A good/lawful male PC sweetheart

[Domi]

I gave it some more thoughts, and how is that: Leida for the name, and perhaps I should go with the half-elf, giving her some Snow Elves blood. It will make sense then that she is attracted to the North. I would have her parents both to be half-elven, to remove the human-elf pairing from her immediate background. I kind of find it strange that in IWD2 you can play a drow or a snivferblin, but not a snow elf.... Or am I starting to sound like Sillara?

[berelinde]

What a pretty name!

 

And it *is* strange that you can't play the arctic sub-races, given that the game takes place up by the Spine of the World.

[Domi]

I suppose they are rare, but can't be rarer than the Drow-Sniferblin-Duergar on the surface kind of thing and since you actually are in the North they would be a valid choice for a PC who is more or less local. Anyways, yep, I guess, I'll just shut up and see if anyone has anything to say. And guys, if you are interested, please speak up. It's not because I need ego-stroking kind of thing, it's because I have a workplan, and I'll either put it on, or not. I will interpret silence as disinterest.

[Guest Tempest]

I certainly am interested, and while I'd still prefer a halfling or dwarf simply as something different, what you have sounds fine.

 

And I didn't mean any offense to any of the existing romances-I just cannot take Peony or Salomeya seriously, and it would be nice to have a woman for a male character who does tend to lose patience with idiots and fools.

[berelinde]

Give it a bit. Feedback on IWD2 NPC itself didn't happen overnight, either.

[Raven_Song]

Snow Elf (half-elven or otherwise) sounds extremely interesting. I know absolutely nothing about them, so curiosity alone would encourage me to play ...

[cmorgan]

Points that I think make more of an impact than race/class/portrait issues (though if she turns up as a half-elven serious Angelina Jolie character I wouldn't kick her out of... the party ) -

 

We have lots of pychoanalytically correct romance choices in BG that work well. We have Father Figure/Protector role [Aerie], we have Mrs. Robinson/Mother Figure [Jaheira], we have Bad Girl We Wannan Get Wild With [Viconia]. If we extend it, we also have Teen Good Girl Fantasy Figure [saerileth], Slighly Damaged Goods/Ex With A Past And a Bad Boyfriend [Taisha]. We even have the slightly scary We Are Playing EgyptianGods/Yo Sis, You Look Fine, in the Imoen Romance. I won't go into one night stands/dating in RE, but incorporating BG mods we have the Foreign Agent/Destiny of The Gods Romantic Tradgedy [Dynaheir], the Sweet But Conflicted Nordic romance [branwen], the Dangerous Psycho Romance [sharTeel]. I have played most of these (someotimes only part way through, but most of them all the way through) and I enjoyed them, but compared to teh Boyz (Ajantis, Kivan, Coran, Xan, Garrick) there is just something... missing. Dynaheir is (in my opiniorn) the absolute best, I say better than any other romance out there, period, for anybody; but she is also the best because she is Tragic Romance. You don't want to love her, 'cause in the second and third acts she is toast, but you can't help it. This causes a conundrum - in IWDII, why would you ever go for the tragedy, when what you really want is to live Happily Ever After?

 

Now, some of those roles overlap in IWDII, from what I have read (still saving a soild full run for this summer when I can appreciate it). The Temptress, Child/Protector, and Questioning sections are covered. What is always missing, and why I understand the attraction of the Imoen Romance idea (if you ignore the potential awkward spots), is the Best Friend Romance.

 

The toughest thing in the world is to do this, but if anyone can, you can, Domi - the "Independent Equal Friend Who Falls In Spite Of Herself". Also known as the "Blind To My Best Friend" effect, or the "Why Are You Complaining About Boys To Me When I Am Standing Right Here And I'm A Boy" syndrome. More colloquially, "When Harry Met Sally", but there are lot of variations on this, usually played by Hugh Grant, Gereard Depardu, Tom Hanks, or other nice-guy-finishes-second-until-the-last-reel specialists.

 

Usual course of romance (not the suggested one, but so you can identify the type of romance in general) is

1. boy is interested in girl, but girl is distracted by shiny hunk.

2. boy is interested in girl, but is good guy when shiny hunk breaks girl's heart, and helps her by being a good friend/no pressure.

3. 1 and 2 repeated several times. If wisdom GT 14, break pattern. If wisdom LT 14, continue pattern adding in several broken marriages to shinky hunks who turn out to be rotten bastards.

4. Either New Good Female Friend creates triangle, or Epiphany; girl realizes that her best friend actually is *gasp* a male, and while perhaps not the shiniest toy in the store, he has qualities that make him pretty darned desireable, like a. he isn't a jerk, b. he listens to her, and c. he has remained basically faithful without ever pledging faith.

5. Resolution of triangle (Comedy/Drama/Tradgedy options all available, but in the Romantic comedy tradition Good Guy gets Good Girl mode): Girl asks best friend out, finds out that not only is he a good friend but a tiger in bed, decides that she really should not have wasted all that time with shiny hunks, and they live happily ever after (until the next movie script comes up).

 

It is the staple of any number of great romances, accomplished many different ways, and is pretty much designed for LG Paladin types. Many of whom at base heart not only want to win the girl of their dreams, but would prefer be at the end of a good romatic comedy, wandering off into the sunset with a cool hawt friend who they are desparately in love with, tackling stuff together and repopulating the greater part of Faerun's islands. Or at least practicing alot in case that is ever necessary.

[Solar's Harper]

Meh, I really do hate it when things such as this are bottled up to stereotypes, but I guess cmorgan sets the picture better than I could without stereotypes, so I'll let that rest.

 

Personally I'm all in favor of a Lawful Good female snow elf character, be she half or full blood.

 

I strongly recommend against making her a paladin however.

Last thing we need in the north, is another tinhead with a bad love life, or something... (mind you Nord has got to be the best paladin out there, hells i even like the guy as if he were Minsc with a more stable grip on sanity )

 

But yeah, a female version of Anomen is the *last* thing most of us all need.

And I mean canon version, not beefed up with flirt packs or anything.

 

But the real pratical reason is, is that there are already too many pre-existing warrior types associated with this project. (Hildury, Nord) (and with Str+Dex, Valeero and that thief halfling can also match up in close combat)

 

As for the issue of race, well since Snow Elves are not selectable as a race, possibly the next best thing you could do, Domi, would be to select which one of the already available races more closely matches the attributes of Snow Elves, and then maybe add in a better resistance to cold (magic or otherwise), to suit realistic standards that one would expect.

 

Hm, I'm running out of ideas quick, anyone else?

[berelinde]

Well, one of your fears will be put to rest, at least, Solar's Harper. This is meant to be for a ranger, not a paladin.

 

And cmorgan was saying that a paladin would fall for that kind of NPC, not that the NPC had to be a paladin.

 

But off on another rant I go: I have no idea why paladins get such a bad rap. They don't have to be pig-headed tin-hats. Sir Nord isn't, certainly. I've been playing paladins for years, and I don't think any of them are particularly sanctimonious. In fact, it's kind of against their creed. Don't forget that Anomen isn't a paladin because he doesn't actually have what it takes to be one. So it isn't recommended to base your opinion of the class on him. Different gods do encourage different personality traits, though, so your mileage may vary.

 

(gets down off soapbox and returns to the discussion of luscious lovelies in IWD2)

[BigRob]

While a dwarf or halfling does seem to be out (say a Dwarf rogue cast as a craftswoman/trap maker to really mix up expected stereotpes with something odd), I don't think I mind the half elven ranger woman idea. The slightly flighty and impatience aspects of her personality would give some excellent opportunities for the kind of slow discovery romance that's being talked about (though I shudder at something as predictable as a romantic comedy), since she's likely to miss/ignore subtle advances out of frustration or sudden disinterest.

 

Ranger would be a natural class, but perhaps rogue would also be viable, as it can involve the kind of skills the character would pick up in a merchant background (assuming she still has it).

[Jenova]

But off on another rant I go: I have no idea why paladins get such a bad rap. They don't have to be pig-headed tin-hats. Sir Nord isn't, certainly. I've been playing paladins for years, and I don't think any of them are particularly sanctimonious. In fact, it's kind of against their creed. Don't forget that Anomen isn't a paladin because he doesn't actually have what it takes to be one. So it isn't recommended to base your opinion of the class on him. Different gods do encourage different personality traits, though, so your mileage may vary.

I know a lot of people who think paladins are just to perfect - they don't lie, are disciplined, always do good things etc. And the worst part of it is that in all mass-media they are just like this, never make mistakes, no one can corrupt them and they always win. Cliche, in other words. But then again, as you said, there are as many types of paladins as are good aligned gods out there. We just got to know Torm's servants the most, that's it, I guess.

 

I was once rolepaying (not in a computer game, that would be kind of impossible) a paladin of Tymora and it was so much fun and my character didn't have to be all that lawful (sure, I couldn't steal, murder or commit any other crimes) or stuck up. I just followed a simple rule - if luck is on my side anything goes

 

The slightly flighty and impatience aspects of her personality would give some excellent opportunities for the kind of slow discovery romance that's being talked about (though I shudder at something as predictable as a romantic comedy), since she's likely to miss/ignore subtle advances out of frustration or sudden disinterest.

Romantic comedies don't have to be predictable if written the right way

Though, after Peony (geez, I wonder what's SO wrong with her? I find her sooo adorable! ) and Salomeya, I imagine most guys want a more stable and mature romance?

[Domi]

Give it a bit. Feedback on IWD2 NPC itself didn't happen overnight, either.

 

Oh, yeah, I know, I just want to make it clear that I really need to know that its wanted and needed before I commit to it

 

Just a quick comment: I do not want to make a a paladin, because I think that the cast is too small to start duplicatiing the classes. A full snow elf has a few minuses for me as well - the background is too exotic; Diriel is already a Gold Elf that maskarades as a Moon Elf due to the engine limitations; I do not want to deal with 'another elf in the party' witrh Diriel. Half-elf allows me to avoid those problems.

 

On the other hand, that touch of Northern bloods can be added just as easily to a Human, now that i think about it, through the Black Raven Barbarians in the ancestry.

[Guest Guest_Arconian_*]

I just want to say that although an extra male romance is uber-win for me, I loved both the Salomeya and Peony romances they were very well written and fun to play . I wouldn't mind a good-aligned male romance though, have you already decided which race she's going to be? 'cause either human or half-elf is fine with me, though I didn't really get why she can't be a tiefling .

 

Looking forward to it!

 

P.S. If you go romantic comedy, you could go the vaunted turning the 'ugly' chick into a 'sexbomb' by the end of the movie kinda thing...Wait I just had a very disturbing image about my PC boasting to Diriel that he could make any Half-Elf or Human look as hot as a full-blooded Gold-Elf Let me tell you truly disturbing

[Domi]

If you go romantic comedy, you could go the vaunted turning the 'ugly' chick into a 'sexbomb' by the end of the movie kinda thing...

 

This subplot is somewhat possible for Hildury already. Well, when her sidequest starts working in the next version.

 

'cause either human or half-elf is fine with me, though I didn't really get why she can't be a tiefling

 

Because there is a tiefling character that is top of the list, and 2 tieflings, 1 aasimar and 1 drow in the cast of 13 NPCs (if I make all the priority NPCs, ie the dwarven priest, the tiefling rogue/priestess and this gal) is pushing it. I think I like both the half-elf with the snow elf blood and a human with the barbarian blood ideas; half-elves were done less though, so a half-elf is tempting. Maybe if I have time, I'll do a quick simulated portrait for her as both races to see if that makes any difference for people.

[Domi]

Okay, here is a couple of color concepts; basically, I want a relatively pale skin, blue eyes and dark hair on a he, and brown hair, grey eyes on the human gal:

 

A half-elf:

 

 

A human: