#my illithid buddy

[tangentofk]

***slowly mopping up the blood and other fluids from yesternight's festivities with a massive blood hangover***

-🪱

Uh oh, little worm. Did you have more fun in my brain than I did?!?

[morrithal]

My dealer: just got in some straight gas 😜🐌 it's called brain worm and it'll unlock your illithid potential 📈

Me: whatever man I don't feel shit

(20 minutes later)

Me: dude I swear as the symbol glows, power pulses through me. Authority.

My buddy Shadowheart pacing: the dream visitor is lying to us

[meanbossart]

what was everyones endings in your du drow playthrough? like did they live happily ever after or did some of them parish from the narrative

-Lae'zel died in Act 1, DU drow slashed her throat after she tried to murder-suicide the camp out of fear of turning into a mindflayer.

-Gale sought out the crown. In the game's canon this means he immediately ascends to Godhood but in my personal narrative (I finished the game before the epilogue was out) he goes on to research it while having to flee Mystra's wrath by any means necessary for several years before anything can actually happen.

-Wyll broke his pact with Mizora. They also rescued his dad from the prisons after going down there and realizing he was still alive (despite her best efforts) this was mostly for rubbing-on-Mizora's-face purposes LOL

-Karlach died at the docks because of her engine after the brain was felled.

-Shadowheart sacrificed her parents and for a while travels alongside DU drow and Astarion, events from A Novel Experience proceed.

-Astarion killed Cazador, was persuaded not to ascend and freed both the seven thousand marks and his spawn siblings. Events from A Novel Experience proceed.

-Barcus got flung through the sky and died from rough-landing-itis.

-The gang sided with the mercenary duergar at Grymforge and killed Nere. The gnomes that didn't die remained enslaved to the duergar.

-They saved Arabella both at the tiefling grove and at the shadow-cursed lands.

-The rest of the gnomes at Moonrise Towers and the tieflings from the grove were never rescued, so I think that means they died. Zevlor was freed from his illithid tank and I'm sure he's dealing wonderfully with that information.

-Halsin stayed behind in Act 2 since they never rid the land of the curse. Good luck with that buddy!

-Jaheira came along into Act 3 because these guys need at least One adult present (and herself and DU drow loved bickering).

-They made an alliance with Gortash but didn't honor it, killing him at his tower later after disabling the steelwatch.

-Yenna was captured by Orin and died at Bhaal's temple.

-They killed Lorrokan AND Rolan and I'm sure Isobel and Aylin lived happily ever after.

-Raphael died, Hope survived.

-Minsc was rescued because mom said so. I'm sure he's out there Minsc-ing around right this moment.

-They betrayed the Emperor and freed Orpheus, who had to take on the task of becoming Ilithid himself.

-DU drow killed Orpheus.

EDIT: Nothing happened to Kagha because I didn't pursue her quest, I was mixing things up with another run of mine.

[tlltalehearts]

my dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called "illithid potential" 😳 you'll be zonked out of your gourd💯

me: yeah whatever. i don't feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude i swear i just saw balduran say that exact sentence before

my buddy astarion, pacing: the squid is lying to us

[mumms-the-word]

Illithid Souls

A Deep Dive Series

I've collected all my deep dives about illithid souls here for your convenience! These posts look into the question of if illithids have souls inside or outside of the BG3 game lore, with a more focused look in parts 2 and 3 at the cases of Tav/Durge, Orpheus, Karlach, and Gale.

Ultimately I came to my own conclusions, but I'm by no means trying to sell you on the idea that I'm the expert and can't be wrong. I wrote these mostly to gather lots of lore in one (or three) contained space(s) with both a textual and visual aspect, so that it makes lore-gathering/reading/viewing more fun.

As with all my deep dives, these posts are designed to equip you with some lore so you can build your own theories and ideas, but I do guide and organize my thoughts in ways that make sense to me, and present theories that I think are interesting or feasible. But lore is always a little hazy so I’m bound to be wrong or you’re bound to interpret things differently. Just have fun with the lore!

Without further ado~

---

Illithid Souls - Part 1

What’s up with mind flayers and souls anyway?

This post begins by defining what D&D calls a soul, which is notoriously hard to define in any capacity both in or out of D&D lore. We look briefly at what happens when a soul dies normally, what Withers has to say about mind flayers and souls, and what D&D guidebooks like the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and Volo's Guide to Monsters have to say about the afterlife, souls, and mind flayers. Basically, this is your intro to D&D souls lore before we get to how the game follows or ignores that same lore.

---

Illithid Souls - Part 2

The Case Studies: Tav/Durge and Orpheus

This post dives into some interesting context from the game for the Emperor, Tav/Durge, and Orpheus. Though I use Tav/Durge as the official case study here, looking at dialogue and reactions when Tav/Durge turns into a mind flayer, it's worth nothing that most Origin runs handle the mind flayer thing exactly the same way. This is where the D&D lore gets left behind a little bit and we get to really see how the game changes or adopts the concept of mind flayer souls. Read this one if you'd like a little more info about how your OC Tav/Durge might be affected by illithidness!

---

Illithid Souls - Part 3

The Case Studies: Karlach and Gale

The final post looks specifically at in-game evidence or lore for Companion!Karlach that turns into a mind flayer, as well as what unique options an Origin run Gale gets if he decides to become a mind flayer at the end of the game. I ended up with a lot of questions while writing this post and I don't have answers for all of them, but it was fascinating to see some of the unique stuff you only see if you make Karlach a mind flayer, or are playing as Gale and decide to become illithid. Karlach provides some additional context to what it's like to be a special mind flayer in BG3, and Gale's Origin endings as a mind flayer are certainly unique and strange. Worth reading parts of if you're interested in either character!

---

As with all deep dives and metas, this is all just for fun! Yes, I called days of research and writing and editing fun, because I'm a...well. A thorough bitch, as Swoop would say. But I couldn't fit everything that exists in these posts and I did make a couple of decisions to leave things out, like extended conversations with the Emperor and basically any mention of Omeluum (sorry Omeluum, love you buddy! you have a soul in my heart) because I just didn't know where to put those things in.

So basically, this is not the end-all, be-all of lore! I'm happy to answer questions in the replies or in asks as well, just know that everything will be couched as my opinion and that you are encouraged to interpret the lore in ways that suits your play styles, headcanons, or beliefs.

Just have fun with it!

[nitw]

my mysterious dream guardian: got some straight gas 🔥 😛 this strain is called "illithid larva" 😳 you'll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

me: yeah whatever. i don't feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude i swear i just saw some redcaps in the forest

my buddy karlach pacing: auntie ethel is lying to us

[monsterlimbs]

Always thinking about how my durge Mordriel (or durges with high intimidation rolls in general) somehow attract Astarion. Like he is ALL OVER durges. And Mordriel and Astarion's romance is so wildly unlikely and funny to me.

Like Mordriel, a hulking half-elf with solid black claws, spooky eyes, and no memories, only the urge to kill, somehow got Astarion to fall in love w him. Mordriel, the man who's muttering "all is ash and meat" under his breath, who can't get away from his chronic pain and takes it out on others, who threatens people by saying "Do you have children? Yes? I see. Do you want your children to continue having parents? Or do you want them orphaned? You don't want them as orphans, do you? Then, do as I say." and constantly using his illithid authority, who's covered in explainable scars and tattoos, who is literally murder incarnate, who has killed THOUSANDS and has no remorse except for like a couple of his kills, who can't take a joke, who doesn't even acknowledge or understand flirting and actually gets annoyed at flirting until act 3, who has nearly killed all of his party members at least once including Astarion (who actually, has nearly been killed the most amount of times out of everyone), who thinks "Gods, I can smell our last kill on you. I love it." and "Will you hunt someone with me today?" and "Your teeth are so sharp. You could crush someone's windpipe with ease." is FLIRTING and GOOD flirting at that, etc etc.... That man. That man somehow caught Astarion's eye, PAST MANIPULATION. Past "oh gods gotta buddy buddy with the monster in our group because he's been designated leader and now he has the power to exile me, kill me, or worse, send me to Cazador". Past all that. HE LIKES HIM. He actually likes him. Worse, he loves him. Loves the murder incarnate. Feels SAFE with the murder incarnate. Do you see the irony in that? The first person he's felt safe with probably in 200 hundred years, is a man who's been seconds away from killing him, multiple times and hated his guts for a good amount of time. But now, that man is protecting him, projecting all of that murderous energy onto others, others who have wronged Astarion. And somehow that's romantic to Astarion. Which, in a way, sure, being protected by a horrible monster who's all sweet and lovey dovey towards you is romantic. But also what the fuck.

And even funnier to me, is that Mordriel and Astarion... out of all the people in the camp, is one of the most unlikely pairings for Mordriel. Mordriel, if he hadn't slept with Astarion first, would've ended up with Gale or Lae'zel likely. Lae'zel had the "you've been looking at me differently" option so she was feeling it too, and Gale was like "well Astarion has a certain charm about him. So does a tiger when it purrs" so he did too, and Mordriel was all over those two and really enjoyed their company. Even Wyll, he actually admires Wyll quite a bit, and it actually wildly hurts his feelings when Wyll begins to think of him as a monster. Astarion is like his... third to last choice, behind Karlach and then Shadowheart. Karlach is "his sister's Tiefling", so off limits. And then he and Shadowheart are just kind of neutral until act 2, then they're best friends and she's like a sister to him.

And the only reason Astarion and Mordriel ever slept together and showed Astarion the "plan was working", was because Astarion was just... persistent. And in Mordriel's mind, the more persistent someone is on something, the more nice it is, right? In Astarion's mind, Mordriel's all over him. But Mordriel is like. kinda curious about sex? Kinda? And that's it. The plan is not working.

Also, Astarion is just about the opposite of Mordriel's type at first. The first time Mordriel even begins to tolerate Astarion, is during the bite scene funnily enough. He nearly kills Astarion in that moment, but his "must get the whole story first" type view urges him to press on first. And then their minds link, and Mordriel gets to see the first bit of Astarion's vulnerability, which Mordriel actually sees as a strength (because, in his eyes, surviving 200 years on rats is impressive. He partially pities Astarion for the moment, but it's replaced with almost... admiration. He's impressed, and willingly lets Astarion bite him, and even waited until the very last second to persuade him to stop. Even said "I trust him. He won't hurt us" the next morning, although that was said with a silent threat of "Because if he does hurt us, I think he knows he'll be dead by my hands easily", but still. He starts standing up for Astarion and his affliction because he now has some respect for the "weak, flirty, annoying thief" he once hated). And then they bond over their shared hatred for Cazador. Cazador angers the urges because he has power, so even without Astarion being around, he likely would harbor a good deal of disdain for Cazador. Astarion takes Mordriel being like "we WILL kill him." as the plan working. Again, it is not. Mordriel's merely added another powerful being to his kill list.

The way that Astarion caught Mordriel's eye, is in the moments that Astarion was not preforming and being flirty, but instead being like "Can we kill that guy over there?", or being demanding and such, or when he's giving Mordriel his "doe eyes". The performative mask Astarion has created is..., well, annoying to Mordriel. But when Astarion gets sassy, silly, soft-eyed, or bloodlust-y, THAT is endearing to Mordriel. And so, it is insane these two ended up together. Everything Astarion does to attract, annoys Mordriel. And it is a wonder Mordriel HASN'T killed Astarion because of that. So, for these two to end up together is just. insane. I guess the shared interest for other people's torture really makes you fall in love.

Also GOD did this get so much longer than I meant.

[blackjackkent]

Raphael waits until Voss has left the room before turning fully towards Rakha with a wide, almost ingratiating smile. "I'm glad you came," he says mildly. "Not to my door, not yet, but to the final reckoning." He tips his head, studying her thoughtfully for a moment, then raises one hand.

"One more thing before we begin, though."

Rakha starts to argue, to tell him that she is not here for him, that she doesn't want anything he can possibly offer her - that her aim was to bring Lae'zel here to talk to Voss, and that Raphael's presence here is nothing more than an annoying flicker out of the corner of her eye...

...and then he snaps his fingers.

...and Rakha's mind goes blank.

Narrator: For the first time since the nautiloid, your mind is clear. It's... unsettling.

(A/N: Hahahahaha. So. Okay. I straight up forgot that this was a thing that happened, but damn if it doesn't come out of nowhere and completely bulls-eye the target.

It's become pretty clear to me over Rakha's journey since Act 1 that mental peace is the only goal she has that is stronger than the murder urge. It's stronger than her desire to defeat the Absolute, stronger than her love for Wyll, stronger than anything. And she's had a couple places where she's been able to get fleeting moments of it to varying degrees and in varying ways - the myconid spores, sex with Lae'zel, dancing with Wyll, channeling the Weave with Gale, sleeping cuddled up with Scratch and Buddy, and - most recently - the moment of "ecstasy" granted to her by the nymph in the room next door.

But most significant by far has been the Guardian/Emperor and her time in the Astral Prism, either in dreams or reality, as those have been the most complete and extended moments where both the tadpole and the beast have shut up in her head. And those experiences have driven most of her biggest recent decisions - particularly the decision to treat the Emperor as an ally despite its illithid nature, and to consume the Astral Tadpole.

One of Raphael's primary goals in this conversation is to convince Rakha that what he has on offer - the Orphic Hammer, and therefore a means to stand against the Emperor - is worth giving him the Crown of Karsus. And he opens the conversation by casually, literally with a snap of his fingers, proving that he can provide Rakha with the most important thing that she values about her existing partnership with Empy.

And, in fact, given that the narrator specifies for the first time since the Nautiloid, I'm inclined to say that Raphael in fact does it BETTER. I might have assumed that the game only means that the Emperor is no longer present in your mind, but there is a Dark Urge specific dialogue option here indicating quite directly that the murder urge is ALSO quiet in this moment.

This is such an in-character bit of smooth manipulation on Raphael's part that it is hysterical to me that the story has developed such that it happened by complete accident.)

Rakha goes completely still, as if she has been struck to stone. Her breath feels frozen in her lungs.

Silence. Everything inside her is quiet. The sound of the brothel fades to a distant hum and then out of hearing completely. The worm is unmoving in her temple. The beast sleeps. Everything is calm, and the only thing inside her skull is... her.

She opens her eyes - not having realized she closed them in the first place - and stares at Raphael in undisguised wonder. "The tadpole is slumbering..." she whispers. "And my blood... isn't boiling..."

Raphael smiles slowly. "I gave you back your privacy by shutting that illithid in your pocket out of your mind. It can't hear us."

Rakha shifts her weight uncertainly. This is Raphael, she reminds herself. A devil, like Mizora who tore Wyll's life apart. An evil not to be trusted. A creature she hates.

But the quiet is so deep, so impenetrable. Even the Guardian - the Emperor with whom she has thrown in her lot - has never silenced the voices in her head so thoroughly.

Does he know the statement he has just made to her? Or is it merely the luckiest of lucky guesses?

"Then speak freely," she growls. "Tell me why you brought me here."

Raphael relaxes, looking pleased, and lounges back on his heels. "I brought you here because I'm true to my word," he says smoothly. "And I can make all of this tadpole business go away - which means you and your lovely friends can remain blessedly free of tentacles." He smirks. "Unless some have already sprouted in places I can't see."

Settling his weight forward again, he hooks his hands behind his back with a businesslike attitude. "Let us speak plain," he says, his tone now crisp. "I'll admit - you've impressed me. I wasn't sure you'd make it this far. But no matter how far you come, you're still on the road to ruin - a road that leads directly to a confrontation with the elder brain."

His head tips forward, his eyes fixing on Rakha's. "At best, it will kill you and everyone in this city. At worst, it will assimilate you, and you won't have enough free will left to even wish you were dead." His gaze flicks to the pack on her hip. "You have the key to destroying it in the palm of your hand, though."

"The Astral Prism?" Rakha says slowly. What he describes doesn't exactly spark fear in her; none of it is anything she doesn't already know. What she doesn't understand is his angle, and the unexpected silence in her brain makes her thoughts feel strange and uncoordinated, as if she is running a few seconds behind the conversation.

Raphael shrugs. "In a manner of speaking. But it's the one inside the Prism that you need. Not the illithid - the gith." He spreads his arms dramatically. "I can give you the means to break him free."

Rakha frowns. This clarifies nothing - in fact, it increases her confusion. Why does Raphael want Orpheus freed?

"Speak, devil," Lae'zel says abruptly. Her eyes are narrowed with intense attention, her fists clenched at her sides. "We're listening."

Rakha hesitates. Yes - of course Lae'zel will want to hear more, if this is indeed what Raphael is offering, regardless of his reasons. And in truth, Rakha has been fairly conflicted on this point ever since they learned the Emperor's true nature.

The Emperor has been her ally up to this point, has granted her mental peace on occasion, guided her, advised her. Confided in her, even. But so has Lae'zel - and Lae'zel wants Orpheus freed. Which of them does Rakha owe more loyalty to?

Until this moment, it had seemed a moot point, since only the Emperor could protect them from the Absolute's influence; it stated quite clearly that Orpheus, if freed, would not provide the same service. Raphael, though, seems to see things differently.

"Orpheus's guards tried to kill me," she points out slowly, thinking out the statement word by word. "He's dangerous."

"To illithids - yes," Raphael says dryly. "But despite your reckless embrace of the parasite and recent mutations, you're no mind flayer... not yet. Orpheus would gladly execute the Emperor, but to you he will be a friend. After all, you're at war with an elder brain."

Rakha cocks her head to one side. "The Emperor is the only reason I'm still alive," she points out.

"No," Raphael says patiently. "*Orpheus* is the reason you're still alive. The Emperor is abusing the gith for its own ends. And it's doing the same to you." His lip curls. "You're nothing more than the beast of burden that will transport it to the elder brain. An ox requires food, and the occasional beating to keep it moving. You are simpler - the Emperor's words serve as both carrot and stick."

Narrator: Perhaps it is true that Orpheus would ally with you against the elder brain, but if he proves uncooperative once free, you may have to kill him.

Frustrated rage scratches at the back of Rakha's head - and absently she feels a flicker of wonder at realizing that just for this moment it is her rage, not the beast's anger but her own, grounded entirely in her own thoughts.

Raphael is, she has to admit, making a certain amount of sense. But there are only two interpretations here - either the Emperor is manipulating her or Raphael is. To agree to Raphael's manipulations would be to help Lae'zel - but it would mean siding with a devil, a tacit betrayal of Wyll. To stand with the Emperor would honor something of what she has learned in the past months about loyalty, friendship, honor - but it would mean abandoning Orpheus to his fate, a tacit betrayal of Lae'zel.

(A/N: I legitimately don't know wtf to do here. XD Raphael and the Emperor have both played Rakha like a fiddle so deftly, and Wyll and Lae'zel have both wormed their way so thoroughly into her life and thought processes, that she is now effectively deadlocked between them. This would actually be an easy decision if it weren't for MIZORA of all people, who isn't even in the room.

This is one of the few times when it would actually be awesome if Lae'zel just made an executive decision to do something dumb without my input but unfortunately there's no "defer to companion" option in this conversation.

I can't even very easily pick based on what I haven't done before, because I haven't either agreed with Raphael OR allied with the Emperor; Hector rejected Raphael's deal and then broke into the House of Hope on his own.

Jeez.

Ultimately I think we're going to stick with the Emperor because Rakha is, in her own way, oddly loyal to those she's decided have earned it, because I'm curious how the game plays out if you're on good terms with it, and because no matter how complete the mind-silence Raphael can provide and how much Lae'zel wants Orpheus to be free, I can't see Rakha agreeing to make a deal with a devil, particularly this devil, with Wyll right there in the same room.

Sorry, Lae'zel. :(

I'm going to slightly tweak one line of this conversation, however, in order to be able to get more info on the hammer before Rakha makes her decision, because she always wants more information.)

"Perhaps it's worth taking the risk,"(*) she says slowly. "How do I free Orpheus?"

"The Orphic Hammer," Raphael says matter-of-factly. "An artifact capable of shattering the chains that hold Prince Orpheus is held securely in my House of Hope even now."

Rakha lifts an eyebrow. "Perfect. Give it to me."

Raphael laughs brightly. "Such an eager little pup!" he says, a touch mockingly. "Surely you realize there is an exchange to be made. You scratch my back, I scratch your parasite."

Rakha's jaw works. "Just tell me what you want."

Raphael's expression hardens. "I want the Crown that dominates the elder brain," he says flatly. While Rakha absorbs this revelation, he looks past her, towards Lae'zel - perhaps seeing that she is the more willing listener. "And you, Lae'zel of K'liir... want to free the forgotten prince, do you not?"

"I want nothing more!" Lae'zel agrees earnestly.

Again that cool smile drifts onto Raphael's face. "Then it is settled, is it not? A Crown for a Hammer. A bargain of a lifetime, Lae'zel of K'liir..."

Rakha ignores his attempts to draw Lae'zel into the conversation, too focused on the information at hand, struggling to force her brain to process it. "What exactly is the Crown?"

"Power," Raphael purrs. "Ancient and full of wonder. I have craved it ever since the archwizard Karsus created it, long centuries ago, and brought doom to the empire of Netheril. That was the great age of humanity, and Netheril's flying sky-cities were the apex of civilization."

He smiles coldly. "I was there the day it all fell apart. Entire cities plummeted from the sky, like angels with broken wings." His eyes flick half-closed with a beatific expression. "The screams, oh the screams - hundreds of thousands of people watching in horror as the ground came up to meet them. It was not a happy meeting."

Then his eyes open again, and he is once again cool, matter-of-fact. "And Karsus was responsible. Not driven by malice, but by ambition. He forged a Crown imbued with all the powers of magic, a Crown that would make any who wore it a god." He snorts dismissively. "Men cannot contain so much power. The Crown destroyed its creator, and his empire fell with him. Karsus' Folly, the bards and scholars call it. I call it hope. The hope of creating a better world, and the perils of unchecked hubris."

He clenches one fist, a fiery light flaring in his eyes. "I knew then that the folly of mortals could be the triumph of devils, and that I could use that Crown to unite the Nine under one Archdevil Supreme. Me."

So that's what he wants. Power on a grander scale than ever conceived, in the Hells or anywhere else. "What makes you think," she asks, "you'd succeed in using the Crown where Karsus couldn't?"

To her surprise, that light in his eyes suddenly flares from satisfaction to rage.

"I AM NO MORTAL!" he roars. "And I do not fail."

Rakha squints. "If you don't fail, how come you didn't get hold of the crown then?"

It's a factual question, not a gibe, and surprisingly enough, he takes it as one and simply shrugs. "The Archdevil Mephistopheles snatched up the Crown and squirreled it away in one of his vaults," he says bitterly. "So much power and potential kept inert. He made a miracle into a museum piece." His eyes narrow. "I raged, but only for a decade or so. Then I waited, ever watching, for more than a thousand years, for a mistake, a mishap, a misadventure."

Again that slow smile. "And these Chosen who have caused you so much trouble accidentally did me a favor. They brought the Crown back into play."

"How did they come to have the Crown?" Rakha asks.

He scowls. "Through the aid of a diabolist, someone capable of opening a portal to the Hells -- *deep* in the Hells. They must have raided Mephistopheles' vault. Impressive, I must admit." A dismissive shrug. "But they'll be dead soon. If you don't kill them, the elder brain will. It doesn't have feelings in the way you'd understand them, but it seems rather angry."

His expression settles, his eyes fixing on Rakha's again. "It is inevitable. When you destroy the brain - and you will, because you must - the Crown will be yours for the taking. ANd when that moment comes, you give the crown to me. In exchange, I give you the Hammer now."

"Tsk'va!" Lae'zel snaps. "We should do as the devil asks. The Prince of the Comet must rise again!"

Narrator: A simple transaction, it seems. But it's more than that. He's offering you an alternative to the mind flayer in your head. Take Raphael's deal and you could free Orpheus. With Orpheus free, you would have no need to rely on the Emperor. But there's no guarantee Orpheus would be on your side. And if you take the deal, you'll have to fulfill it. You'll have to deliver the Crown of Karsus to the Devil himself. He claims his ambition is to unite the Hells. But can he be trusted to stop there? Do you trust him more than you trust the Emperor?

For a very long time-- Rakha says nothing at all.

This, then, is what they mean by temptation, what she is being offered right now. Wyll has said it is the domain of devils, and there is no question that Raphael knows her, and what she wants, with a depth she would not have anticipated. He has dangled an unsubstantiated promise of peace and victory in front of her in exchange for his own power, and the part of her that is made up of animal instinct wants to grab at it with both hands.

But she is more than that, isn't she? When the beast is silenced, there is more to her than that.

She can feel Wyll's eyes on her as this devil offers her an alliance against the thing that saved her over and over again. And she knows - thinks she knows, hopes she knows - what he would do, in her place.

"No deal, Raphael," she says abruptly. "I'm leaving."

All the warmth drains out of Raphael's expression instantly and his smile turns brittle. "I won't stop you," he says coolly. "But time is running out, so don't stay away for long. If you see reason, I'll be here waiting, right up to the moment the world ends."

-----

(*) The line in game is a flat "It's worth taking the risk" (and the other two lines are "i'm convinced" and "goodbye", so there's no actual uncertain option here).

[bludermaus]

Another Emperor Post for you all

First of all, just forgive me for not being good at elaboration my opinions, but here we go:

I think another reason people dislike The Emperor is because they have this incessant need to be friends with everybody if they're doing a "good run", and if you're not friendly to the player then you're deserving of no mercy, nuance and greyness be damned

We see that on how people shit on Wulbren. Like, I don't like the guy that much, but I can see the nuance of someone that was maybe a nice person and became so full of bitterness that they start lashing against others and going to extreme measures to do what they *think* is right. It's not elaborated why and we can speculate forever, but if you save Wulbren and Barcus is dead he's far far nicer to you, so people might be extra pissy about him just because Barcus is a sweetie, so by consequence Wulbren is the worst for not being nice to him

Another example is Lae'zel. I love her, but how many times have we seen people saying that they hate her or left her in the camp not bothering with learning about her because she's initially very standoffish? Just because she's not friendly enough, she's not hugging you from the get-go and saying niceties, not worshipping the ground you step on immediately? Sure, she can become friendly and even an actual friend to you later, but that's not supposed to be a requirement for someone to be liked

And then we have The Emperor. Manipulation and ommission of information is not a friendly thing to do, so automatically evil, how dare he! Except that... He's not your friend and he doesn't (initially) want to be, he's an ally by necessity (and let's be honest, every companion there is working together just by necessity. For example: Pre-tadpole Wyll and Astarion would probably have killed each other in different circumstances) and he's interested in your success in the mission, nothing more or less. And let's be honest, considering that he didn't even want to be in this situation in the first place, he's actually very friendly and nice to you, manipulations aside... Manipulations by the way to make you save the world/yourself, which you'd have wanted to do anyway he just helped point you in the right way and guide you to get there faster

But in the end you can genuinely have a friendship with him, it's just that people disregard his feelings because of some sort of idealized idea of friendship where you must be huggy huggy and message each other daily. I am great friends with someone with whom I haven't talked to in like 3-4 months... Does that mean we're not good friends? We don't message each other enough? To me The Emperor would be this kind of friend and that's okay, you'll visit him like once or twice a year, have some conversation and then leave, maybe write letters every now and then, you both value each other's life and that's it, friendship acquired

This accidentally became a post about how his feelings are genuine >:c He doesn't strike me as the "master manipulator" like haters make him out to be, The Emperor is a business nerd with zero social skills who needs therapy and my Tav can fix him, I sincerely believe that if you've been friendly to him the whole game he is genuine when at the end of the game he says he'll miss you... You're one of the only non-illithid to have not treated him like shit and didn't betray him and chose someone else's life over his when you had the chance, you accepted him for what he is and was nice/professional about it. And if you've become a Mind Flayer then obviously he's elated that he's gonna have a buddy to talk to, someone of his own new race who would understand him the best in a way others wouldn't

Okay rambling over, feel free to continue scrolling Tumblr uwu

[miraculous-pyromaniac]

Holy shit holy shit holy shit

JUST FINISHED BG3 AND IM SO FUCKING EMOTIONS

I'm literally crying, my ending went so hard bro

Ill leave my ending under a break bc I don't know what's considered spoilers or not

MY LOVE LAE'ZEL LEFT ME

Like I told her to, but it feels bad. Went off to liberate her people after I stabbed Illithid-Orpheus in the chest, after killing the Netherbrain. Fufil her destiny, kill that fraud goddess bitch. Still feels bad. She looked epic on that dragon tho.

My character, obviously distraught, suggests that the gang go to some other place, away from Baldur's gate and it's damn memories(RP flare but whatever)

Told Gale to not be a power hungry bitch and he listened and will reunite with his goddess, which I'm sure is a fine ending.

Wyll lost his powers as his contact with whats-her-bucket was over(I still saved his dad tho).

AND THEN KARLACH STARTED DYING

My love leaves me and my BFF barbarian buddy is bout to melt into a puddle of infernal goo, MY CHARACTER WAS IN THE FEELS AND SO WAS MY IRL ASS I WAS DEVISTATED

Wyll and I both offered to go to hell with her, so she would survive, my character doing it just to not loose someone else she cared about. And Karlach agreed

SO WE WENT TO FUCKING HELL TOGETHER AND WE'RE GOING TO MURDUR ZARIEL AND TAKE HER THRONE THAT BITCH WONT KNOW WHAT HIT HER!

and I left vampire ascendant Astarion without supervision which I'm sure will have zero reprocutions for the citizens of the sword coast, defiantly not, I'm sure he'll be an upstanding guy. Yup, totally, definitely.

Shart and Halsen where also there, I guess.

[theladyregret]

Important things of note in my current BG3 Drizzt run

Currently he's a lvl 4 fighter but I plan on cross classing him with Barbarian.

-He's only used his Illithid powers once thus far and it was to free Shadowheart from the pod because the only other option was to leave her behind and that was not an option.

-He was very buddy buddy with Wyll…until he realized that the devil he agreed to help him kill was in fact an innocent woman and Wyll decided to argue with him about it enough to convince him that if he hadn't been there to stop him Wyll would have just killed her, in service to an actual devil. Not a good look man. Fix that compromised morality of yours and we can be friends.

-Has talked his way through every Goblin encounter by simply acting like he belongs there while never once actually using his tadpole to prove anything. Has not yet triggered the discovery of being able to influence anyone with it yet lol

-Has failed at getting Shadowheart to share any of her secrets so it's just been a constant back and forth of "there is something off about you…" with no traction.

-Got himself robbed blind by children…but that's ok. They need it more. Donated more to Mols instead of trying to get anything back.

-Still managing to keep his approval with Astarion at fair despite being an insufferable do gooder lol (he's also the first person I've played who has managed to not get jumped by him at the start)

[tangentofk]

***Doing the It's Fucking Friday wiggle***

-🪱

My friday wiggle be like ~does whatever Bridget’s doing~.

I feel like im passing my wisdom saves. I sure hope I dont become a mind-flayer any time soon. 👉🏼👈🏼

[kaiba-cave]

I let my Astarion do whatever he wants even if it’s almost always a bad decision on his part.

He wants the scary evil book? He can have it. He wants to consume the tadpoles for Illithid powers? Go crazy buddy. He wants to sacrifice 7000 souls to become Vampire Ascendant? Well… okay if that’s what you really want I won’t stop you.

I just finished his quests though and 😬 I’ve created a monster.

[deaths]

im doing a illithid run with tavus btw and i feel so bad because astarion was like well now that you did it and its safe i want one….. so i gave him one but all the later stuff with his character arc and body makes me feel BAD! but i know this is what my guy would do. gobble up we are brain buddies now

[neraiutsuze]

withers: hosts a lovely party where you can meet all your friends and speaks warmly to you of all you've done, even if you became illithid :)

also withers, when he's alone: bane bhaal and myrkul are idiots bc souls disappear when the host becomes a mindflayer

WITHERS BUDDY AM I STILL ME OR NOT, I'M GETTING MIXED MESSAGES HERE

between this and "tempted to eat my delicious friends' brains mid-party vs bonded with the disgraced god of song with a pang of bardic guilt mid-party" i am struggling with this existential crisis myself here

[dujour13]

3 and 24, 14 and 17 for Saedra? (and maybe 44 if there's something specific on your mind?)

Thanks Dragonfly! 🥰I want Amadris and Saedra to hang out. They have a lot in common and I suspect she would. Like him.

3. Has your Character been using their illithid powers?

I can’t remember the exact occasion, but Saedra did try it out once, and the sensation was so gross and invasive she never did it again. That said I do have the hc (thanks to that Tumblr post) that sharing a tadpole connects the Team in certain ways without them even thinking about it, like having a new limb. They know each other’s positions, movements, moods and even fleeting sensations, and that part of it is not gross or invasive to her. She has neither body nor team dysphoria.

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

Saedra hasn’t even considered taking a bite of a tadpole and I actually have no idea what would happen if she did. (Now that she’s at the end of Act II and has developed more confidence in her ability to take control of her own power I wonder if she and Astarion will sit down to a little secret snack together one of these days. We’ll see.)

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

I’m a big Barcus fan. Much to Astarion’s annoyance so is Saedra. She’s really rooting for the guy after all he’s been through. He’s small and pathetic but damned if he’s giving up. She relates.

17. What does your Character think of Withers?

Answered here but I love picturing my barmaid just shrugging him off as another weirdo who probably doesn’t tip.

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

Thank you!! I do have something on my mind! And in it.

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

Since Lae’zel was her first tadpole buddy and they share the absolute priority of getting rid of the ghaik parasite, Saedra feels especially bonded to her despite her occasional harsh criticism, taken very much in stride. Working in the service industry, Saedra can let a lot of abrasive talk wash off and Lae’zel’s nothing next to some clients she’s had to deal with. At least Lae'zel's comments are well intentioned.

Although Shadowheart’s a little sister and Astarion… (not thinking about that), Lae’zel has Saedra’s total trust, loyalty and affection.