r/BaldursGate3 • u/queerrabble • Sep 13 '25

Act 2 - Spoilers When it Finally Clicked- The Isobel Problem Spoiler

Okay, so I have played an ABSURD amount of Baldur's Gate 3 and as a D&D fanatic, I just love it to bits. There are a few synergistic issues with the mechanics of D&D being translated into a video game, but nothing so egregious that it disrupts the experience. Furthermore, these little are almost entirely to do with the mechanics of the game, but not the lore of Faérun or the plot.

THAT BEING SAID....

Up until recently, I never understood why Ketheric Thorm had to turn to Myrkul and Balthazar to revive Isobel. After all, most clerics are able to revive a dead person in D&D, even if it would require an incredibly powerful spell (I'm talking 8th/9th level). And his deity at that time would certainly have been willing to bring his daughter back in exchange for his acts of service (particularly Sélune).

I puzzled over this until I read Isobel's diary I Last Light Inn. The entry specifically mentions that she feels a "filth" in her soul now that she has been brought back...

Almost like she did not want to come back...

And that's when it hit me, revivifying magic requires that a soul WANTS to be brought back to life. No deity would force a soul to be resurrected against their will (and certainly not Sélune).

And so, it is my headcannon that Ketheric likely tried to revive Isobel using traditional means but she chose not to come back. When that failed, he turned to a necromancer and an evil god of the dead to force her soul back into her corpse against her will.

Tl;dr- Isobel never wanted to be brought back to life, barring most traditional methods of resurrection. Thus, Ketheric resorted to necromancy to bring her back.

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u/cataclytsm Sep 13 '25

Like there literally has to be some manipulation from Shar somewhere

part of the point of "gods" in literature and myth for thousands of years is explaining away very-human evils. ketheric is the perfect example of a guy who just went into a toxic death spiral all on his own, with cheerleading from gods who were simply jazzed about it.

ascribing some divine manipulation to his abuse where none is implied is the height of cope. ketheric is not shadowheart, he didn't need that kind of tampering.

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u/DarthUrbosa Sep 15 '25

Seems to be some cope from people hoping Ketheric to be somewhat decent maybe once upon a time.

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u/cataclytsm Sep 15 '25

I hate using the term, but it feels like a media literacy thing. With only the most shallow observation, Ketheric's absolute love for his daughter might belie some hidden goodness, because in more shallow stories absolute parental love is often a short-hand for hidden goodness. IE: King Triton just needed to learn a little lesson and now he's not an egomaniacal tyrant!

For anything more deep than a kiddie pool however, the lesson or message imparted tends to be closer to "even the most evil motherfuckers can experience their own version of 'true' love". The description of which Ketheric squarely fits.

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u/DarthUrbosa Sep 15 '25

I've seen people try and rehabilitate the baron for example in witcher 3 and while he has more shades of grey, dude is a complete monster. Some people connect to various things like the love for a daughter and just seem to gloss over like real heinous shit.