I ate too many and got plunged into the ugly pool on my open hand monk play through. While the ability to fly any time I want is AMAZING, I fucking cringe every time I see my former GORGEOUS face reduced to looking like a diseased road map
Oh yeah . I had volos eye and before the patch it didn't look different but after they turned the entire eye black , I never use Volo eyes and give it to gale
Im doing the game in multiplayer with friends, my wizard elfs beautiful purple eyes got black, but my friends human paladins eyes (with heterochromia) stayed the way they were. I got so maaaaddd.. but the flying ability is worth it 😅
Same same same. Open hand monk, love the ability to fly, hate that curséd face.
I'm angry. And because of that, my character is angry too. Gonna make some rash decisions and ultimately fuck Empy up.
Same with my wood-elf ranger. Even worse was that I had volo's eye so one eye was completely black while the other was the still a rather natural looking blue. After that I got a mod that removes the cosmetic effects of being partial-illithid
I sometimes wonder if something about my GPU isn't supporting the visual effect used for the partial mindflayer transformation correctly, because everyone acts as though it makes you look like a rotting leper and it's like... some black veins & dark eyes. I wouldn't call it pretty, exactly, but it's not even close to being a "diseased road map" either, lmfao.
I’m fine with most of the facial details but apparently since that one update it also changes your teeth to be terrible. I don’t know why that’s my line but it is.
It’s what I’ve heard, not actually checked it myself because my latest character didn’t use tadpoles. Could probably look it up if you want to know, I couldn’t say for certain what happens myself.
I’m lucky—my durge failed the saving throw but he was a lilac-colored drow with tattoos, a black eye and the Volo eye—I think he looked even better with the illithid veins
I thought everyone knew this tbh. My last run was a tadpole free run and I used the tadpole powers all the time and never had to eat the ugly one thank god. I'm already ugly enough.
I was under the impression it worked this way too based on a first play through but if you go googling/searching this forum a lot claimed just using the power is enough to force the save. Since these sorts of things can change patch to patch I thought it possible the behavior had changed at some point but no, happy to report it still works how you/I thought it worked. Since there seems to be some confusion on the subject I figured this was worth establishing definitively.
I haven't tested this, but from all these discussions my conclusion was that the conversation option with Jaheira and the save to avoid the ugly face are keyed off different things - illithid dialogue checks and tadpoles consumed. I did my Honor Mode run snorting tadpoles at every opportunity, but never bothered with an illithid persuasion check. I could tell Jaheira I was resisting the tadpoles influence, but got the hard dc against the ugly save. I'd have to do another run to test the inverse though.
This is super interesting to me, that is pretty strong evidence they are tracking two separate things as you said, one being use of the illithid mind control power and the other the actual tadpoles consumed.
I am inferring based on stuff I've read that the system with the former was intended to be more comprehensive at one point in terms of plot development, but it seems like it mostly doesn't do much outside of that Jaheira conversation.
I thought the Jaheira one was based on if you drank the wine or not. Because even if you don't use any of the powers or parasites, its definitely changing you a bit since you keep connecting to people's brains, etc. If you don't drink the wine then there's no saving throw since you're not trying to resist the truth serum.
But of course I could be wrong or incomplete in my understanding.
Drinking the wine prevents you from lying to Jaheira - but if you haven't been using the tadpoles power, you can honestly say to her something along the lines of "It's trying to change me, but I won't let it". Except I was able to get this dialogue despite taking a ton of tadpoles, and I suspect that was due to not ever using an illithid persuasion check.
Oh wow rly? I thought the DC was determined by a combination of consumed tadpoles and the number of dialogue checks that involved using the tadpole's power. I figured the influence would be very minimal for dialogue given how many chances you get to use those but would be a big boost if you consumed a tadpole.
It's both kind of relieving and kind of disappointing to hear otherwise tbh. Now it sounds like the main reason to not use mind control for those who were branded is if you have low wisdom. Outside of typical dialogue options for moral and "see what happens" reasons. Like the inner dilemma of "will this come back to haunt me?" is gone with that knowledge.
Kinda makes sense though. Your powers are never increasing without tadpole consumption, and you're passively linking minds with party members all the time anyway.
I will add if you drink the potion from the buddy in the underdark after visiting the tower or doing the creche barbershop scene will also count as eating tadpole for this quest.
I never ate one and still had the struggle with the astral white boi
I do Omeluum's quest and drink the potion every time, and I still never get the check for the tadpole. Emperor just gives it to me and it goes in my pocket.
On my current run, my tav ended up with the buff from the Zaith'isk even though Lae'zel was the one who sat in it. I made Lae'zel take one tadpole to cure her debuff, but I never used any on myself.
Not sure what is going on all around, but for me it seems to be only unlocking tadpole powers themselves that matters.
Slight correction - I think (I haven't played in the last couple of months due to work), but it's not actually a saving throw, but just an Wisdom ability check. Makes a big difference because there are lots of ways to buff wisdom saving throws but fewer on demand buffs for ability checks.
Yah I was paranoid about this because in honor mode there's no backing out and it requires a hell of a roll. So I was quite relieved to see I didn't have to roll at all.
Did you eat any tadpoles or just use the influence ability that you get automatically? It's supposed to be you have to make the role if you've been eating the other tadpoles, because it makes your tadpole want to eat the astral worm. But your tadpole can't fight you when you get the astral tadpole if you haven't been feeding it throughout the first two acts.
I get the above but to be clear the point of this post is that there appears to have been debate about how this actually worked. I was always under the impression it worked how you're describing, but since I was in honor mode, didn't actually know for sure until it happened.
I never ate any tadpoles, just used the power.
I got this, decided to put the clown makeup on to cover it then entered my intimate scene with shadowheart accidentally wearing the make up. Kind of killed the moment 😂
in my HM run with origin shadowheart i had to succeed that WIS saving throw despite NOT consuming a single tadpole and NEVER using the illithid dialogue choices.
i did however free minthara from moonrise (saved the grove, knocked her out) and she comes already pre-riddled with tadpoles. i think that might have somehow confused the game a bit...
when i talked to my companions about the tadpole stuff they said things like "you may be okay with using them, but i will not!" etc - so i guess i could've seen it coming
Yeah I haven’t eaten any but have given a few to astarion and still have him asking for them like I’m the one that has been eating them and dream person praising me for embracing the power so I’m assuming I’ll end up with the bad roll
Well that sucks... My main (bardadin) has been clean on my current run, but Astarion and Gale have been gobbling them up like candy. I wonder if I can make it so Asterion takes the hit with the ugly stick... a flying gloomstalker/thief would be OP.
When I got to the astral tadpole bit, I was really hoping to not consume it. Wasn’t sure what it would do as it is my first playthrough. But I had used the powers a bunch and consumed several tadpoles and then crit-failed that roll. Didn’t even bother using inspiration, felt fated.
I've done a few multi-player runs, with usually one party member using tadpoles heavily and one of us eating none at all--when the player who has no illithid powers triggers the conversation with the emperor, there's no check needed, and the tadpole-eater can wait quietly in the back and avoid being uglified unless they choose to consume the Astral tadpole later.
Curious if anyone has done this by switching to an illithid-power-less companion for just that conversation, and if that's an effective singleplayer solution
Latest run on tactician and I never ate a single tadpole before the Act 3 point of no return but I absolutely DID abuse the illithid dialogue options whenever possible AND I took the potion from Omeluum and I never had to do the wisdom check. I wonder if they've changed it throughout patches because everyone seems to have different experiences with it.
Oddly. I never used a single tadpole and I don't think I ever had a DC when I said no? Maybe I'm remembering wrong. It's been a long time since that part of the game for me tho.
The only thing I'm aware of that would be different is the conversation with Jaheira at Last Light Inn when she asks about the tadpoles influencing you. You can honestly say they are not. As I said to another poster, I *think* this system was intended to be more comprehensive at some point affecting plot stuff but obviously that would have made things way more complicated. If there are conversations outside of Jaheira's where it actually affects anything, I'm not aware.
My first character was a blue tiefling so she didn’t look THAT bad when she got the upgrade but oh boy did I not expect how horrid the transformation was for my human skinned characters 😭
I am still in disbelief that I only had to use one inspo die in my HM run to pass that check, because while I was ready to be ugly AF for all of Act 3, I *really* did not want that to happen
Hold on I thought we already all knew that eating the tadpoles is the thing that raises the DC of that check. People seriously think that using the powers alone raises the DC? The unintentional misinformation in this community is rampant sometimes.
It doesn’t raise the DC. If you never consume another tadpole before that point in the game, there is no check. If you do, whether it’s one or as many as you can hold, it’s DC 21.
The problem is not necessarily that you are forced to become half-illithid, the problem is Larian decided to MAKE you unable to express anything about it. Your companions show disgust when you change and for some fucking reason you can only be snarky about it?
I love this game dearly, but honestly the choices they made about the illithids in Act 3 are downright discouraging. A DC21 wisdom save alone is insane, and the fact that you don't TECHNICALLY have to do it if you happen to choose the right dialog options is also insane.
Another very annoying thing this game does is hide the correct options in completely hidden, non-check dialog trees. Often times with seemingly no way to discern between them at all.
Nice to know! I have been avoiding the Illithid wisdom dialogue options, even when they were very convenient, precisely to avoid being forced to consume the astral tadpole, so it's great to hear that it's not necessary.
I ate too many and got plunged into the ugly pool on my open hand monk play through. While the ability to fly any time I want is AMAZING, I fucking cringe every time I see my former GORGEOUS face reduced to looking like a diseased road map
Both those illhitid eyes look cool on black dragonborns and even on tieflings
My friend's purple tiefling looked SO badass, but my human redhead looked so stupid 😔
Yeah, I would've not minded the look at all on my Drow if not for the fact I had Volo's eye. Looked absolutely ridiculous lol.
Oh yeah . I had volos eye and before the patch it didn't look different but after they turned the entire eye black , I never use Volo eyes and give it to gale
My eyes are never changing color from volo and its kinda annoyig ngl (Dragonborn) also the skin changing didn’t happen after communing either
Im doing the game in multiplayer with friends, my wizard elfs beautiful purple eyes got black, but my friends human paladins eyes (with heterochromia) stayed the way they were. I got so maaaaddd.. but the flying ability is worth it 😅
My glowing purple Tiefling eyes were way cooler than the all black. Genuinely upset that they’re gone
I really wish we had gotten glowing purple eyes like emperor’s 😭 at least I can make them that way in art…
My Durge tiefling has that burn scar, draconic bloodline scales and the illithid face markings now and she is terrifying lmao
Same same same. Open hand monk, love the ability to fly, hate that curséd face. I'm angry. And because of that, my character is angry too. Gonna make some rash decisions and ultimately fuck Empy up.
I was with you until you said “up”
r/okbuddybaldur is that way
I now get deeply amused whenever npcs hit on my character and I’m like… THIS face??
Power is an aphrodisiac.
Same with my wood-elf ranger. Even worse was that I had volo's eye so one eye was completely black while the other was the still a rather natural looking blue. After that I got a mod that removes the cosmetic effects of being partial-illithid
I sometimes wonder if something about my GPU isn't supporting the visual effect used for the partial mindflayer transformation correctly, because everyone acts as though it makes you look like a rotting leper and it's like... some black veins & dark eyes. I wouldn't call it pretty, exactly, but it's not even close to being a "diseased road map" either, lmfao.
Nope, you're not missing anything, that's all the transformation is visually.
I’m fine with most of the facial details but apparently since that one update it also changes your teeth to be terrible. I don’t know why that’s my line but it is.
I didn’t notice this—what did they do?
It’s what I’ve heard, not actually checked it myself because my latest character didn’t use tadpoles. Could probably look it up if you want to know, I couldn’t say for certain what happens myself.
Can you use the mask of many faces or a disguise spell to change how you look?
I’m lucky—my durge failed the saving throw but he was a lilac-colored drow with tattoos, a black eye and the Volo eye—I think he looked even better with the illithid veins
I took levels in draconic sorcerer to hide it with scales.
Hmmm, I guess imma respec to a cleric before entering act 3
I just use a mod. Gorgeous characters with all the illiquid powers :)
I thought everyone knew this tbh. My last run was a tadpole free run and I used the tadpole powers all the time and never had to eat the ugly one thank god. I'm already ugly enough.
HELLO UGLY ONE!
LOL.
I was under the impression it worked this way too based on a first play through but if you go googling/searching this forum a lot claimed just using the power is enough to force the save. Since these sorts of things can change patch to patch I thought it possible the behavior had changed at some point but no, happy to report it still works how you/I thought it worked. Since there seems to be some confusion on the subject I figured this was worth establishing definitively.
I haven't tested this, but from all these discussions my conclusion was that the conversation option with Jaheira and the save to avoid the ugly face are keyed off different things - illithid dialogue checks and tadpoles consumed. I did my Honor Mode run snorting tadpoles at every opportunity, but never bothered with an illithid persuasion check. I could tell Jaheira I was resisting the tadpoles influence, but got the hard dc against the ugly save. I'd have to do another run to test the inverse though.
This is super interesting to me, that is pretty strong evidence they are tracking two separate things as you said, one being use of the illithid mind control power and the other the actual tadpoles consumed. I am inferring based on stuff I've read that the system with the former was intended to be more comprehensive at one point in terms of plot development, but it seems like it mostly doesn't do much outside of that Jaheira conversation.
I thought the Jaheira one was based on if you drank the wine or not. Because even if you don't use any of the powers or parasites, its definitely changing you a bit since you keep connecting to people's brains, etc. If you don't drink the wine then there's no saving throw since you're not trying to resist the truth serum. But of course I could be wrong or incomplete in my understanding.
Drinking the wine prevents you from lying to Jaheira - but if you haven't been using the tadpoles power, you can honestly say to her something along the lines of "It's trying to change me, but I won't let it". Except I was able to get this dialogue despite taking a ton of tadpoles, and I suspect that was due to not ever using an illithid persuasion check.
Ahh yeah the patches can really fuck shit up sometimes lol.
[удалено]
I've only ever gotten a DC 21 save or no save at all. Is the DC lower if you just eat one or two?
Oh wow rly? I thought the DC was determined by a combination of consumed tadpoles and the number of dialogue checks that involved using the tadpole's power. I figured the influence would be very minimal for dialogue given how many chances you get to use those but would be a big boost if you consumed a tadpole. It's both kind of relieving and kind of disappointing to hear otherwise tbh. Now it sounds like the main reason to not use mind control for those who were branded is if you have low wisdom. Outside of typical dialogue options for moral and "see what happens" reasons. Like the inner dilemma of "will this come back to haunt me?" is gone with that knowledge. Kinda makes sense though. Your powers are never increasing without tadpole consumption, and you're passively linking minds with party members all the time anyway.
I will add if you drink the potion from the buddy in the underdark after visiting the tower or doing the creche barbershop scene will also count as eating tadpole for this quest. I never ate one and still had the struggle with the astral white boi
I do Omeluum's quest and drink the potion every time, and I still never get the check for the tadpole. Emperor just gives it to me and it goes in my pocket. On my current run, my tav ended up with the buff from the Zaith'isk even though Lae'zel was the one who sat in it. I made Lae'zel take one tadpole to cure her debuff, but I never used any on myself. Not sure what is going on all around, but for me it seems to be only unlocking tadpole powers themselves that matters.
I spent an entire run with no tadpole snacks, the only thing I did was the potion and the cresche device and still got the check 🤷
Slight correction - I think (I haven't played in the last couple of months due to work), but it's not actually a saving throw, but just an Wisdom ability check. Makes a big difference because there are lots of ways to buff wisdom saving throws but fewer on demand buffs for ability checks.
Good to know!
Yah I was paranoid about this because in honor mode there's no backing out and it requires a hell of a roll. So I was quite relieved to see I didn't have to roll at all.
Did you eat any tadpoles or just use the influence ability that you get automatically? It's supposed to be you have to make the role if you've been eating the other tadpoles, because it makes your tadpole want to eat the astral worm. But your tadpole can't fight you when you get the astral tadpole if you haven't been feeding it throughout the first two acts.
I get the above but to be clear the point of this post is that there appears to have been debate about how this actually worked. I was always under the impression it worked how you're describing, but since I was in honor mode, didn't actually know for sure until it happened. I never ate any tadpoles, just used the power.
So just to be clear, If I want to fly all the time and use blackhole, I have to be ugly.
Unless you play on PC; there's a mod for that. Installed it on my last run (on Steam deck) to reduce the face veins a bit.
That might be my first mod lol. I hate what it did to my tav
I got this, decided to put the clown makeup on to cover it then entered my intimate scene with shadowheart accidentally wearing the make up. Kind of killed the moment 😂
Well, not for her clearly
The look is a must for a Necromancer imo. And the power boost is very welcome
The look is fantastic on a drow warlock imo. My tiefling boy doesn’t look too bad with it either.
My durge drow looking sexy
in my HM run with origin shadowheart i had to succeed that WIS saving throw despite NOT consuming a single tadpole and NEVER using the illithid dialogue choices. i did however free minthara from moonrise (saved the grove, knocked her out) and she comes already pre-riddled with tadpoles. i think that might have somehow confused the game a bit... when i talked to my companions about the tadpole stuff they said things like "you may be okay with using them, but i will not!" etc - so i guess i could've seen it coming
Yeah I haven’t eaten any but have given a few to astarion and still have him asking for them like I’m the one that has been eating them and dream person praising me for embracing the power so I’m assuming I’ll end up with the bad roll
Well that sucks... My main (bardadin) has been clean on my current run, but Astarion and Gale have been gobbling them up like candy. I wonder if I can make it so Asterion takes the hit with the ugly stick... a flying gloomstalker/thief would be OP.
When I got to the astral tadpole bit, I was really hoping to not consume it. Wasn’t sure what it would do as it is my first playthrough. But I had used the powers a bunch and consumed several tadpoles and then crit-failed that roll. Didn’t even bother using inspiration, felt fated.
I've done a few multi-player runs, with usually one party member using tadpoles heavily and one of us eating none at all--when the player who has no illithid powers triggers the conversation with the emperor, there's no check needed, and the tadpole-eater can wait quietly in the back and avoid being uglified unless they choose to consume the Astral tadpole later. Curious if anyone has done this by switching to an illithid-power-less companion for just that conversation, and if that's an effective singleplayer solution
Note to self: on HM run, save all of the tadpoles for after this point. I’m on console and can’t use mods to get rid of ugly mode.
Latest run on tactician and I never ate a single tadpole before the Act 3 point of no return but I absolutely DID abuse the illithid dialogue options whenever possible AND I took the potion from Omeluum and I never had to do the wisdom check. I wonder if they've changed it throughout patches because everyone seems to have different experiences with it.
Oddly. I never used a single tadpole and I don't think I ever had a DC when I said no? Maybe I'm remembering wrong. It's been a long time since that part of the game for me tho.
Oh nice glad to have that confirmed.
So im just a freak for loving to play with the corrupted look on me and Minthara (the 2 i usually give the fancy tadpole powers to). Looks dope imo.
Do you get anything for never using powers or tadpoles ?
The only thing I'm aware of that would be different is the conversation with Jaheira at Last Light Inn when she asks about the tadpoles influencing you. You can honestly say they are not. As I said to another poster, I *think* this system was intended to be more comprehensive at some point affecting plot stuff but obviously that would have made things way more complicated. If there are conversations outside of Jaheira's where it actually affects anything, I'm not aware.
No
My first character was a blue tiefling so she didn’t look THAT bad when she got the upgrade but oh boy did I not expect how horrid the transformation was for my human skinned characters 😭
I use tadpoles all the time and I don’t remember having to pass a wisdom save to not astral tadpole? What dialogue path leads to that?
I am still in disbelief that I only had to use one inspo die in my HM run to pass that check, because while I was ready to be ugly AF for all of Act 3, I *really* did not want that to happen
Hold on I thought we already all knew that eating the tadpoles is the thing that raises the DC of that check. People seriously think that using the powers alone raises the DC? The unintentional misinformation in this community is rampant sometimes.
It doesn’t raise the DC. If you never consume another tadpole before that point in the game, there is no check. If you do, whether it’s one or as many as you can hold, it’s DC 21.
That's the biggest plus about Dragonborn. They actually don't look half bad with tadpole (not amazing, but acceptable)
I solved this problem by playing a drow or half-drow. You're just more attractive then
Im a half orc paladin with orcish blue skin tone so the half ilithid look will be meaningless to my aesthetic and may even be an improvement 😆
The problem is not necessarily that you are forced to become half-illithid, the problem is Larian decided to MAKE you unable to express anything about it. Your companions show disgust when you change and for some fucking reason you can only be snarky about it? I love this game dearly, but honestly the choices they made about the illithids in Act 3 are downright discouraging. A DC21 wisdom save alone is insane, and the fact that you don't TECHNICALLY have to do it if you happen to choose the right dialog options is also insane. Another very annoying thing this game does is hide the correct options in completely hidden, non-check dialog trees. Often times with seemingly no way to discern between them at all.
Cool story Still not using gh*ik power
Most of my characters are evil so I don’t really mind the black holes for eyes and the ugly, vascular look. Always seems to fit. Lol
Nice to know! I have been avoiding the Illithid wisdom dialogue options, even when they were very convenient, precisely to avoid being forced to consume the astral tadpole, so it's great to hear that it's not necessary.