#but you know who has more power than vlaakith? even in death?

[bitchesgate3]

What I imagine of the Githyanki people is that they are seriously and intensely entrenched in Vlaakith's regime.

Vlaakith is exactly as you say. And we can assume that Orpheus only intends to fight mindflayers and would not be a warlord. Thus - who would those warlords support? The leader who allows the framework to compete for power? Or the leader who seeks to end that entirely?

Vlaakith CLVII has maintained rule for thousands of years due to not producing an heir and becoming an undead Lich Queen.

She has churned out a propaganda machine and has ch'r'ai inquisitors to shape her image upon the Githyanki people as the closest thing an atheistic people see to a god. Her aspirations are to become an actual god in the dnd pantheon. I prefer a more realistic view about what we're up against.

Every Githyanki is fed propoganda from birth to revere her. She is the one that blesses them with knowledge of the many planes. She is the one who gifted the library of K'liir. She is the one who blesses a cure through the Zaith'isk. She is the one who promises the world to the people through the Grand Proclamation. Many Githyanki are raised to be zealots and dream to fight and die in Vlaakith's name. We see this in Lae'zel.

It's such a good story premise because that's what makes Lae'zel's story arc so good. While the game doesn't explore this to the depth I desired (I wanted ego death!), we are told that her whole worldview is upended when giving up on Vlaakith. The worldview given up on (which was the basis of her original hopes and dreams) were what I've outlined above.

When systemic powers have existed for as long as anyone can remember, the obstacles to overcome it are immense. Simply spreading the idea of an alternative view is not enough. You have all these true believers to contend with. Trying to convince a populace (who still exist and survive within that system) that their figurehead has been lying to them - its a cute premise in a story, but in real life is easier said than done. It can be assumed that many Gith model themselves in Vlaakith's footsteps as far as what they see as success. In early access, Lae'zel dreamed of Vlaakith's approval as the thing she wanted most.

Orpheus has been locked in a prism since Vlaakith I. To the Githyanki people, that may be seen as weakness. How could they be inspired by someone who had already lost to someone better?

While WotC and Larian have chosen a less intense interpretation of Githyanki lore, and thus have encouraged the presence of less fanatic gith, (which thankfully opens up the lore to make good aligned characters) I still wholeheartedly believe that in this day and age, we need stories that handle this harsh lore because of the real world parallels.

What I'm saying - to be frank - is that Orpheus is an unpopular democratic incumbent running against a popular, already established well-revered leader in a non-democratic state. He would lose by a landslide.

And to be FULLY clear - Vlaakith is 100% THE BAD CHOICE for the Githyanki people.

Unfortunately, the Githyanki are still choosing the "Leopards ate my face" party in 1492 DR. 😔

Personally, I don't buy that Orpheus would be able to lead a successful overthrow of Vlaakith.

I think he would lose by landslide.

[shewolfofvilnius]

It's fascinating how even though you don't always hear about \ anyone other than Astarion, every origin companion in BG3 has an endgame/epilogue state that is either outright bad for them or at the very least "not as good as they deserve".

Obvious there have been books and 100,000 pages of fic and discourse written about Ascended Astarion. In the moments when he almost acts like his old self, even then it's merely humoring you with a whim.

Mother Superior DJ Shadowheart flat out admits to severe empathy for what Viconia went through, and has fully closed herself off from any sense of attachment or feeling other than Nocturne and Tav. Her continued need to find carve-outs and exceptions and loopholes parallels Viconia's own eventual disagreements with Shar. And as we know, Shar will eventually betray or abandon her if Shadowheart doesn't betray her first. It's the story of every devout Sharran we meet.

Gale, the God is a smug arrogant hubris-ridden asshole that's even mean to Tara in the epilogue. Nearly every single sentiment he expressed about why he wanted the Crown and to ascend is immediately inverted. Of course he's not going to interfere. He's a figure of aspiration. Once he received power himself he immediately forgot and forsook everyone and everything about why he wanted it in the first place. A romanced God Gale is SLIGHTLY more grounded but that's mostly just because you ground him. And if you ascend with him, that ends that.

Lae'zel's return to Vlaakith results in her ascension, which leads to her missing the party and being very dead. The things that Lae'zel claimed to value will never truly be as long as Vlaakith rules, and her not escaping and falling back into her people's death cult robs her of the ability to create a new Gith, a better Gith.

Karlach is dead, or almost as bad, a Mind Flayer. And while most of her initial personality remains, by six months in she's already grown emotionally distant and her personality is clearly and evidently being slowly overridden by the brains of the dying she consumes. She's forsaken the embrace of death for the guise of eternal continuation in her. And even surrounded by the ten people who should mean the most in the world to her, all she mostly thinks about is others' perceptions of her (ala the Emperor) and the fact that she's hungry. Mind Flayer Karlach even notes that she used to think becoming a Mind Flayer would be the worst thing ever, but now she likes it. Shades of the Emperor x1000 and a clear sign that the Karlach we know and love is rapidly becoming a memory.

and then there's Grand Duke Wyll. On the surface, it appears the happiest of the "bad" endings, but pay attention. Note how he discusses wheeling and dealing and making agreements with patriars. (How well has contracts and deals worked out for you in the past?) Oh, and in certain conditions including romance, Wyll will offer you the chance to become a Grand Duke as well - with the others being his father (Ravengard #3) and Florrick (Wyll/Ulder's longest lasting family friend). That's not a government of the people for the people. When the power is tied up by a husband, spouse, his father, and their most trusted advisor, that's the makings of a monarchy or oligarchy. Of the type of patriar power-claim to last for generations, something Wyll himself once mocked. Oh, and if you adopt a child, then you get into the worst part of it all: Wyll's been busy running a city, and oh hey, instead of y'all bringing YOUR FOUR MONTH OLD DAUGHTER with you, hey, she'll be cool being watched by the Ilmater temple for a night right? Sorry, Wyll, were you saying something a few months ago about distant parenting? Yikes.

[crossdressingdeath]

Sceleritas Fel: I come here, for I wish to bring you another powerful tithe. Sceleritas Fel: But I cannot grant you this prize quite yet. You must do something divinely unspeakable first. Kyvir: A prize? Sceleritas Fel: The reward will titillate your twitching Urge, in preparation for the rest of your inheritance to come. Sceleritas Fel: You will receive a royal prize for killing this pretty girl. Sceleritas Fel: Isobel: the cleric with the sweetest face of the Moon. Sceleritas Fel: She is too precious to live. Kyvir: What has she done to deserve such a fate? Sceleritas Fel: Why, the greatest crime of them all: nothing at all! Kyvir: I might be willing. Is there a catch? Sceleritas Fel: No catch at all. You will get to see the beautiful sight of an entire village filled with bodies. Sceleritas Fel: You adore piles of bodies, Master. They have always been your favourite. Kyvir: Give in to the rush of joy that courses through you. Sceleritas Fel: Good, dear tainted one. Good. Sceleritas Fel: Be true to yourself, my Lord.

Kyvir's story is slowly starting to come together, I think. It involves following the Urge more or less willingly until after killing Isobel, since I happen to have spoiled who the next major target after her is for myself and that I will not be doing because no. It's also fun having Isobel's death be the start of the tipping point, since uh. entire village filled with bodies. That's a lot, even if Durge is kind of very into the idea of it. It's one thing to kill someone here and there, or to vaguely remember killing enough people that the bodies fall in piles at your feet; it's quite another to knowingly, willingly wipe out a whole village in one fell swoop.

But also this triggering after the whole thing with Lae'zel deciding to help Voss fight against Vlaakith and Mizora offering the chance of freeing Wyll from his pact if he fulfills one last duty and Mystra ordering Gale to suicide-bomb the Absolute (and after every hope of getting rid of the parasite other than going to Moonrise, the heart of the Absolute's power, has fallen through) is very good. A Durge who's conflicted about what they're doing but not wholly against the idea of playing assassin for some unknown force has a lot of very good reasons (or excuses) to agree to kill Isobel in the hope that whatever they get for it will give them the edge they desperately need to take down the Absolute and defeat the various incredibly powerful beings threatening their friends. It's a really good setup to encourage players who don't want to commit to being an irredeemable monster to actually lean into the more monstrous parts of the Durge storyline, I like it!

Also, I love the way Sceleritas is like "You adore piles of bodies, they've always been your favourite". Like coaxing a toddler. "But you like this!" Sceleritas really is a fascinating character, I desperately want to know what's up with him. He's clearly acting on the orders of someone other than his "master" given things like him being forbidden to tell them about their past even when they order him to do so, but at this point I don't have any of the details on who or even what he is beyond that. Also, he has a nice hat. The hat is of vital importance.

[entering--hyperspace]

Dragons, and the influence the Faerûn Pantheon has (or rather, does NOT have) over them. And how it relates to my tav

I've been thinking about how much the gods of dnd actually play a role within bg3, and kinda how having a True Dragon (albeit at first unknowingly) influences the story just a bit because of what he is.

To get started, Dragons have their Own Pantheon, assuming we are not ruling out pre-5e lore entirely. Bahamut and Tiamat are the most well known of course, they are also included in the Faerûn pantheon, so I won't be talking about them too much.

What I'm mostly concerned with are the two defying aspects (Life, Death, and fate) seeing as Withers is very obviously Jergal, and how The Dead Three (along with Vlaakith and Mystra) are all within bg3 in some way.

The Most Influential Dragon god is Asgorath/Io, the originator. He is briefly mentioned by Lae'zel within bg3 in a throwaway line. Known as the Ninefold Drgaon, Asgorath influences the fates of all dragons

There is also Chronepsis, Dragon god of Fate, Death and Judgement. A multi aspected god who may also be known as Null.

Now, to have a Dragon be put into the center of conflict of a story is rare indeed, which is why I like Págos so much. Dragons are often treated as mounts, villains, bosses, or otherwise just out of reach wells of knowledge one party may encounter only to move on with their lives.

It's special in the sense of bg3 because you are dealing with a Lot of Faerŭn gods, but in my canon bc Págos is a dragon none of these gods have Any actual influence over him? Dragons are outside of their jurisdiction unless specifically asked for their help by them. They have no hand to mold their clay, that is for their own gods. This is what makes Págos such an anomaly, because that is essentially what he is in bg3's story...An Anomaly.

Págos is from the ancient past frozen in time and wound up in the present. His fate is guarded by his own gods, leaving the faerûn pantheon to simply watch what is essentially a wild card wander into what could be a world-ending conflict. Withers mentions this, for being a god watching over fate and death, he had no insight into Págos which made dealing with him unsettling at the very least. In my head Elminster also mentions this to Gale as a forewarning about Págos from Mystra, Vlaakith knows this and becomes even angrier not just because of Lae'zel going against her, but because lae'zel is traveling with a companion that makes the entire situation much more dangerous for her, Same with Shar. It is why raphael tried so desperately to get págos into a contract with him. The stakes are higher with a glitch in the system, outside of their control and outside of their influence. Not to say they couldn't hurt him of course, they could they're gods, but its with the knowledge it isn't as simple as smiting someone when a greater power has placed them there, when doing so creates a plethora of problems than it would if págos was simply another mortal. I just think its all very funny. Its also my reasoning why they dont just directly influence him or the game outside of whatever reasoning is already provided.

And also, as a little side note about how ive been having so much fun with him as a character...its kinda like i said before. Dragons in dnd are incredibly powerful, knowledgeable, otherwordly PEOPLE. They are PEOPLE, they are highly intelligent (moreso than the mortal races) and can outlast civilizations...but they are never treated as such, a product of being a game npc. Dragons are regulated to side characterss, npcs, animals, threats, mounts, but never really delving deep into their own personhood. Never the heroes of a story...until now! Thats why I like Págos so much! Because I get to play with How a dragon actually interprets life and emotion differently. I get to delve deeper into lore like this, I get to play with a dragon interacting with others not as this outside influence but as a friend, as their ally. Especially with him being a chromatic dragon its doubly important since chromatics are often just considered evil and are more likely to be treated as animals despite the fact they are just as capable as their metallic counterparts. Anyway I just think its fun! Thanks for coming to my Tav ted talk.

[omgkalyppso]

For the 30 questions ask meme:

5, 9, 11 for étoile!!!

And 4, 5 for whoever is your most recently played bg3 character 👀

Thank you for the ask!! (:

Étoile

5. Describe their idle animations!

Elbows to knee crunches. Meditating cross-legged (+ Mourning Frost laid across their lap after it's reforged). Reading cross-legged. Playing their flute (aaaabcbd. aaaabcbg).

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name?

Étoile is the child of my skyrim dragonborn oc Wylla and the skyrim stolen-npc-now-oc-adjacent Aranea Ienith, who worshipped the Daedric Prince Azura and had a quest to cleanse Azura's Star. It is for this star that Étoile was named in that setting and in my thought process. In Faerûn, Étoile was named for the stars that Aranea would have come to love after having spent her youth in Menzoberranzan in the Underdark.

11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food?

You may be interested in the answer to their Favorite Foods from last night.

But I'll say something new.

I think when Étoile is tempted to seek out comfort food that they want something rich in different textures — so it can't be a homogeneous soup or pie. Still, this might be just an excuse for me to say some kind of tacos / taco-like dish, with crisp vegetables and soft fruit, protein and sauce, and something to hold it together.

Inithray

My most recently played Tav is for an ongoing evil multiplayer campaign with some of my usual dnd friends. They can't know about my full concept for him because they haven't even reached Act 2 in their personal playthroughs, but I like to think that Inithray is some manner of undead — and an experiment of Vlaakith's, to see how long such a creation of hers can "live" after an initial interaction of her magic, or how far her influence extends in the Great Wheel cosmology as he's sent to different planes.

He is magically and culturally, her creature. Nothing she could do would shock or shake him.

Inithray has resulted in the deaths of Damays and Nymessa so far. I asked the party if they wanted to save Arabella because if so they didn't want me / Inithray leading the conversation; and they decided that the way their characters want to be evil might extend no further than stealing the idol of Silvanus and killing the druids but not aligning with the Goblins. We'll see.

Anyway!

4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have?

A lot of the githyanki specific dialogue options demonstrate their isolation, which will be more appropriate for my solo (probably not evil aligned) Tav, Yar'sul, but don't exactly suit Inithray. I think Inithray would need githyanki player characters to demonstrate their aptitude / knowledge of their own culture at the very least, if not an understanding of the world. He's attracted to power, but he's interested in someone who can carry a conversation with interest or experience, rather than simply charm.

Regardless of player race, Inithray will doubtlessly also come on (too) strong like the other resident githyanki once his interest's been captured. His bluntness will be more about visions / fantasies about what the player character might look like in ecstasy rather than scent.

His Act 1 romance scene would include an observation about how cool / clammy he is, with a question as to whether that's because he's a gith from non-githyanki or if it's because he's from the astral plane from a githyanki. He'll say yes either way, with an Insight check to see that he's lying. If you press into his mind then you do not fully find your answer, but from Inithray's perspective you remember hands burning with the fire-ice of divine energy reaching into your heart. The player character can decide if this kills the mood.

If it doesn't, then I think the player character is given two opportunities to use force in their intimacy; maybe a default choice of pulling his hair / shoving him against the ground and some class specifics. With visible confusion (/disappointment?) if the player character is gentle with him.

His Act 1 romance scene can no longer trigger once the player character has confronted Vlaakith in the crèche.

Inithray's Act 2 romance scene does not trigger if the player character was gentle with him in Act 1 but it opens him up to being willing to reject Vlaakith in Act 3. You cannot use power (or logic) to alter his allegiance / worship while his romance is active.

His Act 2 romance scene includes a(n optional) challenge. I won't step too far on Lae'zel's battle's toes; it can be a race. Either from one landmark and back to the starting point, or up a mountain. If it's to a landmark and back then when you get to the landmark he gets to use his githyanki psionics to jump like a grasshopper back to the starting point, and if you're racing up a mountain then he does the same from the beginning. A Perception check to see that he's about to jump lets you use a spell or a rock on his ankle to set him off balance, or as a githyanki, to do the same.

Making it through the race gets him out of breath and half laughing, reaching out to run his hands up the back of the player character's head (falling to his knees to do so for shorter body types) to share adrenaline high kisses.

One of the options to reject his challenge includes an accusation about how he just wants to show off, and Inithray declares that if he wanted to show off then he would do something altogether darker, and call upon his warlock magic to coalesce in blue-black shapes and smoke around his hand and his temple, and the player character can respond "Show me." to still pursue the night rather than reject him outright.

His Act 3 romance scene would require me thinking up a personal quest / how to account for whatever the player decides to do about Vlaakith, but either it can be tentative and sweet where he confesses that he's confident that Vlaakith need only look at him for him to fall to pieces; or full of dark promises where he will see the player character's power secured and the city razed for its transgressions against them if they wish it.

5. Describe their idle animations!

Reading a book. Reading a slate. Juggling a ball in one hand while counting his fingers up and down on his opposite hand, "It's good for coordination." Dicing ingredients at a little alchemy table at his tent.

[shimmerbeasts]

Misc. Headcanons for the Test Muses

These are some ideas/concepts I have developed for the test muses, which would stick around for my portrayals if I keep them. Enjoy the read.

Wyll

Wyll's change into a devil gave him an almost chimeric appearance. Aside from the horns on his head and the strange rills on his neck, he also gains the feet of a hellhound, a long, black tail with a blue tip, the claws of an Imp and strange bumps and spikes near his elbows. His transformation also results in a strange gait and the fact that Wyll has to pretty much relearn a lot about fighting because his body has become very alien.

Wyll has vitiligo. A good quarter of his body, mostly near his shoulder blades, his sides, parts of his chest and arms are fairer in colour as his cells produce no pigments there. After his transformation into a devil, these fairer patches gain a molten, golden colour. This was done by Mizora as a way to mock his heroism and remind him that as a farce, it is better than something real.

Wyll tied a knife to the end of his tail. After a lot of trial and error, he learned how to incorporate this in a fight. Ergo this man will stab you even when he is mid-fencing.

Wyll can and has regularly removed the sending stone from his face. He tends to do this when he and Mizora do not see eye to eye about a certain topic. If Wyll is particularly enraged, he even throws the eye away. At the same time, he is aware that these actions always come along with some pretty severe consequences.

Mizora enchanted Wyll's sending stone so that even when he throws it away, it will eventually always respawn in his empty eye socket. During the time when Wyll does not wear his sending stone, he covers up his eye socket with a thin scarf, effectively making himself look a bit like a raggedy pirate.

Outside of the tadpole gang, the only regular contact with someone else, which Wyll had and whom Mizora approved of, was a Cambion druid, disguised as a tiefling. Mercedes' job was basically to help out whenever Wyll faced a danger, he could not reasonably handle alone. She also was the one, who gave Wyll rewards and gifts on Mizora's behalf if her mistress was busy. Mercedes is a trickster-esque character, however, unlike Wyll, she is very playful, groovy and often jester-like. While she claims to be Wyll's friend, she often behaves around him in a way, which shows that even she has more power than him. Wyll finds her incredibly grating to be around, and only really puts up with her because he knows she is in a twisted way, a gift from Mizora.

Lae'zel

While Lae'zel originally studied dragons due to her wish to become a kith'rak, that desire to study soon began to exceed what is considered normal studying. Nowadays, Lae'zel has a vast knowledge of different dragon breeds, from their personalities to preferred habitats, to fighting styles. She is deeply fascinated and in awe of these creatures. Funny enough, if you manage to get her to talk about dragons in any way, shape or form, she will suddenly just infodump all over you. Call her out on that behaviour, and she will flat-out deny it.

Because of Lae'zel's unnaturally strong psionic abilities (even stronger than is normal for a Githyanki), her senses are also heightened. The worst of those offenders is her hearing. Lae'zel has incredibly sensitive ears and can easily get headaches, which have made her life and training as a warrior exceptionally hard as fights are often incredibly noisy.

Because of this, Lae'zel does not just meditate at the end of the day to connect herself with her faith in Vlaakith but also to decompress and relax after eventful days. However just because fights can exhaust her, does not mean she does not thrive in it. Lae'zel has learned to use the overwhelming amount of adrenaline, she experiences during a fight, to push through any discomfort, she may feel. Not that she lets anyone know of that discomfort. After all, it may be perceived as a weakness, and weaknesses mean a death sentence in Githyanki culture.

Lae'zel can move her ears independently from one another. Because of how highly specialised her hearing is, she can actually create a mental sound map of the camp while meditating. One should not try to touch her ears though, when they twitch, as that can easily cost you a hand.

[parasite-core]

I have more to say about how I feel about the ending of BG3 after beating it as both an evil Bhaalspawn and a redeemed hero. End game spoilers under the cut.

I don’t like what I feel like the game is saying about the ultimate reward for being a good person, at least from my perspective after playing through twice. In my evil game Calio had virtually no allies, he’d caused the deaths of almost all his companions and the ones he still had were either on their own paths to being villains or miserable. Then he took control of the Netherbrain, betrayed the last few people who actually trusted him and handed the world to Bhaal on a silver platter. The final scene is him on a throne of bone surrounded by his mind-controlled ‘friends’ while he uses godlike power to wipe out some attacking Githyanki. He gets everything he wanted, essentially. Power and no one being able to stop him as he razes the universe to the ground in his god’s name. He is happy in his absolutely twisted way as the world burns.

Then we have Adramelek, who fought against the monster within himself and won. He denied Bhaal and was given a second chance at life as his own person. He helped all of his friends to become their best selves. He fought tooth and nail to save not just this city or this world but even the Githyanki and anyone else he came across who he could lend help to.

And what does he get in the end? He has no choice but to sacrifice himself and turn into a mindflayer, otherwise he’d have to damn the Githyanki to their slavery at Vlaakith’s hands by either letting the Emperor kill Orpheus or by letting Orpheus make the ultimate sacrifice for his people and become a mindflayer himself. Addy couldn’t betray Lae’Zel’s trust like that, not after he’d spent so long promising her that he would help to save her people.

So in the end the city is saved, everyone is celebrating, it’s a beautiful happy moment. All of Addy’s friends survived. Karlach and Wyll have a lead for fix for her heart. Lae’Zel is fighting a revolution alongside Orpheus, and has learned and grown so much at Addy’s side that she can even be Orpheus’ diplomat. Shadowheart is traveling and finding herself for the first time in her life. Gale is teaching students the ways of the Weave and is finally free from the mistakes of his past. And while Astarion had to return to the shadows, he’s learned to accept himself as he is, and is actually genuinely happy despite his lot in life. The world at large is so much better than it was before Addy touched it.

And yet Adramelek is a mindflayer, losing what is left of himself, seeing his once beloved friends as ‘valuable assets’, having to fight against himself to not try to eat their brains. Astarion doesn’t know how much of the man he loved is even in there anymore, and they parted ways, deciding to just be friends while they figured out this new situation. So Addy lost the most loving and dear relationship to him he had, and he doesn’t even remember how to properly feel sad about it.

The world is happy, at peace, and on its way to healing. But the one who saved it is damned.

So what do these two stories tell us? That doing the right thing will destroy you and make you miserable even as those around you are lifted up, and that being a terrible person will get you everything you want so long as you don’t mind destroying everything and everyone around you? That’s so fucking cynical. I hate it. It leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.

[blackjackkent]

Aight, got Lae'zel into the party, so time to see if we can avoid an out-and-out brawl with the gith. o.o;

"Rider. My time is short. Lead me to--"

"Sh-sh-shh... Such a familiar tone. Were I not merciful, I would slice the skin clean from your meat. Yet you are not bleeding. For I am *nothing* if not merciful. Your name, child."

...OK, so this guy's a dick.

Hector has the option to demand to speak instead of Lae'zel but like. I cannot think of a single scenario in which he would want to do that. Lae'zel knows the gith and Hector's own conversational facility is uh. Not great.

Though it does seem like simply being a githyanki will not be enough to earn Lae'zel sympathy with this group.

Nod to Lae'zel. "Go ahead."

Lae'zel straightens, speaks in a cold, clear voice. "Lae'zel."

The man smiles coolly. "Lae'zel. Proud. Regal, even." He tips his head to one side. "You will call me Jhe'stil Kith'rak."

Lae'zel's eyebrows lift in subtle recognition. "Voss, Knight Supreme. The queen's silver, the queen's sword."

Kith'rak nods slightly. "I am who you say." He lays a hand on the sword at his side, all military practicality. "A ghaik vessel has fallen from the sky, Lae'zel. Thieves aboard have taken a weapon most precious. It is polyhedric in shape and inscribed with the sacred runes of our people."

Without warning, Hector's brain suddenly spasms in his head - and not, for once, from the parasite.

Narrator: You feel a strange anxiety take hold - not your own, but that of the artifact you carry. Somehow, it's afraid. You attune your mind to it. The artifact does not want to fall into the gith raiders' hands any more than it does the Absolute followers'.

Kith'rak is still speaking. "Take word to your creche. You are to join our search." He takes a step forward, stares down at Lae'zel imperiously. "Speak up, child. Affirm your mandate."

Lae'zel opens her mouth to speak - and then hesitates almost imperceptibly. Her eyes flick to Hector and there's a question in them, an uncertainty. He realizes with some surprise that she is torn between her loyalty to this towering authority of her people...and to him, and their little group of terrified castaways.

If he asked her to lie for them now, would she do it? Would she pretend that he does not have this artifact - this weapon - thrumming with power in his pack even now? Perhaps. But...he has always defaulted to honesty, even in the direst circumstances. They need these people's help, and weaving a web of deceit in the first moments is not the way to start.

And, if he is honest - the sudden realization that Lae'zel might be willing to lie for him to her own people makes him very unwilling to ask it of her.

Mouth a silent command to Lae'zel: 'truth'.

"My mandate, Jhe'stil Kith'rak, is to locate this creche. I was infected aboard a ghaik ship and need to be purified. Your mandate is to aid me."

She has not begun with the weapon, but with the more immediate matter at hand. Perhaps she would get to the weapon in time - or perhaps, for her own reasons, she means to keep that to herself - but Hector never gets the chance to find out, because Kith'rak's expression, far from help or sympathy or support, takes on a sudden air of intense, gleeful disdain.

"Purified? Soon your skin will go grey and your blood will run silver. You will shed your skin to become ghaik. Only in death are the infected cleansed."

He snaps a hand out towards his nearby underlings.

"Baretha, see that her skull is split and the tadpole crushed. Then examine her corpse. I will take word to the Undying Queen - our search continues."

Hector blinks. He can see Lae'zel's head snap back with dismay at this unexpected betrayal - and fear. And he can see more than that, too - Kith'rak is lying.

Narrator: A current of deception carries Voss's words. Wherever he flies, it is not to Vlaakith.

Before he can object, before Lae'zel can say anything, and even before the gith soldiers can begin their attack, the man has leapt aboard his dragon and is in the air, beyond their reach...flying to some corner of the world and leaving his treachery behind.

[the-stage-manager]

This is such a completely batshit take??? Like what even the fuck are you saying?

1. As far as I know, Larian didn't redact any of this. It's heavily implied that his death at the hands of the Gur was caused by a prejudiced ruling he'd made—he can still be a shitty racist elite and hunger for eternal life, idk why you're acting like those two things are mutually exclusive.

2. I am so fucking floored by the idea that you think because Larian didn't go into detail about Astarion's life as a magistrate, they're somehow belittling their audience. How on Earth did you read those two little paragraphs and wind up at the conclusion that this video game studio thinks their audience are a bunch of fucking morons who apparently lack the ability to consume complex narratives?? Projecting much?

3. He... Was young by elven standards? THATS what you're using to defend his actions? Christ Almighty. This is tumblr, I really shouldn't be surprised. But hot damn, "That racist, corrupt, 40-year-old Magistrate should be forgiven of his bad deeds because 40 is Young for an elf," is not an answer I had on my "Shit Takes From Tumblr" bingo card. And please don't think that I'm trying to say that Astarion is irredeemable, because he's not. I don't think he's a good person, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I think he has the capacity to be better than he was, that's what makes the spawn ending so damn satisfying (and that's also not me trying to bash on Ascended!Astarion fans. I can see the appeal, I just personally prefer the other ending.) "Larian really thought we wouldn't be able to forgive bad deeds of a guy who was barely even an adult by elven standards," Damn, chief. I can't. I just can't. It's such a bad take.

Nothing in that blurb contradicts anything that happens in this game. Jesus, I feel like I'm going crazy, like did we read the same thing? Astarion has, maybe two lines of dialog where he talks about his life before Cazador. If there was more content about being a corrupt, power-hungry magistrate, I think there's a dozen explanations why it got cut, that don't include "Larian thinks it's audience are all a bunch of piss babies." Like Jesus Christ what the fuck are you even on about? Every other character in this goddamn game is a power-hungry son of a bitch who wants to live forever. Gale, Lorroakan, Ketheric, Vlaakith, Cazador, I mean, Christ, what do you think is more likely? That the writers said, "Hey, maybe we have too many characters lusting for eternal life, so we should scrap this bit of dialog," or that somebody said, "Our audience is too stupid and unempathetic to be able to forgive this man. We'd better soften him up a little."

So the BG3 artbook contains old info about Astarion (and some other topics).

Interesing. That means they apparently had to rewrite some things literally last minute.

[creativerogues]

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know about Githyanki...

Githyanki are an ancient race descended from humans. They dwell on the Astral Plane but often leave that plane to make War on other races. They are engaged in a lengthy war with the githzerai.

Githyanki speak only their own tongue.

Githyanki are strongly humanoid in appearance. They are of approximately human height but tend to he much more gaunt and long of limb. They have rough, yellow skin and gleaming black eyes that instantly betray their inhuman origins.

Like many demi-human races, their ears have sharp points and are serrated at the back. Dress for the githyanki is always an elaborate affair. Their baroque armor and weapons of war are decorated with feathers, beads, and precious metals and gems.

Githyanki Knights

Githyanki Knights are evil champions who take up the causes of the githyankis’ mysterious lich-queen. Githyanki Knights are very powerful and highly revered in their society.

In older editions, they had all of the powers and abilities of a paladin, except these are turned toward evil (e.g. detect good instead of detect evil, command undead instead of turning undead).

Basically, Githyanki Knights might be seen more as Oathbreaker Paladins in terms of ability...Commanding undead and all that...

And in some Lore supposedly this is some blessing from the Lich-Queen, but other lore suggests that it's their connection to the Astral Plane, which is a common resting place for the Souls of the Prime Material Plane.

Githyanki Soldiers

The githyanki soldiers use arms and armor similar to humans; however, these are normally highly decorated and over time have become almost religious artifacts. A githyanki warrior would likely show greater care for his weapons and armor than he would toward his mate.

Silver Swords

Githyanki never willingly allow a silver sword to fall into the hands of a non-githyanki. If a special silver sword should fall into someone’s hands, very powerful raiding parties are immediately formed to recover the sword. Failure to recover one of these highly prized weapons surely means instant death to all the githyanki involved, at the hands of their merciless lich-queen.

Githyanki mages and illusionists receive some pretty nasty offensive spells, since Githyanki are, by nature, creatures of destruction - so offensive spells preferred.

Githyanki Raiding

All githyanki have the natural ability to cast Plane Shift At-Will, which is pretty badass. They rarely travel anywhere besides back and forth from the Astral Plane to the Prime Material Plane.

They refer to using Plane Shift as 'Jez'rathki' or 'seeping through the cracks'...

Occasionally githyanki raiding parties venture onto Limbo to strike at the githzerai, but their targets are only wandering githzerai; they have made no organized attempt, thus far, to attack the githzerai city-fortresses there.

Thus far that is... Since there have been many D&D Campaigns focused on this War between the Gith... And the chances of destruction of one or the other...

Githyanki Society

History provides some information on the githyanki - their race is both ancient and reclusive. Sages believe they once were humans that were captured by mind flayers to serve as slaves and cattle.

The mind flayers treated their human slaves cruelly and the people harbored a deep hatred toward the illithids.

For centuries these humans nursed their hatred but could not summon the might necessary to break free. So they waited for many years, developing their powers in secret and waiting for an opportunity to strike out against their masters.

Finally, a woman of power came forth among them, a deliverer by the name of Gith. She convinced the people to rise up against their cruel masters.

The struggle was long and vicious, but eventually the people freed themselves. They had earned their freedom and become the githyanki (which, in their tongue, means sons of Gith).

When a githyanki advances in their society, he is tested by the lich-queen. This grueling test involves survival in one of Lower Planes for a number of weeks. Failure quite obviously results in death.

Githyanki that reach a certain level of experience are immediately drawn out of the Astral Plane and into the presence of the lich-queen, where their life force is drawn to feed the ravenous hunger of the cruel demi-goddess.

Githyanki Strongholds

Githyanki dwell in huge castles on the Astral Plane. These ornately decorated castles are avoided by all other dwellers on the Astral, for the githyanki are infamous for being inhospitable to strangers.

A githyanki stronghold is ruled by a supreme leader.

This leader is either a fighter or a mage of 8th to 11th level.

The supreme leader is the undisputed overlord of the castle with the power of life and death over all who dwell there.

A typical leader is equipped with 2-8 random magical items in addition to the weapons described above.

All castles have a retinue of 20-80 githyanki knights that serve as the supreme leader’s elite shock troops. They are fanatically loyal. There are also up to 1,000 githyanki of lesser status.

Githyanki, having the ability to Plane Shift At-Will, sometimes travel to the Prime Material. These treks across the planes often lead to the formation of underground lairs used to mount surface raids, though their hatred is more often directed against mind flayers. Outside the war with the githzerai, these raids are conducted largely for the perverse pleasure of the kill.

Githyanki and Red Dragons

On the Prime Material Plane, githyanki have a pact with a group of red dragons. These proud creatures act as mounts and companions to the githyanki. When encountered on the Prime Material Plane and outside their lair, such a group usually has two red dragons as steeds, who are able to transport between four and six githyanki per dragon.

The dragons fight for the safety and well-being of the githyanki but do not directly risk their lives, fleeing when the battle is turned against them.

Just what the githyanki offer these red dragons in return for their services is unknown.

The Githyanki Bond

An interesting aspect of githyanki society is the apparent bond between military leaders and their subordinates. This bond allows a leader to give his men short, almost senseless commands and actually relay complex and exacting messages.

Although this has no actual affect during combat, it often leads to more effective ambushes and attacks and allows complex military decisions to be relayed quickly.

Ecology of the Githyanki

Githyanki have similar ecology to that of humans. However, the Astral Plane does not offer the same type of environments as the Prime Material Plane, so their cultural groups are very different.

In a society where farmers and tradesmen are unnecessary more unique, specialized groups have evolved.

G”lathk: The g”lathk, (admittedly nearly unpronounceable by human tongues) are the equivalent of farmers. Due to the barrenness of the Astral Plane, the githyanki are forced to grow food in vast, artificial chambers. They rely upon a variety of fungi and other plants that require no sunlight to grow.

The g”lathk are also experts in aquatic plantlife, sometimes tending gigantic water-gardens.

Mlar: Not all magic-using githyanki ever attain the power and self-discipline necessary to become wizards. Some use their magical talents in the field of architecture and construction.

The Mlar are such individuals, focusing their creative energies toward designing and constructing the buildings and structures used in day-to-day life in githyanki society.

The Mlar have developed their jobs into an art form.

Hr’a’cknir: The Astral Plane has many strange energies moving through it. Some of these energies are obvious to the senses such as heat and light. Others are not so easily observed.

There are many psychic and strange astral energies that humans generally cannot sense.

As a psychically aware race, however, the githyanki cannot only sense these energies, but can harness them also.

The hr’a’cknir are the collectors of those energies.

They are similar to the Mlar, in that they use innate magical powers to perform their crafts.

Tl'a'ikith: One of two species of undead githyanki, created by Vlaakith CLVII through the powers of the Crown of Corruption, with the other being the Kr'y'izoth.

Created from githyanki warriors, predominantly Fighters and Rangers, Tl'a'ikiths are much more common than their kr'y'izoth counterparts, but are usually kept on Tu'narath or other githyanki strongholds as elite guards.

These undead githyanki appear as pale, spectral versions of their former living selves, still wielding their race's trademark silver swords. They never speak, instead simply obeying whatever orders they have been given.

Kr'y'izoth: Created from githyanki wizards, sorcerers and warlocks, kr'y'izoths appear as emaciated and charred githyanki shrouded by an aura of flickering, shadowy-black flames of necrotic energy. These flames obscure their features; even those who knew the creature in life are often hard-pressed to recognize them in death. They speak in a hollow, clipped tone of voice.

Ironically, they're described as far more social and versatile than Tl'a'ikiths are, which means the lich-queen uses them as high-level troubleshooters. With their additional ability to magically heal others, this means that Kr'y'izoths are often attached to elite githyanki units, and so can be found across the Astral and on other planes as well as guarding Vlaakith's palace on Tu'narath.

Githyanki are hunters and predators. They typically engage in raiding and plundering seemingly for the joy they derive from it. It is likely that the long centuries of enslavement of their race has caused the githyanki to bully those weaker than themselves.

Unlike humans, though, the githyanki never war among themselves. The split of the githyanki and the githzerai is the closest thing the gith races have known to civil war.

Githyanki never battle githyanki. It is the unwritten rule of gith society and is never broken. This, too, may be an effect of the race's enslavement.

[thatboomerkid]

City of Looking-Glass Shadows

City of Looking-Glass Shadows -- an urban-fantasy D&D 5E campaign

The year is 199X.

It’s been this way for a while now.

The world is a lie. We live within an artificial construct, a facsimile of mundane reality forged upon a pocket-shard of arable land -- adrift somewhere deep in the Shadowfell -- built with slave labor by the illithid to house, to monitor & to control a teeming, screeching, anxious mass of hand-selected human cattle.

The goal of their project is simple: we are here to generate new technological applications. We are a living algorithm, assembled by our starry masters to the endless & perpetually-accelerating task of spitting out ever-deadlier and more brutally efficient weapons of conquest & control, engines of wealth & war, tools of mechanical intelligence & information-manipulation.

No wonder we all feel a little ... stuck, huh?

The simplest, most brute-force way to produce the desired technological output at the necessary volume involved building an invisible cage and keeping several hundred million humans magically-illiterate, desperate, confused & tech-hungry.

So that’s what they built, way out here in the echoing void.

Welcome home.

A desperate, silent war for the future of this ugly, distant demiplane is being fought in the shadows, right now ... and the monsters are winning.

Brought to you absolutely free to enjoy, to test & to share – as always – by the fine folks of my Patreon.

Inspired by Big Trouble in Little China, Blade, Dark City, Hackers, Heavy Metal, Highlander, They Live & Werewolf: the Apocalypse.

This website references trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Hasbro, Inc. We are expressly prohibited from charging you to use or access this content. This website is not published, endorsed, or specifically approved by Hasbro. This material is posted under the Fair Use clause of copyright law.

Created by Clinton Boomer & Uncle Twitchy.

Special thanks to Jessica Redekop of Redcap Miniatures, Blaine Bass of Scrapfinder, Landon Bellavia of Quest Writer, Neal Litherland of Improved Initiative & Sam Berry of Nomad Tattoos for being my beta-readers.

image by jim pinto

Our false universe has been invaded. Several times.

Playable Races:

Awakened Human: Somewhere in the range of 99.9% of all humans within the City of Looking-Glass Shadows exist fully under the thrall of the illithid; seeing only what their masters desire for them to see, knowing only what their master choose for them to know, remembering only what their masters allow them to remember. But a small, ultra-select few have shaken off the chains. These are the crazy folks, the dirty & paranoid madmen. People like you: people who know that magic is real.

Duergar: The brick-&-mortar labor force of the illithid, thousands of mind-wiped duergar still serve deep beneath the earth in vast, dim-lit caverns, forge-pits and echoing armories alongside masses of grimlocks, ogres, quaggoths, troglodytes and other, less-describable slave races. The grey dwarves possess resilient minds, however ... and they are the most-common escapees of this prison.

Githyanki: Way back in 198X, a force of githyanki warriors and their red dragonborn allies stormed the gate between the Astral Plane and the City of Looking-Glass Shadows: it was an apocalypse of fire, psychic thunder, death-screams & silver heavy-blades above exploding skyscrapers and panicked crowds. It’s all been wiped from the history & memory of the world, of course: you’ll find nary a whisper in the official records. But a few survivors still plot in the shadows, rebuilding their strength.

Githzerai: Even further back, in 197X, a trio of githzerai dojos assaulted this stronghold of the illithid. Those who fled, bleeding, from the failure of that onslaught are still hiding here amongst a teeming press of the timid humans who huddle against one another in the delusion of warmth and safety. Within their sewer strongholds and rooftop dojos, these stubborn students of Zerthimon train, maintaining the secretive ZethiNet and making plans to strike once more.

Prized Exotic: Although there are only a handful of aasimar, tiefling & dark elf inhabitants of the world, some are kept as beloved pets by illithid masters. The rarest of escapees, these creatures -- once their chains are flung free -- are hunted a with singular devotion of purpose. A very few are rumored to have maintained their freedom.

Red Dragonborn: It is well known that Vlaakith the Lich-Queen, 157th of her name, bears the dread Scepter of Ephelomon; by means of this unholy artifact, she commands the obedience of all crimson-scaled wyrms for use in her eternal war. Far from her omnipotent influence, the red dragonborn who once served alongside the githyanki are free again.

Shadar-Kai: The original inhabitants of that stark chuck of rock from which the City of Looking-Glass Shadows rises are still here. They lurk, and they hate, and they take their kills where they can. Many are allied to the mysterious Sleeper in the Woods, and they make sacrifices around huge bonfires to whatever entity it is.

image from here

First-Level PC Character-Origin Options:

Awakened From Injury: Those abject horrors which open battle with the illithid can inflict upon a mortal mind & body are impossible to describe in any sane language. Some of the first through the gate into the City of Looking-Glass Shadows are only now being revived from their comas, their memories scattered like fallen leaves.

Recent Summoning: The githyanki & githzerai alike are highly active in their ongoing quest, attempting to pull resources & reinforcements to the demiplane in mass numbers. Unfortunately, the few who are successfully brought here via ritual-summoning are often limited in their abilities ... and unable to return home by magical means.

Thrown Off the Shackles: Most humans, duergar and assorted other slaves of the illithid are badly damaged, psychically, when they pull free of the influence of their hideous, alien masters: losing bits of themselves in the process of awakening to the world as it truly is.

Eleven Fun Facts about the City of Looking-Glass Shadows

Everyone looks like a human. If it has an Intelligence score higher than an animal and is approximately human-sized, it looks like a person. That means that the illithid and their monstrous slaves can function in public without disguises ... and you can, too. This is some unshakable type of artifact programming inherent to the original demiplane, and it’s one of the reasons they chose the site for their experiment in the first place.

Reflections show the truth. If you’re a non-human, or an Awakened Human, any type of reflection -- in a mirror, in water, whatever -- will show you the truth of who you’re talking to. This may require you to keep a particularly paranoid eye on your surroundings. Have fun!

Members of sentient non-human species can always “feel” the presence of others of their own kind. If a Shadar-Kai, for example, is within 30 feet of another Shadar-Kai, she gets a little “ping”; all gith ping in the same way, which causes a certain level of confusion amongst the two races. Awakened Humans have the distinct advantage of always feeling it when they get within 30 feet of any non-human sentient creature, but the reverse isn’t true: Shadar-Kai have no way of knowing if a given human is Awakened or not, for example, short of seeing the human manipulate magical energies in some way.

The illithid have access to 21st century technology. Everyone else is wandering around with pagers, beepers and battery-hungry car-phones the size of briefcases, while the illithid have smart phones, YouTube and GPS. This gives them several dangerous advantages.

The illithid occupy most positions of power. Not every billionaire CEO, mega-church pastor or politician is an illithid. Some are just their thralls. But it’s even money that if someone has a lifestyle in the top 1%, they’re one of the squid-faced, brain-eating elder horrors.

Sentient non-humans are immune to mundane guns. No one knows why, but anything that isn’t a human or an animal simply isn’t affected by firearms. This means that a single githyanki can casually stand up to an entire SWAT team ... and that an armed populace will never overthrow their alien overlords (for more on the topic, see “This is Not Guns Against the Darkness,” Bloodlines & Black Magic, page 160).

There are three Elder Brains in charge of the City. The three entities are in a constant state of “friendly” competition with each other; their genteel attacks, counterattacks & diversion-tactics drive innovation forward at an enormous cost in human life & sanity. Each one rules a section of the city from a hidden penthouse apartment, underground spa or other luxurious -- but inaccessible & highly fortified -- location.

Undead are dangerously common in the City. As a side effect of the demiplane’s location “within” the Shadowfell, these undead can spawn randomly; these spontaneously-generated undead are a HUGE problem for the illithid, who are on highest possible alert for any new outbreaks. This is often used as a smoke-screen by the Githyanki & Shadar-Kai, especially ... who mask their own operations behind seemingly-mindless attacks by the undead. Undead in the demiplane are also extremely resilient to being turned: undead have advantage on turn saves.

The illithid have access to the only stable portal into & out of the demiplane. While travel from the sprawling city is dangerous & relatively uncommon, the illithid can resupply much more easily than any other faction, moving to and from the deminplane in massive vessels once every month. Maintaining total control of this hidden portal is of the utmost importance to the mind flayers ... and taking the portal is the highest goal of every other faction. 

Because of the demiplane’s “locked” property, spells that rely on dimensional travel or manipulation -- Rope Trick, Blink, Dimension Door, Conjure (Minor) Elemental, Summon Lesser/Greater Demon, Contact Other Plane, Conjure Fey, Planar Ally, Conjure Celestial, Plane Shift, Astral Projection, Gate and others, subject to DM discretion -- are unreliable. In order to cast any of those spells, the caster must succeed at a DC 18 save using their spell-casting stat at disadvantage. A critical failure when casting a spell of this type spontaneously generates an aggressive, uncontrollable undead creature with a CR equal to the level of the spell being cast. Casting such spells in a ritually-prepared “sacred space” allows a character to attempt the spell without disadvantage.

Something dangerous & ancient sleeps in the woods. Several rebel factions have made attempts to contact or awaken this unknown entity in a suicidal bid at challenging illithid control ... but what is it? None can say for certain. Some say it’s an ancient midnight-blue shadow dragon of unutterable age; others suggest that it is Moloch, trapped here after a disastrous attempt to gain the Raven Queen’s support to end his exile. Still others suggest that it’s one of the obscene Great Old Ones, which serves as a patron for some particularly cruel & debased warlocks ...

original photography by Resa LaMont, digital editing by Tim Jenkins of Battle! Studio; image also used here

10 Plot Hooks

Maybe you’re starting a brand new campaign from scratch.

Maybe you’ve just ended a long, complex story-line a little bit early, without all of the mysteries solved; maybe you can’t jump into the next chapter of your narrative until the PCs achieve a certain slightly higher level or meet a specific NPC or learn a particular secret; maybe only half of your players showed up to this session and you need a quick “filler” episode.

Maybe your PCs befriended & adopted the Godzilla, shunted the Terminator to Khyledonia, had the Voldemort removed from office in disgrace or otherwise drove your campaign’s entire plot-arc so far off the frigging rails that you need a few weeks to re-orient your entire game from first principles.

Whatever the reason, you need a brand new plot hook on the fly, and – simply due to setting-assumptions! – “goblins attack the village” or “the princess is a werewolf” or “local knights go questing for the Vast Horror” simply won’t cut it.

No sweat, friend. We’ve got you covered.

Just roll 1d10 on the chart below; if you roll a plot hook that you’ve already used, round up to the nearest unused plot hook (if you rolled seven or above), while rounding down to the nearest unused plot hook if you rolled six or lower.

A rumor starts circulating the underground magical community -- rebels & survivors, all -- about enchanted mirror-shades which allow an Awakened or non-human user to always see another creature’s true species, as if in a reflection. Who is making them, and how? And where are they?

A rumor goes out that the secretive ZerthiNet -- the private web built and maintained by the Githzerai -- came dangerously close to being breached by human hackers in service to the illithid. While this may or may not be true, it shakes the confidence of several powerful groups who are now desperate to relocate their clandestine bases of operation.

An insane derro, presumed to be an escapee of the illithid, is claiming that he knows the exact location of one of the Elder Brains ... and how to circumvent all of the security near it. He’s willing to trade this information to the highest bidder, and a shadowy bidding-war has begun between various war-party sects desperate to make a strike.

A group of traveling Shadar-Kai who are known to work in the city proper as well as to maintain a “clan base” in the forest have begun to trade in more and more powerful magical items, selling them for relatively small change. Some folks suspect that they’ve found something valuable out in the woods: the horde of a monster, perhaps.

A massive security-breach has the entire illithid population on damage control, as a massive shambling horror of undeath & rotting flesh has begun making daring daylight attacks on seemingly-random locations before vanishing once again. Is this the dark work of a single dedicated necromancer, of a clever cabal, or beast “breathed forth” by the strange Sleeper in the Woods?

The illithid were not the first to discover this demiplane. The wreckage of an ancient ship -- perhaps a Spelljammer -- has long been rumored to lie embedded beneath the city.  Now, a recent escapee from a duergar slave camp claims to have found the ship, and perhaps even figured out how to get it flying again.

McHappy kids' meals are making the rounds with toys from the summer cinema blockbuster Secret Agent Kids, including see-around-the-corner periscopes that, as a source of reflected images, should show the truth.  However ... (roll 1d3): (1) Human children have been “waking up” in unprecedented numbers, creating a “mental health crisis” among the City’s youth. (2) Awakened humans and non-humans who look through these "toys" see misleading images, showing some mundane humans as unnatural horrors, and the real horrors as mundane humans.  This has led to certain ... misunderstandings. (3) The magically-initiated are completely unable to see through these periscope toys, and for 1d8-3 (minimum 0) minutes after trying, are unable to see creatures' true natures in reflections, seeing only their human guises.  The rush is on to figure out how this happens, and how to exploit it.

An unknown black-market agent is selling illithid-grade tech to the opposition. Smart phones -- complete with GPS location services, dual high-resolution cameras, and Candy Crush pre-loaded -- are being picked up by rival factions. Are these bonafide goods, or is it all part of a larger mind-flayer scheme?

A charming dark elf swordsman has recently established himself as the undisputed master over a small section of the city’s criminal underworld, making a grand living as a “problem solver” for rival gangs and ruling through a combination of flair & intimidation. His ability to fence stolen goods or to obtain cars & guns is unparalleled, but he’s either an agent of the illithid ... or will soon be their slave once again.

A gang of Red Dragonborn have started a turf-war with a small coterie of githzerai living in half-crumbled public housing; each group is unwilling to back down, even as the fighting drags-on and the bodies pile up; each night of aggression & retribution risks alerting the illithid to both crews.

The world is a lie. Kill its masters. Burn it to the ground.

image from here

[crossdressingdeath]

Jaheira: Drop that stone. You will want your hands free for what comes next. Kyvir: Jaheira... what are you doing? Jaheira: Congratulating you, of course. You have won Bhaal's bloody blessing. Now you think you will step out into the world, and carve your name upon it. Minsc and I, we know better. We stood here a century ago, and watched this same ceremony unfold. We stand here again to show you how it ends: With your bones rotting beneath your father's hall - your name remembered by none. Kyvir: No... Please... Minsc: Jaheira... must it truly be this way? Jaheira: This path was not of our choosing, Minsc. But we must walk it all the same. What about you? Will you protect the world from what he has become? Astarion: I really hoped we could avoid being pawns for a dark god, but here we are, I suppose. I'm with you, my dear. Wherever this leads. Jaheira: Goodbye, Bhaalspawn. Harpers, to arms. Let's defend this city as we always have. Minsc: Boo and Minsc promise to make it swift, evil.

This seems like a good moment to mention that Jaheira's AI... broke this run. So she wouldn't follow me anywhere (I had to control her instead of Kyvir to keep her with the group, otherwise she would literally just stand still where she spawned no matter what I did) and she spent this whole fight standing there doing nothing. Didn't exactly help the tone, although it did make the fight easier.

Anyway. At least with Jaheira and Minsc it's not entirely hypocritical given their history with Bhaal, but Jaheira turning to the vampire ascendant who literally yesterday brutally killed seven thousand people for personal power and openly asking to ally with that guy instead of having any faith in her friend whose literal only misstep so far that she knows of is choosing not to commit suicide by Bhaal by refusing him is still a lot. There's something so self-righteous about Jaheira when it comes to Bhaalspawn; she openly thinks Durge should have died (and she knows full well what a horrific fate they'd suffer given she knew BG2 era Sarevok) rather than obey their father because that's what her sense of morality demands, which I suppose is fair enough on some level but like... the way she doesn't respond like this to anyone else's evil deeds bothers me. I'm not exaggerating, literally yesterday (in-game) Astarion killed seven thousand people and sent their souls to Mephistopheles in a single move for personal power and all she did was grumble about how she was going to keep an eye on him, and now she's asking him to help kill Durge, who in this run only agreed to become Chosen because they knew Bhaal would immediately kill them for saying no. There are so many points in this game where it feels like Durge's actions are treated as worse than everyone else's just because they're Bhaalspawn rather than "just" a vampire spawn or a Sharran or a gith loyal to Vlaakith or what have you, but the game never really engages with that. And I guess an argument could be made that Durge as both a Bhaalspawn and Bhaal's Chosen might be uniquely susceptible to an evil god's control (I don't know what the situation is with Dark Justiciar Shadowheart re the risk of Shar taking over), but even then I'd expect the tone to be more "I'm sorry it's come to this but I have to put you down for the good of everyone including you" and less "You're an evil monster and deserve to die". I'm sure it's all much more suitably black and white if you go full "I am the Chosen of Bhaal and the world is mine for Evil Reasons", but there's something... deeply unpleasant in Durge, feeling like they had no choice but to become Bhaal's Chosen because they knew the most likely fate that would befall them if they refused, outright begging their friends not to fight them while said friends dismiss them as evil and deserving of death with at most a moment's hesitation. If you play Chosen Durge as only doing this because the alternative was death, then Jaheira's basically calling you a monster for not obediently dropping dead for The Greater Good, and the game's total failure to acknowledge that drives me nuts.