#how funny would it be if mizora is just there and i can kill her even though wyll fucked off long ago

[droil]

chomping gnawing at the bit to finish act 2 so i can finally have more minthara scenes. im dying out here. withers has been calling me pussy no bitches for a second playthrough in a row. she's neutral towards me bc she doesnt have romance scenes in act 2 i swear. bro we totally hooked up at the act 1 party. she just needs some time to think after being in a cult. withers take it back im gonna cry

[sixtysixproblems]

welcome to my half-assed the chosen three are "good" au.

this is a lie of course, because only Ketheric is lawful good; Orin is chaotic neutral, and Gortash lawful neutral maybe lmao.

id say this is a fix it au but. no. not really. things are just marginally better for these 3 characters, and they do (less) warcrimes. but the Absolute is still a problem!

the new chosen three are Durge for Bhaal, Raphael for Bane, and uh. Isobel for Myrkul (I'll get to that).

basically, in tldr summary: adoption is a lovely thing and I blame Shar for everything. read more under the cut because this post is long.

Long version: Shar is responsible more actively for the shadow curse-- Ketheric stayed a paladin of Selune because Isobel doesn't die, but Justiciars still march on Reithwin and he is killed + Aylin imprisoned by Shar. I imagine Isobel only became a "follower" of Shar to try and make a deal to get Aylin back, but that failed, so she turned to Myrkul. Ketheric is revived by her/Myrkul, but earlier than Isobel was bc reasons.

anyways. he'd be around in act two, filling a similar but probably more active role to Isobel in the og plot. and him and Aylin save Isobel from Myrkul/convince her to stop because I'd be too sad otherwise

Now for Orin...Uh. Much more vague. Basically: Ketheric is a girl dad?

I've been toying with several ideas, but the one I think right now is Bhaal/Saverok was disappointed in Orin and abandoned her in the shadowlands instead of straight up killing her for some reason? Maybe they wanted to see what a shadow cursed bhaalspawn would be like, maybe it was a "she'll either toughen up or die so win win", idk. Anyways she's probably like. a toddler. three at max. because Bhaal is awfully. And freshly revived and confused as fuck Ketheric has a new daughter now. yay!

I think she'd be yoinked by the nauteloid, and sort of fill a joint tav/durge role.

anyways, onto the fucking slimy raccoon! it's his time to be yoinked by a stoic old man royalty-ish-guy! enter duke ravenguard from stage left!

I don't know the specifics, but Lawful Good TM Ravenguard trying to hold meetings-- that his feral tween foster child he stole from a devil keeps interrupting-- sounds really, really funny to me.

on a sadder note, Wyll's whole...situation. I imagine this would drive a very, very big wedge between Enver and the Duke because Enver would be inclined to believe Wyll because of his own history with Raphael. Also, I was stuck on what to do about Karlach if Enver wasn't evil-- maybe she still gets hired by Enver as a bodyguard, but Enver has her stay with Wyll while him and Ravenguard go to Elturel...So it's just her and Wyll vs the Cultists...And at some point in the fight she's somehow yeeted to Avernus...

and like! imagine how angsty it would be if Mizora sent Wyll after Karlach without telling him who she was! and the first time these besties see each other in 7 years is when one is sent to kill the other! fun times fun times.

anyways. as for what Gortash is up to. quite frankly I have no fucking idea. an idea i've been toying with is he's undercover in the absolute either on Ravenguard's behalf and/or for self preservation? and/or mindcontrolled by it to make the steel guard? or something like that? him & durge can have a "I cant fix this man, but I can fuck him. maybe that'll calm him down" dynamic lmfaoooo. he's probably still the most morally questionable.

Regardless of the specifics of what he's up to, he might have cameos or be communicating with Wyll somehow pre act three, but I think he only has a proper role then. And double regardless, with Raphael as the Bane chosen...I doubt he's having the time of his life. But he's a conniving little bastard. i'm sure he'll be fine.

anyways. meme time.

~-~-~-~-~

Halsin/Jaheira: what the fuck you're alive??

Ketheric: ...Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. Anyways my daughter's kind of evil now, and not the Bhaalspawn one--

Jaheira: We left you alone for one century. One...AND YOU HAVE A BHAALSPAWN--

Halsin: I-- You're Orin's Dad????

~-~-~-~-~

Orin: wow Wyll your foster brother is really fucking annoying and also possibly evil. and also maybe fucking my evil brother. can we kill him pretty please

Wyll: can't say I haven't had thoughts myself over the time i've known him...repeatedly... but no

Orin: :(

Karlach: If it makes you feel better Orin, you may get to knock him out

Orin: :)

~-~-~-~

Wyll: Have care how y ou speak-- Gortash may be in league with the absolute, but we don't know his reasons yet-- and he's still a Ravenguard. And my brother.

Orin: He killed 80 people in two days with his evil roombas.

Wyll: ...

Wyll: he's adopted??

~-~-~-~-~

Alternatively:

Orin: Have care how you speak-- Isobel/Durge may be a follower of Myrkul/Bhaal, but she's still of House Thorm. And my sister/brother.

Jaheira: She/he killed 80 people in two days.

Orin: ....I'm adopted.

[lesbianwyllravengard]

I KNOW you wanna talk about Wyll. Or if someone else gives you Wyll do Karlach

No one's asked me at all so I'll do both DHHDSFFH <333 (ask game here)

How I feel about this character

Wyll and Karlach are both my faves I would give my heart and soul for them I need them both desperately I want to eat them whole eat them out etc etc I'm absolutely obsessed with them

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Wyll - Astarion

Karlach - Minthara

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Funny because my nonromantic OTP for Wyll and Karlach is each other. They are best friends they are platonic soulmates there isn't a universe in which they wouldn't find and befriend each other. Their bond is unbreakable they will love each other until the end of time and even beyond

My unpopular opinion about this character

Uhhhh I don't think I have one? My opinion on both of them is that they are perfect and can do no wrong and they are the best characters and also the hottest. If any of that's unpopular then people have bad taste

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Wyll - spoilers obviously but I'm forever killing Larian for not tying him to Ansur in any way despite it being his literal end quest. I wanted to see Wyll with a new "The Great Old One" warlock pact where the spirit of Ansur is his new patron. Or perhaps draconic sorcerer Wyll where Ansur's spirit inhabits Wyll's magic. I wanted to see dragon rider Wyll (in any sense of the word...) and at the very fucking least I wanted to see Wyll's quest actually be his own quest instead of being derailed and taken over by a certain shitty character and his centuries long dragon-divorce. They had every chance to drive home how he parallels Balduran but ultimately is what Balduran could never be. He's the heart of the fucking gate for Christ's sake. Also he should get to kill Mizora it's not fair that you can kill Cazador but not Mizora

Karlach - um I'm forever mad about how they treated her entire storyline actually. Why tf would you use a D&D setting and then deny the players any D&D mechanics that would actually save her??? They just ignore massive aspects of D&D so they can have a convenient sad narrative for her and it drives me crazy. Also, they act like her soul is bound to Zariel yet she thinks death would let her escape Zariel, so which is it. Tbh I just want to see her be able to actually be saved within the canon game, not just a sprinkle of "oh maybe we can fix her engine later". Like this is her entire questline and it's. Never resolved. She also deserves to have more lines/scenes reacting to gortash, especially when you play as the dark urge, because she's just sidelined for whatever the hell they have going on. Like I should be rolling strength or dex checks to hold her back from killing him immediately.

[limpfisted]

That being said, there are some things you DONT joke about with wyll

He can dish it out, but there are some things he can't take, which fits his condescending and hypocritical nature

U can call him ugly and a hypocrite and a liar, and he'll mostly be like "perhaps so" bc of his guilt

But if u imply he loves his Father too much---he outright disapproves, even tho he ends up laughing it off. Keep in mind he doesn't disapprove when u call him a MONSTER, when his appearance bothers him so much he can xanonixally tell u he feels like ripping out his own horns (in a similar way to how after he kills karlach he talks about how he ripped out the horns of other devils)

And he outright hates it when astarion mentions bringing mizora to his wedding

MY HC, no proof of this in game that I can see, If you imply in any way shape or form that he LIKES mizora, that he WANTS to be under her contract (even tho he himself would choose to be under his contract again) he will balk and not think that shit is funny AT ALL

So wyll can, completely unprompted, mention astarions rat diet

He can tell karlach "at least i wasn't kidnapped by a devil" even tho 1. He kinda was and 2. He's only saying this bc a child thinks she's cooler than him and she teases him lightly about it

But if u mention mizora he's like Hold On, Now. That's not funny bruv

Which is interesting and adds so much nuance to the charactet

Tbh I think u can find out a lot about the characters just by the dialogue options u are given to tell them

Like it MEANS something that u can be mean to wyll and call him a hypocrite and a liar

Bc he is q hypocrite who tells u to NEVER TWKE A DEAL FROM A DEVIL right before u go fight an innocent person for him... for a devil

And he lies and hides things from u. He has been lying and hiding things for years from all the people he says

Hes not a sham, and hes not evil, and he is a good and decent person

But in no way is he "perfect."

In his selflessness, and his self-saxrifice, he is still doomed to be human with literal human obligations to his devils and demons

He also is. Constantly living with the fact that he has gone to afernus and SEEN what will become of him when he dies. He will become a writhing slimy flesh lump for all eternity fighting demons and being tortured. And he doesn't want to die, more than any other character save astarion, he is self sacrificial, but he wants to LIVE and live on his own terms

This is becoming a tangent but like there's an mcr lyric i really like for him which is

"Well, you can hide a lot about yourself

but, honey, what are you gonna do?

And you can sleep in a coffin, but the past ain't through with you

'Cause we are all a bunch of liars, tell me, baby, who do you wanna be?

And we are all about to sell it, 'cause it's tragic with a capital T"

And I find that interesting! I find that neat! Holds wyll in my hands. I just think he's neat

[riddlerosehearts]

some more, slightly longwinded thoughts on various things i've done in act 1 of bg3 with my half-elf bard tav, elenion:

i ran into raphael and basically told him to fuck off because why would we ever accept "help" from a devil after seeing what just happened with wyll and mizora??

i also investigated the beach and found the harpies. i wonder if it was actually them that the squirrels were complaining about earlier and not alfira's beautiful song.

gale is hilarious but i'm now imagining elenion, who has already chosen to project an image of them on a romantic walk with gale into his head, rolling their eyes and thinking "so that's what i might be getting myself into if we survive all this."

i think i need to try and get into the habit of talking to everyone at camp after anything big happens even if they don't have a ! over their heads. i went to camp and accidentally clicked on astarion, and he had quite a bit to say about raphael and then so did everyone else!

lae'zel is so funny sometimes actually. i kind of love her.

also, the investigate the beach quest seems to have bugged out for me--it didn't complete after getting the letter from the kid we saved, which i assume was the end of the quest, but the objective was still to find mol who had no new dialogue. and then after i beat the goblin leaders the quest suddenly completed and changed to say "the situation has changed in the grove. mol is busy dealing with other matters." that's kind of annoying, but i'm guessing/hoping it won't really cause any issues??

anyway. i investigated kagha, and when i confronted her i got an option to recite the history told on the plaques in the grove as a way of convincing her to turn against the shadow druids. i knew my dedication to reading every bit of flavor text that i can find would come in handy somewhere! also, the game says that you just speak the text that was etched into the plaques, but since elenion is a bard i'm choosing to pretend that he turned it into a song.

after that i set out toward the goblin camp to save halsin and defeat the leaders. on the way there i got a dream sequence with the guardian i made in character creation, going "i've been protecting you from everything and btw you should totally embrace the ilithid powers". i had no idea what the guardian was going to be used for so i just made her look basically like how i thought elenion's mother would look, except i gave her the wrong eye color by mistake. i imagine that would feel very strange and would make it obvious that someone is trying to magically use his mother's face to manipulate him but has gotten a significant detail wrong.

everyone else at camp had the same dream and all had something to say about it! elenion basically told everyone he isn't sure he trusts this mysterious dream visitor, because really, i just do not see why he should from a roleplay perspective. he also is not opening his mind to the tadpole specimens, at least not for now. we'll see if anything that happens later in the story changes that.

minthara wiped my party once when i tried fighting her normally, so the second time around i killed her by luring her onto a bridge and then destroying it out from under her. i didn't get her loot that way, but it was hilarious. will probably try to beat her legitimately on a second playthrough.

i forgot to say earlier, i love how investigating the shadow druids gives you the ability to make kagha see the error of her ways and redeem her. i am still kind of mad that she tried to imprison a child, but i think she's actually a very interesting character.

kind of hilarious to me how lae'zel was very clearly expressing... interest in my tav at the party and was all "well, it's your loss, then" when they turned her down whereas astarion, completely unprompted, was like "gods i wish i was having sex with someone right now. but not you obviously, that would be awful". 😭 well you know what, elenion is gorgeous and smart and a musician (an inherently sexy thing to be) so maybe that's your loss!

i think i also could've ended up getting a romantic scene with shadowheart (she wanted to share a bottle of wine after everyone else went to sleep), but i chose not to do anything with her. although now i'm curious if i could've done it and just, like, made it platonic somehow? or if sharing a bottle of wine with her would've automatically been romantic.

i've heard that if you trigger the weave scene with gale at the party then the other companions will have dialogue where they react to the budding romance. which sounds hilarious but i got his approval up very quickly just by having my character be nice to people, and got the weave scene earlier, so i didn't get that dialogue. oh well! i still got a very sweet conversation with him. all of this talk about tara makes me wish she could come on the journey with us :(

i'm so glad we get to see alfira again at the party. i wish she could be a companion tbh, it'd be nice to still have a bard around if you don't play as one.

and speaking of alfira, once again i'm obsessed with the dialogue options in this game:

i picked the mixed heritage option because although elenion hates to boast or reveal too much about himself, i think he is very proud of his family. but i love that you have the option to be like "if you're going to write a song about me then it obviously has to be about how hot i am" or "if you dare write a song about me i will actually kill you".

anyway uhhh. what else. i'm sure that i've missed plenty of things i could've done so far, for example i ended up finding a dead tiefling beside a telescope on a hill and i bet if i'd gone up there sooner i could've saved her. i bet i also could've gotten higher approval with at least karlach or lae'zel and seen what might've changed about their dialogue at the party if i'd progressed more in their quests first. i think i may have also missed the chance to adopt a baby owlbear. and i'll probably end up missing even more things! but that's fine because i already know i'm going to be doing multiple playthroughs of this game.

i think now before i do anything else i am going to work on karlach's personal quest, because i still haven't taken down those paladins and i need to get some answers out of her.

[old-stoneface]

its crazy how much bg3 does NOT incentivize you to like characters like mizora or mystra. is there a way that we're supposed to have sympathy for them ? or is this another non-choice induced by the very forced black and white morality of the game? like yeah im barely interacting w either of them so far, ive talked to mizora twice now, i think, but jesus. like especially mystra. my god i want her dead for what she has done. they proved they can write complex characters w the companions and other camp inhabitants but im just confused by what kind of person would choose to be associated with someone like mystra unless they were being purposefully obtuse and seeking the "evil" route or even just choosing to let gale sacrifice himself for her. like!!! the writing in reference to the specific morality of the different routes you can take in this game is so poorly done!!!! its so comical! clearly not considering how obvious and uncomplicated it is. and it annoys the shit outta me. but such is the nature of crpgs. im just harping on now and saying things that everyone else who thinks critically abt these games has already said but im just frustrated. i dont want anything to do w mizora or mystra. Fuck em. theyre not even mean in a funny way like minthara or astarion or like...gortash. idk. its just shitty writing and i dont like their character designs. but what i will give to them is the fact that morally, the dark urge character is really funny, and i like that you can redeem them. the way they approached that and made it so you HAVE to kill people bc of your association w the god of murder or something is pretty awesome

[quinn-of-aebradore]

Quinn. I’m sorry. Do all the multiples of 3

Finally sitting down to do this, Ash you fucking menace XD

3. Has your character been using their illithid powers?

Rowen has been delving into it a bit! She started out fairly wary of it, but still intrigued (she's a wizard, what more did you expect? XD) but after finally having her first Guardian dream (2/3 goblin leaders killed), she gave in a bit and ate Razlin's tadpole. She's continued to explore it a bit, both out of wizardly curiosity and hubris and a somewhat-conscious desire for power out of fear of continuing to be powerless.

6. Were you able to save everyone when the goblins stormed the gates at the Grove?

I don't think so? As I recall, one of the adventurers and one of the tieflings died.

9. Do you have a favorite member of the Tiefling Refugees? Is it the same as your Character's?

Oh god it's so hard to pick. I love Alfira, and Mol, and Mattis, and Arabella. Rowen is so fond of all of them too. The kids remind her so much of different aspects of herself. She is very protective of Mol and has definitely spent time giving Mattis thieving pointers and Arabella magic lessons. And Alfira is just... if Rowen had to pick a best friend outside the party, it would probably be her. Wish she was a companion.

12. Do you have a favorite member of the Zhentarim? Is it the same as your Character's?

I feel like I missed some interactions with the Zhentarim, I didn't even realize there were significant members of it. Though I am just realizing now that I forgot to go up the elevator in their Underdark storehouse, so that's probably why. Whoops.

15. How did the situation with the Grove, the Tieflings and the Goblins turn out for your Character?

It turned out well! Sided with the Grove and tieflings, of course. With the tieflings present, there was no way for Rowen to be swayed to the side of the goblins, she is fiercely loyal to her people. Had it not been for everything else going on, she probably would've tried to kill Kagha for attempting to imprison Arabella.

18. How did your Character deal with Wyll, Karlach and Mizora?

Recruited Karlach while Wyll was at camp, very frantically tried to diffuse the situation at camp that night. If I recall correctly, I failed the first persuasion check to get Wyll to back down and was very scared about fucking things up. Rowen (and I) were very relieved when Wyll saw the light about Karlach and was pissed at Mizora for it. And then he got tief'ed the next night, which freaked Rowen out pretty badly and made her hatred of devils run even deeper.

21. What are your Character's thoughts on the strange artifact that was in Shadowheart's possession? Did it jump to your pack because you changed her out of your party?

Yes it did! XD I wish there was a cutscene for that, it's very funny XD Rowen was 👀 at the artifact from moment one and that only increased when Shadowheart got cagey about questions regarding it (wizard strikes again). She wants to study it so bad but alas, circumstances are not conducive to that XD

24. Was your illithid tadpole empowered by anything in Act 1? If so, how does your Character feel about that?

I am not sure what this one means so I can going to assume that no, it was not. Unless it means eating more tadpoles, which was answered at the very top XD

27. Who ended up in your Character's most used party?

I didn't get the expanded party mod until Act 2, so disregarding that... I'm going to say Karlach and Astarion for sure. I cannot think of a third, I feel like I rotated everyone else pretty evenly, minus Gale? And Gale was only excluded because two wizards is Dangerous.

30. Do you have other pets as a ranger or in headcanon?

Alas the party pets are limited to Scratch (failed the owlbear medicine check and couldn't reload to retry 🥲). If we look outside Act 1 for a moment though, Rowen probably brings a stray cat or two back to to camp eventually.

33. Has your Character allied with the cult of the Absolute?

Nope! Were Rowen's introduction to them something other than them leading the attack on the Grove, she might've been more persuadable in that direction, but that first impression did them no favors.

36. Did your Character find the Adamantine Forge? Did they use it? What did they make?

Yes! Defeated Grym using the forge hammer (though that was still a fucking process) and made some split armor for Lae'zel which I have only just swapped out for something else in Act 3.

39. What does your Character think of Raphael?

Hates him. Hates him so much, doesn't trust him for anything. Rowen loathes devils for backstory reasons and Raph swooping in to try and get her into a contract as her life got Messy only made her feel validated in that hatred. Encountering him again in Act 2 only made it worse and some choices in Act 3 were very easy for her.

42. Has your Character been to the Underdark from before the events of the adventure?

No, she has not. Rowen's seen a lot, but most of it has been contained to the walls of Baldur's Gate. Scrappy, Guild-raised tiefling kids don't get to see the world, let alone the Underdark.

Alright, there's your 14 questions, Ash XD thank you for sending them, friend <3

BG3 Act 1 Questions

[knightofnightmoo]

1. Monarch is a tiefling bard and they use they/them pronouns. I do not know where they are from but they have traveled a great amount in their lifetime

2. They are a light purple colored tiefling and have very fluffy and curly green hair. They have rather basic horns. Freckles cover their body. I didn't know how to give them piercings at the time so they don't have any, and that is unfortunate. I gave them a white tattoo around the eye because I wanted it to look like they had been involved with magic in a very unfortunate situation. The hag taking and messing with their eye made it more plausible.

3. Only every so often. I fear it may lead to an ending that I won't like.

4. I recruited Shadowheart first. I then recruited Astarion and Wyll. Karlach was recruited after doing Wyll's quest to find her. I had found Gale previously but didn't recruit him until I was about to go to the Underdark. I never recruited Lae'zel because I didn't know where she was.

5. I can not remember, but I believe Monarch had to kill some to survive before the adventure, so it wasn't too startling.

6. No. I was still learning how the combat worked.

7. Yes.

8. No

9. I only spoke to the children and Zevlor. The children are quite mean and sassy, but they seem reasonable at times.

10. No, I killed most of them.

11. No

12. No

13. I enjoyed the spore people and the gnomes. They were rather sweet and interesting.

14. No

15. The Grove seemed fine. I helped the tieflings leave, and I killed all the Goblins.

16. I tried to save him but he had already left the Goblin camp when I arrived.

17. My character finds Withers to be amusing and to be decent company.

18. So far, Wyll is a devil, and I am helping fix Karlach's heart. I made a loophole deal with Mizora to try and help Wyll be free of his contract.

19. They spent the night with Astarion and they have recently started dating.

20. Did not find him in Act 1. Hopefully I will see him in Act 3.

21. I have let Shadowheart keep the artifact. Its her's and I enjoy her company and trust her to keep it.

22. I accidentally got him killed and I was very sad about it.

23. They don't trust them, but feel obligated to help.

24. I don't know.

25. No.

26. Found Nere funny.

27. Shadowheart and Astarion never leave my party. The others take turns for the one free spot. So far Gale and Karlach get too come along more than Wyll does.

28. Yes

29. Yes and I just call the child Owlbear.

30. No

31. I have not thought about this. I would think Monarch has a fear of being rejected and alone, and that is why they are so accepting of all their companions.

32. I actually wanted Volo to try and help cure Monarch, but I accidentally rejected him and didn't know how to fix it.

33. No. They have been nothing but mean towards people I cared about.

34. Murder. Murder of all that were not gnomes.

35. Not being able to save Lae'zel and not being able to save the brothers of the girl the Hag took.

36. No

37. No

38. No

39. They do not like him at all. Both Karlach and Wyll have bad experiences with evil devils. I just hope Mol and Astarion do not make bad decisions with this guy.

40. Mostly nightmares.

41. Yes

42. Yes

BG3 Act 1 asks

I am intentionally putting the number of the inquiry at the end of each question also because I have a pet peeve that when you copy paste questions into an ask that the number doesn't carry over.

Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision? (1)

Was there something about the character creator that just couldn't capture your Character? Please tell us about their hair, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, disabilities, their trans or intersex body, or anything else you're comfortable sharing. (2)

Has your Character been using their illithid powers? (3)

Do you remember in which order you recruited your companions? Which companion introduction would have felt the most familiar / like home to your Tav / Character? (4)

Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it? (5)

Were you able to save everyone when the goblins stormed the gates at the Grove? (6)

Did you enter the Grove? (7)

Do you have a favorite member of the Druid Circle? Is it the same as your Character's? (8)

Do you have a favorite member of the Tiefling Refugees? Is it the same as your Character's? (9)

Do you have a favorite member of the Goblin Camp? Is it the same as your Character's? (10)

Do you have a favorite member of the Act 1 Githyanki? Is it the same as your Character's? (11)

Do you have a favorite member of the Zhentarim? Is it the same as your Character's? (12)

Do you have a favorite character from the Underdark? Is it the same as your Character's? (13)

Do you have another NPC you loved from a faction not mentioned above? What about your Character? (14)

How did the situation with the Grove, the Tieflings and the Goblins turn out for your Character? (15)

Did you save Halsin? (16)

What does your Character think of Withers? (17)

How did your Character deal with Wyll, Karlach and Mizora? (18)

Did your Character spend a night with a companion either the night of the party or earlier? Is it someone they have a continued interest in? (19)

How did you deal with The Artist - Oskar Fevras? Did you even encounter him? (20)

What are your Character's thoughts on the strange artifact that was in Shadowheart's possession? Did it jump to your pack because you changed her out of your party? (21)

How did your Character resolve the situation with Sovereign Glut, if you met them? (22)

What are your Character's thoughts on the dream visitor? (23)

Was your illithid tadpole empowered by anything in Act 1? If so, how does your Character feel about that? (24)

Did your Character take the mountain pass? (25)

What was your favorite enemy? Did your Character have any memorable fights or moments in combat that were ripe for headcanons and interpretation? (26)

Who ended up in your Character's most used party? (27)

Did you recruit Scratch the dog? Did you encounter him at all? (28)

Did you adopt an owlbear? Do you have a name for your child? (29)

Do you have other pets as a ranger or in headcanon? (30)

Does your Character have new or old phobias or superstitions that affect their story? (31)

What's your Character's experience with and opinion of Volo? (32)

Has your Character allied with the cult of the Absolute? (33)

How did your Character resolve the situation with Nere and the gnomes? (34)

Has your Character done anything that they regret in Act 1? (35)

Did your Character find the Adamantine Forge? Did they use it? What did they make? (36)

Did your Character find the Necromancy of Thay? How are they handling it / planning to handle it? (37)

Did your Character meet Barcus Wroot? How's he doing? (38)

What does your Character think of Raphael? (39)

Is your Character used to strange dreams from before the events of the adventure? (40)

Is your Character accustomed to being on the road from before the events of the adventure? (41)

Has your Character been to the Underdark from before the events of the adventure? (42)

Asker has a question not from the list. (43)

Asker wants Blogger to choose a question from the list. (44)

I love your oc's! I hope you're enjoying the game as much as I am!

[corvigae]

You requested more Tav asks and I'm here to deliver!!

7, 9, 18, and/or 21 for either Lunarae or Page! Feel free to answer for both if you want to, honestly!! :D

Lunarae:

7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one?

Her arc would absolutely revolve around trying to get her to realize that she doesn't have to constantly help everyone around her at her own expense. I don't necessarily think that you could turn her down a darker path, but her bad end would probably be that you let her/fail to convince her not to do something stupidly self-sacrificial and it either kills her or leads to some other horrible outcome. On a good route though you could help her start to unmask and be more openly and happily her authetic self, instead of subconsciously trying to be the quieter version of herself she's been taught to act as in order to please others.

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

Okay literally I just thought of a random pretty fantasy name that sounded loosely moon-based like a couple days before I started playing and was like "Oh that's nice, I'll keep that in mind for when I start my game." There's no reason for it to be moon-based at all, it's just vibes and aesthetic lmao. My in-universe answer though is that her mom thought that the color of her pale blue-green skin reminded her of the color of the light from a full moon.

18. Where/with whom do they feel safest?

Dumb obviously cheesy answer but with her partners, Astarion, Shadowheart, and Karlach. I headcanon that post-canon she uses a bunch of the money they've hoarded from indiscriminate theft/looting to build a big home for them all in the city, a place where even if they occasionally get pulled away for their own various reasons, they can always return to and find peace.

21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today!

I'd say her mom blowing herself up was a pretty defining moment for her, for sure. Okay, but seriously, jokes aside, arriving home to find that she no longer had a home because her mother had destroyed it and killed herself and MANY other people due to wizard-hubris really taught her that seeking power simply for power's sake was dangerous, and further boldered her drive to use her magic for the purpose of helping others.

Page:

(under cut)

7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one?

She's a resistant Dark Urge, her character arc is already in the game /j

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

Doyalist answer: hehe pun name funny

Watsonian answer: She actually had a different name before the nautiloid, back in the Bhaalist cult, but that's one of the things she forgot. So when she was asked her name later? She just made it up on the spot. She completely George Glass'ed it. But she ends up liking it, because it's the name associated with her new self and new life.

18. Where/with whom do they feel safest?

Once again obvious fucking answer but with Astarion. Also with Wyll; she and Wyll become best buds real fast and you can bet your ass she's ready to hunt Mizora down the second Wyll says "go." And in the Blood Moon Melody AU she also obviously feels safe with Lunarae too and is a part of that big house in the city.

21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today!

She learned to love and play music from her foster family, and even after the onset of The Urge and everything that came after, she held onto it and kept playing, because her music was the one thing from her past, the one thing that was decidedly her and not Bhaal that she had, which is why it was one of the only things she did actually remember about herself upon waking up on the nautiloid.

[bitchesgate3]

Was supposed to do a run with only Lae'zel recruited, but got distracted testing out mods including the origins mod. It reminded me that we gotta start asking the important questions. Now.

When we play as the Origin characters, who are they going to romance?

While playing the janky Origin mod as Lae'zel here were my thoughts at 1 in the morning on who I might pair her with:

No one - What? Don't be a coward.

Wyll - The practical choice. They both have the same writer so I'm sure he's done the leg work of getting this pairing to work. Assuming Lae figures out what her version of "love" is. If she doesn't then you'd probably lead poor Wyll to whatever the bad ending of his story is. And end up replacing Mizora for a short stint... or two... maybe more... That's messed up tho.

Gale - Lae approaching Gale is funny as hell to me, and the fact it can happen in canon is even funnier. They get along well enough, but I'm ok with them not being even fling material. But... I could probably write a serious crack fic about it.

Astarion - I am so averse to this. I've gotten so used to NOT seeing them have a fling. Not gonna stop any time soon. I do not want to see this with mine own two eyes. 🙈

Shadowheart - Romancing Lae is already like an enemies to lovers thing for a non-gith MC. The added tension of fighting Larian every step of the way as they try to make these girls kill each other adds to the both meta and (imagined) in-game sexual tension. I mean, yeah they're fundamentally at odds and that rivalry is built into the plot - Yeah their romance scenes are the complete opposite of each other. Yeah Shadowheart appreciates a lighthearted jokester and Lae takes things literally and murders every joke you give her... Yeah SH needs love and Lae... ??? But hear me out - Lae doming arrogant men? Psh. Easy plot. Satisfying but predictable plot. Lae having power struggles with another woman?

Honestly I don't know how it would work, - I just like what I like. Because god was it hard trying not to thwart the narrative-cohesion-gods-that-be by having Lae and SH flirt.

[limpfisted]

@hlfcorpse [ I NEED YOU LIKE A CHILD NEEDS A BLANKET, A NIGHT LIGHT, A GHOST STORY BY THE FIRE, A PICTURE BOOK WITH HEROES WHO LOOK JUST LIKE ME, AN IMAGINARY FIEND. / verse: seventeen. ]

Wyll Ravengard, banished son, the Pride of The Gate, a child prodigy, a genius with a blade and with the ladies and gentlemen of the court of proper ages in the ballroom, who scored high marks in all his tests but never quite made his Father proud.... enough of the time----has only ever learned two things in his life that have mattered even an iota in this blasted desert called "the real world."

One. That everything sucks, all the time, forever. It's just really hard. Even if Wyll wasn't half-blind---the world would still look too big, and home too far away. Cooking would be hard even if he knew how to grip the knife right, considering all his studies of law and poetry and history failed to give him anything but a fine palate, fine tastes, and burnt Jerkey and Cheese. And a blade? Forget it. He can barely defend himself with a proper weapon. Not that he hasn't tried fighting everything he can get his hands on.

(A new power courses through him like an electric current in a storm, just as shocking. Such a thrill, such a delight, so scary but so perfect, sculpting Heaven's blessings from Hell's damnation, he'd be dead without Mizora, running into battles testing out his new mettle like this, but he can't stop himself, and if he can't fight at all---he'd rather be dead.)

Two. Demons don't deserve to live. They're evil scum. Monsters, that exist to torment. If Mizora calls him a stinker one more time, he'll end her AND himself with her!

And yet. That is the source of his power. Those are the only people he can share this intimate, perfect, practical secret with.

Part of him knows that to get better and stop sucking at everything, he needs to practice more. He needs to stop relying on his new powers in fights, he needs to train, even at just basic life skills, like his Father always said, two hundred percent harder than he did yesterday, always better, always moving forward, never falling behind.

But another part of him is so lonely sometimes he catches himself trying to engage in conversation with Mizora, of all NOT-people. He's always been... apart from everyone. His Father kept him too busy to make friends, and then Wyll always felt... different, when he wasn't outright impressing people, like he just had more to prove, and more he had to say, to be... cared for.

But he's never felt like... like he doesn't deserve to be looked at, until now. Until his Father---

Needless to say, when you can't look at yourself in the mirror, its hard to talk to other travelers, and far easier to talk to the many demons you stumble across in your travels. (The bastards are crawling all over the place if you know where to look, and they all find Wyll's attempts to kill them "funny" despite the fact that Wyll is a very thick and muscular seventeen, and has already taken down many bandits, in addition to the original twenty-five cultists, where he SAVED Baldur's Gate, thank you very much!)

One such demon recommended this place, outside of Baldur's Gate, far enough away that Wyll felt.... not comfortable, but more comfortable, even looking halfways in its direction. A church, in which he is told he will find everything he needs.

The outside of it is a dusty charcoal black compared to the setting sun outside as he approaches. He's dealt with--or at least, dipped his blade in the arcane, now, but it still makes him scowl to look at it. Who put this demon's nest in such a pretty spot? How can darkness suck in all the light so easily? He doesn't want to go in. (He does. He wants to know who he is, now. He wants to know what this longing to go in means.)

Inside is just as dusty, and as dark. He resists the urge to cough, instead just sniffs and wipes the back of his hand across his nose. Is that a demons scent? Or just the dust of old books? Behind the all-too normal pews, past the statues and strange trinkets, there are bookcases.

...

Is that IT?

Wyll rolls his eyes and mutters curses, shaking his head, folding his arms, every bit the sullen teenager. He's been had. How can he study diligently the way his Father always taught him to, as knowledge is just as much power as strength, as the Good Duke always said----if there is nothing substantial to study? He doesn't even spot the demon he was supposed to look fo---

Oh. That must be him. There's an aura of... slime to him, unbefitting of a priest. He looks like he does sick things to puppies. If not for the darkness, Wyll swears he could see Mizora's reflection in his dark, shiny eyelids. It's not that he's ugly, far from it. But Wyll didn't think Mizora was ugly, either, and demons.... They're known for their seduction techniques. As if Wyll did not promise to his Mother with the full extent of his iron will that he would wait until marriage! He cannot be tempted! Do not try, demon!!!!!

(From an outsider's perspective, Wyll may appear to be standing there, seething, his breath getting heavier and heavier and his face getting meaner and meaner, even more haggard and tired and malnourished than he already looks, especially for a kid so young. But in his head? Wyll believes the battle has just begun. He's just waiting for his chance to strike.)

[faerunscursed]

Most would tell him not to trust the word of the half-fiend, whose proximity gave him comfort in ways that no one else’s would. In fact everyone who had ever met her, insisted that every word that came out Mizora’s lips were lies. That all she ever did was whisper corrupting thoughts into his mind, so that she might control him like a puppet. But that was never the case, merely the perception of those who knew truly knew nothing. For with Wyll, she never lied, she even let him play hero, which he knew she detested. They had all paid the price for the disrespect, too, as Mizora had personally handled them. Wyll had known as much, when he came back to a camp littered with blood and body party scattered across the ground, many of which were missing their heads.

Yet the only one, to whom he could every truly trust was her. For even when she didn’t have best designs for him, he could always rely on he being there if his life depended on. In fact, any with a pair of eyes and ears could see how possessive she was when it came to him. It was that possessiveness that had killed so many of his traveling parties, including the aforementioned. It was also that same possessiveness that had saved his life, after goblins had forcefully dug his eye out, temporarily severing a connection that he would never be without now. The connection to her was like an addiction, one he never would shake.

Something in which the half-fiend did not know, was that this connection had found its beginnings in their first interaction. That day on the streets of Baldurs Gate. The day a kind, old, beggar had shared a welcoming warmth in ways his father never had, or ever would. Their second interaction, when he had been ridden with depressive thoughts and urges had been chased away from the same woman like they had no place. Of course at that time he had no idea of her true identity, or her true intentions, though he had ignored how off the woman felt, inhuman. Until Mizora had appeared to him in her true form. That connection, that bond was radiating off of her, and he knew in that instant that the beggar and Mizora were one and the same.

In truth that’s why he would have said yes to any deal, especially in a moment in which everything was falling apart around him. The sway she had then was nothing compared to now. Right now her words were like honey, and he was drinking it all in. Under this light, the scarring around his stone eye, the way it scar tissue exposed itself, reflected brightly. Prove of his allegiance to her, as his eyes did not leave hers. His breath calmed significantly and a sense of pride overcame him at her compliments.

"I know, I've known since that day we met on the streets of Baldurs Gate. You wouldn't have sought me out otherwise, have you? That I was more than dirt, that I had potential." Wyll reached out to touch the hand that cupped his jawline, tanned skin brushing against blue. "It's funny, my father was never any better. His whole life he manipulated, pulled strings and influenced in ways that would benefit him. To think he would hate his own son for it."

"When this whole time it was him who made me the man I am, just as much as you. After all, he was the one who took everything from me, and even now is still trying to do that." Wyll looked at her with a new sense of determination. "I won't let him. Not after I've built this life for myself, devil or not. So long as he haunts my thoughts, I will never be free. Is there is something I can do about that?"

Mizora had noticed the effects Duke Ulder Ravenguard had upon his son, even before she and Wyll had properly met. While for an outsider, the circumstances, under which they had met, had been extraordinary and quite sudden, it had not been nearly as sudden as many people liked to believe. The Cult of Tiamat had not been nearly as sneaky as they liked to believe themselves to be. There had been signs of their ritual to summon Tiamat months before they had ever put their plan into action. Enough signs that Zariel's cultists had been able to pick up on it and report to their mistress.

Hence why Mizora had found herself in Baldur's Gate's streets in search of further evidence of these happenings. It was during these investigations that she and Wyll had crossed paths for the first time: Mizora had sat in the entrance of an abandoned doorway in the disguise of an old beggar woman, cloaked to the point only her startling silver eyes and greying hair had been visible. Wyll, having been nothing but a sweet, innocent, baby-faced, noble boy, had approached her to hand her some coins. They had struck up a conversation right then and there.

During this conversation, Mizora had noticed just how much potential slumbered inside of Wyll. Sure, he had spoken of how his father had wanted him to become the marshall of the Flaming Fist, however, underneath it, Mizora had sensed something darker: A hunger for power and a desire to break out of constraints. Their mundane and simple conversation had been cut short as Ulder Ravenguard had ushered his son away with the words to not speak to beggars as they could be dangerous.

However, Mizora only realised just how low Wyll's self-esteem was when she and him met once again before the fateful night of the contract, which would change everything. Wyll Ravenguard had been in very low spirits, thanks to some argument with his father. He had sulked around near a bridge, all pouty and depressed. Mizora had once again stepped beside him, hands over the rim of the bridge, and pulled the boy into a conversation. It had uplifted his spirits immensely.

His pain penetrated the air like a dagger, going over a gutted carcass. Normally, Mizora would have gorged herself on the sensation, enjoying the agony of the damned like it were the finest wine. However, Wyll was of more use to her if he shunned his father completely and if she made him greater than the grand duke could ever hope himself to be. Thus she held his trembling body against her stomach, allowed his snot and tears to streak across her corpse-blue skin and listened to him shout his anger out in a choked-down sob.

Mizora hushed Wyll softly as she continued to caress his shoulders and the base of his horns. She said nothing, just kept him in her arms and gave him the space to work his way through his emotions. His burning rage made Mizora hark up, particularly when it intensified after she had taken on her real form. Ever since her pet had become a devil, her Cambion shape and the smells of Avernus had a calming effect upon him. His tail looping around hers elicited a soft purr from her throat.

"Wyll", Mizora said and cupped his cheek before she took hold of his jawline and made him look up at her, "You are not dirt. Not to me." She laughed a hoarse, dry laugh akin to the same sound she had made when she had been disguised as the elderly beggar woman. "And that is coming from a devil, who is used to treating almost everybody she sees as lesser or, worse, just bodies to gorge herself on. You are not a vile man, Wyll. You are just filled with guile like any good devil should be."

"And well, it is an unfortunate truth that our parents will always loom over us. They probably do not even have to be figures of importance to make us feel like we have to match an invisible standard or untold expectation. Of course, it is worse when it is a person of importance. And it hurts just as much to be blamed for something, you have no control over. Whether that be because you are seen as a devil or an inadequate fighter."

[riddlerosehearts]

more thoughts on my baldur's gate 3 playthrough! still running around exploring this giant city and trying to make my way through act 3. in this post, i continue gale's companion quest.

all right, so i explored the city a bit more. found carm's garms and uhh, also found naaber. i'm dying at him trying to be a cleric, praying really really badly and when you ask what god he's praying to he goes "there's more than one?!" like HOW do you get to be a grown adult in this world and not know that skjdafg 😭

anyway, i exhausted all of his dialogue. thought it was kind of funny but was surprised at how bizarre and out of place he felt and especially by the fact that he talks kind of like spongebob. looked him up to see if there was anything more to his entire deal and found out that apparently he's a running gag from previous baldur's gate games! so that's neat, but i seem to have turned the poor guy into an oathbreaker paladin. oops!

also found the harper hideout, did the battle there and learned about minsc! i know he's from a previous game like jaheira is, and i also know he's recruitable later. not sure i'll end up using him any, especially since i already thought halsin and jaheira became recruitable a little too late, but maybe once i meet him i'll change my mind.

then i continued the murder investigation, and on my way to progress through the quest we got invited to gortash's coronation! made sure to bring karlach along with me for that and damn, she was immediately SO ready to kill him. he says a single sentence and she says she can taste his blood. and then she yells at him and stops just short of saying she's going to shove her boot up his ass LMAO. i also had wyll with me and there was a bit of extra dialogue about his father!

i'm actually a bit annoyed about how the whole deal with mizora plays out because like, there's this whole theme of the companions reclaiming their agency and i believe letting shadowheart make the choice to spare the nightsong on her own is actually the "correct" option over trying to persuade her. so... why do you have to choose whether wyll should break his pact or save his father? why can't you tell wyll to make the choice for himself? and tbh i also feel like there's basically zero chance that wyll as a character would ever not choose his father anyway, whereas with shadowheart there's this tension and ambiguity where right up until that moment you can't be sure what she'll do, so that's another flaw in how wyll is written imo. oh well.

walked into a church in the city and there is a statue of mystra here. elenion made small offerings to tyr and helm and a larger offering to selune, but for mystra? he kissed gale in front of her statue and then left <3

lakrissa and alfira are so cute 🥺 i found them on the roof of the tavern and alfira was looking out at the city and said she'd never get tired of this view, while lakrissa who was looking at alfira said "same here"... god i'm so weak for that sort of thing.

honestly i've wished alfira had been recruitable ever since i first encountered her in the game, and i guess if she was then we would lose this sweet wlw couple, which would also be a shame AKLJGHDF but idk i like her a lot and i think having her around and getting to know more about her would've been fun!! especially since i think it's a huge shame that there isn't a bard companion.

hey, i finally figured out where sorcerous sundries is! the lorroakan fight was a little annoying with all his myrmidons running around, but i did manage to cast tasha's hideous laughter on him for a few turns, which was hilarious. god i can't wait to get elenion up to level 11 so he can learn otto's irresistible dance.

the vault frustrated me in a way that i don't think it was supposed to, because wyll got downed from a trap without me realizing and i got kind of lost trying to get back to where he got downed at and then i forgot how to get back to the beginning of the vault so i could leave omg. i'm probably the only person in the world to have that kind of trouble with it. but oh well, we got gale his super dangerous-sounding book!!

and then i got to see the gorgeous boat scene that i've seen so many gifs of. and i love gale so much askdjghfdsgjhdf i'm 😭😭 first of all i will never understand how anyone could hate a man who says things like "with you, i forget my goddess" and "you put the stars to shame". that second quote especially is killing me because it feels so tailor-made for my tav! and then the fact that he is so surprised and relieved that they love him just the way he is!! aaaaaaaaaa i'm going to explode. hate when people say gale fumbled a goddess because she's the one who fumbled him!

going to end this post here, now that i've seen gale's talk with mystra, so i can take a look at my quest log and decide which of the 93475384 sidequests i've picked up should be handled next!

[doberbutts]

Re: tags @xaira-gabvi

While they are NPCs that I'm complaining about, they're not companions. They're just randos. However there's a horde of them and I'm honestly finding this specific bit of the game to be incredibly grating.

It's partially a point I've had kicking around in my head that I think it's funny that this character or that character gets online complaints about fantasy racism when literally everyone is at least a little bit fantasy racist in Faerun. Like yes, Astarion is a massive asswipe about the Gur and also about vampires and also about gnomes. Also are we forgetting that literally everyone had a race problem with Lae'zel the moment they met her and more than one of them approves of making fun of her while she's trapped in the cage being goaded by tieflings? Despite the fact that (in her own way) she's the first companion you meet that's actually offering to help you?

How about Wyll's ability to take Mizora at face value and kill Karlach because, well, she looks like a devil so she must be one. And his subsequent whining about "looking evil" if he doesn't do it and sprouts horns and ridges... all of which are traits tieflings have... which he would know because he's been spending his time in a tiefling encampment. The entire party's immediate distrust of Astarion the moment he says he's a vampire (or the potential for them to threaten or attack him if playing as his origin and he bites someone in battle prior to revealing it). Shadowheart's line about preferring suicide to becoming a myconid? How many times has a companion pulled me aside and gone "hey they're a [race] you can't trust them"?

The game itself even calls this out- I just found the second hobgoblin that blatantly stated they end up having to hang out with more evil-aligned people because no one is willing to give them a chance. You can find propaganda fliers about the dangers of interacting with tieflings. Literally no one has treated any of the drow characters I've met so far with any amount of kindness. Fantasy racism is simply part of this world, and it's weird to me to see fandom drama about this character or that character when they're all doing it.

But for the most part it's been quick little quips and things like that, and also for the most part my companions have stopped doing that. Unfortunately I have stepped into Act 3 to be greeted by 20 or so different NPCs more or less saying one of Trump's Buld the Wall speech lines But Fantasy This Time. Combined with the slow pace and the annoying character interactions, I'm not loving the opening segments of Act 3 as a result. I don't think it's bad storytelling necessarily, I just am done hearing it.

I know I'm setting myself up for the dude to be the worst person on earth imaginable but the guy in the refugee camp that's like "but I have to take care of my sweet little doggy who is so so scared from the war"... that's me 100%