Author Answers (August)

General

All the BG3 talk gave me a stupid question, which of the Shepherds+Croelle & Chandry would have the funniest underwear description?

I'll let you decide!

I've been playing BG3 and I was wondering how to ROs would react if MC was like the good dark urge whos resisting their evil influence?

Sorry, I don't really know what the Dark Urge is or enough about it to say! 🥲

100% inspired by the tier lists and all the talk about BG3. But now I'm wondering which four people the other Shepherds would personally pick for their adventuring party, and why. (I don't know if it makes sense for MC to be in the pool for everyone else to pick from or not. Obviously I'll leave that to your discretion.)

Hiya, I'm going to leave MC off of these lists because it's so dependent on the particular MC, their skillset, and their relationships/personality! For example, Blade would pick an MC that he works well with, but not one he doesn't, so it's so dependent that I'll just focus on the other companions for now!

Blade: Trouble, Tallys, Briony, Halek. Riel can participate from afar as team coordinator/strategist if communicators are a thing, lol! All of these people are strong, capable fighters with different skillsets (Trouble and Tallys for ranged, Tallys for stealth, Trouble for firepower; Briony and Halek for sheer offensive strength and melee combat; and you have at least two people charismatic enough to act as "the face of the group"). Importantly, they can also be counted on to follow orders (well, mostly... *looks at Trouble*) and stick to plans, which is very important to Blade!

Trouble: Blade, Chase, Briony, Red. He trusts and likes them all, and they each fill a specific niche! Tactics and swordsmanship and stealth, espionage and infiltration, magic offensive power and personal charm, magical knowledge and translocation!

Tallys: Halek, Ayla, Red, Blade. Chase is a close backup in case you need thievery skills! All of them are based on vibes and how well they get along (i.e. how much she trusts them) as well as their unique skillsets! Notably, the vast majority of the people she chooses are calm, composed, level-headed members haha!

Shery: Briony, Ayla, Lavinet, Tallys. Girls only 💖 That's what she's most comfortable with!

Riel: Red, Lavinet, Blade, Trouble. Red for his knowledge and intelligence, Lavinet for her charisma and social skills, Blade for his leadership and skillset, Trouble for his ranged firepower. (He only made it over Tallys by a hair because guns are undeniably more powerful in Riel's mind than bows and arrows, but he's on extremely thin ice due to his impulsivity and temper, lol.) 

Chase: Blade, Trouble, Briony, Lavinet. The first because he needs someone to tease (and you can't deny that he's the best person you'd want to have at your back in a fight), Trouble because they're friends and also he'd want him to have his back in a fight, Briony because of her raw offensive power and because she makes it a fun time and is easy to get along with, Lavinet because her social skills and connections and influence opens a ton of useful doors that they couldn't access otherwise!

Red: Halek, Chase, Briony, Riel. You'd have to be dumb not to include a Hunter in a group where hunting demons is your main thing, Chase is exasperating but his skills are undeniable and he also keeps the morale of the group high, Briony is great magical backup if you point her in the right direction, Riel because he really admires Riel's tactics and intelligence, though of course he'd have issues keeping up with the rest of the group... If he was being strictly logical, he'd honestly probably pick Blade as well LOL for his sheer leadership skills and commanding presence (Red really doesn't want to be the leader of this group) or Tallys or Ayla!

Ayla: Lavinet, Briony, Red, Trouble. Those are the people she gets along with or likes best in the Order, so they'd have a fun time!

Halek: Red, Blade, Tallys, Trouble. They're chill, they're vibing! Realistically he'd like to bring along Shery because her presence is soothing, but the practicality of that is unfortunately quite low 😅

Briony: Lavinet, Chase, Red, Blade. Girl power besties with Lavinet, gets along well with Chase and he always makes it a fun time, she loves learning from Red and is fascinated by how much he knows so he'd be "the tour guide," and Blade makes her feel safe and like everything is going to be okay!

Lavinet: Ayla, Briony, Blade, Chase. Ayla and Briony for the vibes, Blade and Chase can come along to protect them 😂 

what does the army of the sun do outside of active warfare and suppressing the diminished?

Pretty much what most standing armies do: they patrol the borders and protect the Autarchy from external threats (this includes patrolling the seas with naval forces), they exist as deterrents to prevent other nations and foreign powers from getting ideas, they protect figureheads of state and dignitaries when visiting other places (or when receiving such figures), they guard state or government shipments, caravans, and cargo, they guard the Sun Court and other estates of prominent nobles, they occupy various military outposts and fortresses to keep areas and regions secure (these include prisons for dangerous convicts as well, such as the Ashen Vault), they send out patrols and monitor areas for signs of trouble, they're sent in to launch search and rescue operations or to provide relief for places that don't have their own soldiers or Vice Guard (for example, if bandits have kidnapped a noble while traveling along some rural road and are holding her for ransom, or a village is being held under siege by, like, corsairs or was stricken by famine and needs to receive relief and food assistance from the government), they're sent in to quell riots or rebellions the Vice Guard doesn't have the capacity to handle (or if there's no one to address them at all), or to run crowd control during heavy festival periods and etc. They can also quell rebellions and threats that nobles or political or religious leaders incite, not just Diminished; and they can provide training and support to allied nations of the Autarchy and their militaries! In short, they do a lot of stuff, but a lot of their duties revolve around protection (of the Autarch or her members of government, of fortresses and vaults and outposts, of state shipments and caravans, and etc.). Hope that all makes sense!

how accustomed are the various shepherds to bloodshed? The likes of Blade and Chase are probably used to it but what about the rest?

Blade: bloodshed is second-hand nature to him

Trouble: ditto as Blade, he worked as a mercenary-for-hire for some years after the Equalists and was assigned to several hit jobs... also he was brawling in the streets and dueling for people for money at a young age as well!

Tallys: quite used to bloodshed, to the point where she doesn't bat an eye at it, but she does try to avoid it when she can

Shery: not used to bloodshed at all, even someone getting a bad work injury makes her feel faint!

Riel: I wouldn't say he's been so exposed to bloodshed that he's used to it, but he doesn't bat an eye at it, either, if that makes any sense? 

Chase: ditto to Trouble and Blade

Red: he's got in his fair share of scraps, but he'd never killed anybody before joining the Shepherds. He's fine with fighting and killing demons, but he tries to avoid killing other humans unless it's clear they're an extreme threat

Ayla: bloodshed is a way of life to her and has been from a young age. She doesn't exactly relish it but she never shies away from it. In Jalis, you have to be willing to kill in order to establish your own "don't fuck with me" presence, so she's quite used to it!

Briony: gladiator, so bloodshed is literally like the first thing she remembers. It doesn't bother her and comes quite naturally!

Lavinet: prior to joining the Shepherds, she had only been in active combat once or twice, but she is very well-trained to deal with and process bloodshed and was rigorously prepared to do so by her battle-masters and teachers. She's never been in a really gruesome war zone, or anything like that, but she wouldn't hesitate to draw a knife and plunge it into someone's chest if she had to! The world of Blest is a good deal more violent than our world, so even for a noble who grew up watching her peers duel each other, sometimes even to the death, she's not as sheltered from it as one might think!

Halek: the Hunters are all about bloodshed, so yes, he doesn't blink at it!

“What’s in my bag” for ROs+Halek, traveling edition?  👀👀

Answered here! :) 

Because i clearly have too much free time. Which male ROs could a romanced!MC convince to wear a bra? Who would wear it best?

You couldn't convince Blade or Riel to wear a bra unless your life depended on it! Out of the other three, I think Chase would wear it best in that he could pull off a traditionally-femme look with his build (Trouble and Red are maybe too broad-shouldered to look at all that convincing), but Trouble's, um, considerable chest muscles are probably closest to actually filling the bra out in a convincing way?? If that makes any sense??

Does anyone in the Shepherds realize the influence Caine wields and treat him extra well? Cause if you get one bad review from Caine then you're on the my Commander-Legates shit list.

Hi, this has pretty much been answered here, here, and here! Most people don't realize the reality of Caine's relationship to MC except the inner circle, and of the ones that do, none of them would deliberately treat Caine any differently just to win over MC. Besides, Caine has that uncanny child's ability to tell when someone is trying to win him over and invariably regards them as an insincere loser poser as a result, so this would probably backfire anyway!

Hello hello, hope you doing ok So in a scenario where everything happens the same way, except that Caine, instead of being a random child, is the son of MC (and a litle mage  cause I can totally see him as a little enchanter for some reason) What would have changed? Would it be problematic when Mc integrates the Shepherds? Does Caine sleep in MC’s room? And more importantly, do the ROs treat Caine differently? Is this going to be a dealbreaker for some? Will others be charmed by MC’s parenting skill? Are some will try to win Caine’s love before conquering the MC’s heart? Sorry for that long question, love your game.

Hi there, I feel like this has been answered before, but since I can't find it, I'll answer it again!

I don't think MC joining the Shepherds would have presented too much of a problem, since Caine is old enough to work as an apprentice and not too many different accommodations would have had to be made for them (so long as MC was okay leaving Caine at home on long missions. If they weren't, then they probably wouldn't have been asked to join the Shepherds). I would guess that Caine, being 12 and pretty independent already, would have preferred to have his own room rather than sharing a room with his parent, so he probably still would have been given an apprentice-level room on a different floor, according to his own wishes! As noted in the above question, I don't think any of the ROs would have treated Caine differently just to win over MC. However, MC being a single parent probably would have shifted romantic interest/feelings/perception about them enough for some ROs to not have fallen in love with them in the first place, as they would have had trouble considering MC a sexual being or a romantic prospect rather than just as "Caine's mom/dad/parent", especially because Caine is always around. Of those, I think Trouble, Ayla, Shery, Tallys, and Briony would have found MC's parenting style cute and wouldn't have been affected by Caine's presence/relationship to them, and would have become close to both Caine and MC regardless. I think Blade, Lavinet, Halek, Riel, and possibly Red (I'm not sure about him, I don't think he tends to think of parenthood or step-parenthood as particularly compatible for him at this stage in his life, but I could also see him not caring and becoming fond of Caine) probably wouldn't have viewed MC in a romantic light quite as easily, and I think Chase would have been down to bang but absolutely not been keen on a romantic relationship beyond that. 

Hope that all makes sense!

Hi :) mine is sort of a 'scenario' question ill do my best to explain —   in the visual novel Oathbreaker the MC 'dies' defeating the big bad at the end, and in the second game 2 years later we see her alive and with a baby having been in hiding the whole time as she was pregnant when she 'died' and she s scared, like what if im a demon, what if my baby is etc etc (she s not) she is resurrected by the gods for reasons too long to write here but tldr she 'died' saving everyone, brought back to life and stayed in hiding with their infant, the ro finds her by coincidence —how would they deal with this? (i think you answered what if mc died n came back question this is more specific)  and since the mc is female and male ros r a handful id ask +Halek too 👉👈 just something ive been thinking abt since ive been replaying that game and shoh at the same time ☺️

Hi there, this is a very intriguing-sounding story and also sounds ripe for delicious angst! Unfortunately, I feel like I lack the context to answer this in a satisfying way, I guess because I don't understand why MC stayed in hiding and didn't let their RO know that she was alive? I feel like this would really hurt them universally as a concept, because it would mean that MC didn't trust them enough and put them through years of grief and pain as well as robbed them of the first two years of their child's life?? Because I don't know the details of the original story, I feel like the reason of MC being afraid that they were a demon wouldn't be good enough for most of the male ROs, and I think the betrayal, hurt, and anger in finding her alive and well and having deliberately stayed away from them for two years would end up breaking the relationship, like it would be hard to come back from that! 😅

Blade: he would first be extremely relieved, but then extremely furious that MC let him think she died and put him through hell for years... He would feel that MC's decision to stay away, even if it was done out of fear that she was a demon and was presumably done to protect him, would indicate a lack of essential trust that they could weather any storm together as a couple, so I feel like that relationship wouldn't be able to recover.

Trouble: Trouble would be more hurt and confused than angry, but he would be pretty hung up on this, too. Like at first he would give a big yell and sweep MC up in a big hug and cry out of joy and relief, but once the high had faded and he heard the details that she's been alive for years, he would just not be able to wrap his head around her reasons for not coming back. Like he would just keep coming back to it, like, ?? But why did you stay away? He'd just be very confused and dumbfounded. I think he'd be able to put it past him in the immediate moment and seemingly be able to brush past it, but I think the resentment would probably grow over time once the shock faded and he started to process it more!

Riel: his reaction would probably be the same as Blade's; he would probably be slightly more forgiving and would probably get together with MC again, but the trust between them probably wouldn't be the same!

Chase: I think he'd be out of his mind with relief, but the shock of finding out that MC was alive (and implicitly willing to deceive him by allowing him to think she was dead and live through the most painful suffering of his existence) AND the double-whammy of finding out that they have a child would be quite brutal. I think he'd be able to move past it, particularly out of determined obligation to be there for his child when he wasn't present for the first two years of their life, but it would require a lot of discussion and work for them to truly get past it!

Red: I think Red would be the most outwardly forgiving right away and would just be so overcome with relief that MC was alive that he wouldn't care about any of that other stuff, but over time he would start to question, if MC was willing to do that to him and kept making that choice for two years, what else would she be willing to do? Ultimately I think they would stay amicable and co-parent their child together, but I'm not sure if the feelings would be as strong or as passionate as they had been before, especially since he already went through the grieving process and "lost" MC, so they might end up ultimately separating!  

Halek: this would be pretty rough for Halek because he's already acutely aware that two years to him is a lot more for other people, so he'd feel robbed of precious time because of MC's decision. Ultimately he'd be more forgiving and understanding, but I think it would be more out of resigned acceptance that they can't do anything about it now and they might as well make the most of the time they have left together! 

How would the male ROs react to a pregnant MC that wakes them up at like 03:00 and is either tired of the various pains and angry at them for getting her pregnant or crying because she doesn't think she will be a good mom (she will).

Asking because I may or may not be dealing with this atm.

Aw, I'm sorry you're dealing with that at the moment, I hope you feel better soon!! You can do it!!

Blade: he would be endlessly patient and would just silently rub MC's back or whatever was sore and just quietly comfort her by holding her and letting her vent it out

Trouble: he'd groggily just keep apologizing and sympathizing and asking what he can do to make it better

Chase: he'd try to lighten the mood by berating himself, like, "I know, I'm such a heel, I told you it was a bad idea to let me into your bed, you didn't listen!" while simultaneously getting more serious and reiterating that this is great and MC is going to be a great mom

Red: he'd patiently soothe MC's worries and anxieties, and then when she was feeling better, he'd get up to go get her her favorite snack or make her breakfast in the morning or do something nice for her to cheer her up!

Spoilers

And another one if you feel so inclined! What traits do they get from each of their parents? 👀👀 (Also: hi hello hi Lena hope August has been good to you so far!🩵)

Hi kingdom hi, August has been good so far, I hope it's been swell for you!! 💖 And hmm, that's a good question...

Blade: he got some of his awkwardness from his dad (his dad was a very stern, dignified man who was a bit awkward about showing affection at times), and he got his good manners and conscientiousness from his mom!

Trouble: I'm not sure he remembers enough of his mother to really know which traits he got from her directly, but they were both very kind and compassionate towards others!

Tallys: both of her parents were quiet and composed like Tallys, but Tallys didn't actually relate to them all that much; I think she got her pride and the spark of her temper from her grandmother!

Shery: I'm not sure Shery has anything in common with her parents, honestly, though some of her traits were gained as a result of theirs? Like, she became a bookworm because books offered her an escape from her parents brash, abrasive, stressful personalities! I also guess she got her talents in math and bookkeeping directly from her parents--but in terms of personality, you won't find many children more opposite from their parents than Shery!

Riel: he got his cunning, ruthlessness, and thirst for power from his father and shares charisma and fine tastes and talent for political maneuvering from his mother, though he would tell you he's a self-made man!

Chase: not sure about his mother, but he got his leadership abilities and perceptiveness as well as a streak of ruthlessness and hardness from his dad!

Red: he got his bookishness and hyperfocus/tunnel vision from his dad, and his sensibility and personableness and gentleness from his mom!

Ayla: not sure, since she was orphaned as an infant--but she definitely got some of her waspishness and impatience from Belnus lol!

Briony: as her current self, she doesn't share much personality with her parents at all (due to the amnesia); but as for her past self, she gets her temper and pride from primarily her father as well as her mother, and her mutinousness and rebellious tendencies because of the way they raised her, though they're not particularly like that themselves!

Lavinet: her charm and fine tastes (and romanticism) come from her mother's side, while her diplomacy as well as toughness in dealing with political opponents come from her father!

Hope all is well! As of Chapter 8.5, how are the autarchy authorities (the Sun Court in general, Enik the new autarch, etc. reacting to the rise of MC in terms of stature, prestige). Say MC is a noble hero type who has a great reputation. Are they nervous about some new powerful god-tier mage who isn't completely under their control and popular with the masses? Hard spoilers, but we know court mage Sibella de Vespe has already tried a hit job on MC so is there like a squadron of Inquisitors watching the MC ready to pounce lol?

Thank you, I hope all is well with you, too! This is going to be addressed pretty soon in the game, but the reactions to MC among the higher-ups have been mixed. Unbeknownst to MC, Blade has been doing his best to shield them and any other "notables" from the attention of the Sun Court by downplaying or leaving their various deeds out of his reports, so a lot of MC's reputation and clout is among the common folk who like to gossip amongst each other (and who are more directly affected by MC's actions: MC saving the city from, like, Black Sun was a way bigger deal to the common folk of Ashtown while it was, like, barely a blip for the aristocracy; they can't be expected to keep up with whatever drugs the peasants are snorting, it was probably uncouth to even talk about it so most of them weren't even aware that any of that happened)! So word of MC's fame and power was much slower to reach those in the upper echelons (aka the 1%), and was further slowed by Blade's deliberate obfuscations. 

Sibella de Vespe makes it a point to be more plugged into these things because she's a Mage, so MC is more of a direct threat to her and her position and is more "relevant" to her than they are to say, another random Norm Sun Courtier, who doesn't bother keeping much track of the new "folk hero" of the day among the uneducated plebs. This late in the game, more people are aware of MC's existence in the Sun Court than they were even by around Heth Macoll, and even then, it was just like "a Shepherd did X" and it didn't click immediately that it was the same person being referenced every time: many probably still don't know MC's name, appearance, or details specifically and just know them as "that one Shepherd who did so-and-so extraordinary thing," not as "Captain FIrstname Surname, the Hero of Haven." If that makes any sense! Once Lavinet threw her lot in with the Shepherds, that was when Sun Courtiers started paying more attention, because one of their kind was now involved with "that world." So their awareness of MC has been increasing, but they wouldn't recognize MC right away by name and face; you'd still have to introduce them as, "the Shepherd who rescued Prihine Naveen at her wedding, killed her husband, discovered the Western Hierophant's possession, etc. etc..." 

Of the ones who would be like, "Oh, it's you!" in the Sun Court, it's pretty divided if people are intrigued or feeling threatened by it. I also think it's dependent on MC's actions throughout the game: like, if Prihine is alive and kicking and they axed her husband, she's around subtly pushing pro-MC propaganda, or if MC exposed the Western Hierophant to the public, some politicians are nervous about them, like, "They could do that to you next, you know. Who knows if it was even true?! What if that was just some Diminished lie to unset a religious leader?! We would never know!" I think currently like half of the Sun Court, particularly the younger generation, and especially the more amiable types like Lady Amantia (who are generally considered the dumb or flighty or silly ones), are impressed by MC and find the tales of their exploits quite romantic and thrilling. The other side, the ones who tend to be more canny and are more keen to hoard their power, are much warier and disapproving of all of this, but not so outright threatened because this is all hearsay and they tend to view themselves too above the doings of the common, mundane folk to really know the details (and they believe that a lot of it must be the result of simpleton exaggeration, and therefore not real). 

The Autarch himself hasn't heard about any of this because he's quite high above these concerns and has way more on his plate to be keeping track of such rumors: these things lie in the domain of people like his Court Mage (Sibella) and his High Inquisitor, and they'll bring them to his attention if they feel it's necessary (they haven't so far, for their own reasons). He may have heard rumors here and there of "a Shepherd who did so-and-so," but never bothered to confirm that it was the same person each time, and again, there has been some deliberate downplaying on Blade's part (such as when he removed all of the most threatening players during the inspection of the compound and instructed Riel and Lavinet to deflect like hell). 

The Inquisitors are aware of MC, especially if they put themselves out there with the coin test and Tallys in Chapter 1, but they're largely being kept away from the Shepherds and having their attention placed elsewhere for the moment... You'll find out why! :)