Disappointing handling of Imoen
brotherTherm
Member Posts: 4
I know a lot of people are disappointed that she's been changed to a non-joinable NPC, but that's fine in my book. She would often get sent to the Arm for a few days so that I could spend some time with the new NPCs BD introduced, so her being absent so I can do the same in SoD is no big deal.
The problem I've got is how BD have enforced a particular narrative on me, regardless of the choices I've already made. Who here as ever kept Imoen as a pure thief, regardless of whether they know how she turns out in BG2? She's got an Int of 17 and her only purpose thief-wise is to remove traps and open locks. There is absolutely no reason to keep pumping exp into her thief class beyond levels 5/6.
It was so jarring to hear her explain away the reason for being a glorified tour guide in the opening area was because she wasn't confident enough yet as a mage, despite just minutes previous tearing Sarevok's party up with level 5 spells. Surely a simple check within her dialogue could have been made to see if the imported save had a dual classed Imoen? The game could then serve up a slightly different story so as not to wreck the immersion. Definitely a missed opportunity and something BD should consider tweaking with future patches.
Also, holy crap her new portrait is bad. Whoever decided she needed a makeover needs to go stand in the corner and think about what they've done.
The problem I've got is how BD have enforced a particular narrative on me, regardless of the choices I've already made. Who here as ever kept Imoen as a pure thief, regardless of whether they know how she turns out in BG2? She's got an Int of 17 and her only purpose thief-wise is to remove traps and open locks. There is absolutely no reason to keep pumping exp into her thief class beyond levels 5/6.
It was so jarring to hear her explain away the reason for being a glorified tour guide in the opening area was because she wasn't confident enough yet as a mage, despite just minutes previous tearing Sarevok's party up with level 5 spells. Surely a simple check within her dialogue could have been made to see if the imported save had a dual classed Imoen? The game could then serve up a slightly different story so as not to wreck the immersion. Definitely a missed opportunity and something BD should consider tweaking with future patches.
Also, holy crap her new portrait is bad. Whoever decided she needed a makeover needs to go stand in the corner and think about what they've done.
4
Comments
However, if I am going to play through to BG2 I dual her to fit the story line . When I was looking forward to SoD I was planning to play through BG1 and make sure her character was the right level for the new game. That feels a bit pointless now.
I'd got the whole thing planned out. I'd made a complete dungeon for them to explore. What I hadn't counted on was the players' reaction. They wanted to know how the henchman had been kidnapped and why weren't they able to stop it? They all got really pissed off at me because they felt I was taking decisions out of their hands and none of them wanted to play the adventure.
I'm reminded of that incident every time I start to play BG2.
From a RP perspective it takes a lot of studying and knoweldge to first learn magic, something Imoen wasnt able to get on the road. She might be a natural at it, but to perfect it she still needs to study.
The narrative implications of dual classing have always been awkward in D&D – you can kill a dragon, dual class, and then have trouble with a band of ogres in the next room. As for recognizing whether players have already dual classed Imoen before SoD, Beamdog would pretty much have to write an entirely different opening chapter for Imoen to accommodate a decision not everyone makes (a lot of players don't even keep her through the end of BGI).