Oldmandan

Realistically, this is a complicated issue. I can understand wanting to modernize older works (wanting to share something you enjoyed, but struggling because said thing has not aged well), but part of the value of those works is in the view they give of the past.

The important part if this is going to become commonplace, I think, is making sure the process is transparent and the originals preserved; EG, if a book is going to be edited, it needs to be explicit (in the new version) that it was editied, what was edited, and why it was changed. It's one thing to tweak something so that it can still be enjoyed, it's another to try to forget it was problematic in the first place.

That all said, I find I agree with Pullman, here; I doubt the publisher is motivated to do this by anything other than sales. Let new authors find their place, instead of whitewashing the works of dead men to turn a quick buck. /shurg

Basically, the game forces you to choose two spells when leveling up; until you do, you can't finish levelling. If you have insufficient spells available to learn (by way of scribing all spells that could be available to learn on level up), your Wizard gets softlocked at their current level. Can only happen on even levels, and only if you've been really meticulous about collecting spell scrolls. Just be sure to leave at least two spells unlearned going into even level ups, and you won't have any issues.

Reach level 12 with one level in each class, without having respec'd at Withers.

Wizard; better than you think, probably want to take it early. You'll end up with fourth level spell slots available to you, so you'll be able to spend gold to learn spells up to that level. Also rituals offer a ton of utility.

Realistically, you're building it as a martial right now, when in general I think it scales much better as a caster. Take wizard and warlock early, lean on Eldritch Blast (since it scales well with char level), pick up Fighter or Paladin relatively early for armour profs, then ignore martials to the very end (save maybe Rogue), because they really give you nothing but HP.

I think she's technically a lesser power/quasi-divinity at this point, on similar to or slightly below the rank of one of the (post-Second Sundering) Dead Three. The fanatical worship of (some of) the Githyanki over her long (un)life have taken her already exceptional arcane power and brought it to the edge of godhood, where the rules that should apply to mortal spellcasters no longer hold. IIRC, she's actively trying to achieve full godhood by enforcing her worship through her Inquisitors, with mixed results.

Yeah that was a fun scene. I liked that she will only do it if you insult her; as a (minor) god she's not really supposed to do shit like that directly (there are consequences), and so won't do it if you just say no (just tells the gith to kill you, instead). But, Vlaakith being Vlaakith, her ego is too fragile to let you talk shit, even though she'll almost certainly regret it later. :P

Well... it is a Baldur's Gate game (as much as I've seen claimed otherwise), so the story is centered around the usurper gods of death, their legacy and their attempts to gain power and influence in the world.

The first act is reasonably light (with exception of mindflayers and some light occular body horror :P), just normal dnd stuff, goblins, druids, etc.

The second... well, to avoid spoiling too much, let's just say it goes dark. :P Haven't seen the third yet, personally.

I find it curious, sometimes (not a direct comment on anything here, just reminded my of an observation I often have, when foriegn interference is a topic) how amero-centric we tend to be. If a forign country is going to interfere, nine times out of ten it's going to be about ensuring their own wealth and power. Political party and ideology doesn't matter, it's about who they figure they can sweet talk into a better deal. Am I a little surprised Beijing figures that's the Liberals and not the Conservatives? Yes. But only a little. :P It tracks either way. :P

The Royal Tyrell is a great stop, I remember going there when I was about that age to visit my great grandmother. The Alberta badlands in general are neat, worth stoping by some hoodoos or other similar formations if you get the chance.

As far as other stuff goes:

The Fraser River and Hell's Gate in particular is worth a stop, when you get to BC. (Also a good menory from that trip.)

And while (as an Ontarian) I fully understand the desire to drive though the province as fast as possible, there are lots of great scenic spots in the western half of the province, along Huron and Superior. (As you get into the Sudbury>Thunder Bay stretch, in particular.) There are also some beautiful spots more in my neck of the woods (Thunder Bay>Manitoba border stretch) but by and large those are further from the highway and more of a trek to visit. :P

I think it's meant to vary by encounter, sometimes I'll do 4-5 encounters before needing to rest, using only a couple spell slots/LR abilities each time, sometimes I get absolutely savaged and need to rest after only one or two. /shurg It does get easier as you level, and long rest casters in particular get more resources. Worth noting too, the time-sensitivity of the quest becomes... much less so, shortly. :P Still urgent, but not "you have one week, then you die, and the Absolute probably takes over the world" urgent.

I suspect the game is balanced around the idea you'll probably do 2-4 encounters per long rest though, purely given the ratio of short to long rests.

This would be super tempting, gear up my tanks and non-magic dps, grind out some manderville weapons, etc... but BG3 just came out. :P Maybe if I time it to get the free playtime right at the end of August. :P

I have yet to be mutilated in any way (aside from snorting tadpoles like it's going out of style :P). Perhaps, making deals with malevolent fey and letting Volo of all people perform surgery are... questionable choices for your health. :P