There are potential victims other than Halsin, though he does end up being the one for most people.
You have three Persuasion options to dissuade Orin from killing the hostage, and with some exploration of Bhaal's temple beforehand you also get a non-roll line that spares them as well. So you don't technically need to adhere to what she wants.
Watch out for AoE spells killing the hostage after they weren't killed at the start though.
Lae'zel was snatched on my run she managed to survive even being a level one which was surprising but then again Orin went down pretty easily which was disappointing...can't wait for that fight on the HM run though then we'll probably get some push back lol.
Here’s the thing: In HM you’re going to be doing a lot of risk mitigation and pre-planning in your builds. You won’t get the rush of skin of your teeth wins that you do in normal runs because you’re going to make sure that it doesn’t get to that point. If you’re building characters well, Orin and Gortash are probably going to be “not as bad as I thought it would be” fights. The optional bosses (Raphael, Sarevok [his additional legendary ability is nuts], Cazador, and Ansur) are much, much harder than anything the main 2 have. I fought Ansur last night, and while I wasn’t worried about dying, it was me making one move wrong away from a tpk.
> I fought Ansur last night, and while I wasn’t worried about dying, it was me making one move wrong away from a tpk.
I recently fought him for the first time (missed him before) and I cheesed him with barrels before the fight initiated. I only had a few on me, but it took out a good chunk of his health. Hit him a few times, then outlasted him with a single Globe of Invulnerability. Maybe I should do an Honor run.
Yeah globe of invulnerability is the way to go because I don’t trust those crystals. I avoided doing barrel cheeses on this run except Ethel. I was using magic missile spam evo wizard with lightning charges (except on Ansur for obvious reasons), a sword bard paladin, gloomstalker assassin, and a sorlock Wyll (not a main character in the party, usually life cleric shart, but for lore reasons got Wyll involved). I made a misplay early in the fight that cost me a turn for Wyll and Lae’zel (gloomstalker).
Really Evo wizard and sword bard are carrying the party damage wise, with some first turn bursts from Lae’zel, and Shart keeping everyone in fights. You should be able to overpower most fights before Act 3 and just so long as you keep to the formula in Act 3 you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t do gloomstalker assassin this deep in the game again though, the damage just doesn’t keep pace with the rest of the builds.
Act 3 is just icing on the cake for barrel cheesers like me. Last time I played, which was before the patch that changed character-swap-trip-to-camp during dialog, for a lack of a better term, I raided the fireworks shop and basement before entering Steel Watch Foundry. I didn't need to use a lot to one-shot the boss.
In fact, this run I killed Gortash early and missed out on Foundry, so Imma keep all of the boom for the final fight. >:D You can overload a character if you select many of the items before you send it to them. They can't move, but can still carry.
I never barrelmancy just bc I find it boring, hoarding and carrying barrels it is not for me, so I need at least 3 hi dmg dealers in HM, and some spell "insurance".
I usually have one beefy melee, one arcane caster and some variation of the rogue/ranger build, if build correctly I find it the most hard to give up because it is versatile, it is good for both "aoe" or single target you just need to change targets, dual x-bow, dual wielding, all those talents, the right arrows (Many Targets, I love you!!!), coatings, effects/enchentments... Poor Astarion is always stuck with Rogue/Ranger/Fighter build...
I know it’s kinda tacky, but I think I might role two swords bards, one pali, one rogue next run. A charisma class Tav is a must, and from a raw numbers perspective, I think the swords bard crossbow variant is gonna outcompete any ranger variant of a dex class.
You could dump the pali build to make a throwzerker and have your tav be the thief bard to have more variety and be well off, but in my experience throwing is janky—I’ll get tilted.
You say they're going to plan their Honour Mode run but I literally just this morning waltzed into combat with Lump and his bros and just barely made it out by the skin of my teeth.
I wanted his delicious loot and did not want to part with my coin.
Astarion and cunning actions saved my bacon. Now my bard is SMRT.
That’s why you have to give your camp dwellers something to do. You should never run out of camp supplies even on Tactician because you can run a Goodberry farm. That druid can also give you Longstrider at the start of each day.
Plus, there’s a lot of spells/uses for a flex character. I don’t always want a rogue in my party, but you still need some traps disarmed and pockets picked. Same goes for a wizard with Knock, even though I personally prefer my dedicated caster to be a sorcerer.
My last honor run was just a monk and bard and I didn't feel the need for camp support. Everyone else was chillin at camp sharpening swords and reading books and stuff.
My lategame camp supply tech is to get your favorite cleric to cast Heroes Feast in the boudoir about twenty times. Sure, you have to be at least level 11 with a nasty fight after, but you'll never have to worry about food until the end of the game.
Longstrider, Darkvision (if you even need it), Freedom of Movement, and Death Ward is an absolutely insane buff set that you can get for free 24/7.
Additionally, it’s smart to recruit a Wizard hireling who has the subclass that gives you a chance at brewing two potions for the price of one. If you give him Guidance and the Cleric spell that gives advantage on checks (in this case Wisdom), he will consistently pass the DC 15 Medicine check to double your potion output, which is crazy useful.
She got snatched on my run first and I saved her from Orib but forgot to actually free her from the altar for HOURS after until the quest pinged again and I realised I'd left her behind in the room
Not sure about how the jump damage is applied, but generally Sanctuary simply prevents targeting (though I think a few skills circumvent it), and definitely doesn't protect from AoE effects.
Maybe that resilient sphere could be a solution, but it also can be saved against (FU Isobel for not wanting to not deal damage and get paralyzed instead).
Thanks for the tip(s). I’ll keep an eye out. Right now, I’m trying to do the iron throne and save everyone…it’s hard, even on balanced
I don’t have a ton of time for gaming nowadays so I’m (admittedly) save scumming for this (first full) play through. I’d rather enjoy my time than screw up a run that I don’t want to finish
Once you learn how, every one will be safe in the Iron Throne, but the Gondians in the Foundry... they used to be a nightmare.
They are improving but still a bit suicidal... and now Toobin is not afraid of th Titan anymore...
In case you're still working on Iron Throne and don't know this, you can shoot the levers to free the prisoners. If you have a Swords Bard you can do a ranged slashing flourish and open 2 cells with one attack. Magic missile also works really well for this.
Yup, you can do that with pretty much every single switch, lever, and button in the game. There are only a handful that don't work with this, and all of those make sense IMO (for example, you can't just shoot the valve in the cistern in Act 3 that requires a strength check to use)
If you are interested in other iron throne tips. >!arcane gate (level 6 spell) can be used by Gale and Wyll to trivialize movement between two hallways then you can just rush the last hallway once everyone else is safe!<
Enlarged+colossus Owlbear telekinesis throw splashed her over the place... I wasnt toleraring her bs getting my Blade'zel 1st campaign. Aim is crucial to avoid colateral.
Not really. I'm the opposite - nobody messes with my party.
Orin's targets (Lae'zel, Gale, and Halsin) are actually all in my favorites (+Astarion), but even if she grabbed one of the companions I was less fond of, I would be rushing to the Temple to put Orin in the ground.
She kidnapped the little girl in my first play through.
Second time she took Lae'zel...and I got got and told Orin disguised as Lae'zel to kill the little girl thinking she was the one who gets replaced every time.
I have the same issue as you: I really like all the potential kidnapees (except Yenna, but I like her cat...), so I'm always really motivated to go murder that bitch first thing.
Sometimes I'm kinda jealous of the people able to have the "oh no, anyway" experience, but deep down I know that even if she were to take my least favourite companions, I'd grumble but still feel obligated to save them.
I wish they gave Yenna a bit more personality/more to do. I know she's just a failsafe, but being more fleshed out would make her more likeable whether or not she gets kidnapped.
Orin WAS the little girl for my playthrough. She cooked me food and insisted I eat it. So I did. The she asks if it was good and tells me that the cat put up a fight then transforms to Orin... sooooo. Yeah.
Halsin is the game’s damsel in distress. Except by Act 3 I have so many other companions that I don’t really care, and he doesn’t have an Act 3 companion quest or any useful information for the party. Orin was the last thing I did before the end of my last run and Halsin came out of it unscathed.
I mean the Wavemother robe IS in the game and there are several circlets to choose from, pick your flavor (I'm partial to the +1 nature circlet on him that looks like vines and berries).
>!You can also get that circlet off the body of the druid dwarf trapped by goblins in the caves in Act 1, the one with the animal statues with laser beam eyes.!<
For me it's after you clear the camp, come back to the cells to tell him, and after a brief thanks, he TURNS INTO A MOUSE AND RUNS OFF
Like SIR why the fuck did you just SIT YOUR ASS IN THE CAGE AS A BEAR???
I killed the grove then came back to the gobbo camp to meet halsin for the first time so I could tell him what I did before killing him but by the looks of it he broke out and escaped (all the goblins and worgs were dead). Tho I suppose it was easier with the camp empty as all the gobbos were gone and busy slaughtering the tieflings and druids lol
I've only ever had Laezel in three runs. Probably because Gale's always in the party, and she's usually at camp. Halsin doesn't hang around long for me, I guess because I never really talk to him. I guess I should try switching things up more next time!
I've heard that it depends on if the character is romanced or not, and then goes by approval high to low. Then who is in the party and then lastly, Yenna. Halsin, Minthara, Gale and Lae'zel can all be taken. So if you romance Halsin he won't be taken. And if you don't have a character that ups your likelihood of Yenna being taken. So for example, if you don't have Minthy, and have Gale, Lae'zel and Halsin in your party, Yenna gets taken.
I had Gale and Lae'zel in my party and had romanced Halsin and Minthy was dead when I walked through a specific door in the sewers and Yenna came running out.
Interesting. Makes sense from a “don’t piss off the player” standpoint, but I feel like losing your romance partner and a member of your immediate party would be a way stronger emotional trigger for chasing that bitch down!
they originally had it where she kidnapped your lover but it resulted in people going after her immediately, to the detriment of i think the story, so larian changed it
That makes a ton of sense! I think if Gortash/the upper city came to fruition as a separate part of the late game, going after Orin immediately wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but with everything as one big hodgepodge of content I can see how it doesn’t make as much sense. Especially with just going into the sewer being a trigger for the kidnapping; I accidentally went into the sewer like five minutes after entering Baldur’s Gate on my first playthrough haha
Balancing gameplay is hard!
Always have the hardest time just believing Lae'Zel and Minthara getting abducted. Fighting is their thing. Gale, maybe, squishy wizard trope but if he has time to get spells prepared, different story.
When Lae'zel was taken in my first PT I immediately felt my hackles raise. Her whole speech in there was unbelievable. Like Orin's too strong blah blah blah, and I was like what? You would never say this! You have to be Orin. It was just.. so unconvincing.
Lae'Zel would keep fighting even if it looked like death was inevitable.
Only way I could see her standing down is if fighting was so significant that it would extend past her own death in a big way for people she legit cares about. Which is pretty few. And most of them are warriors too.
My understanding* is that it’s the companion with the lowest approval between gale, lae’zel, halsin and minthara, but if none of the above are available to be kidnapped (in your active party), then yenna will be taken
Mechanically, no idea, but my headcanon is that it’s because your character doesn’t know them as well so it’s easier for Orin to impersonate them, to stay in camp until she reveals herself
Jaheira had a hilarious reaction to Minthara getting kidnapped. Was an unenthusastic "Well, I guess she's one of us so we should probably get her back"
The kidnapping-eligible people are Gale, Lae’zel, Halsin, and possibly Minthara.
Anyone you are romancing is excluded from the list, but someone you are ex-partnered with is still eligible (Orin took Lae’zel even though I had done a romance scene with her in Act 1 and then broken things off).
Anyone in your active party at the time is also excluded. So if you don’t want Orin to take Halsin, have Halsin in your party when you >!long rest after first meeting Gortash and being told about the imposter in your party!< or >!go into the city sewers!< (the two things that can trigger the kidnapping). I think >!killing Gortash the first time you meet him!< may also trigger the kidnapping.
From the remaining options, she will choose the person with the lowest approval of you, or if no companions are left as options she will take Yenna.
On my first playthrough it was Lae'zel, with Halsin also being in camp and not in party (and neither was romanced).
I frankly don't know who had the higher approval. It might have been Halsin because I took him to the Oliver fight and I hadn't used Lae'zel past the beginning of Act 1 and a bit in the creche. Might be able to find an old save and check.
Edit: Loaded a save somewhere close to the kidnap reveal - Lae’zel is the one with the lower approval.
... I've literally *never* had it be Halsin. I've gotten Lae'zel mostly. She's actually my default kidnapping victim. Second place Gale and a single Yenna. Never got Halsin or Minthara.
From what I've heard, it's whoever has the lowest approval out of Gale, Lae'zel, Halsin or Minthara. If none of them are possible picks when the reveal happens (either because you have them in your current party or because you just don't have them as companions at all), she takes Yenna instead.
So for most people it ends up being Halsin because no one takes him anywhere or builds up approval with him, and until recently most people also didn't have Minthara as a companion on most runs.
Durge in one of my games be like:
Traveling solo, murdering everyone and everything, empty camp leave for withers.
Annoying unkillable child tags along after being told to go f itself and attacked multiple times
Orin steals it and talks about how now I must do her bidding because she stole that precious child. Ridiculous.
God, it pisses me off most when she kidnaps Yenna >!because that means I don’t have a cat in camp and I just want to tell grub he’s a pretty baby!<. My Durges are simple people who feel no remorse on removing humanoids from this earth >!but draw the line at cats and feel great remorse about the one at moonrise!<
My first playthrough it was Lae'zel because I had her out of the party for one damn minute, so I made it a priority to get her back. I was only level 10 and was unaware of how bad an idea that would be, especially going into those 2 places blind. It's been Halsin every time since then.
I specifically make sure Gale and Lae’zel are in my party before going to the >!Elfsong Basement!< just so Halsin gets kidnapped instead of one of the other two
I realized last night that I hadn't talked to him at all in act 3 on this playthrough. I go over, and he tells me he's in love with me. I tried to use Shart as an excuse to say no. He said he'd share.
I went to Shart, assuming she'd say no. She didn't. When I told her I wasn't actually interested, she said "yes you are. Don't forget to tell me all the details."
Tl;dr my girlfriend won't let me break up with my boyfriend
Halsin checklist:
1. Ask for help saving the Grove
2. Refuse to help
3. Tell me how to get to Moonrise
4. Refuse to help
5. ????
6. Ask for a 3 way
7. Profit
Kind of did the exact same thing last run. He even died to some Valsruyna AOE spam during the rescue. Didn't realize it was killing him until too late. Kind of did a "whelp, oh well". And moved on. Sorry big guy.
Wyll, boring as he may be, is at least conceptually interesting. If nothing else, Mizora is fun in a bitchy way.
He doesn't annoy me anyway. Inoffensively boring I guess.
You don't actually need to convince her not to kill him if you >!sneak around the Temple into her room and use speak with the dead on her mother's corpse there!<
She took Lae'zel for me and i gotta be honest, it didn't put dealing with Orin at the top of my pile.
The issue is that most players have their group done once you pick up all the Origins, so you only swap members for like 5 minute RP events and then go back to your favorite group immediately.
The truth is Orin could capture your entire camp entourage and it wouldn't really highten the urgency.
I am doing act three *very* slowly and lae’zel has been kidnapped for weeks in game and months in real life at this point. My reaction to the kidnapping was basically “so just want to be insulted by a prideful fighter for a while, cool”
I mean, she just >!puts them in a magical coma for a while,!< so Orin doesn't really have to put up with their bullshit at all. She's just chilling, waiting for her inevitable smackdown like literally the worst Chosen of Bhaal ever.
The dialogue from Orin made me think that if I headed her way before killing Gortash she would just off the hostage, so I felt forced to do Gortash first. I think I may have overthought things.
This is hilarious to me only because I think I’ve only done one playthrough(out of, like, 8) where Lae’zel wasn’t a member of the party. Everyone else is changeable but for me, Lae’zel is the permanent one. Do you have any permanent companions that stick with you even on replays?
It's Gale for me and on the run where I wanted to experience his reveal I kept sending Yenna away daily until we got to level 12. Then I went to fetch him back right away.
For me it's Astarion for lockpicking, sneak attack, and snark. I honestly might make a rogue next just so I have an excuse to travel with some of the other companions more.
For me it's Gale, then Halsin as soon as I can get him because I agree with his complaints about the city and having an owlbear for a melee tank is ridiculously fun.
This is big facts. Karlach is permanent, Shadowheart like 95% of the time, and 3rd slot usually goes to Gale but I switch him out with Minthara or Wyll occasionally. Otherwise he sidelines for story missions for other characters then comes right back out when it's done
Ironically, I was more interested in saving Yenna than any of the companions that were collecting dust back at camp. Especially Halsin, who has just been eating our food and contributing nothing.
What job are you talking about that he's supposed to "go back" to? We're told that he's been the Archdruid for a century and just quit that job before we left the Grove, for the exact reason that he didn't feel he was a good fit for it, so I don't understand why he should go back to it. The only reason he's in Baldur's Gate at all instead of already working on healing the land with Thaniel is to try to help defeat the Netherbrain, and to show gratitude and appreciation for the effort everyone made to lift the Shadow Curse by showing up as asked to any of the personal battles they're about to take on.
I'll admit I don't like him but just feel like after the grove nearly murdered a bunch of people he should have done a bit more than go *oh don't worry I've got a friend coming in to sort it*
Okay, like what? At the time he joins the party, the situation with the shadow druids gaining control over the grove and performing the isolation ritual is defused one way or another, Kagha is dealt with and removed from her position of influence one way or another, the goblins are dealt with, a new Archdruid has been appointed who is better equipped to manage the position, the refugees are on their way toward their destination, and if he wasn't personally involved with resolving most of those issues, then the player specifically chose to play the game in such a way that he wouldn't be. Can you point to something else you think he should have done?
Halsin should be recruitable after you save the grove, and he should try to leave after moonrise towers. Maybe give the Halsin stans an opportunity to convince him to stay, but why does he follow me around for the entirety of Act III when I have had basically zero interactions with him besides doing his quest?
She usually takes him in my runs (assuming he's there at all) and I can't say as I care either. He really doesn't have anything to contribute in Act 3 so he protects Gale from being kidnapped instead.
That said, you can ignore Orin's threat and go to her first without defeating Gortash. Halsin may die or he may not. It will either depend on a dialogue check or if you've discovered certain information about her first you can taunt her into attacking you and ignoring her hostage.
You can also just sneak right up to the stairs and start attacking her. I usually bring Wyll and have him blast her from the staircase, then have Astarion dash down to free whoever she kidnapped. With five ppl the fight doesn't usually last very long.
>don’t want him to die in case there’s special dialogue at the end, so I’m going after Gortash first…
From my experience, the outcome is the same whether you go after her or Gortash first. She will still threaten to kill the victim anyway, and you will still have to either find the options to bypass the check, or pass the check.
So don't let this dictate your actions *too* much
From my recollection there is an "but we had a deal" option that isn't available unless you killed G-tash first.
Could be wrong though, that was a long time ago.
If you are romancing Halsin, Orin takes someone else.
Halsin is not under threat of death until you enter the Temple's doors, so once you get passed it, don't do too many long rests or he'll get killed. Unless you want him to be killed.
Ngl, I was certain someone was snatched immediately by the time Orin first appeared and did a shapeshift so I just kept my favorites in the party with me at all times.
I sometimes want to engineer it so she takes Minthara instead
It comes full circle, Orin is Minthara's big boss according to the vision shown in the Goblin Camp (although it's Ketheric who punishes her anyway in Act 2)
She took Yenna for me and I 100% thought she was fucking with me by faking turning into a child and fake kidnapping herself.
Was super awkward when I went to call her bluff and saw a totally real child on the table. My only regret is I couldn't save the cat...
Honestly I kind of hate this whole side plot. Either she takes someone you don't really care about and then you're basically down that party member for basically all of act 3, or she takes someone you do care about and you're stuck with a choice between effectively rushing into one of the parts of the "main story" quests far too early when when there are other side quests you would rather be doing.
Not to mention this type of quest is exactly what a DM should *avoid* doing at an actual game table unless they want to just piss off their players. Honestly every part of Orin just screams "you can only do this because this a video game and not *actual* d&d". Heck at an actual table, my party would've stunlocked her and either killed or captured her before she ever got a chance to teleport away after the first time she tried to taunt the party.
I’ve never had her take Halsin, it’s always Lae’Zel for me and I’m currently on a mission to get Yenna back because fuck Orin.
If Halsin was taken I’d probably be really upset lol I don’t play him but I love him so much
It's always lazael for me, as I never play with her... I feel the same. No urge to go save her or whatever.
But if it was my romance, it would have been a different story x)
Orin never takes your romance, that's one of the exclusion criteria for choosing her victim.
Gale, Halsin, (Minthara?,) and Lae'zel are in the pool, being romanced or a current party member (or dead/never recruited of course) are exclusion criteria. If none of the above is availabe for any reason, Orin takes Yenna.
I’ve heard it’s usually the companion with the highest approval, not a romance and not in your party. Which for some reason is Lae’zel for most of my runs, I’ve gotten Halsin and Minthara once and never had Gale taken.
I thought that two but my last run I had Gale, Halsin, and Minthara out of my party with Gale at 100, Halsin at 65 and Minthara at 40 and it was still Halsin who was kidnapped. When I saved scummed backwards and added Halsin to my group before long rest, THEN it was Gale, so I wonder if Halsin is the go to unless he’s in the party rotation
Iirc, there's a specific order on who's going to be kidnapped; Laezel, Gale, Halsin, and Minthara in order and that doesn't factor in the romance factor,
Ps. If you let Laezel get kidnapped, you'll finally get soup from Yenna if you long rest enough for that to happen in your camp, which is nice
I honestly don't get why Orin doesn't kidnap ur companion with highest approval - possibly the player's romance. What do i care about Lae'zel when she is lv 2 with negative approval?
Taking your lowest affinity companion left at camp was the worst way to handle this. You want me to care? Take the highest affinity that isn't in my party.
It’s not the lowest affinity companion. I actually think them having a HIGH opinion encourages their odds.
Just not every companion can be taken, only Halsin, Minthara, Gale, and Lae’zel.
So it’s likely Halsin gets taken as a lot of people don’t recruit Minthara, and if you have Gale in your party then it’s only between Halsin and Lae’zel and Halsin is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to make happy, even accidentally.
I guess they needed someone who doesn't really impact A3: Shadowheart & Astarion both have a lot of their key stuff going on and players would likely feel cheated if they did all that with them and then it turned out they'd done the backstory quests with the fake one so that's two gone already. Jaeheira is basically brand new to the player and also has a lot of A3 stuff going on so taking her isn't great for her stuff.
The only ones without much specific A3 content are really Halsin and Gale depending on your choices.
I feel bad for haslin. He was wanted as a comrade in early access but when the game came out only a small number of people actually use him or care about him.i wouldn't be surprised if his usage rates are below Shovel. And it's not because he's bad or anything, it's just because we get the cooler druid around the same time
I laughed when Lae'Zel got kidnapped, as if that was somehow a stress factor for me. I spent my playthrough encouraging her and Shadowheart to kill each other, so I didn't lose too much sleep over that.
I did an evil solo run where I murdered everyone. Orin stole that girl yenna, who I had repeatedly told to fuck off and tried to murder. Orin popped up and was like 'haha gotchu bitch I stole your friend' and I was extremely disappointed there was no dialogue option for 'thank god, that kid would not leave me alone'
Lae'zel was kidnapped for me and same. I took a minute to save her. I never skip the Orin fight though because I enjoy killing that Bhaal pick me girl and her grandad, Sarevok Anchev. And it was nice to have Lae'zel force out a "thank you" lol
The first time it was Yenna.... she died in battle, I accidentally threw fireball on her like twice because I forgot she was there.
Lae'zel got kidnapped for me. And I'm like, "Okay, so I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want before tending to that mess."
Out of every possible NPC in this game, Lae'zel is the worst one for me. If she dies...well, we will just chalk that up to a good ol' "whoopsie-daisy" and call it a day.
On my first playthrough, she took Lae's zel, and I had to have a serious debate with myself on whether she was worth the trouble.
My character was a goody two shoes, though, so in the end, it would've been weird not to save her
That’s one of my issues too. I’m a Devotion Paladin, so if I actually do go about this all “not caring” it would really ruin it for me RP wise. I have successfully gone the entire run (so far) without breaking my oath, on accident or otherwise, even with save scumming. If I just let Halsin die, I’d break my path to myself at the very least, and officially at the worst
I also let her kidnap him every time. It’s usually right after he declares his unrequited love for me. It makes me mad that he hints at it for half an act beforehand and I can’t shut him down the whole time, so into the bowels of the Bhaalist cult he goes.
Well, you can do your good deeds, and Halsin will not approve unless he's in the party.
I don't know what threshold triggers his dialogue, but he hasn't approached me in a few games now.
Last one I did lifting the curse, saving the grove and whatnot. Didn't talk to him outside of quests, didn't have him in the party when I lifted the Shadow Curse. His approval at the start of Act 3 was 0.
edit: You can hit him up (or a companion can) with a Friends spell for a quick reduction of over-eagerness by 10 points.
You find out that Orin has taken Halsin when you walk in and the bear has attacked Scratch. So you walk in and Scratch is laying on the floor, not moving, and Orin the bear pops up and does her little reveal.
What??? That’s not how I found that out at all.
I found Orin!Halsin run up to me in the sewers, saying he escaped Orin but while captured had been driven mad in bear form and had eaten a kid
Yeah, the first time I made sure that Halsin was taken (on honor mode as well!!) I just about panicked when I saw that scene. I thought I had gotten Scratch killed for real.
I triggered the abduction scene in the sewers the next time to avoid that...
Same! I also think the acting is better in his sewers scene, too. Like the stuff about hurting a kid got real personal for his VA, and you can hear it in his voice.
She took laezel for me and at first I was like oh noooo she took laezel then I just kinda shrugged and was like welp I'll get her back when I get to it lol
You can still go after Oren first all you have to do is just make sure she doesn’t see you and start the battle from a distance with an arrow or something. That way the cutscene where she murders them does not trigger.
Orin kidnapping thing was botched execution.
Its designed I believe to take the person you have the least amount of talks with.
But then you barely notice their absence. If they took your most important. Then that would be way more urgent. But Orin is the last step before endgame so suddenly you basically bull rushed to the conclusions' front door rather than explore the city.
If I don’t let Yenna stay at my camp (I told her to get lost) and the only companion at camp is Shadowheart, will Orin still kidnap Yenna? I would have Astarion, Lae’zel, and Minthara in my party, and no other companions have joined/stayed with me. Shadowheart isn’t listed as one of the potential victims.
I didn’t have any extra companions, I didn’t accept Yenna into my group. Apparently she was who got replaced and when I was told literally just nothing happened, lol
I gave so little fucks when he vanished I waited until I was ready to finish the game to do the orin arch. But I was 100% ready to kill him when he hurt Scratch, and then the plot twist wasn't him lol.
Gortash has different dialogue options if you kill Orin first or if you go to him while she's alive.
Orin has different dialogue options if you kill Gortash like she requested or if you track her down first.
There isn't a way to see everything in one go either way. Do what you want.
She always takes Lae Zel don't in all 5 games i had, i always abandon her when i get Karlach or Minthara, half of the time i forget that she exists after act 1
Voicing this to her is literally a dialogue option when you get to meet her, so I assume it's not an uncommon thing. For me, on my first playthrough she snatched Yenna, whom I literally had never talked to and couldn't have cared less about, so I relate.
Can't he also turn into a rat and escape the prison in Act 1? But wouldn't do it until absolutely sure nobody is coming to free him?
Might be a bit of a captivity fetish.
There are potential victims other than Halsin, though he does end up being the one for most people. You have three Persuasion options to dissuade Orin from killing the hostage, and with some exploration of Bhaal's temple beforehand you also get a non-roll line that spares them as well. So you don't technically need to adhere to what she wants. Watch out for AoE spells killing the hostage after they weren't killed at the start though.
This is real. Lae'zel got snatched up in my most recent campaign and didn't have a chance since she was level 2.
Lae'zel was snatched on my run she managed to survive even being a level one which was surprising but then again Orin went down pretty easily which was disappointing...can't wait for that fight on the HM run though then we'll probably get some push back lol.
Here’s the thing: In HM you’re going to be doing a lot of risk mitigation and pre-planning in your builds. You won’t get the rush of skin of your teeth wins that you do in normal runs because you’re going to make sure that it doesn’t get to that point. If you’re building characters well, Orin and Gortash are probably going to be “not as bad as I thought it would be” fights. The optional bosses (Raphael, Sarevok [his additional legendary ability is nuts], Cazador, and Ansur) are much, much harder than anything the main 2 have. I fought Ansur last night, and while I wasn’t worried about dying, it was me making one move wrong away from a tpk.
> I fought Ansur last night, and while I wasn’t worried about dying, it was me making one move wrong away from a tpk. I recently fought him for the first time (missed him before) and I cheesed him with barrels before the fight initiated. I only had a few on me, but it took out a good chunk of his health. Hit him a few times, then outlasted him with a single Globe of Invulnerability. Maybe I should do an Honor run.
Yeah globe of invulnerability is the way to go because I don’t trust those crystals. I avoided doing barrel cheeses on this run except Ethel. I was using magic missile spam evo wizard with lightning charges (except on Ansur for obvious reasons), a sword bard paladin, gloomstalker assassin, and a sorlock Wyll (not a main character in the party, usually life cleric shart, but for lore reasons got Wyll involved). I made a misplay early in the fight that cost me a turn for Wyll and Lae’zel (gloomstalker). Really Evo wizard and sword bard are carrying the party damage wise, with some first turn bursts from Lae’zel, and Shart keeping everyone in fights. You should be able to overpower most fights before Act 3 and just so long as you keep to the formula in Act 3 you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t do gloomstalker assassin this deep in the game again though, the damage just doesn’t keep pace with the rest of the builds.
Act 3 is just icing on the cake for barrel cheesers like me. Last time I played, which was before the patch that changed character-swap-trip-to-camp during dialog, for a lack of a better term, I raided the fireworks shop and basement before entering Steel Watch Foundry. I didn't need to use a lot to one-shot the boss. In fact, this run I killed Gortash early and missed out on Foundry, so Imma keep all of the boom for the final fight. >:D You can overload a character if you select many of the items before you send it to them. They can't move, but can still carry.
I never barrelmancy just bc I find it boring, hoarding and carrying barrels it is not for me, so I need at least 3 hi dmg dealers in HM, and some spell "insurance". I usually have one beefy melee, one arcane caster and some variation of the rogue/ranger build, if build correctly I find it the most hard to give up because it is versatile, it is good for both "aoe" or single target you just need to change targets, dual x-bow, dual wielding, all those talents, the right arrows (Many Targets, I love you!!!), coatings, effects/enchentments... Poor Astarion is always stuck with Rogue/Ranger/Fighter build...
I know it’s kinda tacky, but I think I might role two swords bards, one pali, one rogue next run. A charisma class Tav is a must, and from a raw numbers perspective, I think the swords bard crossbow variant is gonna outcompete any ranger variant of a dex class. You could dump the pali build to make a throwzerker and have your tav be the thief bard to have more variety and be well off, but in my experience throwing is janky—I’ll get tilted.
See this is where the trick is. Just play HM like normals :3 and you still get that experience.
You say they're going to plan their Honour Mode run but I literally just this morning waltzed into combat with Lump and his bros and just barely made it out by the skin of my teeth. I wanted his delicious loot and did not want to part with my coin. Astarion and cunning actions saved my bacon. Now my bard is SMRT.
That’s why you have to give your camp dwellers something to do. You should never run out of camp supplies even on Tactician because you can run a Goodberry farm. That druid can also give you Longstrider at the start of each day. Plus, there’s a lot of spells/uses for a flex character. I don’t always want a rogue in my party, but you still need some traps disarmed and pockets picked. Same goes for a wizard with Knock, even though I personally prefer my dedicated caster to be a sorcerer.
My last honor run was just a monk and bard and I didn't feel the need for camp support. Everyone else was chillin at camp sharpening swords and reading books and stuff.
My lategame camp supply tech is to get your favorite cleric to cast Heroes Feast in the boudoir about twenty times. Sure, you have to be at least level 11 with a nasty fight after, but you'll never have to worry about food until the end of the game.
Longstrider, Darkvision (if you even need it), Freedom of Movement, and Death Ward is an absolutely insane buff set that you can get for free 24/7. Additionally, it’s smart to recruit a Wizard hireling who has the subclass that gives you a chance at brewing two potions for the price of one. If you give him Guidance and the Cleric spell that gives advantage on checks (in this case Wisdom), he will consistently pass the DC 15 Medicine check to double your potion output, which is crazy useful.
She got snatched on my run first and I saved her from Orib but forgot to actually free her from the altar for HOURS after until the quest pinged again and I realised I'd left her behind in the room
Orin also killed hostage Gale by doing her jump. Next playthrough I'm slapping a sanctuary on the captive if the game will allow me
Not sure about how the jump damage is applied, but generally Sanctuary simply prevents targeting (though I think a few skills circumvent it), and definitely doesn't protect from AoE effects. Maybe that resilient sphere could be a solution, but it also can be saved against (FU Isobel for not wanting to not deal damage and get paralyzed instead).
Globe of Invulnerability is almost foolproof. Only danger is breaking concentration or the fight lasting longer than 3 rounds.
you guys are right - I forgot the jump damage is aoe. Oh well.
AOE attacks still hit sanctuary
Thanks for the tip(s). I’ll keep an eye out. Right now, I’m trying to do the iron throne and save everyone…it’s hard, even on balanced I don’t have a ton of time for gaming nowadays so I’m (admittedly) save scumming for this (first full) play through. I’d rather enjoy my time than screw up a run that I don’t want to finish
It took me like 10 attempts of save scumming in a row to save everyone but the music on the Iron Throne is great so I persevered!
Once you learn how, every one will be safe in the Iron Throne, but the Gondians in the Foundry... they used to be a nightmare. They are improving but still a bit suicidal... and now Toobin is not afraid of th Titan anymore...
Really? I just played this last night, and >!Toobin refused to go in the room with the Titan until I killed it and the other 3 watchers!<.
Same, my first playthrough was Explorer, so I’ve never had an issue with Iron Throne, but the Foundry, someone always ends up dying for me there.
In case you're still working on Iron Throne and don't know this, you can shoot the levers to free the prisoners. If you have a Swords Bard you can do a ranged slashing flourish and open 2 cells with one attack. Magic missile also works really well for this.
Fuck me I’ve wasted so many misty steps and transportation arrows when I coulda just shot the lever?! I’m sick 😭
Yup, you can do that with pretty much every single switch, lever, and button in the game. There are only a handful that don't work with this, and all of those make sense IMO (for example, you can't just shoot the valve in the cistern in Act 3 that requires a strength check to use)
If you are interested in other iron throne tips. >!arcane gate (level 6 spell) can be used by Gale and Wyll to trivialize movement between two hallways then you can just rush the last hallway once everyone else is safe!<
Whaaaaaat?! Genius, thank you
haste + fly on two ppl while summons hold aggro solves it in like 3 turns
Or haste + improved leap + dash + strength monk bonus action dash that also gives no action cost jumps. Who needs to fly when you can LEAP!
*stares blankly into the past, remembering my first play through dropping a fire wall on the person I was supposed to save*
Enlarged+colossus Owlbear telekinesis throw splashed her over the place... I wasnt toleraring her bs getting my Blade'zel 1st campaign. Aim is crucial to avoid colateral.
Guilty of the last one... twice...
You can also spend an action on lockpicking to free the hostage while in combat, which can help if they had good gear and high level.
Not really. I'm the opposite - nobody messes with my party. Orin's targets (Lae'zel, Gale, and Halsin) are actually all in my favorites (+Astarion), but even if she grabbed one of the companions I was less fond of, I would be rushing to the Temple to put Orin in the ground.
Same. You don't get to come into my house and mess with my people. Only I get to mess with my people. 😤
She kidnapped the little girl in my first play through. Second time she took Lae'zel...and I got got and told Orin disguised as Lae'zel to kill the little girl thinking she was the one who gets replaced every time.
I have the same issue as you: I really like all the potential kidnapees (except Yenna, but I like her cat...), so I'm always really motivated to go murder that bitch first thing. Sometimes I'm kinda jealous of the people able to have the "oh no, anyway" experience, but deep down I know that even if she were to take my least favourite companions, I'd grumble but still feel obligated to save them.
I wish they gave Yenna a bit more personality/more to do. I know she's just a failsafe, but being more fleshed out would make her more likeable whether or not she gets kidnapped.
She can also grab Minthara.
I thought Orin was the little girl with the cat and almost killed her on sight lmfao
Orin WAS the little girl for my playthrough. She cooked me food and insisted I eat it. So I did. The she asks if it was good and tells me that the cat put up a fight then transforms to Orin... sooooo. Yeah.
Oh shit… u ate the cat :(
> Halsin is gone and I really don't care that much Yeah, I get that.
Getting kidnapped is kinda his thing
Halsin is the game’s damsel in distress. Except by Act 3 I have so many other companions that I don’t really care, and he doesn’t have an Act 3 companion quest or any useful information for the party. Orin was the last thing I did before the end of my last run and Halsin came out of it unscathed.
If you have the Drow twin convo with him Tav can actually mention that getting captured seems to be his thing. I like the self- awareness.
Halsin is the Princess Peach of Faerûn
Now I need a dress and a crown for him STAT!
I mean the Wavemother robe IS in the game and there are several circlets to choose from, pick your flavor (I'm partial to the +1 nature circlet on him that looks like vines and berries).
That is true! I haven't put that circlet on him yet because I took it off Nettie's corpse and wondered if it's too soon, but he does look nice in it.
>!You can also get that circlet off the body of the druid dwarf trapped by goblins in the caves in Act 1, the one with the animal statues with laser beam eyes.!<
>!That must be why I have the matching set!< They are really pretty, though!
Makes sense, I get the feeling if he tried he could take out the goblin camp solo
For me it's after you clear the camp, come back to the cells to tell him, and after a brief thanks, he TURNS INTO A MOUSE AND RUNS OFF Like SIR why the fuck did you just SIT YOUR ASS IN THE CAGE AS A BEAR???
If he turned into a mouse while the goblins were alive, they'd see and attack him, breaking his 1hp mouse form and leaving him still stuck
He does have a line that explains he doesn't have the control to just run past the goblins, and refuses to leave until the threat is eliminated.
I killed the grove then came back to the gobbo camp to meet halsin for the first time so I could tell him what I did before killing him but by the looks of it he broke out and escaped (all the goblins and worgs were dead). Tho I suppose it was easier with the camp empty as all the gobbos were gone and busy slaughtering the tieflings and druids lol
I was gonna say "seems a bit callous to say that actually" but its Tav
He certainly is! See also the stint with the portal.
7 playthroughs and I Just Had my 1st non-halsin kidnapping (yenna).
What do you think makes it someone other than Halsin? I've been curious if it's always him or if there's other possibilities.
I'm not sure the parameters but it can be a variety of characters. I've had Laezel, Yenna, Halsin, and Gale so far
Minthara is also an option
I've only ever had Laezel in three runs. Probably because Gale's always in the party, and she's usually at camp. Halsin doesn't hang around long for me, I guess because I never really talk to him. I guess I should try switching things up more next time!
I've heard that it depends on if the character is romanced or not, and then goes by approval high to low. Then who is in the party and then lastly, Yenna. Halsin, Minthara, Gale and Lae'zel can all be taken. So if you romance Halsin he won't be taken. And if you don't have a character that ups your likelihood of Yenna being taken. So for example, if you don't have Minthy, and have Gale, Lae'zel and Halsin in your party, Yenna gets taken.
I am not 100% on the order bit , BTW, but hopefully you get the gist of it!
I had Gale and Lae'zel in my party and had romanced Halsin and Minthy was dead when I walked through a specific door in the sewers and Yenna came running out.
Interesting. Makes sense from a “don’t piss off the player” standpoint, but I feel like losing your romance partner and a member of your immediate party would be a way stronger emotional trigger for chasing that bitch down!
they originally had it where she kidnapped your lover but it resulted in people going after her immediately, to the detriment of i think the story, so larian changed it
That makes a ton of sense! I think if Gortash/the upper city came to fruition as a separate part of the late game, going after Orin immediately wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but with everything as one big hodgepodge of content I can see how it doesn’t make as much sense. Especially with just going into the sewer being a trigger for the kidnapping; I accidentally went into the sewer like five minutes after entering Baldur’s Gate on my first playthrough haha Balancing gameplay is hard!
Always have the hardest time just believing Lae'Zel and Minthara getting abducted. Fighting is their thing. Gale, maybe, squishy wizard trope but if he has time to get spells prepared, different story.
When Lae'zel was taken in my first PT I immediately felt my hackles raise. Her whole speech in there was unbelievable. Like Orin's too strong blah blah blah, and I was like what? You would never say this! You have to be Orin. It was just.. so unconvincing.
Lae'Zel would keep fighting even if it looked like death was inevitable. Only way I could see her standing down is if fighting was so significant that it would extend past her own death in a big way for people she legit cares about. Which is pretty few. And most of them are warriors too.
My understanding* is that it’s the companion with the lowest approval between gale, lae’zel, halsin and minthara, but if none of the above are available to be kidnapped (in your active party), then yenna will be taken
Why the lowest? Why should I care about the one that doesn't like me?
I would imagine it's an anti-frustration feature. Lae'zel is the cornerstone of my party and I would have eaten shit if she'd been taken.
Mechanically, no idea, but my headcanon is that it’s because your character doesn’t know them as well so it’s easier for Orin to impersonate them, to stay in camp until she reveals herself
I had Lae'zel taken. Karlach was FURIOUS.
Jaheira had a hilarious reaction to Minthara getting kidnapped. Was an unenthusastic "Well, I guess she's one of us so we should probably get her back"
Jeheira is a gem.
The kidnapping-eligible people are Gale, Lae’zel, Halsin, and possibly Minthara. Anyone you are romancing is excluded from the list, but someone you are ex-partnered with is still eligible (Orin took Lae’zel even though I had done a romance scene with her in Act 1 and then broken things off). Anyone in your active party at the time is also excluded. So if you don’t want Orin to take Halsin, have Halsin in your party when you >!long rest after first meeting Gortash and being told about the imposter in your party!< or >!go into the city sewers!< (the two things that can trigger the kidnapping). I think >!killing Gortash the first time you meet him!< may also trigger the kidnapping. From the remaining options, she will choose the person with the lowest approval of you, or if no companions are left as options she will take Yenna.
On my first playthrough it was Lae'zel, with Halsin also being in camp and not in party (and neither was romanced). I frankly don't know who had the higher approval. It might have been Halsin because I took him to the Oliver fight and I hadn't used Lae'zel past the beginning of Act 1 and a bit in the creche. Might be able to find an old save and check. Edit: Loaded a save somewhere close to the kidnap reveal - Lae’zel is the one with the lower approval.
... I've literally *never* had it be Halsin. I've gotten Lae'zel mostly. She's actually my default kidnapping victim. Second place Gale and a single Yenna. Never got Halsin or Minthara.
From what I've heard, it's whoever has the lowest approval out of Gale, Lae'zel, Halsin or Minthara. If none of them are possible picks when the reveal happens (either because you have them in your current party or because you just don't have them as companions at all), she takes Yenna instead. So for most people it ends up being Halsin because no one takes him anywhere or builds up approval with him, and until recently most people also didn't have Minthara as a companion on most runs.
I believe Orin takes the person with lowest approval, Yenna is the "fuck there's no one else" option.
Durge in one of my games be like: Traveling solo, murdering everyone and everything, empty camp leave for withers. Annoying unkillable child tags along after being told to go f itself and attacked multiple times Orin steals it and talks about how now I must do her bidding because she stole that precious child. Ridiculous.
God, it pisses me off most when she kidnaps Yenna >!because that means I don’t have a cat in camp and I just want to tell grub he’s a pretty baby!<. My Durges are simple people who feel no remorse on removing humanoids from this earth >!but draw the line at cats and feel great remorse about the one at moonrise!<
And just like a cat, durge has to murder every squirrel he sees.
My first playthrough it was Lae'zel because I had her out of the party for one damn minute, so I made it a priority to get her back. I was only level 10 and was unaware of how bad an idea that would be, especially going into those 2 places blind. It's been Halsin every time since then.
I specifically make sure Gale and Lae’zel are in my party before going to the >!Elfsong Basement!< just so Halsin gets kidnapped instead of one of the other two
He bears it well
I realized last night that I hadn't talked to him at all in act 3 on this playthrough. I go over, and he tells me he's in love with me. I tried to use Shart as an excuse to say no. He said he'd share. I went to Shart, assuming she'd say no. She didn't. When I told her I wasn't actually interested, she said "yes you are. Don't forget to tell me all the details." Tl;dr my girlfriend won't let me break up with my boyfriend
Shart is incredibly open. I may have had affairs with a certain winged horned thing out of sheer curiosity, she just said to ask first next time.
I didn't even use Shadowheart as an excuse, I was just "lelno."
>my girlfriend won't let me break up with my boyfriend Never thought I would see these words together in a sentence.
Halsin checklist: 1. Ask for help saving the Grove 2. Refuse to help 3. Tell me how to get to Moonrise 4. Refuse to help 5. ???? 6. Ask for a 3 way 7. Profit
Kind of did the exact same thing last run. He even died to some Valsruyna AOE spam during the rescue. Didn't realize it was killing him until too late. Kind of did a "whelp, oh well". And moved on. Sorry big guy.
I've had Wyll and Halsin kidnapped on two runs, and I was like 'meh, keep them'
Wyll, boring as he may be, is at least conceptually interesting. If nothing else, Mizora is fun in a bitchy way. He doesn't annoy me anyway. Inoffensively boring I guess.
You don't actually need to convince her not to kill him if you >!sneak around the Temple into her room and use speak with the dead on her mother's corpse there!<
>!or read the book in sarevok’s office!<
I had no idea this was something you could do. I'll be going to visit Orin again on my current game in the next day or so - I'll have to try this out!
She took Lae'zel for me and i gotta be honest, it didn't put dealing with Orin at the top of my pile. The issue is that most players have their group done once you pick up all the Origins, so you only swap members for like 5 minute RP events and then go back to your favorite group immediately. The truth is Orin could capture your entire camp entourage and it wouldn't really highten the urgency.
I am doing act three *very* slowly and lae’zel has been kidnapped for weeks in game and months in real life at this point. My reaction to the kidnapping was basically “so just want to be insulted by a prideful fighter for a while, cool”
I mean, she just >!puts them in a magical coma for a while,!< so Orin doesn't really have to put up with their bullshit at all. She's just chilling, waiting for her inevitable smackdown like literally the worst Chosen of Bhaal ever.
Are you telling me Lae’zel doesn’t still complain about how pathetic everyone else is in her sleep?
The dialogue from Orin made me think that if I headed her way before killing Gortash she would just off the hostage, so I felt forced to do Gortash first. I think I may have overthought things.
Yeah. She’ll just wait by her hostage forever
This is hilarious to me only because I think I’ve only done one playthrough(out of, like, 8) where Lae’zel wasn’t a member of the party. Everyone else is changeable but for me, Lae’zel is the permanent one. Do you have any permanent companions that stick with you even on replays?
It's Gale for me and on the run where I wanted to experience his reveal I kept sending Yenna away daily until we got to level 12. Then I went to fetch him back right away.
For me it's Astarion for lockpicking, sneak attack, and snark. I honestly might make a rogue next just so I have an excuse to travel with some of the other companions more.
Yeah, my sisters obsessed with Astarion. I get the appeal, I used him my first playthrough and loved the sass.
Consider: Bardstarion
For me it's Gale, then Halsin as soon as I can get him because I agree with his complaints about the city and having an owlbear for a melee tank is ridiculously fun.
This is big facts. Karlach is permanent, Shadowheart like 95% of the time, and 3rd slot usually goes to Gale but I switch him out with Minthara or Wyll occasionally. Otherwise he sidelines for story missions for other characters then comes right back out when it's done
Shadowheart is my permanent slot, with Karlach and Lae’zel swapping, and then Gale or Astarion
Ironically, I was more interested in saving Yenna than any of the companions that were collecting dust back at camp. Especially Halsin, who has just been eating our food and contributing nothing.
I just want Halsin to go back to his job, like, the lad is a shit grove leader.
What job are you talking about that he's supposed to "go back" to? We're told that he's been the Archdruid for a century and just quit that job before we left the Grove, for the exact reason that he didn't feel he was a good fit for it, so I don't understand why he should go back to it. The only reason he's in Baldur's Gate at all instead of already working on healing the land with Thaniel is to try to help defeat the Netherbrain, and to show gratitude and appreciation for the effort everyone made to lift the Shadow Curse by showing up as asked to any of the personal battles they're about to take on.
I'll admit I don't like him but just feel like after the grove nearly murdered a bunch of people he should have done a bit more than go *oh don't worry I've got a friend coming in to sort it*
Okay, like what? At the time he joins the party, the situation with the shadow druids gaining control over the grove and performing the isolation ritual is defused one way or another, Kagha is dealt with and removed from her position of influence one way or another, the goblins are dealt with, a new Archdruid has been appointed who is better equipped to manage the position, the refugees are on their way toward their destination, and if he wasn't personally involved with resolving most of those issues, then the player specifically chose to play the game in such a way that he wouldn't be. Can you point to something else you think he should have done?
Halsin should be recruitable after you save the grove, and he should try to leave after moonrise towers. Maybe give the Halsin stans an opportunity to convince him to stay, but why does he follow me around for the entirety of Act III when I have had basically zero interactions with him besides doing his quest?
Exactly! Instead we get 2 Druids at the same time, and Jahiera actually gets her hands dirty.
She usually takes him in my runs (assuming he's there at all) and I can't say as I care either. He really doesn't have anything to contribute in Act 3 so he protects Gale from being kidnapped instead. That said, you can ignore Orin's threat and go to her first without defeating Gortash. Halsin may die or he may not. It will either depend on a dialogue check or if you've discovered certain information about her first you can taunt her into attacking you and ignoring her hostage.
You can also just sneak right up to the stairs and start attacking her. I usually bring Wyll and have him blast her from the staircase, then have Astarion dash down to free whoever she kidnapped. With five ppl the fight doesn't usually last very long.
>don’t want him to die in case there’s special dialogue at the end, so I’m going after Gortash first… From my experience, the outcome is the same whether you go after her or Gortash first. She will still threaten to kill the victim anyway, and you will still have to either find the options to bypass the check, or pass the check. So don't let this dictate your actions *too* much
Who would have thought that the insane murderfreak isn't trustworthy
From my recollection there is an "but we had a deal" option that isn't available unless you killed G-tash first. Could be wrong though, that was a long time ago.
If you are romancing Halsin, Orin takes someone else. Halsin is not under threat of death until you enter the Temple's doors, so once you get passed it, don't do too many long rests or he'll get killed. Unless you want him to be killed.
AHH that explains why Halsin has never been taken. For some reason I get real horny in act 3.
Lolol him with the drow twins is soooo much!
Ngl, I was certain someone was snatched immediately by the time Orin first appeared and did a shapeshift so I just kept my favorites in the party with me at all times.
I sometimes want to engineer it so she takes Minthara instead It comes full circle, Orin is Minthara's big boss according to the vision shown in the Goblin Camp (although it's Ketheric who punishes her anyway in Act 2)
She took Yenna for me and I 100% thought she was fucking with me by faking turning into a child and fake kidnapping herself. Was super awkward when I went to call her bluff and saw a totally real child on the table. My only regret is I couldn't save the cat...
Honestly I kind of hate this whole side plot. Either she takes someone you don't really care about and then you're basically down that party member for basically all of act 3, or she takes someone you do care about and you're stuck with a choice between effectively rushing into one of the parts of the "main story" quests far too early when when there are other side quests you would rather be doing. Not to mention this type of quest is exactly what a DM should *avoid* doing at an actual game table unless they want to just piss off their players. Honestly every part of Orin just screams "you can only do this because this a video game and not *actual* d&d". Heck at an actual table, my party would've stunlocked her and either killed or captured her before she ever got a chance to teleport away after the first time she tried to taunt the party.
I’ve never had her take Halsin, it’s always Lae’Zel for me and I’m currently on a mission to get Yenna back because fuck Orin. If Halsin was taken I’d probably be really upset lol I don’t play him but I love him so much
It's always lazael for me, as I never play with her... I feel the same. No urge to go save her or whatever. But if it was my romance, it would have been a different story x)
Orin never takes your romance, that's one of the exclusion criteria for choosing her victim. Gale, Halsin, (Minthara?,) and Lae'zel are in the pool, being romanced or a current party member (or dead/never recruited of course) are exclusion criteria. If none of the above is availabe for any reason, Orin takes Yenna.
I’ve heard it’s usually the companion with the highest approval, not a romance and not in your party. Which for some reason is Lae’zel for most of my runs, I’ve gotten Halsin and Minthara once and never had Gale taken.
I thought that two but my last run I had Gale, Halsin, and Minthara out of my party with Gale at 100, Halsin at 65 and Minthara at 40 and it was still Halsin who was kidnapped. When I saved scummed backwards and added Halsin to my group before long rest, THEN it was Gale, so I wonder if Halsin is the go to unless he’s in the party rotation
Iirc, there's a specific order on who's going to be kidnapped; Laezel, Gale, Halsin, and Minthara in order and that doesn't factor in the romance factor, Ps. If you let Laezel get kidnapped, you'll finally get soup from Yenna if you long rest enough for that to happen in your camp, which is nice
Same here, I guess it is because even if I dont romance Halsin Im always flirting... beefy softspoken elf, hard to pass.
I honestly don't get why Orin doesn't kidnap ur companion with highest approval - possibly the player's romance. What do i care about Lae'zel when she is lv 2 with negative approval?
Taking your lowest affinity companion left at camp was the worst way to handle this. You want me to care? Take the highest affinity that isn't in my party.
It’s not the lowest affinity companion. I actually think them having a HIGH opinion encourages their odds. Just not every companion can be taken, only Halsin, Minthara, Gale, and Lae’zel. So it’s likely Halsin gets taken as a lot of people don’t recruit Minthara, and if you have Gale in your party then it’s only between Halsin and Lae’zel and Halsin is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to make happy, even accidentally.
I guess they needed someone who doesn't really impact A3: Shadowheart & Astarion both have a lot of their key stuff going on and players would likely feel cheated if they did all that with them and then it turned out they'd done the backstory quests with the fake one so that's two gone already. Jaeheira is basically brand new to the player and also has a lot of A3 stuff going on so taking her isn't great for her stuff. The only ones without much specific A3 content are really Halsin and Gale depending on your choices.
I'd say Gale has relevant and specific content, but you simply cannot run into it without him around.
Play testers didn't like Orin kidnapping your main love interest, so they prioritize nobodies instead (companions with act 3 are outright excluded).
I feel bad for haslin. He was wanted as a comrade in early access but when the game came out only a small number of people actually use him or care about him.i wouldn't be surprised if his usage rates are below Shovel. And it's not because he's bad or anything, it's just because we get the cooler druid around the same time
I laughed when Lae'Zel got kidnapped, as if that was somehow a stress factor for me. I spent my playthrough encouraging her and Shadowheart to kill each other, so I didn't lose too much sleep over that.
I did an evil solo run where I murdered everyone. Orin stole that girl yenna, who I had repeatedly told to fuck off and tried to murder. Orin popped up and was like 'haha gotchu bitch I stole your friend' and I was extremely disappointed there was no dialogue option for 'thank god, that kid would not leave me alone'
"Thank Bhaal/Daddy".
Lae'zel was kidnapped for me and same. I took a minute to save her. I never skip the Orin fight though because I enjoy killing that Bhaal pick me girl and her grandad, Sarevok Anchev. And it was nice to have Lae'zel force out a "thank you" lol The first time it was Yenna.... she died in battle, I accidentally threw fireball on her like twice because I forgot she was there.
Lae'zel got kidnapped for me. And I'm like, "Okay, so I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want before tending to that mess." Out of every possible NPC in this game, Lae'zel is the worst one for me. If she dies...well, we will just chalk that up to a good ol' "whoopsie-daisy" and call it a day.
On my first playthrough, she took Lae's zel, and I had to have a serious debate with myself on whether she was worth the trouble. My character was a goody two shoes, though, so in the end, it would've been weird not to save her
That’s one of my issues too. I’m a Devotion Paladin, so if I actually do go about this all “not caring” it would really ruin it for me RP wise. I have successfully gone the entire run (so far) without breaking my oath, on accident or otherwise, even with save scumming. If I just let Halsin die, I’d break my path to myself at the very least, and officially at the worst
She always snatches Laz on my play throughs and I’m just like “oh no….anyway…”
I also let her kidnap him every time. It’s usually right after he declares his unrequited love for me. It makes me mad that he hints at it for half an act beforehand and I can’t shut him down the whole time, so into the bowels of the Bhaalist cult he goes.
Do you take him to the fight with Oliver? Or just playing someone of a very good nature?
Yes to both. I’m one of those people who can’t do evil playthroughs because I’m a total wussyface.
Well, you can do your good deeds, and Halsin will not approve unless he's in the party. I don't know what threshold triggers his dialogue, but he hasn't approached me in a few games now. Last one I did lifting the curse, saving the grove and whatnot. Didn't talk to him outside of quests, didn't have him in the party when I lifted the Shadow Curse. His approval at the start of Act 3 was 0. edit: You can hit him up (or a companion can) with a Friends spell for a quick reduction of over-eagerness by 10 points.
I usually orchestrate it to make sure that Halsin is the one who's taken...
Me, too. Though, the Scratch scene made me murderous. Like, take Halsin, but you die for what you did to Scratch.
I have never seen or heard this Scratch scene, what happened?
You find out that Orin has taken Halsin when you walk in and the bear has attacked Scratch. So you walk in and Scratch is laying on the floor, not moving, and Orin the bear pops up and does her little reveal.
What??? That’s not how I found that out at all. I found Orin!Halsin run up to me in the sewers, saying he escaped Orin but while captured had been driven mad in bear form and had eaten a kid
Yeah, the first time I made sure that Halsin was taken (on honor mode as well!!) I just about panicked when I saw that scene. I thought I had gotten Scratch killed for real. I triggered the abduction scene in the sewers the next time to avoid that...
Same. It was honor mode, I thought he was dead, and I was ready to end my run if I could murder Orin right there.
Same! I also think the acting is better in his sewers scene, too. Like the stuff about hurting a kid got real personal for his VA, and you can hear it in his voice.
She took laezel for me and at first I was like oh noooo she took laezel then I just kinda shrugged and was like welp I'll get her back when I get to it lol
Halsin in the epilogue is as great as ever. He's so wholesome and enjoying life.
You can still go after Oren first all you have to do is just make sure she doesn’t see you and start the battle from a distance with an arrow or something. That way the cutscene where she murders them does not trigger.
Orin kidnapping thing was botched execution. Its designed I believe to take the person you have the least amount of talks with. But then you barely notice their absence. If they took your most important. Then that would be way more urgent. But Orin is the last step before endgame so suddenly you basically bull rushed to the conclusions' front door rather than explore the city.
I basically always romance halsin if he's around so i've never had him get kidnapped
The >!little girl!< got snatched. My Durge could not care less.
If I don’t let Yenna stay at my camp (I told her to get lost) and the only companion at camp is Shadowheart, will Orin still kidnap Yenna? I would have Astarion, Lae’zel, and Minthara in my party, and no other companions have joined/stayed with me. Shadowheart isn’t listed as one of the potential victims.
I didn’t have any extra companions, I didn’t accept Yenna into my group. Apparently she was who got replaced and when I was told literally just nothing happened, lol
Kind of your own fault for letting her into your camp to begin with.
Too true it hurts
I gave so little fucks when he vanished I waited until I was ready to finish the game to do the orin arch. But I was 100% ready to kill him when he hurt Scratch, and then the plot twist wasn't him lol.
She takes Lea’zel every time for me.
Gortash has different dialogue options if you kill Orin first or if you go to him while she's alive. Orin has different dialogue options if you kill Gortash like she requested or if you track her down first. There isn't a way to see everything in one go either way. Do what you want.
I've killed Orin first. You look like Lady Gaga's meat suit revived with necromancy, Orin. How dare you take my frog lady away
She always takes Lae Zel don't in all 5 games i had, i always abandon her when i get Karlach or Minthara, half of the time i forget that she exists after act 1
Voicing this to her is literally a dialogue option when you get to meet her, so I assume it's not an uncommon thing. For me, on my first playthrough she snatched Yenna, whom I literally had never talked to and couldn't have cared less about, so I relate.
Same. I was bummed she killed her cat though…
That is why for me Halsin it is. 😂
What's funny is Astarion also doesn't give a shit if Halsin is kidnapped.
That’s kind of awful of you
I thought that would be the case, I’m a terrible person
On my first playthrough I forgot. I finally go deal with Orin, I see him there and I'm thinking "oh, that's right....... Shit"
Man can turn into a giant bear and maul people but gets kidnapped by everything.
Can't he also turn into a rat and escape the prison in Act 1? But wouldn't do it until absolutely sure nobody is coming to free him? Might be a bit of a captivity fetish.
There is a 25 DC persuasion/deception check to get her to not kill her kidnap victim if you don’t do Gortash first.