For example, at some points, it seems like Minthara and the goblins are out to destroy the druids' grove and have been for at least a little while; since they moved into the area. But then, there are some dialogues and conversations that make it seem like the ONLY reason Minthara wants to destroy the grove is because Aradin and his punk adventurers tried to loot the goblin camp. And so, Minthara is petty and wants to butcher the entire grove simply because Aradin and his group dared to try to loot the camp.
I must have missed this ...
I never seen any connection between Minthara that is inside their camp in ruined temple of Selune ... and Aradin, whos group was butchered by ambushing Goblins in Blighted Willage. O_o
As far as i know:
Goblins are in this land for quite some time, their base in Selune ruins is nothing new and since nobody lived close enough, nobody seem to care ... then cult of the Absolute came in, it must have ben quite recently change, since there sill is Maglubiyet loayal goblin (as far as i know goblins dont live too long, and also i dont quite believe they would keep him alive for more than few weeks, mostly months) ... they just recetnly raided Waukeen's Rest, with the help of Drow on the Absolute command ...
Then there is that scene, when nautiloid shows on the sky ... Minthara and Dror both seem quite pleased with its arival and i honestly doubt they would be so happy about "yet another batch of True Souls coming to Moonrise Tower for enlightening (aka. brainwash)"
> Also notice that if you are talking with Findal (that unconcious halfling druid in secret passage) he tells you specificly that "they asked about *the Weapon*" ... since last patch we finaly know (like with 90% certainity) what weapon they were talking about ... that box, Shadowheart have ... wich would also explain why Minthara was so pleased with Nautiloid arival in previous scene ... she wasnt happy about True Souls delivery, she know that secret weapon of tremendous and mostly unknown power is on its way to her grasp.
> Also notice that if you are talking with Andrick and Brynna (those siblins who was standing over dying True Soul Dwarf) they specificly tells you that they were "send to find whoever surived that crash" and once you reveal to them that you are the one they were searching for, they attack you. So it was clearly not rescue mission ... the only reasonable explanation here is that they were not after *people* but after something the *people* was carrying.
Yes, the box seem like obvious answer once again.
Now, when basic hints are done ... lets see for Druid Grove:
Aradin have obviously litteraly no idea about what is goin on around here, he specificly tells us that when he claims that he "was expecting easy coin and not army of bloody goblins" ... so, as it seems to me, he is there just for the Nightsong ... he knew that there is some entrance in the Underdark in Selune temple, and wanted to search for it, for obvious reasons ... sadly, he run into Goblin ambush in Blighted Willage and run for his life, once half of his group was butchered (if those corpses before gate to Blighted Willage was his people ... wich i presume they were, since if he is expeled from the Grove, you can meet him again by those corpses, probably collecting personal stuff and valuables, why would he do that otherwise? The ambushing goblins are just few steppes away
... he cant be so stupid, can he?)
> So i would not search for any deeper meaning here ... there is one logical puzzle tho, since i dare to presume that whole map is actualy a lot wider and was only shrinked for gameplay purposes (read as: lorewise locations are much farther than they are in game) ... i wonder how far (or for how long) did Aradin and his three friends run? I mean sure, goblin tracers in your back can be great motivation to give the best possible exercise ... did they really managed to run through whole (lets say) daywalk and yet they were able to not just stand, but fight ... and didnt colapsed to the ground the first second battle was over? I applaud to their endurance.
Also there is question how did both Aradins group and the pursuing goblins missed Andrick and Brynna ... but they might theoreticaly get there later. O_o
Now why is Minthara attacking the Grove ...
That question was allready answered i believe ... for one, she specificly tells us its a holy crusade, that the Absolute wants us to wipe out those herretics ... for two, the goblin that interrogated Findal tells us that they were after *the Weapon*, wich confrims even Andrick and Brynna ... and finaly there is that unfinished matter with Tiefling refugees ...
So, this is simple i believe.
Minthara wants the box ... she know that it is somewhere around ...
- we find some Goblin corpses around Nautiloid, so someone was send there to examine the crash site ...
- we also find party searching for survivors ...
- and we also find Sazza, last survivor of scouting party that was send to find the Grove, or were send to track Tiefling refugees and Grove was just a bonus ... but i dont believe that, since Minthara is specificaly talking about Grove when she stands over that warmap in her camp (what puzzles me here is why they even keep her alive, but Halsin was probably still there back then and believed that he can get some usefull info about the Absolute from her ... so that can be explained)
Another example is the Blighted Village. Some evidence indicates that the Blighted Village has been destroyed for over 100 years, since Ilyn Toth arrived and the Dark Justiciars, etc. The place is filled with decay and ruin and spider webs and such, implying that it has been a VERY long time since it was destroyed.
But then there is the paper flyer on the stone wall near the old school building. How did that survive for over 100 years?
The question here is in what condition that paper flyer is ... i mean, we do have books that are several centuries old too in our world.
True they were probably not exposed to weather asn that flyer ... but on the other hand i do believe that there was never specificly told that it was "made of paper", was it?
And even if ... i dunno about you, but im willing to forgive Larian one page of paper that is in surprisingly good shape for its age, if they need to give us information about something from the long forgotten past.
Also, where did all the fishermen come from on the beach if there is no village around that they came from? Is there another village somewhere in the area we don't know about? How come no one talks about this or explains this? Did those people live in Blighted Village?
No, one of the surviving fishermen explicitly tells us that they arrived on the river. O_o
What more do you need?
Do you realize that this world is not ending with borders of our gampleay map?
There is obviously another settlement somewhere up the stream, and that is where they are from ...
Mystery solved.
I mean, some on various forums have explained that the village was destroyed over 100 years ago but then resettled. However, if that's true, then why is the place SO unlived in? The apothecary has been left untouched since Ilyn Toth lived there. The schoolhouse has also been unused for over a century. Same with the blacksmith's shop.
I dont quite understand what are you asking ...
The fact that village was "destroyed and resettled" seem like self-explanation to why is is "unlived" ... isnt it? O_o
And I know it's been mentioned before, but why on earth would Kith'rak Voss leave after finding out that Lae'zel and the rest of the companions have the weapon he's looking for. SURELY, he would just kill them and claim it for himself so that HE could gain all the glory and take all the credit for returning it. Why would he even consider allowing Baretha to claim such an honor? Makes no sense at all.
I give you +1 for this ...
I mean its classical, almost cliché for bad guys to have this "you are not even worth my time, worm" attitude when they meet hero for first time ... but it was allways kinda stupid.
It gets even worse, when you click the attack button before you even talk to him ...
In that case, "honored, big, strong, fearless and hardened in combat Kith'rak, pride of Githyanki army" ... is simply running away from 4 random nobodies, on a FUCKING DRAGON!!! ... i cant imagine how could this scene become even more ridiculous.
For example, Zevlor could say, "Just before the ship crashed, we arrived here. We were on the road and attacked by gnolls. Then Halsin came along and led us here to safety." That makes it clear what happened and roughly when. If it took you 3 long rests to get to the place where you find out this information, you can assume the tieflings have been there for about 3 days. You aren't sitting there thinking, "Um... roughly how long have the tieflings been here? Has it been a month?... a week?... a day? How long ago did Halsin and the adventurers leave? Was it just before the nautiloid crashed? Seems like it probably should have been, but they make it seem like it may have been days since Halsin left the grove. Otherwise, why would Kagha have taken over as First Druid so quickly after he left? If Halsin was gone for days, though, why did it take Aradin and his adventurers so long to return? The gobbo camp is SUPER close, so shouldn't they have immediately run into all the goblins and chased out? After all, Aradin makes it seem like he was quite surprised to find so many goblins in the camp. Don't you think it would make sense that he'd have discovered just how many there were within, at most, thirty minutes after leaving the grove?
Silly me ... i was thinking how could i missed this information that really makes quite mess around there ... and i was just prepared to give you another +1 for finding something that dont make sence at all.
Then i notice the word "could" ... wich explains it all.
Its your suggestion isnt it?
Well, that would probably not work at all.
For one, Tieflings are quite established there for being in "just for 3 days" ...
For two, it seems quite inprobable that so many druids would have "enough of them" just after 3 days ... they had to bother them for MUCH LONGER than that. Personaly i would say at least month ... maybe even few of them.
And yes, Halsin would need to leave in less than a week, most likely few days ... i even believe it was mentioned by someone, but im not sure who ... i shall seach for it next time i will play, if i remember. But there is a lot of tidbits you can miss, if you dont talk with every single Druid inside the Grove.
Why did it take Aradin and his adventurers so long to return, if goblin camp is so super close?
Once again, self-explanatory answer would be: Bcs its not.
I mean have you ever played any other game?
WoW is great example ... you can fly over whole continent North to South in less than 30 minutes ... that would make awfully small planet.
And what about the Harper camp? Was that from 100 years ago or more recent? If more recent, why is the skeleton SO long dead and picked clean? Why do all the texts imply that the harpers were in the area over 100 years ago, and there are no real signs that they've returned? But if 100 years ago, why is there fresh food in the barrels and crates?
I dont have clear answer here ...
Maybe except that food was bringed there a lot later (most likely recently) by someone who didnt mind to have bare bones exposed next to his observation spot.
Since everything else, except the food seem to make sence to me.
