And so if I had to pick one thing at Gale's core, it's this boy weeping for the roses. He is curious, he is very open minded, he rarely judges but mostly tries to relate to those around him, and has a love for beauty and art - and there is a sense of melancholia in him most dominantly during the first two acts of the game.
That's lovely. Thanks for that and the note. I still prefer my read but I'm sincerely happy I read this. And yes he decides to save the day so no one needs to become a mind flayer. Orpheus, you should have listened . . .
A good nature ruined by the system - and, while you probably disagree, I put becoming Mystra's Chosen on the side of the system.
No I don't agree and more importantly Tara doesn't agree. She blames Tav for leading him down this path and not Mystra. She thought Mr. Dakarios was a perfectly lovely Chosen (granted I've only seen the youtube and don't know if she says something else in other places)
She considers Gale-bomb to be one responsible the death of the absolute. My Tav was pretty happy with Gale's chosen / professor ending.
On 'academia' I did read those but found myself disagreeing because before and Tasha's and BG3 there weren't universities in Faerun. BG2 took place in the 13th century and, while we are formally in the 14th century, the world has just emerged from a second dark age so education takes place in either an apprenticeship or is taught at temples of Mystra or Azuth. As a multi class wizard I tried to warn Rolan about Larrokan but he wasn't listening. Perhaps Rolan can use his new digs to create Faerun's second university.
The things you would need to for an academic culture to thrive don't really exist in Faerun. There are no lending libraries (outside of temples of Bhaal ) to get into candlekeep you need to donate a very valuable book and that only gets you a pass of 3-7 days depending on the value of the tome. I dunno why Ogmha likes it that way but I like the result: it keeps wizardry as
arcane knowledge.
In the real world academy, knowledge isn't restricted but access to certain materials is controlled. The scientists who know how to make nukes and super viruses are only given access to the materials needed to create such things under certain conditions. In Faerun such restrictions aren't in place. Knowledge is power and anyone who learns how to memorize a fireball scroll can start blowing things up. If Faerun were to opt for the free flow of information Mystra would probably need to limit the weave still further - and Archmage Gale wasn't satisfied with the ability call down meteors or alter reality via wish . . .
So I don't hold Mystra responsible for Lorrokan. For one that would be Azuth's domain and two I just prefer apprentice mage stories to university student stories; magic university stories feel too mundane. The second, I realize, put me in a small minority I disliked the Harry Potter series before I learned to disliked the author. I guess that makes me an apologist for the system but, truth be told, I prefer Faerun's system to our own or the wizarding world of Rowling.
"old-fashioned" is the word he uses when you ask him for a ENM relationship with Halsin. I hadn't noticed the bits with Elminster, makes the decision include this dialogue all the more questionable:
Like much of Halsin act 3 it should be revised.
One does presume that Gale god wants to avoid being eaten
But one also suspects that Gale god is about to learn the hard lesson that the dead three and Cyric learned: godhood isn't freedom, it means you belong to AO. And Gale hints as much at the party. If Prometheus is unbound I suspect he will suffer the same fate as the dead three. Unfortunately he can't be Shelley's Prometheus either because that hero was absent all "ambition, envy, revenge, and a desire for personal aggrandizement" Indeed we should be concerned that Gale's theology is spreading in the lands of Thay - land ruled by undead wizards - and Amn (the colonial superpower of Faerun)
You are right to say that being a chosen in this game is not a good fate. But I disagree - strongly - that we should only judge this game by its content and not "outside" content. (I'm not saying that's your position but other have said as much) It's a DnD game, a Faerun game and a sequel to the BG2 series. Elminister the chosen of mystra is a benevolent figure in the DnD novels and both BG1 and BG2.
"Stay thy course and indulge an old man" in BG1 is conversation starter that direct Charname to trustworthy companions. In BG2 he keeps the Jaheria romance going and he restores Jaheria's fallen Harper status. If anything we should be asking how well the game represents the lore. Why, for example, doesn't the game include a chosen who is relatively happy with her fate? I would have liked to have met Alustriel. (especially if she let us ride a unicorn)
This isn't PoE or DoS2 where the gods are soul vampires . . .
