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A. In-game, Darian will inform Charname that he uses magic to conceal his wings, in order to avoid attracting attention. His wings will occasionally come up in dialogues, but that's about it.
Q. Anything special I have to do to get Darian to join my party?
A. Be of good or neutral alignment. Darian *does* have detect evil as an innate ability...
Q. What are the requirements to romance Darian?
A. Be a female human, elf, or half-elf of good or neutral alignment (Darian won't even join a party led by an evil Charname). No stat requirements, though a high wisdom will open up new dialogue options in some of the lovetalks. There's also a class-specific lovetalk.
Q. How does Darian's romance work?
A. There is a special scene about halfway through his romance (and trust me, you'll know it when you see it) that will really change the nature of the relationship with Darian. This scene MUST occur before you leave for Spellhold, or the final arc of the romance will not occur. Also, this scene HAS TO OCCUR IN A FOREST. If the romance seems to stall before you leave for Spellhold, go to the woods and it should trigger when you rest. There will be a total of three plot-related romance scenes with Darian after you leave for Spellhold that will only occur if you've had the special scene before leaving for Spellhold. And the first one takes place in Spellhold itself.
Q. What if we pick up Darian in Chapter 6? Will the romance still happen?
A. No-you may reach the friendship arc, but you will never develop a romantic relationship with him. Simply put: if you want to have a romantic relationship with Darian, he must join the party in Chapter 2 or 3, and you must reach the friendship arc before you reach Spellhold. Darian is extremely reluctant to develop feelings for the main character, and breaking through that reluctance and his xenophobia (or rather, getting Darian to break through them) will take some doing-which won't entirely be up to Charname's actions.
Q. Will Darian interfere with a Charname-Aerie relationship, and will Aerie interfere with a Charname-Darian relationship?
A. No and sort of. Darian really couldn't care less about what Charname and Aerie do in their spare time. Aerie will have a couple of extra dialogues with Darian if she's fallen in love with Charname, as will she if Charname and Darian fall in love, but that's about it.
Q. How long is the romance (in terms of lovetalks)?
A. Nineteen lovetalks and three special scenes. Technically, you only need twelve or so of the lovetalks for the final arc of the romance to occur, but I'd really encourage you to explore the whole thing.
Q. Any hidden pitfalls that can suddenly kill the romance, or hot-button issues?
A. Not really. You should be able to get a firm enough grasp of Darian's personality that you can pretty easily spot the options that will kill the romance. There *are* a fair number of responses where a sadistic Charname can really watch Darian squirm (this is in a pretty light-hearted way - I've written a fair number of opportunities for Charname to be a little flirtatious, which makes Darian *really* uncomfortable in what a collaborator on this project assures me is a very cute way... ugh). Basically, treat Darian with respect: he won't mind you brushing him off when he's just being nosy, but when he has something important on his mind, talk to him, and don't be quick to judge him.
There is also exactly one response where being really harsh will make Darian leave the party, but you should be able to recognize it when you see it.
Q. Will Bodhi be abducting Darian?
A. No, as Charname and Darian really aren't in a commited relationship at that point. Other members of the party will be able to see the bonds between Charname and Darian at that point (and I've written options so that Charname herself can be aware of the bond between herself and Darian, if she has a sufficient wisdom score), but Darian himself is not.
Q. Flirts?
A. Yes. The same array of flirts will be available for both stages of the romance (committed and uncommitted), but Darian's responses will change quite a bit.
Q. Sex?
A.
Spoiler
Q. Any personal quests?
A. Aside from the one to rescue Aerie, no. You helped him, so he's going to help you by helping rescue Imoen-he's not going to try to derail Charname with any personal objectives of his own.
Q. Any personal items?
A. Updated: No.
Q. What's up with all the custom lore you're using?
A. I use Avariel a fair amount in PnP, and since there is so little official information on their history and culture, I created essentially my own handbook for them. In practical terms, I'm taking a creative license, but I'm also trying to keep the talk about the lore itself to a minimum.
Q. After rescuing Imoen, why does Darian stay with the party (for ToB, for example)?
A. A big part of Darian's evolution as a character is him really thinking past just Myrrhavin as what he should protect-he willingly goes to Suldanesselar to destroy Irenicus, and by the time ToB rolls around, he's really given up any pretense of being there to help you-he's one of the merry band of madmen following you, and he'll follow you to the Abyss itself (and a good thing, too
).Q. How's the Anomen conflict going to be handled?
A. Anomen and Darian will bicker during Darian's lovetalks (Darian won't interfere with Anomen's, due to the nature of the Charname-Darian relationship), and it'll eventually come to a point where you have to choose which relationship to pursue-there are options for both yelling at one of them, and letting the other down easy.
Update: Darian and Anomen will get along in general, especially if Anomen becomes a knight. They both respect Charname too much to get into a fight over her.
Q. Does Darian know Charname is a Bhaalspawn, and if so, who Bhaal was?
A. No and no. Darian thinks he knows something isn't quite normal about Charname (he is rather perceptive-you don't have a 17 wisdom by being oblivious), but it'll eventually come up in a lovetalk. Darian has some interesting reactions.
Q. Is there going to be any music for the romance scenes?
A. Yes. The song is titled LenoraLongAmb from the computer game Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends.
Q. Where will we be able to find Darian?
A. In the Slums, outside the Copper Coronet.
Q. Where will Darian go if he's kicked out of the party?
A. He's gone for good, I'm afraid - his task in the Athkatla area is done, and he returns to Myrrhavin.
Q. Can Darian leave due to a wrong move in the romance?
A. There is only ever one specific lovetalk where a particularly harsh response will make him leave the party, and it will be pretty darn obvious what that option is when it shows up. Otherwise, he'll set aside his personal feelings and honor the agreement he made with Charname to rescue Imoen.
Q. Will Darian become violent with any other party members?
A. No, but he'll come very close to it (with Viconia and Edwin). Out of respect for Charname, he isn't going to cause an incident.
Q. Any crossmod content?
A. Darian includes scripting to deal with romance conflicts with Kelsey, Tsujatha, Chloe, Imoen, Xan, Solaufien (only insofar as Solaufien's romance will kill Darian's), and Edwin. Crossmod banters with Sarah are planned for the ToB release.
Q. What's Darian's romance variable?
A. T1DarRomanceActive. T1Dar is his character code.
Writer's note: Here is a breakdown of the RomanceActive variable with Darian and what each state means:
RomanceActive = 1: You're still in the first stage of the romance.
RomanceActive = 2: You're in the final arc of the romance.
RomanceActive = 3: You've destroyed the relationship with Darian.
RomanceActive = 4: You're in the second stage of the romance-you're friends, and things may progress further (i.e. leave for Spellhold and start the final arc).
Edited by Tempest, 02 September 2011 - 05:31 AM.
