Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Spoiler: What do the Origin Characters Think in the Blighted Village Mirror?

One of the first dungeons that you might clear in Baldur's Gate is the Necromancer's Basement in the Blighted Village, right under the Apothecary. One of the defenses of the place is its magic mirror, which was "enchanted to present a nice appearance, but with the wretched personality of its owner", and one of the ways to bypass its defenses is by answering a series of questions that prove your affinity with the owner of the mirror.

One of the questions that the mirror asks is "If you could see anything in me, what would it be?" and each of the Origin characters gets three possible answers (as well as three unique possibilities for Custom Tavs). As these characters are talking to a mirror -- in a narrative and metaphorical sense they are talking to themselves, and so they have no reason to lie. If the tale is well constructed, that means that each of these answers represents a deep-seated want, need or ambition of each Origin character -- one of the ways that they might succeed or fail in their storyline.

There are some surprises and some truly moving and some horrifying revelations (GALE I'M LOOKING AT YOU).



Tav




"Tav, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"
1. I'd see the ones I love.
2. I'd look for whatever spell will rid me of this worm in my head.
3. I'd see my enemies suffering.


The Baseline, and the situation that you might have encountered the most. It presents three options: one based on love, one on survival and one on revenge / power. If you want to survive, pick the one that evokes immediate survival to you.






Lae'zel




"Lae'zel, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"

1. I'd see myself as a kith'rak: ghaik head in one hand, silver sword in the other.
2. I'd see the zaith'isk, the purifier - a relic used to extract a tadpole.

Forever practical, Lae'zel only has two possible answers: she wants to either become a kithrak with her very own dragon (you go, girl!), or to locate the relic that will rid her of the parasite.
Surprisingly, nothing about Vla'akith. She's pretty chill and down-to-earth.





Shadowheart



"Shadowheart, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"

1. I have no memory of my parents - I'd like to see them, at least once.
2. I'd see myself as Shar's Chosen, with all her powers at my disposal.
3. I'd see those who'd tormented me in the past receive the same.

Shadowheart wants to either get her memories back - specifically, her memories about her parents-- or hurt "those who tormented her in the past. As her tormentors are probably the same clerics of Shar who educated her on mental torture, etc. this creates an interesting conflict of interests for Shar.
This also suggests that Shadowheart's parentage is going to be key for the story, although it would be kind of cool if it was reversed like for the five minutes that The Last Jedi lasted.





Astarion





"Astarion, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"

1. I'd see my home. My real home - the one I haven't seen in centuries.
2. I'd see how to safely keep the powers this mind flayer's worm has given me.
3. I'd see Cazador, my old master, burning in the sun.

For Astarion, the most innocuous, sweet, relatable answer is the one that he keeps hidden -- throughout the game, he's VERY vocal about "controlling, not removing" the tadpole and its powers and destroying Cazador.
The biggest surprise here is that Astarion very badly wants to go home. But where is home? Is it a house within Baldur's Gate, or rather an entirely different place?





Gale



"Gale, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"

1. I would see a wizard tower. A safe haven for me and a sweetheart - forever.
2. I'd see myself in my next incarnation: a living manifestation of Netherese magic. A mythal in my own right.
3. I'd see my rivals humbled - jealous of the majesty that I've become.


Ehm so Gale either wants to have a wite picket fence and a sweetheart OR he wants to become a Netherese monstruosity.
No mention of the tadpole! Maybe he's feeling pretty sure that whatever the Illithids did to him, it will eventually get devoured by the Void he carries, and he's tagging along with the party to acquire more artifacts and / or reach the Astral Plane / Netherese areas.
No mention of Mystra either. I don't know about you guys, but these are the answers that chill me to the bone.







Wyll





"Wyll, if you could see anything in me, what would it be?"

1. I would see my father - his arms extended in forgiveness.
2. I'd see Mizora, cowered before me and begging my mercy.
3. I'd see dorves of admirers, gathered to hail the Blade of Frontiers.

No surprises here -- Wyll clearly wants to reconcile with his father, get rid of his dependence on Mizora (although she's just a symptom of what he will try to do to get that admiration, not really the cause) and be universally adored as a hero.
The father issues and limelight love are connected, while his wish to hurt Mizora is just self-hatred at his own perceived weakness; that's his dark side.

I only wonder why did you change your format for Wyll and Gale. :P
First answers, then comentary! Not other way around.

Interesting - especially Shadowheart.

BeeBee: I like your halfelf, she is cute

I'm not sure why you think Wyll's wish to see Mizora hurt is just self-hatred. She's an extremely hostile entity to him who wants to enslave him for all eternity. I'd be pretty literal about my wish to fight for my soul against somebody to whom I'm just a coin or a lump of coal to fuel their infernal war machine.

I find Laessie's quotes the most interesting because they reveal that she is at the very least convinced a purifying method exist and not just deluding herself out of desperation. Whether or not she has been lied to in turn, of course... That's still a question mark.

I don't know if it's self-hatred, but in perfect Wyll fashion it's all very child-ish. He wants to punish Mizora, despite his own spinelessness being as much to blame for the whole situation, but also wishes to be revered for all the things she effectively granted him.

I gotta say tho, SH, Lae'zel and Astarion's wishes are all more grounded and undertandable than Gale and Wyll's. I wonder if it's because the formers don't lie to themselves or us .the players- about who they are, while the latters do.

Didn't Mizora in no vague terms promise him an end to their contract if he saves her? Before she likely wanted him forever, possibly as just another soul to gain power, or I am guessing because of the situation, something more like a personal blade or lover for all eternity.
But now survival took precedence and if the deal is binding, Wyll can get free from her just by saving her. But, he could go even farther, get revenge on her, and that might be considered a hateful action, even if she is a devil.

No, you're correct. Wyll tells you that in the camp at some point (I think after the Spike incident). I think atm his main goal is to find her and thereby end teh contract. But I'm pretty sure we will have some possibilities along the way - convince him to kill her, convince her to kill him ...

This is why I never bring Gale or Wyll. I can't trust them, they are braggadocious liars. If there is a 'twist', I would expect Gale to be a villain. Lae'zel is openly racist and evil, Astarion is predictable, and Shadowheart seems traumatized. Hopefully we get some 'hireling' companions soon, like the ranger tiefling watching the bridge, who has the markings of a low budget companion.

Weirdly I kinda hope for an option to free Wyll but also recruit Mizora, she could be a very interesting non origin companion and depending on how you recruit her, in other words the terms, she could be something dangerous. She could be another fiend warlock or perhaps ba wizard or sorcerer, with something devilish as her special thing.

It might be an either or between her and Wyll. If you go down the good route, you keep Wyll, if you play evil, maybe you get Mizora. A bit like the save Halsin or help Minthara situation, but more permanent for your group.

Goddamit, you are right! Happy to see that I'm not the only one with a format OCD It's corrected now.




Thank you! I love that character model. She looks like I had a lovechild with Sarah Silverman, and her face is one of the most dorkily expressive of the entire game -- although she's not being very spazzy in that screenshot.

I think that’s the best female half elf face. Very pixie like. I make mine blond with the ponytail. She’s my Tinkerbell.

I like how Asterion doesn’t want to lose the tadpole since it’s his only means to experience the sun. I say this because clearly in the now missing romance scene, you can tell how much he misses daylight.

Well, Asterion means "Little Star" or "Leader of Stars" in Greek -- it was the name of the Minotaur, btw, a man-eating mythological figure that was trapped in an underground labyrinth, unable to escape his king and far, far from the sun -- so Astarion's love for the sun is not only what Twilight should have been but an amazing reference to that myth.

I never did play a halfelf, but I just might use that model on my next playthrough.

*exhales with relief*