History NeverwinterNights2 / MaskOfTheBetrayer

* PlotHole[=/=]WritersCannotDoMath: Part of Myrkul's plan in creating the Spirit-Eater Curse was [[spoiler:to ensure his immortality by abusing the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms[='=]'' GodsNeedPrayerBadly rule (i.e. as long as there's a Spirit-Eater, there's always going to be someone who fears it and fears the one who created it, thus he can't truly die)]]. Problem is, the Spirit-Eater has been around for centuries, but the Time of Troubles, after which GodsNeedPrayerBadly was established by the Overgod Ao (and incidentally, during which Myrkul was killed and replaced by Cyric as god of the dead), took place in 1358, and the game takes place in 1374. Perhaps Myrkul was just really forward-thinking.
** All three of the Dead Three foresaw their deaths and set plans in motion to subvert them. Bane sired Xvim who was a seed he would eventually sprout from and replace. Bhaal slept with damn near everything and planned to reclaim his power through ritual sacrifice (or one just killing all the rest). Myrkul made the Crown of Horns to serve as an anchor for his soul while designing the spirit-eater to feed him power. (this was actually a long game scheme to upset the balance of power among the gods by essentially forcing all the old primodral gods who were too powerful to confront directly to be brought down to normal with everyone else. I.e. AO's punishment of the gods was exactly what they planned to happen, since knee-capped all the Old Gods to be just as powerful as the newer ones, as long as their followers/fervor were about equal. Prior to that, OG gods like Selune and Shar were completely unassailable because of how much power they'd amassed since the beginning of existence, but the Reckoning brought them down to the same level as Cyric and Kelemvor).

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:The badger spirit]] and [[spoiler:Myrkul after possessing One of Many]].

* CentralTheme: Love, and how the different loves a person has can conflict. (Love of a god is faith and expressed as worship, for instance; love of duty or clan is expressed in an oath. Love of an ideal is righteousness. There's love of family, friends, and romantic love. All of these loves hold obligations and demand loyalty.) Okku feels that he's trapped in an oath that he can't fulfil, and he'll never reconcile his duties to honor the man who trapped the curse ''and'' protect his clan. Kaelyn could not maintain her faith once she learned of the Wall of the Faithless, and her rebellion - though entirely righteous in her mind - set her against her family, her god and her original purpose forever. Gann has no faith and refuses any duty, even when it seems he should be morally obligated in some way, [[spoiler:despite his parents' true love of his each and him]]. Safiya lacks faith too, but feels bound by duty to protect the Captain [[spoiler:which is revealed to be an extension of the deepest love, the purpose for which she was made]]. Also, ultimately, [[spoiler: Akachi chose to betray his god rather than condemn his lover -- something his god reacted to ''very'' badly because Akachi was the most beloved of his followers.]] You can resolve their conflicts in a number of ways. Or twist them. [[spoiler:Except Kaelyn. Her rebellion will go on as long as she believes she's in the right. All you can change is how long it persists.]]

* CentralTheme: Love, and how the different loves a person has can conflict. (Love of a god is faith and expressed as worship, for instance; love of duty or clan is expressed in an oath. Love of an ideal is righteousness. There's love of family, friends, and romantic love. All of these loves hold obligations and demand loyalty.) Okku feels that he's trapped in an oath that he can't fulfil, and he'll never reconcile his duties to honor the man who trapped the curse ''and'' protect his clan. Kaelyn could not maintain her faith once she learned of the Wall of the Faithless, and her rebellion - though entirely righteous in her mind - set her against her family, her god and her original purpose forever. Gann has no faith and refuses any duty, even when it seems he should be morally obligated in some way. Safiya lacks faith too, but feels bound by duty to protect the Captain [[spoiler:which is revealed to be an extension of the deepest love, the purpose for which she was made]]. Also, ultimately, [[spoiler: Akachi chose to betray his god rather than condemn his lover.]] You can resolve their conflicts in a number of ways. Or twist them. [[spoiler:Except Kaelyn. Her rebellion will go on as long as she believes she's in the right. All you can change is how long it persists.]]

** [[spoiler:Did You Just ''Eat'' Myrkul?]]

* TheMagocracy: Rashemen is ruled by masked witches - and witches ''only''. No men. The older they are, the greater their authority. Minus the gender restriction, Thaymount Academy (and Red Wizard society in general) works this way too, but with rather more backstabbing.

* SociopathicHero: One of Many, a terrifying soul-eating spiritual construct that craves power and revels in suffering. If it approves of something you've done, you can be assured that whatever you just did was an act of selfishness, cruelty or both.

* PeekABangs: Gannayev, possibly symbolic of his deep-seated and carefully hidden fear of showing people who he really is.

* BittersweetEnding: The two non-mask endings. On the one end, [[spoiler:you can choose to permanently bond the curse to your soul and stay in Kelemvor's domain forever, taking a romanced companion with you: you can never return home, but the curse is now no longer a problem. This ends well for Kaelyn, whose crusade never recovers and leaves her a hermit in the Plane of Shadow, but well for Okku, who is happy to see the curse resolved]]. On the other, [[spoiler:you can choose to forcibly remove the curse from yourself, leaving you free of it and allowing you to return home and live your life however you please, but ensuring that the curse will continue to plague the land. This ends happily for Kaelyn, who is emboldened by your defiance of divine will and begins her crusade anew, but poorly for Okku, who is ashamed at his failure and ultimately wastes away.

* BittersweetEnding: One of the MultipleEndings.

* BaldOfAwesome: Safiya is a rare female example. [[spoiler:Depending on your actions, she could also become a BaldOfEvil]].

** All three of the Dead Three foresaw their deaths and set plans in motion to subvert them. Bane sired Xvim who was a seed he would eventually sprout from and replace. Bhaal slept with damn near everything and planned to reclaim his power through ritual sacrifice (or one just killing all the rest). Myrkul made the Crown of Horns to serve as an anchor for his soul while designing the spirit-eater to feed him power. (this was actually a long game scheme to upset the balance of power among the gods by essentially forcing all the old primodral gods who were too powerful to confront directly to be brought down to normal with everyone else. I.e. AO's punishment of the gods was exactly what they planned to happen).

* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler:Male {{Player Character}}s can enter into one with Safiya. [[http://www.formspring.me/GZiets/q/322955310316683214 Women could as well before Executive Meddling.]]]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Did You Just ''Eat'' Myrkul?]]
** [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Did You Just Arm Wrestle An Iron Golem?]]: An NPC Berserker will offer to arm wrestle you, and is tough enough to beat a player transformed into an Iron Golem when he is at full power. To win, you need strength boosts on top of the transformation.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[spoiler:Akachi's Scythe and to a lesser extent the Spiritual Evisceration feat]] It'd be nice if you actually had something to use it on; instead you get them after beating the final boss. While [[spoiler:Spiritual Evisceration]] does get some use on a potential short fight following its obtainment and can be used on a NewGame+ provided you export your character, [[spoiler:Akachi's Scythe]] is only usable in the same short fight.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[spoiler:Akachi's Scythe can be combined with Myrkul's spirit essence to make an [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity + 1 Scythe]] called Spiritual Evisceration.]] It'd be nice if you actually had something to use it on; instead you get it after you've probably already got your character at 30th level, designed for a weapon class unlikely to be scythes (which are rarely seen since HeroesPreferSwords), and [[spoiler:one short dungeon from the end of the game]].

* GoOutWithASmile: According to Gulk'aush, [[spoiler:Gann's father kept his smile, even as he was flayed alive]].

* TragicMonster: [[spoiler:The Spirit Eater is the soul of a priest of Myrkul named Akechi. A ''redeemed'' priest, who fell in [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes unselfish love]] with one of the Faithless, and for his sacrilege against the GodOfEvil, he had his very humanity and sentience destroyed to make him the mindless body-hopping EldritchAbomination inside you.]]

* ImmortalBreaker: [[spoier: The Spirit Eater curse. In one ending, your character goes on a rampage through the planes killing many gods and immortal beings before being finally stopped themselves.]]