#poor duke ravengard. we saved his ass in Avernus

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

My dnd group played Descent into Avernus, which starts off in Baldur’s Gate, so along with all of the fucked-up murder dungeons beneath manors and bathhouses and everything that the module included, my group further wrecked the city when one character

planted a magic bean in the yard of a duke we hated in the Upper City, which overnight grew into a massive stalk hundreds of feet tall.

in an entirely separate incident, caused that duke’s entire manor to become enveloped in a pyramid. I am still uncertain of the mechanics and reasoning behind this.

The beanstalk was cut down before we left the city but for all I know the pyramid is just going to be a fixture in the city forever.

And another character’s mother, who lived in the Upper City, made a devil contract that among other things caused her family’s manor to magically expand in size. I also do not know how this one shook out after the mother was killed and the contract broke.

Do not purchase real estate in Baldur’s Gate. You may wake up one day to find your manor has shrunk, because the previous owner made a deal with a devil for more square footage, and the devil finally remembered that the person on the other side of the deal is dead and they don’t need to keep using their devil magic on the house.

[limpfisted]

Wyll ravengard is a very funny character because he literally just. Has no idea the terrible things wrong with baldurs gate

Hes like BALDURS GATE IS A JEWEL. It WOULD HAVE WELCOMED REFUGEES 10 YEARS AGO!

Maybe thats true. Ten years ago. I doubt it. But maybe. TEN YEARS AGO. (Tbh I hope it isn't bc that means ulder made the city actively worse LOL)

But descent to avernus is a canon and it takes place the same year as bg3

There were HUNDREDS of refugees from elturel. Even more than are outside the gate now from the absolute

And they ALSO were not allowed in. In fact, some of them are beaten in the streets by the very flaming fist that wyll's dad is in charge of. For the crime of being refugees, I guess.

If u read the 5e stuff about baldurs gate its clear that baldurs gate is a truly terrible and unsafe place to live if ur poor. Even if ur rich its unsafe, but then at least u can stay in the upper city and gamble all day long away from The Poors.

Its a place defined by inequality and crime but also culture and magic and pride

Wyll sees the best in it, he sees the pride and the people and the magic. He was privileged enough to see only the best in it

As much as I love the idea of wyll as a fairy tale prince returning home and everyone loves him---ulder being from the lower city and going versus the nobles is HARD and he has had to fight to keep his power and fight to keep the lower city safe from the guild and make bad deals and lbr to work with the flaming fist, to work with the evil ass patriars, he had to let some things slide

Wyll has his work cut out for him! Just as his father did!

And I think being grand Duke would present an interesting challenge for him as a character, in that he would not be able to solve problems by fighting monsters or killing devils. He has to deal with evils of injustice, even within the people who work for him who protect him and who he may have at one point looked up to

And that's extremely difficult

There is political intrigue and frustrations and tragedy to be had

Wyll genuinely has the compassion and empathy and charm to help baldurs gate.

BUT.

The point of wylls narrative and the stuff with balduran and ansur is very much a wake up call that the fairy tale of his fathers hero balduran is built on lies and there is no one great man that can save baldurs gate. Just like there wasn't one great man that built it

Gortash himself is like, a foil to this because he believes he's the one great man who can fix every problem with literal mind control

It is MUCH easier for wyll to just step away from baldurs gate after all this. And if u let HIM choose, that's what he does

If he becomes grand Duke and his fathers heart of the gate, he becomes responsible and beholden to things we can't imagine

And tbh? Wyll doesn't have that many of his own allies like his Father had. He has to rely on people like florrick, people like the flaming fist. People who respected his father, people who will talk over and take advantage of the 26 year old who stopped his education at 17

His story doesn't really end here, u know? It's really just beginning

In fact with an evil arch Duke everyone genuinely seemed to believe in dead, so many patriars dead, Duke Stephane dead, who knows what happened to vanthampur, the flaming fist had sided with gortash, who knows what happened to the actual upper city watch.

Literally and truly. The story of the absolute, and BALDURAN is finally over. But the story of baldurs gate? Baby thats just beginning