Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion [Act 2 Spoilers] Did I miss some justification?

I might have rushed to the main quest too quick in Act 2, I feel like I'm missing something.

I'm trying to do my evil playthrough and I'm once again baffled at why any sane character would side with the Cult of the Absolute. In Act 1 I missed the guardian dreams due to not resting enough, but they provided good enough justification once I got to them. However, I've been resting a ton in Act 2, and the guardian hasn't said much more than "you need to infiltrate the cult so you can find the source of their power."

Well, I went and infiltrated Moonrise Towers, alright, and got sent on the big fetch quest. I spent some time exploring the shadow-cursed lands a little, found a bunch of nasty dudes with the surname "Thorm" that I ended up having to fight, and eventually made it to the Temple of Shar. I brought Shadowheart with me so she could fulfill her dream of becoming a Dark Justiciar.

So... why you would ever allow Ketheric Thorm to It seems pants-on-head stupid. Is Tav just hoping that the immortal evil general will be nice to you if you do his busywork? We saw how that worked out for Minthara. Are we expected to deny Shadowheart a sidequest resolution just to buddy up to the insane cultists? I'm just so confused.

You don't ever side with the absolute, you pretend to side with them to get close enough to the leadership to get info?
all the options to support the absolute are quite clear, with the Guardian providing 'side with them to find stuff out' commentary the whole time.

the reason to do that quest isnt to side with the absolute, it's to get into the inner sanctum and get info, but if you go against him you fight him and find all that out anyway

it's spy stuff, because in the 'evil' route you are being a spy

Calling it the "evil" option is incorrect, sure. I see three options for resolving the situation:


Sure, you will presumably see what this "heart of the Absolute" is if you bow and scrape enough, but disposing of a powerful enemy and giving Shadowheart a power-up in one fell swoop seems much more tempting. Thorm has made it clear that he wants to destroy the Astral prism, which makes him a dangerous foe to any character that wants to keep their free will. He's going to have to be disposed of sooner or later, even if you are just trying to take the Cult for yourself. Might as well take the shot when you have the chance.

Being a spy is not equal to overtaking the cult. Yes, there's bad outcomes for you in the game. Without meta knowledge, you are, however, not aware of them. Prime example: the unlucky players losing Isobel, therefore Karlach's storyline and the option to recruit Halsin in one swoop