#and you know... campaign 3?

[trashyshrew]

[qiornono]

PLEASE PLS PLS read in memoriam by alice winn this book changed my freaking life!!!!!

[undead-knick-knack]

POV: You're Ashton Greymoore

[ludinusdaleth]

i can't rewatch c1 because i see young little matt and then my mind flickers to aabria embracing him and saying "look at what you've created" and i start crying

[joenhead]

Posting my favorite frog freak so I don’t completely disappear like a plastic bag floating through the wind

I miss my frog,,,boy,,why u so cutesy

[tethys-the-aquatic-sea-godness]

Sarevok's image in Baldur's Gate and how he uses it

Among the numerous misrepresentations of Sarevok's character in BG3, is how he came into power. Of course, properly showing that would also show that the new villain's great master plan is just a rip-off of his, but let's ignore that. Obviously, Sarevok's stunt in Baldur's Gate becomes infamous, and he, rightfully, doesn't have a good rep in the city. That being said, it wasn't always the case, yet all you'll see in BG 3 is a brutish villain that only knows violence and 'mURdEr'. Yes, spelled like that, yes.

More rambling under the cut.

The thing was that, prior to Charname exposing his plan, Sarevok had become truly popular in Baldur's Gate. Let's remember the set-up back then. The Iron Throne is a shady mercantile organisation from Sembia. A new western division is trying to take root in the Sword Coast, led by Rieltar Anchev.

Their plan goes as follow: they aim to create a misinformation campaign to blame the Zhentarim for all the troubles in the region. They worsen tensions between the governments of Baldur's Gate and Amn. With iron being the most important resource in a war, the Baldurian government has to go to them in order to get any. The Iron Throne has disrupted all the iron trade through the region using the Blacktalon mercenaries and the Chill. The only known iron mine in the region is at Nashkel, and the Iron Throne has effectively crippled it. They have their own mine operating in Cloakwood. When the Baldurian government comes to them for iron, they will be able to make exorbitant trading demands, and thus become the preeminent trading power in this region.

(Yes, this is copy-pasted from the dialogue you can get from the charmed Iron Throne leaders, what can I say, it's a good recap)

So, that's Rieltar's plan to settle the Iron Throne in the region, a plan Sarevok will hijack in several ways. He intends to kill Rieltar and the other two leaders, and while the Iron Throne didn't intend to actually start a war, only increase tensions, Sarevok thinks that a massacre on a godlike scale can ascend him to godhood. That plan of Sarevok also requires him being named Grand Duke, and thus becoming sole leader of Baldur's Gate once he's eliminated the others (yes, the more you know, the more it sounds like someone in BG3's act 3 copy-pasted this plan for his own takeover, hush). This part of his plan required Sarevok to build a positive public image in Baldur's Gate, so the nobles would want him to be grand duke (despite being a newcomer from a Sembian trade group). That wasn't an easy task. The Iron Throne has a bad reputation even before Rieltar's iron plot. It's a known fact they're more a criminal organization than a trading organisation, so people are less likely to deal with them, unless, as Rieltar's planned, they don't have a choice anymore. However, Sarevok doesn't wait for his father's plan to be completed before he starts building relations with the ruling class of the city.

When you first get to Baldur's Gate, various npc inform you of the, mostly, positive image Sarevok has built for himself. That's something even Gorion's ward points out in their own journal entries.

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1: "Nobleman: Those Iron Throne fellows are quite the secretive bunch. Sarevok, the foster son of their leader, is quite the charmer, though."

2: "Journal entry by Charname: Sarevok, son of one of the Iron Throne's leaders, has become increasingly popular in Baldur's Gate."

3: "Noblewoman: From what I've heard, the new man with the Iron Throne, Sarevok, is an unmarried man. I plan to change that."

Love the last one.

So, Sarevok is very popular in the city, even though there are some who disagree, they're not the majority. Most people who aren't as fond of Sarevok are among the commoners, and I would argue that's because they weren't the target audience of his PR campaign. Sarevok needs the nobles' vote to be Grand Duke, so they are the ones he wants on his side. The popular vote is only a bonus.

It's also important to notice he's improving his popularity, not the popularity of the Iron Throne.

He still has popularity among the lower class, and that only increases when you near the game's end.

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4: "Commoner: I think it's about time we took the fight to them [Amn], and Sarevok is the man to lead us."

5: "Commoner: I don't know what them nobles see in that Sarevok fella, but he's something darker, that's for certain."

6: "Commoner: That Sarevok is going to make everything all right again."

7: "Nobleman: An election of sorts has been called because we cannot be without a full governement in these dangerous times. I hear Sarevok is a frontrunner in this matter."

8: "Noblewoman: Entar Silvershield's death was a tragic blow, but with Sarevok stepping in I feel a true sense of hope."

9: "Journal entry by Charname: With the murder of Grand Duke Entar Silvershield, Sarevok is poised to gain control. The people love him."

10: "Noblewoman: Such people would not dare to show their faces in Baldur's Gate, not now that Sarevok and Angelo Dosan control the Flaming Fist. Order will be enforced, more so once Sarevok is appointed as a Grand Duke. I shall have little to fear of the streets once that comes to pass."

11: "Journal entry by Charname: The nobility is especially approving of Sarevok and Angelo Dosan being in control of the Flaming Fist."

12: "Nobleman: He's [Sarevok] making a lot of friends, and I bet he will be nominated to replace poor entar as Grand Duke."

13: "Noblewomen: It is a good time to be of the nobility. Sarevok has ensured us all that order will be restored in this region, whatever the cost."

14: "Journal entry by Charname: The nobility are especially welcoming of Sarevok and his hard stance against Amn."

15: "Nobleman: Sarevok seems like a man who gets things done."

16: "Sir Lothtyran: Personally, I think he'll [Sarevok] do wonderfully."

17: "Brennan Risling: That's why we need Sarevok as Grand Duke, for he'd take the resources from the Iron Throne and' assist us."

18: "Journal entry by Charname: It is good to know that not everyone in this city has fallen in love with the hardliner Sarevok."

Sarevok doesn't have everyone's approval, but he has more than enough to take over the city. Obviously, the mood changes once his plot to drag both governments into war is revealed.

But you know what? Even then, he still has some popularity.

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19: "Commoner: He was such a handsome one, such a shame he had ta go and do that."

random commoner woman: if evil, why hot?

In conclusion: Sarevok almost took over Baldur's Gate and the whole Sword Coast with covert force and was almost lawfully elected Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate thanks to the popularity he cultivated within the city. That was possible thanks to two things. One, it's safe to say that Sarevok can be charismatic and charming when he wishes to be, even though, according to Diarmid, another one of the mercenaries working for him, "[...] subtlety is something that doesn't quite comes naturally to him. He doesn't have the patience for it, though his mind is amazingly tactical".

In his BG2 banter, you also learn he's not overly fond of being around people. That means this entire schmooze fest he did to boost his popularity took serious effort on his part, and it paid off. It was a trial of patience for a man who isn't known to be patient, or at least, not patient for niceties. He can prove very patient for the sake of a plan. We're talking about a character who has had to wait years before he got the opportunity to take revenge on his father for his mother's murder, and a way to get away with it. Sarevok may not enjoy being patient, but is definitely familiar with the practice.

The second reason is that, well, he's hot. I'm not the one saying it, the women (and men, you know there had to be men too) thirsting over him are saying it. They're bound to be disappointed, because while he's not married, he's definitely not single. Anyway, being hot, not something to underestimate. He gets pretty privilege.

To be a bit more serious, while impatient, Sarevok is described as having an "amazingly tactical" mind. This is something you clearly see in his takeover of Rieltar's plan, and manipulation of public opinion. Yes, Sarevok's plan involves various murders, but it's a tool, not an end in itself. He's even careful to have specific murders look like 'robbery gone wrong' or 'mysterious disease strikes'. He has assassins do the killing for him so he can't be directly linked to it. Sarevok is a strategist, whose plans involve a lot more than just 'killing'.

It is a part of his characterization BG 3 abysmally fails to show.

[screechingfromthevoid]

Orym is giving very "I have fallen in love again and that feels like a betrayal to my dead husband" energy.

He's also giving "I care so much about my friends and I have to protect them but the love I have for one is so strong that it's distracting me AND it's not fair to the others"

Like there is so much love contained in the Orym and also so much guilt.

[big-moon-little-moon]

[nectar-cellar]

the landgraabs & the altos !

i didn't expect the landgraabs to turn out so attractive and presidential looking.

i don't know why vita is in politics. how is she going to win over the townsfolk? she looks like she's ready to throw her wine glass at anyone who even breathes wrong. i see a future in criminality for vita.

[syn0vial]

how each of the BG3 companions gained their combat expertise

wyll: i was trained as to be a formidable and honorable combatant since i was young, i've protected the frontiers for years, and i have magic devil powers karlach: i was forced to serve on the front line of the blood wars in hell for the past decade lae'zel: i was brought up in a strict, militaristic warrior society that emphasized martial prowess even in its youngest members shadowheart: i spent most of my life being prepared in the ways of subterfuge and magic by a brutal cult gale: i've spent decades obsessively studying magic and even studied under the goddess of magic herself to perfect my craft astarion: i've got a lot of repressed rage and a dagger i found on the ground 15 minutes ago. let's go turn someone inside out :)

[tangledinink]

my official campaign promise is that if wanderer wins their poll in the @tmntaucompetition then i'll drive to @vangh17a's house to personally shake their hand and give them a crisp high-five.

[cureofthenonesense]

Starting critical role really made me start liking Percy

[maryallenc]

ashton, to m9: wow, you people are crazy :D

me: no, they're just from wildemount. i mean, look at chetney.

[ludinusdaleth]

-Critical Role Campaign 3, Episode 91, "True Heroism"

[dol--blathanna]

I've already spoke in length about Orym's self-sacrificial tendencies in my 'Orym is a rabbit' post, but don't think I've forgotten about Miss Horse Girl giving Iphigenia vibes over here I just have some concerns about Imogen, whether willingly or forced, becoming a vessel for Predathos (you know, the same entity that Orym tried to comprehend for a single heartbeat and began screaming uncontrollably, had to be cradled like an infant by the Wildmother while he sobbed, and now something inside of him is irreversibly broken). Like I just think that letting an eldritch monster of hunger and oblivion possess you is maybe not a great idea?

One is a rabbit pushing his head willingly into the snare, the other is an ancient Greek princess about to be sacrificed on the altar so the war may continue, and I am asking them both very nicely to Please Stop That and Not Die 🙏💕

[staticrevelations]

Imogen and Laudna at the Solstice / "Everything" by MUNA