Leftlor Awaits TOB content ......

[Jordoo]

Leftlor awoke from his light, disturbed sleep; he could feel the stirring of his newly recovered soul. The elves had grown wary of his presence in Suldanessellar as each day passed and more news from the outside filtered in. This Child of Bhaal and his Demon Princess (as some of the elves now called her in there wispered conversations) had been the heroes of Suldanessellar only a few short weeks ago. These thoughts had bothered his sleep of late and he knew it was time to move on, but where? The heat from Amber's slender body pressed against his brought other thoughts to Leftlor's mind. Although it was too dark to see he pictured her long flaming red hair and the dark markings dancing on her flawless copper tone skin.

Amber was right Leftlor had never pictured himself with a Teifling, but he had never had the time to picture himself with anyone or even consider his future. Instead the events of the world had picked him up like a giant wave that left him only the option of being drowned or riding it out to the end. How long ago had it been that he heard those children saying the guards had captured a demon? Amber, in many ways, was as much a mystery to him then as she was now. She had showed him the depths and the fires of passion that burned in her soul she had told him that she loved him and he knew it to be true, yet still she guarded her thoughts and dreams from him. Leftlor had meant to question Amber about this, but how could he push forward when he had seen her mood in Suldanessellar after the dust had settled. Had she ever been so free, had she ever felt that safe, had she ever been this happy ........ He was sure that she hadn't!

Amber slid her body up layng her head on Leftlor's soulder. She whispered "relax ... soon we will be gone from here .... and .....". She worked one hand behind his head and ran her fingers through his hair while the other began to slide its way across his chest and down his side ..................

 

 

This is my review of the Amber MOD. Amber travelled mainly with Imoen, Minsc, Aerie and Leftlor (PC Cleric/Ranger)

 

 

Balance, Character Build:

Amber is a level 6 fighter dueled to thief. Level 7 gives an extra .5 attacks per round and lowers thaco by one which would have been nice from a power perspective. She is by no means overpowered yet is a very useful NPC who can be extremely deadly when used correctly (with the right equipment); and she will easily handle all thieving abilities. I used Amber as a backstabber most of the time. I had her duel wielding Blade of the Roses (which the MOD gives a nice upgrade to) and Belm (extra attack per round) while wearing a belt of strength, shadow dragon armor, cloak of non-detection and boots of speed. Being a former fighter Amber can stack weapon proficiencies, drink potions of heroism and invulnerability which are all very helpful. She is also a very good as an archer. Amber has two special abilities, Blinding Eye and Contagious Eye, which are ballanced out in the MOD by her refusing to wear heavy armor or use shields. Her armor and shield restriction fits the character well IMO. I found Amber's Blinding Eye to be very effective especially early in the game, but for some reason her Contagious Eye seemed to be saved against at an unusually high rate. Either way they are cool abilities that reflect her demonic heritage and add to the character.

Overall I found Amber to be a very balanced NPC that fulfills the need of having a thief in the party while also adding above average archery and combat skills especially when you take her backstabbing into account which is where Amber really shines IMO.

 

 

Added Quests and Items:

The Amber MOD adds 3 quests.

The first quest involves meeting Amber and securing her release so that she can join your party. It happens very early in the game and is easy to handle which is great when you're trying to add an NPC to your party. The writing for this quest is brilliant. It has you pulling your hair out one minute and laughing outload the next and its content is something that everyone can relate to. If only every "go fetch" quest in the game was as entertaining as this one.

The second is another "go fetch" quest that is much less entertaining and costs you a bit of gold but does give you access to some new items and earns you some points with Amber. None of the items are overpowering but two of them are very useful. The Book of Rings and the Key Ring are well thought up items that you use the whole game.

The third is a "rescue Amber" quest that involves a new area, new non playable NPC's, new items, some good fights and an interesting storyline. I found it to be good and actually a bit tricky without a thief in the party, but everything you need to complete the quest is provided. I felt the new area was very well done, looking like it was right out of the game while avoiding being a carbon copy of any other area that I could think of. There is some nice loot that includes new items and a couple of things that can be made into useful items (very nice touch). Yes its the obligatory kidnapping quest that seems to happen all too often but it does end in a nice twist which helps to move the romance forward later on.

You can also upgrade the Blade of the Roses, making it very powerful. However you won't be able to pull it off until late in the game (at least I couldn't) so it's not an overpowered weapon but it will be nice for Amber to use in TOB.

 

 

Game Play:

Overall I found the game play to be great and almost completely seamless. Amber has voiced interjections, battle cries and love talks. Her interjections make sense and she will banter with other NPC's. You can ask Amber questions about certain quests or decisions, her background and of course flirt with her. Amber will not overshadow the PC and take over the game but she is by no means going to fade into the background. Everything is well integrated and the game rolls on as it should. The bottom line here is that Amber fits in the game like she's meant to be there.

 

 

Amber:

Amber's portrate is excellent and represents her description very well while also seeming as though it could be a stock SOA portrait. Her voice is amazing and really grabbed at me from the get go. I felt that the cadence, accented syllables and the way Amber's voice would soften to a whisper at times was just a perfect fit for her character. It just had a way of pulling you into the game even further whenever Amber would speech. Amber's personality was believable and she was consistently true to it during the game. Yes Amber warms up to you and shows more of her personality but that development is done along the lines of how she is described in her read me. Amber's personality has some different sides to it including playful, serious, passionate and even vulnerable. She may be part demon but she is a woman, and I think the MOD does a good job relating this.

 

 

Romance:

Amber is part demon which makes all her interactions with other people uneasy. I absolutely love how the romance plays off of this early on. You realy have to wonder how long has it been since Amber had a meaningful relationship of any kind and yet your also pulling for her. As the relationship developes you get more flirt options, by the end it's a pretty comprehensive list. I thought the flirts were great and some of the writing describing what was happening during the non verbal flirts was just exceptional. It takes some time and you have to be nice to Amber but overall it's not hard to win her love. She goes though an incredible but believable transformation from being uncomfortable with physical contact to showing you the very passionate fires that burn in her demon tainted soul. The amazing part about the romance to me is that Amber manages to pull the whole thing off without ever really opening up to the PC completely (except once kind of), She is still very much a mystery in many ways and every time she does let her guard down she catches herself just beforhand and cuts off the converasation. I really wish that the PC was given the option of pushing her or encouraging her to continue when that was happening. I do think that Amber is completely committed to the PC and that she loves him more than she has ever loved anyone. I think the MOD is pretty clear on this point actually. I am really glad that TOB content is in the works because this is a romance that has a lot left in it. Overall I felt the romance was excellent and easily the best part of the MOD for me, and it wasn't without some jaw droppers.

 

 

Overall evaluation:

Everyone that had anything to do with producing this MOD should be proud and I'd like to convey my thanks to them. Enjoyable from start to finish, well made and written.

 

 

Highlights: (no particular order)

-Amber and Minsc conversation about how amber smites evil.

-Sneaking up on Amber bathing only to find out it was Aerie.

-Imoen and Amber coversation that includes, Amber admitting her love for the PC, Imoen calling the PC a jackass and them Imoen and Amber engaging in some serious flirting before getting "their hot little asses moving." (this one banter alone is worthy of installing the MOD and playing through the romance)

-Minsc interupting Amber and the PC stargazing turned make out session and saying they looked cute together.

-PC comforting amber after she finally recovers from being a vampire.

-The kiss Amber like you mean it flirt both the world melts away version and the long version.

-The kiss Amber flirt were she elbows you in the face.

-Amber's responce to the PC escaping Phaeeri's bed chambers.

-Amber's flirt were she bumbs into you.

 

Things that make you wonder:

-Imoen and Amber's constant flirting.

-Jill (along those same lines)

-The morning after shocker.

 

Regrets:

-Not being able to respond to Amber telling you that she loves you.

-Not being able to push Amber in conversation when she is about to tell you something important and decides not to.

[Arker]

Great review, next time I use Amber, I'll use Imoen as well, oh and good fanfic start. Actully for me it was Aerie who interupted the "star-gazing", but I DID find Amber during the bathing. Your right, the PC flirts are good. And don't forget your wanted poster, really liked that one, marked where she first started warming up to you.

[Jordoo]

Great review, next time I use Amber, I'll use Imoen as well, oh and good fanfic start. Actully for me it was Aerie who interupted the "star-gazing", but I DID find Amber during the bathing. Your right, the PC flirts are good. And don't forget your wanted poster, really liked that one, marked where she first started warming up to you.

 

I actually got Amber bathing as well the first time, but then reloaded and tried again to go with some other dialog options ...... and to my shock it was Aerie. I reloaded numberous times after that and always got Amber so it must be only a small chance to get someone else bathing. I did forget the wanted poster, I kept thinking that it was a poster describing Imoen but I didn;t see any options along those lines so maby Amber just made it up to flirt with the PC, not sure but she does remember your hair color and eye color later on which is cool. I'm going to replay with Amber a few more times with some different NPC's and at least once with the friend track.

[gertjanvh]

Didn't even know you could accidently watch Aerie as well.. very cool actually

*archives a mental note*

[Jordoo]

Didn't even know you could accidently watch Aerie as well.. very cool actually

*archives a mental note*

 

Aerie didn't seem to think it was very cool, LOL .....

[Jordoo]

sorry double post