Derrain

Derrain (M):

Imoen, please... you have to hang on. Do you hear me? You *have* to! (Trying to hold back the tears.)

I... I think I might be able to break us out if... if I transform into the slayer. I should be able to break through the door then... But I *need* to know you'll still be here, still with me... or I don't know if I'll be able to control it well enough to change back! *Promise* me you'll hold on!

Others say... Imoen can't love someone who's eeeeeeeeeeeevil! And what, exactly, is evil? Caramon loves Raistlin, and Caramon is good while Raistlin is thoroughly evil. There's no big neon sign on evil people's heads that says: HI! I'M EVIL!

and

However, if the PC was ambitious, remorseless, manipulative and ruthless, but always treated Imoen with respect and tenderness, and if Imoen never saw the "consequences" of the PC's ambitions, why would Imoen love him any less?

The problem is that there really isn't any mechanism for a PC to do evil in quite the manner that Raistlin did. In the various Baldur's Gate games the only real evil options there are tend to be pretty blatent. Hmmm, steal the deed to Garren Windspear's land and give it to Firekraag. Give the all powerful artifact to the beholder. Poison ALL the druids to make sure you get rid of Faldorn. Let Hendak rot in slavery. The closest thing I can think of to the Raistlin path is the quest around Kangaxx... restore the evil lich in order to gain its power for yourself. But the game doesn't recognize that as evil and there are no negative effects from possessing an evil artifact like the Ring of Gaxx to make it at all questionable. Heck, my *paladin* character has a Ring of Gaxx.

The only "evil" actions which the game recognizes as such would be the sort which I don't think the PC could hide, especially from someone as perceptive and inquisitive as Imoen... maybe this is something else we should beg for in the mod.

As to the how the PC would go about creating a romantic relationship between Imoen and himself... personally I don't really think its something he could "make her feel." Just doing stuff for Imoen isn't going to be enough in my mind. People can appreciate others doing things for them, but they tend to develop the strongest emotions when they are doing things in return as well. Personally I think it would have to be slow, and I think that Imoen would have to have time to consider CHARNAME in the "what would I think if he weren't my brother?" perspective. She would have to feel as though CHARNAME needed her to be more than a sister figure. Most likely for emotional support. (The PC would have to come across as "human" rather than merely being the all powerful child of Bhaal who fights the taint, never loses, stands for all that is good and right despite the forces of Fate itself which are aligned against him, and never feels a moments insecurity). While there could be some playfulness and humor in their behavior towards one another the idea of humorous situations with sexual overtones just wouldn't work in actually pushing the relationship in the romantic direction. Imoen might think they were funny, but she wouldn't take them seriously in my opinion. Any romance would have to be built on deeper emotional events which have the potential to cause emotional scars in the characters involved. Finally there would probably need to be something to justify in her mind the idea that CHARNAME is not in fact a "brother" in the traditional sense of the word.

Then once you did get the relationship to that point there would still be all sorts of issues... certainly not all the other NPC's in the game would approve. What would Imoen and the playercharacter think of their oppinion? Would it be possible to convince them to see things from the PC's / Imoen's perspective? Would the emotional strain of their initial and potentially permanent disapproval be enough to tear the relationship apart? Etc.

I must say that if the mod does in fact include this option with all of these considerations I would be very interested in playing it through. Like others who have mentioned it I was never that fond of the switch Imoen's background and character did between BG1 and BG2. But in any case, anything that makes the characters in the game seem more alive is a good thing... except in regards to my sleep schedule. Heh. So I plan on playing it through regardless of the romancability option.

One thing which I always felt would be very appropriate in fleshing out the relationship between Imoen and CHARNAME would be to put in situations where the player could be the one coming across as insecure and uncertain of their course of action for a change and let the NPC, in this case Imoen, be the one to provide support and strength. In almost all the Bioware interactions your options are to come across as ( a ) strong sensative, ( b ) strong and evil, ( c ) strong and uncaring. That is to say your character lifts the NPC's up, beats them down, or grunts and ignores them. It makes you seem less than human and makes the supposed relationships seem a little false.

For instance, what would Imoen do if she saw you staring at the ground deep in thought after having the dream which enables you to turn into the Slayer at will? If she approaches the player and tries to find out what is wrong (as I imagine she would), what would she do if you expressed doubt... told her you believed you could now turn into the slayer at will... worried that you wouldn't be able to control it... worried even more that you might *NEED* to use it eventually to protect yourself / the group... expressed doubt in your ability to carry on and fear that you are turning into some sort of a freak or monster (particularly if your player has made a point of resisting the taint to this point) ?

How would she react if you emotionally broke down after successfully defeating Yaga Shura because you weren't able to defeat him quickly enough to save Saradush?

Basically I'd really like to see a mod in which the NPC's gain their place as equals, at least in terms of (simulated) humanity with the PlayerCharacter rather than just being burdens you are supposed to feel good about providing with emotional support.