Sylvari personal story
Sep. 14th, 2012 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanithryudoRecent discussions have inspired me, what can I say? This isn't really a fic, but rather what I would have liked my sylvari's personal story to have turned out like.
For the record, her biography choices were: white stag, "where Life Goes...", and cycle of night.
Episode 1 / lvl 2-3
After finishing the first heart, you get a summons from Caithe in your mail. When you see her, she tells you that there have been sightings of a white stag in the Verdence. Your character is confused about what this has to do with you, and Caithe reminds you that she saw the symbol of the white stag in your Dream. Your character asks about the significance of the symbols from the Dream and asks if this is another Wyld Hunt thing like the dragon and if you're seeing the future. Caithe admits that she doesn't know if the Dream shows the future, and that some sylvari ignore it while others make it their life's quest; ultimately it's your life & decision.
Rest of the mission is mostly the same as the current version, with you tracking the stag until you go into the cave with all the Risen and rescue Gavin. After you rescue him, in the last cutscene, he reveals that he was injured helping the White Stag escape the Risen, and that he knows what direction it escaped in. He arranges to meet you at Cape Verdant to find it again to ensure it's safe.
Episode 2 / lvl 4
You meet Gavin at Caer Verdant. In the cutscene, you ask him if the white stag was also in his Dream. He says yes, and you ask what's so important about the symbols from the Dream. He admits he doesn't know, but remarks that maybe the journey is just as important as the goal, since it led to him in meeting a new friend in you.
You they spot the stag from the top of the tower, and then hunt it down and kill a lot of Risen just as in the actual mission.
After catching it, in the last cutscene, you propose to take it back to the Grove where it'll be safe. Gavin disagrees, with some cryptic comments about how the Grove isn't as safe from 'corruption' as you'd think. You ask him to explain what he's talking about, and he invites you to bring the stag with him to a place he knows that'll be better.
Episode 3 / lvl 6
You meet Gavin at the edge of one of the Nightmare Court areas and are led in (the courtiers are friendly at first). While you follow him in, every once in a while, you'll make comments like "it's so dark and cold in here", "why is no one smiling?", etc. while Gavin tries to reassure you with vague comments. Finally, you get to one of the bosses (Sariel, or maybe someone else) and there's a cutscene.
The cutscene starts off with Gavin and Sariel asking you about what you think of Ventari's teachings and whether it's fair for sylvari to live by tennets forced on them by a centaur & human, while drawing comparisons to the current state of Kryta & its centaur problems. They make their campaign pitch for the Nightmare Court (without sounding like cackling lunatics, plz), and your character finally belatedly realizes they're of the Nightmare Court. They then tell you not to believe the lies told about the Nightmare Court, and that you shouldn't be a sheep blindly following the Ventari tablet, and instead should make up your own mind. You're given free reign to talk to the people in the Court, but are warned away from a particular area in the instance.
You then have the option to talk to any of the NPC's milling around, or examine objects around the setting. Most of the Courtier NPCs will give you an argument for the Nightmare Court that will incorporate some kind of common fallacy (appeal to emotion instead of logic, etc.) and there will be at least one dialogue option under charm/dignity/ferocity for you to refute it. There are also options like play with the neglected fern hounds or examine the defenses which may effect your escape later. There will also be two NPCs that will show up on quest marker which turn out to be more reluctant recruits that hint at you go to look at the restricted area.
Since the quest marker eventually makes you go into the restricted area, you go there and find several cages & torture racks of new prisoners (sylvari wardens mixed with other races) which you are given the optional option of talking to & freeing (they'll help you escape if you do). The quest marker is a missive that you read, which reveals that the Nightmare Court is planning an attack on the Grove to seize control of the avatar of the Pale Tree.
You're then discovered by a courtier and the place turns aggro on you, and you (and the people you rescued) have to fight your way out. Some of your earlier actions may affect this (such as if you played with the dogs, then when the Court tries to turn loose the hounds, a few turn on their handlers instead, letting you run by that wave).
You go back to the Grove with the warning about the attack and Caithe assures you that the Court won't be moving that fast and by then they'll be ready, but she's worried about what they could use the white stag to corrupt a waking manifestation of the dream. One of the wardens that you rescued reveals there are more captives at another specific location, and that it's probably also where they'll take the white stag. Caithe isn't hopeful about the fate of the captives but offers you the choice of taking the easier option of ambushing the Court on the way, or you could take the riskier option of sneaking into the camp for both the prisoners & the stag.
Episode 4 / lvl 8
In either path, you'll end up facing Gavin again, and there will be a cutscene with some philosophical arguments about following the Dream & following the Nightmare.
Some possibilities...
- You/Caithe accuses the NC of becoming monsters. Gavin insists the ends justify the means
- You accuse him of wanton killing/torturing innocents. Gavin says it's an eye for an eye and points out to the atrocities by the Inquest, human bandits, etc.
- Gavin insists that Ventari's teachings shouldn't be doctrine to an entire alien species. You point out there are always things to learn from one's elders and what's so wrong about learning from the rare individuals that managed to pursue between deathly enemies?
- Maybe some discussion about peace=weakness with the dragons threatening the world; versus indiscriminate aggression is far more harmful that unity against common goals.
In the end, you let the stag escape (instead of recapturing it yourself). Nightmare Court reinforcements arrive but before they can swarm you, Gavin calls them off, saying that since you saved him once, he'll let you go this time and now you're even. Sariel is pissed and threatens him that he'll regret this, but apparently he has the standing to make the order stick.
You and Caithe leave, and Caithe is honestly surprised at any member of the NC showing 'honor' as Gavin does.
Episode 5 / lvl 9
Defend the Grove from the Court attack. Once you beat off the first wave, Gavin shows up to challenge you to a duel.
When you down him for the first time, Sariel shows up and casts some kind of AoE that knocks everyone down. She comments that she knew Gavin was weak and that the NC has no use for weakness, and that she's got orders to make sure he doesn't return alive no matter what the results of the duel was, and while she's here she'll slaughter everyone else.
So now you fight Sariel solo (or with Caithe, or with your cycle leader) while the other wardens around the area are diverted off with a few lines of dialogue about more waves of courtiers at the gates of the Grove.
After you defeat her, Caithe comes back and there is a cutscene. She says the other NC waves have been turned back, and that you should finish this (meaning kill Gavin). You ask Gavin if he has any last words / if he still believes in the NC. Gavin admits that even though he still doesn't believe in following the dream, he also no longer thinks something as honorless as the NC is the best model to follow either, but now that he's lost the fight as well as lost his way, you might as well finish him.
Afterward you're given the option (PvP style) to Finish him. There's also a timer on the quest log counting down. If you finish him he dies obviously and that's that.
If you don't finish him off during when the countdown ends, there's an additional cutscene where you spare Gavin's life. Caithe says it's a bad idea but you're adamant that this is your mistake to make. You tell Gavin that you still think the Dream and Ventari's teaching has got some good points, no matter where it comes from, and that you'll hope to prove it with your actions. And that he should do some more soul searching too rather than take things out on other innocents. Gavin thanks you and tells you that he now still owes you one, and you're free to collect whenever. Cutscene ends (and for gods sake, don't make Caithe kill someone after you've already decided to keep them alive!) --- If you choose this option, Gavin should show up in your home instance; and in the last 10-20 levels, you should have the option to recruit him for your band of NPCs to storm Orr!!
Finally, you are called to the Pale Tree's avatar at the Omphalos Chamber. To your surprise, the white stag is there with the avatar of the Pale Tree. She says the stag showed up right after the attack by the NC ended. You ask what it means and she says that whatever adventure it had been leading you on, is now ended. Hopefully you have learned from all this. You say that you've learned to trust carefully (if you killed Gavin) or that the ends should not justify the means (if you let him live) or could be something else...she then goes on to talk about the dream of the Dragon, your Wyld Hunt, blahblah-stuff already in the current version.
For the record, her biography choices were: white stag, "where Life Goes...", and cycle of night.
Episode 1 / lvl 2-3
After finishing the first heart, you get a summons from Caithe in your mail. When you see her, she tells you that there have been sightings of a white stag in the Verdence. Your character is confused about what this has to do with you, and Caithe reminds you that she saw the symbol of the white stag in your Dream. Your character asks about the significance of the symbols from the Dream and asks if this is another Wyld Hunt thing like the dragon and if you're seeing the future. Caithe admits that she doesn't know if the Dream shows the future, and that some sylvari ignore it while others make it their life's quest; ultimately it's your life & decision.
Rest of the mission is mostly the same as the current version, with you tracking the stag until you go into the cave with all the Risen and rescue Gavin. After you rescue him, in the last cutscene, he reveals that he was injured helping the White Stag escape the Risen, and that he knows what direction it escaped in. He arranges to meet you at Cape Verdant to find it again to ensure it's safe.
Episode 2 / lvl 4
You meet Gavin at Caer Verdant. In the cutscene, you ask him if the white stag was also in his Dream. He says yes, and you ask what's so important about the symbols from the Dream. He admits he doesn't know, but remarks that maybe the journey is just as important as the goal, since it led to him in meeting a new friend in you.
You they spot the stag from the top of the tower, and then hunt it down and kill a lot of Risen just as in the actual mission.
After catching it, in the last cutscene, you propose to take it back to the Grove where it'll be safe. Gavin disagrees, with some cryptic comments about how the Grove isn't as safe from 'corruption' as you'd think. You ask him to explain what he's talking about, and he invites you to bring the stag with him to a place he knows that'll be better.
Episode 3 / lvl 6
You meet Gavin at the edge of one of the Nightmare Court areas and are led in (the courtiers are friendly at first). While you follow him in, every once in a while, you'll make comments like "it's so dark and cold in here", "why is no one smiling?", etc. while Gavin tries to reassure you with vague comments. Finally, you get to one of the bosses (Sariel, or maybe someone else) and there's a cutscene.
The cutscene starts off with Gavin and Sariel asking you about what you think of Ventari's teachings and whether it's fair for sylvari to live by tennets forced on them by a centaur & human, while drawing comparisons to the current state of Kryta & its centaur problems. They make their campaign pitch for the Nightmare Court (without sounding like cackling lunatics, plz), and your character finally belatedly realizes they're of the Nightmare Court. They then tell you not to believe the lies told about the Nightmare Court, and that you shouldn't be a sheep blindly following the Ventari tablet, and instead should make up your own mind. You're given free reign to talk to the people in the Court, but are warned away from a particular area in the instance.
You then have the option to talk to any of the NPC's milling around, or examine objects around the setting. Most of the Courtier NPCs will give you an argument for the Nightmare Court that will incorporate some kind of common fallacy (appeal to emotion instead of logic, etc.) and there will be at least one dialogue option under charm/dignity/ferocity for you to refute it. There are also options like play with the neglected fern hounds or examine the defenses which may effect your escape later. There will also be two NPCs that will show up on quest marker which turn out to be more reluctant recruits that hint at you go to look at the restricted area.
Since the quest marker eventually makes you go into the restricted area, you go there and find several cages & torture racks of new prisoners (sylvari wardens mixed with other races) which you are given the optional option of talking to & freeing (they'll help you escape if you do). The quest marker is a missive that you read, which reveals that the Nightmare Court is planning an attack on the Grove to seize control of the avatar of the Pale Tree.
You're then discovered by a courtier and the place turns aggro on you, and you (and the people you rescued) have to fight your way out. Some of your earlier actions may affect this (such as if you played with the dogs, then when the Court tries to turn loose the hounds, a few turn on their handlers instead, letting you run by that wave).
You go back to the Grove with the warning about the attack and Caithe assures you that the Court won't be moving that fast and by then they'll be ready, but she's worried about what they could use the white stag to corrupt a waking manifestation of the dream. One of the wardens that you rescued reveals there are more captives at another specific location, and that it's probably also where they'll take the white stag. Caithe isn't hopeful about the fate of the captives but offers you the choice of taking the easier option of ambushing the Court on the way, or you could take the riskier option of sneaking into the camp for both the prisoners & the stag.
Episode 4 / lvl 8
In either path, you'll end up facing Gavin again, and there will be a cutscene with some philosophical arguments about following the Dream & following the Nightmare.
Some possibilities...
- You/Caithe accuses the NC of becoming monsters. Gavin insists the ends justify the means
- You accuse him of wanton killing/torturing innocents. Gavin says it's an eye for an eye and points out to the atrocities by the Inquest, human bandits, etc.
- Gavin insists that Ventari's teachings shouldn't be doctrine to an entire alien species. You point out there are always things to learn from one's elders and what's so wrong about learning from the rare individuals that managed to pursue between deathly enemies?
- Maybe some discussion about peace=weakness with the dragons threatening the world; versus indiscriminate aggression is far more harmful that unity against common goals.
In the end, you let the stag escape (instead of recapturing it yourself). Nightmare Court reinforcements arrive but before they can swarm you, Gavin calls them off, saying that since you saved him once, he'll let you go this time and now you're even. Sariel is pissed and threatens him that he'll regret this, but apparently he has the standing to make the order stick.
You and Caithe leave, and Caithe is honestly surprised at any member of the NC showing 'honor' as Gavin does.
Episode 5 / lvl 9
Defend the Grove from the Court attack. Once you beat off the first wave, Gavin shows up to challenge you to a duel.
When you down him for the first time, Sariel shows up and casts some kind of AoE that knocks everyone down. She comments that she knew Gavin was weak and that the NC has no use for weakness, and that she's got orders to make sure he doesn't return alive no matter what the results of the duel was, and while she's here she'll slaughter everyone else.
So now you fight Sariel solo (or with Caithe, or with your cycle leader) while the other wardens around the area are diverted off with a few lines of dialogue about more waves of courtiers at the gates of the Grove.
After you defeat her, Caithe comes back and there is a cutscene. She says the other NC waves have been turned back, and that you should finish this (meaning kill Gavin). You ask Gavin if he has any last words / if he still believes in the NC. Gavin admits that even though he still doesn't believe in following the dream, he also no longer thinks something as honorless as the NC is the best model to follow either, but now that he's lost the fight as well as lost his way, you might as well finish him.
Afterward you're given the option (PvP style) to Finish him. There's also a timer on the quest log counting down. If you finish him he dies obviously and that's that.
If you don't finish him off during when the countdown ends, there's an additional cutscene where you spare Gavin's life. Caithe says it's a bad idea but you're adamant that this is your mistake to make. You tell Gavin that you still think the Dream and Ventari's teaching has got some good points, no matter where it comes from, and that you'll hope to prove it with your actions. And that he should do some more soul searching too rather than take things out on other innocents. Gavin thanks you and tells you that he now still owes you one, and you're free to collect whenever. Cutscene ends (and for gods sake, don't make Caithe kill someone after you've already decided to keep them alive!) --- If you choose this option, Gavin should show up in your home instance; and in the last 10-20 levels, you should have the option to recruit him for your band of NPCs to storm Orr!!
Finally, you are called to the Pale Tree's avatar at the Omphalos Chamber. To your surprise, the white stag is there with the avatar of the Pale Tree. She says the stag showed up right after the attack by the NC ended. You ask what it means and she says that whatever adventure it had been leading you on, is now ended. Hopefully you have learned from all this. You say that you've learned to trust carefully (if you killed Gavin) or that the ends should not justify the means (if you let him live) or could be something else...she then goes on to talk about the dream of the Dragon, your Wyld Hunt, blahblah-stuff already in the current version.
