#when she tells viconia...

[stinkrascal]

ive said this already but shadowhearts personal questline literally changed me on a fundamental level you guys. ik this game only came out two or three months ago idk but ive never been so moved by a scene in a video game in my entire life. i was uglyyyyy crying during it like it was so beautiful and heartfelt and gut wretching, so bittersweet. it was such a painful and beautiful ending to such a well-thought out storyline and im just so grateful i got to experience it, bc truly... spectacular stuff. whoever wrote shadowheart im kissing you on the forehead

[linka-from-captain-planet]

guess I beat Viconia's ass so hard, she started hallucinating :/

[averagemrfox]

The series of events that is Shadowheart’s backstory if she turns away from Shar tho

Kidnapped at a young age by Viconia while doing her Selunite right of passage by order of Shar herself -> groomed and abused by Sharrans for the next 25-30 (assuming she was between 10-15 when kidnapped and is 40 now?) years -> even in the cloister they were never able to completely take away the parts of of her that were antithetical to Sharran beliefs -> sent on what seems like a suicide mission considering everyone she was sent with died to retrieve the Mysterious Artifact™️ -> Mysterious Artifact™️ turns out to be the one thing that can prevent people from going full mindflayer thrall -> basically the moment she’s away from other Sharrans she begins questioning everything she’s been taught and acting in ways that she was taught not to -> the Nightsong is the one thing keeping Ketheric immortal, and has to complete the trials to become a dark justiciar and… oops I’ve saved the daughter of Selûne

[thehistoriccemetery]

BG3: Reader is Kidnapped/Tortured

This one started as a Shadowheart oneshot, but I decided to expand it to include Lae’zel, Karlach, and Minthara as well.

Let me know your favorites! I’m looking to expand more of my stuff into one shots, so it’s good information to have!

Content Warning for torture (obviously)

Shadowheart

When the days adventuring party returns without you, her blood immediately runs cold. They didn’t just come back without and leave you out there right?

When they inform her that you’ve been taken by the cloister, her face goes pale.

It takes Karlach and Wyll on either side of her to get her eased down onto a bedroll and breathing regularly. You were gone.

And to make matters worse, Viconia DeVir had you in her grip. Even with her amnesia, she could recall just how cruel the woman was.

The party had made great strides in passively finding clues about the location of the House of Grief, but they were still yet to find it.

Finding it had now jumped from a passive priority to the single most important thing they could be doing.

Shadowheart spent most of that night weeping in frustration at her inability to remember. She had grown up there for gods sake. The past 40 years at least had been spent in that damned house.

In the end, it was actually Astarion who finally discovered the sanctuary’s location. It was decided that he and Shadowheart would be the two best suited to sneak in and retrieve you.

When they found you, you were lying on the house’s marble floor, chained up to rigs that came out of the ground. The chain around your neck only barely allowed you to sit up to look at your rescuers.

“Shadowheart? Shadowheart is that you?” You whispered into the dark room. You could only see two silhouettes, but the quaffed elven hair of Asterion and the pointy crown of Shadowheart gave it away.

You instinctively tried to rush towards her, only to be stopped by the strain of your restraints. It didn’t much matter though, because Shadowheart was at your side in a matter of seconds.

She stroke your cheek, paying special attention to cut that stretched across your face. She was quick to move around to other parts of your body, stopping to carefully examine each of your wounds. Your restraints left you unable to reach out to her in anyway.

“Shadowheart, please, you have to get out of here, now,” you nearly cry. “They’re looking for you.” Astarion joins the two of you on the ground, getting to work at picking the several locks that held you in place.

It takes her a moment to register what you were saying. Her first thought is an obvious refusal, she’s not going anywhere without you.

But then the implications of your words dawn on her. They took you because they couldn’t find her. All of this torture you’ve endured, you’ve done it to protect her.

“Please Shadowheart,” you beg. “I swear I didn’t tell them anything. You’ll be safe at camp, just please go.”

Her head spins with newly uncovered memories of the torture she inflicted before the Nautaloid. She remembers how the Sharrans go about getting information from people.

“Astarion, how are coming along on those locks?” she ignores your pleas in favor of getting you free. Your upper body is now free, but he seems to be having trouble with your ankles.

“Patience, darling,” he quips, nearly earning him a slap across the face from Shadowheart.

Within the minute the shackles drop from your ankles, leaving you free to stand up on shaking legs. Shadowheart gives you a quick healing spell before asking “do you think you can make it back?”

You nod, following her and Astarion back the way they came in.

You had never been more excited to see camp than you were in that moment. You laid down face first on the plush Elfsong mattress. You hadn’t slept at all the previous night, and being tortured really took it out of you.

Shadowheart sat on the bed next to you. The fact that you laid down on your stomach did not bode well for the condition of your back.

She tugged gently at the hem of your shirt. “Arms up, love,” she cooed. You whined and crossed your arms over your chest. You didn’t want to show her what they had done.

“If you truly will not show me, I will get Jaheira to look after you,” she reasoned. “But, please, let me take care of you.” The second part was more a plea than anything.

Reluctantly, you lifted your arms and allowed her to pull the shirt over your head.

She did her best to remain stoic. She had seen endless wounds like this. She had inflicted endless wounds like this. But against her will, a sob choked its way up her throat.

The same back she had spent so many nights tracing and trailing with kisses was now so raw and bloodied, she wondered for a moment if you had any skin left.

She used every last bit of energy healing the wounds. By the time she was done she had exhausted herself too much to even make it back to her own bed.

She spent the night curled up around your legs, resting her head on your lower back. Viconia was going pay for what she’d done, she’d make sure of it.

Lae’zel

Lae’zel isn’t the usually the tactical planning type, but when you’re captured by Vlaakith’s army, she realizes this isn’t a kick-down-the-front-door type of mission.

This does not, however, make her any more patient during the planning process. The githyanki could have you floating halfway through astral plane by now.

Luckily, the gith as a whole aren’t known for their subtleties, so you’re not hard to track down.

Protection is thankfully slim enough that the party can pretty much strong arm their way to you.

When Lae’zel finds you are bound by some magical device that was, as loathe as she was to admit it, beyond her level of expertise.

You were at least conscious, which was truly remarkable given your condition. All your clothes were torn and bloodied, but the most concerning and blatant wound came for the side of your head.

Almost the entire left side of your face was completely covered in dried blood, all leading back to the gash on the side of your head that was once your left ear.

Lae’zel cursed, pointlessly kicking the arcane barrier.

You could see her shouting at Gale. Presumably she was impatiently rambling about freeing you, but you couldn’t make out what she was saying through the barrier.

All you saw was a long dagger that she pulled from her belt before storming off in the direction of your now dead captors.

Lae’zel was still gone when the party finally figured out how lower the barrier around you.

You stumbled out onto your knees and immediately found yourself surrounded by the party’s healers.

Lae’zel came stomping back moments later, carrying a small wooden bucket she didn’t have before. Likely she just found it somewhere around the gith camp.

She dropped the bucket at your feet without a word, leaving you to examine the contents for yourself.

You looked down into the bucket to find a dozen or so fleshy green ears.

You look back up at her, not sure whether to be honored or disgusted.

The smug look on her face let you know that this was certainly a gift she was proud of, so honored it is.

“Thank you. It’s nice to have plenty of choices when it comes to choosing my replacement.”

Karlach

Karlach really does try to be tactical most of the time, but you’ve been taken by none other than Lord Gortash himself.

And the idea that you are gone and she is here, at camp, while the others make a plan of how to rescue you? She can hardly contain herself.

She paces around camp, leaving a thick line of charred wood beneath her as she walks the same path over and over again.

Chewing her nails isn’t usually a nervous habit of hers but at this point she’s liable to chew her fingers off.

She logically knows it would do no good to come out guns blazing when you’re probably locked up behind the entirety of the steel watch, but worry and adrenaline nearly get ahead of her.

It is Shadowheart and Halsin who finally pull her from her thoughts. They have a plan, and much to Karlach’s relief it involves her. She was terrified they might agree upon a stealthier approach and ask her to stay behind.

She would have done it, if it were truly what was best for you. She might have burned up the entirety of the Elfsong Tavern by the time you finally got back though.

Luckily, since Karlach was mistaken by the steel watch as a defective watcher, she was actually best equipped to break in.

The plan, in whole, ran pretty smoothly. At least until the moment Karlach actually set eyes on you, bruised up and unconscious in the middle of a cell.

All bets were off after that. There was one thing that mattered and it was having you, safe with her again.

The minute it took Astarion to pick the lock was the longest of her entire life. She was nearly burning hot enough to melt through the bars herself.

The moment the door popped open, she was beside you, on her knees pulling you into her chest.

Shadowheart whisper-shouted behind her, reminding her to watch your neck and be gentle with your head. She carefully situated her large hand to cradle your head.

She rocked back and forth, trying to soothe her own panicked heart. “Hey bub, it’s me. I came to rescue you. I… please wake up. I’m here now. You’re safe.”

When you didn’t ever stir, Karlach looked up at Halsin and Shadowheart, eyes brimming with tears and worry. “They aren’t waking up. Why aren’t they waking up?”

Halsin joined Karlach on the ground, leaning to put his head on your chest. “Their heart continues to beat and their lungs draw breath, but they are weak. We must get them to camp.”

There was an incredibly brief argument about who was best fit to carry you, given that your skin was already starting to redden from Karlach’s heat, but her bottom lip quivered at even the mention of you leaving her arms.

When they managed to get you back to the Elfsong, Karlach was reluctantly convinced to lay you down on your bed.

She winced when she saw the small burns starting to form on the side of your body she had held to her own. Your left cheek was already starting to blister. Maybe she should’ve let Halsin carry you after all.

The healers came by to try and figure what had happened to you. You had no visible injuries, aside from the minor burns, yet you were still unable to be stirred.

It was actually Minthara who suggested they may have inflicted mental torture rather than physical, similar to what was inflicted on her at Moonrise.

The idea made Karlach burst into uncontrolled sobs. “You think they may have been erased?!”

Minthara looked sympathetically down at Karlach, but didn’t have an answer for her.

The party collectively decided that the only thing they could do is wait and let you rest.

Afraid to burn you with the fire that courses through her veins, Karlach restrained herself from crawling into bed with you. Instead she knelt next to the bed, resting her head on the mattress and reaching up to stroke your body.

She couldn’t sleep at all that night, only stroke your burned cheek and cry softly into your mattress.

She started to talk to you, talking about all the things she’s like to do with you when all of this was over.

“Maybe we’ll get a little place in Lower City, next to the water so we can watch the sunsets with all the boats ‘n stuff floating out in the distance. Oh! And we can go on little picnics in Bloomridge Park, and feed our leftovers to all the stray cats and dogs. Oh who am I kidding we’re taking all of them home with us. We’re gonna have a whole farmhouse if you can’t stop me.”

When you finally do wake up, Karlach wraps her arms around in a hug so tight you nearly suffocate. She eventually settles to sit in your lap while you gently stroke her hair.

Gortash better start counting because his days are dangerously numbered.

Minthara

The moment Minthara finds out you’ve been taken by Orin, her heart nearly stops beating.

One moment it was you, the love of her life, standing before her. Then, through the breaking of necks and cracking of bones, she finds herself face to face with one of her few fears. Orin the Red.

How could she fall for this again? Her head spins with the thought of all the things Orin may be doing to you. She knows you could hold your own, but Orin had a way of breaking the unbreakable.

Sometimes, with how loyally she followed you, it was easy to forget that Minthara was used to being the one in charge. A lot had changed since you met her as the Nightwarden.

But it all comes back quickly as she barks out orders to the now leaderless party. They were marching on the Temple of Bhaal, now. Minthara was prepared to take on the god of murder himself if it meant saving you.

As tempting as it was to charge straight into the temple, it left you all with little hope of survival. She decided the party’s presence near the temple would be enough to lure Orin out, leaving her an open opportunity to slip in.

Orin’s tactless blood thirst made the plan go over all too well. She couldn’t resist the smell of fresh unspilled blood at her doorstep.

By the time Minthara got to you, you were weak but still painfully conscious. You were hanging over an alter like a sacrifice by meat hooks that cleaved into your skin.

You had been tortured in true Bhaalist fashion. While your body displayed clear evidence of the slicing and cleaving, your mind was even more clouded by the things you had been forced to do and endure. It made you even more sympathetic to Minthara’s past.

Minthara climbed onto the unholy alter and began to remove you from the cruel hooks. She ignored your weak protestations, refusing to even look you in the eyes.

She resisted any urge to comfort you, pushing all the softness from her mind until the mission was complete and you were safe. She did not speak, fearing she may distract herself for the task at hand.

She only allowed for a brief moment when she picked you up and felt your throw your arms around her neck. You curled into her stomach with a choked sob and cried “I’m so sorry.”

“I know you better than to think you are foolish. Orin is cunning, persistent, and full of deceit. I do not fault you for what has happened.”

Escaping the temple was easier than getting in. She wordlessly worked her way back to the Elfsong with the ease of someone who wasn’t carrying a bloodied body.

She did what she could to heal you herself, given that none of the others had returned yet. A mildly concerning tidbit that seemed not to faze Minthara in the slightest.

It wasn’t until she was positive you would be okay that she allowed herself to soften, running her hands through your blood crusted hair and gently cleaning you with a dampened rag.

She paid little mind to the rest of the party, who returned looking a little worse for wear. She was disappointed but not surprised to hear that they had failed to kill Orin.

She recruited Jaheira to assist in your healing. She trusted her more than Shadowheart. She never let go of your hand, even when you squeezed so hard you thought you may have broken her fingers as Jaheira patched wounds with a variety of burning liquids.

She laid next to you on the bed, resting her head gently against your stomach and allowing you to stroke her head. She wasn’t bothered by the filth and blood that covers nearly every inch of you.

“We will make her pay for what she’s done to you. What she’s done to us. We will match every scar she’s inflicted tenfold until not even Bhaal with recognizes his own blood,” she swears, placing a gentle kiss on your stomach.

[eeldritchblast]

Wyll Ravengard Deserves Healing Too

Every origin companion in Baldur’s Gate 3 is traumatized in some form or another, and they all deal with it in different ways. That is only realistic. But let’s take a deeper look at the inequality between how these stories of trauma are written and presented to the player. Because when we do that, it is extremely noticeable that there is one character who never receives the same level of catharsis bestowed upon everyone else: Wyll.

Shadowheart was abducted as a child to be raised in an abusive cult. When this is brought to light, the player is able to help her confront her abuser and find her parents again. Even if her parents die, Shadowheart is at least given closure; she has a whole scene in which we see her finally break down into tears, and the player can comfort her.

Gale ended up with an orb of Netherese magic inside him, ready to explode and destroy not just him but everything in his radius. He went into a deep depression and relied on Tara to keep him alive, pre-game. His goddess/ex-lover then tasked him with a suicidal mission. But Gale is able to confront Mystra and either regain her compassion or reject her and forge his own godhood. Either way, Gale is able to heal physically and emotionally.

Lae’zel, much like Shadowheart, was also raised in a torturous environment, only to realize that her Queen Vlaakith is nothing but an abuser and a user. She is able to ally herself with a rebellious faction rising against Vlaakith, not just freeing herself but potentially her entire People.

Karlach was betrayed by Gortash and sold to Zariel, who replaced her heart with an infernal engine, making it impossible for Karlach to keep living outside of the Hells. Even if she doesn’t end up with a cure, the player can at least help her confront Gortash, and like Shadowheart, she gets a whole special scene for her to finally work through her bottled up emotions.

Astarion was enslaved and tortured by Cazador for over two-hundred years, who would have used him in a ritual that resulted in his death. The player can help Astarion confront Cazador and potentially kill him, which leads to Astarion getting a small scene where he cries out in a mixture of emotions.

But what of Wyll? At just age seventeen he was given the choice of either selling his soul to Mizora, or see Baldur’s Gate fall to a dragon cult. The terms of his pact prevented him from telling the truth about the situation, resulting in his idolized father banishing him. Ever since, he was bound to Mizora, and we see how she treats him in game as if he’s a dog. Wyll is just as traumatized as his companions, and yet, where is the ability to comfort him? Where is his closure? It’s all disregarded, in favour of more content with Mizora.

Wyll’s personal quest at the start of Act Three has him forced to choose between giving up his soul to save his father, or freeing himself and seeing his father die. Now, it is possible – though difficult – for the player to rescue Duke Ravengard themselves even if Wyll breaks his pact with Mizora. But even if this is so, reading Mizora’s mind results in the player hearing her admit she will never stop trying to harm Wyll’s father.

The reason you can read Mizora’s mind is because she is just there, hanging out at your camp! There is even a sex scene between her and the player available! Just imagine for a second, if that was Cazador or Viconia in Mizora’s place. Mizora is nothing but Wyll’s tormentor, just like Cazador for Astarion and Viconia for Shadowheart, and yet she is permanently there, giving witty one-liners and trying to seduce the player. Attack her, and she only disappears to reappear again, unharmed. You cannot get rid of her, and it’s played for laughs.

Wyll deserves comfort. Wyll deserves a chance to show his emotions, too. Yes, I’m aware that part of his character is that he tries to downplay his concerns in order to maintain his heroic persona, but that just means it would have been even more powerful to finally gain his trust enough for him to share how he feels with the player, truly.

Wyll is the only Black companion – and only one of two visible characters of colour, period. (The other being Karlach, who while yes is a tiefling, based on her facial features in the full release of the game is East Asian.) It is hard to believe it is all just coincidence that it is the only Black companion was given no opportunity by the writers to receive any significant emotional support or show any significant relief from his trauma. Statistically, African Americans who need mental health treatments receive less than 50% of treatments that white Americans receive. This is despite African Americans having 20% more likeliness to undergo serious psychological distress than white Americans. [X]

No, Wyll Ravengard is not a real person, and I am not attempting to equate a fictional character to real life struggles. My point here, is that the way in which Wyll was written mirrors the way in which the mental health of Black men and boys in real life is systematically ignored and downplayed, with the belief that they can and must “tough it out”. My point here, is that I have a hard time believing the prejudices and stereotypes against Black people did not contribute to Wyll’s lack of content. Specifically, the lack of content related to his healing.

[mintharabaenrelore]

Minthara Baenre Timeline

I made a version of this on my @mischievousseagull blog, but this one is more detailed- and neater, I hope!

Minthara: "Min" = lesser, second, "Thara" = glyph, marke, rune. This name leads me to speculate that she is a second child.

Baenre: First House of Menzoberranzan.

💜 She was young and impressionable when Viconia DeVir was cast out, which was before 1297, so she must have been born between 1270 and 1290 DR and named shortly after birth in Menzoberranzan (the tallest point of Qu'ellarz'orl, the Place of Nobles). According to Orin, 'Minthara murdered her way out of the room'- possibly chad-zak, as it is called in the drow tongue?

💜 She survived an assassination attempt on her as an infant (perhaps by a relative); her mother protected her by covering her body with her own. A blade almost punctured her heart, and she received a scar

💜 She grew up with her House training her to be a soldier in Lolth's service; Emma Gregory states she was 'brought up by her whole community' and that her upbringing was 'very brutal'. In banter with Lae'zel, Minthara says a child should be set upon mortal combat 'The moment it can hold a blade' and 'may even test its resilience against some common poisons while still in the womb.' These sound like references to her own childhood

💜 I originally thought Minthara's mother attempted to kill her around the 'Blooding' (a drow rite of passage), but I was watching Emma Gregory's interviews and she repeatedly stated this incident occurred around five years old and involved a sword. Minthara's mother received a scar to match the one received while protecting Minthara as an infant

💜 She receives a torture rack for her 13th birthday from her mother (drow...)

💜 Drow females have a social rite of passages around the 16th birthday (thank you, @lunastrophe!)

💜 After being trained in her House about the basics of Lolth worship, she likely joins school at Arach-Tinilith around age 40 (by 1361 DR, it was expected to enter by age 25, but Minthara was born in 1280, so she likely adhered to the first custom)

💜 Priestesses are expected to study there for 50 years, so we can assume she did so- I believe she got her tattoo of House Baenre's symbol during this time

💜 Her first lover, a High Priestess from House Vandree, who is 'beautiful, elegant, ruthless'; Minthara 'adored' her and shared her bed for some time. This relationship likely began at the infamous Arach-Tilinith graduation. As it is said Minthara was sharing her bed, we can assume she was going to her bedroom, not the other way around. As only older priestesses and instructors have single rooms, she must have been one of the two

💜 The order came that the High Priestess must die, so Minthara poisoned her and 'whispered words of comfort' as she slipped away

💜 She most likely swore her Oath to Lolth soon after the graduation, as she states she took up her Oath 'long ago'

💜 The drow rite of passage, the 'Blooding', in which one hunts down and kills an intelligent creature from the surface, often an elf (around age 80)

💜  Minthara was likely now a High Priestess as well as a paladin of Lolth. Her Oath was 'bloody vengeance' against Lolth's enemies, so we can assume she spent much of her time punishing supposed heretics. She says she has performed a thousand interrogations ('squeezing out the most guarded secrets held in heart, mind and soul'; this must be the period in which she did so; she sometimes left the Underdark to 'raid' and 'pillage', though not often. She states she is 'accustomed to leading, not following'; this, along with the retinue she originally left Menzoberranzan with, tells us a lot

💜 She states 'I have hosted gatherings of House Matrons and High Priestesses who wanted nothing more than to murder each other before the night was done. I have negotiated the handover of hostages and smiled politely while sensing a dagger at my back.' She has poisoned people at parties, most likely, as she states 'Parties are the perfect opportunity for a poisoning.'

💜 During her time in Menzoberranzan, she had 'a thousand suitors' and many lovers. She states some only desired her status, many just wanted her body, and a rare few wanted all of her. Emma Gregory states 'She's had partnerships before, but I don't think she's someone that- she's always used them for a purpose [...]'. She says she fears a romance will be 'another story written in scars'. She does not yet have a consort. She hasn't had a partner in a while, in fact, aside from maybe Orin, as the dryad says, 'And know that you made one whose heart was long quiet beat with love anew.' Partly from her behavior and also from Emma Gregory saying 'One of the most wonderful and delightful journeys for her is making friends and understanding what companionship is,' I think she was quite a loner- even less social than your average drow.

💜 She has read about Baldur's Gate in history books. In Menzoberranzan, she has in fact visited Braeryn or "the Stenchstreets"- likely as part of a Hunt there, a popular sport for nobles involving murder (obviously). She also says 'My mother visited, during one of her grand tours of the surface world. She claimed the streets were almost as varied and full of danger as those in Dutchloim. I had not believed her til now.'

💜 During her time in Menzoberranzan, she underwent many losses- friends, family, and lovers alike, taken too soon (as well as enemies)

💜 It was probably in Menzoberranzan that she started dosing herself with poison to build immunity. It is likely venom of some sort, as in a banter with Gale, he states he found an empty bottle of venom and she confirms it belongs to her and she has been using it to dose her lover (the PC) in case they visited her hometown.

💜 In Menzoberranzan, she picked off her siblings one by one. Also, she commited androcide (the systematic killing of men, boys, males in general), senicide (the killing of an elderly person), and avunculicide (the killing of one's uncle). She tells Wyll that patricide (the killing of one's father) is the first step to greatness, but as she does not list that when she describes her 'icides', I presume she has not done so... yet. She intends to commit matricide.

💜 Sometime in 1492 (most likely), a True Soul (Agent Xilvre, or True Soul 113) and 2 novices came to Menzoberranzan, sent by Ketheric Thorm, 'preaching a message of togetherness'. Minthara killed them and hung their bodies in her garden (as one does)

💜  She used a 'simple act of necromancy', presumably Speak to the Dead (but corpses don't speak to who personally killed them, so I'm uncertain how she did this) and they informed her where to strike. Moonrise Towers. Driven by curiosity and anger, she went to Moonrise with a retinue of warriors and assassins- the best House Baenre had to offer. As she referred to them as 'her men', I assume they were all male

 💜 She met Ketheric at a feast, and he proposed an alliance between Moonrise and Menzoberranzan. She was 'captivated' by him, though still wary, particularly of poison. Orin, at the foot of the table, then said her name and climbed across the table, 'a dagger in each hand'. She skipped toward her, 'slicing' the throats of her men as she passed by them. Ketheric held Minthara still with a hand on her shoulder, 'the grip tight enough to crack bone'. Orin stood before her and touched a dagger to her eye, 'drawing out a tear of blood'. She then said, 'I want this one.' Ketheric nodded his permission, and Minthara was taken 'below'.

💜 Minthara was kept for days in the mind flayer colony by Orin herself, forced to watch as her men were processed as food and thralls. Two contrasting statements are made about how Minthara was tadpoled- either Orin placed a tadpole in Minthara's eye herself, or Orin held her down in a 'cocoon of flesh' and laughed at her fear as a mind flayer forced a parasite into her brain. Whatever the case, she has 'grim' memories of the place (this memory was later messed up, as during banter with Shadowheart, Minthara notes 'I am glad my memories of the infection are not so clear')

💜 After the tadpole, Minthara viewed the Absolute as less an entity and more an idea- pure love, total power. Orin was by her side, and told her the Absolute had chosen her to be a True Soul, 'blessed and adored'; she 'worshipped' Orin.

💜 Throughout all this, Minthara and Orin may or may not have had romantic relations. But remember, Minthara was under mind control and did not willingly consent to anything the two may have done. Romantic or not, Minthara 'worshipped that woman.' It is confirmed Orin physically harmed her- 'Orin... I will dissect her for laying her blade on me again'; 'I have faced Orin before and she left scars on me that will never heal.'

💜 She was chosen as a commander by Ketheric early on- perhaps this is what caused Z'rell to dislike her and ask for the privilege of killing her early on. Anyways, Minthara's words- 'Ketheric recognized me as a soldier, and took me into his army immediately. First, I fought alongside him, and then I was given a command of my own. That is where we first met.' Minthara witnessed and was awed by his invulnerability during a battle

💜 Before the Emerald Grove, there were massacres of religious communities (mostly) who refused to convert and, according to Nere, 'reckless raids'; her title as Nightwarden suggests they were at night

💜 She was likely in the cult for several months (during which many of her memories, particularly the one of her indoctrination, were altered or absent), or perhaps longer- as she says '[...] So much has happened since I left the Underdark is like a dream of somebody else's life. I... do not know myself anymore.' It is unclear what else happened during her time in the cult, but she is disturbed by the memories that return to her, the things she did, and the things that were done to her. She committed a lot of murder; she calls herself 'the Absolute's dagger', and remembers all the blood she was forced to spill. While speaking about Orin, she says 'I was like her once, when we first met and before you ever knew me. A madwoman, butchering prey in the name of a god who would discard me without a thought once I was no longer of use.' Sadly, this seems to apply to both her time in the cult and her time in Menzoberranzan. While brainwashed, she states, she 'could choose nothing' and that the Absolute and tadpole 'worked together like a drug'. She believed she was 'ecstatic to serve'.

💜 She met Kar'niss at some point. She also saw Enver Gortash at some point, as she states- upon seeing a portrait of him- 'His smile looks more genuine rendered in paint than it does in the flesh.'

💜 Minthara left Moonrise as a commander in the Absolute's army, with direct orders to locate the prism. She was 'honored' to lead a 'pack of goblins' due to the mind control.

💜 She spent time in the goblin camp alongside Dror Ragzlin and Priestess Gut (presumably, she never found out about Klagga's crush on her). There, she was mainly referred to as "the drow". She appears to have been the one who wrote the letter on the Dissected Drow's body (found in the Emerald Grove, where Nettie is). The goblins fear her, but, based off of how they speak to her during her trial at Moonrise Towers ('You scrag!' 'Bye-bye, princess...') they seem to have some level of resentment towards her. Dror Ragzlin seems to view her as a rival ('The damned drow was right... can't let her have all the glory') and is aware of her whereabouts and actions. One the other hand, he says they work together due to the Absolute and a goblin calls her 'Ragzlin's drow friend'

💜 She planned how to slaughter the Emerald Grove and what she believes are its unbelievers, and how to locate the artifact (the Astral Prism, in Shadowheart's possession by this point in time) amongst the ashes

💜 At the exact point of the Nautiloid crash, she is standing on a balcony at the goblin camp, reading a scroll, beside Dror Ragzlin; Priestess Gut is not there, for some reason (or she's just too short to see)

This brings us to when she is first encountered in Baldur's Gate III. By this point, she is 202-222 years old, making her young in drow terms.

Extra

🕷️ She likes Ulaver wine 🕷️ Minthara's Speak to the Dead dialogue (from EA) suggests she was intended to be Matron Mother of House Baenre and states she has a daughter; this dialogue no longer exists, but it's interesting to speculate whether Minthara has/had a child 🕷️ 'Alurlssrin' is an Eilistraee word, so it is strange that Minthara knows it. I think she may have had access to "heretical" texts, as when you repeatedly click on her, she makes a blasphemous joke in Drow about Lolth's laughter She dislikes wizards, thinking them 'poor conversationalists' with exceedingly short lifespans; is this perhaps connected to Gromph Baenre? 🕷️ From her dialogue, she has definitely seen both Lake Donigarten and Tier Breche 🕷️ She was unusually close to her mother, who personally nursed her and taught her to 'guard her heart' and survive 'the perils of society' 🕷️ She has 'a way with mimics' and Scratch reminds her of her first displacer beast, suggesting she has had multiple displacer beasts as pets. She views them as 'noble' 🕷️ According to her statement at Raphael's House of Hope, she has always wanted to go to Hell. (What?) Upon clicking the portal to Neverwinter in the House of Hope, she says her mother likes Neverwinter, as it is 'ripe for conquering'. In a similar vein, she says she was always told Wasterdeep is 'everything Baldur's Gate is not'. And on Luskan, she says she last heard the drow mercenary Jarlaxe was stationed there. 🕷️ In dialogue with Wyll, Minthara states 'I was taught that any man who spoke out of line, or above his lowly station, should be punished. I called that justice.' She also describes herself as both victim and monster. 🕷️ Minthara's VA Emma Gregory describes her upbringing as 'very brutal' 🕷️ Since when you originally meet her in the goblin camp she is wielding two maces, I like to theorize she is ambidexterous 🕷️ Minthara is an oddity in Menzoberranzan- monogamous, believes in working off debts, close to her mother, etc. 🕷️ She has a Spider's Lyre, and as there is audio of her humming while drunk, I believe she can sing 🕷️ Minthara gardens- not only does she mention her garden, but there is an idle animation of her tending her mushrooms 🕷️ Minthara has 'elegant' handwriting 🕷️ Minthara has survived an impressive amount of assassination attempts; her life has been spent expecting a knife at her back. She states 'A night without an assassin is a dull night indeed' in conversation with Astarion 🕷️ She thinks the Society of Brilliance's peaceful endeavors are amusing 🕷️ She dislikes House DeVir, thinking them cowardly 🕷️ She has a scar on her forehead and throat 🕷️ She does not like water 🕷️ She says her mother likes competition. She also says her name belongs to her mother.

🕷️ Minthara once saw a ship docked at Moonrise Towers

🕷️ Minthara was a childhood champion of Jin-Kente- a drow game involving guts

🕷️ Minthara had a chest with a false bottom in which to hide poisons at some point

This note, "Attracting Drow Exiles", can be found in Ketheric's room and gives us more information on how Minthara was "reruited". “Sweeping up individual drow renegades is not giving us the cadre of Lolth-trained veterans I want for our staff and officer corps; we must be more ambitious. Agent Xilvre, True Soul 113, will be commanded to infiltrate Menzoberranzan itself, ideally House Baenre, ostensibly to proselytise on the behalf of the divine Absolute. I think Xilvre will be convincing in this role.

This intrusion will excite outrage among the Baenre matrons, who can be counted upon to send a warband to exterminate whoever was so rash as to promote anti-Lolth apostasy in their home. Xilvre will have left a clear trail back here to Moonrise Towers, where the warband will find, not a circle of ragtag heretics, but an army in the making. I will parley with the drow leader, but as we negotiate her warband will be ambushed, and every drow warrior we capture will be tadpoled. This accomplished, the warband leader will meet the same fate, and thus we shall acquire our cadre of hardened Underdark warriors. And all it will cost us is the life of loyal Agent Xilvre, but he is, truth be told, a tedious enthusiast and I will not miss him.”

What events did she potentially witness in Menzoberranzan? *assuming she was born in 1290 DR

•             The attack on House Do’Urden by House Hun’ett in 1337 DR •             The destruction of House Do’Urden by her own House Baenre in the Year of the Weeping Moon, 1339 DR •             The attempt to become First House of Menzoberranzan by House Oblodra in 1359 •             The march on Mithral Hall in 1358 DR •             The victory against Blingdenstone in 1371 DR •             The Silence of Lolth in 1372 DR •             An invasion on Uktar 15, 1372 DR •             The Scoured Legion’s exit on Ches 30, 1373 DR •             Quenthel Baenre killing Triel, taking her place as the leader of the House in 1383 DR

What was her home like?

The Baenre Compound:

“House Baenre occupied the highest tier, a ledge called Qu'ellarz'orl, in the main cavern of Menzoberranzan. It was made up of twenty stalagmites and thirty stalactites. A central stalagmite, called the Great Mound, housed the Baenre nobles and the house chapel. There was a balcony surrounding the Great Mound where stalagmites and stalactites met.

The compound was roughly oval in shape, three-eighths of a mile long and a quarter mile wide, and surrounded by a magnificent and magical fence, appearing as a silvery spider's web around the general blue hues of the Baenre compound. This fence stood 20 feet high and acted as the house's main defense; anything touching the fence would become stuck fast until the Matron Mother willed it released. It was impossible to pass through the enchanted fence without the aid of the spider mask, a magical item in the possession of Gromph, the Archmage of Menzoberranzan—assuming, of course, that one was able to avoid the guards posted around the fence. The house chapel was a domed shape and featured an illusion created by Gromph that switched from spider to drow female. This statue was based on Gromph's lover, Sosdrielle Vandree, but it once took on the appearance of Liriel Baenre as sign of Lolth's favor. The matron mother's throne was formed of an enormous adamantine spider. It was magical and contained a symbol repelling any attack.��� -             The Forgotten Realms wiki Menzoberranzan as a whole is too complex for me to describe here, but R.A. Salvatore’s books and the Forgotten Realms wiki are excellent sources.

Who might she have known?

She canonically knows of Drizzt Do’Urden. She may have known Liriel Baenre (who left the city in 1361 DR), Maignith Baenre, (captain of the Baenre house guard who was killed around 1373 DR), Myrineyl Baenre (Quenthel’s eldest daughter), Quenthel Baenre, Gromph Baenre, Sos’Umptu Baenre, and many others.

What was her time at Arach-Tinilith like?

•             Most new priestesses (novices) must share rooms with one or two others until the fifth year, although as Liriel Baenre was able to secure her own room, perhaps Minthara could. Novices wore black robes with red trim. •             Each day ended in the chapel- praying and praising Lolth. •             Priestesses received training in weapons combat from the elder students of Melee-Magthere. •             All female drow noblewomen go to Arach-Tinilith after being trained by their Houses in the basic worship of Lolth. They were to spend 50 years studying there. By 1361 DR, priestesses were expected to enter by age 25, but prior to that it occurred around age 40; if Minthara was born around 1280, she probably adhered to the first custom. •             It is a crime for males to enter unsummoned. •             Priestesses provided religious instruction to other students.

What was her status like?

Being a member of the first and most powerful House in Menzoberranzan, she was automatically one of the highest-ranking nobles in the city, but her status within House Baenre is less obvious. Considering she was a paladin, probably a priestess or High Priestess, and had enough power to be entrusted with drow troops and leadership, she must have ranked high in drow society. That is, of course, before the Absolute fiasco. Now, she is an “exile”, who is (probably) marked for death and would be killed on sight, or tortured, ritually killed, or changed into a drider. There it is! Please enjoy and ask whatever questions you'd like!

[aboxofcereales]

Currently trying to collect all the information about our companies’ life before the events of Baldur’s Gate 3. Mainly, about their family and age. Any suggestions/editing will be very much welcome.

Huge thanks to everyone who aiding the cause in comments and reblogs.

Last update - 10 April 2024.

Wyll Ravengard: is about 24, has left the city when he was 17, in origin introduction states that he’s been exiled for 7 years. According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, he's in fact 24 & Neutral Good. Apparently his dad, Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, raised him by himself, Wyll’s mother, Francesca, passed away in childbirth, when Wyll was born, as stated by Ulder’s longsword description, Wyll mentions her during a romance scene in Act 3, also calls himself “a single son to a single father”. According to Murder in Baldur's Gate: Ravenguard has never married and has no interest in domestic matters, moreover the said sword description calls Wyll's mother Ulder's love, not wife, which makes me think that Wyll was born out of wedlock. Supposed to have 3 uncles. I’ve seen a note about Wyll diving to see a mermaid as kid, written by his dad, in the high security vault. Florrick seen him grow up, had a crush on Stelmane as a kid, also during his childhood enjoined fishing with his dad, but sucked at it. Also, Ravengard's Scourger states that "Duke Ravengard's father was the sort of man who works with his hands, and communicates in grunts. In his heart his son vowed to do better. But when Wyll was born, Ravengard felt a strange gravity that drew him away from his son.", that strange gravity might be Francesca's death in childbirth(?). Generally, I strongly advise to take him around the city in act 3, as he tells plenty stories of his boyhood.

Gale Dekarios: still not sure if there any information about how old he might be, but I estimated around mid-to-late 30s, though it doesn’t really sit well with him meeting Mystra as a kid (btw there’s an absolutely wonderful post on this topic by @lairofsentinel, check it out), still I’d like Gale to be on the older side, alternatively, he may be around 28-30 due Mystra's return year. Personal headcanon - he's 37. According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, he's 35 & True Neutral. He casted his first spell as a babe - a score of rabbits in the panty. Apparently lives separately from his parents in his tower, at least as kid had them both (mentioned when he first tells about his friend-tressym, Tara), thou in his origin (at least as much as heard and played myself but @vitanithepure confirmed it) only his mother gets mentions, the state of the other parent is unknown. Has a very tender relationship with her, but didn’t inform her about the orbe for her own safety, her name may be Morena (godsblessdataminers), Mrs Dekarios really wants him to find someone to settle down with. Also, Tara hates his beard.

Shadowheart (Jenevelle Hallowleaf): is about 50, comments that Viconia documented about 40 years worth of her life at the hands of Shar, in the same note she writes that Shadowheart was able to keep her heart true to her child self, and was hard learning Shar lessons. As I understood when she was kidnapped, she was about 10-13, kidnapping was directly by the Shar command.According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, she' 48 & Lawful Neutral. Personal headcanon - she's 51. After her abduction made friends with tiefling named Nocturne (they might have be more than friends?), had a pet mouse for sometime called Nibbles. There’s a grafiti somewhere behind Jaheira house which she has drawn. Shares a questionable taste of romance literature with Wyll and his father. Her parents’ fate, Emmeline and Arnell Hallowleaf: is up to you decisions. Her mother mentions that they wanted Jen to have siblings.

Karlach Cliffgate: early 30s I think, the way she speaks about Gortash makes me thinks she was practically a teenager when she started working for him and spend 10 year serving Zariel. Personal headcanon - she's 29. According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, she's 30 & Chaotic Good. Her parents, Pluck and Caerlack, she moved them from Outer City to a nicer place. Her mom died due to fewer when she was a teen, dad a couple years later due to road accident. Both died before she met Gortash. Her mom seems to be behind her love for Minsc, Jaheira etc. You can meet her friend near Baldur’s statue.

Lae’zel of K’liir: seems to be barely 20. Githianky reach adulthood in their late teen, and as Lae’zel was yet to present a mindlflaer’s head, I think she’s the youngest in the party. According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, she's exactly 22 & Lawful Evil. Personal headcanon - she's in fact 20. She hates owls due to their necks, Karlach agrees.

Astarion Ancunin: according to translation of his grave he only lived for 40 years before becoming spawn, spend 200 year as such. Safe guess - there's definitely smt wrong with his grave stone or/and translation as it messes the current year - from 220 to 250. According to Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, he's 263, which doesnt seem right, & Neutral Evil. According the artbook he was a corrupted magistrate, which seem to be true atleast to pre-release version.

Halsin is 350, his family is from the High Forest, thou they are all gone. Spend 3 years captured by drow, loves honey and curving ducks. Jahiera is about 150-160, as she was a child in 1347. Has atleat five foster children: half-elf Rion, half-orc druid Jord, three humans - Jhessem, Fig, and Tate. Minsc was a statue from 1409 to 1480s.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Yesterday my brain made the conection between Sceleritas telling me that Durge was always "pining" for Bhaal's blessing in the form of the Slayer, and Shadowheart saying that all she's ever wanted was to serve Shar and receive her blessing in the form of becoming a Dark Justiciar. And then I lay awake screaming internally until 2AM thinking about character parallels and similarities and Shar and Bhaal's competition to be the worst parents in Realmspace.

"Shar inflicts constant agony on me but she doesn't kill me in situations where she could, which means she must love me! She must!" meet; "Dad deliberately sending me into cardiac arrest, letting me fear for me life and then resuscitating me with a sensation compared to the lash of a whip is affection!" (And they're both so desperate for their gods' love because said god will never really let them have anyone or anything else.)

Shar wants Shadowheart to kill her parents so that she will have no other attachments but Shar, Bhaal forced Durge to kill their adoptive parents so that they would have nobody else but Bhaal.

Both of these characters have been groomed from a young age/birth to be hollowed out into the vessel of a god, and both had the people that raised them forcibly taken away so that they couldn't interfere. Shadowheart was kidnapped from her family so that she could be taken in by her new "real family". Durge was forced to kill their family before they hit puberty because their "real family" would be coming to get them soon.

Shar and Bhaal both inflict pain on them in order to keep them in line.

She's "Shadowheart", because it's a name that suits Shar. They're "The Dark Urge," because it's a name that refers to Bhaal. Both of these names erasing and overwriting the names their family gave them; Jenevelle and whatever Durge's adoptive parents named them.

Shadowheart never lost herself anywhere close to the extent of Durge as far as I've seen, but neither of them could quite erase their personhood. Even when she was destroying lives and torturing people for Shar, Shadowheart couldn't shake the caring girl who loved animals and flowers. Even the Gate's most prolific serial killer stopped to give coin to a beggar, because buried somewhere in there was a child who experienced poverty and homeless and felt empathy.

Differences in power dynamics mean this one isn't a perfect parallel, but it's still interesting how Shadowheart has Viconia and Durge has Orin - people in their lives who resent them and want to see them fall, because they feel the other has robbed them of their proper place of honour in the eyes of their joint deities.

And, of course, they're both amnesiacs whose amnesia is actually the key to them escaping their abuser.

Anyway, I'm sure there are more dialogue parallels and things to find between them, but the main point to take away is that there should be an option in certain cutscenes to shank Shar and Bhaal.

[artistic-mathematics]

Analysis on Shadowheart, her relationship with "Mother Superior", and Shar

Spoilers for all three acts of BG3 below.

I just had the sudden realization that Viconia sent Shadowheart to retrieve the relic with every intention of letting Shadowheart die alone and as a nobody out of pure jealousy, all the while being thrown around like a ragdoll for fucking fun by the goddess she's devoted everything to because she's been gaslit and manipulated her entire life.

Viconia sent her on a fucking suicide mission (KNOWING that it was a suicide mission) and told her that her memories would be restored after she returned under the impression that Shadowheart was going to die. She knew that she was going directly against what Shar wanted (to convert Shadowheart and puppet her around like a plaything until she became Shar's obedient Chosen) and did it anyway because she considered Shadowheart to be a joke and decided that if Shadowheart was dead, then she would have to be the Chosen.

There's only a few things that Shadowheart knows about herself that aren't total fabrications (not including the fear of wolves, I suppose, though they did gaslight her into being terrified of them). She likes night orchids. She can't swim. She's a cleric of Shar. She has a Sharran wound that hurts sometimes -- and she doesn't really even know why it hurts, just that it hurts. The saddest part about this is that two out of these four things, maybe even three, are things that she most likely learnt via intuition. The only other things she knows? Her suicide mission -- to steal the githyanki relic and return it to Baldur's Gate. And the authority figure in her life (emphasis on authority) -- Viconia Devir, Mother Superior, and the things that she'd had done to put her in place.

Viconia wiped literally everything else from Shadowheart's life except for Shar and herself. Shadowheart has a better idea of who Viconia is than who she herself is, and it only gets worse because Viconia had marked her as "expendable". Meanwhile, Shadowheart is completely unaware, believing that she'll be rewarded greatly upon delivering the relic to Baldur's Gate (she doesn't even know where the House of Grief is, or where she's supposed to deliver the relic to specifically!). Except when Shadowheart does become a Dark Justiciar and shows up to overthrow Viconia, Viconia faces her and calls her a traitor anyway despite knowing that Shadowheart is telling the truth. (Note how Viconia doesn't call out "for Shar!" at the beginning of this battle.)

Everything Shadowheart knows about herself is either shit she was manipulated into believing or things she's figured out on her own. She doesn't remember anyone she was close with -- not her best friend Nocturne or any of the initiates she'd trained with. Meanwhile, it's outright explicitly stated that all of her companions -- both from those still in the House of Grief and those who were sent with her on the relic mission, were never treated this way. People in Shadowheart's past all know Shadowheart better than herself -- at least, they know who she used to be before the events of the nautiloid -- but that's just the problem at hand.

Shadowheart has zero sense of identity. Even at the beginning of the game, with the knowledge of being a Sharran cleric, she's struggling with herself. She very clearly is downright terrible at being a Sharran cleric -- I mean like yeah, she likes deceiving people and playing dirty, but she's horrendous at keeping secrets and worries way too much for people and animals than she cares to admit. Even as going down the Dark Justiciar path, Shadowheart's morals -- the ones that Viconia and Shar both tried to suppress -- stand in the way, especially in the House of Grief. When she's faced with her parents, deep down, she knows that killing them is outright wrong, despite everything that she was taught. If you let her do as she pleases, she makes a comment about just serving blindly, because it's just so much easier to do rather than continue with the mental battle that she's been fighting for years -- and note she doesn't even kill her parents intentionally in this route, and she falls to her knees grieving for these people she doesn't recognize because she understands suddenly, realizes that what it'd all meant, but it's far too late because Shar wipes her memory all over again, and her identity is now officially molded into someone completely unrecognizable.

The worst part about it is that Aylin was right about the "terrible blood price" -- the moment Shadowheart kills Aylin, she will never be free from Shar ever again. At this point, she's doomed to be within Shar's clutches forever, her only fate to end up like The Unclaimed (a story about a Sharran cleric who, as the title suggests, was unclaimed by Shar in death). Shadowheart will never be free from Shar as long as she allows her parents to live, and that is so ridiculously fucking petty from a goddess that already took EVERYTHING from this scared little child in the forest who got roped into Shar's undying animosity.

TLDR: Both Shar and Viconia fucking suck, and I want to fistfight Shar (and win, because genuinely, fuck this bitch.)

[fangsandfeels]

I still can't get over the fact of how supportive Jaheira is to Astarion, to the point of calling people who consider vampires merciless and power-hungry ignorant when he chooses not to ascend. It could have been part of the same rewrite Saarevok and Viconia went through, but I know that's not the case since everyone loves to have Jaheira back, which means writers nailed her character and personality.

Why am I so fascinated by it?

Now, I know very little about Baldur's Gate 2, I admit, so feel free to correct me, but there was one vampire companion in the enhanced edition - Hexxat. Unlike Astarion, she was a full vampire. Like, Astarion, she too stated that everything she did was for her own survival and never failed to mention that she was merely a victim of unfortunate circumstances.

According to her dialogue, she never stirred conflicts: she was polite, reserved, respectful, loyal, and didn't mock or belittle any good-aligned characters.

Meanwhile, the said characters hated her guts. To the point that they would either literally attack her (Aerie, Anomen, Mazzy, Keldorn, Valygar) if they walked together for too long or demand the MC to kick her out of the group - just for being an abomination. Jan was the only companion who, among general distrust for vampires, had a very personal reason to hate Hexxat (she lured and killed his niece). But others just hated her for being undead. Among them, Jaheira and Minsc were the least aggressive in regard to her, yet remained on high alert around her.

But then came the resolution of Hexxat's personal quest...

...where it turned out that all that time, she was trying to find a way to stop being a vampire. To go back to her human form. Yes, even if that meant she would literally crumble to dust because her mortal body was going to feel the weight of centuries. And yet, Hexxat still agreed to this - she wanted to die as a human instead of continuing to live as a vampire, despite having a cloak to walk in sunlight and genuinely never revealing how she really felt about her condition (mostly because the kind-hearted characters weren't giving her any reasons to tell them how she feels). Of course, the MC can talk her out of it, but she only agrees if they promise to end her life as soon as she asks them. Which is kinda telling that Hexxat was never enjoying her life as a vampire and only considered delaying her death because she found a company worth living for. She also refuses to make the MC a vampire, claiming she can't give them what they desire and that she is done "using them" - while it's mostly attributed to scrapped content, it can also be the sign that Hexxat could have turned the MC into her spawn, but chose not to out of respect, or that she could have made them a full vampire, but refused to - because she felt like they didn't understand what they asked for and saw vampiric existence as a burden, not a gift.

Now, I know that there were no mentions of Hexxat in BG3 and that she is only a BG2: Enhanced Addition companion, but still, I have that headcanon that Jaheira was affected by her story. She promised Hexxat to overlook her nature (acknowledging that she wasn't turned voluntarily), but still remained pointedly wary of her - only to find out that all that time, the only thing Hexxat worked towards was her own death. Not getting more power, not finding a way to live in luxury while draining every pretty girl she could find, no - just ending her existence.

It probably went against everything she knew about vampires - creatures who clung to their immortality and reveled in spreading misery.

Hexxat wasn't a good person: she put her needs first, she killed a lot of innocent people; she lured in and drank girls because she was attracted to women and chose victims based on her preference - and she never failed to remind that she was the victim here while showing superficial regret for the killings. But, given that she was doomed ever since she was Turned, and the only "help" she could expect from a random paladin was a searing smite, she probably learned that it didn't matter how much regret she would show or how hard she would lament about her fate - she will be treated and murdered as an abomination. So, in the end, she only sought death on her own terms - all while having to hear how much everyone wanted her dead over and over again.

These are some dreadful shoes to put yourself into. And while some might say "If I was Turned, I wouldn't kill anyone! I'd walk into the sun at once and end myself!"...would they really do it, without knowing what's happening to their soul?

It's a big deal in Faerun. IIRC, there is no official statement regarding what happens to vampires after they die and DMs usually get to decide that part. It means you have no clue if you're a Turned vampire without any background knowledge on the matters of sould and spirit.

What if the god you worshipped rejected you for being undead (no matter how much of yourself you managed to preserve somehow), and your soul would go to the Wall? What if you won't even make it to the City of Judgement? Would you take that chance if one of the outcomes would be your soul slowly getting absorbed into the Wall while you feel every moment, all your hard work of serving your deity or just being a decent person gone to waste? What if you go to the Abyss just because your soul got tainted?

In a world where the afterlife is very much real, such uncertainty is terrifying.

Yes, while vampires aren't supposed to have a soul (it's part of the curse), games diverge from the DnD rules in that regard (especially BG3, with the spawns).

I think this, along with general jaded observations, made Jaheira more accepting of many things. No, of course, she would be a menace to Cazador's spawns or any vampires who dare to approach her house - no bloodsucker comes near her cubs and lives. No, she won't automatically cut all the undead some slack. But, sometimes, she watches and observes before she makes a verdict: especially when a particular undead is a part of a group she works with.

Of course, she would sass Astarion (and he'd gleefully sass her back). But she never gives him the same warnings she gave to Hexxat - or admonishes him for his nature. At best, she calls him an immortal, but she'd rather poke fun at his gremlin side, than his undead side.

(Mind that she would have ripped him a new one lest he gave her a reason, and Astarion was smart enough not to do that)

It seems to me, Jaheira really believed that Astarion had it in him to reject the ritual. Some of our companions are surprised that Astarion was able to refuse the allure of power, but Jaheira isn't one of them. She is the one saying that maybe people who think they know everything about vampires are actually fools who don't know shit. It's not possible she isn't speaking from experience.

[genovianxprince]

OK I think I understand some of why some people in the fandom choose to make Mystra some kind of a terrible, grooming abuser to Gale. It's because every one of the companions has like a specific person you can point to and say, that is the abuser. That right there is the person who has caused the companion grievous harm. Gale and Mystra are a little more complex than that.

Shadowheart and Lae'zel technically have a whole cult/culture backing up the abuse, but you can still pretty directly point to Viconia and Shar for Shadowheart, and ultimately Vlaakith for Lae'zel as well as just... every Githyanki she ever met, except for Kith'rak Voss.

Wyll has Mizora, Karlach had Zariel and Gortash, Astarion has Cazador, all very obvious and self explanatory in the game. They were innocent, kidnapped, coerced, sold, played like a damn fiddle. But Gale?

Gale has Mystra, a goddess he loves, who also loves him, and the things they did to each other were both fucked up, and a lot of the fault totally lies with Gale! The other companions all had external forces affecting them. Gale's was mostly internal. He refused to believe he was good enough. "As inconceivable as it seems to me now, I shared a bed with a goddess and I still wasn't satisfied." A literal goddess, the one he favored, the one he was in love with, who favored and loved him back, consistently told him he was perfect as he was and he straight up did not believe her. He placed himself on a higher and higher pedestal he could never reach the top of because if he wasn't constantly climbing to some nebulous goal of perfection, then could he be good enough for Mystra?

Y'know, instead of just believing the woman he was in love with. And I get it! Insecurities suck! Especially when you've been the gifted child your entire life, perfectly talented at something that all the adults in your life go nuts over. But also, it is extremely arrogant to assume you know better than your literal goddess and be like "yo, there's a missing piece of the Weave and I can go get it" like... Mystra is the Weave, she would have known and probably sent someone on a quest if it were actually Her Weave and not Karsus' Weave.

Gale is INCREDIBLY hubristic and he keeps falling for that trap. He's overconfident. Hell, even after his year in isolation where he comes out humbled, a small group of people believing in him for a short amount of time gets him to go "omg, crown of karsus = godhood, I can totally do that and tell the gods they SUCK and overthrow Ao's rules!"

Like, babyboy, no.

Of course, Mystra is not without some fault. After Gale's initial... Folly-up, she just ignores him for a year. Damn, girl, what the hell! Well. You see. The Netherese orb is a fragment of the magic that Karsus used to try to ascend and steal her throne with. The magic that she realized was going to kill everything if she didn't sacrifice herself. For a moment, all magic ceased to exist, including Mystryl herself, and Karsus died. Then Mystra came into being. Gale tells you a short version of this story himself! So it kind of makes sense that Mystra would see this shard of magic and just... kinda have a trauma reaction! And to gods, time flows differently. It wouldn't shock me to learn she didn't realize it had been a year by the time Gale left his Tower due to mind flayer shenanigans. Naturally, she does not want to discuss the thing she's so terrified of, and just tries to have it destroyed without her having to touch it—the plan to have Gale blow himself up on the Absolute itself, and she would save his soul. And even after he disobeys her instruction, she still allows the orb to feed on the true Weave! She still lets him live without fear of blowing up randomly, even though it greatly distresses her to let this magic that killed her once feed on her own life force.

Then he reaches the city, and reads The Annals of Karsus, and realizes she's going to have to explain, despite not wanting to. And she summons him. Tells him exactly what's in his chest. Asks him to turn over the Crown and she will destroy the orb and face her own trauma, because Gale... doesn't want to die. She understands that. And she still loves him and his big beautiful brain despite how stupid he's been, and she wants to have him as her Chosen again.

Things will never be the same, of course. They both fucked up. Gave each other a bad time. But in the end, they forgive each other and move past it. Not as a couple, because things broke too much for that. But they can have a healthy relationship as Goddess and Chosen once more.

And that is what sets Gale and his trauma apart from the companions. He doesn't have a direct abuser or live in a horrific abusive society. He almost killed the goddess of all magic a second time and she had an understandably harsh reaction to that, even if it was still too harsh. I just don't believe it's only Mystra who fucked up here. Not by a long shot. Much of it lies squarely with Gale.

And, as for the grooming allegations [as far as people trying to say it is canon], literally just no. She's a True Neutral goddess. Gale literally tells you that you are not his first mortal lover, he had a few before he ever fell into Mystra's bed, and you're just the first since the breakup about a year ago. The game doesn't shy away from sex and sexual abuse in the least. Why on Earth would this be something hidden behind several layers of nonexistent subtext? It's definitely fun for AU's, but by Ahghairon's lost nose, no, it's not canon!

[blackjackkent]

Ask prompt fill for @thedarkstrategist from this ask meme: Lord Huron Lyric Prompts

Shadowheart - "I had a name but they took it from me."

Some more Shadowzel for you, friend. :D Low-key kinda proud of this one.

-----

Shadowheart sits on her bedroll next to the fire, slowly working her way through one of the larger bottles of ale from the camp supplies. She squints tipsily at Buddy, who gives a slow blink back at her and gives a sleepy hoot. 

Lae’zel, sitting nearby, looks up from the dagger she is sharpening. “You should rest, fynh duj,” she says with a touch of muted, dry amusement, having watched her lover’s slow progression into inebriation over the course of the preceding hour. It is, perhaps, not the best use of her time given that they make for the Wyrmway in the morning - but on the other hand, it’s the most relaxed Lae’zel has seen her since the House of Grief, so it’s hard to protest too much. 

“Hmph. Not yet,” Shadowheart grumbles. She takes another swig from the bottle of ale next to her. Then, with a grunt, she squirms off of her bedroll and across the ground, until her head butts up against the owlbear’s feathery flank and she can settle in against his side. “There. That’s better…” she mumbles contentedly. 

Buddy has grown considerably in the weeks since he joined the camp; Jaheira says he is almost full-grown now. This causes some trouble, for he still sometimes acts as if he is still the size of a cub, which has led to more than one crushed tent in the times they’ve camped in Rivington and the Lower City. But he’s grown mellow overall, enjoying nights curled up by the fire with whoever happens to be awake latest - which, tonight, is Shadowheart and Lae’zel. 

He still, sometimes, touches that fear of wolves and wild things that Viconia drummed into Shadowheart’s soul. But she is learning to move past that, to push it away, and to find comfort in the rhythm, muted chirp growl of his breath when he allows her to snuggle against him like this. 

She takes another overlarge gulp of ale and leans back into Buddy’s bulk, turning slightly so she can stare at the owlbear’s massive head with sudden intensity.

Lae’zel sets the blade aside slowly, curling her legs under her. “What are you thinking about?” she asks.

Shadowheart starts, as if she’d forgotten anyone else was there. “Names,” she says, slurring only a little on the end of the word. “Mine. And his.”

As if he can tell she’s talking about him, Buddy lifts his head slightly and gives another drowsy, questioning hoot.

“Yes,” she murmurs. A long silence. “I had a name,” she goes on after a little while. “But they took it from me.” It’s loud enough that Lae’zel can hear it, but seems to be directed more towards herself - or perhaps to Buddy, who has dropped his head back to rest on his paws, watching her with his beady, dark eyes. “They took it from me. And they gave me a new one. Jenevelle. Shadowheart. First one… then the other.” 

She frowns. “And you - maybe you had some other name, or no name at all… but now you’re Buddy. We gave you that.”

Her eyebrows knit worriedly and she looks towards Lae’zel with a flash of uncharacteristic anxiety, inner struggle stripped bare by the coating of alcohol. “D’you think,” she asks unsteadily, “he’d rather be called something else?”

Lae’zel raises one eyebrow slowly. It doesn’t even occur to her to laugh, despite the rather pathetically soppy nature of the question. Nuance is sometimes lost on her, but even she is well aware it isn’t really the owlbear they’re talking about. “Perhaps,” she says slowly. “We could speak to him and see. Jaheira has magic for this purpose. If he wishes to be called something different, something he was called before - he has only to ask.”

Shadowheart squirms uncertainly. “Yes,” she mumbles. A pause. She fidgets with the ale bottle, turning it restlessly in her fingertips “He had a mother… and she’s dead now, but maybe she called him something, in some owlbear way… That’s important, right? It matters…” 

She swallows. There’s a subtle dampness around her eyes, flickering where the firelight catches it. “But maybe he likes Buddy. Because… because that’s what he’s called here. With his-- with his friends.” She flushes, her eyes flicking to Lae’zel and then rapidly away into the fire. “With people who love him now… that’s important too.”

“Perhaps,” Lae’zel agrees placidly. She shifts a little to one side so she can see Shadowheart more clearly, silhouetted by the flames rather than masked by them.

Shadowheart nods slowly. “It’s a good name,” she says, her voice lowering again until it’s almost inaudible. “He doesn’t have to be ashamed of it. Even if he had another…”

Lae’zel lets the silence stretch for a long time before she speaks again. “Who are you, fynh duj?” she asks, the rasp of her voice low and surprisingly gentle. “Who do you want to be?”

“Shadowheart,” Shadowheart whispers. “That’s my name. That’s who I am here, with you.”

[itsalwaysalmostchristmas]

Rework of Viconia Devir

So, I had been working on two different ideas: How to rework Viconia where her whole story arc from the previous games doesn't get shat on and how to make the Tadpole Troupe more diverse.

I don't know why the thought came to me but it did: Shadowheart should've (or I think it would've been fun) been Viconia's daughter.

Please hear me out!

If you don't know, Viconia has literally the worse luck in the world it seems, like read her wiki page history I'm sure that's just then tip of the iceberg.

When travelling with Gorion's Ward she is a cleric of Shar, and if not romanced, after their adventures she goes to Waterdeep to run an enclave there, which Viconia in BG3 does tell us:

[Viconia DeVir: I had an enclave in Waterdeep, you know. Much grander than this. Shar ordered me to raze it, kill all who followed me - claim they betrayed me, when in fact I slew those who showed nothing but loyalty.]

I really think Viconia remaining with Shar sucks major balls. Literally, she goes on to be a hero in her own right in her epilogue:

[No longer with Protagonist, Viconia went on to found a cult dedicated to Shar in the city of Waterdeep. One of her followers betrayed her, however, prompting the slaughter of the whole tainted lot. Shar admonished Viconia strongly for this, but she was unrepentant and again wandered the Realms. Viconia was still formidable, and went on to prevent an attempt by the Knights of the Shield to take over Calimport, even worked with Drizzt Do'Urden to save the elven city of Suldanessalar from a Zhentarim plot. For this last act, the elves accepted her, and Queen Ellesime bestowed the highest honors of the Seldarine, an accolade never before given to one of her dark kind. Viconia reportedly bowed without emotion, and then left. Her fate remains unknown.]

Does that sound like someone who would continue to follow Shar?? My gal work with Drizzt Do'Urden! Saved at least two cities! Bestowed the highest award that no drow had ever received!?

Seriously, to me Viconia DeVir and Mother Superior are two completely different characters.

So, how does this work out for her to be Shadowheart's mother? I've got two alternatives that I could see the story using both at the same time, which they do with Gorion's Ward and Abdel Adrian.

Option 1: Viconia had a relationship with a human Selûnite

It could've been in Viconia's wanderings she save a town/village and a human took a keen liking to her. Either a fling or a genuine relationship, Viconia ends up pregnant and out shoots Jenevelle. You could still have it that her dad was a werewolf, but because he's human the years of torture on that torture disk thing caused him to perish.

(whatever that thing is)

Option 2: Shadowheart is the daughter of Viconia and Gorion's Ward

So, in Viconia's romanced ending she has a son with Gorion's Ward and fucking dies.

[Protagonist and Viconia continued adventuring long after leaving Tethyr. He became an important political figure, and she was his trusted counsel. Eventually Viconia bore Protagonist's child, which first served to strain their relationship. The birth, however, changed her, and she dedicated herself to raising the boy, teaching both the ways of the drow and of Protagonist's people. She marvelled at the understanding in his eyes, but unfortunately, didn't live to see him grow. Viconia was poisoned by a servant of Lolth, her last words whispered to her loving mate in private. Protagonist raised his son in secret, and tales vary on the result. Some say they waged a crusade against the drow, but all agree that the former child of Bhaal never forgot the love of his dark maiden.]

Obviously this isn't canon anymore, I guess? But, we've seen in the game Larian picks and chooses bits n pieces from the source material. I also don't like how Gorion's Ward isn't mentioned too much, I did hear that apparently Tav was meant to be a child of Gorion's Ward before it got scrapped and I do like the idea of descentants being part of the party.

If they had chosen this route of Shadowheart being Gorion's Ward and Viconia's child they could twist it in a few ways:

Viconia and Gorion's Ward did have a son but he was killed by Lolth servants rather than Viconia, making Shadowheart their second child.

Viconia and Gorion's Ward did have a son and they had Shadowheart as well but Gorion's Ward was killed by Lolth servants rather than Viconia, making the son still alive.

They never had a son, Lolth servant still kills Gorion's Ward

They never had a son, no Lolth servant kills anyone but Gorion's Ward still dies before we see Viconia again because people would not like a retconned CHARNAME we hate you abdel adrian fuck you

I think option 3 or 4 would make more sense game wise because you could still be vague on whether or not Shadowheart's other parent was Gorion's Ward, that way the player can decide based on who they romanced in their playthroughs. I do like option 2, either the brother could've spent all these years looking for his mother and sister and trying to save them or on the torture disk with his mother.

Also I don't think Viconia would become a Selûnite herself, honestly. I feel like two goddess' fucking you over would put you off worshipping another. However, I could see her wanting the best for her children, it says so in her epilogue she is a dedicated mother and I could imagine her wanting to set her child on the right path, some insecurity of poisoning her child's chance of a good life by being their mother.

I've said this in a post before but I genuinely didn't realise that Shadowheart's dad was a werewolf until I read it in a wiki article. I thought it was a manipulated memory and her dad (who we could switch out for Viconia) was illusion or replaced by a wolf to instil a fear in Shadowheart and make it seem like Mother Superior had saved her.

And, could you imagine the scene! You've defeated Mother Superior and her enclave, you got to where Shadowheart's parents are, with Minisc and Jaheira in your party, and hanging limp on the torture disk thing is the familiar face of Viconia DeVir.

Also Viconia's child being a target of Shar feels more possible than some random Selûnite couple. Honestly, you could take the whole Selûnite bit out. Could you imagine how pissed a god, especially one like Shar, would be if someone who had just killed a whole enclave of followers just shrugged of being scorned by you? Wouldn't you want to make them suffer for years? Make them remember what kind of god you are?

Anyways, here's half-drow Shadowheart!

(please excuse spelling mistakes and grammar I'm dyslexic)

[tethys-the-aquatic-sea-godness]

The worst thing is, Viconia would've fit perfectly in Shadowheart's storyline. From Viconia's (non-romanced) epilogue, we know this:

Viconia does found a cult of Shar in Waterdeep and she is betrayed by one of her followers. She is, not Shar. Shar, in fact, admonishes Viconia for this, showing she clearly never ordered that. And Viconia does not give a damn. This is the woman who left the cult of Lolth and went to the 'lighter' option that was Shar (compared to Lolth). She already deals with agents sent by Lolth, she's not going to let Shar tell her what to do.

The nature of the betrayal Viconia was the subject of is left entirely up to the player. With Viconia and Shadowheart's backstory being what they are, Shar's plot for a Selûnite child could've been perfectly inserted as the reason for Viconia's falling out with Shar.

Viconia left Lolth because of how children were treated, how she was treated herself. She did not turn to Shar to do the same thing. She would reject Shar's plot the moment the order came, and that would be the perfect trigger for one of her follower to turn of her. Shar's cult being what it is, I don't think taking down the whole lot is overkill to avoid further backstabbing. There aren't many who will pick their priestress over their goddess, especially not with how Sharran's faith emphasizes self-effacing. Can't make a decision for yourself when you don't think for yourself.

Shar's reprimends following what Viconia did further proves this wasn't what the goddess wanted. Complete that by adding she's incensed Viconia rejected her order and slaughtered her willing clerics, and you've got the perfect connection between Viconia and Shadowheart.

In BG 3, we could've met Viconia in Baldur's Gate, rather annoyed because she's been getting an influx of Sharran agents after her, and she's tracking the source to put an end to it. A Shar-aligned Shadowheart could've the mission to purge the cloister that failed to kill her, while a Selûne-aligned Shadowheart would work with her to put and end to the cloister, to give them both some peace and quiet.

Epilogue could've them both sharing tips on 'How to best kill an agent of faith sent after you'. They both have sharp tongues and a similar past, they could've had fantastic banter.

Instead we have this mess.

[saederkrupps]

my bg1 character, sefri. these r old and i should redo them

if you are interested, which i know nobody is, my original idea with her is to make a character really close to abdel adrian story-wise (a morally questionable tought guy with violent impulses) but Not Adbel Adrian because I hate him. she doesnt romance jaheria (lol) but instead I ended up shipping her with Edwin of all people.

she is a fighter/thief because i wanted her to run the shadow thieves guild (the fighter stronghold is boring) and she was a beast when i played her, one of my most fave playthrus of bg1/bg2 ever

her canon party at the end of bg1 was: Viconia, Kagain, Edwin, Jaheria & Khalid. She left Imoen behind after Imoen was injured because she cares Too much and is bad at expressing it, so she just abandoned her at Nashkel LOL. Imoen rejoins her just in time to be kidnapped for BG2. She had a tense relationship with Jaheria & if it wasn't for Jaheria, Sefri would of gone like full evil.

siege of dragonspear is NOT canon and i hate it.

bg2 party: Yoshimo (Almost fell in love with him, rip) then Imoen, Edwin, Viconia, Korgan, Jaheria. Let me tell u. worst party comp ever thank god Sefri could carry with her insane attack modifiers. Everyone laughed really hard when it was revealed Sefri hooked up with Edwin. During throne of bhaal, she does resurrect Sarevok (replaces Korgan) and she accidentally redeems him. I have no yet figured out how to fix him in bg3.

she was very good friends with Viconia and no, I am not happy with how she is handled in bg3. like i said it sucks if you are an og baldurs gate fan, they do not handle a single aspect well besides Jaheria.

[bara-izu]

Do you have any tips for not breaking the Oath of Devotion in BG3? (My durge is going to be a devotion paladin, and I’m trying to limit the amount of times he breaks the oath as much as possible)

Gonna be totally honest, I'm not 100% sure how I never accidentally broke my oath haha... Oath of Devotion seems pretty straight forward tho!

Enjoy a longish post under cut

Oath of Devotion paladins abide by the following tenets:

Courage. Stride dauntlessly into action.

Compassion. Show clemency when prudent, and lend your arm to those in need.

Duty. Tend your responsibilities, obey just laws, and support those entrusted to your care

1. TOGGLE NON LETHAL DAMAGE!!!

If you accidentally kill civilians (or in my case from EA(???) some of the cultists?????) Then your devotion oath breaks. If you NEED to kill someone *cough* eg. Viconia because she only drops the Walking Fortress when dead dead *cough* get another party member to do it! *cough* Astarion/Shadowheart my beloved murder meow meows *cough*

2. Help Everyone

This shouldn't come as a surprise, you're going to want to offer to help anyone in need; druids, tiefs, gnomes ect ect

3. Don't steal/break "just" laws

Basically if you want to do dodgy stuff get your rogue to do it- it's what he's built for after all. I believe the 'just' laws is most likely to take effect when you are in Baldur's Gate- any pickpocketing is a no no (only from the paladin, another character doing it is fine), essentially dont do anything that could get you thrown in jail

4. Judgement

So there is a couple of quests where people will go "oh you're a paladin, tell us your judgement" which... not fun I personally hate that, but generally if you click the "paladin" dialogue responses you should be fine, of there is multiple I would assume picking the "kindest" one works best for devotion lmao

Hope that is useful??

It's been funny hearing my friends respond to the same situations with the same answers (using different paladin subclasses) and it breaks their oaths, but doesnt seem to break Devotion's...

Just be kind and courageous! that seems to be the way to go!