Jazara

Kai, I cannot stress enough how much I love you. I'm currently halfway through BG2: EE and I am pretty disappointed with the new NPCs. Dorn and Rasaad showed such promise in BG: EE (haven't given Neera a go, so i cant comment on her) and now I'm left feeling slightly cheated. Admittedly, I may have just been spoiled by some fantastic romance mods *cough Sarevok and Haer'Dalis cough*, but the NPCs dialogues are pretty bland and uninspiring, in my honest opinion. I expected Dorn to be a little more conversational and verbose as he was in BG:EE and that fell short in the second. Not to mention, the typical 3 responses to their dialogues (1. Standard response 2. Attempt at humor response 3. Rejection response) is pretty frustrating. I am so intrigued by Hexxat but her lack of depth makes me want to jump into a group of mutated gibberlings. Please keep us posted and I can't wait to see what you do with these great but currently unsatisfying characters.

- Ghost Sarevok is not a joinable NPC, but is instead a sort of familiar. He will show up at certain plot points and areas to initiate dialogue with Charname (who is the only one that can hear/see him, making the possibility of NPC interjections on the dubiousness of Charname's sanity quite plentiful). Also, the Sword of Chaos can be used as an item to initiate conversation with Sarevok when he isn't poking his ghostly nose into your business.

 
That'd work, I think.  The Sword of Chaos does seem like an item that was supposed to have a bit of plot built around, and Sarevok's opinions - probably cynical and snide - on various matters would be entertaining.
 
The disconnect between Sword!Sarevok and Hell!Sarevok would be interesting.  Are they one and the same (in which case a smidge of dialogue connecting them would be fine) or... is Sword!Sarevok becoming a separate entity, one grown from his shadow in the sword + your conversations and life energy.  Would seeing Sword!Sarevok fade out in Suldanessallar - possibly because he thinks you need your life-force back for the final fight, become all the more poignant because you then have to deal with Hell!Sarevok, who remembers nothing of your weird bond with the other him...?

I didn't even think about that. Due to the great length of SoA, a deep romantic relationship could be properly developed and it would be pretty heart breaking to say goodbye before fighting Irenicus and then seeing Sarevok again Hell, only to discover he remembers none of it AND you have fight him again. There's a lot of possibilities.

*Drops to her knees and prays to Mask* Please let Aeryn or Kaeloree reply back with some kind of good news.

I thought I was the only one who felt bad about Khalid. In BG1 I always felt terrible booting him from my party, like shooing away a timid stray dog that's taken to you. I would definitely love to utilize him rather than Jahiera, if only so I won't have to feel chagrined any time Jahiera disapproves of something I've said or done.

I know it's been awhile since the last post, and the initial one for that matter, but I have some thoughts on the mod that I figure I'll put down here on the off-chance this mod comes to light. After reading through a few Sarevok fanfictions and playing Aeryn's Sarevok mod (repeatedly and frequently) over the past couple of years I've been inspired to take up writing again. It was a passion of mine in my teenage years that died thanks to writer's block and teenage hormones, but I've been inspired again (thanks in large part to the love so many of us have for our dear Death Bringer) and begun writing Baldur's Gate fanfiction with an emphasis on Sarevok as a way to ease back into writing.


With all of that said, I've come up with a few ideas that expand on the Sarevok dream sequence mod suggestion. As much as I would have a total fan girl meltdown over having Sarevok as an NPC in SoA, the plot hole problem makes me shy away from that route and lean more towards dream encounters.


- The Sword of Chaos, Sarevok's weapon whose description states that the blade was forged specifically for Sarevok himself to channel his divine power, possesses a lingering connection to its former master, thus allowing what little remains of Sarevok's essence in the Abyss to maintain a link with the world of the living. This link is shown, initially, in the form of Sarevok's memories made manifest in Charname's dreams. If Charname discards the sword from their inventory or opts out of the dreams through a dialogue option, the sequence stops, but if they don't, the link strengthens, thus allowing Sarevok to slowly reform what he can of himself in the Abyss. This in turn results in the dreams going from just his memories, to conversing with him, and perhaps to him eventually materializing outside of the dreams in the form of a ghost.


- Ghost Sarevok is not a joinable NPC, but is instead a sort of familiar. He will show up at certain plot points and areas to initiate dialogue with Charname (who is the only one that can hear/see him, making the possibility of NPC interjections on the dubiousness of Charname's sanity quite plentiful). Also, the Sword of Chaos can be used as an item to initiate conversation with Sarevok when he isn't poking his ghostly nose into your business.


- Sarevok is growing in strength, allowing him to come to your aid against Bhaal during that point in the game, or team up against you, depending on how your relationship with him is playing out.


- At some point later in the game, upgrading the Sword of Chaos becomes possible, making it a little more powerful and useful against some of the nastier baddies you'll be up against.


- Talks about the memories of his that you saw in the dream (Tamoko, what Rieltar put him through, maybe the Harper raid on the Temple of Bhaal where Gorian saved you, and not Sarevok), what his opinions are over current events in the game, and why he gave you that special Ring of Protection back in Candlekeep.


- If this were to be a romance, or have a romance path, the last time you see Sarevok is right before the battle against Irenicus in Suldenessalar, when the strain of communicating with you and the backlash of power over the struggle for your soul has all but broken the link, and he wants to embrace you but can't, because he is only just a ghost, and fades away.


Eh, I didn't mean to write this much hehe so sorry about the absurd length of my musings. Anyways, if anyone is still around this thread, let me know what you think. I'll be here...in the shadows...waiting for more Sarevok...like the sad fan girl that I am hehe thanks for reading!