HoF – Order of the Radiant Heart Party

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I now present my party for my current HoF runthough. I describe logistical gaming changes that I have made here, so I won't rehash any of this in this thread. This is the RP thread.

I know how popular Anomen is with the vast majority of folks around here, so I'm sure you'll all bless me for including him!!

In my Baldur's Gate 2 runthroughs I have always enjoyed playing goody two shoe parties with Anomen, Keldorn and some sort of holy warrior PC. I will now attempt my Icewind Dale 2 equivalent of that. The Neutral Evil among us are strongly encouraged to gasp in horror!

I recently finished a playthrough of normal mode, with 2 of the characters included in the HoF party present (Briana and a'Melil). I had originally intended to bring that party all the way through HoF, but I just couldn't get the Radiant Heart party idea out of my head. So, I have paid homage to that party in my descriptions here, but have decided to indulge my goody two shoes wants and desires with this new team of holy warriors.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment should you so desire. I wrote the following mostly for myself, but thought others might get a kick out of it here.

**EDIT** In the event that you are interested in taking this party for a whirl yourself, the character files plus a readme can be downloaded here.

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The Order of the Radiant Heart - No Mere Mercenaries

Traveling under the guise of a common mercenary band, these elite warriors from the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart have set forth to observe and to battle a new evil that is rising in the frigid North. They originate from Athkatla, and have traveled far to the northern city of Luskan. From there they will travel farther north still, ultimately bound for the beleaguered port town of Targos, one of the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale.

They believe that the evils of “The Chimera,” that are only whispered about on lonesome corners, represent a true threat to Faerun. If this threat is not put in check quickly, the Ten Towns may not be able to stand against it. Should the Ten Towns fall, there’s no telling where the Chimera will choose to march next, but it is certain that unhindered, they will be able to raise an army of untold proportions from the Spine of the World. The Order has no intention of allowing that to happen.

The Order is comprised of men and women of the highest moral compass, who uphold lawfulness and goodness with equal fervor. In a place like Targos, where morality is often open to interpretation, the Order is not particularly welcome. It is for this reason that only a small group has been dispatched, and that they are posing as mercenaries. They have gone so far as to use means magical to disguise their true appearances, evening making their legendary arms and armor to appear of the more mundane sort.

Led by Prelate Anomen Delryn himself, this is a righteous force of legendary measure.

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Party Members

1. Lord Leath’lanian Hirithium – Lord Leath’lanian is an Elven Noble and wizard whose estate resides in the city of Athkatla. He is a friend of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, and is very influential among their leadership – particularly with Prelate Anomen Delryn, who earned his role as Prelate due in large part to Leath’lanian’s support of him. After hearing about the troubles in the Ten Towns in the far north, Leath’lanian used divination magic to ascertain more about the nature of the problem. Strangely, he was not able to discern much in the way of details, but he came to believe strongly that if the threat there was not thwarted quickly, the Ten Towns would fall, and soon after the entire Sword Coast and beyond would face a peril like never before. Leath’lanian is determined not to let this come to pass.

2. Prelate Anomen Delryn – Prelate Anomen is a long time member of the Order of the Radiant Heart, who entered as a mere squire, rose to the status of knight, and finally a full member of the Order. His unswerving dedication to the Order and the cause of righteousness earned him the esteemed title of Prelate some four years ago, making him one of a few key leaders in the Order. Once a brash kid desperately seeking the Order’s approval, Anomen has learned humility and leadership since his experiences alongside the Bhaalspawn more than 20 years ago. Anomen’s power as a priest of Helm has only grown over the years. He is the greatest cleric in the Order, and counted among the more powerful clerics in Faerun. When Lord Leath’lanian came to him requesting aid in defeating a new evil that was stirring in the far north, Prelate Anomen did not hesitate to commit the Order to the task, vowing that he himself would travel north to see it done, bringing a small contingent of the Order’s most promising knights.

3. Sir Keldarn Firecam – Sir Keldarn is nephew of the late, legendary warrior Sir Keldorn. He has committed his life to following in his uncle’s footsteps as a Paladin of the Order. Anomen has guided Keldarn in the ways of the Order for many years, and looks after him as a younger brother, perhaps even as a son. Like Anomen, Keldarn has committed his life to the service of Helm. He is a quiet and humble man by nature, but he serves the Order with great ferocity and righteous anger. When Anomen requested that he join him in an important mission in Icewind Dale, Keldarn could scarcely contain his excitement. After composing himself he replied, “I will gladly lay down my life for the Order, and for Helm, to carry out this mission.”

4. Lady Briana St. Clair – Lady Briana had numerous adventures in and around the Ten Towns many years ago, and grew to become a powerful warrior priestess through her experiences there. Like her twin brother Bryant, she bears the peculiar distinction of being one of the “Chosen of Lathander” – a mortal blessed by Lathander with superhuman strengths and abilities, for reasons that are known only to the Morninglord himself. After their adventures in the Ten Towns concluded, Bryant chose the life of a wanderer, not wanting to settle down in any one place. Briana, found a home among the Paladins of the Order in Athkatla, where she has become a revered member. She was all too honored to accept Prelate Anomen’s invitation to join an elite column traveling to the town of Targos. While she was saddened to consider returning to the North without her brother at her side, she was heartened to learn that her lifelong friend and traveling companion, Lady a’Melil, had also been selected for the expedition.

5. Lady a’Melil – a’Melil has known Briana and her twin brother Bryant since they were children, and considers them her dearest friends. She adventured with them in Icewind Dale, and like the twins, grew to become a genuine power in her own right. a’Melil is a Paladin by training and has often been described as having the true heart of a champion, but she is anything but a typical holy warrior. a'Melil discovered her natural affinity for wielding arcane magic at a very young age, and has dedicated herself to honing those natural abilities, using them for the cause of righteousness in the name of Mystra. When Briana St. Clair decided to apply to join the Order of the Radiant Heart, a’Melil resolved that she would do likewise. Like Briana, she was welcomed with open arms by the Order, and has become one of only a handful of practitioners of arcane magic within their ranks – and is unquestionably the most powerful mage among them. She was recently selected by Prelate Anomen to join a covert mission to fight a new evil facing the town of Targos.

6. Taelic the Pure – Taelic is not an official member of the Order, but he is considered a friend and trusted ally. He is also a longtime friend and adventuring companion of Prelate Anomen and Lord Leath’lanian. Taelic is a man of many talents and many convictions, but more than anything else, he regards himself as a guardian of the weak and a protector of nature. He utilizes many tools to uphold these causes, preferring to avoid a fight when he can, employing diplomacy, revelry, and even a song to get his point across. When those fail, he is more than capable of bringing blade and spell to bear to stand against tyranny. When Anomen was considering who would serve as the best scout for his critical mission in the Ten Towns, there was no one within the ranks of the Order who could compare with the abilities of Taelic. Taelic required little convincing to join Anomen and the Order on a new adventure, and he was only too happy to sign on.

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Party Details

1. Taelic the Pure

• Role: Secondary Tank, Diplomat, Tertiary Healer, Tertiary Mage, Primary Scout
• Class: Human Ranger 5/Fighter 4/Bard 21
• Weapon: Dual Small Blades
• Alignment: Neutral Good

2. Sir Keldarn Firecam

• Role: Primary Tank
• Human Fighter4/Paladin of Helm 26 – Lawful Good
• Weapon: Cera Sumat, 2 handed (Sir Keldorn)
• Alignment: Lawful Good

3. Prelate Anomen Delryn

• Role: Primary Healer
• Class: Human Cleric of Helm 30 (give weapon foc and spec/mace)
• Weapon: Mace and Shield
• Alignment: Lawful Good

4. Lady Briana St. Clair

• Role: Secondary Healer
• Class: Human Paladin of Helm 1/Morninglord of Lathander 29
• Longsword and Shield
• Alignment: Lawful Good

5. Lord Leath’lanian

• Role: Secondary Mage, Rogue, Secondary Scout
• Class: Elven Rogue2/Wizard28
• Longbow and Sword
• Alignment: Lawful Good

6. Lady a’Melil

• Role: Primary Mage
• Class: Human Paladin of Mystra 1/Monk1/Sorcerer 28 – Monk is optional, and to be taken very late, if at all.
• Sling and Shield
• Alignment: Lawful Good

 

That's an awful lot of lawful good characters.

 

Scary, aint it!

If bards were allowed to be Lawful Good, there'd probably be one more! It's good to have 1 "relative lowlife" in the group though, just for variety. Neutral Good can get pretty saucy at times! Sometimes after they save someone from an evil madman, they neglect to report the incident to the proper authorities! Look out! We're talking out of control!

 

Wow, quite the bunch!

I don't see them hawing too much trouble in HoF. But then again I hope they have...lest your adventure becomes boring!

 

What about the stats, STR, DEX and so on? Maybe a download for your characters? I want to play them!

 

Hey cool. I suppose I could gather their character files and throw them up on Rapidshare or something. I would even go so far as to write in their biographies so that they can be viewed in game.

I may need a day or two to get this done.

As a reminder, this is a HoF party, so they are high level, and they have been adjusted with higher AC (so AC actually matters in HoF) and some natural resistances (so that Orcs and the like don't seem quite so powerful in relation to the party).

 

Great read, thanks for posting it.
A few spelling mistake corrections, if you'll permit me:
I believe Paladins are virtued with an excellent moral compass, unless by 'morale compass' you are referring to their Aura of Courage.
And it has been years since I played BG2 [oh how I wish I had the time to rebuild the megamod installation and play it through to the end...], but I'm pretty sure Keldorn's name didn't contain a cloaked profanity. I personally would have liked to have a Paladin named 'Keldarn' in the party:
Keldarn: "SMITE EVIL!!!"
Almost-smitten Evil: "Damn!"
Keldarn: "No. It's 'darn'. KELdarn!"

---------- Added 0 hours, 42 minutes and 26 seconds later... ----------

Oh, right... Keldarn isn't Keldorn. My bad.

 

Thanks for reading coin.

Wow, only 1 spelling correction to point out in that big chunk of text from me? Not too bad actually, especially considering the very limited proof-reading I did. That said, it's an embarrassing mistake. I definitely meant moral compass. Thanks. I will correct.

 

Okay Mikaal, your wish is my command. I have uploaded my party and a (probably overly informative) readme file here.

May righteousness guide your path!

---------- Added 0 hours, 17 minutes and 32 seconds later... ----------

Well, now that I've uploaded the party you're free to darn, KELdarn (ala Bond, James Bond) your way through the Spine of the World.