5 replies to this topic

[Isina]

While listening to my crazy gypsy music the other day, I suddenly had an idea for an NPC for BG2. A wanderer, out of her element, with a scar over her right eye covered by a blue scarf... So I had to write about her. And this is what came out!


Name: Aydah
Age: 27
Race: Human
Class: Fighter/Mage
Alignment: True Neutral
Stats:
STR- 15
DEX- 10
WIS- 14
INT- 12
CON- 17 or 18
CHA ? 12
Inventory: Aydah?s Robes (unique item, can?t use unique spells without it), Aydah?s handflower (left ring, looks like a gold ring, not removeable)
Appearance: Aydah?s right eye and much of the right side of her face is wrapped tightly in a ragged bright blue bandage which she claims was the color of her tribe; she calls it her kiffyeh, the headscarf worn when she was a member of her tribe, and denies that it is actually a bandage. She almost never removes this bandage, because it covers the massive scar that mars her head and seals her eye shut. Though she?d never admit it, Aydah mostly wears it for vanity, as her hair grows in uneven clumps around the scar tissue, and she feels disfigured. Her working left eye is a warm chocolate brown, her skin a few shades lighter. Her honey-colored hair is straight and smooth if a little choppy and poorly taken care of, never falling much past her ears. Black and red tattoos swirl over her right eye, forehead, the back of her hands, and the top of her feet. Occasionally, she decorates her body with more using henna.

Aydah usually wears heavy grey or brown cloaks that cover her entire body; in the Amish winters, she bundles up with three or four layers, unaccustomed to cold during the day. She likes to spend what little money she earns or steals on handflowers, because the gems and wrought metal is precious and lovely and rare in her experience. Her prized jewelry is a single, simple golden handflower she frequently wears on her left hand in memory of her late husband. Under the robes, she occasionally wears leather armor, though it chafes her and she feels constrained in them. Her spells are weaved into the layers of her robes, so without them, she can?t cast.

She?s of medium build and height, maybe a little on the small side for a fighter. She moves very slowly and deliberately, but fights aggressively in combat. Her missing right eye gives her a severe dexterity minus, but she makes up for it with her high constitution.

History: Born and raised in the Anauroch desert, Aydah was part of the Kellordrai Bedine tribe, and she married at an early age to her tribe?s ruling sheikh. Her tribe was a little better off than most- a little bit more resources, a slight advantage in numbers. Though they still had to fight for survival every day, she felt her life was the best any Bedine could attain, and life outside the desert a simple fantasy. In her own way, she was very naïve. Because of her husband?s status, she was fairly well taken care of. Until the tribe discovered she was a mage.

She wasn?t actively hiding her magical prowess; rather, she was in extreme denial. The Bedine despise magic of all kind, and she knew if she was discovered, she?d be driven from the tribe at the very least. Not wanting to shame her husband or her family, she hid and repressed her talent, but much of her ability was innate so she was eventually discovered. A natural talent she cannot control involves foresight, usually seeing visions of bad happenings. This is how her husband discovered her. Aydah had a sudden vision of her husband being stung by a deadly scorpion and moved just in time to save his life. Her husband did not believe it was pure luck, paranoid and fearful of all magic as he was, and instantly turned his scimitar upon her, destroying her left eye. Bleeding and half-blind, he banished thus her into the desert.

Surprisingly, she did not hold a grudge. She hated her own magic and knew this was the eventual outcome of her curse. Aydah wandered for two days before collapsing in exhaustion, ready to succumb to her death, when another tribe of Bedine found her. They were a rare tribe, one of the few ruled by women, and they treated her wounds and gave her water. She told them she had been exiled by her husband but did not tell them why. The Lilithai tribe accepted her and taught her their ways of female empowerment, but she did not become fully integrated into their society. This caused a schism in her world view, and she didn?t know which to accept. Aydah fully believed in the old ways, accepted her role of inferior to man. Seeing a flourishing tribe ruled by women confused her, and though she now knew that her gender was equal to man, she didn?t know how to handle this information.

As a female magic-using Bedine who believed in equal rights between sexes, Aydah knew she would find no quarter with the her people anymore. She removed her veil, wrapped a blue bandage around her new scar in place of her traditional kiffyeh, and left the desert. The survival skills she learned in Anauroch served her well in the less harsh conditions in Amn. Though the plant and animal life was unfamiliar, she knew how to hunt, how to pitch tents, how to fight, how to survive for weeks on sips of water. Surrounded in abundance by water and game to kill, Aydah thrived alone. She avoided contact with other creatures for a long time, even though she could speak their language. Still filled with pride, Aydah found them lacking in honor and skill. Having lived all her life on the move, she also found it difficult to build a permanent settlement, so as she wandered, she eventually ended up near Athkatla.

The idea of permanent civilization baffled her; who has the resources to build one large tribe and keep them there forever? She avoided entering the city, still overconfident and proud. When small groups bandits beset her, she is more than capable in fending them off. Some even offer her to join them, but she refuses to join in such petty raids. She only fights when she is threatened or when others encroach on her territory and resources. Still, some bandit groups operating outside Athkatla believe she is some type of vigilante adventurer trying to wipe them out, so they send waves to kill her, and though she is good, she is not a trained fighter and not a well-trained mage, so she is eventually overwhelmed.

This is where Charname and party encounter Aydah- in a random encounter outside Athkatla, you help her fend off a large group of bandits. She thanks you, and if you do not offer her a place in your party, she will leave then forever. However, if you ask for her help, she will pledge herself to your cause.

Personality: After living every day of her life in a struggle to survive, her demeanor can be a bit harsh and seem uncaring. It takes her a little while to adjust to a life of ?luxury? as she calls it. Being able to drink water every day, eat exotic meats, travel during the day, all of these are foreign and almost fanciful, and she frequently feels like she living in a dream. However, beyond her callous exterior, she is intensely curious, a romantic, a singer, even a mothering figure. She repairs clothing, blankets, boots, and tents without being asked, shares party wealth, and demands nothing from anyone. Living alone in Amish wilderness was terrifying and unfamiliar, used to living in a desert with a large tribe. She functions best in a group with a cooperative party and does her best to ensure everyone thrives. Aydah doesn?t do this from a sense of caring or loyalty or affection, but of necessity. She is confused when good-aligned characters thank her for her ?favors,? she will argue with and maybe even draw steel against evil-aligned characters who interfere with her tasks.

Because of her past, she finds odd things luxurious. If she is given a new cooking pot, she decrees it to be a gift of great value. If she is given a flower, she will throw it away, as it will simply die in a day or be crushed in her pack. She does love art, however, and enjoys henna tattoos or any other sort of painting whether it be on a body or a canvas.

Her views are very utilitarian, but after being with Charname and co. for a while, she will eventually adjust to the lifestyle, learning new customs, giving up old traditions, accepting new things. She will likely be romanceable, but will take coaxing. After all, she still considers herself married and wears a handflower in memory of her husband. In a successful romance, she will eventually throw it away.

Special Abilities: (This is the part I?m hesitant about, and I?m not sure it?s possible.)
Being a Bedine mage, Aydah has several unique spells (as listed in the Anauroch accessory book in the 2nd edition of the Forgotten Realms role-playing guide), one unique spell per level. I?m thinking each of these unique spells will be alterations to existing spells in the game, probably priest spells. Since the spells are made for a tabletop, I'd have to tweak them to get the proper effects and damages and such, but if I can pull it off, I think it'll be a fun unique thing to add more interest in the character.


Thoughts?

[Eric P.]

If she's a mage, her INT should be much higher, as INT determines the highest level of spells she can know (helps in learning spells, too). Looks like a very interesting character!

[Isina]

Yeah, I was trying to be realistic with her actual INT, since she's never formally studied her magic and actually suppressed it most of her life, so I tried balancing it by having unique spells she's guaranteed to learn at every level that might help make up for it... but everything is subject to change of course xD Thank you!

[berelinde]

I'd suggest making her a sorcerer instead, but no kits for a sorcerer, so that's out.

Don't focus on stats. They're probably the least important aspect of your NPC. And there's no reason why every NPC wizard out there should have an 18 intelligence. Some of the most entertaining characters in the game aren't necessarily wonderful at what they do. Hubelpot is wonderful, for example, and good gravy, it's tough keeping him alive. Plus, he starts at level 2!

Seriously, you've got a good, solid NPC concept going here and one I would like to see developed further. Don't get bogged down in details.

Edit: I know that we are accustomed to thinking of deserts as hot places, but not all are. Anauroch is pretty far north, don't forget, and before the Fall of Netheril, it was probably on the cool side of the temperate zone. Now, you might want to compare it to the Gobi Desert, with temperatures ranging from -40C(-40F) to 50C(120).

Edited by berelinde, 27 September 2011 - 04:33 PM.

[Isina]

You know, sorcerer was class I considered for her, but it just didn't seem to fit in the end xD

And actually, I've been reading about the desert from the Forgotten Realms Anauroch handbook; she'll mostly likely be from the Sword, the southernmost and most populous region of the desert. The book has beautiful and very detailed descriptions of the Sword both day and night- scorching hot and very, very dry by day, clear and chilly by night. Usually, travel is only possibly by night because the day is just too brutal, so even adjusting to daytime travel will be difficult for her.

And thank you sooo much! >w< This is the first NPC mod I've come up with that I really, really like and hopefully I'll find time to seriously write more for her in the near future.

[Eric P.]

I had the Anauroch sourcebook, too, untll all my 2nd Ed materials were stolen over a decade ago. Loved the material and the presentation, so I'm very eager to see progress on this NPC mod (take that as a gentle nudge of encouragement, as it was meant to be)

 

It might be worth considering how important her magic is to her (I suspect very important), and part of her story might be how she comes to feel more comfortable and revel in being more free as a spellcaster (Cowled Wizards notwithstanding), since she's away from the Bedine prejudice.

Edited by Eric P., 23 March 2013 - 05:48 PM.