The issue is that for what content we have in EA, all roads lead to Rome. Rome being The Goblin Camp and saving Halsin. It's an issue of incomplete content.
Agreed.
The Grove is the main place that sets in motion which direction you will take. Zevlor, Nettie, and even Kagha herself convinces you to find Halsin or "help the Tieflings". As the first hub of the game, it feels like very strong encouragement when 3 different plot threads push you in this direction.
That dont seem exactly acurate ...
Kagha asks you to help Tieflings as they leave, she dont care about Halsin at all, she actualy dont even care about Tieflings at all ... especialy as long as they stay.
True, she asks you to find Halsin and help Tieflings ... but only IF and WHEN you redeem her, not a second sooner. :-/ Im not quite sure if that is still conciderable as "first meeting". :-/
Zevlor neither, he asks you to deal with Kagha ... and then, he asks you to deal with Goblins ... saving Halsin is there just sideffect and if something went wrong and he die, nothing really happens in his perspective.
The only one who actualy asks you to save him, is Nettie ... and as i stated countless times abowe (and in other topics) she is for several reasons not quite worthy of unconditioned thrust. :-/
As far as Companion opinion's go:
Shadowheart makes it clear that she believes we need to find a healer. This will lead us to Halsin.
Wyll's condition for joining the party is killing the Goblin leaders. This will lead us to Halsin.
Astarion makes it clear he is not looking for a healer, but he is chaotic. He's the closest companion to being on board with siding with the Goblins, but doesn't hide the fact that goblins are vermin and that the Absolute might not be something we can twist into our favor.
Lae'zel's lead is to find the creche and shuns all healers including Nettie, Halsin, Sazza's Goblin Priestess, and what she assumes is ghaik-like trickery of the Absolute. This leads you to making a bee-line for the Gith Patrol whose conclusion is not in EA.
Not sure about Gale.
As abowe, not exactly acurate ...
Shadowheart, really encourages us to find halsin ... aswell as Hag, Gut, and if you are persistent enough and asks her ofen, even Githyanki creche ... oddly enough, Raphael is the only option she refuses without a doubt.
That means Shadowheart dont give a damn about Halsin, her role is simply to reminding us main plot of Act 1
... or, to keep it in roleplay perspective, to keep reminding us that we need to find ANY healer, with focus on word ANY.
So i dont think she is good argument here ... since she gives +1 for Halsin, but also +1 for Goblins (specificly Gut) ...
Wyll ... that is actualy the same situation as with Zevlor, he dont give a damn about Halsin, yet Wyll will leave us, if we join the Gobilns ... so yes, this one could be good argument, if we count knowledge from previous gameplay, since otherwise there is few hints that he will not be happy about us, yet i was quite surprised for the first time, since i would never gues that he will leave us to be honest. O_o
So he could be good argument ... since he only voted for killing the goblin leaders, and even tho he seemed to refocus elsewhere, when he started to talk with them about Mizora and was even willing to torture inocent man ... and even tho he never actualy cared about Halsin himself ... if we conly concider who is voting for Good, and who for Evil route ... Wyll is certainly for Good one.
Astarion is cristal clear about not wanting to remove the parasite, nor helping anyone in groove ...
So i dare to presume, there is no need for any more to talk to agree on Astarion would Vote for Goblins ... i mean, sure you are right that he dont hide the fact that goblins are vermin, yet he admits that he more than like his new power to comand theese vermins.
Lae'zel stands aside ... she dont care about anyone and anything, only her people is the proper way.
So i would say she is irellevant in this matter, since for her both options are wrong.
And Gale is just the same.
AnywaySo if you count up your companions influence in this matter you get +1 for good, +1 for evil, +1 for litteraly everything, and 2 who dont care at all.
No matter how i count it seems to me like Followers were no help at all.
The only 3 paths that make sense to siding with the Goblins are:
1) sneaking past the Grove entirely to make it so Minthara is somewhat the first lead you get.
2) you are implied to be desperate enough or distrust the other leads enough to pursue the lead of a Goblin Priestess
3) you are enamored by the siblings deference to "True Souls"
Strongly disagree ...
- You can also be so curious about content of Kagha's chest so you try to steal her key (since its unlockpickable right now ... not sure if that isnt bug tho) ... then you might fail, and if you do, Druids attack you ... if that happens, few Druids escapes the room (there is curently no way to prevent it), and launch full scale attack on Tieflings.
- You can also support Kagha, try to push on Zevlor that Tieflings need to leave ... in that case Zevlor will attack you, and when you report to Kagha that you killed him, and do Long rest ... grove will be entangled with thorns, and every NPC inside turn hostile towards you.
- You can also loose your opourtunity to help Tieflings, if you dont let go that one of kids steal from you ... and you decide that you dont want to pay the fee ... if you demand returning of your things, or you try to intimidate and fail, the kids will "tell on you" to Tieflings guards ... wich with turn hostile towards you, unless you pass incredibly hard roll (i had dif. 19 with my warlock!, so it was certainly not bcs of low Cha) ... i was expecting there possibility to use Kagha or Zevlore either as "Lets take this matter to your leader", or only Kagha as intimidate option like: "Kagha allready killed one of your childern for thievery, shall i report another one?"
- And ofcourse there is common sence in law enforcement ...
- Also, there is that point i repeated countless times in the other topics about Good/Evil route ... and that is simple power lust. Your character cam, simmilar to what Gale suggests about Raphael, simply believe that he would be able to outsmart whole cult of the Absolute, and this tadpole ... and he simply become more powerfull than anyone imagined.
- And last but not least ... being Drow.
It might seem trivial, but even this tiny tidbit can tip the scales to goblins side. :P
On one hand you have groups of people who threats you with disrespect, charges insane princes for everything and keep demanding your help ... on other hand you have, true vermins, but they threat you as Roayality, as you deserve.
Dont get me wrong, i do know that in all those cases you can technicaly still decide to kill all Goblin Leaders, and de-facto experience something like good playthrough.
But the point is that there is much more ways that could lead you straight to Goblins arms. :P
And for the above situations aside from the first one, you'll encounter so much side information telling you its a bad idea
Could you list some?
Since the only thing i can remember right now, is the fact that siblings will try to kill you once you admit that you were on Nautiloid ... and that can be easily avoided, both intentionaly, or by accident. O_o
that you have to play a specific brand of powerhungry chaotic evil to do so.
Not only chaotic evil characters can desire more power ...
As they say "end justify the means" ... Wyll could have those words tatooed on his forehead.
And even still, once you murder the Grove, the benefits of the action are not in EA.
True ... but that is hardly conciderable ...
I mean, there arent even any huge benefits for helping the groove ... maybe except you have litteraly 1 more Vendor, Wyll dont leave you (not sure if i would call that a benefit tho
) and you get one useless clothing (since so far at least as far i know, no NPC used cold damage on me) and one nice looking spear that is actualy a little weaker compared to other weapons.
