What type of item would you like to get?

[Smoketest]

I didn't specify the quality of the carving. I also suggested that she might have made it after Charname left her island, so there wouldn't be any "suddenly" about her taking up carving. Besides, Delainy wasn't a bard to begin with, but her tribe's historian. And it hasn't been that long since Charname left her island. If anything I think it's sudden that she's now writing and singing songs. Hidden talent? Perhaps, but then you could say the same thing about carving.

 

I don't think the item would need to take up a quick item slot, unless it's going to be useful in the way that items people actually use are useful. If I play a Cavalier, +2 morale isn't going to be worth the sacrifice of a quick item slot. A script could apply the benefits so long as the item is in Charname's possession, without it having to be equipped somehow.

[Bri]

Most of the songs she sings which aren't from her own background would have been ones she picked up in her travels.  Otherwise, songs and stories would have been works she would have grown up with, familiar with.  Not a whole lot different than almost any American would know Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and other such things...

 

Thing a lot of people don't get is that with literacy not as widespread as it was, many people did develop very good memories.  They had too, bards especially since they just couldn't write what they needed down for future generations.

 

In some ways you could almost consider Del's tribe at a barbarian existence in some ways (yes, even with crude buildings, and what have you).  Some skills would be commonplace amongst the people, whether it was carving or weaving or fishing or what have you.  Of course, some would be better at certain jobs than others, but that doesn't preclude other gifts.

 

That said, that also doesn't mean that Del would be a Michelangelo overnight.  She wouldn't have had the practice for one thing.  I know someone who is good at whittling, for example...did it most of his life.  That doesn't mean he is ready to start making art from whole tree trunks.

 

And finally, the reason bard was picked was that it was actually the closest fit, though that's not to say that other classes couldn't have worked.  Still, in a tribal society, a historian would most likely be either a bard, or a cleric (and often were both).

[Smoketest]

Another fact is that people used to have a trade or skill that they would use to make a living for their entire life. None of this bouncing from job to job, career to career that we have today. Prior to "literacy", people lived simpler lives too.

 

Thanks to Bioware leaving Delainy's background so full of holes, it's easy to come up with different interpretations of what she did in the tribe (in addition to being a historian) and what she might do if she were to leave their island. Your arguments make sense from one point of view, but I see her being more of a storyteller than a dancer and singer. I'm sure the differing viewpoints of our gender plays into this as well, woman with wolf footprints. :

[Bri]

Heh, its cool Smoketest.  I guess I just figure the singing and storytelling are but aspects of the same thing for her (many cultures you had to know how to both tell a good story, and how to sing, many times you didn't).

 

As for the dancing, I probably am just putting more emphasis there based on primitive cultures than anything else.

 

That said, I never said, "This is the way Delainy is" but rather, "This is the way I see her as..."  

 

This is where 3rd Edition AD&D makes more sense to me.  It is much more easier to cross class lines (in the D&D sense) than it is in 2nd Edition.

 

I saw someone with a very valid interpretation of Del/Durlyle being a ranger, for example...

 

But yes, it would have been nice if BioWare had done something to incorporate her properly into BG II in my opinon.

[Uriel]

Hmm...that could work very well Uriel, the class specific idea.  Just remember, this is supposed to be more sentimental than practical (by this point, most people have their own favorite weapons probably...)

I made sure that none of my ideas were magical or useable. The decorative sword is, in fact, just a decorative sword; impressive but utterly useless in combat.

 

I still want my chocolate hammers.

 

Uriel

Oops, sorry, you did say decorative. It's still early in the morning for me

 

Heh...chocolate hammer...*ponders burying Firekraag in molten chocolate...*

Hehehe, death by chocolate *ponders other bizarre ways to kill Firkragg, while listening to Daggerfall mp3's*

 

Well, for the thief, the blackjack seems a bit too practical to me, and I'd think that Del would rather konk <Charname> on the head for being an immoral thief. Perhaps a chocolate hammer to the head would do.

 

(If anyone's wondering about my sudden obsession with chocolate hammers, then read "Kleptomaniac: The not-so-bright Project" at the TTLG forums. It hilarious for anyone acquainted with Thief, heh).