Baldur's Gate III Announced - ...and it's coming to Google Stadia and PC

[Cheeseknife]

I think that’s your own personal interpretation

There's nothing to interpret. The game literally spells everything out for you.

Karlach is obviously either terrified or incredibly depressed about having to be in Hell for so long and having to go back because of her infernal engine heart and is purposely avoiding/self-denying about anything negative that’s going to happen, along with being insanely touch-starved due to the heat thing. She’s a “living in the moment because both the past and future is too damn depressing for her to deal with” character. I don’t think of her as “static”, I see her as a weirdly chipper character that you find out exactly WHY she puts on that chipper attitude.

Thank you for telling exactly what the game continually spelled out for me. This only substantiates my point that there's nothing to interpret.

You don’t have to like how she is, obviously, but I think saying she has nothing to her character and the game is “tricking” you into thinking she does is kinda unfair.

Then you've missed the point. It's not about liking how she is, it's everything to dislike about how she isn't. That's the point. Game says Karlach is the way she is for these for whatever reasons, be the information comes from your companions, your narrator, your Insight checks or whatever. Then, you go online tell everyone, "I think Karlach is X because of these reasons." Congratulations! The game did your thinking for you.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

There's nothing to interpret. The game literally spells everything out for you.



Thank you for telling exactly what the game continually spelled out for me. This only substantiates my point that there's nothing to interpret.



Then you've missed the point. It's not about liking how she is, it's everything to dislike about how she isn't. That's the point. Game says Karlach is the way she is for these for whatever reasons, be the information comes from your companions, your narrator, your Insight checks or whatever. Then, you go online tell everyone, "I think Karlach is X because of these reasons." Congratulations! The game did your thinking for you.

Dude, you can just say “I don’t like Karlach as a character”, you don’t have to huff your own farts and act like you’re a smug intellectual for doing so, ffs.

 

[Cheeseknife]

Dude, you can just say “I don’t like Karlach as a character”, you don’t have to huff your own farts and act like you’re a smug intellectual for doing so, ffs.

Well I never said anything about liking or disliking Karlach as a character. If anything I was talking about how the character conception itself is flawed from the get go. Hard to dislike something that doesn't really exist.

Also saying, "I don't like X" is hardly thunk provoking.

 

[Rick's Beef Wellington]

Well I never said anything about liking or disliking Karlach as a character. If anything I was talking about how the character conception itself is flawed from the get go. Hard to dislike something that doesn't really exist.

Also saying, "I don't like X" is hardly thunk provoking.

I just re-read your text wall thesis, "Fuck them, they're all fags, Gale's a Jew, tee hee, I'm on Kiwi Farms so I have to be edgy" is hardly thought provoking either. You're not some Harold Bloom providing insights into the inner workings of RPG plotting and characterization like you think you are.

I never got any "beep beep" or 4th wall stuff from her, probably because I'm trying to save the world and really only chat casually with Shadowheart because she's the only one who looks like she smells nice. A timebomb heart is a great concept even though there's zero actual sense of time in this game (if you never long rest somehow, does the whole game take place in one long afternoon?), and yes, the in-game world character gets excited about possibly meeting, in the in-game world, people who saved that world however long ago. I didn't play the old games so it wasn't whatever baby talk you used for nostalgia for me, but it was an interesting way to do worldbuilding - people in this world remember their champions, and that might be us soon.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

if you never long rest somehow, does the whole game take place in one long afternoon?)

There’s a couple instances where it does force you to long rest, like going from Act 1 to Act 2), but you can essentially make it take place in less than a week, yeah. Only reason me game has gone on for so many days is that I eventually started Mass long resting because I had a ton of stuff I wanted to trigger that kept getting superseded by plot-relevant stuff because I kept putting off long resting for as long as possible.

 

[derpherp2]

Yeah that annoyed me so much too.
She was acting like Deadpool.

She really has that PC of the quirky reddit girl at the table energy.

One of her worst moment is in the dyad encounter.

When asked what is a perfect day for her , the answer is kicking a lot of bad guys butt and a lot of victory sex. (actually that sounds like something not even Minsc would say)

You can tell they wanted fem minsc with karlach hence her fangirling. They even tried to add the nameless one with the blood war shit.

An of course it's a fucking tiefling too. The dindu of faerun.
I still find it funny the faggots bitching about orcs didnt about fucking tieflings.
ACTUALLY, now that I think of it, replacing karlach with the nameless one would've been awesome. It would explain why he's so weak post-game too, since you know. But then we'd need actual devs that know their philosophy shit instead of this grimdark but not really sophistry.

 

[Cheeseknife]

I just re-read your text wall thesis, "Fuck them, they're all fags, Gale's a Jew, tee hee, I'm on Kiwi Farms so I have to be edgy" is hardly thought provoking either.

Wasn't meant to be. Thanks for re reading my stuff, though.

You're not some Harold Bloom providing insights into the inner workings of RPG plotting and characterization like you think you are.

Looked up the name since I have no idea who that is. It's flattering to have my ramblings compared to actual literary critics. Inaccurate to reality, in my humble opinion, but flattering nonetheless.

I never got any "beep beep" or 4th wall stuff from her, probably because I'm trying to save the world

Okay, so you weren't even paying attention but developed an opinion anyway.

Also, the "honk honk" happens when you click on her character in the game. The only way you wouldn't know that is if you never clicked on her at all or, dare I repeat myself, you weren't paying attention.

But you still developed an opinion, regardless.

An of course it's a fucking tiefling too. The dindu of faerun.
I still find it funny the faggots bitching about orcs didnt about fucking tieflings.

Tieflings were far more interesting when they acted like little devils. There was a good, grounded reason that Rogue was their favored class. Now it's just like a cosmetic choice with a few racial spells added into the mix. The subclasses don't even mean that much anymore either since they turned racial abilities into free ASI.

 

[X Prime]

I actually watched that video, and I must confess that I am amused that she randomly mentioned "good sex."

That sure is some mature dialogue there, yes sir.

 

[Rich Evans Ayypologist]

It's not about liking how she is, it's everything to dislike about how she isn't.

Karlach is perhaps the most glaring example of this, but I would argue that most of the characters in the game are exceedingly "tell, don't show" followed up with them behaving in ways that don't track with their characterization. Wyll, you see, is a very good, enterprising, famous marvel superhero in-setting, yet all he seems to do is whine if you do something mildly mean-spirited and he never acts on his own initiative.

Come to think of it - when do the characters ever act on their own initiative? Sure, you can fail a dialogue roll and they default to something, but I can't think of an instance where having a character in the party overrode the fact that they're an RPG companion and actually acted, on their own, in comport with their character. I think the scene where Lae-Zel attempts to kill you is like, the one that comes to mind.

Probably because the characters are poorly-written and shallow, with the facial animation and superb voice acting tricking people into thinking otherwise.

 

[Cheeseknife]

Come to think of it - when do the characters ever act on their own initiative? Sure, you can fail a dialogue roll and they default to something, but I can't think of an instance where having a character in the party overrode the fact that they're an RPG companion and actually acted, on their own, in comport with their character. I think the scene where Lae-Zel attempts to kill you is like, the one that comes to mind.

Lae'zel will attempt to jump ship a few times. First is the encounter at the Mountain Pass, second is if you detour through the Shadowlands without visiting the Creche. She'll also turn on you if you don't obey Vlakkith. But like you said, quite a few of these can be waived if you roll the dice correctly. I very much doubt the devs would ever done anything as risky as what you're proposing.

Speaking of Lae'zel's, over time I began to see Lae'zel her as less this hardened Githyanki warrior and more like she was a frightened little girl trying to act tough in her situation. Like I mentioned in a previous post, her deference to the PC was due a lack of confidence in herself. She would never admit that, but that's how I saw it as I continued on.

This started as early as the Nautiloid, but right before you enter the helm chamber, she tells you to do as she says. Then Shadowheart immediately shuts her down and all Lae'zel can muster I response is a Gith insult. Now I'd venture a more resolute Gith would have straight up kill Shadowheart on the spot, but Lae'zel doesn't do that.

Another moment is briefly seen if you try to motivate the Tiefling children at the Grove. Funnily, none of the choices you are given actually work--everything Lae'zel says demoralized them. What this tells me is that Lae'zel doesn't have the capacity to lead or motivate. What's more, she is fully aware of this weakness but, again, would never ever admit it.

I can't think of a single scenario where Lae'zel took charge and events turned in her favor. If you Long Rest after she leaves your party to talk with Voss, you only find her corpse. If she tries run to the Creche by herself, she dies. If you let her take charge of negotiations with Voss, things inevitably go poorly. Not to mention, she gets so nervous she speaks too quickly and breaks protocol by interrupting the Kith'rak mid sentence.

Really goes to show how thoroughly Vlaakith has cowed her people.

 

[Caesare]

I actually watched that video, and I must confess that I am amused that she randomly mentioned "good sex."

That sure is some mature dialogue there, yes sir.

Baldur's Gate is a mature game for mature people. True story.

Nightsong was completely insufferable too.

I actually really liked the Nightsong. I don't like that they made her a dyke, but I like the way she talks. Everything she says is so dramatic and epic. Half angel's like her, in the DnD lore, are supposed to make normal people uncomfortable despite being a force for Good, since they're so unusual and severe compared to people who aren't part divine. As far as that aspect of her character goes, I think Larian pulled it off. She is weird and uncomfortable, way too intense. I thought she was neat.

 

[Cheeseknife]

Baldur's Gate is a mature game for mature people. True story.

I actually really liked the Nightsong. I don't like that they made her a dyke, but I like the way she talks. Everything she says is so dramatic and epic. Half angel's like her, in the DnD lore, are supposed to make normal people uncomfortable despite being a force for Good, since they're so unusual and severe compared to people who aren't part divine. As far as that aspect of her character goes, I think Larian pulled it off. She is weird and uncomfortable, way too intense. I thought she was neat.

I drew the line at her talking about how she was going to "take succor" with Isobel. Fucking gross. I couldn't believe that yet another character you save in the "good" playthrough was gay.

I was also bummed they made Tieflings playable, but not Aasimar. Why not? Not edgy enough for DnD fans? The first time I played through Neverwinter Nights 2, I made an Aasimar Paladin. Ironically, they also had a high Charisma score which meant they were good Warlocks too.

 

[Rick's Beef Wellington]

Wasn't meant to be. Thanks for re reading my stuff, though.



Looked up the name since I have no idea who that is. It's flattering to have my ramblings compared to actual literary critics. Inaccurate to reality, in my humble opinion, but flattering nonetheless.



Okay, so you weren't even paying attention but developed an opinion anyway.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2scKB-FEQL8
Also, the "honk honk" happens when you click on her character in the game. The only way you wouldn't know that is if you never clicked on her at all or, dare I repeat myself, you weren't paying attention.

But you still developed an opinion, regardless.



Tieflings were far more interesting when they acted like little devils. There was a good, grounded reason that Rogue was their favored class. Now it's just like a cosmetic choice with a few racial spells added into the mix. The subclasses don't even mean that much anymore either since they turned racial abilities into free ASI.

I ended up appreciating the game so much more after finishing it and reading about other people's playthroughs on here. We all played totally unique games, and in this medium that's a hallmark of great design, if not always good writing. These types of RPGs try to be games and novels at the same time, so that's where some of the "tell don't show" stuff comes from, low-quality fantasy/sci-fi writing, e.g., Patrick S. Tomlinson.

I wouldn't be surprised if they scrapped alignment altogether in the next version of D&D, it doesn't mean anything anymore. The Tieflings are Lawful Evil, they would petition the True Neutral Druids for sanctuary, but from what? Neutral Evil Goblins? It would make more sense for them to intervene if the Tieflings were running from Aasimar or some Good enemy. The sanctity of the Grove is paramount, then the balance. They never should have let them in, but the "evil" player option is to say this.

It's Drizzt Disease, there's one charater who's a unique outlier among his kind and now every Drow is capable of starting an animal rescue sanctuary and volunteering at food banks. So now not only are Tieflings everywhere when they should be much more rare, the adult ones are paragons of virtue. Sure the kids are thieves and swindlers, but they'll little and don't know any better. No, they're Lawful Evil. The swindling is borderline, the theft would be disonorable.

 

[Cheeseknife]

Sure the kids are thieves and swindlers, but they'll little and don't know any better. No, they're Lawful Evil. The swindling is borderline, the theft would be disonorable.

Tieflings were wild cards. That is what really made them interesting. What was compelling about them was that even though they weren't bound by their heritage, their heritage would often lead them to taking actions that other races might consider more...capricious.

I really hate that the [Tiefling] option in dialogue is essentially like pulling the race card IRL.

"You just hate me because of my horns!"

Mol was probably the only Tiefling that legit acted like a more...traditional Tiefling. I had to take that into consideration when I discovered what Mol was up to at LLI. You can be the nicest person to her and help her and her kids and she still had the audacity to be like, "Thanks, but I've found another sugar daddy." Might be a bit enraging considering all you've done, but then againt she is part demon.

 

[X Prime]

That sounds like more yaaaas queen shit than Tiefling shit though.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

Well, I now have to decide if I want to say “fuck you” to Raphael and piss off Astarion or kill this Yugir guy. Honestly, if Astarion wasn’t getting something out of this, I’d be down to help Yurgir out instantly.

Not asking for advice either way, just musing things over.

I wonder which gets me better loot…

RDIT: oooh, there’s a way to get all the loot AND still kill him and everything. Works for me!

 

[SIMIΔN]

 

[derpherp2]

That sounds like more yaaaas queen shit than Tiefling shit though.

Like I said before tieflings pre-NWN2 were literally the dindus of Faerun. Literally everyone was suspicious of the literal embodiment of chaos and evil rounded up until nishka or whatever the fuck her name is drizz't all over the place.

Like tieflings were supposed to act like aasimars but in reverse to show just how polarising and alien two extremes of the moral alignments are.
But of course WOTC "I'm too retarded for 9 layers of moral nuance so get rid of it altogether" can't figure out how to dichotomy to be lawful or good with the resident lesbian aasimar too, but instead went with dike-o-tomy.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

Why does half the conversations in here sound like they’d came from 4Chan?

 

[Cheeseknife]

Like I said before tieflings pre-NWN2 were literally the dindus of Faerun. Literally everyone was suspicious of the literal embodiment of chaos and evil rounded up until nishka or whatever the fuck her name is drizz't all over the place.

Neeshka was still very much is a Tiefling, at heart, although they seemed to have completely abandoned the idea that their fiend blood would compel them to more heinous behavior.

Neeshka was "good" but Chaotic Good, and she fully embraces her penchant for thievery. NWN2 didn't really turn up the whole racism angle, but it *is* a fact that they're far less fiend-like and that their heritage is now basically a cosmetic choice.

Hordes of the Underdark also gave you a Tiefling companion who was more thr classic type you mentioned. He would often talk about resisting the call of his blood. Romancable too. Part of his personal quest was helping him overcome this demonic influences.