You’re probably going to have some questions even after several playthroughs ofBaldur’s Gate 3. Who exactly is Withers?Why does Isobel have no survival instinct? Orwill Karlach ever fix her heart? The game leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but perhaps the biggest plot point to be glossed over is the giant floating skeleton in the Astral plane, where Orpheus is imprisoned.
The game casually drops you into this massive floating skeleton, like Knowhere in Marvel Comics, without any context or answers. Perhaps those well-versed in Dungeons & Dragons lore may know, but not the rest of us. Just who was this massive being? And how did its corpse end up here. While Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t give us any answers, a 19-year-old game did.
Neverwinter Nights 2 Explained The Floating Skeleton In Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astral Plane
As spotted byTheParadoxigmon Reddit, a loading screen in Neverwinter Nights 2 featured some lore about the astral plane and explained why there was a giant skeleton floating around in it, and even why there are living beings on it.
“When a god dies, its corpse drifts eternally in the empty void of the Astral Plane,” says the lore drop. “Often, these corpses become the home of living creatures, such as the Githyanki. Some dead gods are truly ancient, born in the primal beginnings of the universe and long forgotten by mortals and deities, alike.”
Considering how vast the astral plane is, and how many dead gods are probably floating around in it, Vlaakith was pretty clever to imprison Orpheus in the skull of one of these gods. Unfortunately for her, he was found, and you know what happens next.
It’s unfortunate that the game doesn’t even drop a hint about why there’s a giant skeleton floating around in the Astral plane. Just a throwaway like by Lae’zel or Orpheus would have made it clear for those of us who had no idea about it. So, the next time you’re jumping into the giant skull, remember to be respectful. It used to be a god, after all.
