Originally Posted by Wormerine
Originally Posted by Ixal
Why would it be unfulfillable? Other RPGs managed to do something like this just fine. Mask of the Betrayer is a very good example of this.
My memory is fuzzy as far as "hunger" from MotB is concerned. I remember it more as a system that limited resting, rather than a systemic tracker of your choices (I know there was something, but I don't recall how it worked exactly).

Originally Posted by Ixal
And the EA implementation clearly showed that Larian initially designed the system for exactly that.
And what system would it be exactly? I am asking, because lack of any system tied to using the tadpole is specifically what made me sceptical it would end up being a thing.

Yes, you wouldn't get the dream sequence and the power wthout using it, so Larian added almost forced interaction when freeing shadowheart for players to use it. You might argue they changed their design based on feedback, I would argue encouraging players to use the tadpole was always the goal and you misread their intention. To me, giving a tadpole a harsh consequence would go so much against design of BG3 as a whole. It's all about giving you as many options as possible at each given moment, and cares less about the consequences.

But whatever original intend was, more importantly to the conversation, I am doubtful that such potential changes to the tadpole system indicate in a shift based on player's reaction in EA. In my mind, dreams from EA and 1.0 serve the same purpose - and I think 1.0 are more effectve in establishing trust between Tav and the thing behind the tadpole, but unlike some I suspect that intended trajectory was always roughly the same. I just have easier time imagining Sven getting exited over getting players wacky OP abilities, than a gameover screen when using them.

If you are right, though, I would be interesting in hearing at some point what their original ideas were.
In Motb you could either try to resist the hunger and eat as little as possible which made the hunger controllable and tick up slower, or you could use its power, but the more you did the faster the hunger increased, requiring you to feed more and more often or you died.

The most obvious sign that Larian planned for negative consequences for tadpole overuse was that Nere could mind control you when you used the tadpole X number of times.
Larian also kept marketing the tadpole as something that has negative consequences even a few days before release, way after they had switched to them being consequence free superpowers.