Viconia DeVir

"There's no roof to this world." Viconia DeVir is a neutral evil drow cleric and a potential companion. Viconia and Edwin are the two non-canon game companions.

Background
Originally a drow from the Underdark, she no longer serves the spider queen Lolth, she's now a worshiper of Shar.

Recruitment
Viconia DeVir is available to recruit from Chapter 1. She can be found in the north-west corner of the Peldvale area, where she is being chased by a Flaming Fist officer. This officer wants to kill her and the party can prevent this from happening. Charming the Flaming Fist officer and talking to him reveals that Viconia is wanted for killing a farmer, his wife, and his children, and that the murder was especially brutal. If Gorion's Ward speaks to her after defeating the Flaming Fist officer (250 XP, no reputation penalty) she will offer to join their party (you may also need high enough reaction for her to join you). If you side with officer, 100 XP will be awarded for killing her. Both of them can be killed for 350 XP in total and without any penalty on reputation.

Recruiting her reduces the party's reputation by 2, because she is a drow and they are despised by the surface-dwelling races. If the party's reputation grows too high (19+) for Viconia's liking, or if she is removed from the party, she will then depart the game permanently.

Relationships

 * She'll end up fighting Ajantis
 * She may come to blows with Kivan if they are in the same party for too long

Gameplay
She has a natural magic resistance of 50%, high dexterity score of 19, with the right equipment and spells, she can be an excellent tank.

Note that in original BG1, the MR applies against both enemy spells and friendly beneficial items/magic, which means healing or buffing Viconia can be a very frustrating affair, especially if she is in dire need of healing.


 * In, companions who are under-leveled at the time of joining will be given a certain amount of experience points (XP) for you to manually level them up to gain more control of their status.

Biography
"When asked about her past, VICONIA reveals (quite proudly) that she is a dark elf from the Underdark city of Menzoberranzan. She says very little about her reasons for leaving that sunless realm, though separations of such a nature are never gentle. She does claim to no longer worship the spider goddess Lolth, a change that even you know is often fatal. Her new faith is in the night goddess Shar, an appropriate choice for a drow, though this is not a firm indication that she has given up the brutal ways of her people. She finds the laws of the surface world quaint and more than a little strange, but this is simply because of her lack of experience. Likewise, she seems a bit naive about how her race is viewed by surface-dwellers. Many will not give her the chance she seems to expect, and even being seen with her may affect how people think of you. You know that as a drow, she has resistance to magic."

Recruitment
Viconia is available to recruit by the end of Chapter 7 (SoD), she joins the fight against the Shining Lady's crusade and first shows up  alongside her new companion (a duergar named Pfaug) in front of the Ducal Palace when the forces from Baldur's Gate set out to march against Dragonspear Castle. She can be recruited into the party here, for the loss of two reputation points. If not recruited or dismissed, she can be found within the Coalition Camp, where she can be re-recruited.

Relationships

 * She is romanceable by male human, half-elf, half-orc, or halfling protagonists.

Biography
"When asked about her past, Viconia snaps that there is nothing about her you need to know. Over time, you've learned that Viconia is a drow from the city of Menzoberranzan, though she left her home some time ago for unspecified reasons. Life on the surface has been hard for Viconia. She turned away from the traditional drow worship of Lolth and instead venerates Shar, goddess of darkness and loss. Viconia still finds the customs and mannerisms of surface-dwellers strange and takes malicious amusement in watching others struggle to decide how best to deal with her. Traveling with you has afforded Viconia some measure of protection, and she seems content, for the time being, to remain in your company during the march to Dragonspear Castle."

Recruitment
Viconia DeVir is available to recruit from Chapter 2. She can be found in Athkatla's Government District near the Prison, where she must be rescued from followers of Beshaba, who want to burn her on a stake. If you try to rescue her, this will provoke the followers to attack your party.

As Drow have gained extreme notoriety in the Forgotten Realms. Having Viconia in the party reduces the party's reputation by 2. This reputation loss is regained as soon as she is removed from the group.

If she is removed from the party, she can be found in the Graveyard, near the far entrance of Bodhi's lair.

Relationships

 * Viconia can be romanced by male player characters who are human, half-elf, half-orc or halfling; she will not respond to elves, dwarves or gnomes.
 * She will eventually come to blows with Keldorn if left in the same party for too long.
 * She will also come to blows with Valygar if a certain noblewoman in the Government District is spoken to while they are both in the party.

Gameplay
Her wisdom has been improved by three points and her magic resistance has increased to 65%.

As an evil cleric, at high levels her Turn Undead will enable her control almost every enemy undead type (liches, vampires...), this can be exploited by using the Sanctuary spell and/or by casting Invisibility on her, then let her walk among the undead hordes. Beware though, activating her turning will also affect holy paladins, including Keldorn, but can be prevented with a Remove Fear spell.

Her strength of 10 restricts her from wearing heavy armor, but this problem can be solved by letting her equip Strength-boosting equipment such as Gauntlets of Ogre Power. Her AC will be rather decent due to the stackable bonus gained from her high dexterity score. She may also wear the lightweight Ankheg Plate Mail naturally.

However, her maximum Hit Points are rather low because she doesn't have any bonus from constitution. Though her Hit Points can still be boosted by the Helm of Balduran, or the Girdle of Fortitude and the Pale Green Ioun Stone, there aren't many HP-boosting items in game, so this is a major downside to Viconia's combat effectiveness. Stat-boosting spells like Draw Upon Holy Might become very important when Viconia joins a fight.

In general, Viconia's best utilized when she stays in the back row, buffing-up and healing the group's tanks and using her sling from afar. Using her in melee is not encouraged due to her low HP and sub-par THAC0. She is also equipment-dependent, requiring the right stat-boosting armor and weapons to be fully efficient.

Biography
"When you ask about her recent past, VICONIA snarls that it is not your place to know such things of her. There is still pride in her voice when she speaks about her Underdark home of Menzoberranzan, but you get the feeling that there is nothing left for her there, her family and House most likely victims of typically vicious drow "politics." She has continued in her worship of the night goddess Shar, but that appears to have been the only boon to her exile. She seems sullen and bitter, and has certainly learned much of the intolerance she must face while living amongst surface peoples. Her natural abilities as a drow have faded with time, also contributing to her lost sense of belonging."

Personality
In general, Viconia tends to be cold and cruel, particularly when it suits her purposes. Due partly to her experience as a drow, she values strength and the ambition to dominate and tends to despise compassion as a weakness. Occasionally, she exhibits a slightly less vicious side to her, though.

If romanced, Viconia will (depending partly on how Gorion's Ward responds) vacillate between venomous hostility and abject compassion and fear (mostly of her former goddess, Lolth).

Epilogues
Viconia has two official epilogues if you complete the final quest of Throne of Bhaal with her present in your party.

In her default Epilogue, Viconia moves on with her own adventures after parting ways with Gorion's Ward. She founds a short-lived Sharite cult under her command in Waterdeep, only to slaughter them all when they betray her, shrugging off the chastisement of her goddess. She stops an attempt by the Knights of the Shield to take over Calimport, and then assists Drizzt DoUrden in saving the elven city of Suldanessalar from a Zhentarim plot, for which she receives the highest honor of the Seldarine from Queen Ellesime. She reportedly takes this unprecedented honor stoically, and then leaves; her movements thereafter lost to history.

If Gorion's Ward completed Viconia's Romance and chooses not to embrace godhood, the two lovers continue adventuring together until they deign to settle down, with Gorion's Ward becoming an important political figure. They marry and have a half-drow son together, but after several years, Viconia is assassinated by an agent of Lolth - the Ascension mod contains an expanded version of this epilogue stating that this was achieved through the use of venom taken from Lolth's own fangs. Unable to resurrect his wife, Gorion's Ward sadly raises their son on his own, disappearing into the pages of myth - some say they go on to crusade against the drow, but none know the truth.

Viconia's romance epilogue is quite controversial amongst the fandom, who argue there are multiple reasons why it breaks suspension of disbelief (such as the sheer power and mystical options available to two such high-level adventurers). An infamous mod that makes Edwin Odesseiron into a romanceable character for a female Gorion's Ward also includes a bonus component in the form of an alternate romanced Viconia epilogue.

In this unofficial, fan-made epilogue, which only triggers if Viconia's romance is completed, Gorion's Ward convinces her to change her alignment to True Neutral, and Gorion's Ward forsakes godhood, the couple come to a happier ending. Lolth's agents begin trying to assassinate Viconia after the two are wed, and this leads to the two going an epic quest through the Underdark and the Planes to confront the Demon Queen of Spiders. Whilst what happens remains a secret to the two of them and their friends & family, Lolth's assassination attempts cease. Viconia goes on to bear at least one child to Gorion's Ward, their firstborn being a half-drow daughter who goes on to become a mighty adventurer in her own right.