Siding with The Emperor and consuming the Illithid tadpoles in Baldur’s Gate 3 is like eating raw squid: gooey and disgusting. Not only has he been lying to us from the start, but he has no other reasoning besides “trust me bro” and gaslighting. And, as soon as things don’t go his way, he immediately sides with the Netherbrain.
Maybe if he was honest from the start and actually reasoned with us properly, more BG3 players would have consumed tadpoles, and perhaps even become Mindflayers. Larian’s original plans for the dream guardian were pretty different, featuring a romantic interest in your dreams called Daisy. The way things originally played out with her may have convinced more players into consuming the tadpoles.
Daisy May Have Been More Convincing Than The Emperor
As we know, things were very different in Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access period. One of the biggest differences was Daisy, who was the precursor to The Emperor. She was the psychic appearance of the tadpole in your head, who tried to honeypot you into living in a dream world while your body turns into a Mindflayer.
Essentially, the tadpole itself would try and convince you to turn, instead of The Emperor. Eventually, Larian decided upon The Emperor’s route, sending Daisy into the realm of cut content. But the thing is, not many players were swayed by The Emperor’s reasoning, and those that were, mostly did it to experience the new content on subsequent playthroughs.
Over on Reddit, many fans were surprised to learn that Daisy even existed at some point. Those who knew about her felt that they may have even considered consuming tadpoles, living in a dream world with her, and letting their mortal coil morph into a Mindflayer. After all, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
“Having her instead of (or alongside) The Emperor would have made for a much more tempting story. There would have been far more temptation to use the tadpoles,” said ChompyRiley’s post on Reddit. “An ending where you just… disconnect and live forever in a dream world with your lover. As it stands, the only motivation to use the tadpoles is ‘more power’ and ‘just trust me you need this to infiltrate the cult’.”
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After making his mark on The Last of Us, Craig Mazin is shifting focus to a new take on Larian’s beloved RPG.
“The first dream with some hot lady with a soothing voice telling me I must be tired definitely made it more inclining to use the tadpoles,” said one early access player. “Plus the dialogue with companions in the morning was fun. You could either tell the truth or lie.”
Others, who didn’t play Baldur’s Gate 3 in early access also agreed that a dream lover manipulating you may have convinced them to consume the tadpoles over The Emperor’s blunt methods.
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Engine
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Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full cross-platform play.
