That doesn't really translate into usual DnD stuff, in this story anyways, as the meta-narrative leans more towards themes of being manipulated/enslaved/controlled and how to break free from that. So evil in this narrative would be *embracing* that - the mindflayer powers, the devils deal, seeking the favour of the absolute.. so with that logic the evil choice would be siding with either the Gobbos or Shadow Druids, and rejecting liberation/self determination.
Okay, but then why are we told next to nothing about what the Absolute concretely has to offer?
Minthara should absolutely explain the absolute to you. She should understand that you're from the ship and see you as a gift, she should give you the sales pitch on the religion. She should tell you WHY the absolute is building an army. She should show us the humans who are living in harmony with the absolute. Instead of murdering all the tieflings, you should kill their leaders and the rest should be given the choice to join or die.
Even Lolth's drow don't massacre everyone when they take an area. They take slaves, soldiers, etc. The Absolute should be a *less chaotic* force of evil than Lolth, and we should have some reasons why we do things. "Evil!" isn't good enough, that's not a motivation
Since Minthara does none of these things right now, the player and their party know things about the true nature of the Absolute that none of the evil people seem to want to acknowledge and you could feasibly reach Minthara without using the Illithid powers once (after my meme super evil run I stopped using the tadpole and just went by Omeluum to boost it to max power immediatly) why would you ever go completely against the established narrative and quit searching for a cure? The game also punishes you for doing this quite harshly if you have seen Shadowheart's dialogue after the fact. You can also get murdered by Minthara every step of the way. What is the point then, besides mindless killing and self-sabotage?
