#Thess liveblogs Baldur's Gate 3

[thessalian]

Thess vs Patch 7

Welp. Yet again, a patch has fucked me and my mods entirely over.

BG3's Mod Manager does not exactly support some of the mods that I have. Most of them involve the whole thing about actually being able to play an aasimar.

On the one hand, I did find a simpler, better, and overall easier mod to deal with that kind of thing. And I mean, like, Dame Aylin level aasimar, exceptional work on the wings of four types of aasimar rather than three, and in general some awesome shit.

On the other hand, it's still an external mod. Which means I have a lot of poking around to do to make it work and initially maybe have halfway normal aasimar eyes. And maybe poking around third party mods that actually work so that I can maybe have better hair options. The stuff on the mod manager itself is not quite there yet.

...Some great cheats, though.

[thessalian]

This feels like something half my dash should have.

Snoring contest

Choose your favorite and sleep well

P.S. Shadowheart doesn't have these sounds, so I guess she's lucky

[thessalian]

Faerun!Alisaie vs New Allies

On a mangled bit of beach

Alisaie: Hey ... Shadowheart, right? If you don't wake up right now, you're getting a face full of salt water.

Shadowheart: ...We're ... alive. Do ... I have you to thank for that?

Alisaie: Really wish I could take the credit, but no; I got hit in the head with a rock before I got too far with these. *extends wings* So ... I dunno, how much does your god love you?

Shadowheart: ...I ... have no idea how to answer that question, honestly. So let's just go with "probably not that much". We need to find a healer.

Alisaie: We should maybe find Lae'zel. She probably knows something about getting illithid tadpoles out of people. I mean, because githyanki.

Shadowheart: Do we have to?

Alisaie: Every little helps, but if we don't manage to find her, it won't matter anyway. ...We're talking 'we' here; did you want to team up here?

Shadowheart: You're capable, you saved my life at least once, and you've got at least some pragmatism. I think this could work out well. Especially since you haven't asked about ... well.

Alisaie: I make it a policy not to ask about someone's accessories until the third date.

Shadowheart: ...wut.

Alisaie: What? Should I be waiting for the fifth?

Shadowheart: ...Let's just see if we can find supplies.

They find intellect devourers first, and then...

Alisaie: This rune is messed up. I mean, why we have little teleport runes all over Faerun I will never know, but...

Hand: *sticks out of rune*

Gale: ...help?

Alisaie: .........Right. *pulls out lute*

Shadowheart: ...wut?!?

Alisaie: *to the tune of Let It Go* The Weave flares bright on the waypoint tonight / But it's looking kind of frayed / Because it's got a wizard / All stuck in the mess he made...

Shadowheart: ...I am so confused...

Gale: It's alright! Bard, apparently! It seems to be helping; keep it up!

Alisaie: *still singing* While we haven't got the time to fix his mess / I'm an altruist, I have to confess / So settle down, don't get all mad / Calm your tits so I can retrieve this lad / you'll be glad...

Gale: Not sure about your meter but--

Alisaie: *entirely ignoring him* Let him go / Let him go / Don't hold him back anymore / 'Cos you might find him a bore--

Gale: HEY!

Rune: *spits Gale out*

Gale: OOF!

Alisaie: And that's what you get for slamming my meter.

Once they get all that sorted out...

Astarion: Look, there! I cornered one of those things! Can you kill it?

Alisaie: Fine.

Astarion: *lunges with the knife*

Astarion: *is summarily disarmed by the flick of a rapier*

Astarion: HEY!

Gale: ...I thought you said you were a bard!

Alisaie: First of all, you said I was a bard. Second, there are bards ... and there are bards. Third--

Mind-Sharing Thing: *happens*

Alisaie: ...Third, we have a new addition to our happy band of weirdos. *turns to Astarion* Unless you want to be all tentacled.

Astarion: I mean ... not particularly, no. I should ask - are we going to have an altruism issue here?

Alisaie: Possibly. I won't make you watch.

Astarion: *sigh* Fair enough.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Brain Fog

I must have the brain fog. I really must. It's the only reason I can think of for blowing that many spoons on something so futile.

Why the hell did I bother with messing about with all the BG3 mods when I'm going to have to reinstall each and every one of them anyway when I swap to the new PC on Monday?!? I mean, I guess I'll at least be able to find them easier, I imagine, but still. Seriously?!?

I. Am. A. Dipshit.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Do-Overs

Y'know, I wasn't going to liveblog my current BG3 playthrough. I figured it was redundant and unnecessary, because I've been through this with the same character already. Well, mostly the same character - I sacrificed Steam achievements for a modded game and am running Alisaie as an aasimar properly.

Thing is, even after years of poking at it in early access and a couple of experimental playthroughs, and one that got me at least midway through Act 3 ... I still underestimate how much fucking game there is. I did most of the same things, but ... just the tiniest differences in approach or timing or quest order change things SO. FUCKING. MUCH, so it's actually kind of worth it after all.

I mean, also I may be looking at having an owlbear cub join my camp, for once. The order I went about that was a little weird too. Plus there's the whole thing where I'm bringing Karlach with me more. And also ... one more thing.

I know a lot of the people who follow my Tumblr who play BG3 also played the Dragon Age games. Now, the Dragon Age games are simpler than BG3 in a lot of ways, and because of that, it's easier to stack a party to maintain specific approval ratings for companions. And, I mean, it's not strictly cheating. Like, if you knew damn well that you were going to deal with the Carta and probably do something illegal as a result, you are not in-game likely to take Aveline, or you're going to want to bring Blackwall when you're going to support Grey Wardens. But in Baldur's Gate 3 ... well, this game is huge, and there are so many chances for companion approval and disapproval, and it's hard to remember them all. And sure, you can bring the party that you like best, or whose overall party balance works best for you, but in times when it's mostly just talking...

Summary: I found a comprehensive companion approval guide for Baldur's Gate 3. Just in case anybody wants one.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few things to write. I have to say, practice apparently does make perfect because I managed to get through the first section of this game and into the Underdark surprisingly quickly.

[thessalian]

Things I did not need to know existed:

A "Withers' Big Naturals" mod for BG3.

Also boxers with Gortash's face on them, and a mankini.

Not that I have a problem with these things existing, mind you. I would just prefer not know about them.

Then again, I'm honestly freaked out that Withers has eyelashes, never mind tits, but that's just me.

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Patch/Hotfix Cycle

So ... okay, much as I love Larian, and how much they've grown and developed as a studio between Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 ... does anyone else feel like we're still somehow in early access, just because of the Patch/Hotfix Cycle?

It's like ... they do a patch. And these patches are huge, with big quality of life improvements, and that's great and everything? But the more they tinker with the code, the more chance you're going to have of coming out with a game-breaking bug somewhere along the line. Patch 6 in particular, with all of its significant QOL changes, somehow brushed up against a change in ... *checks* ah, yeah, Patch 5 ... and completely broke the game for some of us in the process.

See, there's a condition that you can pick up - "Enemy of Justice". It's supposed to be for killing a guard or something. I'm assuming some kind of criminal activity. Thing is, even if you're not doing any criming, you can pick this status up - specifically if you want to try to recruit Minthara on a good playthrough. Because if you kill anything before you knock her unconscious (including, apparently, the 5hp Scrying Eye which'll get you everybody's attention if you're not careful, and the low hp goblins everywhere), whoever struck the knockout blow gets Enemy of Justice. Which I guess makes sense. You assaulted her and killed her guards. She's going to take issue with that, and probably know that you're not as devoted to the Absolute as you pretended to be early on. (Though why anyone should believe her at that point, no idea.)

The problem is ... apparently Enemy of Justice doesn't discriminate. If you killed any kind of guard, anywhere, and left a witness ... everyone will be after you. Look, I first found this out because Lady Esther over in the Rosymorn Monastery literally attacked me on sight. She doesn't know jack from shit about the whole Absolute cultist bullshit, and probably doesn't care because it's not her assignment. So she has no valid reason to attack me. However, Enemy of Justice says that I am Public Enemy Number One for ... killing minions of the big bad, okay. And somehow everyone in Faerun knows this.

And I mean that literally, as some people have gone into Act 2 and found that everyone in the entire zone wants them dead. The Harpers at the Last Light Inn and the Absolutists at Moonrise Towers will both auto-aggro if you've got the bug that sticks that fucking Enemy of Justice to you. It's a pain in the arse, and basically makes the game unplayable. I mean, the worst part is, this only seems to really come into force when you come out of the Underdark and into what's ostensibly Act 2-adjacent content, so you go through the Underdark thinking all's cool and then boom! Just ... everyone hates you. Apparently it all goes away when you kill a certain Big Bad at the end of Act 2, but ... I mean, how do you get to that point if everyone wants to kill you?

So ... yeah, sometimes it feels like we're still in early access, because we're still seeing such massive patches that, just because of how much the code's being tinkered with, is an open invitation for more game-breaking bugs. I do love Larian trying to polish the game to make it the best game it possibly can be. But ... I mean, I would like to be able to play it at some point. And I can't do that if I'm stuck just a bit before the Grym fight, unable to continue because if I'm going to kill Lady Esther (and make no mistake - I am going to kill Lady Esther), I want Lae'zel approval for it. Which I don't get if she just runs at me screaming.

Larian ... please. Make it actually playable, and then stop trying to polish it. Let it be finished. It's a great game. Stop breaking it trying to make it somehow better. We can't play it when you do this.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Devs' Intentions

I read an article yesterday (I think it was GameRant) about a whole bunch of stuff that was cut out of Baldur's Gate 3 before official release. I don't remember all of them, but that's probably because they weren't very important to me one way or the other. However, there were a few that, for better or for worse, caught my attention. And ... well, I'm me. Before I start liveblogging the ridiculous cuteness that is the start of the Shadowheart romance (because whatever multiverse she lives in, Alisaie apparently goes for the dark-haired, mostly-serious, adorkable-when-allowing-herself-to-be-vulnerable godly ones), I wanted to talk about a few of them.

Exhaustion Mechanic: Oh dear sweet fucking gods, I'm glad they scrapped that one. Apparently that whole bit where the companions remark how tired they are is a holdover from that, but it used to come with a decrease to stats, just like the exhaustion mechanic in the PHB. Except ... I'm not sure they could have implemented that without it being ridiculously punishing. Encumberance is bad enough; don't hit my stats because I want to keep playing without taking a long rest, okay?

More Crafting Than Just Potions: Apparently at one point they were looking at allowing people to make and enchant their own weapons and armour. This is why you tend to find gems and metal ingots all over the place. While I'm a little sad about the lack of a crafting mechanic, I can see why they left it out - having a herbalism kit in the TTRPG version is one thing, but carrying around a fucking forge is something else again. And at least now I know this, so I can actually sell off the stupid metal ingots (except the infernal iron, obviously) because I don't actually need them.

Minsc: Apparently he should have been introduced earlier in the game, with a much more comprehensive character arc. I'm not sure why they went with the "rushed in Act 3" introduction to him in party, mostly because I haven't got that far yet, but I would imagine it has something to do with party management.

The Entire Upper Level of Baldur's Gate: Apparently there's an entire section of Baldur's Gate the city that was just ... excised from the game. Maybe they didn't have enough time to finish it, or maybe it just made the game too unwieldy, but apparently data mining indicates that there were a few things tied to the upper city that ... well, were really, really important to varoius characters' endgame states. So if you're dissatisfied with some characters' endings? It's probably to do with that. (And I won't go any further because spoilers.)

The Dark Urge: Now, here's the one I look at and really think, "Larian learned some lessons from Divinity: Original Sin 2" as regards player agency and going too far on the grimdark. Because apparently? Originally, the only way you could have an original character was to take the Dark Urge. There was no Tav / Dark Urge divide; if you wanted your own character instead of playing one of the origin characters? You were stuck with the Dark Urge, whether you wanted it or not. Now, don't get me wrong; if someone wants to play that, more power to them. Just, from what I've read about it, it does involve a certain loss of agency dependent on your stats. If you have to resist that Dark Urge, you're going to need saving throws, and if that's your dump stat because you wanted to play a strength-based character, that's just ... yeah. I don't mind the option being there; it's interesting on the conceptual level. I just wouldn't want that to be my only option. So I'm glad that Larian pried themselves out of Grimdark Valley long enough to go, "Okay, some people might not want to spend all their time fighting blind murderfrenzy just to play a good character", and make a separate, non-Dark Urge Tav. I also figure it has something to do with the issues in Divinity: Original Sin 2 where you'd want to take a specific course of action only to have one of your companions slaughter the quest objective before you could talk to them. (Still never forgiving them for that.)

So ... yeah, some things I'm really glad they stripped out. Others I wonder why? And some, while I enjoy them as mechanics (look, I am a crafting fiend, okay?), I can accept that they wouldn't have added much. I guess I wonder the thought processes that were going on in dev meetings where they came to those conclusions. I imagine the Dark Urge thing and the exhaustion mechanic thing both got, "Look, we can't stick them with this; they will riot", but ... what happened to that whole section of Baldur's Gate?

Maybe I've been dealing with too much bullshit from various AAA game companies*, but if they sell that shit as DLC I am going to set something on fire.

* - YES I AM LOOKING AT YOU, BIOWARE, WITH YOUR SELLING OFF THE ACTUAL ENDING AND/OR KEY ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND THE NEXT GAME IN THE SERIES AS DLC. I AM NOT FORGIVING YOU FOR LEGACY, AND I AM CERTAINLY NOT FORGIVING YOU FOR TRESPASSER. DLC IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN ADDED EXTRAS, LIKE SOLDIER'S PEAK! YOU USED TO UNDERSTAND THIS, EVEN IF YOU DID STICK A FUCKING AD FOR IT IN CAMP.

[thessalian]

Astrid vs New Friends

On a beach somewhere

Astrid: Wakey-wakey, chicken bakey?

Shadowheart: ...what?!?

Astrid: I didn't want to be shaking you or anything because you might have thought I was trying to poke your whatsit.

Shadowheart: ...Excuse me?

Astrid: Oh, no, I mean ... you're pretty but I'm all about the consent. I meant that thing. *gestures to hand clutching doohickey*

Shadowheart: *looks at doohickey in her hand* Oh! Right. That. Thank you. And for getting me out of that pod, too.

Astrid: Don't mention it. Glad you survived the crash.

Shadowheart: I ... saw you get knocked out of the front of the ship. How did you survive that fall?

Astrid: Given who you apparently worship, you'd laugh if I said "the intervention of some benevolent deity", right?

Shadowheart: Until I died.

Astrid: Good one for the laughing spell, got it.

Shadowheart: The ... laughing spell?

Astrid: Never mind. You might see it sometime ... if we're sticking together?

Shadowheart: You saved me from the pod, you respect my privacy, and you can literally insult people to death. I'm sticking with you. Plus if anyone can charm someone into helping us, it's you.

Astrid: Okay, cool! Now ... how are you on pillaging the dead? I ask because ... you know, holy person...

Shadowheart: I worship Shar.

Astrid: Okay, fair enough! Just asking! Now let's see what we can find.

A little while later, up a cliff

Shadowheart: What do you mean, we're going back for the intellect devourers?!?

Astrid: Well, neither of them was Us, and they looked hurt but I still saw them kill imps in one hit so maybe we'll get lucky and find more survivors to help.

Shadowheart: Like your githyanki friend?!?

Astrid: Iiiiiiiii don't think she and I get along very well. I don't like when people leave others to die just because, you know?

Shadowheart: Well, this is going to be grand. What, you expect someone halfway decent to fight will just step out of a wall and--

Waypoint Rune: *looks really weird*

Astrid: ...I think your god intervenes more than you think.

Gale: *sticks hand out of portal-looking waypoint* Um ... little help?

Astrid: I ... am not strong enough to pull you out of there. *touches portal* Please calm your tits.

Gale: Not in a calm place right now; and I don't have--

Astrid: Sorry, wasn't talking to you! Erm ... more specifics. Portal, please calm your tits.

Gale: ...That's ... actually helping! Just a little tug should do!

Astrid: That's what they all say, but I like a man who needs more than that to get any joy.

Gale: Wait, what?!?

Astrid: Well, that means there's a better chance of mutual joy!

Shadowheart: She's a bard. Highly optimistic and nearly sickeningly sweet bard, but still has the thing about the sex jokes.

Astrid: *pulls Gale out of wall, while giggling* There you go! Hi! I'm Astrid.

Gale: Gale of Waterdeep. Pleasure. Well, circumstances aside. I take it you know about the ceromorphosis?

Shadowheart: You know the technical name for this?

Gale: That and all the symptoms; no way to help. I don't suppose you--?

Shadowheart: Cleric. Of. Shar.

Gale: Oh. Well, if you're looking for a cure, and I'm looking for a cure, maybe we should do so together.

Astrid: So long as we can deal with any of the more ... illithid-y survivors. I don't want them killing any more of the locals.

Gale: Ah, an altruistic sort!

Shadowheart: Mm. Better than "I don't have to run faster than the abominations; I just have to run faster than you", at least. I honestly just don't want them behind us while we're looking for a cure.

Gale: Optimism and pragmatism, and I'm somewhere in the middle ... I think we'll get along just fine.

Shadowheart: Just remember we have priorities. And they are in your brain, not your pants.

Gale; Astrid: Spoilsport.

A little while later

Astarion: I found an intellect devourer and have it cornered; come kill it!

Astrid: If it's too weak to attack you, I think it'll be okay if-- *gets grabbed and floored by Astarion* Yeek!

Shadowheart: Excuse me; that is my sickeningly sweet bard and if you don't back off I will smear you across the landscape!

Gale: ...Ah, that explains the comments about priorities earlier.

Shadowheart: ...Shut up.

Astarion: Now, now, sudden moves might make me twitch and I'd like her neck intact, so--

Astrid: *head-butts him*

Astarion: OW! *reels back and lets Astrid up*

Shadowheart: I think you broke his nose. Didn't think you were strong enough for that.

Astrid: Learned that manouvre in taverns; it's a thing.

Mind-Sharing Thing: *happens*

Astarion: Oh. Right. You're in the same boat as me. Apologies.

Astrid: You're angry and scared; it happens.

Astarion: I am not scared.

Astrid: Well, since we are in the same boat, and the boat is the HMS "Turning Into A Mind Flayer"? You maybe should be.

Astarion: Oh, yes, because my turning into a monster is such a novel experience.

Astrid: ...wut.

Astarion: Never mind. Look, maybe we can control these things--

Shadowheart; Astrid; Gale: Are you stupid?!?

Astarion: *winces* ...All right, which one of you actually hurt me with that one?

Astrid: *sheepishly raises hand* Sorry. This is why I'm usually not rude to people.

Astarion: Noted. Anyway, yes, fine, getting rid of it, good plan. Are you doing that and can I join you?

Astrid: Sure! And if you still really want to kill intellect devourers--

Astarion: That was just a distraction gambit, but I suppose...

Astrid: There's a few down there.

Astarion: Oh, joy.

Later, fighting intellect devourers

Shadowheart: You know if these things hit us even once, we're dead, right?

Astrid: We'll just have to make sure you all hit first. Astarion, you're fastest of all of us, so here goes... *clears throat, pulls lute; playing and singing to the tune of Mack the Knife* "Oh the elf babe / has such teeth, dear / and he shows them / pearly white / just a dagger / has our new friend, dear / and he keeps it / out of sight--"

Gale: What the--?

Astarion: *Inspired; murdering EVERYTHING*

Shadowheart: I thought she'd insult them to death again, but this...

Astrid: "On the floor of / this weird transport / lies a brain that's / oozing life / and who's sneaking / to stab the next one / that's Astarion / with the knife..."

Gale: ...Now I want a theme tune.

Astrid: *finishes off with a flourish now that everything's dead; puts lute away* Working on it!

[thessalian]

Thess vs Mod Issues

Well. That explains some things.

See, I had a few issues on this my second playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3. Specifically, I was struggling with Nere's head. I had it in my inventory. The game would not recognise that I had this head in my inventory. This was annoying, but not a huge problem. It's a side quest. The asshole was dead. So I just kind of yeeted the head into the lava and moved on.

Now, two things, each more problematic than the last. First, it will not recognise that I have a night orchid for Shadowheart, which is frustrating as hell. But the worst of it is that I have two chunks of infernal iron and I am at the Last Light Inn and Dammon is asking me for infernal iron to fix Karlach and IT WILL NOT RECOGNISE THAT I HAVE INFERNAL IRON.

So I hit Google. Now, apparently this is a bug that mostly hits people playing with mods, but has actually hit some people playing an unmodded game. One of the last couple of hotfixes Larian did kind of messed up some bits and pieces and made some important items (iron, night orchids, heads, all manner of shit) just ... not be recognised as being in your inventory when it's in your inventory.

There are a lot of things that can be done about this and they're all complicated as fuck and it's frustrating. I don't even know where to start with the fixes. I'm trying one, but it may be that the only way is to ... well, start again, clean, no mods. Which means no proper aasimar Alisaie, at least until the next hotfix. And that's assuming that I don't wind up with the same bug in a non-modded playthrough.

FUUUUUUUUUCK.

Well, I'll keep going through this whole validation ... thing and we'll see how it goes. It's a good thing that a) I like Act 1 well enough and b) am perfectly happy to keep going through things to find the New Stuff. Bneh.

EDIT: I've been doing some hunting and while there are a lot of fixes, I've learned a few things. Like, this apparently started with Hotfix 16, because Larian's still implementing this "grab whatever you want from whatever companion you want / the camp chest whenever you need to" thing and it's a process. It's apparently fucking up with ModFixer, which a lot of mods apparently need or already have embedded in it. Thing is, the person who made the ModFixer mod has never updated it, ever, and apparently the comment when people flag up the issue is "The mod isn't broken; I'm not fixing shit". So ... that's nice. Of course, some people are having this bug without having any mods at all, so they're right in a way, but that doesn't help all the people with the mods. So that's nice. I'll probably have a poke at fixing things but I'm going to have to go back to a way earlier save anyway because this goes all the way back to the Nere fight, so I don't really know how to cope with this. But I can't do all that much right now because I have an appointment with the optician in about an hour because I really need to have my glasses prescription looked at (gods, the sticker shock on this one but I'd like to be able to see and have fewer headaches, so there you have it), which means clothes / shoes / out. I also need more heavy cream and some limescale remover for my kettle. Yay hard water. I just pray I don't come out of the eye tests with more migraine - I usually do because of the glaucoma puff test, but I'd like to have a video game day.

*sigh* Maybe I'll just go back to poking new games I haven't touched yet and leave BG3 alone for awhile.

[thessalian]

Astrid vs the Arcane Tower

Approaching the Arcane Tower

Astrid: Oooh, pretty. Except ... what are those?

Turrets: *go BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*

Astrid: Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow...

Gale: Astrid, back up! IGNIS!

Turrets: *are immune to fire, continue to go BZZZZZZZT on Gale now*

Gale: Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow...

Astrid: Okay ... let me think...

Astarion: How about we just give up this whole endeavour and do something a little less deadly?

Shadowheart: We. Are. In. The. Underdark. There is no 'a little less deadly' here.

Astrid: Okay, everyone? How fast can you run?

Gale: Not that fast. We'll never get to the tower without those things destroying us.

Astrid: Not all in one go, no. But look. *points at various bits of wall* There's cover. We rush to those bits, take a breath, run for the next bit. I'll take the lead; I got this nifty go-faster ring. Oh! Hey! Wait! Potions of Speed! You guys will need those! Here!

Gale: You just ... lug all that around. Because of course you do.

Astrid: I am made of useful!

At the doors to the tower

Astrid: Aww. I was hoping that we could ignite these braziers with the turret bzzzt and maybe that'd stop it. Oh well, we're in cover now. Astarion?

Astarion: There had better be something incredibly valuable in there. *picks lock on door*

Yet More Turrets: *go BZZZZZT*

Astarion: OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!

Astrid: Okay ... so ... again with the running. How're we feeling potion-wise?

Gale: Tapped out. I don't suppose.

Astrid: I may be made of useful, Gale, but I also have the carrying capacity of a faerie dragon. I guess we'll just have to dash for that ... elevator, there. We can use the balconies as cover when we need to breathe.

Shadowheart: Are we sure that elevator works?

Astrid: The turrets do, so why wouldn't it?

A short while later...

Elevator: *does not work*

Astrid: Aw, nuts.

Gale: I imagine there's an arcane generator of some kind in the basement. We just have to get there. Did anyone see stairs?

Astrid: No, but I saw bracket fungus and I'm pretty sure those won't disappear on us. More running?

Astarion: *sigh* At least we did find useful things...

Later, in the basement

Shadowheart: You're ... throwing bits of plantlife into the generator.

Astrid: And some parts. Let's see... Aha!

Generator: *sparks to life*

Braziers: *ignite*

Turrets: *stand down*

Shadowheart; Astarion: *stare at Gale*

Gale: ...Don't look at me. I don't know how she managed to fix an arcane generator. And honestly, I'm not sure I'd tell you if I did.

Astrid: Anyway ... so where would the real shinies be, Gale?

Gale: Top floor, but there might still be defenses up there if there's anything really good.

One short elevator ride later

Animated Armour Automatons: *all look at them funny*

Gale: Ah. Something incredibly good, then.

Astarion: I suppose we'd better get ready for a fight then. I suppose we couldn't have had something I could actually feed on...

Shadowheart: Well, Astrid has that Heat Metal-- wait. Astrid what are you doing?!?

Astrid: *walks up to automaton* *recites poem*

Automatons: *nod and go about their business, leaving the party alone*

Gale; Shadowheart; Astarion: ........................

Astarion: I have seen her talk her way around goblins, bugbears, ogres, squirrels, and giant spiders ... but I think I draw the line at animated armour.

Astrid: It's actually simpler with constructs. You just have to figure out what their protocols are likely to be. So ... I told them we belong here. Help yourselves?

Gale: *helpless laughter*

Quite some while later, now that the detour is over

Astarion: Should we be worried about more minotaurs?

Astrid: We should never be worried about anything. We are epic.

Two Minotaurs: *chaaaaaaaaarge*

Astrid: *pulls out lute*

Gale: *grins* Oh, here we go...

Astrid: *to the tune of Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)* "You're looking for a victim / And any will suffice / But the one you picked today / Has command of fire and ice / You're cruising through the tunnels / See a wizard as you pass / But if you blink twice / He's gonna roast your burly ass!"

Gale: ...I have a theme song. I think I like it. IGNIS!

Shadowheart: ......Now I kind of want one.

Astarion: Well, I got one first.

Gale; Shadowheart: Oh, shut up.

Astrid: "And all the clerics say / You're pretty fly - FOR A DEAD GUY!"

Shadowheart: That does not count.

Stabnation: *ensues*

[thessalian]

Thess vs Approval Guides

One of the things I'm not all that thrilled about in terms of video gaming is the vocal minority (the very vocal minority) that seems to believe that anything but the hardest modes and no help whatsoever is "cheating" and somehow makes one "not a REAL gamer". I mean ... I'm old. I remember video gaming's infancy. I remember when all most people had in terms of playing video games was the big arcade cabinet jobs, and you couldn't really get a guide for those. The whole point of them was to get people dumping more and more quarters in as you beat your head against increasingly harder levels and--

Basically, we were all playing Souls-likes back then.

Anyway, when consoles came along and games evolved past "increase enemy frequency, speed, strength, and / or HP; repeat until unsustainable", we started getting guides. And they were nice, too - they gave hints and tips and bits of lore, and while it was a bit of a pain flipping through a physical book, at least most of the games at the time actually had a fucking pause function, so you had the time. Sure, it was another way to get a bit more money out of players. At least we were getting something for our money. So guides were entirely acceptable at the time.

These days, companies have found way better ways to squeeze more money out of its customer base (ways that don't cost nearly as much in design, printing, distribution, even materials to create the things), and the creation of video game walkthroughs have been taken over by hobbyists who give that shit out for free on the internet. So we don't really get player guides anymore. Somehow, that translated into a bunch of people who measure their self-worth by their ability to play a video game saying that anything less than just bashing away at it until you win is "cheating", like it's somehow better to go back to the days of the arcade when everything was designed to beat quarters out of you until you "did it right". I hate how easy it is to internalise that shit.

Thing is, though ... a lot of games really aren't about just "winning". Not that I have issues with using walkthroughs that way - hell, I do - but we're also talking about games with well-developed companion NPCs that one wants to make friends with, or at least not offend too much so that they'll stay around. And while I kind of noticed this with the Dragon Age games, Baldur's Gate 3 is really flagging up to me how interesting a challenge it is to play through using a companion approval guide.

Look, it makes sense, anyway. You as a character know these people. You're pretty sure what you're going to come across maybe 75% of the time. You know how you're going to react when it happens. And you know how the people you've been sharing a camp with for awhile, and whose fucking brains you occasionally tap into, are going to react to your usual proclivities. Thus, if you're going to do something criminal and/or violent, you probably want to take the pragmatists with you and leave the nice ones at home. And if you're going to be an altruist? The pragmatists aren't going to like it, so you take the nice ones, and leave the pragmatists at home. It's that simple.

But the thing is, because of how BG3 is structured compared to ... well, particularly the two later Dragon Age games, I hadn't really noticed before how interesting that makes things from a tactical standpoint. You have to start getting used to what all of the characters can do. (Especially when it comes to picking a subclass - are you going to stick with the default they give you, or will you pick something that's better for you tactically, or what fits the character better? I tend to go for the latter, honestly - which is why Astarion winds up with the Assassin subclass, Lae'zel is continuously a Battle Master, and ... wel, okay, Gale gets the default of Evocation, at least in part because he has a very clear understanding of the dangers of exploding near people whose lives he values.) Anyway, the party balance you choose changes the tactical approach, and so it's just a different way of approaching a challenge. Particularly if you tend to run a specific party of good-aligned individuals but then want to take the pragmatic, neutral-aligned-at-best out for a run to kill someone they'd particularly enjoy killing. Like, I tend to favour Karlach over Lae'zel for a straight-up martial melee fighter, but if you're going to a githyanki creche, you kind of have to take along the bloody githyanki, or it's going to get problematic. So ... you know. Whole change in approach, and so while maybe "cheating" in terms of tilting the scales of characters' approval ratings, still adds a certain degree of challenge to the game and means you seldom get comfortable just going along with the same party all the time.

Also... Dear Larian: THANK YOU for not having us lose approval with characters when we turn down their sexual advances. It's nice to think that the response is less, "How dare you?!?" and more "Ah, well; would've been nice but it's not like friendship's really a lesser boon..."

This message brought to you by my having developed enough approval with Astarion for him to try to "thank me" for sharing his blood by shagging me. Which ... I have a couple of characters who really would go for him kicking around in the back of my brain, but this is Alisaie. Dark-haired, occasionally adorkable but mostly stoic religious types are her jam.

[thessalian]

Astrid vs the Nautiloid Vessel

First, meet Astrid:

Bard extraordinaire, and the closest I've ever been able to come to the original Astrid when I was playing WoD lo these many years ago. Astrid was my way of exploring the WoD's dark grittiness on very different terms than the usual; most people lean into the dark broodingness of it all, so I made the most cheerful and optimistic person alive, partly to see how much she could take. I did not expect the response I got to her - nearly everybody absolutely adored her, and got a little bit surprised by how subtly nasty she could get to actual threats. She's the one who had the time-delayed rote that would have any vampire who tasted her blood feel like their blood was on fire ... and would feel like their blood was on fire when they tasted any blood for three months. Her take on it: "I warned them..."

Anyway. On with the liveblog.

Scene: a burning Nautiloid ship:

Lae'zel: RAAA KILL YOU, THRALL!

Astrid: Um ... no thank you?

Mind-Sharing Thing: *happens*

Lae'zel: It is ... abominably cheerful, in your head. And what is that?!?

Astrid: You ... know what they are. I mean, technically an intellect devourer, but I helped them, so they're nice to me. Then again, that might have something to do with having treated the haematoma that had them too swollen for the skull they were in, and since I couldn't fix the whole ... being an intellect devourer now thing, I settled for a little bit of medical treatment. I think I might have made them a little more docile during the procedure but I didn't mean to...

Lae'zel: Please. Stop.

Astrid: Oh. Sorry. Anyway, this is Us. Us, meet ... Lae'zel? Am I pronouncing that right?

Lae'zel: *glares*

Astrid: Manners are a thing!

Lae'zel: Ugh. No matter how ... insufferably nice you are, you might at least be of some use to get to the helm. I don't need to run faster than the abominations; I just need to run faster than you. Now help me deal with the imps.

Astrid: ...Okay. *turns to imps; voice goes Vicious Mockery resonance* A PLAGUE RAT FUCKED YOUR MOM!

Imp: *straight up dies*

Lae'zel: ......................

Astrid: This is why I'm nice to people. If I'm not ... that can sometimes happen.

Lae'zel: ...noted.

Later:

Lae'zel: Why are you rooting around this place like some kind of deranged pack rat?

Astrid: I don't know how it works where you're from, but most of the places we're probably going to escape to tend to want money for important things like ... you know, food. Anyway, there's that one lady banging on the pod over there and I want to find a rune that fits that machine...

Lae'zel: What did I tell you about touching things?!?

Astrid: She's trapped! You saw what happened to the last one! This one's at least responding! ...Plus she has an awful lot of really great curse words I'm looking forward to fitting into my repertoire...

Lae'zel: We have no time for this, you--

Astrid: ...and if you let me finish, look at her armour! Her circlet! She is a cleric! Tell me that a cleric wouldn't come in handy right now!

Lae'zel: ...Ugh, fine.

Astrid: *finds rune; frees Shadowheart*

Shadowheart: You keep dangerous company.

Astrid: *raises eyebrows, gestures at the absolute carnage all over the place*

Shadowheart: Fair point. We stand a better chance together.

Lae'zel: You will follow my orders!

Astrid; Shadowheart: How about no?

Lae'zel: ...Hate you both.

Later still, at the helm

Lae'zel: Get to the helm! I'll hold these creatures!

Shadowheart: How about we listen to the suicidal warrior-gith, hmm?

Astrid: Ummmmm ... nope. *Vicious Mockery Voice* HEY! YOU! I'M TALKING TO YOU, YOU STRAWBERRY-COLOURED MOCKERY OF A HELLSPAWN!

Imp: *straight-up dies like the last one*

Shadowheart: ........Or you can keep yelling insults until everything around us is dead. That works too.

Several dead imps later

Lae'zel: I won't reach that in time; it's too far!

Astrid: Nyoom! *dashes over and connects a thing*

Lae'zel: ...what the--?

Astrid: That one imp's father was a plague-rat; mine was a wood elf. Now let's-- Oop.

Dragon: *breathes fire at basically everything*

Astrid: Oh nuts... Okay, maybe it works like lute strings... *twangs single connected bit of tentacle weird*

Nautiloid Vessel: *blinks into existence over some beachy area or other, dropping parasite infectees like confetti*

Astrid: Oh nuts-- *is hit on head with rock and knocked out of ship* shouldvelearnedfeatherfallshouldvelearnedfeatherfall yeeeeek!

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Beginning

So the fix I was given removes the little icon that says "Enemy of Justice".

However, Lady Esther still aggros on sight.

Right. New playthrough. Minthara cannot be worth this.

Also, apparently Hotfix 20 didn't fix half the bugs and adds several more. Larian ... really, you need to stop.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Hotfix Disappointments

Note to self: NEVER READ THE COMMENTS.

So apparently Hotfix 20 is out, and has fixed an awful lot of bugs with Minthara. ...Not, however, the bug that's been plaguing me of late. Apparently Minthara was so central to an evil playthrough that the attempt to use a less complicated workaround to let her join the party on a good playthrough just leaves everything to do with her bugged right to hell.

Apparently it got to the point that a few days ago, someone actually came up with a Ring of No Justice mod for this damn game just to take the damn status condition off. Which ... is a solution, I guess? Just ... now I have a quandary. Because honestly? They still don't seem to have ironed out all the bugs about Minthara joining a good playthrough ... and I'm not sure Drow!Mommy's worth this shit. I mean, c'mon. I warmed to Lae'zel to the point where I stopped killing her, at least, but at least she isn't bugged to Avernus and back.

So, I have two options. I can either use this Ring of No Justice mod and remove the Enemy of Justice condition and carry on with my current playthrough ... or I can say, "You know what? Fuck it. Just knocking her out wouldn't make any sense IC anyway, so I'm going to go back and just straight-up murder her". I don't want to spend the rest of a playthrough having to deal with the cornucopia of buggy bullshit that comes with having her on the team. Plus, let's face it - I'm never going to have her in my party anyway. Just ... I'm nearly to the end of Act 1 now and do I really want to go through this again?

...Probably more than I want to run into another cavalcade of bugs, honestly. I guess I could just leave that playthrough to one side and start a second one, see how far I get before the whole situation is fixed. Or I could just get as far as Moonrise Towers on this playthrough with the mod and ... honestly, probably kill her to shut her up about all the slaughtering of the goblin generals we did and...

.........

Yeah, no, it's nice that they gave us the option to keep Minthara on a good playthrough, but it's not fucking worth it and makes absolutely zero sense so here I go on the nautiloid again. Fuck, I'm never going to finish this game at this rate.

...Except I just got the baby owlbear AAAAAAAA.

(Oh, and the "NEVER READ THE COMMENTS" thing? Came when I went to check the hotfix notes, had a look at the "Discuss" part of the announcement of the fix notes to see if anything more was said about the situation, and ... yeah, no, that made Reddit look sane.)

EDIT: I found a way easier workaround than the one I liked to - THANK YOU, SCRIPT EXTENDER - so we'll see how it goes. I may end up shanking Minthara anyway. Depends on how merciful Alisaie's feeling that day.

[thessalian]

Astrid vs the Mushroom People

Still meandering through the Underdark

Astarion: I can sort of ... hear or feel or ... something ... what you people are thinking. Are those parasites getting frisky again?

Astrid: Nope. Myconid spores. They do that.

Shadowheart: Myconid corpses. And duergar corpses. And ... myconids looking at us.

Astrid: *walks up to myconids* Hi! We're adventurers just passing through; can we be of any help?

Astarion: Oh, for--

Gale: Myconids are good friends to have and I don't want to be ... 'tripping balls' ... for the next week thank you very much now shut up.

Shadowheart: There's worse myconid spores can do anyway, so maybe be polite.

Myconid: We have problems. Talk to our leader.

After a bit of a wander through the myconid camp

Blurg: Oh, hello. We don't get many surfacers down here.

Astrid: You ... are probably the least bugbeary bugbear I have ever met.

Blurg: The Society of Brilliance prefers brains over brawn, and I technically have both, so hey. Anyway. What are you doing down here?

I mean, it's a long story but I guess I can sum up with, "We need to get to Moonrise Towers because--

Blurg: Wait. Hang on. *peeeeeeers* Oh. Illithid tadpole. Um. Let me get a friend of mine to have a look. Omeluum?

Omeluum: *is an illithid*

Omeluum: You're ... taking this extremely calmly.

Astrid: Well, if you're a bad illithid, you're unlikely to want to eat a brain that's being tadpoled because hey, new thrall. Also if you did you'd probably have the Happy Banana Song stuck in your head for the rest of your life.

Omeluum: Well, I'm severed from the Elder Brain and actually only eat the brains of the Society's enemies and you don't seem to be so I can try to get it out if you want.

Astrid: Will it involve poking me in the eye with an awl?

Omeluum: No; just ingesting some dangerous plantlife.

Astrid: ...Let's call that Plan D. We should talk to your leader before we overstay our welcome.

After a brief conversation with Sanctum Leader Mushroom

Astarion: So we now have to purge duergar. Wonderful.

Astrid: You'll get something to feed on, anyway. That's something, right?

Astarion: Mmm. I did nearly chip a fang on that bulette. Might be nice to have something a little easier to sink my teeth into.

Glut: YOU KILL DUERGAR. I COME WITH; KILL DUERGAR TOO.

Shadowheart: Is ... that such a good idea?

Astrid: I mean, having a myconid representative is probably good; easier to have someone properly connected to the colony verify we did the thing.

Astarion: I am fighting. Alongside. A mushroom.

Astrid: Probably better than fighting against a mushroom, right? I think it'd be hard to stab people if you're tripping balls on whatever fluid myconids have in place of blood.

Shadowheart: So that's where Gale got that phrase.

Duergar: *ambush*

Stabnation: *ensues*

Stabnation: *ends well for our intrepid party*

Glut: GOOD. I MAKE THIS PLACE MINE; KILL LEADER SPAW AND BE LEADER! YOU HELP, YES?

Gale; Astarion; Shadowheart: *exchange looks*

Gale: Five gets you ten she's going to just stab him.

Astarion: I don't take 'sucker bets'.

Shadowheart: I'll take that. I'll go with that divebomb-yeet thing.

Astarion: Oh, I see; I should have known none of us would assume she'd do something so interesting as double-cross anyone. Fine - I'll go wiiiiith ... calling his progenitor a pizza topping.

Astrid: *Dissonant Whispers resonance* I have a great recipe for mushroom stew...

Glut: *freaks right the fuck out*

Gale; Astarion; Shadowheart: *exchange more looks*

Shadowheart: I hate to say it ... but Astarion got closest.

Astarion: I'm starting to be able to navigate that cheerful little mind of hers. It's bizarre. Like a swarm of butterflies, except some of them occasionally carry knives.

Astrid: Still wouldn't mind a little help here! Also I get half your profits from betting on me.

Gale: Only half?

Astrid: The rest is part pay for picking all my locks for me.

Astarion: Oh, fine.

Stabnation: *ensues