Why Safana instead of Skie as the party thief? (possible spoilers)
Muro
Member Posts: 11
Was I the only one bothered by this? I really liked what was done with Skie in this game. I thought it was a great idea to take bratty, sheltered princess Skie Silvershield, make her even more of a brat, but balance it out with her newfound competence and drive to become a badass adventurer like her dad was. When she broke into my room and announced her intention to accompany me to Dragonspear (just after my eternal party thief Imoen said she wasn't feeling strong enough to do so), I thought damn, that's a great idea. It'll be a depressing journey without Imoen, but in a few certain ways, Skie reminds me of her; or at least, of who she used to be. The "eternal child." This struck me as a very interesting development on the writers' part and I couldn't wait to see where it went.
... which was not as far as it could have gone, I guess, as she remains a non-playable character throughout the game and has her screentime limited to two or three more appearances before her major role at the end, which I won't go into. Although, considering just how important she ends up being, not only to SoD but retroactively to the series in general, it again strikes me as incredibly odd that she wasn't the default playable thief to take Imoen's spot. It would have had even more impact. I think the story as a whole would have benefited from this, expanding on her character even more through party dialogue and the like. She could have had the same conflict with the Fist higher-ups through her association with you, who is by necessity put in ridiculously dangerous and reckless situations on a daily basis.
So I have to ask: Why Safana and not Skie? What did the former add as the party's thief that the latter wouldn't? I played a female CHARNAME, and the sultry lockpicker didn't really make much of an impression on me at all. She was snarkier than I remembered, and I think she's fixed up that smoky timbre a little, but aside from that... hers just ends up feeling like a very incidental presence in the story. At best. I actually find it more than a little jarring to think a woman I braved the hottest of the nine hells with would nonchalantly betray me to a bunch of werewolves a few months later, but let's not get into that...
It just feels bizarre to me, reintroducing these two thieves for the trip to Dragonspear, but making the one who isn't relevant to the overall story being told the playable one.
... which was not as far as it could have gone, I guess, as she remains a non-playable character throughout the game and has her screentime limited to two or three more appearances before her major role at the end, which I won't go into. Although, considering just how important she ends up being, not only to SoD but retroactively to the series in general, it again strikes me as incredibly odd that she wasn't the default playable thief to take Imoen's spot. It would have had even more impact. I think the story as a whole would have benefited from this, expanding on her character even more through party dialogue and the like. She could have had the same conflict with the Fist higher-ups through her association with you, who is by necessity put in ridiculously dangerous and reckless situations on a daily basis.
So I have to ask: Why Safana and not Skie? What did the former add as the party's thief that the latter wouldn't? I played a female CHARNAME, and the sultry lockpicker didn't really make much of an impression on me at all. She was snarkier than I remembered, and I think she's fixed up that smoky timbre a little, but aside from that... hers just ends up feeling like a very incidental presence in the story. At best. I actually find it more than a little jarring to think a woman I braved the hottest of the nine hells with would nonchalantly betray me to a bunch of werewolves a few months later, but let's not get into that...
It just feels bizarre to me, reintroducing these two thieves for the trip to Dragonspear, but making the one who isn't relevant to the overall story being told the playable one.
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Comments
I mean, combine Imoen's innocence with being another unwitting victim of Irenicus' machinations after traveling with you. Skie would have been a combination of Imoen and Yoshimo in this scenario.
Wow, I have no idea how I missed that - sorry OP. I agree, I would have much rather had Skie than Safana and the thematic continuity makes sense. @Abi_Dalzim Heads up, though; you might want to put a spoiler tag on those last two sentences.
Eldoth: Don't bore me.
Skie: My feet hurt.
Eldoth: You're so dull.
Skie: I broke a nail.
Also, I'm admittedly citing this from the reliable source known as my ass, but I'd argue that relatively few players concerned with strict continuity laws and immersion would go out of their way to kill off or leave a party member pushed as relevant to the overall story for dead, unless there's clear practical gain involved, like keeping Jaheira without Khalid. Personally, if one of my party members dies, my first instinct is to furrow my brow and hit reload. The rest of the time, it's a minor inconvenience to be rectified with a trip to a temple; a character I dislike or have no use in the party for simply won't be taken, or kicked out and left to rot in Beregost or the Copper Coronet. Either way, somewhat out-of-character Bhaalspawn actions like brutally slaughtering a party member on a whim clearly have no effect on the continuity as it is; look at all the returning characters in 2 to whom you can broach the awkward subject of their "death".
But that's just me, I wouldn't have minded a little hand wave to justify her showing up alive and well for the big reveal. I found Skie oddly endearing in SoD, much more so than Safana at least. Unlike Saf, I thought the changes made to Skie's character in SoD were vast improvements, a "strong female character" done right - no, seriously, hear me out. Yes, she's still a reckless brat with romanticized dreams of adventure - the core of the character is still intact - but we see more this time. We see a drive to action, we see teenage rebellion this time not centered on hopeless trysts with sleazeballs but enlisting in the army and going off to fight a war without telling her family. She expresses feelings of envy and inferiority, a desire do things in her very particular way that paint her as headstrong, flawed, pampered, and might not be the best for the people around her.
I'm sure a lot of people followed her arc in SoD and saw nothing but the first two words I used to describe her, but with the opportunities afforded to party members - and as of SoD, she's become a proficient killer even without that privilege - I feel like the rest of her character could have been emphasized, rounded out, giving more of a punch to her fate. To too many readers, and too many writers, a strong female character just means a badass lady fighter who unlike the men in her life is above moral reproach and can do no wrong. To me, a strong female character is, well, a female character with her own goals motivations, her own strengths and weaknesses, and whether she's liked or loathed, I thought Skie expressed all of hers quite well despite her limited screentime. (For bonus points, she is portrayed in SoD as a pretty deadly, if reckless fighter.)
Safana... I don't know. Like I said, I didn't romance her, so if there's anything deeper to the character (beyond this new snark and sarcasm) that's revealed there I didn't get to see it, but I had her in my party from start to finish and she just felt so incidental. I didn't feel she had a stake in the plot, any motivation to be there, any expanded character traits that stuck out to me as a female CHARNAME, just a tool who's there because I needed two of her skills. Skie could have provided that with the added bonus of having a reason to accompany you, being a very relevant character in the story being told, having actual, organic character development between games, and becoming the crux of the drama during the climax.
... sorry, I didn't mean to ramble, but I hope I got my point across. Poor Skie (is her soul doomed forever now or what? Jesus, that's overkill, Irenicus) struck a chord with me in this expac, even as someone who never much cared for her in BG1, and I can't help but feel that she would have been an excellent party member in lieu of Imoen.
Fun story, though. Saw a screenshot someone had take from their BG1 game. Skie backstabbing the werewolf boss on the werewolf island, and killing him. Around 70 damage in one hit.
I've always like the idea of playing thru everything with the canon party but of course going from game to game is always at least a bit disjointed. Along those lines, is there what could be considered a "canon" party for SoD? I know at some point I'm going to go back to it and play it all the way thru.
(Maybe in B3.. ey?)