@Shandyr@Quartz I can see how Aerie could be a force to be reckoned with if she's wearing a Robe of Vecna, Amulet of Power, and has Spell Sequencers and Contingencies prepared. Being able to mix divine and arcane spells while Vocalized and having a reduced casting time by 5 (robe + amulet), she could very well wipe the dungeon floor with any cleric or mage at higher levels.
Ya. She's definitely powerful, but I understand people being annoyed by her personality. It doesn't bother me so much, but she can be a little melodramatic it's true.
I can see how people could be put off by Aerie. Her character was written as an infantilized, timid little girl who was abused and enslaved. Even her critical hit sound is a surprised and somewhat regretful "OH MY!" A lot of people want characters with strong personalities, so I could see how they would feel like they were babysitting by taking her along and hearing her "whine" about her past.
Yup, well put. If you get far into her romance she starts to be less timid come ToB, but that's exactly the point ... she finally starts adapting to the adventuring lifestyle, and starts coming out of her shell that she came to upon being abused and enslaved. Very realistic characterization.
It's true that a lot of people want characters with strong personalities. I guess that would explain why a lot of people have hard-ons for the BGII characters, when I find a lot of them exceedingly annoying. The strength seems to also cause arrogance ... which annoys the hell out of me but again it's realistic. Personally, when you make a questionable decision in-game, I prefer the "are we really going to do this? okay ..." attitude of Aerie over the "Why would we do this? You are a terrible leader!!" attitude of 40% of the other characters in the game.
So that's just me. I find Aerie pretty minimally bothersome, especially compared to her real-life equals. For example, her real-life counterparts will take your compliment and throw it out the window, whereas if you compliment Aerie she'll actually take it. A lot of other BGII characters annoy me with their arrogance and need to shove their every last opinion down your throat, forcibly. Good, realistic characterization (except Korgan), so I'm not going to condemn any NPC (except Korgan), however.
Aerie may be a competent spell caster and a tremendous force to be reckoned with late game, but I just don't like her, I enjoy the game less if she is in my party. Her personality would be better suited to a low level campaign like BG1, she is too timid and hesitant and pathetic to be a believable badass come ToB. I suppose that's why characters with a bit more flair, determination and inner strength pose as better, more believable characters towards the end of the game. Notable examples include Viconia, Jaheira, Keldorn, Korgan, Edwin, Anomen, Mazzy ... hell, pretty much everyone except Aerie (and perhaps Jan since I find comic relief characters ... difficult), I'd say even Nalia has more purpose and believability than Aerie does.
If I'm feeling fruity I'll mod Viconia into a Cleric / Mage, recruit her, head into the circus, and let her deal with Aerie personally. Possibly my all time favourite and 'serious' game consisted of my PC Fighter / Thief and my Cleric / Mage concubine Viconia. Best. Game. Ever.
I definitely agree that Aerie is getting way more flak than she deserves. It's somewhat amusing how a lot of players behave as if they're put off by how fast Jaheira gets over the death of Khalid, but at the same time expect Aerie to quickly shrug off what she's been subjected to and act all tough and confident - to me that'd be several times more unrealistic than Jaheira's relatively short mourning period.
I definitely agree that Aerie is getting way more flak than she deserves. It's somewhat amusing how a lot of players behave as if they're put off by how fast Jaheira gets over the death of Khalid, but at the same time expect Aerie to quickly shrug off what she's been subjected to and act all tough and confident - to me that'd be several times more unrealistic than Jaheira's relatively short mourning period.
There's always the slight chance Jaheira just wasn't in love with Khalid any more.
As far as Jaheira getting over Khalid, she does agonize over it.
Also keep in mind the extraordinary circumstances involved. She could be through most of the stages of grief before getting a chance to it down and breathe and really think about it.
@mjs I always pick up the +2 hammer before going to the Carnival
:O that's pretty impressive, so at lvl 2ish then? with a full party?
truth be told i always do the nashkel mines before i start deviating and exploring. the only magic weapon i usually have by the mines is varscona (sp?)
It's awesome that only one person voted for Quayle and they have the portrait for an avatar. It's like Quayle came in here and did a pathetic self-vote.
Yes, but they're still a separate class. The three druids in the series will get their own separate poll later.
I'm glad that you will do a separate poll for Druids, I dislike how people hate on Druids, but please add a "none" option to that poll. 'Cause as much as I love the class, all 3 characters annoy me one way or the other. But I'll get into that more when said poll exists!
It's awesome that only one person voted for Quayle and they have the portrait for an avatar. It's like Quayle came in here and did a pathetic self-vote.
Haha! He would've been my second choice though. Heck, if I had remembered how damn popular Viconia is (still coming to grips with that) I probably would've voted for him.
Speaking of Viconia, has she always been popular or was it largely a result of the BG2 romance? Can any of the fans remember back to the dark, prehistoric days of BG1, and remember if Viconia was really popular then as well?
I'm just curious as to whether fan favourites helped to shape who originally crossed over into BG2: Minsc, Jaheira, Edwin, Viconia.
Speaking of Viconia, has she always been popular or was it largely a result of the BG2 romance? Can any of the fans remember back to the dark, prehistoric days of BG1, and remember if Viconia was really popular then as well?
I'm just curious as to whether fan favourites helped to shape who originally crossed over into BG2: Minsc, Jaheira, Edwin, Viconia.
The way I recall it, not so much. For one thing her BG1 portrait was and is generally considered less attractive, and without banters and the romance especially, her character wasn't all that fleshed out. I would guess her return in BG2 was more a result of a realized potential for an interesting story and a darker romance.
The way I recall it, not so much. For one thing her BG1 portrait was and is generally considered less attractive, and without banters and the romance especially, her character wasn't all that fleshed out. I would guess her return in BG2 was more a result of a realized potential for an interesting story and a darker romance.
Hmmm, that's kind of what I suspected might have been the case. Especially since, unlike Minsc, Jaheira, and Edwin (not to mention Imoen =P), Viconia is pretty out of the way. That said, she does have the OMFG DROW factor a lot of people seem to like. I remember I took her into my party the moment I encountered her in my first playthrough, but I can't for the life of me recall why: there were plenty of other NPCs I didn't take, and I distinctly remember booting Branwen for her, despite the fact Branwen was a higher level at the time.
Comments
I can see how people could be put off by Aerie. Her character was written as an infantilized, timid little girl who was abused and enslaved. Even her critical hit sound is a surprised and somewhat regretful "OH MY!" A lot of people want characters with strong personalities, so I could see how they would feel like they were babysitting by taking her along and hearing her "whine" about her past.
Yup, well put. If you get far into her romance she starts to be less timid come ToB, but that's exactly the point ... she finally starts adapting to the adventuring lifestyle, and starts coming out of her shell that she came to upon being abused and enslaved. Very realistic characterization.
It's true that a lot of people want characters with strong personalities. I guess that would explain why a lot of people have hard-ons for the BGII characters, when I find a lot of them exceedingly annoying. The strength seems to also cause arrogance ... which annoys the hell out of me but again it's realistic. Personally, when you make a questionable decision in-game, I prefer the "are we really going to do this? okay ..." attitude of Aerie over the "Why would we do this? You are a terrible leader!!" attitude of 40% of the other characters in the game.
So that's just me. I find Aerie pretty minimally bothersome, especially compared to her real-life equals. For example, her real-life counterparts will take your compliment and throw it out the window, whereas if you compliment Aerie she'll actually take it. A lot of other BGII characters annoy me with their arrogance and need to shove their every last opinion down your throat, forcibly. Good, realistic characterization (except Korgan), so I'm not going to condemn any NPC (except Korgan), however.
Anything more than 0% for Anomen?!
Not cool guys. That's just not cool. It's time like this that Democracy seems questionable :P
She is joinable, you just have to use the mod.
If I'm feeling fruity I'll mod Viconia into a Cleric / Mage, recruit her, head into the circus, and let her deal with Aerie personally. Possibly my all time favourite and 'serious' game consisted of my PC Fighter / Thief and my Cleric / Mage concubine Viconia. Best. Game. Ever.
I always liked Aeries spell availability but not her personality
?
Also keep in mind the extraordinary circumstances involved. She could be through most of the stages of grief before getting a chance to it down and breathe and really think about it.
truth be told i always do the nashkel mines before i start deviating and exploring. the only magic weapon i usually have by the mines is varscona (sp?)
... Cernd?
I'm just curious as to whether fan favourites helped to shape who originally crossed over into BG2: Minsc, Jaheira, Edwin, Viconia.