#thoradin deepdelver

[thornfield13713]

Yeah. Thoradin took the 'bombs in kids' toys' thing a bit personally. Because he cannot stop picturing what might've happened, and that is just- he has no sympathy whatsoever for 'kill a bunch of kids rather than risk my own skin'. Okay, his own little girl is safe in Blackgate and with any luck would never get near any of this - or at least, he hopes so - but he cannot stop picturing, and that besides having a soft spot for kids already.

Farewell, Arfur. You shall not be missed.

[thornfield13713]

So, this is cute. Might've just inspired a future githyanki bard here. Okay, his first attempt isn't brilliant, but nobody's first songwriting efforts are anything but cringey, and he's got a good solid grasp of his theme and rhyme scheme already. Thoradin's early efforts were worse. Not that he's not composing his own song, since that was the deal for getting the tablet in the first place, but far be it from him not to encourage an up-and-coming young musician.

[thornfield13713]

So. That's adorable. I'm glad I got to talk to the owlbear this time. Though I am a little sorry there's still no option to adopt him yourself. I suppose a busy political spouse doesn't have quite as much time for pet owlbears as many others do, but still. I hope it's a druid-exclusive option in Ned's playthrough, because I really don't want them to be separated from their darling boy.

But, Halsin will do a good job of looking after him, and there are always visits. Possibly playdates, between Thoradin and Wyll's girls and Halsin's new wards.

Oh god, that's adorable. I'm glad he's up for it- and that would be the most amazing surprise to get, as a child, having pestered for one before your father went away to a party with his boring grown-up friend, only for him to return with an owlbear. Whom he can talk to, and may teach you to talk to. Can't lose, honestly.

[thornfield13713]

Awww.

Sorry, sorry, just- these two's general bestie-ness is very cute. Two magic nerds who want to talk about art and music and- oh, god, Thoradin would be so thrilled to talk about illusions with Gale. It's always been his favourite sort of magic, if not the most useful in the field, and he's not what you'd call a specialist.

Also, I love the kneeling-for-the-hug animation. It's so fluid - it's clear they do this a lot.

[thornfield13713]

The 'my star' nickname is just cementing me in the belief that I need to do a Wyllstarion playthrough at some point - possibly two, get it from both of their perspectives.

As for the events...well. Big dramatic ducal wedding is definitely a plan, and Thoradin's not above a bit of showing off the fact that he married a handsome, heroic duke's son and duke-to-be. But the city is...sort of wrecked, and there's a bit of a refugee crisis going on, and they should probably deal with that first, so that they can justify having a big wedding. As for starting a family- they've sort of already got a start on that, between Helja and the fact that Yenna doesn't really have anyone else, and while Arabella might be very magically gifted, she's still a kid somewhere in the 10-12 range. I suspect there might be another daughter in their future, to cement the inheritance and because they want one, but that's a thought for a few years from now.

In the meantime, they've got a job in front of them establishing Wyll's new position and the political reforms he's planning on bringing with them - the next few years are going to be busy ones.

[thornfield13713]

Thoradin: Why do people keep assuming I'm straight?

Okay, yeah, that's not the context of that first one, that's just Orin being Orin, but- still, that is probably what Thoradin's thinking both times. Okay, in a non-heteronormative society, not sure the association between being a well-dressed dandy and being queer would still exist - that in large part came out of the Oscar Wilde trial - but...still. Particularly funny in the case of the brothel madam. Yes, okay, I know it's setting up a murder investigation, but...her saying she can intuit guests' desires and then getting it so far wrong it is funny is still entertaining.

[thornfield13713]

Additional daughter acquired. Congratulations, Yenna! You are being adopted! Please do not resist.

[thornfield13713]

for the clothes ask - informal for Excellence, footwear for Ned, wardrobe for Thoradin and formal for Rosie

Ooh - nice to have an ask for everyone. And...let's see.

What's your OC's lazy-day look? How do they like to dress when they're winding down?

Excellence isn't a fussy dresser unless she's got someone to impress. So, shirt and breeches, nothing fancy, something easy to pull on and comfortable, if a bit sloppy. After she gets involved with Gale, she also starts stealing his cozy velvet tunics, because they're warm, and smell of him, and comfortable. It stretches out the shoulders and chest something dreadful, but she hasn't heard any complaints yet. She hasn't historically made much of a fuss about colour, but starts doing so more after moving to Waterdeep and suddenly being in a position where she can have clothes made and dyed for her rather than just buying whatever can be made up quickly between adventures. She tends to favour brighter colours, when she can, with a particular fondness for reds and blues - though generally not worn together.

What does your OC wear on their feet?

Boots when actively adventuring, because they're practical and protecting your toes and soles is the sort of thing that matters when you're dealing with all the hazards of the adventuring life, and particularly in the Underdark, which is full of nasty oozes you don't want on your feet. Around camp, however, and when they can get away with it, Ned prefers sandals. They'd go barefoot if it was practical, but are cognisant enough of the risks of rocks, thorns and sudden hedgehogs not to do that.

What's your OC's formal look? Do they like dressing up? Do they have different looks for different occasions?

To be honest, I'm not sure this is something Rosie has ever had to think about. Because first she was a poor Lower City kid, and then she was a ward of the Temple of Ilmater, and then a squire of a paladin order, and then a cult leader living in the sewer. I'm not sure she's ever been to a formal event in her life, unless Gortash brought her along to one, and given that a number of power players in the city know Rosie as a Bhaalist cult leader, that might not be the safest idea.

That said, once introduced to the idea, I think Rosie might rather enjoy it, so long as she could get formalwear made up in her habitual head-to-toe black with subtle golden accents, and Gortash doesn't seem to have had any trouble doing so, so there's no reason Rosie should. Admittedly, her idea of formalwear is probably just a variation on what she wears anyway - long tunic, tabard with blackwork embroidery, boots, leggings - just without the mail and gambeson. Just...made of rather finer fabrics, and possibly with a bit more subtle ornamentation. I don't see her having a lot of different looks, though - clothing has never been a matter of great concern for her, and while she's experimenting with a lot of forms of self-indulgence now she's free, that one has never really caught her attention.

How big is your character's wardrobe? Do they wear things threadbare, or can they afford new clothes often? Are they any good at mending and repairing their own clothing?

This changes over the course of the game for Thoradin. Pre-game and on the road, he hasn't got very many clothes, and wears the ones he has until they wear out, repairing them as best he can as he goes, and often using embroidery and ornamentation to cover over mends and stains. He hasn't got much money, and almost all of what he does have is getting spent on Helja. As such, he has got very, very good at picking up good clothes at a bargain, making over and repairing old clothes, and adding ornamentation to enliven clothes too dull for any self-respecting bard to wear to a gig.

And then he's married to the new Grand Duke, and can have all the pretty clothes he likes. He might go a bit mad about that, once he has the chance, though he keeps up the embroidery and repair habits, just because he gets attached to favourite outfits and doesn't want to lose them, and also because he just likes adding new little details and embellishments.

[thornfield13713]

Thoradin did not, in fact, recognise him. He is just being nice.

Which is a hell of a thing to have to say about a bard confronted with the god of the bardic arts, but there you are.

[thornfield13713]

So, this is fun. Astarion and Thoradin never really got past 'casually friendly, part of the same friend group but not really friends', and they were always just a bit scratchy with each other. Nice to see that continuing, though I expect they might bond a bit over Drizzt fanboyism, if either of them is ever willing to admit to it in public.

Or if Astarion ever mentions having met Drizzt (neatly skipping over his own fanboy moment - look, if Bing-Bong is now canon according to one version of the epilogue, so can this be) and Thoradin's soul nearly gets jolted out of his body in his rush to hear everything about it.

[thornfield13713]

...look, it's not been the most exciting six months.

Or- not to an outside observer. It's been hair-raising for Thoradin and Wyll, trying to get the city back together, adjust to being a family, adjust again to having a new baby, endless political wrangling and rebuilding efforts...but none of that makes for a good bedtime story for children, so shameless embroidering and adding in of random fight scenes it is.

[thornfield13713]

So, resuming this playthrough and. Um. Got to say, slightly concerned about this.

I think Thoradin is, too. He's not...exactly sure how much Karlach there is in there, given his quiet conviction that, whatever was left of Balduran in the Emperor, it wasn't the part doing the decision-making. And the shift in vocabulary and mannerisms aren't doing very much to smooth things over.

This helps, though.

Whether or not that's entirely Karlach in there, or a new being entirely who just happens to share memories (it's hard to draw the line, with mind flayers), they're not hurting anyone, and have found a way of feeding that's actually humane and useful - and also managed to keep on living in Baldur's Gate post-everything, which is...impressive. I would not have thought that was an option - it's certainly the reason I give for Excellence not having been back since moving to Waterdeep. Though it does make not visiting a bit less excusable.

So...all told, this friendship might still be going forward, and Karlach seems to be happy with her life, which is really all one can ask.

[thornfield13713]

Okay. This is...slightly less comfortable. Yes, okay, I was the one who nudged Wyll towards taking this path, and I'm sure he's trying to do good with it, but- I can't help but remember that comment earlier about dukes making allies with more monsters than they slay. Wyll...might be on a path to losing some of that idealism, and it's not...ideal...to see. On the other hand, he was already a warlock - a pretty CHA-focused class - and he is just talking about diplomacy.

Yeaaah, no. Nothing doing. There's two Ravengards and one close family friend and ally on the Council already, and frankly, disbanding the Council of Four worried me a bit...right up until I did some digging and found out that a) all the known members of it except for Ulder died at Gortash's coronation or, in Stelmane's case, of Bhaalists with nasty knives, so it's not so much 'disbanding' as 'took a while to wind it back up after most of it came down with a bad case of dead', and b) the Parliament of Peers is still there, so this isn't a power-grab, which would've been a really worrying sign that I'd accidentally got Wyll's bad ending without realising it, when I thought that was just...leaving him in Mizora's power. And Wyll was actually elected - all Ulder says in the game is that he'll put Wyll forward for the position and throw support behind him. It's still the Parliament of Peers who confirmed the appointment.

I mean, it wouldn't have been unusual for medieval-esque politics even so, for a city's effective ruler to surround himself with family members and close allies. But Baldur's Gate is a bit more early modern, and...well, Charles I could tell you just how well dissolving the governing body that reins you in can go. And every indication is that Wyll is the same old idealist who wants to make things better for the people of the Gate. Just...too much power centralised in a single pair of hands, or a single family's hands, has a tendency to go to rot regardless of good intentions. And 'nominated' is also a good sign - means that the Parliament of Peers would still get the deciding vote even if Thoradin had put himself forward...though, as one of the heroes that saved the city, odds are he'd get it. Gorion's Ward did, after all.

...a lot less conflicted about this one. Sure, 'pressured to open their coffers' could mean a lot of things, but- I'm heavily in favour of taxing the obscenely rich to feed the poor, and loading on financial incentives to give generously to worthy causes, and that appears to be what Wyll is doing.

So...all in all, things appear to be going well. A bit of potential for things to go less well in the future, but hopefully a bit of meaningful political opposition will help a bit, while having solid support on the council will let Wyll push things through. Now, if we could just start considering parliamentary reform and getting more representatives in from the Lower City, we might be getting somewhere, but I'm not going to hold out too much hope.

[thornfield13713]

*screeching*

Sorry, sorry, just-

The last-second chance is a favourite trope of mine, and this is a particularly painful one. Because- He's not wrong about the gods. And as controlling and twisted as his love for Isobel may have become, it is genuine. And so is this offer. One father to another. I understand, in your place I might've done the same thing. I can understand, and because I can understand, I can forgive. Other people might not be able to do either, but that's their business. Maybe you feel like you've gone too far, but the only way that's true is if you don't even try.

I just- For a moment, it really felt like it could've ended here.

And then it didn't.

I think Thoradin thinks of Ketheric often, after this. The path he went down, how easily it could be Thoradin's own, if things went wrong. He might go that way even now, if he returned to Baldur's Gate to find Helja dead. There, but for the grace of the gods.

Sorry, I'm woolgathering. But damn this is a great scene.

[thornfield13713]

I am SO GLAD they fixed that bug of Gale saying that you aren't close if you aren't romancing him in this scene, and just in time for Thoradin!

I just- these two are best friends, and I love it, and I love that Gale can storm at you a bit for giving him so much to care about, just when he was ready to give up on life. I just- I love him so much. Thoradin has been doing his best to talk Gale out of using the orb, and he'd do it anyway because he's a nice guy, but also - Gale is his best friend in the world right now. Of course he doesn't want his bestie to die.

[thornfield13713]

I love getting to bond with Alfira if you're playing a bard - the whole theme of both communicating heavily through songs and stories, and using that to comfort each other and also puff yourselves up a bit.

I like to think these two are going to be friends for a very long time to come - working on compositions together, swapping tips, playing each other's songs and making sure to give credit...I just like the idea of being Bard Buddies, sorry.