I will go out and say that literally recycling this 'everyone has to die/leave the party at the same time' plot device in BG3 would destroy any faith I have in Larian to ever write a good story, far more than anything else that I'd consider bad by any stretch of the imagination. This would be my literal breaking point, probably to the same level that Tuco hates the toilet chain system.
The mere thought of Larian even considering that they can bring such an unpopular decision from DOS2 into a completely different game series that has been far more established than theirs by about two entire decades at this point is disgusting. It is a clear sign of hubris or a complete lack of confidence in their ability to write without having to resort to recycling old plot points from a prior game in a completely different game series, a blatant disregard of respect for the franchise that they have been entrusted to bring into a new generation, and showing a complete lack of understanding of why their original smash hit was a smash hit to begin with. Everything else questionable can be argued away as a design or gameplay decision. But bringing this plot device back would be absolutely indefensible for so many reasons, and I fully expect the majority of the cRPG community to rip this plot device to shreds if it were to rear its ugly head again here. Especially since there is so much more at stake on a gameplay level this time around, if this plot point were to be repeated in BG3.
Granted, if the party members leaving you were
actually a direct consequence of choices you've made throughout the game, and if it didn't just happen all at once, I don't think anyone would have any issue with that. But a mass forced departure/killing off everyone not in your active party at the same time? It's really awful for three huge reasons.
1) It's insanely cheap and edgy, like it gives off a vibe that the writers believe we'll only take the threat seriously if half the playable cast suddenly dies out of nowhere. A bold thing to do in a genre where the audience isn't dumb and lacking in attention span. Granted, this isn't as bad if the other party members just leave, but if they all just get brainwashed/transform or something instead, it still seriously undermines their characterization.
2) It's ultimately a choice the game made for you, rather than a consequence of a choice you made yourself. The only choice you have there is picking which party members you have to bring with you at that point. That's it. And that in itself is bad when you consider that...
3) The weight of the decision is ultimately enforced by the arbitrary headcount limit on the amount of party members you get to bring with you at once. Suddenly, we have a gameplay restriction that is never brought up in the narrative at all, that somehow leads to serious narrative consequences.
---
What would I have done with DOS2's inactive party members if they all still had to leave you regardless? I would have had all of the inactive companions still stick with you into the start of act 2, where they would decide to leave the boat to pursue their own leads if you choose not to recruit them into your party at that point. You would find them again at various points of the game as you proceed through the story.
- Beast: He would have lost his life in the giant Divine Order/Dwarf/Voidwoken brawl right outside of Driftwood. The surviving Dwarf woman that you find there could hint that she only survived the attack due to Beast's intervention, and talking to Beast's soul reinforces this fact. His spirit may later tell you things that you can later leverage with Lohar and even Queen Justinia in Act 4, especially after you find out about the deathfog crates, though at this point he will be in a completely distraught state before disappearing. He'll later appear at the wellspring in Act 3, apparently having taken the God-King's covenant and opposing the party in the rush to the wellspring. Upon his defeat there, he'll reveal that he had taken the covenant in the belief that he needed it to oppose Queen Justinia, and that he had planned on turning against the God-King after attaining divinity. The God-King of course doesn't take kindly to this, and snaps Beast out of existence in the exact same way that Mordus dies in Act 2 if you questioned him too much.
- Loshe: Jahan attempts to perform his exorcism on her, and you arrive too late to save her from being fully consumed. Your party and Jahan would have to fight her off for a number of turns before the Doctor decides that dying here means that he loses his chance to attain divinity by proxy. She will later become a boss that you fight during Act 3, apparently having followed you to the Isles. At that point, she would attack you as you attempt to enter the archives in a bid to eliminate the competition once the way forward is opened. (If you manage to kill her in Act 2, the Act 3 ambush doesn't happen.)
- Red Prince: You would find him under attack by assassins at the carriage where the Princess is during Act 2, dying moments after you arrive. If you manage to save the lizard princess in the ensuing fight, she'll ask you to visit the Lizard Consulate for a reward if you get the opportunity later, as in, during Act 4. But by that point, you'll see the Red Prince entering the burning Consulate, which raises alarm bells among yourself and your party having watched him die back in Act 2. (I'll think more on how this should be resolved in the morning.)
- Fane: He would be speaking to the eternal Alterea, already having solved the puzzle that sealed her before. She notices your arrival and immediately turns hostile after your character's god forces their way into the conversation. If Fane survives the battle, speaking to him afterwards has him explain the full story about what he and the Eternals were before leaving to think on his circumstances. You'll later find him within the archives in Act 3, at which point he has decided to side with the God-King in a bid to bring his people back and to atone for his perceived mistake that led to the current state of the world's existence, and attacks your party on your way to the wellspring.
- Sebille: She will appear as you confront Roost about rescuing Sahelia, and join you in the battle along with later assisting with Sahelia's escape. Afterwards, you learn about Sebille being the Prime Scion, but Sebille will reject that notion and leave to continue pursuing any leads towards her revenge. You'll later find her in Act 3, either defending the Mother Tree if you choose to side with the Shadow Prince and attack the elves, or joining in the fight against the Shadow Prince if you decide to attack him, especially if you have the Red Prince in your party. If she joins you against the Shadow Prince, you'll have 2 turns before the Shadow Prince decides to invoke the scar song to bring her under his control, though this can be delayed/temporarily broken by inflicting the Silence status effect on him. Sebille will be immediately freed permanently once he dies. If Sebille survives, she'll remark that the Red Prince is probably the only good lizard she's ever known if he is in the party, and she will declare that she was never interested in divinity and that she is done running away from destiny, intending to take the Mother Tree's place when the time comes. (If Sebille dies during the Act 2 fights, she obviously doesn't become involved in Act 3.)
- Ifan: He will actually be at the Elven encampment, trying to decide if he wants to get involved with rescuing Sahelia in an effort to make amends with the Elves as a means of reconciling with his past, even if it means going against Roost and the rest of his organization. The elves will attack Ifan upon him revealing his association with the people holding Sahelia captive and his involvement as a former member of the Divine Order that saw their forests bombed with deathfog, unless you pass a persuasion check to let Ifan prove himself. Ifan will then accompany you into the sawmill to confront Roost. (This means that you can potentially have both Ifan and Sebille joining your party as guests for this sequence. I will also think more on how to resolve his arc in the morning.)
As I was typing this, I've come to realize that a lot of the above would actually go a long way towards giving the exterior part of Act 3 actual importance in the story, and the rush to the wellspring would have actual story reasons for happening that wouldn't feel like a poorly slapped together excuse for a multiplayer PvP opportunity above all. If there was one thing I found awkward about Act 3 pre-archives, it's that literally every faction was telling you to do stuff for them there while chilling in their established bases, despite clearly having the capability to fight for themselves.
Granted, them leaving the party still wouldn't have been a consequence of anything you did still, but it'd be a much easier pill to swallow while continuing their character development and giving each threat legitimate credibility - and further choices for the player to make, in the case of some of their circumstances.
