My Sexy Skill Has Increased! Let's Play A Dance with Rogues

Nah, don't worry. The line about giant spiders and the webbing was enough of a clue for me put a hand on my eyes and look through the cracks. When the actual spider appeared it was diffuse enough for me to not be that scared.

Yes, I have huge issues with spiders. And they are everywhere in videogames, goddamnit!

THESE FUCKING GUYS.

Whatever happens to them, they deserve it. Also, I find it amusing that even in this mod there is the requisite awful Bioware Paladin. Though I guess they sorta broke that habit with Alistair.

Hey now, Keldorn was great. I don't know what other Bioware paladins you're talking about. I guess Ajantis could get kind of annoying, although I have a fondness for his modded romance.

I was mostly talking about the love interests, Anomen and Casavir (though Casavir is Obsidian's fault, not Bioware's).

Ah, I see. Anomen didn't come to mind because he's not a real Paladin, just a wannabe. I'm not familiar with Casavir because NWN2 won't run on my computer.

This is one of the doors they couldn't open. I remember the reliefs we saw, and I think I know why.



"Riona, what are you doing?!"



Christano glances at the door, stroking his chin. "So you had to be naked. Interesting mechanism!"

"Perverts!"





"Well, we've killed it now."

"I still cannot believe that you pressed your boobs against that door, Riona!"



"We'll find whatever is the source of this evil!"

The key we found opens a door nearby. There's a trap door that goes further down.



"There are no tracks in the dust on the floor. We must be the first in decades! Meaning, the chalice is still down here!"

"So what do you think of her, sweetie?"

"She seems reliable enough that she won't run off with our things in the middle of the night."

"She's got a nice ass!"

"Her ass is fat."

"Aww, you have no reason to be jealous, honey. I wouldn't trade you for a million of her kind."

"I know, dear."

"Wonder if she likes it up her butt."

I'm beginning to wonder if the gold is worth dealing with the two of them.



This door looks magically sealed; we have to find another way around.



"More undead creatures..."

"You were right, dear. Something must have awakened them. Recently."

Or your order just did a half-assed job.



I lock the door again, and we have a safe place to rest.







At least until Christano and Myra get distracted on their watch.

next update

fuck you christano
fuck you with a rusty ladle

/highfive

see i hate both christano and vico very much
very much
but i think, to some degree, i might hate christano more.

We fight more Undead in the morning.





I mentioned that follower AI is stupid. One of the things they will do is run across obvious traps to fight an enemy on the other side. I had to micromanage them while the zombies casually shuffled across the traps. But we survived.









There's more of them down the hallway.





There aren't any other ways out, save for the trap door we came through and the door we can't open. I use my rope to climb down the hole; hopefully I can find another way around.



The corpse is clutching a large sword. When I reach for it, I suddenly feel dizzy.

I remember.



They cut this man -- my lover? I don't recognize him. They cut him up while he's still alive. They torture me. It's a ritual. The pain fuels them, gives power to their god.



When I wake, I'm still shaking. Who was this woman whose memories I felt so strongly? Who is this man whose body was abandoned here?



next update

So that's the infamous 30 pound nipple chain.

....Of course it gives negative armor class. Why would you ever wear that? I mean, aside from the obvious.

So he's one of those paladins. Lovely.

I love Keldorn so much. He was a breath of fresh air and probably the best written paladin I've came across in a video game.

Anomen didn't bug me as much as I though he was going to when I played through BG2. Then again, I had been warned about him and his various issues before I started playing. I wish they hadn't scrapped Haer'dalis and Valygar's romances.

I don't know why everyone disses Christiano, but then again, I haven't played this. All these unopened spoilers are just screaming that he will do something terrible soon.

Are there no decent guys in the ADWR universe

Aside from the forest ranger who was so boring I forgot his name, of course. All my votes for him (at this moment, if noone better arrives), if we are to romance someone.

What amuses me at the moment is seeing just how frequently the author was struggling for a name for something, and turned to the nearest copy of A Song of Ice and Fire.

been there tbh

I read somewhere that she just used NWN's automatic name generator for most of the characters. That's why a few surnames show up a couple of times on unrelated characters.

I've never read A Song of Ice and Fire, so if there are any similarities besides names and (so I've heard) an attempt to imitate tone, they're lost on me and I hope someone points them out.

Haer'Dalis romance mod! I cannot recommend this enough.

There's also a Valygar romance as part of Romantic Encounters, but it's not a full romance, just him crushing on you and telling you how it can never beeee. I've heard there's also a Valygar romance in Tortured Souls, but I've never played that mod, so I don't know if it's any good.

Thank you for the links. My ex owned BG and BG2 so I don't have access to them right now, but once I can get ahold of them again I'll have to check those out.

Another soul put to rest. I hope.



I find a secret door that leads to a hallway. Even if the Paladin had found it, he probably wouldn't have made it through alive.





Where are they all coming from?

There are skeletons patrolling the hallways, but I manage to sneak past them and into another room. A secret door leads to a small chamber.





The main door won't open, but I find another hidden door in the outer room.



The skeletons in this hallway are still as statues. I'm not even sure they're alive -- undead.

A hidden door here leads to another hallway with connecting rooms. I can't unlock the doors.



There are undead creatures patrolling the halls -- the priests who used to worship here. They're barely aware of my presence, even once I attack.



With the keys from the priests' bodies, I can open the four side rooms. Each one has a phylactery.



I destroy them. Hopefully this means the priests can't come back.

I find a large key made of bone, which opens the center room. There's a glowing altar in the middle, stained with dried blood.



[Lore] [Study the altar]





I shiver. It's chilly, and there's a sickly sweet smell in the air... The darkness around me seems to thicken.



And then there's a voice in my head. It sounds deep and sonorous, and not entirely unpleasant.

"Look what we have here..."

"Who are you?"

"I would like to be your friend... Do you have a name...?"

"Riona."

"Riona... That is a nice name. A nice name for a pretty young woman..."

"You still haven't told me who you are."

"I am just a shadow... You seem to be lost... What are you doing in these dark halls...?"

"I was hired to help find a golden chalice."

"I see... So you are a mercenary of sorts...? And now your employer has forsaken you...?"

"We came upon a hole, and my comrades stayed behind while I was supposed to explore it."

"That sounds like a dangerous undertaking... All by yourself..."

"I can handle myself."

"Do you think your comrades care about what happens to you...? Is he a nice person...?"

"He's... okay?"

"You do not seem to be great friends..."

"It doesn't matter."

"I would like to help you with your quest, but alas I do not know all these caverns... I can imagine you want to finish your mission as soon as possible, so you can return to your loved ones...?"

"My loved ones are dead..."

"I am terribly sorry to hear that... It explains the sorrow in your eyes, though..."

The spirit points me to a hidden door, but cannot guide me further.

"I do not see a wedding ring on your fingers... A pretty young woman like you surely must have a suitor...?"

A Dance with Rogues: where even the ghosts hit on you.

"I think I've had enough of men for a while."

"Somebody has hurt you...? That is a shame..."

"It has made me stronger."

"You sound so sad, and so lonely... I would like to be your friend, Riona... I would not hurt you, ever. I would like to give you a present..."

I do not remember holding out my hand, but when I look down there's a ring on my palm.



"Now stay safe, pretty Riona..."

next update

you should keep the ring forever riona
you should never let anything take it from you riona
no matter what riona

You know, I was gonna snark (good-naturedly, of course) on the general 'My preciousssss' tone of your post, especially considering it involves a ring. Then I noticed the ring lets you cast Haste once a day.

...

Kill any asshole who dares to take that ring from you, Riona.

I go through the hidden door and head upstairs. I come up on the other side of the magically sealed door. Suddenly, the door slides open.



"Weren't you supposed to wait at the hole and get me up in case I got into trouble?"



"Just a lot of skeletons..."

I give Christano the Paladin's greatsword.



Then we head further down.







"Foul they may be, but they do not pose a threat to us! We shall extinguish their unhallowed existence with fire and sword!"

We find a safe place to build a campfire and rest.







"Alright, let's try that."



"I don't have any clothes on under my armor..."

"Christano, dear, I promise you, if you take only one wrong look at her..."

"I won't, my sweet. You're my sunshine, Myra, you should know."

Climbing along a very thin ledge, naked, and only held by Myra... Lovely idea indeed...

After a few false starts, I manage to get across the ledge.



There's a small key in the coffin. I hope it opens something important.



We eat and camp for the night. Christano takes first watch.



"I just wanted to talk a bit, Riona. I've grown very fond of you in the past few days, but I know so little of you..." He sits close to me and smiles, caressing my shoulder.

"I think Myra would kill both you and me if she woke up."

"Don't worry, she'll sleep like a log. I put some herbs in her tea. She's a wonderful woman, but sometimes she's so... inhibited. I figured a good night's sleep would do her good." He turns back to me, running his hand along my neck, caressing my hair softly. "So, sweet Riona, tell me something of your youth. How did you come to be a thief?"

"Please don't touch me like that, Christano."

"Why? What's wrong with a fond touch? Are you promised to somebody?" He gently massages my shoulders. "You're so tense. There..."

I push his hands away.

"I said don't touch me!"

"Hey now, I just wanted to talk..."



"The paladin wants to bed you, Riona."

I hear the voice inside my head.

"Do not be afraid... I can see what happens to you. The ring I gave you shows it to me..."

"Who are you?"

"I am but a shadow..."

"Do you have a name?"

"No... But I hope that you will call me a friend in the future..."

"That's a strange gift. A ring that allows you to spy on me."

"Not spy... I want to be able to watch over you..."

I could throw the ring away now, and the spirit would leave me alone. But what if he can help? I don't trust Christano. If he tries to hurt me, I...

I should have just stayed in Betancuria.

next update

HEY, Y'ALL FINALLY GET TO VOTE ON SOMETHING IN THIS LP!

Should Riona trust the spirit or throw away the ring?

Even shadows creep on you in this game.

EDIT: Also, keep the ring. Christano has it coming to him. >:|

MulMizu and EruditeDragon, I am counting your above posts as "trust the spirit" votes unless you want to change them.

He's going to rape you in your sleep. Just you wait.

My comment is indeed a vote for trusting Casper-the-overly-friendly-ghost.

The ghost, or Christano?

Christano.

I'm going with the ghost on this one.

YOU HAD BETTER KEEP THAT RING IN YOUR ARMS
CLOSE TO YOUR BOSOM
i would rather let casper smush his ghost face into my chest than be without it because christano is the devil

How is this guy still a paladin?

I'm going to leave the voting up to you guys. I don't trust the shadow since Riona met him at an evil altar but considering the company she is in...I'm torn.

Is... is it a bad thing that, upon reading this, I was incredibly tempted to crack open my D&D 3.5 Players Guide to see if Christiano's actually violated the Paladin's Code?

Not in the slightest.

I'd think peeing into the pit would be enough, but I don't know if paladins have to do something evil, not just chaotic, in order to fall.

I think part of it has to do with which god they serve as well.

This was the quest that glitched up for me, btw. The one where the chick wouldn't stop trying to kill me and my resurrection of Christano through cheats was considered invalid, so a lot of the event triggers didn't...trigger.
It's cool seeing things that I didn't see before.
now i hate him more

Keep the ring! That ghost was already nicer than most of the other NPCs you've come across so far..