As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- In the prologue, the halfling guard buggers off when he hears Terendelev is coming. Suture knows silver dragons can Detect Evil at will.
- Iomedae really seems attached to the Legend path. Of course she is, she was a Mythic Legend herself before she became a god. She's also at a huge disadvantage in the argument since she knows very little about the player's powers - basically just what the Herald told her - while the people she's debating with designed the whole plan. She's not just pushing for the only path she knows won't have repercussions but she's also fishing for information.
- A common criticism of Camellia is that she's a bad liar who is easy to figure out and should have been discovered by now. That's missing the point, though. She is a bad liar (Persuasion is not one of her default skills) and has been discovered multiple times, but it's always by people who are in a position of power and have a reason not to act. Horgus obviously hides it because she's his daughter and he genuinely loves her despite her murderous sociopathy. Anevia tells you that she felt the nameless crusaders Camellia was murdering were less valuable to the Crusade than Camellia herself since Camellia is a member of the Commander's retinue and she would rather engineer a situation where you have to make the final decision. Camellia's dialogue reflects the fact she's completely aware of this since she's constantly trying to influence the Commander with that same logic - As long as the Commander is on her side she's untouchable.Camellia: "I am helpful, am I not?"
- When you first recruit Camellia, she has taken some damage, which seems rather inexplicable at first glance as anything but a Justified Tutorial for healing. Once you know more about Camellia and what she's into, it is very, very likely that she must have been wounded while she was murdering Aravashnial.
- Normally, the dialogue option to attack Hulrun in the Market Square is a Chaotic one, as you are effectively murdering him regardless of motives. However, if you have Ember in your party and she talks to Hulrun about how he had her and her father burnt at the stake, he will admit he likely did it and that she's probably guilty of something if he had her ordered to be put to the torch. Immediately after this, the decision to attack him will become a non-aligned one because he pretty much outright admits he killed a man and attempted to kill a child for no reason. He has confessed to murder and abuse of power, albeit unintentionally, and now slaying him is an act suitable for any alignment.
- It's not just this choice, others also change in alignment if you ask questions first. It's almost always beneficial to use up all dialogue choices before making a decision.
- Ironically you're also given several hints that killing Hulrun is a bad idea (and indeed his survival pays off in Act 5). First of all Ember doesn't want him dead. Ramien, whom Hulrun is similarly trying to kill, mentions that killing Hulrun is probably a bad idea, and will note that Hulrun is a celebrated demon slayer and this is why Kenabres puts up with him.
- Daeran being openly friendly with Ember should be of no surprise when considering two things: first, that they have much in common: they both have received magical powers from a higher entity, both have been hurt deeply by the incident when they did, and both have become disillusioned with the gods and ascribe mortal flaws to them. Second, and more importantly, Ember's great empathy lets her at least partly understand Daeran's plight and burden. In Ember, Daeran might as well have found the first person in the whole world who has any idea of his struggles with the Other, but is tactful enough to not mention or prod far enough for the Other to retaliate.
- Queen Galfrey and her choices at the Midnight Fane:
- Queen Galfrey's scene in the Midnight Fane can seem confusing regardless of path, but there are two actions you can take as an Azata that will infuriate her so much she yanks your title regardless of your performance. What's surprising is that both of these decisions are good ideas and one of them is explicitly a Good action. What's the deal? Look at it from the standpoint of Galfrey having a serious case of New Friend Envy and it all makes sense. Galfrey has spent most of her extended life being treated as Iomedae's Chosen and it's a major part of her identity, a part of her identity that you now threaten. By rushing the Fane early you show you don't need her to win since you just scored a major victory while she was still getting her boots on. You can also choose to let Minagho escape and in doing so save the people she's been using as husks, one of whom is the famed paladin Yaniel. On their own neither of them is especially damaging to her reputation - If you wait for her but let Minagho escape she can claim you needed her help to save Yaniel and if you don't wait for her but kill Minagho she can claim your hastiness, while strategically sound, caused Yaniel's death. Either keeps the illusion that she is more competent and thus more favored than you. Do both of them, though, and she has nothing left. You just scored a major win and freed one of the greatest heroes of the Crusades entirely without her. Maybe Iomedae has decided you're her new favorite. No wonder Galfrey is furious. Since she can't take it out on Iomedae, she takes it out on you instead.
- As further evidence that Galfrey is not unwilling to lie to the Commander about her motives and objectives, when attempting to send a Commander on the Lich mythic path into the Abyss, she instructs you not to think of your reassignment and the loss of your title as a demotion, but rather an opportunity to serve the Crusades in a more direct way—a line the Hand of the Inheritor eats up without question. However, the moment the lich is gone, she launches an attack on your Ziggurat with the clear intention of destroying it and everything inside, which is rebuffed by Zaccharius and his undead guard.
- If the player handles the crusade management as optimal as possible, Galfrey will still try to strip you of the position as Commander. However, if playing one of the more good aligned mythic paths, it is possible to protest her demand and keep your position. This makes sense if one considers that, as a paladin of Iomedae, Galfrey must act within the edicts and expectations of what Iomedae believes in, which include honor and justice. A good aligned Commander doing things optimally being told to step down is an abuse of power on Galfrey's side, which is reflected by accepting her demand being a Lawful option, as the Commander is accepting her authority as a ruler. If they protest though, it becomes clear Galfrey is abusing her position as queen to strip the Commander of their title, which she has no way to defend if pointed out, and is risking violating Iomedae's tenants. At that point, she has to relent or else she is violating her oaths as a paladin. By contrast, on the more neutral or evil options, or if the player struggles or runs the crusade poorly, Galfrey has a legitimate reason to think you are not as capable or trustworthy to lead the crusade, and her stripping you of the title is unavoidable.
- Early Sunset instantly recognizes Kel Fire Knives because Kel Fire Knives is a legendary Chelish outlaw, someone any Azata would be honored to know. Cheliax's strong alignment with the Hells would really chafe at an azata and anyone breaking their law for the good of others would be an azata's friend. Early Sunset's attempt to slander Kel is a huge clue to Early Sunset being a devil specifically.
- In addition, when an Azata Commander is approached by a group of Arboreals who wish to join the Crusade, Early Sunset will warn you that they are accompanied by dangerous Quickwoods who might prey on mortals, and he'll tell you to threaten to burn their groves down if they can't control the Quickwoods. This is a pretty blatantly evil choice (it's even labeled as Evil) and it feels more like a Lawful Evil action than a Chaotic Good one. Again, this is a huge red flag that Early Sunset is actually a devil.
- On the Azata path, if you jump the gun attacking the Fane and let Minagho escape in the Act 3 finale then Galfrey will ream you out for it. If you waited for Galfrey and still let Minagho go, though, Galfrey won't even mention it. Why not? Look at the map layout. Minagho had to go through the room Galfrey is standing in to get to the portal where you find her escaping, meaning she got past Galfrey too.
- The crown you get from Nocticula is useful for any character, but perfect for a succubus archer - which is the default way of fighting for most of her agents. Including the one who is probably hanging out with you.
- The Trickster path has an unusual ability to be fully aware they are in a game and make "creative" interpretations of how to apply their skills. Of course, every tabletop game group has either experienced or heard stories about players who twist the rules or come up with bizarre takes on how to apply a skill. The Trickster mythic path is the player character convincing a particularly whimsical game master to let them twist the rules and the rest of the game group going with it.
- When you're confronted with the Wardstone at the end of Act 1, if you chose to not follow the Aeon choice, you forever lose access to the Aeon mythic path. It doesn't become apparent why until you actually follow up on the Aeon route: You were the Aeon that Deskari killed, attempting to travel back in time to stop him in the first place. By rejecting the Aeon choice to purge the Wardstone, you're actually cutting off the timeline that would have led to you traveling back in time to let yourself acquire the stone knife and become an Aeon, thus forever preventing you from having the option to become one in the future.
- It also acts as a Fridge Establishing Character Moment for the Aeons and how absolutely they maintain their judgments: they do not care about the extenuating circumstances or intentions. It does not matter that Heaven's plan with the Wardstones was to contain the Worldwound until it could be closed and then disassemble them after the job was done. The Wardstones are just as much an affront to the order of the planes as the Worldwound and demonic invaders are, and the Angels within are to be purged from the material plane for this violation. And the same applies to an Aeon that violates the laws of the universe, even done to end or prevent another violation.
- The Canon Foreigner party members you can get in Act 1 tend to have a connection to a character from the original AP the game is based on. While Nenio and Ulbrig don't, the rest of the characters do; Camellia is Horgus' daughter, Daeran is a distant cousin to Galfrey, Ember has a brief connection with Hulrun, and Woljif has a connection with Baphomet. From a meta angle, these makes them seem like they more naturally fit into the setting, akin to how a player might have looked at areas in the setting and use it for inspiration for their character on the tabletop. The characters you get after Act 1 by contrast are less defined in that sense, since they either are completely new, or already existing characters.
- Minagho tends to go down easily after the first fight with her, despite supposedly being extremely powerful as a Lilitu. Lilitu demons are typically better manipulators and strategists than outright fighters however, which is displayed by how she tricked Staunton in the past. The Commander waltzing up to her with Mythic Powers is something she not only had no way of preparing for, but each time she tries to counter or plan something to stop the Commander, the party has become so strong that they just charge through and stop it. Not only does this justify fighting such a powerful demon early on, but it makes her being punished for losing make more sense, because she keeps retreating and failing at her job.
- In Act II, it seems like the Hellknights are one of the only forces with their cohesion together, as the Crusaders who do (primarily the Kenabres veterans) are not given special attention outside of a brief line by Seelah. This is not Hellknight superiority, but rather a reflection of what the war is to both groups: to Mendev and the Crusaders, it is an existential war where they have to use everything they have to hold back the tide, even if it is unprepared. For the Hellknights? They are sending small expeditionary forces, giving them the luxury of sending only the troops they are confident will be able to withstand the horrors of the Worldwound.
- In regards to the gargoyle attack on Regill's forces at the Reliable Redoubt, the Sunrise Sword knights were completely ambushed and had no time to prepare a defense. By contrast, the Hellknights were warned by the Sunrise Sword and thus were able to prepare to defend themselves, allowing them to offer more resistance but still ultimately failing unless the Knight-Commander rescues them with what the dialogue implies to be most of the army.
