[Proposal] Divide the Rhynn Lanthorn into two or more pieces, scattered among the major side quests

_Connacht_

Perhaps this is hard and really time-consuming to code, but maybe there is potential.

This idea would address two points that for 20 years buzzed players:
1) "If I do all sidequests in chapter 2, I feel like I'm delaying the rescue of Imoen and the confrontation with Irenicus! Even if Jaheira herself suggests to plan carefully and gather resources, by spending so much time in Amn I'm allowing my friend to rot in jail and my enemy to plot his next move!"
2) "If I keep some sidequests for chapter 6, I feel like I'm even more in urge to complete the game, as I need to retrieve my own soul and Imoen's, and also save Suldanesselar! I shouldn't let time pass doing any leftover quest somewhere else!"

Plus some other minor points:
- "I want to play most quests with Imoen in my party!"
- "How comes that all these big issues are happening all at once in Amn?"
- "Some quests leave a lot of hints that remain unexplained! Who instigated Tor'Gal to invade the keep? What are the true connections between Firkraag and Irenicus?"
- "The game is too linear!"

My proposal is to make the Rhynn Lanthorn be divided into two or more pieces that need to be assembled before you can enter into Suldanesselar. When you kill Bodhi, you only get the first piece, plus info about the location of the other piece(s). Elhan could give other info.

The other pieces are in the hand of some the final bosses of the major side quests, who now are in league with Irenicus. Which ones, is either randomly chosen, or selected by players/modders during the installation.

They are removed from chapter 2, only to be presented in chapter 6, obviously with different dialogues to introduce the new situation and increased difficulty. The quest-giving characters won't spawn until chapter 6, and if by accident you enter the area where these quests starts, you won't find anything related until that moment.

The stronghold quests won't be taken into account. Depending on your class, one quest is guaranteed to always happen in chapter 2 (but you might choose differently when installing).

The number of pieces of the Rhynn Lanthorn is another thing that could be customizable and chosen during the installation. Maybe one players wants 2 pieces, another one wants 3 pieces, another one wants a random number of pieces for every playthrough. Who knows how many quests will be legitimately reserved for chapter 6?

Brecher

This could be interesting for you:
https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/31505-restored-rhynn-lanthorn-quest/

Endarire

@_Connacht_
Roxanne also has a version of this quest incompatible with DavidW's.

DJKajuru

I see point, though I would add a "harder side quests" option because anything from CH2 is ridiculously easy after the Underdark.

Isewein

This was actually cut content iirc. The devs just never implemented it because they felt it would delay the finale too much.

_Connacht_

Geez, I didn't know it was already thought by the developers at Bioware back in 2000! It's kind of exciting.

Maurvir

I am curious about that mod, since in the stock game, you are only permitted a single stronghold. However, you can still carry out the quests, you just don't get the stronghold, so it's quite possible that you could get to chapter 6 and none of the lens bearers are still around.

I do otherwise like the idea, but I can see why Bioware cut it. Bodhi, knowing the importance of the artifact, would guard it jealously. The idea of a shadow thief penetrating her lair enough to steal it is far-fetched, and if they did steal it, they would likely carry it back to the guild hall, not spread it across Amn.

A more realistic approach would be Bodhi herself breaking the lantern into pieces and having her vampires hide it across Athkatla, but then you don't get the impetus to return to the more far flung parts of the countryside.

The problem is that, by chapter 6, there likely isn't a whole lot of Athkatla that you haven't explored. A more fleshed out version of this idea would have Bodhi expanding her reach to more parts of the city with dungeons you can't find, or at least get into, until you have taken her out. Specifically, I could see her opening franchises in the Waukeen's Promenade, the Bridge District, and the Slums. Shoot, this would be a great opportunity to give those scum in the random house a reason to be there.

I always found it odd that Bodhi limited her guild to just the grave yard, when vampires would want ready access to the lower class peasants. Having an expanded vampire guild in the city would not only make sense logistically, but give a real reason for splitting the lantern into pieces.

As an aside, this is where a bit of sleuthing could come in. Other than the tanner quest, there is a real dearth of detective quests in this game. I wish there were more quests that required deductive reasoning to work out. If there is a concern players can't figure it out, have a timed dialog from a party member who has "worked it out", or even a PID where you can pose the question to party members.