So I’ve been contemplating Baldur’s Gate recently, as it has occurred to me that Keira and Kord’s dynamic would work really well there. I’d have to toy with the backstory a little, but something along the lines of Kord as a guard at the keep who befriended Keira the (unknowing) bhaalspawn works. At any rate, one of the things I like to do to make a new run at an old game fresh is find new portraits for potential companions. In this case I haven’t sorted out the whole party yet, but here’s my take at some folks who would be sure to make the cut. Note that this is the BG1 version of these folks. Jaheira and Imoen would both need a bit older, hardened look for BG2. And Khalid… well… enough said.
Jaheira
NG Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
Everybody knows this one – the bossy, sarcastic “servant of nature” with the awesome accent. I just can’t imagine BG without her. Even in the new BG3 she is for me the star of the show. The hardest part of this portrait is coming up with a description of that hairstyle! And the expression has *got* to capture that sarcastic sass to really be her. “Yes, oh omnipotent authority figure’ indeed!
“skeptical czech half-elf warrior woman,one raised eyebrow,druid,age 35,athletic,tanned,dark brown eyes,arrogant,sarcastic,medium honey blonde hair curtained with rows of short braids with small beads,leather scale armor;in the forest;oil paint,drawing,dark fantasy,full length rpg portrait, soft focus, blurred, minimalist features,d&d, dark shading”
Khalid
NG Half-Elf Fighter
For Khalid I like to give him a Persian influence – being from Calimshan. I don’t like to lean too far into either “henpecked husband” or “scared of his shadow”. So as per BG1NPC I imagine him more as “brave and loyal, but with a speech impediment and a touch of PTSD”.
“worried persian half-elf man,fighter,age 35,plain metal helmet,clean-shaven,athletic,tanned,dark brown eyes,short dark brown hair,persian red cape,persian scale armor,scimitar,persian shield;in the forest;oil paint,drawing,dark fantasy,rpg portrait, soft focus, blurred, minimalist features, d&d, dark shading“
Imoen
NG Human Thief->Mage
Ah, the irrepressible Imoen. Her colors stand out, but the cheery, mischevious disposition and bubbly personality just *have* to come through.
“full length portrait,ukrainian girl,age 18,impish smile,mischevious expression,giggling,thief,short pale red hair,purple leather armor;oil paint,drawing,dark fantasy,soft focus,d&d,blurred,dark shading”
Jaheira explaining things to Khalid
For the most part these were pretty easy. Occasional role switching (which was really funny in this case). Occasional costume switching, but for the most part the only hard part was – as always – Jaheira’s hair.
Imoen cheering up Khalid
These were a bit of a pain, because I could *not* get it to stop trying to make Imoen into an elf. Took the word “elf” entirely out of the prompt and just said “pointed ears” for Khalid – and it helped a little. But basically just ended up giving Imoen a hood to cover them up.
Imoen trying to get Jaheira to crack a smile
In this one it was having real trouble with role-reversal. Which comes out looking rather bizarre with this pair. It also liked to make them the same age – which comes out odd. Strangely enough “slavic woman rolling her eye at giggling ukrainian girl” followed by J and then I – worked much better than “ukrainian girl trying to provoke a smile from stoic slavic woman” followed by I and then J. Go figure Even got one in there where Imoen succeeded in getting Jaheira to crack a smile….
Getting all three in one image was brutal. This is the best I managed to pull off for that:
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