23 replies to this topic

[Kaeloree]

EDIT: For those of you who have read the concept, don't worry, it has changed a fair bit - and you will probably be surprised as to how it's changed.

~~

I've been playing around with this for a while.. I've always wanted to write for an NPC and create backgrounds, but I've never come up with a really intriguing idea.

Okay, onto the stats etc..


Illyria
(Ill-ear-ee-ah)

Str: 12
Dex: 12
Con: 16
Int: 16
Wis: 14
Cha: 14

Introduction

Illyria is a half-elf with a rather peculiar connection to nature with innate healing and protection skills. You find in in a wood just outside of Athkatla, unconscious and dying.

When woken, she seems disoriented and confused, and asks to leave the forest as soon as possible. Something about it makes her nervous and uncomfortable.

Take her with you, and you have a companion who will fight to the death for you.. leave her and gain a powerful enemy.


~~

If you would like to help (you know you want to!) just PM or email me Especially dialogue writers! <grins>

Visit the FORUM!

Uh.. just a note about the Emptyminds forums.. some of the posts in the other forums contain rather adult themes, so if you are offended/underage (cough) just stick to the Illyria forum. Otherwise feel free to join in the mayhem, it's basically just a small forum made by a friend of mine for random chatting.

Edited by K'aeloree, 28 June 2005 - 12:43 AM.

[Tyrmer]

Lol this sounds like one of the MODs I designed ages ago but never got round to doing it (in my case the npc was a demon not a beholder). Well anyway a comment. "Interesting if it is done well, cheesy if done badly." A good comment I feel.

[jester]

Can beholders shapeshift to humans or is this a special feature?

[Andyr]

A standard beholder cannot shapeshift, so presumably a special feature.

[Kaeloree]

Yeah

She was, to begin with, simply a Beholder who 'didn't fit in' and somehow she was forced to leave her home. She wandered in the wilderness for a long time, and something happened that changed her rather profoundly. She went in a bitter, angry Beholder, and came out a calm, collected young half-elf.

I'm trying to figure out her personality right now.. She is quiet, preferring to learn rather than lead. But she also has some sort of inner determination, and tries to get the party to learn as much as they can about whatever they're doing. Her 'calm and collected' thing is partly a defence - she feels a bit lost, and is trying to find her place in the world.


I'll write up an example dialogue as soon as I come up with a conversation topic. XD Ideas would be welcome

And constructive criticism and suggestions would be extremely appreciated

[Erephine]

Yeah

She was, to begin with, simply a Beholder who 'didn't fit in' and somehow she was forced to leave her home. She wandered in the wilderness for a long time, and something happened that changed her rather profoundly. She went in a bitter, angry Beholder, and came out a calm, collected young half-elf.

That makes a lot of sense actually... I'm not sure how much you know about Beholders, so I'll mention the following:

There's countless of different "beholder" sub-species, but each of them refers to themselves as the "ideal" form, and as such they practically slaughter each other, unless controlled by a hivemother or overseer (unimportant). The important thing is, that for this reason beholders are incredibly intolerant to anything which is different in any way - you might decide to go with a "conventional" beholder as your NPC, as there are "conventional" beholders that - while in appearance quite normal - have alternate magical abilities on some or all eyes, and for this reason, are treated as outcasts or even killed by all the beholder and beholder-kin races.

So, if we assume Illyria had the natural ability to shapeshift, she indeed would not "fit in", and would quite possibly be forced to leave, as none of the other beholders would have accepted her for being an abomination of the "One true beholder form".

Edited by Lightspeed, 22 June 2005 - 06:18 AM.

[Pex657]

I like the idea of walking around, suddenly a group of muggers jump at you.... BAM a beholder appeares and they run. That would make my day. You should make it so that when she turns in to a beholder, a horror spell is cast at the enemys.

Edited by Pex657, 22 June 2005 - 08:53 AM.

[Thorium Dragon]

I enjoy seeing this concept taking shape.

K'aeloree, just be sure to give thought to the details of the story and do your research on beholder culture and I'm sure it will turn out fine.

Edited by Thorium Dragon, 22 June 2005 - 11:08 AM.

[jcompton]

I'm shocked no one has yet raised the prospect of a possible Goo Romance. Or a Spectator romance. Or, indeed, a beholderkin love triangle.

[Thorium Dragon]

I'm shocked no one has yet raised the prospect of a possible Goo Romance. Or a Spectator romance. Or, indeed, a beholderkin love triangle.

Of course not. That would be ridiculous*.


*...says the guy writing a romanceable vampire...

[jcompton]

*...says the guy writing a romanceable vampire...

...about the lovely friendly half-elf-seeming ranger beholder...

[Thorium Dragon]

*...says the guy writing a romanceable vampire...

...about the lovely friendly half-elf-seeming ranger beholder...

Not about the lovely, friendly, half-elf-seeming, ranger beholder, but the Goo romance, spectator romance and beholderkin love triangle.

Clear as mud.

[Kaeloree]

I've been doing my research, yes! I've been finding out as much as possible on Beholder culture, and how they would deal with it.

@Lightspeed: Thankyou for that I knew that Beholders hated all the other subspecies, and came to the conclusion that she would be outcast because of her unique abilities and the fact that she is neutral good.

I don't think she would romance Goo or any other Beholder, simply because as far as I can tell the Beholders have no concept even remotely similar to love. <grins>

She would definately have a talk with Spectator Thats just too good to pass up.

I really love writing, and hopefully I'll do the mod justice. I can't code for my life, though, which is sure to be a rather large problem. Well, coding dialogue and banters doesn't seem all that hard, but anything else is a bit beyond me

[Rabain]

Well if you can code dialogue and banters you've got a lot covered for an NPC mod.

The rest can be covered with various tutorials available (and by looking at the many npc's already out there!)

Good luck with this!

[Lord-Jyssev]

coding is quite easy to learn, just a while back i posted modders needed and with the right tut's i'm about halfway through an npc mod... though probobly not as complex as your's sounds.... also there is always the infinity engine help forums... they have them on a lot of forums, black wyrm, forgotten wars, ppg, com... and now i am just babbling

anyway great idea... hope to get when it comes out...

[Kaeloree]

Thanks guys

I've edited the top post, with an updated description and a link to the forum.

The concept has changed an awful lot, so I took that out. Thanks to those people who made suggestions, if anyone has more please post them on the suggestions thread on her forum.

[Kaeloree]

Who's to say someone else might not come along? The PC isn't the only person in the world capable of saving her..

If you heal her and then leave, you ARE leaving her alone, in a forest that she seems incredibly uncomfortable in.. She might be thankful for being healed, but she might be unhappy that you left her in a place she doesn't feel at ALL comfortable in.

A fire, however small, can become a blaze in very little time at all...


I'm incredibly sorry for the above sentence.. Every now and then my subconscious decides to drop a rhyming sentence in whatever I'm writing.

Edited by K'aeloree, 28 June 2005 - 04:01 AM.

[jastey]

As long as she doesn't only get berserk at the PC for not helping her but turns out to become an enemy because of some coinsidences it's OK. Otherwise it reads like out of a bad book... Really, I think she has enough problems, but I don't see why she should blame the PC for it, espescially if she doesn't really meet him beforehand.

Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I don't believe in stories where people turn so incredibly hostile just because they got disappointed... sounds like a cliche to me.

But as I said, make it a good background story and not only the "you didn't help me, bastard" thing (because then she would have to fight whole Faerun, not only the PC IMO, because as you said: it's not only the PC that could help her... so why the special hatred for the PC?), and then I am sure it will be believable.

I only give feedback to this because it disturbs me in principle, considering I don't know what you actually planned makes my words sound a bit like an overreaction, I guess. As a concept it disturbs me because I want to be able to part with an NPC and not being "doomed" to keep her, if you know what I mean.

Hope this feedback is helpful, I don't mean to badtalk your idea. :closedeyes:

[Kaeloree]

Thats okay, I see your point. Don't worry, she's not going to go crazy at the PC for just not helping her. I'll make a few seperate paths, then.. one, you help her out of the forest and go your own ways, 2, you heal her and leave (on semi-good terms), 3, you just ignore her, and 4, you take her with you.