Death is but part of life: fear it not, evade it not, and view it not as evil. To fear death delivers you into the hands of those who can bring death down upon you. Die with dignity, neither raging nor seeking to embrace undeath. Do honor to the dead, for their strivings in life brought Faerun to where it is now, and to forget them is to forget also where we are now—and why.
— Kelemvor's charge to novitiates
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"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" 🤌
Oh, but yes I can. (SPOILERS for BG3)
When last we left our heroes they were transported into an ornate dining room with a lavish feast. These are not camp rations! This is real, greasy, fatty, meaty, buttery, even sweet food!
And, surprise, the stranger is a devil.
He makes an offer to take the tadpoles out of our heads, but I'm not stupid. He's not a Teifling; he's a very specific kind of creature with a very specific nature. Whatever he wants in exchange would leave us cursed.
I was firm about turning him down and he promised I'd turn to him in the end before returning us to the path.
We turned around, headed for Halsin's location on the map, and we came across some Goblins torturing a Gnome strapped to a windmill.
I tried to persuade them to cut him down but failed my Charisma check horribly. I could have left. I maybe should have left. But lets say the little snot just pissed me off. It was on. They put up a decent fight after all my bravado. Frankly, it was embarrassing. For me.
But we rescued the Gnome.
My companions thought that this was the appropriate time to discuss the deal with the devil with me.
Astarion had a very specific reason for not trusting him. He reminded him of his old master. However he admitted we may give in to the devil in the end.
"I'm glad we all agree. Now can we return to camp and have a bath? I'm covered in Goblin blood."
Back at camp, before we got cleaned up, I asked Astarion about the master he mentioned.
I told him he didn't have to tell me. I don't remember what he said. Either that that was sweet or that that was ridiculous, either way, Tav's reaction was a slight smile.
It was a familiar story if you've seen Interview With The Vampire or read The Vampire Lestat.
Captured, enthralled, enslaved, used as a toy or a tool, tortured. All by a cruel master who turned him for selfish purposes.
I told him to enjoy his freedom. He said this:
Shadowheart is also growing fond of me.
I had been flirting with her but suddenly, I didn't know what to do.
I know she can be poly but I also know she's not compatible with Astarion. Which leaves me with a choice...
As the day ended, Astarion stumbled back into the camp. I asked if he was drunk. He said he was, but not on alcohol. On a bear. Lucky bear.
He he started to say it was nothing compared to, well, he didn't finish the sentence, but I know what he was going to say.
He told me more things Cazador used to do to him. Starve him. Make him eat bugs.
He started talking about using the Mindflayer worm to gain power. I wanted to tell him that would make him no better than Cazador, but it wasn't an option. I said what I could.
I don't think I picked the right dialog option though. I think I might replay this scene and say the other thing I wanted to say.
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I was discussing some narrative beats I had on my struggle to resist Durge, Ashe and here are some of my favorite highlights
Ashe saved the tieflings in act 1, only to doom them when she killed Isobel at last light inn. the sheer number of lives lost weighs on them heavily.
Ashe had broken out the prisoners at Moonrise, but told them to stay on the water. Wulbren, his two pals, Cal, Lia, and Danis all survived. Unfortunately, Rolan and Bex did not.
Shadowheart was there when Last Light Inn fell. She later chose to spare Nightsong. I think the faces of the shadow-cursed tieflings that she had once saved haunted her when they were finishing up Shar's trials.
Ashe didn't use Slayer form until the Kressa fight. The anger at finding out she was a pet to experiment on made her unable to hold back. Everyone had to go into the Myrkul battle knowing that their beloved Durge was hiding something from them. what else were they hiding???
ashe fucking went down at the myrkul fight, and so did Shady and Minthara. Astarion was the one who finished it up, which made ashe more willing to belive he's right that they need him to ascend bc any power under their belt is useful when facing the gods themselves
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Goblins and Devils, Oh My!
The group discuss Astarion and meets a mysterious stranger.
Astarion asked if I was okay, the next morning. I told him I was only a little woozy though obviously it's more than that since I got disadvantage on all my rolls for a while.
And then he went straight into flirting (yay)
I told him I would be there if he needed me and he affectionately teased me for being a softie.
Obviously the camp all noticed last night's display. ( I mean, we sleep in a circle)
They all seemed remarkably okay with Astarion's condition. All they really did was tell him not to bite them.
Further down the road, we found the two remaining adventures we fought alongside at the goblin battle surrounded by the bodies of their party members. Friends.
Now I didn't like this guy from the second he called the Teifling at the gate "foulblood", so I admit I made some sarcastic quips about him abandoning his contract over some goblins. They can be persuaded, you know. You don't have to fight them. They're dense, yeah, but that can make them easier to fool.
I didn't say all that. There weren't those options, but he still got the gist. Anyway, he was not happy. He ran away all the same, though.
As we reached the abandoned village, we sensed an ambush. A goblin tried to intimidate me away. She had something behind her eye that I think was connected to the worm in my head. I was able to enter her thoughts and she recognized me as a superior.
None of us are sure what this means. I mean, it's an advantage. And we've all noticed our distinct lack of tentacles and bloodless orifices. On it's face, that's another plus but it seems like they have something more sinister planned for this batch of tadpoles. On top of that, when I gave into the power, used it on purpose, something slipped away from me. Something I'll never get back. I'm only going to use this power as a last resort. Hopefully I won't have to use it at all.
The goblins let us pass through their town unbothered.
However, on the other side of the town, we were approached.
He used a nursery rhyme to threaten us and it wasn't very smooth. I called him on it and POOF!
Suddenly we're in an ornate dining hall!
Next post... An offer I can't refuse. Or can I?
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