight. But surely, that had to be just how it went sometimes, and what could you do? Slaughter them anyway, she supposed… but then, how would you get your reputation? Had to leave some people alive, didn’t you?
She had done well in the fights the bandits arranged among themselves for their own entertainment, but she was aware she wouldn’t be fully accepted by them until she had tested her mettle in actual battle. Drawn blood. She hoped it would be an actual fight rather than some cowering commoner… but, fine. If there was anyone stupid enough not to run they surely deserved to be put down. That was what she told herself.
Night had fallen when the horns sounded, and every bandit in the camp dropped their skulls, tankards, and whatever else they’d been playing with and rushed into the forest. Sunugug took the lead, the huge half-orc pumping a mighty fist into the air at the tree line, several lieutenant relaying the order to wait to the rest of the band.
Talyn’s heart was already racing, and it seemed to take hours before finally wagon’s trundled over the hill and began to wind their way down. She counted three wagons, and maybe half a dozen men on horseback around them… hired guards, no doubt. Didn’t seem like much of a challenge for their thirty strong gang, unless there were others inside the wagons. She peered as the first one rolled past her position, hoping to catch inside, which she did. There were… crap… there was a family on board. Children.
Well, that was that, then. They had to surrender, didn’t they? No one would be fool enough to risk their own child’s life trying to be brave… just don’t be bloody stupid…
From then on, everything happened extremely fast. Sunugug roared and thrust his sword arm forward, the bandits stampeding out of the trees, Talyn carried along with them. The wagons stopped and, to her dismay, the mercenaries turned drawing their weapons while those driving the wagons let go of the reins and trained crossbows on the coming horde. They were going to fight. Stupid. So, fine. Whatever happened to them next was their own bloody stupid fault. She drew her own short sword and screamed, running straight toward the nearest mercenary. She never got close. None of them did.
A wall of fire burst in front of her. On one side the mercenary’s horse whinnied, and on the other Talyn was blown back by the sudden blast of hot air. On her back, stunned, she blinked as her followed the streak of flame that had suddenly appeared between the bandits and their would-be victims. In the sky in the distance she was sure she saw a spark rising rapidly high above the field, then beginning to circle back round… but then she was distracted by various whistles and hisses, not of the flames in front of her, followed by moans and screams of her comrades as a strange metallic smell began to fill the air. She turned just as more magic missiles shot through the flames, perforating the armor of the bandit nearest to her.
A short distance away, some of the band had formed a circle, fighting the heat and ash as their eyes desperately sought their attacker. Another bandit, also flat on his back, just stared up at the sky. His eyes suddenly went wide in terror, just a second or two before a fireball exploded over him.
Above… they were being attacked from the skies! Talyn rolled herself to her feet and looked up, not catching sight of anything. She did see that through the flame wall, the members of the caravan were just as confused as the bandits, although no spells had been thrown their way. No chance that they had arranged any of this, Talyn reasoned. This much magic definitely could not be hired cheap, and was way, way overkill for what they were – just a gang of thugs looking for some action and easy money.
Talyn had thought this was what she wanted. To be in a gang, that is. Not the crimson fiery death. She had just wanted to be accepted somewhere. Belong to a group. And maybe let out some of the anger and aggression she’d accumulated over the seventeen years of her life. This… none of this was what she had expected at all.
A soft but firm feminine voice suddenly spoke in her ear, “your grand-mother would be so disappointed in you…”
With a startled yelp, Talyn spun and leapt back from the grey cloaked figure. It was, well, definitely female. Not very tall – just a little over five feet. Her facial features were, for now, hidden by her hood, Talyn only able to see a small mouth and chin as the warm orange glow of the flames flickered around her.
The young would-be bandit blinked in fear and confusion. “Er… what?”
“Please,” the cloaked figure said, slowly raising out an arm, “I don’t want to force you, but this path… I know you can do better than this.”
That didn’t clear anything up. Who the hell was this person and what the hell did she think she knew about her? Talyn shook her head, turned, and started to run.
The cloaked figure let out a barely audible sigh, but before she could pursue some of the other bandits noticed her. Bolts and arrows flew in her direction… they were caught in some hidden field, orbited around her, and flew back along the trajectory they had came. Only one of the bandits who had unleashed managed to duck in time. Others then came at her with melee weapons. Most were left scorched and blistered by the magical energies that leapt from the woman’s fingertips. One managed to reach her, taking a wild swing with his club which missed, although as she leant back to avoid the blow, her hood fell off. Talyn turned to see a blonde haired elf whose cobalt blue eyes seemed to burn with steely determination.
The bandit near to the elf fell, sparks of electricity coursing through his body. All of the remaining had started fleeing back into the woods. Talyn made to go after them, but then a bird of flame fell from the sky raining fire down on them. The young woman was blasted back again, and again was on her back. She propped herself on her elbows and looked for the phoenix. All she saw was the elf strolling toward her…
But, there was one bandit left who hadn’t fled - Sunugug. The huge half-orc had spotted the elf now as well. Roaring and beating his chest with one hand, while holding a two handed sword aloft with the other, the huge half-orc began to slowly build momentum and then charge. The elf turned to face him, the blue flames in her eyes showing no sign of fading. Indeed, she started to step toward him, a mace materializing in her hand as she started to run and then, just as they were close enough that Sunugug’s sword was about to cleave down through her, she suddenly flashed into a burst of supernatural speed, leaping to the side and around him while swinging her mace. She caught the half-orcs and he staggered back, although only slightly. He roared and swung again, but again she was too fast, rolling under it and then striking him on the back of his knees. Sunugug screamed and limped back, his eyes now bulging with rage…
No, Talyn realized as she watched the fight, it wasn’t rage. The half-orc bellowed and swung wildly again and again, desperate to make contact with the magically enhanced elf. This was panic. The nine hundred and ninety nine victims he had claimed before now had all been commoners, peasants, even slaves, people ill prepared or ill equipped to fight back. No-one had ever hurt him like this before and now, for the first, he realized he might lose. That he was not, in fact, immortal. And that fear prompted all these ill-judged and poorly calculated attacks as he sought to end the threat as quickly as possible.
The half-orc's blade came down again, taking a good chunk out of the ground but missing the elf entirely. Her mace then struck his arm, which bent and contorted with a sickening crack. He roared once more, falling to his knees. He slowly lifted his head, tears streaming down his face as he… he laughed. Perhaps it was just the sight of the one who had defeated him… a little blonde-haired elven woman probably less than a third his size.
The elf regarded him sorrowfully for a second, then whispered, “find peace.” The whole top of his head then disappeared in an instant as the mace smashed through it.
And now, Talyn was alone, still on her back, dazed, confused, long since abandoned by any of her gang who were left. It was only when the elf’s eyes fell on her again that she was jerked into motion. Again she ran, and again the elf sighed.
This time, Talyn didn’t stop to look back. She willed her legs to keep pumping faster and faster, although it never felt like enough. This felt like a bad dream. She was well away from the flames by now, but the moon light was bright enough that she could clearly see the trees in front of her. The woods still seemed like her best chance of escape. But, as a shadow passed above her, she remembered – the first attacks had been from above. She trotted, somewhat resignedly, to halt, her eyes drifted up to where the elf now floated in front of her, a pair of blue, transluscent wings spread either side of the blonde.
“Give me a break!” Talyn screeched tearfully, pulling at her own red hair as the elf’s feet gently touched the ground and the wings disappeared. The young human reached down, grabbing a handful of dirt and flinging it. “Who are you?! What do you want?!”
The blonde tilted her head to one side, beginning to speak slowly, calmly. “I’m… a friend.”
“What?” Talyn sneered. “I don’t know you, lady.”
“No… well, perhaps that isn’t right,” the elf pondered, pursing her lips. “I… made a promise to my friends, a long time ago, that I would watch over their families after they were gone.”
“And what the hells has that got to with me?” Talyn snorted, as if the answer wasn’t obvious. “I don’t have a family. I grew up alone, learnt to pick pockets soon as I could waddle and, you know what? I’ve been doing pretty damn by myself, without any flying yellow tarts poking their noses in. So if that’s all, think I’ll be on my way now…”
“That isn’t true,” the elf answered sternly. She then sighed, lowering her head a little. “None of it is. I… I’m sorry. I should have been here to help you sooner, but I… I was caught up in things. It’s no excuse, I know, but… it’s how it was. But,” she looked up again. She looked different now from how she had in the battle. The determination was still there but now it was hopeful rather than fierce. “I’m here now, and I want to help.”
Exasperated, Talyn snarled. She spoke loud and slow so that hopefully this time her message would be understood. “I – don’t – care. I don’t care who you are, who your friends were, or who you think I am. I just want to be left alone.”
The blonde’s eyes narrowed sadly. “Alone to do what? Join another bandit group and prey on innocent travellers? I’m afraid regardless of anything else, I cannot allow that.”
“Well, one, it’s none of your business, and two, there are such things as innocents in this world,” Talyn scoffed with typical teenage arrogance.
Now the elf just looked disappointed. “Well, one, since I or any other person I know could be targeted by you or your friends it rather is my business, and two, even if it were true that everyone else in the world were as bad or worse, it’s still no excuse for you to act like a… a jerk.”
A small smile began to creep onto Talyn’s face. A few moments ago she had actually been terrified of this, who now away from the flames she could see was just a typical very pale, pasty, fair-haired elfling and worse than that, a goody-two shoes. Even with all the magical power at her disposal, the blonde wasn’t going to raise a finger to Talyn, who for some reason she had decided she wanted to help. All of which meant, she could pretty much just walk away.
“Whatever girl,” Talyn smirked and waved dismissively. “Whatever promise you made a long time ago, that has nothing to do with me. So I’ll leave you to live your life, and I’ll live mine. Got it? Good.”
The fair elf frowned as the young woman brushed by her. “You think I won’t hurt you?” She said, sagging and then sighing, “you… you’re right. I wouldn’t.”
Talyn grinned and swaggered. Good girls were such push overs… but then she eeped and jumped back as a pillar of flame fell down striking the ground of her. The fire bird swooshed over head, perching itself in a high up branch and fixing the human with a predatory glare.
“Oh,” the elf murmured, “but he might…”
The blonde didn’t give Talyn any time to recover from her shock. She produced a cube from under her cloak, which she rolled along the ground like a dice. When it came to rest the sides split open, spreading themselves out along the ground then growing in size. The elf then twisted Talyn’s arm behind her back and forced the woman into the centre of the box. It wasn’t painful, but it was a firm, the elf having a strength she clearly could not have possessed naturally. The elf then raised her free fore arm, offering it as a perch for the phoenix who immediately flapped onto it. And with that, the sides of the cube raised themselves into the air, closing above and swallowing the trio.
Talyn blacked out. She wasn’t sure for how long, although it didn’t seem like it could have been a great length of time. Maybe just minutes. When she came around, she found herself staring up at a very distant circular ceiling, lilac in colour but with several gold rings decreasing in diameter until they reached a large crystal hanging in the middle which throbbed and glowed with energy. And she heard voices. One was the elf who had abducted her, and the other was male. Very well spoken, like a noble, or possibly a servant…
“I can do that all myself,” the elf said. “Ever since Quayle saved me I’ve always fed, washed and mended things for myself. Sometimes for other people. I’m unused to having other people do any of that for me…”
“Oh, tosh now, ma’am,” the other voice answered. “You’ve been working all day, and this place… this place is a sanctuary for you to just relax and unwind. Now you just hand over that dirty torn cloak and let me take of it, hm?”
“I…” the elf resigned, “oh, very well. I suppose I’ll have enough to keep me occupied this evening anyway.”
“Indeed.”
Talyn shook the cobwebs out of her hair and made to get up, when the most ghastly visage she had ever seen shot above her eliciting a small cry. Orc, she thought. Half-pig, half skull, and all green. But this one was uglier even than Sunugug with huge uneven tusks and horribly stretched skin. It grinned, leaning close as Talyn recoiled.
“And what of this one, ma’am?” It said, the same male voice that had been talking to the elf, even though it clearly did not fit the face. “Boiled, steamed, or broiled?”
The elf chuckled lightly. “She’s not for eating.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” The orc said, poking the young woman in the belly, “this one has some meat on her.”
“I’m sure.”
“Pity,” the creature sighed, standing up and rolling a grey cloak over his arm. “Vegetable soup again, then. You really should have a more varied diet.”
The orc backed away then, being replaced in Talyn’s field of view by the elven woman reaching out a hand to her. “He’s just teasing,” the blonde gently said, “I think…”
Talyn blinked in bedazzlement, looking suspiciously at the hand being offered to her. It took a moment to decide that it was better to face all this craziness on her feet and pulled herself up. But then, she immediately slapped the elf’s hand away, screeching, “what in the hells is going on?!”
“I will explain everything, I promise,” the blonde sighed. “First, I really should introduce everyone. You already met Ammale, my familiar.”
Talyn looked across to where the elf had gestured. Like the ceiling, the room she was in was round. At the centre was a pedestal above which floated the cube that had brought them here, or at least a representation of it. Around that was a recessed part of the floor that they were standing in, and every quarter were steps leading up to a ring around which were eight doors spread evenly all around and in between them shelves stacked up to the ceiling filled with an eclectic collection of books, scrolls, potions, toys and artefacts. About half way up was a perch from which the phoenix tilted it’s head curiously at her.
“He can talk,” the elf explained, “but he doesn’t really like to say very much. Otho on the other hand,” she said indicating the orc, “you will find has no end of conversation.”
“Othograkk Gro-Bogrash the Third,” the green skinned monster announced proudly, taking a bow. “At your service. No doubt you are thinking the voice does not go with that face, as have many casting directors before you. Well,” the orc raised a finger to his head, “this is my face,” he pointed out, then lowered the finger to his wide mouth. “And this is my voice,” which he then lowered slightly to a growl, “Deal with it.”
The elf whispered, “I rescued him from slavers a short while ago, and he decided to repay me by being my servant. I tried telling him that he was free now and didn’t have to serve anyone, but he just would not have it. I suppose letting him keep this place in order is better than him crushing skulls out there…” she sighed, trailing off. “Oh!” She seemed to suddenly remember something and shot up the steps to a table, upon which rested a large glass enclosure, inside which was a house with a little round door and a windows and a picket fence. “Come on,” the elf whispered gently as Talyn ascended the steps to see what the fuss was about. “It’s time for your tea,” she purred, sprinkling sunflower seeds on the straw floor of the enclosure.
Whiskers appeared at the door, then an orange and white little face. The hamster yawned, rubbing its dark eyes as it stepped out. It stood up right, it’s nose wrinkling happily at the elf. But then it tilted his head and turned to regard Talyn, its mouth agape.
“This is Boo,” the elf introduced them. “Boo, this is Talyn. She’s our guest, so please be kind to her.” The hamster shrugged, then set to work gathering the seeds in his cheeks.
As the elf smiled warmly at the little mammal, Talyn slapped herself in the face. “This place is a circus,” she groaned. “You’re all freaks…”
There was much mumbling from both the elf and the orc, “well now, that’s… not very nice… different, certainly, but freaks?” They went on, until the elf said, “well, we kind of are. I was once, anyway.”
“And just who are you?” Talyn demanded.
“Oh, I’m Aerie.”
The young woman narrowed her eyes. “Just ‘Aerie’?”
“Well,” the elf placed a finger under her lip, “some people call me The Witch, or The Traveller, or The Wingless Wonder. One person, for reasons I’ve never ascertained, calls me Bob… but yes, my birth name is just Aerie. And this my home. Well, one of them. I have a cottage as well, which is nice. It has a garden. But, the truth is, I’ve never enjoyed staying still for long, and this home I can take with me anywhere.”
Talyn rubbed her eyes, as if she hoped doing so would erase the strange dream she was having. “This is all so crazy…”
“And are you,” the elf stepped forward, “just Talyn?”
“Told you before. Don’t have no family, therefore no family name or title or anything. So yeah, just Talyn.”
Aerie looked away, sadly. “You… really don’t know anything about who you are, do you? I mean, who… where you came from…”
“Look, you seem like a real nice and all, so let me give it to you straight. I don’t care where I came from. I live for me, and that’s it. Nothing and no-one else matters.”
“Is that why you wanted to become a bandit?”
“Ha! I wanted the freedom. Go anywhere, do anything I wanted. No constraints, y’know?”
“And the people on those wagons? What about their freedom?”
“Ain’t no concern of mine.”
Aerie shook her head sadly again. Talyn thought for a moment that she looked old and tired, and maybe she was. That was the discomforting thing about elves – a lot of them were extremely old people trapped in a young person’s body. “I don’t think you understand what freedom is,” the elf said, a tint of bitterness in her voice. “Few people really do, until they’ve had all of theirs taken away.”
“Aha!” Talyn snapped. “That’s it, isn’t it? You said I was a guest, but actually, I’m your prisoner.”
“One day,” the elf said, looking up the determination she’d shown in battle returning to her eyes. “I should never have let this happen, so give me one day to try and make it right. At the very least, there are things you should know, that you need to know, and then, you’ll be free to go and live life as you wish.”
“Yeah? And what’s to stop me from leaving now?” Talyn taunted, although she was knew of course that there were likely lots of things.
“Aside from the fact that only myself and Otho are able to operate the door back to your world, nothing, really.”
Talyn snorted, realizing she really didn’t have much choice. “One day then, Bob. Then we’ll see if you keep your promise.”
“I always keep my word,” Aerie assured her, wincing slightly as she did so. “Or at least, I try to.”
***
Otho bowed and left through one of this, and shortly after Aerie led Talyn through an opposite to a long seemingly endless hallway lit intermittently by smaller versions of the crystal on the ceiling in the main room.
“How big is this place?” Talyn asked after several minutes of walking.
“I’m not actually sure,” Aerie answered. “Behind each of the doors in the hub is a hall like this. Behind each of the doors here are rooms, stairs and hallways that branch off from this one, in turn leading to more rooms, stairs and halls… like an enormous snow flake. Thing is, I’ve never made it to the end of any of these main halls, even after walking for hours. It could be infinite.”
“Well that’s just impossible.”
“Perhaps. As I said, I’m not sure, and we’re not about to find out. We’re here,” she stopped, placing a golden key in one of the doors.
Another round room, smaller and much darker than the first. This one also had shelves, upon which rested many glass spheres of various colours, and at the centre another pedestal, this one with a recess that seemed like any of the spheres could comfortably rest, although currently it was empty.
“These are memory orbs,” Aerie explained. “Similar to the one’s Sensates use, although with a few differences.”
The word ‘Sensate’ meant nothing to Talyn, so she merely screwed up her face and shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” the elf sighed, “I don’t have time to explain everything. Suffice to say, these things record memories, and the pedestal projects them into this room so that we can walk through them.” She said, lifting a sky blue orb that matched the colour of her tunic from one of the shelves, carrying it in both hands toward the pedestal. “You have to know about your past, or rather your ancestors past. It’s easiest if I just show you. Think of it like a play. You’ll be able to see and hear and even smell everything around you, but not touch or interact with the world in any way. We will be like ghosts in the past, only able to observe.”
“A play, huh?” Talyn stretched back, hands behind her head. “Better not some soppy romantic drivel… unless everyone kills themselves in the end. That might make that worth watching. But really, I want to see some action.”
“You will,” Aerie assured her. “But first…”
The elf placed the sphere in the pedestal and immediately the room they were in was replaced by flashes of different places, people… they all went by so fast as the elf moved her hands over the glass ball. Talyn caught sight of cities under siege, elven forests, demons, dragons, a wizard dressed all in red, a huge bald man with purple tattoos, drow, Athkatla, a circus, and it kept going until Aerie said, “stop… here will do.”
The image stabilized, and they were in a cold stone room with damp walls and a barred door, beyond which were flickering torches.
“It’s a dungeon,” Talyn observed.
“Very astute,” Aerie nodded.
“It stinks,” the human sniffed, then gagged. “Damn… what is that stench?”
Aerie grimaced too, and explained. “This is a slaver fort. On the floor below us there are hundreds of people, all packed into cages so tight that they’re like one great mass of sweaty flesh. Many of them will die down there. Many are already dead… the masters just haven’t noticed.”
Listening carefully, Talyn could hear the murmured moans rising through the floor as well. “And… that’s what the smell is?”
“Among other things.”
“What other things?”
Aerie groaned frustratedly. “Just… use your imagination. Do you think they’re able to just ask to be let out whenever they’re… desperate? Anyway, that’s not what we’re here to see. Follow me.”
The fair haired just stepped through the door. Talyn hesitated a moment, then remembered – none of this was real. It wasn’t happening, not now at any rate. They were like ghosts. Tentatively she stuck out an arm, the heavy wooden offering no resistance as her hand passed through it. Then, with a shrug, she jumped across.
“Freaky,” she exclaimed on the other side. She then asked the elf, “hey, if we’re like ghosts, then how come we don’t sink through the floor or anything?”
The elf sighed. “Because, we are still standing on the floor in the orb room. This is an illusion. While I admire curiosity, that… was a particularly stupid question and really we should move along.”
“Whatever. So, what are we here to see?”
“You think you’re bad, don’t you? Well, I thought I’d give you a taste of really bad… of what true evil is like. Look…”
Across the dungeon, in a corner, was a pair of white wings. More cream coloured, actually, due to dirt that had accumulated on them. Talyn didn’t understand what she was looking at, until the wings shifted and parted slightly, revealing a dirty pale child sat behind them wearing a stony stare.
“Is that… you?” Talyn asked.
“It… was,” Aerie confirmed.
“And who’s that?” Talyn nodded. Stood over a table across from the littler Aerie, inspecting some tools bound in leather was a half-elven with thick brown hair. In another setting, he might have been quite handsome, but here even Talyn had to admit to feeling a slight chill from him as he pored over the implement.
Adult Aerie glared, flames rising behind her eyes. “Praxis…” she almost hissed. Before Talyn could ask any more, the man, Praxis, started to speak.
“With these instruments,” he said, “I could keep you awake and in pain every minute for fifteen years… or, make you experience fifteen years’ worth of pain in a minute.” He strolled across, bending down on his knees in front of the winged child. “Would you like to choose, or would you prefer to be a good girl from now, and cooperate?”
“Cooperate?” Talyn asked.
“Behave like he wants,” adult Aerie sighed. “I was wrenched from my home, from my family, into a world I did not understand. I was scared, confused, angry… I may have scratched or bitten my captors a few times. But honestly, they should not be surprised if the people they treat like animals start to act like animals as well.”
On cue, littler Aerie looked up, still wearing the same stony expression, leant her head back, and spat. Praxis feigned a smile as he stood and wiped the gob from his eye.
“Good aim,” he noted, then turned to the one other person in the dungeon. An elven woman with black hair and chain armor, leant casually against a far wall with a constant grin on her face. He nodded, and she reached up nonchalantly to ring a bell.
“’There shall be wings!’” Praxis proclaimed suddenly as he skipped back to the table. “Do you know who said that?” he asked, sitting down with a grin. Littler Aerie shook her head. “Well, of course you don’t. How could you? It was a gnome, a long time ago. He was saying that anything is possible, when we put our minds to it. Any mountain can be climbed, any river bridged, any beast,” he said, suddenly staring coldly at the child, “can be tamed, or at least, controlled… if you understand what motivates it.”
Praxis leant back, massaging his fingertips before carrying on. “From what I understand, you were caught trying to rescue somebody else. Some squealing gypsy brat… it doesn’t matter – he wouldn’t have been worth anything anyway. Getting you instead was more than a fair trade to us. The point is, you didn’t think about it at all, did you? The danger you were putting yourself in? No, you saw, you acted. Your instinct is that of a protector. Which is admirable. Noble, even…”
“Sheez,” Talyn yawned, “does he always talk this much?”
Adult Aerie nodded. “I’m afraid so. But,” she winced, “he knows as well that actions speak louder.”
A ragged human boy appeared by the room’s entrance, physically a bit older than the littler-Aerie, possibly in his mid-teens. He bowed timidly, saying “you rang, my lord?”
Praxis tilted his head, regarding the newcomer in the way another person might regard a mouse scurrying across the floor. Just a moment’s interest, and then he stood up from the chair. “Come in, boy,” he gestured, “take a seat.”
Fearfully and obediently the boy padded across the floor, placing himself tentatively in the seat Praxis had previously occupied. His eyes suddenly went wide as the slaver spun about, kicking a bar which slammed shut across the boy’s ankles. He immediately started to plead and struggle, the elven woman pressing down on his shoulders while Praxis bound him to the chair with heavy leather belts.
“N-no!” The boy stammered, terrified. “I don’t understand, my lord… w-what have I done?”
“You?” Praxis snorted as he considered his tools. “Nothing at all. Don’t try to make sense of chaos, boy. That way is the path to madness.”
Littler Aerie had lifted her head, leaning forward as far as her chains would allow, mouth agape as she didn’t yet fully comprehend what was happening, but knew to fear it anyway.
Praxis finally settled on something, picking up a small vice with sharp metal teeth. “Thumbscrews,” he sighed in a theatrical wistful manner, “I’ve always found them rather beautiful in their simplicity.”
Although he shifted and struggled desperately, bound as he was the boy could do nothing to resist as the slaver forced his thumb into the vice. He screamed painfully as Praxis turned the screw, the teeth of the vice digging into his flesh drawing a trickle of blood. Littler Aerie jumped up, her wings beating her wings desperately as she tried to push forward with her legs, but the chains held her firmly down. She spoke for the first time, screaming out curses in elven that Talyn couldn’t understand. Praxis ignored her and kept twisting the screw. There was a sickening crack of bone, the boy’s screaming became impossibly loud.
“S-stop!” Little Aerie cried out, tears streaming down her face as she lowered it. “I’ll… be good…”
Praxis regarded her coolly, giving one last twist before going across and once bending down at his knees in front of the girl.
“Do you understand?” He asked. “This happened because of you. These other slaves are all worthless to me. So from now, any time you defy me, it won’t be you that I hurt. It will be them. Their suffering will be your fault. Their lives in your hands. Do you understand?” The girl meekly nodded. “Good,” Praxis stood. “Take her back to her cell. Make sure she has plenty of time to think about what she’s done here.”
The scene froze, with Praxis stood over the weeping child like a triumphant wax statue. Talyn had stopped watching the scene the moment the thumbscrews went on, and had spent the last several minutes trying to fight the gag reflex she’d had when she’d heard the bones crack.
“The word ‘evil’ is overused sometimes, I think,” the present day Aerie said as she stepped up to the statue of Praxis her eyes burning. “I’ve been guilty of that myself. But, looking back now, this is one man I think was truly evil.”
“Yeah, well,” Talyn furtively made little circles on the ground with her toes. “I may rob some people, but I’m no slaver. I would never torture anyone.”
“But how do feel when you’re the one being robbed? You see, slavers justify their actions by imagining they’ve somehow been selected by nature to be masters over everyone else. They try not to think about what would happen should the table one day be turned, but must live in constant fear of that anyway. It’s what drives them to be so brutal. Well… most of them. Praxis is s a different story, but we’ll get to that.”
Talyn bit her lip, not looking Aerie in the eye. She hadn’t exactly she’d been chosen by nature, but she had tried to convince herself that it was other people’s own stupid fault if they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if they might have had no choice… and she’d never thought being the victim of her crimes because she was just too street wise and tough to be. Yet there were a number of bandits who would no doubt have turned on her if given the opportunity. Still, she kept telling herself she was different, for a moment, then just tried to change the subject. “What was that stuff you were shouting at him before?”
“Oh,” Aerie blushed slightly, “well, roughly translated, I said ‘You bastard… you will die a thousand deaths for this… I swear I will kill you’, and other things more or less along those lines.”
“So, what did happen to him?”
“I… tried very hard to forget this place,” Aerie sighed, “but in the end…” she turned to Praxis, cobalt flames behind her eyes. “I always keep my word.”
For example, here's a banter where she talks about what it was like for her being imprisioned:
Aerie: Even caged and unable to interact with the outside world, the mind never stops completely. I spent a long time pondering all kinds of puzzles. Like… moths…
PC: Moths?
Aerie: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moth during the day. Not a live one. They’re supposed to be attracted to light, and yet there’s all that light and you never see them. Then, someone lights a tiny lamp at night and there are suddenly moths all around it! Where were they before?
PC: Yeah, it’s a real mystery all right.
Aerie: Heh.
So I can't say for sure how long until another release. Maybe I'll try to get all the non main-quest related stuff done and out of the way first (banters, few little enounters, etc). At the moment, I feel this mod just a collection of ideas. I suppose the advantage of being a modder is being able to experiment. But now I think is time to start the final push.
Minsc: Of course! Minsc shall be stealthy, like the crab.
Aerie: Erm... crab?
Minsc: The crab dost law low, making nary a sound as it skitters silently along the sand, and then, when you least suspect, SNIP!
Aerie: Oh-kay.... what... whatever works, I suppose...
Sometimes she can seem, dare I say, air-headed, but actually she’s just thoughtful. Being more introspective by nature she tends to think very deeply and critically about things, but rarely fills everyone else in on all the processes going on.
Being from a travelling circus, she’s not unused to roughing it and going without luxury really doesn’t bother her... she is claustrophobic, although obviously not severely so since she enters all the time and is mostly just uncomfortable. Maybe in a much tighter space, or if she hadn't any friends around to support it would affect her more.
Curious and with a yearning to explore and understand the entire world around her. Also, having been taught magic by a gnome only enhanced her predisposition to investigate things and maybe experiment with them. Maybe even spells, at times.
I guess I even agree with some, though obviously not all, of your analysis of the character (not here to argue, so I won't elaborate on what I don't agree with), but I generally do think that there was a lot of potential for a stronger character. I really like her development in her romance track with Haer'Dalis, for example, and if she'd act like that the rest of the time, I'd think that I'd actually like her a lot. Which, I guess, is a way of saying that although I don't necessarily think it always resembles the canon Aerie, I do generally like the Aerie character that you've created (although I think that having her say "I'm not a coward" and "I always keep my word" can come across as protesting too much, but then, I think the same of when she says that she's "not a child" and "not weak" in the unmodded game as well).
I've always thought the Underdark as a great missed opportunity for her character development. I actually don't generally think of Aerie as stupid or airheaded (naive and sheltered, yes, but that's slightly different) except in the Underdark, where she seems to be entirely unfamiliar with the basic concept of "being in disguise" in a way that goes well beyond the general "protest when told to kill someone" that one would expect of a good character. But other than that and her numerous other interjections complaining about being there, there's no functional impairment in her as a member of the party. Nor do we ever really see her actually face her fear, she just complains about it a lot and yet is totally fine otherwise. I think there was an opportunity to show some development, to have her realize that all of that time that she's been forced to spend on the ground has helped her be able to handle being underground, and that even if she doesn't really think of herself as one of her people and can't really go home, she can now do things that her people can't do and go places where her people can't go. I'm not sure how that would work gameplay or engine-wise (maybe have her be "drained" a couple of levels in the Underdark until, say, Ust Natha. By that point, she'll have survived several encounters and then she'll get a dialogue that shows what I just said - that she's learning she can do this - and at that point you could restore the lost levels).
And then, there’s her romance. The things I don’t like pretty much all are in there. It’s almost like she’s a completely different character with the way she just jumps in about her loss. I think where Dave Gaider went wrong writing this was that he spent way too much of it - in fact, nearly all of it - dwelling on one aspect of her character, and not nearly enough time on all of her other development. She’s obviously very bright and brave, very curious about all the people and things around her, she’s an adopted gnome so we could have a little more fun with that. I feel the romance should have had more build up to it so that Aerie could get to know and trust you enough to actually open up and confide, making it more consistent with the way she is around every other character, and also to show you that there is a lot of sweetness and things to admire about this character that make her worth helping through the little bit of depression she goes through later (obviously the terrible events of her past shouldn’t be ignored, but some of the dialogue really should have been toned down in places). And there’s the strange obsession Bioware had with forcing all the female love interests into fighting over you, which just often feels… well, forced, particularly between Aerie and Jaheira. And don’t even get me started on all the ill-conceived nonsense that went down in Throne of Bhaal.
You might think there’s an inconsistency here… I said Aerie didn’t really complain that much about her wings, and then saying that in her romance she spends too much time talking about it. I think you have to imagine that her confiding in you is a brave step for her and is showing a lot of trust, to maintain character consistency. Obviously anyone who knows her past and sees that she’s sad can figure out why on their own.
Yet, despite the fact that I feel a lot of mistakes were made in her romance and that Aerie was never really utilized to her full potential… Aerie seems to be a popular character anyway. I think she’s great, although that has little to do with her romance and a whole lot to do with the character she is out of it, where she’s kind, caring, brave and curious.
But apparently, some people do really like her romance as well. Even the ToB stuff. I still say it could have been much, much better. It’s just, when you romance the other characters you learn a lot about. You don’t really learn anything about Aerie through her romance, yet there’s actually a lot to work with. Her relationship with her parents, how she feels not knowing about them now, Quayle, what she did/learned in the circus, why she wants to explore and her growth as an adventurer.
She is a popular character and romance anyway, so I'm not going to change any of the original stuff that was there. Rather, I've just got to try and work around it while expanding on more and developing her character in other areas that weren't shown enough of originally. Maybe. I think Aerie knows the way she's seen by other people and kind of assumptions they will make about her - she's small, fair, not the most physically imposing person - and maybe that does lead to her protesting too much at times (and being underestimated can definitely be an advantage sometimes as well).
But as I'm rewriting I will try and think of alternatives to her saying those kind of things. I think she will eventually acknowledge that her time on the ground has enabled her to do things that she would never have been to do where she still living as an avariel. I think there's a dialogue in ToB that hints at that (with Neera, I think... but I'll have to check. I might have dreamt it). I didn't really notice her complaining much more than other good characters, except at the beginning of the Underdark section. She's claustrophobic, although obviously not really crippling so since she does go into places and dungeons all the time and just feels uncomfortable... over time she'll probably become used to it. Although, perhaps the reason it doesn't really affect her abilities in the game is that she's always with other people. If I could engineer an situation where she's cut off from the rest of the group temporarily and has to find a way to cope by herself... well, I have thought about that. But I don't know if I could implement it.
I also think starting off with "My wings have been clipped" is entirely consistent with how she is towards other people, and I guess this is one of the areas where we disagree a lot - the idea that she generally doesn't talk about her wings unless it's to open up to someone she trusts. I actually went back to the .dlg file to check because you almost have me convinced that it might have been some mod I had or that I had imagined it. But I ended up looking in the unmodded original .dlg file and found that Aerie has no less than three dialogues with random townspeople in Athkatla - complete strangers to her - about her wings. Also, I don't think "How can a monster like you have such a sweet voice" really counts as pressing her and if Quayle dies, she just up and mentions her wings. And she'll do that to anyone in the party who talks to her too, not just Charname - even, say, Korgan or Viconia. Plus, if you go to the forest, her panel dialogue is about how awesome it was flying over the forest. She doesn't actually say "wings" but talking about how great this thing she once could do when she had wings is close enough in my book.
So, to sum up - I think that she's very willing to talk about her wings, and she'll do that to anyone who she thinks might listen at any opportunity. Most people she meets find it awkward and off-putting or worse, either because it's kind of a downer, because they don't really know what to say or they're just kind of tired of hearing it and/or don't want to hear it. So when Charname listens and actually offers meaningful words of encouragement, and keeps listening, she keeps going. I actually don't mind how much she talks about her wings because, well, being kept in a cage is kind of a huge deal and it's something that's entirely natural to want to talk about and have a hard time getting over. My complaint is with the way it's actually written and her response to your replies, and not merely that she talks about her wings a lot.
Everything else she complains about, on the other hand, I find far more annoying. To me, it comes across like, well, a kid insisting to their parents that they're big boys or big girls now and that they can stay home alone/go out alone/stay up past a certain time/wear certain clothing/etc. So instead of having it be an example of her standing up for herself, it actually makes her seem more immature and childlike. Again, that's just my opinion though.
It might also just be an example of "telling not showing." I think that's one of the main reasons why I like the Haer'Dalis track so much - it shows not tells. You can actually see how he helps her through one of her interests (acting), how the stage actually helps her develop her confidence through the various scenes, and then when the romance actually occurs, you can slowly see how their conflicting worldviews lead to its end, first through her questions about the future, then through her questions about his philosophy itself, and then through the end when they finally break up. You can actually see the development and evolution.
On the other hand, I find that in the PC romance and when un-romanced, she starts off acting like a child, continues to do so throughout, and then all of a sudden at the very end of the game and in TOB talks about how she's "proved herself" and spouts off badass lines. It feels like someone just really liked the idea of having a scared little girl actually being badass and powerful without but didn't show she got there, and as a result it just feels unearned to me. Which is why I talked about the Underdark above - it was a way to really show how she got there, instead of just having her tell me that she's there at the end. But that might just be a limitation of the medium. It is a game, after all, and an NPC that not everyone is going to play with, as opposed to, say, a novel. I think she will eventually acknowledge that her time on the ground has enabled her to do things that she would never have been to do where she still living as an avariel. I think there's a dialogue in ToB that hints at that (with Neera, I think... but I'll have to check. I might have dreamt it). I didn't really notice her complaining much more than other good characters, except at the beginning of the Underdark section. She's claustrophobic, although obviously not really crippling so since she does go into places and dungeons all the time and just feels uncomfortable... over time she'll probably become used to it. Although, perhaps the reason it doesn't really affect her abilities in the game is that she's always with other people. If I could engineer an situation where she's cut off from the rest of the group temporarily and has to find a way to cope by herself... well, I have thought about that. But I don't know if I could implement it.
I didn't notice any of the good NPCs complaining about the Underdark at all, unless
The other things she complains about are mostly just to do with her claustrophobia or not being used to walking... but in the later case, when she actually brings it up in conversation then regardless of what you say she'll stiffen up and just keep going anyway.
When you take the romance out of the picture, what you're left with is a girl who is obviously very sad. When someone asks her a question about her past, she'll answer, but doesn't go into all that much detail, and occassionally remembers stuff that happened, good and bad. But mostly she's quiet, and mostly she is more curious about the other people and the world around her then she is concerned about herself, even though internally she must be struggling with her past and instincts a lot.
But I agree her romance could be far better written, and personally I would have toned a lot of it down. I think she wants to be strong. She knows she has problems, emotional and physical, and lacks as much experience as most the other people around her, but having been a slave a long time she is quite determined to be seen as a peer and equal.
Actually showing more of her development as a hero and adventurer, which admittedly was more or less hidden and only happening in the background before, is obviously most of the motivation for wanting to do this mod.
And yes, she initiates all of the conversations with charname, because the PC doesn't really initiate conversations with joined party members, for whatever reason. I don't think it's reasonable to therefore assume that charname is silent-unless-spoken-to with his companions. I think it's far more logical to instead assume that this is an out-of-universe, metagame quirk and not to read too much into whether or not she is the one who initiates conversations. She's also scared of the dark. Not "darkness" as in evil, not the Underdark, not "the dark" as a metaphorical or philosophical construct representing the absence of hope, joy, or virtue, but the literal dark, as in what happens when the sun goes down. It bothers her so much that she has at least three separate lines talking about how she's scared of the dark. This annoys me far, far more than the wings because while I totally get being traumatized by losing such an important part of yourself and being enslaved, as a player, I just have a hard time taking someone who's scared of the dark seriously (and yes, I get character development and the idea of facing your fears and appreciate it when it comes to claustrophobia and monsters and just being able to live on the ground, but not when the fear is something that most people get over by around 7 or 8). She's one of the chattiest NPCs in the game. I don't mean this in a pejorative sense and I don't consider it a bad thing, I just don't think that quiet is an accurate description of her. The number of dialogue lines and sound files and the comments of other NPCs all support this. While yes, "number of dialogue lines and sound files" is also somewhat of an out-of-universe/metagame thing that is inflated by the fact that she has a romance track, I do think that it is significant that she has more non-romance and non-quest related dialogues than any other NPC, and that they're about such weighty, plot-advancing subjects as "the sunsets are pretty" and "men steal all the blankets." She's quite willing to make small talk about relative banalities/ Right, which ultimately is why regardless of what it might seem from all of that above, I did like the mod and do look forward to playing the finished verson.
It's a harmless enough comment, and could also be interpreted as her not really wanting to talk to a stranger and just answering with the first thing that pops into her head to politely back it. And again, it's certainly not the norm with her. Absolutely. Which is why I think there must be a little more that's gone on first and that she has some reason to trust the PC enough to talk to about these things. Don't recall her really talking about the dark much, at least not specifically, except in her one of her soundbites that goes 'at least in the dark you can see what's coming', or something. Which... actually is pretty dumb since Aerie can see in the dark. Maybe not in so much detail as in daylight, but still... but I'll let it pass as not much is really ever made of it. On occasion, sure. She's not a total shut-in - she wants to be friendly with people. And again, most of that dialogue is her asking questions of the other characters. And both Anomen and Edwin point out the fact that she is usually pretty quiet. Korgan calls her a whiny brat, but as he is obviously just antagonizing and trying to provoke a reaction from her, I consider the first two more reliable since they have no real interest in her at all. Of course, when she's involved in dialogue she has to speak, so it's a hard thing to show except for the fact that obviously she does pause and stutter a fair bit when she talks, as it's not something she's used to. Like I said, I want to develop the positive things about her character that weren't given enough attention before. Her wings are indeed quite well covered by her romance.
I've got some banter with most NPC's... a few I haven't yet really thought of anything yet. Like I've got nothing for Valygar. Korgan... not really much else to be said between. He bullies her in SoA and she stands up to him in ToB. Dorn... just such a shamefully shallow character that I can't really think of anything. Haer'Dalis she talks enough to already I feel. Jan I haven't taken the time for another crazy story from, but I restored a banter with him already so might just skip him anyway.
Neera and Imoen I'll post seperately. Those are Aerie's favorite people since they're young, female, and kind of silly, reminding her of what she was a carefree child and much happier. Especially Imoen she gets along with really well, even though they fight a little bit as well. They're kind of besties. And Minsc I'm planning to do a mini-quest with so I'll deal with him then.
So, here are some banters (for the most part, these are first drafts, so may be changed a bit before I release the next version. Not all have been place yet, so some will be SoA and some in ToB):
Anomen:
Aerie: No, Anomen… that is very kind of you, but I can manage on my own. I really don’t want to always rely on others to carry my weight for me.
Anomen: I understand wanting to prove yourself. But keep in mind that you’ll be of little help fighting our enemies if at the same time you are fighting your own fatigue. There is no shame in accepting a helping hand every now and then.
Aerie: I… suppose. But, what about you, Anomen? Is there any problem you need help with?
Anomen: Of course not. I am a knight.
(alternative if Anomen has failed his test):
Anomen: Aerie… you should not be carrying a load like that.
Aerie: R-really?
Anomen: No. You should keep your back straight and bend at the knees.
Aerie: Ugh… just stay away from me, Anomen.
Cernd:
Aerie: That’s rather normal, for me.
Cernd: Perhaps I meant, apprehensive.
Aerie: I-I suppose. I don’t understand how you and others can be so calm when we may face danger at any moment. Aren’t you ever afraid?
Cernd: It is not that I or anyone else are never afraid. To be without fear leads to foolhardiness, which quickly gets one killed. Fear should not be treated as an enemy – it is a gift from nature to preserve us. But, you must be careful not to let it control you. You must be in control of it.
Aerie: I understand, Cernd. I think. Thank you.
Edwin: (Ha! Of course, NOW she cares). *sniffs* Of course, girl. Everything is just peachy (aside from the little niggle of being at death’s door, that is). *sneezes*
Aerie: Are… you sure?
Edwin: I AM DYING, YOU FOOL!
Aerie: You’re really not…
Edwin: (Bah! No sympathy even from this sappy tarsiiforme…) Eh, it matters not, now. Take this.
Aerie: What is this?
Edwin: Requests for my funeral. I would like it to be an austere and sombre occasion…
Aerie: Uh-huh… and, w-where do you expect me to find a dozen black horses… or a string orchestra?
Edwin: Oh… you are resourceful. You will think of something.
Aerie: Okay, Edwin, enough. I told you already, you are not dying. All you have is a cold.
Edwin: For which YOU claim to have NO cure!
Aerie: I just cannot waste party resources on something you will recover from perfectly well on your own in just a day or two.
Edwin: Tell me, why are you never ill?
Aerie: Oh… j-just, lucky, I guess…
Keldorn:
Aerie: I’m no angel, Keldorn. I just do the best I can. But… thank you.
Keldorn: But what is it you wish to fight for?
Aerie: Fight for? I suppose… my friends?
Keldorn: You have no grander goal? Do you not wish to see the forces of evil driven from this world?
Aerie: I do. But… honestly, my goal is to see and understand the world. Not to change all of it. Of course, I will help when I am able.
Keldorn: And what of the slavers? You know that others are still suffering as you once did.
Aerie: I will help them when I can… but slavers have taken too much from me already. This is my life, now. I will not let them keep me from living it the way I want.
Keldorn: I fear the path will not be easy for you. Evil has a way of forcing itself into our lives, whether you want it there or not.
Mazzy:
Aerie: I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much stronger. I am trying, but there are so many others who I know are more powerful, faster, and stronger than I will ever be.
Mazzy: Your modesty would be charming, were it not so misplaced. You are already far stronger and more powerful than most.
Aerie: I am?
Mazzy: Keep trying, Aerie. One day, you will have no choice but to believe my words.
Nalia:
Aerie: Oh… N-Nalia, I… what is it?
Nalia: Nothing. You’ve just been quiet for a while. I thought I would check on you.
Aerie: Oh. I-I’m fine. I was just lost in thought, dreams, memories… the usual.
Nalia: I just feel like, ever since I showed you my ring earlier, you’ve been avoiding me.
Aerie: I haven’t! I-I was just…
Nalia: Aerie, I want you to tell me the truth. Have you ever seen a ring like this before?
Aerie: I… n-no. It’s… not important. I’m sorry.
Nalia: Aerie… tell me!
Aerie: I… I-I can’t. I’m sorry…
Yoshimo:
Yoshimo: People you find are much the same the world over, even if the dress or the customs or the sounds they make are different.
Aerie: I would like to learn some of your language.
Yoshimo: Wherever a caged bird sings, young Aerie, you need not understand its words to know what it is it sings about.
Aerie: That’s beautiful… although, also rather rude. Heh! But… will you ever go back home?
Yoshimo: Perhaps.
Aerie: What about… I mean, do you have a family?
Yoshimo: I… a sister. Yes.
Aerie: I-I’m sorry. You must miss her a lot.
Yoshimo: Perhaps… Ahh, but your pleasant company makes me feel truly at home again. Come!
Rasaad:
Rasaad: You mean the stars?
Aerie: Yes. So distant, and… so beautiful. But what are they? Why are they there?
Rasaad: Lost souls, some say, or the spirits of long dead gods drifting through the void. Still, others have claimed that they are other suns, each with worlds around them like ours.
Aerie: Or not like ours… that is what my father thought as well.
Rasaad: What do you think they are?
Aerie: I don’t know. I think… I think sometimes it’s okay not to know. It means there’s still a journey left, and that new things are waiting to be found. In the mean-time, I’ll just let my spirit soar and dream of the endless possibilities…
But anyway, I've decided now that this is the plan:
In addition to the banters, I'll be repackaging and doing another of draft of most of the other stuff, like her friendship path, etc. I'll cut out the storyline with her if you're evil, at least for now. Maybe it will return after everything else is done and I have time to work on it. THEN I will post the next version (I will not be rushed this time.)
Then I'll do the mini-quest with Minsc and Aerie that I promised, since she is his witch there obviously needs to be some more stuff involving the two of them, and release that.
Then I can concentrate on Aerie's main personal quest and deal with Amra and Praxis.
I rolled a CG fighter the first time I played the game and Nalia's keep was the first of the big quests I did. That dialogue popped up after I traveled to the keep as did Aerie's scared-of-the-dark panel sound, and I think that impression is what stuck with me and colored my impression of the character. I didn't remember much about the game in the intervening decade and a half between leaving home, earning degrees, and getting a job but the biggest was that I loved it and that it was an epic story. But one of the details was that there was this character who was kind of annoying and scared of the dark. When I finally played it again with the EE, I remembered a lot, lot more and some things changed (I used to think Nalia was also super-annoying; now I think that she was intentionally meant to be at least a little bit grating and some of her condescension was tongue-in-cheek and I appreciate her a lot more; I think Aerie was meant to be huggable and heartstring-tugging so I'm still not a fan) but I again rolled a chaotic-good fighter and headed over with Aerie and my fellow dungeon-escapees and Nalia to the keep and got the same dialogue and thought, "yep, exactly as I remembered." Edwin's actually saying that she talks too much. She essentially proves the old saying that nothing is a great thing to say to be true because she talks a lot while saying nothing [that Edwin considers to be of value, like, well, sunsets and sunrises.] The key is how he describes it as an "unfortunate fact" and the subsequent conversation. For someone as arrogant and dismissive of others and so in love with his own voice as to literally talk to himself as Edwin to find it an "unfortunate fact" that Aerie doesn't speak up strikes me as wildly out of character. Moreover, telling her that she's too quiet hardly serves to put her in her place, as Edwin says he's doing. Telling her she talks a lot and says little of value? That does.
Note, also, that he compares her to a chickadee. Plenty of birds are symbolically associated with mournfulness. Nightingales, for one, and mourning doves (as Haer'dalis, and on one occasion, Viconia call her). Chickadees are not among them. They, and magpies (as Viconia once compares her to) are both known for their voluminous chirping (especially the magpie, which is known for its constant obnoxious chattering). And yeah, I realize this might be a stretch but I do think there's something to the bird species choices that are used.
Anomen's dialogue is closer and does say that on face value, but I think that it's more of a commentary on how she talks - that is, the fact that she stammers - than the quantity of her speech and reflects that she's not used to speaking because she's been a slave for so long and not how much she speaks now. Well, hopefully I haven't crowded it too much, although I think this is a good discussion and I'm more than happy to agree to disagree on most of it.
He is clearly stating that she doesn't say a lot. He then says 'Just clipping your wings to ensure you remain obsequious to your vastly superiors, my little chickadee.' He's comparing her to servant, someone submissive and subserviant who usually stays quiet and keeps their head down, and wanting her to remain that way. Chickadee seems to just be to annoy her and a bit sarcastic.
And then consider her background, a former slave who was kept in a cage and cut off from meaningful contact with people for a long time. It makes sense that character isn't used to chatting and is more given to introspection. But I will say that Aerie is trying to change all that. She wants to be friendly and accepted by the people around her and so does attempt to be chatty. It's just obviously not what comes most naturally to her at this point. Indeed. But I am trying to avoid what's been done before with and develop the rest of her character. Of course, the rest of it will still be there, but hopefully when it's all done you'll find, possibly, more things to like about her.
BG2EEWings091.rar.
REWRITES! Yeah lots of things have been either corrected or rewritten (note to self: use a proper word processor to write with in future, and don't just write dialogues in notepad).
I've also added a bit more NPC-NPC banter, and an option to remove the conflict with Hexxat (it just removes a banter from SoA, and alters one in ToB).
Otherwise though, this version has actually been stripped down from the previous. I removed a couple characters from the Copper Coronet who... I can't even remember why they were there in the first place. I'm sure there was a point to them, but I forgot it ages ago. I also took out Aerie becoming your enemy if your evil. It may return once I've done everything else. And also I removed the little bit of the main quest I'm still working on. But, I kept in the bit of finding Aerie's familiar.
So, basically you can install this and just get a lot of extra banter and a familiar for Aerie, and not be left hanging by the other stuff.
I'll add another mini-quest, involving Minsc as well, and then the main personal quest for Aerie, when those things are done.
What's important for any kind of writer I feel, is to do research on the subjects you're writing about. That's what 'write what you know' really means I believe - do research (usually that research is guided by the subjects that interest you, because those are the topics you are likely to naturally write about). Yes, even in fantasy there are things to research. Avariel may not be real, but slavery, post-traumatic stress, circuses and killer aqua-bunnies all are, except for the last one.
Those old-timey circuses that Aerie was a part of, with the freak shows and animals, many people won't ever see in real life now. They're banned in many places because of the amount of cruelty and abuse that would go on in them, especially toward the animals. And where they do still exist, people are trying to get them banned. Obviously being in small cages that are almost constantly on the move is not the best conditions for those kind of animals, who would often be stressed. The human keepers would often be stressed too because of always being in a rush to prepare each show when they arrived in a place, and when they needed to blow off steam, well the creatures in the cages couldn't really fight back.
But there were positive aspects to them as well. For example, throughout history they've mostly been very egalitarian little micro-societies, where female workers and performers did the same work and got the same pay as the men. And obviously lots of people who visited them really enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately, in modern times people started to look more closely at what went on behind the curtains and found out a lot of it was very unpleasant, spelling the beginning of the end for the circus.
Now though, those traditional circuses have been replaced by other monstrosities, like cirque du soleil.
BG2EEWings091a.rar.
And here are some screenshots of some of the new and one of the 'restored' banters with Minsc:
And while I'm here, I have changed/corrected a couple of small things, like scripting it so The Spectrum Knights only appear during the day:
BG2EEWings091b.rar.
The next 'phase' is to add a mini-quest for Minsc and Aerie. Right now I'm thinking it'll be a straightforward little slay, fetch and return quest, but it's still open for any suggestions or ideas.
What I'm planning is, if you have Minsc and Aerie in your group and Aerie is Minsc's witch, you'll come across a couple of characters in Trademeet, most likely. They will be rashemi and will recognise Minsc and ask about Dynaheir. Minsc expains and then announces that Aerie is his witch now. They, of course, do not recognise Aerie as such and tell Minsc that he cannot simply acquire a new witch, yet alone one who isn't even from Rasheman. Nevertheless, they then start to humor Minsc, while taunting Aerie and saying that maybe if she proves herself they'll accept that she's a witch. Aerie, not wanting to disappoint Minsc, accepts the challenge.
You're told to go kill some wyverns and retrieve a treasure they're guarding. Aerie will research the monsters in the Monster Manual she got from Quayle, so you'll be well prepared to deal with their venom even if you weren't before. Where this will take place I'm not sure... maybe just on a random encounter map. After killing them, you've got to remember to pick up a skull and some treasue and then return it. They'll accept then that Aerie is worthy of being Minsc's witch, give a reward and then depart, having been spared her simply kicking their asses (that might be an option too, although you'll likely get a lesser reward for it.)
I have two questions.
1) What did you use to make the familiar paperdoll? It is a phoenix, right? Did you make one yourself or did you use something from existing game files and modified it a little?
2) It might be too early for that question, but still: it's obvious that you try to take into consideration many variables and many NPC interactions. I would like to know what would be, in your opinion, the optimal party setup if the only criteria would be to get as much fun and content from this mod as possible? From what I can see here it might be male char romancing Aerie and having Minsc and Imoen in the party, am I correct? It might be also a good idea to take Neera?