Order of tadpoles

[slquoue]

In what order would you gain Illithid powers? I have an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, Shadowheart, Gale and Karlach as my main party.

I've heard Luck of the Far Realms is amazing for paladins but wondered what order you would give out powers and to who. Think I currently have 3/4 tadpoles.

[KRON]

If you want to use ilithid powers don't forget to visit the Creche in act 1 to get Awakened buff, that makes ilithid powers a bonus action to use instead of an action(only available to Tav, afaik).

As for the powers, Perilous Stakes is one powerful help against bosses(unless you're playing on Honour mode).

One guaranteed crit per long rest doesn't seem very powerful to me, though.

The real fun begins in Act 3 if you choose to become a partial-ilithid. Black Hole, psionic dominance, displacer beast form, mind blast - all are really good. Also Cull the weak gets stronger the more powers you have.

[arikel.pv]

Even as not-yet-illithid using those powers is much fun.
For Paladin I'd suggest using Consentrated blast and Ability drain. Psionic Backlash might be useful, too.
If you're playing out somewhat friend-defensive and don't have much health, than Repulsor can help. If HP rate is high, then it's obviously Psionic Overload.
Luck of Far Realms and Stage Fright are more for a rogue-ish character, in my opinion
As for tadpoles, don't forget to loot Zhent container outside Moonrise, and two ships in Act III (one near the Wyrmrock bridge and one in Greydock, guarded by two automatons)

[Detective Costeau]

One guaranteed crit per long rest is great for a paladin. it won't define your whole build, but it's very, very useful.
I did my first playthough as a half-orc vengeance paladin and it was basically a "you die now" button once per long rest.
Other than that, the one that doubles your proficiency bonus for your fist check against a specific target (I forget the exact name) is actually surprisingly good- it's nice but not great in combat, but what makes it more useful than it seems is that it also applies to checks like persuasion and intimidation out of combat.
Also I think you need to take it to get Luck of the Far Realms anyway.

[slquoue]

Thanks. I put two in to get luck of the Far Realms. Would you give any to the rest of the Party?

[Detective Costeau]

I mean, Luck of the Far Reals is great on any physical attacker, really- all of the things that make it great on a Paladin also work on Astarion (assuming you've left him as a Rogue)- being able to say "you know what, I want this specific sneak attack to do 12d6 damage" is very useful.
That was the only power I got much mileage out of, really. I find a lot of the Illithid powers are kind of underwhelming. That could just be because I like *big damage numbers* a lot so free crits are like catnip to me, though :)

[Pat Fenis]

A free crit is good on anyone, and the prerequisite skill is also excellent. I definitely go for luck of the far realms on my chosen 4. Perilous stakes on awakened main character too, unless honor mode. Later on black holes, freecasts, mind blasts are all great.

[LouisaB75]

I am still on my first run so not used them all yet. My tav is getting pretty much everything to test them out. Astarion has a few including the luck one, cull the weak and backlash which I had already found useful on my tav.

Not used them on anyone else because Karlach took a while to be convinced and Shadowheart is still hesitant. Failed to convince her every time. The others stay in camp mostly.

Not used the special tadpole yet but probably will on my tav. Black hole was a pain against me in act 2 so eager to try that one out.

I will say that having the backlash one on multiple party members can be fun when they are close by and I do intend to unlock that on as many as I can.

[arikel.pv]

Originally posted by slquoue:

Thanks. I put two in to get luck of the Far Realms. Would you give any to the rest of the Party?

If you're not planning to turn Tav into an illithid along with his/her beloved (I mean, both) - mind that not everyone will accept this proposal, then use all tads you find up to your Tav's benefit. Otherwise, think twice which abilities you would prefer to obtain and which to sacrifice

[seeker1]

Just so you know, the only people who will start using the tadpoles without being Persuaded into using them, among the Origin six, are Gale and Astarion. You have to persuade others to start using them - and as you might expect, for Lae'Zel, it's a tough Persuasion check.

For Tier 2/Astral Tadpole, for EVERYBODY, you'll need a harder Persuasion check. Even Astarion hesitates at the second step.

Minthara also starts off with tadpole powers and doesn't need to be Persuaded to acquire more, if you acquire her.

Halsin and Jaheira have no tadpoles. Minsc requires Persuasion and IIRC can't get Tier 2 powers from the Astral Tadpole.

[arikel.pv]

Originally posted by seeker1:

Even Astarion hesitates at the second step.

In my tadpole-involved walkthroughs Astarion reacted quite negatively to the idea of using Astral Tadpole (mind that in one case my Tav romanced him, while the other they remained friends, but the approval level was exceptional). Both times I hadn't even a chance to Persuade him - he just outraged about 'I'm not going to lose my body again, now it belongs to me at last'
It was before recent Patch, though.

[ULTRA]

Luck of far realms and culling the weak, blast it

[Mike Garrison]

Favorable beginnings and then Luck of the Far Realms are 100% the best two to get first.

Everything else in the inner two layers is situational based on your character.

In the outer layer (part-illithid), black hole and dominance (works as a counterspell) are the best (IMO). So you either need charm or displace in order to unlock them.

Mind blast is also fun, and since you get fly for free, you automatically have the path to mind blast unlocked too.

Illithid expertise is also super-useful, although if you were already playing a character with high CHA and persuasion skills you probably don't need the extra boost all that much. It does help a lot with persuading your fellow party members to go illithid, though! It's fun when your entire party of four can fly.

Displacer beast is just for fun, but if I have plenty of extras I like to get it.

[LouisaB75]

Originally posted by arikel.pv:

Originally posted by seeker1:

Even Astarion hesitates at the second step.

In my tadpole-involved walkthroughs Astarion reacted quite negatively to the idea of using Astral Tadpole (mind that in one case my Tav romanced him, while the other they remained friends, but the approval level was exceptional). Both times I hadn't even a chance to Persuade him - he just outraged about 'I'm not going to lose my body again, now it belongs to me at last'
It was before recent Patch, though.

That was his reaction to me since the patch too. Relationship wasn't very high though. Honestly his response is too heartbreaking for me to ask him again.

I can't seem to persuade Shadowheart to even do first tier. Terrible rolls every time I have tried even with exceptional approval.

[Steffan]

Originally posted by slquoue:

In what order would you gain Illithid powers? I have an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, Shadowheart, Gale and Karlach as my main party.

I've heard Luck of the Far Realms is amazing for paladins but wondered what order you would give out powers and to who. Think I currently have 3/4 tadpoles.

I would recommend only the favourable beginnings and the one that gives you an autocrit. I would not bother with the rest. Enough tenants in one casket/skull.

P.S. I would not bother with the Astral tadpole, either.