Some really good responses in this thread but I wonder if I'm doing the right thing by having the discussion in thread contributes to the degradation of word / a concept that should never lose its moral weight . . . Would be nice to have a "Justice for Mystra" thread where people who are fond of Forgotten Realms lore could talk about how Mystra was misrepresented.
But I am happy to agree with @druidofthestars and I always find @Anska's contributions to be insightful.
You are right, Anska, that it comes down to humanist / Forgotten-realms-lore perspective. My Tav is a wizard / cleric of mystra multi class and sometimes they have identical responses. On one quick save "praise be that Mystryl was reborn as Mystra" is labeled [cleric] and another [wizard]. You have two options that garner the same reply from Elminster. One is something like "Eliminster Umar, greatest of all archmages it's an honor" and the cleric of Mystra is something like "Eliminster Umar, most exalted amongst the chosen of Mystra it's an honor" so the distinction isn't as stark as it would be in setting that had a humanist movement.
IMO humanism would be the default setting of the PoE world. It's an early renaissance setting and indeed the ghost you meet at the end of PoE1 strikes me as an atheist prophet; I could see humanism emerging from her teachings. It's harder to see humanism springing up in Greyhawk - it's such a grimdark setting - but it's because Greyhawk, unlike the realms, doesn't have a mechanism in place that encourages people to worship gods it's possible. (Greyhawk doesn't have a wall of the faithless or a fate of the false and it's possible to be a cleric of a concept like 'goodness')
While the loss of faith Gale might be satisfying end for some BG3 fans who thought Mystra treated him badly, the non ascended Gale faces a grim afterlife where he would spend eternity as a brick in the wall of the faithless unless he made a deal with devil or he was snatched to the hells by some demon. I wish my cleric could have reminded him of this - it would show that Larian showed the same attention to Forgotten Realms lore in chapter 3 as they did in chapter 2. Atheism just isn't a smart choice in the realms. (but it is a smart choice DOS2, PoE and possibly Greyhawk)
In chapter 2 clerics of Mystra get two good lines when speaking with Elminister
On of which is "I'm surprised Mystra would ask this, it's hardly her way" to which Gale responds "I'm glad I'm not the only one". And if you keep Gale as a friend and encourage his faith Mystra seems like Mystra in the tabernacle meeting.
BUT if you romance him her responses do indeed seem cold and uncaring. And that's out character.
Mystra cares for humans. Her first act as a god was saving the few Netherese cities she could. And Mystra is a patron of the harpers, Gale should have been able to mention how many harpers would have died.
Mystra should have either brought Gale life to be at the party or she should have sent a divine messenger to let us know that Gale had been redeemed and was enjoying an afterlife full of reading, writing and discovery.
At the least Withers should have a had a line like the one Karlach got. "She wouldn't come". Preferably something like "Gale was redeemed in Mystra's eyes and she has exalted him in Elysium.
So much of Act 3 lacks the polish and care of the earlier chapters and I suspect that whoever wrote the Mystra lines was not a forgotten realms fan. (and I'm equally convinced that who wrote the Shar and Selune lines *was* a Forgotten Realms fan)
While I liked the romance scenes and dialogues I ended up thinking that Gale's is the only romance where the love affair makes him worse: full of bitterness towards his ex and equally stuffed with hubris. Be careful Gale, if you nurse that bitterness too much and Shar might take an interest . .
