[...]
Oh and another problem with the game as a whole that impacts the experience of the dark path; we can't actually talk about our intentions regarding the cult with our companions. We can't ever say that we're joining them with the intent to betray them to any of our companions, we don't even get the option. Which weakens the roleplay value to me since the only differene between genuinely joining and joining to betray them is all in your head. And when the option of "join to backstab" is one of the obvious motivations you could have for joining the cult, the fact that we can't bring this up is an issue. One which ties into the lack of ability to talk about ourselves and our own characters in game, thereby solidifying the character in the world.
Interesting thing about that – it's actually possible to talk about your plans for the cult... with Volo. At the goblin party, if you rescued Volo, he'll be sitting in a cage (again), and he'll ask you some questions about what you did and why. One of the responses you can give is "I needed the goblins to think I'm on their side", so joining the cult with no intention of converting to their religion is an option Larian considered. That being the case, it's odd that you can have this important conversation about your intentions with a side character you may not even have access to, but not with your teammates, who had to risk their hides and possibly go against their morals just because you said so.
This is a part of the larger problem with how the narrative is presented, but that is another topic entirely.
