Current Events > ITT: I play Baldur's Gate 3 (ongoing spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

First started in May and did just ten hours, but after a long time away, I've put in some work and have a bunch of different classes. The problem is...I haven't beaten the first act on any of 'em, haha.

• First playthrough I used Karlach instead of a CaC and got to LV4, I think. Did various things (solved the Kagha situation somewhat peacefully, owlbear, arsonist inn event, etc.) and am outside the goblin camp.
• 2nd playthrough is a dragonborn archer with a criminal background, I think. I don't remember too much about this other than I made 'em wear a Frumpy Hat or something, so it must be pretty early on.
• 3rd character is a gnome wizard I made specifically to have someone who can crawl in animal holes and stuff, haha. (They can't go in the gopher holes, sadly.) Got to the Underdark and left off near some hook horrors, I think. I managed to kill one, but then that burrowing thing and another HH come and kick my ass (well, probably...I usually just reload at that point), so maybe I can go backtrack somewhere. That tower with all the turrets could probably be dealt with -- got to the halfway point somehow but then got bored and reloaded. I did kill the beholder earlier by sniping his little drow statues from afar with weak-ass fireballs, though! Get rekt.
• 4th character is a half-orc vengeance paladin with the devil's flaming sword, and, naturally, he's another goody-two-shoes brand character. Not a lot to say about this one, lol.
• 5th character is a wood elf FemBard with another criminal-esque background, the one that gives you better stealth proficiency. Mostly wanted to get the busking trophy and find some extra gear that boosts my bard powers (I found that one hat in the Grove, but forget where the other is), but she's just an archer and I think I dumbed the difficulty down on this save, so I'm not highly motivated.
• 6th character is a super ultra douchebag Drow assassin. This is my current "mess around" chacter. I teamed up with Lae'zel since we're of similar moral disposition, but left Shadowheart in her ship pod, then made zero overtures to join on the beach, THEN killed her for her artifact near the mountain path turn-off. (I did keep a pre-death save, though, since it feels a little too evil. Of course, I can hire a pocket healer from Withers, so that's not a big deal...maybe I'll go down that path after all. Was hoping she'd lose aggro after I killed, robbed, and rezzed her, but it didn't go over too well. I wonder what she'd say with Speak to Dead?) In any case, this douchebaggy dude will probably side with the goblins/Minthara and attack the grove, I guess.

Been trying not to read any spoilers, and have managed pretty successfully, although I saw you can recruit Minthara in chapter two, and that things really start to take off at LV5, which I've never reached so far (extra attacks or LV3 magic or something). So, no big surprises spoiled yet, thankfully.

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Daaamn, I know stealth archery is always overpowered in every game, but this is the first time I really tried to abuse it. Ended up taking down all the goblins in the village (other than the windmill ones I ran off earlier), then soloed all three ogres. The assassin upgrades that let you shoot and immediately hide with a bonus action are kinda OP. Already wondering how I can dismantle the gobs down at the temple environs, haha.

Also, this enlightened ogre has a crown that fixes your INT at 17. If I'd known that, I might've dispatched him earlier on one of my magicky characters.

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Feels like I played for hours today, just planning out stealth trajectories and pickpocket stuff. Didn't know that chick at the tollhouse sells you stuff (and has a stealable merchant inventory) if you speak to her without Karlach in tow. Got a ton of goodies from her stash, including a few blackpowder bombs, which I'm sure can be useful later.

Also, as I continue my irascible jackass assassin, I realized I'd never done the grove event to save the child thief. This time, the snake bit her and she'll probably be fed to the wolves or something -- crime doesn't pay! Nettie also died after I picked the "I'm not taking poison from a stranger" option. This method wasn't all bad, though, as I learned her headgear controls the back entrance to the library, and the unconscious dude in the cave also has a duplicate of it.

Hmm, what else... Well, I found a skeleton in the grove near that racist dude's drinking table. Missed that on every other playthrough, heh. Had some alchemy ingredients.

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If you want to have someone available to climb in small holes just keep the Mask of the Shapeshifter.

Swap over to a gnome at will.

You can also use it to cheese Speak with Dead by swapping to a different race.

And yes, always kill the Ogre then talk to Withers and drop your Int to 3.

Put it on, add points to your secondary attributes.

Not a terrible idea to use INT as a dump stat in that way, but I don't want my character to be completely reliant on a piece of headgear either. Maybe I can get a disposable hireling who'll fit that role -- ever since Shadowheart died, I need a good cleric.

As for going into really tiny holes, I don't have the Mask. I remember it a bit from DOS2, though, and I'm probably employing similar strategies here as I did there. The only difference is that DOS2 had approximately five million ambushes that brought lots of feelbads and BG3 has been pretty good about not doing that. I do miss having lockpick fingers, though...

Shotgunnova posted...

ever since Shadowheart died

bruh

Drows gonna drow, man.

She's still alive on my other five files, though.

Huh, I must've reloaded at some point 'cause Shadowheart's still alive. I tried out a generic hireling cleric, but they're kinda...not great. Maybe I'll swallow my assassin's pride and let her into the team, and then just do similar upgrade routes that I did for the hireling (adding Speak to Dead and Enhance Jump as ritual spells).

I did kill Wyll, though, since he stumbled into camp on his diabolical crusade. I can make room for Shadowheart, but I don't need Dudley Do-Right bothering us amoral rapscallions.

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No one will notice if there's no one to notice.

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I'm gonna have to go back and do another playthrough at some point. There's a couple characters I didn't get/keep in my first one.

I'll probably wait until after that next major patch though. They data mined out that a character will likely be upgraded to possible companion status.

Unlike actual D&D, Disguise Self actually changes your size, so you can get through those spaces without actually being a halfling or gnome.

Tag

Just started my faux first playthrough. I've already beaten the game on Honor mode But I did that with other people, and I still have yet to beat the game entirely alone.

Still in a grove for now, Lore Bard. Tempted to keep all of the companions as lore accurate if possible but we'll see.

Yes, lore-accurate representations is important. I'm thinking I'll kill all the goblins to edge closer to LV5, lure Minthara to the grove, and possibly double-cross her since she's the other kind of drow. Then decide to rob the grove denizens after I get an inevitable quest reward. Later, I can recruit her if she doesn't die, I guess.

pegusus123456 posted...

Unlike actual D&D, Disguise Self actually changes your size, so you can get through those spaces without actually being a halfling or gnome.

Damn, I didn't know that. I think Shadowheart (???) gets it automatically as a LV2 cantrip or something.

Shotgunnova posted...

Damn, I didn't know that. I think Shadowheart (???) gets it automatically as a LV2 cantrip or something.

Yeah, I only learned it because I googled what use Disguise Self was because it didn't really seem to be doing what I expected it to. Like I was kind of hoping that in the lab under the village, you'd be able to find a description of the guy studying the book and turn into him to fool the mirror, but you don't seem to get anything but generic male/female buff/unbuff options for each race.

Shotgunnova posted...

Damn, I didn't know that. I think Shadowheart (???) gets it automatically as a LV2 cantrip or something.

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You can also get it through a Warlock invocation, but I have it on good authority that if you're a Warlock and your first invocation is anything other than Agonizing Blast, your license gets revoked.

Shotgunnova posted...

Also, this enlightened ogre has a crown that fixes your INT at 17. If I'd known that, I might've dispatched him earlier on one of my magicky characters.

This crown became a permanent fixture on Astarion when I played through the game for the first time, using what the game recommended as lore friendly classes. Having intelligence permanently at 17 gives you some flexibility to put stats on other things.

I guess if I didn't know Minthara was recruitable earlier, I would've figure that out here. Might steal that lyre for my bard when she schleps over here. It seems if you break her AI conversation with that other goblin, she stands on the breakable bridge afterwards, too, which is handy if you just want to avoid her annoying abilities.

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Ahh, it's a Trickery Domain thing. I knew she had it early on, but haven't used it yet.

This crown became a permanent fixture on Astarion when I played through the game for the first time, using what the game recommended as lore friendly classes. Having intelligence permanently at 17 gives you some flexibility to put stats on other things.

I kinda like Astarion, but he's also kinda annoying, so I haven't used him much.

I started a new playthrough as a gnome wild magic sorcerer because Barbarian wild magic was so much fun.

But all that's happened so far is my party turning I to animals. Is that all it does for sorc?

WizardPowers posted...

I started a new playthrough as a gnome wild magic sorcerer because Barbarian wild magic was so much fun.

But all that's happened so far is my party turning I to animals. Is that all it does for sorc?

No. Actually, wild magic barbarian generally has only good side effects. Meanwhile wild magic sorcerer actually does have good and bad shit happen. The table for sorcerers is way bigger than the table for barbarian.

Shotgunnova posted...

adding Speak to Dead and Enhance Jump as ritual spells

Enhance Leap is a necessity, but you get several ways to cast Speak to Dead without wasting a ritual spot.

DrizztLink posted...

Enhance Leap is a necessity, but you get several ways to cast Speak to Dead without wasting a ritual spot.

There's an amulet in the first era that gives you that spell

Shotgunnova posted...

I kinda like Astarion, but he's also kinda annoying, so I haven't used him much.

Everyone is good, but man, Astarion has amazing development. I made my parties based around what I wanted to do at that particular time. Karlach, Wyll, and Gale made up my good party; Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart my neutral one. There are other people to recruit, but they kind of just rotate in and around the core 6.

Shotgunnova posted...

ever since Shadowheart died

How did you manage to kill her in chapter one?

Do you mean she's Perma Dead dead or just hit killed in a fight and you haven't bothered to Receive her?

I think Astarion can use bows, so maybe he can be my archer/stabber guy in future playthroughs. I kinda want to make a necromancer playthrough, so I'm fighting the urge to make yet another file, lol.

Cemith posted...

There's an amulet in the first era that gives you that spell

Yeah, I have it from that beach crypt, but I want to use it endlessly, as is my birthright.

Are you talking about that flaming devil sword? I got it already one a couple characters (bard/paladin), but it's not really my highest priority.

Shotgunnova posted...

Yeah, I have it from that beach crypt, but I want to use it endlessly, as is my birthright.

There's a way to do that too without wasting a ritual slot.

Shotgunnova posted...

Are you talking about that flaming devil sword? I got it already one a couple characters (bard/paladin), but it's not really my highest priority.

No, they're talking about an Act 3 legendary.

Shotgunnova posted...

Are you talking about that flaming devil sword? I got it already one a couple characters (bard/paladin), but it's not really my highest priority.

No he is talking about repeatedly casting drop on the Githyanki commander around the bridge and getting his legendary gith silver sword. It has an extremely low chance of occurring but if you repeatedly reload eventually you can get it to drop, hence it being labeled "cheesing".

Oh, you mean that "shh-shh-shh" gith dude at the mountain pass event. I don't really use Command, but it's fairly versatile, so maybe I should.

Alright, I finally followed up on the Halsin lead, saved him down in the dungeon, then stealthily went and killed the first two goblin leaders. I just knocked out Minthara, since I assume that's what you need to do to recruit her later.

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This goblin kid had a "snitches get stitches" moment. RIP.

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Even if you let the Goblin kids go, Halsin almost definitely will not.

And their like 3 hit points did not prepare them for Bear Karma.

I appreciate that after being imprisoned Halsin is like "Dude if I bear out, I literally will not stop killing"

It's really funny.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

98% sure it's patched.

At some point in my wanton slaughter, everyone became aggro to me, so there wasn't going to be any Minthara dialogue (unless calming her works; didn't try) at that point. Either way, my team did their part and got back to the grove for celebration time...although I completely spaced on uncoverin Kagha's plot at that undead swamp island, so eh well. I held a little hope I could still do it, but she got a dressing down and her rat BFFs disappeared, so the quest stage probably passed.

DrizztLink posted...

Even if you let the Goblin kids go, Halsin almost definitely will not.
And their like 3 hit points did not prepare them for Bear Karma.

The first time I did it, the kid slipped past my assassin and summoned the bobbies, so it can happen.

LOL

After spurning Shadowheart on the beach earlier, if you enter the crypt's back door with her in the party, she complains in a "you went in just like that??" way. I love that attention to detail.

In vino venenum. It's great not having to intervene in these cases.

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I've never seen that particular interaction.

God I love this game.

Angry mom gets revenge;
I get a necklace that gives free weapon poison;
Alligators get a midnight snack.

Things are just peachy at camp. I hope they cleaned up Wyll's corpse for the party, though...it'd through a damper on things.

Keep the corpses, they might come in handy.

Animate Dead spells sometimes need a target, and Kagha never accomplished anything in life.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

He's acting in character for a Drow, but he said Minthy was the wrong kind of Drow.

Which is leading me to think there might have been some miscommunication vis--vis the difference between Lolth-sworn and Seldarine Drow.

Eilistraee would so not be down for this shit.

DrizztLink posted...

He's acting in character for a Drow, but he said Minthy was the wrong kind of Drow.

Which is leading me to think there might have been some miscommunication vis--vis the difference between Lolth-sworn and Seldarine Drow.

lol my next playthrough is gonna be a Drow so I guess I'll be taking notes itt.

So Drow are just evil or can they be more antihero? Like for one, I don't know if I have it in me to let Kahga's snake eat the kid.

Ivynn posted...

So Drow are just evil or can they be more antihero?

Well, for starters, you're talking to this guy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drizzt_Do'Urden

Ivynn posted...

So Drow are just evil or can they be more antihero? Like for one, I don't know if I have it in me to let Kahga's snake eat the kid.

Lolth-sworn are evil, Seldarine are more "Chaotic Good Freedom Fighters" sorts from what I understand.

I know more about the former than the latter, unfortunately.

So it's a great way to get the excellent Drow racial abilities without kicking any babies.

Duergar is probably better than both, though, it's really hard to top at-will Invisibility.

Shotgunnova posted...

In vino venenum. It's great not having to intervene in these cases.

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Oh shit, you let the kid die? Amazing. I could never. Save scum for life.

My drow is pretty selfish, so he basically doesn't care about anyone else's wellbeing, including refugees and youngins (see also: dead goblin tykes). Hell, that even includes potential teammates, which is why I let Shadow and Wyll die originally. I was playing him to have animus with the Lolth drows -- perhaps more than usual, since I don't want this to be just another "I'm a hero!" file.

As for letting the kid die...I mean, it's "bad" in the course of the game, but for a rewards-oriented character, would you rather have the useless cantrip locket (i.e. a Gale snack) or some of Kagha's necklace? I assume that you can combo this with other gear that heals you, like maybe that gnoll's madness flail or something.

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And, yes, the game did move Wyll's corpse out of the way. Maybe he was supposed to have a conversation all the way over here normally.