175 replies to this topic

[Thanatos.]

Updates

Edit: Added additional info, such as Voices. Hear me roar.
Edit 2: Added in his Death speach, minor change to other sounds.
Edit 3: Esiriak's cloak has been added for ya'll to try out. It drains 1 int with a 65% chance - courtesy of Jarno. (Note: Cursed, so don't save. Doesn't have an original description or image - yet!)
Edit 4: Presenting Jarno's Esiriak mod!
Edit 5: Prefix E9 has been registered for this mod. Now awaiting approval @ the BlackWyrmLair.
Edit 6: Updated the Esiriak Mod, added in Banters. Currently has only banters with Aerie and Sir Anomen (Wanted to do in alphabetical order )
Edit 7: Updated the Esiriak Mod. Jarno p0wns.
Edit 8: Same as above, 'cept Jarno p0wns more now.
Edit 9: ^^^ More banters etc. Lalala... Edited the main post completely.
Edit 10: ^^^ More banters etc. Race and such remodeled. Discover how yourself by playing!
Edit 11: Esiriak v0.09 released. Location moved, class changed, banters added. Changed the voices, which should be implemented next version.
Edit 12: Imoen talk added, amongst other stuff.
Edit 13: Lovely funny new joining dialog for SoA! As well as other stuff, the usual, you know.
Edit 14: This version might have a few bugs in it, but which x-mas gift doesn't come with one. Added Nalias lines, finished up with the Good Anomen conversation, Jaheira, added a custom bam file for the Eye Stalk, revised the items, few nitpicks here there and so forth.
Edit 15: Lovely new alternate portrait.

~-~-~
Technical Stuff

STR: 10
DEX: 9
CON: 15
INT: 19
WIS: 17
CHA: 9

Alignment: Neutral Evil
Race: Tanar'ri
Class: Abjurer

~-~-~

Voices

Click 1: You dare speak to me...?
Click 2: I always hear you.
Click 3: Make it quick.
Click 4: Now what!

Move 1: Bah!
Move 2: Pathetic...
Move 3: Hmph.
Move 4: If it pleases you, *master*.

Battle Cry 1: Please, run.
Battle Cry 2: You cannot escape!
Battle Cry 3: Your mind is mine!

Death: A minor inconvenience...

Critical Hit: A crippling blow!
Critical Miss: Stay still!

Reputation (Low): Ah, this is the life.
Leaving(Warning): Even I cannot understand why I am still here.
Leaving(Extreme): Bah! You fools must be a little bit more evil! Backhand a beggar or something!
Leaving(Gone): Imbeciles. I am gone.

Dungeon: Hmph. I joined you to escape from places such as this, not crawl around in them like a rat.
Forest: Ugh. To think I used to live amongst the roots of these things.
City: I smell so many brains. Oh, could I have one? Please?
Night: Finally, the suns burning rays have left the sky.
Day: Shhhhhak! This sunlight - it is so bright! How do you withstand it?

~-~-~
FAQ
Is Esiriak romancable? - Contrary to popular gnomish belief, Mind Flayers are not good lovers, so no romance will be added in. heh.
Whats the deal with Esiriak? You say he's a Tanar'ri, but why is he a Mind Flayer in game? Esiriak is trapped inside a cursed cloak that suspends him in that form.
In ToB he is a Beholder! What is this? A quest for SoA is being written that explains this. Until then, just go along with it!
How do other Mind Flayes take him? They know he is an imposter, with the whole brain-eating-mind-reading-thing.
Will the big Bad Brain take control of him in the Underdark? Maybe, maybe not.
I have other questions. Where do I ask? Here, on this forum. One of our helpful staff gnomes fireballs imps creatures will answer all your Esiriak Q's.

~-~-~

Banter Stats
<CHARNAME>: 2 (Including Joining Dialog)
Aerie - 3
Anomen - 9
Cernd - 3
Edwin -3
Haer'dalis - 3
Imoen - 3
Jan - 3
Jaheria - 2*
Keldorn - 1*
Korgan - 0
Mazzy - 0
Minsc - 0
Nalia - 2*
Sarevok - 0
Valygar - 0
Viconia - 0
Yoshimo - 0

* = In Progress

~-~-~

Credits
Ideas, Dialogs and Concepts ~Ithilian Delorio
Main Coder, Dialogs and Concepts ~ Jarno Mikkola
Support Coder ~ Icendoan
Constructive Critisism, Ideas, Concepts and Support Coder ~ Everyone who has replied to this thread. Kudos!

~-~-~

Alternate Esiriak Portrait

Attached Images

• 
• 

Attached Files

•  e9_esirc.rar   299bytes   487 downloads
•  Esiriak_v0.093.rar   508.94K   522 downloads

Edited by Thanatos., 09 March 2009 - 11:28 PM.

[Icendoan]

This sounds fun, actually.

You should use Ace's NPC creation guide, and Illithid tentacles are not so hard, as long as you don't have the int drain, because that would be unbalancing. The psyonic stuff would be better, it isn't quite as a

As for the race, it is possible to make a Teifling, as you get that as a race option.

The only way of making sure that he uses no weaponry is to make every item cursed. Making unique item restrictions is very difficult, unless you make a unique kit which he would only have, possibly called Illithid Enchanter or similar, at which point you can restrict him to weaponry with no animations.

Otherwise, this would be a very interesting NPC, and I would help if I were not coding up Keeping Yoshimo. Try asking for a coder in the classifieds, and saying that you are willing to learn to code .D is a *very* enticing advertisment, and it is surprisingly easy to learn, if you are learning of IM or something.

Icen

[Thanatos.]

Thanks very much Ice. I already have some coding guides and have tried my hand at it, but have found I kinda suck
I'll ask around the classifieds. A shame you can't help!

[Icendoan]

Nah, doesn't matter if you suck, everyone starts sucking to begin with. (Check my G3 posts... Not the recent ones.)

If you try it, and talk to someone who knows, and there are plenty of them around here, you should find it quite easy to learn.

To accomplish this, however, you are going to need more than a simple NPC guide, you might need a kit guide, and there are guides to banters as well.

Icen

[Aliya]

Pretty nice idea. It would be nice, to have a Mind Flayer in the party. You don't have to shapechange, all the time. Two-three blows, and a dead body, is before you. I only have a question, about the banters. I know, that all "evils" respect each other. Esiriak is Neutral Evil, right? Right. So he needs to be neutral to the Evil-Bioware NPCs. Evil hate Good, you all know this. Aerie is just wicked! And also a problem with voicing. Does Ilithids, have a normal human voice? No, I don't think so.

But the general idea, is awesome.

[Choo Choo]

Aliya, if I may interrupt - not necessarily. Just because two persons are evil doesn't mean they like each other or get along, and just because two persons are good it doesn't mean they get along, either. (Personal experience - I know of a girl who's nice and all but for some reason I can't stand being around her, no idea why, she just gives me the creeps.)

As for the voicing, that wouldn't be a problem. Just make some slithering grunts and be happy.

EDIT: At least the Alhoon in the Temple Sewers speaks with normal words... but it's not voiced, and then the problem lies in whether <CHARNAME> understands "illithid speak" and translates it over directly, or if the alhoon actually used common.

Edited by Choo Choo, 30 October 2008 - 05:13 AM.

[Icendoan]

Don't they communicate telepathically? So whispered echoed lines would work, as well.

You could just play sound for your attack and wounded, which would be him not bothering to broadcast his thoughts and just making Illithid noise.

I want an interjection with Sola about killing the Devourers!

Also, you could get released immediately in the UD Illithid area.

Icen

Edited by Icendoan, 30 October 2008 - 05:18 AM.

[Aliya]

Choo - But evils have friends, too? Or I have had mislead? And another thing: Will, Esiriak, have the "stun" ability? But, after this, he must have the "Devour Brain" effect, like after shapechanging.

[Icendoan]

The devour brain will be cheesier than Valen's level draining attacks. I would seriously advise against using it.

Icen

[Aliya]

Ok, there's an avatar. But how he will look? Like an normal Ilithid? Or more human features?

[Icendoan]

A normal Illithid would be far more interesting.

Icen

[Aliya]

An enchnter ilithid?

[Icendoan]

Well, yes. He will be a Mage of whatever race, if we can get Illithid, great, if not, it would be tiefling, as that is the closest. He will have the Enchanter kit on him, possibly "Illithid Enchanter" for custom restrictions.

And honestly, I would take this on, and I still might, if I have time, but if you teach yourself .D you will find that the rest of it comes quite quickly after that.

Add me on MSN (Icendoan [at]hot mail .co.uk reformat as necessary)

Icen

Edited by Icendoan, 30 October 2008 - 06:42 AM.

[Chevalier]

Illithids don't use magic. The very few the do are "Alhoons (also called illithiliches) are illithids that have grown powerful enough in magic to become liches. Alhoons are generally pariahs in illithid society because they go against most illithids' eventual goal; to merge with the Elder Brain, both physically and psionically. Alhoons, on the other hand, are more concerned with their own personal survival."

So why is it (they have no gender) an Enchanter? Is it an Alhoon or trying to become one? Other Illithids would hate it.

[Aliya]

Maybe he's an exile, just like Viconia?

Edited by Aliya, 30 October 2008 - 08:42 AM.

[Orthodoxia]

Wouldn't having a "mind-reading" NPC make it easier to recover certain information in game you usually have to do the roundabout way, for which I am all for by the way. Would he notice Havarian's and Yoshimo's treachery?

[GeN1e]

I'm afraid that would ruin the entire plot. Not that I think it's all that great but it's still a vanilla plot.

But evils have friends, too?

They sure do. But not as often as good characters do.

Edited by GeN1e, 30 October 2008 - 10:35 AM.

[vilkacis]

Illithids are indeed mute (lacking vocal cords), so they only "speak" using telepathy. They do have a sense of hearing, though, so they can understand speech. A silent NPC is kind of boring, so I'd go for a coice with a kind of echo-y effect to simulate psychic "speech".

As has already been stated, their society frowns on arcane magic; a mage illithid would be an outcast - but that is probably the best motivation you can get for a mind flayer adventurer. (It also means that he wouldn't have any influence in the Underdark.)

Enchantment spec seems an odd choice for an illithid, as it makes necromancy an opposed school (thus making it quite difficult to become a lich, which is what most illithid mages aim for). Furthermore, it requires CHA 16.

Also, mage illithids do not develop their psychic abilities, and are much weaker in that aspect than regular ones.

INT 19 is high even for an illithid, the monstrous manual pegs them at 17-18 (genius).

The "illithid robe" looks wonky: the mind flayers' high MR is a product of their bodies, not their clothes. Also, an item that provides complete immunity to psionics would pretty much be an artifact.



...personaly, if I encounter a creature that starts poking around in my head and sees my squishy inner bits as delicious morsels, I'd rather shoot it in the face than invite it to travel with me. Still, it's an interesting concept.

[Jarno Mikkola]

The "illithid robe" looks wonky...

Then... why not make the Esiriak to be a 'human' that's trapped into a mage robe that made him a Mind Flayer...

[Icendoan]

That would be funny!

-Hey, aren't you a human? How did you get to be a flayer?

-Oh, you know. Magic. It happens occasionally...

-Don't you mind?

-Not really, in fact, I kinda like it. Looks like I am enough of an archmage to pull off an eternal Shapechange!

The robe would be a placeholder, probably cursed or something, because we don't want a flayer to suddenly wear normal mage robe.

Icen