A good roleplaying reason to take Eldoth and/or Tiax along?
Buttercheese
Member Posts: 3,766
Heya. I am one of those weirdos who doesn't care about powergaming and tries to keep metagaming to a minimum. I played through the entire series so often, that by this point I only do pure roleplaying runs. Meaning I only do what my character would do, as far as that is possible (I do have to take some liberties to make sure my party is at least somewhat balanced).
Anywho, because of that I never got around to taking along Eldoth, Skie and Tiax along, because I never made a character who'd be willing to have Eldoth and Tiax around.
I mean, Eldoth is a slimy and chauvinistic asshat (especially bad because I almost exclusively play female characters) and Tiax is clinically insane. The latter one doesn't exactly profit from only being introduced so late into the game, at which point I usually already have the type of party I want.
I'd like to know if any of you have a good idea what kind of character would be willing to have these two around till the very end.
So far my only ideas are:
- Naive idiot who gets tricked easily (basically Skie)
- Clinically insane person who doesn't act rationally (basically Tiax)
- Chauvinistic asshat (basically Eldoth)
- Hopeless do-gooder who hopes to "safe" Eldoth and Tiax from themselves
I find neither of these particularly appealing (aside from maybe the second one), so I hope you guys can come up with something more interesting.
Anywho, because of that I never got around to taking along Eldoth, Skie and Tiax along, because I never made a character who'd be willing to have Eldoth and Tiax around.
I mean, Eldoth is a slimy and chauvinistic asshat (especially bad because I almost exclusively play female characters) and Tiax is clinically insane. The latter one doesn't exactly profit from only being introduced so late into the game, at which point I usually already have the type of party I want.
I'd like to know if any of you have a good idea what kind of character would be willing to have these two around till the very end.
So far my only ideas are:
- Naive idiot who gets tricked easily (basically Skie)
- Clinically insane person who doesn't act rationally (basically Tiax)
- Chauvinistic asshat (basically Eldoth)
- Hopeless do-gooder who hopes to "safe" Eldoth and Tiax from themselves
I find neither of these particularly appealing (aside from maybe the second one), so I hope you guys can come up with something more interesting.
Post edited by Buttercheese on
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Comments
As for Tiax, I've never actually used him, but maybe a do-gooder who figures he'd cause more trouble without your supervision. So, Roy from Order of the Stick, basically.
Tiax: Do you worship our dark lord Cyric?
Charname: Worship him?!? I AM Cyric! And I order you to cast Sanctuary and disarm these traps and loot these chests!
Being connected to the dukes (even in a negative way) may also give you the advantage of meeting with them and exposing the Iron Throne plans. Skie can inform daddy what her knew friends know and that they are currently working with Scar of the flaming fist. This can negate part of Eldoth's slimy personality of ransoming off Skie to them.
Having Garrick in the party (if you can stand two bards) can put Eldoth in his place from time to time,
~
Tiax, well Tiax rules all. He is a joke character, a powerful joke character at that. A low wisdom character (like very low) could fall for his ramblings as actually being real and thinks they area traveling around with one of the powerful lords of Baldur's Gate.
The other role play reason is that he just follows you around, like a lost puppy. Tiax seeing your might, would do well to cast his shadow upon you, and spread the word of Cyric where ever you go. It doesn't matter if you like it or not, it is Tiax's will and Tiax rules all!.
You can RP so that when you return to Baldur's Gate and get arrested, you leave Tiax locked up so he can't follow you any more (and giving reason why he is in a cell at the beginning of SoD)
An adventurer's life isn't all gold and glory, victory and acclaim. Adventurers march for days on end with little rest and little sleep. They go on foot in heavy armor through rain and mud and snow and the brutal summer heat, knowing they won't be able to bathe until they get home a week later. They live on dried bread and uncooked food because they can't bring a kitchen with them on the road.
Wherever they go, they are strangers. Far from home, in places where the locals may be hostile or even violent, knowing that the local authorities might shake them down or the local bandits might rob them blind. They are rootless and friendless and alone.
They rush into battle with no guarantee of survival--not against petty thieves or scrawny monsters, but against foes that were strong enough to fight off all the mercenaries and vigilantes and soldiers that preceded them. Adventurers fight monsters that nobody else was able to handle. If they get a reward, it usually comes from filching around the bloody pockets of their fallen enemies--or their fallen friends.
Blood, sweat, dirt, and steel. Starvation, distrust, endless marches, and violent death at every turn. It's a hard and ugly life.
So you run into this gnome. He's an adventurer, too. He might be a bit of a loudmouth, and he might not be that strong, and he might just end up dead like half of the friends you've ever had on the road.
But at least this crazy gnome isn't as jaded and weary and ragged as you are. Maybe he'll fill in the silence at night--that crushing, oppressive silence that your bard used to fill with music before an ogre splattered her brains across the ground.
True, Tiax might get on your nerves over time. You might even think he's too unstable to be safe. But maybe you kinda need a goofy nut like him on the team.
Maybe, after a couple weeks together, you decide that your favorite way to unwind after a long day on the march is to relentlessly taunt the pompous gnome who thinks he rules the world, and you keep prodding him until he's red-faced and shouting and stomping around, and the whole party is laughing because it's the best thing they've seen all day.
Tiax: CN characters like Jesters will appreciate his whimsy. I'm thinking of running a kneecapping party of shorties soon as well, led by a mildly racist halfling charname who has vowed not to trust any of those barbaric humans- he read some leftwing histories in Candlekeep...
"Gee, Tiax, what are we going to do tonight?"
"The same thing we do every night, [CHARNAME]. Try to take over the world."
(This is an actual voiced line in the game. Just add Quayle.)
Eldoth, on the other hand, is a different case IMO. An exceptionally smart and/or wise character would see through his act and have him join because he seems amusing and useful to the party. It is not for every taste, though. When I have a female character I generally avoid annoying jerks like him, Coran , Voghlyn ...
For Tiax I can see an evil team taking him in. He has excellent support/utility skills and a team with the likes of Dorn, Shar Teel and Edwin in it would feel like they could use him without fear of credible reprisal, due to seeing him as a madman too weak and unstable to truly threaten them. With one person to cover thievery and cleric spells/healing you can stack a group with powerful warriors and wizards. An evil charname of any class could feasibly find him to be an amusing and useful addition, esp an evil cleric would appreciate and envy his ghast summon.
Actually I like the look of that group - Dorn, Shar Teel, Edwin and Tiax with maybe an assassin charname or Shaman/Jester/Skald. Could even add Faldorn here for summons galore and lashings of malevolence! This could be a hilarious run. Option to use BG1NPC project mod to make Tiax available sooner.
I think Xzar, as a Necromancer, would be impressed with the ghast summoning too. Take both crazies!
For Tiax, maybe your pc is an amateur psychologist and thinks they have found an intriguing study. Or you agree to go with him, intending to hand him over to the Helmites or Lathander clergy, but he and his pet ghast save you from an ambush and you decide he is too useful to sell out.