#bg3 Orpheus

[scarila]

children of the stars

[notsohappynotsosad]

"betray Orpheus" this "betray Emperor" that. Just put them in this shirt smh

[jeeaark]

Have an out-of-the-blue bonus silly because I have no idea where I'd officially put this chronologically.

This would have been Orpheus' life every day if Greygold had ever chosen the patch 6 ending and left with Lae'zel

I swear Greygold and Orpheus are on good terms when I don't draw him.

[paarthursass]

[chizu117]

The Emperor, Orpheus, and Raphael fighting over who can manipulate, mansplain, malewife their way in the most bisexual way possible into controlling the Crown of Karsus

[thegreatsylvando]

[des-no9]

Tav sneaking into the prism for some more tentacle time with the Emperor: teehee

Orpheus, who is witness to all of this, all the time: just fucking kill me

[xdraonarts]

I don't draw the starting stages of aelric and emp's relationship often enough and should really try to draw more of it

(this takes place in act 1)

[dirtybg3confessions]

Confession:

Orpheus and Voss are a couple, and nothing will convince me otherwise.

[bludermaus]

Nothing you can tell me will convince me that this isn't how the game went down

[vetochkarowan]

you disappointed us, orpheus

[scarila]

Regent of the six arms of Tu'narath & Prince of the Comet

[wuhuha]

Originally wanted to attempt to pain the astral sea for the background but then I remembered I can't paint.

Ended up with a preatty neat wall paper though.

[jeeaark]

A small tribute to Patch 6 among the Patch 0 wreckage I've construed. I am amused that Orpheus is just 100% on board with a squid joining the big fight, no hesitation once offered the idea. Bruh.

Lae'zel: Curious to try a proper Faerunian Garlic Dish. Certainly will not obsess over Garlic Bread for the next six months. For reasons.

[paarthursass]

Reversing Ceremorphosis

There is an interesting debate to be had about whether mind flayers experiencing extreme partialism (the Emperor, Tav/Orpheus/Karlach depending on the ending) are truly the same person they were before ceremorphosis. According to 5e's lore, when a person undergoes full ceremorphosis they die and the tadpole takes full control. They normally experience none of the host's memories except in rare cases, where a phenomena known as "partialism" occurs.

Even in a non-magical setting "is something that experiences all your memories the same person as you" would be a tricky question, and in a setting where there are indisputably souls that depart the body upon death...that question becomes even stickier.

And that all brings me to my main point, which is: what is the best way to reverse ceremorphosis?

So we have two options in front of us:

Option 1) Though the tadpole may retain all the memories of its host, it is not them. The host (Balduran, Tav, Karlach, etc.) dies during ceremorphosis and what is left is a mind flayer tadpole experiencing their memories as their own. But their soul is gone, they are dead.

Option 2) The tadpole is experiencing the host's memories indistinguishably from its own. For all intents and purposes, it is the same person.

The game itself does not give us clear answers to this. Ansur speaks to the Emperor as if he were Balduran. Gale wishes to still marry you after ceremorphosis, indicating he at least still views you as the same person. The other characters don't seem to be of this viewpoint. The look Lae'zel gives you before she flies away with Orpheus is such a sad look that it reads, to me, like she views you as dead. Everyone talks at length about your "sacrifice," and it is clear they mean more than just your appearance. A romanced Wyll speaks about your future together like it is a lost dream, like you are already dead even though you're right there. There is no clear answer.

Which brings me to my second question...

What is the best way to reverse ceremorphosis?

Because the way I see it, there are two main options (not including Wish, which I will get to in a bit)

Option 1) True Polymorph. An illithid (or someone else of appropriate skill level) could cast this on them and polymorph them back to their original form. After an hour the effects are permanent, and they're not a mind flayer anymore! However, how "valid" this cure is depends on whether or not you consider the tadpole with the host's memories to basically be the host. Their soul has gone from their body, but they are not a mind flayer anymore and they have all their memories so...what are they? Are they Them, or are they something new?

Option 2) True Resurrection. This requires no body, nor any fragment of the body, and can be used so long as the target hasn't been dead for longer than 200 years. Especially considering Gale was able to get his hands on one scroll of True Resurrection, it doesn't seem all that unlikely (if perhaps a little difficult) that he and the others could get their hands on another.

But an illithid restored via True Resurrection would only have their memories right up until ceremorphosis killed them. They would have no recollection of defeating the Netherbrain and everything that came after (such as traversing Avernus, if they decided to go with Wyll and Karlach.)

And, more importantly (and horrifically) the mind flayer with their memories is still there, too.

Think about that for a moment. You remember dying, you remember the agony of your body becoming something else but then your friends brought you back from that, they saved you. But that thing is still there; walking around in what used to be your body, with your memories rattling around in its head.

And how does that feel for the mind flayer left behind?

You still think you are you, but then...there you are. Your friends wanted you back so badly but not you, no the other you, the you were before, the you they clearly think is the real one. You are not yourself, in spite of everything you have shared, everything you have done...

And as for the Wish spell, that is a notoriously finicky option. The spell description itself states "wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive" and "wishing for a legendary magic item or artifact might instantly transport you to the presence of the item's current owner."

So...who is to say that using Wish to restore someone from ceremorphosis would not simply bring the person back, the second before they transformed, with the mind flayer still there as well? Who is to say Wish would not simply do what a True Polymorph spell would do, and transform the mind flayer into their previous form without restoring the soul of the original owner?

I don't have any good answers for this, but I am fascinated by the implications of it all.

[des-no9]

A short Baldur's Gate 3 comic about Kith'rak Voss, Prince Orpheus, and grief.

Words and art by me.

8 pages below the cut.

I have....so much to say about these two, their beginnings, those millenias apart, Voss being the fabled destroyer of Prince Orpheus while beneath it all, being his voice, truth, and living breathing hope.

Then Orpheus' freedom, the hope of their people's freedom and a better future, and beneath all that, what it just means for them.

Two people who were - are we, again?

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. <3