#but this run I had Lae'zel on my team all the time

[alteredsilicone]

me, letting Wyll and Karlach go to Avernus to hunt devils: bye bye friends love you have a good time :) me, letting Lae'zel leave on a dragon to fight for the freedom of her people: if you love her let her go if you love her let her go if you love her let hero go (trying not to cry)

[static-sulker]

I might maybe possibly be thinking of a modern fantasy apartment AU with the main crew. All of them being stupid ass magical roommates without tadpoles...Just letting them be happy.

Also my Tav is in there because...yeah. His name is Silk and he is such a silly guy ridden with the 'tism. Drow Warlock who sees the good in everything... Such a...A yeah...

Little notes i've been conjuring about this...

Gale and Wyll made a chore chart in the kitchen, with little magnets for each person. Astarion regularly will switch his magnet in the middle of the night just so he doesn't have to do the fucking dishes and EVERYBODY knows besides Gale and Wyll. Wyll is on the fence about it, but Gale wholeheartedly believes when Astarion lies through his teeth about never having done it.

Karlach and Halsin go on grocery runs in the mornings. Karlach goes for the running part, while Halsin comes along for the run as well as to stop Karlach from buying the most horrendous shit. The one time she went alone very early in the houses lifespan, Karlach bought like 3 bags of go-gurt, about 50 dollars worth of cheap booze, and a big piece of raw steak to cook. She burnt said steak. But she's trying now, at least.

The team will take turns every now and then to get Astarion blood from themselves as it gives Astarion a lot more energy then normal settling blood. BUT they do have "blood bags" that they set up in the kitchen fridge whenever they know nobody with the right blood is gonna be available to give him blood if he needs it. They TOTALLY get it by legal means and it TOTALLY doesn't melt Astarions heart that they try so hard to help him.

Silk finds a stray dog in the alleys of their building one day when they went out to work (they do freelance art with their magic for like startups, it's fun). After casting "speak with animals" they find out this dog, Scratch, is waiting for his owner to return. His owner was killed out by some gnoll gang downtown. When they come back from work later in the evening, they find Scratch again, still waiting. Long story short, Silk adopts scratch in their very strict "no pets" rule of an apartment. And don't get me STARTED on the owlbear cub. Lae'zel and Halsin were out, originally to get some spare lightbulbs and tools for the apartment and find the little critter getting chase by some goblins in some backalley parking lot. Lae'zel plans to ignore the thing, but Halsin assists the cub. Once done, they plan to leave, before the cub begins to follow them home. Halsin names the cub "Vauva" and Lae'zel soon becomes SO attached.

They have presentation nights, where everybody makes slideshows about literally anything. Last week, Gale made one about the conflicts of archmages and the idea of apprentices. Karlach then made a tier list on the worst monsters ever documented, Lae'zel helped with that one. Shadowheart made this whole discussion over her favorite and least favorite teas (she fuckin' hates green tea for like no reason). Wyll made one on Baldurs Gate history. Astarion made a smash or pass list of all of the political leaders in Baldurs Gate. Silk made a presentation on the weirdest underdark myths and rumors they have heard on their time above ground. Halsin presented (well more like persuaded) on getting a new herb for their kitchens row of herbs and spices set on the windowsill. They have too many and he got like 5 minutes of stand time before Karlach kicked him off.

Lae'zel hate-cleans when shes mad at somebody in the apartment. Basically, she cleans every room in the entire fucking apartment BESIDES any of said "victims" parts of the house. One time, she got into a fight with Shadowheart and threw all of the dirty laundry she had so carefully put into the laundry room back into her room just all over the fucking place. If shes calm though, the house is normally fairly clean under her and Wyll's watch. It's one of the only things they agree on.

Because every bg3 piece of content I make loops back to bloodweave, I think they would have a little reading time together. Like whenever everybody is settling down for the night and they are up for it, they take this lovely window seat couch/bed thing in Gales room and just take out a good bottle of wine and a book for each of them and just read until late. They originally did this separately, but when the two find themselves both in the living room at 2 in the morning reading, they decide in silent agreement to make it routine. They sometimes read in silence, other times just talking absently about anything. Shadowheart finds out first by coming in to Gales room late one night to return a book he lent to her to find the two both passed out, tucked away in the window, books still in hand before they accidentally passed out. Shadowheart then teases them with photos the morning after.

Karlach and Lae'zel both do these really intense shadowboxing exercises in Karlachs room whenever the two have freetime and enough energy to go through with it. It's a heated bitter rivalry in the eyes of the githyanki, but Karlach just loves a little workout with her friend! Lae'zel does enjoy the workouts, as she doesn't get many options to really let off ALL of her steam, even if she works at a gym as a personal trainer. She is constantly told shes a bit TOO rough with the clients so she has to "tone it down". So it's nice.

Astarion and Shadowheart have girls nights. Like they paint each others nails and watch like twilight together (ironically they get so heated at how wrong they get it. "Just another human writer writing about shit she doesn't get" is used a lot in their rewatches). They also talk about like...their feelings. But it's very sparse and done so by a copious amount of wine (wine with a heavy amount of blood on the side for Astarion). Both of them never got to have moments like this in their childhoods, of just pure calmness and domestic childhood enjoyment, so they make due with what they can.

BY THE HELLS I JUST REALIZED I WROTE THIS MUCH. DAMN OKAY.

[tealfling]

I just had a thought, possible headcanon, at least how it played out in my game.

I smell like death..?

Gale and Lae'zel have made comments about my Tav having "an odor" both during propositions after we started the Astarion romance line. Later, in Halsin's proposal, he says, "Astarion's scent lingers on your skin ." And although I haven't run into it in my game yet, I've seen that Astarion talks about his perfume scent he used to cover his undead smell.

My Tav, especially Amaranth, would/did take offense when Gale & Lae'zel made those comments, (It's probably all the stress sweat from carrying this team on my back, Gale.), but now that Halsin's mentioned it, there's no way they're not lying in bed ruminating on what the others smell on them. If they smell like Astarion, that could be why Gale and Lae'zel said it with a hint of disgust. At the time, the two really didn't like the fact that they were denied sex and he wasn't. But it could be something else. Amaranth is definitely wondering if she smells like a corpse. Despite Gale's original accusations, Amaranth's meticulous in her personal hygiene. She's always worked with the dead, and that scent tends to linger, can be hard to remove, but that's completely different than being under an undead all the time. She always liked the way Astarion smelled, a fragrance crafted for himself to cover the scent of undeath, but maybe his 'smells' stick differently to her body? Maybe she's nose blind to the smell of death now?! Oh no, Astarion is going to be so upset if he finds out. It can't be him. She's going to have to ask Karlach to run a sniff test.

[sodapopseagull]

Played more honor mode again last night and have added two more downs and one death to the count for a total of 5 and 2! It's been chaos and I did cry a little because I am overly attached to the pixel people and I think my friend might be rabid?? It would explain some things...

Lae'zel is no more. We sided with the tieflings that captured her. It was sad 😔

Astarion, when faced with the choice between the HUGE SCARY DRAGONBORN and my dumb idiot 8 STR human tav, chose to try and bite my friend. I tried to save him, to remind her of his purpose as Boooal's sacrifice to buy him just a bit more time, but she would not hear me 😭😭😭

Karlach is now on the chopping block in his stead. She dances so innocently at camp...

I pleaded for Wyll's life because, entirely on his own at the fight in front of the Grove, he used his scroll to resurrect my friend!!! A life for a life!!! And it was all well and good, but alas, he showed up at our camp after we recruited Karlach and he fell because my friend doesn't want anyone at camp FOR SOME REASON. I tried to convince her that Wyll deserves to make it to the end of the game for his selfless act, but alas... she would not hear me. I did actually shed a tear or two LMAO. It was very late and I love Wyll, he didn't deserve that.

Gale's fate is on thin ice, but as of right now he is tentatively safe. He had two snacks yesterday. Never have I been so fearful as when my friend kept asking "what did you feed him?" over and over again while channeling a Divine Smite right over his head...

This woman has not ONCE cared about The Watcher's Guide in our hundreds of hours of playing together, but apparently I shouldn't have let Gale eat it LMAO

I had done some negotiating to keep him around earlier in the day. Made a sacrifice I have never made before, but it has appeased her...

I will say that all of this is all done in good fun. My friend knows how attached I am to Gale and the rest of the companions (and she loves them too, make no mistake) and we manufacture a great deal of drama around it LMAO. And in her defense!!! she has lost hours of her life to me romancing this man in our countless co-ops and my BG3/Gale fixation pulled me away from our shared 3D/VR hobby... Like, is it hilarious that she has beef with a fictional wizard from a game she bought me? Yes. Does she also have a point?

Perhaps.

I don't want to give the impression that she's a bad friend or co-op partner- I love this person with my whole heart and we know where our lines are even in something silly and fictional like a video game! And I want to clarify that because she will probably insist on more unhinged nonsense as we keep going, and I like yapping about our playthroughs LOL

We're having so much fun on this run and, as of right now, are kinda cruising through the early combats! We're taking advantage of a lot of mechanics we've never really bothered with like dipping weapons, using Shovel to surprise enemies, actually using our scrolls, and properly teaming up to loot everything. The level 4 power spike is going to be so good for us, and at level 5 I will have Font of Inspiration and my friend will be ready to reclass to her Open Hand Monk hehehe

Last night she suggested that we relive the early days of our ownership of this game and do a marathon session today. I hope she was being serious, but if that's the case, I gotta haul ass on some fic edits before she wakes up LOL

[bloodycyrano]

So.. The Gene Kelly cigarette trick is running rampant in my brain again, here's what I think members of Team Tadpole would think about smoking. Bonus, could they do the Gene Kelly Cigarette trick?

Karlach- Easy starter, it's cannon that she used to smoke cigars. I feel like she knows it's bad for her, and she does her best to get clean; but in high stress situations, she has that itch and sometimes just can't help herself-

6/10. She cannot do the Gene Kelly Cigarette trick. Not properly anyways. She definitely *could* do it, but the point is to not burn yourself in the process. Which.. Technically isn't a problem, given her general fireproof-ness, but I'm still reducing points for the fact that the burning end would be firm against the roof of her mouth the whole time. So in conclusion.. Yes she could, but not properly.

Astarion- Okay, this one might be a little off, but I think Astarion swears up and down he can't stand the smell of it, but absolutely has a hidden smoking addiction.- It wasn't something he'd touch as a Magistrate, pre-vampirism; But as a spawn? He was under constant stress, unwillingly luring attractive snack packs of all types back to Cazador, withstanding abuse, etc. I feel like on the rare occasion when he was able, he'd bum a smoke off of a random Baldur's Gate patron, and then probably get punished for it if he didn't manage to hide the scent well enough.

9/10. He ABSOLUTELY could do the Gene Kelly Cigarette trick. He'd do it with style- After all, he spent like 200 years seducing people.

Gale- No. I think he probably bought a pipe at one point in an attempt to be 'cool' and 'mature', fully intent on using it, and then he got violently ill the moment he actually took a drag. Tara had a very "I told you so" moment.

-7/10, Gale would probably accidentally choke to death if he attempted the Gene Kelly Cigarette trick.

Wyll- I think, as a matter of self care and principal, the blade of the Frontiers doesn't smoke. You probably couldn't pay him to, either. A very respectful decline, but absolutely fucking not.

2/10, Wyll Ravenguard couldn't, and wouldn't.

Shadowheart- She doesn't particularly enjoy smoking. I feel like she's used to smoke inhalation due to incense and ritualistic burning of herbs, perhaps. And maybe she's not a stranger to smoking rolled herbs and flowers.. But cigars or cigarettes? Absolutely not. It's not quite her taste..

5/10, she definitely can't, but she'd be very elegant about it and probably joke about it afterwards.

Lae'zel- Lae'zel sees no proper point in smoking, but she would just to prove a point if she had to. Through pure discipline, I feel like she could force herself to remain stoic and unbothered through smoking even without being remotely used to it.

4/10, she *could* do it, but not without hurting you in the process, and she'd see absolutely no point in it.

[wyllzel]

A Brief Honor Mode Reflection 🎆

Hello!! Now that I've beaten BG3's HM (on Patch 6, Hotfix 19), I am here to share my builds (and a mini retrospective). 🥳👋

My team relied on stealth, a few instances of barrelmancy, and some amoral choices... 😔 But we did not use any illithid powers!

I did not have a main party and instead swapped characters out depending on the situation. I did my best to remember how combat encounters played out, and prepared accordingly! If I was really worried about an encounter, I tried to follow these awesome guide videos from YouTuber neek. 😁

(Possible spoilers ahead!)

Party Builds

The party that I brought to the final battle against the Netherbrain! A lot of white hair, lol.

Unfortunately, I don't remember my party's exact stats and I can't go into an old save to find them (haha) so I'll do my best to remember their key traits/items here.

All of my party members took the Alert Feat at Level 8! I consider this feat key, if not necessary, to winning Honor Mode.

Tav (Asa): 12 Monk, Way of the Open Hand (Drow)

20 STR / 14 DEX / 23 CON / 8 INT / 16 WIS / 10 CHA

Tavern Brawler Feat

Helldusk Armor

Gloves of Soul Catching

Amulet of Greater Health

Haste Helm

Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo

I got Asa to 20 STR by starting her off with 17 STR, using her Level 4 feat to take Tavern Brawler (+1), then pressuring Astarion for Araj Oblodra's potion (+2). (😭)

A Way of the Open Hand Monk is a superb DPR hitter that can also apply handy conditions to bosses, such as Stunned or Prone. It's a popular class with powergamers, and for good reason!! Personally, I really like it because I can pretend to be a wuxia heroine, haha.

Gale: 12 Wizard, Abjuration School

I don't remember his exact stats unfortunately, but I prioritized INT (20), DEX, and CON.

Robe of the Weave

Markoheshkir

Viconia's Walking Fortress

Gloves of Belligerent Skies

Boots of Stormy Clamor

Psychic Spark

Abjuration Wizard can hugely increase your chances at survival with Arcane Ward. My party was basically invincible by the time we reached Level 10, thanks to Gale's Arcane Ward and Shadowheart's Warding Flare!

I had Gale carry the Spellsparkler staff for basically all of Acts 1 and 2. I'm a huge fan, especially when combo-ing it with Magic Missile. 😁

Astarion (Vampire Ascendant): 4 Rogue (Thief) / 6 Ranger (Gloom Stalker) / 2 Fighter

See my build guide for Ascended Astarion! I followed that, but took his last two levels in Fighter rather than sticking with Ranger. Fighter's Action Surge came in handy a few times.

I forewent the Alert Feat on Astarion in favor of an ASI (+2 to DEX). His Initiative was already very high due to Gloom Stalker Ranger's Dread Ambusher.

Alongside my Tav (Asa), Astarion was easily doing the most DPR.

Shadowheart: 12 Cleric, Light Domain

I have a proper build guide in the works 😁 but I highly recommend prioritizing WIS, CON, and DEX if you can!

Amulet of the Devout

Luminous Armor

Luminous Gloves

Boots of Striding

Selûne's Spear of Night

Ketheric's Shield

Callous Glow Ring

Coruscation Ring

This build does highly rely on Radiant Damage, and there are a few enemies who punish you for using Radiant Damage (ie. the Undead Justiciars, Raphael, Viconia) - so be careful about where you're using her and how!

In most cases (especially with Invisible enemies), I had Shadowheart start by dropping a Radiance of the Dawn among clustered enemies. Thanks to her gear, this delivered a mass output of Radiant Damage and Radiating Orbs.

EDIT: Guide completed and posted on March 2, 2024!

Wyll: 12 Warlock, The Fiend, Pact of the Blade

See my build guide for Fiend Bladelock Wyll!

Unfortunately, the gear in the above guide ended up overlapping with other characters :') So instead of being a frontliner in this run, he was largely Eldritch Blasting and acting as the Party Face. As such, I had him in the following:

Potent Robe

Hat of the Sharp Caster

Daredevil Gloves

Envoy's Amulet

Band of the Mystic Scoundrel

Ring of Arcane Synergy

Lae'zel: 12 Paladin, Oath of Vengeance

Lae'zel was sadly kidnapped and killed by Orin. 😞 So her build isn't as complete, but I had her in the following for most of Acts 1 and 2:

Adamantine Splint Armor

Sussur Greatsword ➡️ Soulbreaker Greatsword

Crusher's Ring

Gloves of the Growling Underdog

Like my Tav (Asa) and Astarion, I would bring in Lae'zel when I needed an extra heavy DPR hitter! Paladins are a very powerful class if you don't mind Long Resting often, especially in the early game before you get Extra Attack on martials at Level 5.

Retrospective

To be honest, I'd already beaten the game five times (oops! 🥲) before completing my Honor Run. 😆 So I had a huge leg up just by virtue of remembering which encounters were where, and what was the best way to beat them! IMO, Foreknowledge, Initiative, and Stealth/Surprise are king in Honor Mode.

I also followed some tips that I normally find overly tedious:

Donate gold to traders to get better prices when buying + more gold when selling.

Meticulously collect camp supplies and barrels, especially smokepowder barrels.

Stock up on Invisibility Potions in case you need to Flee a combat.

Stock up on Strength Potions (Hill Giant, Cloud Giant) for your Strength-based builds, so you can prioritize other Ability Scores - particularly in the early game.

Always try to initiate combat with Surprise if you can.

Make good use of Shadowheart's buff spells!! I don't know why I never used Enhance Ability and Calm Emotions before this, haha!

Get two Hirelings through Withers: one Transmutation Wizard and one Cleric. The wizard was our camp alchemist, and the cleric was our camp buffer (Heroes' Feast, Freedom of Movement, upcasted Aid).

I even cut a deal with Philomeen for her Runepowder Vial then entered turn-based mode to kill her before she could flee the scene, thus securing the Runepowder Barrel as well. 😭

Sadly, I very much set aside my moral code for this run. :') Astarion got the extremely, extremely short end of the stick 😞 - and unfortunately, so did Wyll. 😭 I broke his pact with Mizora, but instead of rescuing his father and properly closing out Wyll's companion quest, I skipped the Iron Throne and Wyrmway quests... (I did not like my chances against the Steelwatch and Ansur...)

So, after fully building my party, we ended up briefly allying with Gortash (IYKYK haha) and heading straight for the Brain. Orpheus was our team's Mind Flayer.

The items I brought with me to the final Brain fight include:

4 Elixirs of Psychic Resistance

8 Potions of Flying (though I only ended up using 4)

10 Potions of Invisibility (though I only ended up using 5)

5 scrolls of Globe of Invulnerability (I only used 1, LOL)

10 Potions of Speed (I only used 2)

8 scrolls of Disintegrate ⭐

I will let you figure out what I did with those. 😁 (Unless you'd like to see my full strat, in which case I may post that later!)

Hope this helped anyone who's planning to attempt Honor Mode!! YOU'VE GOT THIS! 👏 Panic is the mindkiller in this version of the game, so just keep a level head, check your inventory before ending your turn, and read the BG3 Wiki (especially when facing bosses), haha - and you'll be a-okay 🥳🎆 !

Best of luck! 🍀✨

[mumms-the-word]

In Fathoms Below - Ch. 8

Ch. 8 - Cloakers

Characters: Gale, Karlach, Wyll, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Astarion, Halsin, Minthara, Gortash + other OCs; pairing is Gale x fem!Tav Plot: The island city of Nautera disappeared over 4500 years ago, if it ever existed at all. Now not a single, legitimate record of Nautera exists, save for one. The Nauterran Account. Long thought lost, it has recently been retrieved from the depths of Candlekeep’s archives and placed into the capable hands of one Gale Dekarios. With the Nauterran Account in hand and an eclectic team of Baldurians and other allies mounting an official expedition, Gale journeys to find the ruins of Nautera…but hopes to find so much more. A/N: You guys voted and now we're here! Time for a cheeky Underdark encounter with a few beasties. Hopefully everyone makes it out alive. But you'll have to read on to find out!

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Gale gave a small bow in deference to Minthara—she was the general after all—before he left to go find Karlach. Thus far on the trip, Karlach had been the one person he could honestly call friend, even after so short a time together. The others were warming up to him slowly too, he supposed, or perhaps he was warming to them. He wasn’t certain. But Karlach had been a constant warm presence down here in the Underdark, both literally and metaphorically. 

He found her lounging against a rock with Wyll, both of them chatting and taking swigs of water from their canteens. Since arriving in the Underdark, both Karlach and Wyll had taken to wearing a weapon at nearly all times, except when bedding down for the night. Karlach had a large, lethal-looking battleaxe strapped to her back now, while Wyll had taken to sheathing a rapier at his side. Neither of them had used their weapons yet, aside from Wyll practicing his parries and ripostes or what-have-you before bedtime, but both seemed to think it was only a matter of time.

Karlach smiled and waved Gale over as he approached. “Just in time, Gale. You always miss the best stories from Wyll here. He was about to tell me about a fight he had against a wyvern or something.”

“A wyvern?” Gale asked, raising his eyebrows. “Was this some sort of…nobleman’s sport or…?”

Karlach laughed, while Wyll merely looked a touch sheepish and proud at the same time. “Well, actually, it happened during my time as the Blade of Frontiers,” he admitted. “That’s what I’ve been doing the last few years. Hunting monsters, fighting brigands, that sort of thing.”

“A hero of the Sword Coast, the Blade of Frontiers is,” Karlach said, nudging Wyll with her elbow. He merely chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, though Gale could tell he took pride in the name. 

“I had no idea,” Gale said. Then again, glancing at Wyll’s scars, he ought to have known. The scars he bore were from battles and monster fights, not noblemen’s duels and slumming adventures. They were scars from his time as the Blade, not as the son of Duke Ulder Ravengard. “Your, ah…reputation hadn’t yet reached Waterdeep, I’m afraid.”

“One day it will,” Wyll said breezily. “Anyway, what did you need?”

“Minthara wants Karlach to accompany me to scout ahead and find a new path for us,” Gale said. “Shadowheart, too.”

“Sounds like a party. Mind if I tag along?”

“Ooh, say yes, Gale,” Karlach said, brightening. “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Wyll here fight.”

“And you have?” Wyll asked, grinning at her.

“Well, no, but your stories are amazing. I bet you could go toe-to-toe with a dragon and come out just fine.”

Wyll laughed and even Gale had to smile at their banter. Karlach made fast friends with everyone, it seemed. 

“And if there’s nothing to fight?” Gale asked.

“Then we can find something to fight,” Karlach said, like this was the only obvious answer. “Besides, I hear Astarion’s been lurking around. Maybe we’ll run into him.”

Gale tilted his head. “How did you know that?”

“I told her,” Wyll said. “All the signs are there. The dead creatures, mainly, each of them completely bloodless. I think he’s sticking close to us. Though whether that’s for protection or to eventually make us his prey…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Hmm…well if we’re about to encounter a vampire, perhaps having a monster hunter on our side wouldn’t hurt,” Gale said. “That just leaves Shadowheart, then.”

“I’ll get her,” Karlach said. “Meet you up front!”

She waved to them both and jogged away, heading toward the back of the convoy. Wyll shook his head fondly, watching her go. “Ah Karlach. I doubt even the darkest depths of the Lower Dark could dim her spark.”

Gale glanced sidelong at Wyll, noting the fondness in the younger man’s eyes as he watched Karlach’s flame-flickering form disappear down the convoy, toward the medic carts. Gale smiled faintly to himself and kept his opinions quiet.

“We’d best head toward the front, then,” he said instead. “We’ll meet our drow scout there. I really ought to learn his name…”

Moments later, Gale, Karlach, Wyll, and Shadowheart fell in step behind the drow scout, whose name was Nevrin, though he had parted with that name tersely and quietly when Gale asked. Together, they left the convoy behind and ventured deeper into the awaiting tunnels. As the darkness enveloped them, Gale cast dancing lights around them to help illuminate their way forward.

Nevrin scoffed. “Humans,” he muttered under his breath. “Now everything down here will spot us.”

“Oh, let it come,” Karlach said. “We can take whatever it is. Besides, they would have seen me anyway.” She gestured vaguely to herself, indicating the softly-glowing vents in her shoulder and the pulsing glow of her engine beneath her skin. 

Nevrin merely made a soft hmph and continued on. 

Gale cast a slow look around them as they walked through the passage. These tunnels appeared rough-hewn by tools, not naturally forming, so clearly they were on the right path. Though he couldn’t help but wonder when they were made, and whether they were made by the githyanki explorers or the author of the Account, who had journeyed down here to try and find Nautera’s ruins. He supposed in the end it didn’t matter, so long as there was a road to follow.

But sure enough, after several moments of walking, they reached a cave-in blocking the majority of their path. Rocks and boulders of varying sizes lay in a heap from floor to ceiling, the source of the cave-in lost behind them. There appeared to be a thin route along the right-hand side, spaces where they could see the possibility of the path continuing beyond, but on the left, a crude, burrowed passage disappeared into the darkness, leading off to some unknown space. 

“Too bad we didn’t bring Halsin,” Shadowheart said, eyeing the gaps in the rocks on the right. “He could have turned into a mouse or something and scurried on ahead to see if the path continues on the other side.”

“Perhaps you can illuminate the space beyond?” Gale asked. “Then we could see what we may be working with.”

Shadowheart pursed her lips, as if she didn’t want to respond to Gale directly, but then shrugged. “I suppose. One moment.”

She climbed up onto the rocks and stuck her arm down one of the larger spaces, whispering a light spell. Light shone out through the gaps between the rocks, but when Shadowheart squinted through them to the other side, now illuminated, she retreated with a shake of her head.

“No use. Everything just keeps getting blocked the farther you go. We’d spend days trying to dig out this path.”

“We do have a lot of smokepowder,” Karlach suggested. “Plus the gnomes’ constructs are rothé. Aren’t they supposed to be good at clearing rubble or something?”

“Wouldn’t they just get damaged trying to unblock the path?” Gale asked. But Karlach merely shrugged, unsure. 

“Let’s investigate out other option first, before we make any decisions,” Wyll suggested, gesturing to the left. “Shall we?”

“Smart thinking. Lead the way, Mr. Blade,” Karlach said. Wyll chuckled.

“Just Wyll is fine.”

They were mostly quiet as they ventured farther down the passageway, though the air between them was generally comfortable...Nevrin's serious demeanor aside. The walls here were rougher, with signs, even to Gale’s untrained eyes, to suggest that claws and other bestial markings had created this tunnel, rather than ancient tools. Gale wasn’t sure he wanted to meet whatever it was that was capable of carving through rock like this. Hopefully it was long gone and not lying in wait at the end of this tunnel.

The passageway eventually widened out into another cavern, this one made up of a series of rocky platforms that seemed to have shifted and broken over time, their rubble lying along the cavern floor in the gaps between platforms. Gigantic flat mushrooms grew along the cavern walls and on the sides of these platforms, glowing softly in blues and reds. Wyll and Nevrin split off from the rest of them, with Nevrin deftly climbing onto a series of wide mushrooms while Wyll clambered up the rocks onto a platform. They both peered into the darkness toward the other end of the small cavern.

“No luck,” Wyll said. “Unless Nevrin sees something I don’t, I think this place is a dead end.”

“There is a small cave on the far side,” Nevrin said. “But I do not think our wagons can fit through it.”

“Not without magic, in any case,” Gale said, already thinking of solutions. Levitation spells to get the carts across the platforms and mushrooms, spells to make everything smaller for a short time…

“Will it lead us back to the original path, though?” Shadowheart asked.

“Only one way to find out,” Karlach said, flashing her a smile. She climbed up to join Wyll and then pointed to a nearby mushroom that spanned the distance between her current rocky platform and the next. “These are safe to walk on, right, Nev?”

“It’s Nevrin,” the drow said, scowling. “But yes. Usually.”

Karlach had already hopped onto the mushroom when she froze and looked over at him. “Wait, usually?”

He simply shrugged and didn't elaborate. Karlach half-rolled her eyes, though she didn’t seem particularly annoyed, and jumped to the next platform.

“Come on, then,” she said, turning and beckoning to the others as she walked backward along the platform. “Last one to the cave is a rotten—”

Her voice cut off as she stumbled back over something and fell backward. She let out a surprised yelp as the ground below her hissed and moved—only for a giant stringray-like creature to raise its wings out from underneath her.

“Karlach!” Wyll yelled. 

She rolled quickly to one side, off of the creature and over the edge of the platform. She fell a short way down and landed hard, her knees buckling briefly, but kept on her feet. On the platform, the creature flew upward and spread its wide, leathery wings with a sharp hiss. Though its face was mostly obscured by the semi-darkness, even Gale recognized the creature from old bestiaries he’d glanced through during his studies at Blackstaff.

“A cloaker,” Wyll said, drawing his sword. “Careful, it can—”

“Less talking, Wyll, more fighting,” Shadowheart snapped, summoning a ball of glowing, golden light to her hands. Taking quick aim, she lobbed it at the cloaker. It shattered against its leathery hide with a shower of golden light, causing it to hiss and recoil. 

Karlach unlatched the battleaxe from her back and got into a fighting stance. “Come on, then, bring the fight down here ya fucker!” 

Instead, the cloaker flew upward near the stone ceiling and let out an ear-piercing screech. In the darkness of the cavern, only partly illuminated by Gale’s dim dancing lights and the glowing mushrooms, they could hear other creatures stirring and taking flight.

“Watch out!” Wyll warned, but it was too late. 

A large, dark shadow swooped down from one of the upper platforms toward Karlach, wrapping around her from behind. Her battleaxe clattered to the ground with a metallic ring as the cloaker pinned her arms to her body and wrapped its tail three times around her legs. They both fell in a struggling mass, Karlach wrapped up in the cloaker like a black cocoon. When Wyll tried to run to the edge of his platform to help, another cloaker flew upward at him, blocking his path. He swore loudly and flung out a hand with a sharp dolor! Sickly green energy blasted outward from his hands, slamming into the cloaker and sending it reeling backward.

Gale didn’t have time to be surprised at Wyll’s sudden use of magic. His allies were in danger. He summoned a fireball to his hand, ready to cast at the cloaker, only to hesitate—what if he hurt Karlach? Or Wyll, if he tried to help Wyll? What if he couldn’t remember how to sculpt his spells to protect his companions? It had been well over a year since he'd been in battle; the last time had been before he'd acquired the orb and all its cursed side effects. He suddenly felt about as skilled as a young apprentice.

He clenched his teeth as the doubt drowned out rational thought. He stopped the spell and switched to a simple firebolt, aiming for the cloaker smothering Karlach as she struggled to escape the suffocating grip of the beast’s wings. He just needed an opening—

But he waited a fraction of a second too long. Another cloaker appeared near Nevrin, swiping his feet out from under him with its tail, and then screeched, summoning three more around Gale. Gale stumbled back, throwing his firebolt at the nearest one to him, but it dodged easily. The next one flew at his legs, knocking him off his feet. The third loomed over him, ready to smother him, but he conjured a chromatic orb of lightning and threw it right into its face. The lightning hit and skittered over the creature, causing it to screech and then disappear.

A phantom. A copy of the cloaker, easily defeated by just one hit, but just as capable of dealing damage and just as deadly as a normal cloaker. If the other cloakers had the same idea—

But of course, they did. Screeches rang out around the cavern as other cloakers called phantoms into being, surrounding all five of them.

“Karlach!” Wyll yelled again, dispatching a phantom with another eldritch blast. “I’m coming!” But as soon as a second phantom fell to his blade, a third phantom, along with another cloaker, swooped in for another attack. Shadowheart was soon at his side, blocking one of them with her shield, but soon the two of them were surrounded, trapped on their platform.

Still on the ground, Gale fired off four magic missiles to take care of the two phantoms nearest him, and then rolled over and scrambled to his hands and knees, just in time to see another figure leap down from a platform near Karlach. White-haired and pale, the figure landed on both cloaker and Karlach with two daggers in each hand, stabbing downward into the cloaker’s hide. The cloaker writhed and shrieked, unfolding its wings to try and shake off its attacker, but the figure held on, wrenching one dagger free before stabbing it back down. 

Karlach rolled away and snatched up her battleaxe. As soon as she was on her feet, she lifted the axe high and shouted, “Watch your head, fangs!”

The figure—Astarion—wrenched his daggers free and leaped away, just as Karlach brought her axe down over the head of the cloaker, chopping its head clean off its body. The head bounced away with a dull thud as the body collapsed, jolting once before going still.

But the battle wasn’t over. Nevrin struggled to duck and dodge the attacks of another cloaker and its two remaining phantoms, while Shadowheart and Wyll battled two more. A cry in the distance told them more were coming, sweeping through the darkness. Gale scrambled to his feet as Karlach hauled Astarion up. They barely glanced at one another before separating to rejoin the fight.

Gale couldn’t get the upper hand of any creature down on the cavern floor, so he misty stepped up onto a platform well above the fight. From there, he gathered more lightning in his hands and aimed it at one of the cloakers attempting to bite and attack Wyll and Shadowheart. 

“Perure!”

Blue lightning illuminated the cavern with brilliant light as it blasted forth from his hands, heading straight for the cloaker. The air suddenly smelled of ozone and tasted of metal, but Gale focused on shaping the spell so that its only target—its only victim—would be the cloaker. It shuddered and shrieked as the lightning struck it and caused it to seize up, tiny crackles of lightning flitting around its body before it hit the ground in a smoking, lifeless heap. Two of its phantoms instantly disappeared. 

Both Wyll and Shadowheart cast surprised looks up in Gale’s direction. He spared them a half-hearted wave before pointing behind them. “Watch out!”

They both were back in the fight in an instant, blocking the next creature that flew down to bite or capture them.

Down below Gale, Astarion and Nevrin worked in tandem, with Astarion feinting and dodging its attacks while Nevrin went in with his blades. One phantom fell to their strategy, and soon the cloaker itself was dead, too. Wyll and Shadowheart made quick work of their last cloaker, using a combination of Wyll’s sword, Shadowheart’s mace, and both of their magics, while Gale misty-stepped closer near Karlach, who was going solo against a cloaker and one of its phantoms. A well-aimed chromatic orb of fire dispatched the phantom while another guiding bolt from Shadowheart and a wide-arcing hit from Karlach’s axe silenced the final cloaker forever.

Then all was still. The cavern seemed oddly quiet, the noises of their battle fading in distant echoes around them, leaving naught but the six of them panting and looking at each other.

“Is everyone all right?” Gale asked. 

Karlach, just a few feet away, nodded and turned her axe blade-side down, planting the head of it into the ground and leaning against the handle. “Phew…nothing like a quick turn with a few beasties to get your heart going, right? Just me?”

“Careful,” Shadowheart said, moving to the edge of where she stood on a platform with Wyll. Her eyes were on a wide mushroom across the way. “We might not be done with all the beasties just yet.”

Gale turned to look up at the mushroom, only to find Nevrin standing with his sword at Astarion’s throat. The vampire stood with his hands up, near his chest, his daggers on the ground at his feet.

Astarion had the good grace to try and alter his grimace into a charming smile. “Is all this really necessary?” he asked. “After all, we were working as a team just now.”

“You were a convenient distraction for the creature, nothing more, spawn,” Nevrin said. “That does not mean I owe you my life, nor have any cause to trust you.”

“Hang on, you can’t hurt him,” Karlach protested, straightening up. “He just helped us out.”

“But why?” Nevrin asked, his red-eyed gaze never leaving Astarion. “He must want something from us.”

“Perhaps if you let me speak, we can come to an arrangement?” Astarion suggested, lifting a finger to edge the sword just a tiny bit away from his neck. Nevrin sneered and pressed the blade even closer. A thin line of blood ran down the column of Astarion’s throat. He swallowed, growing still, and flicked his eyes toward Karlach and Gale. The silent question, or perhaps plea, in his eyes was clear.

“Nevrin, wait,” Gale said, stepping forward. “Let us handle the vampire. You go scout the cave ahead and see if it connects back to the main path. While you scout ahead, we’ll determine what should be done about him.”

The drow flicked his gaze briefly to Gale and then back to Astarion. “And why should I take orders from you, iblith?”

Gale frowned. He had a point, but it didn’t make his remark, or his insult, any less irritating. “Perhaps because Minthara gave me leave to decide what to do with him if we encountered him. Or did she not impart that specific detail to you before we left? If you doubt me, ask her yourself upon our return.”

It was a bit of a bluff and a bit of a lie, but Gale was hoping that the drow would weigh the risks of asking Minthara to explain her orders and decide against angering her. He held his breath, waiting to see if his words had any effect. After a moment, the drow relented, slowly lowering his blade and glaring at Astarion.

“Fine,” he said, sheathing his blade. “But if I return and find one or most of you dead, I will report to the Nightwarden that it was due to your own foolish mistakes.”

He turned on his heel and retreated toward the back of a cave, to an inky black spot that was darker than the rest of the surrounding darkness. The cave, Gale assumed. Soon he was entirely out of sight.

Astarion rubbed his throat with a wince before bending to retrieve his daggers. Tucking them into his belt, he hopped down from the mushroom to the cavern floor below and walked over to Karlach and Gale looking, if anything, a little sheepish.

“I suppose a thank you is in order,” he said, glancing between them.

“A thank you?” Karlach asked. “I should be thanking you. You saved my life out there. I’d probably be dead, or closer to dead, if you hadn’t swooped in when you did.” 

“Yes, well, don't expect heroics like that all the time. Consider it…” He trailed off, looking conflicted a moment before lowering his gaze with a slight clearing of his throat. “Consider it repayment for…well, saving my life on the submersible. You could have easily left me to drown or be blasted to pieces aboard that wretched thing, but you…took me with you, instead.”

He frowned, as if he couldn’t quite puzzle out why Karlach had done such a thing. After a moment he shook his head slightly, as if clearing his thoughts, and looked up at them again. ���Honestly, I think you're probably a little mad for doing that. And I know you're all mad for whatever the hells it is you're trying to do down here. But I’m grateful for not dying in a horrible underwater explosion nonetheless.”

“Aww…consider us even, then, fangs,” Karlach said, smacking him affectionately on the shoulder. Astarion flinched at the blow and then rubbed his arm with a kind of pained smile. “Oops. Sorry, Astarion. Don’t know my own strength sometimes.”

“Clearly,” he said, glancing down at the dead cloaker nearest them.

“Is that why you’ve been following us?” Wyll asked, as he and Shadowheart joined them on the cavern floor. “So you could say thank you to Karlach?”

Astarion gave an awkward chuckle. “Well…actually I’ve been following you because I don’t know where else to go. You seem to be heading toward some specific location, so I figured, why not tag along? In the shadows, of course, and only until I find somewhere better to be. I know when I’m not welcome.”

“Well you’re welcome now, if you want to join us,” Karlach said.

“Hold on, we can’t just adopt a vampire in the middle of an expedition like this,” Shadowheart said. “What would Gortash say? Or Minthara? And aren’t those blades from the weapons supply?” She pointed at the daggers he had tucked into his belt.

Karlach waved this off. “We have plenty more blades. As for Gortash and Minthara, we’ll talk them into it. Astarion’s on our side now, isn’t that right, fangs?”

“Er…in a manner of speaking,” Astarion said reluctantly. 

“And who is going to volunteer to feed him?” Shadowheart asked, crossing her arms. “I don’t exactly relish the thought of any of us having to become this vampire’s bloodbag.”

The question gave them all pause. Karlach scratched the side of her cheek, looking apologetic.

“Well I can’t do it,” she said. “I’d burn you to a crisp, Astarion. Sorry.” 

All eyes turned to Gale next. He felt a chill at their expectant gazes and couldn’t help but rub the mark on his chest out of habit. It seemed to ache at the very thought, as though reminding him of its presence.

“I, er…have a blood disease, I’m afraid,” he said. “I doubt he’d find my blood very nourishing. Or tasty, for that matter.” 

He tried to ignore the way their looks turned to curiosity or doubt. But he was speaking the truth…mostly. Since the orb sat so close to his heart, it had slowly tainted his blood over time. He’d known that for well over a year, now. He could taste the bitter acidity himself, when he mindlessly gnawed a hole in the inside of his cheek while studying, or when he cut his finger while cooking and licked the blood away out of habit. He bled as red as any other man, but internally, he was altered. Poisoned.

Blighted.

He met Astarion’s gaze, trying to look sincere. Though the pale elf looked a little doubtful, something in Gale’s expression must have convinced him. He turned his crimson gaze toward Wyll and Shadowheart instead.

“I suppose that leaves me, then,” Wyll said thoughtfully. “Assuming we can’t find anyone else.”

“Not to sound ungrateful,” Astarion said, holding up his hands. “I appreciate the sweet offer, but I’d rather not make more enemies out of the lot of you than I already have. And if I recall, they say you’re the son of one of Baldur’s Gate’s grand dukes. I’d hate to anger anyone’s daddy back home.”

“‘Daddy’ has already toss me out in my ear,” Wyll said, crossing his arms. “I don’t think it’s possible to disappoint him more than I already have.”

“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with your being a warlock, would it?” Gale asked, curious despite himself.

Wyll just shrugged. “It’s a long story, and not an important one. The point is, Astarion, I don’t mind giving you some of my blood every now and again. Really. So long as Shadowheart or Halsin can give me a pick-me-up on the days you need to feed, that is.” He glanced over at Shadowheart as he said this.

She sighed through her nose. “Oh...fine. Since you’re all so determined to keep him. Just as long as he keeps those fangs well away from me.”

“Noted, darling,” Astarion said, a hint of a smirk on his lips. “I won't bite where I'm not wanted. Promise.”

“Well, now that that's settled,” Gale said, eager to move on. “We should get back to the task at hand, shall we?”

“Which was…?” Astarion glanced around at the rest of them.

“Finding a way through or around that blockage in the main passageway. Ideally we'd like to say on the ancient paths down here.”

“Ah, well you're in luck, actually.” Astarion pointed toward the cave that Nevrin had disappeared down. “Follow that through to the end and you'll find it comes back out on your ancient road. I didn't venture too far ahead and I have no idea what other creatures might try to bite your head off, but I did notice that much before I heard all the screeching and came back to save the lot of you.”

“Astarion, you're a godsend,” Karlach said, grinning. “Come on, let's catch up to Nev. We'll see this new path for ourselves, report back to Minthara, tell her all about how you found the path, and bam—you're part of the expedition.”

“That simple, huh?” Astarion chuckled and shrugged. “If you say so. Let’s—”

His next words were cut short as a distant, echoing shriek traveled down from the cave ahead. The five of them glanced at each other in surprise. Then Karlach hefted her battleaxe onto her shoulder with another grin.

“Come on, then,” she said. “Let's go save Nevrin's hide and smash some more beasties!”

[justmightyshadows]

Be Good For Me

Wrote about Jaheira/Lae'zel. This one is NSFW.

If you like it you can give me kudos/comments on ao3

Summary:

Jaheira is sent on a mission to collect information about a hidden book and gets to choose whoever she wants to accompany her. She chooses the best soldier on the team and learns more about the muscled warrior's set of skills during their time together.

“We’re running out of time and I don’t have the skills that you do for espionage and sleuthing. Can you find us more information on Elder Brains? We can’t be going into this flight blind.” Tav leaned back against the stone pillar, pushing her short black hair out of her face as she talked to Jaheira. The half-elf eyed her curiously, the corners of her mouth were down in a semi-scowl. Their alliance was not the strongest - Tav had made more than a few choices that had gotten under Jaheira’s skin but now, now they needed to work together without bringing up the past.

Jaheira looked out at the camp below them and watched the companions working on their chores.

“You can have your choice of who you want on your team. I defer completely to you on this.” Tav offered this olive branch with the hope that Jaheira wouldn’t just turn her down. She was sure the woman would pick Minsc especially after everything they had done to get him. He must be the type of warrior that you needed at your side at all times.

“Fine, I’ll do it. I choose Lae’zel. Have her ready to go by dawn.” She said, lowering herself down the ladder without waiting for a response.

Tav watched the githyanki warrior squatting Karlach in the corner for her midday training. At least now Tav could focus on dealing with Voss without her commentary. She followed Jaheira down and gave Lae’zel her marching orders as she headed back to her own tent. Minthara was sprawled out on her bed, the opening of her shirt tempting and low to show off her chest.

“Who did she pick?” Minthara asked in a slow drawl of words.

“Lae’zel.” Tav answered quietly and watched as her lover’s eyebrows arched upward in surprise.

“Now that is unexpected.” She brought Tav’s head down to rest on her as she propped open a book her eyes scanning the words on the page but her mind deep in thought.

*****

The sun hid beneath the horizon as they left camp - each carrying only the necessities for their trip. Jaheira planned it to take at most two days, which was more time than Lae’zel had spent away from camp in awhile. She trudged along one step behind Jaheira her ears swiveling for any sound that might be out there.

“Keep up, Lae’zel.” Came Jaheira’s stern voice and she smiled to herself as she heard the pattering of feet as her obedient shadow came to stand next to her.

“We shouldn’t worry about an ambush but we could be separated if we are too far from each other, that is what I worry about in two woman groups like this.” Her small nugget of wisdom was met with a curt nod of the head. Lae’zel was content to travel in quiet usually only commenting on things she found extraordinarily different from her home or any dangers she felt she needed to alert the group to. Today, however she looked over at Jaheira and asked

“Why did you pick me? Of course I am the best warrior among us but is this a task for a warrior?” Her voice betrayed none of her worry even as Jaheira saw her adjust her perfectly aligned armor needlessly.

“I don’t trust Tav fully so I didn’t give her all of the details. Where we’re going I’ll need muscle. For this mission you need to be my bodyguard. At the tavern I will get needlessly drunk and get a certain target there to give me information. You need to make sure I don’t get harmed as I do so.” She gave the information like a briefing to keep Lae’zel engaged.

“Getting drunk is a foolish thing you people in Faerun do. It is self-indulgent and shows a lack of self-control.”

“Yes, but not only is it fun it also gives you a job. I thought it was something you could handle, was I wrong?” Jaheira tried desperately to hide her smirk as she watched Lae’zel suffer through wanting to be the best at the job assigned to her and hating the job outright.

“Yesssss. I will handle this task. It will be easy for me.” Lae’zel said with brimming confidence.

“Good because it is just over this hill.” They crested the hill in silence and made their way into a large wooden building at the center of a small town square.

Jaheira found them seats in a booth in the corner but with open sights to the bar. She checked them into a room and stashed their things as Lae’zel settled in - her eyes trained on the various people coming within Jaheira’s vicinity. Soon though the druid was throwing pints back with a tall orc woman and a thin high elf. The three of them chatted and laughed their drinks sloshing around down the fronts of their shirts. The high elf reached for something in his pocket and Lae’zel began to rise from her seat expectantly - it turned out to just be a scroll of some kind that he showed to Jaheira with a smile. They moved their heads towards it and whispered something which made the Orc laugh and blush.

The night continued like this until the two visitors left and were replaced by a hooded man. He moved to sit close to Jaheira and finally Lae’zel went over to her. “Why don’t you come back with me then? A fancy woman like you - we could have a lot of fun.” He was drunk but also had grabbed her forcefully by the wrist hoping to drag her off somewhere no doubt. Lae’zel took his hand and gave a sharp warning “Unhand her or lose the hand.” His eyes widened but he made a mistake. The enemy only ever needed to make one mistake in front of her for her to bring her swrod down over their heads. This one reached for his sword as if he were going to fight her, as if she would ever give him the chance and with one swift motion she severed the hand from his body - tossing the loose appendage at him like a small trinket.

“Leave.” She said tossing Jaheira over her shoulder as she laughed uncontrollably at the scene.

“He should have just let go! HAahahahhaaa. We should have another round!” She said to Lae’zel who ignored her and brought her up to the room.

“I hope that was enough drinking to get our task done.” Lae’zel said as she placed the woman on the couch. Jaheira was still laughing as she dug around the front of her clothing sloppily and pulled out a small bottle. She downed the contents and looked up at Lae’zel completely sober. A feat of druid magic to have her sitting here sober after the number of drinks she had

“Aye - we got what we needed. Our next target is where they keep this book.” She handed the small scrap that the elf before had been waving around. Jaheira had won it off him during one of their many rounds of drinking.

“Good. Then it was not a wasted evening. Should we regroup with the others?” Lae'zel wanted to continue forward and get the book so that they could be done with this brain and the worm in her head.

“After we get a good nights rest here we can meet up with the others in the morning. I’d love a bath without that vampire looking at me.” Jaheira responded her arms stretching up to the ceiling. It would be nice to be away from Tav too, Jaheira thought - her drow lover always seemed to be plotting something and it was tedious to deal with every day. She slid out of her clothes and let them sit on the floor as she prepared the bath.

Lae’zel followed the druids motions aware of the shape of her body and the movement of her breasts as she did so. Usually the nakedness meant nothing to her but as she shed her own clothing she became aware of the differences between them. A part of her wanted to know what Jaheira thought of her - if she saw something worth looking at as well.

The steam billowed off the bath as Jaheira lowered herself in with a deep sigh and stared up at Lae’zel hovering near it, her face in a serious scowl as she tried to avoid looking at her breasts.

“Get in Lae’zel.” She commanded and watched as the soft look came over her eyes and she slipped her body into the water. Lae’zel looked over Jaheira’s body and squirmed as if she had something to say. It was cute to watch the strong warrior become so timid at the sight of her. She could lead her to pleasure or tease her until she admitted how she felt. She could admit how she felt, the real reason she had chosen her to come with her - but maybe that was a talk for another day.

“Your desire is all over your face Lae’zel I am old enough to know it. Is it because we are alone? You don’t have Shadowheart to stare at and now even I am looking good in this light?” She threw her head back and laughed as Lae’zel dipped even lower into the hot water. Her eyes the only visible thing for a second until she lifted just enough to allow her mouth to respond.

“You are an exceptional leader. I have seen it many times before now I simply have not had the opportunity. I want to taste you.” It was almost a pleading that she pushed out - she needed to taste her, to be praised by her while no one else was around.

“So eager.” Jaheira tried to think of a witty thing to say but instead rose and left the bath, the water dripping down her slowly as she looked back at Lae’zel. This wasn’t a new feeling but it had been awhile since she’d let someone get this far - the lust in Lae’zel’s eyes was so tempting.

“Come. I want to know how you’ll do at this task as well.” She put a hand out for Lae’zel, and they toweled each other off. With one sweeping motion Lae’zel lifted her and placed her on the bed coming to rest in between her legs.

Jaheira wove her fingers expectantly into the lacy hair on Lae’zel’s head guiding it to her belly where she received a chorus of suckling and the sensation of sharp teeth playfully nipping at her flesh. She let out a smile, it was a joy to be touched in such a way but her mind had more in mind than cute foreplay. She pushed her lower over the soft silvery bush to the source of her want and Lae’zel obeyed her without a word her mouth finding Jaheira’s clit, her chin resting on the wet want as she did so. Jaheira pressed down on her head, her palm fully on the back of her scalp “I want you here, Lae’zel.” She whispered in between moans. The young warrior was skilled of course, her focus making her an excellent partner in bed, especially for this specific task. Jaheira made herself stop speaking as she rode the waves of pleasure, allowing her most trusted soldier to work. Her eyes went down to fix on Lae’zel and she was met by the full yellowed eyes begging, pleading as they always did for a kind word - one only she could give.

“Gods, you feel amazing.” She cooed and used Lae’zels face to rub against her entrance as reprieve from the feeling of her throbbing clit. There was smirk to those big yellow eyes now and her grip clamped down on the edge of Jaheira’s thighs, stopping her escape as she placed her tongue over the needy mound of the druid’s want. Lae’zel’s strength aided her as she held her close with one hand moved the other upward to the aroused flesh of her nipples, placing it in between her fingers.

Jaheira lurched upward her breath catching and her body writhing as she was worked closer to her climax until she could not take it any longer. Her own hand tried to mimic Lae’zel’s touch on her other nipple and found a strong heat rising up in her. “Lae’zel…” she moaned out in a wet sobbing fashion her body overcome with feeling.

She closed her legs over Lae’zel’s face forcing her to keep going as her climax dulled to nothing. The woman’s tongue lapped over her clit feverishly circling it with precision and settled on teasing her entrance as her heart rate lowered. Jaheira only released her when she could feel the woman struggling for breath. With a great gasp Lae’zel emerged - her eyes hungry for the next words that would fall from her lips.

“That was great Lae’zel. I see your mouth is as good as your sword.” She said wiping the edges of her face as she lavished her with one sentence of praise. Lae’zel fell into her - her head in between Jaheira’s breasts as the druid undid the braids in her hair. Humming softly to herself and admiring the view in front of her. The wet slick between her legs rubbing on Lae’zel’s toned muscles. Yes, she was fantastic and if this was going to be the outcome she’d have to choose Lae’zel for many more missions away from camp.

[revvethasmythh]

I'm curious what's your opinion on Cazador battle(as part of the narrative )and what did you do with 7000 vampire spawns? What team did you take with you? Your games thoughts are always so good!

oh boy, it's been QUITE a while since i've done this particular fight so I don't know if i'm going to give any good opinions here but i can try!

i mean, narratively? It's known that Astarion's companion quests are very disconnected from the overall plot, but they tie in well with the overarching companion theme (I want to live), and this is no exception. it's a solid conclusion to Astarion's personal quests, but also. you know, it doesn't have much to do with the actual story of the game. imo the Cazador fight was probably the least climactic and interesting fight to ME personally, of the ones that happened in the 3rd act. Comparatively, House of Grief was a BITCH but highly memorable for that reason, the trials and Ansur fight for Wyll were more fun, and Karlach's emotional beats with Gortash were the HIGHLIGHT of 3rd act wrt companion quests, both narratively and thematically.

Mechanically, the fight was interesting for taking you down a party member and forcing you to prioritize getting Astarion/the other sacrifices down before you could focus fire on enemies (and i recall a LOT of additional enemies) but otherwise felt fairly cut and dried and simple. iirc, I brought Shadowheart and Lae'zel, since Lae'zel was my best fighter (and my bestie) and Shadowheart so she could cast daylight, which helps you control the battlefield by weakening Cazador (and because I had her specc'd into Light Domain, so her channel divinity gave me a nice radiant damage AOE). I didn't have Astarion in my party much since I was already playing an Arcane Trickster rogue, so he was basically dead weight the entire fight LMAO. TRULY leaning on Lae'zel's 9 million attacks per turn and Shadowheart and I's radiant damage (I was a rogue/cleric).

My opinions re: party comp are pretty skewed, though, based on like. me only really running around with one particular party that playthrough (Shadowheart, Gale, and Lae'zel) and the fact that I was on Storyteller difficulty. I haven't done this fight in any other playthrough yet, do I can't say how I feel about it on Normal/Tactician or with alternate party members! Shadowheart I'd recommend overall for having access to daylight (in case your Tav/Durge does not) but depending on specs and your usual party, there's a million ways you could prep other party members to work well in this fight. If i did it again, I could easily see Karlach being good, especially with a throw barbarian build (which will body ANYTHING), and Minthara for being a world-calss paladin with access to divine smite. But Lae'zel benefits from sheer number of attacks, Gale (as his default Evocation subclass) could wreck the number of enemies with his AOEs, and certain Wyll builds would work really nicely also, so it's really up to you what you want to prioritize here in terms of party comp. (I'd probably bring Shadowheart & Minthara, personally, if I did the fight again, but undeniably Gale's AOEs would be amazing to have).

My intention going into the fight was to release the spawn, tbh. I can't quite remember what ALL the options were (i.e. if there was an option to kill all the spawn without Astarion ascending) but I mainly just did not want Astarion to ascend, and I DO vividly recall that I refused to help him ascend and I needed to pass a DC 15 persuasion check to convince him not to. I had all my inspiration and a +10 to the roll and FAILED EVERY SINGLE TIME. So, on my first try i didn't succeed, Astarion said he hated my guts and hoped I failed to defeat the Netherbrain, made it so the 7,000 spawn would be stuck in their prisons for eternity, and left the party permanently. this seemed EXTREME to me, but whatever, I reloaded and EVENTUALLY succeeded on that check to release the spawn/not ascend. I think that's an acceptable ending. I don't have a lot of thoughts about it, but it felt a LOT better than those poor people staying trapped there for eternity, I can say that for sure. Like, there will for sure be problems with releasing 7,000 spawn into the Underdark, but i felt like the best of a bunch of bad solutions to me, imo.

I don't know if any of this is helpful (it really has been like. 1.5 years since I did this fight) but that's what I've got on it!

[blackjackkent]

Onward into High Hall!

I seem to recall being told that we'd have another chance to change up our party before the final fight, but I'm almost tempted not to. It feels like a nice bookend to have Lae'zel with Hector here at the end, just as she was at the beginning, especially given how their friendship has evolved over time.

There are a bunch of terrified civilians running everywhere. I particularly feel for this unfortunate one:

Who ran straight into the fire surface, set himself on fire, burned all the way through his six hit points, and died in front of us for no reason. :( Lots of dead Absolutists, mind flayers, and other civilians around here too.

Report from the climb up!

An absolutely bangin' and very dramatic soundtrack.

Some city watch folk who were pretty freaked out by Orpheus's presence but who Hector convinced to join them and help rather than fleeing.

A long-rest-in-a-box restoration chamber like we saw on the Nautiloid and in Moonrise.

Several dead ends which we have to get around by jumping around on pieces of shattered rampart.

More winged horrors. They're not very difficult to fight thankfully and everyone keeps one-hit-KO-ing them. The team is clearly so pumped full of adrenaline that they're even more of a battering ram than usual.

Fighting as Orpheus (he's attached to the party for now) is making me realize the benefits of going full worm; as a mind flayer he can use actions and bonus actions interchangeably, which is very cash money of him. His abilities, which are per turn with no other restrictions like spell slots that I can discern, are also insane:

Starting to think maybe the Emperor had a point. :P

Reaching the upper level courtyard of the Hall we start running into a lot more enemies.

Per @zenjestrr's advice, our current strategy is repeatedly summoning the more cannon-fodder-y Friendship Buff mobs to help clear the field; the main goal right now is to keep our primary party and our big heavy hitters (Aylin, Buddy, Yurgir, etc) in good shape for the final fight.

Once again the game manages to replicate a key D&D table experience - the feeling of knowing there's a big boss somewhere up ahead and trying to figure out how to ration your resources so you're not tapped out by the time you get there.

At least to begin with, the courtyard isn't too scary. As usual, Hector and Karlach are juggernauting away at the front line and Lae'zel is slotting in perfectly alongside them just like Minsc did. Team Single Target Damage is on the case.

Jaheira is holding down the backline and not looking as squishy as she used to which is also great. I'm wary of using her too much because most of her AOE and powerful stuff is all high level spells that I don't want to burn. I'm spending some of her actions on summoning our mobs of friends, which pleases me from an RP perspective because of the four of our team she is the hardened experienced fighter and I like the idea of her kind of directing the battle.

I'm probably playing a little TOO conservatively with my abilities here, actually, but I'd rather be too careful than not. I didn't use the long-rest-in-a-box before so there's also the possibility (I think) of running all the way back there and tapping it before we reach the brain, but I'm not sure.

It does amuse me that we keep getting gold and trash loot drops here because there is zero point to it anymore I think.

At first the courtyard seems like a bunch of small isolated fights, but as I have Hector start running towards an ogre near the center of the field, the WHOLE PLACE lights up in a battle with [counts rapidly] TWENTY-EIGHT ENEMIES, including the ogre, several mind flayers, and a spectator. FUCK.

Maybe time to start using those big spells after all, Jaheira.

This isn't quite as scary as it looks because we really are powerful as shit at this point. Hector continues to be completely terrifying, Karlach is too, Lae'zel has three attacks on a turn (or six with action surge), Jaheira can set out a Haste pool for everyone to run through, Orpheus's illithid skills are upsettingly good, and we have a LOT of friends who are (I hate to admit) expendable. But that bar full of enemies too big to fit on the screen is stressful.

Oh this is going to be very scary on Tactician though I bet.

One of Zevlor's Hellriders casts Flame Strike on a big crowd of goblins which I would be much more on board with if HECTOR WAS NOT DIRECTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM. Flashbacks to the last time Hector being in the middle of a fireball was considered an acceptable cost; it wasn't much fun then either. He does manage the save though so this time he takes no damage because he is badass, and the Flame Strike kills five enemies, so...worth, I guess.

This battlefield is also ENORMOUS and difficult to maneuver on, lots of high ground and curbs that mess up pathfinding.

So exciting to see Zevlor back in his element again, having found his paladin conviction once more.

One of the Hellriders did get dominated by a mind flayer, which led to this upsetting exchange:

Eventually victory! Gods, what a long fight. But we actually did quite well; everyone except Hector still has some of the temporary hitpoints we got from Ravengard, and we didn't lose any of our guest combatants. :D (And the one that got dominated is back safe. <3 )

Onward!

[timothylawrence]

Hey wanted to tell you I love seeing Rana on my dash! Can you tell little bit more about Rana? How does she view her relationship with her teammates? Does she have any family? What drew her towards Wyll?

oh stop this is so sweet omg 😭😭😭 Im glad you all like to see her bcus i love to show her off!! she's my little angel and the only tav i've had break past act 1!

I'll put most of this under the cut but I wanna put out a disclaimer that I came up with her background before learning abt anyone elses backstories so if she seems very similar to an origin character i swear its on accident 😭😭!!!!!!

Rana is a tiefling rogue assassin :)! Her backstory is that of a street urchin and after her mother died when she was very young, she spent a lot of time outside of her home. Her father wasn't very good at fathering and oftentimes they didn't even speak with one another despite living together in the same home. At the age of 12, she ends up stealing a little more than something that can be unnoticed and gets arrested. Upon her father hearing out her year-long sentence and hefty bail, he decides it's better to let her rot in prison for her sentence than to spend his little money on bailing her out.

Of course, Rana breaks herself out after 3 weeks and never returns to Baldur's Gate until the fateful day of the Nautiloid! She spends a lot of her time traveling the coast, running through different guilds and vowing to never rely on anyone.

With her backstory out of the way, she has a very interesting relationship with everyone! 😭 So for those who don't know, I played this story with my darling dearest bestie @katagawajr who has her own character Vaeril. To put her in Jordan's words, Vaeril's very much a disney princess-esque, think Anna from Frozen or Rapunzel, or if you're familiar with Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle!! (where as you have Rana who despite being fire coded is very much Elsa-like)

(and sometimes she teams up in a detective noir episode alongside Private Wyll Ravengard to uncover the mysterious explosive toys of Baldur's Gate.... but thats a side quest) (yes it's chaos).

Moving onto Origins, She's got a very funny raport with Gale. He's an obvious know-it-all but unlike most egotistical men Rana's run into, he has the facts to prove it. For my Blands mutuals, she's got a very Fiona and Rhys type of dynamic where they do get along but you wouldn't believe it from the amount they bicker. Vaeril also romanced Gale in this playthru so she's very much >:( hurt my best friend and ill kill you wizard boy.

Karlach is Rana's best friend. They have very similar backstories and although they didn't know one another as kids, they're very protective of one another. Lae'zel is also one of Rana's closest friends even though she's obviously more reserved, they get along very well on the battlefield and rely on one another. Halsin makes Rana nervous because he's just So Sweet and Asty is pretty much entertaining (they argue abt the best techniques to take people down quietly ofc). Shadowheart and her also get along albeit it's a bit more reserved because of Rana's intrinsic and initial mistrust of familal figures.

haha. onto Wyll. Which is probably the funniest of funniest stories. Originally, Rana was... very put off. On one hand, she's heard of the blade of frontiers and genuinely thinks what he does is great, but on the other hand... Wyll has a heart of gold and it scares her. When they have their talk on the beach in Act One, Rana sees that he's not this 'perfect hero' and that he has doubts just like anyone else- he put on a front just like she did. Keeping people at arms length was just... natural.

So yea, they develop from their as they do in canon and albeit his sweet nature, Rana's incredibly shy abt their relationship and answers virtually no questions unless pestered by Vaeril :). They wear Lover's Caress rings to protect one another, and once they get to Baldur's Gate, Rana is quite... stand offish with Ulder and anyone else who dares to be rude to Wyll.

Ok i'll cut my essay short but THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!!I love talking abt her im just . so incredibly shy. but i truly appreciate anyone who made it this far down the ask ily!! 😭😭😭😭

[themaskstayson]

Part three of the Wyll origin run

Ah man, this is a lot. I haven't had Gale so excited to talk to me since my first playthrough 500 hours ago it's kind of cute ngl

I'm thinking about Wyll being emo during the party cause the little scene is one of my favorites, and trying to cheer him up from his body dysphoria(?) but I also really, REALLY, enjoy the idea of Wyll stuffing his feelings down to make everyone happy since he can't be emo by the river since he's the party lead. Wyll is trying to keep the team morale high and then when he's alone in his bed he just cries to sleep. Cause, let's be real, no one is mentally capable to help each other when the player is the therapist.

Also, his funny lines are pretty good and I have been picking every single option to have Wyll just laughing the pain away.

So, we saved Karlach, asked her if she had any advice on horn care since I feel like that's a WAY better route to go instead of Wyll being depressed during the party when you are Tav amd makes more sense since Wyll is gonna mingle.

(Side rant: People say Wyll sucks because he's insensitive but like, come on. He's a DEVIL not tielfing! I think he's allowed to express how he feels uncomfortable in his new DEVIL body. "But tielfings have horns!" yeah okay but they straight up saw Wyll as a human like two days ago, they know something is fishy with the sulfer smell coming off him. You gonna say there's no difference??? Now THAT is insensitive /hj lol)

I also went to the Rest and Counsellor Florrick asked what the hell happened and once again Wyll joked that he was running with the wrong crowd. Unfortunately that backed fired and she said she knew since his father informed them which damn. Ulder is talking mad shit about his own son, that's crazy. Felt bad and then she had the audacity to demand my help???? Like I was gonna give it but damn.

Anyways, I was hoping to get to level 5 before the Goblin Camp but I didn't. So, we gambled it. Had Gut give me the sleep potion and got assistance for that. Knocked Minthara out cause I'm STILL trying to get that girl without being a bad guy. Then fought Ragzlin which.... that was rough. Gale did die but luckily his deas body did some damage to a goblin and Ragzlin. I usually cheese the fight but idk I decided not to this time around for some reason.

STILL not sure who imma romance. Flirted with Gale at the party, which was cute. I am leaning towards him cause I gotta stop romancing Astarion and Wyll all the time. And despite being a huge wyllstarion fan, Gale is doing something to my current need for a cute romance. Plus my other game I am romancing Astarion and Wyll (two Tav game yippee) so I should romance someone new. Karlach did not try to put the moves on me and I am not putting the moves on her so rip. First time ever Shadowheart and Lae'zel are meh about me, which is weird. I'll figure it out the next time I play but might be joining the Gale/Wyll club. I should find some fics to get into the mindset.

Also if anyone is reading these I should mention this is a modded custom game. Meaning I am using the mod honor feature unlock so i can have the playstyle with multiple saves, playing in a custom game that I cannot see the NPC HP, gave the NPC 100% more HP compared to the game 30% more. I want the multiple saves for story stuff cause I'm still trying out new lines but also I need the combat to be harder.

Honour Feature Unlock

Tactician Plus (best for party limit begone tbh this file I'm doing just 4 to a party tho but in other files with everyone, I use the 150% HP)

[animentality]

The House of Grief fight is UNBEARABLE.

I haven't had to swap my team comp all campaign and now I have to because these bitches constantly use darkness.

I had Lae'zel as a Paladin but paladins are so unbelievably fucked in that particular fight. The one battle where being a paladin is actually terrible for you, because when you hit with radiant damage, you get hit back for force damage.

I also had to get rid of Astarion, first time in any of my campaigns, because he's absolutely terrible in that fight too.

He never has advantage on anyone because of the darkness, whether he's in it or far away. His high single target damage doesn't mean shit when he's constantly missing in the dark.

Torture.

Anyway I have Wyll, Shadowheart, and Halsin now.

I have that warlock feature on Wyll that lets him see in magical darkness, and Halsin is a cleric.

So for the first time ever...I am running all spellcasters.

And we are gonna see if that pans out for me, folks.

[galesdevoteewife]

Wanted to ask about how Zilvera felt about all the children in her camp? Specially about Yenna considered that unlike the Tiefling children or Thaniel/Oliver, she doesn't show any potential or power. I can see her taking a liking in Mol and Arabella, thinking of them a good allies for the future (specially once both of them become adults), one would have to be mad to not respect Thaniel/Oliver. But, not to be cruel to Yenna, she is an average orphan who clawed to the first person who was decent (and sometimes not even that) to her. Was Zilvera more into being kind to children because of Gale's influence by then? Or did she just let her stay at camp because most of the team, Gale included, wanted to help?

Hi anon! Hehe thanks for the ask, always appreciate the chance for story-brewing!! ♡♡ Well, Zilvera simply...never thinks about them. XD

Her mind was like the quest tab. It was filled with a long list of to-dos, and she could barely recall the kids' names. Except for Thaniel, who was part of Halsin's quest so she remembered.

It's not possible in gameplay, but in my HC the companions took their own actions. Wyll always try to help and share as much as he could. The charming prince had high CHA and was very persuasive — not to mention persistent. Sometimes Wyll/Karlach were too eager to give more than they should, while Gale/SH were being pragmatic and talked them down. Lae'zel was rolling her eyes, she believed the weak should be pruned. Astarion wanted to keep everything and didn't want to carry them. He'd rather sell extra food for a couple of gold than give it away for free. Zilvera had no interest in interfering. The children weren't problems in her eyes. There was always someone taking care of the babysitting, and the kids weren't slowing them down in any way. She cared about combat resources but not camp supplies. Gale, Wyll, and occasionally SH were the ones keeping an eye on rations, camp planning and tent maintenance while Lae'zel kept the weapons sharp and the armors rust-free. The druids would take care of medicines and pest control. Fleas are awful and nobody wants them.

Zilvera's impression of Mol, Arabella, Thaniel/Oliver, and Yenna:

Mol Just another playground boss of the street. Opportunistic, bold, cunning. Zilvera thought Mol had a high chance of dying soon; one mistake is all it takes.

Arabella SO. LOUD. Why does this one have to shout all the time? Keep her away from me or I will have the shadow silence her. Act 2 was when Zilvera's nerves were most tense. Too many unknowns to figure out and the environment/enemies were ever deadly. She wasn't showing, but Gale's suicide mission did bother her. It's never easy to go against a god's will and she was eager to know everything, prepare better, not dealing with endless haunted things. She wasn't too impressed by the girl's magic since many other spells can do similar task. My HC it was taught to Gale.

Thaniel/Oliver It was interesting talking to Thaniel, and she sensed true, old power in him. Talking to Thaniel was like listening to wind running through the forest, which Zilvera enjoys a lot. She felt peaceful around Thaniel. Didn't really had a chance to talk to Oliver.

Yenna My HC Yenna was trying hard to make herself useful. She would behave with the best manners she knew and help with cleaning, washing clothes, cooking, serving food, washing dishes, etc etc. She knew she was at their mercy for the protection, so she was doing whatever she could. Thanks to her, Gale was freed from cooking duty, and they used the time for dates. Gale enjoys exchanging recipes with the little chef. Yenna in my HC was the one who actually lived with the group, and the party would bring her little gifts. Even Astarion had a soft spot for her after a while. Post game Wyll used his connection and found her a job at a kind noble house. Soo yeah that's everything! Thanks again for the ask it was really fun brewing all these!! <333 Please feel free to drop any questions! Always happy to do more ♡ (´｡• ω •｡`)

[omgkalyppso]

I've mentioned this before but here's screenshots and elaboration on a moment Étoile would have needed to isolate for peace of mind.

Étoile started their journey as a Neutral Good Oath of Devotion Paladin, at which time they said, and meant, that they wouldn't sign their soul away to a devil just for physical security in relation to the mindflayer parasite. By Act 3, their oath is broken, their alignment is in flux, and their patience with the dream visitor has worn more than thin. They felt they were being used through the parasite, as any actions they took, any thoughts they had, any motivations they pursued, had to run through the filter of an ever-present ... visitor.

Raphael offered them a way out of that, and to take the source of all their troubles off of the Material Plane. They felt zero concern at the time for how the wars in the Hells progressed, and well, I didn't have Gale or Karlach in the party so I the player didn't really have anyone immediately rejecting this proposal. To top it all off, Étoile vastly liked Lae'zel over the dream visitor.

But after Étoile signed Raphael's contract, and Astarion said:

When moments, hours before:

Étoile felt very isolated — and used, and stupid, and that's probably the biggest factor in regards to when Étoile might want to be alone to recenter: when they feel foolish or incapable of intellectually or emotionally dealing with a problem.

Contrary to the screenshot expression, I think as soon as the words "what should I care" passed Astarion's lips that he saw in Étoile's expression just how much of a wrong thing to say that was. If you talk to him immediately after this, he's back to his lovey-dovey, "Yes, my dear? What is it?" So canon expects me to blow past this which means I elaborate how I like.

Étoile was already made uncomfortable by some of the phrasing in Astarion's confession (if I'm keeping it as-is) in Act 2. They could see how centered they were becoming in Astarion's (otherwise) "independence" from Cazador and general perspectives of love and life, which would cause them to question whether Astarion recognizing that if their soul is fucked that it's none of his business - is a good thing. Meanwhile also they also felt betrayed, that they are "a team" when he needs their help, but that any problems they have are not his concern. Besides all that, after everything with Wyll and then Astarion's confession of initially setting out to use them ...

Étoile wouldn't have objected to a more boundaried agreement between them, and so to still feel used now with no guarantees or understanding between them ... and to not know whether it was something Astarion had meant to do or which was an accident of habit — because a single confession and apology is generally not enough to change one's nature / comportment / attitude they've kept for centuries— It would be hard for Étoile to rationalize a response to Astarion's assertion. They would want to be left alone to think.

It isn't the next long rest, but a few days later (after Wyll's pact is broken) that I have this blocked dialogue from Étoile to Astarion's response for how it could benefit Wyll:

Étoile: He's not ready for that. To hear it, I mean. If the Council accepts him, I'm sure Wyll would be very fit to rule. Astarion: You don't make that sound very complimentary? Étoile: I'm simply … soured. Astarion: From … from before? Darling, I— Étoile. I'm sorry. For what I said. I am … unaccustomed to offering comfort or kindness, to being needed, to even recognizing what that might look like. Étoile: It's not your fault. Will you feed on me tonight? Astarion: I was hoping you'd ask. Étoile: I've been thinking about it since earlier. I thought that, if I was disposable in other circumstances, at least I could be close to you in this. It's alright. Having choice means you get to choose how things end or evolve, and I just have apprehension about being a suboptimal choice. Astarion: I've told you that I never expected to choose you, to choose this, for myself. The risks you take? The way you care for others? You wouldn't have been my first choice. But… Now you are, and I don't only follow you because it's easy. I have no wish to discard you. I need you with me. Please, forgive me? Étoile: I forgave you even when I hadn't expected you to say all that. You need me with you? You need only ask.

This would only be the fourth time in my playthrough I had Astarion feed on Étoile and it was for this fucking roleplay reason. Astarion otherwise had to live on mouthfuls obtained in combat since that was enough to give him the Happy buff.

It was also the night Leon and Aurelia come to call. Which I think is hilarious.

Reassurance is a double sided sword.

Étoile would have let him kill his siblings, they would have trusted his judgment on that. But the number of spawn was too much for them to reconcile.

[zydrateacademy]

Review: Baldur's Gate 3

I had an early access review and as you may expect, some information was outdated.

I played 52 hours on EA and have but 127 after, and I haven't beaten Act 2 yet on my main.

So what kind of game do we have here? Any veterans of Larian may be familiar with Divinity: Original Sin 2 and this game plays a lot like that one, except your action orbs are replaced by the Dungeons and Dragons system. So you only get one action (an attack or spell) and a bonus action (usually a utility like pushing or dashing), and there's things you can do to manipulate both. This takes some getting used to as you play combat encounters and attack once, thinking "huh? That's it? That's all I can do?" But consider you're controlling four total characters at once.

There's a lot to get used to just on a mechanical basis, as the game does in fact do a poor job of tutorializing. The crashing ship in the beginning is basically your only tutorial and that amounts to two fights with some imps. So you get two relatively easy combat encounters (with a couple of twists if you hang around long enough) but not enough time to figure out which buttons do what. After that, once you leave the beach all bets are off and you're left to figure everything else out on your own. I've had to google how to 'use' the torch I had.

This is easily a 9.5/10 game but the game does have some niggling issues like that. It performs mostly well but longer game sessions can lead to some instabilities, areas won't load, so on. After 3-4 hours of playing it I usually need to save and close to give it a 15 minute break for my computer to 'cool down'. But even on a fresh session in the morning, there can be some hiccups but otherwise it's been a fairly smooth experience. If you're running a potato, then beware.

The reason I have 127 hours is that there is an insane amount of character and class combinations that result in slightly different interactions throughout the entire game. If you play a Drow, there's a certain area where some human knights will put up arms because they just suffered some Drow and goblin raiders burning down their township. Play a Dragonborn and some of the Gith will respect your heritage (being dragonriders themselves). Now double all that for the various class-specific dialog you can get. This list goes on, it's insane.

There's a lot of breadcrumbs to pick up, several interactions in Act 1 will come back by Act 2 and 3. How you save or destroy the druid grove will change some major interactions in the next, and is one of the only games in recent years where your choices do in fact, matter. This is not an A or B ending kind of game. If you fail some persuasion rolls, you can enter combat and wipe out an entire inn of friendlies and you either reload or move on and deal with the fact that you just burned down four potential quests. That's just something you can do here. (And there's an entire Dark Urge custom origin character you can play to lean into that very thing).

A complaint I had in EA is that your choice of companions seemed to be fairly limited. That complaint has morphed into a different version. Before, if you played the harder difficulties you pretty much had to keep both Lae'zel and Shadowheart in your party as the damage dealer and healer. So you had to deal with their opposing approval. On release however, there's an respec NPC that allows you to change any party member's class. The story treats them the same, but you can actually hang around with team members that best reflect your character's morals. Now my new complaint is that only having four teammates is a different kind of restrictive; one that omits at least one role from the party. I don't often play with a cleric (or Shadowheart) except on tactician. I try to go for two melee, one rogue(ish), and one caster as a backline. But depending on my main character that can be more difficult to arrange than you might think, and I always end up losing out on a caster or cleric. Just one extra teammate would fix this issue, but the game isn't balanced for having a party of 5 or 6, so I imagine many fights would become much easier.

I cannot fully articulate the fun I've been having. Some reviews like to get anecdotal which I won't bother with here, the internet and reddit are already filled with tons of stories. I find myself doing the same thing I did on DoS2. I play a character for several hours only to find some really nice magical item... for a class I don't play. So I'd go roll a new character as that class so I can soon take advantage of that really nice item.

Well, I'll do one anecdote: I was having trouble getting past a door for a major treasure haul because of some patrolling neutrals. So my bard set up, started playing her violin and drew characters to her. So the -barbarian- of my party, of all people, could actually sneak into the door and Take All the treasure before the crowd got bored. Peak bard gameplay and I was super proud of that moment. I did the same thing to draw out an enemy so my team was better positioned to deal with him.

Anyway the game is excellent and highly recommended. If you're the kind of player that doesn't fully enjoy the hassle of the combat or mechanics, there is an easy mode here where you can blow through it and just experience the various story and choice combinations. There's a lot of game here, and it welcomes you.