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Version used for review: 1.4.

One of the most notable things about Throne of Bhaal in comparison to its predecessors is the distinct lack of in-world recruitable companions, with a singular exception. It is, after all, a high level adventure that expects you to have filled out your party roster many dozens of hours prior to its beginning. Introducing a new companion so late into the story and expecting the player to become invested in their character and story is a tall order, but Juniper and the Stone Leech pulls it off admirably.

As I’ve done before, I’d like to preface this review by saying that I have written this after having done some free, additional proofreading and editing on the dialogue and text in this mod. Despite this, my reviews remain unbiased as always — I just really liked this one.

This mod introduces Juniper Vinniczi, a Vistani woman from the realm of Ravenloft. She is a Chaotic Neutral Fighter/Mage/Cleric with some unique features. This mod continues the Dreadful Tales series by Lava Del’Vortel. Previously, the player could have traveled to Ravenloft once before in Shadows of Amn with the excellent Bloodied Stings of Barovia mod, and returning to the realm will give you a chance to call back to your previous adventure.

Juniper is plagued by a problem — her people’s ability to travel between Ravenloft and other realms has been disrupted somehow, and she’s on a mission to discover why, and put an end to it. This will, eventually, lead you to travel to Har’Akir in the Domains of Dread through more… unconventional methods.

Before one can reach the true beginning of this quest, however, you must travel with Juniper for a time. As a companion, Juniper is a soft-spoken but willful woman, and much of her dialogue with the player focuses on matters of culture, family, and the nature of travel. As someone who, generally, doesn’t know much about Ravenloft, I found Juniper’s ruminations on her people and her land intriguing. Her dialogue is written with a stoic sort of sadness. Juniper’s parents died when she was a child, and she was adopted into the Vistani culture — a culture that involves perpetual travel through incredibly dangerous lands, though also one that celebrates the beauty and peace of seeing new places and learning new things. These are all reflected very well in Juniper’s character.

The writing isn’t perfect — but nothing ever is. In Juniper’s case, she starts off with a slight exposition dump that may make it easy for some to bounce off her, but there aren’t really many complex story threads to follow. There are a few instances in the quest that are a little odd, but Juniper is from an unfamiliar realm, so references to a transdimensional pyramid being “dead” can receive a pass from me, despite the questions I may have regarding the matter. The quest isn’t hard to follow, per se, it just contains some unique concepts that may feel a little out of place for those not knowing what to expect from a Ravenloft adventure.

If Gorion’s Ward is female, and otherwise not engaged in a romantic relationship, she and Juniper may begin a blossoming relationship. Considering that Juniper receives an entire quest dedicated to her, I feel that this sudden relationship is much better paced than some of the other expansion-based romances, such as Corwin or Glint in Siege of Dragonspear, as much I love those two. Juniper’s approach to the relationship is akin to that of her life — she is driven by a strong desire to learn new things, and see where fate takes her. She seems to think that there is a lot to learn about you.

It is short lived within the actual playtime of the game, considering the length of Throne of Bhaal, but it’s surprisingly believable in its execution, and there is a charmingly written epilogue for her should you go down this path. The relationship is framed as two people who have found it difficult to find love in their lives as adventurers, and Juniper is still hesitant to let you know her in a way that no one has before. When you finally find the space for one another in your lives, it’s genuinely quite sweet.

The character writing is strong, and Juniper feels at home in Throne of Bhaal in a way that she wouldn’t in any other part of the saga. The same applies to her quest. The ‘Stone Leech’ portion of the mod largely takes you through a cavernous temple in an unfamiliar land. This is a high-level adventure, so the enemies are nothing to sneeze at — especially the final boss, who has a multi-stage fight which rewards you with some bard-specific items and a brand new innate ability learnable via a tome.

As someone who really wants to enjoy Throne of Bhaal more than I do, I love what Juniper and the Stone Leech does for the flow of adventure, giving you a decently meaty side quest to sink your teeth into while you get to know this new character. Returning to the Domains of Dread is also a treat.

Juniper and the Stone Leech makes use of AI imagery for some of its environments, as well as Juniper’s portrait itself, but it’s clear that a lot of work has gone into making the aesthetics match with that of the game. It looks good, but having known that some of the environments are AI generated, there are certain features that stick out as telltale signs, such as awkward angles or the “object-shaped object” thing that it does. I didn’t find it terribly distracting, and the conversations with Juniper make it a thoroughly enjoyable quest in addition to the environments, not in spite of them. Juniper is also professionally voice acted, and although it is restricted to her selection sounds, it brings an authenticity to the mod that it would have lacked otherwise. The mod also makes use of two music tracks that are appropriately somber for a character from a place called “The Domains of Dread”.

Another unique aspect of Juniper is her class — there aren’t a lot of Fighter/Mage/Clerics hanging around in Baldur’s Gate, and I don’t think it’s a class a lot of people will have experienced playing before. This is a shame, because they are very fun to use, and Juniper offers an opportunity to recruit one already at a high level. If it comes down to choosing between Sarevok and Juniper, I’ll probably pick Juniper.

She has some unique equipment too, which helps to make her stand out even more. Two of these items, the lantern — named Fate’s Colored Light — and her glasses, are unremovable.

The lantern holds the position of Juniper’s shield slot, and it isn’t removable, so you cannot make her dual-wield or swap it out to something with higher AC. In Throne of Bhaal, where enemies have a high rate of attacks per round, the lantern’s 20% chance to entangle enemies occurs more often than you may expect, and it can be useful to prevent melee enemies from chasing after her at low health.

Juniper’s glasses take up her helmet slot, which unfortunately means that she won’t be immune to critical hits — which can be a death sentence on harder difficulties. Thankfully Juniper makes up for it in other areas, and her glasses provide her with free True Sight and bonus intelligence, which is handy.

Vistani’s Hope is a +4 club that drains power from its target. You may find a better weapon for Juniper, but I found this to be perfectly adequate for her. She’s not going to excel at dealing damage, but she can provide some excellent support to those who are dishing out damage.

Juniper’s starting armor is likely going to be easily replaced, especially if you do her quest, but it’s still a very nice piece of protection to have, and I like it from a flavor perspective. It also looks really good on her.

Even if you don’t wish Juniper to be a permanent part of your party, this mod is still worth playing. She will happily return to her family after her quest is complete, and it’s not a bad choice for her to make, should you have someone to take her place in your group. The quest will supply you with some generous rewards suitable for a high level party.

These swords are of particular note for me. The bleed effect is extremely powerful, and they feel rewarding to use together. As long as you find someone prepared to dual-wield a bastard sword and a short sword together.

There’s a lot to enjoy here. The sights and sounds of this mod mesh very well with Throne of Bhaal, and I feel that it brings a lot to the expansion that it was lacking. It’s not often that I enjoy a mod so much that I volunteer to do post-release proofreading for it — a task that is generally considered time-consuming and tedious — but I spent three months doing exactly that for Juniper and the Stone Leech, and I’m happy that I did. I’ll be adding this one to my ‘must play’ list.

Thanks for reading.