#like when i learned later that you can recruit her i was like?? the goblin camp drow??!? how????

[museofvoid]

not that anyone's asked but i keep thinking about this and i feel like i need to explain how this happened

so, when i started this game everything was new and confusing and very overwhelming to me, i was only there to kiss the vampire ffs. either way, i left the crash site and, after picking up a few companions along the way, i found myself at some ruins. i killed the bandits outside and had my first long rest right after. the next day i tried to get inside the temple, but the guy at the door wouldn't let me through and i didn't know how else to get inside so i gave up and left.

instead i found my way to the druids grove, i fought off the goblins and was let inside. i talked to the tieflings and the druids, who were all talking about some ritual to close off the grove and throw out the tieflings, unless! their missing archdruid would come back to stop it! and the ritual was almost done, so i had to find him!

from this i made the assumption that this quest was on a time limit. i thought that if i long rested now, the druids would close the grove and the tieflings would be doomed.

so, i rushed over to the goblin camp! as a drow, any goblins along the way were very nice and let me pass without any trouble. i got to the temple, and made my way straight inside. there some goblins were telling me about their three leaders, assuming i was there to see the drow. so after a few stops along the way to help some prisoners, i went to see the drow.

i find the drow, knowing i have to kill her, and get straight to it. i honestly don't remember exactly what i did here, i think i wanted to get rid of the scrying eye, which obviously upset minthara, causing her to attack me in turn. this fight took me several tries, because i was still at like level 2, maybe 3? anyway, after much struggle i eventually defeat her, but it took a toll on my party.

but i kept going. i found bear halsin in a cage and helped free him, and i was so relieved. this meant he would return to the grove and the tieflings would be fine! i was again in pretty rough shape after that fight, so i thought it would be a great time to finally take another long rest :)

but halsin didn't like that. "what are you doing?" he asked. "we need to kill these goblins!" he said. so, reluctantly, i kept going. thankfully with halsin on our side we got some much needed support in the next fight against priestess gut. it still took a few tries, but was far easier than minthara.

only one leader left now, but the team was not looking good, and our stock of healing potions were running low. halsin with his healing and, what? level 5? was a god send. the fight against dror ragzlin was still pretty bad. his band of goblins were mostly fine to deal with, but if ragzlin himself got close he would practically one-shot any of us with that fucking hammer.

i had to get a bit creative to survive this one. learning how to take advantage of the environment, and using area damage, with what little i had to work with.

in the end, i'm not even sure how i did it, but beat him. and after some final exploration of the now empty temple i just fast traveled back to the grove (thank the gods i didn't walk out the front door!)

and that's it, the druids were happy (except for kagha), the tieflings were happy, and they wanted to have a party at my camp. so i got to fuck astarion very early on which was fun, but other than that i was a bit disappointed that this party i had heard about happened so early in the game lmao

TL;DR - i thought that if i long rested after finding emerald grove, the druids would finish the ritual and throw out the tieflings. which meant that to prevent this i struggled to defeat the goblins in one single day while being severely underleveled :)

after now having spent over 500 hours playing baldur's gate, it's kind of insane to think back on that in my first playthrough i had the tiefling party on my second long rest

[lillotus17]

INTERTWINED Headcanons (Spidermen!ENHA)

HYUNG LINE'S IN DEPTH BACKGROUND:

"All right, let's do this one more time."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hyung line's personal background story! TBH, it's literally a summary of the Spider-Man movies. Heeseung's summary is based on Tom Holland's Spider-Man... etc. So if you've watched any of the Spider-Man movies then you get the gist of it! I added some twists though! I also didn't intend for Sunghoon's part to be that long but here we are LOL. This was actually because Gwen's background in spider verse was short so I wanted to fill in the gaps as I pleased!

NOT PROOF READ: Apologies for any grammatical errors, my loves!

HEESEUNG:

In Heeseung's universe, he was approached by Kim Namjoon (Tony Stark) and recruited into the Avengers temporarily.

He went through literal hell and back. He blipped the five years in his universe.

After the death of Mr. Kim, he did everything he could to be the friendly neighborhood spider-man.

Then the whole Mysterio scandal happened and his identity was revealed.

Nothing seemed to work out for him though. He lost his older brother, Seokmin, trying to save his universe from clashing with other universes.

That's how he met Jay. Heeseung's best friend Jeongin accidentally summoned the wrong spider-man from a different universe.

Yunjin, their other best friend (and Jeongin's girlfriend), had to take away the sling ring from him.

Heeseung's one-sided feelings for her didn't go unnoticed by Jeongin but Heeseung was nothing but supportive for his best friends.

Innie was so grateful to have a best friend like Seung.

Which is why Yunjin and Jeongin were devastated when Heeseung told him what he had to do in order to save the universe.

He had to make everyone forget about him.

After a few months, he finds Jay inside of his apartment. And Hee wonders how Jay managed to get back into his universe.

After a turn of events, he meets Jake and Hoon, along with a few others. Eventually the four of them end up in Y/N's universe.

JAY:

In Jay's universe, he lost his older sister Jihyo. She went out searching for him after they had a fight. She was stabbed in a robbery gone wrong.

He was is such a dark place after that. He went out every night trying to find his sisters killer.

His best friends, Sunghoon (Harry Osborn) and Jake [Gwen Stacy (platonic)], were so worried about him.

Eventually when he started to get more involved in crime fighting.

During the whole Dr. Connors trying to turn all of New York City into lizards, Jake catches Jay in his Spider suit without his mask.

With the help of Jake they saved New York City (because Jake was an intern at Oscorp).

At the end of graduation, they find out that Sunghoon is sick. Hoon asks Jay to get in contact with Spider-Man because he needs his blood. It doesn't work out though.

Sunghoon finds, what he believes to be, another way (a serum) to live but that also doesn't work out.

And Sunghoon becomes Green goblin.

Jay and Jake try to save Hoon, that's when Hoon figures out that Jay is Spider-Man.

They fight, and Jake gets in between them but he falls off the clock tower doing so.

Before Jay can save Jake it's too late.

Hoon's serum didn't work either, rather it intesified his illness and he eventually succumbed to his sickness.

Jay lost both of his best friends.

A few years later, when he's making his rounds of the city, a bright orange spark just randomly appears in front of him.

Then it moves in a circular motions and become bigger and then next thing he knows its a portal.

That's how he meets Heesung.

JAKE:

Jake is really smart. He earned a spot at Brooklyn Visions Program at NYU. His parents were so proud.

Was really close to his older cousin Felix.

Was bitten by a radioactive spider when he and Lix were messing around in the abandoned subways lines.

Was learning how to to get his powers under control.

Met Sunghoon for the first time in his literature class.

Sunghoon had a leaf in his hair and when Jake went to get it out, his hand was stuck to Hoon's hair...

Like his hand would NOT unstick and it resulted is hoon getting an impromptu undercut at the nurse's office.

Started off on the wrong foot.

Then Jake met Spider-Man!Christopher Bang from a different universe???!!!

Chris finds out that Jake is just like him (spidey-tingle and all) and then offers to teach him how to use his powers.

They also try to figure out what Chris is doing in Jake's universe.

In turn, they find out Hoon also has spider powers and is from another universe.

Upon learning how the merging of different universes started, Jake also finds out, the hard way, that Felix is involved.

Felix is the Prowler, working for King Pin. Just when Lix is about to off Spider-Man!Jake, Jake takes off his mask.

Lix pauses and panics and lets go of Jake and then next thing Jake knows, he hears a bang and Lix is falling into his arms.

Lix doesn't make it :(, Jake's cop dad spot them and Jake has to move quickly.

He goes back to his dorms, Chris and Hoon and are waiting for him with their other spider hero friends and they tell Jake that he shouldn't come and fight with them. But Jake is supposed to be the one that shuts down all the portals so that no one gets left behind and dies from not being back in their own universe.

Jake get webbed down to his chair, not able to move.

While he's struggling to escape, his dad comes to deliver the news about Lix. Cue the emotional and motivational speech from dad.

Jake gets free, powers are under control and he's off to save his spider friends!

Long story short (not really), he wins! Friends? Back home! Portals? Shut down! King Pin? Defeated!

Then a couple months pass of him being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man when randomly, when he's in bed, he hears Sunghoon's voice calling out for him?

SUNGHOON:

In Sunghoon's universe, his dad is the chief of police.

Sunghoon was a well known figure skater!

Hoon just really wanted to make his dad proud.

Then he was bitten by a radioactive spider.

Thus becoming Spider-Hoon!

As chief of police, his dad DID NOT approve of Spider-Hoon!

This made Hoon feel guilty for his double life, so he kept it a secret so as long as he could.

Sunghoon was best friends with Lee Heeseung but because Hoon started to pick up Ice skating they drifted apart for a little bit.

Only talking and hanging out every now and then.

Heeseung would get picked on a lot by his school mates.

Hoon tried his best but Hee asked him not to get involved with his life anymore. This really upset Hoon.

The bullying gets bad and Heeseung snaps. He steals the serum that he and Dr. Connor's were working on at Oscrop and injects himself.

Everyone at school sees him (hee) as worthless and all his life he's just wanted to be seen as something more. Something special. Like Spider-Man.

Hoon was interning at Oscorp and on the day Hee injects himself with the serum.

Then there's crashing and people screaming and running.

Hoon springs into action and bumps in a 9 foot lizard. He doesn't know it's Heeseung.

Hoon gets hurt and Hee retreats. Hoon dips as soon as he hears sirens and his dad's voice.

Heeseung comes up with a plan get revenge on the classmates that have done nothing but torment him. He also planned to turn all of New York City into lizards just like him.

Meanwhile at home, Hoon's dad tells him that Heeseung's aunt contacted him. He tells Hoon that Heeseung and Dr. Connors have been missing since the lizard appeared at Oscorp.

Hoons panics. He remembers talking to Heeseung about the serum that they were working on. How it was supposed genetically repair the human body... like a lizard.

Hoon also remembers that Dr. Connors lost his arm in a car accident.

Hoon suspects that Connors injected himself with the serum to some how regrow his lost arm. He also wonders if Heeseung figured out what Connors was up to and as a result was taken by him.

Did Connors need Heeseung alive? If so, what for?

Too many questions race through Hoon's mind and he's off into New York's sewage system.

He stumbles upon the lizard's lair. He starts to dig around when he hears a groan. He runs and prays its Heeseung but he's shocked when he sees Dr. Connors, severely injured.

Connor's tells Hoon that he was kidnapped by the lizard to make adjustments to the serum and build a diffuser.

Hoon asks about Heeseung but all Dr. Connor's can mumble is "He's gone" to Hoon.

Before Hoon could press any further there's a crash in the lair and he see the lizard.

They fight and the lizard gets the upper hand. It takes the serum and diffuser. Poor Sunghoon is so stresses about saving his beat friend and the city.

Hoon asks Dr. Connor's where the lizard is headed.

That night Heeseung planned to use the diffuser as Oscorp. He thought it would be perfect because Oscorp was host a fundraising Gala to restore and repair damages the building had suffered.

Elite families and honorable guests would be there... includig his tormentors.

Hoon's dad, as chief of police, was an honorable guest and present at the Gala. Hoon was expected to be there as well and he shows up in his suit as a cover.

He's on edge and when his dad asks him what was going on with him their conversation is cut short by screaming and running.

Hoon's dad springs into action and tells Hoon to get out of there. When his dad is out of sight, Hoon changes into his spider suit.

Hoon is searching for the lizard and sees his dad fighting off, then his dad is knocked out by it. Hoon rushed his dad away from the fight then goes back to find the lizard.

Cue more fighting. Hoon manages to get the upper hand this time and web shoots the lizard. It loses it's balance and falls and with it the ceiling and roof falls too.

The lizard is crushed and Hoon watches in horror as the lizard transforms into human. It's Heeseung.

Hoon sprints and is on his knees crying.

"What did you do, Hee?" he's sobbing.

Heeseung tells Spider-Man, "I just wanted to be special like you".

Sunghoon tells Heeseung that it's him, that he's spider-man.

And Hee tells Hoon that he'll be okay. The Heeseung's eyes close and he stops breathing.

And Hoon lets out a heart wrenching sob.

At this point, Hoon's dad is awake again and worried about him so he goes to look for Hoon.

When he enters, he sees spider-man's back and face mask off but he can't quite see Hoon's face.

he tells Hoon to freeze but Hoon quickly grabs hi mask and makes a run for it.

His dad chases after him telling him to stop but then freezes when he sees Heeseung laying in a pile of debris.

Hoon and his dad are mourning. HIs dad blames spider-man for Heeseung's death and swears to get justice for Heeseung.

Hoon is just broken at this point. He feels so helpless and alone.

He doesn't really do the "friend" thing.

Jump to a year later and he's in a different universe.

And he meets Jake.

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TAGLIST (OPEN): @praliliaaa @clara12o @llvrhee

comment if you'd like to be added to the taglist!

A/N: I apologize for the painfully slow updates everyone! I have a lot on my plate and I'm taking summer courses!

[blackjackkent]

OK, doing things a smidge out of my usual order and going straight to get Karlach now (and Astarion) now that we've talked to Zorru; we'll come back and chat with Nettie and get hyped up on goblin shenanigans later. Rakha is enthused about helping Wyll killkillkill so finding Karlach has shot to the top of the priority list. Hopefully I can figure out a reason for Karlach not to actually die. :P

It is a bit of a walk to get Karlach, though, so there's a bit of other stuff to run into on the way, starting with these lovely people:

A dwarf lies in the roadway, bleeding out of a thick, gaping wound in his chest. Rakha can taste the blood on her tongue, in her brain. The man is dying. The man and woman standing next to him are both frantic with fear.

"You're a True Soul!" the woman is saying desperately as Rakha draws within earshot. "You can't die! Please stay with us!"

"I don't think he's conscious!" the man cries. "Can you hear us, Ed?"

The woman's head snaps up hearing the group's approach behind them, and she steps back defensively, rounding on Rakha. "You! Not a step closer!"

Rakha halts. It is a struggle to survey the situation analytically with that smell of blood in the air, and though the tadpole squirms excitedly in her head, she lacks quite the energy after the mental tussle with Wyll earlier to grasp at any thoughts from the strange group - to gauge whether they are friend or foe.

Information the old-fashioned way, then.

"What happened to your friend?" she asks curtly.

"An owlbear," the man says desperately. "Please, do you have any--"

"Shut up, Andrick!" the woman snaps. She's warier than the man, and looks at Rakha cautiously. "Do you serve the Absolute?" she asks.

Rakha stares at her, baffled. These words don't scan together in any context she's familiar with. She can hear the capital letter on the word. She can hear that she is being asked her allegiance. But she does not understand.

Who is the Absolute?

The silence is broken by the dying man on the ground, who rolls his head slightly to the side with what seems monumental effort and stares up in to Rakha's eyes.

"Wait..."

Narrator: The injured man locks eyes with you. A familiar squirming churns in your head.

Rakha sinks to her knees, keeping her eyes locked on the man. Is this another like them, then? Another who was caught on the nautiloid and infected? Another who might have answers?

Hold his stare.

Narrator: Your minds intertwine. You see his siblings - Andrick and Brynna. New recruits. Yours to shepherd.

She feels the dying man's voice echo in her mind. "Protect them..." And then, out loud to the siblings: "She is a True Soul. Mind her. She will-- she-- she..."

She is still connected and feels it, the moment when he dies, and her body gives a deep, involuntary shudder. The blood-pulse pounds in the back of her head with an intensity that for a moment blocks out all thought. She reaches out, puts a hand on the corpse's chest, rests her fingertips in the still-hot blood of the wound. For a moment there is again that flash of memory, of a thousand other corpses, a thousand other drops of blood staining her hands.

The woman - Brynna - is staring at her. "You're... you're a True Soul," she whispers unsteadily. She has the air of someone desperately trying to appear older and more confident than she is. "Edowin-- our brother, he was chosen. Like you. Do you have orders for us? We were reporting to Edowin."

Rakha comes back to herself slowly. The words don't make sense. Orders? Who are these people? Who is this Absolute they serve? What is a-- "True Soul?" she asks hoarsely.

"What?" Andrick asks, as puzzled at her question as she is in the asking of it. "Are you-- are you testing us?"

"A True Soul, like you, has been chosen by the Absolute," Brynna says. She is reciting something she has learned by heart; her voice takes on a rote quality. "You speak with Her voice. Your words are Her command. She grants you the power to enforce Her will. And when the time comes, the True Souls - you - will rule."

"That fellow was infected like us," Wyll mutters skeptically behind her. "Is this the mark of a 'True Soul'?"

Rakha desperately tries to steady her thoughts long enough to understand the situation. The blood on her fingertips is distractingly warm.

Brynna calls her a True Soul. The title connects, somehow, to the tadpole, and to the voice of a god called the Absolute. If Brynna is right, then this religion holds the answers Rakha seeks.

But even as she thinks it, Rakha finds herself dismissing the idea. None of her companions, just as infected, have mentioned anything of this god. Rakha herself has no memory of it, nor of any voice that she might be inclined to channel besides the murder-hungry urge crawling inside her skull.

And perhaps most to the point - Andrick and Brynna have been following the dead man for some time. That means he was not on the nautiloid. And that means his experience means nothing at all.

Whatever Edowin is (or was), it is something different from Rakha. And the True Soul gibberish is nonsense she needs no part of.

"You're mistaken," she says with a dismissive shrug, pushing herself sharply to her feet. "I'm no True Soul."

Andrick's eyes widen; terror splashes across his face. "What?"

"What are you doing?" Brynna demands, backpedaling several steps and yanking the mace off her back. The fervor with which she recited about the Absolute turns to a manic gleam in her eye. "Your sword, brother! Now!"

-----

The beast in Rakha's head was already on the point of slipping free, what with the overwhelming smell of Edowin's blood, his corpse staring up at her with its rictus frown. Seeing Brynna start to run at her, mace held high, she snaps, her vision whites, and she knows no more.

Some minutes later, she comes back to herself sitting in the shade of the nearby ridge. Her hands are soaked in blood. The two hapless followers of the Absolute lie dead next to their brother. Lae'zel is picking over their corpses, looking for anything of use.

Wyll squats next to her, raises an eyebrow. "I'll give you one thing," he says with dry humor. "You're thorough."

"I already told you," Rakha rasps. "How it feels. I wasn't lying."

"So I can see." He purses his lips thoughtfully. "Strange magic you wield. You about burned the girl to cinders and then... I don't know. It was like you couldn't move. Everything slowed down around you. Never seen the like."

She squints at him. "I could say the same of you."

"How's that?"

"Your magic. It's... different. Not like mine. It's..." She hesitates; she hasn't yet been able to truly articulate the way she sees the magical fabric of the world in a way that even Gale doesn't seem to. And she certainly doesn't know how to articulate why Wyll's feels so strange. "It's confusing," she finally says.

He laughs softly - but she hears something forced in it, another evasive edge. "Is it, now?" he says. "Sometimes it confuses me too..."

[ryttu3k]

Planning out my BG3 Sascha run and whoops looks like we're doing another 'bad' run. I'm sure it'll be fine!

Using the aasimar mod for that tasty Angel of Caine dynamic 8D

Old(tm). Highest stats are INT and CHA, classed as a draconic bloodline sorcerer/wizard (bloodline is gold/fire, mostly putting levels in wizard). Can't be selected in-game but they're the grandchild of Kereska, dragon god of magic.

So yes a half-deity dragon angel with fire powers I know they're OP I know but also have you seen Sascha canonically.

Trauma in their backstory, because ofc. When they were young, they fell under the control of another aasimar, Symeon, child of Tyr, who in turn served Michael, who claimed to be the avatar of Sune. Symeon was charming and manipulative, and Sascha, then calling themself Myca, fell pretty quickly under his influence. It wasn't a great time.

Had a sweet romance with Ilias, child of Silvanus. Ilias died during the Spellplague. Myca changed their name to Sascha and. Hardened themself off somewhat.

Present day, a powerful sorcerer/wizard who regularly looks in on places like Blackstaff Academy, using illusion magic to hide their wings and stuff.

Secret! Netherese! Cultist!

Has a fascination with illithid technology. It's so visceral. Why is the damn ship crashing why can't they examine the meat crimes more :-\

Immediately takes charge with their OP charisma. General play vibes are like, pragmatic and not very sentimental, but does try to take care of their coterie.

Mostly fascinated with Gale, another powerful and ambitious mage with a connection to Netherese magic. Definitely encourages him to seek out his sorcerer side (he'll end up multiclassing Storm Sorcery) and, uh, the Crown but also with an eye to maybe? using it themself?

Wary about the Dream Visitor. Does not like having their mind fucked with. On the other hand, very open to using illithid powers, although by the time they get the astral-touched tadpole they're already too negative about the Emperor to agree.

Major decisions, act 1: We are straight-out skipping the druids/tiefling/goblin conflict! (Or, well, AFAIK you can't avoid the fight at the gate, but otherwise they're going to do that, trade with Arron, talk to whatshisname who had the run-in with the githyanki, then go "yeah this isn't my business" and leave.) Won't be recruiting Wyll, Karlach, or Halsin, and the tieflings are fucked, I'm sorry everyone ;_; Might end up entering the Goblin Camp just for more info on this True Soul/Absolute business, but staying steadfastedly Not Involved, then heading on to the Mountain Pass and the creche. Obviously that'll go poorly, although Sascha is still going to be like, yeah, the one in the Prism is shifty, sure, I'll kill them. So that'll put a dampener on any potential relationship!

Act 2: I am… actually not sure how to navigate the Shadow-Cursed Lands here, without getting the lyre from either Minthara or Nere, or attacking the convoy. Hm. Might just have to do a straight shot for Moonrise. AFAIK Minthara can be rescued here and Sascha is just "yeah fine why not". Largely skipping the Last Light, so no Jaheira, and, later, no Minsc, so final team will be Sascha, Gale, Astarion, Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Minthara. Does the Gauntlet for Shadowheart's sake, but will encourage her not to kill their fellow aasimar, so at least someone is getting a good end XD;; Okay they don't seem to like many other aasimar so, uh, sorry Aylin. Otherwise, makes themself at home at Moonrise and wreaks havoc while they're not looking while in the process of Learning Everything. And, uh, the Shadow Curse is not getting lifted, although tbh I think that was a given since I'm pretty sure Halsin dies if you don't get involved with the Grove-Goblin conflict ;_;

Act 3: Learning about the Emperor - they fuckin' knew it -_- When they meet Raphael later, doesn't agree to the deal, but does plan to steal the hammer instead. They want that crown for their bae, okay.

Character arcs: Gale - go for the crown, babe, I'll hold your flower. Shadowheart - she's already turned from Shar, let's just complete the process. Encourages her to let her parents go. Okay maybe she will go Dark Justiciar :| Astarion - …tragically I think they'd encourage Ascension I'm so sorry Astarion bby. Sascha is just, "Get revenge! Fuckin' eat him!" Lae'zel - reject Vlaakith, free Orpheus - although that's in part to spite the Emperor tbh. Don't know what's happening with Minthara, I guess we'll find out!

Endgame: Once they have the stones, have Orpheus turn illithid. Ultimately, destroy the Netherbrain, then encourage Gale to get the crown and become a god. For the epilogue, become a god alongside him. This won't go badly at all!

On the plus side, if I'm doing God!Gale romance here, I might be able to skip one of the several Astarion runs I have planned, and just do the "they actually do make each other better this time" run?

[captainmortuem]

My answers for @paarthursass ' BG3 Tav Companion questionnaire. I thought this was really fun, and I wanted to do it for my main BG3 characters.

Augurous Dovah-Fane

(1/4)

General

• Where can your Tav be recruited?  Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region?  Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

Augurous would be recruitable in the Nautiloid Crash Region, though not on the beach where Astarion/Shadowheart/Gale are. He would be present for the defense of the Druid's Grove, then make his way further along until you could eventually find him in the Blighted Village where he's waiting in the apothecary.

• Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

• Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

Astarion would be met with some initial hesitation, mostly just because his personality/front would be grating.

Gale would be a fun conversation, if for no other reason than Augurous would be interested about Waterdeep.

Wyll would be met with a passing respect, probably a comment about Augurous getting his own storybook hero.

Karlach would be met with pity, more about her situation than anything, and a love for how upbeat she is in spite of the things she had been through.

Shadowheart would pique his interest, but he would tag pretty quick that she's a Shar worshipper. (It's the armor. Seriously she just wears slightly modified justiciar armor.)

Lae'zel would be a welcome addition, somebody who can handle themselves in a fight, but Augurous wouldn't be afraid to fight back if she tries to start talking smack. Or he would meet it with sarcasm, in case she was being hostile for the sake of her superiority thing that she has going in Act 1.

• What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Helping people who are needy (the Tieflings in the Grove, people of the Grove who dislike Kagha's reign, Volo, the Prisoner in the Goblin Camp), sarcasm, and taking no flak from unjust people in power (Kagha, Gortash) are all good ways to increase his affinity.

• Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

Betraying the Grove (and failing a speech check/already having low affinity), Siding with Gortash and dooming the people in the iron throne (skill check if first offense, unavoidable if betrayed the grove), during his companion quest.

• Do they have any secrets that can be revealed?  What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

During his companion quest you can discover that Augurous' parents were both taken when he was very young. What he initially believes was their deaths, turns into (during the trek through Cazador's Palace) finding out that they had been kidnapped and turned by Cazador's Spawn

• 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?

Augurous' personal quest would follow him trying to figure out whether or not to follow along with his work as a Cleric or trying to take up his father's mantle as a patriar/notable figure in Baldur's Gate's politics.

• What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp?  How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

"You want me to stay? Do i smell bad or something?"

"Let's go. I was just starting to miss the aching feet."

• Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

Astarion, 100%. He would grow to like Astarion as time goes on, but finally learning about his parent's disappearance would cause the conflict to explode. Depending on the player's actions, and whether or not Astarion ascends, Augurous could try to attack him.

• Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

Likely a few old members of the crew he was running with before starting up his Bahamut worship. They might ask Augurous to help rescue some of the gang's leadership after Gortash kidnapped them.

• Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for your character? (Like Gale’s anecdote about the barfight after you save the goblin prisoner) 

Helping Alfira with her song would get Augurous to bring up his own experiences as a bard at the Blushing Mermaid. Going to the Blushing Mermaid (specifically when dealing with Ethel) would have Augurous lovingly reminisce about the time the Captain stabbed him for playing a teasing song about her.

Story Specific

• How does your Tav advise the player character when it comes to the Dream Visitor?

Augurous admits that he would love the power it could provide, but advises against taking the Dream Visitor's offer because "Nothing good ever comes from the voices in your head promising you anything."

• How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

Augurous would advise killing Raphael as frequently as possible, and he would get noticeably more excited when stealing from and confronting Raphael in the House of Hope.

• How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

"If you're into that, more power to you. Not my business what you do with tall, pale, and ghastly."

• How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

[Jokingly] "Do I get a turn?" Or [Flustered (if having flirted with him)] "Oh, that's... Well I've got a lot to think about now."

• How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

"You really just did that, huh? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I think I'm good with the 'nothing gained' part of that."

• 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?

He would be in the same vein as Gale, not thrilled about the idea, but willing to hear out the PC. If they admit they betrayed the Grove for the hell of it then he would heavily consider leaving.

• What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

With the tieflings he would be hanging around Alfira, drinking a little bit, and just enjoying all the happy people.

With the Goblins he would be keeping to his tent, mostly just making sure nobody came and tried to bother him.

• Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with? 

Astarion- "So, you and Fangs? To each their own. I may be a glutton for punishment, but my biting usually only goes so far. Good for you, though. Let me know if you need some healing afterwards."

Gale- "I see you, I see you. Just remember to use protection magic. *snort*"

Karlach- "A thrill seeker after my own heart. Let me know if you need help with your burns, 'soldier'."

Lae'zel- "Lae'zel? Better brush up on your hand-to-hand before you start rolling around with her."

Shadowheart- "Shadowheart, hmm? You're one lucky sun, or moon? No, moon probably isn't the best choice. Regardless, enjoy yourself. You've earned it."

Wyll- "Should I avoid any Rose petal pathways and heartfelt ballads coming from the forest? I tease, you and Wyll enjoy yourselves."

• Do they have unique dialogue if the Player Character lets them die when they steal the Blood of Lathander?

"Hey, so I know I'm a semi-devout follower of a god. You'd maybe expect some divine intervention or something in cases like this. It doesn't work like that, for future reference, please don't do that again."

• How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

[Non-romanced]"I'm not one to fault you for your 'interests' but uh... maybe can we not do that?"

[Romanced]"Please don't ask me to do that next."

• What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

"Hey, have I ever told you I'm generally not fond of clowns? Because I'm generally not fond of clowns."

• Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin?  How is Orin's deception revealed?  How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

It is possible for Augurous to be kidnapped by Orin. If he was replaced, it is revealed when the Player returns finds Augurous holding Yenna captive, encouraging the player character to kill her. Augurous's reaction to being rescued changes based on whether or not he's romanced.

[Non-Romanced] "Not for nothing, but I wish I'd gotten to stab her too. Thank you, I appreciate it more than you know."

[Romanced] "You know, in lieu of a joke about chains and whips, thank you. I knew you would come for me."

• How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

Considering this is when he finds out about his parents, Augurous would be very against Astarion ascending, but he would also speak out against sparing the spawn as well. He knows how dangerous it would be to let them loose on the Sword Coast, but death and freedom would be better in his eyes than death to raise up a Vampire Ascendant.

• 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? 

Augurous would be unsettled with Tav turning, but not hostile. He would not offer to become one himself, and if he was romanced then he would make a joke about the new appendages.

• How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

The reactions change based on the way the Durge responds to the killing.

An honest/apologetic Dark Urge would get, "We've got to figure out how to deal with that problem of yours, preferably before we get to the city. Or at least a temporary solution."

An unapologetic Dark Urge would get, "Are you kidding me? You couldn't have gotten more innocent and harmless if you'd killed a baby duckling. I'm travelling with a maniac."

If the Dark Urge lied or covered up the murder, then they'd get' "Something got close enough to kill her without anybody waking up. We should really set a watch every night."

• If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

Augurous would be patient, if not firm. All jokes aside, he would ask them very seriously if they want to kill him. Not the urge, or whatever is pushing them to do these things, but them in their truest self. If they don't want to kill him, he promises to work with them to handle this situation. If they want to kill him, he would free them and leave the party.

Romance

• Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Augurous is a romanceable character. There are no specific requirements.

• Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

If he is approached with a moderately high approval, he will reciprocate the feelings. If his affinity is very high then he will approach Tav first. He will specify up front though, if they want to fuck around then that's fine, but if they want a relationship then it would need to be exclusive.

• Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Monogamous, when in a relationship. But if it's a fwb thing like Lae'zel at first, then he'd be open to having multiple partners.

• Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

No special romance scene.

• Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take?

Just the one route to take, but the attitudes shift whether or not he's going more towards Patriar or more towards continuing to Adventure.

• How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

Augurous is upset, but he respects the decision and that not everybody is going to be as compatible. He thanks the Player for their honesty.

• What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test?

"What is his dearest wish?" (To retire and live a peaceful life.)

"What is his greatest fear?" (Being Alone)

"How does he show love?" (Communication)

• How do they react if the PC has sex with Mizora? The Emperor?  Haarlep?

Any of the encounters, should Augurous be romanced and not still just FWB will lead to him telling Tav that he wouldn't like them to do it. If it is followed through, then he would end the relationship.

• Will they join in with the PC and the Drow Twins, or no?

No, and a similar situation as with the previous encounters.

• What are Tav’s plans for the future?  Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

Augurous wants to get married, and would propose to Tav. He wants to retire and go live in Reithwin or somewhere in a countryside/Forest where he can enjoy a quiet life. If he was encouraged to become a Patriar/Politician then he would still propose, but instead live in Baldur's Gate.

• Free space! Share anything from your companion!Tav au!

I know it would be different from any of the other companions, but Augurous is a talker. If Tav wanted to back out of a conversation, I like to think it would be fun for Augurous to be able to step in and give Tav a break. Any of the Thorms' conversations is the biggest one I can think of.

[wlwaerith]

1 and 9 (general) and 5 (story specific) for elarys, 3 and 7 (general) and 12 (story specific) for zofeia!

elarys:

general

1. where can your tav be recruited? are they first encountered on the nautiloid, or in the nautiloid crash region? or are they not recruitable until a later act?

elarys can be found in the top area of the overgrown ruins. before you get close enough to trigger the cutscene, you'll hear her snapping at them, with an unfamiliar male-ish voice trying (and failing) to de-escalate the situation. once the scene starts, this is revealed to be elarys and her patron. if the player does not interfere, elarys loses her patience and kills the treasure hunters, at which point her patron will stop concentrating on disguising himself & be revealed as a rogue mind flayer. if the player chooses to attack, elarys and her patron will disappear, and can only be found again with minthara at the goblin camp.

9. does your tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like lae’zel and shadowheart’s knife-fight?

no, though she and lae'zel do not get along at first, because lae'zel is hostile towards elarys' patron, and equally unfriendly towards elarys due to her allegiance with him. this does not end up escalating, though, as lae'zel's main target is shadowheart, and elarys has no interest in fighting her allies.

story specific

5. how do they react to the player character taking their first tadpole power?

"in the name of scientific curiosity, hm? i can respect that. better you than me, should there be any less than favourable side effects."

zofeia:

general

3. does your tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

zofeia has an idle remark about most of them, but the only noteworthy companions are lae'zel and jaheira. she will claim that recruiting lae'zel is wise on account of her being the most knowledgeable about their predicament in act one, and then in act two or three express relief that jaheira, who has faced one of the dead three before, is on the party's side.

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 to both of these! i have only fully ironed out her bad ending, so i won't go into full detail of the quest here (post for a later date, perhaps). it deals largely with her father, judge lazarus viljarand, and how he's essentially started a manhunt for her from the very moment he hears she was spotted in rivington (after the first long rest). the two possible ways for this quest to update in act three are from either hearing the townspeople talk about "judge viljarand's daughter has returned", or having her in the party when meeting raphael at sharess' caress, as he will address her directly ("ah, look who it is! a word of warning, pet: your father is quite out of his mind searching for you.").

prior to act three, her companion quest is heavily tied to the necromancy of thay, and giving it to her in the blighted village is the easiest way to progress it and learn about her father and sister, which will give the player the context clues they need to solve her act three quest.

story specific

12. is it possible for your tav to be kidnapped and replaced by orin? how is orin's deception revealed? how do they react to the pc rescuing them in the temple of bhaal?

zofeia is safe from orin! i would have said yes, but i think it would cause conflicts with the rng of her companion quest if it were implemented, as one of the servants from her father's manor would show up (immediately followed by an ambush) regardless of if zofeia was present in camp or not in the event that orin could swap her.

companion tav asks.

[axels-corner]

Meetings with Fintan

Notes: @gay-otlc I was your secret Santa! Thank you @song-tam for organizing this event!

characters: Marella, Fintan, Linh, Bronte

words: 1708

Fintan woke up slowly when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway of his icy prison. He listened for a moment before recognizing the footsteps of Bronte.

“So are you here to ask me more pointless questions about the Neverseen that I don't know?” Fintan asks without looking at Bronte, he clears his throat

“No, I'm here because the council has officially decided to grant your request to mentor Marella Redek. But the council will be monitoring your meetings and sending nobility members to question miss Redek after each session so don't get any ideas for recruiting her to the Neverseen, or teaching her to spark everblaze.” Fintan's eyebrows raise, he didn't expect them to come to a decision this quickly and if they did he thought it'd be denied. He puts his hand on his chest in mock offense

“Me? Recruit people or teach them everblaze, how preposterous. I've never done that in my life.”

“I don't believe that for a second considering what happened with Jolie Ruewen.” Fintan goes back to tracing patterns in the ice

“I assume that you voted against this?”

“I did, considering that when we had Sophie heal your mind you killed one of my colleagues, and friends-”

“Bronte has friends how shocking,” Bronte's voice cut off his sarcasm

“But the girl needs to learn proper control and restraint,” He heaves a sigh not looking at Fintan “and as much as I hate it you're the only pyrokinetic alive and willing, but that doesn't mean I won't be keeping a very close eye on you to make sure you're not doing anything like manipulating her.” and without waiting for his response he turns around and walks out of Fintan's prison. That didn't stop him from yelling back

“Oh, I would never my dear Bronte.”

He had his first ability session with the girl in about thirty minutes. Contrary to what Bronte probably thought considering his last words to him, he didn't have any plans to try to get the girl to spark everblaze or join the rebel group that failed him.

But the council wouldn't have to worry about the last one because thirty five minutes later the girl appeared outside his prison with a black swan necklace around her neck.

“So I see that you've sworn loyalty to the swan group miss,” he already knew the girls name but he would rather give her a chance to introduce herself.

“Marella Redek, and yeah, it's to assure Forkle that I won't be consumed by my craving for fire, plus it's probably smart to have them on my side if the council decides to come after me.” Fintan laughs a little

“Finten Pyren, though you already knew that. I would shake your hand but the ice wall prevents that.” He looks away from the ice wall meeting the girls eyes for the first time, the same blue as her mothers, “it appears that you and I have more in common then I thought, miss Redek.” and though he was a pyrokinetic he could feel how much colder the room got after that sentence, and how the goblin guards clutched the hilt of their swords, this was going to be interesting.

It was the day of Marella's weekly meetings, but instead of the usual hushed whispers between the guards he heard two voices, after a moment of listening he realized one belonged to his prodigy and the other to another girl. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. As they come into the view of his ice prison and the other girl had silver streaks in her hair, the girl of many floods. He coughs as he sits up

“Well if it isn't the girl of many floods, maybe Marella can melt the walls and you can flood this place.”

“My name is Linh Song.” She corrects him

“Yeah, and we would never help you escape.” Marella says

“And there's the council way of thinking, they and the blackswan have convinced you that I'm a bad guy.”

“Because you are,” Marella cuts him off before he can give them another speech, he waves his hands like he's fanning away the words.

“Never mind that, then why is she here?” He points at Linh with the last words.

“To make sure that no fire's get out of control, because you seem to have a history of that.” he scowls

“Fire and water can not work together they are opposites, like shades and flashers.”

“If that's true then why do elves need shades and flashers to work together to make illusions?” Linh asks

“Plus we're already working on combining our abilities.” Marella says crossing her arms with a smirk, Fintan rolls his eyes.

“Fine she can stay,”

“That's not your decision.” one of them interrupts.

“But,” He says ignoring them, pointing at Linh “do not interfere unless I tell you to.”

“she'll interfere if the flames get out of control.” Marella corrects, Fintan grit his teeth

“Fine, today we will be discussing balefire vs normal flames.” and the lesson began

“What would it take for me to convince you to open your cache?” Fintan sat up and stretched

“Hello miss Redek, how are you on this freezing day on the mountain.”

“Answer the question.”

“Freedom.” He told her tracing symbols shaped like fire into the frost on the floor

“That's not possible, and you know it.” She said crossing her arms, he rolled his eyes, she acted like he wanted to burn down the lost cities and dethrone the councilors for revenge of what they did to him. She was right but how dare she assume.

���Well it seems like my knowledge of how to open the cache is lost to my mind like my freedom is lost to this prison and your council.” He looked up at her hoping his eyes conveyed his hatred towards the council for keeping him here, for denying him his flames, his power. Branding him as a talentless.

“Even if I could get your freedom even though we both know the council will never agree especially after what happened to Kenric. I would never let you out because you would just burn everything to the ground.”

“And what ever gave you that idea?” he asks going back to the frost

“Uh, maybe because you caused the death of a councilor and burned a city.” he shrugged

“Sometimes things need to burn to come back better and stronger, like phoenixes, isn't the city much more beautiful now? Plus he was going to die eventually, after all the security there was murder.” He grins into the floor remembering saying the exact same thing at the peace summit to Oralie.

“How can you make jokes about the man you murdered?” Marella yells at him

“Because he ruined my life so I ruined his!” Marella shakes her head

“I would say I couldn't believe you but, this seems in character for you.” and without she walks out of the room

“Running back to your moonlark?” Fintan asks, the only response he got was her flipping him off.

“Would noxflares be enough to convince you to open your cache?” Marella asked in the middle of their ability session.

“Well that came out of left field.”

“That's not an answer.”

“No, it's not.” Fintan takes a breath “Do you have noxflares, better yet do you have my cache or the fake that the Sencen boy foolishly stole?”

“Yes to both your questions.” Marella says.

“Then I would except your deal.” Fintan tells her. After the noxflare was moved in Fintan held out his hand for the cache “I get to choose what memory I show you.”

“That wasn't part of the deal.” Fintan shrugged

“You also didn't say you got to choose which memory I showed you.”

“How do I know that you're not going to burn the cache the minute I give it to you?” She asks

“I guess you should've thought of that, you'll just have to trust me, clocks ticking.”

“What?” Marella asks

“Oh, I didn't tell you? This is a timed offer, fifty seconds left.” Fintan mimcks a ticking clock for about ten seconds when Marella gives him the cache

“Fine, but this better not be a waist of my time.”

“That depends on how much you pay attention.” Fintan tells her before whispering under his breath as he selects the memory “Here we go.”

“Hello Fintan.” Bronte's voice cuts through his sleep,

“What is it with you people and coming to talk when I'm finally asleep?” Fintan grumbles

“You opened your cache.” Fintan yawned

“Why is it your business?”

“Because I am a councilor and those where forbidden secrets, and you where supposed to open it for the council, not your prodigy.” Fintan sat up gathering his hair into a ponytail the motion muscle memory because he had done it so often.

“Why does it matter? She probably showed it to the moonlark and isn't she your regent? Or do you not trust her?” Bronte ran his fingers through his cropped hair, Fintan remembered when they where on the council together and Fintan would help him cut his hair despite the fact that Fintan would tell him that he looked good with curly hair.

“Fintan, are you even listening to me?” Bronte was snapping his fingers in front of Fintan's face, well as close to his face as he could get with the ice wall. “Did you even her what I just said? Sophie Foster, Keefe Sencen, Fitz Vacker, Maruca Chebota, and Marella Redek all went to Elysian with Vespera.” Fintan shrugs, and Bronte's mouth drops open “Do you not care?” Fintan sighs

“Bronte, those children have gotten me arrested multiple times, caused my mind to be broken once, and ensured that I will be stuck in this ice prison for the rest of my life. Plus there smart kids they'll get out of this alive, plus Vespera's with them which means they probably have an alliance I ensure you they will be fine. Relax, sit down do fancy paperwork, you're freaked out over nothing.” He heard Bronte's footsteps fade as he walks out, maybe Fintan will finally be able to get some sleep without people talking to him.

[paarthursass]

general 1, 3, 6, 8, 10 / Story 7, 12, 15 / Romance 1, 3, 6, 11 for Aurel :3

You don't have to answer all of them, sorry I'm sending so many xD

companion!tav au asks

asdkfjds oh no pls u do not see the google doc i have rn that is filled to the BRIM with companion!au aurel stuff. this is feeding me.

also this ask made me realize that the numbers on that post reset why tf did they do that. when i hit publish they were at 1-40 i swear 😔 anyways.

Where can your Tav be recruited?  Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region?  Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

Aurel can be recruited in the Nautiloid Crash Region, just outside of the Blighted Village.  He is found conversing with a pair of goblins, who are gleefully telling him details about their camp.  When the Player Character approaches, the tadpole connects them, revealing that Aurel is lying to the goblins for information.  The PC can either choose to play along with Aurel’s charade, or immediately attack the goblins - upon which Aurel will drop the act and aid the PC.  He will share what he’s learned, and will ask to travel with the PC so they can discover the cure to the infection together.

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

"Shadowheart? Is that...really her name? Shadowheart? ...she's got a flair for the dramatic, I'll give her that much."

"Be careful. If holding a knife to your throat was his opening offer, I worry to think what else Astarion will try. At least you don't have to worry about him being too subtle to spot; man's about as charming as a scorpion."

“Lae’zel seems quite knowledgeable about these tadpoles.  Her bedside manner leaves something to be desired, though.”

“Gale seems pleasant, if a little over-eager. Something about him reminds me of a puppy begging for approval.”

“So, ‘the Blade of Frontiers.’ I’d be careful.  In my experience, monster hunters tend to have a limited view of the world.”

“I almost wasn’t sure Wyll would stay his blade.  I’m glad he did, Karlach seems like an absolute darling.”

“Oh, Halsin’s going to be joining us on our excursions now?  And here I thought he’d spend the rest of our little adventure sitting at camp looking pretty.”

“The High Harper herself.  I was just a boy when she faced Sarevok, but tales of her adventures reached me later on, like ripples in a pond. She’ll be a valuable asset.”

“Jaheira’s stronger than me. If my oldest and closest friends were so easily fooled by a charlatan wearing my face, you would never hear the end of it. Still, I'm sure if he's aimed in the right direction, Minsc's...enthusiasm could be useful.”

I wasn't originally going to write comments about Minthara, because Aurel won't stay in the party if the tieflings are killed, BUT since there are mods out there to recruit her anyways, for funsies...

"Are you absolutely insane? She's a drow matron, and one stupid enough to fall for this Absolute nonsense to boot! She was ready to slaughter those tieflings on a whim!"

She knows more than any of us. We need her.

"I've trusted your judgement this far...but I'll be keeping far, far away from her. I know what she sees what she looks at me, and I know what matrons expect of the males they think they command. I won't be her toy. And if she tries anything, I won't be as merciful to her as you were."

Do they have any secrets that can be revealed?  What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

Oh ho ho DOES HE

So, Aurel is a dhampir, which is not something he will be upfront about upon first meeting the PC. There's a few hints regarding it: Aurel is noticeably wary of monster hunters, and approves of the PC or Astarion killing Gandrel. Auntie Ethel also has some personalized vicious mockeries where she calls him "a freak of nature" and says "It'll be easy enough to kill you, dearie, you've got one foot in death's door already!"

Aurel can reveal he is a dhampir to the PC based on varying prerequisites: if they get his approval to 'Good' or if  they have recruited Karlach, whichever comes first.  After the confrontation with Mizora, if the PC did not kill Karlach, Aurel will approach them and say he was moved by their compassion for someone that others were "so quick to write off as a monster." 

It is also possible for Aurel’s dhampirism to be revealed before this.  In a fight, if Aurel is brought to 0 HP, a cutscene will trigger where he bites his opponent and regains HP (this will not trigger if the opponent is undead. Instead, the next instance where Aurel is brought to 0 HP by a living creature will trigger this cutscene).  After the fight, another cutscene will trigger where the PC can confront him about what happened, and Aurel will come clean.

After the reveal, the PC can ask Aurel more specific questions about his vampiric parent.  They can also ask him about feeding - which he assures the PC is done exclusively on animals.  His bite ability will become available in combat.  The PC can also offer to let Aurel feed on them, but Aurel will become uncomfortable and politely decline.  “That’s a bit - ah - intimate, isn’t it?” if the PC points out that Aurel will feed on people they’re fighting, he will retort with “Well, yes, but I don’t have to be careful with them.  The point there is to cause some damage, isn’t it?  There’s a difference between ripping out an enemy’s throat, and a friend baring theirs willingly to you.  It’s just…it’s a bit much.”

What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp?  How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

I need you to stay in camp for a while.

"Are you certain? I know I have quite the delicate features, but I assure you I can more than handle what's out there."

I'm certain. I'll call for you if I need you.

"I suppose I shall languish here until you return for me, then. Safe travels, my dear."

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

So, if Aurel were a companion, I think his primary quest would involve discovering that the monster hunting guild involved in his boyfriend's death were not fully eradicated by him and his father. For juiciness, the leader of the guild is probably still alive and well, and is specifically hunting down Aurel as payback for nearly wiping out his guild a century earlier. Aurel's personal quest would largely involve finding healing and catharsis for Philo's death.

However....I do also really, really want Aurel's father to show up. I think that would be so so fun.

The PC can ask Aurel about his father almost immediately after discovering he's a dhampir, and ask about whether his father can help them. Aurel will reveal that his father is extremely far away, and he's doubtful that he could get word to him in time for him to do anything, but he'll try anyhow if the PC wants.

If Aurel was convinced to contact his father, Dragomir will appear in Act 3. In the Undercity when approaching the Temple of Bhaal, a group of Bhaal Cultists will ambush the group but will swiftly be killed by Dragomir, who appears out of the shadows. If Aurel is in the group, he and Dragomir will joyfully reunite. If Aurel is not in the active party, Dragomir will instead address the PC, recognizing them from Aurel's description. If Aurel was captured by Orin, the PC can tell Dragomir what happened, and he will insist on accompanying the group to free his son.

Dragomir will not become a full-fledged companion, but will wait at camp after the fight with Orin (provided it's the Elfsong Tavern. if the party camps in an outdoor space, Dragomir will only appear at camp at night). If the group has not faced Cazador yet, Dragomir can be convinced to aid in the fight against him, and will also be an ally in the final fight against the Nethebrain.

What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

Aurel is in the midst of the revelry, playing a song on his violin. He stops to chat with the PC, and will mention that though he's been to his fair share of balls and soirees, this merry-making with the tieflings outshines all of them. If the PC doesn't try and romance Aurel, he may tease them about the other party members looking at them.

"I can't help but notice that our dear Wyll is off by his lonesome...why don't you try and cheer him up, darling? You seem to be the only thing that can, nowadays."

"I've seen puppies begging for treats that looked less pitiful than Gale does when he looks at you...not that I mean that in a bad way. He does look so pretty when he begs. Why don't you go and put him out of his misery, hm? Figuratively speaking, of course."

"Ugh, Astarion's looking our way again. He thinks he's being so sneaky - I'm not trying to steal his seconds. No offense, darling, you are much more than a meal. To me, anyways. Still, you'd better go and see what he wants. He looks like he's had a bit to drink, and if he comes over here to start an altercation with me I will not be held responsible for what happens."

"I think Karlach might combust if you don't go over and speak to her soon. That woman's been through torment enough; it would be unseemly to keep her waiting much longer."

"I do enjoy a bit of danger, but I think if you waste too much more time talking to me, Lae'zel might just rip my head off. Go and speak to her before she decides to throw you over her shoulder in front of the whole party. Unless you're into that sort of thing. No judgement."

"If I'm not mistaken, Shadowheart seems to be nursing a wine bottle meant for two all by her lonesome...why don't you go and help her out with that."

He will then say:

"Now if you don't mind, I plan on seeing how how many times I can tease Rolan about his staff handling before he gets the hint. Don't wait up for me."

Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin?  How is Orin's deception revealed?  How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

Aurel is a damsel at heart, so yes it is absolutely possible for him to be kidnapped by Orin. I love the #drama.

After Gortash reveals someone in camp has been replaced, Aurel will approach the PC and suggest they kill Gortash and take his Netherstone immediately. Though the argument will begin in Aurel's usual cadence, it will gradually grow more and more manic, culminating in Aurel wanting to "sink [his] fangs into that peacock's throat and drink and drink and drink until he's as empty as his words." Orin will drop the deception immediately afterwards.

Once rescued, Aurel will be shaken but relieved, but will be attempting to cover up his fear with his usual brand of cattiness.

"Thank you so much for the timely rescue, my dear. Can you imagine if I died in a place as horrible as this? In Baldur's Gate's sewers? No offense to Wyll, his city may be lovely, but its bowels are considerably less so. But...thank you. I won't forget this."

If Dragomir is in the party when Aurel is rescued, Aurel will instead immediately hug Dragomir as he reunites with him, and will then thank the PC for the rescue.

How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

(if the PC hasn't discovered Aurel is a dhampir yet)

"Really? I wonder..." he stops and squints at the PC for a moment before shaking his head. "No...perhaps it's the tadpole? We're all a bit on edge, I know. And you've been pushing yourself so hard, you deserve some rest, darling."

(if the PC has discovered Aurel is a dhampir)

"Well, I'm no stranger to the occasional bouts of bloodlust, but it sounds like you mean something else entirely...perhaps it's the tadpole? We're all a bit on edge, I know. And you've been pushing yourself so hard, you deserve some rest, darling."

Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

Aurel is a romanceable character, though he’s only available to male or nonbinary Tavs.  He may teasingly return a female PC’s flirtation, but if she tries to push an actual relationship he will gently turn her down.

Aurel probably has two branching romance paths; a more casual, fling-type relationship, and a more serious, slow-burn one.

Aurel has a great deal of trauma regarding romantic relationships; his first love was killed in front of him, and he's been incapable of holding down a long-term relationship ever since. If the PC attempts a more casual, fling-type relationship, Aurel will inevitably panic as it develops and will try to end it before it gets too serious. It would be possible to salvage the relationship here and reassure Aurel, but it would have to stop being a fling and would have to turn into an actual relationship.

The slow-burn romance arc is, as the title suggests, much slower. It would involve returning Aurel's flirtations, but never taking the relationship past that. The PC would have to tell him that they want more than just a casual fling with him, which would make him very flustered (he's noticeably smoother in the fling-path, as that's what he's most familiar with, but he turns into a flustered, blushing MESS in the slow-burn path). At the end of around Act 2 is when Aurel would tentatively reveal to the PC his trauma regarding Philo, and he would admit that "this is the...slowest I've gone in a relationship, since then. I get into my own head too much, but you...you make me want to be brave."

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Aurel is potentially a polyamorous option, though he's a picky one.

Aurel will tease the Player Character if they ask about bringing Halsin into the relationship. “I can hardly blame you for looking - he cuts quite an impressive form. And, well, he’d be a fool to not desire you.” He still is unsure about polyamory, but if the Player Character mentions that Halsin wants him as well, he’ll become flustered and will “need a moment to think on it.” After another long rest, Aurel will approach the Player Character and say that after “giving it some thought” he’s decided that, even though he’s never attempted a polyamorous relationship, he’s willing to try, and he trusts Halsin enough to let the PC try with him. Aurel does add a firm caveat though that he expects the PC to ask him first before bringing in any other additional people. "You know me, I don't do well with surprises."

Which is to say, unless the PC passes a persuasion check, Aurel will disapprove of the PC having sexual encounters with Haarlep and the Emperor. He will also flat-out break up with the PC if they sleep with Mizora. (and if he and the PC do break up, idle banter suggests he and Halsin are still seeing each other)

I also want to say that it's possible to romance both him and Astarion at the same time, because I think that is SUCH a funny concept, but I do not know how it would actually be realized. But the PC holding both Astarion and Aurel's hands while they glare at each other behind the PC's back is suuuuch a funny mental image to me. Boyfriend-in-laws.

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

As mentioned before, Aurel has been completely incapable of maintaining a stable relationship before the events of the game. He's had many flings over the years, but any time a relationship starts to get serious he panics and finds a way to end things. He has deep-seeded anxieties about relationships, and part of his romance arc would involve helping him resolve these.

So, with that said, he puts up almost no fight if the PC breaks up with him.

"Oh, but I thought...right. Of course. All things come to an end, after all. Well, we had fun, but I'll not stop you from roaming where you need to."

A successful insight check in this moment reveals that Aurel is putting on a facade, but if the PC tries to pry, Aurel will sharply brush them off and end the conversation.

If the PC has activated a romance with another character while romancing Aurel, he will approach them and offer to step aside for the other person's happiness. Again, a successful insight check will reveal Aurel is not as unbothered as he claims to be.

(I have also written what he says for each romance option...the brainrot is strong)

“Wyll’s a good man, almost too good to be true. To be honest I’m not sure who I’m more envious of. But he deserves something nice, as do you.”

“Karlach’s been through literal Hell and back…and when she’s around you, I see that torment lift from her a little.  Her happiness matters more to me than anything, except perhaps yours.” 

“I tease Gale, but he’s a good man. And he deserves to know what true love is like, not whatever that…farce was that Mystra put him through.” 

“Lae’zel is…intense. But I think she’s finally met her match in you, and she almost seems…softer, around you.”

“Sometimes I think Shadowheart is still that scared girl in the woods…but something about you comforts her. I think if I called you her guiding light she’d smack me, but you know what I mean.”

“I know I’ve had my issues with Astarion in the past…and in the present, but even I can see how he seems…different around you.  That infuriating facade of his almost drops when you’re around.  I think if anyone could bring out a genuine emotion in him, it would be you.”

What are Tav’s plans for the future?  Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

Oh Aurel is SUCH a romantic, and if the PC managed to help him get over his anxieties regarding relationships? Oh he's sticking by them FOREVER. It's even worse if Dragomir shows up. The PC has met his DAD and his dad LIKED THEM.

Anyways. I think one of Aurel's final Act 3 romance scenes is him trying SO HARD to set up a romantic atmosphere to propose but he keeps fucking it up and things keep going wrong and it's SUCH A cringefail moment and he ends up getting SO anxious and exasperated and says something like "of COURSE when I try to propose to the LOVE OF MY LIFE it ALL GOES WRONG" and then he realizes he RUINED the SURPRISE and it becomes a whole thing. Aurel's romance really is just him being an absolute anxious, neurotic mess of a man and the PC either being just as insane as him or trying to calm down the chaos a little. Wyll absolutely calmed the chaos. God bless that man.

[starwrittenfates]

𝙱𝚊𝚕𝚍𝚞𝚛'𝚜 𝙶𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝟹 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗!𝚃𝚊𝚟 𝙰𝚜𝚔 𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝

What if your Tav was a recruitable companion, instead of the main character? (contains major spoilers for the game, and for some dark urge runs as well)

General

Where can your Tav be recruited?  Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region?  Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

She can first be encountered on the Nautiloid and is recruitable right there and then.

Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

They would probably be shocked to discover she is a noble because ever since running away from home, she doesn't dress like it despite trying her best to. Although her fancy bard clothes might speak for it?

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

She's pretty trusting of others and gives everyone the benefit of the doubt unless you give her reason right off the bat not to trust you. Though she does recommend to stay on guard and it's best to stick with more people.

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

She likes those who are kind, help others in need (even animals) and look to solve problems in a diplomatic and subtle way, but also appreciates snarkiness, rebellious and mischievous attitude and supporting autonomy. She dislikes those who are downright cruel, try to control others, or belittle them.

Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

I would say no. Synnove is usually a elf of her word. The only thing that might get to her is if you're downright evil and want to control everyone, but even so, she's promised to stick with the group to take down the Absolute and she isn't leaving until it's done.

Do they have any secrets that can be revealed?  What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

Oh yes, Synnove has a big secret, but even she doesn't learn the full extent of it until Act 3 of being back in the city of Baldur's Gate. However, it does come to light slowly in Act's 1 and 2 through little things. It's revealed in her personal quest in Act 3.

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, Synnove has her own personal quest --- see The Sun's Gift for more info. Glimpses of it start to show in Act 1 and 2, but it isn't fully brought to light until Act 3 when she comes across her father again and discovers the truth.

What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp?  How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

Stay in camp: "I will be sure to provide the entertainment to ease your hearts and inspire hope for tomorrow!" -- "Good luck on the journey. I'll be waiting for your return." Go Adventuring: "Yessss! I can feel a story to be told is on the horizon." -- "I'll make sure to bring my lyre and unwavering heart! Lead on!"

Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

I don't think Synnove would have a conflict with anyone. She typically gets along with others well, especially having a Charisma level of 17!

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

Her father, Thalien Willowlight, who works as a magistrate in the city of Baldur's Gate during Act 3. No surprise to see him agreeing to bow down to Gortash and follow what he says so his life can be spared unlike the rest of the patriar's that get killed. Then there is her mother, Faelyn Willowlight, but that's a whole different thing.

Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for your character? (Like Gale’s anecdote about the barfight after you save the goblin prisoner) 

When Astarion mentions being a magistrate in Baldur's Gate, Synnove is like: "Oh? You're a magistrate? My father is one as well." *cue her panic hidden behind a smile because she thinks he is one of the people who works with her father and will probably take her back to him* She also has some unique dialogue with Wyll since they were essentially both noble's raised in Baldur's Gate despite not knowing each other too well, or even at all. Just hearing about each other through talks as all patiar's like to do.

Story Specific

How does your Tav advise the player character when it comes to the Dream Visitor?

"They're helping us so it can't be all bad, but do keep your guard up. Everyone is not always how they present themselves."

How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

"No surprise that he's charming and willing to offer us help during a desperate moment. Just like a magistrate, they are looking for a loophole where they win. You must not give them the satisfaction."

How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

"A vampire! Well, that is a bit surprising, but he doesn't seem evil. I don't mind offering some blood next time if you don't want to. We need to take care of each other, after all."

How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

"Wow...I've heard the saying pain can be turned into power, but I never heard it being turned into pleasure. To each their own I guess."

How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

Synnove Disapproves.

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 stay no matter what, but if she had it her way, she'd prefer to side with and help the tieflings.

What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

Playing her lute and singing a song of course. She might also be caught talking to Alfira and exchanging stories and inspiration and bard things cause Bard = KINDRED SPIRITS to her! Maybe even petting Scratch and Owlbear cub if you got them.

Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with? 

Nah, she won't stop them, but she might be a little envious if it's Astarion because he's been starting to grow on her.

Do they have unique dialogue if the Player Character lets them die when they steal the Blood of Lathander?

"It didn't hurt when the beams of light hit me. Surprisingly, I managed to survive that part. However, dropping a building on me is a whole different matter. I need time to think."

How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

Synnove Disapproves and has to hold back from vomiting.

What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

"I was born to tell stories. Don't worry, I'll do it." She's not surprised to find him being a killer clown and it all being a trap either.

Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin?  How is Orin's deception revealed?  How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

I honestly can't even think of Synnove being kidnapped and replaced. It wouldn't work out.

How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

Allowed him to Ascend --- Heartbroken, but torn too because he isn't the same anymore. It's clear as day. He was already enough the way he was as a spawn. Now he's only continuing on in the cycle he was trying to break away from, but she hopes he can be better...if it's still even possible. Convinced him to stay spawn --- Look at him living his best life and being truly happy and free for the first time in a long time. He doesn't need power. He's already enough the way he is and now he's starting to learn that for himself. And she will happily help give him the ability to walk in the sun again. He's had enough shit to endure.

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? 

She isn't comfortable with it. She doesn't want to be used or treated as a thrall. If anything, they will remain friends.

How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

She’s surprised and wasn’t expecting it, but is kind and welcoming towards them, encouraging them to beat the urges. She tells them she can see good in them.

How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

That was her friend. She only wanted a place to stay and feel safe, but she won’t hold it against them. However, Synnove will be more on guard, not wanting to end up as the next bard killed in camp.

If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

Similar to Astarion. She knows this isn’t them doing this, it’s the urges, but they can beat this and even ties them up until they get control of themselves again.

Romance

Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

She can be romanced no matter race or gender. You mostly can’t be an outright cruel and evil person to others.

As long as you confess to her, it begins the relationship because despite being good at reading others and having high charisma, she doesn’t think anyone would like her for herself (only for what she can offer.)

Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

If you have high enough approval, she will approach you and confess her feelings, otherwise…you have to do it because again, she doesn’t think someone would like her unless they want something.

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

Monogamous all the way through. Once you’re hers, it’s forever. She’s devoted and loyal.

Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

She sings a song she made for her crush.

Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take?

It depends on chemistry and all that. It could go both ways.

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

Puts on a brave face about it, but goes to cry by herself about it later.

What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test? 

I actually have to come back to this one later, but I feel if any questions were asked about her, she wouldn't mind you choosing the honest and correct ones.

If they’re poly, do they have a reaction to the PC engaging in a relationship with Halsin?

N/A

How do they react if the PC has sex with Mizora? The Emperor?  Haarlep?

Hurt and angry about it. She needs time to think it through and be reassured you won’t do it again. Takes her relationships very seriously.

Will they join in with the PC and the Drow Twins, or no?

Nope. Not her kind of thing. Does not feel comfortable with multiple partners at all.

What are Tav’s plans for the future?  Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

If her partner is open for marriage, then she will certainly propose to them. It mostly depends on what they are comfortable with.

Either way, she committed to you forever.

Free space! Share anything from your companion!Tav au!

It's obviously still a work in progress since Synnove is mostly a Tav and I haven't figured out anything companion wise with her, but she would be the sweetest companion in camp. She is practically a living sunbeam after all...

[vereais]

@alexisomnias asked: does rhys have his own personal quest that spans the course of the game? can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the player makes?

the questline of THE PRODIGAL SON takes you on the journey of solving rhys’ curious little case of amnesia , a symptom not so common amongst the rest of your cursed party. together with rhys , the player must find clues to unveil the mystery of his unknown past throughout the three acts.

his origins in baldur's gate is already alleged by wyll if you recruit rhys and the blade of frontiers is present in your camp; when you inquire him about recent company , he disgruntedly comments on rhys' handsomeness , which apparently reminds him of some of the commissioned portraits that haunt the hallways of some of the upper city's grandest mansions. the name "rhys" is also remarked on by astarion in one of his banter lines , in which he asks rhys if he happened to be named after one of baldur gate's "urban legends".

rhys , of course , does not remember.

much like shadowheart , rhys' amnesia and general secretive nature shrouds much of his plotline in act one with mystery. nevertheless , the player is allowed some insight into the little flashes of memory rhys experiences in his dreams after the camp party with the tieflings/goblins. stirring rhys from sleep when the player catches him in the midst of what seems to be a nightmare either results in rhys waking and trying to attack the player's character in surprise , only coming to terms with the reality at the last minute-- or another unfortunate death; in the case where death is avoided , rhys shares some of the few memories his wretched mind has allowed him to keep, depending on which dialogue option the player chooses. " what sort of memory would you like me to talk about? "

A HAPPY ONE: what a bore. hm. i am shoulder-deep in someone's guts. i take a kidney stone out. then i set their house on fire. funny, isn't it? no? alright then.A SAD ONE: way to ruin the mood . . . hah. i'm only joking. let's see . . . i don't recall much. just a feeling , perhaps. loss. like something was taken from my body , nurtured with my blood and sweat . . . then gone; taken from me. do i have a child? hah! none that i am aware of , at least.AN ANNOYING ONE: ugh. doing hair. a dirty child's hair. one that never stops moving as well. ineffective , and a waste of my time.AN ANGRY ONE: someone getting hurt. odd , isn't it? no , i don't remember much detail either. it was something relatively minor , i feel like. a scraped knee , perhaps. i must have been a short-tempered child , right?

alas , even this supposed development in the player's relationship with rhys does not actually reap anything in his storyline. the player -- miraculously -- does not wake when scleritas fel comes to greet his master later in act one , and it isn't until act two when ketheric thorm recognises his former fellow chosen that rhys finally confides what he's learned of his past with you. there is an option to dismiss him from your camp , but of course , there is the fact that this would piss him off , and you'd have to face off against him instead of orin later on in act three. you could attempt to kill him during the dismissal , but that only leads to another case of instant death.

in the simplest summary of the durge companion questline , rhys can either embrace his dark urges or redeem himself and be born anew. everything is the same except for the arrival of a silver-haired stranger in act three with rhys' eyes and his name upon her tongue. from the moment aerea utters " brother? " , the matter of rhys' ending shifts entirely on what fate you grant his sister. there is no ending in which rhys can be the chosen of bhaal and choose to let his sister live , as his unholy father will demand that he kill " the last blessed part of you ". should you have encouraged rhys to resist his dark urges and eventually turn his back on bhaal , his sister is there to greet you once you've escaped the temple of bhaal . . . of course, not without delivering a swift kick to her brother's balls for giving her a heart attack once she learned that he'd ventured into bhaal's temple without her. in good ending — whether you've kept him as a companion or a lover — he's taken up a job as a hired mercenary , keeping close to home so he can visit aerea at any given time.

[skyheld]

THE BRANDED ELF

gatt is a non-tadpoled companion encountered at the goblin camp in act I. a former slave-soldier of the church of bane now bearing the absolute's brand on his face, he's contentious, occasionally spiteful, and nervous bordering on paranoid; but while he might present with all his spikes out, a good heart beats in the berserker's chest.

as a companion, gatt is rash, straightforward and usually angry, but has many softer sides as well. he believes in justice for people who have no means of getting it for themselves, preferably of the deadly variety. he likes a good joke, is always up for sparring, and asks that you do not touch/smell/lick/even so much at look at that Weird Thing please and thanks.

name. gatt race. half drow gender. male pronouns. he/him age. young sexual/romantic orientation. panromantic, a- or demisexual, sex-repulsed class. berserker barbarian background. soldier

physical.

impression. a bowstring ready to fire or snap. anger and hatred wound up in every muscle, fear coursing through every nerve. sometimes, a more relaxed gatt peeks through in a wry smile or an easy joke; a gatt learning to live, and perhaps even to seek out his own happiness. demeanour. nervous, twitchy and aggressive to anyone he doesn't know; although he tries not to frighten civilians, especially children. to those he trusts he's friendly, details. heavily scarred. muscular, wiry. quite short for an elf, shorter still for a half-elf. hair is a dark, velvety brown with red tones, very thick, worn in layered cut, short and swept back in front, reaches to shoulders in the back. he loses significant height if you flatten it down. skin is a warm medium brown, heavily freckled; eyes a dark brown. tattoos. many, mostly small doodles of animals, leaves, weapons, geometric figures or abstracts. ‘fuck b-’ is written on the inside of his left wrist, on top of a band-shaped burn scar; the tattoo appears unfinished. tally marks counting the slavers and priests of bane he has slain cover the inside of his other wrist. style of clothing. a mix of cuts of various styles and cultures picked up along the way. tends to be layered and fully covering with few to no accessories. favours warm, earthy colours

recruitment.

when the party enters the shattered sanctum at the heart of the goblin camp, there will be a group of mercenaries just arrived, preparing to be branded by priestess gut. led by a tadpoled leader who is telling them the brand of the absolute will give them great power in battle, all seem eager to receive it – all but the one currently standing in front of the priestess. gatt is visibly uncomfortable, and an insight check will reveal that he's scared. the party will have no time to interfere before the brand is applied. However, their arrival proves enough distraction for gatt to sneak away as long as they don’t draw attention to him.

the rest of the mercenaries will be branded by warlock greez as gut retreats to her room, and can later be seen celebrating in the courtyard with the goblins and their true soul captain. gatt can be found hiding in the rafters above the main hall. If the party is pretending to be true souls, gatt will warily assure them of his loyalty to the absolute. if not, or if the party successfully convinces him they aren’t actual true souls, he will admit that he doesn’t want to be there. ordinarily he’d trust his leader above anything else, but something has changed. he recognizes a cult when he sees one and it’s nothing he wants to be a part of. if the party tells him they plan on attacking the cult leaders, he’ll tell them he will gladly help if he can, although he won’t fight his own comrades in the courtyard. once the goblin leaders are dealt with, gatt will be available as a companion.

at camp, gatt will initially be on edge, but he will gradually warm up with some patience. he will be very slow to speak of his backstory beyond that he has dealt with cultists before, and that he is or was zhentarim, though he hates the organization and what it stands for. if not sooner, then the reveal at the end of act II that bane is one of the gods behind the absolute will cause him to spill the truth that he was brought up in the church of bane, and has spent most of his life wanting to get away from it.

biography.

like many children who have grown up in the clutches of a cult, gatt knows little of where he comes from. he's been told his father was a lolth-sworn drow who fled menzoberranzan when he fell in love with a human slave, and that the couple sold their unborn son to bane in exchange for either protection or simply the means to flee. but that could be a lie meant to make him bitter and complaisant. his earliest memory isn't a memory but a mantra: you are not an object. a person cannot be owned. remember this, remember. he doesn't know who told him, but he knows what it means: someone once loved him, and he was old enough when they disappeared from his life that he can still remember their words.

the lord of tyranny didn't fool his servants with false titles and pretty promises. the lowest rank of his his church was simply slave, and for the first eight years of his life that was all gatt was: the lowest of the low, destined for the most menial tasks unless he could prove himself to the god he served and ascend the ranks of the clerical order. in a way he did, by catching the eye of a dark imperceptor, the highest-ranking member of the particular temple he served at, and a powerful man in the church as a whole. lord ianaris wanted a slave to act as both his personal servant and his body guard. gatt had no skill at either, but after hearing him sing to himself while cleaning the floors in what he thought was an otherwise empty part of the temple, the dark imperceptor choose him for the role. he made gatt a trusted servant, and ensured he was taught all he needed to serve.

though he hated both his mortal and his divine masters gatt had no thought of fleeing until the temple was attacked. the attackers came from nowhere and seemed to know exactly where to strike. the dark imperceptor barricaded himself in his room and commanded his body guard to watch over him while he prayed to bane for deliverance. as he turned his back, gatt ran him through with his sword. when the door was broken down he was facing it calmly, his bloodied sword held at his side. he had no real hope they would spare him, but they might give him a quicker death than the banites would have.

the attackers were zhentarim. he never found out why attacked the temple, but later, when he learnt they were banite at their roots, he assumed it was due to some infighting within the church - another temple, a rival of the imperceptor, or perhaps bane himself was behind it. this particular group was led by the iron bull, a mercenary captain with a somewhat different reputation: though ruthless, but he had honour; he cared for his own, and was never needlessly cruel to others. after sparing gatt's life and taking him in, he became the first person gatt ever trusted, and in the years since there have been very few others.

slavers, smugglers and ruthless mercenaries, gatt understood the zhentarim's ways from the start, and though he hated them he had nowhere else to go. nor could he leave the iron bull. yet many years down the road, the captain returned from an unexpected absence with some strange news. there was a power rising in the wilds, something never seen before, and anyone with an ounce of ambition should make sure to be there. the rest of the mercenaries were excited to follow his promises of glory. gatt seemed the only who noticed a change in their captain, something subtle yet undeniable, a fervour when he spoke of his new friends which had never been there before.

tags.

ic. headcanons. musings. aesthetic. visage. music.

[boghermit]

1, 2, 9, 14 & 23 for your Durge!

Heads up for Dark Urge spoilers here and there!

1. 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?

The Dark Urge (or Salem, but I just call him Durge most of the time.) He’s a half-drow bard, College of Lore subclass, he/him. (He was originally a half wood elf, but his face type causes seaming problems with high and wood half elves for some reason.) It took me HOURS to settle on a character. Technically this guy is a recycled OC, but I think he fits nicely in the D&D world. I actually have….no idea how old he’d be. He’s at least in his 30s? Maybe? Not sure how well that’d mesh with the Dark Urge’s canon and the timeline of the series.

I’m still cooking up his backstory in my head because there’s a lot to juggle between his canon Dark Urge lore and what I’d like his pre-cult backstory to be. He’s probably from Baldur’s Gate, and doesn’t remember his “parents” well enough to have much of an opinion of them. Before I learned a bit more about the Dark Urge backstory, a headcanoned him as having been a transient with a list of mostly non-supernatural mental problems and no knowledge of how to address them. So he gets chucked into an asylum (do they even have those in Faerun?) or prison, later finds his way out somehow or is recruited by the cult, and makes his way to the Undercity when he realizes what he is. As far as I can tell, there might actually be room in the Dark Urge’s canon for that backstory. They let you have a bit of freedom with your Dark Urge character since they have amnesia, and I’m 200% here for that.

2. 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.

His original design has a very specific long braided style that the CC didn’t have, but it ended up working out. Maybe he chopped it off? Or maybe Orin did before she started digging around in his head? He also has very faint facial hair on his jawlines, and his mustache wasn’t originally that big at all. I think he would have FTM chest surgery scars and some tattoos related to his life before the main story. This is a quick doodle of how I imagined him looking before I made him in the CC.

This is how he looks in the game. The mustache kind of grew on me. (And him too I suppose🤓)

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

MATTIS my ragamuffin… I think Salem would agree. He respects that swindling pick-pocket street urchin grind.

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

Okay if we’re just talking about Act 1. And I know he’s a shit but...I love Sceleritas Fel. I love his creepy zombie imp (goblin?) design. I love his voice acting. I want to drop kick him but at the same time I felt kind of bad when he got turned into a kabob.

Salem fully hates him though. Understandable.

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

Oh he really liked her for awhile, although he didn’t entirely trust her. They aren’t on the best of terms right now, but hopefully it’ll blow over. (I’m in Act 3)

[spxllcxstxr]

Post-Hogwarts Enemies to Lovers with Sirius • Headcanon

(Gif not mine)

Warnings: firewhiskey mention, weed mention?, Death Eaters, curses (both language and magic), near death experiences, blood and injury mentions

Request: Hello! Can I have a Sirius headcanon please, one where it’s post Hogwarts in the time of the first wizarding war, and reader was a quiet, loner ravenclaw when she was in Hogwarts whereas Sirius was obviously very popular and loud, and they didn’t like eachother back then but now they’re in the order and dating and it’s just enemies to lovers angst to fluff 🥺 — @mabelle-cherie

A.N: Headcanons are weird because I have no idea if this is long or short. Anyway. I might’ve strayed a little away from the request? But it’s essentially the same. I think I like this one, actually...Love you all ❤️

Sirius Black was the most obnoxious entity you’ve ever encountered

James Potter was obviously a close second

Remus Lupin was tolerable, but only when his nose was stuffed in a book and when he was alone

Peter Pettigrew? He was more scared of you than you were of him. Completely harmless

They would strut around the castle, smug looks glued on their faces, like they owned the place

And you know what?

They practically did

Ever since they pulled their first prank, they’ve had the entire school wrapped around their fingers

Classmates idolized them

Teachers struggled to hide fond smiles

You despised it

You were here to sit, learn enough to get a good job, and keep your head down

The so called “Marauders” obviously had their own plans

The second Sirius witnessed you scoff and roll your eyes at another one of their stupid disruptive pranks, you were on his radar

The first time Sirius ever directly spoke to you, you were in the farthest corner of the library buried underneath a mountain of books trying to finish your three essays

You didn’t even notice him until—

“(Y/Ln), right?”

You were too busy writing about the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 to even entertain the idea of giving him a proper response

So in your haze, you just gave him your default response

“Piss off, Black.”

If you said that to any other person, it would’ve worked

But Sirius Black is not any other person, unfortunately

“Well that’s not very nice, love, now is it?”

And thus, your enemyship begins

That was in your fifth year, meaning you had about two and a half more years dealing with him and his merry band of pricks

By the next day, you were ready to toss yourself out of the Astronomy Tower

He now spots you in every room you’re in together, which is a huge inconvenience, considering you would rather be left alone and unbothered

But he prances towards you, shit eating grin plastered on his face, ringed fingers raking through his hair

He’s a pest

“Leave me alone, Black.”

“Aw c’mon, (Y/Ln), I’m just saving you from being lonely.”

“I’m not lonely.”

“Well you don’t talk to anyone. That’s lonely.”

“I talk to people, Black. I just don’t talk to you.”

You try to leave with the last laugh

You really do

“Pretty sure you’re talkin’ to me right now, love.”

His stupid infuriating smirk makes you wanna hex him into oblivion

Instead, you walk away fuming

And that’s how the rest of your time at Hogwarts goes

Sirius Black bothers the shit outta you

You tell him to go fuck himself

He doesn’t

Wash, rinse, repeat

There are a few times your patience wears so thin that you throw a couple hexes his way

You’ve reversed his knees, made his head grow four sizes too big (to finally contain that ego of his, you told him), made his toenails grow straight through his shoes, and even managed to shave off some of his precious hair

And yet he still came back

Every single time

Sirius would just brush it off and laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world

At that point, what do you do?

You try to ignore him the best you can

There are times you find him alone, drunk on top of the astronomy tower

Or high behind greenhouse number two

You like him better this way

He seems more real

Not because he’s under the influence

But because he’s not giving you a cocky smirk or a wink and laughing at every little move you make

You almost tolerate him

But then the next morning he’s back to calling you love and shouting at you at the top of his lungs across the Great Hall

And you’re back to hating him again

You’re counting down the days to graduation

And when it finally comes you bid him a firm farewell

Sirius finishes off with a “More like see ya later, (Y/Ln), love”

But you don’t care because the next day you have your bags packed to study in Bulgaria

But with one foot out the door you get an urgent letter

Something called the Order of the Phoenix

And and after carefully scanning through the contents of the letter

You unpack

And go meet up with your old Headmaster

Headquarters is a dilapidated shack on the outside

Chipped paint, broken shutters, water damage, the works

But the inside is elegant

Long purple rugs running throughout the house covering dark wood flooring, glass vases, magical artifacts strewn on top of dark counter tops

Sirius Black sitting, cigarette in one hand, twirling his wand in the other—

Sirius Black?

You almost march straight out the door

But you’ve already been spotted by Dumbledore and Alastor Moody, so you can’t exactly back out now

“Long time, no see, love, eh?”

The smirk, the attitude, the wink

It’s all there

Thankfully, he’s sitting in the middle of his friend group, so when you take a seat at the table, there’s about four people between the two of you

You smile at Alice and Frank, who you only know because they helped you with potions assignments a few years prior

You notice a glimmering ring on her finger

Everyone turns deathly serious when Dumbledore and Moody start explaining the situation with Voldemort and his Death Eaters

And how the Ministry of Magic is practically incompetent, though you knew that already

Even Sirius knew when to keep his mouth shut

He sat there, smoking, taking harsh sips of firewhiskey

Yes,

You noticed

You noticed how his fists would clench in anger

And how he silently swore

When James would put a hand of his shoulder to calm him down

And when Remus would start edging away his tumbler

He would twist the rings of his fingers

And smoke through an entire pack of cigs during the meeting

You’re not going to Bulgaria anymore, you’ve decided

Everyone got assigned stations they would patrol

Just your luck

You got Diagon Alley

With Sirius Black

You want to slam your head on the table

“Did you really bribe Dumbledore and Moody to put us together, Black?”

“It won’t be so bad, (Y/Ln), promise.”

“You’re a prat.”

“Well now that’s just rude.”

So everyday, you and Sirius donned dark cloaks that covered your faces and ambled through Diagon Alley, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything out of place

You would stop into shops, pretend to browse through items, keeping an eye on people

Sirius would convince you to get ice cream or stop in the Leaky Cauldron

You hate to admit it

But these little breaks the two of you took together were...

Nice?

The two of you would just be sat in the farthest corner of the tavern

Cigarette smoke swirling around

Eyes watching through the haze

There’s small talk between the two of you, but mostly silence

“The Potters died a month ago.”

He tells you out of the blue, eyes still trained on the other customers

You might not know Sirius Black well, but everyone knows how he ran away from his abusive home to James Potter in sixth year

“I’m so sorry, what was it, if it’s ok to ask.”

“Dragon pox.” He takes a second to exhale completely. “They were old, they knew it was coming. Just doesn’t feel right.”

So that’s how your partnership works

Sirius would be utterly insufferable during meetings and other get togethers

Silent during patrol

At least one of you would spill some secret or heartbreaking thought while on break

And then it would be back to silent concentration

Maybe you didn’t hate him anymore

But you certainly didn’t like him

About six months into your recruitment into the Order, you get a tip off about a huge Death Eater raid in a nearby Muggle village

Moody leads the rest of the Order to the village, and sure enough, there’s a crowd of Death Eaters dressed in black cloaks and silver masks already starting to make their way down the hill and into the main square

Spells are shot at an alarming rate

You’re forced to run, dodge, hide

You have have to not only fight a whole group of people happy to use Dark magic, but you have to continuously check on the numerous Muggle families asleep in their homes

It’s tiring

There’s bruises and cuts all over you

Lily had to save your arse a few times

You shoved James out of the way from the Cruciatus curse, getting hit with it instead

You were staggering, barely taking in enough air, but still you fired off spell after spell

You lean heavily against a wall, the bricks digging into your skin

The world around you spins and turns blurry

You fight to hang on, but your body is in so much pain it wants to shut down

You get cornered by a tall man in a dark cloak and a skeletal mask

“Well, well, how unfortunate.”

Your ears are ringing but you can hear him loud and clear

A gloved hand slips into his cloak and produces a silver dagger, shining in the pale moonlight

“Maybe I’ll gut you the Muggle way.”

He chuckles darkly, and you shudder in fright

The tip of the blade just touches your abdomen, the cool point sending goosebumps up your skin

You try to muster all the strength you have left in you, but it’s not enough to break free and fight back

You get ready to accept your fate

“Get off of her, you bastard!”

A figure bodyslams the Death Eater away from you

And the two of them roll around on the street, the silver of the blade flashing between the two forms

You have no idea who’s winning

You do hear a guttural cry coming from Sirius, but when you look back down, the Death Eater is apprehended and there’s a fresh and bloody cut across Sirius’ collarbone

Somehow, anger surges up in you

“You could’ve died, Sirius! You shouldn’t have been so stupid and reckless!”

You shout, pushing yourself off the wall and limping towards him

One of the Prewett twins comes to take the Death Eater away

Sirius scoffs

“Since when did you care about me?”

“You’re my partner, Sirius! Of course I care about you!”

At this point, the two of you are face to face, close enough to smell stale cigarettes and cinnamon on his breath. Copper mingles with the scent

“That’s the first time you’ve called me Sirius, (Y/n).”

He points out softly

You two are so close, eyes gazing into eyes

No, you don’t kiss

You got hit by the torture curse like fifteen minutes ago and then almost got impaled

You faint directly into his arms

How romantic

You wake up on the black velvet couch in headquarters

However, when you turn your head to the side, eyes open, you notice the head of a shaggy black dog resting near your face

Their ears are back, sad and glistening eyes staring at you, nose wet and cold.

The dog perks up when he spots that you’re awake

You hear their tail thunk against the base of the couch

You move your hand to scratch behind those soft ears

The dog whines and sighs in happiness

And then suddenly the dog in gone

And Sirius Black is kneeling at your side instead

“Always knew you were a dog.” You mumble out

“I saved you, and you call me a dog? How kind.” Sirius smiles, relieved

You soften. “Thank you, Sirius. Thought I was a goner.”

He brings a hand up to your face, his thumb rubbing your cheekbone gently “Just glad you’re safe and awake.”

You lean into his warm touch

“Can I kiss you, (Y/n)?” He asks softly, stormy eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips

You notice that he calls you by your first name

“You save me once and now you think you can kiss me, Black?”

You raise an eyebrow, but you aren’t serious.

His face falls and he opens his mouth the apologize, the thumb in your cheek stuttering

“Oh, alright, Sirius...I don’t mind.”

His face lifts back up at your smile

And he kisses you lightly on the lips

“Been waiting to do that for years.” He tells you when you finally separate for air

“Don’t be a prat, Sirius.”

And you know what?

You never hated Sirius Black

You especially didn’t hate Sirius Black now, that’s for sure

You would even say that you love him

Even when he is a prick

•

Sirius Black Taglist: @fific7 @quindolyn @msmb

All Character Taglist: @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @cherie-draco

[ryttu3k]

List of cool bits of foreshadowing, compiled from this post

Volo being freed from the Goblin Camp: "I can't wait to pick your brain!"

-

'Wyll thanking Balduran that we haven't sprouted tentacles yet.'

-

Raphael in act 1: "Hope… SUCH a tease."

-

'First time I heard Barcus Wroot say "If we meet again, then we will have met again," I knew I'd be seeing him later.'

-

'After saving Arabella, I was SHOOK about Arabella’s parents in Act 2 in my first run. In my second run, after you save the Grove, their parting words are surprisingly negative compared to everyone else’s and it’s very sad in hindsight. Komira says “We didn’t die today. Tomorrow perhaps, but not today. Thanks to you” and Locke says “One sorrow ended. The next soon to begin.” the FORESHADOWING-'

-

'Astarion's sardonic laughter upon discovering what the tadpole will do'

'of course it will turn me into a monster…'

'hows this one foreshadowing?'

'The laughter comes with the line "of course it will turn me into a monster"

It's foreshadowing that he is 1) already a monster (which the PC technically doesn't know yet) and 2) his whole situation around escaping from cazador

He says it with a tone that's like "oh of course, I thought I was free but in reality I'm about to turn into another fucking monster bc that's just how shitty my life is." You don't really pick up on this tone until your second playthrough, after you've learned more about him'

-

'Better: He say “I hope when we next meet, we’ll be wearing the same skin” if you don’t recruit him, and when you see him again at Cazador’s, he’ll have been flayed.'

-

'Similarly, the option to say "It felt like you weren't really there" after the first romance scene with him. I remember thinking it was kind of a strange choice to include and his excuse about not wanting to lose control seemed convincing but somehow off.

Finding out why that line was an option in Act 2… oof.'

'He's also not even aware of whats happening to him in act 1. he only realizes this in act 2 when he starts to be more self-aware about his own feelings and starts to prioritize them over the whims and lusts of other people. Until act 2 he doesnt think about his own feelings at all. in act 1 he has almost fully convinced himself that he wants to do this because he cant see why he wouldnt. there are only benefits to sleeping with Tav. Tav is attractive and the leader of the group who can protect him so theres no reason for him not to do it. but If you play with karlach origin he has a reason not to do it(her burning condition) and is relieved but doesnt understand why he's relieved. So he lashes out at karlach to blame her for the night being ruined rather than his feelings of relief that he has a perfect excuse not to have sex with her.'

'It’s a great example of what long term disassociation does!'

'Yup. And if you manage to get him to proposition before the tiefling party he tells you “you deserve a reward” (for letting him drink blood) and you can reply “you don’t need to do that just because you feel like you owe me” and shrugs it off and says “its more of an excuse it anything”. its like hes trapped in his own coping mechanisms.'

-

'Coming from someone who knew nothing about the Forgotten Realms before Bg3, I love the books you can find and read very early in Act 1. They hint at the Dead Three, Astarion’s vampirism, and Shar’s evilness. My favorite book may just be the Shar one, “The Unclaimed.” Is that not a warning for what awaits Shadowheart if she continues down the path of Shar? Amazing foreshadowing about what’s at stake, and the book didn’t quite hit me until my second playthrough, running into it again, and realizing just how much was at stake for Shadowheart. We were fighting for her soul.'

'to add onto this, theres the book that talks about Selunite rituals of children having to fend for themselves in the forest and find their way back to civilization in order to become her follower (paraphrasing) then our first glimpse into Shadowhearts memory is… her lost in the forest.'

'Withers' library of foreshadowing books.

Bro has The Unclaimed, The Curse of the Vampyr and The Mortal View: Eyewitness Accounts of the Bhaalspawn Crisis all in his library, all appearantly hundreds of years before we even come across it.'

'In my head, he actually prepped the temple in a hurry before the gang makes it there.'

(Ry's note: On that note, Withers being Jergal is pretty much spelled out long before any plot-relevant stuff like Durge rejecting Bhaal and the ending scene, mostly in the temple itself.)

-

'Talking to Alfira in the grove you can ask if she’s having trouble with her song, she says “I’m about to suffer a grisly death… at the hands of this bloody song”'

'To add to that - the song is called Weeping Dawn, and Durge likely kills her right before the dawn, as you have little time to react before the companions wake up'

-

'The cow in Grymforge that reveals Ketheric is back.'

'He also tells you it was a devil that destroyed the place'

-

'The extremely blatant musical foreshadowing of the Emperor being Balduran, with a bit of melody first appearing in an instrumental when his true form is revealed and then re-appearing as “The Song of Balduran” in the Elfsong, the lyrics of which tiptoe right up to just spelling it out plainly.

Super obvious and in your face and yet I absolutely did not notice until like my third playthrough.'

'Not to mention the opening Larian logo animation when you first boot up the game :)'

'It just occurred to me that, since the singing in the Elfsong is supposed to be the actual ghost singing, it could literally be the ghost singing to the players about the Emperor, who is also in the room with them. The lyrics to the song actually appear in the game after all, in a book, so they aren't "meta". And the ghost would clearly know who the Emperor was, since his hideout was in her basement.'

'When you meet the Emperor for the first time (the reveal that he's a mindflayer) it's playing an instrumental version of the Song of Balduran in the background.'

'Speaking of the Emperor, he's the first guy we see when we boot up the game as there's a statue of Balduran on screen right before the main menu.'

-

'shadowheart will say "we can't save them all" in a banter referring to the refugees at the grove. after my first run, i found out it was an achievement.'

-

'Volo says “every story benefits from a dragon!” and then there’s a random dragon in the final battle'

-

'Omeluum telling Durge someone else has been in his mind and carved a tunnel through it was a pretty good bit of foreshadowing on the Durges story.'

'Similarly, I love finding the "Disorders of the Nerves and Mind: A Treatise" book everywhere. It's such a cool Durge-related story (very tangentially related). Ditto with Durge's prayer you find in the colony in Kressa's room.'

(Ry's note: The Prayer for Forgiveness gives away everything. That Durge is a Bhaalspawn, that it's the Chosen of the Dead Three behind everything, that they used to be Chosen, that Orin is their sibling and thus Bhaalspawn herself, and that there was some kinda Thing between Durge and Gortash. Even if you're not playing Durge, it still gives away that Orin is only a replacement Chosen and there was another one earlier on.)

-

'All the hints of Yurgir in Grymforge in Act 1. You find evidence of some massive hellish creature that seemingly wiped out all the Dark Justiciars, but it's a mystery that won't be resolved until Act 2'

'And you piece together why they’re there in the first place if you read books in the shadowlands, as well as seeing a certain debtor in the house of hope'

-

'"Who's to say ? Perhaps my Goddess is keen to see me corrupt you . She'd be delight so see a follower of Selûne towards the darkness"

When you romance Shadowheart as a selûnite . It's pretty funny the first time but once you know what happens then it's a little bit more amusing to hear her say that'

-

'just got one last night where lae’zel says that she feared the dream visitor was some illithid deception, but after speaking to voss, she believes the dream figure can help them. oh lae’zel, you truly were onto something…'

-

'There's a note outside of Waukeen's Rest that basically reads "Statue of Beloved Ranger missing, please return." As someone who didn't play the previous games, it took until act 3 to learn that Minsc is the beloved ranger, he'd been turned into a statue, then un-petrified (hence the "statue" is missing), and also that's why his crime boss name is Stone Lord.'

-

'Astarion's comment on Malus Thorm "He just like Cazador, utterly insane!" and both Malus and Cazador actually share the same battle theme'

-

'Alfira casually dropping the line, “I’ll be gone by first light”

Yeah, she will.'

-

'Act1 Astarion: the biggest threat to a vampire is another vampire. They are scheming paranoid, power-hungry beast, so why would any vampire give up control over response to create a competitor?

Ascended astarion: you wouldn’t just be some spawn on your far more than that to me my dark consort, my right hand, my most beloved spawn.

Tav: spawn? I want to be a true vampire.

Ascended astarion: and you will in good time.

Later when you ask him if whats going to happen to you now that youre his spawn:

Ascended Astarion: 'Spawn' is an ugly word. I really do prefer 'consort'.

Six months later in the epilogue Tav is still a spawn. Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.'

-

'Shadowheart's wound flaring up anytime she interacts with something Selune-themed in act 1 is my favorite. Shar's method of negative reinforcement is subtle.'

-

'There’s a book in True Soul Gut’s chambers that is contains what is very clearly an account of Orpheus pre-imprisonment appearing before some random citizen of Baldur’s Gate, that just seems like normal flavour text when you’re unaware'

(Ry's note: And this appears as early as the Nautiloid!)

-

'the symbol of the Absolute being a mashup of the symbols of Bane (handprint), Bhaal (skull surrounded by blood drops), and Myrkul (skull in a triangle). it’s there as early as the goblin camp brands in act 1, well before you learn about the three'

-

'When you explore the Emperor’s Hideout and the Emperor points out the cutlery set on his desk, he states that the butter knife is gone/missing. A direct reference to the colloquialism “by Balduran’s butter knife”.'

'Not just that!

Balduran's Butter Knife is a weapon from the previous games. It is enchanted to be stronger against shape-shifting foes.

The Sword of the Emperor, found in the same hideout has the same enchantment.'

(Ry's note: I wonder if that includes dragons who can take dragonborn-esque forms?)

-

'You can find a book written by Gortash in the zhentarim hideout in the act 1 inn, before he’s ever mentioned'

-

'Right before they meet with Gortash for the coronation, Wulburn fucking Bongle tells Durge, “You have a knack for passing amongst these bastards as if you were one of them.”

There’s lots of other ones, but that one was very TRAGIC! Worst person makes great point!'

-

'I just realized that in the camp in the act 2 -> act 3 transition (maybe before that too?? I'm not 100% positive) if you ask Halsin a lot of questions he asks "you're not a doppelganger are you? Trying to learn all about me to take my place?" and I GASPED. It's only sort of foreshadowing since we see Orin shape-shifting in the scene between her and gortash RIGHT before but, you know, still funny'

-

'Probably that Durge-specific line with Astarion during the cutscene where he asks how you would like to be killed if you turn into a mindflayer. If you ask him how you should kill him, he says "Oh my dear, I'd like to see you try". Hits different now that I romance him each time as Durge'

-

'You can see Bhaal's glowing red circle on the floor beneath the Dark Urge, when customising his character.'

[elliemarchetti]

The Most Macabre of Scenes, The Most Terrible of Nightmares

As I hope the few souls reading this have already guessed, requests are open for anything on LOTR and The Hobbit. However, in this chapter the journey of the Fellowship continues, but various shadows loom over their safety and the hearts of its members.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Words: 2643

The attack was short and violent, but fortunately no one was injured. It was about midnight on their eighth day of travel when the Orcs stroke, a raid planned down to the last detail, one might say, as they had took advantage of the current, the crescent moon that lit up the sky and the abundance of strangely bright stars, reflecting like torches on the River’s surface. Their black-feathered arrows had fallen like lethal rain upon the Fellowship, but except for a few torn cloaks, there had been no damage. Hidden among the ferns of the western shore, as awake as they could be, everyone thought about what they saw in the sky after their enemies had unexpectedly retreated, trying to give a name to the great winged creature, blacker than the pits of the night, which had emerged from the south. Fierce voices rose up to greet it from across the water, and Elva could still feel the chills running through her and clutching at her heart, deadly cold like the memory of an old wound. She had killed it, with a single shot from the bow she had received as a gift in Lorien, but she was sure there were others, and she wanted nothing more than to get as far away as possible from that irreparably corrupted land. After that vision, Haldir had no longer spoken, but he was frowning and his mind was probably in Lothlorien, lost in calculating how long such a beast would take to reach the ends of the mallorn’s forest. Lying next to him, Elva wished she was able to say out loud that he could return, if he wished, that no one would’ve wanted him any harm for placing his homeland before a mission that didn’t even belonged to him, and that Galadriel herself would’ve probably been grateful for the warning, but selfishly, she couldn’t, so she hugged tighter her knees under the cloak, a reassurance and a way to fight the changing of the weather. When the day came, the mood of the world about them had become soft and sad. Slowly the dawn grew to a pale light, diffused and shadowless. There was mist on the River, and white fog swathed the shore, making the far bank impossible to see.

“I can’t abide fog,” said Sam, “but this seems to be a lucky one: now perhaps we can get away without those cursed goblins seeing us.”

“Perhaps so,” said Aragorn. “But it will be hard to find the path unless the fog lifts a little later on, and we must, if we are to pass Sarn Gebir and come to the Emyn Muil.”

“I don’t see why we should pass the Rapids or follow the River any further,” said Boromir. “If the Emyn Muil lie before us, then we can abandon these cockle-boats and strike westward and southward, until we come to the Entwash and cross into my own land.”

“We can, if we are making for Minas Tirith,” said Aragorn, “but that’s not yet agreed, and such a course may be more perilous than it sounds: the Entwash’s vale is flat and fenny, fog a deadly peril for those on foot and laden. I wouldn’t abandon our boats until we must, for the River is at least a path that cannot be missed.”

“But the Enemy holds the eastern bank,” objected Boromir, “and even if you pass the Gates of Argonath, coming unmolested to the Tindrock, what will you do then? Leap down the Falls and land in the marshes?”

The tones were heating up, and Elva thought it was time to intervene: “It’s not the way of the Men of Minas Tirith to desert their friends at need, and we’ll need your strength, if ever we are to reach the Tindrock.”

The mortal seemed satisfied with those words, and decided he would go as far as the tall isle, but no further.

“There I shall turn to my home,” he announced, “alone if my help hasn’t earned the reward of any companionship.”

Elva prayed that someone had decided to pursue that mission, but in order to keep an army as powerful as that of Boromir's father, if everyone chose to follow Aragorn, she would be the one to separate from the rest of the companions, this decided a long time ago, perhaps at the very moment Gandalf had chosen her for the Quest. That gloomy possibility, which was so far from her ideals, prompted her to wait for the mist to rise in silence, even as she and Haldir went exploring forward along the shore, while the others remained by the boats. She hoped to find some way by which they could carry everything to the smoother water beyond the Rapids, but even if the elven boats wouldn’t sink, that didn’t ensure they could come through Sarn Gebir alive, for none ever done so yet, and no road was made by the Men of Gondor in this region, for even in their great days their realm didn’t reach up Anduin beyond the Emyn Muil.

“There is a portage-way somewhere on the western shore, if I can find it,” revealed Haldir, so softly that for a moment Elva hardly noticed.

"I didn't tell the others," the elf went on, "because I was afraid they wouldn't believe me, after my miscalculations pushed us towards the Orcs attack; besides, I fought those creatures for a good part of my own adult life, and I could’ve imagined their simple but ingenious plan."

"No one was injured, that's the important thing," Elva replied, thinking that if anyone had risked being hit, it would’ve been him, as an arrow had ripped off both the cloak and the skin of the jacket from his shoulders.

"But if that had happened, the fault would’ve been mine alone, and whoever had accused me, even if only in grief, would’ve been right: you have already lost the Istar, and before I should’ve warned Aragorn it wasn’t wise to continue at night as he suggested, but I didn't, and now I don't want to deceive anyone until I’m sure that my memory doesn’t deceive me," he replied, resolute in the bitterness of someone who can't forgive himself.

"Why are you telling me, then?" Elva asked, unable to stop.

"Because I'm sure I can trust you, and I know you’ve faced the guilt, same or not, even if I still don’t know what you’re carrying it for,” he replied, with a naked and vulnerable honesty, which hit right to the point. She didn't like talking about her past, much less what she felt about it, yet he must’ve seen a difficult life in her eyes, a life that perhaps could’ve been more like his, if only she had been born in another realm. Like Lorien, Mirkwood was a wonderful but tricky place, where growing up as a half-breed wasn't easy at all, especially when you needed to do it by yourself. Getting to know Legolas, and later becoming his confidant and friend, had been a blessing, and she kept telling herself that her true life had begun the day a young prince was bewitched by the ability of a simple recruit with a bow and with words. She hadn't treated him well, weary as every orphan is, and perhaps that was precisely what had intrigued him, since at court no one spoke to him as an equal, much less had the courage to say what they really though, too busy trying to win the future king’s favours, since with the one in charge was so hard. Speaking of Thranduil, he had welcomed her as if she were his own daughter, instructing and having her instructed in the best possible way; but the king was a cold and distant father, rigid in his manner and limited in his displays of affection, not exactly what a girl without parents desires most. If loving Legolas as a brother had been simple, as natural as breathing and almost a matter of survival, the same couldn't be said of the oldest of the Greenleafs, but she had learned that too, and with it the art of concealing her heart, although with Haldir it was so difficult.

"And how can I know I should have the same trust in you?" she asked, her heart heavy. She needed to believe that he wouldn’t leave the Fellowship, even if she followed Boromir and everyone else went by water, and she needed to know if he would understand her decision, or if he would end up misinterpreting it.

"You can't, but to convince you otherwise, I'll tell you something that I'm sure should’ve remained a secret: Galadriel's Mirror showed me three visions, three possible futures, I find myself believing. I still don't want to talk about two, because it doesn't seem wise, but the most macabre of scenes, the most terrible of nightmares that I thought I could have, I feel like sharing: I don't know if the Fellowship had failed in its intent, or if it's the fate that awaits my homeland anyway, if events should take that turn, but darkness had fallen over the forest of golden trees when a flock of huge winged creatures, like the one you killed last night, swept over Calas Galadhon. The Lord and the Lady fought side by side with every common citizen, and a shower of arrows capable of obscuring the stars was sent from each talan towards the sky. I don't know how the battle could end, as my vision was limited to that, but I have seen you fight with us, and defend our young and old as if they were your own. I don't pretend to understand what those images meant, and why the Mirror decided to show them to me, but I believe it was the beginning of Lorien's Winter, the first day of a downhill road to inevitable ruin, yet you were there by our side, and I don't think you'd fight for the land of someone you don’t trust,” he concluded, just as enigmatic as his ruler. Did he meant he understood her malfidence towards the Galadhrim, or was it really just his way of assuming that she would always trust him, to the point of risking death for a place that did not belong to her? There was no way of knowing but asking, and it didn't seem appropriate, fearing that he too might ask her what the Mirror had shown her. Death, she might’ve replied, no matter it was the mallorn’s, his people’s or Haldir’s himself, but she didn't want to talk about it anymore, she just wanted to forget his pale skin in the moonlight, the dust, sweat and blood surrounding her like a sea that smelled of the Enemy's wickedness instead of salt, so she fell silent.

“It cannot yet have perished,” muttered Haldir under his breath, after a while. “Light boats used to journey out of Wilderland down to Osgiliath, and still did so until a few years ago, when the Orcs of Mordor began to multiply.”

“Even if we find the path, peril will grow with every mile we go forward, for it lies ahead on every southward road,” replied Elva

They found what they were looking for just before noon, with the head of the Rapids half a mile below them: a track leading to a good landing, a little more than a mile long, was still serviceable, not far beyond the stream clear and smooth again, though running swiftly. The hardest task was to get the boats and baggage to the old portage-way, lying well back from the water-side near which they were camped, and running under the lee of a rock-wall, a furlong or more from the shore. “I fear we must leave the River now, and make for the portage-way as best we can from here,” said Haldir, once back.

“That wouldn’t be easy, even if we were all Men,” said Boromir.

“Yet such as we are we will try it,” Aragorn replied peremptorily.

“We will!” confirmed Gimli, and although the task was difficult, it was nevertheless completed, the goods taken out of the boats and brought to the top of the bank, where there was a level space, and the boats themselves drawn out of the water and carried up, proving to be far less heavy than any had expected; at last, all was removed to be laid on the portage-way and with little further hindrance, save from sprawling briars and many fallen stones, they moved forward all together. Fog still hung in veils upon the crumbling rock-wall, and to their left mist shrouded the River: they could hear it rushing and foaming over the sharp shelves and stony teeth of Sarn Gebir, but they couldn't see it. There the portage-way, turning back to the water-side, ran gently down to the shallow edge of a little pool scooped in the river-side, not by hand, but by the water swirling down from Sarn Gebir against a low pier of rock that jutted out some way into the stream. Beyond it the shore rose sheer into a grey cliff, and there was no further passage for those on foot. Already the short afternoon was past, and a dim cloudy dusk was closing in. Sitting beside the water, they listened to the confused rush and roar of the Rapids hidden in the mist; they were tired and sleepy, and their hearts were as gloomy as the dying day at the thought of spending there another night, even if it seemed inevitable, given the general fatigue. Luckily, nothing worse than a brief drizzle of rain an hour before dawn happened, and as soon as it was fully light and the fog was thinning, they started. Keeping as close as they could to the western side, they saw the dim shapes of the low cliffs rising ever higher, shadowy walls with their feet in the hurrying river. In the mid-morning the clouds drew down lower, and it began to rain heavily, forcing them to drew the skin-covers over their boats to prevent them from being flooded and drifted on; little could be seen before or about them through the grey falling curtains but it didn’t last long, the sky above growing lighter and suddenly opening, dismissing fogs and mists too. Before the travellers lay a wide ravine, with great rocky sides to which clung, upon shelves and in narrow crevices, a few trees; as they sped along with little hope of stopping or turning, whatever might meet ahead, Elva peered forward, seeing in the distance two great rocks approaching. Like pinnacles or pillars of stone they stood, tall, sheer and ominous, creating a narrow gap among which the boats could only pass one by one. They were the Argonath, the Pillars of the Kings, vast grey figures silent but threatening, shaped and fashioned as two great kings of stone with blurred eyes and crannied brows frowning upon the North. The left hand of each was raised palm outwards in gesture of warning, while in each right hand there was an axe and upon each head there was a crumbling helm and crown. Great power and majesty they still wore, the silent wardens of a long-vanished Kingdom, instilling awe and fear in the Fellowship travelling in boats frail and fleeting as little leaves, under the enduring shadow of the sentinels of Numenor. Passing into the dark chasm of the Gates, sheer rose the dreadful cliffs on either side, while the black waters roared and echoed, and a wind screamed over them. What a horrible place it was, but it must’ve been even worse for Aragorn, a king in exile who was finally returning to his land only to see it filled with the noise of wind, rushing water and echoing stone.

[zelskzerker]

Mangadex went down so I read alot 1/7

Lets review a bunch of isekai and related stuff I binged because mangadex went down. The scale will be a single thumbs up to a single thumbs down in terms of how much I would consider recommending it in general.

Legend

Chapters 1-51 Pretty straight forward in most aspects. For the best. Nothing crazy bad or good happening, making it surprisingly straight forward for an isekai. [Insert isekai startup here] but this time the MC is given a super magic body and the knowledge of ancient magic. Which he promptly uses to create a griffon buddy. Gets a THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER for just being a nice, believable stay in a world, but I have read some stuff that really has interesting sparks the way this doesnt. MC is brutal at times and General Princess is cute. They make a good pair for each other.  Although there are no ecchi situations, that artist really knows how to slide in the lewds, whether its mid combat flourishes or pre chapter artwork.

The Black Create Summoner: Revolt of Reincarnated

All Chapters

Truly is revolting. A resounding THUMBS DOWN.  Apparently this was just an advertisement manga, which means that its intentionally incomplete and unsatisfying. Ontop of that, the sketchy artwork was generally rough and got worse to look at the more it went on. [Insert isekai startup here] but this time he has a grimoire that lets him summon stuff he draws. The power isn’t used that much though or in that creative of ways. Characters didn’t really leave an impact except maybe the elf little sister that is stubborn yet knows she is incompotent and recruits a dragon out of stubbornness. 

Minotaur’s Sweetheart

Chapters 1-16

So what if a minotaur accidentally seduced the adventurer that was assigned to kill him? This is a good romance manga deserving a THUMBS UP because the pure-hearted minotaur boy and the unmarriageable adventurer girl actually develop a relationship and progress as people. The manga is ultimately about monsters and humans interacting and is fresh due to having a plot that evolves the situation a lot beyond the initial setup of the manga.

Moon-led Journey Across Another World

Chapters 1-64

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time the god of the new world calls the MC ugly and banishes him to the edge of the world to die off. In order to help out the MC, the god of our world (Tsukuyomi) gives him a bit of power. The MC is funny to watch once you realize that he is an incredibly cautious pureboy and expecting every common street thug to potentially end him but in reality he is a god-rivaling cataclysm himself and never realizes. He is so powerful that he recruits the blue haired mist dragon, Tomoe, and accidentally turns her into a weeaboo. Tomoe can read minds and access pocket space with her mist ontop of her sick weeaboo katana skills. She really shines as the most mature person in the story, gaining information that no one else in the story has and carefully withholding it from the MC in order to protect his innocence. She is a DAMN good tomboyish waifu and sarashii is a blessing. Other main girl is yandere spider, Mio, which has shockingly good and well conveyed bouts of emotion. She has an extremely rare “can’t cook at all” joke that is explained due to her “eat literally anything” nature. In terms of plot, the MC hates the god of the world he is in and pretty much plans to do everything she doesn’t want him to. Which means mingling with humans, and eventually, god slaying/usurption. Odd think about this manga is that it’s heavily Japanese-inspired. That may sound odd because its a manga, but generally isekai are most medieval/western skinned than this one which leans in on Japanese mythos. Just look at the god of our world in the manga.

THUMBS UP.

The Unsuccessful yet Academically Unparalleled Sage ~A Cheating S-Rank Sorcerer's Post-Rebirth Adventurer Log~

Chapter 1-10 So lets set up this genre here. This is a part of the “reincarnation” genre, which is a spinoff of isekai. They generally depict a very capable mage who reincarnates themselves into the future of their own world. At which point they realize that although they were pretty strong in their day, they are now practically a god in the deteriorated modern day. This genre will hereby be indicated by [Insert reincarnation startup here]. For this manga in specific, [Insert isekai startup here] but this time the MC could only use lightning magic and was the best at it but failed the gene gacha then [Insert reincarnation startup here] and he fails gene gacha again but is still the walking thunder god. These kinds of manga are always precious when the MC can walk through the world and see the fruits of their past labor. Specifically through Merlin, the MC’s adopted demon daughter who has grown up to be his heritor and bridge human/demon relationships. Truly adorable and heart warming. Lacks a bit of spice from themeing or ongoing plot due to its short length however. THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER.

Older Elite Knight is cute only in front of me

Chapters 1-17.1

THUMBS UP. This is an oneshota manga where shota is a chad with incredibly good tastes. A really good ecchi manga with a light hearted story featuring Haru(the shota) knight that joins Karen’s(the oneesan) knight crew. As with all good romance manga, the main plot isn’t romance. Knight shenanigins are always happening, with a big (and lewd) bad entering recently. Top tier variation on the lewds, even including a princess loli in on the fun. Must read for all oneshota fans.

Lonely Attack on A Different World

Chapter 1-91

[Insert isekai startup forma de classroom here] but this time the MC gets leftover garbage skills and has to learn to survive. Learning to survive thus makes him the most op and he can magic trick his way out of literally anything. Strong start as the whole classroom first tries to get their footing, but after the starting arc is done this manga starts spinning it’s wheels. The manga is kinda lacking in themes, overarching plot and end goals, so stuff just happens to make this a sort of slice of life trap room escape manga. Magic “just works” in this universe so its not very dramatic when the MC pulls out a new trick out of his bag of million tricks. Just kinda stagnates too much for my liking. THUMB IN THE BOTTOM CORNER.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer

Chapters 1-34

Rentt Faina, the MC, is a good guy with no talent who aspires to be a legendary adventurer. But then he gets turned into a skeleton, giving the chance to evolve his way to greatness, kinda like in Spider isekai or Dragon isekai. The MC is most like Goblin Slayer in his serious and knowledgeable approach to the world, how characters that know him revere him. End goal so far is just him seeing how far he can evolve as he comes across other vampires and vampire hunters. Really want to see him go to the top. Fuckin great art. Girls drawn perfect. Like the hat on the guild girl, but nothing beats the witch Lorraine. THUMBS UP.

Teihen Ryoushu No Kanchigai Eiyuutan

Chapters 1-13

THUMB IN UPPER CORNER. Pretty funny comedy about a lord of a poor land who wants to be a stereotypical evil lord but can only use healing magic. Therefore he bumbles his way into accepting a heretical cult nun, beast men who hate humans, etc. All the girls are to crazy for him to want to sex them(weak. give the assassin nun your babies). Most interesting parts are aforementioned nun, his fujoshi assistant, and the MC’s willingness to use his power to commit heretical and immoral warcrimes. 

The Undead Lord of the Palace of Darkness

Chapters 1-11

Art average, don’t come to this one for spectacle. It’s strength is in the subertfuge that it’s recently-necromanced-back-to-life MC goes through to get his Master killed and to later, probably, evolve into a vampire. MC isn’t evil though, just wants to survive. Main girl on cover was born and raised to hunt vampires but has a compassionate heart. Obviously she goes easy on and relates to MC. Story is still kinda in it’s first arc so the overall trajectory of the story is a bit hard to gauge and not quite satisfying enough by its own right. Probably a thumb up with more chapters but for now THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER.

The Reincarnated Inferior Magic Swordsman

Chapters 1-38

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time.... uh... THUMB SIDEWAYS. Usually I am patient, but 31 chapters with no goal and just barely plot? Wow. Saving grace is uh... I guess the world of “other isekai people existed but they sucked because they didn’t level uncap like MC” could go somewhere but. I take it back, lowering this one to a THUMB DOWN.

The Invincible Sage in the Second World.

Chapters 1-12

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time a pro mmo player in a game called “Broken Balance Online.” Guess what his class, the sage class, was considered in the game? Not far along enough to really pop off but it isn’t horrible. MC is moderately cautious to a healthy degree which is actually rare in most isekai. THUMB IN BOTTOM LEFT CORNER. 

The Dark Queen and I Strike Back

Chapters 1-29.5

Although technically an isekai, no isekai startup here. This a battle manga with a big mystery on the backdrop of a war. That is to say, the MC gets teleported to a world to kill the demons but he ends up defending them from the humans with all he’s got. Of special note is the complete seriousness of this manga that whiplashes into debauchery like tentacles, the above cover, oneshota, and even really dark jokes in some of the omake. That tonal lash effect will be either make or break, and it is a HUGE make for me. I love when a single piece can have both absolute serious scenes and utterly lighthearted and fluffy ones. Or in this case utterly lewd ones. May the average-human-amount-of-perverted MC one day slam some demon lord loli. THUMBS UP.

Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

Chapters 1-24

THUMB SIDEWAYS. Has the feeling of a nerfed slime isekai. Nerfed in all ways except romance. Art surprisingly good.