Rei

Well. I have 1 post, as you can see, because I created an account here to respond to this topic and this topic alone. Simply because, I was a pretty big fan and very involved in Lord M's mod, so I think I can offer some of my own thoughts as well.

Right:

I think, despite some of the sillier/nonsensicle/crazy dialogue options, that Lord M really captured alot of Imoens spirit in the way he depicted the character. Some people may be turned off by some of the more crazy dialogue options, however it could be said that he certainly didn't have to put them in there, but he DID, as well as the normal fare of selectible dialogue. It was there, because Lord M placed heavy emphasis on allowing you, the player, to act however you wished to act in the relationship. Be it serious and solemn one moment to completely Chaotic Neutral the next. It could be also said that some of the Evil options involving brutality were a bit over the top, and in some cases even I would agree(I never selected them), and some of them were just uneccisary. Tho once again, the options were simply there, and you by no means HAD to select them. You were never subjected to anything more than a simple "grumpy" or "mean" response. The only time you saw those dialogue options were if you explored them, and if you didn't like it, then you just didn't select them. The options aren't hurting anything by being there, really.

So I'd say that Lord M's desire to keep every imaginable dialogue option open to the player was a good thing, even if it was silly or dumb or crazy sometimes. Be as serious or not as you'd like.

As for exploring dialogue options that would slowly 'Morph' Imoen into a slave-like character through manipulation. I think the reason you don't see that is for two reasons:

A. It would require alot of extra code. It would almost, in essence, be like creating two completely different romances. One 'normal', and one following the more evil 'manipulative' path. Although it wouldn't be a bad thing to have that, I can see where it would be a turn off for Lord M. It's simply easier to just make the Evil options something that is explored once in a while or only once in a very brutal fashion. You could be simply grumpy and/or mean to Imoen every once in a while, in a typical headstrong Evil way, without ending the romance or completely turning Imoen off. And Evil character could romance Immy.

B. I don't think it's really in Imoens character to be controlled. She may, in the Mod, be very fragile emotionally, as is evident, but Lord M made sure to put alot of emphasis on the fact that Imoen was very strong of will at the same time. In BG1, and the normal BG2 Imoen NPC, Imoen comes off as a sort of carefree, fragile, young spirited character.. In Lord M's depication, she is very much changed, having been through many hardships and seen terrible things, she has matured alot, and is not so much the carefree girl she was from BG1. On the outside, she is still energetic and "Imoen", but on the inside, is a deep wound that will likely never heal completely and has left emotional scars on Imoen. That is very much at the core of Lord M's depictation of Imoen, and I think it's for that reason that Imoen is neither fragile nor naive enough to let herself be manipulated by the PC. She has too much newfound connection to the Bhaal taint and has matured too much to be that weak.

As for some of the more specific incidents, such as the Drow incident, or a few dialogues that made Imoen and/or the PC(Or other NPCs) just act completely goofball.. I think these were good additions. Imoen, at heart, is a very lighthearted and easy going character, and I think she's prone to inducing these types of situations. I didn't find anything to be over the top or out of place in that sense.

As for the sex, I think the person earlier in the thread said it best. Imoen and the PC may be super horny and have sex mindlessly through alot of the dialogues.. But if you think about it, when people fall in love, they tend to become mindless sex machines for the first several months of the relationship. This is just a way of life. Imoen and the PC have had feelings for eachother that have grown over time and they are finally exploring the sexual nature of their relationship for the first time.. Naturally, they are going to be horny little bastards. But as was also stated, this issue is actually addressed in the Mod as well.

On the topic of Imoens 'Lesbianism'.. If you really listen to the Dialogue, Imoen isn't saying she's a lesbian.. She says that she was sexually interested in a (Nymph I think? Or one of the more beautiful races) and that the incident more or less confused her as to her sexuality, but she never really just comes out and says she's a lesbian. Just that she needed to find the right person. If anything, I would say Imoen is Bisexual. Ultimately, I think it's up to the person creating the mod to have free liscence of the characters personality. I think that goes for alot of the made up aspects of Lord M's mod, or any mod for that matter.

The cussing I found to be appropriate for the most part. Like I said, Lord M's Imoen is a little darker and emotionally scarred.. I think the occational bit of profanity is perfectly acceptable concidering what Imoen has gone through.

The dream sequences were done very well too. They link you to Imoens character and give you better insight to her inner nature. I think it lets you understand her better and gives you more context to create an Image of who Imoen is.

Cons:

The brutality around every corner. Even I, a big fan of Lord M's mod, found some of these to be a little excessive at times.

A few dialogues were a bit out of place, even for the comical nature that Imoen often brings. But I found these to be far and in-between everything else and not even detract from the mod much at all.

Conclusion:

Lord M did a good job of capuring Imoens Spirit in the mod in the setting which he created. You have to concider that Lord M's depication of the events surrounding Imoen are different than the original one. He changes the story slightly to mould Imoen into the character he wished to express. Imoen is still very much Imoen in the mod, but she is a different Imoen. A matured and maybe slightly darker Imoen, who can still have a good time and laugh.

Ultimately, I think it was a great mod, and I'd put cudos to anyone who can realize Imoens character to the fullest like I feel Lord M did.