July post #6 Karlach Origin #5 Honour Mode #8 part 1 Act1 half-finished

 25th July I completed Honour mode with Gale and immediately started again as Karlach the Barbarian. She will lead an all-barbarian squad hopefully to the end of the game once again.

The party

Karlach Barbarian Berserker 5

Auto-prone frenzied throw is just amazing, but apparently Giant Barb is the better thrower, may need to re-think the party build later. Have managed to avoid long-resting so far but may do it to gte back rages for the Forge and rest of Underdark; then I long-rest again before/on-way to creche and finish Act 1 with 3 long rests. Then do all of Act 2 with no long rests!

Lae'zel Barbarian Giant 5

I know I always make Lae kickass but then I realised its a facial recognition thing. I see Lae's portait scowling at me and I know she's tough, strong class, while Shadowheart I usually cast in a more supportive role, Astarion sneaky/knifey etc. Helps to just keep them in their lane. It's going OK but migth need to re-jig equipment and roles and stats and everything again later. Also, might need GWM. Much to think about!

Shadowheart Barbarian Wild Magic 5

Seems OK? She is mainly just shooting her crossbow at the moment but have used Wild Magic Rage twice and both times got explosive flumphs which are kind of cool. Apparently all the random effects are beneficial so will have to see.

Astarion Barbarian Wildheart 5

I keep changing the 'Heart' every level since 3 - seems fine so far? Considering a dual-wield build later. Will have to re-spec later maybe.

Draft build plan may not be exact:

Karlach all barbs	Karlach	Astarion	Lae'zel	Shadowheart
Class(es)	Barb8/Rogue4	Barb8Fight4	Barb11/Cleric1	Barb10/Wiz2
Subclasses	Berserker/Thief	Wildheart/BM	Giant?/War	Wildmage/?
Strength	8*elixir	16>18>20>22	16>18>20	8*club?
Dexterity	16	14	16	16
Constitution	17	16	15	16
Intelligence	8	8	8	8
Wisdom	12	10	10	10
Charisma	12	8	8	8
	Tavbrawl,	Str/Str/Alert	TavBrawl, Str>20	Dex/Con>20

Timeline

25th July 2026 - I started and cleared the Nautaloid, then Withers' Temple after getting all 4 people, then the Grove setup, then the Blighted Village, then Ethel meeetup, then Goblin Fort, then various quests inching everything forward so I could get to level 5.

Assessment

It's going OK! Fun and strong, nice to see the two Wild barbarian subclasses haven't tried them yet. Should be fine to crush Act 1 and 2, the plan was to immediately bee-line to Gortash's coronation and crash that but idk. Might need a ton of barrels and bullsh*t to do it that way.

July post #5 Gale Origin Mode do-over Honour Mode part 5 Act3 finished Honour Mode finished for the 7th time

25th July I completed Honour mode with Gale - Orin fight, Gortash fight, skipped Ansur and climbed the brain and did not blow myself up, instead easily defeating the Emperor et al and the brain's lackeys. I gave up my Karsus powers to Mystra and became Professor Dekarios, all companions had their 'good endings' thus.

The party

Gale Evocation Wizard 12

Probably the understated MVP of the whole thing; I usually try not to have my main character be the outright star of the show but Wizard 12 was great, so many options. Most of it was blasting but nice to have so many different flavours of magic and not hurt my allies thanks to Evoker abilities. Managed to get Intelligence 22 and all the Weave gear Marko etc so was undeniable.

Lae'zel Swarmkeeper Ranger 12

With Elixir of Cloud Strength, Sharpshooter and the Titanstring Bow this certainly did a ton of damage, not as much as other builds but was up there. Free action teleport and AC boost was nice, with Raphael's Armour she had 28 AC per round sometimes.

Shadowheart Starry Druid 12

Moonbeam and bonus action Starry breath were my go to at the end of the game. Just keep moving around and doing both every turn.

Astarion Lore Bard 12

This never really became the best at anything but served me well as a support caster etc etc etc. Swords Bard is way better but Lore was fine.

Timeline finale

25th July 2026 - I was in Lower City anyway so killed Orin the usual way - Roaring Thunder arrows knocked all her disciples off the edge then just wore her down.

I went to Wyrm's Rock via the Baislisk Gate as I noted the warp was now disabled - the castle was on lockdown. I killed a bunch of Fists and Banites but retreated from the throne room - no sense wasting time and energy on them, I went up the usual side via Flying and whatnot and fought Gortash and his few surviving minions in the belltower as usual. One new thing I did was had Gale telekinesis Gortash into the bell, which caused him to fall and die to huge damage. Fun!

Finally I made my way to the Morphic Pool narrowly failed to reduce the brain's HP but it was fine; snuck my way to the end and had a ton of buffs via all my allies. I had freed Orpheus as per usual so the Emperor and his dream warriors died pretty quick - Telekinesis is my fave way to kill all 4 dream images. The Emperor gets burts down after and even the dragon didn't last long to all my dudes hasted and firing lightning spells at it. The Mind Flayer Arcanists were next and were gradually wiped then finally the brain itself. It took 2 rounds I think but Gale got the final zap.

Assessment

It was good! Not as great as other playthroughs but fine; nice to play Druid, Ranger and non-Swords Bard to their fullest. Plus Wizard obviously. This was the under-used/never-used classes run.

Once again, Origin Gale had some unique stuff some unique cutscenes but was a mute for most of it. Probably could have killed Ansur but there was no reason to. First time completing the Foundry (but not the Submarine) so that was cool.

Naturally I clicked New Game soon after and started the Karlach all-barbarian run and am now maybe halfway through Act 1, hitting level 5. Will clear the Underdark and Forge next and then off to the creche.

July post #4 Gale Origin Mode do-over Honour Mode part 4 Act3 half-finished

Almost finished now; did a tiny bit of Act 3 during the week, cleared the Guild mooks out from the squatters mansion at the start. Then on Friday 24th July I got about 8-10 hours done in Act 3; just another handful of hours left to do (Orin, Ansur maybe, Gortash, fin).

The party so far

Gale Evocation Wizard 12

Still good-to-great; I have him decked out in all the best caster gear. I never really bothered with Hold Person or Monster or any spells that allow the enemy to resist but with Arcane Acuity from the hat he's wearing plsu everything else, I am finally casting them a bit more. 'Held' Raphael twice for example which made him much easier than normal, all close-range hits are criticals so it makes for shorter work. 

Lae'zel Swarmkeeper Ranger 12

Not the strongest overall tank I've ever ran but it's fun. There's a lot of overlap between Lae, SH and Astarion with Cloud of Daggers, Spike Growth, Wall of Fire and so on; if I'm not shooting, dual-wielding or breathing holy fire on enemies one or more of them are maintaining some sort of concentration spell.

Shadowheart Starry Druid 12

Starry Breath and Moonbeam are just amazing. Not much else to say about her, she just constantly deals radiant damage. Have used the other wildshapes less and less and have never used Starry Archer or Chalice? Idk dragon is just great.

Astarion Lore Bard 12

Not particularly great at anything but he's solid, a good swiss army knife member of the party. Cutting Words and so on are handy for making saves etc.

Timeline so far

24th July 2026 - cleared Rivington minus Ansur and Gortash as usual, then cleared all of the Lower City minus Orin more or less (so, Lorroakan, Fireworks, Sewers, House of Hope, Cazador, Shadowheart's stuff). Did the Steel Foundry for the first time and on Honour Mode; there was hellfire EVERYWHERE but Titan wasn’t too hard. All of that and no long rests (well, plenty of baths in House of Hope). Will take a long rest now and then clear Orin, Gortash (no Steel Watch guarding him!) and then get to the brain.

Assessment

 Thinking I'll just hit new game after all this is over and it's a coin toss if I'll do Karlach All-Barbarians or Shadowheart All-Clerics.

This squad complements each other fairly well and are surprisingly durable, must return to a Gale Origin run in the future and retry the all-Wizards line-up.

July post #3 Gale Origin Mode do-over Honour Mode part 3 Act2 finished

My second attempt at a Gale run; first run was all-Wizards and was going OK but one mistake cost me my whole low-HP party in one go; this is now a Gale as Wizard leading my least-used classes (pure, no multi-class Ranger, pure Druid, not-Swords pure Lord Bard).

The party so far

Gale Evocation Wizard 10

Occasional moments of brilliance, generally just solid member of the team - it is very satisfying to throw a fireball straight at my party or allies and not worries about damaging anyone. I usually fireball at the very start or end of combat so it's nice. I'm pretty sure Wall of Fire does no damage to them either? Need to double check that but it's cooking nicely. Hat of Fire Acuity as well so it's great.

Lae'zel Swarmkeeper Ranger 10

She got Sharpshooter at level 8 and I've been keeping it off but finally got the Risky Ring late in Act 2 and it all started to come together a bit. I hardly ever use the Flying charges the class provides but otherwise it provides tons of damage plus Arcane Acuity and Lightning Charges.

Shadowheart Starry Druid 10

This was amazing in the Shadowlands; I alternated between Colossus Owlbear and Starry Dragon Form but either one was excellent. Such a great use of bonus action. Probably the MVP of Act 2 due to all the Radiant shenanigans.

Astarion Lore Bard 10

Not the most powerful party member but have been giving him Elixir of Hill Giant Strength and the Titanstring bow and he can do a solid 20 damage that way. Otherwise he's just kind of a utility caster and support as necessary.

Timeline so far

17 July 2026 - cleared half of Act 2; had 1 long rest in the middle for the giggles

18 July 2026 - finished second half of Act 2

Assessment

Not the most exciting line up in combat but I've been making it fun with gigantic owlbear and arcane acuity shenanigans. This is also the least I've used barrels in the last couple of playthroughs, I'm surprised. That may change with some of the encounters in Act 3 (need to do Cazador, Raphael, Sharran Temple, possibly will try Gondian quest for first time ever).

I've found myself paying attention to the story again so that's good, I'm not skipping around as much and am taking my time. 

Would love to try the Shadow Blade build sometime with Stone of Bliss and that Karlach all-barbarian run is sounding good, plus Shadowheart all-clerics to finish out the Origins.

July post #2 Gale Origin Mode do-over Honour Mode

 So I hit New Game on the 10th of July into the 11th of July and have now completed Act 1. Managed to do it in about 14 hours or so, which is about par for my recent Saoirse run. I was able to clear Act 2 twice recently in about 8 or 9 hours with no long rests so am hoping to repeat that, is it doable?

The party so far

Gale Evocation Wizard 7

Wizards really got nerfed in Bg3. I have zero desire to scribe a load of spell scrolls; often its just better to pick what you actually need at level up and simply use the scroll and move on.

I have Fireball and Wall of Fire etc now so should be fine.

Lae'zel Swarmkeeper Ranger 7

Occasionally she is the MVP, occasionally she is just there. Swarmkeeper extra damage after hitting with attacks plus Hunter Mark pops off crazy damage; not as much as an Open-Handed Monk but it's nice seeing numbers everywhere.

It's nice to have someone with decent HP, armour and damage potential but it's far from the most exciting. Super satisfying to do the Swarm Attack after hitting once though. Not sure if I prefer Bees, Jellies or Moths yet, I've been alternating every level.

Shadowheart Starry Druid 7

Not sure how to feel about this; I was using Starry form a lot in second half of Act 1 (levels 4>6) so a lot of the swamp, Goblin camp, Underdark and Forge but other than the incredible bonus action breath it wasn't amazing. 

For the last bit in the monastery I had her take an Elixir of the Colossus and go Owlbear so she was 5005kg and with Tavern Brawler she was just a monster. Constantly in the way but Crushing Flight and double claws attack could do a tasty 40-60 damage everytime.

Astarion Lore Bard 7

Probably the least effective member, but he gets the job done. Dual wielding blades and dual wielding crossbows; occasional buffs and healing, increasingly large number of control spells.

Timeline so far

10 July 2026 - new game; cleared as far as level 4;

11 July 2026 - cleared from level 4 all the way to level 7 right as I picked up the Blood of Lathander; barely defeated creche boss and then Undead fight at end of Act 1 (crashed again due to Void Bulb / Wall of Fire shenanigans) and met Elminster, saved in camp right as we moved to Act 2.

Assessment

It's going fine; still not in love with druids but they can be fun; Rangers are fine too; plus bards... and wizards it's like I'm playing all the classes/subclasses I am least interested in (in Bg3). Looking forward to the Shadowheart All-Cleric run and Karlach All-Barbarian run more now.

Also these Origin runs are just the death of interesting characters; Gale is such a great character but when you play as him you only hear him in banter while travelling around, he just becomes a silent protagonist. Really looking forward to my 'Dark Urge as Sorcerer' run in the future, they nailed that.

July post #1 Gale FAIL Honour mode run Origin 4

 I started as Gale on a whim on 10th of July 2026 - Bg3 is my comfort game these days so fuck it, what's yet another Honour Mode run?

The party

Gale Wizard: Evocation 5

Blaster wizard who rarely got to blast! I was just short of Level 3 spells so was not too exciting. I had him with higher Con and lower Cha so while he had more HP I failed a lot of Persuasion checks.

Lae'zel Wizard: Bladesinger 5

Bladesinging is always cool, one of my fave concepts. Boiled down to just Lae dual-wielding and occasionally Bladesinging (only 2 charges so was not often used).

Shadowheart Wizard: Abjuration 5

I had an idea to make her a sort of frontline tank but it never really popped off.

Astarion Wizard: Divination 5

I heard Divination was Op so went for it; was initially thinking Necromancy but it's so weak compared to Death Cleric. It was kind of annoying as when I had Portent Dice it would ask constantly if I wanted to use them and the rolls sucked.

Timeline of events

10th July 2026 - I managed to make it to level 4 and had just cleared the Goblin camp when I decided to push onto Flind's cave. I let them kill the two guys and go inside as usual but then as I set down some smokepowder barrels at the mouth of the cave I was caught and combat initiated! One acid arrow later andthe whole party was wiped.

As this is not my first rodeo I was not too upset, I barely reacted to the ending. I decided to honourably delete my save file and left it for a bit; I hopped back on a New Game later and got as far as I did in 8 hours in 4 hours. I went with a different setup: Gale locked in as Wizard but SH as Stars Druid, Lae as full Ranger, Astarion as Lore Bard. Basically all the stuff I never use/otherwise multi-class. I decided against Sorcerer for now, that's for the Durge run and is powerful. TBC.

Assessment

I was kind of bored - I hate long resting so my Wizards were reduced to cantrips and crossbows, not very exciting but it was mostly working. I use a lot more exploits now where possible (explosive barrels and whatnot) to reduce playtime and grind. I prefer my new 'under-used classes' party headed by a full Wizard Gale. I always multi-class away from Ranger so will be interesting to see full Ranger 12 (loving Swarms so far) plus Starry Druid and Lore Bard (loved Swords, others are eh).

June post #6: Baldur's Gate 3 Tav Run. Honor Mode Completed 6 times. Saoirse 24 hour

Shortly after finishing up as Lae'zel I booted up a fresh run as Astarion. The gimmick this time will be 'all-rogues' and doing a somewhat evil (probably more chaotic) run.

The party

Tav Paladin: Oath of Vengeance 11 / Warlock: Hexblade 1

Went back to my roots. I just wanted to be something strong and reliable with access to strong persuasive skills to breeze past certain parts of the game.

Playing a Drow for the first time - tons of unique dialogue for sure in Act 1.

Lae'zel Monk: Open-Hand 8 / Rogue: Thief 4

My fave with one of my fave builds now. With a Strength elixir she was often our MVP.

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Shadowheart Cleric: Light 12 ???

I initially had her switch to Starry Druid but it didn't excite me much; then she was Light Cleric for a bit and just didn't really add much.

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NOT-Karlach Barbarian: Berserker 8 / Rogue: Thief 4

I had accidentally pissed off the Grove forever this time so Karlach was mad at me when I tried to recruit her. Cue me immediately going to Withers and hiring Not-Karlach.

She's FINE my main issue is I seem to have outgrown the Throwing warfare a bit; while amazing and powerful, it can be a bit annoying waiting for the returning weapon to return sometimes. I prefer having a two-handed GWM build now to just wallop enemies, much more plug and play.

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Jaheira Ranger: Gloomstalker 5 / Fighter: Champion 4 Rogue: Assassin 3

When in doubt, go back to one of your first OP builds. I was missing having the extra banter Karlach would have provided (Not-Karlach would very rarely talk) so as soon as I got Jaheira I switched her in.

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Minthara 

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Timeline of events

3rd June 2026 - s

Assessment

It was good! B