Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Dame Aylin - the villain! (Spoilers)

Finishing Act 2 n my second run and I'm struck by how terrible Dame Aylin is:

War Crime 1

War Crime 2

Being a total jerk

Conclusion?
I say guilty! She's a chronically lying oathbreaker paladin, probably of Bhaal! ;-)

What say you all - yay or nay?

You might want to reconsider your priorities.

Isn't it a whole thing that being sealed in the Shadowfell wasn't good for her psyche? You can't really expect her to turn the other cheek

Um she didn't kill anyone! In the first fight her big contribution was to ruin the surrender (and get captured #2). I'll give her credit for killing some intellect devourers and drawing aggro once when we faced , but c'mon.

I'm pretty sure Kethric's cooperation would have seriously undermined the Absolute's army, better than having his nethersone sit idle in a burlap sack.

No no, for my MC, Shadowheart is a top priority, and frankly it should be well and truly clear to everyone by the time of Kethric's defeat that MC's party are the movers and shakers, Shadowheart integral. Jaheira says so, Halsin just won't leave, and Wither's presence evidence enough. Heck, MC even told Aylin directly to put up now.

The crimes of the dead three don't absolve us our misdeeds. Sure, Aylin gets a lot of slack, but right now she's a nett-zero contributor. She's done about as much harm as good + yanking SH's chain.

It's not so much turn the other cheek, I'd like the dialogue option to rein her in and/or force her to spill what she knows about SH. My MC wouldn't want to deal with her any longer than necessary. She's a loose cannon.

Hopefully those two don't turn up uninvited to camp, already have 'Halsin the unwanted', we'll see.

Tbh, if I was Aylin I would've done the same. And I'd definitely worry more about being with Isobel than Shadowheart or any of tav's companions.

I think this sounds absurd to you because you are personally invested in SH's story more than anyone else in the party or other things in the story, so for you it seems urgent. But from the perspective of Aylin, she doesn't do anything absurd.

Also, I don't think she is supposed to be a perfectly good character without faults. I am SURE the things that happened to her for a century left more scars than those on her face. She was killed over and over for a hundred years, had to revive, then be killed again. You see her getting pretty wildly agressive later in the game, and it is quite shocking. She definitely has her issues, but it doesn't make her a villain by any stretch. She has, however, a very ruthless and merciless approach to justice. If anything, she'd be top material for a Vengeance Paladin.

It isn’t a war crime if you win

Don't forget -

Oh no, I did notice it. (But yes, people dont talk about it nearly as much as the grooming of Gale)

I always thought that if you played Durge you would perhaps discover a kinda dark secret or dark side to Aylin. But nope. She has a sus vibe though. Still love her lol

She's a little too self important for my taste. Her first line after her release says it all. "Don't you find it oh-so-curious that you would spurn your Dark Lady? Perhaps you feel a stirring of the truth already."

Lady, if Tav gets yeeted off the platform by Balthazar, Shadowheart will stab you without a second thought. I'm pretty sure we know why she spared you and it's not why you seem to think it is!

Aylin is utterly convinced of her own righteousness. That definitely can be dangerous and frightening, even when someone is basically good.

Personally, I think she’s a well realised character and frequently hilarious (unintentionally for her, but clearly intentionally for Larian). Her holier-than-thou, straightforward and embarrassingly honest paladin could have turned her into a parody, albeit a fun twist on the stereotype, but the fact that we can see better than she can that she’s struggling with anger and trauma makes her more interesting.

I guess if I were being picky, I’d say she probably puts me too much in mind of the MCU Thor (and for all I know the comic book one as well, as I’ve never read the comics). But I like Thor.

Why would she think MC is someone not to take seriously? That she's totally safe from? There was no smiling and joviality. MC paladin fell from grace twice(!) tearing up Kethric's followers. She totally misread the mood.

Ha, I was half-assing around near bed time and had Astarion assassinate Isobel (after Kethric's defeat) and Aylin cowered like a gnome noncombatant, not even temporarily hostile! Obvious miscoding. And silly play. Not to mention Isobel inoffensive, reloaded. (No Last Light cut scene once Isobel fell.)

I get what you mean about me being invested, but it's more. I ran freeing the Nightsong all the way through to defeating Kethric in one play through. You can beeline 2nd play through. Anyway, the story is disjointed. SH's turning is so dramatic, Aylin so earnest, and then afterwards... she couldn't give 2 hoots. It's classic video-game-itis:
'The quest is so important, everything turns on this!'
'I finally completed it.'
'Eh? er wonderful. Now help me find my boots.'

I'm fine with Aylin being damaged goods. If half of what is said was true, and probably only half is, she's in pretty good shape considered.

Anyway, a rest later and she gives a 2 minute dialogue to SH.

Going by what is presented in the game, I actually think she deliberately played for time. Her divine connection probably gives her fragmentary Divination spell powers. She could pickup a clue when she met SH, but needed to divine further.

For some reason only Isobel is in my camp. Strange, as I explicitly told them we're through. Anyway, she's friendly and can talk about this and admits her father's concern had/has justification. She's well aware of the power imbalance, but for her it parallels her relationship with Selune.

A bit of self-awareness is endearing. She can stay, though not sure why?

Oh, there have been threads mentioning the power imbalance. That in itself isn't bad. It's usually complementary in some important ways. Aylin has her succor sex line, but it's no doubt true. She needs Isobel to stay together. As Aasimar, her body is her soul, those cracks on her face seem to be her in danger of shattering.