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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2018
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To be honest, Auntie Ethel is a product of Larian's writing style. Why is there an evil swamp hag in the first bits of the game? Because it's a fantasy cliché. It isn't there because it makes sense for the story or because it's realistic for that location, it's there because Larian are the masters of stereotypes and tropes. "Let's have a devious swamp witch here because why not!" It's just part of their cartoonish design. So what you are saying is: it’s just like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
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apprentice
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apprentice
Joined: Oct 2020
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By the same merit you would only venture along one path of your choosing to the possible cure, leaving the rest of the map unexplored.
You could choose to believe Lae'zel, and then you would pursue the creche, ignoring anything else, or just try to rescue Halsin and on his advice head straight for the underdark.
That would leave more than half the map unexplored.
From an RP perspective I guess Larian made a story that would heavily discourage any sort of side tracking.
Verily it is written that the Omnissiah grants his blessing to those who come well-equipped with explosives. -Aphorisms 96.9
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addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2020
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First you need this location for Astarion approvals. And the quest is actually just beginning corny, it has a beautiful, dark final (?). I mean, it's more interesting than it looks. And this is another opportunity to get the worm out. The more options you have, then better. It's also useful for those who feed Gale.
I don't speak english well, but I try my best. Ty
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addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2020
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To be honest, Auntie Ethel is a product of Larian's writing style. Why is there an evil swamp hag in the first bits of the game? Because it's a fantasy cliché. It isn't there because it makes sense for the story or because it's realistic for that location, it's there because Larian are the masters of stereotypes and tropes. "Let's have a devious swamp witch here because why not!" It's just part of their cartoonish design. So what you are saying is: it’s just like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Some people have a problem with the concept from what I've seen.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2020
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So ... the hag in the swamp. I don't get it.
It's not that the quest isn't amusing. However, why would I go there, even as a good PC? A good PC, because they encountered some farmers who told them an evil hag had their sister prisoner. An evil PC, because they hear of a hag and know they command powerful magic. I have this interesting parasite in my brain, and from what I gathered up to that point, my focus is getting rid of said parasite, because it can turn me into a mindflayer any second now. Why would I then wander of into a swamp to rescue spme maiden, when the intro dialog between the hag and the brothers is uninspiring, to say the least.
Even if it wasn't - why would I spent precious time going there. Because you are good. If you don't think it is worth your time rescuing someone your character is not good, by the D&D definition of the term. It really doesn't make sense to me, apart from metagaming in terms of "Look, another area to discover."
Can someone enlighten me?
Such metagaming has always been a feature of D&D in general, and the Baldur's Gate games in particular. See: Larry, Daryll and Daryll.
Last edited by FrostyFardragon; 31/10/20 12:12 PM.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2020
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It's no ‘La Cage au Fou’ (Witcher 3 side Quest with a creep message about spoons), but it has strong creepy vibes and the more of that the merrier as far as I am concerned.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Sep 2015
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Auntie Ethel is, along with the cleric of Mystra tower in the underdark, one of the best side quests in act 1. You certainly don't have to go there, but it offers a the witcher 3 vibe atmosphere and some good puzzles and combat challenges. And I am glad it's there just for the sake of it.
Last edited by Nyanko; 31/10/20 01:23 PM.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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I really liked the hag's lair. So much detail, so creepy and unique. Although the hag herself was a bit boilerplate. She was certainly no Ravel Puzzlewell from Planescape: Torment. Now THAT was a great hag character.
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2020
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I hope they fix the quest because it's my favorite so far -- I love the art, the changing of the swap. Larian really gets the creepy bits of old European fairy tales.
For a good party it starts with self interest but becomes a rescue quest. She claims to have an artifact that can cure. You are skeptical but there is something strange about her, you find that there a someone in need of rescuing, when you get further in you find more and more victims. My favourite part too and character. She's so fun and her lair, the swamp, minions, masks, etc. So well done in my opinion. Curious to see her sisters in future if we cross her.
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journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Oct 2020
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Keep in mind that you might very well not be done with "auntie" as this is only Early Access. You can let her go instead of killing her and even if you kill her she's got relatives (in D&D hags form circles btw...) in Baldur's Gate. And if you "resurrect" Mayrina's husband... guess where the mother to be heads to? That's right, Baldur's Gate... P.S. I think auntie Ethel has one of the best quests/dungeons in the game. And also the most challenging encounter of the whole early access (and no, it's not "auntie" herself...)
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Oct 2020
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Keep in mind that you might very well not be done with "auntie" as this is only Early Access. You can let her go instead of killing her and even if you kill her she's got relatives (in D&D hags form circles btw...) in Baldur's Gate. And if you "resurrect" Mayrina's husband... guess where the mother to be heads to? That's right, Baldur's Gate... P.S. I think auntie Ethel has one of the best quests/dungeons in the game. And also the most challenging encounter of the whole early access (and no, it's not "auntie" herself...) Yeah exactly. Based on voice files I extracted there is much more that can happen with her too.
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member
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member
Joined: Oct 2020
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To be honest, Auntie Ethel is a product of Larian's writing style. Why is there an evil swamp hag in the first bits of the game? Because it's a fantasy cliché. It isn't there because it makes sense for the story or because it's realistic for that location, it's there because Larian are the masters of stereotypes and tropes. "Let's have a devious swamp witch here because why not!" It's just part of their cartoonish design. So what you are saying is: it’s just like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I guess so  So you (the OP) have a problem with Green Hag living in a swamp masquerading as a healer in the neigbouring settlement? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that exactly what a green hag is supposed to be doing? If anything I find her extremely lore friendly.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2018
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I do like how so far many of the side quests and optional material winds back into the main plot. Ethel provides another (failed) opportunity to get rid of your tadpole, which leads to you learning more about it.
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member
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member
Joined: Oct 2020
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I do like how so far many of the side quests and optional material winds back into the main plot. Ethel provides another (failed) opportunity to get rid of your tadpole, which leads to you learning more about it. I find the whole swamp area really good - from the illusion, "sheep", Ethel, Monster Hunter, well that Kahga letter's area is mildly annoying due to jumping and combat with 20 mud mephits each doing animations, oh and the frog. It's probably the most coherent area of the game. So when someone asks "What's the point of auntie Ethel", they might as well be asking "what's the point of RPG"
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2020
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Well she's one of the three (well four if we count Volo, ok five if we put in the Goblin piestress) possible solutions to the tadpole problem, Haslin will give you some hints, Auntie Ethel the same, of the thre primary possible problem solvers only the Créche remains (at least in my playthrough) without "succes" [that is: where in all the frozen hells of all the pantheons is located? Do they decide to put this part in the full release? ] Furthermore: There's a mail traffic between Ethel and somekind of recruiter of victims in Baldur's Gate, we also know that someone in the city started an investigation and was pursuing the hag, moreover some her unwilling guest are directed to BG, one with the clear purpose of hunting down the hag's contact.
Last but not least what you choose about Connor's fate is one of the point that shows more clearly the alignment of the your main character : lawful, maybe neutral too, good will destroy the wand, a chaotic neutral will give Maryne the control of Connor, thus opening a posible further development because she decided to travel to Baldur's Gate, a neutral evil and chaotic evil will give her some hope resurrecting Connor and then crush her killig him, a lawful evil will resurrect the dead husband and maintain him as cannon meat.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jul 2014
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For the people who reach the bottom of the cave and find Maryina "unresponsive", there's a trick to work around the bug and unlock the rest of the quest. You have to throw some AOE near the control orb on that small wooden plank, where the hag is hidden in invisible mode, to make her appear and trigger the fight.
P.S. I generally liked this questline a lot, but Jesus Christ if I didn't hate with fierce passion that part with the poison traps after the masked guys. A perfect marriage of shitty design and a horrific control scheme.
Last edited by Tuco; 31/10/20 10:49 PM.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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For the people who reach the bottom of the cave and find Maryina "unresponsive", there's a trick to work around the bug and unlock the rest of the quest. You have to throw some AOE near the control orb on that small wooden plank, where the hag is hidden in invisible mode, to make her appear and trigger the fight.
P.S. I generally liked this questline a lot, but Jesus Christ if I didn't hate with fierce passion that part with the poison traps after the masked guys. A perfect marriage of shitty design and a horrific control scheme. When I went through that area, wearing masks and after already killing Ethel, none of those poison things even triggered at all.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2020
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For the people who reach the bottom of the cave and find Maryina "unresponsive", there's a trick to work around the bug and unlock the rest of the quest. You have to throw some AOE near the control orb on that small wooden plank, where the hag is hidden in invisible mode, to make her appear and trigger the fight.
P.S. I generally liked this questline a lot, but Jesus Christ if I didn't hate with fierce passion that part with the poison traps after the masked guys. A perfect marriage of shitty design and a horrific control scheme. When I went through that area, wearing masks and after already killing Ethel, none of those poison things even triggered at all. Same happened in my game. The fight can develop in two very different ways: first one is if you engage she in her lair, that will brought the most difficult battle, the second one is if trigger her reaction in the house by stealing stuff, in that case you will have to fight the hag and the redcaps, slightly easier battle, avoiding the massacre of innocents and to the activation of the traps in the lair.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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Does she summon more redcaps if you've already killed the redcaps that were in sheep's clothing outside?
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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