#i personally like nightsong. it's a lot less generic

[splashtailstar]

I think we all can agree that Nightheart is pretty generic name. What would've been a better name instead if they had an actual choice in their name? I want to hear other people's ideas

(I use all pronouns for Nightheart)

[sailorgundam308]

On Karlach-gate

I’m gonna talk a little bit (lol, lie, a LOT) about Karlach’s endings and her companion storyline in Baldur’s Gate 3.

This feels like opening a can of worms, and it took me a while to gather the courage to do so. Not because of other people, but because of how many thoughts and feelings I’d have to face to put my opinion into words. BUT before I go full steam ahead, a few disclaimers are in order.

First, this is spoilerland. It is full of it, all around you, and there’s no escape. So if you’re not into reading about every single Karlach related spoilery thing I can think of in the game, don’t read this. (There are spoilers of Final Fantasy 16 too, so beware)

Second, I shouldn’t have to say it, but this is merely my opinion. Granted, I enjoy having my opinions corroborated by evidence - to a problematic degree -, so this is gonna be a long and painful text. Still, an opinion is neither wrong nor right (though it can be shitty or nice lol).

And third: I loved the game. I still do. But not as much as I thought I would have based on the first half of my experience with it. Currently I have - and I shit you not - 762 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 - 500 of which are just in my first playthrough. I bought the game in the pre-sale (I played Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 when I was a kid/teen, so I squealed and jumped into it when I heard there was a 3). Two weeks after I’d started playing it, I bought 4 extra copies of the game to give to my best friends so they could enjoy it too. I can’t compare the game to others because I am not a proper gamer. But I am comparing the game to ITSELF (and perhaps that is the problem). That is to say: I enjoy BG3 and support Larian and everyone who worked on the game - thanks to them I put (lost) 700h of my life in the Forgotten Realms (and I fucking love me some Forgotten Realms).

Unfortunately, the quality of the main story and the companion’s personal stories are not consistent throughout the game. While I might not be an experienced vidya gamer, I can at the very least attest to my satisfaction in relation to the way the narrative was implemented/delivered in the game - or wasn’t.

Which is where the issues begin, and so does this long rant.

My comments are about Karlach and her story, because she and Astarion are my favorite companions and I am generally satisfied with how we experience Astarion’s story in the game. But I don’t feel the same towards Karlach’s.

//

In regards to the main story, Act 1 - and even Act 2 to a lesser degree - have consistent storytelling, cohesive and interesting narrative moments, with twists and turns. But Act 3… We know it, right? It feels like being in an electronics shop on a Black Friday. Compared to Act 1, Act 3 is a free for all, rushed, disconnected and random festival of “wait, wtf?”

The companion’s personal quests also have issues, but in a different way.

Something that bothered me a lot is that there is no consistent narrative care and quality among the implementation of the companion’s personal storylines. Essentially, some companions have their personal stories aptly and extensively implemented and integrated into the progression of the game, while others don’t - to very different degrees.

For example, you have characters who seem to get priority attention put into their (implemented) writing, questlines, dungeons, dialogues, animations, and insights into their past. Most notably is Shadowheart. She has the only cinematic flashback, 2 fucking huge dungeons and several key personal closure moments throughout the span of the game - Shar, Nightsong, Viconia, parents, her tief friend, cemetery is what I remember off the top of my head (so if you think she still got the short straw I WILL strangle you). And, then, you have severely neglected characters like Karlach.

When I say neglected, it’s not a matter of Karlach’s story being less interesting than the others’ (I think it’s def MUCH cooler than SH’s, for example), but that there is so little of it seamlessly and carefully implemented in the game we get to play. If you don’t believe me, just open the quest journal after your endgame and read through every single companion’s personal quest journals, then read Karlach’s again. There it is. Nothing I say will compare to just looking at it with your own eyes. It’s kinda crazy, honestly. It’s hard to deny that something there went wrong and still argue Karlach is supposed to have the same level of “origin companion” importance.

//

Unlike many people I communicated with, I am not that opposed to the current Karlach endings we get in the game - but I am not "okay with it" either. Let me explain.

The current endings are not ANYWHERE near good (in the sense of satisfying). In fact, if you compare Karlach’s ending to ALL other companion’s endings (yes, even Astarion’s), her possible outcomes become pretty bad pretty fast. When side by side, the others’ ‘bittersweet’ endings quickly start to seem mild or even happy in comparison. Karlach definitely drew the short straw (or the writers put the short straw in her hands - so short in fact that there were moments when I wondered if someone in Larian had something against Karlach).

All that said, I diverge from some people in that I don’t wish for a happy ending for Karlach - I don’t think it suits her, nor does it suit the game. Even a full resolution would not fit, I think. But there seems to be an entire spectrum between “absolute worst” (death and becoming a mind flayer, which is essentially the same shit), “lame and unfulfilling” (no hope of changing her situation, just going back to Avernus to be forever stuck in a warzone - but alive), and something we DON’T get for her, which is “bittersweet”. There are levels of bad endings, and Karlach’s endings are on the worst bit of the spectrum. Though I don’t personally wish for a happy ending for Karlach, I wish we had a ‘happier’ one.

For context: By the time I finished my first (Tav) run, Patch 2 had been released (because I'd stalled and refused to finish with the launch ending for her). Still, I did not get the Avernus epilogue scene for some reason (perhaps because I had not romanced her), so first I watched her die, and it was horrible. Then I redid the save, and decided to go with her to Avernus.

In either case, I got just a black screen and then a cinematic of the city and the narrator telling me how epic, heroic and FULFILLED I should be feeling (even though Tav was never a hero and I never gave a fuck about being heroic in my play) - which sounded like insult to injury as I had basically JUST watched Karlach die and couldn’t care LESS if the people of Baldur’s Gate were saved. Fuck’em. What the fuck do I care about the city or strangers when one of my most beloved companions just burned alive in front of me?

Fuck off, Larian. <- That’s how I felt then (ok, kinda how I still feel when I think about it). Insulted and empty. I felt like the game was trying to railroad me to feeling some sort of epic fulfillment that wasn’t there. That seems worse than regular railroading… Like, railroading my feelings? No, thanks.

For me, there was no ‘epicness’, there was just numbness and a bad taste left in my mouth - a feeling that all my effort and time put into the story turned meaningless in the end. And let me tell you, that is NOT a feeling you want people to feel at the end of a story you tell (esp when some of us sick fucks spent 500+ hours in game).

Since I did not get the cinematic epilogue with Karlach in my Tav ending (just the fade to black) I was left with nothing to hang onto. I had nothing in the game that gave me a sliver of hope of something - anything - else happening after the credits rolled (I have since heard from one of my friends that this might have changed a bit).

//

But, if I don’t want a happy-happy ending for Karlach, and I don’t particularly care for her endings as they currently are, wtf do I want?

Well. I’m not entirely sure, but my best guess is two things.

First, the “easier” one:

If you finished Astarion’s story with him as a romanced partner and as a spawn, you get a conversation with him about the future. Granted, this scene is underwhelming (and he feels quite OOC), but it does have something that I consider very important for us players who cared about him and dedicated hours of play to help him in game. We have the option to say we will try to find a way for him to stand in the sun again. That is not a guarantee that we can do it, nor is it a scene clearly showing us in the future doing so. What it is, though, is a seed of hope, in canon, that lets us believe that there might be a way. So we can use our beautiful headcanons to imagine what the future of our Tav and Astarion could become, based on something canon. It creates the important feeling that the story will go on, and, moreover, that things that are currently shitty for him (losing his ability to move freely under the sun - among other things), might have a workaround. For me, this is crazy important in order to feel fulfilled - and it is one of the reasons I said before that I am generally satisfied with Astarion’s story arc and how it ends. I don’t need the game to spell it for me, just to give me that glimmer. The rest I can do it myself in my own head.

Which takes me back to Karlach and the biggest issue I have with her Avernus ending, and the first thing I wished we had in the game - a sliver of hope for her. At the VERY LEAST, I wanted to have something in game - a dialogue option tweak, or any lazy indication - that hinted that even though we are returning to the Hells with her, it might not be forever. That there might be some secret hidden in Avernus that could still help Karlach become free - or free-er, at least. We might not ever be able to get her heart back, in the same way we might not ever be able to cure Astarion’s vampirism, but if the game gave me a fucking tiny hint that going to Avernus might lead us to fixing/changing her engine to the point she might be able to see the Material Plane again without immediately burning to death… (just a vacation in Faerun, whatever).

Just that would make her Avernus ending less miserable, and minimally fulfilling. My head canon building abilities would still be doing most of the heavy lifting in that one - for SURE - but it would at least be something. The shittiest and tiniest improvement from her underwhelming and terrible ‘best scenario’ ending.

(Just let me add that a friend told me that now she has a dialogue option where Tav can say they’d still look for a cure in Avernus, which might be new. I haven’t checked if it’s a new dialogue tweak or if it’s just the delusional/in denial Tav dialogue options repeating “no, you’ll be fine!” even when Karlach is literally dying in front of them.)

Now, what would I REALLY want for Karlach? (oh boy, watch out for the burst of anger >>)

What do I think would be fair for me (and everyone), as a consumer and a player, who is really into Karlach as a character, who loves her, cheered for her, went around the game always paying attention to anything that might remotely relate to her story and problem?

I want her STORYLINE to be rich. As rich as fucking Shadowheart’s. I want to have to fucking scroll down Karlach’s personal quest page, like I have the other companions’, because there’s so many twists and turns there, because it was written carefully. I want her quest updates to be more than “fetch infernal iron/ bring infernal iron to Dammon/ hold onto the infernal iron and wait/ NOW bring infernal iron to Dammon/ the end.”

I want her fucking quest to not LITERALLY END AT THE BEGINNING OF ACT 2. Because it fucking DOES.

You get a second upgrade as soon as you reach Act 2 and the Last Light Inn if you want (you can walk right up to Dammon). And you also learn Karlach will die and that’s that. And good luck to you, player, to manage to find motivation to go through the rest of the game and finish it already knowing that there’s no helping your favorite companion.

Even though Karlach’s quest does not read as complete then, it IS, for all effects and purposes, over. What is left is for her to be taken to Gortash - and not to KILL HIM herself, mind you - freak the fuck out because now she just gotta wait for death, and bam. Companion personal storyline complete. Enjoy the rest of the game (insert BG3 giving you a big middle finger right here).

That is the part that really, honestly, does not go down with me. I cannot swallow it. Karlach has the background story to have richly written interactions with Tav/NPCs and more twists and turns to her questline. SO much more. But she barely gets anything.

The game puts Gortash as her big nemesis (Zariel, her actual enslaver, is whatever, apparently), and you still can simply skip taking Karlach with you in the fight. Even if you care enough to have her in your party when you do, she gets no big wow moment with Gortash (like Astarion gets with Cazador, SH gets with Shar AND Viconia, Lae’zel gets with Vlaakith, the lot). You, Tav (or any other character for that matter) can be the one to finish Gortash. Doesn’t change anything, even though the game clearly puts him as Karlach’s evil guy.

Fun fact, you actually have to kill him anyway regardless of Karlach for the main quest - with or without Karlach. It doesn’t really matter. Karlach doesn’t really matter for this bit of the story. It is NOT really her moment. She has NO real moment of her own (except when she dies - oh, wow, thank you I guess). And I hate it.

We do get the best and most heartbreaking monologue in the game after Gortash’s death (if Karlach is there AND you care to talk to her). Karlach then has the first real meltdown, the first time she lets her truth connect, and feels the feelings she has kept bottled up inside. And it fucking HURTS.

In my first run, this was the moment when I dropped the game for more than a month. Because I realized there was nothing the player could do for Karlach. Not because I, the player, did not want it, but because the game does not let us. The game railroads us into simply dropping her quest.

To boot, we realize when we reach the endgame, that even if you had NEVER cared for Karlach, never upgraded her engine or did her questline’s shallow fetch quests, her ending would be EXACTLY the same. She would not die faster because you did not upgrade her. She would still last until the final fight, then immediately ‘start to die’ afterwards.

There is no REAL influence from the player in Karlach’s destiny. In this sense, she feels like a random NPC that is just there as a companion because fans liked her in EA (or so I heard). Though most ironically, even some NPCs have their outcomes changed drastically by our actions and choices in game. (And if you come to me saying Karlach’s outcome IS influenced in the game because you can kill her or not in the beginning, well, go suck a fuck. Any companion can be killed, and you know that’s not the point)

//

In other words, what really, REALLY bothers me in the whole Karlach’s situation is not the outcome options she has at the end - at least that is not what MOST bothers me.

What bother’s me is that, even if she is the companion I want to know more about, the one I want to run around the map for, have one, two, six fucking humongous dungeons to clear JUST for her, hear about her past for hours on end, meet her friends, her enemies, have her story be told with as much care and detail as all the others are… Even though I want all that - and I should have it, because everyone else gets it - I can't have it.

I just get the basic, shallow and (infuriatingly) ultimately USELESS fetch quests. The fetch quest only ‘truly matters’ if you romance her and want to have sex with her. If you want to help her as a friend, or if you just have her occupying space at camp - it makes NO difference.

You will still end your game with 6 or 7 lines of one-sentence quest journal entries and Karlach’s fate being decided by a 1 and a half minute dialogue (with not even a lazy persuasion dice roll) in the epilogue.

THAT is what seals Karlach’s fate. A dialogue box, once, in the final minutes of the game.

(Watch out, my turn to rage)

The excess infernal iron you found and kept? The ENHANCED infernal iron you got from the Steel Watchers? The WHOLE Steel Watch thing, including the mention that Karlach was a prototype for them - and they are doing just fine in the Material Plane? The FUCKING Gondians? The Ironhands? Them BOTH? Even some random Ice Metal pieces you get in the underdark and shit? The mentions of the House of Wonders? Gale’s scroll of True Ressurection? Vlaakith’s Wish spell? Gale ascended to godhood??!

NO. Fuck you in particular, for even remotely thinking ANY of these things could help your little hellion companion. You dumb hopeful FUCK.

The game was just trying to trick you, giving you all these possibilities and hope, to then pretend they don’t exist and railroad you to the dialogue at the pier - because THAT is what truly matters.

Oh, and do not forget how you should feel the epicness of that ending cinematic all the same, feel fulfilled that you are the “savior of Baldur’s Gate” or whatever shit the narrator tries to tell you with a voice that sounds like they’re smiling and you should be too. You should be thankful, little player, that there is even the chance to get Karlach back to Avernus - because THAT is the bittersweet ending that puts her story in equal standing to the other origin companions’ stories (<- irony right here).

...

Man. I CAN’T. I can’t even continue. I got into a rage typing spree here that no shit gave me a headache. It’s just all so ridiculous that it turns offensive.

Explains why I don’t usually go deeper into this subject, because it doesn’t feel good at all, just frustrates me to no end. I got NO JOY out of my endgame, NO fulfillment. And as I felt it sink in that THAT was it, the narrator talking to me as if I should be glad came across as condescending and insulting to an absurd degree.

//

That is to say... I wasn’t happy. But being sad about the ending of a game is not always a bad thing. Having a beloved character die in a game is not always empty and unfulfilling.

I am reminded of a previous launch this year, FFXVI, and my favorite character in that game: Dion Lesage. Granted, the style of game is completely different, but I will use Dion’s death as an example nonetheless. Dion dies in that game (boo, spoiler, I warned you). His death cannot be avoided because FF has a linear story - his outcome is not supposed to be avoided, whereas BG3 is a choice-based game where the player should be able to influence the narrative with their choices.

Well, in FFXVI my favorite character dies. It IS sad as fuck, it made me tear up and feel melancholic for a while and all that shit. But what it DIDN’T do was make me feel numb, empty and unfulfilled. I didn’t feel his death was UNFAIR. Because the story of Dion until his death was meaningful. It was well crafted, interwoven into the game’s main narrative, and told with the importance it should have. His death also was not meaningless, he died and the story of the game could not have continued on as it had without him. He was an integral part of the narrative, and so was his death. It was SAD, yes, but it was MEANINGFUL. It was important. He didn’t die alone or just dropped dead in a corner after the game was over just because. People cared that he died. He mattered.

I did not feel any of this about Karlach’s death. And I strongly suspect it is because her journey until her death was not as rich, not carefully crafted AND implemented, not meaningful enough (or at least not presented to us as such)… It was not delivered in the way that she deserved. Especially for the companion who will certainly die among the lot. She should have had a journey as deep and layered as the others (if not even more) if the plan was to have her die either way.

Gale also has death looming over him most of the game, doesn’t he? But his death is the one that might have an impact in the grand narrative, be the game changer. And EVEN THEN, he has a way out. He has a True Resurrection scroll in his little secret pouch. He has Mystra throw a deus-ex at the last moment. But Karlach… well, fuck her in particular?!

//

I can’t claim I know much about how Karlach came to be an origin character. I never played EA, and just read about it. Yes, it might have been the case that she was the last added origin companion, that she had to be squeezed into the already almost-ready game somehow. But, excuse me, that is sloppy. And if that was truly the only thing that happened (which we can't know), I doubt no one at Larian was concerned about her becoming one of the most popular companions (cause she already seemed to have been in EA), and people noticing how poor her story progression was.

This might be unpopular but, sometimes I think they should have left her as an NPC, or a secondary companion option like Halsin, Jaheira or Minsc. (Ok, that might be me being extreme and angry due to my frustration, but I still wonder.) If I could not deliver the same level of quality, carefully crafted and integrated character into a story, would I still half-ass it? ...I know. Calling it “half-assing” isn’t fair (I am comparing BG3 to itself and that is a HIGH bar, because when BG3 gets it right, it knocks it right out of the park).

I’ll also be the first to admit that, if she was so 'poorly presented in game', no one, me included, would be so fucking mad about her circumstances at all. The fact I care so much to let this issue ruin my game experience - if anything - attests to the capacity BG3 has to immerse players in its world.

But I also know I am not complaining for nothing.

//

The way I feel has pretty solid grounds - so much it was one of the first things Larian patched. But it was a feeble attempt, in my eyes, because the real blatant issue with Karlach is not in the last 3 minutes of the game - it is in the span of all 3 acts. It is her personal questline in its entirety, the development of her story in game and the level of influence and interaction we as players truly have throughout it all. It is the fact she does not stand at the same level of the other companions (not out of merit as a character, let me be clear, but due to execution and implementation of her story in the launched version of the game), nor do her quests or her (lack of) dungeons and truly meaningful unique crafted content.

She is a charming, beloved character and, even if Larian really truly wants to die on the hill of “Karlach is a tragic character who must die”, they could do so and still make (some of) the players feel fulfilled by having the journey with Karlach, from Act 1 through Act 3 and that damn pier, be rich, intricate, layered, funny, badass, bloody, sad, painful, relatable, sweet… Just like she is.

//

So that is what I wanted:

Not necessarily have her be 'cured', marry and have kids or whatever shit is happily ever after - I think it doesn’t suit her (it might have, in an alternative universe, but not in the one presented in game, with THE Karlach we get in game).

But have her story receive the highlights it deserves, including locations, NPCs and interactions - so even if we just get the 3 outcomes for her we currently have - Avernus, death or death by mindflayer - we could feel some level of closure.

Or, even better: have her journey be richer, AND give us the sliver of hope for the Avernus ending. Make Dammon say that there is something somewhere in Avernus - a blueprint, a special crafting material, a DUDE, or Mizora imply there's a chance to bargain with Zariel (whatever!) - and that we might, perhaps, just MAYBE, be able to finally actually DO SOMETHING.

And then just leave us, the players, to let our minds wander on, imagining how that would go.

That, honestly, could be the thing able to redeem the terrible ending experience I had in my first playthrough. A fully implemented story progression befitting Karlach and just a hint of hope to hang onto.

//

It doesn’t seem absurd, does it? Though the implementation of a richer story (perhaps a dungeon or a sneak peek of Zariel) of course would involve a lot of new work and re-work. But for a game that turned out so big and successful - and a character so cherished - it doesn’t seem out of the question.

Too bad I’m not Swen so I can’t do it myself.

Instead, I write long rage posts on an almost anon account on tumblr. Thank you, tumblr. >>

PS: I got really angry up there, didn’t I? LOL. I’m as easy to get heated as Karlach, it seems. Oops.

[eponymous-rose]

Some incoherent early-morning thoughts about how all the origin companions' character arcs have so, so many parallels. (Major spoilers for the entire game follow.)

All of them have backstories in which they have had power and agency taken from them (Karlach was betrayed as a teenager and made to fight for a decade in someone else's war, Astarion was tortured and made a tool of a horrific vampire lord for two centuries, Shadowheart had her memories of family and faith wiped as a child and was brought up to be a torturer, Lae'zel was a True Believer who was victimized (along with her people) by an undead horror masquerading as a god, Wyll was a teenager who was raised to feel so much personal responsibility for his city that he sold his soul to a devil to protect it, and Gale had his magical virtuosity and religion and love all tangled up in a way that meant he would lose all three when he lost one.

In early Act I, they react differently to their unexpected circumstances, but underlying it all is terror. Karlach is determined to be positive and count her blessings after her escape, but she is terrified at the prospect of having to return to the Hells to survive. Astarion's reaction to finding freedom is largely shock with a nascent joy, but he is terrified of being tracked down by Cazador and made to return. Shadowheart's mission for Shar quickly becomes something that she's less and less sure about, in a way that terrifies her, so she doubles down early in the game and leans into the persona she was molded to. Lae'zel follows a similar arc, in which she has found herself terrified out of her mind to be on an alien planet surrounded by people who don't believe the way she does, so she defaults to the strictest tenets of that belief. Wyll goes through cycles of denial and moroseness about his pact and its consequences, but he's clearly terrified at the mere thought that the ends may not have justified the means. And Gale, of course, understands that the price for his curiosity is this massive destructive force, and he's terrified that he has permanently lost access to many of the driving forces of his life.

The rest of the game gives our heroes the ability to seek power, which generally comes with a revenge component that is revealed to feel deeply futile and unsatisfying. They all have the ability to be saved, in their way, by the people they meet throughout their adventures.

The only power available to Karlach is killing Gortash, but it doesn't change the fact that she's going to die or return to her prison. Her escape is in the connections she's made, in the friends she can bring with her into hell.

Astarion can kill Cazador, but he doesn't feel any measure of true satisfaction over that (which he outright says) - the other option is to double down and Ascend, and the denial involved there warps his personality in a way that parallels early-game Lae'zel and Shadowheart and honestly feels like the start of another character arc a long way down the road. His only escape is to accept living in the shadows, which is made a meaningful life by the connections he makes throughout the game.

Shadowheart can obviously seize power by becoming a Dark Justiciar, but she also has the option to decide to free Nightsong (and later her parents, one way or the other) and defy Shar, and while there are permanent consequences (essentially chronic pain and the knowledge that there may be meddling in her future life out of petty revenge), her connections with the world are also what give that decision meaning.

Lae'zel can remain a believer right up to the point of death, which is reassuring for her need for order and certainty, but even following Orpheus means she shows a lot of the same uncompromising devotion. Eventually, thanks in large part to the connections she makes throughout the game, she sees the importance in protecting people (which is a theme that comes up strongly in her romance), and her ending can reflect that as she flies off to save her people.

Wyll can rather abruptly get his Pact rescinded (with a waiting period, true), but his true tethers and lure of power aren't so much devilish as they are related to the way in which his father has raised him to feel solely responsible for an entire city as a very young man. He's genuine in his love for protecting people, but he has the option to either pursue that love by flinging himself into the political machinations of the city... or, through the connections he makes throughout the game, realizing that he can expand his scope and help others even in Avernus.

Gale can grasp at power and agency by going after the Crown of Karsus. That can either be by giving it to Mystra in a bid for full forgiveness (which she may either accept or decline), or by turning it into the pursuit of his own godhood (and, potentially, an attempt at revenge on Mystra that doesn't end well for him). Through his connections with the party, he can also choose to forego that power and accept his more humble role in the world for what it is.

Honestly, a lot of NPCs also have this "so no one told you life was gonna be this way" arc in which they seem to get everything they wanted but find it hollow and unsatsifying until they reconnect with those around them. Rolan gets the internship with Lorroakan he's willing to risk everything for but is abused in the process, and only through the events of the game truly accepts that his family is what's most important to him. Dame Aylin gets her Wrathful killing of Lorroakan and is terribly shaken by the lack of satisfaction afterwards. And, of course, the Emperor is someone who was given a chance at power and doubled down, out of the belief that only he can set things right because he's just that important (which Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, and Wyll, among others, can also go through, not to mention Tav). Orpheus trying his damndest to abdicate that power if he survives to endgame is an interesting contrast.

I appreciate a game with a more-or-less coherent set of narrative motifs, and it's even more impressive with the sheer volume of choices that can be made (I've only touched on some of the most common ones!).

[lonepower]

4-7 general, 2, 6, 14 story, 1, 3, 5 romance for merry, if that's not too much? 

IT IS NOT, THANK YOU :D

4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Approves: - generally selfish actions, or actions that prioritize party members over strangers - actions that seek to further the player's knowledge or power (such as reading all of Thay) - casual violence or petty cruelty - lying in any context, but doubled if it's funny or pointless rather than in advancement of plot (ie playing along with Volo about the goblins/dragon, convincing Blurg you're a mushroom collector, etc)

Disapproves: - offering to help strangers without asking for anything in return - wanton cruelty on a large scale, cruelty to children or animals, or to people who "haven't done anything" (note that her definition of this may be arbitrary and a little hypocritical!) - trying to sway someone from the course they've chosen for themself (so she'll disapprove a lot if you use [persuasion] to get Shadowheart to spare the Nightsong, a little if you say "just kill her" which doesn't require a skill check, and approve a lot of you letting Shadow make her own choice, no matter the outcome of that. Same with Lae'zel & Voss: you'll get a little disapproval for telling her what you think she should do, and a lot of approval for saying "I have your back"). Exceptions are when (she perceives) the choice as being under duress: Kahga is being manipulated by Olodan and Ketheric, Astarion isn't fully himself during the ritual, that sort of thing.

tl;dr she believes in fierce loyalty to a select few, defense of a person's individual freedoms/right to make their own decisions (even if those decisions are bad), self-preservation and self-advancement, and generally being gleefully unpleasant, but doesn't go out of her way to cause needless misery.

5. Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions? / 6. Will they stay with the Player Character regardless of siding with the goblins or the tieflings, or is it possible for them to leave the party permanently? She'll turn hostile if you actively betray a party member (such as killing Mizora and thus Wyll, or sacrificing someone to BOOOAL). The exception is if they aren't a full party member or aren't a party member yet, so if you kill Karlach with Wyll straight off the bat (you monster), she'll disapprove a little but she won't leave. Like Gale, she can be convinced to stay if you side with the goblins, but it's a pretty high speech check (DC25, or DC19 if you're also a druid) and she'll leave if you fail.

6. Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light? I don't...think so? on the one hand she's a very "I have nothing to hide" kind of person who doesn't really feel shame, like, at all lmao. if someone doesn't like something about her, her god, her ecoterrorism, or her past, they're free to take it up with her. (This philosophy has gotten her arrested at least once.) But on the other hand, she loves lying. So it might be less "secrets revealed" and more akin to Deacon Falloutfour, where she tells you something about her Dark Past™ and then later is like "oh yea i was just messing with you lol", repeat ad nauseam.

7. Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game? Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes? Yes and no. Her quest takes place over act 1 but has different outcomes in act 3. Her recruitment is an alternate route to the shadow druids questline where you can usurp Olodan and convince the others to reject Ketheric Thorm and his bargain of isolationism, thus keeping the grove for the Shadow Druids but also keeping it open and ensuring their help in the final battle. (there's more to it wrt the refugees that I'm still working on, lol.) If Kahga dies, Merry becomes first druid of the shadow circle and stays with the grove, but she'll return for the endgame as a temporary member a la Jaheira, along with the others. If Kahga survives as first druid, Merry accompanies you as a companion and you get the shadow druids' help, but Kahga doesn't join you as a temp.

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2. How do they advise the player character on Raphael? That's a good question. Is she still his sibling? (She doesn't know this, so the point is moot on her end, but when she's Tav I very much hc that he does.) Either way, I think she's sort of an inverse of Astarion's "they don't play games unless they know they can win": if you want to play with a devil, you'd better have a damn good strategy (and a very rigged board). Otherwise, the only winning move is not to play.

14. How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer? Can they offer to become one themselves? Does their reaction change if they’re romanced?

Of course she can ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) She will start offering as soon as the Emperor reveals themself, lmao. Whether romanced or not, if Tav becomes a mind flayer she will be pelting them with questions. Do you have a sense of taste? Do you see color? Do you see more colors? What number am I thinking of? Do you, personally, perceive yourself as the same person you were before? The only difference if she's romanced is that there are a few (and only a few) more questions about tentacles. If she becomes a mind flayer, you are treated to a humorous but very unsettling scene of her figuring out her wildshape (think animorphs levels of body horror).

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1. Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them? Yes she is, and no requirements other than that she's a full party member (so, it starts in act 2). Like Lae'zel and Shadowheart, a new dialogue option will pop up once you get to a high enough approval.

3. Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option? Poly! She can be romanced alongisde Gale, Astarion, and Shadowheart, and is open to romance w Karlach and Zel (but they're not interested ):). Ironically, she and Halsin don't really like each other at all (in an "I respect you as a professional but you are not my type of person" kind of way, not any real vitriol) so they are not simultaneous options lol. on second thought, it makes more sense if she and halsin are mutually exclusive entirely and she only joins you if you actually complete her version of the quest. especially since if they're not, you end up with three recruitable druids which is...not balanced lol.

4. Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take? For some reason I'm stuck on this one, lol. I think it would be really fun to give her dynamic endings based on if you're romancing her with someone else, but I can't think of any branching paths for just her alone. The three of you should definitely be able to usurp Mystra together. she's not that special. we can take her.