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mimorugk · 17 days ago

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Masterpost of cut content, changes, and etc for early game builds of Halsin

I have found a lot of cut things relating to Halsin, some from developer interviews, a lot from the datamine, and some from other sources. I decided to compile those here.

Some disclaimers and clarifications first:

I use the term "early build(s)" to distinguish it from both release and from the Early Access test period. If you don't remember something here, it's because it was removed without ever being implemented in Early Access.

I do not have the energy to link or upload the datamined files, etc, so instead I will state where I found them and you are free to look if you want to.

This list is not exhaustive. There are likely even more things that we will never know about.

The game underwent many, many rewrites; some characters existed in ways you would not recognize today, before being rewritten.

I am not including things that were changed after release, IE the unfinished Halsin vs Minthara ultimatum that started to be worked on from patches 4-6 but was never implemented.

With that said, let's jump in! I will try to organize these roughly in order of how early the game build was, but it's not always possible to know how far back a given change was, so it won't be precise.

If I missed any, please feel free to let me know!

Halsin wasn't always the only Archdruid at the Emerald Grove; there was once a second Archdruid, Denor, who worshipped Eldath. She and Halsin had a fight because she was worried about the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and she went off to investigate a lead and got captured, presumably leading Halsin to try and go save her. Likely to simplify that plot, they instead made the Grove solely consist of Druids of Silvanus, and Halsin and Denor's plots were combined into just Halsin. (This was recovered from datamined files.)

Halsin used to be an elderly man; this has been confirmed by both Kevin (writer of Lae'zel and Wyll) and John (Halsin's writer). Halsin's pipe is an artifact from this time, which they never removed. This caused a lot of confusion for the writers when Halsin got de-aged to what we know today, causing a lot of fans in Early Access to thirst for him, as the last the writers had seen, he was, well, an old man. There were streams at this time with writers explaining they had been baffled at first until they saw Halsin's then-new model.

Listening to old voice files from back when each Tav narrated their own story, Halsin originally had two bear companions, a male and a female, who were mates. It was possible to cause both Halsin and one of the bears to die at the goblin camp, leaving the other bear heartbroken at losing both their mate and their master.

Halsin had a friend, the cut Origin character Helia, and they would have been imprisoned together. (This was recovered from datamined files.) Helia had two recruitment locations, one in the forest and one in the worg pens, and in fact there is still text in the post-release file for the worg pen scene mentioning it could be her or Halsin there. Her recruitment dialogue mentioned that goblins had taken Halsin away (more on that below) and it seems (though not confirmed, but just putting pieces together) that which location Helia was recruited from would influence where you found Halsin; if you found her in the forest, he'd be in the goblin cage, but if you missed Helia there and found her in the pens, he'd be taken to Moonrise. Leading to...

It was possible for Halsin to be imprisoned in Moonrise. There was an audio file recovered where Minthara would mention the Druid the player was looking for was there and she could get them an audience with him, and there are multiple tags referring to Halsin being imprisoned in a pod (such as a dialogue option to leave him in his pod), as well as an eventflag suggesting Halsin could have been tadpoled. More specifically, there was a flag set for saving Halsin before he was tadpoled, which by implication also strongly hints he could have been tadpoled there. There was also a cut dialogue line from an unknown character (possibly, but not certainly, Helia or a Druid) saying, "Halsin! What did they do to you???" which also hints at this. Another line said, "easy, Halsin. We're all friends here," and was removed at the same time that all references to this outcome were, suggesting it was part of that same path. (Possibly tadpoled Halsin would have been disoriented and aggressive, causing the player to need to reassure him they're friendly, though that is sheer speculation on my part.)

As shown in the concept art book, Halsin's scar used to, in fact, be from a battle, instead of being attacked for rejecting a she-bear's advances.

As is very well-known by now, Halsin was responsible for Isobel's death. Rather than being promoted to Archdruid after the battle, he was always in charge, and represented the Druids and Harpers in a negotiation attempt with Ketheric. Instead, some unknown force (believed to be Shar) caused Isobel and other combatants to go temporarily insane and attack each other. She attacked Halsin, and he immediately reacted in self-defense, stabbing her with the glaive Sorrow. He believed it became cursed as a result, because holding it filled him with such sadness, and anyone who used it would take psychic damage as well. Essentially, his trauma and regret from killing her was so great that it gained a physical form in the blade. Further, that was the main reason for his guilt regarding the Shadow-Cursed Lands, leading to...

Halsin's friendship with Thaniel was a later addition. Before, Halsin only mentioned having seen him briefly in his meditations; he wanted to save Thaniel because it would break the curse over the land, not because it was Thaniel himself.

Halsin's mission in act 2 was much bigger, and was trimmed significantly as a result- being far too big for an optional sidequest for a non-Origin character. Instead of waking Art Cullagh to get information on the Shadowfell, you fought the three Thorms to get a bone from each of them, which you would then bring to Isobel, who would grind them up for use in a ritual. Then you would defend Halsin while he tried to open the portal (more on the portal below), instead of defending him while he was inside it. You were then instructed to go to the Shar temple to wait for him, after which the quest would presumably end with Halsin, overjoyed and grateful beyond words for your help, bringing Thaniel to recover in Last Light and promising light would return to the lands soon.

During this quest, Halsin would also give you a dagger called Promise, which would help him find you from the Shadowfell. He also mentioned that a sign of his spirit would manifest itself in the Shar temple when the player had found the right place. That's where the "you are the beacon that will guide me home" line likely originated from.

The portal quest was different, as noted above. Most notably, there are still files in-game for a scenario where, despite being warned repeatedly not to touch the portal, you could wait for him to open it and then attempt to enter, causing it to collapse. Horrified and heartbroken, Halsin would yell at you, and you could give an explanation ranging from "sorry I panicked" to "I worship Shar and didn't want you to succeed, hahaha dumbass." Halsin, heartbroken, would leave to be alone to grieve, and then would leave you forever.

Oliver was likely not a part of this quest originally; he, along with Art's story, were added when the quest got trimmed down from what it had been, but still needed some little quest progressions, so they tweaked the story to give it some meat back without making it such a daunting quest as it was before.

There was once going to be a scene of Halsin and Jaheira having a very heated argument during act 2. What it was about, and how it would have ended, has never been discovered; the only thing we know is the title of the file from an early datamine. It is possible it could have been about Jaheira learning about Halsin's responsibility for Isobel's death, as she is shown in canon to be protective of Isobel, or it could be about their different priorities over whether the cult or the curse should be a priority.

Worth noting here are various changes to characterization (rather than noting every single one individually). Halsin was more openly emotional (particularly after you saved Thaniel), often sassier, and his abilities as a healer were emphasized more strongly back then. He teased you about if the tadpole would share your hangover the day after the party, he would dryly say he can't cut your tadpole out or he'd be removing it from a corpse, etc. It is also possible, though has never been confirmed, that we might have been intended to learn his last name of Silverbough at some point, as John has mentioned an earlier character outline having said that as his last name, in reference to Celtic mythology.

Halsin had voice lines referencing Orpheus; you could mention him to Halsin, and he would mention he wanted to meet anyone who knew about these tadpoles.

Halsin's sex scene with him wildshaping into a bear seems to have once been intended for a different scene where the wildshaping occurred offscreen and was also played for laughs; this was pitched by Baudelaire Welch, and then John Corcoran turned it into a part of the main romance. What that original pitch was, what the context would have been, etc, are not known. Just that the wildshaping was originally an offscreen gag in another scene. (Possibly Sharess' Caress?)

There were going to be scenes, near the end of the game, where the elder brain would torment the group with hallucinations of themselves that would pick at their weaknesses, fears and insecurities; these files still exist in rough draft form in the game. Halsin's particular hallucination would have hinted at his struggles with feelings of meaningless, and his wondering whether he should just give up, etc.

There is also a voice line that still exists for characters who were in your party, but left either due to plot events or their approval dropping, being captured by the Absolute and showing up to fight against you in the courtyard battle. Halsin was included here as well, being an enemy who would yell "For the Absolute!" at the start of his turns.

It is possible, though not certain, that the writers intended for you to be able to bring Halsin back to act 1; he and Minthara both have voice lines for the creche. However, it is possible that this was just added to cover the exploit where casting silence on either of them would leave them unable to initiate their scene where they refuse to return with you.

I hesitate to include this one, as I have yet to find anything even remotely concrete (the closest things being an ambiguous tag and the circumstantial evidence of there being many hanging plot threads), but it is widely believed that there was supposed to be a continuation of the Shadow Druids plot which would center around Halsin, based on Halsin's uncertainty in act 3 of whether they might actually be right, a tag referencing Kagha's act 1 turn from the Shadow Druids if this happened, a line from the Shadow Druids mentioning they were going to Baldur's Gate, and the reveal that Ketheric had the Shadow Druids sent to the Grove to weaken the Drudis there as he knew from experience what a threat they could be.

Hope you enjoyed that deep dive! I don't THINK I forgot anything, but on the off chance I did, do feel free to let me know and I will update this post!

#god’s work #halsin #bg3 #reblog

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mimorugk · 2 months ago

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Tav/Durge's Question of the Day - part 1

Leondorr is the first OC I have after years of not making any, so I hold him very dear to my heart. He is a dark urge, so his lore contains graphic content. There are 20 questions in this post that are selected in the #TavQOTD on bluesky. I'll add more in a separate post in the future. The questions I've answered in the past are still on twitter but I don't use that site anymore.

Thank you everyone for watching me yap about him for the past year.

Tw for strong language, violence, self loathing, suicidal thought, pregnancy as torture.

Quick introduction

Leondorr (Leon for short) is a bhaalspawn made from the flesh of Bhaal himself, taking the shape of a tiefling. He has short black curly hair with medium neutral skin tone and golden eyes, with the right eye having black sclera. Leon is 173 cm in height with a slim but toned build, with small moles across his body. His appearance is supposed to make him less threatening and causes less suspicion. Due to being a bhaalspawn, he doesn't have the lifespan of a normal tieflings. He grew up like a normal person, then stopped aging around 30 years old. Hence Leon has been living for 40 years, but looks early 30s. After escaping the nautiloid, the bhaalspawn ended up with a long scar that goes from the top of his chest and past his belly button, two puncture scars on both palms, adding to multiple small scars he already has before. The wounds were freshly healed with a spell, leaving scars yet the pain lingers. He earned two more scars after the duel with Orin, one across his face and one around his neck.

Leon is quiet, keeping thing to himself and doesn’t speak to companions unless it’s needed, but he’s good at lying and persuading people to get what he wants. It's a great advantage for the team, because Astarion can lie but he acts like a dick which drives people away, while Leon can pretend to be nice. Leon is resilient, doesn’t know when to stop and where his limit is. To some, he's an unbothered and broody guy that one wouldn't approach. It's because he doesn't know what to care for, what his purpose is. The good thing is he isn't completely heartless nor being cruel for no reason.

How does your Tav/Durge feel about water? Aside from just “I need it to stay alive”, do they find large bodies of water upsetting? Do they like to swim to relax?

Leon doesn’t hate water. He instead hates the sticky feeling of wet clothes on his skin. So swimming naked (or with underwear at most) is fine but not soaking in a lake clothed on. He’s not that crazy about water either, it’s cool.

(The night Leon killed his parents, when Sceleritas Fel came to bring him ‘home’, it was raining. His clothes are soaked with his parents' blood and rainwater, clinging to his skin for hours. He hated that wet feeling. Even when his memories were lost, Leondorr still instinctly hated it.)

2. Does your tav/durge embrace their class, or is it complicated?

Leondorr is a rogue/assassin mostly and a bard occasionally as a disguise. The assassin part isn’t his choice, though, it’s Bhaal’s. Ironically, Leon is made for the job, and he hates that he’s so good at it. Still, it’s a part of him, whether he likes it or not.

3. What is your Tav/Durge's biggest fear?

There’s a thought that keeps Leon from sleeping. What if when he woke up and everything was just a dream? His friends, his journey, Halsin. That he has given in to the Urge, or he was captured by those Mind Flayers and now his mind creates a dream to ease him from reality.

4. What is your Tav/Durge's biggest fear?

There’s a thought that keeps Leon from sleeping. What if when he woke up and everything was just a dream? His friends, his journey, Halsin. That he has given in to the Urge, or he was transformed by those Mind Flayers and now his mind creates a dream to ease him from reality.

5. Does your tav/durge have a favorite spell that they like to use? Do they preserve it for crucial moments, or do they tend to spam it? If they're not a magic caster, do they have a favorite spell scroll that they like to have on hand? Why do they like it?

Leondorr isn’t a full time caster, he prefers sneak attack and stabbing, it’s faster and you don’t have to remember the spell. He does like Vicious Mockery because it’s fun. Hold Person is good for controlling as well.

6. How and when did your tav/durge realize that they were in love with their LI(s)? how did the realization make them feel?

Probably when Oliver reunited with Thaniel and he saw Halsin cried. All Leondorr wanted was to embrace the man, but he couldn’t bring himself to.

Before that, Leon spent often time in his tent, they’ve been flirting for fun. Then the gazing lingered a bit longer, the flirting became bolder, and there would be this longing for touches. Leon thinks he knows what it is, but he won’t admit it, too afraid to do so. Himself being a ticking bomb doesn’t help, so he pushes it back.

Even when Halsin confessed, Leon still hesitated, but he jumped in anyway. The acceptance of him being in love and deserves love comes slowly. And it takes dying at the Bhaal temple for him to accept it.

7. Who does your Tav or Durge usually spar with?

Mostly Wyll, sometimes Karlach or Lae’zel would join in. Leondorr doesn’t use magic that much, he prefers daggers and shortswords, so Wyll is just perfect.

8. Does your Tav/Durge have any ties to specific types of clothing/jewelry? Be it for cultural, religious/spiritual, sentimental, or personal reasons!

Leon’s set of earrings and horn rings. They don’t have any meaning really, just random jewelry, but he’s been wearing them since he was still Bhaal’s assassin.

At the begin when he didn’t have any belongings, he thought about selling them for supplies, but they’re his only items from the life that he forgot, so he kept them. Post game, he gave the pointy pair to Halsin to wear on his hair, as a sign of commitment.

9. Ignoring the class-specific starter outfits, what was your tav wearing when they were abducted by the Nautiloid?

Nothing. Leon's completely naked when Nessa’s husband moved him from her torture table to the pod. He picked up his daggers and leather armor from the corpses nearby. Basically when the game starts, he doesn't have any belonging unlike his companions. His clothes are anything he can find or trade for.

10. How does your Tav/Durge feel about pregnancy? Either being pregnant or getting someone else pregnant! If they’re infertile, how do they feel about that?

Leondorr isn't so thrilled about it. He's never think of it until Jaheira brought up the topic at their reunion. See, Bhaal has plans when he created Leon the way that he is. The God of Murder makes sure to have another use for his son in case the grand plan fails. Leon was given a vagina with a womb instead of male genital, so he could be used as his Father's breeding cow, birthing spawns till the end of his days. Each birth would be agonizing, as they are his punishment. Since puberty, he has birth control spell that's been active. Now, whenever Leon thinks of having a child, given how he was created, he can't do it even with the man he loves. Parenting isn't something Leon think he's capable of either. Maybe in the future Leon will change his mind, but not now. Halsin understands, he won't push it. Not like they already have a handful of orphans running around town.

11. Are your Tav/Durge and their partner of different races? How do they deal with that? - esp different lifespan

There’s nothing inconvenience about a tiefling and a wood elf, besides lifespan. Leon was granted immortality as long as he remained Bhaal’s child. Now that he isn’t anymore, that would make him an ordinary tiefling. Unless Wither has put something in Leon's blood to make him age slower, both of them already know the answer, so there’s no need to dwell on it.

Leon can only be glad to have met Halsin, to spend his life with him and to love him. Halsin would stay with him until the end. If there was some kind of divine intervention or reincarnation for tiefling, Halsin will find Leon again.

12. How would your tav/durge show their love in a nonverbal way? What actions would they take to convey their emotions?

Leondorr isn’t good with affectionate words, so he shows love through gifts and touches. Brushing his hand on Halsin’s arm or face, curling his tail around Halsin’s limbs. He overhears how Halsin misses honey mead and the next day Hal shall have a bottle in front of his tent.

13. What motivates your Tav or Urge to do self-care? What type of self care do they do

The look on Halsin’s face everytime he patches Leondorr up. Leon was driven by guilt and emptiness. He’s used to throw himself into danger like his life isn’t worth anything, which is why he’s good at fighting. His opponents want to live, while he doesn’t care about his life.

Guess now he’d be more careful, accept unconditional love, or simply just enjoy a cool morning and the taste of herbal tea, now that he has purposes, something to live for.

14. (slightly) nsfw #tavqotd What is your tav/durge’s bedroom behavior? Are they playful, giving, demanding, or something else? Please tell us! 👀

Oh Leon's def on the playful side. He teases but plays hard to get. He also enjoys climbing on top of Halsin. Even when Hal pins him down, he knows that he's in control, that he wants it. Of course Halsin loves giving as much as Leon loves taking and receiving.

15. What’s unique endearment(s) and/or petname(s) is your tav/durge called by their love interest(s)?

Leondorr gives stray cat energy. But, since Halsin doesn’t want to hurt his pride, he calls him (little) panther. It’s kinda the same thing.

16. In your tav/durge’s relationship, who has the loud personality, and who is the quiet one?

I wouldn’t call Halsin the loud one, but he is louder than Leon for sure. Overall they’re just tired old men yaoi kinda couple.

17. Does your Tav/Durge Ship affect their story? How?

Yes and no, but mostly yes.

I feel like Halsin is the only one who’s mentally mature and experienced enough to help Leon’s journey with his self worth. I think other companions’ problems are too much for someone as unstable as Leon to guide them. They can be friends or just tolerate each other, but not as a long term partner.

Vice versa, the companions already have enough on their hands, adding Leon would be too much. Leon is a durge, it’s a heavy thing to deal with, and the guy’s on the verge of ending himself every day. He needs help, not being in the caretaker role.

I don’t want to use Halsin like a therapist and ignore the man’s trauma, but caretaking is his thing, he does it better than anyone. Traumatized or not, he has experience. Leon can learn how to care about himself and taking care of Halsin in return. I mean he’s already doing so in his way.

So yes, if Leon doesn’t have Halsin as his partner, he might work through his issues, but it’ll be slow, difficult with higher chance of failing. It’s just better to have a guiding hand. Leon thinks of Halsin like the spark of his soul. Durge’s soul must be pitch black if he even have one, and Halsin is the spark, the light.

18. What does your tav/durge do for a living (after the brain)? Do they enjoy it or just doing it because they must?

Leon wouldn’t need his killing skill when he retired, so I suppose he would do similar jobs in Reithwin like hunting, scouting, or picking the lock whenever Halsin loses the key to their house. As long as the job keeps Reithwin people trusting him and not see him as a threat, it’s fine by him.

19. Name one favourite thing about your Tav/Durge!

Leondorr being the embodiment of melancholy, self-loathing, lost but keeps going because there’s nowhere to go but up. Having no memories nor anything to lose like his companions, just merely existing. Sure he doesn’t want to turn into a squid, so he joins others because it gives him something to do. Plus he has no other choice. But if he dies, no big deal either, not like he’s worth it. Does that make sense?

20. which companion is your OC’s favorite to kick back with at the end of the day at camp? Least favorite? And why. Throw the lore at us

Leondorr doesn’t actually spend his night with anyone but he likes Shadowheart. Karlach is fun and Wyll is nice to him so they’re good as well. Halsin is the first person he spends time at night with (the Night Walk comic hehe). Least fav is Astarion bc of his attitude. Astarion doesn't like him either.

Lae’zel is neutral. She’s aggressive but she’s good at what she does. Gale is…okay. He’s fine, but he’s a lot. He needs someone with a healthier mental state and Leon isn’t that person.

#leondorr #durge #bg3 #baldur’s gate 3 #bearclaw

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