Finvola
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Post by Finvola on Jun 15, 2024 8:00:23 GMT
Surprisingly I still had all my summons left after the Ketheric fight. I thought I lost one or two of the lesser elementals. None of the party members died either. I noticed after I also had the runepowder vial in my inventory, but I'm sure I'll find a use for that later. The summons were the reason the battle was taking a while and I got impatient and brought out the smokepowder barrels to speed things up. I sent Astarion to do "the thing", which he, uh, perfectly executed. I had to unsummon the elementals before I did it so they wouldn't get me stuck in battle. He did it without anyone noticing. You just send one party member to camp and once it's done you can bring the rest back. The exclamation over Aylin's head was so she could talk to Shadowheart. She never said anything about Isobel. She has a fairly decent robe IIRC. It could be useful to Gale or the sorcerer hireling. Headed to Act 3 after and did the Gith ambush. I had refrained from using tadpoles, so I didn't have to pass that check. I'll wait until September when the next patch comes to start using cosmetic mods and the like. I'll use the tadpoles now that's over with. I know I am probably missing out by not going half illithid but I'll just wait for the next patch. I know it's a ways off but I'm ok with that.
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Post by Element Zero on Jun 15, 2024 11:24:38 GMT
The backpack trick still works! Rob those Gith blind! I'm on PS5. Since we can't click and drag, but instead use button commands, I don't think there's a way to do it. I certainly thought about it! 😆 What are the advantages of killing Isobel, other than ending the most annoying couple in the Realms? Is this a DUrge playthrough? I (probably incorrectly) thought it was a Tav.
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Post by Finvola on Jun 15, 2024 20:44:16 GMT
Yes, I'm a DUrge. This one is named Murder Bhaallad the Bard.
I've haven't played a Tav yet! I played a DUrge in my very first game and then thought about playing a Tav for the next one but changed my mind. I think (going to get a bit deep here for a second), I connected to DUrge not just because of the connection to the OG games, but I started playing BG3 shortly after my cancer diagnosis last year. DUrge's voice sounds a bit angry, scared, and confused about things they have no control over and that's sort of how I felt at the time. I wanted to get rid of my "tadpole" (the tumor) as well, haha. Strangely enough, BG3 helped me a lot through those months leading up to when I eventually went for treatment. Focusing on the game was a good distraction from thinking about the impending doom and gloom. I played quite a few times, but they were all DUrges. (Only 1 of them was an Embrace DUrge, the others have all been Resist) I couldn't be treated locally and spent about 6 weeks away from home. I just have a basic laptop, so the only games it could really run was Sims4 and OG Baldur's Gate, which I did actually play while over there. When I felt up to it, anyway.
But the reason I kill Isobel is so Orin doesn't get the Slayer form. I do it out of sheer pettiness. She thinks she's so clever and so badass, but she's nothing but a pathetic usurper. That, and I think dueling her in human form on HM is probably easier? I don't always kill Isobel, but I do on HM because I think it's easier to fight her as a human than the slayer. I have fought her in slayer form before, but on lower difficulties. Other petty things I do to deny Orin any reason to gloat is go to the sewers to trigger the "kidnap" scene so she doesn't think she got one over on me by invading my camp. I just think she's one of those "Pick Me" girls. I try to do the same thing for Astarion and kill Cazador before his spawn turn up at camp. I don't want everyone at Last Light to die (especially His Majesty!), but you can still get the Slayer form by killing Isobel after the Ketheric fight. There used to be another way of doing it but it got patched out, so doing it this way is the current cheese method. The old way of doing it was to do it right in the Moonrise Throne Room and running away, but now Isobel insta-heals and can't be killed. Doing it at camp this way is much, much easier than the old way because a lot of times you ended up aggroing not only Aylin, but the remaining Harpers and Fists too. At camp, there's no witnesses if you do it in the right camp spot. Except for maybe Thaniel and Volo. Volo just runs away if he sees you.
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Post by Element Zero on Jun 16, 2024 1:45:17 GMT
Finvola, thanks for the thorough response. I haven't progressed a DUrge out of Act 1. By the time I tried DUrge, I was too burnt out to continue playing. Your personal story reminds me of my mom. She had a brain tumor removed in 2013. She named it and said that the a-hole living in her head was getting evicted. 😄 The unwanted tadpole, and DUrge feeling a bit powerless early in the journey, definitely makes for an apt comparison to that scary situation. I hope you are on the mend. I had another relatively short session today. Gale took Shadowheart, Wyll, and Astarion back to Crèche Y'llek and cleared the place. The fights were fun, if quick, and we more than doubled our wealth. We didn't go into the nursery area. I liked the Varsh. No doubt that would be small comfort to him, but he escaped the murder hobos.
I almost forgot to kill the ogre mercenaries. The prompt to handle any lingering business befor taking the lift from Grymforge made me remember. We went to the Blighted Village and sounded the horn. The stomped one goblin and headed our way. I toggled turn-based mode and we killed them before they knew what was happening. I sent the circlet to Lae'zel, since I might respec her for variety. I might make her a Gish by way of Bladelock/Sorcerer multiclass. I haven't decided.
Gale led the crew up through Grymforge and into the Shadow-cursed Lands. We met the Harper patrol and saved them from a half-dozen Shadows. Yonas didn't have to die if the fool had simply stepped back into the light when told to do so. The dude looked over his shoulder and almost seemed unconcerned. SMH.
The fight was fun in how perfectly everything worked. Gale cast Slow. All the shadows and Yonas were affected. This kept them from shadow stepping all over. They popped Astarion's giant spider and raven, but that's easily fixed. Shadowheart walked into the center of the area and popped Radiance of the Dawn as a bonus action. That wiped half of them, and left all but one with only a few hp. The fight was essentially over then, and all the remaining Harpers survived.
Gale was very forthcoming with Jaheira, after Mol got the old grumpalumpagus to slow her roll. She quickly changed her tune and welcomed us to camp. We bought some stuff from Quartermaster Talli, and toured the exterior. I swapped Shadowheart for Karlach so the latter could visit Dammon. She got her temporary repair and a hug. Gale also got a glimpse into the mind of that disturbing oxen. Yikes.
Dammon has stuff I want, namely a shortsword and a bow. They're way too expensive, so I might have Astarion steal them. We'll see. I saved there.
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Post by alanc9 on Jun 16, 2024 3:21:38 GMT
For the third part: I think it's because you allied with Gortash, who IS a "greater evil" Vengeance paladins protect the world from people like him. Even if it means a harder fight. I wonder if any Paladins can ally with Gortash. I tested it with Sylvie, who is an Ancients Paladin, and she fell too. Expected that, and reloaded. Although an Oathbreaker could, of course. Which makes the Paladin-specific dialogue option really ironic, since you're literally swearing on your Oath. (And likely planning to betray him anyway...) Incidentally, I'm impressed that they did straight-up LE right with Gortash. You don't see that too often. @element Zero: it might be more efficient to just bribe Dammon into giving you better deals, since he comes back in Act 3. You'll want to have someone to sell loot to at best price, right?
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Finvola
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Post by Finvola on Jun 16, 2024 4:22:42 GMT
Yes, that's what tripped me up with Gortash when I played a paladin, the specific dialog option. I thought the oath would be broken if I betrayed him later, not after giving him my word we'd be allies. I went back to camp right after and paid off the Oathbreaker knight.
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Post by Iakus on Jun 16, 2024 5:02:42 GMT
For the third part: I think it's because you allied with Gortash, who IS a "greater evil" Vengeance paladins protect the world from people like him. Even if it means a harder fight. I wonder if any Paladins can ally with Gortash. I tested it with Sylvie, who is an Ancients Paladin, and she fell too. Expected that, and reloaded. Although an Oathbreaker could, of course. Which makes the Paladin-specific dialogue option really ironic, since you're literally swearing on your Oath. (And likely planning to betray him anyway...) Incidentally, I'm impressed that they did straight-up LE right with Gortash. You don't see that too often. @element Zero: it might be more efficient to just bribe Dammon into giving you better deals, since he comes back in Act 3. You'll want to have someone to sell loot to at best price, right? Probably also an example of "the special option isn't always the best option" for dialogue.
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Post by Finvola on Jun 16, 2024 8:39:47 GMT
Oh I forgot to mention another thing I do to rob Orin of her so-called "surprises". I entered Rivington and attacked the Fist near the barn because it's one of her Doppleganger forms. I denied her that too. I didn't talk to the guard, I just attacked. Sometimes it gets a little buggy and Orin runs around as if she's the Fist and can't be killed so you have to flee/disengage. Not all the time. This time, she didn't even appear. I only got party banter about Orin toying with us or somesuch. I really am that petty. Rivington is also great for XP farming if you aggro enough guards (which I absolutely did). I even had guards confront me after killing the mean dog lady and killing her is NEVER wrong! I started the Murder Investigation questline, said hello to Tara. I was able to sneakily steal the letters without getting set on fire. If you ask Gale to tell her to stop eating pigeons, you get party disapproval and we can't have that! Speaking of such, one of my own cats was interested in Tara. I bet she wishes she had wings too, ha ha. I went down into the cellar and then made my way outside and down the path to the Guild/Stone Lord standoff. I did most of the stuff around there, so next up is the best part of Rivington--the circus! Clown faces for everyone! I'm trying to decide who is better suited to send into the jungle, Astarion or my Bard. I think either one of them can easily snipe the dinos. I'll roll some dice and decide who gets to go, hehe.
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Post by Element Zero on Jun 16, 2024 11:33:04 GMT
alanc9, I steal from Dammon at least half the time. You just have to do it invisibly and leave before he gets suspicious. The latter is easiest with fast travel. Just thinking of it makes me miss my Duergar Tav, not particularly for stealing, but for being able turn invisible at will. Now that I know how the gold economy works for Honour Mode, I'll be more thrifty in future playthroughs. I bought the occasional scroll for good spells that are only situationally useful in BG3. If I'd just waited, there's no doubt I'd have found most of them before they were truly needed. I was too much a Wizard at heart. Gotta fill that spellbook ASAP! 😆
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jun 16, 2024 13:03:19 GMT
Sooo, after getting back from my vacation trip to Denmark I finished my durge run. Seriously impressed with this game now. The dark SH arc and her romance is amazing, so shocking and disturbing and heart breaking. Anybody who hasn't done it yet, DO IT! Because it's unlikely I'll replay this game as much as you guys, I reloaded the endgame like 4 times to get basically every durge outcome, from evil to completely fucked to the redemptive good one. This way I also got to see the good and the bad SH romance epilogue. Neat. So I guess I don't need to play redemptive durge anymore. Larian lets you change your mind and do the right thing (or the evil thing) up until the last minute. So for convenience this is so nice. You can be the most evil bastard, then change your mind right before the end credits roll and be the celebrated hero. This is kinda dumb tbh. Larian clearly didn't want to frustrate players with locking them out of an ending by having made too many bad choices (Witcher 3 this is not). Realistic this is not but for me it's a good thing. I get to see many variations of the epilogue with minimal replay effort. I appreciated this about Cybperunk already. Except for the secret ending you could see all 6 main game endings by just picking a different faction at the end. Granted, only if you did the faction content but still. I'm putting my journey through act 3 into spoiler tags because obviously MASSIVE SPOILERS for durge and the dark SH romance. Also, lots of screenshots again: My mission was to play my durge as insane as possible. He's not making good choices to get rid of the tadpole, he is making a total mess of everything and it worked out perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. I had planned on having sex with the emperor because that's the kind of fucked up disgusting thing he would do. He'll fuck anyone really, the kinkier the better. The man has no shame. Buuut turns out trying to murder the emperor previously killed the mood. Boo! So they were just talking together half naked this time, lol. Naturally, my boy reassured Laezel that trying to get back into the good graces of her goddess was the right thing to do. He did know that Vlaakith didn't have Laezel's best intrest in mind but, see, my durge is also a daddy's boy and thinks being chose by a god is a great gift. I did most of the sidequests but not all of them. I didn't finish the fireworks one because why would my durge try to stop this? He did go to the Mystic Carrion, of course I delivered Thrumbo because my boy thought this is a splendig fellow. Really liked how he decorated his house too! So I bought the necromancer robe off him, dyed it black and white so that my durge looked like a corpse, lol. After running around with the spider robe for 80% of the game I thought it's time for a wardrobe change. I still prefer the old one but this is OK too. Really disappointed by the selection of outfits befitting a deranged necromacer or evil durge in general. The story outfit you get I didn't like because it's just the selunite robe in red. Boring. And Orin's outfit does NOT look good on a guy, lol. As an evil durge there are not many evil options for allies against the brain. So I hunted down the hag again, killed the poor mother of the missing child this time and made a deal with her... Of course I also signed Raphael's contract... I mean, my durge figured this is the easiest way to get the hammer and what does he care if this plunges the world into chaos and terror? In fact, that sounds SPLENDID. After that was done the party went to Cazador. My durge helped Astarion ascend. Astarion was very happy, so my druge was happy too. He LIKES Astarion. My unhinged durge has grown to actually like the company he's keeping because they're as messed up as him. Astarion is a friend now. His attachment to the remaining companions as like minded monsters of their own is what's going to make how his story ends beautifully tragic. After turning Astarion into a proper monster it was time to deal with Orin. My boy went into the duel alone. Took me several reloads not do die but eventually managed. I played my durge as being all about becoming Bhaal's chosen. So he pledged himself to his Father and moved on. Raszkirr is as brainwashed as SH and Laezel, so that's why he pushed them both into this doomed direction as well. In his own twisted mind he thought he did them a favor. I decided to accept the alliance with Gortash. My boy had no intention of saving Wyll's father anyway. This is a neat thing to do on an evil playthrough. You don't have to do all the lengthy steelwatch stuff, don't have to save the gondians. That saved me a lot of time. And how this allience turned out was LOL anyway. But more about this later. So the only thing left to do was go to the House of Grief. I saved this for last deliberately. Naturally my boy thought Shar is am AWESOME twisted evil goddess doing great work and SH should absolutely go ahead and kill her parents. So she did and Raszkirr fell deeply in love with her at that moment. She was his soulmate! She got it! She understands what devotion to your god means. So they desecrated the staue of Selune together and had really fucked up sex in front of it. Holy shit, this dark love story couldn't have gone any better! Evil durge and evil SH are the perfect match! So glad I picked her. Dark SH is so disturbing and messed up, I'm honestly impressed with Larian how abusive you can be with her. How much she'll revel in her own depravity. It's so heart breaking too. How she realizes that she's too far gone and that killing her parents will let her go on. She'll forget the deed and she can go on this way. It's really really sad to see that the sweet girl still inside her at that moment knows she's done too much evil and she couldn't live it anymore if she backed out of it now. The horror is too much. All this evil would have been for nothing. Too shameful to admit. So she gives herself over to Shar, to take that pain and doubt away. It's total defeat. And out of the ashes of sweet Jenevelle rises dark Shadowheart and she's now completely devoted, a total fanatic. Her corruption is complete. And Raszkirr has never seen anything more beautiful in his life! ...so they went to celebrate this joyous day with a visit to the drow twins, lol. (Imagine you're the twins and you have to service these two looking like the living dead... ) So then the party met with Gortash and together faced the brain. ..and then the brain killed Gortash, lol. I did not expect this alliance to end so soon. So basically it doesn't matter if you ally with him or not. You cannot actually rule together, the game railroads you into only one evil ending. A little disappointing. My durge then chose to turn Orpheus into a mindflayer, promising Laezel she could kill him afterwards and be with her queen. As usual the emperor decided to become the enemy, the idiot. Or rather, when the moment of victory arose, he killed Orpheus himself and Laezel was oddly cool with it. I then briefly watched the evil Bhaal ending and was very disappointed that it's the exact same ending as the regular evil one. You sit on the throne and that's it. Was hoping the new epilogues made the evil ending longer and less disappointing but sadly no. So the Bhaal ending for evil durge sucks but it wasn't the ending I wanted anyway. My durge while evil and planning to end the world for Bhaal realized that this would also mean the death of his companions and he didn't want to kill them after all, especially SH. So last minute he decided to reject Bhaal. He sure wanted to keep on killing but with SH by his side. Dumb as he is he thought he could defy Bhaal and get away with it. ...unfortunately Bhaal was not amused. So he turned my boy into a mindless feral murder hobo! So there he was at the end, a zombie lurking in the shadows as the victory party unfolds, about to kill his beloved SH and whoever remained of his friends. I LOVED IT This is the canon ending for my druge. It's PERFECT. The perfect tragic end to an insane evil monster who nontheless fell in love with the monster he created and then ended up murdering her himself. Bhaal's tool, not his chosen. Just a pathetic creature who made ALL the wrong choices in his short awful life. 10/10 masterpiece of a game! As for Laezel, Vlaakith sacrificed her already before the party. Kinda disappointing how you don't actually see it. Would have loved to see the shock on Laezel's face when she realizes what's about to happen. Still, it's cool how you can fuck her over like this. The player knows the whole time and so does your PC if you read Vlaakith mind. So another super evil thing you can do to a companion. Funny how they all end up in a bad place if you give them what they want... The Raphael ending is fun, as expected. I love this guy so much, the VA is amazing. So my durge sort of saved the world to save the love of his life but then potentially doomed it after all by giving the devil the crown. So then I replayed parts of the game to get a good durge ending. I jumped back in after defeating Orin and rejected Bhaal right there. Then I went to the House of Hope to steal the contract. Naturally this time was sexy time with Haarlep! I watched it before but on my good PT I reloaded. This time I went all out and actually made a deal with him. He could have my boy's likeness. This is such a deranged delightful thing my durge would absolutely do. But it's not canon for me because I like it better that he kept the contract and screwed everyone over. But if he didn't he would have done THAT instead for sure. Then I replayed the House of Grief. Interesting to see SH will still kill her parents if you give her a choice. That's cool. When I let her decide the fate of the Nightsong she didn't kill her and needed convincing. Makes sense, she's too far gone now. So I reloaded that moment and told her to spare her parents. (Gotta love how absolutely ruined SH looks when extra tadpoled. This girl has been through some dark shit...) This is no longer my canon durge and just purely out of curiosity what would happen if I played a durge who grew a conscience after rejecting Bhaal. So good durge dies at the end and gets resurrected by Withers. A second chance, a reward for saving the world. Interesting! And from that moment on I assume the epilogue plays out as normal. I still haven't seen the new endings on my good PT but I assume it's exactly the same, except most of my companions are dead here... So for saving SH from herself last minute and rejecting Bhaal my alternate universe durge got to live happily ever after with SH. That ending is SO sweet. Shit, SH is living my dream life now, I'm jealous! This is literally the life I would pick if I could make a wish. OK, maybe second best after my dream of spending the rest of my life travelling, seeing the world with the love of my life. But second best dream life is on a farm with animals. YOU LUCKY BITCH, SHADOWHEART! Convincing Laezel not to go to Vlaakith is a 30 dice roll I almost gave up on. Makes sense though, this should be nigh impossible at this point. So I got to see a good ending for her too. Nevermind that killing Orpheus screwed over the githyanki. Laezel is happy, good enough for surviving durge as a leader. I was a little disappointed by ascended Astarion. I expected him to be completely changed for the worse like dark SH but he's not much different from before?? I expected him to be the new Cazador, devoid of all humanity so to speak. A real scary dude. But nope, he's still Astarion. He even calls durge a friend he missed. Huh. I guess ascended Astarion is just really bad when you romance him, from what I heard. Sure, it's not what you'd want for Astarion if you are a good person but it's not BAD bad. There are some implications that Astarion could become a menace but he's super civil and lighthearted at the party. So that confused and disappointed me a bit. What also disappointed me is that you can't actually rule the cult together with Minthara. She keeps talking about how she wishes we did that. I specifically killed Raphael so he wouldn't get the crown but no choice to do anything with it. Did I miss something or is this just flavor text by Minthara and it's not an option? Kinda weird considering that when I first finished the game as a good character I could at least make a choice regarding the crown with Gale. Oh well. OK. So then I replayed AGAIN to get the combination I'm sure not many people saw because it's nonsensical: Rejected Bhaal but let SH kill her parents. This results in a nice tragic ending for the love story. As she warned you the whole time, Shar does not allow her to love anyone else. All you get now is being her occasional fuck buddy. She still kinda loves you but Shar is a harsh mistress and so you can't be together. You get what you deserve for corrupting SH. Like any Bioware game, BG3 tells you exactly what you shoudl do and what you'll get if you don't. It's all fairly black and white. This is not a CDPR game whre you pick one of two shitty options and where you can end up getting your beloved Ciri killed because you made bad choices you had no idea would come back to bite you in the ass. Nope, you know how every choice will play out beforehand. The game even askes you repeatedly if you think it's a good idea to make deals with devils and the like, lol. In any case, very heart breaking to see SH become a Shar zealot. She could have led the best most happy life. This is such a shocking sad fate for her. LOVED IT!!! Yeah, I love everything about dark SH. Ascended Astarion is little bit of a letdown. His arc really only shines if you try to make him a better person. SH is amazing either way imo. Sooo, this was a long rundown. Thank you for reading! Had an absolute blast with durge. I expeced it to be miserable like playing evil Shepard. But it was actually FUN. Maybe because it's so over the top that it doesn't feel too real. I'm glad I stuck with durge. The pull to play something new is always strong with me. I have no idea if I'll replay a third time at some point to finally see the Astarion romance. If I do it will probably be next year. Took me about 94h to replay, so quite a bit shorter than the 140h it took me the first time. I did all quests in act 1 and 2 that were open to me. Most of act 3 as it fit my character. So it still took a long time. But was 100% worth it. Best RPG ever made. I honestly don't know how anybody is supposed to top this.
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Post by Finvola on Jun 16, 2024 19:12:11 GMT
My very first playthrough was an Evil DUrge. I already knew what a DUrge was when I went in playing so I figured I'd do evil first, then play redemption. This was back in September. The epilogue party wasn't available yet. If you defied Bhaal and destroyed the brain, it sort of just ended with DUrge wandering off. I think either they ended their own life or Bhaal did it. I don't remember. I replayed the ending when the epilogue party came out, so that replaced whatever the original "too late for regrets" ending was. I'll be reusing that save again when the next patch drops as I think we are getting new evil endings. I still have most of the major save points, so I can reload from wherever to see the new content. I like playing DUrges, but I tend to be more of a "is a troublemaker, but eventually does the right thing" sort.
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...lives for biotic explosions. And cheesecake!
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jun 16, 2024 19:23:14 GMT
That reminds me, I did check out that OTHER bad durge ending variation: Deciding to be locked up so you can't hurt anybody anymore after Bhaal basically says he'll make you his bitch for defying him. I guess that's sort of a last minute redeemed durge. Saved the world and made sure he wouldn't murder his love and friends. He becomes a zombie too basically. So it's still really sad. But at least they did do the right thing. I like this ending too. But my durge was not that smart. He really thought he could just go and kill Bhaal too and live happily ever after. That didn't work out and I love just how awful that ending is. Exactly what I had hoped for!
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N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Finvola on Jun 17, 2024 9:21:12 GMT
I pretty much did everything around Rivington. Went to the circus, got our faces painted, and Astarion ended up being the lucky one to go dino hunting. I missed out on the opportunity to stink Akabi out with a Bard fart, since she wasn't the one going to the jungle. I think only bards have the option to let one rip to distract him. Got my naked statue, got some Treatos, then jammed with the circus performers. Well, except for this one. HOW RUDE! I'm beginning to think the real threat at the circus is not Dribbles. I've never had this happen before. When Dribbles attacks, usually it's just the Bugbear who comes to help out. This time I had the love guru Dryad and a Redcap pitch in. The dryad entangled Dribbles. Helped myself to a few circus outfits without getting caught and headed out. Did a couple more things, then visited the Ironhand Gnomes hideout. I hit level 11 here, so I went back to camp to pick up Aunty Jaheira for entering Wyrm's Rock. I'll have her turn into a cat and walk past the guards. I usually climb up the ladders around the side but I like to change things up. I'm putting my last 2 levels into Fighter for my DUrge.
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Post by Curious Crow on Jun 17, 2024 13:10:47 GMT
@ Kappa Neko I think the Evil endings are getting their own glam up sometime (hopefully) in September when Patch 7 drops so it might be clever to keep the ending saves handy for then. Think drow man would look lovely walking in the moon scene they had in the community update.
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...lives for biotic explosions. And cheesecake!
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Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jun 17, 2024 14:42:17 GMT
@ Kappa Neko I think the Evil endings are getting their own glam up sometime (hopefully) in September when Patch 7 drops so it might be clever to keep the ending saves handy for then. Think drow man would look lovely walking in the moon scene they had in the community update. Oh, definitely keeping my bazillion savefiles on both characters. Still need to watch my good run epilogue. Soon. Btw, directed at everyone: Is there a lot of unique dialogue when romancing a companion while playing as another companion? How many of you crazy nonstop BG3 players have experimened with this? Is it worth it? Are there certain combinations that have more unique dialogue than others? Thinking of Wyll/Karlach for example. Or are the romances 99% the same and I shouldn't bother considering this for a possible third PT? Also, how does playing as one of the companions affect how you can react? Like, can I play as Astarion and be the most helpful guy ever? Can I play Karlach and do evil shit? That sounds so jarring, so I'm wondering how it works with their background and general disposition. Oh, and are all combinations even doable? Like, would somebody as sweet and good as Karlach and Wyll romance somebody like Astarion or Laezel? Like, can you even get their approval high enough for a romance? I had issues with this playing a super nice character trying to get Astarion to even like me. If you've done a companion/companion romance, which one would you recommend? I've read about how interesting it is when you play Karlach and Astarion can't even bite her, lol. So basically his whole manipulation through seduction game is busted. I find the idea so funny tbh.
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by talyn82 on Jun 17, 2024 17:34:12 GMT
For the first time I exhausted all dialogue options and made Orthorn kill himself. Raphael was pleased. The first time I spoke to Othorn led to a long drawn out fight. Raphael told Astarion what the writing carved on his back meant. I assured Astarion that we will kill Cazador.
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Finvola
N3
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect Andromeda, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by Finvola on Jun 17, 2024 19:42:42 GMT
I haven't played any of the other Origin characters yet but I plan on it. I want to play as everyone, eventually but I think I will start with Gale. When I hear party banter, Gale seems genuinely interested in Gith customs and culture, so I could see him with Lae'zel. Wyll and Karlach seem to go together like crackers and cheese. Or Shadowheart and Lae'zel.
I've watched videos of others playing the origin characters before and from what I've seen is you can be a nice/good guy as Astarion. I've seen some of Gale's, and some of Shadowheart's. I'm pretty sure you can be as nice or nasty as you want with any of them.
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Post by Reznore on Jun 17, 2024 20:25:19 GMT
About companions origin playthrough Karlach/Ascended astarion is a mess of the first order.
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...lives for biotic explosions. And cheesecake!
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Post by Kappa Neko on Jun 17, 2024 20:59:27 GMT
About companions origin playthrough Karlach/Ascended astarion is a mess of the first order. Oh man, that sounds fucked up indeed! LOL I'm totally tempted to play Karlach and get with Astarion because that's such a weird match. But probably best to do resisting durge with him to make approval easier. I like super goodie two shoes best with him but I played that character already and Astarion was not into that, lol. But then again I had the Gale bug so maybe that's why it was doomed. I still REALLY want to romance Karlach too, might do that as Wyll. One day. Maybe. I really want to see EVERYTHING but I won't live forever and new shiny games always seduce me away... Sigh.
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Post by Reznore on Jun 17, 2024 21:01:13 GMT
You can play goodie two shoes with Astata, but let him drink your blood, and kill the Gur. I tried playing once really goody two shoes and spared the Gur and no romance!
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by talyn82 on Jun 17, 2024 22:49:06 GMT
I haven't played any of the other Origin characters yet but I plan on it. I want to play as everyone, eventually but I think I will start with Gale. When I hear party banter, Gale seems genuinely interested in Gith customs and culture, so I could see him with Lae'zel. Wyll and Karlach seem to go together like crackers and cheese. Or Shadowheart and Lae'zel. I started a Gale playthrough but it's currently on hold until I finish my Paladin run. Hooking up Gale with Lae'zel sounds like a great idea. I was originally thinking about finally recruiting Minthara in act 2 and start a romance with her. Because all of the clips I seen on youtube of Minthara and Gale they banter back and forth like Alistair and Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins. Also I love how she refers to Gale as the wizard she does not call him by name. But yeah Lae'zel and Minthara are tied as my favorite female companion followed by Karlach.
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by talyn82 on Jun 17, 2024 22:55:26 GMT
About companions origin playthrough Karlach/Ascended astarion is a mess of the first order. Speaking of Karlach and Astarion. After speaking to Raphael about the marks on Astarion's back when you talk to Karlach she is protective of him. She's so damn adorable.
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Post by Element Zero on Jun 18, 2024 1:06:17 GMT
In my current playthrough, Gale is romancing Shadowheart and it's gone as smoothly and normally as you'd imagine. (It's kind of a shame they left out the Shar vs Mystra beef. They hate one another nearly on par with Shar and Selune. Shar has repeatedly tried to supplant Mystra, even creating the alternative and mutually exclusive Shadow Weave.) The relationship was almost too easy and quick to progress. It made Shadowheart seem thirsty, in my opinion. My Gale behaves as you'd expect Gale to behave. Everyone loves him, and Astarion is a very friendly neutral. Astarion will warm up as the story continues. We're very early in Act 2. I had Gale allow Astarion to bite him because one of the dialogue options suggested it might not go to Astarion's liking. It did not, and it was funny. Neither approval nor disapproval were gained. So, Act 2... Gale and the crew continued in the early stage of Act 2, resuming with Karlach having gotten her second upgrade and a hug. Then, she went back to camp and Shadowheart resumed her place.
We spoke to everyone at Last Light, including Raphael. Gale helped Mol defeat him on the Lanceboard. Astarion had a proposal for Raphael, and the latter stripped his upper body to display his diabolical scars. Gale reasoned with Mol regarding Raphael. Convincing her that Raphael is a dangerous devil only made her more intrigued. Gale knew more about Jaheira's draught than she, taught her a little about it, and declined the drink.
We joined the Harpers who were scouting the Absolutist recruiting caravan. Gale stepped forward and easily convinced the drider that he was a particularly blessed True Soul. He then convinced the caravan to hand over their lamp and proceed with the Absolute's blessing. It was kind of terrible, yet brilliant. I felt pity for them. Astarion approved, and the Harpers thought it was great.
Gale freed Dolly³ and received her blessing. Protected from the curse, the party explored the entire region east of the river. This involved several encounters with blighted plant creatures, and rescuing Rowan from Shadows. Gale told him that a Wizard knows when to ask for instruction, guidance, or help. Rowan was salty, but mostly desperate to see his siblings safe. He saved the kids from the Absolutists, and we will try to save his siblings.
Gale also met Oliver, talked with him a bit, and beat him at hide-and-seek. The kid never said that using magic would be cheating. We informed Halsin about Art Cullagh, and Halsin is staying at his side while we ponder a way to wake Art.
I decided to go nova on the Shambling Mounds, twigblights, etc... so the party needed a rest. We returned to camp and had our evening disrupted by Mizora. She commanded Wyll to rescue a powerful devil from Moonrise. Sensing her veiled desperation, Gale managed to get her to agree to release Wyll from his pact as reward for getting the job done.
I saved after their long rest. We'll redistribute some gear, have our minions buff the party, and head across the river tomorrow.
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Origin: Talyn82
PSN: Talyn82
Posts: 3,890 Likes: 10,924
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Post by talyn82 on Jun 18, 2024 2:09:01 GMT
My Gale behaves as you'd expect Gale to behave. Everyone loves him, and Astarion is a very friendly neutral. Astarion will warm up as the story continues. We're very early in Act 2. I was thinking when I restart my Gale playthrough to have him go down a dark path which is why I was thinking of him hooking up with Minthara. She craves power and stereotypical wizards crave it too. But who am I kidding I can't play an evil character don't got the stomach for it. So I will play him as another stereotypical wizard a true neutral wizard. I had Gale allow Astarion to bite him because one of the dialogue options suggested it might not go to Astarion's liking. It did not, and it was funny. Neither approval nor disapproval were gained. Lol I let him bite Gale as well and loved his reaction.
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Origin: Talyn82
PSN: Talyn82
Posts: 3,890 Likes: 10,924
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Post by talyn82 on Jun 18, 2024 5:18:43 GMT
Got the spear of Shar was a bitch trying to figure out how to complete the Leap of Faith trial. Was about to step into the Shadowfell when I remembered the quest to lift the curse off of the Shadow Lands. Any tips on how to defend the portal Halsin opened? Currently my party consists of my Paladin, Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Astarion. Thinking on bringing Karlach, Wyll, and Gale. WHat combination do you think is good to protect the portal?
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