I apologize for my week+ absence: work has dared to interfere with my gaming time. I *am* reading all this, and with great interest.
General notes:
1. Getting a handle on the personalities of the various NPCs is more difficult than I had expected. The problem is that much of it 'comes out' in randomly fired dialogue, planned interactions that only happen with a specific party makeup, or the results of one branch of a story tree. I had no idea Keldorn can leave his wife. I had no idea Korgan and Mazzy have a rapport. I haven't the time to play through the game with every possible character combination (gahh!), so it looks like I'll be rummaging around in the dialogue parser for a while.
2. I'm broadening the possibilities. Altering a non-group-member NPC to be groupable is a trivial bit of added difficulty over rescripting a standard party member. I'm not going to whip up a new guy out of the blue, but anyone with a blue
circle is fair game. Hendak, Tiax, the pirate captain, Firkraag ...or by Helm even Neeber if it's desired can all be scripted to swoon at your feet. Except perhaps Kraag. A 30-ton lizard swooning close by would be hazardous.
Hei Mao: Your thoughts about Anomen are dead on. They mirror mine at least, and my ego won't let me consider the possibility that we're both wrong. (grin) Reworking him to be palatable as a partner would require changing who he is so deeply that I might as well make a new guy. I say that mostly because of this --->
"My thought is that the intention is for the female main to take off those blinkers, forcibly if necessary -- in essence, to mold Anomen into what she needs and desires. If you believe all the sitcoms and stand-up comedians, this is what women want anyway. Pfffft! 
"
Argh, yes! The old "man as unfinished sculpture" premise. Every 'chick flick' I've ever seen (been dragged to) has been based on it. Don't worry: the female lead won't be "molding" my romance NPC unless she has access to the polymorph spell.
About Ahnold: kidding, kidding
About Valygar's drive: Both you and Chrissy referred to Valygar as driven. I don't yet understand why. What drive he posessed seemed situational to me - once the situation was resolved he became (in my game) almost aimless. "Well, unc's gone. Great! Uhm. Hmm. Hey Lenny, can I come with you and see stuff?" The only drive I witnessed after the sphere quest was directed
at him, by Mazzy, and was hormonal.
Iorde: Very interesting! Again the unseen dialogue trips me up. I didn't see Edwin as an insecure man with strong social defenses. The impression I got from the text I saw was of a clinical sociopath who divided other beings into potential threats and insignificant fodder. It would be a fun challenge to stay true to his personality yet make it believable that he could consider someone other than himself enough to truly love the PC.
About Korgan: Rude, crass, violent and profane. He has a heart of gold sure enough: yellow and hard! A dwarf who'd use the bloodied stump of your neck for a urinal as soon as look at you; who walks through life with blade unsheathed and a hand out to grasp whatever he can. Truly a mate who'd drive a harpy to to the bottle or homicide. "Damn ye woman, where's my ale!!"
*dull thunk of a flung dagger hitting the oak kitchen door.*
But I may be wrong
About Valygar: Your impression of him is closest to my own. Once his quest was resolved, in my party he became a moody, drifting gen-X slacker. Additionally, you are the only person to mention Cernd and you abused him. Sheesh, the poor guy.
Gruntboy: You speak truth, man. I have an address for you. Go here - [url="http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/dick/index.html"]http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/dick/index.html[/url]
By the time I got to the "B"s even
I hated men. But I also have little sympathy for the women in the anecdotes. Watch the pattern most of them take: "He's scum! He's evil! He's Satan! He'll rip your heart out!!"
--then two sentences later--
"...So after we had been dating for 3 years..."
I mean, for crying out loud - get a damn CLUE!
Drakron: Those who dislike Anomen are not 'the type who will complain about anything.' They have a legitimate gripe. I couldn't create a more deliberately annoying character if I tried. He is petulant, childish, arrogant and judgmental. Also I believe that Viconia is the only true male romance, not Jaheira. This is off-topic, so I'll keep the rant short.
Aerie is a kid. Jaheira and Viconia as scripted are women. The Jaheira romance would be just fine had her husband not just been dissected by a crazed wizard. Poor Khalid's rigor mortis hasn't faded and she's making passes at a party member.... Not enough time elapses between the game's beginning and end to make her actions anything but creepy and unseemly. In the designers' defense there's not much they could do about it. I would have scrapped her altogether and used Mazzy instead; giving the short PCs someone to chase after.
As for Vic: The end of the Viconia romance was illogical, and the reason has nothing to do with her alignment. Viconia was on the outs with Lolth and left the PC to 'protect him from the Goddess' wrath.'
Yeah, right. That makes no sense for two reasons:
1. The PC is a badass. Viconia has watched him crumple heros, avatars and dragons in his mailed fist. He has defied Lords and councils, and is feared (or revered) over the breadth of Faerun. He is the savior of Suldanesselar, the hero of Baldur's Gate, and potential inheritor of the full power of the Lord of Murder. Even Lolth may blink when faced with his cold stare of rage. ...And how could his reaction be anything else when his beloved Viccy is threatened? There was once war in Heaven they say. If the spider queen dares to touch the chosen of Bhaal's son, there will soon be war in Hell.
2. Viconia ditched Lolth's service and rebelled.
The PC ran riot through the greatest stronghold of her servants and left it a twisted, smoking ruin. He destroyed her children's plans to invade the surface elves, stole her riches, defiled her temple with his heathen presence and probably peed on the alter when no one was looking.
Now You Tell Me Who She's Likely To Hate More
Leave the PC to protect him?! He should leave Viconia to protect HER. It makes not a damned lick of sense >:|
Lastly, Moonmaid: Torm, Helm, tomayto tomahto. Them paladin gods are all alike
