#why killing goblin children is good but not tieflings?

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

The joyous din of the party was distant as Wyll sat by the riverside. Wyll hadn’t strayed too far from the camp, but the celebrations and singing felt miles away, a lifetime away.

Against all odds, Majexatli had managed not just to save the tieflings, but also save Halsin, take down the goblin leaders, talk Kagha out of the Rite of Thorns, and have the title of Faithwarden bestowed upon them. They were a hero. Wyll couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of a celebration in their honor.

Wyll had helped, certainly, and he couldn’t have been more honored to be by Majexatli’s side. They were a competent leader, a skilled warrior, a sage druid. He had done his best to help them at every turn, help the tiefling refugees in any way possible. But even as he had been teaching the tiefling children how to defend themselves, when he first saw Majexatli, there had only been one thing on his mind. 

Karlach. 

The violent devil he had spent so long hunting, the monster he had sworn to cut down. The one he had traveled to Averus to kill, only to discover she was only a young woman tiefling, a victim of Zariel, forced into servitude. She was no more a monster than he was.

He didn't regret sparing her. He would do it again.

Yet—

His dreams were still haunted by how close he had come to killing her. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel the hellfire burning his skin and his soul was dragged through all the levels of hell. Every time he caught a glimpse of his reflection he was reminded of it all, that he was nothing more than a devil’s puppet. Every time people looked at him, all they saw was his worst.

Wyll never regretted his pact, how could he? How much good has he done because of it, he saved Baldur’s Gate, saved countless people. He couldn’t regret it. He was the Blade of Frontiers, a monster hunter, protecting the innocent with the powers granted by Mizora. He had sworn to only ever hunt monsters and devils.

But how many were just like Karlach—

A twig snapped behind Wyll and he couldn’t help the way his breath hitched, his heart fluttered in anticipation. Perhaps it was selfish, to think that they would leave their own celebration just to see him. He couldn’t ignore that hope though, as much as he tried.

Turning to look where the noise came from, though, that hope vanished.

Stood a few yards away was a wolf, large with dark brown fur and yellow eyes trained on him.

Fear shot through Wyll for a moment, freezing him in place as his mind raced. He was unarmored, unarmed. He had left all his equipment back at camp, he wasn’t even sure how much magic he had left in him after a full day of battle.

Before Wyll’s mind could race much any further, Wyll saw the wolf lower its head and whine.  

Majexatli, Wyll realized, a warmth spreading in his chest. 

The other day, he had seen them wildshape into a wolf while fighting the gnolls on the risen road. It was a form they rarely took, at least for as long as Wyll had known them. 

For a moment on the battlefield, he had wondered what their strategy was, why that form. Often they chose something larger, a bear, a rothé, something that could shrug and walk off arrows and stabs.

His questioning didn’t last long, when a gnoll cornered him and out of nowhere the wolf jumped at the gnoll’s throat, tackling it to the ground and biting down with a jaw powerful enough that Wyll heard the gnoll’s spine crunch.

The wolf before him now looked worlds different from the one he saw with bared teeth and blood-soaked fur. Its eyes were wide and curious, fur clean and soft, though its right ear was still missing, skin raw from where a gnoll had torn it off. 

The wolf padded closer to Wyll cautiously, and Wyll let out a chuckle.

“I had hoped you wouldn’t notice I was gone,”

It was partially true. Some deep, selfish part of him hoped they would come looking for him. He shouldn’t have hoped for it, shouldn’t be glad they left the celebration. 

The wolf whined again as it approached, and mid-stride it was consumed by a golden light. In the blink of an eye, Majexatli was by his side, sitting next to him on the rock. They weren’t quite touching him, but Wyll could feel the warmth radiating off them, melting away the chill of the night. He had to stop himself from leaning into them.

“You were the first person I looked for, of course I noticed,” Majexatli said, adjusting their bad leg with a slight wince.

“Really? I mean— ahem, I’m honored,”

It was hard not to stumble over his words around them.

“Are you alright?”

Majexatli looked over at Wyll, briefly meeting his eyes before returning their gaze to the river. They rarely made eye contact; seeing Majexatli’s green eyes focused on him, even just for a moment, almost made his breath hitch. This close, Wyll could see the worry on their face, the lines on their face more pronounced as they looked out at the river.

“I’m deeply proud of you, a touch less so of myself,” Wyll sighed, joining Majexatli in looking out towards the water, “In truth, I don’t feel in a festive mood and didn’t want to cast a gray cloud over the night.”

Majexatli was silent for a few moments.

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?” 

You coming to find me already means the world.

“It’s alright, you needn’t worry. Any other time and I would love to join you in celebrating, but…” Wyll let out another sigh, “I’m a devil. I love the people from the grove, but I unsettle them deep down. As I seem to unsettle everyone nowadays.” 

“Wyll, that’s not true,” 

Majexatli’s frown had deepened, the sight almost hurt to see.

Wyll almost wanted to be honest, tell them the truth. I’ve likely killed innocent people. People used to look at me as a hero but now all they see is a monster. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, though.

“Come on, you don’t want a devil at your party. Claws will pop the balloons, you see. And the sweetcakes don't taste half as good as raw eggs with this blasted forked tongue,” Wyll smiled, trying to make light of it all, trying to keep Majexatli from seeing through him to the truth. 

“You’re no more a devil than any of us,”

In appearance, perhaps. You don’t know everything I’ve done for Mizora. And I chose to be this way. I wouldn’t change what I did. I would make the pact again if given a chance to do it over. I don’t regret it. I don’t. I can’t regret it.

“If only half the world had half the heart you do,”  Wyll said softly before he could stop himself.

“Wyll…”

They sounded so earnest. 

“Ah, but I’ve taken up enough of your time,” Wyll bit back the selfish urge to keep them here, to lean on them, to tell them everything, “You have a party to return to! Have a dance, enjoy the music. I’ll be back to my old self in no time,” 

Wyll patted their shoulder with a smile. He half expected them to leave immediately, that the moment he finished speaking, they would nod politely and be enveloped in golden light as they returned to whichever form they felt suited them.

In the time Wyll had known them, he had learned enough about them to know they weren’t particularly social. Majexatli preferred silence, solitude, being surrounded by nature rather than engaging in small talk or comforting others. 

Even in the river, Wyll had noticed their tension, the faint edge in their voice, the way they kept their distance. He knew they didn’t mean him any ill will, it was just as they had said, they were unused to being around people. They were a druid that spent their time in the wilds far from settlements, it was understandable, even the kindest druids in the Emerald Grove had seemed slightly awkward around outsiders. Perhaps Wyll should have turned down their invitation—

Wyll pulled himself from his thoughts as he realized Majexatli was still sitting there, looking down, fidgeting with their sleeve, or rather, something in their sleeve. Wyll saw the faintest glint of something silver between their fingers.

“I… I came out here for a reason, you know,” 

“Oh?” 

Majexatli shifted slightly, perhaps by accident, perhaps coincidentally, their knee touching his. The playful retort that had been on the tip of Wyll’s tongue died at the sudden contact, heart skipping a beat.

“I did,”

They fidgeted again, moonlight once again reflecting off something by their side. Wyll paid it no mind though, regaining his composure and smiling.

“And here I thought you had stumbled out here by accident, perhaps all the wine has gotten the better of you,”

As much as he was teasing them, looking at them, he could see their lips faintly stained red from wine. With the amount of bottles he had seen at camp before he left, he shouldn’t be surprised that they were likely a bit drunk. The thought hurt, somehow, the idea that what fueled their care for him in this moment might just be the wine talking—

“I’m afraid I’m quite sober,”

Perhaps it should have struck him as strange. Surely they were lying, exaggerating. He hadn’t seen them drink before, perhaps they handled their alcohol better than most.

“Is that so? Surely then you must have been looking for somewhere quiet to relax and I’ve intruded on your solitude and quite ruined your whole evening,”

Wyll was only half joking, trying to hide the fact that he was nervous, second-guessing himself. He scanned their face intently. Surely he must have misread the signs. 

“I wasn’t looking for solitude, actually,”

Majexatli shifted again, just barely, the hand they were leaning on moving over just enough that they brushed Wyll’s own hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see they were clutching something tightly in their other hand.

After a moment, Wyll slowly moved his hand over Majexatli’s. He was almost afraid, worried Majexatli might get spooked and bolt like a cornered animal. But they stayed, half turning towards him, eyes wide.

“I—It’s a long shot, but- maybe you’ve grown fond of me. Gods know I’ve grown fond of you.”

He heard Majexatli’s breath hitch.

“I think I do, have feelings for you that is,” Majexatli said slowly, occasionally flicking their eyes over to meet his.

“Then we share a similar affliction, though I can’t say I’ve earned the honor,” Wyll let out a half-laugh, “The Blade hasn’t really lived up to own reputation, I haven’t even managed to kill a single devil,”

It was true—Majexatli hadn’t seen the best of The Blade. They saw him nearly kill an innocent woman, saw him get dragged through the hells in punishment, saw the tight grip Mizora had on him. What must they think of him? If his patron punished him for being good and he hadn’t been punished like this before.

Majexatli pulled back slightly, and Wyll braced himself for rejection.

“You don't need to be the Blade of Frontiers, Wyll,” Was what Majexatli said instead, looking almost hurt, “You’re more than just the Blade,”

“The Blade is my best self, some days I even live up to it,”

Majexatli was quiet for a moment, eyes distant, face stony. What Wyll wouldn’t give to see them smile, relax, feel at ease. They looked far older than they were, aged by a constant stress and frown that seemed unfitting of a druid. As the quiet carried on, Wyll couldn’t help a gnawing guilt, that he was only adding to their stress, adding unnecessary layers to an already awful situation. Majexatli could be celebrating and drinking at a party in their honor, but instead, they were at Wyll’s side, looking more melancholy than ever.

“Does it hurt?” Majexatli asked eventually, breaking the silence.

“I— pardon?”

The question caught Wyll off guard, he wasn’t even sure what they meant. 

“Having a title you feel you aren’t living up to? Does it hurt?” Majexatli continued, “Is the Blade who you are, or is it a role, a front, character, boots you can never fill that contain some ephemeral worth?”

“What brought this on?”

Majexatli looked up at the stars above, they opened their mouth to speak but stopped themselves, tail flicking at their side.

“What happened in the Grove… with Kagha, the way she named me Faithwarden,”

Wyll wasn’t too familiar with druid customs, but he had been able to sense that it was something meaningful. He saw the surprise on the other druids’ faces as Kagha named them Faithwarden, placing the quarterstaff in their hands that radiated a faint golden light.

“I hear it’s quite an honor, you deserve it, for all you did at the Grove. I don’t know much of Silvanus, but you seem to honor his teachings well,”

Majexatli almost flinched at his words.

At their reaction, their visceral disgust, something clicked in Wyll’s mind, a puzzle piece falling into place. As enigmatic and stoic as Majexatli was, all of the little slips in their mask were compounding. Their discomfort in the Grove, their unusual coldness towards Calnys there, their seeming contempt for Wyll’s congratulations and mention of Silvanus…

“I don’t care for the title,” Majexatli said, then added, almost inaudible, “Not this time,”

There was something just beneath the surface, just out of reach.

“This time?”

For the briefest moment, he felt his tadpole twitch, flashes of images in his mind. Pale hands braiding dark curly hair. The feel of fine robes with delicate elven embroidery. Butterflies in stomach, kneeling before an older half-elf before a crowd of druids. 

With a pang of guilt, Wyll wondered if he had probed their mind without meaning to. 

“I just... I need you to know that I care about you, Wyll. I would care about you if you weren't the Blade, I would care about you if you weren't a hero. You matter to me as a person, not a story or title,”

Majexatli’s hand found Wyll’s, warm and calloused, squeezing gently, earnestly, desperately. They had turned to look at him fully for the first time that night, meeting his eyes directly, searching for something. 

This was a different Majexatli than Wyll had seen before, unguarded in a way that felt more intimate than bathing with them in the river the other day. Wyll leaned in closer without realizing.

“I—I’ll try to remember that, but I’m not sure what I have without the title,”

“You’re enough,”

Majexatli still held Wyll’s hand, looked in his eyes, leaned close to him. 

“In another life, I can imagine courting you properly, dancing in ballrooms,” Wyll said softly.

Wyll would have given anything to see it, to live it. To get a chance to lead Majexatli and glide across the dancefloor with them. To see what Majexatli would look like well-rested, well cared for. For them to see him as he used to be, some version of himself more worthy of their affection.

There was a flash of something across Majexatli’s face, something unreadable. They regained composure quickly, face softening as they brought up their hand to cup Wyll’s face. A faintly metallic smell hit Wyll, subtle enough to barely register.

“I don’t have another life, just this one, where I met you,”

Some skeptical part of Wyll had wondered if it had all been a ploy, that Majexatli simply craved intimacy with anyone and he was just romantic enough to fall for it. There was no way they meant what they said, there had to be some hidden motive, and yet—

Majexatli’s calloused thumb stroked his cheek with such tenderness.  

Hells. 

Wyll could court them in this life, even if he was a devil and they both had tadpoles in their heads and the Absolute threatening them at every turn. As much as he wanted it to be perfect, as much as he wanted to take his time—

Wyll leaned in, slowly, cautiously, half expecting Majexatli to stop him. Instead, they closed the distance, pressing their chapped lips to his softly.

The kiss lasted only a moment, Wyll’s hand finding their waist as he kissed back, Majexatli still cupping his cheek with a gentleness he hadn’t seen them show before. He had to stop himself from clinging to them and kissing back with the fevered desperation he felt, trying to chase the warmth and safety he felt in their arms.

“I—well, then,” Wyll started, cheeks burning hot as he pulled away, “Erm, you've got a party to get back to. After all, tonight is about you.”

“Of course. Goodnight, Wyll,”

Majexatli nodded with a faint smile, standing up and immediately being consumed by golden light as they once again assumed their wolf form. They trotted off towards the woods, towards camp Wyll hoped. 

As they disappeared in the treeline, Wyll realized a taste lingered on his lips. 

Not wine.

Blood.

[moistmailman]

Baldur Gate 3 AU

*At the camp where everyone is celebrating the defeat of the goblin camp*

*Pyrrha is sitting off by herself watching everyone celebrating; she looks very distant and deeply in her own head*

???: Hey, is this spot taken?

*Pyrrha slightly jump before turning to see a blond paladin standing over her with a sweet smile*

Pyrrha, awkwardly smiling: Oh, no. Here. *scoots over*

Jaune, sitting down: You seem kinda jumpy, everything okay?

Pyrrha, smiling: Yeah, everything’s great. We saved the tieflings and defeated all the goblins with little to no trouble.

*Pyrrha looks over to see Yang trying to out drink a random tiefling*

Pyrrha, chuckling: It’s a great night. A night of celebration.

Jaune, smiling: I know. Everyone seems to be on board but you, though. How come you’re all the way over here by your lonesome self? *nudges Pyrrha’s shoulder with his playfully*

Pyrrha, awkwardly: No reason. Just….lost in my thought is all. Got a lot going on in my head at the moment.

Jaune: Is it about your memory?

*pyrrha paused for a brief moment, almost questioning something to herself*

Pyrrha:….yeah, you got me. Like an open book.

Jaune, comfortingly: Hey, I’m sure that your memories are going to come back one day. Just a matter of time honestly.

Pyrrha: You think so?

Jaune: I’m certain. Besides, I’m sure there has to be some sort of magic out there that can help you. It’s just a matter of when and not if.

*Pyrrha pauses before looking off in the distance, obviously questioning something*

Jaune: You okay?

Pyrrha:….what if I don’t like what I was?

Jaune: What?

Pyrrha: W-what if….what if the person who I was before isn’t something i would want to know about? What if it’s just better to stay ignorant?

Jaune: Why would you think that?

Pyrrha, shrugging: I don’t know. *forces a chuckle* Maybe I’m just paranoid, you know? I’m probably just over thinking things.

Jaune: Look, I don’t know what kinda person you were in the past, but if there is one thing I’m certain of is that you must’ve been the sweetest woman in all of Baldur’s Gate.

Pyrrha: How can you be sure though?

Jaune: What other woman would take on an entire army of goblins to save a bunch of strangers she has never met before?

Pyrrha, blushing: I didn’t do it alone, though. You guys help.

Jaune: So? You still went through with the plan, regardless of how dangerous it could me. You put your neck on the line for strangers. I don’t know about you, but that’s something only a good person would do. A great person in fact. One of the bests.

*Pyrrha pauses for a moment for slowly smiling*

Pyrrha: You’re right. Thanks, Jaune.

Jaune, smiling back: No problem.

*as the party goes on, Pyrrha lies her head on Jaune’s shoulder as she watches everyone else have a good time*

*Yang and Nora were having an arm wrestling contest with Toby cheering them on and Weiss looking in disappointment while Blake is busy reading a book next to them with a subtle smile plastered on her face*

*Ren was entertaining children with his magic as he mad miniature fireworks for them to clap at*

*Pyrrha takes a deep breath before turning to look at Jaune, who was smiling while watching the party unfold*

Pyrrha, I’m her head: He’s oddly handsome for a paladin as scrawny as him, but his heart seems to really make up for his lack of muscles. He looks so sweet right now though. So nice, caring…..and vulnerable….

*suddenly a splitting headache creeps up on her as a dreadful and unfortunate familiar sensation appears*

A voice in Pyrrha’s head: KILL……KILL……KILL….KILL

*Pyrrha grits and teeth and clenches her eyes shut as she tries to ignore this enticing nature she has*

Voice: KILL….KILL….KILL HIM!!!!!

Pyrrha: *resists*

Voice, getting louder: KILL HIM! SNAP HIS NECK! CUT HIS THROAT! CAVE HIS SKULL! KILL KILL KILLLLLLL!

*Pyrrha starts to visibly shake as the voice is getting more powerful and demanding, but as fast as it appeared, it disappears, becoming nothing but a thought.

Pyrrha: *looks down to see Jaune squeezed her hand, which seem to what kill the urge in her*

Jaune, comfortingly: Hey, you okay? You look spook.

Pyrrha, finally finding her voice: Y-yeah. Thanks. *squeezes his hand back* Just lost in my thoughts again is all.

Jaune: You’re going to be alright?

Pyrrha: I-I…..I hope.

*Jaune gives Pyrrha a reassuring squeeze on her hand, which calms her nerves down even more, having her relax once again and burying the urge she just had even deeper away*

*the party goes on all night as Pyrrha soon wanders off to sleep, her head still on his shoulder the whole night*

[ex-textura]

Your post about your OCs quest names got me thinking...

If they were companions what would be their likes and dislikes, how would a player gain their approval? 💜

Okay I know I've been holding onto this for So Long but I've been Thinking™️ and that's not my forté.

Wall of text incoming because I've been writing this on my phone and. Formatting is a lot of work..

× Auric's approval would be difficult for a chaotic aligned character to get I think. He'd approve of kindness, following the rules, defending the weak. He'd love saving Mirkon and Arabella. He'd disapprove of taking the idol for Mol though. He'd probably also approve of you drinking Jaheira's truth wine. If you could recruit his sister, he'd approve of every kind action toward her, but he'd disapprove of flirting with her. Also letting Astarion bite you. He never could trust him. Also talking to him about music or poetry would get huge approval boosts. He's a big romantic.

× Naught's approval is a bit more all over the place and probably harder to get in general just because they don't really feel very strongly about anything until later in the game. But being kind to animals is a big approval, while doing the opposite is gonna make him hate you. Especially with birds. They'd approve of being outwardly flirtatious and forward with your intentions. They'd definitely approve of licking the damn spider. And throwing dung at the goblin outside the camp. Also, even though they can't read and aren't really inclined to, taking any opportunity to show off your smarts, teach him something new would be like a full +10. They like nerds. If you can be snarky with Nine-Fingers Keen, too, he'd approve of that.

× Ciaran approves of being nice. Helping the helpless. Saving people. All the big heroics. Play music with Alfira. Motivate the tiefling kids. Tell him you trust him.Do Not Do Not do the murder tribunal. Don't let Shadowheart kill Nightsong. Don't let Astarion ascend. Under no circumstances side with the goblins or he'll just leave. Generally everything Astarion dislikes in act 1 will be a Ciaran approval. He'd also approve of petting every single animal in the entire game. All of them. They're so soft please pet the babies.

× Jinx. Likes. Chaos. Steal the idol, why not. Throw some dung around. Play music with Alfira. Tease Mattis with the ring trick. Drink the truth wine and play truth or dare. Let the weird ox do its thing. Send him up on stage at the circus. Mess with Akabi and cheat at the wheel game. Pet the animals. Lick the spider. Get sent to jail. Break out of jail. Let Volo pick your brain. Any opportunity to say something weird or off-putting will probably get an approval, if only cause he'd think it's funny. But also talking about magic, poking at magic, anything that involves appreciating the gift that is magic - for good or ill. Jinx is also kind so not necessarily self-sacrificing acts of kindness but helping people, doing the right thing, general Good Boy approvals. Disapprovals are less common but outright cruelty is generally where he draws the line.

× Amaris approves of knowledge, and follows the tenets of their goddess. Read the book of dead gods, the necromancy of thay (sure it's evil but think of the knowledge contained within!), anything you can get your hands on. Open the chest at the Selûne shrine in the owlbear cave. Protect Isobel. Let Astarion feed on you (vampires may be undead but they are still children of Selûne's light and deserve protection if they seek it, and do no harm. And Astarion is trying okay? Kinda. It's enough.) Ask questions always, exhaust that dialogue tree! Agree to save the tieflings and the gnomes over and over again. And Barcus. Do Not let Shadowheart kill the Nightsong. Do not convince the nurses and Malus to kill themselves, do that with your own hands. Don't try to convince them to use the tadpoles. Don't speak ill of the gods. Except Shar. Speaking against Shar will always net big approvals. And again, the usual "Karlach/Wyll/Gale approves" from helping people apply to them as well. Let them talk about Selûne, and home, and their best friend Morridah. Take them to Sorcerous Sundries. Be a little kinky.

[goddness-lunafreya]

Meet my Tav/OC!

Philrath, the Half-Dragon

Hello everyone, while I'm writing the next chapter, I thought I'd show a little bit of Philrath, the OC who co-stars in the story, and my Tav in the game!

Race and Appearance: Philrath is a White Half-Dragon, children of dragons with humanoid races, usually humans and elves. Unlike Dragonborns, Half-Dragons are literally children of dragons, inheriting characteristics from them, but also from their parent's non-dragon races. They usually end up being an amalgamation of the two breeds, with certain characteristics. They are hybrids, just like animals in the real world, and are therefore infertile. Philrath has an elven body, white hair, with turquoise blue highlights. His skin is fair, with freckles on his face. He has white horns, with slight bluish tips on his head. She has white scales on her face, and on the rest of her body, in places such as: Back, Shoulders and Legs. Her eyes are yellow with these draconic pupils, which have a certain glow in the dark. I like to imagine that she would have fangs, very small, even though this doesn't exist in the game, it's a characteristic that I like to think about.

Class, Alignment and Combat:

Philrath was initially born in my game as a ranger, but I chose to leave her secondary class as a bard, and that ended up being canonical in my story. So, she is a bard who seeks to bring joy to people, with songs, or with actions. Still, the patrol class is not there for nothing. She is very connected to nature, not as much as a druid, but she understands it in a way that benefits her. She uses Speak to Animals a lot to get advantages and to help the poor animals, protecting them from people's evil. She also uses her ranged attacks to help the team, always giving buffs to her companions (cough cough, Astarion, cough), healing them when needed and being deadly when necessary. Philrath as a Half-Dragon transforms into one, being small at first, but growing as he matures and expands his powers, understanding them better. This in gameplay is well... Overpower, but I always dosed it to only use it when it was NECESSARY (hello, Cazador???), so as not to ruin the gameplay. And in history this was cool, it was as if she was afraid to use her powers, and let them emerge as the journey became more difficult. In the end, for her group, she turned into a deadly white dragon, which freezes everyone in its path.

Her Alignment changed A LOT, as my perception changed. At first she was definitely Lawful-Good, trying to be a good person. However, in act 1 she performed very... Chaotic acts. In act 2 I would already put her in Neutral-Good, and in 3 she is certainly a Chaotical-Good or even Neutral-Neutral. My explanation for this was two: The Journey and its Dragon Side. Baldur's Gate's journey is not an easy one, and she has made chaotic and desperate decisions for the good of herself and the group, yet never evil ones. She helped the Tieflings, saved the Nightsong, helped Halsin, was always respectful to Jaheira and let very few die. For her companions, she is a hero, but Philrath doesn't see herself that way. She killed the hunter Guur, she killed all the goblins, she was always aggressive when necessary. But still, she forced Ketheric to seek to be better, not facing him in the end. But as many know, White Dragons are Chaotical-Evil, and she may have gotten that from her father, in part, which explains her impulsiveness in combat.

(She judging Astarion AND the Hunter Gur)

Personality and Romance:

Philrath is someone kind despite the problems I mentioned above, she understands that she can be dangerous, and that's why she prefers to stay away than to get attached, but at the same time, she is afraid of abandonment. She grew up without her biological parents, always seeing herself as strange. Even though she had a great adoptive father, these problems persist with her to this day. That's why she has her motto: "The Group stays together". Philrath never abandoned any of them, he always gave them the chance to improve and stay with it. She never judged, she doesn't see herself in such a position, after all, she doesn't think she's worthy. As a bard, she likes to make people happy, even if the reason is sad. It's a way for her to make people ignore her different appearance, deep down she hates how she looks, but she loves being who she is. She loves flying like a dragon, loves the powers, the feeling of strength. But she hates being different from other elves, being seen as a monster and a freak. Hence her identification with those who suffer, how would she judge someone, when she is judged all the time? Maybe it was the identification that hooked her. She saw herself in Astarion when he revealed himself to be a vampire, when he declared his fears, when he showed his marks and scars. His words (sometimes false) were comforting. As a Demisexual, she is attracted to the self, not the form. And the Astarion being was interesting. She would love to write more about the relationship, but then it would be fic (more than I've already done in this post). Who knows, maybe I won't do it in my fanfic. She stayed with Astarion until the end, but had a light kiss with Wyll in a moment of excitement during a dance. And she decided to start a relationship with Halsin. I always imagined the "Teddy Bear" as her teacher in transformation, it's cute, right? But she loves Astarion, and always will. A Half-Dragon and a Vampire is a couple odd enough to appeal to me!

(They look so cute in these clothes...)

What do I expect from Philrath in fanfic? I hope to be able to explore my Headcanons and address what the story of someone so unique would be like. A Half-Dragon would certainly have issues that Tav normally doesn't have in the game, some of which I mentioned above. In the end, I hope to be able to write everything in "Icy Serenade", my fanfic that focuses on Philrath and all the backstory power. I know, it's all silly and trippy. But this character became part of me, playing her was fun, and in the end she had a place in my heart that I didn't expect. It's crazy how such an INCREDIBLE game makes us get attached to the model we create... Philrath ended up having a lot of me, I'm Demisexual, I identified with the story of several characters in the game, and I was simply moved by see her, or rather they, as Non-Binary. Yes, I used "she" out of language and name custom, but Philrath is Non-Binary! She is Philrath! And it's okay to be called She, They or even "Astarion's Husband". She never saw herself as a real woman, just as she never saw herself as an elf or a dragon. She can be both, or neither. It can be "she", "he" or "they".

Disclaimer:

This race is obtainable in the game via MOD! It exists in d&d 5e, but it is not normally playable. The MOD(which is not mine!!) is based on an expansion of this race, with extra things and an expansion of its mythology. These clothes are from MOD too, I can share them all in the comments, for anyone who wants them. And yes, a lot of things up there are FIC/HC, after all, Tav is the character made for us to play with our imagination and create his story. And everything is fine! We all create this ourselves when we play games like this. And I had to add these details to make sense of a Half-Dragon out of nowhere in the game. But remember that the game itself places us as Dragonborn in the dialogues, since this limitation exists.

(There's no way we... She's so expressive!)

Thank you all!!

Thank you for reading what I wrote and will write, it is gratifying to put what I think here. It has been an environment that has done me a lot of good in the last few days.

I hope to meet everyone's Tav/Durge/OC too! Knowing your Headcanons, your stories, your fics, let's all think and create things together. Expanding this wonderful universe that is this Game and RPG. Finally, I hope everyone is safe.

And what did you think of Philrath? Or the Half-Dragons? I simply fell in love with them. I'd love to hear opinions.

See you soon, with more fics and random subjects. Tchau! (Bye Bye!)

(BONUS: Her looking at Halsin like that is hilarious)

[alpydk]

Cabinet of Oddities - Part 4 (Fanfic)

TavxGale (Custom)

Extra time means more writing and I just needed to get some more Gale into this story. (1.8k words - WTF??)

Summary: Gale falls slowly behind the group causing Nana to become concerned.

Ao3 Link - Chapter 4 Ao3 Link (Whole)

Nana didn’t like the Risen Road. The air smelt of goblins and there was no shelter. It was all just open rock and cliff faces. “Are we there yet?” She whined immaturely.

“Do you see a goblin camp anywhere or a one-horned tiefling?” Wyll replied.

“No.” She said dejectedly. “Fine…” 

The group had been travelling at a reasonable pace but since reaching the road had begun to spread out. Astarion, trying to be as far from Nana as he could, had moved up to the front with Shadowheart. Wyll had been stuck playing babysitter, as he saw it, and Gale unusually had begun to lag quietly behind. He’d complained of his knees aching a little the day before so nobody thought anything of it but Nana could not shift the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. “Oh no, it appears I have dropped my, um, shoe.” She exclaimed in a long drawn and loud voice.

Wyll sighed exasperatedly “Your shoe? The one that’s on your foot?” He paused momentarily and decided to seize the opportunity for a break. “You know what, you take care of your shoes. You can always catch up.” He walked off at speed to catch up to the others muttering under his breath the words “Gods, give me patience.”

Nana knelt, pretending to play with her shoe, watching him walk away and then turned her head seeing Gale slowly approaching. His handsome face looked different. Like something was weighing him down. Not just in his mind but in his body as well. She felt a pang of concern for him and stood as he got closer. She went to speak but as normal with Gale, the words just struggled to come.

“Nana, as much as I’ve enjoyed talking to you these last few days, today I just need a little peace and tranquillity.” Gale’s voice seemed strained, he grimaced as he walked. Nana knew these features all too well.

“You’re in pain. Your knees again?” She spoke with concern. Her mind was racing, she was fighting the tadpole in her head from accidentally sharing the memories that flooded her brain. The poison is spreading. He’s dying, I can’t save him. Don’t die, please don’t die. She shook her head and looked into Gale’s deep eyes, almost pleading with him to talk to her.

Gale looked away from her, feeling the pressure. Though he’d grown close to the group since the start of his travels, he didn't know if he was ready to share everything with them but the ever-growing hunger in his chest was becoming too much to cope with alone. He’d have to tell them eventually or he would have to leave them. “No, not my knees.” He considered continuing but didn’t know if Nana would even understand what he was going to say.  

“I would say maybe it was something you ate, but then you’re the one who does all the cooking and it sure is better than any concoction I make. Last spring I made the most horrible of dishes. That rat was good when I killed it but apparently when I mixed it with grease from that ooze…” She could see the colour draining from Gale’s face. “Sorry, I’m rambling. But I’m guessing it’s not food-related?”

“Not food either.” Gale stopped for a moment and looked at Nana. He saw something in her that he couldn’t explain. He’d seen her try to help everyone they had come across, from tiefling children that she was robbed by, to stepping in front of an arrow to save a goblin who then insulted her. All life seemed precious to her, so maybe his would too. “Nana…Why don’t we take a little break? Allow ourselves a few moments of rest. Gives me a chance to talk to you about something, well, rather important.” 

Nana nodded. “Ok, Nana calm calm. It’s just a break. It’s nothing serious. He’s not going to kiss you. Gods, I’d like him to kiss me. His eyes are so dreamy.” Her voice rushed on, just a never-ending stream of thoughts spilt out into reality. She took a seat on a nearby rock and patted a little patch next to her signalling for Gale to join her. 

Gale gave a subtle smile as he sat beside her. He wasn’t going to object to the words she said but he wasn’t sure how he felt about her. Especially right now as his muscles ached and his mind tore in two. “Have you ever realised that you say everything out loud?” 

“It’s been mentioned to me before. I tried to keep it all in my head but it gets a bit messy after a while. If I say it out loud then it keeps room for the important things.” Nana tried to explain it the best she could. This was the truth. As a changeling trying to keep one form for a long period, trying to keep the memories together, the personalities all separate, and then trying to keep constant control proved to be exhausting and if she kept everything in her head she surely would have gone mad like other changelings had been known to.

“And what important things would they happen to be?” Gale asked with curiosity.

Him. The tadpole flickered in her mind. “Oh you know, cooking recipes and naughty poetry.” She smiled, her green eyes sparkling brightly in the sunlight. “But you wanted to talk to me about something important. I’m guessing it’s neither of those topics.”

Gale gazed into her eyes, lost for a brief moment, and then nodded in recognition of her remark. “We’ve been on the road together for a while now, haven't we? Survived some perils, overcame some obstacles. I’ve seen you demonstrate remarkable guile and courage.”

“I’ve just been doing what I do. I wouldn’t say any of it is courageous. Unless you’re talking about that couple from the shack, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake that image.” Nana gave a shudder at the thought of the ogre and bugbear they had encountered the previous day.

“No, no, not that.” He chuckled. “No, I believe, I’ve grown to trust you.” His voice was soft and sincere.

Nana tried to read him but could see no ulterior motive. This was new to her. Her face was one of scepticism and she leaned in slightly to try and hear him better. “Hm, I thought you trusted me anyway, and that's why you let me stir the cooking in the evenings.”

He looked at her with affection and felt the orb hum. He pushed down the painful sensation that ran through his chest and sighed deeply. He needed to tell her. “I did, I do. Either way, the reason I make a point of saying this is that I’ve grown confident enough to tell you something I’ve yet to tell another living soul. Except for my cat.”

Nana stayed quiet listening intently to the words he spoke. 

“You see, I have this…condition. Very different from the parasite we share, but just as deadly. Every so often I need to get my hands on a powerful magical item and absorb the Weave inside.” His tone was serious, he had tried to explain it as vaguely and as simply as he could for her and he hoped she would grasp what he was telling her.

“So…You need to eat shoes?”

“Eat shoes? That’s what you took away from that? It’s not so much eating as it is absorbing the magical energies that are within the items. I can say no more on the matter - not now anyway, just trust me when I say it’s all of vital importance.” He stared deep into her eyes, looking for the understanding he sought, hoping she would not reject him in his time of need. The pain in his chest radiated throughout his body and he tried his best to ignore it. 

Nana’s face was full of concern for him. All she wanted was to help. “And this is why you’re in pain? You need something magical?” 

Gale nodded solemnly in response. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you but I wouldn’t press this without good reason.”

Nana swung around her pack, settling it on her lap and started digging through it. She chucked out random items, books, a music box which gave an off-note clang as it hit the floor, and a half-eaten apple she’d found earlier in the day. Eventually, she pulled out a small magic necklace and offered it over to Gale. “Here, the tiefling girl gave it to me but I’ve no use for it. You can have it.” Gale looked into her eyes. He placed one hand under the locket and the other above her hand and cupped them closely together. Nana could feel the warmth from his touch and her heart began to quicken its beat. Her voice hitched and her cheeks flushed red. “You’re touching me” she gasped. 

“Apologies.” Gale lessened his grip and took the locket from her. He held it to the marking on his chest, one that for so long Nana had wanted to run her fingers along, and he leaned back. His face appeared to be in pain and the orb glowed a brilliant purple. A moment later the necklace was gone but Gale sat with a relieved expression. He sighed deeply. “That hit the spot. I can feel it work. The magic is like a lullaby that sings to sleep the demon inside.”  

Nana’s face grew concerned. A demon . The tadpole twisted and writhed wanting to share the image in her mind.

“A metaphorical demon I haste to point out. But no less dangerous - and no less bound to wake up again to continue its ravages. Such is the nature of all monsters.”

“You’re going to be okay, aren't you? We can fix it, maybe find a cure?” She gave him a hopeful look.

Gale looked away unsure. He had no answer for this. His year of research and hiding locked in his tower had brought very few answers. He couldn’t expect to find them here. He turned back to her, his face brighter than it had been the previous few days. “Sincerely though: I understand I ask a lot from you with few answers in return, but in time all will be told.” 

“I’m just glad it helped. Tell me, if you need anything else, I’ve got quite the collection of nicknacks and doodads in my bag now. I’m sure I can stop you from getting hungry.” Nana pointed the pack at Gale as if to show him proudly of her collection.

He smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. But now I think we should continue moving. The day is vanishing before our very eyes and the warmth of the sun will no longer lie on our faces.” Gale stood and held out his hand to Nana.

She looked at it briefly but threw her pack over her back and stood without taking it. A brief flash of rejection flashed over Gale's face but he ignored the accompanying thought that came along with it. He would just need to be satisfied with the trust he had gained from her today. Nothing more, nothing less.

[tadpolejourney]

Day 5

The situation at the grove is tense to say the least. The druids are doing some sort of religious rite to close the grove to outsiders because they're afraid of monsters and goblins. They mean to leave the tieflings to die. They don't care that there are elderly and children among them, nor do they care what they've had to endure to get here.

Kagha is cruel and dangerous, ready to murder a child over a wooden idol. The druids are cowardly and even those who oppose her in private will not act against her. I offered to find Halsin, their real leader, in the hopes that will keep them from doing something foolish. Zevlor, the tiefling leader, thought me a murderer for hire, and wants me to kill Kagha. No thanks. I really hope I can find Halsin alive and keep those tiefling kids safe. I've made a huge mistake and gotten attached to them. I know their names.

Nettie, the druid healer, tried to murder me rather than cure me. I knocked her out, and I hope no other desperate infected crosses her path.

I met a bard named Alfira, helped her finish a song. The cat's out of the bag... they know I'm Calypso now. None of them have met me before or seen me on stage though, so that saves me the embarrassment of not remembering yet another person in a sea of faces and single-serve encounters. She seemed star-struck but wasn't too weird about it, which I appreciated. She has a lot of potential from what I can tell. A very sweet heart, with a sweet voice to match. She seems like she could nurture the talent in others if she wanted to.

Shortly after meeting Alfira, a cambion appeared to us. Offering a cure for the infection. Raphael, he calls himself. Took us to his House of Hope, used a lot of bad poetry and threats as a sales pitch. Typical devilry, 0 stars, did not purchase. He's just as full of shit as any other devil, and I refuse to give him what he wants. I'm betting he knows nothing about Mephisto and I. He better watch himself if he knows what's good for him.

We saved a tiefling boy from a pack of harpies. Actually the toughest fight we've had yet. He wrote a story about me. Sweet kid.

Still not entirely sure what Gale's deal is. He complimented me with one sentence, and then proceeded to fully overshadow his compliment with a long declamation of self-aggrandizement and boasting about his superior magical prowess. So strange.

I went to speak to him at camp tonight and he was staring longingly at a conjured image of Mystra. I can tell there's more than just religious devotion there; it seemed like intense obsession. We talked of magic and channeled the Weave together. I've felt the sensations of magic before, naturally, but this was more powerful and more practiced than I could ever be. I finally got a glimpse of just how powerful of a wizard he was before this mess. Channeling the Weave was intimate, sensual, but safe. It didn't matter that it felt safe; it was too intimate for me and I could feel myself starting to panic. However, that anxiety was completely overpowered by my wanting. I had to make serious, concerted effort to hide how I was feeling. It felt like my heart was pounding so hard, surely he must have heard it. I kept trying to remind myself that I can't trust this man, that he's hiding something major, he's full of himself, he's obsessed with a goddess, etc. I tried to give myself a million reasons why my feelings in that moment should not be acted upon. But it was as though I were completely deaf to my own wisdom, fear, and reason. I conjured the image and feeling of what I thought it would be like to kiss him. Being that close to him, it was as though there was so much heat. I've felt chemistry with people, attraction, wanting, all familiar territory. This felt like drowning in a bonfire. I watched his face, and it flickered quickly from shock to contemplation to something indescribable.

I've realized why he annoys me so much. It's because I want him. It annoys me that I feel this way when we've only just met. He didn't refuse me. He told me what I conjured was 'most welcome'. But nothing happened either. UGH

I think I have everyone else pretty much figured out. I don't think Lae'zel has any secrets whatsoever. The Blade of Frontiers and Shadowheart still have their secrets of course, but the nature of their characters is clear to me. They would both be difficult to get close to, but for entirely different reasons. Wyll (he does have a real name after all) is all about the cause, the mission. He will entertain very little else. Still, he's courteous and kind which is more than I can say for the vast majority of people I've met. I trust him for the most part. Still think he has something serious going on, which I can't place full trust in anyone who has something that big to hide. Shadowheart is simply determined to keep everyone away from her, and she is rude and abrasive to accomplish that. I don't think I'll try anymore. Maybe she'll come around, or maybe she'll just be an asshole the entire journey. If that's the case we can hope it's a short one.

I'm pretty sure Astarion's only real secret was being a vampire spawn. He opened up to me about the situation he was in before the infection. His old master Cazador was so horrible to him that he'd actually take the devil's deal rather than go back. I don't know details but I don't need to. I could see it in his eyes. I wonder if he could tell just how well I understood. I feel as though I now know him best out of everyone, which is unexpected. He's fun, and I like him. He stole a book from the tiefling kids for me because he noticed I'd been collecting that particular series of books and hoped to find a full set. While it was sweet and all, I told him not to make a habit of stealing from children, but to feel free to steal whatever he can get away with from rich people, assholes, and monsters. He's treating me with what I believe to be equal parts placation, flirtation, and intimation. I understand that pattern of relating very well. It's what I've done to protect myself in the past too. I won't take him seriously unless I have cause or occasion to do so. It's fun to be flirted with by a beautiful man. So long as he doesn't cross any lines, I'll be fine. She says with little confidence. Anyway, when you're staring death in the face all the time and you're surrounded by other people who think little of you (some of whom are openly hostile towards you), hearing sweet words that make you feel special feels really nice. Even if they're lies.

I finally got sheet music thanks to Alfira. I can start writing out Act V! Maybe if I can bring myself to stop writing about my companions I'll be able to get this work done.

<<< Day 4 | Index | Day 6 >>>

[blackjackkent]

⚠️ - If this oc came with a warning sign, what would it be?

🧠 - What is their stress response: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn? 💔 - Does forgiveness come easily or with difficulty to this oc? Can they forgive others? What about themselves?

🌍 - What are this oc’s religious views?

💛 - Are they ‘good with children’, or more awkward?

🌱 - Share one of this oc’s early memories. 🐉 - Very serious question… are they more like a dragon, or a unicorn?

For rakha!!!! Answer whichevee youd like

(Emojis OC ask game)

⚠️ - If this oc came with a warning sign, what would it be?

"Warning: Escalates to Murder Rapidly" XD

Also possibly "Warning: Asks Direct Questions Always" :P

🧠 - What is their stress response: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn?

Definitely fight. :P The "beast" always has an easier time coming to the forefront when she's stressed, upset, or angry, or really in any high emotional state.

Sometimes manifests as "freeze" though bc she'll get locked up trying to fight herself internally.

💔 - Does forgiveness come easily or with difficulty to this oc? Can they forgive others? What about themselves?

This one's a bit interesting. With people she doesn't directly interact with or care about, she's likely to punish transgressions against her pretty intensely - for instance, if Dolly Dolly Dolly had stuck around to see the aftermath of the clown makeup she probably would have ended up pasted into the nearby wall. But with the limited number of people she does care about - which is basically just her companions and, a little more broadly, people like Jaheira who are her allies against a greater enemy - she is FAR more likely to forgive and, in fact, to redirect the blame into an assumption of her own fault instead.

(I'm basing this primarily on her interactions with Lae'zel - the strained period in their relationship was, frankly, primarily Lae'zel's fault, but Rakha interpreted it as her own failing and ended up being the one to apologize for it first. I suspect any other similar falling-outs with her companions would go similarly.)

🌍 - What are this oc’s religious views?

So far (ironically, given what I know of coming Plot Developments) Rakha really doesn't care about religion? In fact, she only really has negative associations with it, as her experiences with it so far are primarily through the lens of: a) the Selunite temple, which was overrun by goblins, b) Shadowheart's worship of Shar, which involves electric shocks to the back of the hand, c) Lae'zel's worship of Vlaakith, which involved betrayal after two decades of loyal service, d) Gale's worship of Mystra, which involves being told to kill himself, and e) Isobel.

So her thoughts are basically: clearly it's important to a lot of people who are important to me, but like, why?

💛 - Are they ‘good with children’, or more awkward?

Awkward. Rakha only interacted with the tiefling kids a little bit, and she didn't dislike them but didn't really have any idea of how to interact with them other than with the same bluntness she brings to everyone else. She is oddly invested in Mol's well-being at this point, but it doesn't mean she knows how to talk to her lol.

🌱 - Share one of this oc’s early memories.

None that I am aware of at this point. XD So far the furthest back we've seen was the noblestalk memory which definitely happened when she was a grown woman. I'll probably be able to answer this a bit better if/when I learn more about her from before her memory loss.

🐉 - Very serious question… are they more like a dragon, or a unicorn?

I would say dragon. Rakha would definitely be down with breathing fire if she were capable of it. :P

[whitegoldtower]

My BG3 OC, Tam’lin:

(Lolth-Sworn Drow (by birth, not choice) || Szarkai || Ranger (Gloomstalker) || Folk Hero)

(High DEX, CON, WIS. Medium INT, STR. Low CHA. Proficiencies in Insight, Stealth, Arcana, History, Medicine and Athletics. Uses a Longbow and Dual Daggers.)

🕷️ He was raised to be a Lolth-sworn Szarkai in Menzoberranzan for House Baenre. Once he matured, he was sent to the surface as a spy, but did a runner when he realised how much nicer it was on the surface (no female drow ordering him around), and became a gloomstalker ranger. His familiar is a spider named Janet. Personality-wise, he’s a bit like if you crossed Aragorn with Geralt of Rivia.

🕷️ He has a little bit of beef with Shadowheart when she makes the comment about Lae’zel’s people when they first meet (“more like the Gith have a problem with everybody else”), at which point he gets quite arsey with her (“Ah, well, then I should have a major problem with both of you, because I am a drow. Yet I freed you, and I’ve made a friend of this one. Make it make sense.”)

🕷️ He has good intentions but has a habit of saying the wrong things (or saying the right things, but saying them too harshly). He gets misread a lot, a good example being when Matthis asks him whether it’s true that Drow “steal children”, to which he leans down and asks “Do I frighten you?” - it looks threatening af but he’s just trying to be nice and sympathetic

🕷️ Aradin says “Put your claws away, under-elf.” Tam’lin socks him one, right in the mouth.

🕷️ Kagha tries to bootlick him (“A beloved child of Lolth!”) not knowing that he’s literally run away from Menzoberranzan and his duties, and he’s so offended by her brown-nosing and disgusted by her treatment of Arabella that he offers to assassinate her for Zevlor. But that’s not to say that he thinks Arabella is entirely innocent; when he meets her afterwards, he tells her off (as gently as he can)… and (purely out of distress bc Teela could have easily killed Arabella) snaps a little at her parents.

🕷️ He’d rather reason with / at least hear out a ‘monster’ than just kill them. Hence why he stands in front of the crossbow aimed at Sazza, gives Astarion the benefit of the doubt after the bite scene (even though he pitches a teeny weeny fit at first), tries to talk to the Owlbear, talks to the spiders in the goblin camp instead of instantly killing them, etc.

🕷️ Minthara scares the shit out of him, but as per the above statement, he’s willing to hear her out (he views the surface as neutral territory, where she has no power over him, and he can do what he likes), and also because he recognises her. Yes, she’s his cousin. Yes, she tries to get a bit Targaryen with it when he speaks to her. So he provokes her on purpose, and whilst holding her off, is shrieking repeatedly at Gale “MAKE HER SLEEP! MAKE HER SLEEP!”, to which Gale panics and spams the spell like “GOODNIGHT! GOODNIGHT GOODNIGHT! GOODNI-“

🕷️ Isn’t romancing anybody. But he viciously wants driderman. He sees Kar’niss for the first time and a fruity, pocket-sized party tiefling sets off fireworks in his brain. 🎉🕸️😍🕸️🎉 he’s touching his chicken about it.

🕷️ deeper than that, though, he wants to look after Kar’niss. Because Kar’niss seems like he’s suffered the fate that Tam’lin should have suffered. By all accounts, Tam’lin should be a drider, too. He’s not just attracted to Kar’niss; he has love for him.

[yeehawbvby]

It's time to ramble about Lilith’s lore because I love my dark urge daughter with all my heart LET'S GO

(there are tons of BG3 spoilers ahead, and also TW for a looot of canon typical violence/vivid descriptions of it!! So pls be careful!!):

Afaik her past aligns pretty properly with the canon durge past in a lot of ways?? I think?

She was basically Orin except just. Much more Normal(tm) I guess? Was less giggly about her practices unlike Orin, and more - for lack of a better wording - aroused and enamored by it all.

They were besties nonetheless. Sisters in crime, Bhaal's favorite children, all that jazz. Or like, Lilith thought Orin was her bestie at least.

She 100% had a thing with Gortash. They were insufferably in love and absolutely deranged. Gortash was SO fucking into all her violent tendencies. They were going to rule Baldur's Gate together - not with her as his consort, but as true equals.

Now that her memory's basically gone after all that time, Lilith is repulsed by her urges. She's a sweetie and wants nothing to do with her desire to kill and cut and coat everything in her path in blood and guts

But obv she can't control that sometimes...

When she encounters Shadowheart she wants nothing more than to punch through the glass capsule the cleric was trapped in and expose her innards with the broken pieces

When she meets Lae'zel she daydreams of chopping her up, limb by limb, and tossing her off of the ship to be fed to the dragons

Upon meeting Astarion, with his knife to her throat, she's fully enamored by the prospect of him using it to slit her open. Similarly, she daydreams of doing the same to him, drinking in how beautiful his corpse looks as it bleeds all over her

Gale... she couldn't control herself lol his hand got chewed off SO fast by those little tiefling fangs of hers. RIP Gale

With Wyll, she wanted to take his own blade to his good eye to give the fake one a little friend

She, knowing full well that touching Karlach upon their first meeting could have burned her alive, relished in the idea of taking that chance. Feeling her skin char as she ripped her fellow hellspawn's horns from her skull to skewer the mechanical heart in her chest

She was terrified of herself already, imagine the horrors when she mangled poor Alfira WHEW!! RIP Alfira my beloved..

Canon typical Astarion romance ensues over time: She eventually opens up to him about everything before the incident where she's ordered to kill him by that little red goblin butler bastard though.

In turn, the vampire is more inclined to open up about his past to her. Eye for an eye or whatever. Except it's willing - she ensures him he doesn't need to share so much with her, in fact she has no idea why she shared so much with him other than out of sheer desperation for someone to confide in

Fast forward to the Ketheric/Myrkul battle: She knows Gortash. Doesn't know how, but she recognizes him, and something about him makes her heart flutter

She wants to throw up

Especially so when her bestie Karlach seethes at the mere sight of him

Who is he?

Likewise, she recognizes Orin, somehow. She feels comfort, even as the deranged bhaalspawn laughs in the face of Ketheric beneath her blade.

Fast forward again to when the party makes it into Baldur's Gate.

At this point, it's small.

She, in a sleepy stupor, watched blissfully as Shadowheart had killed Lae’zel during their dispute over the Artefact.

When she went to the temple of Shar, she unthinkingly didn't think to include Shadowheart in it, so driven by her yearn to get the fuck out of there. So Shart obviously left because wtf that was a dick move, Lilith!!!

Gale was never around to begin with.

Jaheira and Halsin were off completing their own business, with intentions to join their endeavors in a tenday or so.

She know's there's strength in numbers, but now she fears the day Jaheira and Halsin and whoever else joins the crew. How does she know she'll keep them safe? Will she keep them safe? What if she herself is their demise (re: Alfira my beloved!!!)?

Imagine how that fear grows as she steps foot into Gortash's coronation, only to have all her memories with him come flooding back, as he introduces her so highly to the room of people as what one could only assume is a lover.

She remembers their lust-filled nights, dirtying the Lord's bedsheets with the blood of their enemies.

The days where they collaborated side-by-side on their next move both for Bhaal and The Absolute

The days where they... acted normal. Went on nice dates to the park, or had a lavish feast with nobody but each other as company

The day where Gortash asked Lilith to be at his side forever, and she wholeheartedly welcomed it

(Based on the lack of a ring, she can only hope she didn't actually tie the knot yet by the time she got flavorblasted into becoming The Bonemother or whatever the fuck Kressa said she was)

That's all I've got for now because as usual the lore is driven heavily by romance ckemviekbkn sorry

I HOPE U ENJOYED IF U READ THIS FARRRRRR :3c

Edit: have decided based off her interactions with Alfira (before she brutally destroyed Alfira) that her hobby (other than killing apparently) is being an amateur bard (she has high performance so she always keeps Alfira’s lute around) (I am still mourning alfira)

[ryttu3k]

Durge asks, After the Nautiloid edition by @plethomacademia! I've actually got this far, at least, so I can do this for Tavias. Spoilers for the whole game, including everything with Withers.

1. How does your character figure out their class/subclass? Is it different than how they were before losing their memories?

"Okay, I a) have scales and horns and b) can set stuff on fire. I'm gonna assume Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer, then." Y'know. Once he remembered what a) dragons and b) sorcerers are.

2. Does your Dark Urge use a name? Is it one they remember or do they have to adopt a new one?

His name is Tavias. It's the first thing he remembers. He doesn't remember the surname he grew up with... nor that the one he used from age eleven onwards was 'Bhaalson'. 'Tavias', though - that one, he remembers, and it's the one thing he took from his foster family to the cult and onwards.

3. How does your character handle having allies?

"omg friends 🥺" There's this deep-seated loneliness that he always suppressed pre-Nautiloid; when he wakes up, he remembers the loneliness but not why, so as soon as someone shows a teeny bit of kindness - or, like, not immediate mutual attempted murder - or maybe a little attempted murder but that's okay he's sure Astarion was just stressed - he latches on like a puppy.

4. How is Gale doing right now? What drove your Dark Urge to put him in that state?

He's doing well! Tavias helped stablise the portal and pulled him out. Currently he's enjoying swapping notes on magic with him and giving him minor existential crises by pointing out, dude, you're totally a sorcerer. What you're doing? That's sorcery, because you're a sorcerer. They're close friends. Gale has an unrequited crush on Tavias, who's picked up on it and feels guilty about it, but also ensures he tells Gale that he really values their friendship.

5. How does your Dark Urge react to their urges in general? Are there specific urges that they have a strong reaction to?

They goddamn terrify him. He doesn't even want to acknowledge them - he'll have the reaction then immediately start yelling "ABSOLUTELY NOT" to them in his brain to try and drown them out. He's most horrified by urges to harm children or animals, so he was quite grateful when Gale talked to the squirrel in the Grove, because it meant the onus wasn't on him to respond, and was able to suppress his urge to get Arabella to try and - futilely - run.

He feels a lot of guilt about them, which has manifested in heroics to the point of recklessness, even if it'll cause him harm. He's borderline suicidal, although not necessarily consciously - it's more like he thinks that if he dies, well, that may not be such a bad thing.

6. The one urge you cannot avoid in the game is killing Alfira. Does that event have a particular impact on your character or do they take it in stride?

Traumatic as hell. He reacted extremely poorly and has pretty much been spending most of the game since then in a state of terror. It's been particularly bad since meeting Isobel a day or two ago (playtime-wise) and is going to be even worse when Sceleritas tells him to kill Astarion.

7. Does your character try to confide in any of their allies about their urges? Which ones?

He didn't until Alfira's death, and then he sort of… admitted that he has violent thoughts, that he's been trying his hardest to suppress them, and he doesn't know why that failed with Alfira but he genuinely wasn't cognizant of his actions and to maybe. Be careful around him :(

8. Are there any points in the game that you see as branching points for your dark urge? For example, are they torn between goblins/tieflings? Or are they clearly on one path or another?

He's sticking as closely as he can to Neutral Good (he's not quite Lawful). So like, he might have had vivid and satisfying images of the tieflings being massacred, but would immediately go, "ABSOLUTELY NOT" and work against them. Generally, it'd go 'violent imagery' -> 'immediate positive emotional response' -> 'active denial' -> 'deliberately work against violent image'.

9. What's the general vibe of your Dark Urge outside of their urges? If someone didn't know about their urges, what would they think of your character?

Sweet dragon boy sorcerer. He tries to be pleasant, helpful, and, well, sweet as much as he can be, which is why the images disturb him so much. He wants very much to be liked. He wants to be normal. Or, well, as normal as a golden-eyed, golden-scaled, horned dragon-blooded sorcerer who can set things on fire with his mind can be.

10. How does the appearance of Sceleratis influence your Dark Urge? Do they feel better knowing that something might explain what's happening or does it make it worse?

He knows that Something Fucky is going on now, has no idea what it is, and is scared shitless of what it might be. He doesn't suspect the actual truth, but I feel as soon as he hears the name 'Bhaal' he's going to start remembering, and be simultaneously relieved to know why he has the urges, but also terrified that he may not be able to escape them. When he does learn, he's going to ask Jaheira for advice, which I think would help a lot, and Withers Doing The Thing is going to be... literally life-changing/life-saving.

(Ultimately, he's going to end up as Jergal's Chosen, working to eliminate all traces of the Dead Three from Faerûn along with Astarion, who Withers resurrected as a mortal elf, then made immortal again via being one of his Chosen as well. This was Tavias' one big condition to agreeing to be Jergal's Chosen - that Astarion could, too.)

[larsisfrommars]

BG3 Santa Playthrough #7

Secrets, Swamps, Kagha and Karlach:

It seems an old woman is being accosted by these two boys! Perhaps… perhaps it is the same old woman who paralyzed that poor tiefling girl back at the grove… let’s see what she has to say if I ask her about it. My goodness that was rude! And she vanished! I will look for the girl myself, those boys are in a heap of trouble if that old woman truly is a hag. And so are we! Still, we must help the tieflings first.

I’m usually doing the watching, why do I feel like something is watching me? I don’t see anyone, perhaps it was just that unpleasant meeting with that old woman before. I do hate to upset anyone.

There it is! The great big tree stump from the letter! Here is where we will find our answers! It seems they’ve summoned more than enough naughty creatures to protect their secrets! Wait, where is Gale?!

We have to get him back, the angel of death will not take him yet! Especially since it seems it would endanger others!! Why is it so complicated?! Oh I don’t feel well what is that coming from his body? Might need more… help… than I thought… 💀

Oh! That was much too close! Shadowheart has brought us both back! Thank Silvanus!… and I suppose… Shar. Gale you have some explaining to do! Please tell me what’s going on! What on earth kind of illness endangers so many lives? Still he tells me nothing, Santa’s getting a little tired of everyone hiding things from him.

*Sigh* We will talk about this later, we must rest before we confront Ms Kagha with her misdeeds. Who is this woman Gale is looking at? He is acting as if everything is well and good but I do not believe him. Who is she to him? The goddess of magic, he cares for her very much it seems.

Oh it seems he wishes to teach me some of his magic! I would like to learn what it he does, perhaps it could help me in my toy making! Oh, how wonderful! That was… magical. You are quite the teacher Gale, I understand why you love this type of magic so! It has been a long time since things have made any sense, but he does. Even if he will not tell me how to help him. I wish to, he is very kind, he deserves goodness. From me if nothing and nowhere else.

Off to Kagha, my goodness! The rats!! Of course! I should have known! Kagha must stop this, we are stronger together, druids or not! She has taken a step towards goodness but I doubt any presents will be due this year! She has given me a gift, a kindness. I will use it to help mend what she has broken.

Zevlor seems happy with this arrangement, I am happy he isn’t eager for bloodshed, at least not in not in this sacred place. But taking down a nest of naughty goblins and drow? This I can do! Then these beasts will endanger the children no longer, and perhaps we will find the man that guides this place while we’re at it! Still there are other dangers, like the woman Wyll warned us of! We ought to do something about her!

I have found another entrance to the Owlbear cave! Oh my goodness! The goblins have KILLED the Owlbear mother!! And the baby is nowhere to be found! Perhaps it was stolen! The sooner we find those goblins the better! They must pay for this!

Oh goodness it’s a dog! Hello pooch! Oh dear… his human friend has died, poor thing, perhaps he’ll come to us once he has accepted that his friend is gone.

More evidence of a Harper and Druid friendships, two bodies under a broken bridge. I wonder what conflict brought them here, if it had to do with the murals in the grove, and with Shadowheart’s goddess. I wonder…

We’ve found her! She seems to be suffering! My goodness AND she has a tadpole too! Why hasn’t she hurt us already, it seems she was trapped, things are only getting stranger! Wyll stop! Don’t hurt her, she seems to mean us no harm! It seems the real naughtiest are the ones hunting her, Wyll now no longer among them. He seems to regret it, but he’s scared of whoever put him up to all this.

I think, Shadowheart must step aside for now, Karlach needs us, and she seems nicer without such a shadow as Shar hanging over her heart unlike that tragic girl, she bucks so hard against the teachings she repeats, and she doesn’t remember what happened before now. Very strange. Perhaps I’ll need her again soon, but for now! I will brush up on my healing magic and prepare to defeat some very naughty hunters!

<- The Shadow Druid Rendevous

[spyridonya]

15 and 28 for soluna and zophus please!

Thank you Romeo! Some of this surprised me!

BG3 Questionnaire

15: What NPC's do they like? Which one's do they dislike?

Soluna

As a bit ditzy and curious as she is, Soluna has a fairly standard take on who she likes and who she doesn't like.

She genuinely likes most of the tieflings, Zelvor, Dammon, Rolan, and Mol standing out despite their various 'alignments' and takes on things. They're genuine people adapting to crisis and they don't always do the best things. She genuinely respects Nettie and her gut. She admires Florrick and despite herself she loves to hate Mizora. She's all but ready to defend the bugbear who wants to come into Baldur's Gate in Act 3, despite everything. She's incredibly fond of Volo and doesn't blame him for the eye incident.

There's really only a small handful she doesn't like.

Beyond the Dead Three's Chosen, Soluna doesn't like Kagha and wasn't a fan of the druids outside of Nettie and Halsin. Z'nell really creeped her out among the cultists. The Emperor at present is someone she doesn't like because of the usage of her father as her dream visitor and how he treated her under that guise. She's also very cranky towards Isobel because hiding her background puts so many at risk and takes her a long time to warm up, despite very much liking Isobel's partner.

Zophus

As a rule, Zophus doesn't really like many people because of how he's been taught to see people rather than just ... seeing them as people. The exception to this is always kids, he's always kind to kids and understands that's what they are. Kids. Able to change, able to become. As such he likes all the kids with the tiefling refugees and adores Yenna. He essentially dislikes all the Druids, despite their actions would likely fall under his facton's tenets. The very concept of the dictations of a god in a place where Gods are killed every other Tuesday and replaced by a human over the needs of others offends him to his core. He's not a fan of the goblins not because of what they are but the actions they're taking - though he's sure to be 'knock out' the Goblin children while saving Halsin. 

He does have a fondness for Gut, despite her attempts to betray them, and might have gotten along with Minthara if she hadn't been brainwashed. Hey, are you a slaver? He's gonna murder you and everyone connected to you, so help him his own damn will. The Emperor? Dislikes, he knows about Illithids, he knows how they act and why they are. Orphus? Wait, another fucking Absolute Monarch dedicating how an Empire is to be run? Fuck no. Valeria? You're a goddamn celestial, you should fucking know better.

Besides all the kids (including Mol), he genuinely likes Zelvor while he tolerates the tieflings (no particular grudge to their ancestors). He finds himself liking the pixie in Act 2 and finds himself very nervous around Aylin who might tip off he's an actual aasimar to her godling. He... understands Ketheric a little too much, if he has to admit. He also wants to adopt every cat he sees and learns to like dogs because of Scratch.

Oh, and he hates Raphael. Why the fuck does he smell so good, though? He doesn't get it. Doesn't like him, and he hates the fact devils are a part of this damn mess. And he hates the fact Raphael knows what he is and where he's from.

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Soluna thought Lae'zel was the head of the party until it was clear that Lae'zel didn't know much and had no social skills whatsoever. Lulu became the de facto leader because she didn't have nearly as much emotional baggage as the others with varying levels of self-esteem. She really didn't become the leader in everyone's eyes until how she handled herself in Act 2, notably with the Thorns.

Very light sexism and literal classism probably helped Zophus establish himself as the leader much earlier on. He's the largest member of the party until Halsin joins and the second highest charisma with a soldier's background. He found himself faking it a lot due to not knowing Faerun outside of general advisory warnings about traveling to that particular Prime realm - but the chain of command is something that can be translated anywhere.

[nomchonks]

ive been playing a dark urge character in bg3 and here are my thoughts so far

i dont know what the intent of the writer was, but i think i'm supposed to take it seriously, and it falls flat the best of times. first of all, my character looks very silly when she's smiling like ">:) hehe dead children," although that's not the fault of the writing, I guess. I mean the ">:) hehe dead children" is silly enough on its own. (i bet all of this would land better if it weren't for the narrator's voice acting, which is unbearable. )

so a tiefling strolls into camp and says she wants to join me on my quest because she is inspired by "what [I've] done" even though all I've done so far is help kill a few goblins. she also introduced herself to me as if we didn't already meet and i didn't help her write a song about some lady (it's possible I forgot to save after doing that, I suppose). this is my fourth character I've gotten this far with and the first time this has happened, so it was really jarring.

of course, obviously she is murdered two seconds later. by the player character.

so some rando shows up, and you murder her, and it's supposed to have an emotional impact because omg you're a monster... but we don't even know her!! she is just some lady!! nothing of value is lost!! if anything, her random appearance at your camp at night is suspicious and she probably had nefarious intent and killing her was the smart thing to do.

the brutality of her murder is also undercut by how silly her corpse looks. you can't even loot her weirdass jester clothes. she truly was good for nothing.

what rankles me the most, though, is how the companions react. particularly gale. at first he's like "what sort of nightmare is this!" but he follows it up with "let me guess, you did this, didn't you 😏" directed at the blood-covered player character. WHY DOES HE SAY IT LIKE IT'S A JOKE.

GALE, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD. WHY DID YOU SAY IT SO FLIPPANTLY.

[kimmkitsuragi]

ooh i get it now

no other screenshots today bc astarion looking in the mirror post was more than enough lmao but a lil update as i said

i get my character now i think!! lou is self-serving but not cruel. his concern for himself also extends to his party, because he sees them as his only way of survival. that's why he chooses to co-operete with the others when he can- like sticking with laezel when she's interrogating the tiefling somewhat... harshly lol

but also, he's not cruel to the point where he lets random people die. if it's too out of his way, he might not rush in to save them (like helping tieflings out of the druid grove). if he thinks he will also benefit, he will intervene and help. like halsin for example, the party is on their way to save him. not because lou is a hero who wants to save the grove, but because he thinks halsin will be able to help him. he doesnt care that much about the situation with the druids- but also he wont just let them kill tiefling children when he sees it happening, because that's just cruel*. he just wont go out of his way to escort them out to safety, he thinks he can kill two birds with one stone if he saves halsin anyway. so that's not cruel in his mind

*just realized that this point can also be connected to the fact that he's a drow... druids would kill him in the same situation too. (they even show aggression right away when they see him) so he ofc doesnt trust their judgement that much- especially after seeing that dead drow on nettie's room lol. i also found the underground caves with lolth's cult (? idk the lore that much yet) so i wonder how this will fold out for him. he's not following lolth so im expecting aggression towards him even tho he's a drow too? i havent explored the caves that much yet because i dont wanna die lmaooo

(alsoooo there's his background - noble. so his self-serving qualities make sense too. he's used to getting what he wants anyway.)

he will intervene with the goblin's death penalty, because she has information that he can use. he wont free her tho, doesnt necessarily trust her innocence. and he got the needed info, so he will figure it out himself. you know. things like that.

the only action he regrets doing / doesnt align with this way of thinking was those 2 people and their absolution thing. he wanted to get to the bottom of this "absolution" and the way they call him a "true one", because that would benefit him. but then his words got one of them killed for no reason- he was just trying to deceive them into giving more info and help. so that was a sad situation...

i will try to play him with this consistency from now on! rn i have astarion, laezel, and gale in my party. i feel like we need a healer/supporter in the party tho so im not sure if i will stick with gale :( i like him but might switch back to shadowheart until i get them to level-up. maybe after the level-up, i can reconsider based on their new abilities idk.... i still havent recruited karlach btw lmao im on my way!! feels like i will really like her too !! - btw just remembered my whole party is dumb of ass if i leave gale. that's a concern too tbh lol

astarion is proving to be more than just my favored blorbo tho, he's so good at so many skills i favor and REALLY useful in combat with how i play this game lmao. he basically cleared out all the goblins waiting to ambush us on top of roofs!! i mean gale was a help too, but my ranger and fighter wasnt that fitting for a more discreet way of fighting lol. and that's my fave way of combat so far tbh (obviously it cant be used throughout a boss fight or something lol, just for small things like this) so im keeping him FOREVER tbh he's never leaving the party

anyway i also found one of his victims (it was a boar or something) and lou was like 🤔 wonder what couldve happen to this poor animal 🤔 what do u think astarion 🤔 lol babygirl so bad at lying to me <3 girl u're so good at deception but why were u panicking at that point lmao

also i already posted abt it butttttt laezel was literally like "hi let's have sex" to Lou i meannnn 😭😭 i like u but not so fast damnnn im also eyeing astarion obviously so i said thanks but no lmao astarion on the other hand is not acting like he even likes me 😭😭 i mean he doesnt hate me i see his approval slider thing lmao but in action... at camp last night, he was like hmm u're better than i thought ngl and im not even sure if he means it or just trying to do something else lmaoooo he was also lying seductively while saying it so,,,, what's the truth lol

also gale approves a LOT of my actions i fear he will be the next one to say hey let's fuck lmao. the thing is im making "good" decisions for selfish reasons so he approves the good decisions idk man let's see where this will go

also also, this game has SO MANY things to do damn i keep getting distracted by everything

[black-metal-bard]

A few WIPS of my party’s Waterdeep: Dragonheist characters

Eventually, she’s going to become a Necromancer(she killed what was supposed to be a mini-Boss with one shot of Vicious Mockery, so the DM let her take his spell book as loot. She’s going to multi class into Wizard at level 5 to represent the time she spent studying the book. This also made her signature phrase “Sticks and stones may break your bones but Words will Fucking Kill You.” As a Good Aligned Necromancer and Spirit Bard, she’ll often be raising corpses simply by asking spirits to inhabit them.

Eventually, she’s going to become a Necromancer(she killed what was supposed to be a mini-Boss with one shot of Vicious Mockery, so the DM let her take his spell book as loot. She’s going to multi class into Wizard at level 5 to represent the time she spent studying the book. This also made her signature phrase “Sticks and stones may break your bones but Words will Fucking Kill You.” As a Good Aligned Necromancer and Spirit Bard, she’ll often be raising corpses simply by asking spirits to inhabit them.

She’s actually the daughter of a human nobleman and a Tiefling servant, but she has no idea about her father, and doesn’t actually care. When she was born, her father saw her as a Curiosity to show off; The Demon Princess...a talking piece to show visiting dignitaries. Her mother, not wanting her daughter to essentially be an exotic pet, fled the castle with her as a baby. Her mother raised her in a communal society predominantly made up of Tieflings, but also a wildly varied assortment of abandoned children. She has a sister in the commune who is a Goblin.

Here she’s depicted in flat colors in her usual gear, her fancy gear, and her casual wear(what she generally wears around Trollskull)

Balasar: My husband’s Dragonborn* War Cleric. He was a soldier in a war fought largely against a Tiefling mercenary army, but he became disillusioned with the military after being ordered to do so many horrible things. Having no memories of his life before joining the army, he wanders alone for quite some time, becoming a Cleric to Odin so he can use his strength to help people, rather than hurting whoever the generals point his sword at. When he returned to Waterdeep(a place he has called home for a long time), he met Meliora, and mistook her distracted nature for naïveté and innocence. He took it upon himself to look out for her, and considers it part of his atonement for his sins in the military. She thinks he’s neat. She sees a death on his soul that even he’s unaware of, and given her innate pull toward the dead and undead, she’s drawn to that like a moth to the flame.

* Player knowledge vs Character Knowledge, Bal isn’t ACTUALLY a Dragonborn; he’s a half dragon. (This was the DM’s way to explain why Bal has a tail, since we didn’t know Dragonborns didn’t have tails when we started playing this campaign). Balasar’s father(DM rolled for it on a list of notable dragons) is Daurgothoth, The Creeping Death; and Bal escaped him many years ago(losing his wings in the process). The trauma has essentially locked away all of Bal’s memories from before his escape, so he fully believes himself to be a Dragonborn, since that’s what the first traveler he met when he woke up with amnesia assumed he was. Until his memories are recovered, his stats play as though he were a Dragonborn, due to the psychosomatic effects of his belief(Waterdeep’s anti-dragon forcefield does not effect him currently, and he doesn’t have dark vision)

Here he is pictured in not-quite-finished lineart. I’m doing a outfit-concept sheet for him like I did for Mel, but haven’t drawn the other outfits yet. This is his usual gear.

Yevelda Skullcracker: My friend’s half-orc Barbarian. She is my FAVORITE character in our current campaign because...how could she not be. She is VERY stealthy for a Barbarian, and her signature move is to sneak up behind a pair of her enemies and clash their heads together. She’s rolled high everytime she’s done this so it’s always killed. She’s become a legend in Waterdeep for it. NPCs are always ENTIRELY surprised by how nimble and stealthy she is, considering she is a 6’3 wall of muscle. She also has a pet mouse that lives in a small bag of holding sewn into her pocket.

Here she’s depicted in a quick sketch I did of her the other night as a surprise for my friend

[thatcrazychalupa]

Chapter 1

Fjord had many surnames: Stone, Tusktooth, Swiftblade, Sea demon, and a few more colorful unflattering ones. He was born in the Dwendalian Empire, his first memories being a slightly run down but functional orphanage. Life was hard there, but not unduly cruel. However, he was not allowed to stay long as the Empire began a crusade against any they deemed heathenistic enough not to be welcome in their Empire.

Being half orc in blood, and showing that side visibly in his appearance, Fjord was forced to flee the orphanage and the empire when he was ten years of age. He found refuge on the seas, the captain of the ship "Hellwinds" allowing him to join the crew. For the next ten years he had been a sailor. During that time, the crusade in the Empire ended but the prejudice did not. Fjord soon found his allegiance siding with the Xhorasian Dynasty, especially when the prejudice turned to war with his new found home.

Long, bitter, harsh years followed; the war dealt heavy blows on both sides of the conflict with neither looking to become a victory anytime soon. Fjord led a group of warriors in the last two years that had made a name for themselves both in the Dynasty and the Empire. Somehow they picked up the name Mighty Nine from some one with a strange accent, and it had simply stuck. They were a mixed number of people from both sides of the conflict, all banding together with the common goal of ending the bloodshed.

Fjord, the half-orc warlock, had been elected as leader (generally just in public as the group was close enough to call each other family) and was viewed as Xhorasian in origin. He was still dealing with problems regarding his patron, yet the war had proven distraction enough in recent times. Mollymauk and Yasha were also viewed as Xhorasian in origin. Mollymauk was a Tiefling, vibrantly purple and ostentatious in dress, and a Bloodhunter by trade. Yasha was a fallen Aisimar barbarian, her size, milky skin and black hair enough cause for most any of the Empire to dismiss her.

Caduceus and Jester were considered neutral in the conflict, both from regions uninvolved in the fighting. As a Firbolg, Caduceus was better accepted on the Empire side despite his white pallor and bright pink hair. Meanwhile, Jester as a short blue Tiefling was better accepted by the Dynasty. As the clerics of the group, that had made it easier for them to gain trust of the others when they had initially joined.

Nott was a goblin, hated by both sides but her skills as a Rogue made navigating that minefield of danger possible.

Lastly, their one member from the Empire, Beauregard. A human expositor from the Cobalt Soul, the monk had been an invaluable asset during the last few weeks preceding the peace talks. While the Cobalt Soul was part of the empire and supported it, they had their own agenda that, thankfully, involved an end to the bloodshed.

The group now resided in a keep that was situated close to the main pass that connected the Dynasty and the Empire. As a mix of both sides, they were the front line for assuring peace and keeping any thoughts of invasion far from becoming reality.

Apparently, however, King Dwendal thought their numbers skewed too far in favor of the Dynasty. Thus, the group had gathered in what had been a war room but was now called a conference room instead.Fjord laid the message out on the tabletop, tapping it once as he announced the contents without preamble. It was the easiest way to get the rather chaotic group’s attention. "As a sign of their commitment to the peace, the Empire is giving us one of their Archmages."

There was a sharp outcry of 'what' and 'why' and Fjord held up a hand to still any arguments as he continued. "Her majesty did mention this as a possibility." He reminded them, speaking of the Bright Queen. "Most of us are from the Dynasty, it’s not so strange they want another representative of the Empire."

"But an archmage? Fjord, you have to admit, that is a little suspicious." Nott argued.

"Our group isn’t just a figurehead." Caduceus reminded the goblin. "We guard the pass and the villages around it. We show that both sides can fight together, not just against each other. It makes sense someone with battle capabilities would join our number."

"Better someone who can fight than some political liability we have to look after at all times." Fjord agreed, attention turning to Beau as the monk shook her head and leaned forward to speak.

"Unless things have changed dramatically in the last year since I've been away, mages aren’t well respected in the Empire and they don’t have much political power. There are a couple at the top, in charge of the assembly, that do. But the rest..." Beauregard shrugged.

"That could have easily changed. The last few months of fighting involved a lot of mages on their side." Molly reminded them. "Some of them leading the charge."

"Because they were running out of soldiers, same as us." Nott interjected.

"Exactly." Beau took up again, giving a brief nod of agreement. "Otherwise I doubt King Dwendal would have let them lead in the last few battles like they did."

"Okay, we don’t have to worry about this mage being sent for political reasons then." Fjord commented, trying to corral the discussion to stay on topic. "Much as I would love to trust it's for the continued peace and nothing more, there’s still the possibility he's a spy, here as a strategic way for the Empire to get some advantage before restarting the war."

Their group had worked hard to help bring about this ceasefire, Fjord did not want their hard work undone by one bloodthirsty Empire Archmage.

"You always say the best way to get to know someone is in battle, why don’t we do that?" Jester asked, breaking Fjord from his thoughts.

"That might not be the best idea." Caduceus negated. "The peace is too new and fragile. Even practice combat might be taken the wrong way."

"And accidents do happen. I don’t trust them not to make that claim if someone were hurt or killed during the spar." Nott agreed, also concerned with the possibility of war reigniting. Lack of political power or not, the Empire mages were fierce and ruthless in battle, as Nott has witnessed firsthand more than once.

"There’s been rumours of a pack of dire wolves over near the Gandre Forest. Killing sheep, pets, small children. Anything of a size that gets close." Molly offered. "I'm sure we'll get a request soon, that could be our test run?"

Fjord's gaze drifted over to Nott. The best thing about their group was that, while he was technically the leader, they were all close enough that they all viewed each other as equals. Each person had their own strengths and weakness, and they respected each other for that.

The goblin nodded. "I'll verify if it's true and get a location. Or find something else if it is not."

"Thank you." Fjord said, then leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Fjord, don't worry." Yasha spoke up, leaning forward with a concerned expression. "If this mage causes any problems, we can just kill him"

Fjord huffed a short laugh. Yasha's brand of humor (and he hoped it was a joke, though many times only Molly was ever truly sure when she was joking) was always unexpected. "Let's try and avoid that, but thanks."

"I'm sure killing is unnecessary." Molly offered, the Tiefling’s fangs showing through his wide grin. "I'm sure Beauregard would be more than willing to straighten this mage out on who gives the orders here."

Surprisingly to both Fjord and Molly, Beau neither agreed nor laughed, just frowned deeper with an irate grunt.

Fjord sat up again, remembering that the Cobalt Soul and the Cerberus Assembly, where the entirety of the Empire mages were trained, were not on good terms. "Beau, you gonna be okay with this?"

Beau met his gaze and nodded slowly. "Yeah. Personally, I haven’t had much interaction with the Assembly. Bunch of stuck up pricks run the place. So long as we aren’t saddled with one of those assholes, I'll manage. If the point is starting the war again, makes sense they'd pick a freaking mage..." she growled.

Fjord wasn’t entirely convinced of her anger. There was a hint of doubt, a held back judgement for whoever the newest member of the group might be. Fjord took that as a good sign that, hopefully, this wouldn't be too much like throwing gunpowder on a blaze.

He took in a breath as he laid out the final tidbit of information. "They'll be here in one week. Master Trent Ikithon is escorting the Archmage here. The letter doesn't give a name but does mention he had seen battle during the fighting."

"It’s this other guy, not Trent, that's staying, right?" Beau asked.

Fjord nodded confirmation and Beauregard leaned back in her chair with a muttered 'good'. The monk didn’t look too interested in sharing if she had any concerns, so Fjord let her be. There were enough preparations to make without antagonizing the monk.

~~~

Caleb Widogast was not what one would call an imposing figure.

His hair was a dirty red, disheveled most of the time even when he made an attempt at making some order out of its chaos. Perhaps the chaos was within his own mind, thus the reason for his continued failure in such regard. His clothing was deceptively ornate, though if one were a purveyor of such it could easily be recognized as subpar material.

The Cerberus Assembly had wanted to display their wealth and power, yet fine linens were not wasted on war dogs such himself. Mages were to be of use, not to decorate the court. It made little sense to robe the mage in lavish clothing when he was simply to be of use in combat. Of course, some had argued that a gift must be properly adorned, and as such a middle ground had been reached.

Whether this truly had been the events that led to his current delivery to the Mighty Nine, Caleb did not know. He was not privy to the discussion and subsequent decision, nor was he informed of the following discussion of logistics. He could only surmise what had occurred given his current circumstance.

Three days he had been traveling with his Master, Trent Ikithon, with still two more days left in the journey.

He did wonder about those he was being delivered to. He did have some inkling of who they were, the Mighty Nine were famous within the empire. Caleb was unsure if their name was meant to be the common nine or the Zemnian word, something he pondered during the journey, given the number of individuals in the group was only currently seven. Even should they feel the need to include his name among their number, it would not add up.

Whether they would view him as worth such, he was unsure.Most of them were from Xhorhas, so Caleb had little idea what to expect of them. He had no frame of reference for how the Dynasty viewed mages, nor where he would fall on the social ladder. His excursions into Xhorhas had been for battle purposes only and he'd had no permission to explore the culture. The Nine had, apparently, accepted the offer of himself, though Caleb knew this was no accurate measure of their intent.

Whatever his standing with them, he did not presume it would be very high, especially given the human monk, expositor Beauregard, that was a part of the group. To say the Cobalt Soul did not like the Cerberus Assembly, nor the mages it produced, was an understatement. While Caleb had only experienced this prejudice through cold looks and avoidance, he often heard of less subtle actions from Master Ikithon. He had begun to have doubts as to the validity of all of the information Trent imparted to him, yet had no other frame of reference to the truth.

From the information that had come his way regarding Beauregard, the woman was a formidable force. Opinionated and headstrong some had described her. Caleb had little doubt her views would not be hidden, and had likely been spread to the others. He hoped that would not be the case. It was... difficult living and obeying Master Ikithon who's actions and instructions were (so the man oft claimed) for Caleb's own good. He did not look forward to trying to please those who held his very existence against him.

Conjecture did little good and often led his mind down a dark path he would rather not follow. He was to follow the orders of his 'new masters' as Master Ikithon had so in-delicately put it. Trent had not been pleased to have his prized pupil taken from him, though he had been quick to devise a way to turn the situation to his advantage. Above obeying the group, Caleb had a separate set of instructions from his Master. Trent was not a man to lay out all his plans, so currently Caleb knew only that he was to gain the trust of these people, prove his loyalty however possible, and wait.

Easy enough, as he would have done so in any case. Obedience and loyalty were key to survival. Should the group be displeased with him, he would be returned to the Empire, to Trent, and his failure would not go unpunished. The thought made his heartbeat quicken in his chest, Caleb sneaking a quick glance at his master, paranoid that Trent would somehow see the weakness inside of him.

The other man, however, remained seating with his gaze cast outside of the carriage. His gaze was sharp, calculating, and Caleb knew he was not idle during this long trip to the keep. Whatever his Master planned; Caleb was sure to learn his part in it in due time.

Caleb turned his gaze out the small window as well, letting his eyes roam over the open terrain as they moved steadily closer to where he would be staying for the indefinite future.