#bg3 derryth

[bg3smash-or-pass]

[bluestrawberry7]

got my bg3 lesbian friend to approve this

[quescon]

Rare BG3 char x OC F/F fic recs

Sooo, @mikuchan made this post on gender stats in bg3 fandom (Which is very cool, not very surprising and you should check it out)

Along with other info in the post, there's a page that lists number of x oc fics for every character who has any. So, I looked through the tags, picked 5 medium-short fics and I present them to you.

Venomous - Kagha/Tav, M, warning for character death (but neither of the women), check this out if your enjoy evil Tavs and ambitious women.

Lilith investigates Kagha with the intent of finding knowledge to use against her. Yet the more she learns, the more intrigued she becomes, until she settles upon her own method of dealing with the druid.

"Love? Hah. Never heard of it." - Derryth Bonecloak/Tav, T, FLUFF, check this out if you think that Derryth deserves good things and wanted to play an eladrin in bg3

Derryth wasn't quite sure what to expect when leaving her presumed-dead husband in the Underdark. Adopting a dubiously named cat? Sure, maybe. But finding love again? That one was a stretch.

Gale's Mom Has Got It Going On - Morena Dekarios/Tav, M, humour, Gale POV, check this out if you want a giggle and believe that Morena is a milf, actually. (A lot of this is Gale going mad over other guys in camp flirting with his mom)

Gale has his hands full trying to keep his two comrades from hitting on his mother. Unfortunately, Astarion and Wyll are relentless. He ends up leaving her in the care of the one person at camp he thinks will keep her safe: Octavia, the Paladin of Tyr. Surely, the honorable paladin only has the purest of intentions with her, right? ...Right?

Of Spots and Scales - Quil Grootslang/Dark Urge, T, modern AU, quite fluffy for a durge-being-durge story. Check this out if you just excitedly thought "There's Quil fic??"

Quil knows she is an optimist. She also knows a lot of people find her annoying, or say other words about her. Bright and cheery. Sweet and naive. Diabetes-inducing. Very loud. The last one is totally fair because throatsinging is hard to do quietly, ignoring the fact that doing so ruins the whole point of it. There are some people that appreciate Quil for who she is though. But then, there is Rae. The silver dragonborn knows that, rationally, their whole thing would not make sense. However, Quil knows for a fact that emotions are not constrained by petty rationality. She has tried her best to express that in written song lyrics, though her efforts are not yet bearing full fruit. She just needs to survive until they do.

The Flood's Guiding Hand - Allandra Grey/OC (not really Tav), E, smut, SM, check this out if you like a bit of worldbuilding with your smut and you like dwarves.

Sanna is a would-be priestess of Umberlee and a runaway dwarf who has no love for her people's traditions. She is initiated into the Flood Tide's inner circle, but before the rite is complete she must undergo a very particular ritual. Written for Femslash February 2024 for the prompt "Rain."

[kirain]

What do you think of Derryth?

It's complicated. On the one hand, I understand where she's coming from. If you read her journal, you discover her husband's been abusing her for 70 years, to the point that she was too afraid to leave him. He is (or rather was) apparently well-known and well-connected in Baldur's Gate, so escape was impossible. Even if she tried, his friends likely would've forced her back or told him where to find her.

You can also find a note in her bedroom confirming Baelen's condition, along with a message from his healer, telling her that all he needs to do is consume a noblestalk mushroom and he'll be cured. If you give her the noblestalk, however, she uses it to save her shop, intentionally keeping it from Baelen. That's completely understandable, of course. She's covered in scars from the abuse and even the rothé confirms he was a piece of shit—he beat that poor animal, too. It's only natural she wouldn't want his mental faculties to return.

That said ... the Baelen she's abusing is not the same man who abused her. His mind is different. He's different. To make matters worse, he's entirely dependent on Derryth and believes she loves him. He may deserve that comeuppance, but he doesn't even understand why it's happening. Regardless of his past actions, he is mentally handicapped, and the immorality of using and abusing someone like that is pretty cut and dry. Plus, it isn't healthy for Derryth herself. Keeping him around as a constant reminder of the hell he put her through, forever angry and vengeful, doesn't help with her own recovery. She needs peace.

Ironically (and perhaps unfortunately), the arguably best outcome for this side quest is healing Baelen. When you meet again in Act 3, you find him running the shop alone. If you ask him about Derryth, he says she "fled in the night", and he claims to be fine with that. Though he expresses zero regret or remorse for how he treated her during their marriage, it does seem he's willing to let her go. You can later find her working in the Elfsong Tavern, where she gives a very inspiring and heartfelt speech about freedom and regretting her treatment of Baelen when he was sick. It's nice, but one does have to wonder if he'll truly leave her be.

So if the thought of healing that mound of living garbage disgusts you too much, you can always blow him to smithereens in the Underdark and give Derryth the noblestalk. If you do her shop will thrive, but she'll be lonely and admit she regrets how she treated Baelen before he died. The good news is you can convince Myshka, the white cat in the town square, to keep her company, and she's happier with him than she ever was with Baelen. The only downside being you won't be able to use the noblestalk on Shadowheart, which helps her recover her lost memories of Nocturne.

[moghedien]

[LOLTH-SWORN] KILL YOUR HUSBAND

[pushing500]

What Bladur's Gate class would the twins be?

I think, with Kwahu's recent delving into the Staticlord psycast tree from 'Vanilla Psycasts Expanded', the Jones boys would make for excellent sorcerers of the Storm Sorcery subclass, though they'd have trouble with the charisma side of things, I suppose. Perhaps they'd make for better knowledge-domain clerics of Oghma, or monks.

I do think the sorcerer outfit looks best on them, though.

[bladesandbhaalspawn]

BG3 Moodboards

Derryth Bonecloak

[origin characters | other companions | npcs | tavs | durges]

[steelwoolcardigan]

Just some self canon stuff once more

*My Tav donates to the refugees, then plays them a song.*

Gale: How considerate of you!

Astarion: Ugh, why do you have to be so nice?

Wyll: Perhaps we could give them some more supplies.

Lae'zel: tsk'va!

Karlach: You're awesome soldier!

Shadowheart: You're bleeding heart will be the end of us.

*Tav proceeding to pickpocket the shit out of everyone afterwards. Even innocent bystanders.*

(partial) Rest then repeat

[a-rogue-tiddy-bot]

BG3's most perfect and important side quest.

[blackjackkent]

Heading north from the arcane tower and the sussur tree - at a good clip because Rakha hates the latter with a passion - we find Baelan among the bibberbangs.

It would actually be pretty easy to just obliterate him here, because I've already established in multiple past posts that Rakha has been shooting every mushroom she sees on sight because she got pissed off when one exploded under her. So she definitely does come very close to melting him before she even realizes he's there.

However, from a metagame perspective, I don't want to do this because I happen to know that a) doing so would also blow up the noblestalk in the corner of the mushroom field and b) giving Rakha the noblestalk gets her some Durge dialogue.

So instead - Wyll notices the bald head moving among the toxic mushroom gases just in time and grabs Rakha's arm, jolting her to the side so the shot goes wide. "Wait! There's someone in there!"

"Stop!" cries the dwarf in unabashed, gibbering panic. "Bibberbang!"

Narrator: [NATURE] You recognize the name - bibberbang, a mushroom that releases dangerous spores. Highly flammable.

(A/N: In this case Rakha does not actually recognize the name; however, she has already blown up enough bibberbang on the way here to know what would happen if she blew up these ones.)

She blinks in puzzlement at the lone man out among the mushrooms, shifts to glance behind her at her companions.

Turn away.

"Wait!" the dwarf wails, apparently thinking she's leaving. "Please - hear me out!" He flails distractedly in all directions. "Scroll - escape! My bag! Please. I've dropped it - somewhere--"

("Even shorter sentences than you, Rakha," Shadowheart murmurs, eliciting a strangled chuckle from Wyll.)

Rakha ignores the sardonic comment and considers the matter for a moment. The man's bag sits somewhere among the toxic gas, no doubt. It would be satisfying to simply watch the whole thing burn, but she's conscious of Wyll's hand still on her arm, how he drw her back from letting the man die. It gives her enough pause to settle her thoughts. Attack with purpose.

The man's pack, wherever it is, might have useful spells, but easier to simply give him what he needs. Rakha reaches into her pack.

Hold up a scroll of Misty Step.

The man's eyes light up eagerly. "Yes! That's-- yes!"

[STRENGTH] Throw the scroll to him.

It's not so different from throwing a fire bolt. The scroll thumps to the ground next to the man's feet.

"Ah!" he says, startled, then picks up the scroll and fiddles with it. "Oh. I'm fine. Just have to-- and then-- here!"

He vanishes, and reappears almost at Rakha's side.

"Ah-- right as..." he mumbles vaguely. "What were you saying?"

He doesn't seem injured, so Rakha can only assume this is just how he always talks. "What are you doing down here?" she asks curtly.

"I was just looking for--" the man begins. Then his eyes widen. "Derryth!" he yelps. "She's-- she'll be worried sick." He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a different scroll (Invisibility this time). "Here - for you... your trouble," he says absently, shoving it into Rakha's hands, and then barrels off past Rakha and into the darkness to the north.

"Well," Shadowheart says to no one in particular. "That was odd."

[algrenion]

i didnt realise that the only way to get Derryth Bonecloak out of her abusive relationship was by curing Baelen's illness and letting him go back to being a piece of shit to her until she leaves him

so i killed him in Baldur's Gate instead

i hoped she would have some special dialogue on this action, but it's the same as if she was running the shop with him. She doesnt seem to notice that he's dead. Which is a shame in some ways but maybe she's just in on the crime.

anyways i never charge her for goods and i donate stock and gold to her regularly, she's great.

[vault-of-lore]

Vault Pass Ledger

Accounting Book I

Accounting Book II

Accounting Book III

Safe and Sound: A Guide to our Vaults

Detailed Ledger

Basics Beginner's Dwarvish

Beating the House: Divination and Gambling

[nucleqr]

screenshot dump from my latest solo playthrough!

[nightingaletrash]

lesson learned: don't give Baelan the noblestalk

Update: I found Derryth in the Elfsong and she actually seemed to be doing better in this scenario and was actually pleased to see Tallis despite how upset she was back in the Underdark. She's gotten away from a life she hated and finally remembers how to breathe freely :')

So giving him the noblestalk isn't the worst scenario after all... Still have no regrets about murdering his ass tho :)

[tolnas-vault]

Fic Review: What Tomorrow May Bring

Reviewed: April 30 2024

Fic Data

Rating: G

Status: Complete

Word Count: 3652

Main Ship(s): Derryth Bonecloak & Figaro Pennygood & Victoria Onufrio

Side Ship(s): Derryth Bonecloak/Glumbo

Other Side Character(s): Astarion, Cazador, Violet, Leon

Summary:

Figaro Pennygood has made good on his promise to Leon and helped Victoria escape the Crimson Palace before the Ascension Ritual. Now, he has a thirteen year old girl on his hands and he urgently needs to find her a home. Derryth Bonecloak is still missing her husband Baelen, in spite of everything he did to her. She has a cat now, but she is still lonely, if only she would admit it.

Ao3 Stats (As of April 30 2024)

Victoria Onufrio works on Ao3: 3

Derryth Bonecloak works on Ao3: 2

Figaro Pennygood works on Ao3: 3

Review (Mild Spoilers Only)

Warnings: Domestic Violence (past tense)

Favorite Quote:

"Is that who you are now, Derryth Bonecloak? An old hag who frightens children."

Main POV: Derryth Bonecloak

Thoughts:

Ghibli. Everything about this fic just feels Ghibli. It has Ghibli themes, a Ghibli pacing, even a Ghibli aesthetic if one could call it that.

Victoria feels very much like a Ghibli protagonist in this fic. A young girl with a fraught relationship to magic. Who delights in simplicity, nature, and honest work.

Derryth is exactly the sort of character Victoria would charm in a Ghibli movie. An older woman, embittered by abuse and isolation, who certainly has her problems, but is ultimately a caring guardian despite herself.

Bigger things are happening in this fic, we're well aware of a larger narrative, but like a Ghibli movie it doesn't dwell on those parts. It dwells on the quieter moments, the simple moments of running a shop, getting a new dress, or petting a cat. The emotions and day to day are the important part, not the big world changing events.

An absolutely beautiful fic, I hope this will inspire more for all three characters.

Who I'd recommend this fic to: Fellow Baldur's Gate npc buffs and letter snoopers. There really are so many stories to dig up if you poke around in the right places, and this author uncovered a story waiting to be told in some very obscure letters.

Who Are These Characters? These characters are obscure and easily missable in Baldur's Gate 3. I will link to their wiki's here so you don't have to.

[citizen-of-the-fandom]

Playing Baldur's Gate 3 and I'm mostly through Act 1, finishing up the Underdark quests, when I came across what I think is thus far the most complex, complicated, morally grey question:

What do you do with the Noblestalk?

Like, yeah yeah choosing mean dialogue choices to make Astarion happy is a thing I have made my peace with, it says a lot about a person and so many of the choices in this game are like that. BG3 does not make it easy. There are no "good" options and there are no "bad" options. You have to decide, which matters most in this instance? Do you save a tiefling girl or do nothing? Why?

But the Noblestalk.

Derryth and Baelen Bonecloak.

You meet Derryth and she's angry, bitter, and dismissive of her husband. You rescue him and get back to Derryth and she's like 'dammit I wish he had died' and you think "oh, okay, the morally correct decision is siding with Baelen" and then you find out he's been abusing his wife their entire marriage and you're like "oh okay so she was right" but then you think "no, actually, when Baelen lost his memory and she treated him like shit and sent him to fetch things that could have killed him, that's wrong also--"

Being hurt and choosing not to hurt others, regardless of whether or not they deserve it, is one of the main themes of this game. Breaking the cycles of abuse.

So, as I usually do I look up the wiki to figure out what happens if you choose path a or b or c because this is surprisingly difficult, and there were no correct answers. I felt bad no matter what I chose.

The answer that made the most sense, that ended with Derryth realizing what she and Baelen are doing to each other and leaving him, requires giving Baelen the Noblestalk.

Which means he gets his memories back and starts abusing his wife again immediately. She has to go through it again before she says "no more" and leaves. This leaves Baelen in charge of his shop and seemingly rich and with zero problems, having never learned anything even like a lesson.

And if you were going to play this in character, with no knowledge of what happens in the future, what would you choose?

(I'm choosing to give it to Shadowheart, and meditating on the fact that I am now resigning Baelen to a shitty life at the hands of his wife, just because he hurt her first and it's a video game and I can be petty and I value Shadowheart's story more.)

It is a complicated question, a truly morally grey quandary and it really made me think.