Editing Epilogue

Six months after the resolution of [[Confront the Elder Brain]], the party will gather for an extended '''Epilogue''' sequence, which takes place at a suppertime gathering thrown by [[Withers]] at the [[Wilderness]] [[campsite]]. The gathering serves as an opportunity for all the [[Companions]] to reunite and share how they have been faring since parting ways, and to gain closure on the stories of each companion. The epilogue was added in [[Patch Notes|Patch 5]].

The epilogue sequence is tailored to the decisions made throughout the preceding playthrough and, as such, contains many variations. Major changes pivot around choices made during [[Confront the Elder Brain]] and the resolutions of each companion's [[Personal Quest|Personal Quests]]. All player characters in the party at the time of the Brain's defeat attend in multiplayer games. Anyone who permanently died or otherwise left the camp during the playthrough will not attend the epilogue.

[[Potion of Animal Speaking|Potions of Animal Speaking]] can be found throughout, allowing the player character to {{SAI|Speak with Animals}} if they do not naturally have the ability.{{note|These potions were added in '''Hotfix 17''' - {{#time: H:i, d F Y ("CET") | {{lastupdatedate}}}}. Prior to their addition, the player character would need to trade with or pickpocket Volo.}}

[[Milil]] stands upon a central stone, surrounded by spiritual instruments, and provides music for the party. If passing a [[Religion]] check, Milil will be identified as the erstwhile minor deity of song, a recognition that provides him great joy. Milil acts as a jukebox, changing the song per the player character's requests. The song options are:

A [[Clothing Chest]] at {{Coords|-511|-498}}contains a vast number of dyes, camp clothes, shoes, and undergarments, allowing the player character to customize their outfit.

{{Coords|-481|-504}} is home to a nook containing the [[Chest of Grateful Words]] and multiple editions of the [[Baldur's Mouth Gazette]]. Here, it is possible to quickly catch up on the developments of minor characters, who either send correspondence that can be found in the chest's inventory, or who made headlines in the posted editions of the Gazette. The headlines of the Gazette are modular, with some headlines being constant and others being affected by outcomes from the playthrough.{{Verify}} For example:<gallery mode="slideshow" widths="240" heights="240">

Player characters who opted for the full Mind Flayer transformation will appear in their Mind Flayer form. The other attendees will still remark on their appearance but be happy to see them nonetheless. Like a non-illithid origin character, player characters still have the option to hug [[Gale]], [[Shadowheart]], [[Karlach]], and [[Halsin]]/[[Minthara]] as well as kiss their romantic partner(s) as a Mind Flayer.

However, after catching up with the third companion, the player character will be struck with the urge to eat their brain{{Note|This works if the player character strikes a conversation with the same companion several times in a row, too.}}. A {{Ability check|Constitution|15}} is required to repress the urge{{Note|[[Inspiration]] from the completed playthrough carries over into the epilogue and can be used here.}}; if failing or voluntarily giving in, the companion becomes hostile and Withers unceremoniously [[Epilogue#Bad Ending|whisks the player character through a portal.]]

The appearance of the [[Dark Urge]] in the epilogue will vary depending on whether the Urge was embraced or rejected. If the Urge was embraced, a bloodsoaked Urge character will stumble into the party, gazing from afar with insanity in their eyes. They contemplate killing all the other attendees in their sleep while licking {{RarityItem|Bloodthirst}}.

Astarion's behavior at the dinner party is determined primarily by the outcome of [[The Pale Elf]], namely whether or not he ascended. If Astarion ascended, he will be wearing an opulent blood-red suit and speaks more slowly, with a venomous drip. He brags about his rising status as the city's "puppet-master" and generally looks down upon the player character. He can be challenged on his new behavior and compared to Cazador, but Astarion will brush these off.  

If the player character romanced Astarion and remained with him as his spawn (or ally in case of illithid transformation), he will ask them to talk with the other companions to gather information and share it with him later, while he stays behind and drinks wine. He will be surprised to hear that others are somehow achieving successes in life without his supervision, but will not be interested to engage in conversation with them himself.  

[[Gale|Gale's]] presence and behavior at the party are determined primarily by the outcome of [[The Wizard of Waterdeep]], namely whether he gave up the Crown of Karsus to [[Mystra]], chose to keep the Crown for himself or sacrificed himself to destroy the Netherbrain.  

If he did not keep the Crown, Gale returns to [[Waterdeep]] with [[Tara]] as a professor at the Blackstaff Academy's School of Illusion. If he chose to return the Crown to Mystra, she cures him of his Netherese Orb; otherwise, if he left it hidden in the ocean, Mystra leaves the orb in him as a reminder of his former hubris but deactivates it and allows him to live in peace. In either version of the professor ending, Gale can be hugged during the player's first conversation with him, he pretends the orb is still active in order to threaten his students when they behave poorly, and he asks the player character to come by the school at some point as a guest-lecturer for his class. Players can accept (with or without their romantic partner) or gently decline, and [[Ranger|Rangers]] can offer to teach the students about wilderness survival instead.

If Gale decided to take the crown for himself he arrives to the party as a god. He reforged the crown and used it to ascend to godhood, but left Mystra to her magical dominion, instead becoming the god of ambition. He has several temples already built in honor of him, and he promises that the player character is never out of his sight. Tara is unhappy with Gale's ascension, though, calling his change "distasteful".

If he used the Netherese Orb to destroy the Netherbrain, a magical projection of Gale called the [[Spectral Voice]] will be in the party. It will inform that it was created by Gale in the event that he died and was beyond normal means of resurrection, and will give a letter containing Gale's farewell. Once it delivers the letter, the Spectral Voice vanishes, and Tara is saddened by his death.

[[Halsin]] does not have any major changes to his behavior or appearance at the party. After optionally sharing a hug and/or kiss (if romanced), he talks of settling down in Reithwin to help rebuild the [[Shadow-Cursed Lands]], and ask for a story from the player character to bring back to his hordes of adopted children. If the player character has romanced Halsin, they can joke that they would've asked him to read them stories and tuck them in. Also, if the player character romanced Halsin but went to [[Avernus]] with Karlach, Halsin says that he's glad their friendship with her has endured but that he'll always be there for them when they get back. Before the player character leaves their conversation, he will give them a {{RarityItem|Whittled Duck}}.

Ambient chatter from Halsin has him surprised Withers has brought so much food, considering he is mostly made of bone. He theorizes that Withers wishes to live vicariously through everyone else's appetites. He also notes he should exercise restraint with the alcohol, lest he lose his faculties and ruin the party's vibe as a wildshaped bear. He is very happy to be among old friends and in nature. Throughout the party, Halsin can be seen dancing to Milil's music, and he will also occasionally receive the [[Drunk (Condition)|Drunk]] condition - living up to his own worries by turning into a bear and running dizzily around the campsite or gorging fruit until the condition wears off.

[[Jaheira|Jaheira's]] behavior does not have major changes if she attends. She talks of Baldur's Gate's reconstruction efforts, and the roles her children, the [[Harpers]], and Minsc have to play in it. She reveals Jord has joined the Harpers and is planning crop cycles in Wyrm's Crossing. Rion has temporarily joined the Flaming Fist, but mostly spends her time incarcerating corrupt Fists. Minsc, if he has made amends with the Guild, has managed to rope them into rebuilding the city as well, though she suspects the thieves are only in it to lure back the wealthy. She herself is micromanaging everyone. By asking Jaheira how she's been after she talks about her children, the player character can ask to join to the Harpers and she will agree, even if they're a mind flayer.

[[Karlach|Karlach's]] behavior is determined primarily by the decisions made on the dock [[Endings|after defeating the Netherbrain]] and whether she became a Mind Flayer.  

If she became a Mind Flayer, she will appear as she did in the final battle. She talks slowly and airily, reporting that she still feels like herself but that eating brains has enriched her with lifetimes of additional thoughts and memories. She sustains herself through an arrangement with a healer for terminally-ill patients, who consent to donate their brains to her diet, and she is proud that their memories can live on through her.

If she went to Avernus, she will be excited to have discovered a lead on permanently fixing her soul engine: blueprints for one of Zariel's secret forges. Her ambient chatter in this ending has her note that she

 

If she did not go to Avernus, she does not show up because she is dead. [[Shadowheart]] will lament the lack of her presence, and after conversing with [[Withers]] it is revealed that Karlach was not brought back because she did not want to return.

If Lae'zel sides with Orpheus and departs with him to wage war, she will appear at the party as a glowing Astral Projection. She recants the player character with tales of victory, her diplomacy mission to the [[Githzerai]], and her new appreciation for things other than battle.

If he agreed to help the Guild as their "berserker lodge," Minsc appears well-dressed, accompanied by a halfling Guild member, [[Happy Hoarson]], who he was in the middle of terrorizing for looting corpses. Minsc commends the player character and their companions for being ideal heroic role models, the kind of person Happy should strive to be more like. He also says that he no longer sleeps in "that" sewer, but has found a much nicer sewer to sleep in.

[[Minthara|Minthara's]] appearance and behavior at the party don't have any major changes depending on story decisions. Ambient chatter from Minthara has her wryly suspect there have been other reunions to which she hasn't been invited, that all the heroes gathering together paints a target on the party for hostile attack, and that she is becoming accustomed to the taste of surface-grown plants.

When spoken to, Minthara bemoans the party's lack of extravagance and asks if the player character regrets their decision not to control the Absolute. She then reveals she's since returned to the Underdark, despite being an apostate of Lolth, and is gathering like-minded individuals to reclaim her family house and wage war on the Spider-Queen. When speaking to an Origin Shadowheart player character, her dialogue about controlling the Absolute is replaced with conversation about the outcome of [[Daughter of Darkness]] - for example, asking how Shadowheart's parents are faring if they are alive.

Ambient chatter from Shadowheart has her pleased at the quality of wine Withers brought for the party, before promptly wondering why the party had to scavenge food from barrels and crates during their adventure when Withers could've fed them. She then recalls a night where fourteen apples, some fish heads, and stale bread were served for dinner.

When the player character talks to her for the first time, she will autonomously hug them, making her the only companion who doesn't need to be asked for a hug first. If she became the Mother Superior, she will mention how the rebuilding of Baldur's Gate is all consuming but has led to many new recruits. If she rejected Shar but euthanized her parents, she embarks on a life of adventuring and slaying Sharran assassins, telling of visiting the Temple of the Moon and encountering an imp named [[Bing-Bong]]; she says that she still feels her parents' presence in moonmotes and looks forward to reuniting with them when she dies. If she rejected Shar and saved her parents, she will have moved into a rustic cottage with her parents and an abundance of pets.

[[Wyll|Wyll's]] behavior is determined by the outcome of [[The Blade of Frontiers]], whether he went to Avernus or stayed to become a Duke, and whether he remained a Warlock or escaped his contract.

If freed of his contract, he becomes a [[Ranger]]. If he became the Blade of Avernus but Karlach chose to die, he arrives smelling of sulfur and dressed in spiky armor that he claims was made from the shattered bones of slain fiends. He will share that he has a lead on getting closer to claiming his revenge on Mizora.

If Wyll moves to Avernus with Karlach (and the player character if chosen), he notes how many cambions the two or three of them have slain and expresses his hope for Karlach to get her engine fixed and return to Faerûn for good. Asking about Mizora reveals that she's allowed him much more freedom as the Blade of Avernus, to his own surprise; he also still mentions his next task of slaying a devil, but he's not afraid when the player character and Karlach have his back. He also shares about Duke Ravengard's efforts to rebuild the corrupted Flaming Fist and expresses that both he and his father are proud of each other.

If he vows to become a duke in the city, he arrives at the party in splendid finery and tells the player character of his acclimation to the political intrigue of Baldur's Gate.

If his personal quest was never completed, he remains the Blade of Frontiers and tells the player character of his recent exploits: slaying a dinosaur at Candlekeep, slaying an "impossible lich," and slaying a "whelp" dragon named Claugiyliamatar.

If the [[Owlbear Cub|owlbear cub]] became [[Armoured Owlbear|fully grown and armored]], he tells players with {{SAI|Speak with Animals|Speak with Animals}} of having befriended a cat and a kraken until he killed the kraken for eating the cat. He also reveals that he was never invited, instead following the player character's pleasant smell to join the party. It's possible to suggest that he moves in with Halsin, Shadowheart, or the player character (if partnered with one or both of them).

[[Scratch]] appears very much his old self, having moved to the city after the companions parted ways and become best friends with a young girl named Mindy. His petting dialogue option changes to ''"Pet your old friend Scratch"'', and he requests to play fetch with the [[Inert Astral Prism|Astral Prism]]. He also tells players with Speak with Animals that he is doing well and hopes they both always will be.

[[Volo]] attends the party, sharing with the player character how he has an upcoming book about the party's adventures. He is shameless about forging the player character's signature in order to get this book made.  

Withers hangs out in his private chapel, away from the celebration. Talking to him and selecting ''"I think I've caught up with everyone. What comes next?"'' will trigger the good ending of the Epilogue, in which Withers gives a speech wishing the companions a life of love and well-being. The player can then give a toast of their choice, ending the Epilogue and triggering the credits.

Happy Hoarson is a possible attendee brought to the party by Minsc. If spoken to, he expresses concern that Boo will kill him.

If Gale ascends to godhood, [[Tara]] remarks about how much she hates the change, and invites the player character to spend time with Gale's mother so that she can hear about her son from someone who knew who he '''was'''.

If Gale did not ascend to godhood, she invites the player character to come visit her and Gale, and mentions that she'll send the invitation by pigeon, remarking that she once had a taste for them.

[[Raphael]] crashes the party if the player character signed his contract and handed him the Crown of Karsus.

If the player character ruins the vibe by killing an attendee or attempting to eat someone's brain as a mind flayer, Withers will unceremoniously bounce them from the party by sucking them through a portal; this immediately ends the Epilogue and triggers the end credits. The player can damage and kill Withers himself for the first and only time in the game, but he will simply reform and bounce the player anyway.