BG3

[Bartimaeus]

8 hours ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

You're just saying that because they're disproportionately bards. Though you're not wrong, the dissonance between their secret agent hype and incompetent scrub in game reality is disappointing. I'm not expecting them to drop a big gun archwizard on every problem but when your idea for an iron crisis is to send a married couple to grab a teenager and then check it out later instead of a decently seasoned party then someone at your organization makes very poor decisions.

I honestly forgot about that, but you know, now that you mention it, I think that the Harpers' level of incompetence is directly proportional to how many bards they have...it all starts to makes sense.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I honestly forgot about that, but you know, now that you mention it, I think that the Harpers' level of incompetence is directly proportional to how many bards they have...it all starts to makes sense.

I think that storywise good organizations in these games require a certain level of incompetence so the adventurers in the video game/pnp can drive everything. While it would make more tactical sense for the Harpers to send in a well equipped team of level 10 veterans to deal with either situation in BG1 or BG3, it wouldn't really center the player enough to be relegated to cleaning up after them. So the orgs have to be incompetent for the player(s) to be rapidly rising hero(es) instead of interns cleaning up goblin **** until they get promoted.

And you know who loves stories about plucky underdogs taking on challenges too big for them until they make it big? Bards. They're purposely making bad decisions so when it does turn out well they can make money selling books and putting on plays about it. The mother****ers are endangering the realms for a book deal.

[MrBrown]

 

[InsaneCommander]

I progressed with Karlach’s story and she wanted to go to bed immediately. I chose to do it later and, guess what, of course somebody else wanted to talk to my character. Every single night someone sneaks on camp and is not noticed until they are right on top of my character. These people wouldn’t last long in Golarion.

I wondered if I ended the romance, so I rested again, just to have a scene with Wyll dancing. One of the dialogue options was hilarious

 

Spoiler

“Dance with a devil? Most certainly not.”

 

Can’t wait for my evil pt.

I tried to reload and talk to Karlach between choosing to long rest and actually doing it, but there is no romance option. If I reload an earlier save I'll have to re-equip everyone, so I’ll just accept whatever happens from now on.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

10 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

I progressed with Karlach’s story and she wanted to go to bed immediately. I chose to do it later and, guess what, of course somebody else wanted to talk to my character. Every single night someone sneaks on camp and is not noticed until they are right on top of my character. These people wouldn’t last long in Golarion.

I wondered if I ended the romance, so I rested again, just to have a scene with Wyll dancing. One of the dialogue options was hilarious

 

  Reveal hidden contents

“Dance with a devil? Most certainly not.”

 

Can’t wait for my evil pt.

I tried to reload and talk to Karlach between choosing to long rest and actually doing it, but there is no romance option. If I reload an earlier save I'll have to re-equip everyone, so I’ll just accept whatever happens from now on.

I think there's an event mid to late Act 2 that solidifies your choice of husbando/waifu, and the other companions you've been pursuing (or the wonkynes decided you were ****ing) get the exclamation point above their heads to break it off or commit. Aside from a few scenes, the game seems to assume the secks happens off camera. The biggest support of this is Withers remarking on you gaining a bosom companion.

I haven't played in the last few days because I've been busy, but I'm looking forward to diving into Act 3.

[InsaneCommander]

10 minutes ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

@Bartimaeus will feel vindicated.

I just left the Harpers' base and they wanna come with me. What is it, a harder difficulty?

Also,

Spoiler

they will ambush the guys I already killed. It's gonna be funny.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Instead of playing the game I spent time in the character creator and realized that I could unlock different color options for hair and eyes. Looks like something for the next playthrough which will be in a while and use mods for a bigger party, because 4 just ain't enough.

3 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

I just left the Harpers' base and they wanna come with me. What is it, a harder difficulty?

Also,

  Reveal hidden contents

they will ambush the guys I already killed. It's gonna be funny.

 

Ok, that one battle was the only time the Harpers were competent in my game. But Gale did nuke the enemies with a fireball beforehand.

[Wormerine]

My favourite harper story is when I escaped moonrise imprisonment and teleported to take refuge in last light. As my fugitive status haven’t expired Harper’s guards imprisoned me again, for daring to escape prison of their enemies, after getting caught sneaking on a mission from them. 

For a neutral faction they are real sticklers to the rules. 

[InsaneCommander]

15 hours ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

Ok, that one battle was the only time the Harpers were competent in my game. But Gale did nuke the enemies with a fireball beforehand.

As expected, the enemy came alone. He tried to protect himself with Sanctuary, but Thorn Whip and Polymorph didn’t care about that. After he was targeted with Crown of Madness, he stopped casting Sanctuary and tried to run away, being targeted and hit by four attacks of opportunity. RNGesus was nice today. And I guess I underestimated that spell.

[majestic]

So any reason the game screams at you for entering the mountain pass area when literally nothing happens and you can just go back? Because it forces a long rest that might mess up a quest in the first area?

Anyway, I am in some monastery now. Doodled on a portrait, which impressed Shadowheart, but Lae'zel thought it was childish.

[MrBrown]

14 minutes ago, majestic said:

So any reason the game screams at you for entering the mountain pass area when literally nothing happens and you can just go back? Because it forces a long rest that might mess up a quest in the first area?

AFAIK, going there will auto-resolve the conflict between the goblins and the druids.

[InsaneCommander]

6 hours ago, majestic said:

Anyway, I am in some monastery now. Doodled on a portrait, which impressed Shadowheart, but Lae'zel thought it was childish.

Shadowheart didn't react when I did it. And I've seen other cases like this in some YouTube videos. It seems I have been missing some companion's reactions because of some bug.

[Bartimaeus]

13 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

Shadowheart didn't react when I did it. And I've seen other cases like this in some YouTube videos. It seems I have been missing some companion's reactions because of some bug.

I had to go through the squirrel conversation in act 1 twice because of a glitch that lead to me closing and reopening the game, and the first time Shadowheart was sarcastically like "well, wasn't that wonderful?" when I kicked the squirrel to death...but the second time I did it, I instead got Astarion yelling at me for all the blood being wastefully spilled (hello Mr. I'm Totally Not a Vampire!) - nothing from Shadowheart. I got the feeling that for certain quick and relatively unimportant events, the game might just pick one reaction instead of letting all possible reactions play.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[InsaneCommander]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I had to go through the squirrel conversation in act 1 twice because of a glitch that lead to me closing and reopening the game, and the first time Shadowheart was sarcastically like "well, wasn't that wonderful?" when I kicked the squirrel to death...but the second time I did it, I instead got Astarion yelling at me for all the blood being wastefully spilled (hello Mr. I'm Totally Not a Vampire!) - nothing from Shadowheart. I got the feeling that for certain quick and relatively unimportant events, the game might just pick one reaction instead of letting all possible reactions play.

It could be, but in the situation Majestic talked about I only got a reaction from Lae'zel. At least it was my favorite so far. Lae'zel's face when she is displeased is the best.

Edited September 15, 2023 by InsaneCommander

[InsaneCommander]

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I killed a clown at a circus, investigated a murder a miniature flying elephant cop didn't want to, and finally got into Baldur's Gate.

Spoiler

Mimics again? Baldur's Gate should really start screening heavily for shapeshifters.

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by PK htiw klaw eriF

[Wormerine]

5 hours ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Mimics again? Baldur's Gate should really start screening heavily for shapeshifters.

Well, shapeshifters. Mimics a chest-thingies. I enjoyed this callback to the originals, though I do have some major questions.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

6 hours ago, Wormerine said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Well, shapeshifters. Mimics a chest-thingies. I enjoyed this callback to the originals, though I do have some major questions.

 

You're right, I got the monsters mixed up

There's also a playable shapeshifter race in the PnP called Changelings, which is what Orin appears to be. So we've got doppelgangers, changelings, and mimics to confuse. 

Regardless, I get that a 100 years has been a long time but you'd think that Baldur's Gate would have put in some protocols to detect them. But kind of like the Harpers being incompetent, the games need a level of incompetence on the part of heroic organizations or the neutral power in charge for the heroes to be able to solve the problems.

[Wormerine]

1 minute ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

 

  Hide contents

There's also a playable shapeshifter race in the PnP called Changelings, which is what Orin appears to be.

Thats a bit I have questions about. We can chat about it after you defeat her.

[InsaneCommander]

Although I'm playing as a good character, I'm already making a kill list.

Spoiler

Raphael trying to make a deal with kids and Gortash being the one who sold Karlach to slavery in hell are right on top.

In the first case, I would have gladly chosen the traditional WotR "Die!" dialogue choice if there was one. Or give him a beating, if this was JoJo's Bizarre Adventures. He ran away and after I talked to Mizora I was hoping he was the person she was talking about, but obviously he wouldn't be one needing rescue.

Anyway, I met him again near a mausoleum. I already pickpocketed him and he had nothing of value. I guess it's better to wait for the story to unfold and do it later, but since I just saved the game, I'll try to kill him now.

I wonder if you can play a Dark Urge character that resists killing npcs but loses control when people cross a line. Might be interesting.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

7 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

I wonder if you can play a Dark Urge character that resists killing npcs but loses control when people cross a line. Might be interesting

Playing Dark Urge as a first run and there's only one NPC who you are forced to kill. You can easily play the hero otherwise, just don't fantasize too much.

[majestic]

On 9/15/2023 at 6:40 PM, InsaneCommander said:

It could be, but in the situation Majestic talked about I only got a reaction from Lae'zel. At least it was my favorite so far. Lae'zel's face when she is displeased is the best.

I meant I got approval from Shadowheart, not that she said something about the doodling, sorry for being unclear.

[InsaneCommander]

The bastard disappeared when I attacked. I reloaded to be on good terms and wait for a proper opportunity.

3 hours ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

Playing Dark Urge as a first run and there's only one NPC who you are forced to kill. You can easily play the hero otherwise, just don't fantasize too much.

Good to know, however I'm currently planning a Dark Urge pt with a drunk fighter. I saw a build on YouTube with a great mace that gives advantage while drunk and a ring that increases the alcoholic status to 5 turns. I'll probably pick a few Barbarian levels to throw people while enraged and the tavern brawler feat. Neither a hero nor a villain, just a drunk guy who might lose control depending on the situation.

Ideally, someone will make a mod to extend the drunk status until short rest. There are plenty of bottles in the game, but I wanna play realistically and have the persuasion and dexterity penalties outside combat.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I think there was either some changes or questionable taste among the writers because

Spoiler

No way in hell is Enver Gortash a handsome younger man. He looks like a singer for a goth emo band spent two decades in a coma.

 

[Hawke64]

Replayed a part of Act 3 to see how much I could shorten the critical path. Not too much, there is quite a lot of railroading in that particular quest. The quest for Orin's McGuffin, observations:

Spoiler

For a non-Dark Urge PC (Origin or full custom), there are several parts of the quest that are hard-coded - the door to the Tribunal and the second door to the Temple of Bhaal can be neither lockpicked nor Knocked nor destroyed (the latter is justifiable for the Temple, though).

To get to the Tribunal, the password is needed that can be pickpocketed from the dwarf assassin at the Wine party (he uses a different name there) or looted from the dwarf's body if, firstly, his party was defeated at the wine party, secondly, he was defeated at the tailor shop. If a companion is in a conversation with Figaro (?) when the assassin's party is defeated, the store's personnel switches to hostile status, while Figaro and the companion remain in conversation.

The latest point for the companion or Yenna to be kidnapped is shortly before the first gate to the Temple, which can be unlocked with Knock. The companions who can be kidnapped are Lae'zel, Gale, Halsin/Minthara. If all are in the active party or unavailable, the game defaults to Yenna. Grub the cat disappears from the camp even if he was in a conversation when Orin/Yenna spawned. If a companion who is not in the dialogue with Orin attacks her, she teleports away with plot armour. If Yenna is attacked at the camp by the player and runs away, and all kidnapping candidates are in the party/unavailable, Orin still kidnaps her and kills Grub.

At the Tribunal, the amulet required for the second door cannot be pickpocketed from "Sarevok" (I do strongly detest such fan-fiction level interpretation of the source material), only received or looted from the body. Is he wearing it and hand-crafts a new one for each new initiate?

If at the Temple Orin is thrown into the chasm, her key and stone picked up, the kidnapped companion released from the altar, and the party escapes from the other cultists without killing them, the kidnapped companion gets stuck in the "follower" status.

Overall, frustrating. Could be worse, of course, but it is still less flexible and more buggy than expected.