Chronicles of Aleena, Priestess of Tyr
SharGuidesMyHand
Member Posts: 2,584
As many of you are already aware, the priest(ess) of Tyr kit is a cleric kit that was created for non-playable characters in BG2, complete with special abilities and even a description, but is not actually usable by players (see @Quartz 's reaction to this here: http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/194trtw9lwx2hjpg/original.jpg ). However, our own @Rhaella was kind enough to put together a mod that allows the kit to be playable in BG1 (download it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ciej9vng7zrrtxs/priest of tyr.rar ). I normally never play with mods, but I suppose that I felt differently about this one seeing as the kit was created in an "official" capacity and already exists in the game. Besides, it just happened that I was intending to do a playthrough as a cleric, and I liked the priest of Tyr's background description better than any of the other kits.
For anyone who may be interested in this kit, I've decided to create this thread to provide periodic updates on my adventures, and mainly to highlight issues that are specific to this kit - its benefits, any bugs that may appear, and my general thoughts on it. Who knows? - maybe if there's enough support for a priest of Tyr kit, we can convince the devs to formally add it as playable?
Here's the kit description for the priest(ess) of Tyr:
Although I had originally intended to do a playthrough as a priestess of Helm, I liked the priest of Tyr kit better from an RP perspective, especially the fact that you can choose from a variety of good and neutral alignments. However, I was initially skeptical of how the kit's special abilities would compare to those of the other cleric kits. As you can see, the Exaltation is a somewhat offbeat ability that grants both protective and curative benefits to someone other than yourself. You have to be able to lay your hands on the character in order for it to work (which could be difficult if the person has been panicked and is frantically running amok), but on the flipside, the casting time is nearly instantaneous.
The Divine Favor grants kensai-like bonuses to the cleric's attack, but doesn't improve APR (unlike the Lathander boon or Seeking Sword), and takes time to reach its peak effectiveness as the cleric gains in levels. However, like Exaltation, the casting time is instantaneous.
And here's Aleena:*
She has spent most of her twenty years of life within Candlekeep's hallowed halls of knowledge, under the tutelage of the sage Gorion. Isolated from the intrigues that occasionally plague the rest of the Forgotten Realms, she marveled at the tales that were read to her by her foster father, many gathered from the various holy books on the shelves of the fortress' library. Unlike her rambunctious friend (and fellow orphan) Imoen, who frittered away most of her spare time picking the pockets of the local monks and hiding in shadows, Aleena joined the monks in their studies. She took a particular interest in the teachings of Tyr, the deity of law and justice, and often fantasized about furthering his cause throughout the Realms. Eventually, Aleena came to think of herself as one of the Avowed. Some of the monks, perhaps responding to Gorion's subtle urging, graciously fielded her many questions and taught her much about the meaning and role of the priesthood.
* Oddly enough, this is the second consecutive playthrough in which I have used a variation of this name for my character. The first time, I used it because the character's portrait was based upon an image of model Alina Vacariu. This time, I used it because the name was included as part of the link to the original portrait (plus it was apparently a name that was commonly used for female cleric characters in the D&D games of the '80s).
And here's Tarnesh - or at least, what's left of him.
This was the first instance in which Aleena's Tyrian abilities really came into play. As Tarnesh prepared to cast Horror on my party, Aleena quickly turned to Montaron and cast Exaltation on him. Aleena was subsequently panicked, but Montaron resisted the spell, which allowed him to simply stroll right up to Tarnesh and smash him to pieces with a crit hit.
While in the tavern, I decided to test out the Exaltation ability a bit more. After casting it on Imoen, I learned that, contrary to the spell's description, it does not actually grant immunity to intoxication.
However, the immunity to sleep spells appears to be intact, as I repeatedly casted "Command" on Imoen without her ever falling asleep.
Well, that's all that I have so far. Your thoughts?
For anyone who may be interested in this kit, I've decided to create this thread to provide periodic updates on my adventures, and mainly to highlight issues that are specific to this kit - its benefits, any bugs that may appear, and my general thoughts on it. Who knows? - maybe if there's enough support for a priest of Tyr kit, we can convince the devs to formally add it as playable?
Here's the kit description for the priest(ess) of Tyr:
Although I had originally intended to do a playthrough as a priestess of Helm, I liked the priest of Tyr kit better from an RP perspective, especially the fact that you can choose from a variety of good and neutral alignments. However, I was initially skeptical of how the kit's special abilities would compare to those of the other cleric kits. As you can see, the Exaltation is a somewhat offbeat ability that grants both protective and curative benefits to someone other than yourself. You have to be able to lay your hands on the character in order for it to work (which could be difficult if the person has been panicked and is frantically running amok), but on the flipside, the casting time is nearly instantaneous.
The Divine Favor grants kensai-like bonuses to the cleric's attack, but doesn't improve APR (unlike the Lathander boon or Seeking Sword), and takes time to reach its peak effectiveness as the cleric gains in levels. However, like Exaltation, the casting time is instantaneous.
And here's Aleena:*
She has spent most of her twenty years of life within Candlekeep's hallowed halls of knowledge, under the tutelage of the sage Gorion. Isolated from the intrigues that occasionally plague the rest of the Forgotten Realms, she marveled at the tales that were read to her by her foster father, many gathered from the various holy books on the shelves of the fortress' library. Unlike her rambunctious friend (and fellow orphan) Imoen, who frittered away most of her spare time picking the pockets of the local monks and hiding in shadows, Aleena joined the monks in their studies. She took a particular interest in the teachings of Tyr, the deity of law and justice, and often fantasized about furthering his cause throughout the Realms. Eventually, Aleena came to think of herself as one of the Avowed. Some of the monks, perhaps responding to Gorion's subtle urging, graciously fielded her many questions and taught her much about the meaning and role of the priesthood.
* Oddly enough, this is the second consecutive playthrough in which I have used a variation of this name for my character. The first time, I used it because the character's portrait was based upon an image of model Alina Vacariu. This time, I used it because the name was included as part of the link to the original portrait (plus it was apparently a name that was commonly used for female cleric characters in the D&D games of the '80s).
And here's Tarnesh - or at least, what's left of him.
This was the first instance in which Aleena's Tyrian abilities really came into play. As Tarnesh prepared to cast Horror on my party, Aleena quickly turned to Montaron and cast Exaltation on him. Aleena was subsequently panicked, but Montaron resisted the spell, which allowed him to simply stroll right up to Tarnesh and smash him to pieces with a crit hit.
While in the tavern, I decided to test out the Exaltation ability a bit more. After casting it on Imoen, I learned that, contrary to the spell's description, it does not actually grant immunity to intoxication.
However, the immunity to sleep spells appears to be intact, as I repeatedly casted "Command" on Imoen without her ever falling asleep.
Well, that's all that I have so far. Your thoughts?
Post edited by SharGuidesMyHand on
13
Comments
(Poor Tarnesh... he didn't seem to fair to well there.)
Very much like the character to!
So, Tyr WON'T protect you for booze?
I also feel the same way about the Helm kit - although I love the Seeking Sword and the "warrior priest" image, I have trouble reconciling the kit description (which seems to suggest that Helm priests follow neutral good path) with being restricted to a neutral alignment.
I'm thinking about making a couple of cleric kits after the patch.
Besides, Tyrian = Tyrion
Bookmark!
Good luck with your Tyrian! I've always liked them. Shame about that mod that sort of ruined them in the eyes of so many.
I long wanted to get my re-alignment of the cleric kits from Divine Remix into the game. The kits would basically accept deity alignment + one step out--so NG Lathander would now take LG/NG/CG/TN, LN Helm LG/LN/LE/TN and CE Talos CN/CE/NE. The main differences would be that CN go to Talos instead of Helm, LE go to Helm and not Talos, and LG/TN clerics have a choice between Lathander and Helm. The temple strongholds also get re-aligned along these lines.
She was beautifully illustrated by Larry Elmore. That, combined with her tragic end, seems to have made her a fan favorite of sorts for 30 years.
I've used the name a few times myself.
I also read that the name was also used for a female cleric in subsequent D&D games, although it was unclear whether it was supposed to be the same character (raised from the dead and much higher level) or a different one with the same name.
Either way, I figured that if the name "Aleena" has a history of being associated with one or more famous cleric(s) in D&D lore, it would make sense that my character would either be named after them or take the name for herself, so I decided to keep it as is.
Jaheira and Khalid have joined Aleena's party. Within moments, there was already friction between them and Xzar and Montaron.
Aleena has thus far remained true to her lawful good principles. She never loots anything inside of houses or hotels (only from barrels and "secret" hiding spots outside), she only enters houses if she doesn't have to break open the door, and she would NEVER, EVER deceive anyone into giving her their pantaloons.
Besides, what on earth use are a pair of pantaloons, anyway?
Arriving at Beregost gave me an opportunity to test out another of Aleena's Tyrian abilities, the Divine Favor. The good news is that it appears to be working as expected. The bad news is... well, it works as expected - meaning that it doesn't have much of an impact at the lower levels (lowering the THAC0 only from 20 to 19). Aleena never managed to land a blow on Karlat, but as it turned out, she didn't need to - Montaron sent him panicking after a few well placed slingshots, and Imoen finished him off with an arrow.
Upon entering Feldepost's Inn, Aleena was antagonized by a ruffian named Marl. At first, Aleena tried to soften his mood with some light humor, but when that failed, she tried to be the bigger (wo)man and offer to leave. However, Marl refused the olive branch and things turned very ugly.
Marl attacked Aleena, but he ended up paying the ultimate price for it. With a swing of her mace, Aleena scored a crit hit that chunked him into pieces.
While Xzar celebrated the victory, Aleena quietly mourned for her fallen foe, who had apparently been so wracked by grief over the death of his son that he was desperate to find someone to blame for it. The fatal blow had left his body so badly damaged that there was no possibility that he could ever be raised. Aleena could only hope that perhaps death had come as a merciful release from the torment that had gripped him in life.
Elsewhere in Beregost, Aleena encountered a half-elven mage named Neera, who pleaded for assistance in defending herself from a gang of Red Wizards. As the battle commenced, Neera displayed her strategic wisdom by casting color spray in the general direction of one of the wizards. She succeeded in knocking both Aleena and Khalid unconscious, effectively crippling the party's frontline fighting ability - while it turned out that the wizard that she had intended the spell for was immune to it! Fortunately, Neera partially redeemed herself by strolling up to the wizard in question and personally killing him with her staff.
Apparently, Aleena talks in her sleep - and fluently enough that she can communicate even while still unconscious.
Before accepting Neera into the party, Aleena had entertained an offer from a shop owner named Kagain to help him find Entar Silvershield's son. However, after Kagain had offered her a measly guarantee of only 15 GPs per head for the job (not even 100 GPs total), she told him to f### off.
However, now that Neera had replaced both Xzar and Montaron, Aleena decided to accept Kagain's offer to fill the empty gap in her party.
Before leaving Beregost, Aleena level'd up. Although I have the game set on core rules, Aleena gained 9 HPs upon levelling up, the max amount possible. She now has the second-most HPs of anyone in the party, after Jaheira who has 22.
Well, that's all for now!
Sorry, I love those trousers.
haha! Good progress! Xzar and Montaron always cause friction, it's their thing! Be much easier to handle without them
And she can apparently talk in here sleep! That's some fairly strong talent there!! hahahahah
Having said that, I definitely agree that the Exaltation ability has the potential to make the berserker sword substantially more viable - as well as Minsc's own natural berserk ability. This could potentially add a whole new dimension to the game.
It's also what your player base will do. Never underestimate peoples cunning at combing abilities and items to create powerful combination that was never intended to happen. The 55 Monk build from my Guild Wars days comes to mind! So does the Sabway Necro/Discord Necro builds.
As it turns out, the Exaltation ability stops Minsc from behaving in a berserk manner, but without actually ending the overall berserk state - meaning that Minsc will still retain his stat bonuses and immunities until the state's normal duration runs out. Because the Exaltation is both curative and preventative, it not only stops Minsc from behaving berserk, but it appears that it also prevents him from regressing back into that behavior for the duration of the spell.
Here's a few screenshots to better illustrate my point. First, notice that Minsc will normally have a lightning bolt symbol on both his character page and his small portrait when the berserk ability is activated.
Here, I activated Minsc's berserk ability and directed him to attack some civilians. Very quickly, he became uncontrollably berserk (yellow circle around his character) and attacked Aleena. However, upon casting Exaltation on him, he became controllable again, and I was able to click on him and give him commands, even though he was still considered in a berserk state.
As you can see here, Minsc still has his "berserker" stat bonuses and immunities, but the lightning bolt symbol is gone.
So what does all this mean? Well, to put it plainly, MINSC IS NOW CONTROLLABLE WHEN HE BERSERKS!!!
If that isn't a reason to support the priest of Tyr as a playable kit, I don't know what is!
However, it should be noted that there are two different kinds of "berserk states" - one is an involuntary reaction that causes a character to become uncontrollable, such as that which results from a morale failure, and the other is a special ability that grants bonuses, usable by certain warrior classes. Minsc's is unique in that it combines both of these types, but I think it makes sense that the Exaltation could "cure" the first while leaving the latter untouched.
I think that this would create an interesting symbiotic relationship between a player character and Minsc - you rely on Minsc to keep you safe, he relies on you to keep him sane. After all, Minsc's mental instability is an underlying theme in BG1.