And here are the ideas posted at FWP, in (more or less) chronological order.
Miscellaneous:
An end to spontaneous disappearances; the slaves in the underdark and Mazzy?s family are perfect examples of this absurd phenomenon. It?s cruel to deny us the joy of hunting them down.
Waukeen?s Promenade:
The Circus Mission ?
The only change I can think of to make here would be to add, ?I don?t care about these people, let me leave? and ?Kill! Kill! KILL!? leaving everyone, including Aerie, Quayle and Kalah dead. After all, what evil party wouldn?t want the Ring of
Human Influence?
Maheer the Hornmaker ?
An option to change what he does to the horn. Instead of summoning up a Berserk Warrior, could he perhaps summon up a Demon instead? I think it?d be pretty cool to have, as the final upgrade, a critter that kills Maheer to complete the upgrade.
Slums:
Cohrvale and Bregg ?
Just some more evil options in the dialogue when fighting these guys. The standard drill.
-As posted before, I?d love to know who ?
Mr. F? is. Anyone who?d employ a homicidal maniac like Cohrvale would be worth knowing.
-Indeed. Perhaps a note left on their bodies would suffice? I'd find it incredibly amusing if it was signed, '
Mr. F K Gaxx', but that's because I'm twisted and wrong.
Slave Escort ?
An option to take a bribe to ignore the slave escort?
-That?s not very enterprising. How about an option for the party thief to follow the guards and discover to whom the slave is being delivered? Not Lehtinan, too obvious. Maybe a noble is buying the slave for use as anything from a new stable hand to a human sacrifice in a devil-worshipping cult. However far afield you want to go here, really.
The Copper Coronet ?
Lots of stuff that can be done here. In no particular order:
1) Nalia
This should tie in to the Evil de?Arnise Keep quest. The only thing I?d change here would perhaps be someone coming up to you after speaking to Nalia, offering you some money and rulership of the keep if you hand Nalia over to Isaea. Only if you?re evil though.
-How about "Only if you turn down Nalia"?
2) Anomen
An evil party would want to take on Anomen just so that they can goad him into becoming evil. Although I haven?t pursued the evil path with Anomen before, it?s quite probable that he needs improvement in that area. It?d also be very cool to have suitable ?messing with your head? stuff as options for conversation with Anomen.
-"You didn't actually believe me when I said that I loved you? I just want your body" should fit the bill nicely (AFTER he has fallen, of course).
3) Korgan
Not much really needs to be done with him? Maybe more interaction/sympathising/?clicking? with him from an evil PC? There could be some quite humourous dialogue in here, with the appropriate author (hint: not me)
.
-For Korgan, I doubt he should be as friendly or as easily controlled as he actually is in the game. Just because he and the PC are both Evil is no excuse for his good behavior. After all, he?d just been in another Evil crew and is fresh from killing three of them and leads the party to killing the rest of his former comrades. I?d like to see him developed as more of this sort of violent, disruptive force in the player group.
-Agreed. Perhaps if he had scripting like Valen, wherein he randomly attacks people from time to time, it might be more realistic. I also kept waiting through the game for the time where I'd sleep, and when I woke up one of the NPCs would be gone, run away or killed or captured or something. Maybe Korgan could offer that.
4) Firkraag
Again, this is something that can be dealt with later. The only change I could think of making is giving evil characters the option to express their disdain for doing something out of the goodness (or evilness in this case) of their hearts, and letting Firkraag reveal a bit of his ?true personality? in the bar.
-For Firkrag, maybe some extra lines here about what he means by ?discretion? or ?finesse? or whatever word he uses. Don?t want him to give away too much, though.
5) The Slaves
Obviously a lot that needs doing here. The current evil option, that is telling Lehtinan about Hendak?s treachery and getting them all killed, seems a bit limited. As a second option:
You tell Lehtinan, they go to kill Hendak only to find that they have escaped on their own and fled through the sewers. You
pursue, at Lehtinan?s insistance, through the sewers. This lets you do all of the cool sewer quests in there. Upon getting through, you find that they have been aided by some of Hendak?s countrymen and have taken over the Slaver Stockade, putting all of the guards there in the places where the slaves were. PCs fight barbarians, and if they get to the door of the stockade they can bash open the door, evening out the odds a lot more. Once all barbarians are back, Lehtinan gives you quest exp, items, and your very own slave girl/guy for your own personal useage. Could either be a typical beaten background
character or a joinable
NPC with a very interesting background. THAT could have potential now that I think of it?
-I agree about the Evil limitation here. However, the mechanics of dealing with Hendak and the other rebellious slaves don?t grab me. Lehtinan does interest me, though. He?s just a third-tier punk in the Athkatla underworld hierarchy but ?getting to know him better? should lead the party to more important contacts among the thieves, slavers and smugglers in town. Ultimately, I?d like to see the party take over the CC as a stronghold after removing Lehtinan themselves. Besides the drugs, prostitution and pit fighting, there would be plenty of room for ?private? spell casting in the sewer basement, problems with the guards and Cowled Wizards, maybe even a chance to take over the whole district (after the planar sphere) and become a genuine slum lord. All of this would serve also as a power base for playing politics with the town and then the national leaders.
Government District:
Lynch Mob and Viconia ?
Only thing here would be a dialogue change so that you can threaten all of the people who are shouting out, ?Burn the Drow!? and such so that they go hostile and you can kill them as well.
-My only problem with this is that, logically, it should turn the whole city against you and your PC won?t be tough enough at this point to take everyone on. Personally, if the PC?s charisma is high enough, I?d like to see a flimflam option whereby the party doesn?t even have to fight the bigots with the torches. Getting Viccy away but leaving them alive to work further mischief would seem nasty enough for my tastes ? especially if the point is emphasized in the first dialogues with the drow lady.
Government Building ?
For a VERY heavy bribe, you should be able to stop always having Cowled Wizards and Amnish Legionaries attack you when you have a low rep. The cost should be about double what it is to raise your rep to about 8, from 1, at a temple. In other words, a hell of a lot
.
-This sounds good, but remember that the player must raise 20k to advance the main plot. If the bribe amount is in the same range and the evil quest resolution cost reputation, its unlikely that the PC would be able to give the bribe before hitting rep 0 or 1, which would result in a very frustrating game.
Delon and the Umar Hills Quest ?
Again, just some more evil options for dialogue. From now on, I won?t mention this, as evil dialogue should be added as it is seen fit by the modders, and isn?t really worth the space or effort to type it up.
Docks District:
Shadow Thief Guild/Mae?Var?s treachery ?
Most of what can be done here has been mentioned already, so I?ll just briefly recap it here. The basic idea is that, after a conversation with a party member/outside character/some other trigger, the PC gets the idea of betraying Renal to Mae?Var, and improving their influence and standing, not to mention power. It?s already pretty much been covered above.
Xzar and the Harpers ?
It always bugged me that Xzar came back and you couldn?t get him in your party or anything. He was cool in
BG1, even if he was psycho, and I think he should?ve been utilised more. So?
All of the rescuing Montaron stuff is doable, as it is an evil quest. The one exception is the bit with the apprentices; you should be able to spare them, much as you do the svirfneblin in the Underdark. Anyway, for an Evil party there should be an option to either figure out what?s wrong with the bird that they think is Montaron before they give it to Xzar, or he figures out/has a chance to defend himself. From there, it would be a good addition to get him in your party, preferably reunited with Monty. I could just imagine their banter with, say, Korgan, or Valen? mmmmm
-Thoroughly agree here, if Jaheira?s not around. An extended duel with the Harpers could be especially entertaining if combined with the Copper Coronet stronghold where, to remind, Bernard is a Harper agent. It would also have the benefit of involving the Zhenterrim as a possible counter-weight to the Shadow thieves and Twisted Rune. After all, the more Evil masters there are in town, the more freedom of choice the PC will have.
Cromwell ?
Give him the option to upgrade more items, or corrupt the ones he can upgrade so that they have an evil side. I would love to see a corruption of the Equaliser, which instead of having bonuses the further away from TN you get, have bonuses increase
the ?gooder? the target gets. Lots of possibilities?
-I'd rather see an alternate blacksmith. Cromwell always struck me as a "good" character.
-Maybe instead of Cromwell appearing, you meet Kohguz, an Evil dwarven smith who?s some distant relation ? probably hostile ?
to Korgan. That would make for some interesting haggling between the two since Kohguz would want to raise his prices for any group with Korgan in it.
Kangaxx ?
It would be interesting to use KX as a link to the Twisted Rune, as since he is a Lich he should probably have some affiliations with them.
-There are plenty of liches who aren?t affiliated with the Rune. Also, Kangaxx himself has been on ice for centuries and doesn?t seem disposed to cooperation with anyone else. More likely, the party would get Twisted Rune brownie points by snuffing the arrogant creep and returning the shattered bits of his skull to TR headquarters. There the bits could be reformed, making demilich Kangaxx a slave to whats-his-name.
Bridge District:
Neb -
I don't know why this slipped my mind before, but this one ties into my Neb as an
NPC suggestion, though the former isn't strictly necessary for it to occur. How about learning the secrets by which he binds the spirits of those children to his service? They could be used to amusing effect if you were to summon them against paladins and the like.
Serial Skinner ?
Already mostly been mentioned. I have nothing to really add to this. Just put it here so that it was not forgotten about.
Twisted Rune ?
There should be an option to talk to the TR more than you can do, currently, considering that the people in that room are the most powerful members of the TR locally. It would be interesting to get on their side, as has been mentioned.
-The Rune definitely deserves more attention. I?ve got a game-play kind of problem with them, though. They are *so* powerful and the only ?official? explanation for their presence (controlling trade) is so mundane that they never feel right to me. I?d think that a group like this would be aiming for nothing less than a total sacrifice of every living creature on Toril with a view to becoming gods. Something on that scale anyway. So I don?t think that long-term cooperation with the PC ? who?s destined for a similar goal ? is at all likely and I think the Runies would probably recognize that fact before the PC does. Thus, I?d say that their interest in the PC would be much too much like Irenicus? for smooth sailing here.
Temple District:
Temple of Talos ?
The party should have some more evil dialogue with the clerics in the temple. This could be a good spot to put any new evil items. Perhaps even a new PC could be in here? Lots of chances for small things.
-This would probably be the best place to put a link to the evil blacksmith, among other things.
Slave Lords ?
I never quite figured out why those guys are there, but surely there?s some common ground that they and an evil party could have. They could serve as a link to the TR as well.
-Because I?m not wholly comfortable with the Runies and also because I like the ?divide and conquer? approach to Evil masters, I?d rather have these guys be independents; maybe agents of the Rundeen (a Calimsite merchant consortium whose tactics are like the Iron Throne?s in
BG1). I agree, though, that they?ve got to be fit in somehow. Isaeah is the most likely link although it?s possible the PC could work up to meeting them through the slavers in the slums. It?s also possible that the FP?s could cooperate with these guys. Otoh, the party could off the slave lords to remove a competitor of the FP?s (and get a nice, ironic, reputation boost for the deed.)
Radiant Heart/Fallen Paladins ?
It?s already been brought up to have the option to support the Fallen Paladins against the Radiant Heart. I just wanted to say this again because it?s such a cool idea. Since the Radiant Heart is a Paladin stronghold, the Fallen Paladins should provide an anti-Paladin stronghold. Some ideas:
1) Since the original stronghold required you to have first saved Garren?s child, the FP stronghold should therefore be conditional on gaining the support of Firkraag. Besides just being really cool to have an ally in a red dragon, I?d imagine that the FP would feel they?d need some backup.
2) The first mission should be something along the lines of rescuing or bringing to the FP a group of other fallen paladins, perhaps in the graveyard district or something, with a nice fight and a bit of dialogue. After all, what?s an evil plot without a fight? The reward should be something appropriately evil, such as getting to execute the leader of the people imprisoning the other FPs personally.
3) Next mission should be about getting some magical backup, as the FP are more open-minded than their Good counterparts. This could tie into the TR potentially, if the PC has already talked to them. If not, the FP could always say, ?Hey, we want a lich to help us out! Meet those Twisted Rune folks to see if they want to help us!?. Eminently doable. Reward could be
XP and maybe a spellbook or ring or some other magical item? Nothing too powerful, just enough to have fun with.
4) The final quest for the good guys is guarding Tyrianna, so an evil flipside that?d be cool would be capturing someone that was getting in the FP?s way. Not too sure on who, exactly, but it?d be cool. Once this is done, the reward should be a standing position in the FP, a nice magical item (poss. a sword?) and lots of
XP.
-This is only place where a kit might be worthwhile -- since you don't start at level 1, there should be a way to make your character "fallen" from the beginning (with a non-LG alignment). Perhaps a fighter kit? As an alternative, there should be a way to fall almost instantly once the game starts, perferably with a way to choose your alignment.
-Lots of nice, twisty touches here. My only suggestion would be to release the additional FP?s from a new area of the city jail itself. The mission couldn?t be a straight-forward assault; that would raise an alarm and defeat the purpose. A combination of bribery, sneaking and hostage-taking (the prison warden?) would be needed to keep things ?officially? quiet enough to succeed. Then in the sewers or back at FP headquarters, there would be an option to a) kill the hostage; B) torture and kill the hostage or c) let the hostage go free unharmed. The first option would be the safest, the second would invite a quick, and huge, reprisal but no long-term problems while the third would permanently alienate all the government officials and Good NPCs (since in this case, they?d know, unofficially, who did the deed although it would be too embarrassing to the government to allow it to become an official matter) leading to lots of harassment and frustration but no ?official? riposte.
Cult of the Eyeless ?
This has also been discussed. I?ll leave this to what has already been said. Suffice to say, the actual plot of destroying the cult appeals just as much to an evil character as it does to a good one, so the resolution is the only thing that needs changing. <insert cult here> The only change I could think of making to the quest is having the Rift Device useable outside of killing the Unseeing Eye, in an evil manner.
(Fluke)
Potentially sacrificing the rift device to a dark deity, or perhaps consigning it to the Planar Sphere for future study. Either would most certainly prolong the torment of Amaunator?s faithful, and this could tie into another idea of mine. So long as the people of temple are bound to the earth, the Hate manifestation will continue to feed. The character could perhaps, by virtue of divine lineage or arcane ritual, bind this spirit to their own and tap into its power thereby. The effects of this could be utterly intangible in a mechanical sense, perhaps simply imbuing the character with a sense of otherness that would draw the previously suggested cultists to them. On the other hand, perhaps it would enable to the character to exercise greater control over their Slayer aspect, slowing the rate at which they suffer damage in this form or perhaps halting it altogether. The implacable nature of this entity might also impart similar traits to the character, rendering them immune to fatigue and enchantment. Dream sequences could be an interesting side effect of this, and perhaps a chronic risk of reverting to the Slayer every time you rest, ala Spellhold, as you become more intimately attuned with it.The option to persuade/goad the Ghoul Lord and his people to swarm to the surface en masse, wreaking bloody havoc throughout the Temple District and perhaps further regions of Athkatla before they are put down.Perhaps you take control of any survivors afterward, directing them to propagate themselves amidst the sewers and slums of Athkatla.
Tying the stolen religious artifacts from the churches of Talos and Lathander into the Cult stronghold might be worthwhile.
Perhaps you could publicly desecrate them both at the culmination of those quests.
Evil Party ?
There should be an option here to say, ?Ease off, why are you here? Maybe we can figure something out?? If they?re a party of adventurers, it stands to reason that they?re there for something, and an Evil party might be more amenable to working with them, and vice versa. What if the Evil party is trying to steal the Hammer of Thunderbolts from the Illithids in a hope to form Crom Faeyr? If the corrupted items idea is pursued, they could be pointers to the item that is required to make Crom Faeyr suitably evil. The key from Tazok is of course required to open the door, but perhaps the super-strong dwarf that travels with them can bash it open, or the combined power of the two parties can? The party goes with them, fights Illithids, and steals the Hammer of Thunderbolts. Then there can be an appropriately evil ?Let?s fight over the Hammer now? fight. This?d make things easier for the party to get the Hammer, as Illithids are rather tough for a pre-Spellhold party, and lower the numbers of the other Evil party. All is good.
-They say they?re hiding here. Probably some crime gone wrong. Maybe they need a magistrate bribed to clear the charges or a witness murdered. In return, they could serve as muscle to keep your stronghold secure while you?re out adventuring. Then, they could prevent some problems (like peasant revolts over taxation at the DeArnise Keep) but cause others (their mage fiddled with the guardian golem in the planar sphere and now it?s hostile; they run up a huge gambling debt in the CC, etc.)
Mekrath and Haer?Dalis ?
I?d like to see an option that allows you to keep Haer?Dalis as a slave, but I can?t think of anything at the moment. Ideas?
Graveyard District:
The Open Grave ?
I think it?d be cool to have an option here of, ?Yey, I?ve saved your life, you?ve told me everything about what happened, now die,? for an evil party. With the pleasure from the pain thing, I think it works. Of course from here there?s the evil path of ransoming the Lady Elgea for the Silver Pantaloons. There should be more of an
XP bonus than there is currently.
-The ransom attempt should be more successful than it is currently (either the guards only show up if the player attempts to shake her down for more money, or the guards simply don't show up).
(Fluke)
Though it?s a fairly minor thing, I?ve always been irritated by the fact that you have to give the nobleman outside the Copper Coronet the genuine directions to the hostage?s whereabouts. Perhaps you could allow us to lie to him and deal with her as we see fit afterwards?
I agree with Torn that an evil option to the open grave incident would be appropriate, though I?m not sure proceeding from the victim?s rescue is necessarily the best way to go about it. It would be a good spot for a gloating banter with Korgan or maybe Viconia, and perhaps near the end you could notice the gravekeeper huddling against the building, clearly jarred by your callous mirth. From there you could interrogate him as usual, minus the red cloth of course, but he might be so intimidated that he?d volunteer more answers than you bothered to ask for.
Wellwyn the Haunt ?
Not too sure what to do here, aside from the pre-programmed ?Ha ha ha, I have your bear but you can?t get it!? path. In this case, you should have more of an
XP reward than you get currently.
-Capture the spirit (in the bear?) for use in magic item creation.
Kamir?s Charge ?
An Evil PC would be fairly pissed off at only being able to give the little girl to a Paladin, but they would delight in giving her to someone who is evil. They could, say, tell the TR/Bodhi/Shadow Thieves/FP/any other evil group about her, have them take the girl in forcibly and kill the priest. Lots of
XP.
City Gates:
Hanj the Racketeer ?
For an evil party there should be the option of intimidating the merchant yourself, getting some gold.
-Better still, have the merchents attempt to bribe the guard fail (or look like its failing), and let the PC intervene on the merchents side (non combat, of course).
The Crooked Crane ?
In the Aulava and Tiiro romance here, a very evil idea is to have all of the encouraging the love dialogue options, then either killing or maiming one of them. Mwuahahaha?
The Lich ?
Again, another chance for TR connections to come into play/start.
The Planar Sphere:
The obvious start to the evil path of this quest is killing Valygar, and all that is needed here is a, ?Nah, you?re too much of a goody-good for us, let?s just kill you,? dialogue option, as opposed to the other options currently available. The next possible change I can see is with the Solamnic knights. Either:
1) Have an option of pissing them off and fighting them, or
2) More cunningly, have the option of tricking them into accompanying you to fight the Darksun halflings. Something like,
?Work with us, and you may have a chance of leaving this place.? ?Ok, cool, where to then?? ?If you guys go that way, we?ll follow.? ?Ok, let?s go. Wait! Why are you locking the door behind us?? ?Mwuahahaha??
-This would be great, but... The ony way the PC knows that the halflings are there if he has already seen them, and if he has seen them, they are dead (or pursuing the PC).
-Maybe, the party goes into the Darksun room, and start talking to the Darksun halflings. Eventually, they come to some kind of arrangement wherein they work with the party. Then, the Solamnic knights can come in... fun with ambushes.
With the golem that is assembled, the PC should have the option of telling it to accompany you, or do something else in the sphere, such as maybe helping you to kill the demons when you go looking for a demon heart, or kill the Sahuagin, or something.
There should be some more demons in the Abyss. It looks a bit too empty at the moment.
-Only if they are blue, or very minor. Otherwise, it'd be to easy to get into an unwinable situation here.
As a start to the evillifying of the Sphere, adding Lavok to the Power Core would be a good way of corrupting it, allowing for the things that have already been discussed, such as sacrificing of ?good? items, summoning Demons, and so on. Lots of possibilities here as well.
Planar Prison:
There needs to be a suitable reason for an evil PC to take on this quest, and the immediate thought that came to me is that the bounty hunters took one of the party members as well as the Sigil Troupe.
-Stealing party members isn't fun... If HD is the PCs slave, though, that gives the PC reason enough.
Instead of being motivated to free the slaves out of the goodness of the PC?s heart, which is unlikely, something very evil would be being able to free people from their slave collars, get a moment of freedom, then kill them. He he he? The PCs should also get to keep the Slave Collars, and perhaps even find a way to replicate them for use in other areas.
-I think you can keep the collars now -- they just aren't useful. Rather than freeing / killing the slaves, perhaps a way to drive them to fight (as mindless cattle) on the PC's behalf?
The final fight should remain the same, but the resolution could change in a slightly different way. While not necessarily restricted to evil characters, I think it?d be very incredibly useful to have the Planar Prison as a kind of Pocket Plane in
SoA. The evil smith could be here, a la Cespenar, and it?d be a good place for the PCs to rest, recouperate, and so on. It?s eminently doable to put a pocket plane function in, although it might be tough, and I think that would be incredibly useful. This could also tie in to the
PS:T idea, or be a way to link to other areas in
SoA, back to
BG1 areas if included, or to
ToB if an option to continue the game after killing Irenicus was added. No limit to the possibilities here.
De?Arnise Keep:
A lot of the stuff here has already been mentioned, so I?ll go over the additions that I?ve come up with.
First of all, there need to be some more dialogue options with the guards at the makeshift fort at the south. Something to make them a little uneasy but somewhat confident that the party will take care of the trolls. And, of course, a way to betray Nalia is always wanted.
Once having gone inside the keep, the first troll the PCs see should be neutral and able to be talked to, with an option like, ?Easy there big guy, we?re not here to hurt you. We just want to see who?s running this.? Getting taken to Tor?gal and coming to an agreement with him would be my preferred approach to the evil stronghold part of the keep. One evil afterthought; what if, after coming to this agreement, you lift the drawbridge and let the attackers in only to have them slaughtered by a superior force of trolls, yuan-ti, not to mention the PCs? THAT would be fun . The PCs should also be able to kill Nalia?s aunt. Mmmmmmm?
(from Fluke)
I'm fairly certain that there has always been the choice of killing Nalia's overbearing aunt. Death's too good for her anyway? she does go so far as to state that she would rather die than compromise herself after all, so why let her until you've obliterated all vestiges of her former dignity? Torture and disfigurement are promising ways to go about this, and so long as the drawbridge remains sealed it's not as though the DeArnise soldiers would be able to interrupt you even if they suspected what you were up to. There are still the trolls, of course, so this would probably make more sense after you've cleared the premises or successfully negotiated with the invaders, and it can only be a good thing to give her the time to contemplate what awaits her as she lies shackled to her bed. A portrait to accompany the aftereffects of this would be a nice touch. A soundset wouldn't be bad either, but much harder to come by I'd imagine.
For those who aren't particularly interested in torturing her, there is the option of enchantment, which could not only tie into Reed's suggestion of using throughout the Keep scenario, but could be almost as jarring to her in its own way... after all, how must a person like that feel about being cowed so utterly and with so little effort? This is potentially more insidious and rewarding than the former, as by subtly reinforcing her entrancement over an extended period she might ultimately lose the ability to distinguish between her own feelings and impulses and those that you have implanted within her. Further, it could easily culminate in her madness and disgrace, perhaps after you have driven her to assassinate or exile any vocal detractors that oppose your rule. I particularly enjoy the notion of having her kill her niece under these conditions, but alas it seems quite likely that Nalia will already be dead by the time Delcia is ripe for such a task.
Then again, there is little to prevent one from performing both, if one paces them suitably and given the right circumstances... so why choose between them at all?
Either way, you could sell her into slavery to the Roenalls when you're done with her, whom I suspect could degrade her most ably as well.
Nalia and the De?Arnise Keep.
Isaeah, through an intermediary, arranged the troll invasion for the purpose of killing Lord de?Arnise and putting ownership of the estate up for grabs. He planned to be the ?hero? who rid the place of trolls himself and then cement his claim to lordship by marrying Nalia. Then Nalia got lucky in her choice of mercenaries so Isaeah doesn?t get to play hero (but is saved a lot of bother). The PC would only become of interest to Isaeah when Nalia refuses to marry him. Then, instead of the present kidnapping, the PC would get a proposal to slip a will-sapping drug into her wine. If the PC agrees, the Isaeah-Nalia wedding follows, Nalia leaves the party permanently and the PC becomes an increasingly trusted crony of Isaeah?s; involved in all sorts of little schemes, of which the first would probably be the quiet murder of Corgeig Axehand. This would quiet Corgeig?s suspicions of Isaeah and open Corgeig?s job for Isaeah; two birds with one stone. From there, Isaeah could serve as a source of information about persons, places and groups in Athkatla and would have occasional jobs for the PC. The last of these might be the murder of his father before the old boy can disinherit him or the murder of an older brother to secure the entire estate for Isaeah.
(from cliffette)
Suggestion for Delcia torture (evil and depraved, Stephen King would be proud): Tearing out her tongue, starving her, then offering her the tongue to eat- after informing her of what it is. Needless to say, it wouldn't be compatible with the Nalia romance.
(from fluke)
Not bad, but it denies us the joy of hearing her beg... though on second thought, hearing her *try* might be even better. I?d rather bore into her gums repeatedly and leak sediments of molten lead/sulfur into the punctures.
An interesting spin on the flaying motif, which all but has to be included I should think, would be the use of an iron bar instead of a knife, with which you could pry the flesh off her back in blistering swatches as it clings to the heated surface of the metal. I think an altered form of the insect swarm spell, in which they continually hatch from her eyes and skin, has promise as well.
I know of a site that has a list and description of common favorites employed in this lovely pastime, though as I?m not sure if it's the sort of thing I can post on these forums, I'll err on the side of caution. If it could conceivably be of any use, I wouldn?t be averse to PMing it, however.
(from Hendryk)
Delcia strikes me as being a better love interest than Nalia to a certain, perverse sort of PC.
But if you don't fancy her yourself, marry her off to Daleson and click on her periodically to ask if all the chamber pots are clean yet. (Physical torture is so unimaginative; over with too quickly too.)
There should also be one final option of having a troll force, yuan-ti force or whatever meet up in the Druid grove with the trolls there, to continue the thoughts about the druid grove put up earlier, including dryad acorns, etc.
Trademeet:
The ideas for resolving this have already been talked about, so I?m not going to mention them here. (Note: it seems, however, that I managed to forget to include all of the discussion on this, so please, if anyone remembers it, do let me know!)
(from Arkenor)
Just a quick note on druids and shadow druids. Shadow Druids are certainly a whole lot pleasant than your regular flavour, but they still stand for nature. Faldorn would not be at all impressed at being presented dryad slaves.
With their hatred of civilisation they're really not too helpful to most parties. Still, a Shadow Druid kit would be a worthwhile addition to your mod, as would a recruitable Faldorn perhaps. (one of the few
BG1 gang who hasn't been made recruitable by some mod or t'other. Certainly she'd put up with a lot more unpleasantness than Cyrn or Jaheira, provided it wasn't directed at nature.
One branch of the Church of Malar are pretty darn unpleasant fellows, with druid spells too, if you're looking for ways to allow the evil party access to Druidic magics.
Umar Hills:
There should be an option into intimidating Minister Lloyd into giving you a higher reward/down payment, more information, or something of the sort. Telling you that a Shadow Dragon resides in the ruins should be motivation enough for any evil party, I figure.
Juggernaut Golem ?
All that is needed here is an added piece of dialogue ?
?My golem? No! Come, help me fight it off!?
?Nah, I?d rather not.?
?What? Ahhhh! (splat)?
With the requisite experience points for roleplaying of course.
The chickens ?
An evil party killing the Hendricks should provide them with a suitably evil item (such as the woman?s heart) that they can add to the Beljuril to make the evil Horn of Valhalla.
Temple Ruins:
Anath ?
There should be an option to have her as a PC, but I don?t think that necessarily should be part of this mod, as it?d take up too much time in my opinion, and isn?t strictly ?evil?. What I?d like to see is more of the PC goading her into going ahead of them so that she can be ripped apart? fun
Inside the dungeon, while the Shadows and such are evil like the PCs, I doubt they?d be wanting to stop and talk with them, so the PCs going through and killing them all is perfectly reasonable to me. However, I doubt they?d want to do anything that relates to the worship of Amaunator, so there needs to be an alternative to this. Perhaps there is an item that can stop the Shadows from attacking, rendering them neutral, then using them to break down the door that leads to the Shadow
Dragon?
With Mazzy, there should also be an option of leaving her in her cage, slapping a control circlet on her and watching her die in some amusing way, offer her to the SD as a sacrifice of appeasement, or anything like that.
(from blackmamuth)
also, i really would like something about torturing-corrupting mazzy, turning her into a shadow-love slave (though turning her into a vampire would be preferable, if you had Valen in party... and the have mazzy the vampere ordened by valen to suck all his family blood in trademet as her initial meal... that would torture her.... eventually corrupting her into your little love Slave....
Once down at the Shadow Dragon?s lair, as with Firkraag (later) there should be options to talk, calm and possibly even get the dragon on your side. Another area where connections with a powerful group in Athkatla, such as the FP?s, the TR?s or anything like that is useful. In fact, I think that an evil PC should be approached by a TR as soon as they?ve left Gaelan Bayle, just because they are turning into quite a major addition to the plot. It would be a shame if the PC did all of these quests without the options that the TR would give them just because they didn?t know, and the TR could be another way of getting to Brynnlaw without helping Bodhi or the Shadow Thieves. Ditto for the FP. They could even be linked, with the FP being the muscle for the TR. Lots of opportunities there.
-Ehhhh... Getting the dragon not to attack you should be as far as this goes, and there is already a way in the game to bypass the dragon. Unless the PC does something for the dragon, it seems an unlikely ally.
Anyway? get the SD on your side, or at least convince it not to attack. Going upstairs, the Shade Lord awaits, and again what to do with him is something that has already been mentioned, so I?ll leave it out here.
-You forgot the kids -- there needs to be something more evil here (perhaps encouraging the kids to attack the neutral monsters to the north of town?)
Windspear Hills:
After killing the paladin/ogres, there should be some very interesting dialogue options with Garren Windspear if you?ve already wiped out the Radiant Heart in Athkatla. This would be a good place to learn of what Firkraag really is, getting a free ticket down to the ?man? himself by speaking to the gate guards and explaining that you want to talk to him. Alternatively, the party could still go through and kill everyone there, but Firkraag?d be a touch annoyed about that, and an
XP reward for negotiating with the guards should offset any player fear that it could turn out worse for them. The other option is of course that if you fight your way down to Firkraag he doesn?t want to help you, in which case proceed as before. However, I like the idea of having kamikaze kobolds on the party?s side? perhaps as an alternative spell for mages? ?Summon Kamikaze Kobold, level 3?? Maybe an innate ability? Fun fun fun?
One thing I have never figured out is why Firkraag has the Holy Avenger. If he joins whatever organisation the party is representing, I think they should get that as a sort of ironic thank-you gift. (or, he gives that to the group when they kill Gaelan for him)
From here, the quest can be concluded with the PC killing Garren and taking the deed to the Windspear Hills to Firkraag. This could even be the act that Ol? Sparky requires to join the PC?s side.
(from Mason)
On a related note, it might be amusing to secure a memento or two from the remains of Mazzy?s family, something to keep her company as she rots in the Shadelord?s dungeon?
He he he... I like this . Especially if something is happening to Mazzy while rotting. It would be very cool to have something nasty happen to her, such as raising her as a shadow or whatever. Fun...
(from Fluke)
Conflict does arise in Windspear Hills if you've killed the two dryads and stumble across the Fairy Queen, though she knows what you've done as soon as she sees you... so attempting to pass on the acorns isn't an option as things currently stand.
Before working on the quests already established to get the party to Brynnlaw, I would like to expand on two ideas previously alluded to, that is, using the Fallen Paladins or alternatively the Twisted Rune to get to Brynnlaw.
Fallen Paladins:
Since the PC has already gone through a series of quests for the Fallen Paladins, no further demonstration of the PC?s ability is necessary. Their upfront cost is more than the other guilds at 20,000 gold (although they do not make it out to be so, as the initial cost for Gaelan Bayle is the same figure), but unlike the other guilds they will not go down. They do however offer magical items, in the same vein as Aran Linvail. Instead, they require that the PC go on two diplomatic missions for them, to the Shadow Thieves and Bodhi?s guild. Since the Fallen Paladins are a new power in town, they want to make sure that their ?turf? (i.e. the Temple District) is not impinged upon by the more powerful guilds.
Twisted Rune:
Although the Twisted Rune are very powerful, they are concentrated in one area, that area being magical dominance. For that reason they are searching for allies that can give them ?muscle? for missions that they either cannot do or don?t want to risk a valuable member of their organisation for. Their cost is also 20,000 gold, but the burden is eased by their offering the PC an item that traps any hostile Liches that they meet and sends them to the Twisted Rune headquarters, with the PC still getting the
XP for the kill (if this is possible enginewise, if not, something else). Although this may sound overpowered, there are few liches around that would not be linked with the Twisted Rune, and it leads to a load of possibilities later in the game, such as a Lich ?break-out? or something similar.
For both guilds, there should be conversation options that are available depending on the PC?s intelligence, and an end result that is modified by the PC?s charisma to determine the outcome. Note that when I say PC I refer to whatever character is conducting the negotiations; I use PC for ease of use.
Shadow Thieves ?
If working for the Fallen Paladins, then Anarg is primarily concerned here that the Shadow Thieves will infiltrate the Fallen Paladins and cripple them, know their secrets or in other ways compromise their power. Therefore, he sends the PC to get guarantees that the Shadow Thieves will stay out of the Temple District and leave the Fallen Paladins alone, for the best terms that the PC can get. If working for the Twisted Rune, they are looking to get some aid in the form of thieving and assasinations, as well as searching for magical items etc in the city. The negotiations should consist of talking followed by a brief fade, concluding with the outcome of the negotiation. The lines of conversation should go along the lines of a standard negotiation, with characters with higher intelligence getting better options, similar to how things are done with a ?Wish? spell. The different options should gain the PC ?points?, like the de?Arnise Keep ?revolt points?, which determine the end result. The PC?s charisma should then add a certain amount of points, depending on the score, with the result determining the end of negotiations. Possible outcomes, listen from worst to best, if working for the Fallen Paladins:
1) No deal; things continue as before, and they will act against each other if situation necessitates
2) Neutrality agreement; neither guild is against each other but the Shadow Thieves will not deliberately stay out of the Temple District
3) Working together at arm?s length; the Shadow Thieves will stay out of the Temple District and not interfere in any of the Fallen Paladin?s schemes, and the Fallen Paladins will similarly stay out of the Shadow Thieves?s plans
4) Co-operation: the Shadow Thieves send a representative of theirs (a high-ranking thief) to the Fallen Paladin headquarters, and vice versa, and each organisation promises to lend aid to the endeavours of the other, Fallen Paladins acting as muscle for the Shadow Thieves if required, the Shadow Thieves performing assasinations and thieving duties for the Fallen Paladins.
For the Twisted Rune:
1) No deal; things continue as before, and they will act against each other if situation necessitates
2) Neutrality agreement; neither guild is against each other but the Shadow Thieves will not aid the Twisted Rune
3) Working together at arm?s length; the Shadow Thieves will aid the Twisted Rune?s endeavours, for a price, and the two guilds will mutually co-operate in their endeavours
4) Co-operation: the Shadow Thieves send a representative of theirs (a high-ranking thief) to the Twisted Rune headquarters, and vice versa, and each organisation promises to lend aid to the endeavours of the other, Twisted Rune performing magical services, conjuring items, and so on for the Shadow Thieves, if and when required, the Shadow Thieves performing assasinations and thieving duties for the Twisted Rune
The
XP reward should be progressively greater for progressive levels of achievement in negotiations. The final level should also get the PC an item or something as a form of reward.
The next diplomatic mission is to Bodhi?s guild. Here, the Fallen Paladins are looking to increase their power by recruiting vampires to their cause, or at the very least stopping the vampires from preying on their members. The Twisted Rune are looking to the vampires to sire (turn into vampires) members of their guild, so as to increase the muscle of the fighting members of their guild, making entire sections of the guild undead. Results of negotiations, for the Fallen Paladins:
1) No deal; things continue as before, and they will act against each other if situation necessitates
2) Neutrality agreement; neither guild is against each other but Bodhi?s guild will not aid the Fallen Paladins. They will however refrain from eating them.
3) Working together at arm?s length; Bodhi?s guild will aid the Fallen Paladins in missions where they need vampy power, and the Fallen Paladins will send the captives that they do not need to the vampires for food
4) Co-operation: the vampires send several of their members to act as if members of the Fallen Paladins, and vice versa, as well as what is listed in 3)
For the Twisted Rune:
1) No deal; things continue as before, and they will act against each other if situation necessitates
2) Neutrality agreement; neither guild is against each other but Bodhi?s guild will not aid the Twisted Rune
3) Working together at arm?s length; Bodhi?s guild will aid the Twisted Rune as required and practical, and the Twisted Rune will provide political power for Bodhi?s guild
4) Co-operation: Bodhi?s guild sire several members of the Twisted Rune, and the Twisted Rune send a lich to the Graveyard district to act as the Rune?s representative there, as well as in 3)
Note that getting a deal with Bodhi?s guild will change dynamics quite a bit in chapter 6, when the party goes to attack Bodhi. That can be dealt with later though.
-If there is an opportunity to negotiate with Bodhi in Chapter 6, this works. Otherwise, there will be some significant problems making everything fit together, I think.
-Well, I wasn't thinking of anything THAT elaborate... (in response to my comments about getting Bodhi in the party) I made a suggestion earlier that Bodhi doesn't really have any reason to oppose the player in Chapter 6 (getting the Lanthorn). After all, she has gotten her soul, there is no dialog indicating she plans to ascend with Irencous (sp), and she doesn't have any feelings for Irencous (sp), so why would she risk her life to save his? Now, to get her active support the player would have to offer something signficant (beyond just not killing her to save Imoen) -- what, I don't know.
Working for the Shadow Thieves:
I have not added any new quests here, just suggested changes for what is already there. After all, if it ain?t broke, don?t fix it, right?
The would-be assasin ?
Some options in dialogue and actions? once the assasin that has come up behind the would-be assasin appears, there should be an option to tap him on the shoulder and say, ?Hey, look behind you? mwuahahaha!?
Torturer ?
There should be an option to learn some techniques from the torturer here, for some experience (and some really grossed out party members, if they?re not all evil themselves).
-Actually, I'd pass on the experience here, and give the player an option to put his skill to "good" use to get the experience. Perhaps an alternative way to get into Spellhold (from Brynlaw, that is)
-Well, I assume that the player could talk with the torturer on the thieves path, the FP path, and the TR path -- so thats 75% of the time. The "put it to use" would be somewhere on the primary path between Brynalaw and Spellhold. For example, there is a monk that you can fight to get in -- perhaps an option to disable him and torture him for the necessary information?
-That is something I didn't consider, that you could talk to Booter in three of the paths. The guy you're thinking of is a Cowled Wizard who is a little bit nutso. The idea of torturing someone to get in is a good one, but I think he would be the wrong person. A better recipient would probably be Golin, the guy you take Claire (ex-hooker girl) to. Have him around the dock area, and have an option of asking him about how to get into Spellhold, then get on with the torture . Then you can get the information he gives you if you save Claire, and then continue as normal. The only other thing that would be required is a slight change to the journal.
(And, it turns out, the Valen Expansion mod is going to have Booter as an
NPC, so this may be superfluous. It would be nice to have some dialogue with Booter aside from the
NPC joining dialogue.)
Working for Bodhi:
The
XP and rewards for working for Bodhi should be risen to match those the party gets from working for the Shadow Thieves. That has irked the hell out of me ever since I first learnt that they weren?t equal? bah
-I disagree. Siding with Bodhi is considerably easier than siding with the thieves, and is therefore worthy of less
xp, especially since you end up with better loot. Yes, I'm aware that this philosophy means means that most of the plots mentioned earlier shouldn't "pay" as well as the good resolution -- so what? The player will have additonal opportunities to gain exp that are totally invisible to the good player, so it should all balance out in the end.
-The other option is that Bodhi's quests are increased in difficulty. Personally I'd be more comfortable with this option,
although it is more laborious, because it means that both options are equally viable. I take the point about more general evil options though.
-Well, I don't power game to that point -- as long as the rewards for both path are fairly close (and I believe the difference is only a few thousand
XP), I don't see it as a major problem to have unbalanced paths.
-Fair enough. It's not that big of an issue, just that, superficially at least, it is more rewarding to work for the Shadow Thieves, especially considering you can get their support against Bodhi in Chapter 6 if you work with them, but get no alternate option if you work for Bodhi.
Cloak & Dagger quest ?
?Okay, I?ll let you go. Get your wife and children and I?ll lead you out.?
?Woohoo!?
? (arrive in Graveyard District)
?What are we doing here??
?Mwuahahaha? <crunch>?
Sweeeeeeeet?
Brynnlaw:
Not a lot can be changed here, as this area is a railroad towards Spellhold. The two notable quests, helping Ginia & Ason and saving Claire from Lady Galvena, are all that can really be altered.
Ginia & Ason ?
An idea I thought would be very cool here would be an option to give the word to someone about the ship that they?re leaving on, so that they can be caught and brought back to Brynnlaw, for a reward and roleplaying
XP. Apart from that, all that needs to be changed are dialogue options, as normal.
Sanik & Claire ?
Number of changes that can happen here;
1) Being able to sleep with hired courtesan
2) Poisoning the guards rather than sleep-draughting them
3) Killing Claire & Golin once you?ve gotten requisite information
There is also the option of going straight to torturing Golin.
-Why not an option to team up with Galvena, assuming you haven't murdered her guards, and torturing Claire for the info? Galvena might even offer you a job afterwards.
(from Fluke)
The opportunity to seize that rotten little Brynnlaw pickpocket and slowly drown him in Umberlee?s altar would be nice, especially if you could force his sister to watch? and while you?re in the neighborhood, perhaps you could also sell Aerie and Nalia to Lady Galvena. (Torn: maybe one of your evil party members could drop a line about finding ?many like-minded allies? inside Spellhold, and convince you to drop those too inclined towards being good. That would give the party an RP?d justification for getting rid of NPCs to make way for Tiax etc inside Spellhold.
Inside Spellhold:
The Inmates ?
Add options to taunt/harass the inmates into using their magical power, or doing something crazy, should be added.
(from Arkenor)
Oh, and finally, make Tiax recruitable, and early! He should not be doomed to spend his final days in Spellhold only to be used as cannon-fodder! (Maybe that guy in Spellhold is a misplaced clone or somesuch. As if the real Tiax, ruler of all, could be captured by such fools.) He's the Chosen One of Cyric after all, maybe... A fine alternative to the pest Jansen, he'd make.
The Transformation & The Dream ?
An interesting path for an evil character would be to work with the image of Bhaal and attack Immy, perhaps by luring her outside of the keep?
-Not sure Imoen is really "Imoen" here. I'd say she's the anima figure who later urges you to yield to the Evil within. You're right though that *something* different would be nice here.
Asylum Dungeon, level 1:
Main Hall & Bodhi ?
My idea for having Bodhi join the party is listed on the other thread, but I?ll put it here again as well. (Later note: although I?m not sure this is very practical, especially if the Valen expansion becomes as cool as it is turning out. Still, I may as well include this, for the sake of completeness, and in case someone really likes it.)
For an evil PC, I doubt even a feeling of a sibling bond with Imoen would be very satisfactory as a reward for getting to the Asylum. Therefore, consider this course of conversation with Bodhi:
<her final line, where she normally leaves>
PC: 'Bodhi! Surely we can work together here.'
Bodhi: '(amused tone) And why would I want to help you? You're barely alive.'
PC: 'And how did that happen, Bodhi? I was betrayed and caught by surprise. Irenicus knows, as I do, that he could never face us in direct conflict. The power of Bhaal within me is something he can never match. His sorcery cannot compare to the power of a demi-god.'
Bodhi: '(she considers)
PC: 'Join with me, Bodhi. The essence of Bhaal that courses through both of us is unstoppable, and as soon as Irenicus falls the world could be ours!'
Bodhi: '...What of the girl? I doubt Imoen would approve of my taking her soul forever.'
PC: 'Consider her my gift to you, an appropriate cost for the privilege of your power. Take her and keep her essence.'
Imoen: 'WHAT!'
PC: 'Sorry Imoen. This is where you get off.'
B: '<chomp>'
-Great last line but I still think Bodhi would expect to get more from Irenicus, after he becomes a god, than the PC could ever offer. So I'd say she would conclude the dialogue above by thanking you for dessert and telling you to run for your life, anyway.
As she is, Bodhi is far more powerful than any average party member, but this can be easily rectified. Since she and Irenicus have a link, both through the relationship and their Bhaalspawn essence, he can simply teleport in, disable the party and drain some of her powers. Granted, it's not the most natural way to do things but at least it levels her out some. If not that, then maybe some of her power can go as soon as she drains Imoen, gone when she loses her alliance with Irenicus. Some ideas for lowering her power:
-Reduced stats
-Slower regeneration
-Weaker level drain attack
-Level/
XP lessened
-
XP penalty - a percentage of
XP earnt is taken away, due to her power
-No HLA's
Due to the Bhaalspawn soul she possesses, she could get some Bhaalspawn powers to replace those. As she is a vampire, they would probably be more raw and murdery than the PC's ones, such as an innate Finger of Death spell, Hand of Murder, etc. Obviously a lot would need to be changed in order to have Bodhi in your party, but most of those would be simple dialogue changes so that they don't refer to Bodhi. The biggest problem would of course be when you confront the guild of vampires, but this can be rectified by some dialogue changes and additions and raising one of the vamps in the guild to the new master or mistress of the guild. The only other big change would be in Ascension, where Bodhi and Irenicus come back, but that could be changed as well. I'm not exactly sure how, because I haven't played through Ascension (no
ToB... grr) but it wouldn't be too hard, especially considering an evil party can get her on their side at that point.
Minotaur?s Statue (with the two missing horns) ?
Instead of being confronted by Bodhi, the party can be confronted by the new leader of the guild, Cohn or whoever. The only change should be an added ?you traitor!? line of dialogue, and a changed feel of the dialogue (less feminine, obviously).
Power of the Slayer dream ?
Incarnation of Bhaal replaces Imoen if you took that path in the Transformation dream.
Challenging Irenicus ?
More evil dialogue and reactions to Bodhi, from Irenicus.
-And this is certainly where she'd double-cross the PC, if she hasn't already.
Getting a ship in Brynnlaw ?
Ability to take the more direct path of threatening Saemon into captaining a ship you kill the guards of.
Saguagin City ?
Evil path is pretty easy; kill everyone
.
Underdark:
When the party enters the Underdark, there should be a talk initiated by Bodhi, if she is in the party, where she explains what?s going on, i.e. Irenicus?s plans.
Duergar Encampment ?
There should be slightly different dialogue options if Bodhi is in the party. This applies to quite a few conversations though. They do however mention that Irenicus and Bodhi went through the underdark, which obviously didn?t happen if Bodhi is in your party.
Svirfneblin ?
A nice touch for the evil would be the option to kill Therndle?s son and give him the body.
(unknown)
I'd like to see the Svirfnebliln Balor give the same quests as the silver dragon (for different reasons, of course). This provides a clearly evil way to resolve the Underdark quests (most importantly, a way to get into the Drow city). Interesting either way, though.
Balor & Pit ?
Talk to it and offer it the Svirfneblin village to win its favour. Do so and it rewards you with a wand of summon (demon x). Otherwise, proceed as normal. Either way, the party gets the Light Gem and can go to Adalon.
Adalon ?
All that is needed here is more evil options in the dialogue. I mention it because there need to be some really cool evil lines there .
Ust Natha:
None of the drow plots need changing, beyond minor dialogue options.
(from Fluke)
The following are a few ideas of mine for potential refinements to the Ust?Natha experience:
The study of torture devices and techniques. Hardly new ground by this point in the thread, but the fact does remain that Drow's cruelty and perversion is the stuff of nightmares on the surface, so it could prove enlightening nonetheless. I personally wouldn?t mind seeing a chamber or two set aside for this purpose in the basement of the tavern. There?s also those students and their pet Djinn to consider, I suppose, though I?d much rather have a subject to myself than share one with a clutch of bumbling neophytes.
Vivisection. There are all sorts of bizarre creatures teeming throughout the Underdark, and it seems fairly likely that these beings would be a common focus of drow research. Less exotic subjects, on the other hand, could serve as a testing ground for pathogens and spell effects. Among the more constructive aspects of this could be an increased knowledge of the intricacies of the Illithid nervous/immune system? Obviously this should not yield any groundbreaking revelations or benefits, but perhaps it could prove handy in some small way during your capture within the Illithid city.
Poisons/alchemy/narcotics. Unfortunately, I?m at a loss as to where this could be explored, aside from a few tidbits being mentioned here and there by the alchemist in the market. Naturally, assassins in particular should stand to benefit from such research, perhaps gaining the ability to brew more virulent toxins. Extra damage is probably a bad idea, but a small chance of added effects such as blindness or confusion could be interesting. There are obviously less opportunities for narcotics given the brevity of this sequence and the urgency of finding and confronting Irenicus immediately after, but if the Shadow Thieves remain intact as an organization there might be the possibility of netting a fair profit from their distribution along the Surface. Helping the drow establish such a foothold on the surface could in fact be one of the terms of the alliance.
Ritual and theology. While at a glance, this seems to be little more than a branch of the torture study mentioned above, it could also be instructive in its insights upon the dynamics of blood sacrifice and fanatical rhetoric. Sending the slaves to the temple for sacrifice is an obvious opening for this, though perhaps a bit late in the sequence, the idea of delivering one of the surviving heretics that
