theultimatepielord

[theultimatepielord]

Tipz and Trickz: The quicksave button is q. Use it.

You can place AoE spells well behind your enemies to avoid hitting your frontliners. Be careful when doing this.

Archery is very good in BG1. Kivan (found in High Hedge, although he puts a clock on reaching chapter 3 before he leaves. It isn't too bad, but keep it in mind.) and Coran (found in the Cloakwood in Chapter 4) are the best, but Khalid and Minsc are also solid options.

When your thief gets out of the knees bent, hunched over stance into the relaxed, upright stance, they have checked their vision area for traps. Remember that your thief only checks what they can see, so be careful around tight hallways and corners.

If you keep moving directly away from a melee enemy, they can't hit you, no matter how fast they run.

Missile weapons are ineffective against skeletons.

Steal your enemies' arrows at every opportunity.

The best arrows in the game are arrows of fire +2.

Wander around the world a lot. There's a lot of good stuff to find.

Having a high charisma character in the top slot gives you better deals in shops.

Keep a couple extra weapons around before you get magic weapons.

You can press the X at the bottom of the screen when moving multiple characters to make them all stop.

Remember to check the custom AI on your companions. By default they'll cast spells on their own, which isn't the best.

oh no

[theultimatepielord]

IIRC the only evil party member Minsc and Dynaheir actually conflict with is Edwin, and you can bypass that IIRC by having Dynaheir die and then dropping her from the party while she's dead. You have to keep your rep above 2 but to be fair why would you want to eat that reaction penalty anyway? To do Edwin + Minsc: Recruit Minsc when you reach Nashkel. Do NOT recruit Edwin yet. Rescue Dynaheir. Recruit Edwin now, he'll agree to come along and "keep an eye on Dynaheir" Find something to kill Dynaheir. Drop Dynaheir from the party while she's dead. Minsc won't leave the party as long as she's dead. Congrats, you can now have Minsc and Edwin. The conflict event can only trigger with Dynaheir in the party.

ive never actually experienced minsc and boo in BGEE because i always play evil and piss off the good aligned guys and have to kill them. lol. will i try this time? unlikely

[theultimatepielord]

Easy, simple fix: Viekang killed Abdel and did the ritual in the pocket plane. Divine security can be a bit hit or miss, bear in mind the whole reason that Bg1/2 happened is that the Dead Three broke into the place they kept the rules of divinity. One of Cyric's followers broke into Mount Celestia as part of one of Shar's schemes, and there's plenty of celestial beings who could've had reason to want Bhaal back (Cyric is, to say the least, an unpopular god). Or maybe the essence escaped in one of the other Celestia break-ins.

Now that i've finally finished bg2 and throne of bhaal, can I just say that Bhaal's resurrection in wotc canon does not make sense to me? The one as described in the Murder in Baldur's Gate module.

Let me pop off under the readmore, I have things to say and a bone to pick with wotc about the way they clearly ignore bg2 established lore.

(yes its their IP, they can do whatever they want. I can also be disappointed by it and think its poorly thought out bullshit)

Melissa: One of his priesthood needed to have access to the essence that would be collected from the Bhaalspawn... one of his priesthood would have to perform the neccessary rites to give the dead Lord of Murder back that essence.

As stated by Melissan/Amalyssan (by the word of Bhaal himself, for he told her this) just killing the bhaalspawn (thereby returning their essence) would not have been enough to revive Bhaal. It requires a ritual, likely in Bhaal's planar domain where the final battle of bg2 takes place and the bhaalspawn essence automatically regathers.

Solar: The vast majority of the soul essence of the children of Bhaal, Lord of Murder, now belong to you and you alone. You must now decide what to do with this power... Be wise -- the choice is irrevocable.

While Solar hints that not all bhaalspawn are likely death. At the least the vast majority of his essence is returned. Enough to perform the ritual. Enough for Gorian's Ward to ascend to godhood in their father's place. So this doesn't conflict with Murder in BG (and bg3) and the presence of bhaalspawn still.

What does conflict is the way Murder in BG proclaim 'the last bhaalspawn die'. The last bhaalspawn being wotc canon Gorian's Ward, Abdel Adrian, and effectively some random guy. These two duking it out and dying is somehow enough to revive Bhaal.

Even though Bhaal told his own priest he could only be revived after enough essence had returned and a ritual was performed by his own priesthood?

"But Idle" I hear you say, "Bhaal could've told others of his former priesthood. They could've performed the ritual in the background in Murder in BG."

If Bhaal did we still have to account for the fact that Bhaal died, scattering and destroying any organised religion (that was already scattered and unorganised to begin with). Many priests converted to Cyric, others just died. Not to mention by the time Murder in BG happens it has been 126 years since Bhaal died in the Time of Troubles. Leaving only a few races (like [half]elves and perhaps dwarves) who could be priests and have survived till then.

Even then, I must ask. If these hypothetical other priests knew how to revive Bhaal. Why weren't they trying to do so during the Bhaalspawn crisis. The prime moment to do so. But no, it was only Amalyssan. If there were any other priests, she likely killed them when they made it to Bhaal's domain to make the attempt, so she could have the power alone.

But for the sake of the argument, lets pretend there is another priests who has survived and knows of the ritual.

Here's why it's still bullshit:

Solar: Surrendering the essence will allow the gods to remove its evil taint and hide it well within the halls of Mount Celestial, forever preventing it from soiling further souls.

Canon wotc, according to Murder in BG, has a Gorian's Ward named Abdel Adrian. Abdel is a human and has clearly not risen to divinity. Abdel has therefore given up his Bhaalspawn essence. Ignoring the fact that the human Abdel Adrian is alive 113 years post BG2 (living around 50y~ more than the average human). Because to be mortal required giving up the Bhaalspawn essence that Murder in BG reasons was the last bit of essence needed to revive Bhaal somehow. Which Abdel shouldn't have anymore. Because he's mortal.

By all accounts. Bhaal's resurrection, as per wotc canon, goes against what BG2 establishes.

(also boo, why is becoming a mortal the canon wotc choice. rising to divinity is the more fun and interesting option)

[theultimatepielord]

Alright: Here's an attempt:

In general: most humans and some older companions are probably dead of old age, BG3 takes place about 120 years after BG2.

Alive (definite): Minsc (BG3), Jaheira (BG3), Viconia(BG3) Dead (definite canonical death):

Imoen (the Resurrection of Bhaal (in the 4e adventure Murder in Baldur's Gate) confirms the deaths of all original carriers of the Bhaalspawn taint),

Gorion's Ward (Murder in Baldur's Gate killed off his canonical version),

Coran (overcome by ceremorphosis and mercy killed by his son Krydle in the IDW Legends of Baldur's Gate comic, immediately before the events of BG3),

Skie (killed by Irenicus in Siege of Dragonspear),

Khalid (Killed by Irenicus prior to BG2),

Dynaheir (killed by Irenicus prior to BG2),

Yoshimo (required to be killed by the party in BG2)

Tiax (killed by Irenicus in Spellhold in BG2) Montaron (killed by Harpers at some point prior to/during the events of BG2)

Caelar Argent (whatever you do she's stuck in hell forever, whether or not she was killed IMO is splitting hairs)

Dead (all/only ToB endings include their deaths)

Cernd (died in battle against his son) Keldorn (died in battle against an invading force of giants)

Mazzy (died peacefully "at a ripe old age", probably shortly before the events of BG3 as halflings generally live about 150 years and Mazzy seems close to thirty in BG2)

Rasaad (executed by the Sun Soul if he rejoins them, assassinated by the Dark Moon if romanced, lived the rest of his life in quiet contemplation and died peacefully if he took over the Twofold Trust)

Dorn (killed by a "freelance jurist" if unromanced, by Gorion's Ward if romanced)

Korgan (only presumed)

Wilson (at the age of 37, following a legendary diplomatic career)

The Sarevok conundrum: Sarevok is shown in BG3, however his appearance is mostly contradictory to what was established in BG2. Notably, when he is resurrected in BG2 he's resurrected without his Bhaalspawn powers, which would have caused his death by old age due to being a human. The best way I can reconcile this is to assume the Sarevok we see in BG3 is a manifestation from Bhaal, in the same vein as the versions of Sendai, Ilasera, and Amelyssan that the player fights. It is possible he sired Orin at some point shortly before his demise, or that he sired Orin's mother only and it was the manifestation that sired Orin.

Considered to canonically die in BG2, but their death isn't required: Ajantis (one of the paladins that are illusioned to look like monsters in the Windspear hills, human),

Safana (dies in the Coran and the Wolfweres sidequest, human), Faldorn (killed in the Animal Trouble in Trademeet sidequest, human)

Xzar (dies in the Find out What Happened to Montaron sidequest, human) Presumed dead of old age (race's lifespans too short for the 120 year timeskip):

Branwen

Eldoth

Garrick

Edwin (lost his magic in a duel with Elminster, so presumably no immortality shenanigans. Elminster also turned him into a woman.)

Shar-Teel

Haer'Dalis (immortality shenanigans substantially more possible)

Schael Corwin

Voghiln

M'Khiin

Anomen

Nalia

Valygar

Presumably alive: all others

In summation: Alive: Viconia, Jaheira, Minsc

Presumed Alive: Alora, Kagain, Kivan, Quayle, Yeslick, Baeloth, Neera, Glint, Aerie, Jan, Hexxat, Xan

Presumed Dead: Korgan, Branwen, Eldoth, Garrick, Edwin, Shar-Teel, Haer'Dalis, Corwin, Voghiln, M'Khiin, Anomen, Nalia, Valygar, Ajantis, Safana, Xzar

Dead: Imoen, Gorion's Ward aka Abdel Adrian, Coran, Skie, Khalid, Dynaheir, Yoshimo, Tiax, Montaron, Cernd, Keldorn, Mazzy, Rasaad, Wilson

Debatable on appearances/definition of death: Sarevok, Caelar.

Has anyone made a list of which BG1 & 2 companions would still be alive at the time of BG3? I'm just curious. And not because I totally want the image of old man Jan Janssen in a wheelchair held together by fireworks and eccentricity yelling about turnips to have some logistical validity.

[theultimatepielord]

They did my boy Sarevok so mf dirty in BG3. He would never engage in incest, his whole goal in BG1 was to make shitty ass flimsy iron and fuck the game up. Bro didn’t give a fuck about Bhaal, he gave a fuck about balling. The Sarevok I know wouldn’t even like Orin. Sarevok never ran a Bhaal cult he was tryna get money and political power. They done massacred my boy. In bg1, you hardly even see bro because he making business moves and your broke ass tryna be an adventurer. He only bothers you because y’all got the same dad, if you didn’t bro wouldn’t have even cared. Bro literally do not give a damn about Bhaal or you and it’s a one-sided beef because he shrugged off killing Gorion and moved on with his life.

[theultimatepielord]

Most of the babies had Bhaalist parents. Some didn't, and were able to escape as a result (such as the fire giant Yaga-Shura IIRC). In general, most of the babies in the sacrifice piles were put there by their parents.

The cultists under Baldur's Gate knew full well they didn't have all of the babies, but rather the mass sacrifice was part of a broader plan to kill all of the Bhaalspawn.

Gorion probably had some knowledge of the sacrifice due to his relationship with Alianna, the mother of his ward, who had been his lover in the past/possibly at that point. The activities of the Dead Three during the Time of Troubles were known to Elminster (who ended up being responsible for protecting the wizard/ chosen of Mystra Midnight in order to facilitate her ascension as the reinarnation of Mystra after Mystra was slain by Helm), and the Harpers were involved in the opposition to them, so Gorion was likely tasked with using his relationship with Alianna for intel-gathering.

Sarevok was present at the sacrifice. He escaped by hiding in the pile of dead kids and made his way to Baldur's Gate, living on the streets for a while before being adopted by Rieltar Anchev. Bear in mind that the sacrifice occurred ten years before the events of BG1, so Sarevok could potentially have even been a teenager at this point.

How did the Bhaalists even get all of the babies. Bhaal pops out a ton of bhaalspawn and somehow the cult was able to just yoink enough of them to sacrifice? And then the Harper’s show up just in time?

[theultimatepielord]

In bg2 the imp came with a chunk of the family estate after the powers were fully awakened by a bizarre combination of soul theft and death. You don't get the chunk of the estate anymore since Bhaal's alive again, but yeah if you're fully awakened you probably still get an imp. Least Bhaal can do.

Although technically bg3 Bhaalspawn/ Bhaal Chosen work differently than bg1/2 because they received their powers with an alive Bhaal instead of containing a portion of dead Bhaal's essence, since all the O.G.s were killed off. Last 2 were Viekang and Abdel at the start of the DND adventure Murder in Baldur's Gate about a decade before BG3.

is it normal for bhaalspawns to have imps because i have a really funny butler name for immren's son

[theultimatepielord]

IIRC that dialogue technically triggers while he's conducting surgery on you. It is generally substantially easier to kill someone while you are conducting surgery on them. Also neurotoxin vents in his base. Because a good schemer always has a contingency plan.

And then the Rogue Trader died (and I had to load my last save).

I do have to wonder why it was so easy for Tervantias to kill the RT in the Anatomical Opera but not later, in the spire or in his lair on Q Temar. Narratively, I mean. Home turf advantage maybe?

[theultimatepielord]

Yeah you have to bring Argenta into Comorragh to get the dialogue. Nobody I had with me at the time (Pasqal, Abelard, Yrliet, Jae) said anything but tbf only Abelard even knew her. She has no regrets about it, which is fair because looking back Theodora was probably about to sell humanity out to the Edge of Daybreak.

So. Apparently Argenta killed Theordora??? I've completed this game and not once was this dialogue ever triggered??? Apparently she was supposed to confess to the Rogue Trader at some point but she...never did.

And, of course, knowing this game's latter half storytelling, this had no massive repercussions in any way whatsoever. It just...happened and it was over, and since that one piece of dialogue never happened it truly was just over.

Can you only get that dialogue if she's in Bad Latria with you? If that's the case, the story should have pushed for her to come with you. Something like Theo-fucking-dora's killer shouldn't be a mystery to never be solved in the game. It's too important to the main story for it to just be...an optional thing.

Patch notes made me regain hope for this game, finding out about this made me instantly lose faith again.

[theultimatepielord]

I've heard less possible things tbh. Calligos features heavily in the heretic path in most cases and he is very much not a Tzeentch guy. And the Word Bearers are Chaos Undivided. And the Eldar and Drukhari have heavy influence, which is Slaanesh's department (not to mention the governer of Janus.) The Edge of Daybreak is very much from the Changer of Ways but I could see Tzeentch roping in his siblings for the scheme, maybe getting a demon prince who can go all ways to run it.

Keeping the Ctan shard out of the Imperium's hands is actually a pretty big deal for Chaos. The tide of Chaos successes following the 13th Black Crusade, and the opening of the Circatrix Maledictum was predicated on destroying Necron pylons across the galaxy, most notably the ones on the Elysian fields of Cadia, allowing the Eye of Terror to be strengthened. Letting the Imperium get high-end Necron tech would be an absolute disaster for them. That's the kinda priority that can get the squad on the same page.

Look, look... I know that it's Tzeentch that's tempting the Rogue Trader... BUT...

WHAT IF...

Chaos Undivided Daemon Prince.

[theultimatepielord]

Fun fact: if you had let her decide her own judgement she would've shot herself.

Okay, bizzare thing happened. Chorda joined my RT. Of all people. Chorda.

Kristina is not a dogmatic. 2 ranks. She is an iconoclast, 4 ranks. She opposed her during Act 2. She was mean to Chorda on Dragonus. She only let her live, because she could not bring herself to end Chorda. Kristina is a diplomat. Not a judge.

But how? Why Chorda? I expected Winterscale but her... wow. I am shocked. But it could be a fanfic material.

[theultimatepielord]

The Heinrix romance does not really work on heretic, as he leaves in Act 4 (although you are given the option to repent, losing all of your Heretic conviction points)

how is the heinrix romance on heretic?

I want to try to romance all the characters but i am not sure if I should play iconoclast again or heretic

[theultimatepielord]

Party banter occurs completely randomly. I am pretty sure it's supposed to be based on which companions are in the party but I'm pretty sure I saw most of Marazhai's and I didn't even recruit him.

Certain story events unlock new banters to randomly trigger.

what triggers companion dialogue? its seems so random! i thought maybe there were certain actions or location points but that doesnt seem to work all that great

[theultimatepielord]

You will have to choose between Yrliet and heresy in Act 4.

i accidentally romance Yrliet as a heretic... im sure it will be fine!

[theultimatepielord]

The companions aren't bad you're just using them wrong. Heinrix: He needs the psy to keep up with Abelard and the action economy of doing so as a warrior/vanguard/assassin/especially arch-militant is really annoying. However, the psy is 100% worth having for his Sanctic powers. The party-wide (position your party well) resolve buff from Word of the Emperor is really good for chaining heroic acts together, which is the most effective way of dealing with the majority of encounters, especially if you aren't playing Iconoclast and miss out on the free ult at the start of battle to get things moving. The amount of synergies sanctioned psykers get from Word is really nice too. Ulfar: his gear options being limited would be an issue if they weren't INSANELY STRONG. "Oh no, I can only use one of the strongest ranged weapons in the game that this character is tailor made to use with ridiculously high stats whatever will I do, oh no the only armour I can give him is the literal best armour in the game oh nooo." There's only one viable approach to him but that approach is not gonna let you down. Melee + bolt pistol is all he'll ever need. It is annoying that his soldier levels miss out on two abilities he really needs (Rapid Reload and Dash), but you can still get them with his exemplar levels. And his insane armor helps make up for lack of cover options, especially since he's a melee character and cover isn't gonna work well for him anyways. Plus, his high Weapon Skill coupled with the buffs versatility gives means he becomes essentially immune to melee damage after a turn or two. And he can easily get to like 1200-1500 damage on just his turn, even on the final boss. In general I find him and Argenta comparably powerful: Argenta's better when cover and obstructions are plentiful, open areas are where Ulfar's ability to tank without cover shines. Jae: her unique weapon options can couple with Master Tactician nicely for really good burst firing damage, and she can make a helpful change of pace from Cassia (since Cassia should really go Grand Strategist for the automatic first initiative spot). Double or even triple officer is also 100% viable since officer is the strongest base class.

Yrliet: Best single-shotter in the game. That might not sound incredibly strong until you use Finest Hour to activate the full auto sniper rifle, if I understand the way the hard attack limit works she can outdo Pasqal in terms of Finest Hour damage because it'll lock out the unlimited plasma meme. Hardcore ranged Pasqal can match it, but that's a waste of Pasqal's ability to be a melee/buffer/debuffer/also ranged/utility do-everything guy. Best to let Yrliet rack up bounty claims and accumulate a million buffs to crit damage and do 150 damage in a single shot through 95% armor. She also doesn't really compete with them, in my playthrough I pretty much always had Yrliet with one of Idira/Pasqal. There are 4 base classes and 6 party slots, you're gonna double up on some and the Operatives are different enough from each other to make it a natural fit.

It's a shame that almost half of Rogue Trader's party members just kind of suck in terms of gameplay.

Like Heinrix is a melee fighter that's bad at melee because his base stats are bad and if you don't use his psy powers he's just objectively worse than Abelard.

Ulfar has extremely limited gear options, he's locked into a premade build up to level 18 or so, his size makes him a bullet magnet and positioning nightmare, and his signature move just straight up doesn't work. Meanwhile Argenta can have some of the highest damage per turn in the entire game and be a good healer at the same time.

Jae offers nothing that Cassia doesn't do better.

Recruiting Marazhai is more trouble than it's worth if you're not doing it For The Bit.

Yrliet is fine but she only does one thing and her competition is Idira and Pasqal, both of whom just do way way more.

Like you get the 5 best characters in the prologue and chapter 1, and every subsequent character is just not worth switching to.

[theultimatepielord]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's a Drukhari thing linked to Slaanesh (aka Sai'lan'thresh aka She Who Thirsts)

So back in the Dark Age of Technology (circa 10000-25000 CE, 31-16 thousand years -ish before the start of RT), the Eldar and Drukhari were one race and they were doing pretty well as the dominant, ultra-advanced race in the universe. However, with nothing to challenge them (even the mighty initial human empire paled before their technological advancement and power), they grew very hedonistic. It started with arts, luxuries, and food. It ended with sex, drugs, and incredible violence. All of that hedonism created a new Chaos God, Slaanesh, in 25000 CE, who became the god of sex, drugs, pain, pleasure, and all of the unspeakable excesses of the late Aeldari empire. And Slaanesh came out HUNGRY. So Slaanesh ate: 1. All of the Eldar gods except 3 (Isha, who was "rescued" by Nurgle, Cegorach, who got the fuck out of dodge, and Khaine, who actually managed to fight Slaanesh a bit and got shattered into a million pieces.)

2. Every Eldar who lived in their core empire. 3 kinds of Eldar survived: those on the craftworlds who had abandoned the debauchery of the core empire, who became the Children of Asuryan (Yrliet's folks), the followers of Cegorach who followed their deity's plan to get the fuck out of dodge (those weird clown/masked theatre guys), and the Drukhari. The Drukhari did not abandon the debauchery, but they weren't in realspace when Slaanesh started eating, so they were *sorta* spared. Slaanesh didn't eat them, yet. However, Slaanesh got a fingertip into their soul. Drukhari have a constant compulsion to cause immense amounts of pain and engage in insane debauchery. If they don't, Slaanesh EATS THEIR SOUL. This is because there is a taint of Slaanesh in all of their souls at all times. So that's probably what the vibe feedback is.

It's also why dating a Drukhari fucks your soul. Prolonged exposure to the taint lets it spread, because Slaanesh learned a few tricks from Grandpa Nurgle. Yeah. Race-wide demonic possession. Welcome to 40k, everything is cartoonishly horrible.

The answer is probably "left vague for your interpretation" or w/e but wtf is up with that vibe feedback thing Marazhai has?

[theultimatepielord]

The Space Marines were the second iteration of the Emperor's super soldiers, the first iteration being the Thunder Warriors used to reunify Holy Terra (Earth). There are no Thunder Warriors because the Emperor killed them all once he had the Space Marines, he figured they were obsolete. This tells you all you need to know about how the Emperor viewed his super soldier children. In the eyes of the Emperor, the Space Marines were nothing more than living weapons designed to pursue the goals of True Humans, who should always be subservient to them. This is why the High Lords of Terra are the highest authority in the Imperium*, not any of the immortal primarch children the Emperor had.

*At present the High Lords of Terra are all dead and Ultramarine primarch Roboute Guilliman has seized power. However, nobody outside of Guilliman's inner circle knows this, most just think he's acting on behalf of the High Lords.

Most of the primarchs who questioned their roles as expendable living weapons for the Imperium ended up joining Horus and forming the traitor legions, including the Word Bearer primarch, Lorgar Aurelian, who hoped his sons could be priests as well as soldiers. The Emperor, who hated religion, decided to handle this by blowing up their homeworld.

Space Marines are aware of their niche as living weapons of the Imperium to varying degrees. Space Wolves in general have a pretty independent spirit (they fought a war with the Inquisition and won), but also don't have tons going on other than the whole fighting thing. I classify Ulfar as lore-accurate.

You know what, I'm really, really starting to like Ulfar.

I may not know much of space marines yet, the Angels of the Emperor, their Chapters and whatnot, but he seems to represent yet another facet of the Imperium's ideals.

They all have roles. Everyone needs to play theirs to keep the machine going. Everyone is literally born into those roles, with a few exceptions.

And Ulfar seems to be doing his very solemnly. He recognizes what he is and what he is not, and it's kind of refreshing because my expectations for him were...not high. And he turns out to be a really well fleshed-out character, filling his role in the story.

Like I said, I have zero idea how he should be according to canon or if he is represented lore-friendly, I just know I'm liking the guy :D