Basically looking for people’s experiences across multiple playthroughs in this game. Tell me all about the unexpected things you found, especially after more than two playthroughs.
I’m currently on my second run, close to the end. The first run I played Tav. I thought myself pretty thorough with map exploration, and by the time I finished I had a pretty good idea of which quests I had left unfinished and which characters I wanted to interact more/less/differently in my next run.
I wasn’t expecting the game to feel this different though, and I’m loving it for it. So now on my second run I am playing Durge, I recruited Laezel and Minthara (previously I didn’t…) and I made sure to find all pieces of Dribbles. I set myself to antagonize the Emperor in this run, unlike in my previous one. Oh and I made sure to keep the windmill gnome alive in the blighted village, since previously I accidentally pulled the wrong lever and yeeted him away, lol. I thought that was it, that would be most of the missing content I was interested in.
I… didn’t expect to find so many different bits and pieces here and there or because of the order in which I did things. I realised I could recruit Scratch, an owlbear, and also an intellect devourer. I was surprised to see that entering the shadow cursed lands from the mountains as opposed to the grimforge would give me the opportunity to join the drider’s caravan. Straight to moonrise, skipping the Inn. I rescued the prisoners and Minthara and was surprised, again, to see I could take them all, and myself and the party by boat to the Inn even if I hadn’t yet been at the Inn.
I also realised I pretty much sucked exploring the map in Act 3; so many doors left unopened. For example I discovered there are mausoleums one can actually break into and explore in the graveyard. How come I missed that before, I don’t understand. There is a mindflayer in the windmill in Rivington, and I should have taken the emperor’s advice regarding it. In this run, my companions actually pointed at the shop Jaheira said would be the safe place, so I brought Jaheira with me and oh boy I discovered she actually has content exclusively for her. Her little questline was totally unexpected; previously I just let her tag along at camp but mostly ignored her. Discovering this as Durge I guess added extra flavor.
Etc. I could go on forever, but I want to hear what surprised you. Bring it on, maybe you can inspire me to try something different in my next run.
Ooooh, did you bring Jaheira to the house opposite of the society of brilliance? The one with a kid in front of the door, fighting a practice doll thingy.
I have never been able to bring myself to give the Githyanki egg to the society of brilliance. But I heard what happens.
In my first playthrough I didn’t touch the dangerous looking teleport. And in my second playthrough my Durge phantasised about hacking the hand off that came out. I didn’t see Gale until I was a grown man. And I have never let him keep the crown of Karsus before, so that is also unexplored.
Did you bring Scratch to the kennel behind the post office? Did you bring fish to Tara on the rooftops of Baldur’s Gate? Did you betray the Nightsong at the last minute? Did you keep Lae’zel loyal to her queen?
There is soooo much to do and do differently. One of Act 3’s biggest flaws is also its biggest strength’s. There is SO MUCH STUFF!
But it already starts in Act 1. The first time I played I decided to trust Priestess Gutt and let myself get captured, broke my chains and started the fight with her alone while my companions were scrambling to find me. But when you get curious and don’t break the chains frickin’ Korilla appears and kills Gutt for you!
There is so much stuff I have yet to see. And I have watched tons of let’s plays on YouTube and Twitch streams. And it’s especially funny when you watch a challenge run by someone with thousands of hours in the game and they declare “I didn’t know until now that xyz”.
Did you know that you can free Liam from the Goblin camp by dislocating his thumbs as Shadowheart Origin? Learned that on Jennifer English’s stream. The origin characters all add their own little tidbits.
I could go on and on. This game has too much stuff.
Is there a player story build kit released yet? Such a magnificent game, but after 8 playthroughs I’m hoping fanfic mods can scratch the itch.
More or less. They released a limited mod SDK which can “accidentally” be upgraded to the full SDK by basically flipping a switch. Several bigger mods are in development, including one that aims to remake Baldur’s Gate 1.
No I haven’t taken Jaheira to the Society of Brilliance area yet! And such good timing, I’m about to do that area soon. Actually I don’t remember going inside the house where the kid is practicing, ever. So, more new stuff for me.
I also haven’t given the egg away. The first time I wanted to make sure Esther was actually working for the society, she seemed shady af. When I got there myself and talked to one of the duergar I understood it would be insane to give the egg. I’d rather omelette.
This run Laezel made it clear she wants it, so, no questions asked.
That’s funny about Gale. I’m not totally sure what happened last time with the crown after my illithid Tav defeated the brain. It almost feels like everyone forgot about it. I would have given it to gale at that point, but didn’t see the option.
Scratch to the kennel: yes … And I think something got bugged. I ended up killing that nasty dog keeper. But she fired the assistant first. I’m hoping for a different approach next run.
Yes, brought some fish… And Gale… to Tara.
I don’t want to keep Laezel loyal to her queen. Sounds silly… I know she gets consumed if that happens. Unless you can convince me otherwise, is there a benefit to it?
Will never betray the Nightsong or Isobel!
The first time I cleaned up the whole goblin camp as stealthily as possible. This run, I allowed Gut to catch me. Failed to break myself free and Korilla saved my arse. I also exchanged a word with her near the house of healing. Previous run I met her for the first time at Sharess, and thought she was just weird.
No I didn’t know SH could do that! I’ve found a few quirky things with Astarion though. On my second run I sneaked him inside the provisions house at the tiefling camp, and an option to bite the paralyzed tiefling showed up. It’s impossible to make it work without attracting the guards though, but it was cool. I wonder if there would be something specific for him as well there, similar to what happens with the Gur near the Teahouse. That’s another fun encounter.
Yesterday I found an amulet with Astarion at the basement in the temple. Picked it and immediately got cursed… Went to camp, gave the amulet to SH. Used SH to remove the curse… And an Aasimar got summoned! Unexpected fight right there.
Appreciated the comment and if want, feel free to carry on as much as you like! Cheers