Bodhi or the Thieves? (small Chapter 2 spoiler)

[TheAmazingOopah]

Heya, I'm on my very first go through Baldur's Gate 2, and I'm currently in chapter 2 having to decide if I give my hard-earned gold pieces to either the thieves or to Bodhi. Since there is so much to do in this game, I decided to act as much as possible as my character would act: role-playing where I can. Especially with this big decision, I would like to decide however my character would decide (instead of say, picking what would be the most rewarding in the end), but I'm unsure what he would pick. I'm playing a Half-Orc right now, who is a chaotic good Wizard Slayer. So out of a role-playing perspective - with who, do you think, would he go along?

[fable]

First: see what your party thinks when Bodhi makes her offer. They should all speak their opinions.

Second: analyze those opinions in light of their respective "alignments."

Three: compare to yours.

[TheAmazingOopah]

Originally Posted by fable

First: see what your party thinks when Bodhi makes her offer. They should all speak their opinions.

Second: analyze those opinions in light of their respective "alignments."

Three: compare to yours.

Yes, good point. It is indeed a good idea to check out what the companions think. By now I have made my choice. When I met Bodhi, Aerie was scared and didn't like the situation at all, Jaheira also was very distrustful. When choosing to side with Bodhi, Jaheira continues to stay sour, Aerie is still a bit shaky, but says it might not be that bad after all, and Yoshimo actually liked it, since "it would be a good way to locate Irenicus". If I remember correctly, Yoshimo would be skeptical when paying the 15 grand to the thieves and when meeting the big Shadow boss. So Yoshimo would be rather pro-Bodhi. I figured that Aerie wasn't actually very contra-Bodhi, she was just scared, but then again, on which occasion isn't Aerie whining about something. And Jaheira is well, Jaheira. I find myself disagreeing a lot with Jaheira, and think she really comes off as too dominant and arrogant, so I took her thoughts with a grain of salt. Besides, I am going to ditch her very soon any way.

So I chose to side with Bodhi. But what really helped me decide was my own character, and the impression Bodhi left on me personally. When you first meet Bodhi, you should have no idea that she is a vampire. Sure, the appearance and the restriction of only meeting at night may seem fishy, but if you have never met or heard of a vampire, you really have no idea. And even though it's very obvious to the player that Bodhi is a vampire, she doesn't come off as extremely evil (yet). What do we know of her? Nothing, only that she has a special interest in sinking her claws in Irenicus herself, which should mean that you have a good chance of her staying loyal. With the Shadow Thieves you have no real credit, only their word, but what is the word of an organisation that steals and breaks into people's homes, seemingly only want to help you because you have money? Sure, they want your help against the rival thief guild, but so does the leader of the rival thief guild, so those points outweigh each other. Besides, thieves could just as easily backstab and rob you when you are no longer needed, with their strong army of many thieves. That may not be smart, but I felt like knowing less of Bodhi might make you feel more confident (or perhaps naieve is the better term here) to take your chances with her. And on top of that, my PC is a chaotic good half-orc, an indepent spirit who knows enough about being considered and treated like an outsider, so I don't think he really would judge Bodhi that fast on her shady appearance. His intelligence is not that high either, so he would rather act on instinct/feeling, then on pure thought.

I don't know if that all really is that logical, but at least I have decided and at least I'm happy with my decision: Bodhi may be evil, but until now, I had the chance to take a reasonable good path, only having to wack some of those nasty thieves. Gorgov never really was a law-abiding average Joe anyway, so that last aspect shouldn't really bug him . All in all, I think I have made a good decision, and I thank you for the advice, Fable.

[galraen]

For future reference, there is an alternative thanks to the Saerileth mod (http://www.gilalion.com/saerilethmod.htm), which offers a 'good' path to Spellhold. It's a tougher route in some ways than the others, (here there be Dragons), but for Paladins and the like more acceptable than evil thieves or more evil undead.

[AvatarOfLight]

Originally Posted by galraen

For future reference, there is an alternative thanks to the Saerileth mod (http://www.gilalion.com/saerilethmod.htm), which offers a 'good' path to Spellhold. It's a tougher route in some ways than the others, (here there be Dragons), but for Paladins and the like more acceptable than evil thieves or more evil undead.

a ) got included in your link there

[TheAmazingOopah]

Originally Posted by galraen

For future reference, there is an alternative thanks to the Saerileth mod (http://www.gilalion.com/saerilethmod.htm), which offers a 'good' path to Spellhold. It's a tougher route in some ways than the others, (here there be Dragons), but for Paladins and the like more acceptable than evil thieves or more evil undead.

The link doesn't seem to work, but it does lead me to the gilalion website. That mod sounds very interesting, as I can imagine that a paladin would neither side with the Shadow Thieves nor with a vampire. If I ever play the game as a paladin, I think I will try that mod.

[darkmenethar]

Originally Posted by TheAmazingOopah

Yes, good point. It is indeed a good idea to check out what the companions think. By now I have made my choice. When I met Bodhi, Aerie was scared and didn't like the situation at all, Jaheira also was very distrustful. When choosing to side with Bodhi, Jaheira continues to stay sour, Aerie is still a bit shaky, but says it might not be that bad after all, and Yoshimo actually liked it, since "it would be a good way to locate Irenicus". If I remember correctly, Yoshimo would be skeptical when paying the 15 grand to the thieves and when meeting the big Shadow boss. So Yoshimo would be rather pro-Bodhi. I figured that Aerie wasn't actually very contra-Bodhi, she was just scared, but then again, on which occasion isn't Aerie whining about something. And Jaheira is well, Jaheira. I find myself disagreeing a lot with Jaheira, and think she really comes off as too dominant and arrogant, so I took her thoughts with a grain of salt. Besides, I am going to ditch her very soon any way.

So I chose to side with Bodhi. But what really helped me decide was my own character, and the impression Bodhi left on me personally. When you first meet Bodhi, you should have no idea that she is a vampire. Sure, the appearance and the restriction of only meeting at night may seem fishy, but if you have never met or heard of a vampire, you really have no idea. And even though it's very obvious to the player that Bodhi is a vampire, she doesn't come off as extremely evil (yet). What do we know of her? Nothing, only that she has a special interest in sinking her claws in Irenicus herself, which should mean that you have a good chance of her staying loyal. With the Shadow Thieves you have no real credit, only their word, but what is the word of an organisation that steals and breaks into people's homes, seemingly only want to help you because you have money? Sure, they want your help against the rival thief guild, but so does the leader of the rival thief guild, so those points outweigh each other. Besides, thieves could just as easily backstab and rob you when you are no longer needed, with their strong army of many thieves. That may not be smart, but I felt like knowing less of Bodhi might make you feel more confident (or perhaps naieve is the better term here) to take your chances with her. And on top of that, my PC is a chaotic good half-orc, an indepent spirit who knows enough about being considered and treated like an outsider, so I don't think he really would judge Bodhi that fast on her shady appearance. His intelligence is not that high either, so he would rather act on instinct/feeling, then on pure thought.

I don't know if that all really is that logical, but at least I have decided and at least I'm happy with my decision: Bodhi may be evil, but until now, I had the chance to take a reasonable good path, only having to wack some of those nasty thieves. Gorgov never really was a law-abiding average Joe anyway, so that last aspect shouldn't really bug him . All in all, I think I have made a good decision, and I thank you for the advice, Fable.

I think you've made a good choice due to your conditions. I want to add something. You've said that your pc is a half-orc wizard slayer. So for a low intelligence half orc character ( I assume your character's intelligence is low) even if he/she is good one, may have a wrong decision while estimating a tricky character like Bodhi

[Tricky]

Trickies are hard to deal with, I know. I started my 2nd BG2 game this weekend, a chaotic neutral gnome. I've decided to stick with Bodhi for pretty much for the same reasons as yours, though I'm not entirely sure if this means (late chapter spoiler:) she'll also no longer come after me later on and I won't have to kill her. I suppose the story could veer either way, but a quick glance at a walkthrough made me doubt that. Hey, someone here must know for sure?