#and i also love that gale doesn't disapprove of you killing the goblins

[warlordfelwinter]

"I dream of blood pools deep enough to bathe in. Run me a bath."

[spellshite]

Ho there traveler! What news does your Tav bring? Some questions, if I may ask!

1) What's your Tav's name, race, class and background?

6) What would the player gradually learn about your Tav in that quest? Would it have relevance to a place / an event / a character / a theme in the in-game campaign?

15) What sort of general decisions would your Tav approve or disapprove of? Are there any particular driving decisions? (ex. saving or raiding the grove, how you handle other companions, dealing with a specific thing they love/hate, etc…)

Cheers~ 🧡

Hello there stranger, and thank you for your questions! Tav and Durges have all something to say~

(asks from here)

1) what's your Tav's name, race, class and background?

Kylech, Asmodeus Tiefling, Illusion Wizard, Entertainer.

Hrodak, Half-Orc, Berserker Barbarian, Haunted One (alt: Outlander)

Xarann, Lolth-sworn Drow, Necromancer Wizard, Haunted One (alt: Urchin)

6) What would the player gradually learn about your Tav in that quest? Would it have relevance to a place / an event / a character / a theme in the in-game campaign?

In Kylech's personal arc, you'll learn how his being cheery and light-hearted is a facade to hide his insecurities, and how he sees himself as just a failed wizard who can use illusion magic only to conjure some trick to entertain people. There's the theme of learning to appreciate oneself and learning that one doesn't have to be powerful to be liked. As for relevant of places and such, you'd learn that he was originally from Elturel but left the city when he was an ambitious young teen who had just figured out he could use magic. And that when the Mind Flayers kidnapped people, it happened while he was travelling with a troupe of artists to Waterdeep for a spectacle (and because he wanted to know the Wizard of Waterdeep).

Xarann's personal arc is about self-discovery and becoming a better version of themselves. He doesn't remember what he was before the tadpole (like all durges), but he grasped hard at the vague memory of his drow life and worship of Lolth. He doesn’t understand the Urge that eats at him: his personal quests are tied to that. Probs would be like "what if Durge was a companion?" kinda thing. You'll later learn that he was of a lower class in Menzoberranzan and then caught and turned into a Bhaalspawn when he was very young.

Hrodak...hm. I think he'd be the one with the hardest personal quests as he mainly embraces the Urge and cares little about who he was before, but there's always the possibility to sway him away from that ofc but won't be easy. But it's possible. And what you learn about him will vary depending on which direction you choose for his personal quest. (I'm still working on his arc as companion tbh)

15) What sort of general decisions would your Tav approve or disapprove of? Are there any particular driving decisions? (ex. saving or raiding the grove, how you handle other companions, dealing with a specific thing they love/hate, etc…)

I might have a mental list of all the approval/disapproval things for all three, but let's try to make it short...kinda?

Kylech: he's chaotic more good than neutral, so there are some things in grey areas that could make you get his approval like successfully deceive/persuade an enemy to let you pass or in general lying your way in/out of situations. There's a long list of things I could list for his approvals (and disapprovals), but I'll try to write only the *main* decisions: side with the Tieflings and help them, if you decide to raid the Grove he will permanently leave after a short dialogue at Goblin Camp where he asks if you're really going to do that... Companion-wise: helping Gale is a big yes, as siding with Karlach and Wyll, if you kill Karlach (either by the river or in the confrontation with Mizora) he'll leave camp. He's okay with helping Astarion against the monster hunter, bonus approval if you pick the "I didn't know you were also racist" dialogue option.

Hrodak: You can get approval raiding the Grove, but he doesn't really care about anything other than killing, so saving the Grove is on the plate bc he can always kill the cultists. It will seem a weird thing but spare Owlbear mother (if he's already in your party) and then make the cub join camp will give you approval, same with Scratch. If you took the evil route, he'd approve of siding with the caravan and killing the Harpers but won't disapprove if you betray the cultists, and ofc letting him kill Isobel at Last Light for a big fat approval buff (and maybe something else if you tried to romance him). Oh and torture Liam and get uh- punished by Abdirak are other approvals, the latter also gives inspiration.

Xarann: he's trying to become a better person, but being a Durge makes him easy to sway. If he joined your party early (either after the crash or around the Blighted Village) he will be strongly against raiding the Grove, but if you pass some checks you could gain the possibility to make him believe it was a means to ends (but will still give you disapproval). Either help him find it or give him the Necromancy of Thay to get a big approval buff. Anything Lolth-related will give you approval (bonus inspiration when you read the Drow Matron text). Choosing the Underdark route will give you approval. Play the Spider's Lyre is another approval. Other things may depend on which direction his personal quest has taken, and for the evil route you have some checks to pass to convince him that embracing the Urge is the right thing to do. There would be a scene where he reveals the Urge in the good route, and you get a lot of disapproval if you downplay/dismiss his concerns.

[cannibalisticskittles]

General 2-4; Story 5, 10, 11, 14, and 17; Romance 1, 3, and 9; and 12 free space: a field banter with a character of your choice (hard(?) mode: not Astarion) for Amity!! (You can...pick and choose from these if that's too many, lmao)

under a cut because long

General 2. Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav? i imagine she's recruited doing something silly/is at least somewhat in peril – stuck on the edges of the swamp behind some traps that seem to keep popping back up whenever she turns around (the redcaps are fucking with her), or caught in a web under the goblin village bc her pod crashed nearby and in her haste to not be seen, she fell thru the rotting floorboards and now she's stuck and she could burn the webs away but honestly it's a miracle that the bigger spiders haven't been drawn to her yet and that seems like a recipe for disaster, so uh, help please?

so i think more practically-minded companions – lae'zel for sure, astarion, maybe shadowheart – wonder aloud about how useful she could be, given how they've found her; the first two maybe remark that it would've been better to leave her there to figure it out for herself, lmao.  

wyll, karlach, and gale are a bit more sympathetic, and karlach just wants to pick her up and squeeze her like a lil teddy bear.

3. Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions? if you recruit her before astarion, she is livid on your behalf if you fail the perception roll and end up with a knife at your neck. she has incineration on her mind, like gale; unlike gale, she's too mad to be articulate: "if they don't walk away from this, neither will you."

she loves karlach right away. tiefling solidary is strong, and she knows devils well, and this is definitely a (pretty) tiefling and not a devil. she strongly advises hearing karlach out and helping her; she's extremely sad if you choose to fight and kill karlach instead. big disapproval hit there. don't fuck with tieflings. 

if she's in your party when you recruit gale, she doesn't say anything, but you quietly get a few points of approval if you slap his hand before rescuing him

actually wait there would be one reaction. if your party is full when you reboot Gail and he says he'll go back to camp and get started on stew, amity goes "fuck yeah, stew!!!"

4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

goody-two-shoes choices tend to net approval with her, no surprise there. tho honestly i think with amity, you'd be getting little 'amity approves!' notifications all the time, but then find out that they're mostly just +1s so even tho they can trigger often, it's hard to build high approval just with that. you get bigger approval for harder choices, naturally, and she does favor being good and kind, but it happens a bit less often. 

you can talk her into giving approval even if you decline the Extra Good and Generous option, as long as you present some logical/practical reason for it – sorry amity, helping tieflings is nice, but think about how many of them will die if we're too slow to remove our tadpoles and we all transform into mindflayers; greater good and all that, right?

…and you get approval when you do dumb, chaotic, fun things. like. you jump down the pit in the spider cavern without feather fall, and after withers revives you, amity says "that was very ill-advised, but in the moments before you splattered on the ground, it looked like a lot of fun!" and you get +10 approval.

you also get approval points when you're rude to/make fun of raphael or mizora, lmao. amity blatantly disrespects any devil lower than, like, a kyton in the hierarchy of devils. 

for specific actions, you get +10 approval for killing aunty ethel, even if you fuck up saving mayrina. fuck hags, all amity's homies hate hags. and also i think every single companion disapproves if you smear shit on your face when trying to get into the goblin camp, but y'know what? amity thinks that's very practical. fuck dignity, it avoided a fight, and she respects that. now hold still, she'll prestidigitate that off of you as soon as you turn the corner.

Story 5. How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power? she's a little horrified, but primarily at the idea that you willingly put that in your eye?? ouch?? and are you sure there's enough room in your cranium for another one of those suckers?? she does, however, ask that if you plan to do it again – not that she advises that, mind you! – that you let her watch and take notes. she promises to do her very best to suppress her gag reflex if you do. 

10. How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar? "oh! wow! that's – um. was that… good?" devnote: no part of her believes that could've been good. 

in response to a second lick: "oh, wow. are you okay? blink twice if you're ensorcelled and need help. no? it couldn't have been good enough to be worth it. …could it?" devnote: said in a tone which indicates almost enough curiosity to try it for herself. 

11. What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown? honestly, she's fucking delighted, she loves circuses and clowns. 

"really? me? are you sure you don't want to go up there instead? dribbles really knows his stuff, you'll be missing out! but okay, if you're sure!"

she's so excited that she's wiggling the whole time she's on stage. +5 approval at least. 

14. How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer?  Can they offer to become one themselves?  Does their reaction change if they’re romanced? the theological implications of the soul being destroyed in the process of becoming a mind flayer are… concerning – if the soul is gone, how can one ever be sure that the person isn't gone, and that the tadpole isn't just assuming the memories and characteristics of its former host?

but. the player character is her friend! (and maybe her partner, but either way – her friend!) and friendship is sacred! she's not going to let some tentacles get in the way of that!!! she's just sorry that you had to go through this, but you're so brave and kind for doing it – you've done the hard part, leave it to her to support you through this!

(a later bit of dialogue you might get is "hey, we match now – we're both purple! c:" )

as for herself – she'd want to take some time to think about it bc it is Not a decision that she'd be excited to make, but… honestly, what's lil' ol' her worth when compared to the entirety of the sword coast? so yeah, she'd volunteer herself, if need be. 

hey, don't feel too bad – she was only gonna make it maybe 40 if she's lucky, the way she keeps throwing herself into danger. hell, she's technically already died once already! and her soul was likely bound for the wall of the faithless when she died, so what's it matter if this destroys her soul now, right?

(this is not going to help her self-esteem issues AT ALL – people might distrust tieflings, but they REALLY distrust mindflayers – but She Will Do It)

((if you're romancing her and ask her to become a mindflayer and break up with her, she isn't even mad. she gets it. if you still want to be with her, she full on cries. says you don't have to do that, there's a better path for you out there; it's a whole thing.))

17. If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2? i will be fully honest here: despite only doing like 10 minutes of a dark urge run so far, i get the impression that most companions… do not take the dark urge particularly seriously. even if the dark urge is upfront about everything and full on confesses "hey, i crave murder, i'm pretty sure i've done lots of murder before, and i want to do more murder."

amity would. she'd be tossing out suggestions on what to do and trying to get everyone on board – and if she couldn't sway anyone pre-alfira, she gets very serious about it post-alfira. everyone takes turns being on watch? they set up the alarm spell around the dark urge? …little bells on their ankles?

so i think in a sense she'd be prepared. she'd have to believe that the dark urge isn't in control of themselves in order to keep going after alfira, so therefore, she believes that whatever urge is driving them is both very powerful and likely to crop up again.

…unfortunately, amity Needs Sleep. she functions poorly on less than optimal sleep, and once she IS asleep, it's very difficult to wake her up and she gets combative if you try. if the dark urge tries to wake her up to warn her, they need to make a dex save to avoid either a fire bolt or a stray fist thrown their way. (it's okay if they fail tho, her aim isn't great when she's sleepy and she only has 9 strength.) 

dark urge has gotta get thru her grumpy-at-being-woken up phase before she's even close to coherent enough to understand what's going on, but when they do – she's ready. as ready as you can be for something like that, anyway. 

"you – now? shit. okay, we can handle this, we can – hand me my bag, i've got materials for a warding spell in there. you good long enough to find somewhere private, or does it need to be now-now? –shit, clearly it's now-now, okay–"

dark urge wakes up and she's all smiles. "hello, dear heart! you went down pretty quick, had me worried! slipped a pillow under your head, but your noggin might still be sore in the morning sorry. oh, not up for a chat? that's alright! i'm here anyway! :)"

i think some of her encouragement would be drawing on gleeful spite –like "hey, think about how pissed off this urge is gonna be that you've managed to fight it so far – i bet it's livid, haha. and look at you, you're managing it anyway! i knew you could do it; you're doing so well!"

and then she sits at the ready, telling silly stories of ways she's fucked up on adventures or of neat things she's seen until the dark urge is able to sleep

she's lightly dozing when they wake up but she's mostly sitting up – it's clear she's tried to stay up and keep watch all night. 

as she dismisses the wards, she throws some suggestions at them – consistent alarm spells around their cot at night? her knot-tying is pretty good, they could rely on that each night if spells don't seem like enough? well – no, that's not how she meant if, but if that's how you take it, she's not necessarily opposed to… wait, we're discussing important business here, save that for later!

and she passes them something from her bag and it's a sending stone. "annnnnd if you feel like there's something you need to tell me but you can't say it out loud for whatever reason, or if I'm not there, though honestly how often does that happen – well! this'll give you a direct line to me, even without the tadpoles :)"

sending stones as a gesture of love yet again (also she never travels anywhere without at least one set of sending stones on her. she has learned how valuable they can be)

Romance 1. Is your Tav a romanceable character?  Are there any specific requirements to romancing them? i think she would be, but it would be sloooooow going. so slow that players aren't always certain that they're correctly triggering it at all, damn it, where'd that guide go?

you've got to get her to be genuinely vulnerable with you, which is. difficult! she has self-esteem issues. and self-image issues. and she has issues with touch – simultaneously touch-starved and touch-repulsed (thanks a lot, hag curse, for fucking up the progress she'd made on that). she wants to be with someone, but oh, gods, is that frightening.

you have to tread carefully with her. lay it on too thick, and she thinks you're fucking with her (or just being nice, but either way, she believes 0% of it). gotta build a LOT of trust first. honestly, her friendship path and her romance path would be absolutely identical for at least the first act. sleeping with someone at the party wouldn't lock you out of that – you go have your fun! she's going to creep away soon for some air. it's lovely that everyone is having fun, but it is a bit overwhelming. but no, don't worry about her! …no really, don't worry about her, haha, she's definitely not going to slip away while you're not looking because she's having another bout of insecurity. 

you just have to talk to her a lot, and not be too mean – it doesn't even put an end to things if you're a little mean, bc hey, that can be kind of funny. but, y'know. don't shut her down. she warms up to you fast on a surface level, but you have to give her time to actually open up and not be so skittish. 

3. Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option? she'd happily agree to either, honestly! she has Experienced Love for more than one person at once, before, but she feels no pressing need to seek that out for herself; as for the player character, i think she'd want a bit of reassurance that anything else they seek isn't bc of dissatisfaction with her, but then she's open to it, whether or not she herself is involved!

bonus; a field banter with a character of your choice  post-waukeen's rest – 

amity: wyll! wyll ravengard! wyll: that is what I've been called a time or two, yes. why? amity: i can't believe i didn't recognize you before! you've changed some, sure, but even still! wyll: had we met before? i'm sure i would have remembered you. amity: not exactly! more like… occupied the same circles? i was too shy to go to all those fancy parties as myself; once we'd made it past the entryways, i usually hid away, or disguised myself with a spell, if i couldn't find anywhere secluded. wyll: ah, a shame – i think we would've gotten along famously, you and i. amity: i'd like to think so! anyway, i got myself… banned from all of those events after some particularly unwelcome hijinks, so it only lasted a little while.  wyll: banned? there was a time when little wyll would have been dying to know how to do the same; i never could manage it. always dragged along to every meeting and soiree father had to attend. what exactly did you do? amity: ah – a lady doesn't kiss and tell! they may consider me too uncouth and unkempt to be much of a lady, but even i know that! wyll: now i must know.

and later – 

wyll: potions of fire breath in lady edmonton’s mead.  amity: uh-uh. wyll: frogs in the central fountain.   amity: not me.  wyll: otto's irresistible dance on the younger lord laurier? amity: gods, i wish, he was always such a prick – but no.  wyll: it was quite funny to see him flop about. let's see… replacing lady belmont's prized panther with a displacer beast? amity: did someone do that? really? i missed that one. and i'm pleased you think i would have been able to manage that.  wyll: stealing the left shoes of all attendees while they say for a feast? amity: no – well. i don't think so, anyway? sounds like something i would've done. so maybe. possibly. probably? but that's not what did me in.  wyll: hmm… [snaps fingers] the chandelier! amity: yes, you've got it! wyll: ha, i knew i would, eventually. amity: ...i do feel bad about that one, honestly, i really thought it was going to hold up against a few swings.  wyll: from what i'd heard, it did not.  amity: it did not.

[lonepower]

4-7 general, 2, 6, 14 story, 1, 3, 5 romance for merry, if that's not too much? 

IT IS NOT, THANK YOU :D

4. What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Approves: - generally selfish actions, or actions that prioritize party members over strangers - actions that seek to further the player's knowledge or power (such as reading all of Thay) - casual violence or petty cruelty - lying in any context, but doubled if it's funny or pointless rather than in advancement of plot (ie playing along with Volo about the goblins/dragon, convincing Blurg you're a mushroom collector, etc)

Disapproves: - offering to help strangers without asking for anything in return - wanton cruelty on a large scale, cruelty to children or animals, or to people who "haven't done anything" (note that her definition of this may be arbitrary and a little hypocritical!) - trying to sway someone from the course they've chosen for themself (so she'll disapprove a lot if you use [persuasion] to get Shadowheart to spare the Nightsong, a little if you say "just kill her" which doesn't require a skill check, and approve a lot of you letting Shadow make her own choice, no matter the outcome of that. Same with Lae'zel & Voss: you'll get a little disapproval for telling her what you think she should do, and a lot of approval for saying "I have your back"). Exceptions are when (she perceives) the choice as being under duress: Kahga is being manipulated by Olodan and Ketheric, Astarion isn't fully himself during the ritual, that sort of thing.

tl;dr she believes in fierce loyalty to a select few, defense of a person's individual freedoms/right to make their own decisions (even if those decisions are bad), self-preservation and self-advancement, and generally being gleefully unpleasant, but doesn't go out of her way to cause needless misery.

5. Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions? / 6. Will they stay with the Player Character regardless of siding with the goblins or the tieflings, or is it possible for them to leave the party permanently? She'll turn hostile if you actively betray a party member (such as killing Mizora and thus Wyll, or sacrificing someone to BOOOAL). The exception is if they aren't a full party member or aren't a party member yet, so if you kill Karlach with Wyll straight off the bat (you monster), she'll disapprove a little but she won't leave. Like Gale, she can be convinced to stay if you side with the goblins, but it's a pretty high speech check (DC25, or DC19 if you're also a druid) and she'll leave if you fail.

6. Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light? I don't...think so? on the one hand she's a very "I have nothing to hide" kind of person who doesn't really feel shame, like, at all lmao. if someone doesn't like something about her, her god, her ecoterrorism, or her past, they're free to take it up with her. (This philosophy has gotten her arrested at least once.) But on the other hand, she loves lying. So it might be less "secrets revealed" and more akin to Deacon Falloutfour, where she tells you something about her Dark Past™ and then later is like "oh yea i was just messing with you lol", repeat ad nauseam.

7. Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game? Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes? Yes and no. Her quest takes place over act 1 but has different outcomes in act 3. Her recruitment is an alternate route to the shadow druids questline where you can usurp Olodan and convince the others to reject Ketheric Thorm and his bargain of isolationism, thus keeping the grove for the Shadow Druids but also keeping it open and ensuring their help in the final battle. (there's more to it wrt the refugees that I'm still working on, lol.) If Kahga dies, Merry becomes first druid of the shadow circle and stays with the grove, but she'll return for the endgame as a temporary member a la Jaheira, along with the others. If Kahga survives as first druid, Merry accompanies you as a companion and you get the shadow druids' help, but Kahga doesn't join you as a temp.

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2. How do they advise the player character on Raphael? That's a good question. Is she still his sibling? (She doesn't know this, so the point is moot on her end, but when she's Tav I very much hc that he does.) Either way, I think she's sort of an inverse of Astarion's "they don't play games unless they know they can win": if you want to play with a devil, you'd better have a damn good strategy (and a very rigged board). Otherwise, the only winning move is not to play.

14. How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer? Can they offer to become one themselves? Does their reaction change if they’re romanced?

Of course she can ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) She will start offering as soon as the Emperor reveals themself, lmao. Whether romanced or not, if Tav becomes a mind flayer she will be pelting them with questions. Do you have a sense of taste? Do you see color? Do you see more colors? What number am I thinking of? Do you, personally, perceive yourself as the same person you were before? The only difference if she's romanced is that there are a few (and only a few) more questions about tentacles. If she becomes a mind flayer, you are treated to a humorous but very unsettling scene of her figuring out her wildshape (think animorphs levels of body horror).

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1. Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them? Yes she is, and no requirements other than that she's a full party member (so, it starts in act 2). Like Lae'zel and Shadowheart, a new dialogue option will pop up once you get to a high enough approval.

3. Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option? Poly! She can be romanced alongisde Gale, Astarion, and Shadowheart, and is open to romance w Karlach and Zel (but they're not interested ):). Ironically, she and Halsin don't really like each other at all (in an "I respect you as a professional but you are not my type of person" kind of way, not any real vitriol) so they are not simultaneous options lol. on second thought, it makes more sense if she and halsin are mutually exclusive entirely and she only joins you if you actually complete her version of the quest. especially since if they're not, you end up with three recruitable druids which is...not balanced lol.

4. Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take? For some reason I'm stuck on this one, lol. I think it would be really fun to give her dynamic endings based on if you're romancing her with someone else, but I can't think of any branching paths for just her alone. The three of you should definitely be able to usurp Mystra together. she's not that special. we can take her.