@moopy I think the problem was they changed their mind so late, leaving Imoen with almost no content after her recovery.
Writing Imoen well could have made the fight against Bodhi a much bigger deal- they really could have played up the saving her soul element there.
The reality also is that the nature of dialogue choices is such that killing her to improve the PCs motivation wouldn't change the story that was told all that much; rather, probably more emphasis should have been putting on giving a little more spotlight to Imoen, Jaheria and Minsc having really excellent reasons to want him dead beyond just being your pal.
Imoen being alive was also really helpful for TOB, but I guess thats a whole other thing.
It would have just been such a mind screw for me playing through the game the first time around, completely expecting everything to work out and to get her back (like it did) and if she had died RIGHT as I reached her, I would have been stunned.
Stunned is good. Some people would bitch up and down about killing Imoen like that, but at the end of the day, it would have been a plot choice that hit people hard when most of us expected everything to work out. I love Imoen just as much as the next guy, but even I have to admit killing might have been better for the plot.
Back on topic, it is good to see that I am not alone in liking Nalia, I never expected this discussion to blow up so much. To anybody who hasn't played the De'Arnise Romance, I highly suggest it. Nalia should have been a romance option in the vanilla game. It really fleshes out her character.
Shadows of Amn would have been a much better story if they had killed Imoen. No dealing with not having her for half the game and getting her back. You'd be fighting through the game to get her back just to have it snatched away from you at the last moment, especially if you ended up watching her die. It would also make killing Irenicus a lot more satisfying.
I think a middle ground would have been better. Put Imoen on the clock. If you take too long to rescue her, she dies, otherwise she lives.
Going off topic with the rest, but if Imoen were killed, that would just give me even more incentive to bodily throw Irenicus so hard that he flies through the part of Arvandor he would have gone to if he weren't such a despicable little man, right before landing on whatever Lower Plane it is he belongs in.
Double if he did anything to Nalia. Or Daleson. Daleson is cool.
Not every game has to have that kind of emotional impact. While BG2 might have qualified for it, I much prefer Imoen alive. But then, I am very much a rosy ending kind of guy. (Especially in single-player RPGs.)
I took Nalia after installing the romance mod.....ifyouknowhatimean, hur hur.
Seriously though, I've taken her a couple of times. While I wouldn't use her as a replacement for Imoen (her thief abilities simply don't come close to Imoen, in utility or skill level), as a mage she's pretty good, and I do like her background story and quest.
While her attitude is a little patronizing and offputting to start with, I like to think hanging around with the PC in the Slums (the Copper Coronet being my main base of operations before I get a stronghold) might give her a bit more perspective. Then again, compared to most Amnian nobles we met in the game, she's a goddamn saint anyway.
And Grey DeLisle does a great job voicing her part.
Comments
Writing Imoen well could have made the fight against Bodhi a much bigger deal- they really could have played up the saving her soul element there.
The reality also is that the nature of dialogue choices is such that killing her to improve the PCs motivation wouldn't change the story that was told all that much; rather, probably more emphasis should have been putting on giving a little more spotlight to Imoen, Jaheria and Minsc having really excellent reasons to want him dead beyond just being your pal.
Imoen being alive was also really helpful for TOB, but I guess thats a whole other thing.
It would have just been such a mind screw for me playing through the game the first time around, completely expecting everything to work out and to get her back (like it did) and if she had died RIGHT as I reached her, I would have been stunned.
Stunned is good. Some people would bitch up and down about killing Imoen like that, but at the end of the day, it would have been a plot choice that hit people hard when most of us expected everything to work out. I love Imoen just as much as the next guy, but even I have to admit killing might have been better for the plot.
Back on topic, it is good to see that I am not alone in liking Nalia, I never expected this discussion to blow up so much. To anybody who hasn't played the De'Arnise Romance, I highly suggest it. Nalia should have been a romance option in the vanilla game. It really fleshes out her character.
Double if he did anything to Nalia. Or Daleson. Daleson is cool.
Seriously though, I've taken her a couple of times. While I wouldn't use her as a replacement for Imoen (her thief abilities simply don't come close to Imoen, in utility or skill level), as a mage she's pretty good, and I do like her background story and quest.
While her attitude is a little patronizing and offputting to start with, I like to think hanging around with the PC in the Slums (the Copper Coronet being my main base of operations before I get a stronghold) might give her a bit more perspective. Then again, compared to most Amnian nobles we met in the game, she's a goddamn saint anyway.
And Grey DeLisle does a great job voicing her part.