#good old minsc lol

[blackjackkent]

More explorations through the parsed dialogue files. The nymph in Sharess's Caress (the one whose Fist client turns into a mind flayer) offers you a "moment of ecstasy" in return for saving her life - and apparently there are some character-specific dialog options for all of the origin characters (minus Lae'zel and plus Minsc) regarding their deepest desires. And I'm kinda having a lot of feelings about it.

Naoise Nallinto: The all-being. Here, there is no suffering. Here, you want for nothing. Here, you are anything. You have one word. Tell me: what will you be?

DARK_URGE: Sane. Naoise Nallinto: You are sane. Time dances on in sequence, the winding path of time evens, and becomes straight. With a quiet head, you can once again hear the song of the birds and the wind in the grass. You pluck a flower, and it does not bleed.

SHADOWHEART: Whole. Naoise Nallinto: You are whole. Within and without, free from expectation and the crushing burden of solitude.You are the entirety of you. Every path outward leads to adventures yet unknown. Every path inward leads to dreams eternally fulfilled.

ASTARION: Safe. Naoise Nallinto: You are safe. The winds of fate blow you to the warmest of hearths in the most cordial of inns. Your seething passions lead only to pleasure. The touch of the sun comforts your flesh, but never burns it.

KARLACH: Alive. Naoise Nallinto: You are alive. Your senses vibrate with sensation - smell, taste, touch, sound, sight. All alert to the beauty of now. The sound of your heart - your heart - beats a steady rhythm: Hello, hello, hello.

GALE: Wise. Naoise Nallinto: You are wise. The erudition of the ages flows through you and from you, illuminating the scholars who seek your counsel. You know yourself, for such is the beginning of all wisdom. When souls would drink the waters of learning, you are their font.

WYLL: Free. Naoise Nallinto: Then be free. You are an eagle, the most divine of messengers, soaring above the peak of Mount Sundabar. No man or woman, no devil or demon, no goddess or god dares confine you within one border or one creed.

MINSC: Minsc. Naoise Nallinto: Er - you are Minsc. You are the most Minsc. Wherever you go, there is only Minsc. Every step, every breath, every thought shall be - the Minsc-est. (DEVNOTE: Confused but making it work.)

[badlydrawnmanic]

baldur’s gate 3 has once again taken over my life and i low key wanna draw the playable characters as mobians because i have crossover / furry brain disease + edits

to no one’s surprise astarion is a bat because, well. vampires, and his secret isn’t exactly hard to figure out before the reveal cutscene. he himself may not be associated with bats but you get it

gale is kinda tough for me to pin down because he’s both plain but not at all at the same time. his personality doesn’t fit cat despite his light association with them through tara, but hedgehog is seemingly considered a default even to the sonic series itself much like human is in dnd, so that might work. his hair is also kinda makes me think of a lion and that has a bit more character to it

karlach is undoubtedly my favorite. outside of fire one of her bigger unique design bits is her broken horn which i’d wanna keep fairly the same. sheep would fit the curled shape but she doesn’t really have a soft vibe that comes along with sheep. maybe some sort of cow-like animal. big and powerful. friend suggested she be a boar instead of minsc which i could roll with. confused for a hellsboar by wyll

lae’zel is supposed to be markedly different from the other characters, so i’m thinking either some kind of reptile / amphibian or something entirely alien in that it’s a beast from the dnd universe. while they aren’t associated with the githyanki there’s gremishka in the creche and that might be just interesting enough to work. big ears. friend also suggested a skink specifically and people seem to think she's very frog even if i don't see it lol

shadowheart is also relatively normal. was thinking wolf for a time but honestly she had cat vibes + that would sort of play into her and lae’zel being kinda similar despite being from fundamentally different places / backgrounds. friend suggested a squirrel? will consider

wyll feels like he’d be some kind of dog given the general good boy-ness of him, loyalty, etc, plus it kinda plays into how mizora talks about him. naturally his “you didn’t kill karlach” form would be a hellhound. friend mentioned fox but i think dog is more fitting

halsin is a bear and there is nothing difficult about this whatsoever

i haven’t done an evil run yet where i recruit minthara but i know she’s a lolth sworn drow and they’re associated with spiders and that would be kinda cool. friend suggested wolf for her also

minsc would probably also be a dog. even though repeats are a bit lame, he was a protagonist in another group of characters from another baldur’s gate so it’s fine. one of those stupidly huge breeds that look more like lions than dogs. if not a dog than maybe a boar. friend suggested a ferret but i think he needs beef to him. wolverine maybe?

jaheira also being from the other baldur’s gate game could probably be a repeat too. slightly cranky old cat but she loves you in her own way. would also contrast with minsc. if not a cat then i could see her as a deer i think. i somehow forgot that the game's ai defaults her wildshape to a panther when you're battling alongside her in moonrise towers so panther it is

[namig42]

Woke up today with the random thought of which roles the bg3 companions would be in a band, so here's my 6 am thoughts on the matter.

Astarion: Freddy Mercury-esque frontman. He dances around more than he really sings. Much more fun to watch perform rather than solely listen to because his singing isn't that great tbh.

Shadowheart: Big Bassist energy.

Lae'zel: Even bigger bassist energy, but Shadowheart is a brat that wants the cool bassist aesthetic, so Lae'zel plays lead guitar unenthusiastically instead. She's actually great at it, but it's no big deal because that's the standard she's set for herself.

Karlach: Big buff drummer that likes to sing along to all the songs and sometimes does back up vocals. She's by far the nicest and most enthusiastic member of the band during interviews and publicity things.

Gale: The lighting and effects guy. His work is always incredibly dramatic and colorful, like magic onstage, and he loves to discuss his ideas with the band. He asks for their input, but rarely ever actually incorporates it since he's so passionate about his own ideas.

Wyll: Young manager who is great with people and has connections because of his rich family. Is also great with PR because of the sheer amount of it he has to do for the band when they're being a bunch of asshole divas that get themselves into trouble, which is often (looking at everyone besides Karlach)

Minthara: The accountant that is sick of everyone's shit, but sticks around because of the money. She can tolerate Wyll and Karlach at least since they're polite and reasonable enough.

Halsin: The friendly roadie that is friends with everyone and has also slept with half the band, but doesn't make it weird. Everyone loves him since he's a great listener and an even better hugger.

---

Anyways, that's my take. I thought about Jaheira and Minsc too, but then I thought that Jaheira would be like "I'm too old for this shit" and would never be involved lol. Minsc would probably be similar to Halsin: another roadie that's super friendly, but is terrible to talk to since his intelligence is significantly lower and he doesn't really get emotions. Still, people love a good himbo.

[shewhowas39]

if the bg3 companions were part of vtm vampire clans

listen sometimes youc an't sleep and decide to assign the bg3 companions to Vampire: the Masquerade clans. here's my best placements. feel free to debate.

Astarion - Ventrue (i know some of y'all would want to put him in Toreador, but he says the word "power" so much I can't put him anywhere but Ventrue)

Gale - Tremere. (this one seems obvious. it's the wiard clan lol)

Halsin - Gangrel (the man who turns into a bear is part of the clan...that can turn into bears)

Karlach - Brujah (this one i struggled with, but they can literally make their fists do fire damage and they have tempers like a barbarian. plus she's sorta a rebel? against Zariel at least)

Lae'zel - Banu Haqim (this one seems so obvious. Violent but structured. she'd thrive int his clan)

Shadowheart - Lasombra (this one might be too obvious? the girl with shadow in the name is part of the shadow clan? but I think it works)

Wyll - Toreador OR Salubri? (first thought was Salubri because he's such a good dude, but Toreador might actually make the most sense. he's a romantic with a passion for old stories. that can be the sort of artistic obsession: legends of heroism. or dance!)

i don't know about Minthara, Jaheira, or Minsc. it feels like a cheat to also put Jaheira in Gangrel? idk. this is a silly post.

[all-pacas]

BG3 EPILOGUE STUFF

since i had a save from just before the final battle and, for one, had been dying for details all afternoon: this is from a game where i was durge and romanced astarion.

It's in the slightly random order of "who I happened to talk to in whatever order."

MINSC: Taking his job of "working with" the Guild seriously, and shows up to the party with a random thief he had been in the middle of dangling from a high tower. Says he visits Astarion a lot, but that Astarion keeps accidentally forgetting to tell him when he moves. You can ask him if there are others from the first Bhaal crisis left alive, because you're studying it.

OWLBEAR CUB: Been having fun fighting! You can suggest he settle down with Halsin or Shadowheart (I picked Halsin) and he's very excited.

SHADOWHEART: Says she's almost surprised you came; you can joke "what, just because I don't have a butler anymore?" and she says she was worried, but is glad to see that old memories haven't kept you away. She's found a little cottage in the country and is having a nice time living peacefully. Her parents are doing well, and her mother is teaching her to cook. She also has EVERY SINGLE pet she can find. Just gone from full goth princess to cottagecore.

You can tell her that you went Candlekeep to research Bhaalspawn history, and you agree you'll keep in more proactive touch.

JAHEIRA: The Bhaal temple is still standing, but she assures you it's empty, thanks to you. Jord has joined the Harpers, and Rion has rejoined the Flaming Fist, and is spending her time bullying them. Jaheira is mildly/proudly worried they'll kick her out. Again. She's wrangling Harpers and working to rebuilt Baldur's Gate. She asks if you plan on starting a family of your own, and you can tell her that you plan on letting Bhaal's line die with you.

VOLO: He's writing a tell-all, and says he's gotten very good at faking your signature for the disclosures. He wants to call it "The Hero and Me," and you can suggest "The Bhaalspawn 2." He doesn't think you should think of yourself as a mere sequel.

KARLACH: "I've missed you, you old Bhaalspawn. Oh - do you not want to me to call you the B-word any more?" You can joke that your "army" is bath salts and scented candles, tell her that everyone slips up from time to time, or brag about not thinking about it AND not killing anyone in six months. The answer I picked: "I see my blood not as a curse, but a duty. I have been studying Bhaal, so I can fight him, if his cult ever strikes again."

Karlach and Wyll have been having a lot of fun fighting and surviving hell. She feels a lot better, and tells you about their plan to heist a new heart for herself. You promise to meet up again.

WYLL: Mizora hasn't been bothering him much, sending him after legitimate demons and evils. She's set him on a new mission he doesn't know the details of, but apparently his target is a devil. He's happy to be traveling with Karlach. He's been able to visit Baldur's Gate and his father a few times, and dad's doing well, leading the city and rebuilding. No Bhaalspawn talk.

HALSIN: He's still hanging out in the former Shadowlands, and Moonrise has been torn down to make new houses. He gives you a wooden duck. No Bhaalspawn talk.

LAE'ZEL: Is just on her full YA Youth Hero phase. Has been fighting and leading and just being super cool, allying with the githzerai. She's currently a dipomat, and you can be like "lol, seriously?" She's amused and says you taught her that diplomacy and words are as sometimes as important as a blade. She's clearly joking around a bit (she calls herself bossy and that it's her charm), but as deadpan as ever.

GALE: HE'S A PROFESSOR, school of illusion. As a sorceror, you can say you're surprised he's only teaching one school, and he agrees and admits he offered to teach them all, before being told he had to pick one. He talks about how much he likes illusion and imagination, and so now I feel like I have to make him illusionist in my runs. He gave the Crown to Mystra, and feels great relief to have the Orb gone. He clearly really, really loves teaching and spends his time trying to make his students love magic as much as he does. He complains they sleep a lot, and Tara butts in to call them cheeky and offers to swipe them.

He asks what you're up to, and you can joke you're napping and thinking of becoming a massage therapist — he jokes that he's glad you found a new career, but maybe leave off your "neck snapping" past when meeting clients. Gale offers you a "guest lecturer" spot, and you can remark that "the healing of my cranial trauma would be a prime case study for the school of Evocation." Gale invites you to stay in his — SORRY, TARA, OUR — tower.

TARA: YOU CAN PSPSPSPSPSP TARA. She does not deign to respond. She asks if you're the one who helped Gale with the Absolute, and if you politely say that Gale helped you, she doubts it very much — obviously he's the hero. She then invites you to visit them, and if you accuse her of having no respect for the "co-savior of Faerun," she retorts that she's here, isn't she? Before dismissing you.

ASTARION: He's happy all your friends are well, but hesitates on joining the socializing himself, because he's just so good at "skulking." He says he doesn't want to hog you because he gets you all the time.

LETTERS: (This was not a 100% completion game.)

Art is rapidly declining, his age catching up to him. He doesn't have long to live, but is happy and content seeing the Shadowlands cured.

Duke Ravengard does not even mention Wyll in his letter.

Arabella is being trained by Elminster! Love that for her.

The Gur write their letter to Astarion specifically, saying they've been keeping an eye on him and admire his restraint and control over his bloodlust.

THERE'S A LETTER FROM ALFIRA ahaha. I did the Durge Savescum to save her, and her letter basically goes: Yeah, I heard you're a Bhaalspawn? I saw murder in your eyes whenever you looked at me, and I'm glad you're doing well, but I'm not going to tell you where I am now. Thank you for sparing me! Bye!

Barcus Wroot has the single most Barcus Wroot letter of all time. "Withers gave me this address and said I could consider writer. Well, I considered it. Return address included. Best, Barcus Wroot." I love him so much.

Dammon 100000% has a crush on Karlach. His letter is basically: "Are you still alive? I think of you all the time. Will you write to me? Yours faithfully." Omg.

Nocturne is in a new Sharran cloister, but she hopes Shadowheart is well and wonders if maybe one day she'll also be brave enough to leave.

ROLAN DID NOT WRITE ME, woowwwww

CONCLUSIONS:

Durge gets two threads: I am living in a spa, and I am spending my time researching Bhaal. Or maybe both!

Wyll and Karlach definitely seem to be hinting towards some kind of DLC, with Wyll's new devil target and the whole heist situation. Withers also has an unreadable note on his desk with Hints Of Important Things.

[mikuchan]

BG3 Marriage Rankings

Mikuchan version. Would it end in love or hurt (or would it even get off the ground)? main girls and guys + cherrypicked side characters

1: Alfira. at the risk of being self-pandering, I REALLY think we would work. I would write my stories, she would write her music. I'd work at a Baldur's Gate printing press or something and support her music career. We'd hype each other up. We could adopt a cat.

2: Gale...I was a Gale Hater for a long time but I'm eating my words lately. He is very cool and we'd work well together. And to be real, "eloquent man who's very skilled, into deep lore, is also a good cook" describes both Gale and my irl husband. I do think I would struggle with the Mystra thing but I have enough past issues of my own to relate + hopefully mutually get over it.

3: Aylin. Again, "strong cool confident person who loves deeply" is just my irl spouse. I thrive under constant touch and reassurance lol and I appreciate loud people. On the flip side I think I would temper some of her brashness. I did rank her below Alfira/Gale because I'd be insecure about the immortality/mortality thing.

4: Karlach...we both feel deeply, but also both optimistic enough to haul each other out of the darker parts. Small issues like I think she's way more extroverted while I'm happiest at home, but we could make it work.

5: Wyll. We'd just be sweet together. I could learn how to dance. I feel like he'd enjoy going to yard sales with me.

6: Lakrissa. I love her but we wouldn't have crazy chemistry, if I'm being honest -- her quiet would set me on edge, my waffling would probably annoy her, etc. I think we'd be better as friends. That said, I think we're both determined enough that we could work together in like, an arranged marriage or fake-dating type situation.

7: Dammon. I haven't really dug into Dammon beyond basic game interactions, but he's sweet and I like his muscles his work ethic

8: Isobel. I ranked her middle because probably no obvious problems? but no deep chemistry here either. I like Isobel a lot. I hated her at first because I thought she looked a little like myself and I'm a betta fish with a mirror, but I'm over that now.

9: Shadowheart. I love her but we'd have terrible communication, we'd both go passive aggressive cattiness instead of bringing up our issues. BUT if we could get over that, I think we'd do well.

10: Minthara. I think we have the same problem of 'dislike' being our initial impulse re: new people (or situations, or things) (#born2hate) but if we were in a forced proximity situation like the bg3 quest, I think we would both get over it. Like Shadowheart, I think we'd either be at each other's throats and end in divorce or learn to work together and be one of those rude judgy couples.

11: Rolan. I waffled on him because on the one hand, I think we'd do very well at pushing each other to greater heights, supporting one another, but I also know we wouldn't totally gel. He's more committed than I am, but I'm more quick to be indignant and would get annoyed at his passivity under Loroakan. We'd be better as workplace frenemies slash cheerleaders.

12: Jaheira... she would not want me and my parent issues... she would probably appreciate my old lady hobbies but also I'd say 'pog' and she'd dump me

13: Mizora. I ranked her lower because it would absolutely end in divorce and possibly death (my death) but yes would 100%. I see a hot evil woman with horns and red hair all my self respect and moral quandaries fly out the window. I would sign that sugar baby contract. good time not a long time and all that.

14: Halsin. we'd be great on some coffee dates, but I'm too monogamous for his free love + not into literal bears.

15: Minsc. I would mumble something half-articulated, then get annoyed when he doesn't read my mind and know what I mean by it. I like Boo though.

16: Lae'zel. Low in this list through no fault of either party, but she would be unimpressed by me and I'd be intimidated & annoyed by her.

17: Raphael. similar to Mizora but lower because I like Mizora more, and I don't like Harleep.

18: Orin. I would try sooo hard. I would take her to Costco, I'd take her to a smash room, I'd introduce her to slam poetry. I'd buy her flowers and bones etc. I would give her so much love and support BUT I pass out at the Red Cross giving blood safely and cleanly with four kind nurses hovering over me and my weird blood. I would NOT survive a Bhaal ritual or even the minorest of knifeplay. She'd eatme alive.

19: Astarion. between first playthrough to now, Astarion and Gale flipped in my rankings. I wish him all the best but not for me.

20: Gortash, no shade to his lovers but I hate this guy.

[dykexenomorph]

Tell me your Jaheira thoughts for that meme. :D

THANK U, i love that old woman!!!!!

FIRST IMPRESSION: ive replayed the game so many times now (or at least replayed acts 1 and 2) that its hard for me to fully remember my first impressions of a lot of the charas?? im PRETTY sure that i discovered jaheria through tiktok edits before id seen her in game (i didnt know much about the og games before playing bg3) and loved her from the start? i remember being super excited to finally find her in game, she became an IMMEDIATE staple for my party LOL

IMPRESSION NOW: i STILL love her, for a very long time she was my favorite companion in bg3 AND in the og games (though now that ive played more of 1 and 2 my favorite is probably dynaheir or neera). her scenes w durge are some of my favorites in the whole game :3

FAVORITE MOMENT: maybe an odd pick, but i really enjoy the scene in bg3 where she fights with you (and the emperor) over whether or not minsc should be saved and welcomed into the party. her extreme loyalty to him is really endearing, and i feel like this scene does a really good job of showing it. (im also really enjoying her dialogue in bg2 so far. seeing how her character changes after khalid's death has been super interesting)

IDEA FOR A STORY: IM SORRY BUT IM THE LAMEST PERSON ON EARTH AND HAVE NONE. i feel im better at coming up w specific things to draw as opposed to stories to tell </3

UNPOP OPINION: [loud enough to render several citys into naught but ash] SHE IS NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! A DEADBEAT MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FAVORITE RELATIONSHIP: mann obviously i have to say her and minsc... (also her and imoen in bg2? i havent gotten to see a TON of their interactions on account of me taking my sweet ass time rescuing imoen from the mages or whatever, but the stuff ive seen so far has been interesting)

FAVORITE HEADCANON: i like to imagine that her and minthara share a weird sort of bond over being two of the oldest camp members. they hold INCREDIBLY different ideals, but i feel like they table that for the time being to hang out and have old women shit-talking sessions whenever everyone settles down at camp

CHARACTER ASK GAME

[nuclear-frog]

Baldur's Gate 3 Playthrough Complete!

After 183 hours! Some final thoughts as well as details about the ending I got and where everyone ended up!

Will I play it again? I do not know. It is SO LONG. It has utterly consumed me for weeks. I need to put it down for a while at least. But I am satisfied with my ending and it's been so much fun!

Spoilers after the cut.

Raphael's battle theme was baller.

I wish I'd bothered to keep Jaheira alive at Moonrise, because being forced to kill Minsc as a result did not feel very nice.

Before fighting the brain, Orpheus declined to hear me out on the whole "if we need an illithid, I know a guy in the city who could be persuaded to help," so he therefore volunteered to become an illithid himself for the drama~. I was able to persuade him not to kill himself for the drama, though, so he is alive and well someplace where he keeps an eye on Lae'zel as she conquers Vlaakith and leads her people to glory.

In the end, we all lived. Except the Emperor, who didn't believe in the crew so hard that he just decided to join the haters.

Gale and I got married because I have a thing for nerds and he is a sweetheart. He goes back to Waterdeep and becomes a professor at his old school.

Wyll and Karlach stayed in Avernus and they do Doomslayer sh*t on the daily. At the timeskip party, it sounds like they fell in love and that is EXACTLY what I want for Karlach! Also they have leads on a fix for her engine! And I can hug her at the timeskip party!! But only once. Also, Wyll's somehow able to visit his dad? And his dad is proud of him.

Astarion has his freedom and is accepting of his inability to walk in the sun, but he's definitely keeping his eyes out for a solution. I was under the impression he'd go join the other spawn in the Underdark, but he did not explicitly say so. He is doing some general heroic adventuring! He seems satisfied. Though he is salty Withers did not provide blood for him to drink at the timeskip party. Fair.

Shadowheart has been chilling in a Selunite temple in Waterdeep this whole time and has presumably seen Gale AND Tara but not ME?? Gale has some explaining to do. Actually, that was only one stop. She's been travelling the world while fighting off the odd Sharran attacker or two. She accepts as many hugs as you want to give her, 10/10.

Halsin is the most precious. He has set up a settlement for refugees in what used to be the Shadowlands. He is much more at peace there and tells stories to the children. I'm glad he's settled and seems to have found his purpose. Also, he whittled me a duck! You can hug him as many times as you want, too (10/10).

The owlbear cub has made several new friends! One of which he ate in revenge. Well. I always have pets to spare for my good boy. I volunteered Shadowheart to take care of him and they were both exstatic with the arrangement. Apparently Shadowheart gave him many pets and treatos on our adventures, which is a cute tidbit to learn. I could also have volunteered Halsin, but I thought Shadowheart would most benefit from another companion.

Scratch is living with a new owner in Baldur's Gate and is still very happy to see you. I always have pets to spare for my good boy.

Volo came uninvited! He wanted to let me know he's been writing tales of our heroic deeds and forging my name on all the associated paperwork. Why did I help him, again?

Withers booked a bard named Milil to play for us during the party. He is apparently Important, but I know nothing about DnD lore, so I am grateful for my successful Religion check. He was upset no one knew who was playing for them. I told him it was an honor to listen to him and that seemed all he needed to cheer up. He and I and Volo all played a song together.

There are a bunch of letters from people you've helped in a box. My top 3 reveal that Alfira opened up a bard school, Arabella is learning magic from Gale (whom she calls Beard Man), and Dammon wants Karlach to call him, lol.

There are newspaper clippings on the wall beside the letter box that, among other things, mourn Minsc and Jaheira's deaths. I'm so sorry.

[rielzero]

I can't find any concrete information on any of the main companions ages, but given that most headcanons put ages pretty close to each other, I might just make my own headcanon on the ages, just so that If age is mentioned in my comic I can be specific. This is me just going off from my own interpretation of interactions and supposed life experience. Please know I am not an expert and my opinion may be flawed, weeeh. I might miss vital information.

Astarion: 200+, immortal. it would be inconsistent to assume he was with Cazador exactly 200 years, it could've been 197 for example, or 202, we simply don't know the exact amount. The dates in the game and grave are unclear, some sources state Astarion is 350, while others say he is 239... I think Astarion would be the kind of guy who avoids giving you his exact age, either due insecurity or simply because he doesn't know anymore. Elves stop aging physically for a while around 20, so he might've been much older than 39 at death.

Gale: 30-35? I'm picking 34. He looks pretty young, 29 wouldn't be too far fetched? greying hair early is genetic. His speech pattern and expressed experience within life makes me think 33 or 34 is a safe bet. Tara and family keep urging him to have kids obsessively, so mid thirties makes sense.

Karlach: 28-32 Suppose 29 fits best. Karlach mentions she was ''a kid'' when she was given to Zariel, so she was either 18-19 when she worked for Gortash, and she focally expresses her pent-up ness with her sexuality in the hells, I think she must've at least have had some relationship experiences in Baldur's gate before Gortash ruined her life. She was enslaved by Zariel for 10 years.

Lae'zel: 24. Stat! Most folks say She's 20-22, but I think 24 would be closer. She's young, but also somewhat more experienced in life. As for social situations and awkwardness, that may be more a cultural difference, in her culture kids get trained from a really young age. They kill each other as a culling too, so not much of a childhood to go on there.

Shadowheart: 48-50 I'm sticking to 48. As a half-elf, her appearance stops aging beyond 20 for a while, she sounds more experienced in life, but often lacks memory to fill in the gaps to why. Which explains some of her behavior and interactions with other characters. She comes off both young / older at times due this. If you look at her mother and father's appearances, I'd say 10 year old Shadowheart was stolen by Shar's cult. So her mother must've been stuck there for about 30+ years. If her mother was 30 when shadowheart was 10, then she would be in her sixties, which matches her appearance. But this is just my guess. Wyll: 24-35 Oh? I think he's 29 tbh. From what I've seen, Wyll had the widest range of age guesses from others. People put him either close to Gale's age, or much closer to Lae'zel's guessed age. I think he's closer to Karlach's age, so I'm sticking with that. Wyll has a lot of life experience- he's been super busy, but he's mostly been on his own since 17. It's not super clear to me for when Wyll went out as blade of frontiers if he had made much friends on the road- I think he just went from place to place or wherever Mizora sent him to, so he didn't stick around anywhere for too long? He's socially confident, but not used to being around a variety of personalities for too long maybe? He tries to see the good in everyone because that's his default. He's a good guy! But he's also nuanced as a monster hunter. (Else Astarion would be dead the second he joins, lol.) Edit: Wyll is confirmed to be 24! He became a warlock at 17, and his origin intro mentions he was exiled 7 years ago, which means he's 24 during the start of the game.

Halsin, Jaheira's Minthara's and Minsc ages are pretty much confirmed, all being older than the main companions. Minsc is a bit of an odd case, given that he gets frozen in stone(?) Every once in a while so he can come back. Jaheira mentions that he does not mentally process that the world around him changes, he thinks people don't change as a result. Minthara's life experience has been influenced by with her culture, but she also mentions she's been around for a WHILE, same as Halsin. Halsin is not super familiar with city life, which surprised me personally. Druid been around for a while but cities ain't for him.

[chronoxtreme]

The Cage: Chapters 2-5 Author's Notes

So, I'll be honest - one of the biggest weaknesses of this fic for me, personally, is that these 3 chapters don't really need to be here, but they do at the same time. They're important to Astarion actually getting to know Nanne, but at the same time they don't really move the story along in terms of the main thesis, i.e. "they met 10 years ago and now they're back together oopsies."

I've also been trying to break the habit of relying on canon dialogue/scenes to convey relationships. It's something that I notice I do a lot in my other fics that aren't AUs, so this fic is trying to get out of that niche.

As well, Nanne giving the tent to Astarion is something I kind of stumbled into and ended up loving. I think it's a nice way to establish Nanne's personality in context. That sort of generosity mixed with envy because you really want it for yourself but you know that it's the right thing to do to give it to this poor nobleman who's clearly never had a day of hardship in his life. The selflessness that isn't quite selfless because it's been engrained into you from a young age and is it really a choice? (Don't worry, we'll get into more of that later)

Some funny headcanons/canon events that I shoved into this fic:

Literally all of Astarion's camp gear is stolen from the crypt/the tiefling refugees/the druids at the grove. I refuse to believe that he obtained all of those trinkets by gainful means when it's repeatedly emphasized that this dude owned literally nothing under Cazador.

Astarion's burial shroud (inspired by the rags you can see in his various camp sites, especially in Last Light Inn). This is something that was almost 100% pulled out of my ass. I don't think the vampiric resting place rule applies to spawn, but I do like the thought of Astarion's sole possession being a reminder of his trauma. We'll do stuff with that later, don't worry.

Astarion thinks Wyll is hot because he's exactly his type of "innocent charming younger man who is selfless and slightly awkward but good at heart." Also Wyll is just hot.

Astarion making fun of Shadowheart's goth name is a thing that happens in game if you happen to recruit Astarion first before her and it's VERY funny

The sheer, utter frustration Astarion has watching everyone in camp target his seduction mark and try and pull the moves on them

I do also believe that Astarion's compatible with every single party member (except for Minsc and Jaheira for obv reasons), so while he does tick them off the list of "seduce for protection" candidates for various reasons, it's mainly because this is a Tav x Astarion story. Likewise, I love all the party members, no matter how much Astarion may shit on them lol

So, let's talk a little about Chapter 5 and what's going on here. A lot of the events are based on my second-first playthrough as Nanne (my first playthrough was on my old PC that died and the saves got corrupted, so I had to start over). Looking back, I do think it's pretty self indulgent to have everyone hit on my OC, but considering it happened in game just by playing a nice character who naturally wanted to get to know everyone and was a compulsive peacemaker, I can't say it's, like, over the top outrageous. (They literally ALL cockblocked Astarion's romance scene except for Wyll. Literally all of them)

If I were to go back and rewrite this section, though, I'd probably stretch out the timeline a lot more, moving Shadowheart's date later back, Gale's magic lessons, etc. One of the issues that I have with writing is the timeline, and nowhere has it been more obvious than with this fic, where I'll describe a week's worth of events happening in literally four days, then skip ahead two months and go "Hey guys, take my word for it that x time has passed." It's something I definitely need to work on lol. At the same time, this is very much a self indulgent fic for funsies.

Now SPOILERS FOR NANNE'S CHARACTER ARC: In case anyone's curious, no, Nanne had no clue that Shadowheart's little date was supposed to be a date. This is a person who has never been approached for anything romantic except from their sketchy employer. Astarion is exasperated that they didn't see the signs, but Nanne has no experience with "hooking up", dating, whatever you wanna call it.

They do feel bad about accidentally leading Shadowheart on, but honestly, they're torn because on the one hand, someone did find them attractive! Wowee! On the other hand, this is moving awfully fast and they're scared about being exposed. They have had it repeatedly bashed into their head that their body is disgusting, unnatural, a deviation that must be fixed, and so relationships are this thing that they can't ever have, but desperately crave. It is a deeply painful position to be in. They do a good job of hiding it and not coming across as clingy, but Nanne is a very lonely person who craves connection and intimacy (physical, sexual, emotional, any of it). At the same time, they can't risk being rejected again.

END SPOILERS

The boar scene is one of my favorite early on scenes because this is the moment when Nanne clocks that Astarion is actually a vampire. A lot of people make fun of the game for waiting like, five in game days before exposing the elephant in the room, but considering that everyone knows vampires can't stand in sunlight, it's reasonable to assume that Astarion's just an incredibly pampered noble who's got delicate skin and maybe some drow ancestry.

But then he starts acting VERY suspicious and guilty and, well, the boar is literally right there.

Nanne's comment of "You're protecting us from the vampire, aren't you?" is meant to be a very subtle way of thanking Astarion from not eating anyone yet, which considering what happens in the next chapter is, uh, lol. Lmao, even.

[limpfisted]

So basically, the parliament of peers always has about 1/4th representatives from the lower city, non patriars! Patriars and nobles also always have to have guards with them (like karlach once was) or they risk violence on their person. Even "good" patriars have to hide their charity efforts, bc otherwise they too end up dead in the lower city, lol. So those could both be reasons there are non-nobles there, as wyrms rock is located in the lower city (tbh I think if the upper city was included in this game, gortash's coronation would have taken place in high hall---which is where the courts are as well as all the dukes offices, as well as, interesting enough, a museum of old baldurian history.... and a mausoleum of old dukes.)

It interests me that ulder is no longer in charge of the flaming fists. While the potyr u mentioned is mentioned in descent into avernus by name (they even get a stat block! They're lawful evil lol) and they want to take over the flaming fist in ulder's absence---ulder is still in charge of the flaming fist in descent to avernus, and even the guide to the sword coast, i believe, says he refused to give up command of the flaming fist, "making him the most powerful man in baldurs gate"

Also interesting in that someone connected to the flaming fist is always a Duke! But ulder is the first to both Marshall of the flaming fist AND grand duke

But because ulder has been missing for MONTHS at this point, possibly over a year, and gortash is the one who "finds" him and gortash is the one who "saves" him from the absolute, it makes sense that gortash or duke portyr or parliament would have given the position to portyr's niece

The upper city is controlled by the watch, btw, and the watch ONLY looks out for the nobles and patriars in the upper city. They're utter lapdogs---they "pride" themselves in knowing every upper city resident by name and face and even the way they walk and talk to stop from shapeshifters. I imagine, if they still exist, orin would have been a big thorn in their side. Of course, the steel watch may have replaced them entirely.

The watch also enforces a curfew, and embarrasses and sometimes brutalized ppl who don't get out of the Upper City by the time, which is especially cruel considering that the wide, where pretty much all the merchants have to go unless theyrr rich enough to open a shop. The wide is a huge market (and there's a statue of minsc and boo there sobs I want to take minsc and boo and wyll there so bad)

A fun fact: while the dukes are called dukes/grand dukes, it's actually based on tradition. Originally it was a pirate town, the four "dukes" were "captains" of ships. So I fully believe there would be other dukes and such that were like. Actual dukes in a medieval sense, as the council of four is more like pirate kings in a sense

Interesting things about parliament also: most laws and such are still decided by the dukes, the dukes also run the courts. Parliament however, regularly makes meetings and gives advice to the dukes. I believe they also may be the ones that elect dukes, and parliaments representatives i believe are also elected, but I forget i have to reread this part dont hold me to this lol

Another interesting thing: there aren't really judges, either the flaming fist/watch delivers immediate justice, or a duke or patriar proxy who is appointed by a duke judges

All of the patriars are p much corrupt and in the guilds pocket. Many of the flaming fist are also bought and sold by the guild, and sometimes even change sides spur of the moment. They're also described as "useless thugs" without ulder, descent to avernus's words, not mine

In general, ulder is very pro-lower city, which obvs doesn't have the same rights as the upper city, nor the funds, and the lower city is very pro ulder, and pro flaming fist, as long as they're wealthy enough to not be criminals themselves (tho everyone tends to have a connection to criminals or use criminals in some way. The city is built on crime to its very beginnings. Baldursn being a mindflayer that eats criminals is honestly par for the course).

But the outer city? They're on their own and they're incredibly looked down on, even by those in the lower city

While baldurs gate has people from all over the world, refugees aren't always welcome (unlike what wyll says lol). A lot of refugees settle in the outer city, and aren't considered proper baldurians, and also aren't protected by the flaming fist, and thus the conversation with that baldurian dude in the refugees encampment who is bitching about them.

Sources are: murder in baldurs gate, and descent to avernus. You should check them out op! U don't have to read the whole adventures, but descent to acernus has a whole chapter in the back just about baldurs gate, not related to avernus at all. they're actually really interesting! And it mentions some of the actual places u can go in game, though not the coolest places unfortunately LOL

Nobility in Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate has dug itself deep in my brain, so I apologize to my poor mutuals who didn't follow me for BG3 content getting this onslaught of posts. Please bear with me until my hyperfixation wears off. 🙏

Now, I'll admit up front that I'm no expert in DnD lore*, so if I get things wrong, please feel free to correct me or just add in stuff I may have missed. I'm going off of what I've found in-game and my Google Fu skills.

That said, I do know enough about DnD to remember that Baldur's Gate nobility are called patriars, and that there are only a relative handful of actual patriar families. I was thinking about my "canon" Tav, Velassa, and her background in BG3. She's a modified OC that I plunked in-game during Early Access, so I made her a noble. It was just part of her existing character that I didn't think too deeply about. It was only after I starting playing that it occurred to me to wonder what exactly "a noble" is to a native Baldurian.

That got me digging a little more into the current state of the Baldurian nobility as of BG3. I don't know who--if anyone--needs or wants this, but I put this together for myself and decided to share it for anyone else who might be interested. I realize that this is probably pretty niche and it's rambly and long af, so I'll put it under a cut.

So, for starters, here's a list of all the patriar families, including "fallen" houses that are barely hanging on: Belt, Bormul, Caldwell, Dlusker, Durinbold, Eltan, Eomane, Exeltis, Gist, Guthmere, Hhune, Hlath, Hullhollyn, Irlentree, Jannath, Jhasso, Linnacker, Miyar, Nurthammas, Oathoon, Oberon, Portyr, Provoss, Ravenshade, Rillyn, Sashenstar, Shattershield, Silvershield, Tillerturn, Vammas, Vannath, Vanthampur, and Whitburn

From what I've gathered, Exeltis, Provoss and Ravenshade are all more-or-less destitute. Also, the Szarr family (Cazador's family) were patriars, but were believed to be entirely wiped out. No living descendants makes them a dead house, rather literally. 😏 (No, I'm not sorry.)

Now, we learn that Wyll's father is Ulder Ravengard, the Grand Duke. This brings us to the first point: There are four Dukes, known as the Council of Four, and the Grand Duke's job is to be the tie-breaker.

Traditionally, one of the Dukes is also the highest ranked officer of the Flaming Fist--that's Ravengard, who was a Fist promoted up through the ranks. Wyll tells us that his father was born lower class, and quite a few of the patriars seem to scorn him for that. The other Dukes are Belynne Stelmane, Dillard Portyr (more on him later) and Thalamra Vanthampur (more on her later, too). Of the four, two are patriars: Portyr and Vanthampur. We don't know much about Stelmane's past, except that she was a brilliant businesswoman, politician and--as we find out later--member of the Knights of the Shield. Apparently, you can't buy your way into the patriars, but maybe you can buy your way into being a Duke.

Skipping ahead a bit, when the player shows up to Gortash's coronation, there are a group of mostly patriars sitting in the boxes leading up to the front of the room. I'm listing them by seating arrangement, with box 1 and 2 being the left and right closest to Gortash, and 3 and 4 being farthest. (I don't know what, if anything, the seating arrangements imply. The second box has eight people, compared to four for all the rest.)

Lady Ailis Belt, Baron Callem Bormul, Lord Rugger Shattershield**, and Lady Alia Durinbold**

Lady Ruth Linnacker, Lord Sarken Eomane, Lady Freida Oberon, Lord Raylen Jannath, Lord Myer Ravenshade**, Lady Madeline Whitburn, Lady Beatrice Provoss, and Duke Dillard Portyr

Lady Winstra Hullhollyn, Admiral Peil Hullhollyn, Lord Randolph Vammas, and Lady Eshvelt Guthmere

Lord Milon Tillerturn, Lady Silifrey Sashenstar, Lord Petric Amber**, and Lady Haeril Birch**

Here's some pictures of the nobles sitting together. (Sorry for the terrible quality! I slapped it together for my own reference. 🙈)

The characters marked by ** aren't human, which is interesting because the information I found said all the patriar familes are human except the Shattershields. Myer Ravenshade is listed as human if you examine him, but he has a dwarf model. That might be a mistake, but I'm including him anyway. Alia Durinbold, from a presumably human patriar family, is a wood elf. Again, this could be a mistake, but unless Larian winds up changing it, it could mean that interracial marriages that once may have been looked down on are now becoming more acceptable. Petric Amber is also a wood elf, and Haeril Birch is a high elf.

Those last two are interesting because they are the only ones in the boxes who aren't patriars. If not for them, I'd have assumed the coronation was simply a demonstration for the patriars. Their inclusion means this is something else.

Digging around, my conclusion is that all the listed people are members of the Parliament of Peers--a 50 person advisory party to the Council of Four. However, what I found says that it's pretty rare for all 50 to attend meetings, and the usual group is between 20-30. There are exactly 20 named individuals listed, plus a group of unnamed "patriars" standing at the front.

Here they are, for what it's worth:

One thing I noticed here is that most of those listed here are Lord/Lady, but there are three other titles: Duke, Baron and Admiral. I've already talked about the Dukes. Looking into the patriars, the Hullhollyn family are notable for having a fleet of ships, so it makes sense that one of them would be an Admiral. That leaves the Baron.

I couldn't find anything about what it means to be a baron in Baldur's Gate. Going on real-world peerages, a baron/ess is generally the lowest "rank" of nobility. Basically, it's someone who was an official landowner (usually of an "important" bit of land) under the feudal system. Well and good, I suppose, but presumably all the Lords and Ladies of the patriars own land within the city. This particular Baron is also a patriar, but given that one doesn't need to be a patriar to become a Duke (normally a higher peer than a baron), that may not mean anything. We don't see any other titles between Duke and Baron, so what does that mean?

This isn't canon, but my assumption is that it means the Baron owns important land outside of the city. This would make sense for Baron Bormul, given that the Bormul family apparently have investments in silver mines and vineyards. Assuming they own the mines/vineyards, that may make those lands "important" enough to the city for their owner to earn a title. Alternately, the Bormul family also has counterparts in Amn, so maybe baron is an Amnian title that got passed along. That's getting a bit far afield for me, though. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, among the group at the coronation, pretty much everyone supports Gortash becoming Archduke, with the exception of Lady Sashenstar (an old woman who really isn't too impressed with this commoner) and Duke Portyr, who expresses some hesitation at the whole thing.

Duke Portyr is interesting here. Except for Ravengard (who is thralled and conducting the ceremony), Portyr is the only Duke present. Now, Stelmane is already dead, so that explains her absence. Vanthampur is also missing, which is interesting. Portyr first, though: he was Grand Duke before Ravengard. He's the one who re-instituted the Parliament of Peers to make the day-to-day decisions of running the city, and ceded the title of Grand Duke to Ravengard. He's described as being conflict-averse, so it makes sense that he'd go along with Gortash's coronation, even though he's clearly unhappy about it. Also, the current leader of the Fists is also a Portyr, likely still Liara Portyr, the Duke's niece and Ravengard's second-in-command.

Thalamra Vanthampur is an interesting character, too. She's the head of the Vanthampur family, and part of the Descent into Avernus story. Apparently, she's the one who got Ravengard to go to Elturel before it sank to the Hells, intending to take his place as Grand Duke. From what I read, she also conspired with the Dead Three's cults to murder people in a bid to discredit the Flaming Fist. (The murdery bits were undoubtedly left to Bhaal's cult.) We never do find out anything about Thalamra Vanthampur in this game (I assume that's probably cut content). The only Vanthampur we do meet is Carnelia Vanthampur, who is in the Guildhall and describes herself as "a peer of the Parliament". She's willing to work with either the Guild or the Zhentarim. Nervously of course. Also interesting is that, on the Bloodstained Parchment hit list, is a Varri Vanthampur, whose gravestone you can find in Candulhallow's Tombstones shop, reading: "Varri Vanthampur. Unwanted in life, welcomed in death."

Interesting, hm?

Also on that hit list is Fridrik Hhune. The Hhunes apparently have links to the Knights of the Shield, from what I looked up--the same group the Emperor led with Stelmane. The only Hhunes we meet in-game are Blaise and Gheris Hhune, two of the werewolves in Cazador's ballroom who are brothers according to the dev notes. With them is another werewolf of a different patriar family, Duver Rillyn. This suggests Cazador has been going after members of patriar families, which sort of fits with what we know about his plans. We really don't find anything else out about them except that they consider Cazador to be their master and Astarion says they're new.

We also can talk to a Flaming Fist who mentions that Hurlbut Hhune is the father of Henrietta Hhune, who used to be secretly engaged to the Fist in question, only for her father to decide to arrange her to marry fellow patriar Derque Rillyn, who the Fist describes as "a major arsehole."

That conversation is interesting for a few reasons. For one, it tells you that arranged marriages within the patriar are a thing. Also, this Fist is a Manip (essentially a Sergeant) who can't ask the other Fists for help because "the Fists don't mess with wealthy patriars, they've got the Watch to back them up." That's aligned with what Devella can also tell you: "There are patriars on the murder target list. I'm oathbound to secure them first, so I'll be heading to the Upper City next." If you say that the Fist should protect everyone: "Not from around here, are you? We're in Baldur's Gate - this is just how things work."

This brings me back to my original issue: what is a Baldurian noble? The patriars are canonically nobles, of course, and they're undoubtedly seen as the "most important" of the nobility. From there, it's not much of a stretch to say that anyone who has earned the title of Duke is now a noble, even if they aren't patriars. I'd go so far as to say anyone on the Parliament of Peers (and their family by association) is a noble, given that non-patriars Petric Amber and Haeril Birch are considered Lord and Lady. The information I found about that is that there ae approximately twelve non-patriar members. If Amber and Birch are two of them, that leaves another unnamed 10.

Personally, I'd also assume that branch families of the patriars probably also count as nobility. By branch family, I mean those that marry out of the main line but whose ancestry stems from a patriar family. From what I've seen by naming conventions, Baldur's Gate uses patronmyic lineage--ancestry is passed to the sons, and wives take their husband's surname. So, if a daughter marries out of the family, she'd no longer be a part of her father's family lineage, but still be considered nobility. These families are likely independently wealthy, which would make them a good political/financial choice of alliance. These families are also probably the ones most likely to find a place on the Parliament, too, but likely have to jockey for position when their "representative" dies and a new opening in the Parliament is created.

Anyway, this may all be way off base. This is just me trying to make sense of something that I feel wasn't really very clear. Lore nerds, feel free to tell me where I've screwed it up and I'll fix it.

If you've read this far, as a treat you can have some crappy close-up portraits of the nobles at Gortash's coronation, grouped together in their respective boxes. 😚

* For what it's worth, I'd count myself as a casual DnD player. I have some knowledge of DnD--I've played BG1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, along with some general cultural osmosis. I've had friends who played the tabletop version, but for one reason or another, I've never played it myself.