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You both make good points here. Rag, your point that she doesn't consider herself weak so she thinks she doesn't warrant death is particularly salient, I'd say. But the way she talked about being 'the queen's chosen' made it sound like it's a specific, formal title and if the kithrak is chosen, then she can't also be chosen. That's the vibe I got anyway.
Niara, normally I'd agree that the purification is just a ruse, but...it feels like an unnecessary one from what little we've seen of gith culture, through Lae'zel. She's already demonstrated a willingness to murder herself and therest of the party when it seemed as though transformation was on the horizon. She even described a whole thing with a circlet going over your head. The gith just to me don't seem likea people who would go to such lengths when they're a race that is literally indoctrinated from birth to be zealot soldiers in the battle against the mindflayers. Especially since becoming a mindflayer is genuinely a fate worse than death. Plus as you said, it seems like more risk to tell the gith to go back to a creche since they might actually make it and change before anyone there realizes. It just doesn't feel like it lines up quite right to me.
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You're not wrong that it seems odd that they'd even have a story about a purification ritual to begin with... because they're not the sort to spare anyone's feelings and they are the sort to expect life-ending obedience from those subservient to them...
But at the same time, it's those same traits that make the likelihood of them having such a ritual at all seem very slim; a Githyanki who became infected with a tadpole is a failure and worthy of no more leniency than a swift death; a better warrior would not have fallen prey to their sworn enemy like that. Giving them any kind of concession that would involve bringing them to a creche seems even more far-fetched as a result...
Since their society doesn't have practising clerics, or divine casters, their options for safe tadpole removal - and indeed for knowing whether it's still possible or not (traditionally, you have less than 24 hours before it's irreversible), would be extremely limited - I can't imagine they'd expend the time and effort of doing so on anyone but the most important or high ranking individuals - Lae'zel certainly doesn't rate, unless she's a hidden heir or some other super secret special someone. If she IS secretly someone incredibly special, she might know that such a ritual exists and is possible, but may unaware that the majority of Githyanki do not know of this, because it isn't for them, and that they must usually resort to the swift blade.
Last edited by Niara; 19/11/22 03:57 PM.
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Exactly. I can't figure out if it's a lie or not because the lie just feels like one they wouldn't bother telling, yet it also seems like it wouldn't be true. I'm withholding judgement on this plot point until release since maybe it'll become clear when we can see the whole questline.
But onto new stuff, I've been exploring the underdark section for the first time ever and I'm actually really enjoying it. I don't know if it's because I've never seen that content before so it feels fresher, but I love the look of the underdark, all the mushrooms and what have you. The Myconid circle is absolutely fascinating, looks great aesthetically and I'm actually really charmed by them in general. I'm quite happy to get to spend time with them and I'm looking forward to a drow playthrough where I can see what reactivity happens with that. Fingers crossed the game doesn't pull the rug out from under me.
Also semi-related, this game has really sold me on sorcerers and why they're cool. I'm certain there won't be the same kind of reactivity at play, but I do intend to play a sorcerer in BG1 and 2 when I get to them.
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Bear in mind of course....
"The Kith'rak is not acting as a Kith'rak should!" - Because I know I'm in the right, of course, and he didn't agree with me, so, naturally he absolutely must be in the wrong! How dare he!
"We're meant to undergo purification!" - Because purification certainly does not mean 'a swift death', of course not... no, they would absolutely bring someone who was potentially about to turn into an illithid to the creches where they raise their young, yes, that makes sense! Never mind that there's no known cure for an illithid tadpole in our society that does not have openly practicing clerics... no, it's a mysterious purification rite, which I am not allowed to know the specifics of until I'm an adult and permitted back into full society; there's no way they'd keep the fact that death is the only cure from those who hadn't completed their rite of passage yet, never!
"Vlaakith would never sanction the death of her own people for the sake of capturing an important relic!" - Vlaakith, the lich queen, who above all else covets power and who has supported a society where inter-clutch murder for the sake of competition and advancement is commonplace. Vlaakith who routinely 'honours' her most successful and high ranking warriors to a special audience where she devours their soul to feed her immortality. No, she'd never!
But it is pretty on brand for your standard githyanki - who generally treat the very idea that they might be wrong about something, or that they, personally, may make mistakes, to be anathema and impossible concepts.
Lae'zel, of course... is most likely some form of special bloodline, or favoured individual - I'd say princess, if Gith society had such, though they generally do not; they *used* to have a royal succession, but Vlaakith (Vlaakith the 157th, that is) refused to select or produce an heir of her own right up until she died... at which time she returned as a lich and kept hold of the crown with a tyrannical death grip ever since. Lae'zel is probably descended of a line that traces back to a clutch of the previous Vlaakith in some fashion, and is the secret heir of her people, the only one with the true right to challenge Vlaakith and claim the throne of the githyanki people for herself.
This is Larian we're talking about, after all. Even if they could, it wouldn't make sense for Githyanki to help anyone but their own race. The others they would just kill before they turned. That's how I know it's a scam.
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If we get to the creche and Lae'zel rats us out immediately that would be great.
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If we get to the creche and Lae'zel rats us out immediately that would be great. +1 Alternatively, if she has high enough approval of us, she could say we're her slaves minions. We should treated as extensions of her will, and thus saved. However, even if she does the above, she should exclude SH from that group of favored minions and let her be killed.
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Okay so two quick questions. Firstly, is it possible to complete the quest from Omeluum (who I find very fun by the way. I always enjoy characters that look crazy and gross but are very polite and chill)? Secondly, are we supposed to be able to access the arcane tower? because every time I go to that area the game at some point crashes on me.
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Joined: Jun 2022
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Yes you can do both the quest and access the tower.
If you haven't, make sure to verify game files. And switching the game API from Vulkan to DX11. Might solve your crashing.
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Volunteer Moderator
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Joined: Aug 2021
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Secondly, are we supposed to be able to access the arcane tower? because every time I go to that area the game at some point crashes on me. If the crashes persist despite Crimsonrider’s advice, maybe the problem is tied to the inventory? The main symptom would be that the game can no longer save, crashing when you reach the auto-save point near the tower. The culprit as I understand it is that some inventory actions corrupt your game somehow. The fix would be to return to a save that happened before the offending manipulation, though it’s not easily identified. I assume, since you’ve encountered Omeluum, that you’ve been trading in the myconid colony and sorting your inventory a bunch. Try loading a save before trading. After the trade, do NOT manipulate your inventory in any way, then cross your fingers and head to the tower. Edit: you can equip the stuff you bought, but don’t move things within the inventory. Moving things to the party face before sales is fine too, as long as you actually sell everything you’ve sent to your Sorcerer. Edit 2: I’m at most 70% sure the information contained within this post is accurate. Hope it’s still useful.
Last edited by Flooter; 20/11/22 01:04 PM.
Avatar art by Carly Mazur
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Thanks for clearing up the arcane tower issues. I've finished my playthrough. I gave up the Nere fight since I feel very underlevelled and not skilled enough as a player. My final thoughts: I enjoyed it! I'm glad I went back to play the game, it's a lot of fun and my opinion of it had grown harsher than the game really deserved. I still have plenty of issues with it, things like how the game controls, some plot beats, but ultimately while this game may not become a favorite of mine, I'll probably play the next patch and I look forward to seeing the final product next year.
On a related note, I started Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and honestly? I'm already liking that more than BG3. I've only just arrived at Nishkel, and I'm still getting to grips with stuff, but it has a real charm that's hooked me in. I'm not a fan of the 2e system at all, I definitely prefer 5e now I've seen enough to compare them. Also it cements my preference for turn-based over rtwp. There's quite a lot of chaos going on that's harder to keep up with than I'd like, and the fact companions die in battle and I have to go ressurect them at a temple is kind of a nuissance and honestly bothers me from a story standpoint. But yeah, I've gotten started and I'm excited to keep going.
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On a related note, I started Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and honestly? I'm already liking that more than BG3. I've only just arrived at Nishkel, and I'm still getting to grips with stuff, but it has a real charm that's hooked me in. I'm not a fan of the 2e system at all, I definitely prefer 5e now I've seen enough to compare them. Also it cements my preference for turn-based over rtwp. There's quite a lot of chaos going on that's harder to keep up with than I'd like, and the fact companions die in battle and I have to go ressurect them at a temple is kind of a nuissance and honestly bothers me from a story standpoint. But yeah, I've gotten started and I'm excited to keep going. Charm, I think, is a very good way of putting it. Combat is chaotic, but I think it helps to hide how basic and barren 2e combat really is. Regular deaths are a common criticism of early levels - once you get higher HP it gets better. Early on one unlucky hit can put you into the ground. In BG2 come insta death spells though, so that's another "fun" thing to watch out for. But overall, yeah, from what I played of 5e it seems solid to me. I could use a little bit more choice when lvling up, though.
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So since I already have this thread going, I figure I might as well keep using it whenever I have thoughts on BG1, especially compared to BG3. And I'll say for starters, while I find the process of swapping companions out to be pretty tedious, in that they only stay where you leave them, no matter how out of the way that may be, I actually am liking the game's approach to them. At this stage, (I've just finished the Nishkel mines) the story is still mostly just me being an adventurer and trying to find my way (which I really enjoy structurally) so I do like that the companions seem to mainly just be...around, folks who have their own stuff they're doing and are coming with me just...well, because teamwork makes the dream work. It makes me think of Dragon Age 2 which, for all its flaws, I feel has the strongest companion group and companion dynamic of the series.
This is mostly unrelated but is a thought that came to me about Wyll. He's supposed to be a big-time adventurer, a fairly well-known hero by the time we meet him. But I think that falls flat given the fact that when we meet him, it's the first time we the players have heard of him. Sure, if we're Baldurian we can say we've heard of him, but it doesn't really carry the right feel, it doesn't feel like we're meeting a living legend since most of what we as the player know about him just comes from him. Sure, the tieflings seem to know about him but they don't treat him with the kind of awe or shock his supposed reputation would seemingly warrant. The counsellor from the inn is aware of him, but that comes too late to really make the right impression. And this is all a problem because his story is clearly meant to evoke a sort of fallen hero/feet of clay sort of feel, but if we don't feel that reputation, it just rings hollow. I don't think there's a way to really fix this given how act one is structured, but it would have been better narratively if we'd been given the opportunity to hear people talk about the Blade of Frontiers first before actually meeting Wyll.
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Having thought about it a bit more, I have more to say on the subject of worldbuilding. When I started BG1, I felt very rooted in the game. The game decides your backstory for you as Gorion's ward so it has an advantage, but what that means still feels like it carried more meaning. I was starting in a place that really felt like a place. It had history, it had people I felt like my character knew, it had flavor to it. And as I travelled around, I felt like I understood the world. I felt like I knew what to expect from things, what was and wasn't strange. I don't get that feeling from BG3. In BG3 the setting feels...like generic D&D. I have a passing familiarity with D&D as a system, but before BG3 I knew nothing about the forgotten realms. And having played through act one...I still feel like I know nothing about the forgotten realms. Oh sure I know that tieflings are a thing, that there are drow and dwarves and druids, and hags, I know the names of places like Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate, but it doesn't feel like a cohesive world, just a bunch of stuff all put together. I think the story is coming together well, but the world feels...like something a DM put together for a personal game, not a world that's had its history being crafted for decades.
Last edited by Gray Ghost; 28/11/22 04:19 PM.
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And I'll say for starters, while I find the process of swapping companions out to be pretty tedious, in that they only stay where you leave them, no matter how out of the way that may be, Yes, it's not really until BG2 that companions become companions - with their own story arcs, romances and all (though even in BG2 there are only few of those). I was never underimpression that we were meant to swap character around much, outside ditching some of the companions if we spot someone we like more, or if someone dies permanently. BG2 does have an inn one can send companions to for an easier access.
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Joined: Sep 2022
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My opinion on this inventory.
If you need a SEARCH engine in your inventory, you have failed designing your inventory, and failed in item creation for the game.
Its just a bandaid to a deeper more fundamental problem.
Last edited by Count Turnipsome; 29/11/22 08:16 AM.
It just reminded me of the bowl of goat's milk that old Winthrop used to put outside his door every evening for the dust demons. He said the dust demons could never resist goat's milk, and that they would always drink themselves into a stupor and then be too tired to enter his room..
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enthusiast
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Joined: Oct 2021
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My opinion on this inventory.
If you need a SEARCH engine in your inventory, you have failed designing your inventory, and failed in item creation for the game.
Its just a bandaid to a deeper more fundamental problem. I think this is a fair criticism. I love D:OS2 and I love BG3 so far - but I think simplifying and streamlining inventory management (as well as a couple of other things, like party management) is really the next step for Larian to keep making their games feel better. I actually didn't mind the inventory management early on in D:OS2 because I am just... weird and like micromanaging all sorts of stuff like that. But around Act 3 or so I started to just get to the point where I was like bruh... this is a pain in the butt. 
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2020
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Considering inventory is weight-limited rather than space-limited, I don't see why the major cRPGs haven't already split up their inventories into different categories rather than throwing everything into the same window and overly relying on sort functions. Like weapons should be going into a weapons section, consumables into consumables, and so on.
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