Well, no, but he'd dispatch them pretty much just as easily, cleaving Cowled Wizards and Shadow Thieves in half with the Sword of Chaos. Maybe not as flashy, but swords never run out of ammo. ;P
I think Sarevok is far more interesting. Sarevok is a selfish douche but the scary thing is how he's extremely charismatic and influential. The rest of the world thinks he's a fantastic guy and you KNOW he's an evil bastard and you have to fight tooth and nail to prove it, that's something that I can feel, and get behind my character.
For Irenicus, it was like, yay, I'm stopping some jerk from having his revenge. I haven't ever done this in any other video games...
Plus irenicus never panned out. He just wanted his immortality back. The fact that you were bhaal spawn was only kind of important. It felt like bg2 fled from the story of a child of the god of murder instead of embracing it. You did get the slayer, which was weaker than my 17th lvl ranger the first time through, but a nice fall back for my mage. Notwithstanding the story in ToB was like "finally we get back to the plot!"
Irenicus was the more compelling villain. Somehow I felt things were more personal with him despite that to him our Bhaalspawn was essentially just a tool.
Plus his part was written and acted out pretty well (David Warner did a great job and has a great voice). Not to say Sarevok was bad, I like him too (and his VA Kevin Micheal Richardson), but I see Irenicus as the stronger villain. I love the story of BG2 over BG1.
I voted for Irenicus apparently. To be honest I think Sarevok's opposition to you is more clear. Why exactly does Irenicus go after you specifically? Surely he could have found known Bhaalspawn closer to amn from which he could gain bhaal's essence from.
I voted for Irenicus apparently. To be honest I think Sarevok's opposition to you is more clear. Why exactly does Irenicus go after you specifically? Surely he could have found known Bhaalspawn closer to amn from which he could gain bhaal's essence from.
From his comments it would seem that not all Bhaalspawn are equal. In the ascension mod he says this outright to Sarevok, that he ruled him out as a candidate early because of how idiotic the "poison the iron supply" plot was.
From his comments it would seem that not all Bhaalspawn are equal. In the ascension mod he says this outright to Sarevok, that he ruled him out as a candidate early because of how idiotic the "poison the iron supply" plot was.
Well of course Irenicus would call it idiotic. I mean, any plot that has nothing to do with making Jon Irenicus more awesome is idiotic to Jon Irenicus. Even when the PC shows up, having ruined Jon's business along the way, he's in complete denial.
"No! No! No! This is just a minor setback! You didn't win at all! I win because I said so! And now I dimension door away!"
More likely reason is that he called it idiotic because it would never work. I explained why earlier in this thread.
Well, the viability of his plan was only nullified after the fact by a sequel. He also had incomplete information, which is an awesome change of pace for a villain. Regardless, none of that makes him, or his plan, idiotic.
Further, even if he didn't become a god, he and his mercenaries could have become obscenely wealthy manipulating and fighting in the war. Had CHARNAME not exposed him, he could have easily become a duke of Baldur's Gate, as well. So, divine aspects aside, Sarevok's plan would have been awesome in its execution.
Although, given the esoteric and flexible nature of having the essence of a supernatural being in your blood, who is to say that kicking all that ass, causing that much bloodshed, and being well-regarded and feared by so many people wouldn't have elevated him to demigod or lesser god status? I mean, in his ToB epilogue doesn't he destroy an entire army single-handedly WITHOUT any divine spark?
Sarevok's plan only came about after some serious logical leaps after reading the prophecies of Alaundo. You can tell from his diary (that you find in the Iron Throne tower, on his other lover) that he was making quite a leap coming to that conclusion, "that must be what it means", or something to that effect.
Actually, if you talk to the people in the Iron Throne after Sarevok takes over, they are abandoning the Iron Throne in droves because of the bad business decisions that Sarevok makes (because his goal is not to make money, it is to start a war with Amn). He stands to make huge losses of the war effort, he for instance says during his coronation that he will give Baldur's Gate the iron that the Iron Throne has stockpiled. He certainly could have made a killing though if he sold the iron to Baldur's Gate at inflated prices as his father planned to do (but his plan was to make money, not to start a war).
But you are correct, he almost did become arch duke of Baldur's Gate, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. But then again, Jon Irenicus almost managed to drain the tree of life and become a god, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. Which is better, almost duke or almost god?
If pure slaughter was enough to spark demigod status from the essence of Bhaal there would have been much stronger contenders than Sarevok for it, Yaga-Shura for example uses his giant army to great effect before Melissan convinces him to butcher the entire town of Saradush. And not even the slaughter of such a large city as that is enough, and he certainly killed more there than would have died in the war between Amn and Baldur's Gate (a city the size of BG would be able to conscript a few thousand soldiers at most, plus maybe a thousand or two more mercenaries), Amn would have been able to field probably a few tens of thousands given enough time, a lot of soldiers would have died, but certainly nowhere near the entire population of Saradush, plus all the Bhaalspawn taking refuge there, plus Gromnir's personal army.
As for his epilogue, it says he routed an orc army near Berdusk. It doesn't say he did it on his own, and he later conquers the city of Westgate, that is certainly something he wouldn't be able to do alone as it is the home of Orbakh (a vampire clone of the archmage Manshoon, one of the most powerful mages in the Forgotten Realms), so it's pretty safe to say he rounded up another army to do it.
Irenicus. I hate that guy. I still get visceral satisfaction every time I watch the imps shove him off the cliff into the lava. Sarevok, I just can't hate him. I want to sometimes, but he's always there, and in ToB, it brings into question Sarevok's path if he'd grown up differently. He's a bad guy, but I still sort of respect him at the end of the trilogy, especially if you redeem him. There's a conflict in him, I guess, that comes out in the later games. Vader syndrome. It gets me every time.
Sarevok's plan only came about after some serious logical leaps after reading the prophecies of Alaundo. You can tell from his diary (that you find in the Iron Throne tower, on his other lover) that he was making quite a leap coming to that conclusion, "that must be what it means", or something to that effect.
Actually, if you talk to the people in the Iron Throne after Sarevok takes over, they are abandoning the Iron Throne in droves because of the bad business decisions that Sarevok makes (because his goal is not to make money, it is to start a war with Amn). He stands to make huge losses of the war effort, he for instance says during his coronation that he will give Baldur's Gate the iron that the Iron Throne has stockpiled. He certainly could have made a killing though if he sold the iron to Baldur's Gate at inflated prices as his father planned to do (but his plan was to make money, not to start a war).
Once Sarevok realized nothing was actually going to happen, he could have turned things around. That's the beauty of the plan. No matter what happens, he wins.
But you are correct, he almost did become arch duke of Baldur's Gate, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. But then again, Jon Irenicus almost managed to drain the tree of life and become a god, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. Which is better, almost duke or almost god?
I assumed we were judging the plans based purely on their own merit, and not whether or not some jerk with main character powers foiled said plans.
And, I'd say almost duke. Gods have phenomenal cosmic powers, but then they get saddled with laughably little real influence in the world. Where's the rush of crushing your enemies personally?
If pure slaughter was enough to spark demigod status from the essence of Bhaal there would have been much stronger contenders than Sarevok for it, Yaga-Shura for example uses his giant army to great effect before Melissan convinces him to butcher the entire town of Saradush. And not even the slaughter of such a large city as that is enough, and he certainly killed more there than would have died in the war between Amn and Baldur's Gate (a city the size of BG would be able to conscript a few thousand soldiers at most, plus maybe a thousand or two more mercenaries), Amn would have been able to field probably a few tens of thousands given enough time, a lot of soldiers would have died, but certainly nowhere near the entire population of Saradush, plus all the Bhaalspawn taking refuge there, plus Gromnir's personal army.
So Sarevok would manipulate the war to cause more casualties, maybe go on a few rampages, possibly even win the war, become the archduke anyway, and become a well-loved hero. Loved in Baldur's Gate, feared in Amn, while Yaga-Shura was only a known threat to the Tethyr/Saradush region. If Sarevok triumphed, he probably would have had a larger army than Gromnir and Yaga-Shura combined. Though, that's largely speculation on my part.
Sarevok's theory was sound in that his plan was going to generate a lot of energy. He thought performing Bhaal's portfolio was what was needed to generate that energy. He was wrong, but he wasn't too far off. What he needed to do was make himself known. Enough fear and reverence, and he could have taken on a minor portfolio.
As for his epilogue, it says he routed an orc army near Berdusk. It doesn't say he did it on his own, and he later conquers the city of Westgate, that is certainly something he wouldn't be able to do alone as it is the home of Orbakh (a vampire clone of the archmage Manshoon, one of the most powerful mages in the Forgotten Realms), so it's pretty safe to say he rounded up another army to do it.
Ah, fair enough. Still, we're talking about an independent warlord accomplishing some major feats. Besides, my only point was that Jon was being a cocky douche, as one should expect from elves. Sarevok's plan wasn't idiotic so much as poorly researched. Irenicus wasn't, ultimately, in a much better boat. For all he knew, the energy of the tree would have been too much for his body to handle and wiped him off the face of Faerun. Meanwhile, Sarevok was in no personal danger whatsoever. He could have easily turned things around once he realized he wasn't getting any more powerful.
Once Sarevok realized nothing was actually going to happen, he could have turned things around. That's the beauty of the plan. No matter what happens, he wins.
So Sarevok would manipulate the war to cause more casualties, maybe go on a few rampages, possibly even win the war, become the archduke anyway, and become a well-loved hero. Loved in Baldur's Gate, feared in Amn, while Yaga-Shura was only a known threat to the Tethyr/Saradush region. If Sarevok triumphed, he probably would have had a larger army than Gromnir and Yaga-Shura combined. Though, that's largely speculation on my part.
Despite his relatively high stats, Sarevok isn't much more than a souped up 15th level fighter. He would not have been able to turn the tide against Amn. Think about it, he is taking a city state with a population of around 45,000 people and declaring war on Amn, a nation with a population of 3 million. In addition to it's large population compared to BG, Amn also has nearly unlimited resources from it colonies in Maztica, and it has a large battle hardened army after the recent war with the Sythilissian rebels to the south, and all it's client organizations like the cowled wizards and the order of the radiant heart would certainly provide forces to fight Baldur's Gate. Not only that, but it is also one of the wealthiest nations in the world, and could afford to hire vast hordes of mercenaries if need be. All put together, just by conscripting it's population it could field an army larger than the entire total population of Baldur's Gate. Amn would win the war, I guarantee it.
Sarevok would certainly be able to kill a lot of people, but he would not be well loved after throwing the city into a devastating war with a major power, all of it based on minimal evidence. The Zhentarim are even assumed to be behind the iron shortage, not Amn, because the Iron Throne went through such trouble to plant evidence suggesting it (all the bandits captured had been led to believe they were working for the Zhentarim). But all of this is a moot point anyway, because his main goal would never work to begin with.
I assumed we were judging the plans based purely on their own merit, and not whether or not some jerk with main character powers foiled said plans.
And, I'd say almost duke. Gods have phenomenal cosmic powers, but then they get saddled with laughably little real influence in the world. Where's the rush of crushing your enemies personally?
Well, if it hadn't been for some jerk with main character powers then Irenicus would be a god, and Sarevok would be a duke of a city at war with a vastly superior enemy. I still say being a god is better....
Sarevok's theory was sound in that his plan was going to generate a lot of energy. He thought performing Bhaal's portfolio was what was needed to generate that energy. He was wrong, but he wasn't too far off. What he needed to do was make himself known. Enough fear and reverence, and he could have taken on a minor portfolio.
How would that work? There are people and entities with far more fear and reverence who haven't gained a minor portfolio (Take for example, Szass Tam, the leader of the nation of Thay, nowhere near godhood). All things considered, becoming a god is pretty damn hard to do.
Ah, fair enough. Still, we're talking about an independent warlord accomplishing some major feats. Besides, my only point was that Jon was being a cocky douche, as one should expect from elves. Sarevok's plan wasn't idiotic so much as poorly researched. Irenicus wasn't, ultimately, in a much better boat. For all he knew, the energy of the tree would have been too much for his body to handle and wiped him off the face of Faerun. Meanwhile, Sarevok was in no personal danger whatsoever. He could have easily turned things around once he realized he wasn't getting any more powerful.
Sure Irenicus is a cocky douche, but so is Sarevok. You kind of have to be to be able to sacrifice an entire city (Baldur's Gate and Suldanesselar) for your own desires.
Irenicus' plan to drain the tree was pretty well thought out (he is after all as "powerful as it is possible for an elf to be"), he uses the parasite creatures around the tree to slowly funnel the power to him, and indeed even Rillifane Rallathil (the god he would replace if he were successful) is powerless to stop him, and is also quite concerned about losing his place among the Seldarine to Irenicus.
And it is certainly possible for a mortal to take on divine powers without being blasted to pieces by it. Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul were mortals who were given their power by the god Jergal, Midnight became Mystra after the old Mystra gave her powers to her, and Cyric stole his divinity by killing deities during the Time of Troubles.
Again, how could he have turned things around? He was declaring war on a vastly superior enemy. And he would certainly be in a lot of danger when the city is conquered by Amn and he is either, killed in battle, captured and executed, or becomes a hunted man after he flees justice.
I voted for Irenicus apparently. To be honest I think Sarevok's opposition to you is more clear. Why exactly does Irenicus go after you specifically? Surely he could have found known Bhaalspawn closer to amn from which he could gain bhaal's essence from.
From his comments it would seem that not all Bhaalspawn are equal. In the ascension mod he says this outright to Sarevok, that he ruled him out as a candidate early because of how idiotic the "poison the iron supply" plot was.
I guess that makes sense considering Imoen's slow progress on the godhood front.
Both are fantastic villains that oozed coolness although I voted Saverok. Both voice actors were awesome. For me the threat of a magic resist warrior always worried me more then a magic user that can be dealt with counters.
From his comments it would seem that not all Bhaalspawn are equal. In the ascension mod he says this outright to Sarevok, that he ruled him out as a candidate early because of how idiotic the "poison the iron supply" plot was.
I think I recall that conversation. I think the terms "semi-competent kobold herder" and "talented sabotager of small mining operations" were used. Ouch.
I think this thread is getting a bit off topic considering it is all a matter of perspective and opinion. We might as well be talking about which Joker from Batman was better - it's always going to be different. It's pointless trying to "convert" people with what ifs and cannon facts.
I personally chose Jon Irenicus for several reasons listed below:
1). David Warner is a beast of a voice actor and I really think he nailed the part - be it the anger in his voice or the pauses he made as his character reflected on his past, he gave breath to the vindictive mad mage that is Irenicus a part I feel he was born to play.
2). Irenicus shows a lot more traits than Sarevok did, sure they were both evil, both had big plans but the biggest thing that seperated them was the depth of character and personality. All I ever really got out of Sarevok was "I killed your father and came up with an evil plan to start a war and become the new god of murder." I didn't know about his past, I didn't know about his thoughts, I didn't have any sort of connection to judge him off of other than point my finger and say "That's the bad guy!" I mean it was fun being left out in the dark because that was part of the story but it didn't change my mind that he just felt very bland.
3). THIS GUY STEALS YOUR SOUL! - I mean sure Sarevok wanted to kill you, but this guy uses you like a guinea pig, haunts your every step, is after you, after your sister and you just know he is never going to stop until he gets what he wants - Even if he has to kill a crap ton of people to do so. That's scary.
4). He has better dialogue!
I love both Sarevok & Irenicus they make great villains in their respected games. I just fancy Irenicus more that's all.
"I cannot be caged! I cannot be controlled! Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools!" - Jon Irenicus
@Sceptenar I think you're forgetting how everyone kept mentioning that it was impossible for Irenicus to join the Seldarine. That Corellon Larethian (I think that's the right one) the leader of the Seldarine would never allow it, not to mention he'd probably have Ao to deal with as well. Gods do come and go, but oftentimes it can take quite a bit to actually be allowed into godhood. Cyric, Mystra, and Khelmvor had it easier because of the time of troubles, but Irenicus may drain the tree of life only to find his godhood still denied.
Oftentimes Irenicus truly didn't fully think out his plans very well, and I feel that after failing with the tree of life the first time, likely the only time he ever stood a chance of that method, he should have searched for an alternative method. For example, the fall of Netheril as I recall came about from a wizard trying to syphon all the magic of the weave to achieve godhood, an in NWN2 MOTB there was a book in Kelemvor's City of the dead on how to achieve godhood that the demi-lich wanted.
@Synergetic I'd like to argue on your second point there, that while Irenicus is a bit more fleshed out, I felt that the fact that they kept dancing around Sarevok's involvements and whatnot, made him more mysterious, and made you want to stop this ultimate villain. Not to mention they really do explain a LOT about Sarevok if you actually read his diary, and play TOB. With Irenicus I thought he was the coolest villain of all time... until I discovered his motives. With Sarevok, his way of trying to become a god doomed pretty much the entire sword coast! It was incredible!
Now some of you may be asking... why did I pick Irenicus if I'm praising Sarevok so much? Well the truth of the matter is... I hate Irenicus. Really I do, the man is entirely irredeemable and despicable and because of that... I kind of find him to be the better villain. He is not in anyway justified in his actions, he does everything for his own power and self serving goals, and I find him to be pretty much the epitome of evil. I have only ever really seen one or two villains that I consider to be more evil than Jon Irenicus, and I have to say that by the end of the game I truly wanted to kill him, while I still pitied Sarevok and wanted to help Tamako save him. I know what he did was evil, and he truly endangered the lives of thousands upon thousands and yet, I still don't hate him.
With Irenicus there's also the matter of him killing off two of my favorite pals, Dynaheir and Khalid, torturing you and Imoen, and stealing your soul! That's just taking things to an entirely personal level that killing Gorion just can't stand up to! I admire Sarevok as a villain, and think he was quite well written, but I feel that Irenicus was the more evil of the two, and thus the better villain. There's a lot more to it than simply that, but I'm tired of typing all this now ._.
I just feel that Irenicus always cheats his way out of defeat.. Always some annoying cutscene wherein you are suddenly defeated, or him teleporting away and saying ("Ahahahah,This was planned all along!")
You didn't get to Sarevok, and when you did, he was FORCEFULLY removed against his will, and he NEVER backed away from the final fight
@MooseChangerPat What they said specifically was that Irenicus wouldn't be accepted as a member of the Seldarine (the pantheon of elven deities), not that he couldn't steal the powers of Rillifane (which he could, hence why Rillifane's avatar appears to help you in Suldanesselar when you do the ritual). If he were successful Irenicus would hold the power of Rillifane's portfolio, but would not be a member of the Seldarine. This is similar to Lolth originally being a member of the Seldarine when she was known as Araushnee. She was cast out for her crimes, but is still a god. As for Irenicus, even though he would not be one of the Seldarine, he would still be a god.
And Ao the Overfather would not intervene, he never intervenes. No one even knew he existed until the time of troubles. In all the history of stolen divinity in the realms, he hasn't lifted a finger over it a single time.
The fall of Netheril was caused by Karsus' avatar spell, it did work and he did steal the powers of Mystryl. Unfortunately, targeting Mystryl was a bad idea. The Forgotten Realms wiki explains why:
"Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions."
It has been proven numerous times in realms history that it is possible for a mortal to steal godhood, Karsus did do it successfully, he just target the wrong deity to steal from. In the modern era Cyric killed several deities during the time of troubles (Leira and Mask, although the latter is alive again) and stole their divinity.
This is really hard for me, but I had to go with Irenicus. Not only do I think he was a better step up as a villain (especially since BG2 showed us just how powerful mages are compared to the first game), I have pretty much all his lines memorized. Whenever he speaks, I close my eyes and lip synch the words. It gives me goosebumps.
Comments
Well, no, but he'd dispatch them pretty much just as easily, cleaving Cowled Wizards and Shadow Thieves in half with the Sword of Chaos. Maybe not as flashy, but swords never run out of ammo. ;P
I think Sarevok is far more interesting. Sarevok is a selfish douche but the scary thing is how he's extremely charismatic and influential. The rest of the world thinks he's a fantastic guy and you KNOW he's an evil bastard and you have to fight tooth and nail to prove it, that's something that I can feel, and get behind my character.
For Irenicus, it was like, yay, I'm stopping some jerk from having his revenge. I haven't ever done this in any other video games...
Plus his part was written and acted out pretty well (David Warner did a great job and has a great voice). Not to say Sarevok was bad, I like him too (and his VA Kevin Micheal Richardson), but I see Irenicus as the stronger villain. I love the story of BG2 over BG1.
"No! No! No! This is just a minor setback! You didn't win at all! I win because I said so! And now I dimension door away!"
"You will suffer! YOU WILL ALL SUFFER!"
He became my favorite bad guy of all time. I don't know what it is about that scene - it's just the best.
Further, even if he didn't become a god, he and his mercenaries could have become obscenely wealthy manipulating and fighting in the war. Had CHARNAME not exposed him, he could have easily become a duke of Baldur's Gate, as well. So, divine aspects aside, Sarevok's plan would have been awesome in its execution.
Although, given the esoteric and flexible nature of having the essence of a supernatural being in your blood, who is to say that kicking all that ass, causing that much bloodshed, and being well-regarded and feared by so many people wouldn't have elevated him to demigod or lesser god status? I mean, in his ToB epilogue doesn't he destroy an entire army single-handedly WITHOUT any divine spark?
Actually, if you talk to the people in the Iron Throne after Sarevok takes over, they are abandoning the Iron Throne in droves because of the bad business decisions that Sarevok makes (because his goal is not to make money, it is to start a war with Amn). He stands to make huge losses of the war effort, he for instance says during his coronation that he will give Baldur's Gate the iron that the Iron Throne has stockpiled. He certainly could have made a killing though if he sold the iron to Baldur's Gate at inflated prices as his father planned to do (but his plan was to make money, not to start a war).
But you are correct, he almost did become arch duke of Baldur's Gate, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. But then again, Jon Irenicus almost managed to drain the tree of life and become a god, if it hadn't been for the PC that is. Which is better, almost duke or almost god?
If pure slaughter was enough to spark demigod status from the essence of Bhaal there would have been much stronger contenders than Sarevok for it, Yaga-Shura for example uses his giant army to great effect before Melissan convinces him to butcher the entire town of Saradush. And not even the slaughter of such a large city as that is enough, and he certainly killed more there than would have died in the war between Amn and Baldur's Gate (a city the size of BG would be able to conscript a few thousand soldiers at most, plus maybe a thousand or two more mercenaries), Amn would have been able to field probably a few tens of thousands given enough time, a lot of soldiers would have died, but certainly nowhere near the entire population of Saradush, plus all the Bhaalspawn taking refuge there, plus Gromnir's personal army.
As for his epilogue, it says he routed an orc army near Berdusk. It doesn't say he did it on his own, and he later conquers the city of Westgate, that is certainly something he wouldn't be able to do alone as it is the home of Orbakh (a vampire clone of the archmage Manshoon, one of the most powerful mages in the Forgotten Realms), so it's pretty safe to say he rounded up another army to do it.
And, I'd say almost duke. Gods have phenomenal cosmic powers, but then they get saddled with laughably little real influence in the world. Where's the rush of crushing your enemies personally? So Sarevok would manipulate the war to cause more casualties, maybe go on a few rampages, possibly even win the war, become the archduke anyway, and become a well-loved hero. Loved in Baldur's Gate, feared in Amn, while Yaga-Shura was only a known threat to the Tethyr/Saradush region. If Sarevok triumphed, he probably would have had a larger army than Gromnir and Yaga-Shura combined. Though, that's largely speculation on my part.
Sarevok's theory was sound in that his plan was going to generate a lot of energy. He thought performing Bhaal's portfolio was what was needed to generate that energy. He was wrong, but he wasn't too far off. What he needed to do was make himself known. Enough fear and reverence, and he could have taken on a minor portfolio. Ah, fair enough. Still, we're talking about an independent warlord accomplishing some major feats. Besides, my only point was that Jon was being a cocky douche, as one should expect from elves. Sarevok's plan wasn't idiotic so much as poorly researched. Irenicus wasn't, ultimately, in a much better boat. For all he knew, the energy of the tree would have been too much for his body to handle and wiped him off the face of Faerun. Meanwhile, Sarevok was in no personal danger whatsoever. He could have easily turned things around once he realized he wasn't getting any more powerful.
@$$
[still by just a bit coz Sarevok is badass ]
Sarevok would certainly be able to kill a lot of people, but he would not be well loved after throwing the city into a devastating war with a major power, all of it based on minimal evidence. The Zhentarim are even assumed to be behind the iron shortage, not Amn, because the Iron Throne went through such trouble to plant evidence suggesting it (all the bandits captured had been led to believe they were working for the Zhentarim). But all of this is a moot point anyway, because his main goal would never work to begin with. Well, if it hadn't been for some jerk with main character powers then Irenicus would be a god, and Sarevok would be a duke of a city at war with a vastly superior enemy. I still say being a god is better.... How would that work? There are people and entities with far more fear and reverence who haven't gained a minor portfolio (Take for example, Szass Tam, the leader of the nation of Thay, nowhere near godhood). All things considered, becoming a god is pretty damn hard to do. Sure Irenicus is a cocky douche, but so is Sarevok. You kind of have to be to be able to sacrifice an entire city (Baldur's Gate and Suldanesselar) for your own desires.
Irenicus' plan to drain the tree was pretty well thought out (he is after all as "powerful as it is possible for an elf to be"), he uses the parasite creatures around the tree to slowly funnel the power to him, and indeed even Rillifane Rallathil (the god he would replace if he were successful) is powerless to stop him, and is also quite concerned about losing his place among the Seldarine to Irenicus.
And it is certainly possible for a mortal to take on divine powers without being blasted to pieces by it. Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul were mortals who were given their power by the god Jergal, Midnight became Mystra after the old Mystra gave her powers to her, and Cyric stole his divinity by killing deities during the Time of Troubles.
Again, how could he have turned things around? He was declaring war on a vastly superior enemy. And he would certainly be in a lot of danger when the city is conquered by Amn and he is either, killed in battle, captured and executed, or becomes a hunted man after he flees justice.
We might as well be talking about which Joker from Batman was better - it's always going to be different. It's pointless trying to "convert" people with what ifs and cannon facts.
I personally chose Jon Irenicus for several reasons listed below:
1). David Warner is a beast of a voice actor and I really think he nailed the part - be it the anger in his voice or the pauses he made as his character reflected on his past, he gave breath to the vindictive mad mage that is Irenicus a part I feel he was born to play.
2). Irenicus shows a lot more traits than Sarevok did, sure they were both evil, both had big plans but the biggest thing that seperated them was the depth of character and personality. All I ever really got out of Sarevok was "I killed your father and came up with an evil plan to start a war and become the new god of murder." I didn't know about his past, I didn't know about his thoughts, I didn't have any sort of connection to judge him off of other than point my finger and say "That's the bad guy!"
I mean it was fun being left out in the dark because that was part of the story but it didn't change my mind that he just felt very bland.
3). THIS GUY STEALS YOUR SOUL! - I mean sure Sarevok wanted to kill you, but this guy uses you like a guinea pig, haunts your every step, is after you, after your sister and you just know he is never going to stop until he gets what he wants - Even if he has to kill a crap ton of people to do so. That's scary.
4). He has better dialogue!
I love both Sarevok & Irenicus they make great villains in their respected games.
I just fancy Irenicus more that's all.
"I cannot be caged! I cannot be controlled! Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools!" - Jon Irenicus
Oftentimes Irenicus truly didn't fully think out his plans very well, and I feel that after failing with the tree of life the first time, likely the only time he ever stood a chance of that method, he should have searched for an alternative method. For example, the fall of Netheril as I recall came about from a wizard trying to syphon all the magic of the weave to achieve godhood, an in NWN2 MOTB there was a book in Kelemvor's City of the dead on how to achieve godhood that the demi-lich wanted.
@Synergetic I'd like to argue on your second point there, that while Irenicus is a bit more fleshed out, I felt that the fact that they kept dancing around Sarevok's involvements and whatnot, made him more mysterious, and made you want to stop this ultimate villain. Not to mention they really do explain a LOT about Sarevok if you actually read his diary, and play TOB. With Irenicus I thought he was the coolest villain of all time... until I discovered his motives. With Sarevok, his way of trying to become a god doomed pretty much the entire sword coast! It was incredible!
Now some of you may be asking... why did I pick Irenicus if I'm praising Sarevok so much? Well the truth of the matter is... I hate Irenicus. Really I do, the man is entirely irredeemable and despicable and because of that... I kind of find him to be the better villain. He is not in anyway justified in his actions, he does everything for his own power and self serving goals, and I find him to be pretty much the epitome of evil. I have only ever really seen one or two villains that I consider to be more evil than Jon Irenicus, and I have to say that by the end of the game I truly wanted to kill him, while I still pitied Sarevok and wanted to help Tamako save him. I know what he did was evil, and he truly endangered the lives of thousands upon thousands and yet, I still don't hate him.
With Irenicus there's also the matter of him killing off two of my favorite pals, Dynaheir and Khalid, torturing you and Imoen, and stealing your soul! That's just taking things to an entirely personal level that killing Gorion just can't stand up to! I admire Sarevok as a villain, and think he was quite well written, but I feel that Irenicus was the more evil of the two, and thus the better villain. There's a lot more to it than simply that, but I'm tired of typing all this now ._.
You didn't get to Sarevok, and when you did, he was FORCEFULLY removed against his will, and he NEVER backed away from the final fight
What they said specifically was that Irenicus wouldn't be accepted as a member of the Seldarine (the pantheon of elven deities), not that he couldn't steal the powers of Rillifane (which he could, hence why Rillifane's avatar appears to help you in Suldanesselar when you do the ritual). If he were successful Irenicus would hold the power of Rillifane's portfolio, but would not be a member of the Seldarine. This is similar to Lolth originally being a member of the Seldarine when she was known as Araushnee. She was cast out for her crimes, but is still a god. As for Irenicus, even though he would not be one of the Seldarine, he would still be a god.
And Ao the Overfather would not intervene, he never intervenes. No one even knew he existed until the time of troubles. In all the history of stolen divinity in the realms, he hasn't lifted a finger over it a single time.
The fall of Netheril was caused by Karsus' avatar spell, it did work and he did steal the powers of Mystryl. Unfortunately, targeting Mystryl was a bad idea. The Forgotten Realms wiki explains why:
"Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions."
It has been proven numerous times in realms history that it is possible for a mortal to steal godhood, Karsus did do it successfully, he just target the wrong deity to steal from. In the modern era Cyric killed several deities during the time of troubles (Leira and Mask, although the latter is alive again) and stole their divinity.