Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 RELEASE THREAD

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

He doesn't make a great first impression, roasting a bunch of guards to death and then making death threats to the player character.

That's what I figured.

Then he tries to deal with a devil and expects you to do it in his place when he's not got the chops.

It's not really that he hasn't got the chops to make the deal himself. It's that the other party refused his offer.

After all that, if you don't free Orpheus, Voss tries to kill you right after you leave the prism - Baldur's Gate is on fire, Nautiloids are in the air, Gith dragon riders are taking to the skies, and his main concern is still trying to kill you for defying him. Plus he actually fucks off mid-fight and leaves his loyal soldiers to die in his place, lol.

Freeing Orpheus is basically the most important thing in his life. If you won't do it, he'll want to kill you and do it himself.

I don't think the writing makes perfect sense in any of these situations (for example, I don't think he should order the player's death when you first meet him and then run off - he should kill you himself and then kill his soldiers to clean up the evidence), but it's not completely nonsensical either.

I was pretty hostile to him at all times though and basically told him to go fuck himself both in the camp and at the reunion in Act 3, so I suppose I never gave him a chance to show his nicer side.

This and your impression of the Emperor are a pretty good argument for replayability. There are a number of things in the game that can fool the player and leave him none the wiser until the next playthrough.

 

[Tyranicon]

The game is great if you do a standard good run, even if the writing is left to be desired, especially in the last third.

Doing an evil run siding with the cult shows you how railroaded everything really is.

I'm not entirely upset by this, BG3 has a LOT of game in it, and having a full evil path is essentially a second game.

But as it is, it's not really satisfying.

 

[Lemming42]

It's not really that he hasn't got the chops to make the deal himself. It's that the other party refused his offer.

He still expects you to do it in his place (or raid the House of Hope on his behalf).

I really like the scene where you leave Raphael's room and the Emperor gives you a psychic phonecall and demands to know what's happening, because there's suddenly three people at that point (Emperor, Voss, Raphael) who are all demanding you do different things and who all don't seem to care much about your life or your safety; it's a great bit of writing IMO.

Freeing Orpheus is basically the most important thing in his life. If you won't do it, he'll want to kill you and do it himself.

At that point I'm fairly sure he attacks you just out of revenge. I suppose you still have the Prism on you, but iirc he doesn't mention it, and again he runs for his life very early on in the fight and covers his escape with the lives of his troops, so it's not even like a last-ditch suicidal attempt to get the Prism at any cost. Plus, Orpheus is already dead!

I'll give him a chance on my next playthrough. Another thing is that I didn't learn much about Orpheus himself this time around other than the indication that he might be bad news. I was working under the assumption that anything that disempowers the Githyanki is basically in everyone else's interest, and Voss' talk of all the Gith uniting behind Orpheus made me think "fuck that". But I hope there's a lot more to learn about the character and what his plans would be if he were freed, because that feels like a whole dimension of the plot I didn't really explore much.

This and your impression of the Emperor are a pretty good argument for replayability. There are a number of things in the game that can fool the player and leave him none the wiser until the next playthrough.

I wonder if the characters tend to reflect the way the player interacts with them - I was consistently hostile to Voss and perpetually defied him so he mostly fell into the roll of "snarling murderous dickhead" for me, while I was only a bit snarky with the Emperor so he mostly got to keep up his benevolent protector facade which only slipped when I really pushed him on stuff and occasionally ignored his commands. Very nice writing if so.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

or raid the House of Hope on his behalf

He could have at least helped with this, true. We know from the start of the game that he has the ability to go to Avernus.

I really like the scene where you leave Raphael's room and the Emperor gives you a psychic phonecall and demands to know what's happening, because there's suddenly three people at that point (Emperor, Voss, Raphael) who are all demanding you do different things and who all don't seem to care much about your life or your safety; it's a great bit of writing IMO.

The Emperor existing at all is dumb, so I couldn't really appreciate it.

Another thing is that I didn't learn much about Orpheus himself this time around other than the indication that he might be bad news.

Wat. There was a ton of leadup to him. He and Gith are basically the true saviors of the Githyanki people, while Vlaakith is a usurper. And he's the only one capable of defeating the mindflayers.

The whole regime change thing would be worrying to an outsider, I guess - except the current dictator of the Githyanki is an immortal lich queen who has nearly godlike powers and they Githyanki are almost universally behind her.

I actually don't like him because the entire concept of him is more of 5E's direction to blame systems of government for a race's evil than the race themselves having been shaped into evil by time and circumstance. The latter is a classical, Tolkien-esque fantasy concept - e.g., orcs. The former is a gay excuse because reddit can't help but compare orcs to black people in their heads.

I wonder if the characters tend to reflect the way the player interacts with them - I was consistently hostile to Voss and perpetually defied him so he mostly fell into the roll of "snarling murderous dickhead" for me, while I was only a bit snarky with the Emperor so he mostly got to keep up his benevolent protector facade which only slipped when I really pushed him on stuff and occasionally ignored his commands. Very nice writing if so.

No idea on Voss, but I doubt there's really complex tracking going on.

The Emperor maintained his attempts to sway me even though I tried to kill him at the end of Act 1 and wasn't buying his BS or using the tadpole powers much.

Yet there he was in the end without his shirt, trying to seduce my character - just like all the other NPCs who seem to hit on you by default.

 

[Lemming42]

Wat. There was a ton of leadup to him. He and Gith are basically the true saviors of the Githyanki people, while Vlaakith is a usurper. And he's the only one capable of defeating the mindflayers.

Almost all the info you get about him comes from Voss (and, very indirectly, from Vlaakith herself, through lies). Voss is the one who bigs him up as the saviour of the Githyanki, but I'm not sure why we're meant to want to save the Githyanki - I assumed Orpheus' long-term goal would be to continue the Githyanki's conquest/enslavement of other planes. It doesn't help that Voss himself, who's the main source of Orpheus-cheerleading, doesn't really seem to have any problem with being part of a violent slaver empire in general, he just doesn't like Vlaakith.

Then again I'm far from an expert on Forgotten Realms lore; I just know of the Githzerai/Githyanki split and assumed that Orpheus was firmly on the Githyanki side.

Yet there he was in the end without his shirt, trying to seduce my character - just like all the other NPCs who seem to hit on you by default.

Oddly, I never got that scene, despite rarely being outright hostile to him. My interactions with him were mostly me ignoring his requests and telling him to leave me alone, and the role he assumed in my playthrough basically amounted to "dodgy guy who wants to kill the Netherbrain as much as I do, albeit for his own reasons, and can be broadly trusted as long as our goals align," which is the role he filled right through to the ending.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Almost all the info you get about him comes from Voss

Nope. It comes from the Githyanki discs you find in Act 1 and 2. There are 3 lore dump discs you can find iirc. Lae'zel can read them to you or you can translate them yourself.

Or the student in the creche can tell you about him if you didn't find them. Or Voss.

but I'm not sure why we're meant to want to save the Githyanki

Letting them be as they are is saving the Githyanki you know. Overthrowing Vlaakith is hardly saving them. It's commiting them to a civil war until Vlaakith can be defeated. And the Githyanki who rise from that will assuredly be less blatantly evil than Vlaakith's empire build on her own selfish ambitions of godhood - assuming she can be defeated.

Then again I'm far from an expert on Forgotten Realms lore; I just know of the Githzerai/Githyanki split and assumed that Orpheus was firmly on the Githyanki side.

Orpheus is a Baldur's Gate 3 invention, so no real lore required. He's Gith son (Gith being the woman who Zerthimon's split away from who ruled the Githyanki) and he shared whatever unique anti-psionic abilities Gith herself apparently had according to BG3.

Vlaakith betrayed Gith and locked Rapunzel Orpheus up in the prism. You learn this from several sources, including Voss, who confirms it.

Oddly, I never got that scene, despite rarely being outright hostile to him.

It may be because I went downstairs in the Elfsong tavern and found his old lair.

 

[Lemming42]

Nope. It comes from the Githyanki discs you find in Act 1 and 2. There are 3 lore dump discs you can find iirc. Lae'zel can read them to you or you can translate them yourself.

You...did find them, didn't you? Didn't the student in the creche tell you about him if you didn't?

I know the historical bit, I meant you don't get much information (that I found or can remember, anyway) about Orpheus' intentions and long-term plans, other than that Voss (and Lae'zel) is excited by the prospect of uniting behind him. I didn't see anything in my first playthrough that would make me enthusiastic about the prospect of freeing him to take control of the Githyanki. I'm not sure if I found all the Githyanki discs though.

Presumably you can ask him his plans directly if you free him, but based on the info I had at the time, it seemed like such a choice between two undesirable options that I essentially just thought "fuck it, let's just kill him and save the Sword Coast". If he says "hello i'm actually a pacifist, thank you for freeing me, i will now spread love across the empire" then don't spoil me, I'm gonna save the whole subplot up for my second full playthrough.

(Speaklng of which, if you kill Orpheus and then talk Lae'zel down, she says in the finale something to the effect of "I am bound to nobody, Vlaakith or Orpheus", which I thought was a nice ending to her personal arc)

 

[jackofshadows]

I'm not entirely upset by this, BG3 has a LOT of game in it, and having a full evil path is essentially a second game.

On one hand, Swen's argument that the emptiness is the consequence in itself is kinda retarded but on the other hand, being evil is its own reward aquires new colors in this fucking truly given at the very least Karlach/Halsin.

Anyway, there's so much reactivity besides the main quest that FM's complains are read as plain trolling.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

know the historical bit, I meant you don't get much information (that I found or can remember, anyway) about Orpheus' intentions and long-term plans

True, all this stuff is legend and happened however many thousand years ago.

I'm not sure that his plans could be much worse than Vlaakith's. It's not like you're giving him control of the Elder Brain.

(Speaklng of which, if you kill Orpheus and then talk Lae'zel down, she says in the finale something to the effect of "I am bound to nobody, Vlaakith or Orpheus", which I thought was a nice ending to her personal arc)

Yeah, I didn't like how she switched from a Vlaakith to Orpheus instantly. You can ask her about this and she'll dismiss it.

That said, you can also convince her to stay even if Orpheus lives and goes to fight Vlaakith fyi.

 

[dukeofwoodberry]

The game is so great I couldn't even finish act 3 because I got so bored. The main plot is a convoluted mess. The combat gets way too easy later in the game, there is no build variety. You use the same handful of over powered spells constantly or just have your maritals go crazy with extra attacks and destroy everything in one or two rounds while someone holds person/holds monster.

There is no penalty for just long resting all the time. You can always have your spell slots up for every encounter. That trivializes combat. Scrolls and potions are way to plentiful.

Evil route is horrendous. They should have just made this an interactive story game instead of throwing a half baked evil path in there. They don't even give you ending slides for that path lol.

In Act 1 I was hooked. The story was pretty good, the combat was enjoyable. By act 3 I was bored. The story was a mess and combat became way too easy. The game has a great presentation and a great act 1. That's why it's so overrated.

How can you compare the reactivity of this to Wrath? Most of the mythic paths are done well with numerous unique, branching paths. You have crazy muder demon, detached/calculating lich, classic Lawful good angel, pure chaos trickster, cosmic balance force, ect

In this game you are railroaded into being a "nice guy" gaymer.

 

[cretin]

There is no penalty for just long resting all the time. You can always have your spell slots up for every encounter. That trivializes combat. Scrolls and potions are way to plentiful.

Evil route is horrendous. They should have just made this an interactive story game instead of throwing a half baked evil path in there. They don't even give you ending slides for that path lol.

yeah

 

[Rhobar121]

There is no penalty for just long resting all the time. You can always have your spell slots up for every encounter. That trivializes combat. Scrolls and potions are way to plentiful.

Evil route is horrendous. They should have just made this an interactive story game instead of throwing a half baked evil path in there. They don't even give you ending slides for that path lol.

yeah

The funniest thing is that it's 100% true.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Finally finished my Durge playthrough.

I see what people mean about the evil ending. It is a bit meh after all the buildup, but I think a lot of that is due to the pantomimes of your party members clapping instead of having them have actual voice acting.

They usually only do that sort of thing for the player (and even then it's jarring and cheap looking).

The new end for Durge if you change your mind at the last minute is pretty amusing, but I note the lack of voice acting from the party members here too.

Spoiler

My review is 6 or 7/10. I knew what I was getting with an evil playthrough and I got it. Meh.

I really would have rathered an ending slide system.

I do love the nonlethal combat options though. I knocked out both Jaheira and Viconia and let them live. Had my character kill Jaheira's kids though as a lesson. Lame that you can't seem to knock out Wyll's dad if you fight him during the ceremony though - or maybe it was the way I did it.

Oh, and I managed to keep Karlach the entire evil run. She burned up in the end though. And sadly they seem to have fixed Halsin so that he won't show up even if you kill the grove before Minthara gets there.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Roleplaying.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Roleplaying.

I rolled a double 20 in the first part.
Another double 20 in the second part.
And one 20 in the third part.

Somewhat reminds me of my Bloodbowl duel against Darth Roxor.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I rolled a double 20 in the first part.
Another double 20 in the second part.
And one 20 in the third part.

And none of it actually makes a difference. Supposedly the brain with be an easier fight later if you get a critical success on the 99 DC roll, but that's it.

 

[Lagole Gon]

I rolled a double 20 in the first part.
Another double 20 in the second part.
And one 20 in the third part.

And none of it actually makes a difference. Supposedly the brain with be an easier fight later if you get a critical success on the 99 DC roll, but that's it.

Well, duh.
All you get is some HP removed from the final final boss.

 

[processdaemon]

Roleplaying.

No charisma option to seduce the brain, it's like they don't even know their target audience

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

The dumbest parts of that are the physical options.

I could see Charisma for Warlock or Sorcerer characters working, but you're not getting into a wrestling match with the brain.

 

[Modron]

but you're not getting into a wrestling match with the brain.

Yes I am.

 

[Silverfish]

you're not getting into a wrestling match with the brain.

Not with that attitude.



If anything, the strength check makes the most sense.

 

[Swen]

So, who of you posted this review?

 

[Fedora Master]

So, who of you posted this review?

Couldn't have been me because I wouldn't pay money for your crap.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

So, who of you posted this review?

Couldn't have been me because I wouldn't pay money for your crap.

Hang on I know that name.
Think that dude made some Solasta mods.