That Flaming Fist dude was going to die and get stripped of his half-plate regardless! hehe
Nobody had to be manipulated on that score. We'd have done it anyway for our own reasons. Didn't need Shar to back our play on that, though if that's what Viconia wants to think, sure.
Recruitment into the fold is the solution for Viconia, so we can get some hot takes and some call backs, and then ignore whatever isn't working for us in the setup by just taking over the reigns there. Her rework in BG2 with the knock-off portrait and the romance there is perhaps muddying the waters, but BG1 Viconia was still a fav. She could have just as easily been 'random female drow in Peldvale' whose name nobody remembers, but instead she becomes
the most iconic Drow of the Forgotten Realms in cRPG. Literally knocking off Drizzt for the top spot lol. Of course his Mithril is going to Shar-Teel for the backstabber boost, since Viconia is already comfy in her Angkeg plate. Faldorn and Imoen can argue over who gets which Scimitar, doubtless, but there's no denying who stole his laurel for top Drow after that. BG2 Viconia was also great though! She was along for the ride in both games, from the Bandit Camp to the Throne, so if she's coming back for round 3, then lets see her back for real. In this case "for real" means in the party.
Also, I don't think we should speak of the characters from the Enhanced Editions or bring them into it. Those EEs are pretty much the BG equivalent of SW Special Editions, running roughshod over people's happy memories. Just that exact sort of thing, but carried over into a BG context, and probably what BG3 should be trying to avoid with their callbacks. There's nothing conspicuous about Neera's absence from BG3 lol. That character didn't even exist until 2012! She has nothing to do with any of my memories of these games. Not to grumble about Beamdog's efforts overmuch, but if that's the rationale for anything happening here, no thanks hehe. Just like the SW gold laser disc ports that you can't even buy for 200 bucks on ebay anymore, now I'm stuck with these EEs. Trading the OGs for the reduxes? Of course I bought those reboots too, like everybody, and they're fine for what they are, except that now on Steam I have to jump through a bunch of extra hoops to Un-Enhance, and get back to my 4K-98 vibe on that hehe. Massive digression, lets definitely not ramble on about Star Wars, or I'll never get to bed. I'll admit to caring somewhat less about Sarevok, cause he was not in the Party until ToB, but that said he sort of made that Expansion and was one of the main draws there.
ps. just to be clear, and not to ruffle any extra feathers, I actually enjoyed the EE characters. Neera and Dorn, or Hexxat in the BG2 EE, they're fun and they fill a niche. They also sorta ruin the pacing of the originals if you engage with them as presented, at the points when they come into the story. So this isn't a situation where I disliked the characters, cause I liked em as a form of bonus feature, or an excuse to replay the same game again for the 500th time lol. It really only becomes problematic over time, when the directors' editions replace the blockbuster that everyone fell in love with in the first place. The first time around. Just like Star Wars the Motion picture. In both cases, they could have easily avoided bitter feelings by simply ensuring that the original was preserved and still accessible in a modern format. BG3 is not going to have this problem, because it's not a redux. Even for as reboot-y as it is in some respects, it's its own thing with it's own moment in time. Part of the disconnect between EA and Full Release or patch to rehash from update to update once it's out there in the world, may be coming into BG3 as well now though, even just with reference to only itself and not the prior games. Here's another pithy Nietzsche quote - one that wasn't re-used in BG3, but which is always apt... hehe
"Some people throw a bit of their personality after their bad arguments, as if that might straighten their paths and turn them into right and good arguments-just as a man in a bowling alley, after he has let go of the ball, still tries to direct it with gestures."
He always has great insight on things like regret! I'm sure I do the same all the time hehe. Of course that's the version of that quote which lives on the internet now, in English translation. Maybe it sounds cooler in the German dub? lol It's probably from human all too human, or maybe a Kaufmann rip from the notebooks? I can't even remember anymore, cause that's sorta what happens. You go for the ready version, whatever's still in print. But it's one thing when the bad argument is "Lets remake it, Again!" and another once it's already remade and lives out here in the world. Trying to go back for the do-over is kinda ill advised sometimes, but they already went there. We already have Viconia and Sarevok. Like they're already in the game right.
So now it's more about how can they do the course correct and gesticulate in the right ways to avoid the gutter and knock down a couple more pins if they can, while also not removing what's available in the current. I think they can add, but it has to branch off what already exists in game, and preserve that probably along one of the default paths.
