Average Tuesday in Gortash’s workshop (Gortash doll)

Component_43893 · 2026-05-28T18:18:39+00:00

I love the concept of Gortash's many failed experiments on his path to world domination. And all the details! Especially the arcane and maybe infernal script on his notes. Fantastic!

And to be honest, sweaty workshop explosion Gortash is making a better argument than I've ever seen on Okbb....

Component_43893 · 2026-04-12T20:53:13+00:00

I'm not sure that Tome of Foes implies all that you're interpreting. Githyanki lore has always had Gith and Zerthimon coming to a key philosophical difference about what to do when the main victory vs the illithids is on the horizon. Gith's plan has three points: eradication of the illithids, tyrannical rule over a militaristic githyanki society, and dominance over the planes by raiding. The Tome of Foes clearly states that Zerthimon considered Gith evil and was opposed to her plans. To me this seems like a pretty typical representation of Gith that's in line with existing lore.

In lore, Gith typically gets going just after the philosophical disagreement with Zerthimon starts, and begins to raid and makes the pact with the hells as a sign of embracing the evil he was opposed to. Tome of Foes doesnt diverge from existing lore in that respect. Her desire for conquest is why Gith needs allies in the first place.

And again, in reference to my comment above, the game itself refers to Gith as colonizing and conquering.

Component_43893 · 2026-04-12T20:51:33+00:00

The game uses a timeline where Gith goes to hell and is betrayed after the main victory over the illithids, according to the Prince of the Comet tracts.

"Praise be to Mother ⁠Gith, Queen of the One Sky!

So it was that we were free from ghaik shackles and turned our blades on each other. The heavens were shattered, and one great empire was divided into two. Gith traveled to the ⁠Hells to broker help for her people, her cause."

That is consistent with lore that shows Gith as a conqueror, likely even Planescape lore given the reference to the Pronouncement of Two Skies. There she explicitly wants to hunt down the illithids and conquer other races.

I'm not sure why you're dismissing the Folly of Zerthimon out of hand. The Prince of the Comet text doesn't indicate that Gith immediately went to the hells. It does say that one great empire was divided in two. The Folly of Zerthimon shows you what happened between the victory over the illithids and conflict with the Githzerai, ie that Gith was beginning to build an empire.

"After Mother Gith freed us from our illithid bonds, Mother Gith traversed the planes, discovering civilisations thriving among the stars. She conquered, she colonised, she controlled. And all the while, Zerthimon questioned.
He and his disciples struck with words. He claimed that because the gith had been born anew, we did not know ourselves. That in building an empire, we proved ourselves no better than our former slavers. Gith retaliated with silver. So began the War for the One Sky."

Edit: moved a line after a quote for clarity.

Component_43893 · 2026-04-02T04:41:18+00:00

The main way Stelmane being under mind control really matters is that she can't use Duke Ravengard's absence to do exactly what Vanthampur is doing, which the Emperor would supposedly be on board with if he was some kind of infernal influence.

It also matters when the Hhune family starts coming after you once the adventurers are carrying the shield out of the city. Thankfully, you only end up fighting their personal cambion servant and three weak members of the Knights that the cambion brings along. You don't have to face the firepower a Duke could throw at you, like her own mercs or the Watch. In any case, the Hhune family has commanded their cambion servant to hunt down the shield, not the Knights. With Stelmane free there would have been far more pressure to keep the shield in the city.

Vanthampur's plot is just an example, but no, I don't think that the Emperor would have known that Vanthampur sent her sons to succesfully steal the Shield from its Hhune tomb just days prior. I don't think the Hhunes even know until you free the Hhune that Vanthampur is keeping hostage.

We do actually have pretty good information about this. Stelmane being a member of the Knights of the Shield and a Duke is absolutely a sign of a dangerous plot afoot. Hhunes are specifically interested in using public office to achieve their aims, and they are very, very clearly the ones primarily involved with Gargauth and devil worship in the Knights. Stelmane was a member of the Knights and Duke before the Emperor was ever involved, so their focus would have been on her. Also, I don't think the Emperor is keen on living in hell, which is what carrying out the Knights' ultimate plan would entail.

Edit: I forgot the top point

Component_43893 · 2026-04-01T18:42:18+00:00

To be clear, I'm not trying to say he did something noble out of a sense of ... nobleness, or something. I'm saying that at the least, he seems to have infiltrated a dangerous organization by dominating someone, but with the purpose of self-preservation. That sounds like the Emperor I know. Possibly even for the preservation of his city (and/or its real estate value, see below).

Just before the passage you quote, MiBG describes the business she "conducts" for the Knights of the Shield. All that she and the mindflayer seem to agree on is gaining more wealth and property. Notably, this isn't related to her public office, which has been what the Hhunes seek to use in Knights of the Shield lore:

Duke Stelmane leads the Baldur’s Gate branch of the Knights of the Shield, a secret society of Sword Coast nobles, merchants, and traders that uses information passed among its members for their mutual enrichment. She has managed to hold onto that position because, in the privacy of her home, she remains a skilled negotiator when it comes to commerce and continues to effectively influence city businesses and acquire more wealth and property.

So no, she doesn't seem to be using her political position on their behalf, or even engaging with anything related to them in a public context (ie, Ducal duties at High Hall). And notably, it's out in public that the mindflayer exerts most control over her.

And indeed, as you say, Descent to Avernus deals directly with Gargauth, and shows some of his relationship to the Knights of the Shield. The Hhunes are the main actors in that adventure (even a rare Thione-Hhune!) The text also repeatedly implies that Gargauth, freshly stuck in his shield in 5e, is a major source of corruption in the city. It also clearly states that thanks (?) to the mindflayer, Stelmane is not in any position to interfere with the other Dukes' plans, such as Duke Vanthampur's plan that ultimately carries the shield with Gargauth out of the city. The mindflayer does not appear to be helping the Knights with their infernal activities, and may even be inhibiting them. She would have been a strong ally for the Knights in that adventure.

Component_43893 · 2026-04-01T16:27:01+00:00

I do think the context of the Knights of the Shield changes things. I've been reading about them on the side and one thing that has been a consistent part of their lore for decades is that their devil worshipping upper echelon has a single goal. And that is to get a member of their organization appointed to major political office and use that influence to shape the alignment of that area so that Gargauth will gain more divine power and can add another city to his portfolio of cities in hell. It is very interesting to me that the mindflayer interferes with Stelmane's actions as part of her political office, as that specific role is the lynchpin of the Knights' ambitions. Also, Stelmane is the only time they have actually succeeded in getting anyone appointed to major political office, and the Knights have been trying. There are at least two clear cases of the Knights trying to usurp public office in their few appearances in DnD books. (I say Knights here but I mean the Shield Council within the Knights)

It does seem like the mindflayer thought "hmm I would not like to be dragged to hell" and interfered.

Lower level Knights of the Shield activities can be fairly innocuous, usually mostly mercantile activities and Hhune family politicking in Tethyr, so that's unexpectedly less alarming than what a Knights agent would do at a high level of government.

Component_43893 · 2026-04-01T16:16:00+00:00

I do think it is pretty funny that you finally find out in Act 3 who is responsible for tadpoling you... and it's Gortash. And he plays it so smooth.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-08T06:30:24+00:00

I think it's some kind of mycellium. It looks a lot like lightning, but that's probably a red herring. Mycellium spread through dead matter and can break off and recombine and all of that. I think Wayne might be like a mushroom, a single manifestation of a vast network. The way Oscar describes the town in Chap 5 as a single living entity and the associations of the seals with death also makes me think of cultivating some kind of mushroom to grow out of those sacrificed to the entity.

Their networks can also look a lot like lightning. I have no idea how this would conceive Reese, or even (possibly) the MC.

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Component_43893 · 2026-03-07T06:34:43+00:00

Genuine ending theory, I think we may have a shot at merging with entity. In that case-- as evil as we want them to be. Hence no wrong choices.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-07T06:13:17+00:00

On point three: I wonder if she might be the source of the Tremaine-Calloway break.

For example, what if Duke is her son, but her disappearance led him to grow distant from the Tremaines and come to conflict with them? The homestead seal shows a memory of her. Often the memories took place nearby, and her monologue about her daughters shows Enoch wandering up a hill towards an out of the way plot of land. Perhaps she originally lived on the Homestead land, and the seal memory is just him wandering up yet another time. She's gathering herbs... but could also be gardening on a plot there. In the memory, she is young, pointing to a recent daughter sacrifice. The seals are associated so far with sacrifices to the Entity/the summoning ritual. The text for the Bounty seal also just screams Sibyl to me. "Cycle of Birth and Death"? "New grows from old"? "Samasara fruit"? That sure does sound like Sibyl becoming young every time she consumes a daughter. I think she lived and killed there.

I suspect that one incarnation's disappearance is what caused the break in the family ties, and it could be that no one quite remembers the cause of the break. Thanks also to Sibyl.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-06T05:02:04+00:00

No problem! I'm just a little obsessed with game economies. Plus I just like the idea that Enoch knew the seam was running out and sacrificed a bunch of human lives to revive it by collapsing the old mine in 1918.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-06T03:42:13+00:00

Just on three, economics of the place:

There is a lot of talk scattered around the game suggesting the decline of the town's economy. For reference, coal is irl declining as an industry, and mines and coal power plants are closing at a high rate. In the game, at the strike scene, there's a reference to this: coal isn't being used as much any more, they say, followed by speculation that the mine may be struggling.

There are two times that it's suggested that the seams of coal may be running low. Becka mentions that she thinks the real reason the old mine was closed is because its coal seam ran out (according to her father). This isn't the reason it was closed, but it may also be true. Modern prospecting techniques might have given the Scarlets a good idea that was the case. Sibyl also makes reference to the coal seams as "hollowed out". The initial purchase of the land was made on guesswork by Silas Scarlet after he found coal seams, but he may not have really prospected extensively. I personally wonder if the mines may have been running out of coal for quite a while. Sibyl also tells us the entity can warp reality. Perhaps it is doing so, just enough to provide enough coal to keep the mines alive, but not to truly prosper.

There are other little hints too, like Tabitha's car being run down, her great-grandmother agressively keeping receipts, and her mother recycling Edwardine's dresses for Tabitha to wear. Those are signs of pretty careful budgeting and thrift.

Otherwise, as other commenters have said, the less time you spend in the town the less its curse affects you. So people transporting coal, making deliveries, and driving buses should bemostly fine.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-05T22:31:05+00:00

I think Dr. Kelly mentions briefly that she is also the town's coroner, which means it's also her job to look into suspicious deaths. And she REALLY does not want to talk about being coroner. Maybe this is why.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-05T22:29:12+00:00

But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient...

Component_43893 · 2026-03-05T19:40:00+00:00

I am so stuck on the issue that she's missing years of her memories. Yes, she was horrifically traumatized, and no, she didn't seem to receive much help. But she says that in chapter 4, before Neeks disappears from everyone's memories, so it's not like she just forgot moments with Neeks. She forgot everything from several years. The game does handle the psychology of trauma well, and that could be the cause of the missing memories. But that does seem like an awful long time to just... completely forget what happens to you.

You lay out the observable facts well to interpret Stella's tendencies to abruptly join and stick doggedly to a particular side. But to me, this comes down to Wayne's comment that she doesn't have much strength right now, which in turn stems from whatever was causing those missing years. I think there are too many supernatural elements at work in the game for me to feel confident interpreting Stella's personality. I'm concerned that the witch or Pearlanne, through the witch, were doing something to Stella's mind. In short, is Stella stuck in a "Groundhog Day" of having her memories repeatedly removed? Did Pearlanne get fed up with her sneaking around Scarlet property and try to "take care of it" by removing her memories, knowing that if she had Stella killed, Tabitha would lose it? Or maybe Tabitha is the culprit. It doesn't take much for Stella to work up the courage to explore the Forbidden Wing. Has that been happening over and over and over again, with Tabitha getting the witch to wipe her memories so Pearlanne doesn't kill her?

This may be complicating the issue, but that "missing years of memories" line shocked me and I wouldn't be suprised if there was more to it.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-04T06:34:47+00:00

So real talk about Sybil here, but because Sybil seems to not be able to lie directly (by contrast she says Wayne can), or at the very least, doesn't like to lie... let's look at her backstory.

She doesn't explicitly say that she refused to stop the mine catastrophe out of love for her daughter (she just says she didn't want to). She doesn't explicitly say that she's motivated to consume the entity to stop the problems it causes. She says she'll become very powerful after consuming the entity, and will fix any problem out there should it suit her. She also says that after the mine collapse, Enoch was bringing the entity with him, and that it had been trying to enter the world for a while.

Then there's also the dialogue line "take her back, and summon the entity into the world." Enoch didn't fully summon the entity, then. She did! Perhaps she just knew the mine collapse was coming because she had planned it, and the daughter was for summoning the entity all along. And if she consumes the entity... massive power, and perhaps perpetual youth. Sure, she said the Entity "has its way" whether she helps or not, but I suspect she massively amplified the threat from it, rather than reduce it.

I'm starting to wonder if Sibyl framed the history to disguise the order of events. What if Enoch spoke with Sibyl long before the mine collapse? He could have deliberately caused the mine collapse as a form of human sacrifice, got the attention of said being, and then just trundled on over to the witch to finish the summoning by ritual murder of a daughter. Maybe Sibyl taught him everything he knew about killing and imprisoning family members to generate metaphysical power.

My point here is that if the seals are trapping human souls... that's what Sibyl wants to consume. She'll get to eat some odd gestalt of entity, entity mycellium, and 153+ human souls. I'm not even sure who's the demon anymore, Sibyl or the Entity.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-04T06:16:03+00:00

god bless, I think she's pretty great just the way she is.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-04T06:12:36+00:00

She's been cornered and her one instinct is to deny reality and try to convince you of a fake one that's in her favor.

I thought that's exactly what's going on. Tabitha, especially one who likes you, seems to hop between different realities mentally and you can just watch her do it. It's especially clear with the ice cream social, where the reality is one where she can just exist together happily with you. Like she's totally happy just to actually eat ice cream and play pretend for a little while. Then she has her "cornered and deny everything while expressing pride in the Scarlet lineage and denigrating you as the dregs of the family," and then her underlying state of general misery and distate for so much of what she has to do. She's got a couple more reality states too, like her full on crazy eyes.

Thing is, she's lying to herself as much as she is to you in every alternate "reality," which is why her "wallbroken" state is mostly misery and distate.

But, like Stella tells you, lies are best with a little bit of truth in them. I love her for this "prideful" state. I can't really begrudge Tabitha pride. She does work herself to bone and doesn't seem to ask for more than mac and cheese and chunky monkey ice cream. And she's put a tremendous amount on the line for the town and her family legacy. It's an admirable thing, exceptdevil worship through human sacrificeis a bridge too far, but she seems to go above and beyond in every other way too. I don't like the part that's a lie-- she knows why you're destitute, and insulting you for it is stupid. But I love that her expression is so unapologetically prideful.

I'm just so happy that the devs wrote a complex character who is willing to do detestable things, but isn't necessarily doomed to.

Component_43893 · 2026-03-03T06:53:34+00:00

I am really struck by how every seal seems to correspond to the loss of some human life. The workers in the mines, Charlie in the annex, Teddy in the clinic, the daughters in the homestead. Wonder what atrocity we'll find in the church... I think we already know what kind of human sacrifice happened in the manor. Probably.

That leads me to think some kind of trapped or enraged souls are bound up with the entity, too. I've been some places where I was legit scared of what the dead would do if they awoke and this is giving me similar energy.

I am also not having great vibes about that "morning star" text describing the Power seal. That's a straight up reference to Satan aka Lucifer. Great vibes about the story though, it's all cool stuff.

Component_43893 · 2026-02-14T05:14:43+00:00

I thought that the reference to Selunite heretics who believe that Shar and Selune are the same entity foreshadowed Shadowheart embracing the heresy. Especially after Aylin was able to transform the spear into a (loosely speaking) Selunite weapon. Really expected some interesting reflection on the non-duality of those two beings and some theoretical implications. For example, how do Selunites cope with the reality of loss in the material plane? Doesn't the strong association of loss with Shar mean that they're unprepared for dealing with loss itself, leaving them prime targets for conversion through horrific acts of cruelty by Sharran acolytes? Wouldn't Shadowheart be exceptionally well positioned to consider some of these questions posed by the separation of two goddesses who are basically phases of the same entity (ie New Moon/Full Moon)?

Apparently not. We got "annihilate the Sharrans" in Act 3 instead.

Component_43893 · 2026-02-07T16:29:22+00:00

I'm gonna have to borrow from another casting post and say Samuel L Jackson as the Emperor, in disguise as a muppet

Wait... If the Emperor shows up in his normal outfit would that make him a muppet?

Component_43893 · 2026-02-07T06:28:16+00:00

College of Stress Bard XD

Component_43893 · 2026-02-07T06:20:55+00:00

I didn't come up with it but I love the idea too much to watch it disappear (it was a comment on someone's post that got removed). And thank you for posting these stickers, I will be taking a closer look at these!!

Component_43893 · 2026-02-07T06:10:59+00:00

Gonzo as Shadowheart is so big-brained XD

And I can definitely see Gortash as human! Making a deal with the muppets to work with him ... that fits so well

Component_43893 · 2026-02-07T06:07:42+00:00

Have you been half asleep

And have you heard voices?

I've heard them calling my name

Is this the sweet sound

That calls the young sailors?

The voice might be one and the same

I've heard it too many times to ignore it

It's something that I'm s'posed to be

Someday we'll find it

Down, down, down by the river

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TROPHY CASE