#i have to think about wyll actually

[trevisos]

sorry i have vampire the masquerade brain worms u can ignore this.

astarion is Obviously ventrue and as someone who grew up in a banite church i feel like xarrai should Also be ventrue but i feel like it would be insane to make them anything but toreador. but then i thought. maybe they are both ventrue trying to come off as toreador. absolutely the funniest shit on earth to imagine two different ventrue trying very hard to make everyone think they’re toreadors for two different reasons. LOL yep definitely here in the pursuit of beauty don’t mind me… :)

[voltaical-art]

part twooo!!! less sad on this one :)

[box-dwelling]

Baldurs gate 3 is very funny in that it brings together a group of people who under most circumstances would consider themselves a found family but just so happens to have populated the group with soley people who would be vehemently against calling it that

[transkingcobra]

Halsin being the only person to actually listen to Durge and believe that something is wrong is both heartbreaking for the isolation from the rest of the group and comforting that at least one person cares from the start.

They have nothing of themself, but they have one person that will listen.

[selunesfavouriteprincess]

Shadowheart: “Fabian ran his calloused fingers along Allura's scales. Her tail quivered in response...”

Wyll: ''Taste me', Allura pleaded. Fabian smashed his lips against hers and their tongues twisted together like two eels in the Sword Sea."

Tav:

[the-magpie-collective]

I don't really think Wyll qualifies as a member of the nobility.

(For clarity, I will be using nobles/nobility, gentry, and patriars interchangeably. The term patriar is Baldur's Gate specific.)

Wyll isn't a patriar. His father is the son of a blacksmith. We don't really get a clear explanation of what it takes to be considered nobility in Baldur's Gate (if you have a source that details this please please share) but we do know what it takes to be considered nobility historically.

First, what is required for one to be considered a noble? Generally speaking nobles are usually landed or titled or both. These are pretty straightforward terms. Landed means that a person owns land. Historically, owning land was not as easy as it is today. It also wasn't very clear cut. Depending on the location owning land could be a super huge deal. Not only did it require lots of money, but it also often required extensive connections. In some places if you weren't the reigning Monarch it was illegal to make any kind claim to land. (chop your head off kinds of illegal).

Is it possible Wyll's father owned land even while Wyll was growing up? I think it's extremely unlikely. While Ulder Ravengard did rise through the ranks of the Fist quickly and was therefore a respected member of the upper brass, he probably wasn't rich enough to buy land within Baldur's Gate and he is described as “lacking sophistication and tact” when it comes to matters of politics. Would he have managed to create the connections necessary to even be allowed to buy land? Doubtful.

The other option is being titled. Simple enough, it means someone possesses a noble title. Most titles are inheritable, but 'Duke' is not an inheritable title in Baldur's Gate. Dukes are elected by the Parliament of Peers.

A quick aside to explain how the government works in Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate is controlled by the Council of Four: four elected Dukes whose votes are what allow policy to pass into law. The Grand Duke is able to decide in the case of a tie-breaker being necessary. The Dukes are elected by the Parliament of Peers, those seats are held by patriars. There is one sort of exception. One of the positions of Duke is traditionally held by the head of the Flaming Fist, i.e. the Marshall. The Marshall of the Flaming Fist still has to be elected to Duke, they don't just get that position automatically, but most people don't like to go against tradition. (Though I've seen some sources point at Ulder Ravengard's not being immediately elected Duke? And it was tied to him not being a patriar/well liked? I haven't been able to find which DnD source book this comes from yet grrrr so I can't confirm)

So Wyll's father is likely elected Duke after Abdel Adrian's assassination (see previous post) on Returning Day in 1482 DR. Baldur's Gate takes place in 1492 DR, when Wyll is 24. So yeah, some quick math and Wyll wasn't the son of a Duke until he was around 14. He's banished at the age of 17. A grand total of three years where he has some political standing.

But Wyll was the son of a military man his entire life. A man who was known for being extremely strict. A man who often had to travel for his work. A man who, in spite of his best efforts, was distant from his son. Yeah.

Wyll's not a noble. Wyll is a military brat.

[wizardsimper]

Something that's been really bothering me is how good aligned characters are often seen as 'boring' simply because they're good, all while every other part of their character is completely ignored.

A character's complexity shouldn't aligned with their morals, rather their relationship to them and others they share their story with.

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

I've been thinking about names re: durges (and especially Corentin)

I haven't really liked the whole "this character's name is The Dark Urge" because it's honestly...silly to me? A bit? But I saw someone else discussing their durge's backstory today and it got me thinking about the function of names a bit more.

Naming someone "The Dark Urge" is super dehumanizing. And, like, that's the point, of course. But Corentin, even at their most compliant, was always trying to eek out some semblance of individuality or control or rebellion. They were kidnapped brought to the Bhaalists at 15, after all. Even with the cult's (and Bhaal's) efforts, it's difficult to completely rewire someone who's nearly a grown adult, especially one who's fighting it kicking and screaming most of the time.

So while they lose their memories of their family due to the constant trauma, they do manage to hold on to some things. Their refusal to eat bog body stays the entire time, as does their insistence on maintaining a hair care routine (which is when they start braiding Orin's hair, too). But after they break, other aspects of cleanliness they'd managed to hold onto until that point fall to the wayside, and they stop resisting when Savorak, and Fel, and the Bhaalists call them "The Dark Urge" instead of their name. Orin still calls them Corentin for a little bit, but she stops eventually too as she gets more and more restless and insistent on gaining power.

And then they meet Gortash who, despite also being a horrible person, isn't as bad as the people Corentin had been forced to lead. At this point they know what the likely ending of the Absolutist plot is going to be (though they're still in the early stages of the plan) but being able to work so closely with someone who's sincere and, more importantly, isn't going to stab them the moment they turn their back to him, is like breathing in fresh air for the first time in a decade or more (both figuratively and literally). And they dare to hope that there's an actual, true way out of the hell they'd been living in.

So when Gortash eventually asks if The Dark Urge is really their name, they tell him no.

[danielnelsen]

well that's just a lie

[bhaalrespawn]

you know i fully joke about wanting gortash romance to be real but i am going to be So honest when i say i truly do not want it to be put in the game lmao. and honestly if the franc letter was taken out for that reason, it only reinforces that for me because it kind of just makes me realize how soulless and pandering it will probably feel if some of the other changes are anything to go by. let the man be an absolute freak who loves any man willing to birth a little more slithering, wet malice into the world by putting his weapons in groping, willing fingers smh.

(i also need to be so honest when i say i think either it would need to be durge-locked or be So significantly different for a durge vs. other characters for a romance to work lmao)

[sundays-mutt]

i love and miss baldurs gate so much but every time i remember how the fandom and writing team treats wyll i simply dont want to think about it anymore. like i shouldnt be surprised because this is a dnd video game but it's crazy how far people are willing to go to pretend all of it is not racism. wyll is too boring and yet halsin (who is even more boring mind you) gets more attention then him in fan content, same with rolan and dammon and all other side characters in the game. he's never in anything promotional and it's pretty clear at this point the writers are Not Going to fix it. i love wyll so much i literally want to eat him alive but the wave of frustration i experience every Single Time i think of bg3 does not feel good

[box-dwelling]

Sometimes a ship post is just a vent post but hear me out:

Astarion thinking he's being manipulative when he isn't.

Like hes really genuinely upset about something that is of like minor inconvenience to Wyll. Blood drinking is a great example.

He's absolutely starving but he doesn't want to admit it and A) admit weakness or B) risk being viewed as too dangerous to have around because he's hungry. So he's just suffering in silence for a while until some how wyll notices what's up, gets him to admit he's hungry and then immediately offers to let him feed. Just because of basic and kindness it doesn't even have to be at the love stage yet, though this would absolutely probably persist past it.

But in his brain he just can't comprehend someone actually showing him compassion or kindness? Even wyll? So even though he did absolutely nothing manipulative just admitted to his needs he convinces himself that he is just such a master of manipulation he doesn't even have to try.

[pennamepersona]

the thing that finally let me understand wyll was seeing a couple posts about how he's like. unfazed in the beginning. this is normal to him

very "the day you were taken by the nautiloid was the worst day of your life. for the blade of frontiers, it was tuesday"

[silver-horse]

wait... they said that Wyll wants to kill Karlach in this new rewritten story. What if... they just replaced paladin Anders with Wyll? Because he was the one trying to kill Karlach during early access. And we had to choose, either kill one or the other... oh no.😲

I don’t think the rewrites were a last minute idea because Wyll already gave approval if we sided with Anders. (I have a recording from patch 7 where Wyll approved, that was an entire year ago. And that’s just when I recorded it, it was probably in the game earlier. Wyll was always against Karlach.) What if the paladin was just a placeholder character because they didn’t want to reveal something this big?  Wyll might be the one who will ask us to kill Karlach or maybe he will know the group (like they are friends or something) so anyway... could it be a choice between Karlach and Wyll??

[deer-with-a-stick]

I think someone should just throw all of the BG3 companions into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Just take the post-canon generally considered "good" endings and throw em in there.

Why? Because it would be hilarious to me and also that's like the one official module that goes up to level 20.

I won't lie and say the only thing I can think of is the team trying to kill an angry mechanical purple worm while screeching at Gale because "what do you mean we're in Waterdeep and you know the bastard who owns this death trap?? I was perfectly alright in the damn Underdark thank you very much I did not sign up for this"

[zeroducks-2]

Baldur's Gate 3 Ending Spoilers Ahead :)

Okay why The Fuck can't we have a romance ending with the Emperor. Why THE FUCK NOT. WHY. THIS IS UNFAIR. LARIAN YOU ALLOWED ME TO FUCK THE GUY, YOU ALLOWED ME TO TRUST HIM AND BE THERE FOR HIM AND TURN INTO A MINDFLAYER MYSELF, AND THEN I CAN'T HAVE A ROMANCE ENDING? THE FUCK???