Down, Down, Down By the River: Let's Play Baldur's Gate 3

[Timrod]

Summary

: Welcome back to Baldur’s Gate 3. Today, we’re going to maul half the Underdark with a giant lizard.

: I’ve got him trained.

: So as it turns out, I was wrong about one thing. The party at the camp isn’t free - in fact, you have to pay double what you normally would in order to rest.

: I also wanted to show this off. This is the camp inventory after defeating the Bulette last update. This is from a run where I killed the spectator without explosives.

: It’s a start.

: “Half this drow’s body is crushed. Must have fallen from pretty high up.”

: I was also wrong about that fairy ring being where you come out if you use the ring in Ethel’s boss arena.

: You actually start up by where Karlach is. There’s a wall of shelf mushrooms, and most of them are illusions.

: It seems like kind of a reach that someone would look at a wall full of shelf fungus and their first thought is “I bet this will hold my body weight.”

: Or that the villain wouldn’t be found dead at the bottom because they forgot which ones aren’t real.

: The correct path is along the left wall, using the two mushrooms Pollux and Shadowheart are on and then jumping up the only path from there.

: There’s no particular reason to do this, except that it gets Karlach an inspiration and some bonus EXP.

: The actual exit is in this room, obscured by an obvious illusory wall. If you take the exit, it puts you by where Mayrina is after you kill Ethel.

: The funny part is that the illusory wall is so obvious that even if no one in the party makes the check to disbelieve it, you can just walk through it anyway.

: After the long rest, Pollux goes around and buffs everyone with Longstrider again. Scratch is in the camp now, having followed Pollux’s scent.

: We can pet the dog, but due to some weird animations, Pollux makes a REALLY stupid face while doing it.

: I also get hit by a bug that I can’t believe Larian hasn’t fixed. This is a bug that has existed since launch.

: If you attack an NPC that the game considers a guard, it hits you with a debuff that marks you as an “enemy of justice” and renders all allied guards hostile on sight.

: The reason this happens is because of how we took down the goblin camp. If you initiate combat when the game doesn’t expect you to, it doesn’t remove the guard tag from NPCs, even ones it intends for you to kill.

: The good news is that while the game isn’t smart enough to remove the buff once the goblins are all dead, it IS smart enough to only apply it to the goblins - this means it won’t make guards from the druid grove or Zhentarim hideout hostile.

: Back in the underdark, we smash the moonstone (getting Shadowheart an inspiration) and go through the main gate.

: Just to the left of the gate is a sword embedded in a rock. This is something honor mode players will go out of their way to get early.

Narrator: A slender drow blade impales the stone before you, keeping a silent vigil.

1. [STRENGTH] Grab the sword with both hands and pull.
2. [RELIGION] This feels holy. Consider what the appropriate ritual might be.
3. Leave.

: This sword is kind of like the box in the owlbear cave - if you happen to be a cleric of a very specific drow goddess, it comes out freely. Otherwise, it’s a DC 15 check.

Narrator: This blade was a warrior’s sacrifice to Eilistraee. Blood can only be honored with blood.

1. Shed a few drops of blood onto the stone.
2. [STRENGTH]
3. Leave.

: Eilistraee is the drow goddess of beauty and dance. Her name isn’t intended to be pronounced.

: Eilistraee was originally a footnote in some very late 2E splatbooks about the drow pantheon, and is the only good-aligned drow deity in a pantheon full of gods of assassination and oozes.

: I believe she was also the justification for Drizzt, even though at the time the first Drizzt novels were written, Eilistraee was considered to be dead.

: Typical rebellious teenage daughter. “Dad, I’m too good for Buddhist Hell! I want to go live with mom in heaven!”

: I’m still horrified at the thought of you raising -

: Wait, your wife’s an angel?

: Shit.

: No comment.

Narrator: The drow script inscribed on the blade flickers and glows. It rises from the stone, hanging in the air in silent offering.

: Phalar Aluve is probably the best melee weapon for bards. Once per short rest, you can spend an action to make it “sing” or “shriek”. Singing gives any allies within 20 feet a d4 bonus to attack rolls and saves, while Shrieking does small amounts of thunder damage and reduces attack rolls and saves on enemies.

: The reason it’s so good is that it doesn’t require concentration AND stacks with Bardic Inspiration. People on honor mode doing the Early Silver Sword bug will use this to boost their chances of disarming by going invisible and following the bear in with shriek on.

: If we follow the route the minotaur took before it got fried by the laser statues, we come to the spot we would have come out in had the party opted to jump down the hole by the giant spider.

: Doing so puts you in combat with all three minotaurs, because the third one won’t have run into the lasers. And it’s here that we can use..

: No way, I’m not letting this go. Your wife’s an angel?

: I don’t question what kind of unholy furry orgy made you, you don’t question who my wife is.

: Your first thought upon seeing the minotaurs is probably “Are they dumb enough to fall for the same trick?” and the answer is not quite.

: There is a way to get in and out of the fortress if you’re small (or have disguise self) without getting hit by the lasers. It’s right next to the fireplace.

: The minotaurs have an ability they will keep active called Reckless Roar, which gives them advantage on attacks against you but also gives your attacks advantage against them.

: They can also jump pretty far and will knock anyone they land on down. By this point, Shadowheart is already back at the hidden entrance.

: And then it’s a typical ambush setup. Hit them from height and they’ll be dead before they can do anything.

: This spot with the skeletons is where you would land if you jump down from the spider hole. It’s also where the spider will be if you pushed it down the hole on balanced.

Cryptic Voice: ((more are coming))

: “Who - what in the hells are you?”

Cryptic Voice: ((they’re coming, they’re coming))

1. Tell me I’m not imagining that voice.
2. Still your mind to this unusual voice.
3. Ignore the voice.

: “Tell me I’m not imagining that voice.”

: “Careful.. if we can hear it, perhaps it can hear us…”

Cryptic Voice: ((they’re coming, you’re coming))

: There’s a secret fourth entrance into the underdark you can reach from up here. This area is found by going straight from the gates of the fortress.

: The ladder has mines around it that the party managed to not set off.

: There’s a secret elevator in the zhentarim hideout that leads down here. I forget exactly how you unlock it. Other than that, the crates have a lot of vendor trash.

: There’s a turn off before the ladder which leads to a field full of explosive mushrooms. The blue flat ones release spores that cause confusion if you go near them.

: We can fix this with a single crossbow bolt.

: “Timmasks and torchstalks. Hell of a combination. Get confused by one, blown up by the other.”

: Ah, mushroom people. They’re insufferable.

Narrator: You are swallowed by a chorus of turbulent music. Through one creature sing many voices: the harmony of an entire collective.

Restless Myconid: ((Sovereign, he has come. he is here.))

: These are myconids. They’re mushroom people whose life goal is to enter a single shared consciousness.

Narrator: The choir fades. A single melody rises above the others, brassy and commanding.

Mysterious Voice: ((I am Sovereign))

: These guys are annoying, but we need them in order to cheese a couple of quests.

Narrator: You see a vision: your lifeless body, wrapped in fungal tendrils. The sovereign is threatening you.

Mysterious Voice: ((state your purpose))

1. Focus on your parasite and connect with the sovereign.
2. Tell the truth of the parasite. You only seek safe passage in your search for treatment.
3. [PERSUASION] I am a traveller seeking adventure.
4. [INSIGHT] Seek understanding. Focus on the sovereign’s song.
5. [INTIMIDATION] My purpose is private. Let me pass, and I will leave you unharmed.
6. [BARD] Hum a peaceful tune in harmony with the sovereign.

: (humming)

Narrator: You detect a distinct quiver in every note. These creatures have experienced recent tragedy. Fungal roots weave through your mind, seeking your true intent. Then the sovereign drones a new melody, cautious but welcoming.

Mysterious Voice: ((descend to me. let us speak in flesh.))

: This area is a town, and there are a couple of quests we can pick up here that all roughly boil down to the same thing. Near the sovereign is this deep gnome, who we want to talk to.

: “Don’t.”

Narrator: Her condition is familiar. Poison, derived from a wild weed common to the Underdark. She’ll need an antidote soon - most likely held by the poisoner.

: You can give her a generic antidote (we’ve picked up a few) and she’ll be fine. If she’s not given an antidote within three long rests, she dies.

: Your other options are giving her an Elixir of Poison Resistance, giving her an “Elixir of Silvanus” (which is really just a re-branded antidote) from Nettie, or actually finding the poisoner and getting an antidote from him.

: “Ah… Gods.. whatever that is.. I needed it. Why’re you helping me?”

1. How could I pass by? You were in pain.
2. Does there have to be a reason?
3. It’s always useful to be owed a favor.

: (I probably shouldn’t tell her we got that from a hag’s den). “Does there have to be a reason?”

: “Down here? Tends to be. Ngh. But I’m nearly good to get on my feet. I thank you for your help, but I gotta get moving - ah!”

: Shadowheart has another episode with her weird hand wound.

: “God’s garters, I don’t have the time for this. My kin need me.”

1. You’re in no condition to help anyone.
2. Take it easy and tell me what I can do.
3. Focus on what I need. A reward, for starters.

: “Take it easy and tel me what I can do .”

: “…seems you’re the helping kind. All right - I need you to rescue my kin. Not charity, mind - we can pay. We’re Ironhand clan, best artificers in Baldur’s Gate.”

: (I’ve heard of them. They make explosives.)

: “We were on an expedition down here when the duergar snatched us up. I got away, but not the others. The greys have them digging out some old ruin across the lake.”

1. What was this expedition your clan were on?
2. What are the duergar digging for?
3. All right. I’ll free your people if I can.
4. Sorry,. You’re going to have to save them yourself.

: “What are the duergar digging for?”

: “Some dusty temple. It doesn’t matter. They’ll work my clan to death before they ever get near it.”

: “All right. I’ll free your people if I can.”

: “Thank you. Only wish I could go with you. But here - I nabbed these boots from the greys when I ran. I’ll feel better knowing you’re using 'em to kick some duergar arse.”

: “I’ll mark where I made my escape. And.. wait here, I suppose. Not much choice, eh?”

: She gives us a pair of Boots of Speed, which are considerably changed from 3.5E. In 3.5E, Boots of Speed cost far more than what a typical 5th-level character could afford.

: 3.5E Boots of Speed allow you to use a free action to activate Haste on yourself for up to 10 rounds a day. These ones instead allow you to dash as a bonus action - like Astarion can.

: In addition to the cheaper dash, the boots also grant you Freedom of Movement, which prevents you from being stunned, paralyzed, restrained, or slowed by difficult terrain.

: “Look, can you talk like a normal person and not somebody’s dumbass Homestuck fanfiction?”

: Okay fine go kill the duergar, they killed our kids and now I’m raising them as fucked up mushroom zombies so they can serve us while we are in our self-made goon dimension-

: “Shut the fuck up.”

: We can talk to the sovereign. I’m going to paraphrase here because his quest is the same as Thulla’s - kill the duergar.

: And oh look, he’s wearing the same necklace Gut was.

: As soon as we leave the platform with the sovereign on it, this guy stops us. This is Glut. Glut is an absolute gamebreaker for this part of the game.

: We’re going to take him up on his offer immediately, because Glut can break one sidequest before we’ve even left the myconid town.

: There are two traders here. One is this dwarven lady.

: “Seems the 'shrooms are letting in more people every day. You see a fella on his own on your way in? Dwarf. Baelen’s his name.”

1. What are you doing down here?
2. Can you describe him?
3. Haven’t seen him.
4. [DECEPTION] Yes, I’ve met him.
5. Show me your wares.
6. Leave.

: “Can’t say I have. Only things I’ve seen are a spectator, a bulette, and a bunch of dead drow.”

: “Right. Never mind.”

: “What does he look like?”

: “Bald. Blue tunic. Dumb as a stick. My useless husband. Sent him for an errand; it’s no surprise he’s made a mess of it.”

: “Do you need help finding him?”

: “Knock yourself out. But don’t come begging for coin if you find him. If you try to ransom him to me, you’ll find yourself skint and stuck with a fat old lout.”

: Derryth’s husband is right down here, in the field of mushrooms that emit highly flammable toxic gas if you get close.

: “Stop, STOP! Bibberbang!”

: That is the dumbest possible name for a mushroom.

: It sounds like he’s trying to call a QB sneak. “25! 17! Bibberbang!”

Narrator: “Where bibberbang blows, noblestalk grows..” The dwarf was harvesting valuable noblestalk amongst these explosive bibberbang mushrooms.

: “Scroll - escape! My bag! Please, I’ve dropped it - somewhere!”

1. Hold tight. I’ll find your bag.
2. Hold up a scroll of Misty Step.
3. This is your mess - figure it out yourself.

: “I’ll find your bag. Well, I won’t. This giant walking mushroom will, because I like Shovel too much to make her do it.”

: Baelen’s pack is right here. The problem is that lit torch - if we set off the mushrooms, the gas will light on fire and explode.

: Now, there are a few solutions here. You could have Karlach jump to the safe spot behind the bag, pick it up, and then jump to Baelen.

: Alternatively, you can send in a mage hand and have it move the torch out of the area. You can also throw water on the torch to put it out, or hit it with an ice spell.

: But why waste perfectly good spells? We have Glut. Because he’s a myconid, he can walk right through the mushrooms without activating them. He can also move the bag to Baelen.

: Shovel can also do this, but I don’t think Mara would approve.

: Damn right I don’t!

: Once he has his bag, Baelen can just teleport out.

: “Ah! Right as - what were you saying?”

: The options don’t matter.

: “I was just looking for - Derryth! She’s - she’ll be worried sick!”

: What I didn’t realize on my first run is that there actually is a noblestalk in the mushroom field. I wound up blowing up the mushrooms just for the hell of it, which destroys the noblestalk.

: The ordinary solution is to methodically destroy the mushrooms (probably using a bow or crossbow) and then get the noblestalk after the gas clears.

: Except that Glut can fix that problem too by simply moving the mushroom.

: For bringing Baelen back, we get the Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo. These are intended for monks, and boost damage done by thrown weapons by 1d4.

: Of course, we don’t have a monk anymore, so we’ll give them to Karlach to boost her javelins.

: From here, there’s three things we can do and none of them are particularly well-written. If you give the noblestalk to Baelen, he eats it and immediately turns back into an abusive asshole.

: You can give it to Shadowheart, who will eat it and remember that her best friend is trans. No, I’m not joking about that. I’ll show this off at the end of the update.

: Alternatively, we can give it to Derryth in order to be able to shop glitch noblestalks off her in Act 3. Why would we do that, you ask?

: Because they’re a full heal that also removes negative status effects.

: “Look at that. Got my useless old man back. I suppose that’s your doing. His hands are as empty as a hole - will have to send him back out soon enough.”

1. It’s a miracle he survived. You should take him home.
2. Seems like there’s no love lost between the two of you.
3. This is dangerous territory. You must be down here for a reason.

: “This is dangerous territory. You must be down here for a reason.”

: “Collecting noblestalk. Valuable mushroom. We’ve a shop in Baldur’s Gate. The locals go mad for it.”

: “We’ve got one right here.”

: “Ah. To no surprise of mine, you’re more competent than Baelen. Thanking you. I’ll be on my way then.”

: “I do thank you. Come visit me in Baldur’s Gate if you find yourself that way. We - I - run a shop called Bonecloak’s. Baelen nearly sunk the shop to pay for drink, when he was of his own mind. This might allow me to hang on a little longer. You take care out here.”

: (I’ve got a rat with your name on it).

: Now that we’re done with that, it’s time to break the game in two. Tactician mode: back on.

: If you look at Glut’s move list, you’ll notice he has the ability to perform necromancy.

: The only limitations are that it can’t be used on constructs, plants, or aberrations. That rules out zombifying the spectator, since it’s an aberration.

: But you know what that doesn’t rule out? The bulette. It also doesn’t rule out the giant spider if you pushed it down the hole on balanced difficulty.

: This will rapidly turn balanced mode into unbalanced mode, because between the spider and the bulette you can clear out almost everything effortlessly.

: We’ve already cleared some of the spots where it’s useful, that being the spectator and the minotaurs. That doesn’t mean we can’t get some mileage out of it.

: Take this area, right by where the dwarf was. That’s a sussur tree, and we could use some of its bark.

: The tree is home to some hook horrors, which aren’t hard to kill but do a lot of damage. Unless, of course, we can fuck them up with the bulette.

: Brings back memories of when Giri was a mile tall and I’d send him to crush my enemies underfoot. Everyone thinks they’re a badass until they get stomped by a giant fire-breathing demon elephant.

: The hook horrors get absolutely fucked by the bulette, and if it doesn’t kill them you can send the party in to finish the job.

: This hook horror on top of the tree is where the real fight starts. Attacking it will alert a second hook horror on the ground, which will call for help.

: The reinforcements come in the form of a crazy wizard and a third hook horror.

: That’s not much of a problem for the bulette, who can jump off the tree and do a ridiculous amount of damage to anything below.

: The wizard likes to hang out on the branches, which seems like a great idea until the bulette jumps up and knocks him off. This fight is normally fairly difficult, but we’ve turned it into a joke.

: The sussur flowers scattered around are part of a puzzle we’ll do next update. They emit an anti-magic field, but die if they’re brought out of the underdark.

: They also have a special interaction if you’re a sorcerer, which I’ll do in bonus content.

: Oh, and the wizard has the second part of that staff.

: The upper part of the tree, near the second hook horror, has a piece of sussur bark we can use. We’ll do that after we deal with the duergar.

: The path past the hook horrors goes right to where the duergar are. It’s a big circle, so you can also get here without fighting the hook horrors.

: Look at all those duergar lying in ambush.

: We’ve established that you can’t see invisibility through a monitor.

: Oh no, I just know where they are. The one we need dead is right by the ladder.

: Getting the bulette down there is a pain in the ass. We’re going to lose access to it right after this fight, so make sure you’ve done everything else before doing this.

Lurgan: “What..? Gekh! Got someone sneaking up on us!”

: There are four duergar here. You can see one over by that ledge. There’s another one, invisible, sitting behind Astarion next to that desk.

: The difference between this being simple and it turning into a shitfest is how fast we kill this one. He’s a necromancer.

: If he ever gets a turn, he reanimates seven corpses. They have an ability that requires you to kill them twice to actually die. We’re not letting him get that off.

: The necromancer spawns on a stone cube, and can be made visible by having the bulette spit acid at him.

: From there, using the bulette’s bite and following up with a jump attack knocks the necromancer down and stops him from casting, assuming it doesn’t outright kill him.

: Ideally, the bulette dies during the fight.

: Before it does, send in the rest of the party and kill the survivors so they don’t get out of combat regeneration. No damage taken by anyone that matters.

: The necromancer has the antidote, if for some reason you aren’t carrying around a dozen of them.

: “Again, can we not talk like someone’s Homestuck OC?”

: “The tumor is excised. The Duergar are DEAD. Here, I break ground. From the dark will a mighty Circle rise. My song will fill the Grotto!”

: “Death-doer - the Grotto may sustain but one Sovereign. In the AGE OF GLUT.. there may be no SPAW. Eliminate the other sovereign.”

1. You’d turn on Spaw, who gave you shelter?
2. Make it worth my while.
3. Why not. Spaw’s time is done.
4. I’ll have no part in this.
5. If you’re so eager for blood, Glut, then let me give it to you.

: There’s supposed to be a way to backstab Glut by telling him you’ll kill Spaw for him and then warning Spaw, but it’s pretty glitchy and didn’t work for me even through multiple re-records.

: “Nah, I think I’ll kill you instead.”

: Personally, I’m surprised Glut went that long without turning on you.

: Glut gets some extra HP and a couple of attacks he didn’t have before, but he goes down without any real challenge.

: There’s not a lot of interesting loot in the duergar camp. The biggest reason to come here is the boat, which goes to the main duergar camp. We’ll do that next update.

: Spaw names Pollux “Peace-Bringer”, which is another way of getting the inspiration for having a title if you ‘accidentally’ gave Kagha a juice cleanse.

: Is it really peace when we’ve killed everything we’ve met that wasn’t a druid or the Flaming Fist at the inn?

: He also buffs whoever reports to him that the duergar are dead with a flavored version of bardic inspiration until your next long rest and unlocks a treasure room.

: "But before this, I have another boon to ask of you. You have cut out the duergar blight, but not its source.

Narrator: In your mind’s eye, Spaw shows you a drow, striding among myconid dead.

: “Nere, this one is called. He hunted us - hunt him in turn. Bring me his head, and I will know my Circle is safe.”

: “The drow lurks in the ruins beyond the lake. Bring him death, and return.”

: Inside is a single dead drow with a lore dump on him. We get 11 owlbears of EXP for coming in here.

: If you’ve played Elden Ring, you know what a flumph is - they’re psychic color-changing jellyfish.

Narrator: The cover proudly announces this book to be: “Flumph Mating Rituals”.

Narrator: Underdark fauna is a topic much written on, but this title has never appeared in any collection you’ve seen. The scrutiny proves too much. The lurid text melts away before your eyes - an illusion. What remains are simple instructions written in a spare hand: the secret to forging adamantine.

: “Dammit, I was hoping to learn about flumph mating rituals so I could impress Halsin later.”

[The pages, apparently copied from a master tome, describe the construction and use of a grand forge in the Underdark.]

Among the Sharrans dwelled the gnome Silouv Yali, whose talents for wizardry were known from Candlekeep to Sorcere. Under his tutelage, the Sharrans built the Great Forge, which could heat mithral with such vigour as to turn it to adamantine. With this astonishing metal, they could mould the finest blades and armor.

Yet the jewel of Yali’s eye was not the forge itself, but the protector he conjured from magma to guard it - a construct said to be so mighty that no blade could fell it, and no spell could pierce it.

[Instructions for operating the Great Forge are listed underneath.]

Ingredients: Raw mithral ore and a proper mould
Place the ore and mould into their respective chambers.
Pull the lever and lower the hammer and prepare the ore for smelting.
Open the valve to allow lava into the crucible, and drop the hammer again to forge the product.

: The guardian is so laughable that a kid could figure out how to kill it without taking damage.

: “Again with the adamantine forge. These people need a new hobby.”

: This is a spot where the game gets the lore wrong. Adamantine is not mithril, nor is it an alloy of mithril. It’s a separate metal entirely.

: It would be the equivalent of saying that if you heat steel enough it’ll turn into tungsten.

: We also get a second ninja hood that allows the wearer to go invisible, and…

: We finish that staff off. Mourning Frost is honestly garbage. There’s a better staff you can buy in the myconid colony.

: Our last stop this update is this hobgoblin, who is the myconid colony’s other trader. He has a couple of items we want.

: “Ah, a visitor! You’re a welcome sight.”

: Didn’t we kill you yesterday?

: Ah.. no, definitely not.

: “But let us observe the customs of the locals.”

Narrator: The scholar’s brow tenses. His voice spills into your skull, the spores connecting mind to mind.

: “Blurg, proud member of the Society of Brilliance, at your service.”

: “Hgh–nzzt. Or perhaps not. Your mind is far more complex than that of the fungi.”

1. I’ve never heard of the Society of Brilliance.
2. I’ve never seen a hobgoblin like you before.
3. Do you have anything interesting to trade?
4. Leave.

: “I’ve never heard of the Society of Brilliance. Are you really sure we didn’t kill you yesterday? Temple on the surface, party of four, we hid in the rafters?”

: “Understandable. We are small in number, and rarely stay in one place for long. My colleagues and I are working to improve conditions in the Underdark. This need not be such a dire, hostile place.”

: “It’s curious to find a surface dweller here. What has brought you down so deep?”

1. Honestly? I kind of got lost down here.
2. A mind flayer infected me with a tadpole.
3. [DECEPTION] I collect mushrooms to sell on the surface.

: “A mind flayer infected me with a tadpole.”

: “Truly remarkable! But why come to the Underdark, where they hold so much power?”

: “It’s a long story…”

: “You were infected by an illithid tadpole? It’s a miracle you’re still intact! You must be worried sick, but have no fear. I have a friend who may be able to assist. Omeluum!”

: “I hope this is important, Blurg. My zurkhwood samples need constant attention.”

: “It is! This adventurer has an illithid tadpole inside his head. But he hasn’t turned.”

: “No ceremorphosis? That’s impossible! But intriguing. Are you looking to have it extracted?”

: Didn’t the game already tell us that the tadpole can’t be removed?

: It did. This is how you’re supposed to learn that if you didn’t save Halsin.

: Why are you looking at me when you say that?

1. Yes. Absolutely.
2. A mind flayer?! Die!
3. An illithid is your friend? How is that possible?
4. Sorry, Omeluum. I’d rather not.

: We have to put away our existing plot knowledge that says nothing is going to change until we reach Moonrise Towers at the end of Act 2.

: “Yes. Absolutely.”

: “Open your mind to me. Let us see what lurks within.”

: This reminds me of when I went to Magfest one year and people were doing the Bloodborne “make contact” gesture at each other.

Narrator: As Omeluum’s mind pierces yours, the tadpole pulses with power. It feels ten times its size. Alive, awake. Almost smug."

: “This is most unusual. The incubation period should be complete, as should your transformation. But the larva is infused with strange magic. It appears to be in some form of stasis.”

1. Can you extract the tadpole?
2. What happens if that stasis goes away?

: “Can you extract the tadpole?”

: “No. It appears to be shielded from physical and magical influence. And even without the shield, the extraction would involve severe cranial trauma.”

1. That doesn’t sound ideal.
2. Don’t waste my time. Say what you mean.

: “That doesn’t sound ideal.”

: “It is not ideal. The process would surely kill you. But not to worry. Should you transform, I will happily perform a new examination.”

1. Tell Omeluum about the strange mind flayer ship you were on.
2. Thanks for the information.
3. All that probing was useless in the end.

: “Thanks for the information.”

: “Of course. I am sorry I cannot assist you in its removal. But I have.. an idea.”

: “Oh? Perhaps I should start taking notes.”

: “There may be a way to bypass that stasis. There are many alchemical substances that can influence the mind.”

1. Bypass? What kind of alchemy are we talking about?
2. Isn’t the stasis why the tadpole hasn’t killed me yet?
3. No, I’m done with all this.

: I heard that exact line the first time I fought Poison Dart and her cannon full of hallucinogenic goo. Then I came to the next day thinking I had coached the Cleveland Browns to a Super Bowl win.

: Did you win that fight?

: Oh, of course. They told me I threw her clear through a window trying to teach Josh Booty what a pass looks like. Her goo canister broke and leaked all over, and that was it.

: What were they thinking drafting an MLB player as a quarterback?

: “Isn’t the stasis why the tadpole hasn’t killed me yet?”

: “I do not intend to shatter its protection. I need only bypass the interference that prevents me from communicating with the larva.”

: “I will need a tincture distilled from a collection of rare mushrooms. They have subtle psionic influence. A fresh tongue of madness and timmask spores.”

: “But be warned. In their natural state, both of these mushrooms can be quite dangerous. Timmasks cause confusion in those that approach them. The tongue is.. self-explanatory.”

1. Eating those doesn’t sound like a great idea.
2. Lovely. So where do I find these mushrooms?
3. That’s too risky of an experiment for me. Count me out.
4. Leave.

: “Lovely. So where do I find these mushrooms?”

: “The Underdark, of course. Although they are quite rare, and their discovery… perilous. Hm. I imagine Lenore would have them in her possession. She served Mystra as a cleric.”

1. Why would a cleric have a bunch of dangerous mushrooms?
2. Where does Lenore live?
3. All right. I’ll come back when I find the mushrooms.
4. Good to know. I have other priorities right now.
5. Leave.

: “Why would a cleric have a bunch of dangerous mushrooms?”

: “She is quite fond of her garden. Lenore has always been a lonely sort - nature was her only companion.”

: So we’re looking for a sad, single gnome who is probably dead. Got it.

: How do you know she’s dead?

: Inferred it from the item descriptions.

: Lenore is actually a stupid crossover reference to Divinity: Original Sin 2 and I believe the canon explanation is that she got isekai’d into that game.

: “I offered her the chance to join the Society, but she refused. Her experiments on sussur bark took priority.”

: Speaking of sussur bark, we can finish that quest now that Glut is dead.

: To do it, all you have to do is go into the blacksmith’s basement, start the fire up, and use the bellows.

: Then you add the sussur bark and a weapon (sickle, dagger, or greatsword) and get a special weapon we’ll never use.

: Next time, we’ll go find Lenore’s tower and then eliminate the rest of the duergar.

: First, I"ll show off what happens if you make Shadowheart eat the noblestalk.

: “I.. I can’t. My memories are being withheld for a reason. Lady Shar will return them to me when the time is right. No sooner. Besides, mushrooms aren’t my favorite. I think it’s because of the gills…”

1. [PERSUASION] They’re your memories. You don’t have to ask permission to know who you are.
2. [INTIMIDATION] Just eat the damn mushroom!
3. Forget it.

: “They’re your memories. You don’t have to ask permission to know who you are.”

: “All right.. give it here.”

: “Is it working?”

: “I remember… something. Not everything. It’s new and not new at the same time, all jumbled up.”

: “I was younger. Much younger. An initiate at the cloister. I was upset about something.. the others were teasing me. Mocking my name. Like I wasn’t worthy of it..”

: “There was another. A tiefling boy with short horns and purple hair. I think he was my friend. He tried to make me feel better…”

: “Rennald. that’s the last part of it I remember.. that must be his name. Perhaps he’s still there, in Baldur’s Gate.”

: I remembered doing the cloister on my first run and went “Wait, there’s only one tiefling NPC there and they’re female..”

: Anyway, next up is what happens if you walk near the sussur flowers as a sorcerer. There was an INSANE amount of writing that went into a scene most people will never see.

: There’s a video version that shows all of the companion reactions if you’re a storm sorcerer, but there are also special ones if you’re a draconic bloodline sorcerer.

Narrator: A chill runs through you. Your magic - the fire that burns within is.. fading.

1. Try to cast a simple cantrip.
2. Close your eyes. Breathe into the feeling.
3. [DRACONIC BLOODLINE] Call on your ancestor! You will not submit!"

: “I’d call my ancestor, but I took a correspondence course in sorcery and glued some scales to my face. I think my ancestor would laugh at me.”

Narrator: Your magic erupts, violent and powerful, but is snuffed out by the sussur flower - vanishing like embers in the wind.

: “What’s the matter? I could swear this plant’s got you flush.”

1. It’s the flower - my magic is gone.
2. I’m fine. It’s nothing.
3. Mind your own damn business.

: “It’s the flower. My magic is gone.”

: “Chin up. I’ll wager they’ll come back as soon as we move away from here.”

1. I’m not worried. My powers will return if they’re meant to.
2. I really hope you’re right.
3. This is serious. I feel terrible. Empty.

: “This is serious. I feel terrible. Empty.”

: “No harm in a brief dose of perspective. It’ll pass, I’m sure.”

: And that’s everything. There is one more thing I want to show off, though. WoTC licensed official BG3 miniatures for use in tabletop D&D. They’re uh..

: Infamously bad. The set costs $50 - and no, I’m not going to buy a set for the LP. I don’t play tabletop anymore.