Trying to determine if there's an overarching goal tying the disparate threads of Act 1 together here as well.
If there was, I missed it. Some plotlines
do link together, and some feel extraneous. You may be able to come up with justification or head-cannon for exploring everything and taking on all the side quests as being in the nature of your character. Apologies if this is obvious, but if you are playing a certain type, for example a Paladin sworn to protect the weak and innocent, then you would have justification - if not a duty - to always be on the lookout for any side quest that involves lending aid or fighting perceived injustices. On the other hand, if you are a cold-blooded mercenary or thief, then perhaps you are habitually always on the lookout for gold and just can't help yourself. You're right, though -- it always feels odd to be pursuing independent questlines when the main plot is insisting that time is running out.
On a related note, this topic had me thinking about the Mountain Pass region; it seems possible that if you did not recruit Lae'zel and you are not a Githyanki yourself, then there may be no narrative reason to leave the main road in this entire area. In fact, depending upon your choices, you may never have a narrative reason to even enter this zone. Again, I may have missed something -- but that seems striking to me that an entire region and all the development that went into it could be skipped due to lack of a narrative reason for being there.
