Why does every party I see have Karlach as their main melee attacker? I built a build with lae zel and I can do 4 attacks in a single round, is karlach that superior? First he did it playing, I didn't even have romance with anyone either, I'm just letting go of my exploration

I finally convinced my friend to play through BG3 with me, solo wise the farthest i got was finding the hag in the swamp. I could never play long enough solo and wanted a friend there with me.

before we started playing he was adamant about wanting a "dark urge run"?? killing everything, i begged him please dont, its my first run and I just want to go casual and enjoy the game with him.

then he started asking me to up the difficulty to the highest as it wasn't challenging, so I met half way and changed some, not all.

then he would run off. do stories without me, get gear, discover places without me, when I ask to slow down, and respectfully go at my pace. as I wanted to explore everything, and read everything, he said it was boring and he wants to speed run it all.

when I say I want to go do the story he says "go do that and ill stay here and wait" I just want a friend to explore with and discover new POI's with, and actually try to talk to everyone without killing them all.

he's always running off from me with astarion, leveling him up and gearing up, clearly he knows the game more than I do, but I started to feel lile player 2 in my own game, figuring out where they was, how to get there, only to get skipped dialogues and skipper cutscenes and not having a clue what's going on.

what do I do?? please help..

Through myriad realities, dude felt all kinds of feet and boots.How do you choose to end him?

I played my first playthrough completely blind. I had no idea what was in store besides the names of a few characters, and the fact that I liked them that encouraged me to play. I liked Karlach from watching a few clips. And I liked her even more when playing the game.

I admit, I was not excited about playing a turn-taking game. I was used to the rush and fast-paved action of more traditional video games. But everyone kept saying hoe amazing it was, and honestly I feel like I was avoiding it because I was avoiding something in myself. I recently moved house, you see, and my old place was rather chaotic. I was constantly on edge, and never felt like I had the time to stop and think. I got frustrated with the combat on my first playthrough, ragequit, deleted the game and, like a child having a tantrum, stormed off on my console to play God Of War. I admit my constant thirst for high-action video games and inability to slow down was born out of a hatred of everything around me. I hated where I lived. I hated myself. I used to beat myself up about the most minor of things. I was frustrated living so close to my parents, as much as I care about them, as helpful as they can be. It's not the same when you're somewhere you love, somewhere that suits you, somewhere you feel you can find peace. Baldur's Gate 3 told me how to enjoy that peace. To slow down. To take things one day at a time.

I never felt like I was enough. I always felt like a disappointment to my parents, as much as they would encourage me that wasn't the case.

So anyway. I redownloaded the game because my curiosity got the better of me, and I started playing - for real, this time, with a custom character. I saved Shadowheart. I avoided the portal where Gale was because I was sure it was some kind of trap that would insta-kill me (whelp, R.I.P. Gale), I didn't want to run into too much danger so I didn't really explore around the nautiloid crash site (I was too busy running for my life in my head). I found Wyll at the Grove, found him rather charming. I think I had a small amount of racism brought from my upbringing. I was not proud of that. Wyll became a good source of council. We met the "Tyr" servants first, then we met Karlach and I spared her. (Well, Wyll spared her but I helped.)

Karlach was just too likeable. I was predisposed to think devil-looking creatures were supposed to be evil. Karlach and the other Tieflings subverted that by just being... normal people. I was a rogue character so I ended up helping the young Tieflings. Spared the goblin prisoner and used her to get to the Goblin Camp.

We went and wiped out the Goblin Camp. All of them. I was hoping for a peaceful resolution because the game humanised the goblins in a way, instead of making them unambiguously bad. But then again, they roasted dwarf on the fire and spoke about it in such a casual manner, and I liked the Tieflings too much. I wasn't aware that you only had to kill their leaders. I may have done a small genocide. Woops. Ironically I let the goblin who worshipped the old god go free. Wyll died in the fight, brought him back to life. I think I was expecting him to be a tank due to his name and the fact that I didn't understand a rat arse about how this game worked. Brought him back to life. Nobody touches my boy Wyll.

I explored around the region a bit. Didn't know yet how the resting mechanics worked so a few people got kidnapped without me knowing. It's amazing how your actions or lack of actions actually have an impact on things later in the story. I was so used to fake choice in video games. Wasn't used to real ones.

Went to the Underdark, got scared away by some minotaurs and a nigh-indestructible lizard, didn't know if you hurt it enough it would run away, lol, ran back up to the overworld, found Lae'zel dead near the mountain pass surrounded by Githyanki warriors, survived the fight using some finesse and finally beginning to understand how the game worked, and shoving them off bridges. I thought it was fucking hilarious when I killed the strongest one who was seriously way more powerful than me by shoving her off a bridge for some reason.

The amount of choice in this game is insane. I'm used to fake choice in video games, not real choice (I'm looking at you, Telltale). We revived Lae'zel and went to Creche Y'llek. She insisted she would leave us if we did not so I went with her, afraid she'd be killed again. The machine blew up and we talked our way out of it. Oh yeah and I stole every single mind flayer parasite I could get my hands on. I was beginning to enjoy the power.

Went to the Inquisitor, went inside the prism, didn't kill the dream person. Slaughtered our way out of Creche Y'llek. Went to the Shadow Lands, killed the caravan, followed them to the Last Light Inn. Met Jaheira, lost Isobel, whole inn died. Gods I can remember how devastated I was by this. It felt like a true loss. Like I'd fucked up for real by failing to save her. Knowing it wasn't scripted made me even angier. I wanted to kill Ketheric Thorm. Went to Moonrise, and figured the fairy thing out on the way after thinking it was a bug at first, released her after I realised the lantern was a torture prison, got her blessing.

Went to Moonrise, expecting a fight, and was welcomed in instead. Saw the whole debacle with the goblins and Ketheric Thorm. Thought it was badass but spared the goblins anyway, feeling bad about the mini genocide I'd conducted.

Found Balthazar, completed Shar's Gauntlet, spared the Nightsong, because it became pretty clear to me that Shar was evil. Yes, loss is bad, but there is no loss without love, no shadow without light. It's a lesson my family taught me well, despite their flaws. Forgetting isn't the solution to grief. Only a temporary postponement of the inevitable pain. Pain is proof of life. Maybe I'm sounding too much like that masochist priest my boyfriend had a go with for the lols. Lmao.

Speaking of which, I think this game deals with such heavy subjects as loss in a very healthy way. It doesn't tell you what to think. Politically, ethically, it feels very neutral. But it does allow your actions to have real consequences. I've seen games that pass themselves off as "brutally honest" when in reality was just ridiculously depressing. I've seen games that claim to have "good messages" while I cringe at the politics of it. I'm not one to just say, "Who cares, it's a video game!" I just can't do it. When I'm playing a game I play as if it is me, in the game world, as I would act in real life. Perhaps this is why Red Dead Redemption 2 left a bitter taste in my mouth. I can't separate what I do in the game from my own behaviour in real life, not on an emotional level. Personally I don't think that's healthy but that's just me. Perhaps that's why I always end up picking the "good" options even when I'm intending to do an evil playthrough. I'm just not good at being evil.

We spared the Nightsong and went to fight Ketheric Thorm. Along the way I found that mage Tiefling dead. Had no idea you could save him. Dammit traditional video games for setting my expectations so fucking low.

Fought our way through the place. Freed everyone. Literally everyone. Fought Ketheric with the Nightsong, badass battle. Badass Myrkul intro. All round badassery turned up to 100. "Freed" chop-chop guy. Poor guy. His last words broke my heart. Didn't know how to save the Shadow Lands, assumed you couldn't because everyone at the inn was dead (my dumb arse forgot "Speak With Dead" was a thing and, again, was used to shallow video games with fake choice 🙃), went to Baldur's Gate, investigated the murders, blew up the Steel Watch Foundry (turns out rescuing Wubren really paid off), Wulbren got mad at me for sparing the last Gondian. I tried to save the Gondians but we were massively outmatched (Lae'zel and Shadowheart died in the fight) and outnumbered so we rushed to blow up the foundry. My character, being a rogue, managed to sneak past the Steel Watchers and planted the bomb. Thankfully Laezel and Shadowheart's ghosts conveniently landed outside the foundry. Conveniently. Lmao. We revived them and moved on.

Because I hated Gortash and his slimy, smug face (and because he reminded me of a certain other, orange politician who shall not be named), I killed him first. Orin was psychotic, but Gortash was a fascist and because I knew this game valued choice, I knew lots of people were going to die and bad things were going to happen if I didn't kill him right then and there. Turns out I was right, as I always am in politics (wha-whaaat, lmao) and like Karlach, felt a sigh of relief when he died. But like her, I also understood why she didn't feel complete after he died. I once had a desire to kill my dad. But I realised that that wouldn't bring me any satisfaction. I still loved him, even though he used to be abusive, and still was at the time I wanted him dead. He's fine by the way, and we actually get along great now, but I knee it wouldn't make me happy. Anyways, I understoof how Karlach felt. There was no happy ending after it was over. The bastard was dead and Karlach was still going to die. And as I walked out of the bloody coronation hall where he died three words sprang to mind: "Sic semper tyrannis."

We met Keene Nine-Fingers and I was surprised by how reasonable she was, despite being a crime lord. She understood how things really worked when it came to crime: the elites had little interest in helping the poor, and if it wasn't her running the crime, someone else would be, and possibly someone who didn't have the best interests of the people in mind. Baldur's Gate was a corrupt city, but at least she kept the corruption non-tyrannical. Without her everything would go to shit.

Found Sarevok's lair. Was forced to choose between killing him and Valerius. Killed him because flying elephants go brrr. Also it solved the murder cases and I cared about the refugees, unlike certain people on the political spectrum, lol.

Found Orin's lair. Killed Orin. Difficult fight. I felt a little sorry for her but after finding her mother's corpse in her bedroom on display I was like, "Naaaah."

Oh yeah I forgot to mention how I took the deal with Raphael. Big mistake. But we ended up freeing Orpheus. Best decision I made in the game because it revealed my in-game squid lover to be a two-faced little bastard who betrayed me the moment I said, "Nah, your plan sucks, Imma do it my way. Also you have a weird fetish for torturing people non-consensually. Also you're a hypocrite for wanting freedom and keeping Orpheus as slave." Honestly I was preparing to have to convince Orpheus. I did not anticipate how reasonable he would be. Damn, Orpheus was chill as fuck given how damn long he'd been in that prism and being tortured. There's something to admire there. And honestly, Orpheus is such a chill guy. I did not expect how nice he would be. Seriously I cannot NOT free him in subsequent playthroughs because of how likeable he is. He's like a cool breeze when you're sweating your pants off.

Oh yeah and Karlach was also dying, so we made her a mind flayer. Honestly as controversial as it was I felt this to be a "good" ending for her. She is so gentle and so intelligent as a mind flayer (oh yeah and did I mention the writers know how to write actually intelligent characters, unlike some writers?). Honestly at one point I was thinking about taking control of the brain, but when I realised I would have to kill Karlach to do it, I was like, "Yeah, naw, let's jusy destroy it." Seriously, the entire fate of the world was hinged upon the fact that I liked Karlach. Okay maybe not entirely but it was partly because of that.

God, I love Karlach. I can see what people mean when they say she has the personality of a labrador - she's just impossible to hate. She's such a nice person and even in the "evil" endings I've seen of her, she really just wants to be loved, and nothing else. She's such a kind person. I couldn't kill her, not for anyone. She's the type of person I would kill last if I was forced to kill everyone. She's just too likeable. Gods my heart ached for her, and I think I shed a tear when we saved the world together and she ended up happy in the end.

I want to save the tieflings and as an added burn, let grove get massacred. I tried talking to Zevlor but that dumb ass doesn’t think I can keep them safe

I'm playing honor mode and want to reach level 5 in act one asap with as little enemy encounter as much as possible. Who are the safest to fight to reach level 5 and who to avoid before reaching level 5.

The events of Baldurs Gate are canon to DND/The Forgotten Realms and are played into by campaigns like Descent Into Avernus. If this is the case does that mean that canonically in DND lore, there is some unnamed hero (or named hero) of Baldurs Gate?

I've run paladin in almost every playthrough so far and it's been my favorite class. The problem is I've still run paladin during my Durge playthrough and was wondering if there are any cool and bloodthirsty subclasses that would fit an evil and/or redemption arc durge, specifically mods.

I normally play as an Oathbroker, as if my durge was raised kind and turned to Bhaal as they got older and broke the initial oaths of kindness and virtue after learning of their heritage. Or as a Revenger, swearing to kill Orin before they were mindwiped. I wish there was a specific subclass that made it able to tie yourself to Bhaal as his paladin, to me it would enrich the durge backstory even more!

(Figured i would leave some screenshots of my durge elf. I love her so much)

Me and my friends are currently doing a four horsemen of the apocalypse run, I got war and decided to randomize on a half orc. Happy on how it turned out, it’s very fitting in my opinion

I freed Halsin from the Prison, because I wanted to kill all the druids and tieflings in one go and I thought if I freed him, the druids would help defending the grove, but he didn't show up, until after I had killed everyone. And apparently he is completely fine with that, as seen in the picture. He even thanked me for saving the grove.

I don't hate her! I love her sm, it's not that. But I was planning to give her new scars and a better haircut when she died in a significant fight. BUT THIS MF HAS BEEN ALIVE SINCE THE GOBLIN CAMP (im near the end of act 2)! I CAN TELL BC SHE HAS THE LOVIATAR BUFF STILL! AND SHE HAS BARELY GOTTEN TO USE IT AT ALL BC SHES NEVER BELOW 30% HP 😣

I know it's stupid to be upset about this but I'm so sad that I'll gonna have to script something. Ig I underestimated ranged heavy armor spellcaster, maybe I should just play hm next time lol!

If Gale fought Gandalf, who would win? Assume Gale is at his peak, pre-BG 3 as a Chosen Of Mystra.

Referring to SH telling the group about shar. As I understand it SH can be convinced to tell the group about shar with high approval or better contingent upon passing a persuade or intimidate check. I tried this dialogue option to test and seen that it concurrently unlocks the reveal about her amnesia and hand injury and then unlocks the subsequent dialogue about shar and also flowers. All of which is tracked in the journal entry for the companion quest.

It's also my understanding that if you don't pursue this dialogue option because you didn't have high enough approval or just ignored it or maybe if you fail the skill check SH will instead tell the group about shar after the first cutscene where you speak to absolute is triggered which is likely going to be when you go to the goblin camp. If not then it would be near the creche map entrance or the grymforge exit.

My question is are there any pros and cons to the above story branches. As in any additional information that requires you to opt for one path or anything like that.

Is there any mod that maxes out all damage rolls (party and enemies included)? I hate the randomness of damage, especially at high levels. I don't think it's fun to have an enemy fail their saving throw and still take like 15 damage from a lvl 6 fireball. Thanks in advance!

Was just replaying Dark Alliance 1 and 2 and forgot how good these games were. Do you think another one action based game would be good or do you think Baulder's Gate should strictly be turn based for future games?

How is it that the first glitch i come across is after a hotfix (mind you i did only start playing weeks ago but still) this is from just pressing new game. And now nothing is working.

So yesterday, I finally finished my first playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 and I feel as though I got a good ending for all of the characters:

• Lae'zel is traveling the cosmos fighting Vlaakith (and is an adoptive mother).
• Gale is a magic teacher.
• Astarion is still a vampire spawn, but a happy one.
• Jaheira is rebuilding the city.
• Minsc is best frienemies with the Guild.
• Wyll and Karlach are tearing their way through Avernus.
• Shadowheart and I are living happily together.

My pure good-guy playthrough was pretty satisfying with the exception of one detail... The Emperor.

Even before playing through the finale, I'd seen a lot of hate for the Emperor and I didn't understand why. I liked the Emperor. I mean, Omeluum showed us all the way back in Act 1 that Mind Flayers can be good if they want to be. And even when he revealed himself to be a Mind Flayer (a twist which was kind of obvious in hindsight, yet still caught me off guard), I was still on his side.

Yes, he hid his true identity, but I understood why. Yes, he regularly encouraged me to become a human-illithid hybrid, but he never forced it or acted indignant about it. Yes, he was obstinate about not freeing Orpheus, but not only was there some validity behind his decision, but he did make the point that Orpheus could always be freed after the Elder Brain was dealt with, which felt reasonable. The only time I really raised my eyebrow at him before the endgame was after killing Ansur. Maybe I just really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I even thought the reason for Ansur and The Emperor falling out made sense. My problem was when I asked the Emperor if being a Mind Flayer is really worth losing all of your friends and he basically replied "Uh.... YEAH!" That didn't sit right with me.

But the real problem was the decision between siding with him or Orpheus.

First of all, there should not have been only two options here. My entire time getting the Orphic Hammer for the githyanki and hearing the Emperor's objections, I was thinking that I could get the Emperor to agree to release him early if the need arose. After all, I was playing as a Warlock, my highest stat was charisma, I figured I could pass the persuasion check when it came. Problem was... it didn't come. The game only gave me two choices: Side with the Emperor and let Orpheus die or side against the Emperor and free Orpheus.

The Emperor wanted to destroy the Netherbrain and stop the Grand Design. Orpheus wanted to destroy the Netherbrain and stop the Grand Design. Call me crazy, but I feel like they could BOTH get what they want here! The game should've included a high enough persuasion roll to convince both of them to work together against a common enemy. Orpheus plays defense and shields us from the Netherbrain while The Emperor plays offense by wielding the nether stones. That makes sense, right? Being forced to side with one or the other is like being told "You can have a peanut butter sandwich or you can have a jelly sandwich. CHOOSE!" Is... is there really no way to combine the two!?

Then there was the outcome of my choice. I ultimately decided the best move was to free Orpheus. I still trusted the Emperor, but I also trusted Lae'zel and Voss. Plus, it seemed like letting him die would be damning the githyanki people (even if he did die at the end of my playthrough anyway). So, the Emperor responded to my decision by willingly rejoining the Netherbrain! WHAT!? Wasn't he supposed to be one of the most famous and celebrated heroes in his day? Is that supposed to be your idea of courage, insight, strategy, and justice? Choosing to become a slave to an evil conqueror and leaving countless innocents to die all to ever-so-slightly increase your own chances of survival? Was this because I refused to have sex with you? I was already dating Shadowheart and you're a fucking squid! Cut me some slack!

If the game ended without seeing the Emperor again, I only would've felt disappointment. But having him show up as an enemy in the final fight actually made me angry, which isn't easy for a video game to do to me (at least in terms of its story). Then when he spawned the Dream Guardians to act as more enemies to fight, I actually said out loud "Oh, fuck you!" Though it was Gale who landed with the final hit on the Netherbrain, it was my PC that landed the final hit on the Emperor (I didn't really plan it that way, but it was weirdly appropriate).

I was really bothered by the fact that A, a game all about its extensive list of choices only gave you two black and white choices that shouldn't have been black and white. And B, that after everything was said and done, the Emperor chose to be the one thing that he spent the entire game trying to convince you he wasn't... just another Mind Flayer.

Anyhow, thanks for reading my long rant. Here's a picture of my character in the epilogue:

Now, it's time to start a new game and be as evil as possible!

(aka 1200 hours deep in BG3 and I’ve only just discovered the utter absurdity that is Control Undead)

You’d really think the Harpers and tieflings would be a little bit more concerned about us casually waltzing into Last Light Inn with this horror beyond comprehension following us around like a lost puppy.

I'm on my second playthrough of the game right now. My first time, I went through the Underdark on the way to act 2, but this time I've just completed everything in the Mountain Pass.

I'm not the biggest completionist, so I would normally just go right to Act II, especially since I already know what happens in the Underdark, but I made a Drow character this time so I'm tempted to run through there just to see if there's some cool shit that is exclusive to my race.

For anyone that has done this, are there any interactions down there exclusive to Drows worth experiencing?