okay seriously though: you go to some noble's house, his butler is basically a huge golem, he has a mysterious door that looks like it could be the gateway to the adventure of a life time, but noone actually knows where it leads? pretty weak guys
okay seriously though: you go to some noble's house, his butler is basically a huge golem, he has a mysterious door that looks like it could be the gateway to the adventure of a life time, but noone actually knows where it leads? pretty weak guys
My guess is that it is a gateway to the elemental plane of candy, and since CHARNAME is presumably diabetic, they can't even step there over fear of dying of high blood sugar levels.
And yes, the elemental plane of candy is a real thing: it has creatures such as candy elementals, marshmallow golems, candy dwarves (with an innate ability to detect 'unusual candywork'), fountains of hot fudge and islands of ice cream. Its language is called 'glucose', and is often considered to be 'sweet-sounding'. Powers and spells that use candy are bolstered, while those that use toothpaste are diminished.
Hmm, I see lots of questions being asked but not a lot of answers being given... Where are all the people who know the answers and why are they not saying anything? I want to know this stuff!
I've always wondered why there are goblins running around in Irenicus' dungeon. Did he run out of all of his spells except Monster Summoning I? Were they food for his otyugh? I know, he must have been trying to cross-breed them with Duergar like Saruman in Lord of the Rings did with his Uruk Hai.
It's a good thing he was stopped or Faerun would have been over-run with Duoblins!
Speaking of Cernd's quest, why does Deryl hang out with a lich anyway? To prove his worthiness? Worthiness for what? The whole arrangement sounds like a really twisted scene of hazing to me.
1) Why do you meet a person named "Sendai" in BG1? And why did they use the same name for her in Throne of Bhaal? Is she one of her "avatar" statues or something?
2) Abazigal is a Blue Half-Dragon. His son Draconis is a full dragon. Wat. Is Draconis a human that turns into a dragon with spells? Is he a dragon that turns human? And how does a half-dragon make a full dragon if that's the case?
3) Liches are very powerful spellcasters. Demiliches are more powerful than liches and don't cast anything. (Or do they? I am not sure) Imprisonment is supposed to be the Trap the Soul ability, not a spell.
4) Is Irenicus wearing a mask? Is that his face? I know the Longer Road mod turns his "face" into a mask to get him into your party.
5) What's up with Bodhi? Who is she? Except for Irenicus' sister. Was she some powerful elf? Why is she that more powerful than other vampires? We know almost nothing about her.
If you play as an elf at the beginning of BG, doesn't that make you little more than a child? And does that then imply Aerire and Viconia are paedophiles for romancing you?
It was retconned in 3.5E Races of the Wild sourcebook that elves mature at 110+ and that's the age they decide to leave and adventure.
They're not maturing physically at that age. Otherwise they would have been driven to extinction.
Drizzt, by the time you meet him in BG is around 73 years old.
3) Liches are very powerful spellcasters. Demiliches are more powerful than liches and don't cast anything. (Or do they? I am not sure) Imprisonment is supposed to be the Trap the Soul ability, not a spell.
In 2E P&P, Demiliches don't cast spells as they don't tend have hands, and maybe not even limbs (if they have, they can I guess). But in 3E this was revised and they can cast spells. BG2 uses the 2E variant of Demiliches, even if the one in Watcher's Keep has a Contingency on...
1) Why do you meet a person named "Sendai" in BG1? And why did they use the same name for her in Throne of Bhaal? Is she one of her "avatar" statues or something?
Plain coincidence (which I doubt) or just an easter egg or something. IIRC one of the statues had the same appearance (FIGHTER_FEMALE_HUMAN or FIGHTER_FEMALE_HUMAN_LOW).
2) Abazigal is a Blue Half-Dragon. His son Draconis is a full dragon. Wat. Is Draconis a human that turns into a dragon with spells? Is he a dragon that turns human? And how does a half-dragon make a full dragon if that's the case?
I think Abazigal is a full Dragon with a part of Divine Soul (well, Bhaalspawn soul), and if he has a son with a full dragon and he is a half-dragon, his son will probably will inherit just half of his genes, so Draconis would be 1/4 not dragon, not more.
5) What's up with Bodhi? Who is she? Except for Irenicus' sister. Was she some powerful elf? Why is she that more powerful than other vampires? We know almost nothing about her.
Well, in 2E, Vampires get their stats according to the years they've been 'living' as Undeads @jacobtan said this somewhere else (can't recall in which thread), and, the only explanation is that, Bodhi is more than one thousand years old as a vampire. She infected herself with vampirism to counteract the Divine Curse that hath been placed upon her and Irenicus, while he tries to complete his soul back with Magic (stripping your soul away in Spellhold was part of that process I think).
4) Is Irenicus wearing a mask? Is that his face? I know the Longer Road mod turns his "face" into a mask to get him into your party.
I don't know anything about this, but I reply so I can answer all the questions on your post :P I guess that it's a magically bound mask, so it isn't his real face, BUT, it could be his face after the Elven Gods placed their Curse upon him and Bodhi... Not really sure.
For deities in 2E, when they lose worshippers and the power derived from faith, they are reduced in divine rank until they perish. Demipowers should also be subject to this criterion for consistency - once you become a deity, you are no longer a mortal and are subject to the prevailing rules for deities. It makes no sense that a demipower reduced in power can become mortal but other more powerful deities will perish.
Examples of 2E deities who were reduced in power include:
1. Amaunator: first greater, then lesser, and finally dead 2. Jergal: first greater, then demipower
Retcons from 3E and 4E should be left out of this discussion if the topic is BG (instead of the FR world in general). BG was based on 2E and it is difficult to ascertain a body of consistent lore if revisions are included.
Vampires derive their power from age, according to the Ravenloft sourcebooks. I bought the gold disc boxed set many years ago and Bodhi's reference card stated that she was a matriarch vampire, which corresponds to 1000+ years in age.
5) What's up with Bodhi? Who is she? Except for Irenicus' sister. Was she some powerful elf? Why is she that more powerful than other vampires? We know almost nothing about her.
Well, in 2E, Vampires get their stats according to the years they've been 'living' as Undeads @jacobtan said this somewhere else (can't recall in which thread), and, the only explanation is that, Bodhi is more than one thousand years old as a vampire. She infected herself with vampirism to counteract the Divine Curse that hath been placed upon her and Irenicus, while he tries to complete his soul back with Magic (stripping your soul away in Spellhold was part of that process I think).
All that, plus after gaining Imoen's soul she started searching for ways to be freed from vampirism. So, despite whatever Jon said about thriving in the vampiric form, is seems she really didn't like it. At least that's how I always interpreted the stolen books in her crypt, as not only a neat coincidence and a quest prop. Makes me a tiny little bit sympathetic towards her, to be honest.
5) What's up with Bodhi? Who is she? Except for Irenicus' sister. Was she some powerful elf? Why is she that more powerful than other vampires? We know almost nothing about her.
Well, in 2E, Vampires get their stats according to the years they've been 'living' as Undeads @jacobtan said this somewhere else (can't recall in which thread), and, the only explanation is that, Bodhi is more than one thousand years old as a vampire. She infected herself with vampirism to counteract the Divine Curse that hath been placed upon her and Irenicus, while he tries to complete his soul back with Magic (stripping your soul away in Spellhold was part of that process I think).
All that, plus after gaining Imoen's soul she started searching for ways to be freed from vampirism. So, despite whatever Jon said about thriving in the vampiric form, is seems she really didn't like it. At least that's how I always interpreted the stolen books in her crypt, as not only a neat coincidence and a quest prop. Makes me a tiny little bit sympathetic towards her, to be honest.
In the 2E Ravenloft sourcebook, vampires tend to go insane with age. The reason is not explicitly stated, but it is suggested that vampires lack the mental strength to last the ages (unlike liches) and eventually, the strains of "life as undead" will overcome them.
I believe Bodhi knows the risks of long-term vampirism, and she sees Imoen's soul as a stable, permanent way of achieving immortality.
Probably the most wondering thing for me is why the original developers eventually didn't give us a chance to save Yoshimo. They didn't have enough time (when SoA was released) and decided he should be killed. But they could change it with ToB. How good it would be to have Yoshimo in ToB!
The second thing for me is why beholder lairs in BG2 look like they are. I mean, these pulsating things and so on. Do beholders like such surroundings?
Also I've always wondered why female vampires in BG2 constantly move their bodies. I find it cool though;)
@bengoshi The question about Beholders is quite interesting actually. I've never seem any sourcebook saying that Beholders live in organic lairs...
Actually there's a famous encounter in an published adventure, which I obviously do not remember the name right now, where a Beholder makes his Lair in a huge cave. He attacks the party when they're crossing a natural stone bridge over a chasm. The encounter fully utilizes the fact that Beholders can move in any direction and can quickly make a way for himself through stone to attack the party from above, bellow and the party's slides. It's quite hard to make your way alive from this encounter. The best way is to run before the Beholder manages to disintegrate enough of the bridge for it to fall and kill the entire party...
Probably the most wondering thing for me is why the original developers eventually didn't give us a chance to save Yoshimo. They didn't have enough time (when SoA was released) and decided he should be killed. But they could change it with ToB. How good it would be to have Yoshimo in ToB!
The second thing for me is why beholder lairs in BG2 look like they are. I mean, these pulsating things and so on. Do beholders like such surroundings?
Also I've always wondered why female vampires in BG2 constantly move their bodies. I find it cool though;)
Yes, I completely agree on Yoshimo. He's one of BG2's most agreeable NPCs personalitywise, the only straight thief (until Hexxat was added), and if the big S. can return in TOB, out of nowhere, then why not Yoshi?
1) 3) Liches are very powerful spellcasters. Demiliches are more powerful than liches and don't cast anything. (Or do they? I am not sure) Imprisonment is supposed to be the Trap the Soul ability, not a spell.
Adding onto this; why are they called demi-liches when they are obviously more powerful than actual liches? Isn't 'demi-' as a prefix supposed to signify something partial or lesser in power (eg "demigod")?
Anyway, in the Illithid hideout in the Atkathla Sewers, there is a Mind Flayer Lich (Alhoon) who drops a scroll titled 'Illithid Correspondence.' The scroll has no in-game significance I know of, but it mentions The Hidden, an organization that is also referred to in the Jansen family quest. Who are these guys? Simply Mind Flayers interested in world domination? If so, why are they in allegiance with humans such as that one noblewoman whose name I can't recall?
At night in the Bridge district, you can run into a Gnomish manwho... err, male courtesan called Bertrand the Companion who, among other things, brags about the size of his nose. Does anyone know if he has any actual purpose or is just an easter-egg kind of character? Also, do any of the female NPCs in the game retort to his come ons?
Perhaps Demi-Lich so named because they are physically only "part" of a Lich?
That is part of the answer (I refuse to make the joke that it is a demi-answer) The Demi-Lich is also halfway through the changes that most Liches believe will eventually make them gods. Their great power and near indestructibility is considered a clear proof of that.
1) 3) Liches are very powerful spellcasters. Demiliches are more powerful than liches and don't cast anything. (Or do they? I am not sure) Imprisonment is supposed to be the Trap the Soul ability, not a spell.
Adding onto this; why are they called demi-liches when they are obviously more powerful than actual liches? Isn't 'demi-' as a prefix supposed to signify something partial or lesser in power (eg "demigod")?
Anyway, in the Illithid hideout in the Atkathla Sewers, there is a Mind Flayer Lich (Alhoon) who drops a scroll titled 'Illithid Correspondence.' The scroll has no in-game significance I know of, but it mentions The Hidden, an organization that is also referred to in the Jansen family quest. Who are these guys? Simply Mind Flayers interested in world domination? If so, why are they in allegiance with humans such as that one noblewoman whose name I can't recall?
At night in the Bridge district, you can run into a Gnomish manwho... err, male courtesan called Bertrand the Companion who, among other things, brags about the size of his nose. Does anyone know if he has any actual purpose or is just an easter-egg kind of character? Also, do any of the female NPCs in the game retort to his come ons?
In medieval times, a 'big nose' was symbolistic for... another part of the body - this is present in one of the works of Giovanni Boccacio (he was a monk who wrote... erotic novels), although I can't recall exactly which one since it's been around 3 years since I've worked upon them.
Really, kudos to the developers for making use of this reference.
@jacobtan, I love reading posts from people with knowledge of the sourcebooks! Gotta read some of that in my free time. And ack, I can't believe it escaped me for so many years, but you're absolutely right! "Any link to a modern cure to be worried of?" That explains it all. Dear diary, today I realised I can go back to thinking Bodhi is a despicable character... Thank you so much for the correction.
okay seriously though: you go to some noble's house, his butler is basically a huge golem, he has a mysterious door that looks like it could be the gateway to the adventure of a life time, but noone actually knows where it leads? pretty weak guys
My guess is that it is a gateway to the elemental plane of candy, and since CHARNAME is presumably diabetic, they can't even step there over fear of dying of high blood sugar levels.
And yes, the elemental plane of candy is a real thing: it has creatures such as candy elementals, marshmallow golems, candy dwarves (with an innate ability to detect 'unusual candywork'), fountains of hot fudge and islands of ice cream. Its language is called 'glucose', and is often considered to be 'sweet-sounding'. Powers and spells that use candy are bolstered, while those that use toothpaste are diminished.
The Twisted Rune are a secret society in Forgotten Realms lore, IIRC. They might have been part of content that was later cut, but the location and fight kept.
Vellin Dahn appears again, if you know where to find him. There's a riddle hidden in Reijek's shop that might help.
As for the random adventurers, I'm not sure. My money would be on uncompleted questline/cut content though.
Whereabouts does Vellin Dahn reappear? It's been so long since I've played and my Google search turned up nothing. I am definitely interested in knowing if I missed this before.
Comments
pretty weak guys
And yes, the elemental plane of candy is a real thing: it has creatures such as candy elementals, marshmallow golems, candy dwarves (with an innate ability to detect 'unusual candywork'), fountains of hot fudge and islands of ice cream. Its language is called 'glucose', and is often considered to be 'sweet-sounding'. Powers and spells that use candy are bolstered, while those that use toothpaste are diminished.
You don't have the necessary clearance level for the answers... But...
[spoiler]
The truth is out there (Insert spooky music here).
It's a good thing he was stopped or Faerun would have been over-run with Duoblins!
2) Abazigal is a Blue Half-Dragon. His son Draconis is a full dragon. Wat.
Is Draconis a human that turns into a dragon with spells? Is he a dragon that turns human?
And how does a half-dragon make a full dragon if that's the case?
3) Liches are very powerful spellcasters. Demiliches are more powerful than liches and don't cast anything.
(Or do they? I am not sure)
Imprisonment is supposed to be the Trap the Soul ability, not a spell.
4) Is Irenicus wearing a mask? Is that his face? I know the Longer Road mod turns his "face" into a mask to get him into your party.
5) What's up with Bodhi? Who is she? Except for Irenicus' sister. Was she some powerful elf? Why is she that more powerful than other vampires?
We know almost nothing about her.
They're not maturing physically at that age. Otherwise they would have been driven to extinction.
Drizzt, by the time you meet him in BG is around 73 years old.
I guess that it's a magically bound mask, so it isn't his real face, BUT, it could be his face after the Elven Gods placed their Curse upon him and Bodhi... Not really sure.
For deities in 2E, when they lose worshippers and the power derived from faith, they are reduced in divine rank until they perish. Demipowers should also be subject to this criterion for consistency - once you become a deity, you are no longer a mortal and are subject to the prevailing rules for deities. It makes no sense that a demipower reduced in power can become mortal but other more powerful deities will perish.
Examples of 2E deities who were reduced in power include:
1. Amaunator: first greater, then lesser, and finally dead
2. Jergal: first greater, then demipower
Retcons from 3E and 4E should be left out of this discussion if the topic is BG (instead of the FR world in general). BG was based on 2E and it is difficult to ascertain a body of consistent lore if revisions are included.
As for @CrevsDaak...
Vampires derive their power from age, according to the Ravenloft sourcebooks. I bought the gold disc boxed set many years ago and Bodhi's reference card stated that she was a matriarch vampire, which corresponds to 1000+ years in age.
At least that's how I always interpreted the stolen books in her crypt, as not only a neat coincidence and a quest prop. Makes me a tiny little bit sympathetic towards her, to be honest.
I believe Bodhi knows the risks of long-term vampirism, and she sees Imoen's soul as a stable, permanent way of achieving immortality.
The second thing for me is why beholder lairs in BG2 look like they are. I mean, these pulsating things and so on. Do beholders like such surroundings?
Also I've always wondered why female vampires in BG2 constantly move their bodies. I find it cool though;)
Actually there's a famous encounter in an published adventure, which I obviously do not remember the name right now, where a Beholder makes his Lair in a huge cave. He attacks the party when they're crossing a natural stone bridge over a chasm. The encounter fully utilizes the fact that Beholders can move in any direction and can quickly make a way for himself through stone to attack the party from above, bellow and the party's slides. It's quite hard to make your way alive from this encounter. The best way is to run before the Beholder manages to disintegrate enough of the bridge for it to fall and kill the entire party...
In cult of eyeless the stone face if you click throws out enemies but looks like large door? Why? (Would be good if led somewhere)
Who are the council of six and why can't you get to them?! (Would love a quest on that)
Ummm that's it ftm
Anyway, in the Illithid hideout in the Atkathla Sewers, there is a Mind Flayer Lich (Alhoon) who drops a scroll titled 'Illithid Correspondence.' The scroll has no in-game significance I know of, but it mentions The Hidden, an organization that is also referred to in the Jansen family quest. Who are these guys? Simply Mind Flayers interested in world domination? If so, why are they in allegiance with humans such as that one noblewoman whose name I can't recall?
At night in the Bridge district, you can run into a Gnomish manwho... err, male courtesan called Bertrand the Companion who, among other things, brags about the size of his nose. Does anyone know if he has any actual purpose or is just an easter-egg kind of character? Also, do any of the female NPCs in the game retort to his come ons?
...But what kind of caster gives up his entire casting to be what? More powerful and durable? With no spells?
Thankfully they changed that in 3E and now demiliches are truly terrifying even for high level characters.
Really, kudos to the developers for making use of this reference.
And ack, I can't believe it escaped me for so many years, but you're absolutely right! "Any link to a modern cure to be worried of?" That explains it all. Dear diary, today I realised I can go back to thinking Bodhi is a despicable character...
Thank you so much for the correction.
I love the idea of them zooming around the place