Lorne Starling (male neutral evil barbarian 2/fighter 4/frenzied berserker 5) is an antagonistic NPC in NWN2's official campaign.
"A giant of a man, Lorne Starling bears a strong resemblance to his younger brother Bevil, though his face is devoid of any trace of Bevil's easy-going youthfulness. Lorne left West Harbor years ago and while you have heard much of the Harvest Brawl wherein he lost to Cormick, you have few personal recollections of Lorne."
Original Campaign[]
Lorne is the older brother of the PC's close friend Bevil Starling and son of Retta Starling. He was once the undisputed champion of the West Harbor Harvest brawl for 3 years straight until bested by Cormick. Cormick knew he had no chance of winning if he took Lorne head on so instead he bided his time until Lorne let down his guard and then, with a flurry of blows, knocked Lorne out. Lorne and Cormick were good friends who often competed with each other but after his loss, Lorne dwelled on his defeat and felt that Cormick had cheated him. A year after Cormick left for Neverwinter and joined the City Watch, Lorne also left and joined the Greycloaks, seeing this as his opportunity to shine. However during the war with Luskan, his captain was jealous of Lorne's abilities and he was kept from fighting on the front lines. Lorne lost many good friends during that campaign and, from the letters to his mother, he wrote he had lost his taste for adventure early on. After the war, the letters stopped and Lorne just disappeared.
It is possible these experiences led to feelings of betrayal and loss in Lorne and may explain why he later joined the Luskans, eventually becoming a member of the Circle of Blades, a secret Luskan assassination squad. It is assumed he was later recruited by Torio Claven and worked directly under Black Garius. Lorne did most of Garius' dirty work and served as his ambassador to Logram Eyegouger of the Orcs at Old Owl Well. After having his plots at Old Owl Well disrupted by the PC, Garius had Lorne massacre the village of Ember while disguised as the PC in order to frame him/her. The plot is unraveled by the PC but after the trial, a Trial by Combat is called in a last ditch attempt to change its outcome. Lorne, naturally, volunteers to be Torio's champion and fights either the PC or the PC's champion.
If the PC's champion fights, Lorne is killed by the PC's champion. If the PC fights and prevails, he/she is given the choice of killing Lorne or sparing him. If he is spared, Lorne is later killed by Black Garius for his constant failures. Retta is saddened when she finds out about Lorne's demise but understands that the PC had no choice in the matter.
Marcus, the seer child states that Lorne was not a cruel man, but because he wasn't able to let go of his defeat in the Harvest Brawl, he always felt like he had to prove something. When he was in the employ of Black Garius, he feared him and instead of risking his wrath, learned to be cruel along with Torio. After his defeat, his possessions are given to the PC. He, along with Garius and Torio, is disavowed by the new Luskan ambassador Sydney Natale, who states he was not a part of the official Luskan army, but merely a rogue faction serving the "Master of the Fifth Tower."
Trivia[]
- Lorne was voiced by Chris Phillips.