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During a new livestream about Baldur's Gate 3 today, junior writer Martin Docherty revealed that the RPG's Vicious Mockery insults were initially too… er, poopy.
Yes, you read that right. According to Docherty, Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke pointed out as much after a plethora of insults were compiled and given to him to look through. "All of these insults are being put into the sheet," explains the writer, "so I was like, 'Amazing, I'll collate these' – and then Swen had a look at them and was like, 'Ah! Hmm… Why are so many of them about poo?'" A valid point, apparently.
"We were like, 'Ah, interesting, that's an interesting point,'" continues Docherty, as senior communications developer and co-host Aoife Wilson understandably breaks down in laughter – something I'm finding difficult not to do right now just watching the moment unfold myself. "We've all kind of gone very scatological." He recounts that the note he'll "remember for a long time" - "less poo, more Shakespeare." Words to live by.
That's… something I never thought I'd hear as a longtime Baldur's Gate 3 fan, but I'm glad I now know that Vicious Mockery could've been a whole lot crappier, so to speak. It's safe to say that the lines we did end up with are brilliant, though. Docherty goes over some of his own favorites, with one standing out in particular as downright savage: "It vexes me to know of you." There are still plenty of poop-related insults, too.
A personal highlight of mine, for example: "Majesty of manure, sovereign of shit!" Part of me wonders what the axed lines were, but you can't get much better than that, I suppose.
