Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Build Discussion Origin Character Canon Builds

The topic seems to be taking off, so if anyone wants to further discuss their opinions and preferences with respect to Critical Role or the future of D&D more generally, could I suggest taking it to another thread as it’s not really on topic here?

If people don’t want to start a new one, then if we squint it might fit in the one about the impact of BG3 on the future of D&D.

I imagine the canonical build of any origin companion is simply taking the default choice at every level up.

I don't think there is a "default" choice for many things. I agree that we shouldn't multiclass them if that's what you mean, but you still have to do stuff like select what spells they take, what feats, ASIs, etc.

All of those things have a default choice when you click level up.

If you want to select different spells, for instance, you have to change what the default selections are. The default feat is a couple of +1 stat increases. Etc.

Everything has a default choice at level up. You can just click done and nothing else.

I didn't know that but that seems VERY ill-advised.

I'm going to give every companion one level in each class and you can't stop me.

And guess what! How I play the game has no impact on your playthrough! Wow!

Completely entirely unrelated to what I said but ok. Weird approach...claiming to sabotage your own run to somehow show me lol.

Prove it!

Accusing others of badwrongfun is a rather ridiculous claim in a singleplayer RPG, isn't it?

You're more than welcome to try to make a party of 4 characters who each have 1 level in each of the 12 classes...it won't work for you...at all. Mechanically it would be a catastrophic disaster but you know...try. At least you have respec options once you've been sufficiently dissuaded of those awful ideas.

I think what you meant to say was "I don't plan to multi-class them.

This is kind of what I was getting at. Is the default consistent, is it meant to be an actual default for them? Is it random or just the default for that class regardless of who it is? Also, there is always a canon character. The Canon Bhaalspawn was a Human Fighter, he's super generic. So there is a canon build, irrespective of how anyone plays the game there is always an official correct playthrough. Baldur's Gate heroes had an auto level option, back in the day, you didn't have to, but if you did they built to a specific design. I'm wondering if this game has these versions of the characters. Regardless of how I play through, I would like to see what they're intended to be at the end.

I suspect the default level up choices for, for example Shadowheart, are exactly the same they would be if you made Tav a clone of Shadowheart.

But how can there be a "correct'" playthrough? Is the "correct" playthrough of KotOR 1 a male Revan, and if you make your Revan female, are you doing it "wrong?'"

That's my concern, and my expectation, that it isn't shadowheart's default, it's the cleric default. It's not even the Trickster Cleric. At the same time, I don't think the default is a default. I'm certain that I've had Gale alternate between defaulting as Evocation and Abjuration. Gales the only one I don't care what his default is, I want him to be an Abjuration Wizard, it's very tanky.

Yes, the canon Revan was male and redeemed, he didn't go back to evil. Though that gets a little weird in The Old Republic MMO. There is a canon Shepard. There is a canon Warden, a canon Hawke, a canon Inquisitor. Just because you can play anything you like doesn't mean there isn't a canon version for the books and the sequel playthroughs that don't include the previous game. Honestly, BioWare's Dragon Age tapestry was a revelation because they gave you a way to define the history of your game instead of forcing you to accept the canon story for future playthroughs.

And why can't Shadowheart's, as a '"cleric with these stats," canonical leveling options be default cleric? Seems like an odd thing to be "concerned" about. Seems like you want to see a roaadmap of how to develop the companions. If that's true and that's fun for you, OK, but I don't and never will get it.


When you say "yes," is that you answering my question "are you doing it 'wrong''?" If so, I cannot relate to your attitude whatsoever. You might as well be telling me you enjoy bathing in mayonnaise.

My 2 cent guess is cannon will be no Tav but rather Shadowheart, self redeemed, as the heroine of this story.

Shadowheart does have many of the hallmarks of a main protagonist, amnesia among them.

Has the plot maguffin and special treatment from the villains too.

I would not expect Shadowheart to be the canonical hero any more than I would have expected Imoen to be.