#vanthampur

[defira85]

Not All That Glitters: The Golden Reign of Gortash

Day 6: Alternative Universe/Dealer's Choice

It was dark, and the stone under his feet was cold; he might have thought himself to be underground, in a cave perhaps, if the floor had not been so even, and his bare feet could feel the seams of flagstones. A tiled room, of sorts. A dungeon?

Had he gone from a cell in Avernus to a cell in Toril?

"Hello?" he called out, and he told himself that the crack in his voice was simply the lingering remnants of puberty, and not at all a sign of fear. He was Enver Gortash, survivor of Avernus, and he did not show fear.

He heard the sound of a boot scraping across the stone.

"Who's there?" he demanded, his voice slightly higher pitched than the first query. "Show yourself."

"My my, you are quite the spitfire, aren't you," came a voice from the shadows. There was a scratching sound, a match drawn against the coarse striking paper on the matchbox, and a small flare of orange light made him blink and squint as he tried to make out the features of the person before him. The match was lowered towards a lamp, and as the oiled wick took hold of the flickering flame, the cramped stone cell was filled with a warm orange glow that did nothing to offer comfort.

He was well and truly sick of the glow from a flame.

Read Day Six here, and subscribe to catch the final chapter coming soon!

This chapter was inspired by @the0verboss and their very cool concept for Day 6, with Enver as the Chosen of Bhaal. After he did an absolutely incredible trampy fashionista Enver based on the outfit in one of my chapters, I really wanted to reciprocate somehow, so this is partially for him!

[powdermelonkeg]

Me, playing BG3: Gortash staged a mind-controlled coup! Perfect political intrigue.

Me, looking up the politics of Baldur's Gate: Oh this city's government is falling apart at the SEAMS.

[thedeadthree]

🌞 CYTHIA -`. the witcher • ♟️KAROLINA -`. btaj

🕯️ NYNEVE -`. vtm • 🐦‍⬛ IRINA (pre embrace) -`. vtm

🪩 ANAIS -`. vtm: night road • 🪞ILEANA -`. vtmb

🧚 ALKYONE -`. coral island • 🌪️ VAERMINA -`. bg3

TAGGED BY @crownrots, @corvosattano, @risingsh0t, @cloudofbutterflies92, @kyber-infinitygems, and @carlosoliveiraa to make a few of the dearies using this dollmaker !!!!! tyty!!

TAGGING: @seluneite, @jendoe, @sunites, @rosenfey, @lavampira, @leviiackrman, @unholymilf, @gwynbleidd, @queennymeria, @aezyrraeshh, @marazhaiaezyrraesh, @full---ofstarlight, @nightbloodbix, @jackiesarch, @florbelles, @marivenah, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @yharnams, @shadowglens, @anoras, @celticwoman, @pinkfey, @shellibisshe, @faerune, @alltoowelltv, @adelaidedrubman, @grapecaseschoices, @sussoro, @griffin-wood, @bloodofvalyria, @dickytwister, @loriane-elmuerto, @timdownie, @theviridianbunny, @riikugan, @vvanessaives, @raphaelsboudoir, @ryomenscurse, and you!!

[bharv]

Will you maybe share your Lady Vanthampur HC? 👀👉👈

I can't believe I never got to this in my mad Gortweek posting! But she featured or was name checked at least three times.

So I think (?) from the module she has a bathing house over a temple to the cult of the dead three in Heapside. The cult sprung up after the sundering when the worship of the three ceased to be a formal religion - most Mykulites started worshiping Kelemvor, most Banites went to Cyric, and most Bhaalists grew the fuck up did too - but there were small pockets of hangers-on that kept the faith alive. And because she is the master of the Drains and Underways she truly knows the whole network.

And she's pledged to Zariel, which is also interesting! Unlike Gortash who is a business partner and Wyll who is sort of pledged to Zariel by proxy, Thal is a full on fucking devil worshipper for power. Was she part of the brokering of Gortash's initial relationship with Zariel? She almost certainly knew of his connection to the hells, even if I go back-and-forth on her knowing he's the High Imperceptor of Bane.

But my main HC is that she is fucking no-nonsense, absolute wall of a woman, who shares Gortash's absolute distain for the Patriars and is in a race to the top against him. I would have LOVED her fingerprints to be all over BG3, but alas, it wasn't to be. I reckon her and Helsik regularly share a tipple, that she knows everything about the Bhaalists, whom she works closely with, and that if there's one thing she hates more than ridiculous snobbery... it's a bloody law-man like Ulder.

[rinwellisathing]

Get to know my OCs: OC pairings:

Lucian Ancunin and Casimir Vanthampur:

Toxic t4t yaoi between two of the most tryhard edgy boys. They meet while hunting the same target for their respective bosses. Lucian is an imaginative, playful young man who pretends at being a dhampir and is highly spoiled by his wealthy vampire father whom he adores and models himself after. Casimir, meanwhile, is the bastard son of an all but fallen noble house raised by Baba Yaga in the feywild as a spy and assassin, he is smug, egotistical, and styles himself as a proper feywild Trickster and seducer.

Teela Popsprocket and Alyce Ravengard:

Shoujo lesbian first love, Teela comes to Baldur's Gate seeking information on her birth parents only to find a quest offered on a notice board that includes an invitation to the birthday celebration of Lady Alyce Ravengard. There she meets the enchanting and charming daughter of Baldur's Gate's grand Duke and is immediately smitten. Alyce, meanwhile, is a very serious and composed girl who seems to push people away in order to protect them. This doesn't stop Teela from doing all she can to help Alyce and try and get close to her. Alyce is actually attracted to Teela's creative mind and earnest kindness, but her warlock pact and her mother's terminal illness causes her to fear getting close to anyone and risking losing them.

Sentry Ojeda and Wysp Silksong:

Doomed, unrequited t4t tragic love. The two became friends when Ffionn Goldgrind introduced them at an after hours party at Sharess' Caress. It started out as a flirtatious and playful friendship between a client and a courtesan, but slowly Wysp began to fall in love with Sentry's creativity and humor along with how genuine he was. Sentry saw this simply as a good friend appreciating his friend's support of his business and believed Wysp was only so extra kind and giving towards him was that he was both a friend and a paying customer and believed reading into it too much was presumptuous and frankly creepy, so he never realized Wysp actually loved him. It still didn't sink in even when Wysp showed jealousy towards Gortash when he and Sentry became lovers, a jealousy that would ultimately leave to very correct suspicion on Wysp's part which would ultimately lead to Gortash having him killed for prying and for taking any semblance of Sentry's attention.

Ilya Barghest and Jackal Silk:

Not actually romance, more one sided obsession and misguided kindness. Jackal first noticed Ilya when the tiefling was still young while Jackal was spying on Sentry at the Open Hand Temple on behalf of their father before Sentry would return to Bhaal as his chosen. He found himself distracted by Ilya's gentleness and beauty and stalked him obsessively. When Ilya was a teenager, after Sentry had returned to his 'true family' and he and Jackal quickly became bitter enemies, Jackal saw in Ilya the opposite of everything he hated about Sentry but with the same beauty and charm of tiefling heritage. Where Sentry was brash, rude, promiscuous, and violent, Ilya was demure, polite, chaste, and good hearted. The perfect pure soul to taint and soil. To Ilya, all Jackal would be was a sudden attack in the night, a few moments of fear and helplessness and then a horrific memory that Haunted him. To Jackal, Ilya was his pretty little songbird and a fond memory to return to.

Jaina Thalassia and Kroger of Creche K'liir:

Through a mutual love of Wyll as well as a respect for one another's knowledge and work, Kroger and Jaina have a deep connection to one another and offer eachother support and affection frequently. Kroger's medical knowledge and bedside manner are invaluable as his love for both Jaina and Wyll drives him to search tirelessly for a cure to her illness all while keeping her spirits up with his dry wit and humor. Meanwhile, Jaina's gentle compassion helps Kroger to recover from the traumatic upbringing that is common for many of his people, as well as her own devotion to Umberlee giving her a greater understanding of how Kroger was devoted to Vlaakith for so long and how badly it hurt him to be cast out by her even knowing her true nature.

[genderdotcom]

after the events of bg3.... ARE there any dukes left? bc portyr and stelmane both get killed... ravengard depending on ur choices... makes sense that if his dad dies wyll feels like he needs to become the new duke bc otherwise there wouldnt be ANY! after bg3 it's presumably (ulder/wyll) ravengard, possibly florrick... theres still two spaces missing!

[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.

[plinchy]

Just a fun interaction from last session.

[cwowo]

Scene from my last dnd game.

Amrik Vanthampur and my little Fae Rot, she is a little babygirl.

[anderstrevelyan]

Why am I just noticing months later that Blaze Elin (who lets you over the bridge into Wyrm's Rock) confirms I was right in a single sentence??

Why has no one ever told me this???

Gortash murders the Parliament of Peers.

Have you ever wondered exactly what's going on with all the dead bodies in the Wyrm's Rock audience hall, if you leave and come back after Gortash's coronation?

I did some in-game research while working on a fic recently, and in the name of sparing anyone else from having to lay all this out, too—here's a list of the victims, and some notes-based educated guessing on Gortash's motivation here.

(Beyond Iron Counsul Nuff's summary in the screenshot above: "My lord requires a clear path to his magnificent future. We cut away the troublesome bramble.")

Lord Petric Amber

Lord Amber's Bodyguard

Lady Ailis Belt

Lady Haeril Birch

Baron Callem Bormul

Lady Alia Durinbold

Lady Durinbold's Bodyguard

Lady Durinbold's Attendant

Lord Sarken Eomane

Admiral Peil Hullhollyn

Lady Winstra Hullhollyn

Lord Raylen Jannath

Lord Jannath's Bodyguard

Duke Dillard Portyr

Lord Portyr's Attendant

Lord Portyr's Bodyguard

Lady Beatrice Provoss

Lord Myer Ravenshade

Lady Silifrey Sashenstar

Lord Rugger Shattershield

Lord Shattershield's Bodyguard

Lord Shattershield's Attendant

Lord Milton Tillerturn

Lord Randolf Vammas

Lady Madeline Whitburn

9 Unnamed Patriars

First I'll note that not everyone you see lingering after the coronation ends up dead: I could talk to Lady Eshvelt Guthmere, Lady Ruth Linnacker, and Lady Freida Oberon, and their bodies aren't present in the hall later.

It also doesn't seem to be connected to vocalizing support for Gortash or not—you can overhear Portyr and Shattershield challenging him in the ambient dialogue after the coronation, but when you walk around and talk to everyone else the only one who has anything negative to say is Silifrey Sashenstar. Everyone else on the list above sings Gortash's praises.

So, here's what I think it is!

In the corner of the audience hall, you can find this note:

The Parliament of Peers is the body that's responsible for electing new dukes, and they held a formal vote to raise Gortash as Archduke and dissolve their own political body. Note the numbers: there's 23 members.

So who are these members? Up in Gortash's study, you can find this note discussing bribing, blackmailing, and threatening members of the Peers, which gives us the names of eight:

Five of these eight end up dead in the audience hall (Portyr, Jannath, Whitburn, Sashenstar, and Eomane).

As for the three Peers listed who don't end up in dead in the hall—Lady Ruth Linnacker, Lord Hir Rillyn, and Lady Haeril Vanthampur—let's look to this note:

Gortash has leverage against Ruth Linnacker through the abduction of her granddaughter, and I don't think it's unfair to assume Hir Rillyn and Haeril Vanthampur are similarly under Gortash's control, whether tadpoled or blackmailed (this is the one big assumption I had to make—bear with me!).

The other two with non-murderous leverage against them in the note above do end up dead, but I think there's some added context: I imagine Raylen Jannath is the husband of Wisteria Jannath, who Gortash canonically had an affair with (maybe it's personal? Maybe Raylen didn't care enough about the leverage of his own affair, if he knew she'd had one too?). For Portyr, there's the following in Gortash's study, noting he considers him a threat that shouldn't be underestimated, so he may not have wanted to stop at threats:

The inclusion of Portyr on the list of eight Peers could imply that the other three dukes are members of the Parliament of Peers, too. There's a book in Franc Peartree's house about the current state of who the dukes are, which I don't have my own screenshot of, but here's the relevant text from the wiki:

We know Belynne Stelmane is dead as part of the Bhaalist plot. Ulder Ravengard is tadpoled. The fourth duke was Thalamra Vanthampur, who's dead. They were waiting to replace her until Ravengard was found or confirmed gone—and Gortash was given this seat.

So, back to the original list of people murdered after the coronation. I bolded the names of those who aren't seemingly collateral damage (the bodyguards and attendants, and the unnamed patriars): there's 17.

17 killed after the coronation

Plus three Peers controlled through blackmail or other means

Plus Duke Stelmane and Duke Ravengard, dead and tadpoled respectively

That adds up to 22.

Add in Gortash's own vote, which he would have from taking (Thalamra) Vanthampur's seat, and you get 23.

The same number as the members of the Parliament of Peers.

Gortash didn't just orchestrate the Peers naming him the city's first Archduke, and he didn't just influence them to dissolve the political body that could vote another duke in. He made sure the individuals were destroyed, too.

[yesistolethisurl]

how funny would it be if i just fully borrowed amrik vanthampur for an evil campaign

like fully resurrected as a warlock with his mom as his patron, somehow failing upwards all the way to the top

[thedeadthree]

-`. WHAT FORM OF LOVE IS YOUR OC?

TAGGED BY @corvosattano, @chuckhansen, @jillvalentinesday, @leviiackrman, @jackiesarch, @marivenah and @nightbloodbix to take this quiz!!! thank you !!!! ❦

TAGGING: @flymm, @bloodofvalyria, @griffin-wood, @dekarios, @lavinet, @gortash, @fragilestorm, @dameayliins, @risingsh0t, @moonmothers, @cptcassian, @marivenah, @faerune, @mrdekarios, @queennymeria, @unholymilf, @florbelles, @jendoe, @jackiesarch, @adelaidedrubman, @theviridianbunny, @yennefre, @vanoefucks, @katsigian, @yennas, @fenharel, @full---ofstarlight, @baldursgate2, @druidgroves, @anoras, @lavampira, @bg3, @grapecaseschoices, @sstewyhosseini, @gwynbleidd, @shadowglens, @quickhacked, @malefiicarum, @minaharkers, @envergothash, @feypacts, @themalkavian and you!

-`. LOVE THAT HEALS.

your love is healing. it burns you with every bit of your soul, but you choose to heal, nevertheless. you are so, so so strong and i hope you know that. i send you peace. i send you calm. i hope things will become better for you in time, just as you have made others better in time as well.

-`. LOVE THAT LASTS.

love unconditional, love unfailing. you love no matter what happens because you believe in the best – of you, and them. it will hurt and it will fail you, but this love tastes so sweet – you can never believe that it bitters sometimes. the way you choose to love unconditionally is incredible.

-`. LOVE THAT PROTECTS.

you love so fiercely, with every fibre of your being. maybe you were wounded by love in the past ; such that you choose to love and love and love so wonderfully that the next person who comes into your life never doubts that they are loved by you.

-`. LOVE THAT STRENGTHENS.

you make sure that people know that they are loved, and you give them strength when they need it the most. this is an ability that is rare; the love that you hold speaks wonders of yourself. i hope you're doing alright. isn't it exhausting always being the bigger person?

-`. LOVE THAT CALMS.

this is sweet. i hope you know that you make others feel at ease around you. you're a gem, a blessing, a treasure – and you should know it. it's comfortable loving you. it's a privilege to be around you and to be let into your world.

[bharv]

*gasp* Did someone say Thalamra Vanthampur headcanons?? If I may;

She absolutely had a hand in at least one of her husbands' deaths out of the three. As soon as she had her perfect heir and back-up, she didn't have any use for being married anymore.

While she's built up her son, Amrik, as the heir to the Vanthampur legacy, she does not trust him to handle anything she's built, and knows that he's a spineless coward (hence why the players in the module can find him running a loan shark operation out of the Low Lantern. He can't touch any of mother's toys, so he settles for being a big fish in a puddle).

I waffle on whether her worship of Zariel is genuine in any way before her death and transformation into a devil, but I think she was at least genuine in her belief that Zariel is the most competent ruler Avernus would get, and decided to bet on the winning horse/angel. If nothing else, she thought it would give her a favourable position in Zariel's court when she delivered Baldur's Gate to the Archdevil, much like Elturel.

You're SO RIGHT for all of this I completely completely agree! I don't view her as motivated sexually at all lmao husbands served their purpose and then were OUT OF THERE. And yeah Amrik is the best of the bunch eh but I agree, he's nothing on his mother.

And yeah I wonder if the support of Zariel is partially genuine admiration. I always go back and forth on this. On the one hand, it's worshipping a devil lol, but despite what we learn in BG3 about Zariel there's like... there's a LOT of potential there I feel, that a woman like Thal might really admire?

[rinwellisathing]

Rain fell rhythmically on the streets of The Wide as shoppers swiftly raised their hoods or pulled shawls up over their heads and scattered towards the warm shelter of local taverns or hurried back home.

Massive shimmering statues depicting the heroes of Baldur's Gate, now slick with rain, watched silently over the familiar, welcome chaos of the market place emptying out.

Beneath the statue of a tall, lean muscled tiefling in shining armor, an ornate and somewhat grim looking halberd across his back, a young man in a black cloak peered out, eyes following a particular figure. The cloaked man's horns were nearly identical in shape to those of the statue, but the angle of his face ran slimmer, a touch of elven ancestry perhaps, a handsome lad nonetheless.

Across from the statue, shrouded in shrubs and greenery, a pair of sharp emerald eyes observed the same hurrying patriar, a tangle of wild black hair framing the clever, smirking face. The figure here was nearly one with his surroundings and still as death. A hint of soothing tea leaves and heavy incense hung over him, something welcoming but at the same time foreboding about him.

As the patriar rounded the corner, both men moved from their hiding spots, the cloaked figure flitting on motes of weave to the nearest pocket of shadow, the dark haired one shifting and shrinking into a small black cat and padding swiftly behind, neither pursuer seemed to notice the other.

'Lucien, I'm sensing fey magic somewhere nearby, you're not the only one after our friend there.' A voice echoed in his mind, regal and calculating. Lady Alyce.

'Ah, I see ..well. that's really more your purview, isn't it, darling?' The cloaked figure smirked as he responded to the message in his mind.

'Indeed. If it's truly to much for such a...ahem...powerful vampire lord as you then I will come and assist you.' The voice taunted coolly.

'Oh you're hilarious, really. But fine, I can handle it.' Lucien rolled his eyes, continuing his pursuit, his eyes drawn to the cat now that the strange presence had been pointed out to him.

[truly-sincerely]

All of this, but to your last point: he could have!

According to the Descent into Avernus adventure, Thalamra Vanthampur, who worships Zariel, was using Dead Three cultists in exactly the same way that Gortash was using Bhaalists (to freak people out and undermine the Flaming Fist).

Gortash, being the head of 1/3rd of the Dead Three cults in Baldur's Gate, probably got looped in on the plan (tho he either did not know that she also planned on sending Baldur's Gate to Avernus or he had reason to be confident that she wouldn't succeed) and knowing Vanthampur's plan meant he could have reasonably timed the Absolute's rise to coincide with the arrival of the refugees.

Gortash's Explosive Toys

Okay, I have found that at least some people are apparently confused about this quest.

One of the first quests you can get in Act 3 of BG3 is the one about the suspicious toys. And, spoiler, if you investigate the quest, you will find that the strange toys explode, and that Gortash is in fact behind it.

And people seem to be confused why Gortash is doing it, coming to the conclusion that it must be in there to just make sure everyone gets that he is evil.

But... Okay, here is the thing: Gortash's thing to become a tyrant kinda is rooted in him using a classic right wing playbook. Basically, a big part of Gortash's plan is, that he creates a politically unstable situation that he can exploit to build himself up as the savior and his tyrannical ways as the only valid option.

You know how Trump in the US will not shut up about the Southern border and the "immigrants" (most of them refugees) coming in? Yeah, that is what Gortash is doing here.

Through the entire Absolute army, he creates chaos in the land along the Chionthar. This chaos in turn produces a wave of refugees, who flock to the city of Baldur's Gate for its perceived safety. He then does not let them enter, forcing them to form a ghetto, forcing them to live in instability and desperate conditions. And then his plan is to distribute those toys to make the people angry, creating a situation in which the refugees rise up against the city. Basically creating a refugee vs Baldurians situation.

His plan is to then come in, be the strong man who solves the situation through force and violence, and through this create compliance in the people of the city.

That is the end goal of that plan. It is to rile people up. Create an atmosphere of fear and anger.

And I mean, sure. Gorts could not have planned for the Descent of Elturel - but man, it did fit his plan really well, didn't it?

[truly-sincerely]

Even More Comprehensive BG3 Timeline

(Now with citations!) Years in (paren) are confirmed, all other lines are approximations. For my own sanity this timeline is based on available in-game information and not the Forgotten Realms at large.

1450s

Enver Flymm born

Gale Dekarios born (1457)

Enver Flymm sold to Raphael by his parents, renamed Gortash

Gortash learns about Crown of Karsus while a prisoner of Raphael

Karlach Cliffgate born

1460s

Gortash escapes the House of Hope

Gale Dekarios summons Tara the Tressym (1467)

Wyll Ravengard born (1468)

1470s

Lae’zel of K’liir born (1470)

Gortash in his Heapside Reavers period

Gortash rebrands as a black market arms dealer

Orin the Red born to Helena and Sarevok Anchev

Durge begins their serial killing spree in Baldur’s Gate (1477)

The Emperor dominates Duke Belynne Stelmane (1479)

1480s

Elminster resurrects Mystra (1480)

Gortash trades Karlach to Zariel for infernal machines & iron (1482)

Baldur’s Gate’s Beloved Ranger statue goes missing (1482)

Duke Abdel Adrian murdered during Returning Day speech (1482) - Bhaal resurrected - Ulder Ravengard replaces Adrian as Marshall and as Duke

Orin kills her mother Helena in self-defense

Gortash recruits Franc Peartree to distribute infernal iron weapons

Gortash establishes a cult of Bane in Baldur’s Gate

Gortash approaches Durge about an alliance

Gortash moves against the Zhentarim & Knights of the Shield

Ulder Ravengard named Grand Duke

Wyll Ravengard pact with Mizora, leaves Baldur’s Gate (1485)

Dead Three made aware of the Crown of Karsus (most likely informed by Gortash)* - Gortash becomes Bane’s Chosen - Durge becomes Bhaal’s chosen - Gortash & Durge are instructed to recruit Ketheric

Gortash tells Durge about Crown of Karsus (via correspondence)

Hall/House of Wonders test mission* - Durge gets Bhaalist memorabilia - Gortash gets a bunch of Gondian designs - Durge & Gortash get companionship

1490s

The Chosen visit Ketheric at Moonrise, learn about Illithid colony

Gortash & Durge visit the House of Hope (for intel on Mephistar?)

Gortash & Durge raid Mephistar - They get the Crown of Karsus - They get the book on the accelerated grand design

Gortash captures the Emperor

Gortash & Durge return to Moonrise - Their identities are kept secret from Ketheric’s people - Durge impresses the Moonrise Gnolls, but not Steelclaw - Ketheric yells at Durge in the throne room for an unknown reason

Durge proposes their plan to the Elder Brain who accepts

Raid on the illithid colony (1491) - Durge puts the Crown on the Elder Brain - Orin gets Durge alone during the raid & stabs them in the head - Orin tadpoles Durge, making them the first True Soul - Orin declares herself the Chosen of Bhaal

1492

Durge is found by Kressa Bonedaughter

Minsc captured by Absolutists at a recruitment rally in the Undercity

Gortash gets weird and intense with unethical experiments - Some futzing to get the tadpoles to consistently remain in stasis - This is when the name ‘True Souls’ gets coined - Extremely questionable fun with brains - Getting the Absolute’s voice sorted out - Tadpoling his parents - Poorly conceived experiments on children & their parents

Gortash has Iron Throne converted to hold hostages

Gortash presents prototype Steel Watcher to the city council

Jaheira tracks cult to shadow-cursed land, meets Isobel

Minthara Baenre is 'recruited' by Orin and Ketheric

The Descent, Elturel fall into Avernus happens

Duke Vanthampur revealed as a diabolist, killed by adventurers

Guild Bursar Uktar launders money for Gortash’s Campaign funds

Isobel is resurrected by the Dead Three

The Elder Brain sends the Chosen dreams about the Astral Prism

Gortash researches the Prism, finds out that Vlaakith has it

Gortash tasks Ketheric with sending a team to get the Astral Prism - They send a nautiloid piloted by the Emperor and other illithid - The Elder Brain lets the Emperor slip its leash - Magthew Budj arranges for Durge to be on the nautiloid as well

Gortash deploys Steel Watch in Lower/Outer City

At this point Elturel is no longer in Avernus

First Druid Halsin captured by goblins

Nautiloid picks up Shadowheart & the Prism from Astral Plane

Nautiloid picks up Lae’zel

Nautiloid goes to Baldur’s Gate, picks up Gale & Astarion

Nautiloid goes to Avernus, picks up Karlach & Wyll

Nautiloid crashes, (20 Eleasis, 1492)

Some helpful links:

A page from Sarevok’s book: Sarevok - (Murder tribunal)

Accelerated Grand Design: Gortash - (Gortash's Office)

An Offer: Gortash - (Peartree basement)

Aquatic Labor: Gortash - (Flymm’s Cargo Basement)

Baldur’s Gate Temple of Bhaal: Yanthus - (Gortash’s Office)

Balthazar’s Notes: Balthazar - (Necrotic laboratory)

Clasped Book: Balthazar - (Balthazar’s chambers)

Devil’s Fee Observer’s Report**: Himberloo - (Nine-Fingers’ office)

Elder Brain Domination: Ketheric/Yanthus - (Ketheric’s Room)

Enhanced Weapons - Sales Ledger: Peartree - (Peartree basement)

Experiment on Cruor: Orin - (Temple of Bhaal)

How To Build a Watcher: deceased Gondian - (Steel Watch foundry) 

Journal of Enver Gortash: Gortash - (Gortash’s Office)

Magical Histories: Volume 2: The Spellplague: unknown - (Sorcerous Sundries)

Memoir Notes with Recent Addenda: Gortash - (Gortash’s office)

Missive from Gortash: Gortash - (Ketheric’s room)

Missive from Ketheric: Ketheric - (Moonrise, 2nd floor)

Mistress of Souls’ Research Log: Kressa - (Mind flayer barracks)

My Gratitude: Gortash - To Peartree (Peartree basement)

Next Steps: Gortash - (Gortash’s office)

Prayer for Forgiveness: Durge - (Necrotic laboratory)

Scrapbook of Letters: Gortash/Durge - (Flymm’s Cobblers)

Special Operations - Infernal Arms: Uktar - 

Studies of the Elder Brains: Gortash/Yanthus - (Gortash’s Office)

Suspended Ceremorphosis: Gortash/Yanthus - (Tadpoling center)

Test Mission with Gortash: Durge - (Temple of Bhaal)

The Astral Prism Heist: Gortash - (Gortash’s office)

The Dukes of Baldur’s Gate: unknown - (Baldur’s Mouth/Peartree’s house)

The Grand Design: Gortash/Yanthus - (Mind flayer colony)

The True Life of ‘Lord’ Gortash: a skeleton - (Wyrm’s Rock Prison)

The Ultimate State: Gortash - (Gortash’s office/Flymm’s Cobblers)

*an in-game contradiction between Gortash and Durge. See: ‘Test Mission with Gortash’ and ‘Memoir Notes with Recent Addenda’. I’ve placed it after, but there’s also a legitimate argument to be made that Gortash and Durge met and became allies much earlier, possibly around the same time as Gortash’s betrayal of Karlach

Additionally, the House of Wonders (church/workshop) and the Hall of Wonders (museum) are two different buildings in the Upper City. Durge writes that the Hall is their target, while Gortash writes that the House is their target. It is my opinion that they hit both locations.

**no link cuz the bg3.wiki doesn’t have it??