Originally Posted by The Red Queen
Moved to the Story & Character subforum where this thread seems to fit better.

And I'll admit, as much as I enjoyed piecing together what I could of the story of the Shadow-Cursed Lands, I was still left pretty puzzled by the end of it. I was hoping that knowing what I know now, it'll make more sense next playthrough!

But I had started to wonder ...


Whether the Thorms were always a Sharran family, hiding amongst the Selunites and undermining them from within. That does seem like something the Sharrans would do. My tentative theory is that Ketheric was brought up a Sharran, but Melodia was a genuine Selunite and Ketheric really loved her, and Isobel followed in her mother's footsteps. I'm not sure whether on this theory Ketheric was always secretly Sharran, or whether he might have wavered and therefore potentially Shar had something to do with Melodia and/or Isobel's death as a punishment for him.

I'm not sure how, even if that is true, it helps with anything else. It might explain why Ketheric didn't turn to Myrkul straight away, given he hadn't actually turned to Shar after Melodia and Isobel's death if he'd always been a Sharran but now no longer felt as much reason to hide it. Aylin's presence was what kept him alive, but I'm not sure what for.

I also was a bit puzzled about what the Shadow Curse was for. Was it Shar cursing the area for Ketheric's betrayal (which would mean that had come much earlier than makes much sense for Myrkul and the other two's Absolute plot), or was her curse because of the defeat of Ketheric, but in that case why did it seem that Ketheric's family were cursed as well as everyone else?

In short, I agree this could all do with a bit more clarification, if anyone is really meant to understand it in a single playthrough!


I got to YouTube but didn’t find any compelling answers in the alternative routes. If I were to make one proposal that solves the problem of the sparse content AND the plot holes in Act 2, it would be to make the Shadowfell like the Underdark of Act 2: a whole other map, multiple ways to enter (Halsin’s portal, Thaniel or Oliver’s Help, or the Temple of Shar), another settlement, and a bunch of Isobel, Ketheric, Balthazar, and Aylin centric quests to unravel the mysteries of Ketheric’s demise.

I think it would be interesting if Ketheric traded Aylin to Shar in exchange for relieving his pain, which you could find in the Shadowfell in the form of relinquished memories. I’d also have Aylin as a temporary follower like Glut who you don’t know is the Nightsong until a reveal, making Shart’s decision more contextually grounded. Instead of being stuck in place, Balthazar could simply have Aylin imprisoned in the Shadowfell, cursed to bear Ketheric’s wounds.

I also wish they followed up on the “redeem Ketheruc” plot, like if you passed all the persuasion checks (as I did) you could get him to free Aylin in a bid to kill himself and have an “I will not die a monster” moment before Myrkul turns him into an abomination.

There are quality elements to the Act 2 plot that could be sooooo much better if given more screen time, context, and choice reactivity.


Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):