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

Summary

CasualTalk: I could actually feel the site slowing down with that last update, so this one will cover the alternate scenes for the monastery.

CasualTalk: First up is what happens if you rush directly to the front doors of the monastery. I believe they increased the cutscene radius on this one, because I distinctly remember killing these gith on my first run.

Raider Add’ath: “That’s enough. On your feet.”

Corliss: “Where are you taking us?”

Mahrin: “If this is about that ‘weapon’ your friend was talking about, we don’t have it, and we don’t know shit about it!”

Raider Add’ath: “Silence! Move.”

Corliss: “No. No no no. I’m not going in there. I won’t!”

Raider Add’ath: “Anyone want to join her? As I thought. Through the doors. Now. The Captain is expecting you.”

: “Forward - carefully. These cultists have the creche on high alert.”

CasualTalk: As it turns out, you can’t get in through the front doors. You used to be able to by sneak attacking the gith.

CasualTalk: Now let’s look at what happens if Pollux goes through the zaith’isk. First, we have to kill Lae’zel.

: Exterminating all the gith means exterminating all the gith.

Narrator: “Your body grows cold, its warmth sapped by the cold metal seat. The machine awakens.”

Narrator: Layers of magic weave themselves tightly around your head. The tadpole squirms and contracts. It’s trying to hide. You realize the device is hunting your parasite. But it’s doing so blindly. Without direction, your faculties could be permanently damaged.

Narrator: Your skull groans and bends under the pressure. Then - agony.

  1. [SAVING THROW] Focus the device on your tadpole.
  2. Get out of the chair.

CasualTalk: Unlike when Lae’zel does it, Pollux is free to leave at any time. On the canon run of this part, that’s exactly what he’s going to do.

CasualTalk: Actually, he’s going to kill the doctor first, loot the room, then he’ll leave.

CasualTalk: The first check is a DC 12 intelligence check. I call it this because it’s not really a save - 5E’s save system is dumb.

CasualTalk: 3.5E has three saving throws: Fortitude (which was based on constitution), Reflex (which was based on dexterity), and Will (which was based on wisdom). Each class also has a base save modifier.

CasualTalk: 5E changed things so that now, every stat is a save. It defeats the purpose of the original saving throw system (which was to prevent dump stats) by guaranteeing there’s one save you’ll never make.

Narrator: Through waves of torment, you search for the parasite’s lurking presence. The device searches too. You sense its hunger, its craving. It wants the tadpole, but maybe something more…

CasualTalk: The party will warn you to stop, and stopping is probably a good idea unless you really want the buff from making the saves.

Narrator: The parasite burrows deeper, sinking its teeth into your brain’s exposed tissue. It sucks greedily. You feel yourself ebbing away, while the parasite only grows stronger. It’s evolving.

  1. [SAVING THROW] Stay calm. Guide the device closer.
  2. Enough is enough. Get out now.

CasualTalk: DC 15 wisdom check. This one is the hardest check for Pollux, as he only has the Ring of Protection and the Elixir of Heroism I had him drink for bonuses.

CasualTalk: What I forgot is that Phalar Aluve doesn’t work on the person holding it.

Narrator: The device yearns for the creature, for every part of you tainted by its presence. You will be consumed. The tadpole quivers. A different magic is building within it. This one is ancient. Rotten.

Miku: “No. No more.”

  1. [SAVING THROW] Keep going. Complete the extraction.
  2. [SAVING THROW] Focus on this ancient magic. Feed it with your own.
  3. [BARD] [SAVING THROW] Harmonize with the tadpole’s magic. Amplify it.
  4. Free yourself. Escape.

CasualTalk: This last check is the easiest for Pollux to make, because he’s got a +9 to +12 on it.

Narrator: You pour yourself into the tadpole’s putrid magic. Its strength multiplied, it unleashes on the machine. The two forces fuse violently together, your brain their conduit. Your body and mind drift apart - you are being undone.

Miku: “Enough.”

Narrator: The room swims back into focus. Your mind is intact, yet unfamiliar. Inside it, the tadpole lives on. And you feel different.

CasualTalk: Successfully completing the zaith’isk gives whoever completes it a permanent buff that reduces illithid powers from a regular action to a bonus action.

CasualTalk: Most of the illithid powers are trash, so you only really want this if you’re planning on making heavy use of them.

CasualTalk: This is what happens if you fail the dexterity check on the painting. That’s about it for alternate scenes, barring a couple of non-standard game overs we’ll see in the next update.

LP Index

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