[mod] Cassia NPC for IWD EE
Arvendor
Member Posts: 19
in IWD:EE Mods
Come one come all, and witness what what I have wrought!
This mod adds a new joinable companion to the IWD:EE - the tiefling Cassia. Cassia is a young cleric of Helm who originally hails from Mirabar and has journeyed to Easthaven at the behest of her church to render what aid she can to Hrothgar's expedition. As a devout helmite, she will do everything in her power to protect the Ten Towns and to root out the evils which threaten them. But will she find herself equal to the task or will she break beneath the responsibility?
Cassia is a single-classed cleric with the Helm kit and may be recruited outside the Temple of Tempus in Easthaven. She has a small quest associated with her which will naturally conclude over the course of the game and may be romanced by male dwarves, humans, elves, half-elves and half-orcs with a charisma score of 10 or higher. She will react and interject to both the main game and the expansion. She tends to get along better with good aligned characters but she will not object to following the lead of an evil player so long as they don't cross the moral event horizon.
I'd also like to give special thanks to @LavaDelVortel for the valuable feedback and help they offered in getting this project into a functional state, @Brokenkatana for proofreading the dialog, @TheArtisan for their fantastic NPC mods which inspired this one and finally the talented artist Tomasz Chistowski (https://www.deviantart.com/takeda11) for their permission to use their art for Cassia's portrait.
If everything goes well, then crossmodded banters with other mod NPC's are soon(TM) to follow.
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The banters with the other NPCs are already written and should be ready to be included in the next IWD Crossmod Banter Pack version. So I'm just waiting on @LavaDelVortel's greenlight. As of right now Cassia will react to content in the mods "Tale of our Lady Dreamless", "Terror of the Skineater", "The Rediscovery of Kuldahar", "Snowytoes Hamlet" and "Below and Below Inn".
Seems like a bit of a detour:
From Mirabar (south of the Spine of the World),
to Easthaven (north of the Spine of the World),
to join the expedition to Kuldahar (in of the Spine of the World).
Mod looks interesting through; I will try it.
I don't think I've even seen a map approximation which assumed there is a path available to reach Kuldahar through the Spine of the Worlds, most headcanons I've seen always assumed that it's a lot easier to reach the location through Ten Towns.
"On they traveled, across the windswept tundra of the Dale, through the foothills of the Spine of the World, and upwards on the steep and treacherous trails of the Kuldahar Pass.
[..]. High upon the cliffs of the Pass, a band of frost giants had prepared an ambush.
And this is still a bit away from Kuldahar. So Kuldahar isn't in the foothills of the Spine, it's in the actual mountainous portion. But yes, probably still near its norhtern edge.
There is: That's what the Kuldahar Pass is supposed to be.
(It wouldn't be much of a pass if it only went a small way into the mountain range without coming out on the other side...)
IWD in-game dialog confirms that the pass normally continues southward, and is only currently impassable due to plot events:
"It is barely midway into Leafall, and yet the pass to the south has been snowed in entirely. Weather such as this is most unnatural."
When you tell Arundel that you're not interested in helping Kuldahar because you only want out of these mountains, he clarifies that this unusual weather is the reason why your party is stuck in the Spine:
"I understand, but the circumstances leave you little choice *but* to get involved. I needn't remind you that the avalanche that wiped out your expedition, the one that you were fortunate to survive, has blocked the way back to the Ten Towns. As I mentioned before, the pass south has been entirely snowed-in."
Also, think of all the travellers/merchants/etc. who were captured by monsters in areas south of Kuldahar (Dragon's Eye, Wyrm's Tooth, etc.). For example, Marchon of Waterdeep & co say that they were travelling in a caravan when they were captured and dragged into Dragon's Eye.
It would make no sense for so many human civilians to have hiked south of Kuldahar if there were no southern towns or villages normally reachable from there.
Also, the IWD2 game speaks of two passes through the Spine of the World that connect Icewind Dale with the South: The "Western Pass" (which the IWD2 party ends up taking from Targos), and the "Eastern Pass" (which is presumably exactly this Kuldahar Pass).
Come to think of it though, the fact that the southern part of the Kuldahar pass is currently snowed-in, would also explain why Cassia could not travel north through it.
Still, the timing seems unlikely.
Between the time that a messenger from Kuldahar arrived in Easthaven to ask for help, and Hrothgar completing the preparations for the expedition, the church in Mirabar not only managed to learn of this expedition, but Cassia managed to travel there (through the Western Pass or by sea) in time to join the expedition?
Must have been some magical long-distance communication involved, at the very least.
Eager to try Cassia on my next run, thank you Arvendor!
Just a small thing I noticed: The tp2 still states that it's v1.0, whereas the mod is at 1.04 beta according to readme. Since the version number in the tp2 is what you get in players' weidu.logs, it's useful to put the current version number in.
BUT I can say Cassia's a solid addition to the IWD NPC roster and I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough with her. She's a good example of being a token Helmite character without feeling 'overly uptight'. Her romance was also solid, sweet and supportive when it started.
Brief (vague) mod spoilers follow:
Her flirts were also adorable. Cassia asking after rations or offering to take on some burdens from the MC's pack was *perfectly* helmite.
Her arc felt fulfilling. With her questioning her own worth - and growing into her own through the journey. A perfect mirror for the romance, I feel, though I imagine it will be a solid arc even without that.
I did spot a few (minor) typos. I'm happy to share them if it's something you care to fix. But, honestly, they didn't detract from a SOLID mod and character. Thank you for sharing Cassia with us.
I'm hoping we may see more mods from you in the future. And I say that, not to place any pressure, but simply to express how much I enjoyed everything.
Thanks for the catch! I've updated the tp2 to match the readme
I was really nervous writing the romance actually since I've seen how a badly written romance can easily ruin a character or feel tacked on just for the sake of including one. So I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed it
And yes feel free to send my those typos so I can correct them!
@7 = ~When you ask CASSIA about her past, she reveals that she hails from Mirabar, a great city built atop a dwarven settlement in the foothills of the Spine of the World. From what you can tell she was raised there by her mother and adoptive father as an only child, the latter of which introduced her to the faith. She proudly recounts her initiation in the Church of Helm and seems eager to serve her god, though she seems at times conflicted how to best do that.~
(I’m assuming you meant serve, or something equivalent, here. Since a word is missing in that sentence)
AWCASS.tra
@38 = ~And I'm surprised you haven't started frothing at the mouth and torching fishing huts yet. Your patience must be renowned amongst your ilk.~
AWLORD.tra
@28 = ~And Cassia, I am sure the High Watcher would be proud if he could see you now. I may be blind, but I can hear the newfound confidence which now carries in your voice. Take this token of the Vigilant One, and may it offer you the same protection it once offered me in the coming battles you face.~
AWCASSJ.tra
@8 = ~I must now come to terms with the fact that I will likely be the sole member of my retinue joining the caravan. I dearly wish the circumstances were different and that Helm may yet speed their safe return, but the expedition cannot afford further delays at this point.~
@12 = ~You are right of course, <PLAYER1>. I shouldn't forget that you and many other righteous individuals have pledged themselves to the cause, regardless of the circumstance which may have brought you here.~
@61 = ~Of course. No doubt the threat lurking in this 'Vale' will provide a welcome distraction and allow us the opportunity to do some good.~
@104 = ~Was your heritage ever have an affect on your training?~
(This is awkwardly phrased. I assume you meant ‘Did your heritage ever have an effect on your training?’ alternatively ‘Was your training ever affected?’)
@219 = ~Maybe, but we wouldn't know until you try, would we?~
@268 = ~Still, we are left with the question of what happens next. No doubt we have slain one of the evils that was plaguing Kuldahar. But there are still loose ends aren't there?~
@298 = ~This place is a grave and every level brings a new flavour of dead it seems.~
@326 = ~Helm, God of Guardians, you whose Eyes are unsleeping. Your faithful servant begs you in this hour to lend your gaze to the cursed elven souls which haunt this long forgotten ruin. Let them feel your presence and know that their suffering has not been forgotten by the gods. Let them know, that their vigil will not last forever and that they too will one day look upon the celestial fields of Arvandor.~
@370 = ~It is not just about the stonework but rather what this place represents as a whole. A once a prosperous and secure community, now reduced to a shadowy skeleton to be picked dry by carrion feeders. As someone who has dedicated themselves to the safeguarding of the northern towns and communities, few things are as upsetting as witnessing the decayed state this ruin now finds itself in and to think of what it once had been.~
(Doesn’t need the second ‘a’.)
@469 = ~Uhm, Cassia your shirt...~
@530 = ~We have fought and bled together throughout our journey through the Dale. From the frozen mountain peaks to the fiery pits of this region we have travelled, conquering our foes and slaying evil wherever it opposed us. It has been an adventure that will remain in my memory for a lifetime, and I wouldn't have it any other way.~
@543 = ~So, the barbarians are poised to once again to stage a campaign against the Ten Towns. Hardly a surprising development given the history of the region but no less troubling. If the clans are truly poised to unite they could become a force that would overrun the Ten Towns.~
(No need for the second ‘to’.)
@584 = ~This seer must have truly hated outside contact for her to come all the way out here. What use is her sight and council if those requiring it perish in their attempts to reach her?~
@763 = ~Any thoughts about things in general?~
@915 = ~(Noticing your gaze, Cassia tilts her head briefly in your direction. When your eyes meet she immediately snaps her gaze away immediately.)~
(No need to repeat ‘immediately’.
@935 = ~And your faith likewise inspires me, milord. It is always a pleasure to share the company of a champion of righteousness.~
Hopefully that helps a little.
Thank you, again, for sharing the mod.
And I'm grateful for the cross-mod banters.
Cassia is an excellent companion -- well-written, engaging, and fun!
I highly recommend this mod to anyone who needs an interesting cleric and/or romantic companion for their IWDEE game.