#estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

A quick little sketch of Estryd I did for fun

(she's a Durge, specifically this is from a playthrough I did where I headcanoned she had no amnesia)

#bg3 #durge #baldur's gate 3 #dark urge #estryd #estryd 2.0 #evil estryd #i did not feel like drawing her armor so camp clothes it is #my art

[zoyazenik]

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐜?

i was tagged by the incredibly lovely @kingsroad​​​​ to take this uquiz for my ocs!!! it was so much fun and i had a great little time doing it for my current muses!! i’m tagging @samwilsonns​​​, @impales​​​, @czernyss​​​ and anyone who wants to do it!!!

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ the vampire ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ it is the loneliest day of a vampire's life, the first time they look into a mirror and see their reflection missing. drinking blood sucks too, don't get me wrong, but as a vampire you had to learn to hide from the sunlight, from your family, all your friends, because you were unavoidably different now and you didn't know how to explain that to them in a way they would understand. you could get stranger's blood in bursts, but what is life when you can't know someone for longer than the night lasts? you left everything behind because it was easier than trying to tell them. i just hope you know you're not the only vampire out there, and that there exist people who will understand your situation without a word. they'll sit with you in the dark for as long as you'll need them to.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ the harbinger ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ the harbingers have been through fire. you've got the scars to show for it. some people say harbingers are jaded- scary, even, to people who don't understand that the harbinger has seen the edge of the world and survived it. but being the harbinger means you're cursed to watch younger, brighter eyes fall for the same traps you did. trying to help isn't enough for you; you know what they're getting themselves into, and you want to protect them the way no one ever protected you, so why won't they just listen? it's frustrating. it's terrifying. no one should have to live through what you did, and i hope you know that you can't protect everyone but it's damn noble of you to try. it's not your job to save the world but i hope you know you've already made a difference to everyone who has taken your words to heart.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ the werewolf ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ there's something inside a werewolf that's sharp, thorns and barbs coiling up in tight knots of vine even on their best days. halfway through a conversation, you'll forget your happiness and the pain comes back in a flash. you never meant to, but the sharpness has done harm on your behalf. it's defensive. it's leftover artillery from a battle you spent so long fighting that it still doesn't feel like it's truly over, does it? you want so badly to be soft. to take the hand that you are offered instead of baring your teeth. and it might be hard to believe, but you are soft. you're the softest one out there. it'll just take a while to untangle those vines enough to know that very little is often life-or-death, and not everything touches to hurt.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ the harbinger ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ the harbingers have been through fire. you've got the scars to show for it. some people say harbingers are jaded- scary, even, to people who don't understand that the harbinger has seen the edge of the world and survived it. but being the harbinger means you're cursed to watch younger, brighter eyes fall for the same traps you did. trying to help isn't enough for you; you know what they're getting themselves into, and you want to protect them the way no one ever protected you, so why won't they just listen? it's frustrating. it's terrifying. no one should have to live through what you did, and i hope you know that you can't protect everyone but it's damn noble of you to try. it's not your job to save the world but i hope you know you've already made a difference to everyone who has taken your words to heart.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ the one who opened the door ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ you turn the door handle. you call out, "who's there?" and the crowd has the audacity to groan, to get frustrated with you. as if the gift of hindsight was something you had. how the hell were you supposed to know you were born into a horror movie? no one bothered to tell you. say, if instead this was an action film, or a fantasy, would they still be telling you how silly of a mistake it was to press further on your quest? they would've commended you for your bravery. you thought you were going to be saving a princess in a tower, not getting stabbed in the back by a killer in the shadows. how is that fair? it isn't, and none of that was ever your fault. it is not wrong to believe things are good. your trust, your optimism, it shouldn't ever be mistaken for ignorance or stupidity. we need more people who open doors. how else are any of us gonna move forward?

#this was such a cool one #i loved taking it #vaella targaryen #xenia qorgyle #celia belmont #avani #estryd #tag games

[vyzheia]

My durge Estryd! (before the game events)

INSTAGRAM ✦ TWITTER ✦  KO-FI

#illustration #vyzheia #artworks #originalcharacter #oc #art #baldur's gate 3 #originalartwork #baldurs gate tav #durge bg3 #bg3 durge #durge #the dark urge #dark urge #baldur's gate iii #bg3 oc #bg3 oc art #tiefling tav #bg3 tiefling #tiefling

[thedragonagelesbian]

I'm really enjoying reading about Cyrus and Wyll's act 2 durge scene. The timing is so fun!

I had a similar thing happen with Estryd and Shadowheart in my game where they hadn't actually started a relationship yet and this scene triggered. The game basically gave Estryd the option to tell Shadowheart she was about to murder her because she was in love with her. So of course I picked it because wow, how heartwrenching for the confession to happen like THAT.

It's a scene that just really heightens the drama regardless of how/when it plays out. I love seeing different durges perspectives on it!

thank you!!! i'm really really enjoying it, and i remain immensely grateful to you for the suggestion to let isobel get abducted

cyrus also went with the 'im going to try to kill the person i care about most: you' dialogue when waking up wyll and they have Not revisited that assertion since-- every time cyrus thinks about it, he remembers how sceleritas responded when he said he hadn't yet told wyll how he felt: why not whisper it while you twist a knife? or have a love confession be the final words between you?

it's so devastatinggggggggg, i can imagine even more so when romancing shadowheart since her scene doesn't trigger until basically the end of act 2-- to be going through the temple of shar and its trials with that knowledge in her heart-- weighing her down? lifting her up?? both??? aughhhhh

#durge!cyrus #cyrusXwyll #im just about to play through the dance scene... im so excited

[tuxedo-rabbit]

I'm posting the hug too because it's cute

#bg3 #durge #durge x shadowheart #shadowheart #estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Got a shot of Estryd and Orin's duel! I really really love the Dark Urge's story. The good path is very satisfying, even with some of the dialogue bugs.

After the resolution of her personal quest, I had Estryd cut her hair. Rebirth and all that.

And I gave her a scar that I imagine she got from the Orin fight. I refused to use the Slayer form and Orin legit almost killed me. I had 6 health points left at the end I think?

Heres a pic where you can see the scar

I had been using her warlock/bard multiclass as a reflection of how much she was giving in to her urges. Whenever she failed to resist I'd give her a warlock level. I know I said before I was leaning into the warlock patron being unconnected from the Urges, but after playing through most of the game and having basically 0 references to her patron, I decided it was more fun to imagine her warlock powers being the result of Bhaal in some way.

So now that she's been disinherited, she's a full bard! Its been interesting having to basically change my entire playstyle this late in the game (RIP spamming eldritch blast) but I really like it from an RP perspective.

Greek tragedy averted (for now), here's hoping I can get an ending where she and Shadowheart get their peaceful house filled with plants and animals :')

#bg3 #durge #the dark urge #durge spoilers #bg3 spoilers #estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Estryd had a deep desire to find some part of her past that wasn't filled with blood and viscera.

But there isn't really any closure on a redemption durge path.

So instead she collects every scrap of anything that hinted at who she was. All the leftover journal entries from her old bedroom, the prayer in the mindflayer colony. Anything.

She keeps Sceleritas Fel's hat. He was awful, and she's glad he's gone, but she also has an inkling he might have raised her. Or at least he was something like family. She keeps one of Orin's daggers too.

The library in the Temple of Bhaal makes her chuckle. There is very little about Estryd's old life that feels like her, but having a library even in this temple filled with corpses? That feels right.

Her devotion to Gortash, her only real friend in this other life, feels familiar. Especially knowing it was in defiance of Bhaal's wishes.

A part of her aches that she can't keep that. The one part of her old life that was almost soft. But she isn't the same Estryd that wanted to rule the world by the Chosen of Bane's side. And she won't be. Never again.

Things are different now. Now she has many friends who will stand by her side and love her. There is no almost soft. There is the way Jaheira laughs and calls her cub, and there is the way Shadowheart eyes crinkle in joy when Estryd asks for a kiss, and there is the way Wyll tells her he's prod of her.

Estryd will never regain her memories of her old life, but in this new life she is loved and she is free.

#bg3 #estryd #durge spoilers #bg3 spoilers #im just having the feels tonight i guess

[tuxedo-rabbit]

I am fascinated by durgetash and all the angsty implications but especially because post-amnesia Estryd is confused and repulsed by the idea.

Actually. Act 3 Estryd is. Act 1 Estryd was very impressionable and power hungry and....I honestly don't know how she'd have reacted if Gortash had found her then.

Act 3 Estryd is rooted in this desire to be free of Bhaal, to be allowed to love people and choose peace when she wants. She's also desperate for answers about her past.

She is disgusted by everything Gortash stands for. At what her past relationship with him means to her new family. And yet--he so obviously cares for her, deeply. He's sincere in his offer of a partnership. He knows her.

It's like a dagger in the heart for a redemption durge. To finally meet a piece of your past. To know that you loved this person then but cannot now.

It's an interesting relationship however you play it.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #durge spoilers #durge #estryd #i dont think they ever were together romantically #i think they had strong feelings for each other #but estryd refused to do anything about it because she didnt want to upset bhaal #but she toed the line #they were an almost #and i think act 3 estryd feels echoes of that relationship #she cares about him but doesnt want to #and tbf she betrayed him as soon as their alliance got in the way of wyll's well being #the echo of what they had was not enough when compared to the love of her new friends

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Estryd and Shadowheart

#estryd #shadowheart #bg3 #so hard to get good screenshots for shadowhearts romance #so few of the camera angles show both characters faces

[tuxedo-rabbit]

The game treats a Dark Urge warlock like they remember who their magic comes from, but I think it's way funnier for Estryd if she doesn't even remember she can do magic until that first fight.

And for the longest time she just assumes it's like this innate ability she has because she can't remember anything except her name. Then Gale mentions offhandedly that she's a warlock (because based on his intro conversation about Wyll he can just?? Tell??? based on how people do their spells?) and Estryd is extremely confused and worried because, oh great, now there's another weird supernatural being in the mix.

Also the concept of knowing you made a pact with something but you're not sure who, and you're not sure what you had to give them in exchange? Love that.

#bg3 #anytime estryd learns something about her past its never a good thing #its always weird and causes another problem #estryd #now estryd is trying to learn how to be a warlock from wyll #which may or may not be a good idea #haven't discovered enough about his backstory to be sure but #i have a feeling his relationship with his patron is messy

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Really feeling the restraints of bg3 being a video game with Estryd's story.

I initially enjoyed her failures in act 2 because it made the path of redemption feel more difficult.

But now its starting to feel like the game thinks I'm doing an evil run and that wasnt my intention at all, it was literally just bad dice rolls. More details under the cut.

Estryd did not choose to wipe out Last Light. Last Light fell because the enemies rolled really good in that fight and knocked Isobel out before my characters got a turn.

But the only dialogue options I get with my companions about it imply Estryd is happy about Last Light falling and that she did it on purpose.

Estryd did not choose to kill Isobel to fulfill her Butlers little evil murder list. She did it because you are forced to if Isobel is kidnapped in that first fight. Regardless, the game treats this as an urge fulfilled and forces the Slayer form on you.

Initially, I did not mind this (see my excited posts about the inevitability of fate). But now, once again, all the dialogue options I have are implying Estryd is very happy with this outcome and thinks the Slayer form is awe inspiring. This is not the case. She is horrified.

The fact that act 2 has such a strict guideline for "good" dark urge pc and "bad" dark urge pc is really annoying! I was enjoying the potential storytelling until I realized I'm basically having to head canon the rest of her story now.

Will I even still get chances to express her desire for redemption? Will I still get the choice to be redeemed? I don't trust that I'm not locked into the evil dialogue options now.

And if I want to avoid this I have to re-do basically all of act 2 and make sure Isobel doesn't get kidnapped in that first fight.

It's frustrating.

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #the dark urge #dark urge #estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

*Dark Urge Spoilers for BG3*

I just got to the end of act 2 and i just can't.

The tragedy of trying to not to follow your destiny but you accidentally fulfill it anyway.

Estryd refused to kill Isobel when her butler told her that was her next task. But then she failed to rescue her during the attack on Last Light.

Which means Isobel was a brainwashed enemy at the final fight of act 2. And Estryd was forced to kill her.

And then the "gift" she got for fulfilling her task was forced upon her. She is literally a monster now and that was her worst fear this whole time.

There is no way Estryd is getting a good ending. I swear this woman is in a Greek tragedy.

(And I'm not mad, i'm truly enjoying this wild, wild ride)

#asdfgjkkjg #bg3 spoilers #bg3 #dark urge #estryd #this poor character

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Triggered the pretty star watching scene with Gale.

#bg3 #gale of waterdeep #bg3 spoilers #estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

I don't think Estryd ever thought of Orin as a sister. She didn't even feel that Orin counted as a true bhaalspawn, with Sarevok being her father and all.

Estryd treated Orin with a cold distance. Orin was the one who viewed them as sisters. Orin kept trying to do things to get Estryd to notice her and take her seriously, to respect her. But Estryd never did.

Until Orin murdered her.

#bg3 #orin the red #durge #orin gives off big younger sister vibes to me tbh #i have a screenshot of the two of them arguing that is just such a big sis/lil sis vibe #which makes estryd's attitude all the more ironic #even amnesiac estryd. as soon as she finds out orin isnt /really/ her sister #she loses all desire to learn more about her. orin just becomes another bit of her past she wants to erase #estryd #estryd 2.0 #evil estryd

[tuxedo-rabbit]

for amnesia estryd: 1) What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?

for both: 13) How does your Dark Urge feel about killing?

#1 was answered here!

for both: 13) How does your Dark Urge feel about killing?

Amnesiac Estryd: She enjoys killing, she’s good at it, and she knows these are terrible thoughts to have. She feels extremely guilty about killing. After the game, she focuses as much time as she can on the less violent aspects of being a bard. Relishing in the facts that she has a vocation that brings joy and not just death.

AU Estryd: Killing is a part of her nature, it’s who she is, she must do it. Killing is a mercy, the world will end soon and those she kills won’t have to face the terror of what’s to come. Killing is a form of worship, it’s how she shows her devotion to her father and his cause. Killing is a burden, it does not matter if it is someone she loves or someone who she thinks should live, she will inevitably have to kill them.

After Bhaal disowns her, killing feels like nothing, and that terrifies her.

#bg3 #durge #thedragonagelesbian #estryd #evil estryd #estryd 2.0

[tuxedo-rabbit]

For the Dark Urge ask game!

1, 12 and 20 for estryd with her memory intact(I want to know her story 👀)

Also 21 if you already have any songs for her

What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?

Mechanically speaking, Estryd is a warlock/war domain cleric. Her magic comes from her father. When Estryd was a child, on the run after killing her foster parents, Bhaal spoke to her in dreams and offered her the power to protect herself in exchange for her having a place in the world. He did not explain who he was or that he was her real father. Estryd was about 12 at the time and just wanted to go back to having a real home. This dream visitor was the only person who had showed care toward her in a long time. She agreed and gained her powers. I’m mixing the lore here for how warlock and cleric powers work, but in the beginning it was less about devotion and more about making a deal. It wasn’t until later that she realized “having a place in the world” meant being the harbinger of the apocalypse, or that Bhaal didn’t need her consent to force her to live out her destiny.

The more cleric-y abilities happened after she gave up escaping and started devoting herself to her destiny and started taking part in temple duties regularly. She loses both warlock & cleric powers permanently at the start of Act 3 when Bhaal gets fed up with her rebellion.

How does your Dark Urge feel about being a bhaalspawn?

After many years thinking of it as a curse she could cure, Estryd is now at peace with being a bhaalspawn. It is part of her identity. At one point she has an argument with Gale about how she can no more stop being a bhaalspawn then he can stop being a human. She will always want to kill, it’s in her nature. When Bhaal rips everything of himself out of her it feels like she has a hole in her soul she can’t fill. She mourns the loss. But there’s a strange irony that her younger, hopeful self, the creature she struggled the most to kill, got what she wanted in the end.

Is your Dark Urge open about their Urge or do they try to hide it? Why?

Estryd is careful about who she tells and when she tells them. She has learned over the years that most people will not accept The Urge. In the past, people have either tried to kill her over it, or save her from it. Estryd doesn’t want to have to deal with either of those things if she can help it. She secretly, and successfully, hides Alfira’s body. It isn’t until act 2, when the Urge commands her to kill Isobel and her relationship with Gale blossoms, that she finally confides in her new friends. And only because it might get in the way of the party’s needs.

What are 2-3 songs that your Dark Urge would relate to?

Oh gosh, this is a mix of songs I think she’d relate to & songs that just make me think of her:

“I Can’t Decide” by Scissor Sisters (makes me think of Estryd’s relationship to both Orin and Gortash)

“Cutting Stone” by The Decemberists

“The Wanting Comes in Waves” by The Decemberists (makes me think of the dynamic between Estryd and Bhaal, it's always about bartering. Great Durge song in general tbh)

#bg3 #durge #dea-marte #evil estryd #estryd 2.0 #estryd