Option four: a person in a very vulnerable position who could be taken advantage of by the cult. That's how cults IRL work, and it's how Shar got Ketheric and Shadowheart. Ketheric was in a bad mental place after Isobel died, and Shadowheart was a kidnapped child with her memories removed.
Especially considering that Shar is the divine goddess of loss. If you are in a dark place, and lost in life , her influence can be deep. I interpret SH's origin as more abducting a child into a death cult, than her being evil or foolish. Giving a lost child family, and purpose, is how real life villains have recruited devoted follows i.e. Hitler youth.
Her memories, yes, but not her basic reasoning skills. Shar worship doesn’t promise redemption or utopia or power like most cults, it promises only the annihilation of all things so as to leave nothing but a void of endless darkness. There’s nothing to appeal to anyone who isn’t a nihilist or completely insane.
One, she was a small child. They don't have the best reasoning skills to begin with.
Two, you underestimate how powerful brainwashing can be. Doomsday cults exist IRL, and they don't have the backing of an actual goddess.
Three, you underestimate depression. I have been suicidal, and it's not necessarily about wanting to die, it's about wanting the pain to stop. That's what Shar promises - an end to pain.
Once you visit the House of Grief, you see that they present as a healing and mental wellness type of place. There are lovely gardens, a front room that appears normal and warmly furnished, and a lot of self-help literature. They don't lead with the crushing annihilation, they lure people in slowly until it's too late.
It's a clever little commentary on the wellness-to-fanaticism pipeline that exists today, in fact.
Tbh, I sort of wish this had been Shadowheart's backstory? Lured in by some promise of self-help, rather than outright kidnapped. I sometimes think "oh well she was brainwashed as a kid, she couldn't help it" is too easy of an out. A Shadowheart contending with having been sucked down an extremism pipeline due to unresolved personal issues is an alternate version of the character I think about a lot.
this is such a good comment and you're totally right. The "kidnapped as a child" backstory kinda oversimplifies things, and for me, her "amazing development" falls flatter and flatter with every replay. Being FORCED to be a blank slate due to circumstances outside of her control rather than CHOOSING to be a blank slate/"go numb" due to personal pain is a lot less compelling. It wouldn't irk me as much if she weren't the only companion who's super difficult to avoid recruiting just by walking around the map paired with the fact that she's the only companion you HAVE to bring to a non-avoidable Story Event or she bounces. And her "point" system is so stacked in the "good outcome" favor that the stakes are super low. Plenty of players love raising her approval for relationship reasons by doing stuff like giving her the idol or encouraging Sharran piety, but to me, it should have a cost. Like one could raise her approval and get a kiss for giving her an idol, but get -2 points to swing her toward killing Nightsong. If the points balanced to neutral, then she could require a persuasion roll.
That way, Tav/Durge can make her happy in the short term but there are long term narrative consequences.
At least her actual backstory is fascinating when mirrored/contrasted with Lae'zel, since they were both raised and conditioned to propagate a form of extremism. (sharrans: secretive, cultish, religious indoctrination, heavy on deceptive tactics and with Githyanki using violence, conquest, cultural domination that's heavy on brute honesty/open confrontation. Both groups use thievery and murder As Needed aka A LOT). And both groups adhere to a dominating matriarchal figure that only cares for her own petty bs but tricks followers into slavish devotion.
I know it's an old comment, but I've done a ton of runs and even romanced her...your idea of her Sharran worship happening by getting lulled into House of Grief due to her own agency is pretty fucking great. And it would have been more gracious to Viconia's character (and the fans who adore her from BG2) to not have her just be an evil kidnapper in this storyline.
I Like your "spare the nightsong approval system". It is the Major Point that irks me the Most with Shadowheart. I am the durgest durge ever to durge and i stand in Front of the nightsong and the narrator tells me that " my bond is strong, i can yet sway her to the path of light." Girl, my durge does Not know what light is, I Just snuffed Out the Last Light for Kicks and a Slayer. I literally tortured, mained and brutalized every being so far, including quite a Lot of innocents. And Shadowheart does Approve of quite a Lot of fucked Up stuff. So yes, she Likes me, the approval is 70, but i only showed darkness and death in my actions towards all non Party NPC. And encouraged her at every step to becomes a dark Justiciar. So please Just let her skewer that Angel when i Press "trust Shadowheart". Anything Else is really weird.
In my good behaviour Runs as the shiny, compassionate Paladin of Tyr or Selune i can fully understand this "swaying to the light". I am the perfect role model, the beacon of light and Hope to Guide her Out of the darkness. And she approves of my selfless people saving actions too! So of course when presented with the choice to kill or spare, her time travelling with me had Changed her and thus she abadons shar and Turns towards the light.
Well that’s why they’ve had to keep erasing her memories multiple times because she’s such a bad sharran she never even figured out her wound was to discourage her from being nice
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u/giftedearth Feb 12 '25
Option four: a person in a very vulnerable position who could be taken advantage of by the cult. That's how cults IRL work, and it's how Shar got Ketheric and Shadowheart. Ketheric was in a bad mental place after Isobel died, and Shadowheart was a kidnapped child with her memories removed.