Is there a reason Alfira can't sing? (Act 1)

[Argh My Knee]

I CAN'T SLEEP I NEED ANSWERS HELP

Also why was she dubbed by an obviously Eastern-European sounding woman for the full song cut scene?

When she is jamming her singing is really bad, even the squirrels say so , is it because the actress cant sing or is she doing it on purpose? Her voice is really shaky it sounds intentional but I'm not sure

Couldn't find anything addressing this online

Edit: I was starting to think that It was a fourth wall breaking joke by Larian that she is dubbed over diegetically because her singing is so bad

[Boombastic]

huh?? I think she is more than ok-ish for a bard with insecurities due to her dramatic background issues with her mentor! Let Alfira be and artistically evolve and stop bashing on the poor girl, please! :-)

https://youtu.be/4jwUrgKTCQc?si=6gdAX2tyNRrUVW-s

Alfira's song is IMO one of the most beautiful moments and cutscene in BG3, together with Gale's romance one ;-)

And as info, Alfira's voice performer is called Rebecca Hanssen and she's cool :-)

[Simple Kind of Man]

Originally posted by Argh My Knee:

Wow I think my autism is clouding my empathy. I also realise she could be singing shakily because her mentor just freaking DIED maybe. To answer my own question, thank you guys

dont start using something like that as an excuse

[Brian_the_Brute]

If you are a bard, you get special dialogues and can help her fix it and there's a special cutscene and the whole song is played and sung properly. Found that out yesterday w/ first play as a bard.

Non-bards can help her with the music and gain music proficiency and she will gift a lute if they helped by passing 2 skill checks.

[Mojo]

Originally posted by Brian_the_Brute:

If you are a bard, you get special dialogues and can help her fix it and there's a special cutscene and the whole song is played and sung properly. Found that out yesterday w/ first play as a bard.

Non-bards can help her with the music and gain music proficiency and she will gift a lute if they helped by passing 2 skill checks.

Actually only have to pass 1 of the 2 checks. :)

[ahsanford]

Originally posted by Brian_the_Brute:

If you are a bard, you get special dialogues and can help her fix it and there's a special cutscene and the whole song is played and sung properly. Found that out yesterday w/ first play as a bard.

Non-bards can help her with the music and gain music proficiency and she will gift a lute if they helped by passing 2 skill checks.

Yeah, that convo with her can go a lot of different ways depending on how you play it:

* Non-bards can get the performance proficiency and an instrument to play
* Bards can rock a proper duet with her

And you don't need to be a Bard to snap that song into shape and hear it played. You just need to get her thinking about her former mentor, she stumbles into a key lyric about 'ash' and boom, she's off.

- A

[Toaster Maximus]

Originally posted by ahsanford:

Originally posted by Brian_the_Brute:

If you are a bard, you get special dialogues and can help her fix it and there's a special cutscene and the whole song is played and sung properly. Found that out yesterday w/ first play as a bard.

Non-bards can help her with the music and gain music proficiency and she will gift a lute if they helped by passing 2 skill checks.

Yeah, that convo with her can go a lot of different ways depending on how you play it:

* Non-bards can get the performance proficiency and an instrument to play
* Bards can rock a proper duet with her

And you don't need to be a Bard to snap that song into shape and hear it played. You just need to get her thinking about her former mentor, she stumbles into a key lyric about 'ash' and boom, she's off.

- A

Just like a real musician once they find the words

[Wolfherz]

Yes. It's clearly explained if you actually listen/read what was going on while talking to her.

[Jarvo]

Originally posted by Argh My Knee:

I CAN'T SLEEP I NEED ANSWERS HELP

Also why was she dubbed by an obviously Eastern-European sounding woman for the full song cut scene?

When she is jamming her singing is really bad, even the squirrels say so , is it because the actress cant sing or is she doing it on purpose? Her voice is really shaky it sounds intentional but I'm not sure

Couldn't find anything addressing this online

Edit: I was starting to think that It was a fourth wall breaking joke by Larian that she is dubbed over diegetically because her singing is so bad

I always thought it was because of her seeing her teacher ripped apart infront of her and still coming to terms. But might just be an in joke

[jonnin]

its yet another pointless "inclusion" scene. You are supposed to get that she is butthurt over losing her girlfriend, and its keeping her all croaky & off key. Then you help her butcher her awful song and suddenly can play any instrument you like as well as a bard. Its kinda cool to be able to distract enemy without a bard, esp the ones that can't be fooled by the cat, but the whole scene & its reward are a force fit just to get a bit more D&I content.

[seeker1]

NOT her girlfriend. Her mentor, The person who taught her to be a bard.

Lihala, her teacher, was slaughtered by gnolls, and she's trying to compose the song Weeping Dawn as a eulogy for her.

Once you help her finish a work that is in progress, help her work through her sorrow & nerves & finish it - she finds her voice and sings beautifully ... MHO, it's one of the most beautiful songs in the game.

[Boombastic]

Originally posted by jonnin:

its yet another pointless "inclusion" scene. You are supposed to get that she is butthurt over losing her girlfriend, and its keeping her all croaky & off key. Then you help her butcher her awful song and suddenly can play any instrument you like as well as a bard. Its kinda cool to be able to distract enemy without a bard, esp the ones that can't be fooled by the cat, but the whole scene & its reward are a force fit just to get a bit more D&I content.

You guys don't understand nothing about feelings as it seems :-P
Weeping Dawn is one of the most beautiful songs in the game and Alfira's cutscene one of the most beautiful cutscenes.

Here a very cute performance of it:
https://youtu.be/1WdtDIzanaM?si=4iS19-wT8Ke9fO7_


Play the game again and pay more atention to the small little things and details, because those are what make life enjoyable ;-)

[Lani]

Originally posted by seeker1:

NOT her girlfriend. Her mentor, The person who taught her to be a bard.

Lihala, her teacher, was slaughtered by gnolls, and she's trying to compose the song Weeping Dawn as a eulogy for her.

Once you help her finish a work that is in progress, help her work through her sorrow & nerves & finish it - she finds her voice and sings beautifully ... MHO, it's one of the most beautiful songs in the game.

This. Additionally while Alfira is a bard she's also depicted as a rather young and inexperienced bard. I'm not sure she had completed her journeyman trials when Lihala died.
In a symbolic way the song you help her make her journeyman piece. It's a bittersweet moment.

A good analogy is a young bird learning to fly. It involves some rather ungainly hopping and squawking and sometimes plummeting before soaring like an eagle (and hopefully not getting sucked into a jet engine)

Or as a friend once put it to me "To become old and wise, you have to start out you and stupid" He later started claiming the last 'you' was a misspelled 'young', works either way.

Coincidentally there's a youtube video with the voice actress at the Dan Allen Gaming channel https://www.youtube.com/@DanAllenGaming (He interviewed just about every voice actor) where she talks about all the complexities of the scene.
Spoiler, as usual Larian put a lot more thought into things than people disparaging the storytelling because it's too subtle for them comprehend.

[Dr.Abscondus]

Never got to hear her sing, My Durge removed her lungs. It was sad, messy, and NOT MY FAULT! They should have put her in a more crowded part of the Grove. Maybe next time.

[Lani]

Originally posted by Dr.Abscondus:

Never got to hear her sing, My Durge removed her lungs. It was sad, messy, and NOT MY FAULT! They should have put her in a more crowded part of the Grove. Maybe next time.

You didn't kill her at camp while sleeping then?
I thought the only other way to kill her was by player choice at her composing site. If you did that you can't blame it on the dark urge.

[votadc]

It Is a reference to the bard in Asterix comics. She Is lucky that tieflings aren't Gauls.