This somewhat clickbait-y title was the only way for me to avoid spoilers in the title.
I’m talking about the Act III option / necessity of one character becoming an illithid, if you decide to free Orpheus.
The game limits you, somewhat infamously, to either a) becoming illithid yourself, b) Orpheus transforming, c) Karlach transforming.
I’ve been wondering why the latter option doesn’t exist for all companions? After all, it would have been fairly simple to craft a motivation for each of them to do so:- Karlach: motivation given in the game
- Lae’zel: The lack of this option surprises me the most. Sure, becoming illithid is the last thing she in particular would ever want. But if she is truly as devoted to Orpheus now as the claims to be — as devoted as she used to be to Vlaakith — then why wouldn’t she offer of rather becoming illithid herself than allowing Orpheus to become illithid, after just having been freed? While personally, I find it narratively more satisfying for Orpheus to sacrifice himself, and Lae’zel taking his place as leader of the rebellion — as she is the one githyanki character we’ve come to care about the entire game, whereas we only really get to know Orpheus the moment we are faced with this choice. Still, Lae’zel should at least be considering it.
- Wyll: Only makes sense if he renewed his pact with Mizora to save his father, but: Since it’s stated repeatedly that illithids don’t have souls, turning illithid would be a way for him to save his soul from his pact with Mizora again, wouldn’t it?
- Astarion: This in turn only makes sense if he didn’t become a vampire lord. It would require an “Astarion enjoying the sunrise” scene, similar to the one that does exist for Lae’zel. He could continue to walk on the surface, stay with his new-found friends, perhaps join the Society of Brilliance like Omeluum. After all, transforming to be safe from sunlight once again is little use if he still had to hide away in the shadows, simply because the citizens of Baldur’s Gate would still consider him a monster, just a different kind now. But as the Emperor states, he’d be free to use magic to take on other appearances.
In short: If turning illithid frees him from his vampire curse — after all, he’s been fairly attached to the tadpole over the course of the story, compared to everyone else — then Astarion might ultimately prefer being an illithid over being a vampire spawn. As long as you tell him he still looks pretty with tentacles, of course.
- Gale: In the game, he brings up the orb as an alternative, but Orpheus isn’t content with relying on that, and therefore forces somebody else to become illithid anyway (even if it’s himself). As far as I recall, it’s stated previously that Gale undergoing ceremorphosis would automatically activate the orb… so to have a motivation for becoming illithid himself, Gale would need to discover some way in which transforming doesn’t actually activate the orb, but instead, frees him from it. Gale could also come to see this as an act of redemption to Mystra, but one that he chose himself — rather than simply complying with her command by blowing himself up.
- Minthara: I’ve only recruited her now on my second playthrough, but from what I’ve gathered about her story thus far, she could propose turning illithid as a form of redemption, too — for all the crimes she committed while serving the Absolute. This of course would require her to accept responsibility for what she did back then — which, at least when you first recruit her, she does not.
- Minsc: He has a tadpole, too, and after having been dead already for several decades, being stuck inside a statue, he could seek to end his heroic career with a final bang. As long as you assure him you will take care of Boo after he’s gone.
- Shadowheart: I’ll admit, her turning illithid would make the least sense — and given that she leads the romance stats by a long shot, most players would probably never let her do so, either. But for her to offer it, again, she could see it as a form of penance towards her parents — whether they’re dead or still alive. In the former case, she would have to conclude that her parents sacrificing themselves so that she could live was ultimately about more than just her personal happiness — rather, so that she in turn could make a sacrifice for the city. In the latter case, with her parents still alive, it would be her penance for what she did to them while serving Shar — and she could try to make up for this by enabling them to live safely in the city from now on. Children sacrificing themselves for their parents rarely makes sense, for obvious evolutionary reasons. But one could still set up somewhat convincing circumstances for this option.
Finally, if you freed Orpheus by signing the pact with Raphael to get the Orphic Hammer, turning illithid yourself should free your soul from the pact, for lack of a soul, just like it should apply in Wyll’s case with his pact with Mizora, right?
For the remaining companions, turning illithid isn’t an option because they don’t have a tadpole: Neither Halsin, nor Jaheira, nor Alfira (if you’re using the “Alfira Joins the Party” Mod). I was honestly wondering how Orpheus gained access to the option of becoming illithid himself in the first place. Did the Emperor infect him?
EDIT: I just realised similar questions were raised in this recent thread:
https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=955362#Post955362However, I think that thread was about Lae’zel’s lack of a ceremorphosis option, specifically — I wanted to go through the possible incentives for embracing ceremorphosis for all main characters.
