#because ALSO MIZORA IS WAITING FOR US AT CAMP

[albaharu]

got his dad kidnapped, his friend kidnapped, mizora is waiting for him at camp and his favorite clown got killed. terrible day for the blade.

also he was made to be the perfect trickster hero lying to the baddies with that high charisma so i got him to do the talk

[cromcrux]

BG3 Brainstorming (spoilers)

So, I love Baldur’s Gate. I have spent so much time in that world. Which, because I cannot just mindlessly enjoy things, means I have been thinking about it and things that make the world feel a little flat or forced to me. So in the interest of releasing these thoughts from my mind!

Things I would change about BG3

First off, I would change some of the companion character’s classes, and when those companions join your group. The first character I would change would actually be Wyll. I love Wyll as a character, but his warlock status feels really forced. It feels a little first draft to me. I think Wyll would have made for a fantastic ranger (and I am further justified by the afterparty confirming this).Alternatively. Wyll could have been a Paladin. This would also give you access to a paladin before Act 2 and an alternative to the (before one of the last updates) much more difficult to recruit Minthara. If his oath had been to Baldur’s Gate or, even more spectacularly, Ansur himself, that would have given the quest beneath Baldur’s Gate so much impact. Overall, I really like Wyll and I wish more had been done with him. If we really weren’t going to kick off his story arc until Act 3, I think that’s when he should join up though. He basically has nothing to do in Act 2, not even character growth because he’s a pretty stable guy, he doesn’t really need to mature or overcome any trauma. He just chills. Maybe wait until his action starts to include him. Either that or give him something to do in the Shadowfell (maybe give him information about Ansur or some other nuggets so he’s not just sidelined storywise).

Next up is Halsin. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a cool character. But he should have been a Nature Cleric rather than a druid. He’s got very ministerial vibes. A Nature Cleric of Silvanus could have still been important to the grove (maybe working with the head druid instead of the head himself) and would have made for an excellent healer. We also get both Jaheira and Halsin as recruitable members at the same time and having two druids doesn’t make for good balance when so many of the other classes are under-represented. 

Jaheira, should join you properly in Act 2. When you leave to go investigate Moonrise, she should be recruitable as a companion. Halsin is still doing his thing in camp and in the version, Wyll is waiting for us at Baldur’s Gate (maybe he’s here helping protect the Tieflings, that would also be cool), and having a druid after seeing what they can do in Act 1 would be good. 

Since we have Wyll filling in as our ranger, Minsc would actually make for a pretty good Monk and give us some experience using a Monk before we have Orpheus in our party (if we choose Lae’zel over the Emperor). I do wish it was a little easier to get Minsc slightly earlier in Act 3. Everything feels very rushed after Orin kidnaps one of your party, but I think that was due to Act 3 getting truncated. 

Astarion: I have seen some complaints that his storyline doesn’t feel like it meshes as much with the main storyline, since aside from hailing from Baldur’s Gate, nothing about his personal storyline is directly connected to the Dead Three or what’s going on there, so here’s my fix: Astarion is the Warlock with Mizora as his patroness. I think it would be a much more interesting dynamic. There is dialogue outside the tabernacle where Astarion remarks how no god ever answered his prayers when Cazador had him, so what if a Devil had? He might trade one master for a mistress if he thought the terms were better. He might still strain against leash, but his own manipulative behavior would prevent him from being overtly hostile towards her. Astaron’s Ascension could then be duly colored: Don’t ascend and risk losing his soul to Mizora forever, or ascend and truly be free? (I do think players should have the opportunity for the same sort of deal Wyll makes to free Astarion from his contract. But if you don’t make that deal or don’t get that choice, it makes Astarion’s argument to ascend look slightly more grey than it is).

Finally, I wish Alfira was a recruitable character. She’s the only actual Bard you run into (I will not be counting Volo as a bard, he’s at best a nuisance to his own editors and publishers), and it might be interesting to have a companion leave you in Act 3, once you make it to the Elfsong, she stops being a companion and instead helps with keeping your reputation or communicating information between you and the various factions you’ve gotten on your side. She could stay in your camp but no longer be playable.

Next would be a change I think would actually be pretty easy to implement: Make the choice to side with the Emperor after learning his true identity an actual choice. If the players choose to side with the Githyanki, allow the Honor Guard to take up protecting the party (with successful dialogue choices and checks), and continue the game mostly as normal. This would even fit with what the Emperor tells you as the inside of the Prism is suppose to block out the absolute  Have the head of the Honor Guard checking in with players instead of the Emperor, maybe being the same imposing presence as Kith’rak Voss. Have the Honor Guard be the ones to save the party from the Absolute. This would also make Orpheus softening up to you in the final scenes make a little more sense, as you did choose the “right” thing. It’s the biggest part of the story that feels railroaded and it seems like such an easy swap.

[blackjackkent]

OK, for realsies this time (maybe?), a few more explorational highlights from the grove area, and then we're off in the direction of the goblin camp, because Rakha craves goblin blood and answers and it seems the most likely place to get both. (After not being able to hurt Mizora, Sceleritas, OR Raphael, she's feeling very pent up and not in the fun way.)

Rescued Mirkon from the harpies on the beach! We didn't do this with Hector last time. In this case, I suspect it was definitely Wyll who originally encouraged Rakha to go down and see if the kid was okay. ("Your favorite drownings all take place in shallow water," the Narrator helpfully informs us. "Just a slice of the ankle tendons...") She also got completely hypnotized by the harpies as well, because it occurred to me that (to her recollection) she has never heard music of any kind before, let alone music that beautiful - and not only that, but it quieted the Urge. Lae'zel (I assume) snaps her out of it. And once Rakha figures out what's going on and that something else was taking control of the inside of her head, she got MAD. This fight didn't go particularly well for anyone except Lae'zel, who rocked an absolutely brutal crit on one of the harpies, but Rakha got to expend some frustration on all of them with some applications of Burning Hands, which made her feel overall a little calmer. We got a Folk Hero inspiration for Wyll for helping the kid out. Gale was also pleased, although I think Rakha cares about that somewhat less.

Hit level 3! Rakha now has more spell slots and can (with sorcery points) cast an action spell as a bonus action. More fire!

Chatted with Volo. Rakha, after her recent interactions with Sceleritas and Raphael, absolutely got jumpscared by him greeting her as "my good friend!" until she realizes Volo is just Like That. She's also utterly baffled when he asks her for information on the goblin battle and then deliberately writes down falsehoods instead. ("A mythweaver," Lae'zel says disdainfully. "This man has no respect for truth.") He does confirm what she's picked up about the presence of the Absolute cult, though - and indicates that the goblins are also part of it, although it's hard to tell whether she should believe him.

Stopped down to see Mol since Mirkon said we should. It was not a particularly exciting conversation, but contact has been made which will be relevant later. Rakha definitely looks at the kids differently than she does the adults in the area, mostly because of Wyll's influence and his story of how he became the Blade of Frontiers.

Checked in with the two tiefling guards in the back corner room, one of whom is threatening to shoot a caged goblin prisoner in revenge for her dead brother. Unsurprisingly, Rakha did nothing to stop this. ("Your mind wanders," points out the Narrator, in the soft, cold drawl she uses for the Dark Urge's specific thoughts. "If the crossbow bolt shot through her mouth, would she taste the metal before she died?") Stand back and admire the guard's overflowing hate. She waits and watches while the guard's crossbow bolt slams directly between the prisoner's eyes. Interestingly - Wyll approved of her choice.

Interacting with the squirrel above the main grove was uh. Sure something.

Narrator: This squirrel might be the single most adorable creature you can recall in all your stunted memory! It would be ever so twee if it were climbing a tree.

And then Rakha got this weird grin on her face and hauled off with a kick; there was an explosion of blood and the squirrel's dead body landed in the upper branches of the tree nearby.

"Terrific," says Lae'zel (presumably while Gale and Wyll look on in complete horror). "If I'm ever harangued by a rodent, I know who to call for."

Narrator: You stare at the body before you. You have no idea what just happened.

Rakha feels the beast in her head settle, its recent frustration soothed by this spilling of an innocent creature's blood. She remembers the deep, crunching impact of her boot and a deep shiver rolls through her whole body.

"My body moved without my command," she mutters hoarsely. "I couldn't control it."

The others don't respond. What is there to say?

Narrator: The swirling bile cauldron of your brain is cooking up a poison stew - served and seasoned by that venomous butler.

[sandycookie]

Re: Ravengard & Wyll's Contract 'Choice'

BG3 Spoilers for Act 3 & Wyll's Quest

Everyone's gotta lay off of Wyll!

Now, disclaimer, I did do things out of sequence. I never attended Gortash's coronation because 1. I was fully intent on killing him and 2. Wanted to level up and do a ton of stuff before facing him. I thought it was an obvious trap, so I decided to blow up the Steel Watch and stuff and save him for last. Apparently, Ravengard's supposed to be at the Iron Throne after the coronation, but because I never went to the coronation, my bro was still waiting beside Gortash to appoint him Archduke. This means that Ravengard's just...dead. Like, nothing you can do about it. I tried killing everyone but him and he was still hostile, and when I used Non Lethal on him he just died anyway

(Weirdly though, even though I used non-lethal on Ravengard AS WYLL who said, and I quote: "Father, no! That was no killing blow!" He talked like I just killed Ravengard? Like, no. Everyone else even says it must've been the Absolute or something, which is why he dies even with non lethal. AND YOU WERE THERE, WYLL---

I assume there's no dialog for this approach or that it just bugged out, for some reason. Either way, just really weird and also a bummer. Defo never skipping Gortash's coronation, now that I know he won't immediately kill me and that doing so doesn't mess up Wyll's quest in this way for me)

Case in point, Ravengard? More like DEADgard. Hahaha. Im sorry please don't leave

So Mizora, bonafide bitch, comes into my camp with a contract offer and whatnot. And Wyll's gotta choose between either bringing his Ravengard back to life at the cost of his soul, or letting him stay dead and breaking his contract.

As an aside, I really, REALLY hate that unlike with other companion's story quests, you HAVE to make this choice for him. There's no option where you let HIM make his own choice. Which just really rubs me the wrong way? A large theme of this game so far as been the autonomy over oneself; the freedom of choice, the freedom that one has to pursue the life one wishes to live. Most of the story's about regaining lost autonomy (since having a tadpole in your head really doesn't help with that), and so many antagonists want to strip people of their autonomy. Gortash outright says, in one of his journals, that free will is the enemy of progress, and that in order to progress to peace, that it has to be stripped in order to form a collective (and that's a fine philosophical discussion, but pursuing would make this post x25 longer).

And yes, there is the case of Astarion's personal quest, where there ISN'T an option to let him decide himself if he wants to ascend or not. There is story justification for it, since he does need your help in order to carve the runes, but speaking aside from that, I think in this instance, it's fine. At that moment, Astarion is literally being faced with two choices: 1. Live as a spawn for the rest of his life, susceptible to the sun and forced to live in the shadows, forced to constantly sate his hunger, live as he has for the past miserable 200 years, or 2. Obtain such power that he doesn't have to face the drawbacks of being a vampire, but more importantly, it's the choice that, to him, screams: You won't be hurt. That's a really tempting choice, coupled with 200 years of suffering and torture, and the fear and trauma that has instilled with Astarion. Astarion ascending is a result of his fear of being hurt, but in the process, he hurts thousands. Thus, being given the choice to let him ascend or not becomes either allowing the cycle of trauma to continue (as Cazador was abused by his master, Astarion abused by Cazador, Astarion is just the next vampire master whom will continue the cycle), killing thousands of people, or pushing Astarion to realize that he can be better than Cazador and break the cycle. He even admits that he needed that little push, because he was just too enraptured by power to think of anything but it.

TLDR; Astarion's quest does have legitimate justification as to why there isn't a 'Let him do as he wishes' option, as there is with Shadowheart's quest for example. There is absolutely no reason why you can't just let Wyll make the decision between...reviving his father at the cost of his soul, or letting him remain dead in exchange for his freedom. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE QUESTION OF AUTONOMY, one that the game has made clear, time and time again, that these choices are best made by the individual whom it affects. To be honest, this is a small thing in the larger scheme of things, but it still just really irks me.

Anyway, since I had Wyll's very fate and autonomy in my hands, I ultimately made the decision to have him break free of his contract. Bro deserves better than to be stuck in Avernus for eternity, after all, and if Ravengard is as good as everyone says, this is the choice he'd want Wyll to make as well. Ravengard's already dead, and there's no reason to disturb that for like, what? 10 more years of leadership? I was tempted to let Ravengard revive to help rebuild the city, since like, he's maybe the only noble who actually has the people's best interest at heart, but one man isn't enough to disrupt an entire system. We have revolutions for that. Jokes aside, that was the choice I came to, even if I have the nagging feeling it might not have been what Wyll would've then (but then again, I got approval from him, so maybe not). Also, I do not trust Mizora the Bitch to not do something like 'Okay Wyll, Absolute is gone, your next task is to kill your own father.' I get what they were aiming for with this choice, but for me, it was an easy one to make.

But now, oh boy boy, here we come to what REALLY irked me.

WHY IS EVERYONE SAYING WYLL SACRIFICED HIS OWN FATHER???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firstly, there was no sacrifice at play. Like, AT ALL. Ravengard was already dead, at the gates of the City of Judgment! If anything, choosing to bring him back would be a sacrifice: you'd be sacrificing Ravengard's retirement (bc if he's as good as everyone says, he'd probably be chilling in heaven). Let the man sip pina coladas for eternity or something.

So, literally, the only sacrifice here, is Wyll sacrificing his soul to hell for an eternity to bring his father back. Wyll breaking his contract doesn't sacrifice shit. It's not going to leave him guiltless; I've no doubt that Wyll would feel guilt that he didn't save his father, but ultimately, it's like saying that letting people stay dead is a sacrifice and morally reprehensible, all because you didn't want to go to a devil and doom your soul for eternity. That doesn't logic, dude.

It's likely that this might be reaction dialog to a different choice you could've made with Wyll if you've seen Gortash's coronation, which, for the writer's sake, I hope is the case. But it's still really, really frustrating. Stop guilt-tripping Wyll like this!

Ultimately, it just felt really clunky. The Blade of Frontiers quest isn't marked completed yet, so there may yet be a chance for the writing to eek out and make me eat my words, or at least overlook it. But whatever that was, I really, really hope they can either rewrite it, or learn from it and not repeat the same mistake.

Anyways, there's an actual Essay that I have to turn in, so I'ma go do that. Thanks for reading, hope you've had a good day, and remember to stay hydrated.

[honest-moth-of-silver-grove]

Hi hi! Can I get a matchup please? Thanks in advance dear, you are a blessing.

Anyways I have a pref for a male, my best traits are my kindness and compassion, my worst are I can be a little closed off, rather sarcastic and a huge people pleaser. My hobbies are drawing, singing and hiking. I like art, have a morbid sense of humor and can be a bit of a klutz.

Again thank you love!

A/N: Hmmm, okay, I got it! For you @elonianmisfit , I’m thinking your best BG3 matchup would be… Wyll!

🗡 Wyll would be a perfect fit for you! He’s selfless and values compassion in his companions. It’s a trait that’s shaped most of his life after all. His desire to do the right thing, to save the people of Baldur’s Gate is what got him into his contract with Mizora in the first place. 

Of course, this act of self-sacrifice has left him pretty closed off to everyone. But as you said, you can be rather closed off yourself, so you understand his hesitation to share isn’t because he doesn't like you, but because he can be overwhelmed by such affection for him. And he understands that when you back away, it’s not a sign that you aren’t interested in your relationship. You understand each other’s motivations around the subject, so neither of your feelings gets hurt. 

Wyll doesn’t mind the sarcasm. He quite enjoys it, in fact. At one point during the game, as the companions are traveling, he asks Astarion how the “rat diet is going”? It’s a pretty dark sarcastic joke to hear coming from Wyll’s mouth, but then again, he doesn’t know the context of Astarion’s backstory and was merely trying to jest about the former Blade of Frontiers currently befriending a vampire spawn. Of course, if either one of your sarcastic comments or morbid jokes crosses the line, you’ll respectfully let the other know. But for the most part, your companions seem to enjoy your occasional barbs and macabre jests. Gods know it’s hard being sweet and kind 24/7, especially when you spend your time adventuring and fighting monsters. 

And speaking of people-pleasing, oh boy. Wyll has a similar problem. Yes, he made the deal with Mizora for the betterment of Baldur’s Gate, but he also did it with pleasing his father in mind. He cares deeply about the way people view him, which is another reason why he is so hurt by Mizora giving him horns. He just wants to do right by the good people of Baldur’s Gate, by his father, and of course by you. It helps him greatly, knowing that you’ll always care for him, no matter what he looks like, even if he cannot save everyone. He tries his best. He’s an honorable man, and that’s what matters most to you. 

Wyll adores the art you create. He keeps every piece, every drawing, every little doodle tucked away safely- that’s how much it means to him. His tent at camp is starting to overflow with all the beautiful things you create. He loves how creative you are, and how you can create beauty from nothing. In his life, it’s a wonderful reminder that good things are around, they’re just waiting for us to stop and appreciate them. And please, please sing for him! He loves hearing your voice- even if you’re shy about it, that’s okay! He’ll take the two of you to a secluded spot where you can sing for him, and he can come up with a dance based on the beautiful rhythm of your song. He might even ask you to dance with him. And don’t worry about being a klutz. If you can’t dance, he’ll simply have you stand on top of his feet as he slowly steps and sways around your campfire. 

He’s so happy to have you in his life. You’re wonderful, creative, and so beautiful. You’re the light of his life. He will do everything within his power to sever his contract with Mizora so that he can live out his perfect future with you. You are his dream. He can’t wait for his fairytale happily ever after with you. 

⋯ ⋯ ⋯

I hope you like it!

⋯ ⋯ ⋯ As Always, Please Like & Reblog!

[koieio]

I think a lot of people who go up for bat for Larian, do not understand what is is Wyll fans are talking about when they talk about his lack of content or needing more focus. They hear, "he lacks content? but look at how many hours he has in this youtube video!" And I'm not sure if they've never actually watched those videos', played with Wyll in their party, both(in fact going through it you see a lot of shit like Character A talking to the PC while Wyll is in the bg. Or Wyll has a single line of dialogue, and the rest is a conversation with someone else entirely.). Whatever the case is.

If you've ever watched those videos you come across 2 things. When Wyll is interacting with characters like Mizora or his father who are integral to his story. The PC is the one doing most of the talking. And 2. Wyll shares a looott of his spotlight with other characters to the point where he gets pushed to the side so another character can stand in the spotlight. Sometimes in his own story/quest missions.

Let's talk about Wyll's Wymway use to be main, now a side-quest since it's what kicked off this latest kerfuffle. Honestly this quest was never about Wyll. This entire quest is more about the Emperor and his backstory than it ever was about Wyll. It ends with you learning more about the Emperor. The Emperor is even the one who gets the special Act 3 cutscene, not Wyll. The only reason it's associated with Wyll is because his father will give him the quest to go find the dragon if he's alive, but Wyll's father will give that quest to the PC regardless of if Wyll is there or not. And if he's not there then Florrick will give it to the PC. So Wyll ties to this quest is paper thin. But maybe there's something Wyll could personally learn from this quest or insight he could dro-no. Wyll has the same lines of dialogue/contribution to this quest as Gale or Astarion has. There's no special cutscene if you bring Wyll(similar to having no Act 1 romance he has no special Act 3 cutscene dedicated to himself either).

This happens a lot when the focus is meant to be on Wyll. Act 1 we're tasked with finding and killing Karlach, but the focus quickly shifts over to Karlach and becomes less about Wyll. Once again he's forced to share the spotlight, and even on the day where he is cursed, the camp is more focused on Karlach's recruitment than they are Wyll's torment(this was kinda gets fixed in patch 4?5? Where the companions finally comment on this, but it's all told to the player and not Wyll himself.)

Mizora first appearance, and Wyll is forced into silence and it's the player character who then interacts with her from then on there. Wyll might quip about how much of an asshole Mizora is from time to time. But when it comes to Mizora. Everything, from negotiating his freedom, to bargaining for better rewards, to the final decision on whether or not you the player want to sell Wyll's soul in exchange for his father information is left up to you. With no input of any sort from Wyll.

"Oh, but the other characters also don't get to make decisions either." This isn't true. Gale and Astarion make their desires very well known to the player. It might not be the "right" course of action, but they make it well known what it is they want to do, and you can choose to either support them or try and talk them into making a different choice entirely. This doesn't happen with Wyll. The choice is always left to the player. Always.

And when you put Wyll next to other companions, this lack of care/quality when it comes to his content becomes all the more apparently. Extra lines of dialogue of Astarion and Durge. Meanwhile still waiting on Duke Ravengard to acknowledge his son's marriage.

They patched in a platonic options to Gale's magic lesson after people made a big fuss about it. It's up in the air if we can politely decline Wyll's mandatory dance invitation without breaking his heart in the process or leading him on.

You get to comfort Shadowheart after her parents death. Meanwhile, I still believe Wyll's Act 3 romance is bugged for body type 4s.

They patched in an entire ending for Karlach going to Avernus after people complained about her ending. Meanwhile still no Act 1 romance for Wyll. Hell, you can even miss his Act 1 kiss if you flirt with too many people before talking to him at the party.

7 months, 6 patches and $60+ since release and we still can't get something a simple a single romantic greeting correctly fixed. I think at that point people have the right to start making "demands" of Larian. Like sorry not sorry, if that's what bother you the most. That people are tired of being patient and promptly ignored. But it seems like only the squeaky wheels in this fandom get listened to, so do as the romans do.

[cannibalisticskittles]

General 2-4; Story 5, 10, 11, 14, and 17; Romance 1, 3, and 9; and 12 free space: a field banter with a character of your choice (hard(?) mode: not Astarion) for Amity!! (You can...pick and choose from these if that's too many, lmao)

under a cut because long

General 2. Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav? i imagine she's recruited doing something silly/is at least somewhat in peril – stuck on the edges of the swamp behind some traps that seem to keep popping back up whenever she turns around (the redcaps are fucking with her), or caught in a web under the goblin village bc her pod crashed nearby and in her haste to not be seen, she fell thru the rotting floorboards and now she's stuck and she could burn the webs away but honestly it's a miracle that the bigger spiders haven't been drawn to her yet and that seems like a recipe for disaster, so uh, help please?

so i think more practically-minded companions – lae'zel for sure, astarion, maybe shadowheart – wonder aloud about how useful she could be, given how they've found her; the first two maybe remark that it would've been better to leave her there to figure it out for herself, lmao.  

wyll, karlach, and gale are a bit more sympathetic, and karlach just wants to pick her up and squeeze her like a lil teddy bear.

3. Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions? if you recruit her before astarion, she is livid on your behalf if you fail the perception roll and end up with a knife at your neck. she has incineration on her mind, like gale; unlike gale, she's too mad to be articulate: "if they don't walk away from this, neither will you."

she loves karlach right away. tiefling solidary is strong, and she knows devils well, and this is definitely a (pretty) tiefling and not a devil. she strongly advises hearing karlach out and helping her; she's extremely sad if you choose to fight and kill karlach instead. big disapproval hit there. don't fuck with tieflings. 

if she's in your party when you recruit gale, she doesn't say anything, but you quietly get a few points of approval if you slap his hand before rescuing him

actually wait there would be one reaction. if your party is full when you reboot Gail and he says he'll go back to camp and get started on stew, amity goes "fuck yeah, stew!!!"

4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

goody-two-shoes choices tend to net approval with her, no surprise there. tho honestly i think with amity, you'd be getting little 'amity approves!' notifications all the time, but then find out that they're mostly just +1s so even tho they can trigger often, it's hard to build high approval just with that. you get bigger approval for harder choices, naturally, and she does favor being good and kind, but it happens a bit less often. 

you can talk her into giving approval even if you decline the Extra Good and Generous option, as long as you present some logical/practical reason for it – sorry amity, helping tieflings is nice, but think about how many of them will die if we're too slow to remove our tadpoles and we all transform into mindflayers; greater good and all that, right?

…and you get approval when you do dumb, chaotic, fun things. like. you jump down the pit in the spider cavern without feather fall, and after withers revives you, amity says "that was very ill-advised, but in the moments before you splattered on the ground, it looked like a lot of fun!" and you get +10 approval.

you also get approval points when you're rude to/make fun of raphael or mizora, lmao. amity blatantly disrespects any devil lower than, like, a kyton in the hierarchy of devils. 

for specific actions, you get +10 approval for killing aunty ethel, even if you fuck up saving mayrina. fuck hags, all amity's homies hate hags. and also i think every single companion disapproves if you smear shit on your face when trying to get into the goblin camp, but y'know what? amity thinks that's very practical. fuck dignity, it avoided a fight, and she respects that. now hold still, she'll prestidigitate that off of you as soon as you turn the corner.

Story 5. How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power? she's a little horrified, but primarily at the idea that you willingly put that in your eye?? ouch?? and are you sure there's enough room in your cranium for another one of those suckers?? she does, however, ask that if you plan to do it again – not that she advises that, mind you! – that you let her watch and take notes. she promises to do her very best to suppress her gag reflex if you do. 

10. How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar? "oh! wow! that's – um. was that… good?" devnote: no part of her believes that could've been good. 

in response to a second lick: "oh, wow. are you okay? blink twice if you're ensorcelled and need help. no? it couldn't have been good enough to be worth it. …could it?" devnote: said in a tone which indicates almost enough curiosity to try it for herself. 

11. What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown? honestly, she's fucking delighted, she loves circuses and clowns. 

"really? me? are you sure you don't want to go up there instead? dribbles really knows his stuff, you'll be missing out! but okay, if you're sure!"

she's so excited that she's wiggling the whole time she's on stage. +5 approval at least. 

14. How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer?  Can they offer to become one themselves?  Does their reaction change if they’re romanced? the theological implications of the soul being destroyed in the process of becoming a mind flayer are… concerning – if the soul is gone, how can one ever be sure that the person isn't gone, and that the tadpole isn't just assuming the memories and characteristics of its former host?

but. the player character is her friend! (and maybe her partner, but either way – her friend!) and friendship is sacred! she's not going to let some tentacles get in the way of that!!! she's just sorry that you had to go through this, but you're so brave and kind for doing it – you've done the hard part, leave it to her to support you through this!

(a later bit of dialogue you might get is "hey, we match now – we're both purple! c:" )

as for herself – she'd want to take some time to think about it bc it is Not a decision that she'd be excited to make, but… honestly, what's lil' ol' her worth when compared to the entirety of the sword coast? so yeah, she'd volunteer herself, if need be. 

hey, don't feel too bad – she was only gonna make it maybe 40 if she's lucky, the way she keeps throwing herself into danger. hell, she's technically already died once already! and her soul was likely bound for the wall of the faithless when she died, so what's it matter if this destroys her soul now, right?

(this is not going to help her self-esteem issues AT ALL – people might distrust tieflings, but they REALLY distrust mindflayers – but She Will Do It)

((if you're romancing her and ask her to become a mindflayer and break up with her, she isn't even mad. she gets it. if you still want to be with her, she full on cries. says you don't have to do that, there's a better path for you out there; it's a whole thing.))

17. If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2? i will be fully honest here: despite only doing like 10 minutes of a dark urge run so far, i get the impression that most companions… do not take the dark urge particularly seriously. even if the dark urge is upfront about everything and full on confesses "hey, i crave murder, i'm pretty sure i've done lots of murder before, and i want to do more murder."

amity would. she'd be tossing out suggestions on what to do and trying to get everyone on board – and if she couldn't sway anyone pre-alfira, she gets very serious about it post-alfira. everyone takes turns being on watch? they set up the alarm spell around the dark urge? …little bells on their ankles?

so i think in a sense she'd be prepared. she'd have to believe that the dark urge isn't in control of themselves in order to keep going after alfira, so therefore, she believes that whatever urge is driving them is both very powerful and likely to crop up again.

…unfortunately, amity Needs Sleep. she functions poorly on less than optimal sleep, and once she IS asleep, it's very difficult to wake her up and she gets combative if you try. if the dark urge tries to wake her up to warn her, they need to make a dex save to avoid either a fire bolt or a stray fist thrown their way. (it's okay if they fail tho, her aim isn't great when she's sleepy and she only has 9 strength.) 

dark urge has gotta get thru her grumpy-at-being-woken up phase before she's even close to coherent enough to understand what's going on, but when they do – she's ready. as ready as you can be for something like that, anyway. 

"you – now? shit. okay, we can handle this, we can – hand me my bag, i've got materials for a warding spell in there. you good long enough to find somewhere private, or does it need to be now-now? –shit, clearly it's now-now, okay–"

dark urge wakes up and she's all smiles. "hello, dear heart! you went down pretty quick, had me worried! slipped a pillow under your head, but your noggin might still be sore in the morning sorry. oh, not up for a chat? that's alright! i'm here anyway! :)"

i think some of her encouragement would be drawing on gleeful spite –like "hey, think about how pissed off this urge is gonna be that you've managed to fight it so far – i bet it's livid, haha. and look at you, you're managing it anyway! i knew you could do it; you're doing so well!"

and then she sits at the ready, telling silly stories of ways she's fucked up on adventures or of neat things she's seen until the dark urge is able to sleep

she's lightly dozing when they wake up but she's mostly sitting up – it's clear she's tried to stay up and keep watch all night. 

as she dismisses the wards, she throws some suggestions at them – consistent alarm spells around their cot at night? her knot-tying is pretty good, they could rely on that each night if spells don't seem like enough? well – no, that's not how she meant if, but if that's how you take it, she's not necessarily opposed to… wait, we're discussing important business here, save that for later!

and she passes them something from her bag and it's a sending stone. "annnnnd if you feel like there's something you need to tell me but you can't say it out loud for whatever reason, or if I'm not there, though honestly how often does that happen – well! this'll give you a direct line to me, even without the tadpoles :)"

sending stones as a gesture of love yet again (also she never travels anywhere without at least one set of sending stones on her. she has learned how valuable they can be)

Romance 1. Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them? i think she would be, but it would be sloooooow going. so slow that players aren't always certain that they're correctly triggering it at all, damn it, where'd that guide go?

you've got to get her to be genuinely vulnerable with you, which is. difficult! she has self-esteem issues. and self-image issues. and she has issues with touch – simultaneously touch-starved and touch-repulsed (thanks a lot, hag curse, for fucking up the progress she'd made on that). she wants to be with someone, but oh, gods, is that frightening.

you have to tread carefully with her. lay it on too thick, and she thinks you're fucking with her (or just being nice, but either way, she believes 0% of it). gotta build a LOT of trust first. honestly, her friendship path and her romance path would be absolutely identical for at least the first act. sleeping with someone at the party wouldn't lock you out of that – you go have your fun! she's going to creep away soon for some air. it's lovely that everyone is having fun, but it is a bit overwhelming. but no, don't worry about her! …no really, don't worry about her, haha, she's definitely not going to slip away while you're not looking because she's having another bout of insecurity. 

you just have to talk to her a lot, and not be too mean – it doesn't even put an end to things if you're a little mean, bc hey, that can be kind of funny. but, y'know. don't shut her down. she warms up to you fast on a surface level, but you have to give her time to actually open up and not be so skittish. 

3. Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option? she'd happily agree to either, honestly! she has Experienced Love for more than one person at once, before, but she feels no pressing need to seek that out for herself; as for the player character, i think she'd want a bit of reassurance that anything else they seek isn't bc of dissatisfaction with her, but then she's open to it, whether or not she herself is involved!

bonus; a field banter with a character of your choice  post-waukeen's rest – 

amity: wyll! wyll ravengard! wyll: that is what I've been called a time or two, yes. why? amity: i can't believe i didn't recognize you before! you've changed some, sure, but even still! wyll: had we met before? i'm sure i would have remembered you. amity: not exactly! more like… occupied the same circles? i was too shy to go to all those fancy parties as myself; once we'd made it past the entryways, i usually hid away, or disguised myself with a spell, if i couldn't find anywhere secluded. wyll: ah, a shame – i think we would've gotten along famously, you and i. amity: i'd like to think so! anyway, i got myself… banned from all of those events after some particularly unwelcome hijinks, so it only lasted a little while.  wyll: banned? there was a time when little wyll would have been dying to know how to do the same; i never could manage it. always dragged along to every meeting and soiree father had to attend. what exactly did you do? amity: ah – a lady doesn't kiss and tell! they may consider me too uncouth and unkempt to be much of a lady, but even i know that! wyll: now i must know.

and later – 

wyll: potions of fire breath in lady edmonton’s mead.  amity: uh-uh. wyll: frogs in the central fountain.   amity: not me.  wyll: otto's irresistible dance on the younger lord laurier? amity: gods, i wish, he was always such a prick – but no.  wyll: it was quite funny to see him flop about. let's see… replacing lady belmont's prized panther with a displacer beast? amity: did someone do that? really? i missed that one. and i'm pleased you think i would have been able to manage that.  wyll: stealing the left shoes of all attendees while they say for a feast? amity: no – well. i don't think so, anyway? sounds like something i would've done. so maybe. possibly. probably? but that's not what did me in.  wyll: hmm… [snaps fingers] the chandelier! amity: yes, you've got it! wyll: ha, i knew i would, eventually. amity: ...i do feel bad about that one, honestly, i really thought it was going to hold up against a few swings.  wyll: from what i'd heard, it did not.  amity: it did not.

[riddlerosehearts]

decided i'm going to start posting my thoughts on baldur's gate 3 every so often as i make my way through the game, because it'd be nice to have some of this stuff about first playthrough written down somewhere! my tav is a half-high elf bard named elenion (he/they) who's neutral good-aligned, and despite being a bard he's very reserved and is always feigning self-confidence. also, he's a college of lore bard who honestly would've fit the sage background pretty well but i went ahead and gave him entertainer instead lol. i guess that actually gives me the opportunity to see more of the inspiration goals by not having the same background as gale! anyway though, here's a few thoughts about what i've done while still being very early in act 1:

at the point i'm at in the story right now, i was supposed to go look for halsin, but instead i decided to finally find karlach. i feel like i probably should've gotten her sooner, but once i got to the grove i didn't wanna venture too far from the main objectives--and the grove is where you recruit wyll and learn about karlach in the first place.

however, halsin sounds very wise and capable so i guess he can handle himself while he waits, and the mindflayer tadpole symptoms aren't progressing like they're supposed to, so why not just go off and act like we've got all the time in the world! maybe elenion is just easily distracted. they did waste quite a bit of time earlier when they found alfira and felt compelled to help her finish her song. and speaking of, i was not expecting such a beautiful cutscene for that?! or for the squirrels we talked to using speak with animals to be so mean and hate her song 😭 but i hope we get to see alfira again and that nothing bad happens to her, and i hope i don't eventually regret saying that!

also, wyll did say karlach is a danger to the entire sword coast, which makes hunting her down sound pretty important... and elenion has an interest in history so they recognized the phrase "advocatus diaboli" and were able to mention the blood war when wyll first talked about her. so maybe they're also interested in seeing if they can get a devil who fought in the blood war and is now wandering the material plane to answer a few questions before taking her down. anyway, point is we're leaving the druids and our quest for a cure hanging to go hunt a devil.

took me a bit to find her despite wyll's quest leading you to her, though. i have a horrible sense of direction, which i guess is okay because my horrible sense of direction did lead me to accidentally find scratch and now we have a dog!

eventually i did get to karlach, and elenion's mind connected to hers and gave him a much closer look at who karlach is and what she's doing here than he expected. naturally he convinced wyll to stand down because karlach does not seem evil. and then he tried to ask karlach some of the questions he had in mind back at camp, but she won't reveal anything until we hunt down the paladins that are still hunting her. understandable, i guess. i like her though! i should try and make sure to get her earlier on my next playthrough.

encountered mizora for the first time when i rested at camp, and i'm very intrigued by what's going on with wyll and i actually have been since way before i played the game and found out he was a fabled hero who was also a warlock. which is why i also think it's a huge shame that from what i've heard at least, he was given a lot less content for his quest and his romance than the other companions were.

wandered around the world a bit more and ended up freeing a poor guy who was being spun around on a windmill by goblins. then i got the scene with gale where he teaches you how to channel the weave, and it not only had bard-specific dialogue options but also had an option that specifically reflected my character's proficiency in history, which was all really neat to see. god, there must be an insane amount of different dialogue branches in this game. love that there was also an option to be like "yeah that was neat, but i could've done it myself lol" since a bard is already a spellcaster.

the range of these particular dialogue options is killing me LMAO

i had high enough approval with gale to trigger a very obviously romantic scene and then the game is literally like "okay, so do you want to kiss him or do you want his severed head on a spike" 😭 like wtf do you THINK?! i can't even imagine how i'd roleplay a character who would be cruel enough to get this far and lead gale on so much before picking to project an image of his head on a spike directly into his mind. and yet i am so curious about what happens if you do--but not curious enough to reload and try to find out. mostly because i cannot bring myself to be mean to gale.

anyway, i picked the romantic walk option. i thought elenion would consider the kiss thing to be a bit too forward. but that was such a sweet scene and i love flustered gale gets when he realizes how you feel about him. going into this game i really thought i'd wanna try for astarion or shadowheart's romances first, and i do like them a lot and want to keep learning more about both of them, but gale surprised me with how much i already liked him from his introduction. he's just really charming and funny and also fits well with the character i made, so i will definitely keep progressing his romance.

aaand i've been progressing a bit slowly because of irl stuff but everything about this game is so good that i wish i'd picked it up sooner! i've been spoiled on quite a bit of things about the story already, but there's also a lot that i haven't been spoiled on and i can't wait to experience all of it anyway.

[boatganronpa]

I'm still thinking about how Wyll doesn't see himself as a victim of abuse, so, let's dig into why that is.

First of all - he had a choice. Of course, there was no way with the way he was raised that he would choose anything else, but he still accepted the deal, so, to him, everything that happened since is a consequence of that choice.

Second, he gained something from it; he got his powers that help him save and help so many people. Surely something he uses for so much good, can't be born out of something bad like abuse.

Third, Mizora... Mizora approached him as an ally first. Cazador was an evil man, from beginning to end. Mizora though? She's much more devious than that - she simply made him aware of a dire situation, and offered him the power he needs to solve the problem. (iirc, in EA she didn't even reveal her devil form until the deal was made)

And after he was cast out? When he was forced out of the city he spent his entire 17 years of life in, by his father whom he loves the most, Mizora was there. He knew it was because of her - but it wasn't her fault, because he had a choice in it - and sure, a devil's not a company he'd normally keep, but she was still there when he was trying to deal with a huge change in his life. Mizora was there for him, when his dad abandoned him.

Once again, in EA, it was confirmed that Wyll and Mizora were intimate at some point. Its not unreasonable to think that when everything was changing, he would cling to the only stable thing in his life: Mizora. He found comfort in his powers, and by extension, in her. Also considering that Wyll is a romantic at heart, had his first kiss at 15 and was exiled at 17, It is possible that Mizora was the first person he had sex with, been that vulnerable with, and he would struggle to see or label her as an abuser.

Next, the distance. Thanks to the tadpole, Astarion was able to run away from Cazador - to get so far away, where he couldn't reach him. He was able to live away from his influence, and it was easier for him to recognize the abuse for what it was. Which is not the case for Wyll. Throughout the game, he [i]has a sending stone for an eye that directly connects her mind to his[/i]. No matter where he goes, Mizora's influence follows him. - At some point she even joins your camp and stays right next to Wyll, and she will not leave. No matter how many times you attack her, she disappears for a few seconds, and then she's right back at his side. He has no escape.

and finally "Other people are suffering more" - his scars aren't as apparent or deep as Astarion's, nor did his abuse last as long, so, it can't be that bad, can it?

TW: CSA-related discussion below

Quite the change of topic, I know, but bear with me for a moment.

When they think of child abuse, most people think about some creep kidnapping a child off a playground and being heinous. When this happens, it is obvious to everyone that it is abuse and gross and yada yada yada. That is closer to what happened to Astarion. He was caught at a weak moment, taken advantage of, and once he broke free, he was free of his abuser's influence.

That is not how csa occurs most often though. Often times, the abuser is someone the victim already knows and trusts, usually a family member or a family friend - someone who has influence on the kid's life, someone who has power over the kid. Due to the abuser already being someone the kid trusts, the kid can convince themself that they're misremembering things, they're making it up, or exaggerating it; because surely someone they trust wouldn't do something like that. And even if the physical aspects of the abuse stops, the abuser will try to cement themself in the kid's life and wait for the next opportunity to repeat. Which is closer to what happens to Wyll.

Unfortunately, in these cases, it is harder to identify abuse as what it is. - Which is exactly why Wyll struggles with it.

[thessalian]

Faerun!Alisaie vs The Trouble With Wyll

Approaching Karlach's hiding place

Karlach: Oh fuck you brought company.

Wyll: Die, you--

Mind-Sharing Thing: *happens*

Alisaie: ...Wait. Hang on. You're ... you weren't in this of your own will. You're not a devil; you're a tiefling that someone crammed a damn hell engine into. Wyll, why the fuck--?

Wyll: ...Oh by the gods, I still have to do this!

Alisaie: So ... no. Wyll. Seriously. She's just another refugee - like the ones you were helping protect at the Emerald Grove. Just in a way worse situation than the rest of them, because forced into war and also saddled with a hell-engine! Since when does the Blade of the Frontiers murder refugees?

Wyll: ...Oh ... fuck. I'm going to pay for this...

Alisaie: Wait ... so ... you were serious about having sworn your good eye that you'd kill her?

Wyll: ...Gods preserve me, I'll probably keep the eye. This is just going to be ... worse.

Karlach: So ... there's some paladins who aren't going to be as easy to talk out of shit as Wyll seems to be and I really want you to help me deal with them.

Alisaie: Oh, this is going to be a daaaaaaaaaay ... Shadowheart, go back to camp for a bit; you probably don't need to be getting any bad attention from religious types.

Shadowheart: ...Fine. Call me when you've rediscovered your good taste in company.

Several killed paladins of Torm later

Karlach: Right. That's them dealt with. I WILL NOT BE HUNTED ANYMORE!

Alisaie: Um ... yeah, no, and anyone who tries is getting my blade through their face, so--

Karlach: *goes into a massive rage-frenzy, accidentally burns Gale, destroys the ladder down from their current location, and then smashes up the tavern*

Alisaie: ...None of you ever gets to tell me I have a temper again. HEY KARLACH! I THINK I KNOW A GUY IN THE GROVE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIX THAT ENGINE OF YOURS.

Karlach: *apparently feeling better* Sweet!

And, back at camp...

Alisaie: Why is there a portal to hell opening up in our camp, Wyll?!?

Wyll: Oh fuck.

Mizora: *comes out of portal* Oh, Wyll. You've been naughty.

Alisaie: Okay, first - points for the entrance; that was epic. Second - who the fuck are you, why are you in my camp, and why are you talking to your friend with more condescension than I do my actual literal dog?

Mizora: Oh, you didn't tell them about me? I'm hurt.

Alisaie: *who is far and away from stupid* You're a warlock, this is your patron, and she asked you to kill Karlach and you didn't.

Wyll: She invalidated the terms! Only devils, she said!

Mizora: I did add "the heartless", Wyll.

Alisaie: Oh, fuck, you used the "she has a hell engine where her heart used to be" loophole, didn't you.

Mizora: And now he pays for it.

Wyll: *very painfully becomes a devil or a tiefling or something, I dunno*

Mizora: There we go. I know you promised the eye, but the pact still stands and you're going to need to see to hunt. Buh-bye! *exits*

The Entire Camp: .................

Alisaie: I will ask about this after I recover from fights with paladins.

Except sleep gets slightly interrupted by a hovering Astarion

Alisaie: *grabs him by the throat* Lemme guess. The boar with the puncture wounds and no blood left in it was your work, and I'm next.

Astarion: Look, the boar was days ago and I'm too weak to hunt and I just wanted a sip to let me hunt again! I wasn't going to kill you; I--

Alisaie: Unless you lost control completely at your first taste of blood that wasn't from animals or vermin in a couple of hundred years and yes I know I'm rummaging around your head tadpole-to-tadpole and I don't like it but you tried to bite me in my sleep and I need to be sure you're not fucking lying to me. Which you're not, so ... a sip. One. And I will have a stake on you at all times.

Astarion: Wonderful! Let's make ourselves more comfortable, shall we?

Alisaie: There are major arteries in my wrists, Astarion.

Astarion: And I might nick something tendon-like if I do that. I'm not crippling someone who fights in my defense. Neck tends to be better.

Alisaie: I'd suggest inner thighs for the femoral artery, but I'm not sure you'd know what to do with a woman down there anyway.

Astarion: .........You are determined to take the fun out of this for me, aren't you.

Alisaie: I don't want you enjoying this too much; I said once.

Astarion: Fine. You grudge me a little bit of blood while you give Gale useful items that he then drains the magic from. At least your blood comes back.

Alisaie: Can we just get on with this? And after this, you save your fangs for anyone we're fighting, got it?

Astarion: So long as you don't let anyone stake me when word about this gets around, fine.

Morning arrives

Alisaie: Okay, I have gathered you all here because I keep tripping over everyone else's metaphorical baggage. I get not trusting people you've just met, so if your baggage hasn't become an issue for the entire party yet, fine. But the minute your metaphorical Bags of Holding full of angst and problematic start becoming public knowledge, I want it all out in the open. Do you understand?

The Entire Party: *various degrees of grumbling*

Alisaie: ...Or I could just spend the rest of this month tripping over bullshit. Yeah, okay, fine.

And, true to form, at Waukeen's Rest...

Flaming Fists: Duke Ravengard is trapped inside!

Wyll: Father's in there?!?

Karlach; Gale: Father?!?

Alisaie: *facepalm* Oh godsdamnit, Wyll...

Wyll: He disowned me ages ago! I wasn't planning on seeing him again, given... *gestures at new horns* I didn't think we'd see him here, in the middle of a drow raid!

Councillor: Well, you're not going to, because the drow took him, but if you could get me out of the burning building, that'd be great.

Alisaie: Yeah, sorry; just having one of those "I was trying to do an altruistic thing and ended up hip deep in a friend's personal bullshit" days. Weeks. Whatever. Apparently Team Dangerous Company just continues to be dangerous on a whole lot of levels! *kicks down door to Waukeen's Rest* Come on; out before you become a briquette.

Karlach: I'm glad most of my bullshit is pretty much on the table, I think. I pity the next person who has to admit to not being straight with her.

Gale: Yes. Indeed. Um ... now's a bad time to mention that I need to absorb another artefact, isn't it.

Alisaie: Ohforfuckssake...

[superhaught]

Wanted to share some things that I did before finishing my recent playthrough because I had fun doing/thinking about these things:

(All took place in the last five days or so before morphic pool onwards)

- Walker devoted himself to Selune at the Stormshore Tabernacle

- he and shadowheart got tattoos! He got night orchids on his back and chest that extend upwards into the white vines along his jaw and chin. Shadowheart got night orchids on her hand to hide the incurable wound.

- kept track of time using journal, Walker’s birthday happened while they were in the city. I spent that day walking around the city with Shadowheart, went to the park and pretended to have a picnic date with her, shopped at lots of places, visited all Tiefling friends, had an extravagant meal that night, and didn’t do any quests. I also imagine that Walker and Shadowheart had some fun together on the Elfsong roof that night

- donated most of my money to the Tieflings in various ways (bought a supply sack from Lakrissa and gave her a big tip of 1000 gold, left a pouch next to Alfira containing gold for her school, a diamond and pretty dyes, donated 2000 gp or something like that to Dammon, left a backpack containing gold, potions and food with Bex and Danis)

- pretended to gift Yenna a kitten once she was back at camp and sad about Grub :(

- additionally, idc that the epilogue makes no mention of her, Yenna is my adoptive daughter, and so is Arabella even though she’s off learning magic. Their home is in the cottage with me and Shadowheart and the animals.

- speaking of animals, one of the 8 cats we have is Myshka (couldn’t give Myshka to Bonecloak because her husband was still alive) but it’s okay because Myshka is my son

Also now that I’ve finished this run I really can’t wait to start my epilogue home game with my partner where Walker and Shadowheart join Karlach, Wyll and my partners’ Tav, Annalise, in Avernus after the party (leaving the animals and children in the safe care of Arnell and Emmeline, Selune bless them)

We will improve Karlach’s engine, we will fucking kill Mizora, we will fucking Kill Zariel (or redeem her possibly?), then we will visit Gale in Waterdeep and take a peek in the Yawning Portal to find Walker’s missing dad, then we will join Lae’zel (partner of Annalise) to fucking kill Vlaakith and then (hopefully we’re level 20 by then idk… probably I don’t fuck with XP leveling in my house) we might just go to the Shadowfell and fucking kill Shar? Idk if I’m allowed but if we’re gonna kill Vlaakith then why not, ya know?

[mrcrowblargs]

The final set of missions to get Gortash's netherstone: sabotage the steel watch, iron throne, and punking the greasy bastard himself. Roleplay wise I figured these would all have to be done in quick succession as once Gortash knew we broke his alliance, well, he commanded the city and I figured all the city guard would be aggro on us. Even without the watch, it would be annoying.

Catching up on my play logs, spoilers beyond!

Leading up these missions, I refused Wulbren's mission to blow up the Steel Watch factory and stole the runepowder bomb from him. Could be handy for later. Once inside the factory, I agreed to help the Gondians and went for the Iron Throne which was both fun and very frustrating.

Okay so, the fustration mostly came from my own hubris lmao. I had a rough idea of what to expect and figured I'd do a dry run to see if my loadout would work. Despite fucking up a bit I got everyone out, even Wyll's dad, but then when doing a last check of the map I was like, wait, what're those chests to the north? Reload...

two tries later THE CHESTS WERE JUNK... I thought they would be good shit because a notepad above mentioned that the place was formerly used for research and projects might still be left behind.

reload again... and then I kept having problems with bugs. The gnomes would Dash and then not move at all. On one try I got everyone except Karlach ran out of movement 3m before the ladder. Another I accidentally quickloaded lmao. in the end I got everyone except Phoenix Lubbins out... the dash bug was just too stubborn.

Omeluum's a cool dude. Very helpful for getting people out. Glad we got to see it again. :D

The real prize of the Iron Throne mission: THE WAVEMOTHER'S ROBE! Had to get everyone to try it on though maybe should have washed the blood off first.

I do believe Aldiirn wore it best, especially when dyed into his colour. Dayumn.

Back to the Steel Watch Factory, we were warned about the huge titan defender or whatever. Lae'zel makes her badass boast. LAE'ZEL MAKES GOOD ON HER THREAT. When that thing went into defense mode, she just fucking wailed on it hard enough to break the shield on her own. hot damn.

meanwhile Wyll was doing this lmao.

All the Gondians int he factory except the one temp companion guy beefed it, which sucked but they would not stay away from the exploding steel watch. Freaking gibbed, man. Seems they changed the AI behaviour in a recent patch so might be nice to try out again.

Also the bit with using Illithid Persuasion to control steel watch in the city? That was really cool. Narrating the watch's body as YOUR body of metal and gears. Loved it. Honestly I fucking love the whole zombie brain control thing they had going on. Good body horror shit.

Then KABOOM! No more Steel Watch and Barcus unites the gondians and ironhand gnomes! I'm proud of him, like dang in Act 1 he was just a little guy strapped to a windmill. Like truly the littlest of guys. But he put himself out there and stepped up to make a difference!

Back at camp, Wyll got to reconcile with his father! Ulder was so freaking harsh on the guy but I'm glad he chilled and had a good heart to heart. Wyll's going forward as the Blade of Avernus! Aldiirn talked him out of going on a roaring rampage of revenge against Mizora, maaaaaaybe a little selfishly, but revenge is no way to life. But hey, if Mizora just HAPPENS to get in the way... smack her!

I had actually already done Wyrmway at this point but apparently took no screencaps. Fun little puzzle dungeon then WOOOAAAHH WHAT??? story moments. And EPIC battle.

All this meant Gortash was next on the chopping block. Ohh it was so good to basically be like, "Karlach, go fuck him up." Enlarge -> Soul Coin -> Rage just buffing her to hell on the first round. And then um. Everyone got exploded by the GREASY TRAPS!!! Fuck Gortash. Second try, I had Astarion sneak to the back and begin combat by launching an exploding arrow right at Gortash and all the traps around him. Went perfectly, Karlach stomped him to pieces, no notes.

Karlach's breakdown after was so sad though. like shit. she did not deserve her situation one bit. She deserves hugs. hugs and good things!!!! let me hug her pleeeaaaase