Draft 5, 16-20 COMPLETE!

Still not as much progress as I’d like, but at least there are no major problems with the story that I need to solve at this point.

And I won’t spoil anything, but some very good character development for Dark happens in these chapters. Well, I guess that spoils something if you thought he was going to die at the beginning of the book. 😅

Let’s just say I’m reassuring the people that would think that Dark stays the way he is forever. I don’t know if there are people like that out there, but I sure would be if I were reading this series blind.

I’m not saying he pops out of his armor and every question is revealed. But some great stuff starts to happen here, and it is worth the wait.

Now, what have I been playing? Ah, yes. The Steam Summer Sale arrived again this year. Time for a big one.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Spoilers for Act 1 and Act 2.

Yep, it’s finally time to play the GAME OF THE YEAR… from two years ago. My brother gifted it to me as a birthday present, after my laptop was unable to run his FIRST present of Doom: the Dark Ages. Sorry, Doom. Maybe in a few more years I’ll be worthy.

But I CAN run Baldur’s Gate 3! As long as I turn down the graphics. I’ve played for about 93 hours at this point. It’s fun, but I’m a bit surprised that this game took off like it did. Don’t get me wrong, the game is great. But it’s slow. There’s a lot of dialog. Tons of places to search. It’s fun if you’re into that sort of thing, which I am, but I wouldn’t assume that ‘the masses’ would be. It seems to me that society loves instant gratification and there isn’t much of that in Baldur’s Gate. I mean, I’m only level EIGHT after all this time playing.

And there just isn’t a strong story to move your quest along. I’ve seen NO main adversary, even after all this time. All of your characters are inflicted by a common ailment, and the search for a cure sends them forward. That’s it, for the most part.

There ARE plenty of side stories though. They’re everywhere. Save a town from goblins. Confront a powerful hag. Steal a single egg that’s guarded by an entire fortress of soldiers and traps.

I didn’t even end up stealing it.

And for a writer like me, I LOVE all the fully-voiced dialog. And boy oh boy do NPCs everywhere have stories to tell. You’ll hear from them in villages. On the road. Inside a cursed tavern. When they’re alive. After you’ve killed them. Even at your camp while you’re resting. When you’re SLEEPING, your party members will wake you up and profess their love or something.

Even your player character gets in on the fun!

And ALL the animals can speak, if you have the correct spells or scrolls to hear them.

I killed the owlbear, but spared her cub.

The game is also very open-ended when it comes to quest solutions. For instance, I needed to rescue some gnomes from a prison cell. But they needed time to dig through the walls. And there’s a patrolling guard. Sure, I COULD kill them and the warden too. Make a scene.

OR. I could pile up random boxes and barrels to block off the patrol so they can’t even see the jailbreak happen at all!

Stay back there and don’t peek!

So Baldur’s Gate 3 is fun if you love little stories and exploration, but not if you need the instant gratification of constant level ups and hallways full of enemies to kill. (Although you do have plenty of chances to revel in a slaughterfest.)

Anyway, I’ve got to get back to it. And writing stories of my own, of course. 😅