Baldur's Gate 3 II: The Urge for a Second Playthrough

[Psyren]

Lae'zel openly made comments about Wyll looking especially tempting during my last play through, at the Tiefling camp party, when I made it clear I wasn't interested. The morning after, you can bring up the subject and she says she made the attempt but Wyll wanted to 'talk' more than anything. She looked ... slightly disappointed and yet intrigued. Nothing ever came up about it later on... but I kind of ship it.

Wyll is very much a romantic and doesn't want to just randomly hook up. I do think he could get on with Lae'zel well given time - but for me, there's no better match for him than Karlach.

As for Lae'zel... is it bad that I wouldn't mind seeing her get together with Shadowheart? There's a lot of passion there

That's all only if you use the Spelljammer stuff, which I can't stand personally.

It's not about what *I'm* using; Lae'zel specifically refers to "Realmspace" when she's talking about her people, which is a Spelljammer term. "Nautiloids" are also from Spelljammer. Neither concept comes from the DMG.

EDIT: Oh right, she even specifically references a Spelljammer in that same conversation. It's canon to the game.

Yeah, I'm multiclassing Wyll this time since I can't bring myself to have him not have Warlock levels, and I want to do something different with the characters than last time*. Warlock/Paladin, since that's the popular thing and it works on him. But I've never used multiclassing in 5e before, and I definitely feel the delay in getting the level 4 ASI already, and I feel like the delay in getting extra attack/3rd-level spells at level 5 will hurt even more. I don't like it.

I got everyone a level 1 feat which has been really nice and fits with modern 5e as well as its upcoming successor. Even sticking just to the feats that I know are allowed for level 1 characters has been a great boon.

[Cikomyr2]

Wyll is very much a romantic and doesn't want to just randomly hook up. I do think he could get on with Lae'zel well given time - but for me, there's no better match for him than Karlach.

As for Lae'zel... is it bad that I wouldn't mind seeing her get together with Shadowheart? There's a lot of passion there

Lae'zel and Shadowheart that both went through the 3 acts of character development available to them are my favourite ships. They literally both are people that.. have to figure what do they want for themselves for the first time in their lives.

And they both realized their respective prejudices against each others were hardly genuine, and more constructs imposed on them.

[Bunny Commando]

On Tactician difficulty, it takes 80 supplies to long rest. I might be carrying around 500+ right now, but I still feel the pinch.

I play on Tactician as well and never really had any problem with food, but I'm also someone who looks inside every crate around.
Besides, if I'll ever need food I'll just steal...ahem, "buy" from some vendor.

[Psyren]

Lae'zel and Shadowheart that both went through the 3 acts of character development available to them are my favourite ships. They literally both are people that.. have to figure what do they want for themselves for the first time in their lives.

And they both realized their respective prejudices against each others were hardly genuine, and more constructs imposed on them.

Exactly!

I play on Tactician as well and never really had any problem with food, but I'm also someone who looks inside every crate around.
Besides, if I'll ever need food I'll just steal...ahem, "buy" from some vendor.

With the latest update, Volo sells food in camp as well IIRC

[Bunny Commando]

With the latest update, Volo sells food in camp as well IIRC

Doesn't he leave as soon as he's done "researching" your condition? I generally let him use me as a test subject as soon as possible, given how good the bonus he gives you is.

[Psyren]

Doesn't he leave as soon as he's done "researching" your condition? I generally let him use me as a test subject as soon as possible, given how good the bonus he gives you is.

Yes but he can come back later on depending on your actions.

Which reminds me - my latest mod paints over his "gift" to match my pre-existing set

[Bunny Commando]

Yes but he can come back later on depending on your actions.

Yes, but by then I have little use of him as a merchant unfortunately.

By the way, does anyone know of a mod that highlight scrolls of spells you already know in vendors' screens? Probably exists, but haven't found it on Nexus.

[Zevox]

It's not about what *I'm* using; Lae'zel specifically refers to "Realmspace" when she's talking about her people, which is a Spelljammer term. "Nautiloids" are also from Spelljammer. Neither concept comes from the DMG.

EDIT: Oh right, she even specifically references a Spelljammer in that same conversation. It's canon to the game.

Blech, that's right. I've been trying to ignore that, since it will only negatively impact my enjoyment of an otherwise very good game.

I got everyone a level 1 feat which has been really nice and fits with modern 5e as well as its upcoming successor. Even sticking just to the feats that I know are allowed for level 1 characters has been a great boon.

Oh, I rarely use ASIs on feats myself. Usually only one out of the three. Mainly I want to get everyone's primary stat up to 20.

Doesn't he leave as soon as he's done "researching" your condition? I generally let him use me as a test subject as soon as possible, given how good the bonus he gives you is.

He does? That's a surprise. I figured he was supposed to stick around camp the whole game.

Personally, I can't imagine myself ever letting him do his thing there. It's too obviously a terrible idea, and I feel like I'd need to be playing a complete idiot to go through with it. Regardless of the end result, which I am aware of.

[Cikomyr2]

So, the Astral Sea is space or not? Can we use the Spelljammer canonicity precedent?

[Anonymouswizard]

So, the Astral Sea is space or not? Can we use the Spelljammer canonicity precedent?

In order: yes, maybe.

The existence of Boo suggests that Spelljammer cosmology has always applied, but the old games would have been in canon with 2e. Which I think brings us up to four changes of cosmology.

[Psyren]

So, the Astral Sea is space or not? Can we use the Spelljammer canonicity precedent?

The Space around a planet is Material, but if you get far out enough (Wildspace) it becomes both/porous. Spelljammers are for both space travel and planar travel.

Blech, that's right. I've been trying to ignore that, since it will only negatively impact my enjoyment of an otherwise very good game.

I genuinely don't understand why, but okay.

Personally, I can't imagine myself ever letting him do his thing there. It's too obviously a terrible idea, and I feel like I'd need to be playing a complete idiot to go through with it. Regardless of the end result, which I am aware of.

I justified it by being Resisting Dark Urge, and thus convinced my tadpole was somehow worse than everyone else's, and willing to go to nearly any extreme to get it out. I even sprung Sazza from the grove (after the Alfira incident) because she thought Priestess Gut knew of a unique way to handle it - but discovering that she herself was tadpoled, I abandoned that avenue.

[Cikomyr2]

Personally, I can't imagine myself ever letting him do his thing there. It's too obviously a terrible idea, and I feel like I'd need to be playing a complete idiot to go through with it. Regardless of the end result, which I am aware of.

I have to be honest, the first time i did that was during a "lol" playthrough where i wanted to see how doing the Durge's act 2 subquest would turn out, So I decided to go full speed ahead with all the stupid decisions i could make.

[Lord Ruby34]

I have to be honest, the first time i did that was during a "lol" playthrough where i wanted to see how doing the Durge's act 2 subquest would turn out, So I decided to go full speed ahead with all the stupid decisions i could make.

The idea of a surgical extraction isn't completely terrible. The problem is that Volo clearly has no idea what he was doing. Now, what they should have done was kill you, take the tadpole out, and have Withers resurrect you afterwards.

[Anonymouswizard]

I just plonked an 8 in INT and went 'I would make it lower if they'd let me'.

I'd have put it in WIS but that's actually a decent save (also used by one of my preferred classes).

But yeah, I'll definitely get the mod which gives me my red eye back. It actually looked kind of cool when it looked like an artificial eye, but now it looks like a boring normal eye with blue-green central heterochromia. As a central heterochromatic in real life it's cool that the option is there even if you have to pick through the colours to find it, but I want the artificial eye back.

ETA: from a story perspective isn't the MC under a no resurrections rule in Act 1? You know, due to the whole

Spoiler

Show

Bhaalspawn

thing.

[Psyren]

I just plonked an 8 in INT and went 'I would make it lower if they'd let me'.

I'd have put it in WIS but that's actually a decent save (also used by one of my preferred classes).

But yeah, I'll definitely get the mod which gives me my red eye back. It actually looked kind of cool when it looked like an artificial eye, but now it looks like a boring normal eye with blue-green central heterochromia. As a central heterochromatic in real life it's cool that the option is there even if you have to pick through the colours to find it, but I want the artificial eye back.

The one I use is called Unvisual Volo's Eye. It works retroactively, as well as with the camp mirror if you want to change your eye color(s) later on.

EDIT: Almost forgot, in response to an earlier question about whether you can give away both your eyes - if you have Volo's eye in, Ethel refuses to help you, so no second fake eye. I haven't tried things in the other direction, but presumably if you get Ethel's eye first and then Volo's, hers is the one he performs amateur lasik on.

ETA: from a story perspective isn't the MC under a no resurrections rule in Act 1? You know, due to the whole

Spoiler

Show

Bhaalspawn

thing.

I don't think so, considering that

Spoiler

Show

Astarion can kill you but you can be brought back just fine, and there will be commentary on it, i.e. narratively you were actually dead.

[Zevox]

I genuinely don't understand why, but okay.

Short version: I like my fantasy (especially D&D) medieval, and my spaceships in sci-fi. Never should the two meet.

I even sprung Sazza from the grove (after the Alfira incident) because she thought Priestess Gut knew of a unique way to handle it - but discovering that she herself was tadpoled, I abandoned that avenue.

I actually accidentally got her killed - encouraged the Tiefling woman mourning the one that got killed in the initial Goblin attack to seek revenge on the Goblins for it. Figured that with my Dark Urge character, while she's generally well-intentioned, she would have a tendency to resort to violence quickly when it seems warranted, in the hopes that this will sate her urges without them being used on innocents, and that this mindset would reflect on the kind of advice she'd give. I'd also completely forgotten about the one captive Goblin the woman would have to conveniently take that revenge on.

On the other hand though, I also actually used the Necromancy of Thay book this time, so free Speak with Dead, and got the quest to speak to Priestess Gut out of that Goblin that way anyway.

The idea of a surgical extraction isn't completely terrible. The problem is that Volo clearly has no idea what he was doing.

Yup. It'd be one thing if it was a trained healer with years of experience and clerical magic they can use to patch you up offering to do something like that, but considering Volo's response to asking if he's ever done this before is "I've thought about doing it often," trusting him with it is pretty clearly asking for a Darwin Award.

[Psyren]

Short version: I like my fantasy (especially D&D) medieval, and my spaceships in sci-fi. Never should the two meet.

I can understand that desire in other D&D campaigns - but this one is about the main character waking up on a crashing alien spaceship, so I'm not sure why a different alien mentioning tjjhe existence of spaceships is offputting, is all I'm saynig.

I actually accidentally got her killed - encouraged the Tiefling woman mourning the one that got killed in the initial Goblin attack to seek revenge on the Goblins for it. Figured that with my Dark Urge character, while she's generally well-intentioned, she would have a tendency to resort to violence quickly when it seems warranted, in the hopes that this will sate her urges without them being used on innocents, and that this mindset would reflect on the kind of advice she'd give. I'd also completely forgotten about the one captive Goblin the woman would have to conveniently take that revenge on.
jjj
On the other hand though, I also actually used the Necromancy of Thay book this time, so free Speak with Dead, and got the quest to speak to Priestess Gut out of that Goblin that way anyway.

Understandable - but as I mentioned, I'm resisting the Urge, and in fact getting that tiefling to calm down is explicitly a resist moment

I will say there's an unlimited-use Speak With Ddead amulet very early on if that was your main reason for engaging with the book.

Yup. It'd be one thing if it was a trained healer with years of experience and clerical magic they can use to patch you up offering to do something like that, but considering Volo's response to asking if he's ever done this before is "I've thought about doing it often," trusting him with it is pretty clearly asking for a Darwin Award.

Eh, I had my Darwin Revoker standing 15 feet away

[Zevox]

I can understand that desire in other D&D campaigns - but this one is about the main character waking up on a crashing alien spaceship, so I'm not sure why a different alien mentioning tjjhe existence of spaceships is offputting, is all I'm saynig.

You're making the mistaken assumption that the Nautiloid at the start isn't part of what I meant when I said that.

Understandable - but as I mentioned, I'm resisting the Urge, and in fact getting that tiefling to calm down is explicitly a resist moment

I will say there's an unlimited-use Speak With Ddead amulet very early on if that was your main reason for engaging with the book.

No, I got the amulet too (though that I thought it was once per day, not unlimited?). Used the book because I destroyed it the first time, and I could see this character deciding to see what it could offer, given how many things she's in dire need of help controlling (Tadpole, Dark Urge, Wild Magic). And it's nice not having to have to switch the amulet out with whichever one I wind up using more generally this time around.

[Keltest]

Speak with Dead, at least from the amulet, is technically a 1/day thing, but you get the ability to retarget it on a new applicable corpse, which are also conveniently highlighted in spooky greenish light for you if they have anything to say. Presumably its another quality of life feature to make you not have to burn a billion spell slots to interrogate dead people.

[Cikomyr2]

So, what i dont understand is why we cant just accept that Illithid/Githyanki things are basically Space Stuff. They are the "aliens" of DnD, but with just sufficient fantasy twist to make them unique compared to other sci fi races.

Warforged are the Robots.

Underwater menaces are Aboleths.

Its a bit weird and wacky, but kitchen sink is what DnD always been about, if you go to the edges. Theres place for super traditional medieval statis (Cormyr) but theres plenty of other stuff that pushes the envelope.

Im happy they decided to explore the more "cosmic" side of DnD. They kept referring to it in the other Baldur's Gate, and it always seemed more gratuitous reference to crazy stuff than actually part of the story.


....wait a minute, is Volo the one who gives you the silver sword at the end of Act 2 of BG2 and lands you in trouble with the Githyankis?!

[Psyren]

You're making the mistaken assumption that the Nautiloid at the start isn't part of what I meant when I said that.

Well, if it's any consolation, BG4 probably won't do the mindflayer thing again?

(Alternatively... they'll go whole hog into Spelljammer and pick up wherever Lae'zel's story left off )

No, I got the amulet too (though that I thought it was once per day, not unlimited?).

It's 1/day but when you use it, a new ability appears on your bar that lets you swap the activation to a new corpse at-will until you long rest, at which point the amulet recharges anyway. So it's functionally/effectively unlimited-use.

[Zevox]

So, what i dont understand is why we cant just accept that Illithid/Githyanki things are basically Space Stuff.

Not we; me. That is not to my tastes. Illithids are fine to me as a weird kind of psychic monster race; Githyanki are fine as a race native to another plane of existence. Try to turn them into Space Stuff, and I cease to be fine with it.

Same with Warforged, except there's no way to make me fine with those. The use of magitech in Eberron in general is a big part of why I never touched that setting.

....wait a minute, is Volo the one who gives you the silver sword at the end of Act 2 of BG2 and lands you in trouble with the Githyankis?!

Spoiler: Act 3

Show

Silver sword at the end of Act 2? What? The only Silver Sword I got was given to Lae'zel by Voss when we came to inform him that we had the Orphic Hammer, which was near the end of Act 3.

It's 1/day but when you use it, a new ability appears on your bar that lets you swap the activation to a new corpse at-will until you long rest, at which point the amulet recharges anyway. So it's functionally/effectively unlimited-use.

Ah. Couple of things to say about that: one, the new ability doesn't appear on my bar (= radial wheel; console player) automatically, I need to add it manually. I did notice that in my first play-through, when I had "recast Speak with Dead" as a status floating above my name in the lower corner of the screen and went looking to find out what that meant, but I assumed that was because the initial casting had failed on the corpse I targeted at the time, not because that was just standard. I've already seen that it's standard with the Necromancy of Thay version, but didn't think that necessarily meant the same applied to the amulet. Good to know.

[Psyren]

Spoiler: Act 3

Show

Silver sword at the end of Act 2? What? The only Silver Sword I got was given to Lae'zel by Voss when we came to inform him that we had the Orphic Hammer, which was near the end of Act 3.

He's talking about BG2 I think, i.e. over a century ago in-universe.

Ah. Couple of things to say about that: one, the new ability doesn't appear on my bar (= radial wheel; console player) automatically, I need to add it manually. I did notice that in my first play-through, when I had "recast Speak with Dead" as a status floating above my name in the lower corner of the screen and went looking to find out what that meant, but I assumed that was because the initial casting had failed on the corpse I targeted at the time, not because that was just standard. I've already seen that it's standard with the Necromancy of Thay version, but didn't think that necessarily meant the same applied to the amulet. Good to know.

You can even take the amulet off, use another one, put it back on and you'll regain the ability!

[Anonymouswizard]

Warforged are amazing, and IIRC were added to the Realms at some point so I'm hoping we get them as a DLC race at some point*. I'm also all for spaceships in fantasy, who doesn't like Star Wars, although I'm not a personal fan of nautiloids that's just a preference issue.

I've considered a D&D 3.5 setting where ships travel FTL via teleport traps being spread throughout the vessel. I'm not 100% sure if I want resetting traps for a stutterwarp effect or interstellar teleports but manual reset traps.

* I'll play a Tav if it means I can be the Priestbot 3000.

[Bunny Commando]

I never had much of a problem doing obviously stupid stuff in BG3 because (IMHO, of course) the game itself does not want you to take it seriously.
Sure, the game is quite dark at times; yet the game has so many interactions that make me roll my eyes while smiling (Speak with Animals is responsible for so many of them) that a foolish idea like letting Volo doing...well, anything, does not sound so foolish anymore.

[Jophiel]

Not we; me. That is not to my tastes. Illithids are fine to me as a weird kind of psychic monster race; Githyanki are fine as a race native to another plane of existence. Try to turn them into Space Stuff, and I cease to be fine with it.

Yeah, I've never been into it either and I've been around long enough to be there for the start of Spelljammer. I just prefer my mindflayers as weird dungeon basement monsters and never really cared much or gave much though to Gith* at all aside from "Thing on the cover of my 1e Fiend Folio". I just never found anything about the setting to be compelling and was turned off by the "lol random" elements.

It says something that I did think the opening cinematic were nifty, but then the ships just teleported about rather than sailing the High Astral Seas of Outer Space.

[Eldan]

I never had much of a problem doing obviously stupid stuff in BG3 because (IMHO, of course) the game itself does not want you to take it seriously.
Sure, the game is quite dark at times; yet the game has so many interactions that make me roll my eyes while smiling (Speak with Animals is responsible for so many of them) that a foolish idea like letting Volo doing...well, anything, does not sound so foolish anymore.

Yeah, that's how I took it. A lot of the things going on feel a lot like the DM writing a serious story, the players absolutely goofing off while playing and the DM shrugging and running with it.

"How about we grab an ice pick and just pull the tadpole out?" is absolutely something I can hear players say.

[Cikomyr2]

Ive just ran on "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", but sort of in reverse.

Githyanki and the Illithid that preceded them travel and have known countless of other worlds in the far reaches of the Astral plane. Yes, they are a threat, but we are but one world in their universe-spanning conflict.

It's a flair thing. A theme. It doesnt have to actually be spaceship to take the narrative role of aliens and spaceship.

[Jophiel]

I mostly ran on "Before it got to grate on me, I was happily interacting with skeletons and goblins in the fantasy milieu I had signed up for and could ignore the Spelljammer-style stuff I dislike"

95% of the game is classic fantasy "Find the keys to unlock the door to the final boss" and I didn't find the Githyanki interesting enough to be curious about the mechanics of their space/plane-faring empires.

[Zevox]

He's talking about BG2 I think, i.e. over a century ago in-universe.

Ah, I see, I missed that he mentioned BG2 specifically. My mistake.

Warforged are amazing, and IIRC were added to the Realms at some point so I'm hoping we get them as a DLC race at some point*.

No, blessedly, as many thing as they screwed up with the Realms since 4e, that is not one of them. Warforged remain an Eberron thing only.

I'm also all for spaceships in fantasy, who doesn't like Star Wars,

I like Star Wars (although these days that comes with many caveats...) just fine, but I don't want it in my D&D. And heck, I dislike when heavier fantasy elements get stuck into Star Wars as well, such as the Family of force-gods, or the World Between Worlds, or the Nightsisters being able to straight-up make zombies. To name a few that come to mind for no particular reason.

Yeah, I've never been into it either and I've been around long enough to be there for the start of Spelljammer. I just prefer my mindflayers as weird dungeon basement monsters and never really cared much or gave much though to Gith* at all aside from "Thing on the cover of my 1e Fiend Folio". I just never found anything about the setting to be compelling and was turned off by the "lol random" elements.

It says something that I did think the opening cinematic were nifty, but then the ships just teleported about rather than sailing the High Astral Seas of Outer Space.

Haven't been playing as long (started with 3.5e), but yeah, that's where I'm at too. To me, Mind Flayers are Underdark-dwelling psionic monsters with a hive mind and a tendency to enslave other races and eat their brains, and that works fine as a monster race. And up until literally this game, my experience with Githyanki has been looking over their lore in a couple of books, not finding them that interesting, moving on and not giving them much thought thereafter. And while I like Lae'zel and her story in this game, I don't think even that has done too much to change my overall view on them, honestly.