An Audience With Mystra (Gale Romance) - Baldur's Gate 3

[@meatcrimes-42069]

Mystra sure does give her hardest battles to her most easily manipulated soldiers

[@whateven4675]

Wow, Mystra truly just uses these people as she pleases huh. It's credit to Larian that the whole thing feels very Greek Mythology, where gods have their own priorities.

[@RecoveringLoLAddict]

It's kinda funny once you realize she's actually the third Mystra (as in Mystril, Mystra and Midnight) and probably the most unwilling, petty and morally questionable of all the incarnations of the goddess of magic. Truly a human given the powers of a god.

[@Xylarxcode]

But that's just the thing Gale mentioned, isn't it? Whatever else Mystra may be, she is the Goddess of Magic first and foremost. She is capable of compassion and even love, but not if it threatens her domain. As the Goddess of Magic, the Weave is her first and most important priority. She will do whatever it takes to keep it intact and to govern the rules of magic as used by the mortal world. When you threaten the Weave, as Gale did, you incur Mystra's wrath, even if she was your former lover, because you are infringing on the very reason she exists. The very thing that gives her purpose. And when you do that, she will default to her state of protecting it and doing what is necessary to achieve that, disregarding any feelings she may have had for you before that. A mortal's emotions run deeper and more diversely, because they aren't tied to just one single aspect of the world. They have the ability to choose their own path. In my opinion, this was a great example of how true neutral Mystra really is. She is not inherently evil, but if you threaten her or her domain in some way, she will come down on you with great fury and vengeance. Likewise, if you do things that benefit her domain, she will shower you with gifts and loving attention. If you ignore her domain altogether, she will ignore you in return and has no beef or interest in you, one way or another. But whatever her feelings to whichever mortal, it all comes down to their connection to the Weave. Because Mystra IS the Weave, in a sense. That's her way of perceiving the world. Like any other god, she knows only her domain and how to maintain it, which gives her greater power than any mortal could ever hope to have, but also makes her point of view on mortals very narrow. She sees the world and its inhabitants only in the way they affect her domain, whether positive or negative and responds in kind. Unlike mortals, who are capable of feeling complex and often times conflicting emotions, to a god, things are a lot more black and white. In Mystra's case, true neutral is the best way to describe her alignment and I thought this conversation reflected that pretty well. She cares for Gale, yes, but only to a certain extent. If he threatens the Weave or defies her, she will snuff him out and move on to the next mortal that grabs her attention, with nary a second thought. The fact that she could be moved to consider her own form of forgiveness towards Gale at all is most likely due to Elminster speaking on Gale's behalf, at least in part.

[@sgtpaintbrush]

Greek God is exactly the read I got from her too!

[@beccazach]

@@Xylarxcode that was really well said!

[@Taliesyn42]

Another thing to keep in mind is that Midnight TRIED, once, to be good. She tried to encourage acts of good and discourage evil, as her alignment was actually Neutral Good, and was nearly stripped of her position for it, because her job, her entire purpose, is to protect magic, spread its knowledge, and encourage its development. By trying to encourage morality, she actually harmed several other gods and crowded in on the purpose of others. In order to fix things, she not only had to focus back to solely being the goddess of magic, but give up her true love forever. Interestingly, the three goddesses of magic have all held different alignments. Midnight was/is neutral good, Mystra was lawful neutral, and Mystryl was chaotic neutral.

[@Dani-rp2pf]

Mystra looks like she’s out of an old animated Barbie movie

[@selty]

She looks amazing without the weave effects - her face model is beautiful and very detailed. Shame it's totally hidden by the astral stuff lol

[@waitwhat1029]

LOL! I can't unsee this now...

[@HuyGaming96]

​@@seltythey used motion capture cgi. I wonder what the actress name they paid for this lol

[@aleksandrafilipowicz7819]

Your Gale is so polite - mine was angry at her for what she asked of him, and I was even more angry on my side of the screen xd

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Yeah , Gale’s default is angry, I believe. In this video he was “ soft” because of the romance scene I triggered before the audience. I don’t know how to change him otherwise. He seems so upset and angry, and didn’t listen to what Mystra was warning him about (he always was enough it breaks my heart), I had to reload my saves and figure out the best order for these scenes.

[@slvaltva1392]

@@Liz-xq2wi I mean he shouldn't listen to her, she literally wanted to disintegrate him on spot after finishing the quest line. Haven't you played as gale?

[@ElectricalExistence]

there are 2 kinds of women, the ones that like gale and the ones that think they can fix astarion.

[@ElectricalExistence]

i played as gale, i romanced shadowheart, turned her good, rejected mystra as a lover but became her chosen. why trouble yourself with the annoyances of godhood, when you can be the chosen avatar of your god and live happily ever after with a cute half elf?

[@slvaltva1392]

@@ElectricalExistence I mean this pairing actually does sound cute af. A shy goth girl and a tall nerd, two socially awkward people h*lding h*nds

[@electrochipvoidsoul1219]

"your gifts were the first thing it devoured" So that's why Gale starts at level 1.

[@Devvitc]

Ye, that and game balancing

[@tylerhurson1286]

Anyone else find her character design boring? For the literal manifestation of magic itself, I was expecting a bit more flair.

[@АнастасияТамбовцева-ы9к]

She looks like a evarege milf. And this is who Gale did never shut up about. . mmmeehhh. " I`d rather gaze into your eyes then hers" Wow! That`s the hell of a line from your boyfriend. If you wan`t you partner endlessly talking about his fucking ex, than gale is a perfect option. "No pressure, love, but my ex is a goodess, u know"

[@Robul96]

Yeah she looked soo... average imo, like a regular person not a goddess

[@IRedpunk]

@@Robul96 did you want more VFX ? I mean it's kinda like Greek Gods. Sometimes less is more.

[@krisztiankohut3627]

interesting, i thought she was intentionally hideous, inside and outside, to call it average is a praise not deserved @@Robul96

[@Momofan69]

Pretty sure God's appear like that for a reason, hard to convince someone they have much of a choice when they're talking to like a giant manifestation of magic.

[@Saphira1001fanfic]

The differences between the mystra statue and Mystra herself I find interesting. The statue shows her as very exotic while the real Mystra is much more subtle.

[@wolves600]

this is the third incarnation of mystra afterall I wonder if thats why they are so different

[@thejwvariety]

not to mention those facial animations... ugh

[@grungehoneybee]

Part of me wonders if that's how she presents herself to Gale, because that's what he finds most appealing. Like how the Emperor does with the Tav

[@violetbluejay]

@@grungehoneybee Its interesting because form what I've experienced in-game, Gale seems to be the only one that refers to his own spirit guardian's gender - a woman. Everyone else seems to exclusively use they/them pronouns (or 'it' in Lae'zel's case) when referring to them or a pretty non-specific term like "dream visitor" or "golden paladin". Haven't played as origin Gale yet, but I've always assumed that as a party member his 'dream visitor' appears as a slightly more mortal looking version of Mystra.

[@ChiticariuLaura]

​@@violetbluejay I'm almost sure Astarion also referred to the dream visitor as a "she"

[@ashleylaricci2023]

I hate that having him ask for forgiveness is the way to go for his best ending, like I don’t want to encourage my boyfriend to make up with his groomer toxic af ex who told him to kill himself but it’s either this or he will try to take the crown 😒

[@madamefluffy4788]

Just think of it this way - by having Gale stroke Mysra's self absorbed ego, he gets to spend the rest of his life living happily with your character and his beloved tressym; two individuals who actually love him and make him feel like he's good enough.

[@nastiasudislavleva2894]

Huh, that's so cool how different in my playthrough Gale conversed with Mystra. I made him doubt her words and action, he was weary. So cool.

[@elitegamer9310]

Interesting. I did the same thing, and he was more irritated and cautious when talking to Mystra.

[@pativi6643]

I prefer it when he goes to the conversation with a neutral intent. Something about him begging for forgiveness, and being all 'I won't let you down!' really rubs me the wrong way after all that has happened. With a neutral version it feels like he is approaching it more from a 'negotiations' perspective and keeps his cool. And at the end he still is cured of the orb, without the need of groveling at her feet.

[@ravell2854]

The subtle things are quite interesting.... in no moment mystra promised him to get rid of the orb if he surrender the crown to her. she just said that if he will not detonate then he must surrender the crown to her. but she gave him no exchange in return. He is fooling himself.

[@ElectricalExistence]

i played as gale, if yo ureturn the crown she takes the orb out and you can be her chosen or her lover again, unless you wanna stay with your romanced character and just be her chosen, or maybe defy her and keep the crown/control the brain.

[@thesussadin]

This is weird. My Gale is trying to convince me to let him use the Crown to become the next god of magic. He wasnt happy when I said he was nuts

[@probablyanoldgod320]

I think he only stops obsessing over the crown if you convince him that it's not worth it in his Act 3 romance scene.

[@yesyesyes-gb5tw]

@@probablyanoldgod320i didn’t romance gale and he stopped obsessing over it near the end

[@liamedwards7656]

Mystra is lying about the crown being a corrupted weave. It's actually the only residue of pure weave left. Still a bad idea to mess with it since Karthus died because he couldn't take in all the magic power at once. I doubt Gale is a better vessel than Karthus after all

[@aukun4992]

Karsus died by taking the place of the one god he shouldnt without proper preparation, the moment you ascend to God of Magic you need to get the weave back in order instantly or... get Karsus Folly'ed and destroy your weave.

[@artorhen]

They did technically use an elder brain in the game to actually wear the crown, nobody dared to wear it as mortals.

[@TheKnightOfSmite]

@@aukun4992 Karsus apparently had the mentality of a spoiled brat as well. A genius by wizard standards, but did not think wisely. In an environment and culture where one's worth was to prove oneself by creating new spells over the course of years and become a master arcanist or a lich (which Karsus was), he wanted to take it to its ultimate apex and become the god of magic. There was no way he was ever going to fix the weave after jumping into Mystryl's role for a second.

[@aukun4992]

@@TheKnightOfSmite The wizards of old are more akin to sorcerer's due to how innate magic was to them, Karsus Folly is a very sorcerer thing to do by itself... followed by the knowledge that they were winning, but he still decided to risk his people for pride.

[@TheKnightOfSmite]

True, also I'm not sure the Netherese were winning, the world looked in a pretty bad situation, the Phaerimm were growing stronger, there was an undead Lich Lord rampaging and killing entire surface nations and adding them to his army because he felt the Netherese had wrecked the world beyond redemption. The elves had cloistered themselves from the outside world and the human kingdoms that remained were agitated by the Netherese that looked down on them. Karsus taking godhood also added to what he saw as "he could fix these problems in a snap" but.. not as simple as it sounds.@@aukun4992

[@dmsviola1]

So, this isn't different at all from the non-romance interaction with Mystra until that last bit of conversation. I feel like Astarion is the only romance I've seen that has reactivity to normal parts of the story and his personal quest. Huge let down as a Wyll enjoyer.

[@Liz-xq2wi]

It hasn’t escaped my notice that Astarion has two very distinct, very well-made scenes for Act III. I won’t say he’s the devs favourite, but there definitely seems to be more content for him.

[@digitaldevil696]

​@@Liz-xq2wi it might be just he got them first, but then the devs realised they didn't have enough time

[@adri_144]

@@Liz-xq2wi ever since the game was in early access, astarion and shadowheart have been the most popular characters. i guess that's why they have more content and reactivity.

[@DewelynC]

Yeah, I feel like Astarion has something to say all_the_time while others don't. Oh well, after this first playthrough with Gale romance I'll do one with Astarion's. Glad I like his character a lot

[@cylontoaster7660]

@@adri_144 I agree. Shadowheart and Astarion seem the most complete characters out of all of them.

[@伊紹菲]

For me, the “why did you disobey me” part went a little like: Mystra: why didn’t you blow yourself up like I asked? Tav, watching: aren’t you omniscient? Cause if you are then you would know that he literally wasn’t there when we confronted Malus Thorm

[@vobgreat]

My complaint is there is no cut scene of Karlach trying to cheer you up by talking bad about the statue of Mystra. Karlach:" Tav you have nothing to worry about your boobs look waaaay better hers are going all over the place...and don't get me started on the hair."

[@SapphoForAphrodite]

yes, because comparing appearance and pitting women against each other is what helps the most (sarcasm)

[@Liz-xq2wi]

@@SapphoForAphroditeTo be fair, to the gods, the concept of gender isn’t exactly the same as ours: they can choose to manifest in whatever form they want, and some of them make a point of changing their gender because of how little it matters to them (we stan a gender-fluid Corellon, and my Tav was actually an enby.) I prefer to think that Tav isn’t jealous, however, because Gale says he loves them, he’s loyal, and he genuinely expresses that he no longer sees Mystra in the same way he did before, and he prefers the beauty of their warm touch to the grand but impersonal love Mystra offers.

[@TheKnightOfSmite]

Karlach dislikes Mystra for the predicament she put Gale in. She even says a deity like Mystra is not worth worshipping if she relies on others to basically be used by her, sexually or intellectually. Although it came out that Gale absorbed the Karsus weave and it was much more complex than that, the point remains she didn't tell him or warn him of certain things (as Gale would expect from a couple). Once he'd fulfilled his purpose, she was happy to let him crawl in the dust for trinkets to absorb and vanish off until she needed him to nuke himself at the Absolute- a threat. That's why he also wants to look for the Crown of Karsus, because Gale even says that's why Mystra is noticing him, because now he's a threat, though you can convince him not to forge the crown.@@SapphoForAphrodite

[@whippethacreem7299]

@@SapphoForAphrodite As a woman: stfu, it isn't that deep. No further argument.

[@madamefluffy4788]

@@SapphoForAphrodite You're only lying to yourself if you think women do not do this when discussing their partner's exes. As judgemental as men can be when it comes to a woman's looks, women are far worse/very catty when it comes to other women they feel threatened by (whether there's an actual threat there or not).

[@elitegamer9310]

My playthrough was different. I made Gale doubt Mystra and encouraged his plans for the Crown. If you ask me, Mystra can go screw off. Gala was a good partner to her, and she never shared a thing with him. Nothing Gale could do was enough for her, and when he got that Netherese Orb stuck in him, what does she do? She casts him out, only to send him a message years later to tell him to explode next to the Absolute. Mystra has no right to ask Gale of such a thing. And of course she paints it like he would be doing a heroic thing and "redeem" himself, but everyone can tell what she really wants is to destroy a god in the making along with the one thing that could kill her. She's just like any other god or goddess. A selfish, whimsical deity with no understanding of the mortal mind or heart.

[@Spiralpaladin]

Which is ironic considering THIS incarnation of Mystra used to be a mortal herself.

[@doctorcrabs2465]

MR. ASMODEUS, I FOUND THE ATHEIST SIR, I LOOK FORWARD TO MY PROMOTION!

[@adrianewoodhouse]

I agree, I dislike her intensely and I did not want to take Gale to see her at all. I was certain he’d either decide he still loved her, or she’d demand that he return to her when they saw each other, and I was so afraid he was gonna dump me for her but I didn’t care if that meant it kept him alive 😭😭

[@elitegamer9310]

@doctorcrabs2465 I mean, I am an atheist, but this isn't atheism. Atheism is simply disbelief in the existence of the divine. What I said in my original comment is that I acknowledge that Mystra and other deities like Selune, Shar, Lathander, and the Dead 3 are Gods. I just also acknowledge that Gods are typically major ass holes.

[@Spiralpaladin]

@@elitegamer9310 I think doctorcrabs is just joking. But yes, even good gods in the D&D universe can be assholes.

[@CLxJames]

Wow, so even Mystra wants you to speed run the game by beating it in Act 2 Also, clearly she had no qualms over the prospect of Gale going kamikaze on the brain and dying so long as a new "god" doesn't ascend and threaten her and her ilk

[@AsaelTheBeast]

He'd be no threat to her even if he "transcended". In fact, one of his endings is him ascending and trying to usurp her power over the weave and getting smacked down with little effort. Being a god in this setting isn't about power and privilege. It's a job. And if you don't do your duty, Ao the overfather will smack you down with such a force you'll think you were a bug under a heel. And Mystra's job is guarding and maintaining the weave. That means anyone trying to seize or change it is automatically on her shit list and probably about to get wrecked. And frankly, considering how destructive all previous attempts at stealing Mystra's weave were, Gale taking her place would have went poorly for damn near everyone. And then he'd still get stuck enforcing the same rules she did, because Ao can and *has* smacked down the entire panteon at once before.

[@AsaelTheBeast]

And just so you know, previous attempts to seize the weave from Mystra ended with her "dying" (her incarnates that rose up afterwords are basically different people- though they share a few similarities) and entire civilizations being destroyed as a consequence of magic either failing or going completely out of control. a god dying has the potential to be quite apocalyptic. It's also why some really important things, like the sun, have more than one deity governing over them. If there are no sun gods, the sun just stops existing- but if there are three (which there currently are), then one dying isn't that big a deal (which also happened).

[@AsaelTheBeast]

And also- just to be clear, Mortals becoming gods isn't that strange in this setting- though usually they take up the mantle of a recently dead one. Current Mystra is actually one, her mortal incarnation being a woman named Midnight. All three members of the dead three- Bhall, Myrkul, and Bane were others. As is Kelemvor- though with those four they basically were given mantles by their predecessor, Jergal (who got sick of being a god of death and basically bartered away the lionshare of his divinity) I think Cyric was too? But I'd have to double check.

[@ThetaSigma-vu1sk]

This whole thing isn't about her not wanting to be overthrown, it's about protecting the Weave. She knows the Crown could control the Weave, potentially destroying it.

[@AsaelTheBeast]

@@ThetaSigma-vu1sk One thing to keep in mind is that she kind of *is* the weave. It's actually part of her being. Siezing control of the weave means effectively killing her. so it's not like she lack in motivation to do her job and make sure the weave is maintained and un-screwed with.

[@quietinsound8087]

So Elminster was there yet they left the fate of the world and beyond to some level 12 heroes and thought not to use the most powerful mage in the material realm who could of dealt with the Absolute infinitely better than just us.

[@wesjanson6979]

yeah it would've been nice if elminster showed up at the end instead of asking me to swallow the tequila worm

[@sebastianahrens2385]

could have*

[@justanothermaid]

I pondered this a lot. All I could come up with was a Gandalf comparison where the temptation of taking the power would have been too great for him. Elminister has certainly made selfish decisions before. 😮

[@splintergp]

elminster doens't have the artifact though and emperor probably woulndt want to help him perhaps

[@Etheral101]

There wouldn't be a game then would their genius. Games starts with a level 100 character Game Over

[@commentary2378]

I just wanna deck all the gods in the schnoz

[@Yuyu99000]

Ngl I know veeeeeeery little about Gale but I kinda understand why he became a "pickme",his favourite Goddess keeps gaslighting him wtf?!

[@rockpaper5578]

So Gale's gifts were taken by the orb? So he was stronger before the orb? I actually wanna see how strong he was before the orb

[@wolves600]

pretty much all the companions were stronger before trhe start of the game and they were weakened by the orb or the tadpole thats how they explain them having amazing feats while still only being lvl 1

[@Than211]

I'm pretty certain that when he mentioned that he was once "the greatest wizard of all time", was no exaggeration. Imagine being so skilled at your craft that a god took notice of you and make you their representative (and had a love relationship), that's how powerful he was.

[@ultimatecrusader9573]

I think I remember people calculating him at or around lvl 20 (usual level archmages are in FR, keep in mind, Elminster there is lvl 39, which is 19 levels beyond what players can even get in D&D 5e)

[@slowbro-]

14:03 my heart just skipped a beat ❤

[@selty]

He was an archmage and had level 9 spells

[@TotallyNotBTN]

I love your character, Super pretty! and the outfit is on point!

[@sturmhauke_aerospace]

That's a Selunite robe, I think you can get them in Act 2.

[@banann_ducc]

Her model gives me the vibes of those celebrities that have so much plastic surgery they cant move their face anymore

[@wolfe204]

I love your dollar store shadowheart tav

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Apparently she’s also a knock-off Ciri and Isobel, so may as well add one more white-haired half elf to the list.

[@CirillaFioneElenRiannon]

To be honest, I wanted more lines like "oh, you my now and she's my ex, so I prefer you"

[@colindavey4075]

Huh, maybe it was because you told him to seek forgiveness but my Gale was much more combative when talking to her.

[@iancampbell9899]

A new hand touches the beacon 👁️👄👁️

[@RainFrostyNight]

Well now I know this is Alister in another universe, with his love of cheese

[@Valentina-ng4hh]

wish there was a way to give gale one last kiss in front of the statue before he goes to meet mystra. Basically Tav telling her lover's ex he's not gonna be under mystra's overpowered thumb anymore.

[@Vecamiel]

Elminster Aumar looks like Gandalf, didn't he?

[@ElectricalExistence]

typical old wizard.

[@JohnDoe-vm5rb]

He is, unironically, this realm's version of Gandalf. If you're interested, there is an interview with his creator/the man based on him on Rekeita Law's channel. www.youtube.com/@RekietaLaw

[@mwalsh616]

dollar store Gandalf

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Elminster is literally just horny Gandalf.

[@snappycenter7863]

@@Liz-xq2wi But he's surprisingly chaste in this game.

[@Cyon2012]

The Goddess I WOULD very much LIKE to meet would be Eilistraee!!! It would be most suitable as well since I play a Drow of her faction! Does anyone know if that is a thing in BG3? I know the answer is most likely negativ but one can hope, right? I am not under the illusion that ALL the mentioned Gods got an animated meeting.

[@kiwi_crush]

I want to see Zariel

[@TheSamuraijim87]

It wouldn't make much sense, however. The deities you meet are greater deities that have been present since the dawn of existence of the realms. Eilistraee is a very minor deity in the scheme of the drow and the realms.

[@shiversivegotem]

I was hoping we'd be able to go in there with him and cat fight her lol

[@madamefluffy4788]

LOL, me too - I was ready to sass that horrible woman! (may have ended up being smitted, but it would have been worth it to tell her off). XD

[@callumreilly9107]

I'm stressed over the fact that I may have accidentally locked myself out of romancing gale somehow. He has really high approval but there just haven't been any romance scenes for ages, and I'm playing the Dark Urge but didn't get a nighttime scene where I tried to not kill him

[@Dormazain]

Honestly that should award an achievement, considering how much Gale tries to shove his dick in your face as soon as you look at him during act 1 D:

[@probablyanoldgod320]

I didn't romance him as durge, but i did in my non-durge playthrough. There is the weave scene in Act 1. The point where you can really mess up your romance with him is if you accept Wyll's dance. If you never got that romance scene with Wyll or denied him, then you should receive the Act 2 scene with Gale if you long rest after the first time you visit Moonrise Towers. Starting the Gauntlet of Shar before getting that scene will deny you the scene. The Act 2 scene either ends in a conversation declaring his friendship or confessing his love to you. In Act 3 when you get to Baldur's Gate you should got to Sorcerous Sundries and do the Vault, after getting the Annals of Karsus and exiting the Vault you should get a conversation trigger with him, where he tells you he wants to talk to you about something that night. At that point it's recommended you immediately long rest and talk to him at camp BEFORE talking to Elminster, because when you talk to Elminster and get the quest in this video before talking to Gale after the vault you will lose the ability to see the Act 3 scene. His romance is scripted very odd, i hope they clean it up a bit. I had to reload quite a few saves to make sure i got all my romance scenes with him.

[@eloradanan7102]

Apparently Gale has some bugs, trying to romance him doesn’t work sometimes, trying to not romance him it still comes up sometimes. I hope they’ll patch it soon.

[@mikevm3375]

What I don’t like is how she doesn’t act with him like someone who she had sex with. She’s speaking to him like he is a stranger she barely knows outside of his errors and see nothing wrong to ask him to sacrifice himself for the greater good. To think she was once a mortal named midnight ( if it’s still her, don’t know since she change every time she dies and it happens at least two time that I know of. Btw bg3 is before the spell plague or after? 😅), which if it isthat mystra I could totally find her dating a mortal just like the mystrill previously did with elminster I believe?

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Good point! Her manner really is revealing. If you slept with Gale, afterwards he’ll say something to the effect of realising in hindsight that Mystra treated him more like an amusement or a trifle than an actual intimate partner, though he still does regret hurting her. I’m not really sure I understand the second part of your comment, but BG3 is set significantly after the Spellplague. BG3 is set in 1492, so about 13 years after Elminster found her as a bear, and 5 years since her full return.

[@mikevm3375]

@@Liz-xq2wi oh thx so this Mystra is not Midnight anymore is what i have to understand? I don’t know the exact mechanism of deities dying but staying kinda the same person or becoming someone else altogether. Anyway what I was trying to imply is that Mystra being previously a mortal would make her more…human so to speak? Having the experience of what being a mortal implies would give her a different perspective than other gods and so her having a mortal significant other is more believable. But here the way we see her acting with Gale contradict my statement by being mostly emotionally empty towards him and acting more like a robot than a feeling being. Frankly to me it shows how « otherworldly » gods are next to mortals, their perspective is so alien compared to us that they can’t really relate to us like we do to them outside of worshiping…and well…to them we are just faith batteries used to maintain/increase their own power. ( only Lolth is different in that regard being crazy enough to pit her own followers against each other while knowing that her power depends enterly on them).

[@Liz-xq2wi]

@@mikevm3375 You're welcome! I actually knew very little D&D lore before playing BG3, so a lot of this is new to me, as well. I've never particularly cared for wizard or Mystra errata (I'm a dirty sorcerer or cleric main), so everything with Gale was especially novel. With forty years or so of lore to catch upo, there's a lot to parse. Ah, I get what you're saying now, and I think you've made another good point. I don't know if "Midnight" Mystra would have been kinder and more humane to a mortal lover like Gale, but I definitely got the sense while playing the game that Mystra is otherworldly, as you put it. Even if some of her mystique is removed by witnessing Gale's audience with her, her motivations remain occluded. Since her domain is the stabiliy of the Weave, I guess it makes sense that it is her primary concern, but her involvement feels almost tangential to the main threats of the game's plots. Especially interesting is that Midnight killed Myrkul before, but in BG3 Mystra doesn't intervene when it comes to Bane's, Bhaal's, and Myrkul's Chosen. I guess Ao wouldn't be happy if she did, but it definitely seems like she only cares what they are up to because they are using the Crown to achieve their goals. It really makes me believe it when Gale says he prefers looking into his mortal lover's eyes because they are "capable of tenderness, and feeling". It also broke my heart when, during one of his romance scenes, he states that the best possible version of himself would be a version ascended with the Crown of Karsus; he really does seem to think he's unworthy without the power that attracted Mystra's favour. I think being involved with Mystra really messed him up in some fundamental ways. His is a cautionary tale, perhaps, that it is best for mortals not to get involved with gods because mortals can't possibly emerge from the encounter the same person that they were.

[@mikevm3375]

@@Liz-xq2wi well put! The way a lots of gods are portrayed, even the morally good ones, tends to show them as selfish being more akin to A.I. than anything else. You have to take into account that they can have multiple avatar at the same time ( the stronger they are the more they can have), have multiple train of thoughts even outside of it and every time their name is uttered by any mortal they can see the place it happens, who did it, what happened in said place weeks in the past and, more scarily in case of greater deities, weeks in the future. So having said that it doesn’t seem weird that they are totally on another level from mere mortals. I find it kind of disturbing imagining such being courting a mortal to be frank…to them we are less than an ant intellectually speaking. Regarding Mystra, you have to take into account that even if she is one of the morally good gods ( previously she was a neutral ones but midnight was good leaning so it changed) her main goal is the propagation of the arcane before anything else. To the point of having one of her main chosen being a freaking dracolich ( not sure about the chosen part but she at least condone his existence even if it’s evil as shit) who is probably the stronger wyzard in faerun just because he works tirelessly to develop new spells. Anyways kudo to Larian, managing to grasp the emotional indifference of such a being in front of painfully human Gale was really well done.

[@kelex1298]

She's a Goddess, what do you expect? They do not have the typical feelings, emotions, and morale that we come to expect from beings like humans. They think and act in their own belief in their own world for their own goals and amusement.

[@merlin566]

Damn I really like Elminster.

[@ГригорийГ-ч4н]

About "Mystra bad" talk. Mystra is a godess of magic and her first responsibility is keeping Weave intact. The destruction of Weave leads to incidents like fall of Netheril of Spellplague. Uncountable dead. Gale unleahed Karsite Weave. Which acts, well, like a cancer to normal Weave. And Mystra left Gale on essentuallt life support despite his Folly. Process of creating an illithid pretty much kills soul and Absolute unleashed can led to fall of entire world. Two threats. Using one to destroy the other at cost of cursed Shadowland, Gale and few stragglers may be a cynical plan, sure. But logical. Now that would still leave a problem of new illithids, of course... Problem that heroes actually can deal with.

[@thegrandwombat8797]

She still sucks, the gods have serious ego issues.

[@KSSyu13]

I'm upset Gale can't actually ascend to godhood. He doesn't have to confront Mystra immediately..

[@elitegamer9310]

Me too. The guy deserves it, honestly.

[@snappycenter7863]

SPOILERS Gale can confront Mystra with the power of the Crown of Karsus and try to overthrow her. But you overestimate Gale/underestimate Mystra. Their fight is short and she easily beats him.

[@gabrielbreaker8859]

5:53 is when I knew why I romanced him: my archetypal guy

[@faerie_willow]

Bummer you can't go with him if you're romancing him

[@40KWill]

Kind of a lame ex girlfriend who is still using him.

[@Lozard2324]

For some reason she looks like a Doll or something. Compared to the other characters she just seems under done can't really explain it.

[@dancre]

Wow Mystra is really beautifull

[@frenchtantan]

It would seem I accidentally picked all the right dialogue with Gale in act 1 and 2. I saw traces of moments in act 3 where it is implied he could be tempted to seize the Crown, but he never even entertained the idea with me.

[@madamefluffy4788]

If anything convinced me to help Gale reach God hood (whether that's a good or bad idea in the long run) - this little exchange between Mystra and Gale made that decision that much easier. I mean, the absolute gall of her to say Gale was looking out for his own self preservation by refusing to blow himself up to rid Faerun of the Absolute threat when her demand that he do such a thing has less to do with the welfare of innocent mortals of Faerun who would fall victim to the Absolute's control and more to protect her own Godly status (Hell, Elminster even says Mystra would see the act as Gale redeeming himself in her eyes) is peek selfishness

[@The_Gallowglass]

For a smart guy, Gale is a dippy-doo. Elminster told him exactly why he has faith in Gale. He sees his young self in Gale, from a long long time ago

[@RAYNAwinter]

like not a Mystra fan but that statue does not do her justice she is just so pretty.

[@Liz-xq2wi]

It’s interesting how her appearance seems to really have people split! I agree with you, I think she’s a very beautiful woman who fits in well with the lore of the character. But there are quite a few people who think she’s either ugly, or underwhelming because she doesn’t have the ethereal, otherworldly beauty of a goddess like Shar. I’m really glad Chauntea was not in the game tbh.

[@RAYNAwinter]

​@Liz-xq2wi mystra has a magic look to her and that is how she should look larian had a task ahead cause mystra in the law never has one look to her apart from beautiful human woman with intense blue eyes with her skin and her hair that was every color of the rainbow and glowed. So I say they did a fantastic job plus mystra is not the goddess of beauty. Anyway each to their own. 😂

[@Dracorya]

I think this quest is broke for me. Despite making sure to hesitate upon giving the book to Gale, making sure to pick options where I was discouraging Gale from seeking the crown, and making sure not to intervene in Gale's conversation with Elminster: when I choose the ask for forgiveness option, Gale acts as though I had encouraged him to get the crown and uses the more neutral "keeps the cards close" option. Which seems to break the romance progress as I cannot get the alternate boat scene to trigger for this to boot. Ugh, it seems Larian's attempts to fix Gale's romance just made him more buggy. Just side note: I can get the other boat scene to trigger just fine, but I want to see the alternate one as it fits the dynamic I have between him and my own Tav.

[@Liz-xq2wi]

I think to get the other boat scene you have to not give the book to him, but I’m not 100% sure. I haven’t played the game since patch 4 since, yeah, his romance just keeps getting wonkier and wonkier.

[@thunderarmads]

Just did this part of the game recently and I gave him the book. I was really worried about locking him out of the romance/good guy route but it seems that long resting after meeting Mystra, you're able to get the romance scene and convince him to stop trying to reforge the crown.

[@franciscofracaro3648]

No wizard hat on Gale? docLeave

[@NeedsContent]

Her face kinda reminds me of Adriana Chechik.

[@Vebian]

bro what 😂

[@NeedsContent]

@@Vebian Don't you agree?

[@Duzon1602]

yup

[@IRedpunk]

you've been watching way too much Prn

[@ГригорийГ-ч4н]

Ha. Well... You aint wrong.

[@Natala00]

Intresting, in my playthrough Mystra brings up they were lovers and he throws back at her how she had no right to ask him to kill himself.

[@eliphas_catdaddy7982]

They should have made her look more god-like imo. Like they did for Shar.

[@Sylvantess]

Ooof, yes, Shar was so on point 👌

[@sethmiles9436]

Well I can't do this sadly. As my Gale was kidnapped by Orin. So I gotta do my best to save him!

[@Than211]

There's actually a special ending if you play as Gale for your origin character and it only proves how much Mystra uses the orb and his love for her as a bargaining chip against Gale at every step of the way. Mystra is incredibly manipulative, refusing to actually get her hands dirty in mortal affairs but willing to sacrifice Gale to get what she wants when she could have rid Gale of the orb all along. Mystra only lets orb feed off the Weave because she needs the orb as leverage against Gale, otherwise, Gale might not have any reason to do what she wants.

[@ghostofatmora4909]

Look, it's Gandalf!

[@edgarinfernal4259]

What is the armor karlach wearing

[@pandoraarts7748]

Gods are always assholes, so many people i want to kill in this game and yet i cant.

[@annesilverblade]

I just had the same cutscene where he was in absolute agreement with Mystra that he'd give her the crown after it's separated from the elder brain. He's not romanced in this playthrough either. I don't know exactly what I've done to make it happen, though.

[@doggoluvs472]

A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON

[@iwolfyus1385]

Mystra looks like she got a bad set of veneers. She’s always looked so uncanny to me.

[@gabagoooby]

the groomer goddess

[@corporateturtle6005]

@3:43 Wait. Wait wut? Mystryl was who was destroyed when Karsus cast his Karsus' Avatar spell during the fall of Netheril not Mystra(the reincarnated previous Power that was destroyed) and since Cyric is hinted at in this game ... that means the current Mystra isn't even that Power... it's an ascended mortal named Midnight who took up the mantle of Mystra. Did Larian not even read the source material? lol.

[@MadSnusmumrik]

It looks very strange.. For me who wasn't romancing Gale in my playthough he didn't look and sound THAT much still in love with Mystra. And you say it's a video from a playthrough where you're romancing Gale. Really strange. Especially after he said in act 2 that he's totally over Mystra and love only you (i was curious and tried his romance scene in act 2)

[@rebeccavaughn6427]

See I Got the glitch where the act 3 romance scene never even happened I was at the tavern room i rented camp and he had a exclamation mark over his head and then nothing happened.

[@lucyjennings5563]

Where did you get that outfit? Is it a mod?

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Not a mod! It’s the Selûnite Robes. They are light armour with an AC of 11 but no special effects. There is a set in Isobel’s Room at the Last Light Inn, and another set I believe in Ketheric’s room.

[@mercdavey4811]

​@@Liz-xq2wiU can get one with stats if you kill Isobel. Look's just the same. Or you can kill Karlach in the begging and loot the same drip, but with red and black color, and yeah, it have cool stats too

[@Liz-xq2wi]

@@mercdavey4811As much as I respect drip, I don’t think I could kill Isobel or Karlach unless I’m doing an intentionally evil playthrough. But thanks for the information!

[@drteska97]

Can you get that Tav armor without killing Selunite waifu?

[@Liz-xq2wi]

There’s a set of the robes in Isobel’s room at Last Light, and a few other places I can’t recall off the top of my head. I never realised how much of a lot goblin I am.

[@Yuyu99000]

Ngl I know veeeeeeery little about Gale but I kinda understand why he became a "pickme",his favourite Goddess in evah is a huge gaslighter wtf?!

[@emoaf8555]

Idk wtf you're saying

[@NTRGamingMedia]

Did gale just quote joe dirt lmao. The past is the past ect.

[@fabiolagonzalez4567]

if there would be n option to call mystra a bitch I sure click that tone everytime

[@serronserron1320]

How is he 13 centuries old?

[@josh___something]

Elminster? He's a high-level mage, and the chosen of a God.

[@blazingshadow2669]

being a chosen of Mystra stops your aging and gives you exclusive powers most spellcasters cant easily get on a permanent basis. the open ruler of Waterdeep is also a chosen and her sister (also a chosen) rules another city called Silverymoon.

[@Liz-xq2wi]

Isn't Laeral also one of Mystra's daughters?

[@blazingshadow2669]

@@Liz-xq2wi she is the one in Waterdeep. There used to be 7 genderbent Jesus sisters who were chosen of Mystra but 4 of them are dead

[@evenmoor]

@@blazingshadow2669 Syluné, the Witch of Shadowdale (dead); Alustriel, the Lady of Silverymoon; Dove, ranger and Knight of Myth Drannor (dead); Storm, the Bard of Shadowdale; Laeral, Open Lord of Waterdeep; The Simbul, Witch-Queen of Aglarond (dead); and Qilué, Priestess of Eilistraee (dead). Though for the Chosen of Mystra, being dead isn't so much an issue as it would be for most people.

[@TheSethwnm23]

She calls him gale of waterdeep like he wasnt water deep in her guts. Kinda disrespectful tbh

[@Liz-xq2wi]

@@TheSethwnm23 my god that’s the best double entendre, how didn’t I think of that? Also yeah, Mystra do be like that. Every time.

[@user-ip6wq7vr7m]

Gale kinda looks like Patrick Swayze a bit doesn't he?? lol.

[@westrim]

It's nice to see a lower case god for once that's just whole heartedly good, it's just that it's a complicated world and they have to both make and ask for tough decisions. Modern media is really short on entities with lots of power doing the best they can without some gigantic personal issue that screws up their interpretation of "best."

[@slvaltva1392]

she literally an asshole if you play this quests with gale as playable character she literally wants to disintegrate him

[@Jininxica]

how did you get this cutscene. gale didnt wanna even talk about the statue for me

[@azuraquinlilax1245]

So…she is suppose to be neutral good?

[@Animedingo]

100% thought your main character was shadowheart

[@Somerandompokemon]

Wow she is that depressing to be around huh.

[@DrNero-ye8qu]

...I'm sorry THAT's Mystra?

[@mysticdragonwolf89]

I found the goddess to be creepy

[@Sylvantess]

I have some strong objections about this plot point. First: The goddess of magic looks incredibly bland. Her face is an asymmetrical mess. The way Gale had described her, I was expecting the most beautiful woman in the entire game. But she's just... average. As a portrait artist, I feel somehow deeply offended by the mundane imperfection of Mystra's features. Second: She's acting like your boss' boss who makes their appearance twice a year at company meetings, greets you with superficial pleasantries, and always addresses you in regard to your work function, not as a human being. The entire interaction didn't contain even a hint of a former romance between the two - or that they even knew each other well, or even spent any significant amount of time together. This is beyond merely "toxic relationship" or something similar, it literally breaks immersion. It *completely* contradicts everything Gale has been saying about Mystra up to this point. I'm not even frustrated, I'm just confused. Overall - badly written dialogue, badly presented character. The whole thing is underwhelming.

[@PainfullySubjective]

can't believe i'm saying this but... mystra looks kinda boring

[@jdavis7993]

Looks like a skyrim character tbh lol

[@gregsteele806]

Is Mystra the narrator? The voice sounds the same.

[@jazzedaboutcheese]

I thought Mystra would be hotter lol

[@josephross8373]

Would.

[@lorddeviious626]

wat, no kiss?

[@The_Nightsong]

I don't trust Mystra

[@securatyyy]

Is... is that Gale but older?

[@ThetaSigma-vu1sk]

No, that's Elminster

[@202cardline]

yes it is

[@DreamerTrain]

look im just gonna say it, for a goddess, she isnt any hot, shes plain, the other women in camp look like goddesses themselves in comparison

[@MrAkeron]

It's too bad there's no option to kill Mystra. It would be interesting.

[@Nokipan]

She is a goddess

[@MrAkeron]

@@Nokipan The fact that Mystra is a goddess just doesn't matter. Mystra has been killed more than once in the past. The current Mistra is the fourth in a row. The first died during the ascension of Karsus, when this archmage of Netheril cast a level 10 spell. The second was killed by Helm during the Avatar Crisis in 1358 DR. The third, Midnight, was killed by Cyric in 1385 DR. All gods, even the great ones, are mortal. And the Dead Three, by the way, also clearly proves this.

[@Nokipan]

Maybe you are right

[@alexfoudraine5886]

​@@MrAkeron level 10 spell? It was level 12, and it won't work anymore. Yes, the gods are technically mortal, but only among themselves, after Netheril time rules were imposed and mortals can't really kill a god anymore

[@MrAkeron]

@@alexfoudraine5886 incorrect. In 1352DR Midnight killed Myrkul near Waterdeep and Cyrik killed Bane. Mortal able to kill gods, even before reaching divinity

[@PinkMarshmallows]

I can't stand Mystra. And not to mention, she groomed Gale. She's a disgusting "god".

[@Momofan69]

God's default state in dnd is groomer lmao, when working with their specific devoted, like Shar.

[@PinkMarshmallows]

@@Momofan69 I didn't know that.

[@TheGooseGroup]

Mystra is so pretty I can understand why Gale would want her back

[@ILoveEvadingTax]

man Larien tries their best with all of FG's fruity 80s high fantasy bullshit like Mystra. just too camp to even be fun

[@Greenalex89]

Ah fuck, shouldnt have mutilated Gales hand and left him to die inside the broken portal 🤭

[@kiwi_crush]

Mystra is hands down the least interesting or impressive 'powerful' character in the game. Such a massive disappointment after how well they did Shar

[@stephanmodry1301]

So now we spoiler already in the title of the video? Not cool.