Quest Ideas

[Ghreyfain]

Plus, the Council members are all canon FR characters. It would be like more intraction with Drizzt or Elminster - do we really want that?

In my opinion being a canon FR character in and of itself isn't bad, it's just when it's a... publicity stunt, shall we say? that things seem to get quite cheesy.  I mean, Athkatla being the capital of Amn is canon, and nobody minds.  Of course, my example is pretty poor, but do you get what I mean? 

[Barren]

Probably. But still, too much interaction with the Council would change history too much, see what I mean? (probably not...)

[Andyr]

Further intrigue with the Cowled Wizards. You never see them again after you're back from Spellhold. Maybe you could finally destroy them once and for all? *Dreams on*

I think they're meant to be a very powerful and pretty secret organisation, which it'd be pretty mcuh beyond the PC and party to kill. There's just too much magic!

[NiGHTMARE]

LoI has a quest which both deals with the slavers and involves the Council of Six.  It was mostly thought up by Corradun, but with some changes & additions by myself, and with Andyr planning to write a somewhat alternate version of events for evil players.  Below is an abridged version of the good/neutral path, with spoilers removed.

"The Slaver Threat"

Saemon and his crew have recently begun hearing rumours of numerous ships being attacked and their crews abducted; slavers seem the most likely explanation. They will refuse to set sail unless someone deals with the problem first - obviously this is where you come in!

So if you haven't done so already, you're going to have to free the slaves in the Copper Corronet, kill the slavers in the Slaver Stockade, the Bridge District and the Guarded Compound, and find some evidence of the corrupt government official(s) or military officer(s) who are letting all this happen. Of course the latter is Isaea Roenall, who you can now send away to jail even without Nalia in the party.

Once you've done this and reported your findings to Corgeig Axehand (he now asks you to deal with the rest of the slavers after finding the evidence against Isaea, if you haven't already done so), he'll take you to his commanding officer, Colonel Zoar.

Zoar requests that you travel to and defend Gallow's Rock (one of the half-dozen villages on the shores of Lake Weng) from bandits. The Council cannot afford to send their own troops there, due to the incursion of the Sythillisians in the southern lands.

Much fighting, talking, double- and triple-crossing, travelling around Amn, etc later, the party journeys back to Athkatla and finds out that the Counil is in session discussing the Sythillisian crisis. They must ******** *** **********  in order to reach the room where the Council members are holding their meeting. In the anti-chamber to the Council chamner, they come across the very much still living **** and a group of soldiers. He orders them to attack you and hurries into the Council chamber.

Once they're dealt with, you enter the chamber. **** is addressing the Council, but the party spots a wizard hiding in the corner, preparing to cast some sort of spell. The party steps in and interrupts, telling the Council they are in danger and should leave immediately. One of the council members, Pommarch Tyrda Q'Helvor (who's a 14th level Mage and also a Cowled Wizard) teleports the other members to safety.

After a bit of cursing at you, **** decides you should "know the truth before you die". He reveals that he's actually a ****** ** *****, and the leader of the slavers in Amn.  With that he tells the wizard to bring their friends along to the party, and three figures teleport in: ********, ******* ******, ***** and ***** *******. "I believe you've met my friends here before. I'm afraid you won't have such an easy job killing them this time. It's just a shame **** and ******* couldn't join us, but I really don't appreciate double agents" (a nod to the fact that they're involved with the ******* ****, which the PC may/may not know).

Then there's a big fight, once you win you get rewarded, etc.

The Council will crop up again upon your return to Athkatla, pressing you into service in the war with the Sythillisian Empire.  Basically, before you can deal with your own problems (Bodhi, Irenicus, your missing soul), you have to sort out one of their problems by travelling to the besieged city of Murann and rescuing a "Council informant" who's been trapped there.

BTW it must be stressed that there will be no way to kill off any of the Council members in either of the quests.

[jester]

Fudge, we really have to fight ******* that is gonna be hard.

I like the plot though.

[WolfCatBot]

I don't think Faldorn would ambush you, grrr :(

[jester]

She is blinded by hatred and you are but a fleeting memory to her now. If she did not join you that is. :huh:

[WolfCatBot]

She's invincibubble :D And you can be nice and crush Trademeet for her, woof

I don't think she'd smack you because you might get stronger, that's so... not cool :(

And she doesn't spork the other Druid peoples, so woof :) Errr, the ones at her grove, that is :D

[neriana]

Faldorn isn't invincible; I, through Jaheira, have killed her at least 6 times. And I think she would ambush you. She's power-hungry and more than a bit nuts, after all.

[WolfCatBot]

Woof?

I thought she was invincible, just not in the Druid Ritual Cagematch :)

And not power-hungry? ?:D Just needs power to destroy civilization :D

I can understand that :)

Woo! !:)

[Kish]

I doubt Faldorn would try to kill you.  She's a religious fanatic, not someone who would put her own gain above the interests of the Shadow Druids.

[Hendryk]

How many religious fanatics *don't* confuse their own power with the will of their god?

[jester]

"God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed." - Luis Buñuel

[NiGHTMARE]

Shadow Druids generally wouldn't set out to kill someone else who helps nature, unless that person is opposed to the Shadow Druids (i.e. other Druids).

[Barren]

"God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed." - Luis Buñuel

Meh... Guess after the Dali sig, we could only expect a Bunuel quote 

[neriana]

Faldorn draws power from the grove, a crime that Jaheira and Cernd both find reprehensible. Like any fanatical religious leader, she twists her theories to further her own power. And I think the Shadow Druids, again like any other religious fanatics, have an "if you're not with us, you're against us" attitude.

[discharger12]

Plus, the Council members are all canon FR characters. It would be like more intraction with Drizzt or Elminster - do we really want that?

In my opinion being a canon FR character in and of itself isn't bad, it's just when it's a... publicity stunt, shall we say? that things seem to get quite cheesy.  I mean, Athkatla being the capital of Amn is canon, and nobody minds.  Of course, my example is pretty poor, but do you get what I mean? 

No.

[Ghreyfain]

...but do you get what I mean? 

No.

Okay, to sum it up in a different way:  Drizzt and Elminster suck.  Other people that nobody knows about do not specifically suck.  So having them in the game would be fine.  It would also give True FR Geeks a chance to feel superior over all the other people who probably don't know who this Council Member or this Shadow Thief is.  Everyone loves feeling superior.

[Ghreyfain]

Probably. But still, too much interaction with the Council would change history too much, see what I mean? (probably not...)

Well, interaction in the same quantities as Drizzt had in the game seem perfectly acceptable to me.  Just so long as the Council Member isn't a terrible character like Drizzt, I'd be fine with it.

[NiGHTMARE]

Another reason Drizzt & co. are out of place because they doen't belong in the location you meet them in (they should be up in Mithril Hall or Icewind Dale).  In fact, I believe the latest Drizzt series, Hunter's Blade, takes place during roughly the same time period as the Bhaalspawn saga - though of course Bioware don't have time machines, so they had no way of knowing that . 

As for Elminster, since he can teleport himself virtually wherever he likes, he's somewhat less out of place .  He also owns a house in Beregost, so he at least has ties to the region.

Other pnp characters appearing in the game, such as the Council of Six (two members of which appear in unmodded BG2), Renal Bloodscalp, Lilith Lurraxol, Skarmaen Alibakkar, and Ribald Barterman are not out of place in BG2 because they do belong in the locations you meet them in.

[discharger12]

...but do you get what I mean? 

No.

Okay, to sum it up in a different way:  Drizzt and Elminster suck.  Other people that nobody knows about do not specifically suck.  So having them in the game would be fine.  It would also give True FR Geeks a chance to feel superior over all the other people who probably don't know who this Council Member or this Shadow Thief is.  Everyone loves feeling superior.

Okay, I get it now.

[Barren]

Two council members? I thought there was only Pehllus Tanislove?

[Caswallon]

I like the plot posted by Nightmare.

Also, I'd prefer quests that do not involve extended killing sprees of Cowled Wizards, Trademeet citizens, Shadow or non-Shadow Thieves, and so on.

[NiGHTMARE]

Two council members? I thought there was only Pehllus Tanislove?

Qar Jysstev (the guy who Sir Sarles is staying with, and whose wife is involved with the Hidden) is  a council member too .

Also, Skarmaen Alibakkar in Trademeet is the brother of the head council member, Erlranther Alibakkar (though more than likely he doesn't even know that his brother's on the council ).

[Barren]

Nope, Qar Jysstev is the vice-regent or something. He has power only when the council isn't in session.