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gale's early access dialogue transcripts - part 4: gale's condition & how artefacts worked

gale's condition functioned somewhat similar to the way it does now in full release. however, there were also major key differences:

the implication of how the condition affected him physically

reveal of gale's condition

treatment of gale's condition

curing gale's condition -> speculation based on early access

i'm going to go through these differences point by point.

1. the implication of how the condition affected gale physically

i wrote a much more detailed meta post about gale's condition as presented in early access and gale's unique key art already so i'm going to link it here should you want to read in even more detail about it.

for brevity's sake, i'm not going to go into the same depth here and only present the main points raised:

the netherese orb, a piece of magic that karsus unleashed on the day he cast karsus's avatar and the historic event that came to be known as karsus's folly happened, not only caused gale to be robbed of most of his magic, a once archwizard and chosen blocked off from spells he used to cast with ease, but his keyart as well as lines from auntie ethel implied a deeper corrupted: "rot and ruin", as one of ethel's vicious mockery lines said, which she was able to smell beneath gale's "bandages".

as ea hadn't yet implemented at least somewhat unique body models - with a few exception like wyll's scars or astarion's scars - we never got to see that idea translated into game.

yet the bandages were visibile in gale's keyart on his right hand and arm, while his left seems to be free of the same affliction:

i think it's fair to say from these textual and visual clues - as well as others i detailed more in the meta post i linked above - that the orb that still causes gale's blood to taste like bile even in the full release had far, far deeper reaching consequences for him.

a deeper corruption. some form of petrification/putrefaction that primarily was then focused on one of his hands, reaching up aready to his arm.

2. reveal of gale's condition

i) full release: gale now reveals his condition to the player once his approval is high enough in ! conversation while travelling.

ii) early access: in early access, not only did giving gale artefacts work entirely differenty, which i'll go into in the next point, but he also revealed his condition in an entirely different dialogue set before a long rest at camp:

the vague story in the deer stew scene, which would had a low and high approval version, and the detailed version after the tiefling party, which i'll be going into in part when talking about the last point "curing gale's condition" since gale will speculate on possible cures for the orb himself in this conversation.

with the deer stew scene, in which he'd lead the conversation in with asking how the player found the deer stew he made after a family rescipe and explain how he'd come to trust and feel comfortable with them over their travels together, enough so that he would reveal that he needs "powerful artefacts" to soothe his condition.

in full release, gale still says similar things as the dialogue from the deer stew scene is at least partially re-used, however it's not at all reflected in the actual game: even komira's dancing lights locket will do, as well as any other low tier items, completely undermining the severity of gale's condition, his reason to leave waterdeep, the city of splendours in which such trinkets would be easy to come by in abundance, and, ultimately, the threat the orb represents.

which brings me to my next point:

3. treatment of gale's condition

in early access, this wasn't the case and gale truly did require actual three powerful artefacts, among them:

the sword of justice (anders, paladin of tyr)

the shadow of menzoberranzan (obtained in the underdark)

the staff of crones (obtained after beating ethel)

selune's dream (obtained after beating the leaders of the defiled temple)

the idol of silvanus (obtained by stealing it from the grove)

the iron flask (obtained by opening the chest of the zhentarim)

boots of speed (duergar item obtained in the underdark)

if the protagonist happened upon such an artefact, they would remark upon it, asking gale if this is one such artefact that would help to soothe his condition and gale would reply affirmatively:

the player at that point was able to give it to him immediately either outside of camp or at camp via player-initiated dialogue ("give gale the staff of crones") instead of the clunky "donation box" mechanic in full release.

giving gale the artefact immediately would have a more positive reaction (and a deeper bow of respect to the player after thanking them & absorbing the artefact), giving it to him later would still be received positively by gale, however result in a shallower bow to the player.

he would absorb the magic inside these artefacts in the same way he does now, but as previously stated, his dialogue would differ:

conversation after giving the first artefact:

Gale: I can feel the storm abating. Yes, this will keep my condition in check – for a precious while. - Player - Option 1: How long will that precious while last? Gale: It's hard to predict the effect any given artefact has, but my condition is hardly a patient one. - Player - Option 2: I think I should be reimbursed for my efforts Gale: As long as we travel together, what's mine is yours. And if we survive our many ordeals, I'll host you a banquet in Waterdeep the likes of which you've never seen. Such promises will have to wait however. My condition is hardly a patient one. - Player - Option 3: So this is what regret feels like Gale: A feeling you may have to grow accustomed to while I'm around. My condition is hardly a patient one. - Gale: I will consume the magic inside. What was a powerful artefact will be rendered no more than a trinket. But it will save my life- even it only temporarily. Gale: Rather soon I will feel it stir again – like a distant thunder sending tremors through the soul. I will need to consume another artefact before the lightning strikes. There's no choice but to find more. In the meantime, my thanks again. - Player - Option 1: You are welcome Gale: My lord, I bow to your boundless kindness! - Player - Option 2: That condition of yours is a very expensive one. Gale: I obtained it in Waterdeep. Nothing there comes cheap. - Player - Option 3: Thanks doesn't get me that artefact back. Gale: I myself am a much more powerful artefact in your arsenal. Rest assured of that.

conversation after giving the second & third artefact

Gale: It's good to perceive this constant fear repressed into a quiet scare. Let's hope it will last a good long while. - Player - Option 1: I'm glad you're feeling better. Gale: And I'm impressed once more by your benevolence! I say that with great sincerity. Mere days have passed since our first acquaintance, but you've gained the respect of years. As such, I do not wish to give you false hope. We're only treating the symptoms, not the cause. - Player - Option 2: A constant fear? That sounds unpleasant.

Gale: Unpleasant, certainly. Gut wrenching too. Heart rending even, if pinched for an adjective. Then again - keeps you on your toes. - Player - Option 1: Let's hope this was the last artefact I had to part with. Gale: Come, come, these are mere fabled objects of great to enormous value. My continued presence though – quite priceless! On a more serious note, I do not wish to give you false hope. We're only treating the symptoms, not the cause. - Gale: Time is a precious gift. With time, we may even reach Baldur's Gate, a city rife with magic, wizards, scholars, and perhaps: solutions. - Player - Option 1: In that case I share your optimism. Here's to the journey ahead. Gale: And here's to your company. - Player - Option 2: The tadpole is my main concern. I'm in need of solutions too. Gale: And don't think I've forgotten! - Player - Option 3: Baldur's Gate lies many miles to the west. Don't get your hopes up. Gale: Too late for that. - Gale: Oh, I can picture it now: Academies, libraries, laboratories – the assembled knowledge of centuries that may just set us free. Better yet: soft beds, home cooked meals, and all the other little luxuries this wilderness so brashly denies us. Gale: Gods, I'd pay a king's ransom for a hot, lavender-scented bath – minstrels serenading as I close my eyes and let the water's warmth dissolve all woes. Hah! Plenty to look forward to.

player withholds artefacts

Gale: A word, if you please. Remember how I told you I was in *dire* need of magical artefacts to absorb? Clearly the matter has hardly been a priority of yours, but even so, you can consider it closed. I no longer require assistance – neither yours, nor that of artefacts. - Player - Option 1: I don't follow. This seems awfully sudden. Gale: Not at all. I've had a solution in mind for a while now, it just took me some time to... set it in motion. That's it – I won't take more of your time this lovely evening. Rest well. - Player - Option 2: Care to tell me why? Gale: Not really, no. I've had a solution in mind for a while now, it just took me some time to... set it in motion. That's it – I won't take more of your time this lovely evening. Rest well. - Player - Option 3: Good to know – and goodnight. Gale: Goodnight. - Player - Option 1 [Wisdom check]: Something's off. Try to connect with Gale without him noticing. [Failed] Narrator: You flutter through his mind like a bat through the night and you see... nothing but darkness. Gale: Up to tricks, are we? No matter. All you see is what I want you to see. In my mind, you are quite blind. - [success] Narrator: You flutter through his mind like a bat through the night and you see... fire. You hear laughter. You smell brimstone. Mocking words drift back to you. “This is the House of Hope”. Gale: [disapproves] Stop that! How dare you... Forget whatever it was you saw. It's all beyond you now anyway. - Player - Option 1: You too, Gale. [conversation ends] - Player - Option 2: Gale, what did you do? Gale: No more than what I had to – and that's all I'll say on the matter. - Player - Option 3: We'll let all this rest for now but it will be addressed again later. Gale: Much later. If ever. - Player - Option 4: I don't think I want you around any longer. Gale: Suit yourself. Like I said: I no longer require your assistance. Farewell. [Gale permaleaves the party]

as you can see, it's heavily implied that gale, if left with no choices and no support, would seek out raphael to make a deal, to ensure that the orb is soothed, assuring the survival of others as well as his own.

4. curing gale's condition

i touched on this topic in another more detailed post here, too. for the sake of thoroughness, i want to include parts of what i touched in this post, here too.

in a previous point, i also touched on the fact that gale revealing his condition was, as it is in full release, very much a two-part story. the first in only the vague details, the second, where he shares his mind and memories with the protag, the full entire story.

this was very much the same in early access: here, you could spend the night with gale at the tiefling party. come morning, he would share the full story of how he came to be afflicted with the orb and also muse about possible ways to cure it.

i'll be sharing the relevant parts of the conversation only as it's quite long and will be the topic of another post entirely:

karsus's story

Gale: Here goes; once upon a time, very long ago, a mighty lord lived in a tower. A flying tower to be precise. I’ll save his story for another time, but the gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed but not quite, and his entire empire – Netheril – came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. Gale: The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, rolling like the prime chaos that outdates creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you; a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time – locked away from Mystra herself. ‘What if’, the silly wizard thought. ‘What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the Goddess?”

possible ways to cure the orb

Player: What would permanently rid you of the orb? Gale: The orb was kept safe and inert in a pocket of Astral Plane, suspended in time. If I can somehow manage to expel it from my body while in the Astral Plane, it will be rendered inert again. Alternatively, I could learn to control it’s chaotic magic, that is; to succeed where I failed before. But without Mystra’s favour, I don’t see how that may come to pass. Of course there could be different answers as well. Faerun brims with more magic than any one wizard could fathom, let alone comprehend. Who knows what outlandish solutions may yet present themselves?

i think it's quite clear from here, as well as other clues presented in the game like repeated conversations between lae'zel and gale about the astral plane that survived early access, but ultimately don't lead anywhere, that the key to curing gale's condition in early access lay with finding a way to the astral plane and expelling the orb there.

conclusion & personal opinion

personally, i really like the story line that was set up for gale in early access. mostly because it made sense on several levels: lore-wise, the mechanics presented, gale's condition was severe and it was treated with the weight it deserved. no one made jokes about slurping up artefacts like carrots or wine. it required actual artefacts of power to be soothed, not mediocre amulets, rings or random +1 weapons.

we know now that a lot was cut from the full release version of the game, including things that would have been absolute key points of gale's story line: candlekeep and the astral plane.

in full release we are left with these clues that go nowhere and with a story line that's not only downgraded from potential god killer to fetch quest at a book shop and a narratively questionable confrontation with mystra. gale's condition now, it's everything the game needs it to be at the moment it's needed:

it's urgent when it needs to be, but it's not when it doesn't (long lack of dialogue between the artefacts not working and the beginning of act 2).

it can be soothed and ultimately cured by mystra but it's also extremely dangerous to her and the weave.

gale needs it to be removed if he wishes to live, but he's also fine in the epilogue if only his ambition (???) is soothed and so the orb goes dormant on its own.

it's everything. it's nothing.

still, if you made it this far, i want to thank you for reading my meta!

🖤

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taglist:

@chainsawmascara, @randomfanner, @tacogoats, @flower-khajiit

@gwinharper, @galesenchantedpanties, @swampfaerie, @ardently-queer, @nirraein

@gale-enjoyer, @xiv-wolfram, @kairoswouldnever, @a-psychopathic-dream, @toboldlydammitjim

@vcxahlia, @fitzmagus, @deliciousrizzard, @messiahzzz

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early access series:

part 1: gale's three tadpole dreams part 2 a: the deer stew scene part 2b: the loss scene part 3: 23 cut conversations with gale part 4: gale's condition & the orb in early access part 5: the tiefling party, the goblin party, friendship and romance

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Ali (aka Wolfram)