The Emperor: Difference between revisions

Players have a limited number of opportunities to interact with the Emperor, and as such, opportunities for conversation are much more limited compared to that of [[companions]].  

Conversation scenes are available, but only occur during Act 3, after its "true" identity is revealed to the player, and all scenes require a long rest to trigger. The Emperor will occasionally also talk to the player as they walk through different locations in [[Baldur's Gate]].

Depending on the player's choices, the Emperor's behaviour has many possible states. The more the player treats the Emperor like a "person", the more it will act as such, compared to other illithids. The more the player treats The Emperor like a monstrosity with hostile intent, the more it will respond to the player with threatening language and visions of it acting like a hostile illithid.  

During ''Help Your Protector'' at the start of Act 3, a conversation is automatically triggered when the player ventures far enough into the [[Astral Plane]]. A combat encounter in some form is inevitable from this conversation, and then another set of conversation options are available after the combat resolves. The Emperor will have nothing further to say when this conversation ends, even if the player tries to interact with it further.

When the player first explores the [[Rivington]] area, being in proximity to certain characters or objects will "inform" the player about the recent death of [[Belynne Stelmane|Duke Belynne Stelmane]]. This will trigger a line of ambient commentary from The Emperor. The next time a Long Rest is triggered, the player ''may'' trigger a scene discussing The Emperor's reactions in more depth. Certain dialogue choices made during earlier conversations seem to disqualify the player from this scene. If the player does not long rest before ''completing'' the quest ''Visit the Emperor's Old Hideout'', this scene will be skipped entirely.

This scene ''may'' be available to trigger (by long resting) after the player completes the quest Visit the Emperor's Old Hideout.

Possible states for this scene appear to vary ''heavily'' depending on the player's choices in prior conversation scenes, with the general differentiating factor being the "attitude" the player appears to express towards illithids, and towards the Emperor, through their selected options in these prior scenes.

If the player tried to kill the Emperor in Act One, by choosing the dialogue option "''You do a great impression of a human. But you're not fooling me.''" , the Emperor offers to share memories through a vision. This vision shows Stelmane paralysed in pain, being brainwashed, and turning into the Emperor's puppet. Her face emotionless, and the Emperor puppeteering her gestures to get a sense of company. Such was its true relationship with Duke Stelmane. {{note|The Emperor's vision of its control over [[Belynne Stelmane]] is corroborated by the 5e module, ''{{FRWiki|Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus}}''. In it, Stelmane is described as having a secret, mental battle against a mind flayer. This mind flayer is very likely the Emperor itself, and as a result, puts its entire "alliance" with Stelmane into question. It is very possible the Emperor and Stelmane did not have a proper alliance at all, and rather, the Emperor enthralled her for its needs. Whether this was always the case, or if they had a genuine alliance beforehand, isn't fully clear.|name=stelmaneModule}}

The Emperor uses this memory to frighten the player. It gives them orders, and threatens to make them half-illithid even if they refuse.

If the player chooses to reject its advances, the Emperor's attitude in conversation will change in a way that appears to be reactively appropriate to the way it was treated. For example, if the option "Absolutely not, you freak!" is chosen at any opportunity, the Emperor's treatment of the player takes a ''much'' more hostile tone in all future interactions.

 

Players have a limited number of opportunities to interact with the Emperor, and as such, opportunities for romantically-styled interactions are ''much more limited'' compared to the other primary [[companions]].

If the player visits [[Crèche Y'llek]] prior to the start of Act 3, killing the [[Dream Guardian]] will subsequently lock the player out of romancing the Emperor, and from interacting with it in general.  

There are many possible ways to interact with the Emperor in the available conversation scenes. It currently ''seems'' that the primary way to unlock "romantic" options is by choosing dialogue that generally treats the Emperor more like "any other person", and does not show explicit hostility towards its actions, or its illithid characteristics.

The player does not need to accept the powers of the [[Astral-Touched Tadpole]] to unlock this option. The Emperor seems to take offence to destroying the tadpole, but more testing is needed to determine if this has any effect on the available scenes.

The scene that occurs after completing [[Visit the Emperor's Old Hideout]] is generally regarded as the "primary" romantic scene. As long as the player is receptive to the Emperor's advances, conclusions to this scene will allow the player to engage in more intimate activities with it.

** In [[Early Access]], the Dream Guardian (known then as Dream Visitor) was implied to be a mental manifestation of the player's tadpole, as it eased them towards using their powers more, as well as showing them a future of domination and control.