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starlessea2 · 8 months

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The Dawn Watch (Astarion)

Pairing: Astarion x Reader [Baldur's Gate 3]

Summary: As dawn breaks the morning after the tiefling party, you find a vampire basking in the sun. In the daylight, all of his pretty words start to unravel. (Act 1 spoilers).

A/N After a week of feverishly playing (and completing) BG3, here's my first Astarion writing. Part 1/3 of a WIP mini-series called the Sunlight Chronicles.

Masterlist

Sunlight was warm on your eyes. It coaxed them open and made you blink: once hard, twice fast. Your lids were heavy, yet you could hardly remember closing them in the first place. Neither could you recall dozing off in a pile of leaves.

As you pressed yourself into the ground, the forest floor rustled beneath you. A cacophony of dried foliage and bark, made somewhat comfortable by the mossy overgrowth. It took you a moment to understand your surroundings.

The tiefling party had bustled on into the early hours. It was the first reprieve you’d allowed yourself since being plucked from Baldur’s Gate and thrust into this new adventure. But, perhaps you had overindulged…

There was a fire in your belly still, laden with mead and lingerings of lust, and it had led you here: stark-naked and alone on the outskirts of camp.

A chuckle sounded behind you. “I was starting to wonder whether I’d drank you dry.”

You sprung up to your elbows. Not alone, you suddenly remembered.

Your head whipped around, settling on the figure bathed in the light of the low sun. “But alas, you were just making good on that beauty sleep. Morning, pet.”

Rubbing the bleariness from your eyes, you found Astarion. He was radiant. Rays of dawn had snuck through the trees, dappling between branches onto his pale skin. And his hair... Caught in that glow, it looked like leftover starlight.

The only thing letting him down was his smile. It was utterly charming, as always. But it was more obvious in the daytime; that smile was well-practised.

“Umm, good morning,” you eventually croaked back.

Your eyes locked with Astarion's, too nervous to wander over his body. He noticed, of course, and so he paced before you—a small strut, hands on his hips to invite your appraisal.

You looked away. Even in the warmth of the sun, you could feel the man’s contribution to your cheeks. It incited a laugh from him.

“Oh now don’t pretend to be coy, my sweet,” he said. “Not when there was hardly any of that last night.”

You turned your head; any liquid courage you’d gotten from the party had long since worn off. But now sober, Astarion made your heart ache. His falsity was clear as day. He uttered the words you so desperately wanted to hear, but delivered them on the back of a deceitful voice.

A sigh escaped you; perhaps the only time he hadn’t lied was when he’d called you naive.

Awaiting your reply, Astarion became indignant. "What?" he asked. "Disappointed at the lack of morning cuddle? If you ask nicely, perhaps I’ll come back to join—”

"No," you said. "I just..." His eyes watched your every move, red and calculating. You took a moment to collect yourself. "I'm surprised that you stayed at all," you admitted. "Didn't take you for the type."

His hand fell over his chest. "Oh, how you wound me! I try to do the gentlemanly thing, and yet you accuse me and look at me like that."

You cocked a brow. "Like what?"

Astarion let out an exasperated sigh. "Let’s just say it’s easier to know what you're thinking when your eyes are shut.” He made a face, mortifyingly reminiscent of one you’d likely pulled the night before, and your mouth fell ajar.

If you’d been wearing shoes, you would have hurled one at him. But embarassed and barefoot, you instead dug your palms into the soil, more than ready to depart.

Astarion was roused into action. "Oh come on, my dear," he said softly. He sunk to the floor beside you, coaxing you to stay. "All in good fun."

You deliberated for a moment, watching him in your peripheral. There was a smile on his face but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Somewhere in the depths of your mind, a pang of hurt made itself known. You quickly squashed it down, hoping Astarion had not noticed it in his.

Whatever feelings had bubbled over last night were absent this morning, you could just tell. Perhaps he no longer found you interesting now that he'd conquered you. Maybe he'd pursued you just to break your heart, or gods forbid, he'd been put off after sleeping with you—

“It’s just so warm.”

The words left Astarion, quiet as a whisper. But then his eyes widened and his lips formed a taut line—as though they'd never intended to let anything escape at all.

"What?" you started. But with one small glance at the man, you realised; he was talking about the sun.

For a moment, you watched him, basking in the glow like there was no place he'd rather be. You hummed in agreement. “I guess it’s something we all take for granted here.”

He nodded. It became obvious then; he hadn’t stayed for you, but for the sunrise.

“Astarion, I–”

He snapped his head. The look in his eyes cautioned you—told you the two of you weren’t that close. But something behind that almost dared you to try.

Against your better judgement, you proceeded. “You might have already guessed, but I’m no early riser." A chuckle instinctively followed. “I know Lae’zel told us not to question the shifts she allocated, but..." you paused, "who wants to take watch at the crack of dawn? Certainly not me.”

It was silent for a moment—save for the soft lilting of birds and the occasional breeze. Yet even then, the morning dawned so quiet that your breaths felt loud.

It took a few seconds for Astarion to reanimate, but when he did, it was with a smile. “Oh, my dear... If you’re struggling that badly, you could’ve just said." He sat up, readjusting to meet you straight on. “It’s not a bother swapping with you—if the night shift is more to your taste.”

Your heart felt warm. Truthfully, you liked the dawn watch, but you had a feeling it would be better appreciated by him. “That would be wonderful, thank you."

You had an inkling that Astarion recognised your ploy, but but if did, he wasn’t making a show of it. His hand wove its way into yours, and pressed it into forest bed. “My pleasure," he said. Then he leaned forward with a grin.

You anticipated a kiss, but he stopped before your neck, tracing the bloody bruise he'd bestowed with his lips—worrying last night's sore between his teeth. “It's the least I can do...”

As he mumbled against your skin, a shiver sparked through your shared connection.

“I’ll be more gentle next time." His breath fanned hot over your ear. “Both ways.”

You let out a gasp. "It's okay, we don’t have to—” The words ejected from you, all flustered and not at all how you pictured them.

Astarion offered a smirk in return, but it was accompanied by an expression you now recognised.

He thought you naive.

“Precious,” he said beneath his breath, before returning your crumpled dress to you. “Now come. We best not keep the others waiting.”

And so you followed his lead and quickly dressed: smoothing your hair and attempting to rid your cheeks of their flush.

If anyone asked, you'd say you were sun-kissed.

#astarion #astarion x reader #bg3 #astarion x tav #astarion x mc #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 fanfic #astarion fanfic #astarion romance #baldur's gate 3 fanfic #astarion fanfiction #astarion x you #bg3 fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #dnd

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oops-all-concrete · 3 months

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What would you think of how would each BG3 companions to Tav being secretly a god that has been tagging along with them all this time? Just curious

(SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET TO THIS, MY BRAIN HELD MY MOTIVATION RANSOM MIDWAY THROUGH ME WRITING THIS)

Ooohhhhh this sounds funnyyyy

Context: I'm imagining Tav is a god and has God status, a place in the pantheon and everything, but-! So continuity makes sense and the whole journey is still necessary, I'd assume them a curious God of some miscellaneous small thing so their powers wouldnt be THAT useful anyhow (God of clouds, God of fur, God of bread) but yeah!

BG3 companions react to Tav secretly being a...God???

(MILD SPOILERS FOR ACT 1/2)

Lae'zel -

She's suspicious at first, disbelieving of course. But as she watches Tav just summon (whatever they're the god of) from thin air, she frowns. "Chk. You may be of godly status, but if you're unwise enough to get kidnapped by a ghaik nautaloid, you are no mighty God." She finishes, nose upturned and almost- dissapointed??

Shadowheart -

Once shes been convinced, she frowns. "I don't think I've ever known of such a God...granted, Lady Shar only allowed for us to study her." She admits. She's quite hesitant, but she does ask. "Have you ever...met lady Shar/Seluné? Can you tell her I say hi? Is that appropriate?"

Wyll -

He's also hesitant to believe, but he's so curious once he believes you. "Wait, so, what's it like being a God? Does being a mortal feel weird? Are you immune to anything? What happens if you die? Does someone become the new God of what you're the God of? Are you even allowed to be here? What does the immortal plane smell like?" Just, a million and one questions and he wants ALL the stories.

Karlach -

"Woah! That's so cool, I wish I was a God...I'd be the God of potatoes. Is that already a thing?" Regardless if its true, she let's Tav have their fun. She also refers to every time she's saved by Tav as 'Divine Intervention' which isn't...wrong?

Gale -

"Ah, I got that impression, albeit with doubt." He says, sounding only a little smug. "Your disguise is well crafted, I'll give you that. Definitely something I aspire to learn from" he smiles fondly. Then there's a pause. "...I understand its not quite your field but you wouldn't be someone who could fix the whole...orb in me chest could you? Or would that also put you under Mystras ire?"

Astarion -

He seems immediately intrigued. "Really? I thought you were a little calm for all of this, but I never would have guessed- no offense. I'm sure you're very...powerful in your own way!" He says, somewhat forcing a smile. "So- does prayer work, or does the world have to be ending for everyone in order for you to pick up a summon?" He asks, curious, but seeming somewhat irritated too. He doesn't elaborate on why.

Halsin -

He seems doubtful at first but believes you quicker than you expected. "I hadn't imagined thr gods would send one of their own to come and save me from goblins or...help lift a shadow curse left by Shar of all people." He says, a faint smile on his face. "While I am in your debt, you should my life is already pledged to Silvannus. I hope what I'm already doing is enough"

Jaheira -

She looks Tav up and down, crosses her arms, and then- chuckles? "Sorry, I just- I feel like I finally have evidence I've been here too long. I haven't passed away to some dumb idea yet, so the Gods sent one of their own to get me." She laughs it off but then looks at Tab quite seriously. "...you're not here to get me are you?"

Minsc -

"I know!" He replies happily, not missing a beat. "Boo alerted me of your origins immediately. He's delighted to be joined by another of the pantheon, even if a lesser God" He smiles, mindlessly as ever.

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galedekarios · 19 days

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I got ahold of a early access copy of the game yesterday and there's just so many little things they cut out that I'm questioning the reason for. Why take out Gale's conversations? Why take out all that reactivity for the companions? Swen says no new content, but does this count? Do we have any hope of getting it back?

i don't know why. i can only speculate.

perhaps it was a combination of things. them listening to the wrong crowd complaining about companions talking too much or being too 'judgemental'. larian not wanting to show just how stark the contrast is between act 1 and act 2/3 so they cut down act 1 content. focusing their resources on one companion only instead of all of them (which is smth they admitted doing).

i don't think we are getting anything at this point.

they made the same mistakes with dos2 that they did in bg3, only instead of learning, they made it worse: with dos2, one companion was so neglected that he could've been a hireling (beast), and act 3 was a mess narratively and so riddled with bugs that i couldn't finish the game. with dos2, these mistakes were at least addressed with a definitive edition.

considering that swen did say that bg3 and its characters now effectively belong to wotc/hasbro and basically washing their hands of the game except for bug support within not even a year after release - which, eventually, too will dwindle out, and, lbr, it took them over half a year to patch a freaking blanket into gale's act 2 scene while almost everything about his character is still on (proverbial) fire and barebones.

so, personally, no, i don't think there's hope. if we do get something that isn't horribly ooc since the original writers won't be working on their characters, i'll be pleasantly surprised, but i don't see it.

i do hope you are having fun with that ea copy!

#sometimes i wish the game had stayed there #vg: baldur's gate 3 #series: baldur's gate #text: asks #text: personal #larian critical #bg3 critical

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verai-marcel · 6 months

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Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 5 of ?)

Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

AO3 Link is here, my dear.

Word Count: 2110

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Act I, Chapter 5 - The Visitors

The new campsite was a small peninsula, with a waterfall feeding the stream that curved around the site. A small bridge of rocks led to a ruined building, the stones worn by time and covered with moss. There were rocks and boulders surrounding the area that would be a great defense in case of danger. Wyll had mentioned that at least one of them would be staying with you at all times to patrol the campgrounds, so you felt safe.

However, your companions had warned you against wandering too far from camp without one of them coming with you, as there could be goblins roaming around.

Setting up the tents with Wyll and Karlach was actually a fun experience. The two of them, despite you telling them to rest, went ahead and built their own tents. You had an inkling that they just wanted to pick out a good spot at the campsite. When you found them helping with each other’s tents, you smiled to yourself and left them alone.

As you finished setting up everything else, you had an epiphany. Going back to Karlach's tent, you found her laying on her bedroll outside, dozing. She opened one eye as you approached.

"Could I test something on your tent?"

"Sure." Then both her eyes sprung open and she sat up excitedly. "Are you going to make it cooler?!"

You winked at her before walking inside. Within the dim confines, you reversed your warmth cantrip. Stepping backwards carefully, you sang the spell softly, moving your hands, weaving the coldness into the air. Light blue lines appeared, threads of magic coming from your fingers, until you finished the cantrip and clapped twice. Snowflakes burst from your hands, and you felt the air cool immediately.

Sticking your head out from the tent, you waved her in. By now Wyll had joined her, and together they stepped inside.

"Oh my days," Karlach squealed with delight. "It's lovely in here, just perfect!"

Wyll grinned, looking happy for her. "A bit too cold for me, but I'm glad you're enjoying it." He looked over at you. "Thank you. You're very thoughtful."

You smiled. "Just trying to keep you all comfortable," you replied. "Oh, but if something goes wrong, please let me know so I can fix it," you added as you left them to enjoy the results of your test.

***

When the others returned, you were not at all surprised to see a man coming with them. He introduced himself as Volo, claiming to be some kind of bard.

Is he…? He couldn’t be…?

“Are you the Volo of ‘Volo’s Guide to Waterdeep’?” you asked.

The man’s eyes lit up and his smile could not be broader. “Why yes, I am that Volo!” He came up to you, grabbed your hand with both of his, and shook it vigorously. You were glad you were still wearing your gloves; you had the feeling that you would have been overwhelmed by his excitement at meeting someone who knew his work.

“Tell me, did you enjoy the guide? Which version did you read? What was your favorite part?”

Overwhelmed by his rapid fire questions, you pulled your hand out of his and held it up to stop him. “I found it, erm, entertaining,” you said neutrally. It was full of shit, but it was amusing to read. “I read the second edition when it came out. My employer had one in his library.”

You saw Gale glance over at you. Shit. Now he knew you spent time in Waterdeep as well. Dammit, he’s probably going to ask me about it later. I might as well just give away my entire life’s story while I’m at it.

After hearing Volo’s self-aggrandizing tales for a minute too long, you eventually got out of the conversation by using your chores as a way to flee.

Guess we have another mouth to feed. Better send someone to hunt something big.

***

One by one, more visitors came. In the early evening as supper was winding down, a white dog came by. It sniffed the adventurers, wagging its tail and lolling its tongue happily as everyone took turns scratching his head and patting his side.

Then the dog looked at you. He tilted his head.

You took a mostly eaten rib from the boar that Karlach had brought for you to roast, and knelt down, holding it out to him.

He came up warily, sniffed the bone, then took it from your hand and started gnawing away.

“Have you all decided on a name?” you asked the group.

They glanced at each other and shrugged.

“You can name him,” Karlach said. “He’ll probably be staying with you most of the time, after all.”

Oh, thanks for the added responsibility. But you weren’t actually annoyed; he was a charming dog. Wondering what to name him, you idly reached out to pet his head.

Scratch.

You blinked. You weren’t sure who said that, as the voice was faint and unfamiliar. As you looked back at the dog, he was staring up at you.

Scratch.

“Scratch?”

He barked and wagged his tail.

“I guess that’s his name now,” Shadowheart said.

You got up, but kept your eyes on the dog, who was gnawing the bone again.

Curious.

***

The next visitor triggered your tripwire late at night. The bell chimed softly until you awoke, pushing yourself up.

Your heart stopped.

A creature came crawling out of the brush. You couldn’t tell what it was at first, but as it came closer to the campfire embers, you saw the feathers, the beak, the round body…

What the hell is an owlbear cub doing here? Where is its mother? Oh gods, what do I do?

You stayed stock still, watching it slowly approach you. Then it paused. And turned back towards the path out of the camp. Your eyes followed, and you saw Astarion returning from his night hunt.

The owlbear cub went towards him instead.

No, little cub! He’ll drink you!

You moved to stop the cub, but you stopped when you saw Astarion kneel down and speak softly to it. Then he led it towards the camp rations, pulled out a piece of dried meat, and tossed it at the cub, who ate it ravenously.

The soft look on Astarion’s face gave you pause. Is this a shapeshifter? Who is this man?

Unable to stop your curiosity, you got up and quietly tiptoed over to them. Though you tried to be careful, the owlbear saw you approach and suddenly fled back into the darkness.

“What was that?”

“Hm? Oh, we rescued him from some goblins. Karlach convinced everyone to let it sniff our hands so it could find its way here.”

“But what about its mother?”

“It’s dead.”

He didn’t elaborate on how or why, and quite frankly, you were too damn tired to ask. You just shook your head and went back to your bedroll.

How many more visitors will we have?

***

“Want to come to the druids’ grove with us?”

You had just finished the morning chores, so it was perfect timing. You readily agreed to Wyll’s suggestion. Although some of the party didn’t seem too keen on you getting closer to possible danger, especially with some of the druids acting uncharacteristically hostile, Wyll convinced them that overall, the grove was safe.

So he, Astarion, Karlach, and Gale took you to the grove so you could trade for supplies and get out of camp for a little while.

As they continued to comb the area for information, you talked with the vendors and bartered for supplies. You even took a turn at cooking, even if it only turned out to be just barely edible. You could only do so much with whatever the lady had put together. You weren’t a miracle worker, after all.

As you explored the grove, you heard singing off in the distance. Following the sound, you came out of the caves and into a sunlit cove by the water. A small boy was walking towards the song, seemingly entranced.

You quickly realized that he was entranced.

Sprinting towards the water, you reached out for him. “Wait, come back—”

A shadow flew overhead, and a figure landed before the boy on the shoreline.

Harpies.

You furrowed your brow. You could turn back, get help.

But then the boy would be alone.

Dammit.

You only had a dagger you didn’t know how to use and a few herbs in your bag.

The harpy on the shoreline looked at you and grinned. Then she opened her mouth and sang.

You covered your ears, but it didn’t cancel the effect. It was a beautiful song, so much so that you nearly succumbed. But you resisted, even as your nose bled with the effort.

Suddenly four bodies flew past you. The party had arrived just in time, firing arrows and spells at the harpy in front of the boy, distracting her long enough so that you could run up to the boy and pull him out of harm’s way. As you ran back towards the cave with him, tugging on his hand whenever he started to stray, you could hear spells being thrown, splashing and fighting. And through it all, one of the harpies kept singing. Your nose kept bleeding, even as you got further away.

When you finally got the boy back inside the cave and out of range of the harpy’s song, you rushed back, despite knowing how dangerous it was. Wiping the blood off your face with your sleeve, you analyzed how the song worked. There was power in song, magic in melody. You didn’t have the skill to fight.

But you could sing.

When you returned, you could see that the others were beginning to fall to the harpy’s harmful harmonies. You hoped that you had figured out enough. Furrowing your brow, you took a deep breath.

And you sang the song in counterpoint.

The others shook their heads as the mental hold on them came undone. They looked back at you in shock for a moment, surprised by your return. Then they realized that they could think clearly again, and charged the last two harpies, taking them down with a vengeance.

With victory came looting, and with looting, came a gift. Gale came up to you with a small bag of gold.

“Thank you for your help. Here’s your share of the spoils,” he said, handing it to you. Then he put his hands on his hips and frowned at you, looking very much like a stern disciplinarian. “Although it was very foolhardy and you should never get close to danger again.”

You rolled your eyes. “I wasn’t that close.”

Karlach joined Gale. “Close enough. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

You turned to Wyll, who just nodded in agreement. You fumed at being treated like a child, but part of you knew they were right. After all, you really didn’t know how to fight.

“Alright,” you said glumly.

Wyll and Gale patted your arm as they walked past you, back into the cave. Karlach just gave you a thumbs up and a grin.

Suddenly you felt a warm body behind you.

“You fool,” Astarion breathed into your ear.

You turned to him, anger firing through your veins. “I came back to help!”

“You’re no help if you’re dead,” he countered. “Besides, you’ll make everyone else sad if you get hurt.”

You gritted your teeth. You knew he was right, and you also knew he was using your emotions against you to do what he wanted.

For a moment, you hated him for it.

You finally let out a defeated sigh. “I got it. I won’t put myself in danger again.”

“Good.” He glanced at the blood on your sleeve where you had wiped at your bloody nose. “I can’t have my sweet snack losing any of her precious blood, after all.”

You glared.

He smiled airily as he stepped back, gesturing for you to follow the others. As you turned and stomped away, back into the Hollow, he fell in step beside you. At first, you thought he was keeping an eye on you.

“You don’t have to stand so close,” you bristled.

Astarion shrugged. “Someone has to make sure you don’t do anything foolish.”

He didn’t leave your side for the rest of the trip, all the way back to camp. As the rest of the day went on, you noticed that his attention wasn’t on you, but around you. Almost as though he was looking out for danger.

Was he… protecting me? No, that can’t be right.

Can it?

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Chapter End Notes: Oh hai, this campsite is the one from the game, the wilderness one that you mostly see in Act I. Also, let me know in the comments if you’re okay with longer chapters. I’ve been breaking these up into about 2,000-ish word chunks, but I have some chapters later that will be closer to 3,000.

#bg3 #bg3 fanfic #astarion #astarion x f!reader #slow burn #female reader #baldur's gate 3 #writing #bg3 spoilers #your hearth is my home

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animentality · 7 months

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People warned me that act 3 of baldur's gate 3 wasn't great...and I honestly...agree.

It's so many...really boring side quests.

Like act 1 felt like it was really exercising your roleplaying. You have decisions to make and a pressing plot concern, which is the parasite in your brain. You're getting to know your fellow adventurers and learning a lot about them and yourself, depending on what race or class or origin you picked. It's also well paced and you can really explore the world and the wilderness, getting into shenanigans and adventures that are plot related and less plot related.

Act 2, while dreary visually, is still fun because you're part of this big epic mysterious plot and you're learning a lot about the villains. Ketheric and all the thorms are all very distinct and have fun designs too.

Plus you don't even have to fight most of them, you can convince them to kill themselves, which is really fun. You can also be a great hero or a great villain, depending on whether or not you kill isobel.

It's also epic in scale. You're fighting in this great war and assaulting moonrise and then entering the oubliette, which is a very fun dark zone.

But act 3?

You have all the information...and then the story grinds to a halt as you do random side quests like investigating murders.

Which you know are literally all Orin.

There are a shit ton of buildings and places to go, but they're scattered.

They don't share anything thematically.

Like oh here's a dumb house with nothing in it except some useless garbage you can steal, but someone will definitely yell at you for doing it....ok???

And there are way too many buildings like this, with nothing of interest in them at all.

And some of the areas are just so unbearable.

One of the worst places is this mansion owned by Lady Jannath or whatever?

Just completely miserable fighting these sturdy skulls and poltergeists on every floor, who bug the fuck out and stop attacking.

It's kind of like you're wandering through the city, just hoping something attacks you so you can get the plot moving again.

Because otherwise, you could go anywhere and do anything, and it doesn't matter.

And that kind of sucks because bg3's greatest strength is the roleplaying decisions you get to make.

But in act 3, your rp barely matters. There's not much you can do to move your character forward or the plot.

You kill orin and gortash, do some character related quests, and then it's over.

So I get people who say that act 3 is anticlimactic. It is.

It's a series of side quests that aren't even fun.

The only ones that I'm actually interested in are stealing the orphic hammer from Raphael and killing cazador.

Otherwise, I've just been forcing myself to go do sidequest 3.4, paragraph 5, as is my contractual obligation.

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 spoilers

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jeslo · 6 months

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I had an absolutely wild series of cutscenes in my dark urge bg3 playthrough that I need to share with the internet.

Context: in act 1 in the blighted village and I'm planning on romancing Astarion.

I get to the barn with the ogre and bugbear and I let Astarion open the door, knowing that I'll get one approval from that and another from the conversation right after (i know this because I romanced him in my normal play through).

Astarion: Let me do it. They sound disgusting.

We interrupt the couple, fight them, and I immediately talk to Astarion, but I don't get the "that was fun" dialog. Instead I get his Act 1 proposition.

Astarion: I was just thinking about you, and that delicious moment we shared the other night.

He was JUST thinking about me. We just interrupted a "disgusting" bugbear and a giant ogre getting freaky and that made him think of Tav.

Not the compliment he thinks it is, but hey, he only has 10 charisma and I let it slide because I still want to romance him. I tell him we can meet up that night.

Obviously, I immediately take a long rest. Except I'm playing the dark urge and I get a different cutscene.

Alfira comes to my camp. I've avoided most spoilers, but I know enough to know what's coming next.

I go to sleep and instead of a steamy night with Astarion, my character is covered in blood and poor Alfira is dead.

I decide to try and hide the body, but fail miserably. My character tries to pick her up, but has bad stealth and bad strength, so instead, she just makes a mess.

She gives up after 5 seconds of effort and goes right back to bed. Who knows! Maybe no one will notice.

Everyone notices.

I get this golden line from Gale:

Gale: I'm going to say something I'm confident we're all thinking. Was this your doing?

I own up and try my best to explain. Everyone is remarkably chill about the whole thing.

Shadowheart and Lae'zel are a little wary but otherwise unaffected.

Wyll, who as been in my camp for ONE long rest, is like "wow, so sad. She died too young. Anyway, let me tell you the story about how I lost my eye..."

Gale is the only one acting normal (all things considering), asking me to keep my distance and not attack him.

No judgment from Astarion. I haven't had another long rest yet, but it seems like we're still on for our saucy night plans. Apparently killing people in your sleep isn't a deal-breaker.

Astarion: I don't care, really. But you could have been more subtle about it.

This game is so wild.

#the screenshots arent from my game #i pulled them from the internet #i was far too confused to think and screenshot my own game as it was happening #bg3 spoilers #bg3 astarion #bg3 dark urge #bg3

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wurdulac · 4 months

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last year i wrote a list of media that touched me. bcs i have shit for memory i was noting down things i watched, played etc. this year. so here's the list.

the city and the city by china miéville - loved it...

the longing - idle game that felt quite promising in the beginning. you play as a lonely shade that has to wait 400 days for his king to wake up. it can get kinda weird and idk how i feel about this anymore.

rain dogs - extremely bleak life circumstances, intense toxic friendship. 'fast food isn't good for you. but i fucking love it'

deadwood - very intriguing way of plotting a story of a settlement but some things abt were fucking stupid and i'm still frustrated when i think abt it. haven't finished the final season and i don't really feel like it.

vanished birds <- read this or else

dungeon meshi - most beautiful art with dynamically drawn creatures and beasts that then get shown being cooked into delicious (and nutricious!) meals in great detail. setting is a spoof of a stereotypical party adventure world but it tries to make sense of its rules and creates in turn something quite unique. great characters too.

wuthering heights - extremely good narrative device. never knew that we learn this story through a tale being told by a servant to some cringey guy. surprisingly well depicted psychology of the characters. reading abt child abuse upset me so bad. society will fuck you up. some ways to better your lot are closed to you based on your gender and race. fucking up people over generations. also moors. they're important.

ghost in the shell

barry - the fact that the show never lets him forget. the satire on show biz, loving the veterans. it's like a more clownish version of breaking bad in a way (both being concerned with morality). characters are caritaturish but everything they do is taken extremely seriously. also it's quite inventive with filmography. solid. loved it.

sangfielle - weird fiction arc of FaTT podcast.. extremely good setting

andor - they didn't lie when they said star wars can be good. abt opression and imperialism.. and droids done well.

repo man - plotted in a very fun way... unforgettable ending.

hellraiser - it was so promising. shouldn't have turned into tense rubic cube solving under most dire circumstances ever imo.

bg3 - the themes have made me insane. it managed to be cohesive. it's the. carousel of violence. cycle of abuse. relationship with power. trusting the other not to use violence against (even though they could). male manipulators. the dark urge. it's not without its faults and it should have been tighter (durge should be the main protag and no tav, chop down act 1, erase halsin)

the terror - such a mixed bag. a very good and tense thriller about imperialistic hubris but. they put a beast there. and the villain was??? idk man.

iasip (well technically i've been trying to watch it for years, but this year alone i watched like 4 seasons or maybe more) - i simply love iasip. its style of comedy that is irreverent. the mad schemes. awful dynamics. touching real darkness.

blowback (podcast) - about american imperialism. first season abt iraq war tone-wise feels like if behind the bastards and citations needed had a baby. recommended.

roadwarden - loved it. loved the setting!

anyway... i kinda stopped reading books after i quit my job (no longer commuting somewhere regularly so i stopped using my kindle). had plans to watch more movies but it's always a struggle to sit down and start watching. went to more than 0 galleries but not that many tbh. i sometimes don't know what to say and most of my comments are still pretty general and feel trite.

#uhm. if you somehow know of something i forgot to mention let me know

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spector · 6 months

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I saw you finished bg3, I'm too much of a baby to go past the second act : ( I've finished it but I've heard the third act isn't as good as the first two, can you share your thoughts? Spoiler free ideally, just... Did you like the third act? How did it compare to the first two? Just wondering as a person who has a chronic inability to finish things because of the risk of a disappointing ending 😭

OUGH I FEEL YOU, i put off finishing act 3 forever, i just kept doing sidequests and exploring , but first of all

act 3 is very badly optimized. even if you have the best PC ever or if ur playing on console, combat in act 3 will take a loooooooooong time bc the city is soo badly optimized. its not about frame drops or anything like that, its just that enemies most of the time will take forever to calculate their first move. someone told me its bc they're targeting unseen enemies or even targeting all of the superfluous items in the city which makes getting thru combat a CHORE. i dont know when they will fix it, i know they keep patching the game as they go but when i played it , it was a misery.

not to mention in act 3 theres just. so much fucking shit to do. good lord. in act 1 and act 2 i was sooo happy to explore and do everything but in act 3 it was just tiring. taking frequent breaks from the game might be beneficial as it was for me

in terms of quests/encounters in act 3 - a bit of hit and miss. in act 1 i think i enjoyed every single quest (but that could've been from the game being brand new in my mind still). in act 3, there are some fun ones (dribbles the clown im looking at you... or the quest where you have to intercept a newspaper article about you from hitting the press) but there are also some that r like ... ok..idc...

THAT SAID, i dont regret finishing it, at first i had a lot of issues with the companions bc none of them stood out to me but they're very malleable if u give them time - that is to say, they can have ambitions that align with your own personal story and that makes it fun, its like ur a team going towards a similar goal. i think that's why i was so motivated to finish, i had a concept for my player character from the start (paladin that breaks their oath bc of the circumstances and then fully embraces the no gods, no masters life by seizing total control) and i had to see it UNFOLD on da screen... and tbh i was very happy with the result, it felt like watching a movie of story plucked from my head

in terms of final fight - EH. it was very easy to me but i was on balanced difficulty so it had the right to be easy.

OH ALSO THE ENTIRE RAPHAEL QUEST WHERE U BREAK INTO HIS HOUSE IS SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOD THAT ENTIRE AREA IS SOOOO GOOOOOOOODODODODODODODOOOOODDDD ! ! !! i think i would recommend act 3 if only to play that part

as for the other 2 baddies (orin and gortash) - they didn't bang for me but there was some depth to both of them that maybe i would've gotten to enjoy if i didn't decide to kill em hehe

anyways, im rambling - the point is, the ending is really what you make it so if you picked choices that were fun to you, the ending should be fun as well. in terms of combat/boss fight mechanics etc, i found it too easy to enjoy. raphael boss fight, now that was a fun encounter. OVERALL, i think i recommend act 3 but maybe wait until its optimized? also get ready for a massive amount of content but just know you can skip things!!

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honshew · 6 months

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thoughts on bg3

overall, i had a lot of fun and would recommend to anyone interested! very ambitious game, and i'm amazed it exists tbh. there are so many really, really great aspects of it. however, i'm also glad to be done with it, bc i started to have less and less fun with it at the last part. which is an unfortunate place to have the worst part of the game. i really wish it wrapped up in a more satisfying way, because i became really attached to the characters and the incredibly detailed world. a shame it had to be rushed toward the end of development. it's incredible, though could have been more still.

i'm spending some time trying to figure out what i liked about the game, so this may or may not be updated as thoughts come to me. there will be spoilers all the way thru the end of the game so here's your spoiler warning

i think while people unfamiliar with dnd can play and still have a good time, it probably will feel overwhelming and there will likely be things you won't understand unless someone explains it to you. i can't even really call the tutorial a bad one as much as it's barely there. but i do know plenty of people with zero dnd experience still having fun and simply enjoying learning on the go!

on the other hand, being someone who plays dnd, once you figure out the interface it's a pretty smooth experience. there are some things that are a little different to accommodate how the game works (e.g. second-story work reduces your fall dmg rather than increasing your climbing speed, since the game doesn't really count climbing as distance), but those are pretty quick to learn. seems to me that the devs thought people who didn't play dnd wouldn't be all that intersted in bg3, but a ci'd be curious to see how many bg3 players will look for a dnd group to join from here.

act 1 was solid and was paced well. i really liked how many characters ended up showing up later in the game, as opposed to characters you save once and never see again. i think what was most fun was getting to know what i could get away with LOL not just an exploration of the world, but an exploration of the game itself. i have video of me talking to auntie ethel while my friends set up and set off a circle of flame barrels, so i got a front row seat of her being blown to smithereens.

act 2, also solid. i really enjoy quests that involve impacting a place in a really tangible way, like in okami, so the shadow-cursed lands were pretty cool. unfortunately, the game doesn't really show you this happening except a liiiiittle bit at the end, so it doesn't feel as good as it could. still, i liked exploring the area a lot. all of the mini-bosses of the area were unsettling, but we got past literally all of them via high charisma rolls. actually aside from the exploring, a lot of the fun was seeing how we could cheese boss fights, which carried into act 3

act 3 felt way more all over the place and buggy, which significantly lowered my enjoyment. ofc a game this massive will have issues, but i'm still sad that the last part of the game where everything crescendos is where i enjoyed the game the least. small things not working the way they're supposed to (e.g. certain npcs not running or climbing up a ladder when they are fleeing I'M TALKING TO YOU ZUMBO PUMBO AND FEATHERWEIGHT FALSON, astarion falling sleep to a spell even tho he's an elf during his end-of-quest fight). what sucks about things being so frustrating too was that the main quests had really great setups or concepts, but the execution was messy. still, we had a lot of fun messing with bosses. cazador couldn't do anything bc he was forced to dance while we killed him, orin was disintegrated, gortash turned to stone. kinda wild having a bard with 100% spell hit rate....!

i do wish we got to explore baldur's gate more. i totally get that would be a huge undertaking tho. i had a thought that maybe act 3 should've been its own game, but then i guess you couldn't call it baldur's gate 3 if you never get to baldur's gate. i didn't play the previous bg games, but i liked how they wove in the story from the previous installments and ttrpg modules without leaving newcomers to the series out of the loop too much.

i liked shadowheart's, astarion's, and wyll's quests a lot. the ansur part of wyll's was really cool. i adore trials to test character as a setup, especially ones administrated by some major figure. but also? fuck balduran for what he did to ansur and later to me. he's the city's hero, but he only really looks out for himself. which is cool for me as a viewer, not cool for the character i play as LOL

i have more thoughts but i will type them up here later maybe this has gotten long enoguh

#honshew text #not tagging with bg3 so as to avoid strangers coming into my house to yell at me as if they are defending their honor

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sorcerous-caress · 5 months

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Just wanted to say thanks for your thoughts on the fandom for Astarion ❤️ It's really enlightening to get another perspective as someone really new(I'm not yet out of Act 1, and this is my first time playing a DnD game). I noticed this weird thing where people in his fandom specifically are bashing people for Ascending him. I don't know too much since I've been avoiding spoilers but I think *every* character is complicated. As excited as I am to be focused on romancing Astarion this route- I'm just as curious and excited about the other companions. Just makes me sad to see how divided the fandom seems to be.

Again, I'm not focusing on the other quest lines yet cause I'm so early, but I do wonder if there's a divisive moment in any of their storylines like Astarion's, and if there's just as much outrage about it. Ultimately I don't think there's a wrong or right way to play the game- part of the joy is seeing the way different choices change these characters we've come to know and love, and how they react to the circumstances and adapt.

...Also, unrelated, but you've singlehandedly gotten me into human kink and male drow specifically. Didn't think that was possible but your scenarios are...absolutely peak. Thank you for the food, and for dragging me more into DnD lore seperate from bg3! You're a gem! ❤️

Welcome to the game anon! It's so fun so please don't feel any need to rush through the game, take your time and enjoy it at your own pace. The fandom will always be here at the end of the day.

Feel free to share anything interesting you find, even if it's something you think people who finished the game saw already, it'd still be good to be reminded of it.

And yes I remember the ascended bashing incidents- those twitter threads were so long my god. The other companions do have something similar! I won't spoil anything but you will start noticing the patterns and shared themes in their storylines with each other.

But no, there isn't really any outrage around the other companions ultimatum moments, just Astarion. He is the star of the show in the fandom.

And it makes me really happy knowing i successfully infected someone with my human kink and drow propaganda <333 they live in my brain rent free, the world needs to hear about my theories on how the humans are clearly the most fuckable speices in dnd, in this essay I will-

It really boils down to humans being the most adaptable honestly, at their core every other speices is in some way or form, exclusive and closed off. Being friendly by nature and seeking out others, having strong bond with non-human creatures has always a huge part of humanity.

And I think that's lovely, also how we are the weakest in dnd, it's hilarious since we are fucking up every genepool we charm our way into.

Thank you so much for this sweet message it made me smile, and I re-read it a lot. Words mean a lot to me than i can describe, and hearing from someone else about how they like something i made is better than a million likes and reblogs. You did give me a time of your day to write this and send it, for that I am very grateful.

#♡LoveLetters

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aywren · 8 months

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Greetings from my Aywren Tav Bard of Baldur's Gate 3, Act 1. I am making my way super slowly through this game, because I must explore all the things.

Naturally, I fell for Astarion the moment I saw him because I have a type and he fits it in just about every way.

Seriously? White haired anti-hero vampire with a fun personality, tragic backstory, and the possibility to redeem (maybe)? Why do you do this to me, game?

I'm trying desperately to balance between seeing fandom and avoiding spoilers since I'm still so early on. But I know exactly what I want to try to achieve in my first play through of BG3. (Whether that actually works or not will be up to the rolls as I honestly don't save scum too much.)

Anyhow, all this to say that I've been inspired by fandom in a way that I don't think fits in my normal blogging activities. While I'm usually quiet here and not overly rebloggy, that might change while I've caught the fandom bug.

Hope you can forgive! I'll try to mark my posts with an "Astarion Fanning" tag so you can block it if it's not your cup of tea!

#baldur's gate 3 #Tav #Astarion Fanning #Astarion

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mystique-6 · 5 months

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Fic Name: This is Me Trying

Summary: Ailis just wanted to start a new life and be a person again. Instead she was kidnapped by mindflayers and winds up in the position of leader of a very rag tag group adventurers who all want the same thing...to get rid of their tadpoles before they all become mindflayers. As the group journeys to Baldur's Gate friendships develop and Ailis finds herself drawn to a certain vampire spawn. While the relationship starts out of simple convenience it quickly blossoms into something more...but are either ready for that?

Author's Note: I have been invested in BG3 since YouTube first recommended a video for me to watch back in 2020. I quickly became obsessed with a certain vampire rogue. I was lucky to have a very kind and generous friend gift me the game in EA when I mentioned I planned to purchase the game when I was able to save up for it. And shortly after creating my tav, Ailis, I began plotting this fanfic. I decided to wait for the whole game to be released so I wouldn't have to have a long delay if I managed to finish Act I before the game came out and in case there were changes made to the characters and story. I am glad I made this decision.

A lot of this fic will follow the game exactly, but there will be slight differences to fit this fic, particularly with Astarion's story. I want to make one thing very clear, I love Astarion and his story. I think he is a very compelling character and I think he and his story are very well written. I know a lot of people really connect with both this character and his story and I think that is a great thing. However, I really liked his original corrupt magistrate story that was presented in EA that seemed to be dropped in the official game(or at least watered down). I thought that would make a compelling story and I also prefer more morally dark characters. All this is to say, some of Astarion's characterizations will be different than they are in game as well as some of his story.

For his character, I do intend to write him as a slightly darker than he is in game. Nothing crazy. He really won't be any worse than he is Act I but I don't intend to have him stray too far from how he is in Act I. He will have moments of softness, especially towards my tav, but he won't get as soft as he is in game. At least that's not my intent. This is mostly because I prefer vampiric characters to be a little darker. In D&D, Vampire Spawn have the same shift in personality as True Vampires based on what I have read so I am leaning into that a little more.

For his story, how he views and feels about sex is going to be different. SA is still going to be a part of his backstory but I am adjusting bits of that to fit this story. Honestly, though I think his story is great and well written some of it just doesn't make since with me on a narrative level.

I just wanted to mention this because I know people feel very strongly about his character and story and just want to give warning that both will be a little different in this fic and that might mean it won't be for every Astarion fan. That's okay. There a plenty of great fics out there. However, if you are still intrigued by this fic I really hope you enjoy it. I'm only one chapter in but I had a lot of fun writing it.

The tags will be updated as the story progresses so make sure you always check them before starting a new chapter. I normally include all tags that will be used when I begin a fic but this fic keeps changing directions a bit on me so I'm doing it this way for now.

I hope you enjoy and if you have time please review. I love getting feedback and they really motivate me to keep going.

#bg3 #astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 tav #shadowheart #gale of waterdeep #bg3 wyll #lae'zel #karlach

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relentless-endurance · 7 months

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having to go back in my main playthrough sapped me of my will to continue but not my will to play which resulted in me making a number of other characters

in order:

Callaina as a human wizard. Not sure what subclass yet. She's gonna romance Wyll. She's an oc I've had for a looong time (since the warcraft days); she's my canon SI in swtor and a planned npc for the game i dm too

Nethalia Rosesong as a tiefling wild magic sorcerer. She's from some RP I've been doing off and on with a friend of mine. No idea who she'll romance if anyone tbh.

Fenn; tiefling tempest cleric edition. my young wolf who i made for a friends dnd game, brought to bg3. For fun and profit.

Andeyle Silverbreeze as a storm sorcerer. ye olden oc who i have had since the warcraft days, who I have made in pretty much every game I can (even DAI; F). but she's my canon Vestige from ESO, as i don't consider any characters left over from warcraft to have warcraft as their origin point. also a future npc in the game i dm. miss milf.

and of course, because I cannot help myself, and i was encouraged - Zalia. as she was originally made, a tiefling druid. her circle and subcircle features are available in the game its great (circle of the land, coast). I have also made her in literally everything and of course i was gonna make her here. she is also my canon wol (though all my wols are canon in their own timelines, she was the first and thus the main); and i joked about her having beef with literal gods and decided she's gonna romance Gale (as opposed to my original planned romance too.

anyway Fenn, Callaina, and Nethalia aren't out of the nautoloid yet, Zalia is post tiefling party (but still has a lot of stuff in act 1 to do), and Andeyle has most of the party recruited but hasn't gone to the grove yet. i basically just play whoever i feel like; though I'm gonna be focusing on Chorus now that i have my motivation back.

#katie plays bg3 #long post #Callaina Ana #Nethalia Rosesong #Fenn #Andeyle Silverbreeze #Zalia Vaylune #this is the first time i've wanted to make a bunch of characters in a game since i was super in skyrim #lol

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thedeadlyrobot · 7 months

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Gaming recap of 2023

holy shit, i have been meaning to post something in here for a while now, but with personal issues and working constantly, it's been a little bit difficult to do.

so, i just wanted to take a moment to write about some games I've been playing, some games I've played, old ones, new ones, red ones, blue ones, and everything in between. 2023 has been stacked with games so far, so keeping track of everything has been a little difficult on my end. but i'll try and keep the descriptions and everything here a little short as to not overwhelm with gratuitous details.

Starfield

Surprise, surprise. I'm one of the million or so people who are currently playing Bethesda's new RPG. Without getting too into the weeds, it's a fun game. Generally speaking, anyway. It still has some of the annoyances of past Bethesda titles, but this one breaks the mold in so many other ways that it's easy for me to forgive some of the bigger design shortcomings. The UI, visual bugs (surprisingly, very little overall), inventory management and the lack of maps are the worst of the bunch here, but hopping planet to planet and running into other spacers trying to make their way in the universe is what keeps me coming back to it. I think this game nails the emergent gameplay that previous Bethesda games have attempted.

I won't really spoil much, but I did rush through the main quest after learning what the scope of NG+ is for this game, and I have to say that I think it may be in everyone's best interest to mainline the story first, then do most of the side content within the second NG+. I understand that there's at least 10 NG+'s that you can run and it's one of the primary ways to advance a progression system that is revealed mid-way through the story. I don't really think I'll end up running that many NG+ saves, as it will wipe most of your material progress, sans your skills and research... I have to admit I'm not fully in love with the way NG+ is handled here, and I imagine once the Creation tools are out, we'll probably see a major mod release that condenses the number of NG+ runs down to a couple VS the 10 they want you to do.

But that's really my biggest gripe I have with it. I think I'll go through my 2nd NG+ and just wait after that for some major overhaul mods, which are apparently right around the corner in 2024.

Baldur's Gate 3

Admittedly, I have set this game down right at the start of Act 3 so I could play Starfield, but I think I'm going to crawl my way back to this one sooner rather than later, just so I can see how it all concludes. I understand Act 3 has some interesting bugs and issues, but the scope of the final act of the game is something to behold. From what I gather, Act 3 is nearly twice as long as both Act 1 and 2 combined, which is a shitton of game to behold for sure.

From release, this is the only game that I really played for a long time. Up until Pikmin 4 released, this was my go-to daily game. I'm not sure how much more I can praise this game that most people haven't already done, but just know that this is most likely my favorite game of the year, even though Tears of the Kingdom is in a hot contest for that spot as well. BG3 is just as good as you've heard, and if you have the means to play this, I highly recommend you do so. Probably the best CRPG I've ever played.

Tears of the Kingdom

Breath of the Wild turned out to be one of the greatest Nintendo games, not just Zelda games, of all time. The depth of exploration, the feeling of discovery, the mystery of the world, it was all so brand new and fresh-feeling. Not a whole lot of open world games could contend with it for a very long time, as I believe that Nintendo's design philosophy has paid dividends for the genre. Let me just say that BotW was so good, that it ruined open world games for me for a very long time. I just had nearly no interest in them up until Red Dead Redemption 2 released.

Fast forward to 2023, and Tears of the Kingdom delivers on every promise that Breath of the Wild made, but doubly so. I sometimes miss the abilities from Breath of the Wild, but Tears of the Kingdom's weapon / shield fusing, ultrahand, and autobuild abilities are some of the best mechanics for any game I've played in recent memory. Think Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts but with the added depth of open world design and the classic Zelda feeling of discovery. Sure, combat is very simple, weapon durability can be frustrating, but that feeling carries over from the first title. I would have loved a little bit more innovation in these areas, but for what's here, it's a great fucking time.

Story wise, the game exceeded my expectations, even if some of the story beats are a bit repetitive. I would love to see them expand even further on what's been introduced here for the new game, and I'm willing to bet that this series concludes with a third entry in a trilogy, then it's onto whatever is next for our Hylian adventurer. If the world and quests feel overwhelming, I recommend blitzing through the main quest just to see what unfolds here story wise. Collect all of the Tears, then start conquering the different regions and temples to get the full picture of what is happening. What you'll find is, in my opinion, one of the most climactic and breathtaking finales of any Zelda game I've ever played. 10/10 game, easy.

Lunacid

Lunacid is a very mysterious game. It's a spiritual successor to the King's Field series created by FromSoftware, and it is doing an incredible job of replicating the way those games felt, in terms of combat and exploration.

It's currently in early access and created by a single person. It feels nearly feature complete, but it still has plenty of potential and room to grow. I recommend playing what is here, as your second playthrough may feel completely different than your first. I don't want to get to into what the game entails, as I feel the mystery is what makes this game the marvel that it is. Highly, highly recommended.

Jef

Jef is Jef, and that's what makes it special. Just play it. You can beat it in a single sitting but it's just batshit insane. Unironically one of my favorite gaming experiences I've had this year.

Chibi-Robo

Chibi Robo is an expensive game these days, but with a little bit of luck and a couple clicks, you can play this yourself. The internet is wonderous!

A hidden gem of a game, I wish I played it when I was a kid. I'm playing this on a modded Gamecube with all of the feeling of playing on original hardware and being sucked back into that simpler time. It's a game about making people happy by cleaning up their house and giving them presents. You meet an assortment of characters of all types, shapes, and sizes, and each of them has their own little story that you get to take part in. I'm also playing this on the Steam Deck totally real retail copy I have and it works great. It's a shame this never really took off here in the states, as I feel like subsequent sequels would have made good use of evolving the mechanics and scope of this series down the line. Try it out, I think you'll have fun with it.

Street Fighter 6

I suck at a lot of fighting games. I even suck at this one, but, I feel like I'm actually getting better each time I play it. I was pretty into Super Street Fighter IV when it came out, but the online scene then wasn't nearly as big as it is now, so playing ranked matches with people somewhat as skilled as me has been fun to learn and grow within the game.

I haven't played World Tour mode at all, as I mostly wanted to just git gud and fight other people, but eventually I'll make my way back around to it. If you're new at fighting games, I can't really think of a better way to get into them than this.

Project Zomboid / 7 Days to Die

They are both zombie games in perpetual Early Access, and I played these pretty much simultaneously with different groups of friends, which is partially why I lumped them together like this.

Zomboid with mods is something else entirely, and it's one of the better multiplayer games I've played in a long time. The difficulty curve is steep, but if you have a friend that can show you the ropes, it becomes a lot easier to grasp over time. I recommend playing it in a Vanilla state first, then working through the modlists and seeing what you may like.

7 Days to Die is a lot of fun as well, but admittedly the second pick of these two games. Getting the boys together and completing missions and staving off the horde is a lot of fun... for the first several hours, then you start to see how repetitive the game becomes. Quests are rinse and repeat, there's no real overarching goal or story at play here. It's been in early access since 2013, 10 years if you want the quick maths. That's a long long long early access period, and my hope is that they eventually "get there" with it, but maybe another 10 years will tell.

That's all really... there's several more games I've picked up in between, but these games left the biggest impression on me this year so far. I also started playing Lies of P once it released, but I haven't sank enough time into it to decide one way or another on how I feel about it. Plus, the year isn't over, there's still several on their way.

Also, I did not forget about Pikmin 4. I want to do a longer writeup on the Pikmin series as a whole, and where I think Pikmin 4 falls into as far as "the best" Pikmin game debate.

Go play some damn video games!

#gaming #recap #starfield #lunacid #project zomboid #7 days to die #baldurs gate 3 #tears of the kingdom #street fighter

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super-lad · 8 months

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indulging myself on talking about my bg3 party (spoilers below):

Silas - Wood Elf - Assassin

Went for Dark Urge since its the only origin character you can customize, but Silas is actually my Skyrim OC whose been inexplicably transported to the Forgotten Realms. Won't get into specifics since the Dark Urge gives him amnesia, but it's fun to play an evil character trying and failing to resist their impulses. The Dark Urge storyline is actually a bit similar to Silas's actual backstory, but, alas, he doesn't remember it and probably never will. He does still have PTSD with bows (he's not sure why), so dual swords and throwing knives are his go-to.

Gameplay-wise, he lacks in raw power and depends on Advantage while staying invisible. Basically, he needs to one-shot people each turn to not die, which is pretty in character for a compulsive murderer. He is quite squishy, however. Well, the whole team is. I'm thinking of multiclassing him with Fighter or Barbarian to get a higher Armor Class (which is also a shoutout to his Skyrim storyline).

Romance-wise, I'm going for a main love triangle with Astarion and Wyll. Hopefully, the two characters are OK with polyamory in the end. Plus, the two have a great dichotomy; think Kara Danvers vs Livewire. And trying to keep approval from two opposite sides of the moral alignment chart has been... slow. Silas got no action in Act 1 besides a chaste kiss with Wyll and Astarion is just beginning to tolerate him. To speed things up, I gave Astarion an open tab on Silas's blood. This diagnoses Silas with acute anemia. Symptoms? An almost constant penalty in his Ability Checks. Worth it? It better be!

Astarion - Arcane Trickster

Astarion is someone I didn't care much about and planned to replace for a better party member. Alas, I got annoyed with his constant disapproval of my character, which made me determined to see him like Silas in the end. His jaded personality is clearly a result of his traumatic past, so I'm interested to see how much he changes when given a (comparatively) healthier dynamic. I like that Silas and Astarion have similarly evil tendencies, so I'm curious to see whether they make each other worse or better.

Gameplay-wise, he works similar to Silas. Squishy and needs Advantage to be good. He's our main archer, which keeps him off the frontlines, so he doesn't die as much. Doesn't use magic much in combat either, but he does have all the utility spells helpful in non-combat situations i.e. Feather Fall.

Wyll - Warlock

Wyll is the Kara Danvers of BG3. He's a superhero with a seemingly unattainable level of altruism. As you can imagine, I was obsessed. And like Supergirl, he has a hidden dark streak, which is interesting to see play out. Being good is a choice. He always chooses good despite the cost. Silas definitely idealized Wyll when he first met him hoping to become a better person by osmosis. However, after discovering the Warlock's powers come from a Fiend contract, Silas became disillusioned. I think its clear that our resident superhero could change the Dark Urge, but Silas isn't sure if he's ready to let go of that. And I'm curious to see how how stagnant Wyll's morality remains as the story progresses.

Gameplay-wise, he's our biggest damage-dealer. His spells can hit and debuff multiple enemies HARD. Still squishy, but he makes up for it by killing before they can get to him. Plus, it helps to have Silas and Shadowheart keep them distracted.

Shadowheart - Cleric

Shadowheart was someone I, too, planned to replace at the first opportunity. And I did. Once we got Karlach, a buff giantess devil-lady with a heart of gold, it was bye-bye healer, hello absolute unit with lethality that far outstrips anyone else in the party. And I love LOVE Karlach (I'm still going to pursue her and lae'zel's personal quests), but at that point, the main trio had been with Silas throughout 80% of Act 1, and I was surprised to find Shadowheart had grown on me. She's actually quite witty and complex once you get past the masochistic goddess she worships. We also come across her fellow fanatics a lot throughout the story, so its fun to see someone become conflicted with the religious dogma they were raised with. I also like that she's a twist on the typical healer archetype. She's not altruistic like Wyll. She worships darkness, but not because she's evil, but because it's all she ever knew. I'm most interested to see where she is with her faith in the end.

Gameplay-wise, a healer is indispensable as we all know. She actually has the highest strength stat in the group, so she's good utility i.e. moving heavy objects. Furthermore, to help mitigate the team's squishy problem, I gave her heavy armor proficiency so she's become pretty decent at soaking damage. Her spells are from the Trickery Domain, so she has a lot of buffs and debuffs, which has been critical in reducing how many hits the team takes. Essentially, since I don't like to change their original classes for roleplay reasons, I'm turning her into a pseudo-Paladin which has proven really fun to play around with. I'd say she's definitely grown the most in usefulness.

#bg3 #a game hasn't had such a hold on me in years #spoilers

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