Introduce Your...self?

[Sister Vigilante]

I was sort of thinking about writing a short tie-in story (or rather, a series of short episodes) just to flesh out the story behind various characters and events. Of course, I would only write the first paperback Del Ray novel with its lurid cover illustration, then the rest would be farmed out under my name to young fantasy writers in Nevada. I think a certain someone expressed interest in doing an entry as well. No seriously, it would be put up at fanfiction.net, the site I always tell myself I'm too grown-up for now and then go and post more stories there.

 

So, if the story follows Angelo through his adventures in Baldur's Gate, it's going to need a Bhaalspawn! Since most of the characters I playtested with were excuses to make portraits out of my favorite anime characters, I thought it might be fun to get someone else's character to star. So if this sounds like a good idea to anyone, step up and post your PC's vital stats and short bio here, and I'll choose one to immortalize in .doc glory for all time! I would probably go with a female in the romance, since it gives the most options for exploring the content, but I'm open to anything. Naturally I would take some liberties with her/him/it, so I hope that would be alright.

 

Also whether I end up writing anything or not, I'm kind of curious to see what sort of gals are romancing Angelo...

[Choo Choo]

Since my main Bhaalspawn Linjo is about as attracted to non-elves as Diriel in IWD2 NPC Project, I'll go with my non-elven protagonist Sheree.

 

Human dualclassed fighter/cleric (of Eldath), red hair, grey-green eyes, lots of freckles. Chaotic good. Very loyal to her friends, protective to the point of violence. Sultry, quick wit, rather noli-me-tangere - while she doesn't mind being around other people, she tends to dislike physical closeness, it makes her uncomfortable. She dislikes comforting people. She dislikes attention - while she doesn't mind helping people, she'd rather not be a famous heroine.

 

She pretty much hates it when people glorify her and see her as "perfect, radiant, shiny", whatever, and that includes men (or women) who try to romance her.

 

And.. yeah. I don't know what much else to write. She's got a higher intelligence than most fighters does - 14 - but rather low charisma and constitution.

[Amaurea]

My latest PC is Mirima, NG half-elven fighter/cleric. She's intelligent but not very wise, and is a big ol' bundle of dichotomies. She's most comfortable alone, but actively seeks the approval of others. Her nature is chaotic, but her actions are measured (it's that seeking approval thing). She's slow to trust, while at the same time seeing the best in others, and can, at times be impulsive in her dealings with other people (when she shuts off the part of her brain that over-analyzes everything). She'd rather crawl into a ball and hide if given a choice, but when faced with challenges doesn't hesitate to meet them head-on. She tends to live in the moment, though she has a long memory. She does not like interfering types, preferring instead to form her own opinions and learn lessons through her own experiences. Needless to say, Jaheira and Mirima do not get along. Above all, she trusts her instincts. She is not the type to have regrets, trusting herself to have made the best choice she could in any given circumstance. This surety is grounded in her deep faith. For all her self-doubts, there is a small unshakable core within her.

 

She's somewhat plain looking at first glance, but her shifting impulses/emotions play out on her face, changing an onlooker's perception of her looks as she's being observed. Her hair is a light reddish brown and poker straight, her eyes dark green/brown, and she's short. She's not very dextrous, but she is strong and somewhat hardy. Oh, and she has a thing for fruit, cooking, animals and books. She wishes she could dance and sing, but isn't very good at either--a fact which doesn't stop her from enjoying both, especially after an ale or two.

[Kulyok]

So, so far no one's meeting the charisma requirement?

[Amaurea]

Mirima does. She's sociable, but it's an effort for her, or at least she thinks it is. Other people see her as very kind and somewhat soft-spoken. She usually walks around with a half-smile on her face though she's not aware of it. Remember, she's a people-pleaser.

 

Edited as always for clarity...

[Guest Sephira]

There's Twen, my elven wild mage PC.

 

Chaotic Good

 

STR 10

DEX 16

CON 14

INT 18

WIS 12

CHA 15

 

Twen privately believes she's woefully inadequate for the life of an adventuring Bhaalspawn -- in a way, she hasn't really accepted what she is. It's less out of fear than due to the fact that it means all the dreams she had growing up are now dashed. If you ask her directly, these dreams involve things like becoming an established and respected researcher and scholar in Waterdeep, or something equally quietly prestigious. Imoen, however, knows Twen is really stinging inside over the loss of any potential normal life . . . such as that bakery she's always wanted to open since she was little, but never talks about. (Mainly because she's a little embarassed by the idea) Still, she's doing the best she can -- even if her heart isn't completely in it sometimes -- and although she would never admit it, a part of her enjoys it.

Personality wise, Twen's generally a pretty pleasant young woman, aside from her occasional moodiness. She's stubborn, though, and tends to dig in her heels whenever she thinks she's right, since she's got more than a little confidence in her extensive studies, even if she's actually wrong. She's got a soft spot for people in trouble -- children especially -- and due to her impulsive nature is far more likely to charge into trouble flailing her staff about her head at first, before she remembers to actually cast a spell. She has a weakness for good food, and, though it isn't widely known, good drink -- getting even one glass of anything into her is a good way to get her laughing and chatting even when she's at her lowest.

Visually, Twen's fairly easy on the eyes, even if she isn't going to have a busy street full of people stop and stare. She has green eyes and dark red hair, which she usually wears tied back -- and Imoen would privately add that she's going to get frown lines if she isn't careful, elven heritage be damned. She's more likely to wear simple pants and a shirt with a cloak than she is any sort of flowing mage robe . . . mainly because of that time she tripped over the hem in front of Imoen and went face first into the cow's field back at Candlekeep.

 

. . . wow. That was less than "short". Sorry. Whatever you pick, I'm looking forward to reading!

[Choo Choo]

Eh, Sheree's charismatic when she wants to. She just.. rarely wants to.

[Sister Vigilante]

Looks great! Perfect lengths for "short bios," it gives me just enough to work with.

 

And yeah, I wouldn't say 12 CHA is that high (at least no-ot by the sort of inflated BGII standards...9 INT is supposed to be "average," I think, but in BGII it seems to mean you're sort of thick..and Ilmater help you if you're a fighter with STR <15). Someone who's sort "intermittently" charismatic is probably perfect. I had looks more in mind than personality--it's what's inside that counts, of course, but some people need a bit of incentive to discover what's inside.

 

"Love may be blind...but I'm not."

[berelinde]

So, so far no one's meeting the charisma requirement?

Demarra Sugar, my most recent paladin, has that covered.

[Choo Choo]

Well, Sheree gets just within the mark, then. She's got a 12 CHA.

[Amaurea]

berelinde, your pally's name is cracking me up. Righteous, and good in coffee!

 

Now, Angelo, my stud muffin, you could fall in love with an orc, so I am surprised by your feelings on beauty.

 

Since Angelo finds Mirima attractive in my games , I'll point out why: the transparency of her emotions (she does not have a good poker face) brings life to her feautures. I took this quality from my own feelings, way back in the day, about my hubby. When we first met, I thought he was just okay; but as we talked--dayum if he didn't get better and better looking. And, for 20 years, he has stayed one of the handsomest men I know. I think that kind of "beauty" is a lot more interesting.

 

I also wanted to mention that though Mirima is devout, she is by no means sactimonious.

[Amaurea]

Say, I was messing around with the settings in my PSP program today, and doing a portrait for Mirima. I finally stumbled on the right combination of settings to get a better resolution in my images, and I would like to redo the Angelo alternate so that it could be updated in the next release. Would that be okay?

[Sister Vigilante]

Now, Angelo, my stud muffin, you could fall in love with an orc, so I am surprised by your feelings on beauty.

 

On second thought, personality may play into it just as much. As you say, one's personality can actually have an effect on looks--I once read a story in which a man created a beautiful robot girl to be the "perfect woman" for his best friend, who ended up being turned off by her "eerie stare" which made him think she was a raver.

 

I tend to think of the CHA requirement as sort of relating to the open race requirement--Angelo is shallow enough to care about looks (or rather first impressions), but he has a kind of flexible standard of beauty, being older and well-travelled. I imagine a half-orc with CHA 12+ as being fairly normal-looking except for green-ish skin and tusks, something that wouldn't bother Angelo in the least--either that or they'd have "one heck of a charming personality"[/pulp fiction] Both half-orcs and dwarves get a penalty to CHA which reflects this--to overcome the penalty they'd need some outstanding attribute--and halflings just look like short people (well, sort of). Now...gnomes. Gnomes I'm not so sure about. But it seemed kind of arbitrary to bar just one race, so.

 

Well, Sheree gets just within the mark, then. She's got a 12 CHA.

 

Spot on.

 

I tend to think of 12-14 CHA as being "if someone asked, you'd say they were good looking/a good leader/an effective diplomat," whereas 15+ CHA is more like--your gut impression of them is that they are good-looking/a good leader&etc.--You see them and think "wow."

 

In 3rd edition (for which my only real guide is Neverwinter Nights), I understand having 12 of any stat gives you a +1 bonus to related rolls, which sounds about right.

 

19+ CHA is the sort of charm that impedes rational thinking, probably magical or divine in origin, rather than just looks or personality (e.g. Sawara)

[Sister Vigilante]

Say, I was messing around with the settings in my PSP program today, and doing a portrait for Mirima. I finally stumbled on the right combination of settings to get a better resolution in my images, and I would like to redo the Angelo alternate so that it could be updated in the next release. Would that be okay?

 

Certainly! I'm hearing six months or so on the next release, so maybe in the meantime we could package it as a download, and people could just rename the files. I'd be more than happy to have it replace my edit. I would three-size it myself to save you the trouble, but I'm afraid I might mess it up again...

[Sister Vigilante]

doing a portrait for Mirima

 

Also: pretty!