The top post (i.e. this one) in this thread will be updated whenever there is more information to give, or as new FAQs are added.
Please feel free to ask any other questions you like via this thread. If the question is a sensible and intelligent one that other readers might find useful, then the question and the resulting answer will also be added to the official list below.
Answers that would involve giving away spoilers will not be given, so don?t bother asking
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Gameplay Guru Gubbins
- Where do I find Chrysta?
She joins you just after your arrival in Athkatla, in Waukeen?s Promenade after the post-dungeon Cutscene.
. - Are there any class, race or alignment restrictions to having Chrysta in my party?
No
. - Will there be any specific NPCs who she does not get along with?
That would be telling! :^^:
. - Who and what is Chrysta in gameplay terms?
Name: Chrysta
Race: Elf(-ish), seemingly an escaped "clone" from Irenicus's dungeon
Level: Equivalent xp to the protagonist
Class: Druid/Assassin hybrid
Alignment: True Neutral
Stats: STR 12, DEX 17, CON 8, INT 11, WIS 14, CHA 15 (Total 77)
. - What is meant by a "Druid-Assassin Hybrid"? And isn't that a potentially overpowered mix?
Chrysta will effectively be a thief with access to Druidic spell-like abilities and the ability to use Druid-only magical items. Balance has been maintained by giving her severe restrictions and no choice as to number and types of spell-like abilities, and penalties to her thieving abilities as well. The implementation has been tested in-game by "alpha-testers" who have reported back that, if anything, her current incarnation is slightly under-powered.
. - What about her background and personality?
Check out THIS THREAD for more information about Chrysta?s background. Suffice it to say for the purpose of this FAQ that she seems to be one of Irenicus's "clone" attempts that has escaped from the dungeon at the same time as you. First impressions may, or may not, be deceptive?
. - Feanor's Question: Hang on, how can she be a Druid if she is a clone? Don't Druids require training and a link to nature which has developed from an early age?
A good question, but luckily one that has already been considered. No spoilers will be given about the details, but rest assured it will all make perfect sense once you find out in the mod.
. - What magical items can she use?
We have implemented a method of allowing her access to both druid-only and thief-only items.
. - Does she have any special equipment
She starts with her own set of studded leather armour and a magical crystal tiara, none of which are "overpowered" (by which I mean that you can find better and more powerful items in Irenicus's dungeon - always a good benchmark for NPC starting equipment IMHO). As far as what they actually do is concerned ? you will just have to wait to find out (although there is a screenshot of part of her armour description in the Chrysta Screenshots thread).
. - What weapons can Chrysta use?
She will have the capability of gaining proficiency in all weapons usable by druids and thieves. Her starting weapon proficiencies will be: Staff, Dagger, Spear and Short Bow.
. - Does she have any in-game subquests?
Indeed she does. At least three non-trivial quests in SoA and one in ToB, plus non-trivial encounters added to her main quest. At least one of the main subquests will involve visiting some familiar old stomping grounds?.
. - How much dialogue will she have?
Lots? and then some more lots. The intention is for Chrysta to be a very dialogue-heavy NPC, and as the PC you will be able to influence her development and fate extensively by the way you react when interacting with her.
. - Will she banter frequently with other NPCs?
That is the intention, yes. In fact, in our attempts to improve mod replayability we are implementing "Adaptive Banters" - depending on when banters occur in the game and events preceding them, they may not be exactly the same each time you play?
. - Will I be able to flirt with Chrysta like in the flirt-packs for Jaheira, Aerie and Viconia?
Yes, there will be flirt-style PC-initiated and Chrysta-initiated dialogues.
. - Will I need to play through Irenicus's Dungeon?
Nope. There will be no new content in Chateau Irenicus. The mod effectively "begins" with Chrysta's appearance after the Cutscene outside Irenicus's dungeon entrance in Waukeen's Promenade.
. - Will I have to choose a specific one of Aran Linvail?s or Bodhi?s ?help? to get to Spellhold?
Either will do just fine.
. - Is she romanceable?
Absolutely. She will be romanceable by males of any race, and possibly females as well (undecided as yet). Her main plot and subquests are not at all dependent on her being romanced, however, although there may be subtle differences and additions if she is.
. - No, you don?t understand me, is she physically ?romanceable?, eh? eh?... <nudge, nudge? wink, wink>
Go take a cold shower please
Technical Teachings
- Will the mod be written for SoA, or ToB, or both?
Both. After canvassing public opinion on this, our current thinking is that the mod will not be fully released until both SoA and ToB content is written. Most new content will be in SoA (since we know a lot of people play SoA but not the ToB portion), but to play Chrysta's story to its full conclusion you will need to play through ToB as well. The whole story arc is already written.
. - Does it include voicing?
All of Chrysta?s main dialogue lines will be voiced, as will the major NPCs associated with her.
. - How big will the download be?
Too early to tell now, of course (I will update this FAQ as it becomes clearer). But with lots of voicing, oodles of dialogue and a few new areas it won?t be small! If the full version is unwieldy we will probably produce a ?Chrystalite? (is it just me or is that a good name for a portable pocket torch?) version without voicing.
. - Is it a WeiDU mod?
Yup
. - Will Chrysta be compatible with <insert mod here>?
We will be trying to use as many of the neat WeiDU compatibility features as we can to ensure as wide a compatibility as possible, but obviously we can?t make any specific promises in advance - other than to say that she will at least be compatible with Dungeon-Be-Gone!
. - Will Chrysta have her own website?
When I get round to finding a host and a page format for her, yes. This is taking longer than I had first anticipated due to it being of fairly low priority, but it is still my intention to get round to this before too long.
Miscellaneous Mumblings
- Is this the kind of mod I need to play with the door shut behind me in case my kids are watching?
No! The mod will contain mature themes and intelligent topics, but will not be explicit or contain inappropriate use of profanity. Probably PG-13 will be a reasonable estimate.
. - Who is on your modding team?
At the moment the team consists of:
- Me (Sir Kalthorine)
- Hendryk
- Seifer
- Kai of Candlekeep
- Zyraen
- SConrad
- (portrait by Muse of Sol Ek Sa)
. - Oooh! Can I join?
I don?t want too big a team, but if you think you have something particular to offer (particularly coding/scripting/WeiDU skills) then by all means drop me a PM!
. - When will Chrysta be released?
Really hard to say at such an early stage ? aiming for a release in the first quarter of 2006, and if that proves impossible I will let people know well in advance.
. - Is she ready yet?
NO!!!
Edited by Sir Kalthorine, 10 June 2005 - 02:30 PM.
