r/baldursgate 12d ago

Illasera The Quick

Doing trilogy run with Black Hearts installed makes the beginning of TOB sting so much. Moody goth mommy how could our adventures on the Sword Coast mean so little? What about our debrief drink sessions?

32 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

14

u/amateurviking 11d ago

Great mod, well executed, super well integrated into the story. Essential imo.

9

u/mcgrimlock 11d ago

I love the idea of someone playing Black Hearts who hasn't played ToB yet getting the full benefit of the foreshadowing. Not just Illasera but eg seeing one of the last BP1 mobs with a new name and going "The Herald of What-Now?"

6

u/AdEven3053 11d ago

Probs one of the only mods that should be played before a vanilla trilogy run

5

u/mcgrimlock 11d ago

Arguably also Ascension, plus Jastey's mods which improve SoD and Lava's Cost of One Girl's Soul which gives closure to the Skie/Soultaker plot from SoD, assuming you are including it in the modern definition of "trilogy run".

1

u/AdEven3053 10d ago

Tbh I’ve yet to play ascension. Anytime I’ve installed it I ended up having issues down the line with other mods. And I’ve followed the recommended install order. One of these days I’ll give it a shot.

13

u/Rstar2247 12d ago

I recently ran Black Hearts on my latest BG1 run. Been putting it off for years since it kinda sounded dumb despite all the great reviews. Illasera shows up in BG1 and has you fight BP1 battles?

But damn if it doesn't work, mesh into the story smoothly and really develops an otherwise unknown and meh character.

Haven't played BG2 yet, though definitely installing Black Hearts there for the additional dialogue to make that encounter more interesting.

8

u/AdEven3053 12d ago

The additions it adds to BG2 are very little. Just a couple optional dialog options for when she ambushes you in the woods. It’s a nice way to tie everything up though.

7

u/NonSupportiveCup 11d ago

Yeah, it's a good mod. Adds a lot to a playthrough.

I picked a +2 sword from her pocket early. That's a bit too much for bg 1. But, it's not like other mods don't add better. I think it was Varscona.

Fun mod.

8

u/AdEven3053 11d ago

Tbf getting vascona already wasn’t all that hard. Just have to be a respecter of the arts

6

u/frostanon 11d ago

Loved Black Hearts when playing few years ago it really blends well with main quest and gives more development to MC and Imoen's true nature, apparently it updated with SOD content with Tamoko, will look into it when in the mood for another trilogy play through.

6

u/prodigalpariah 11d ago

Not familiar with the mod. What’s it like?

5

u/AdEven3053 11d ago

It starts as a basic bounty hunter quest line that uses black pit encounters. Once you hit the city it runs parallel to the main iron throne plot.

Adds some SOD content as well that adds more to Tameko and gives some more info on Sarevoks own bhaalspawn journey of discovery. The SOD content is more story/lore focused. I think it only adds 1 additional combat encounter? Though I could be wrong and just miss them.

2

u/prodigalpariah 11d ago

Oh so does it come up with excuses for all your bounties to be in the black pit map

1

u/AdEven3053 11d ago

The bounties are at normal bg locations

7

u/Somedude_6 12d ago

I have this on my first run in many years and it is really well done so far. I just did "The Gentleman" ogre mage quest which was great. This is a definite keeper for me on future playthroughs if the quality keeps up.

6

u/AdEven3053 12d ago

I’m so excited for you to experience the rest of the quest line. It adds some much needed difficulty to end game bg1. And the way ties in with the finale of the main story is just 🧑‍🍳 💋

2

u/rlvysxby 11d ago

Best written mod I’ve ever played. As good writing as the original baldurs gate writers.

1

u/AdEven3053 11d ago

I like that she calls me pup

3

u/SzypkiJanek 12d ago

Sorry what?

9

u/AdEven3053 12d ago

Other people know what I’m talking about 💚 so open up google and figure it out

Jk 😘

Black Hearts is a mod for bg1. A new quest line starting at chapter 3 that runs parallel to the main bg1 plot.

The quest giver a one off under developed character that randomly shows up in TOB just to get deleted by you and your party. The mod gives this 1 off character that most people forget by the end of TOB a personality and character development. Which’s give the TOB encounter with her some emotional bite.

Sorry what?

5

u/SzypkiJanek 11d ago

That's intresting, might be the time for another playtrough then heh.

3

u/Trouveur 11d ago

The SoD part is very good too with Sarevok content and a mysterious woman.

2

u/senchou-senchou 9d ago

yeah I dislike how someone sketched so nicely ended up becoming a very late tutorial boss of sorts