Something that got me thinking that won't really solve any burning questions outside the EA, but is quite interesting and explains the curious Shadowheart dialogue in which she and our character talk about hearing the Dreamer on the Nautiloid and her being called a beautiful weapon, implying that we're supposed to hear the Dreamer on the Nautiloid.

Until now I thought it's something outside the scope of EA that will get implemented later because both our character and Shadowheart mention hearing the Dreamer on the Nautiloid, but we never actually do during the gameplay sequence. Or so I thought until I stopped dismissing the opening cinematic and character creation. Usually intro cinematics are just there for eye candy title drop and the character creation is just a gameplay mechanic to make a character, but that is not the case with Baldur's Gate. It is very deliberate in what it does and uses these aspects to start the storytelling. So the game's actual lore does not begin the moment we gain control of our character, but in fact the moment the opening cinematic starts, as it's showing events that are happening in real time to the point we gain control of our character.

It starts with the Absolute mindflayers who already took over the Nautiloid and killed the original mindflayer crew, while Shadowheart, Lae'zel and Tav are already imprisoned, possibly Gale too, moments prior to being violated by the Absolute tadpole. And as soon as the tadpole enters our heads, the screen fades to black (character creation acting as a dream) and we immediately hear the Dreamer asking us "Who are you?" and "Who do you dream of at night?". So from the very moment of insertion, we actually dream and hear the Dreamer on the Nautiloid precisely because Shadowheart was present with the artifact, so the Dreamer was able to intervene and put the tadpoles into stasis and use them as a way to communicate with us.

Then she does the same for Astarion, Wyll and Mizora who are kidnapped in Baldur's Gate and then Karlach who gets onboard in Avernus. And this is all happening during the cinematic and prior to waking up. So I love how they are mixing actual cinematics and the character creation to tell a story cohesively, with the cinematic being the actual event happening in real time while the character creation is acting as a dream when we pass out in the middle of it, because the Dreamer can only communicate while we are unconscious. So Shadowheart is actually referencing the character creation menu and making it a piece of lore, which is pretty cool.

Now the fascinating thing is; everyone who had the tadpole inserted while Shadowheart was onboard, did not get enthralled and instead had dreams, even survived the crash. While everyone else who was already implanted prior to Shadowheart coming onboard, ended up enthralled and dead later. This leads me to believe that we were not actually specifically chosen, but were simply lucky by being at the right place at the right time thanks to Shadowheart's artifact which reaches out passively to everyone around it, but the Dreamer can only intervene and save the person if it is present during the insertion of the tadpole to permanently put it in stasis in its infancy, otherwise it becomes too late. So I find it cute that Shadowheart feels indebted to us for saving her life when she is actually the one who saved everyone by stealing the artifact, she's just not aware of it yet and I hope this comes into play later during the story, especially between her and Lae'zel to end their rivalry.

This also makes me believe that Lae'zel and Astarion will have Queen Vlaakith and Cazador speaking to them during character creation, while Shadowheart might be called a beautiful weapon if she is selected. It would be such cool little details to see.

[Linked Image from bg3.wiki] Minthara's Compendium Of Issues