Okay... When I saw this I decided that I NEED to make an account here. Let me explain.
I will be playing a TAV first and also A Dark Urge, playing them at the same time and switching between the two to see how different they are and for the story I gave them. It will be a War Cleric Dwarf and Dragonborn GOO Warlock. I want to give my Dwarf an ideal partner in their head which is a female Dragonborn (I have my fetishes, don't judge) and I will make the Dark Urge that exact Dragonborn.
I even came up with this small background for this story and both of those characters
So my Dwarf is a War Cleric who was lost in his love for War, his devotion to slaughter and the only person to take him out of it was a certain Dragonborn girl, someone who was truly dear to his heart. He found her when she was all alone, she was alone all her life and was losing herself to violent urges that made her go berserk every so often. Meeting her made this Dwarf wake up from his devotion and start to feel something different. A need to help this poor soul with control over her need for murder and he grew truly attached to her and she did to him... and then he lost her in one battle where she went wild and turned into that Slayer looking monster from release trailer. In that form she also attacked the Dwarf who accidentally killed her as she tried to kill him. This made my Dwarf pretty much completely depressed and lost in dark thoughts wanting nothing, but vengeance, losing himself in the haze of violent thoughts, yearning for brutality of war to keep his mind off of his loss, of his failure... Or maybe because he wants to think that she is there on some battlefield and there is a chance he can still save her. But now he has to wake up and deal with his guilt, move forward. Do something better. But now it's like she is always there next to him. Looking over his shoulder. Watching him every time he closes his eyes.
While in the other timeline she got to live. She got to live while the Dwarf died sparing her life, not being able to kill her even as she tried to kill him. She got out of her haze of violence and turned back to normal, but once she saw what she did she fell into complete despair and now was completely alone, filled with sorrow her violent urges came back even stronger later on. She ended isolating herself again, she tried to seek help through learning and eventually looked for guidance in forbidden knowledge of great unknown. In the unreachable depths of space she found hope in eldritch beings that could possibly rid her off this violence and loneliness. She studied the secrets of Great old ones but in result she became more insane and the Gobbo got to her and made her into a violent monster again, forcing her to murder people against her will, tearing her apart as she was turning back into the monster she was before that took away that Dwarf, destroying her mind further. Now because of Tadpole she has the chance to rid herself from this. Somehow. She will find a way. And atone for all of her sins.
Two stories about people that lost each other. Each on ending up in this situation in different ways. With different stories as they were connected through violence and through loss of each other try to break their need for murder. Escape this violent cycle.
Kind of role play based around two stories from different timelines.
But if this bit about you posted there is true about a Guardian then this story just gained for me a WHOLE new light. My Dwarf's guardian would be the girl that was killed by him, protecting him as he tries to forgive himself for her death. Always there as she already forgave him and wants him to be safe.
This is honestly making me even more happy to play both TAV and Dark Urge at the same time. It would be just beautiful.
Okay, finally that bear scene and an answer for those of you who asked for my impressions from the room and from talking to people there.
I feel this has now had too much of a build up as it's taken me longer to get round to than I thought it would, so I hope noone is disappointed! But here goes ...
First, I should make extra clear that this is just my subjective impression and I can in no way speak for everyone in the room. I was there as it was happening, and I spoke to a few people about it afterwards, but there's of course no guarantee that their and my views were representative.
But as I said last night, I felt that the reaction was a mix of shock, admiration and amusement.
Shock, because clearly there are taboos against sex with animals so seeing the build up to something that looks a bit like that can be rather startling even for those of us who like to think of ourselves as open-minded. And I think that some of the people there didn't expect the game to go that far in depicting a sexual encounter that involved a wildshaped character, and even some of those who weren't surprised it was in the game were nevertheless expecting that we would be permitted to see less than we did in a global livestream. But while people were surprised and even somewhat shocked (as seems pretty clear from some of the audience shots!), this seemed to be because of how they thought it was likely to go down on the internet and in media more generally and weren't expecting Larian to risk the level of furore that it was likely to generate, and nobody I spoke to was at all personally offended by what they saw. And certainly nobody I spoke to had interpreted what they had seen as a depiction of bestiality. Insofar as people saw any real world parallels at all, the discussion was about furries, and hoping that they'd be stoked by the content and that some sections of that community might feel decently represented by elements of the Halsin romance.
Admiration, because while Halsin certainly seems to be a character who has a complicated relationship with his bear shape (I've spotted some interesting speculation about that pop up elsewhere on these forums about that!) it probably would have been easier to brush the question of how that might impact on his sexuality under the carpet, especially as he is such a fan favourite and that could be potentially alienating for some people. It felt quite brave of Larian in that context to let players explore this potentially difficult side of him if they wanted. It also seemed to reflect respect on Larian's part for player agency, giving those players who really do want to go there the option to do so, and not preventing them as a result of not wanting to deal with potential fallout.
And, taking it less seriously, amusement because folk thought it reflected the kind of absurd flights of fancy that happened in their table-top games and found it great fun that they could be just as surreal and silly in a cRPG. And because there's something inherently awkward and ridiculous about sitting in a room full of virtual strangers watching animated characters prepare to have sex, even if one of them isn't shaped like a bear. And because however a person in elf shape would prepare to have sex with a person in bear shape (and I'm not planning on speculating on how it would actually work any more than I've already involuntarily done ), it doesn't seem as though it would go like that: the very fact that the setup wasn't realistic and the animation and expression (that smirk!) weren't particularly bearlike made it funny, but I also suspect was very much intended. And finally, because it was hard not to immediately jump to the thought that some poor sod had the job of trying to animate a scene with a bear-shaped person having sex (complete with bear penis).
I hope that answers the question, and that others who were there would feel that was a fair summary.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
I understand that sex with a bear is good marketing (shocking to be precise), but why are we discussing it as if it's a big part of the game? Like well... Uhhh. We have sex with a bear but we censor Daisy's nipples, interesting.
A question - is the +2 / + 1 abilities score rule for all races mandatory or optional? Second could be the better option, since some builds can be heavily reliant on current race bonuses.
I understand that sex with a bear is good marketing (shocking to be precise), but why are we discussing it as if it's a big part of the game? Like well... Uhhh. We have sex with a bear but we censor Daisy's nipples, interesting.
In this thread, I am simply answering the question that I was asked about what the live audience at the PFH made of the scene as I was there, which I think is a reasonable question given the exposure that the scene has had on the internet more widely.
But you are of course correct that it is only a tiny, optional part of the game. Which doesn't mean we shouldn't or can't discuss it (we're all for discussing tiny, optional parts of the game here!), though I'd agree it wouldn't be doing the game justice to let it dominate discussion to the exclusion of all else.
I don't think that's what's happening, so am not going to attempt to shut down any discussion as long as it's civil, constructive and posted in an appropriate thread. And as this particular thread is probably best kept specifically for questions and answers about the Creator Day I attended, I'd suggest any wider discussion of the Halsin scene should be taken elsewhere, though if anyone has any further questions about what I said above they can certainly ask those here.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
A question - is the +2 / + 1 abilities score rule for all races mandatory or optional? Second could be the better option, since some builds can be heavily reliant on current race bonuses.
As far as I could see on my very quick survey, it applied to every race. Of course, many of them have a +2/+1 already so in a sense it is optional as the player can always leave the bonuses on their default attributes. But for some, eg humans (which I did look at) and half-elves (which I didn't) it looks at the moment as though we're not going to be able to replicate PHB.
Though the usual caveat applies: this was based on me trying to see as much as I could of the game very quickly, so there are things I could have missed, and also while presumably it was a nearly-final build of the game, things could still change before release.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
Have you been able to recruit anyone? If so, can you recall their ability scores? I wonder if anything was changed, especially about Wyll and his puny 13 DEX.
Last edited by neprostoman; 10/07/2312:21 PM. Reason: typo
If possible, please pass feedback to Larian to make this +2 / +1 rule optional if not already (for example, as a toggle). It is optional in tabletop (as it is a rule from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) and should remain so in BG3, so that people can pick the suitable option for them.
Have you been able to recruit anyone? If so, can you recall their ability scores? I wonder if anything was changed, especially about Wyll and his puny 13 DEX.
I did get Gale, SH and Lae'zel in my party, but didn't check their stats. (A minor point: I could access Lae'zel and SH's inventories in the prologue again.) And I recruited Wyll but he went straight to camp as I was full up.
I do agree that Wyll's dex in EA seemed particularly badly judged, but I'm afraid I can't offer any good news on that front. Still, I don't have bad news either
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
If possible, please pass feedback to Larian to make this +2 / +1 rule optional if not already (for example, as a toggle). It is optional in tabletop (as it is a rule from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) and should remain so in BG3, so that people can pick the suitable option for them.
These forums are our way of giving Larian feedback (you can also use the feedback form on their launcher if you have the game, or email Larian support for whom you can find details on the support section of Larian's website).
I did get Gale, SH and Lae'zel in my party, but didn't check their stats. (A minor point: I could access Lae'zel and SH's inventories in the prologue again.) And I recruited Wyll but he went straight to camp as I was full up.
I do agree that Wyll's dex in EA seemed particularly badly judged, but I'm afraid I can't offer any good news on that front. Still, I don't have bad news either
Following this PFH I expected a deluge of previews and videos from "content creators" talking about their experience trying this game, but so far it's been weirdly silent on that front.
Searching "Baldur's Gate 3" on Youtube and then sorting by "most recent uploads" you mostly get flooded by videos talking about the fucking bear.
Party control in Baldur's Gate 3 is a complete mess that begs to be addressed. SAY NO TO THE TOILET CHAIN
Thanks for your take on the bear incident and for this thread generally.
My, hopefully, last thoughts on the bear thing are: 1. Sex is like crafting - either leave it out or do it properly. 2. Larian went for max impact by pairing Astarion and Halsin. 3. Larian intended to go for the shock but due to the shambolic nature of their technical skills the scene went further than they intended.
Following this PFH I expected a deluge of previews and videos from "content creators" talking about their experience trying this game, but so far it's been weirdly silent on that front.
Not much new stuff for them to comment on to be fair at least not without spoilers. Everything they saw and experienced will be 'awesome' and 'amazing' etc.
Hello，I‘m a chinese player，My English is not good，In PFH，we meet Jaheira and Fist Marcus，I want to know in which chapter does this plot take place？We can enter the Tower of Moonlight in which chapter？We know there are two routes to the Moon Rising Tower，Blasted Lands and Underdark，We can go to the Underdark in act1，but why does Swen say that the plot of encountering Jaheira is in the act2？I think both of these areas should be in the act1.I hope you can help answer the question，thank you.
I can answer this for you. the shadowland area (cursed land, moonrise towers, last light inn etc) is Act 2. The 2 roads approach here is Act 1, including the current available Underdark (and more), or the surface road through mountain pass +githyanki Creche.
Thank you for your answer, but I still have some questions。In PFH，When we arrive last light inn etc，We're only at level five，I think this place is in act1.
A question - is the +2 / + 1 abilities score rule for all races mandatory or optional? Second could be the better option, since some builds can be heavily reliant on current race bonuses.
As far as I could see on my very quick survey, it applied to every race. Of course, many of them have a +2/+1 already so in a sense it is optional as the player can always leave the bonuses on their default attributes. But for some, eg humans (which I did look at) and half-elves (which I didn't) it looks at the moment as though we're not going to be able to replicate PHB.
Though the usual caveat applies: this was based on me trying to see as much as I could of the game very quickly, so there are things I could have missed, and also while presumably it was a nearly-final build of the game, things could still change before release.
Could I get more clarification on this, because this seems like a great change.
So I understand.
if you play, say a Gnome, you would get +2 or two +1 to put into any ability score of your choice, and then on top of that you would get an additional racial from your subrace? Then you get Point buy on top of that? is the subrace racial increase exempt from the +2/+1 +1?
if THAT is what we are getting it would be amazing, since it really does a lot to open up more race/class combos without unduly penalizing certain races.
A question - is the +2 / + 1 abilities score rule for all races mandatory or optional? Second could be the better option, since some builds can be heavily reliant on current race bonuses.
As far as I could see on my very quick survey, it applied to every race. Of course, many of them have a +2/+1 already so in a sense it is optional as the player can always leave the bonuses on their default attributes. But for some, eg humans (which I did look at) and half-elves (which I didn't) it looks at the moment as though we're not going to be able to replicate PHB.
Though the usual caveat applies: this was based on me trying to see as much as I could of the game very quickly, so there are things I could have missed, and also while presumably it was a nearly-final build of the game, things could still change before release.
Could I get more clarification on this, because this seems like a great change.
So I understand.
if you play, say a Gnome, you would get +2 or two +1 to put into any ability score of your choice, and then on top of that you would get an additional racial from your subrace? Then you get Point buy on top of that? is the subrace racial increase exempt from the +2/+1 +1?
if THAT is what we are getting it would be amazing, since it really does a lot to open up more race/class combos without unduly penalizing certain races.
As far as I understand, all races start 8/8/8/8/8/8 and can allocate +2 to one stat and +1 to another, then distribute 27 points as usual.
i'm more shocked that Larian showed the filter removed which means thats how they see the game being played i.e, after hacking the files to remove it and i'm more upset by the clear lack of testing but thats really just because i want them to stay in the market and not do another Bioware or PR
Luke Skywalker: I don't, I don't believe it. Yoda: That is why you failed.
Shock, because clearly there are taboos against sex with animals so seeing the build up to something that looks a bit like that can be rather startling even for those of us who like to think of ourselves as open-minded. And I think that some of the people there didn't expect the game to go that far in depicting a sexual encounter that involved a wildshaped character, and even some of those who weren't surprised it was in the game were nevertheless expecting that we would be permitted to see less than we did in a global livestream. But while people were surprised and even somewhat shocked (as seems pretty clear from some of the audience shots!), this seemed to be because of how they thought it was likely to go down on the internet and in media more generally and weren't expecting Larian to risk the level of furore that it was likely to generate, and nobody I spoke to was at all personally offended by what they saw. And certainly nobody I spoke to had interpreted what they had seen as a depiction of bestiality. Insofar as people saw any real world parallels at all, the discussion was about furries, and hoping that they'd be stoked by the content and that some sections of that community might feel decently represented by elements of the Halsin romance.
As I had mentioned before I think what Larian did here is incredibly brave. Most fantasy world never really explore the consequences/possibilities of their fantasy elements. We joke about them or are horrified at them behind the scenes but these thoughts don't get placed into the mainstream.
At the end of the day, this has been a huge marketing coup for Larian as well. it was shocking and it has spurred a lot of great discussion. There are more people today that have a better understanding of consent than before this scene.
It also outed a small minority of bigots who we all got to make fun of for being weak, over-sensitive little snowflakes and who think the entire world needs to cater to their personal bigotry.
), it doesn't seem as though it would go like 
