Main Quest Question

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I am always so worried about screwing up my game. Late last nigh this shadow person came up to me and told me they have more info on Imoen and to meet her in the Graveyard. Then someone was following me and told me to check back with (gandal sp whatever) and he would match her deal. What am I supposed to do who should I meet with and trust? I want her back.

 

That's up to you, though by now you should be familiar with who you're dealing with. The graveyard lair sounds cliche but there you'll find the headquarters of the vampires you've been seeing at night. If you've asked around, you'll know they're part of the rival guild that has been challenging the Shadow Thieves (the resident thieves' guild).

 

Maybe I was dense, but when I first got to the midnight meeting not knowing that it was the rival gang in the guild war, I didn't realize that Bodhi was a vampire.
Just judging from that encounter, with the person telling you to meet them at midnight in the graveyard and assuming you go right there, what clues you in to the fact that Bodhi was a vampire? In the last game I went through, the only thing I saw to do so were dialog options calling her a deceitful creature.

 

That is one of the things I loved about the game. Sometimes you learned the hard way about who you were dealing with. There's nothing like siding with Bodhi on your first playthru when your PC is a Paladin....

 

It's not so hard and the warning signs are all there if you take that extra time to approach the situation rationally.

Spoiler

From the get-go (right after escaping Irenicus' Dungeon) you can interview nearby wandering/merchant NPCs to learn that what you had just witnessed was part of a brutal guild war (between the Shadow Thieves and even more shadowy guild). It's not too hard to make a connection between Irenicus and the rival guild at this point, which should send you on high alert considering the type of creatures Irenicus deals with. The descriptions given to you about the rival guild's agents should also come off as disturbing.
Then, there are the night battles. You can easily see that the pale agents of the rival guild are extremely agile, and that just by using their bare hands/claws they are able to take down armed opponents. Their attack animation also suggests that they drain the life/energy of their opponents, and their battle cries - vampire cliche. (something along the lines of "I ssshhall feaassst on your bloooooddd." Seriously.)
Finally there's the fact that you see zero evidence of the rival guild during the day (with the sole exception of Valen, before she was turned). Even the Shadow Thieves have their daytime agents (it would be extremely foolish for a thieving organization to completely abandon daytime opportunities).

Considering that Valen takes her time getting to the NPC with Bodhi's message, you have plenty of time to figure out what's really going on and who you're dealing with.

 

You only did that during your first playthough??

I do it nearly ALL of my paladin playthroughs!!

Have to temporarily drop Keldorn from the party though....


PS I just call'em all evil and look for how to rack up the most of their heads.

 

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but in what must be close to 2 dozen of playthroughs of BG2 over the years, I have NEVER sided with Bodhi. I just don't find the evil path in these games satisfying, or particularly profitable (playing good seems to yield the best rewards).

 

I have only sided with her once, and that was due to sheer curiosity about how that storyline would go.

Spoiler

Even playing as particularly selfish and power-hungry character, the prospect of siding with a bloodthirsty and particularly cunning and deceptive creature who probably has a strong connection to Irenicus doesn't look appealing. Even trying reverse psychology, Bodhi seems too smart to be easily controlled, and the last thing you want from an ally who also happens to be the vampire queen of a particularly strong brood is for her to be unreliable.
Now if there was an option to decisively defeat her after you defeated the Shadow Thieves for her I might consider it, but there is none.

Evil is profitable, just not the outwardly evil paths. There are exceptions though, like the strength bonus from one of the evil tear paths.

 

The OP is a bit over the top with his worries!

Relax!
Play the Game that fits your Role.
Enjoy it in all its possible branching outcomes!

 

Errr..um..

Spoiler

Maybe it is too much mega gaming but you do know she is going to to be decisively defeated-by you.

Other than that the fact she will turn on you sooner or later is why a cagy person may choose to align with her-knowing the alliance will not last and you will have a chance to defeat her.

A cunning way to go about it may be to look for excuses to declare the alliance over and turn on her sooner but still after you find a way to reach Imoen. But the game takes care of that.

 

A chaotic good character might decide to infiltrate her group in order to get the intel needed to wipe out both the shadow thieves, and Bodhi. You infiltrate her group and use it to wipe out the shadow thieves, then turn on the vamps. It helps if you are or have a powerful cleric in the party. I'd say an undead hunter, but lawful good paladins aren't that underhanded.

 

@pplr
True, but the thing that terrifies me more than Bodhi herself is her implied connection to Irenicus (or at least it used to, in my first game). The opening cinematic showing Irenicus killing off several high-level wizards as if they were nothing more than diseased, paralytic kobolds while ignoring their spells paints a pretty graphic picture. The risks are too high.

Spoiler

If we were to employ metagaming, then IMO the bottomline is that Bodhi ultimately manipulates you to do her dirty work while fattening you up for Irenicus because you let your guard down (if you were just playing along, then that plan backfires). For the Shadow Thieves, at least, the whole thing is a business transaction - and they ultimately follow through with their end of the deal. Note that they didn't kill you off right after you defeated Bodhi's agents, while you were at your most vulnerable - which I think is exactly what Bodhi would have done if roles were reversed and if Irenicus didn't need you.

Killing off the Shadow Thieves hardly constitutes as "good". The way Aran Linvail runs it, although the organization employs evil individuals and methods it is ultimately unaligned. You probably even killed a few good-aligned thieves on your way to killing Linvail.

 

Why? Because lawful good is lawful stupid? There is nothing unlawful or evil about infiltrating an evil society (especially a vampire coven) and destroying them.