When you get to the Last Light Inn, you are very quickly directed to talk to Isobel so that she can cast a spell on you to protect from the shadow curse. Since you are directed to do this so soon, I went and did that before going back to the wilderness. You are then surprised by an attack from flying bad guys coming in to kidnap her. Now the enemies here, even Marcus, are not that hard to fight, they're mostly in line with other encounters before that. No, my main problem is that Isobel getting knocked out (all the enemies focus her) triggers an immediate cutscene which ends the fight here and there and transitions to another cutscene where all the NPCs at the inn but one are turned undead and attack you.
Might be an
Advocatus Diaboli moment here, but this fight was perfect in its execution and outcome. You spend A LOT of time in BG3, and CRPGs in general, being the first to engage and getting the opportunity to meticulously plan out how you're going to approach the fight. Now, out of nowhere and with no warning, we're the ones suffering a planned ambush and must react as best we can. This fight is
exactly what we need to serve as a readiness check for the rest of Act 2
and it fits very well into the narrative of the Shadow Cursed Lands being a uniquely hostile place. All the enemies target Isobel feverishly because she's the HVT and the quest Marcus has received from his heretical God is to capture Isobel alive
at all costs. Yes its hard, yes you're likely to lose your first or second time through it, but that is ok! Adjusting in the face of defeat is an important skill to have (in life and BG3 lol :V).
Here is a fight that you do not expect at all and so are not prepared for on your first playthrough, and there are no warnings or context cues to indicate that the loss condition is not "Isobel gets kidnapped" but "Isobel gets knocked out", and then if you fail it is followed by rather massive and honestly disproportional consequences. The game doesn't even wait to the end of the turn to give you a chance to heal her up or give you an option to prevent the enemies from taking her away, your characters are all transported to the outside entrance of the building downstairs and the enemy character just gets to waltz away with no issue while carrying her, hell, he could be doing a little dance while he's at it, you can't do anything but watch.
A fight you do not expect and are unprepared for is GOOD! That is a good thing! You knowing how to best allocate the resources you have on hand showcases you understanding of your selected classes and the game's mechanics to pull victory from a hopeless situation. Don't get hung up on the "Larian didn't give me a chance to prepare!" notion because that's the
entire point of the fight. You will only ever get this experience ONCE, every subsequent playthrough you will know what's going to happen and will more than likely be prepared for the outcome you want.
The consequence is not disproportionate AT ALL, in fact it is precisely what you expect. Last Light Inn only exists because of Isobel, and if she's gone, so is the inn and its inhabitants.
The true problem lies with Larian not knowing what to do about Karlach once Dammon is gone.
And this is my main issue with the fight, the loss condition being triggered immediately removes all player agency for what happens next
I abjectly disagree with this. Consequence is a crucially important part of player agency since we now have to make the decision of what to do next with what has transpired.
As a useful tactic if you want to keep Isobel alive -
Use a Cleric to cast Sanctuary on her. She'll be untargetable by enemies until she attacks. So long as your Cleric goes AFTER her in the turn order, you can keep her safe for a good long while.
