Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Suggestions for Improving the Custom Character Experience

I for one enjoy playing as a custom character in video games whenever possible, as I much more prefer being able to choose my character's name, appearance, personality, and backstory myself. Unfortunately, Larian has a tendency of making their existing origin characters and NPC companion characters overshadow custom characters, both mechanically and narratively. Here are some suggestions for balancing them out to make the custom character experience feel less like a diminished experience compared to the origin/companion characters and more like a unique experience in and of itself.

Note, given that Larian has said they won't be adding anything significantly new to the game I don't expect any of these suggestions to be implemented in "Baldur's Gate 3," but I think they still stand as good ideas for the next Larian RPG.

Also note, this post will unavoidably contain minor information that pertains to some characters and events in the story.

1) Give the custom character some unique abilities.

Most of the companions either begin with a unique ability or acquire one during the game.

Shadowheart has Fear of Wolves, and while in the Shadow-Cursed Lands she has some protection from the Shadow Curse in the milder areas.
Lae'zel doesn't have any unique abilities as far as I know, but at least by virtue of being a Githyanki she has access to a lot of unique Githyanki equipment that gives racial benefits.
Karlach has Infernal Fury via the Soul Coins, and her heart upgrades later grant her Heart of Iron and Heart Ablaze.
Astarion starts with Vampire Bite and can potentially later upgrade to Ascendant Bite and Misty Escape.
Gale eventually gets Netherese Orb Blast, and can also receive Consumed Shadow Weave, Mystra's Blessing, and Anointed in Splendor.
Wyll starts with the The Blade of Frontiers so he can always use rapiers no matter what class he changes to.
The Dark Urge can potentially get their Slayer form.
Minthara starts out with Soul Branding as well as already having some Illithid Powers.
Halsin I'm not sure about (since I never used him) but I believe he starts out with some spells that are always prepared.

So, to offset this, give the custom character some unique abilities of their own that none of the companion characters have. Larian's previous game, "Divinity: Original Sin 2," did this in part by giving the custom character a unique Source Power, just as the six origin characters had their own unique Source Power.

2) Give the custom character a unique quest.

All of the origin characters, and some of the companion characters, have their own personal quests, so why not give a custom character a unique quest of their own? This could be a unique sub-quest of the main quest that is only available when playing as a custom character. Or, it could possibly even be a unique quest that is based on the character's chosen background. That would also be one way to make the choice of background have more narrative significance aside from just mechanically providing two starting skill proficiencies. So, while throughout the game you help your companions with their Sharran stuff, infernal heart stuff, Githyanki fate stuff, infernal pact stuff, Netherese magic stuff, vampire stuff, Harper stuff, Shadow-Cursed Land stuff, etc. you could also have some extra special mind flayer plot stuff all to yourself that your companions could in turn support you for. 

3) Give the custom character unique quest rewards.

Several of the origin characters can receive rewards related to their personal quest choices that match them.

Shadowheart, depending on choices, can receive Shar's Spear of Evening, Dark Justiciar Half-Plate, Dark Justiciar Gauntlets, Dark Justiciar Boots, Moonlight Glaive, and/or Selûne's Spear of Night.
Lae'zel can receive the Silver Sword of the Astral Plane.
Wyll can receive the Infernal Robe and/or the Infernal Rapier.
Gale can make a Shadow Lantern.
The Dark Urge can obtain the Deathstalker Mantle.

As proposed above about the custom character having their own unique questline, give the custom character a unique equipment reward based on their race or class, or the theme of the quest.

4) Let players define the personality of the custom character with additional unique dialogue options.

In "Divinity: Original Sin 2," the six origin characters all had unique dialogue options based on who they were. I haven't played an origin character in "Baldur's Gate 3," but since I see each origin character's name is treated as a tag I assume it is the same in this game as well. This means Origin characters have more dialogue options, with their own dialogue options serving to portray their default personality. So, my suggestion to balance this is to make backgrounds give additional dialogue options only when playing as a custom character. This would give custom characters background, class, and race dialogue options to choose from in dialogues (along with Baldurian or whatever other hometown-based tags). Origin characters wouldn't need this, as their origin tag already takes their personality and background into consideration for how they would respond in dialogue. Thus, playing as a Noble High Elf Wizard or a Soldier Halfling Fighter would give plenty of unique dialogue options per situation to let you express your custom character's unique personality.

5) Have certain NPCs play more significant roles uniquely for custom characters.

All of the origin characters and most of the companion characters have various NPCs or deities that play a more significant role in their storyline. These include but are not limited to:

Shadowheart has her childhood friend, the Mother Superior, and Shar.
Lae'zel has Kith'rak Voss, Orpheus, and Vlaakith.
Karlach has Wyll, Dammon, Fytz, Enver Gortash, Mizora, and Zariel.
Astarion has the Gurs.
Gale has Tara, Elminster, and Mystra.
Wyll has Karlach, Counsellor Florrick, Ulder Ravengard, and Mizora.
The Dark Urge has Alfira/Quil, Sceleritas Fel, Orin the Red, Enver Gortash, and Bhaal and the Cult of Bhaal.
Minthara has the Goblins, the Cult of the Absolute, Kethric Thorm, and Orin the Red.
Halsin has the Druids and Thaniel.
Jaheira has Minsc, the Harpers, Geraldus, Entharl Danthelon, Nine-Fingers Keene, and Sarevok Anchev.
Minsc has Boo, Jeheira, and Sarevok Anchev.

I think it would be a good idea then to have some NPCs that exclusively play a uniquely more prominent role when playing as a custom character. For example, take Sazza the Goblin. Depending on ones' choices, she can be rescued from the Emerald Grove, the Goblin Camp, and Moonrise Towers, after which she is no longer present in the game and can be assumed to most likely have fallen victim to the Shadow Curse upon leaving Moonrise Towers. Perhaps however, when playing as a custom character, Sazza can be found and rescued from the Shadow-Cursed Lands (maybe she secretly stole a Moonlantern at some point) and invited back to camp as a camp follower for the rest of the game, with unique interactions with the custom player character and unique reactions regarding the plot events of Act 2 and Act 3.

Basically, I think it wouldn't hurt to have some NPCs play a larger role in the custom character's storyline as potential pets, allies, friends, lovers, rivals, enemies, mentors, adopted family members, etc. just as all the origin and companion characters have NPCs that are significant in their stories.

6) Give the custom character more significance in the story where applicable.

One thing that kind of bothers me is that depending on your choice of race, class, and/or background, you can feel like your character is vastly overshadowed by the origin characters or companion characters.

If you play as a Cleric, the connection you have with your own deity will never play as large of a role as Shadowheart's relationship with Shar, the Dark Urge's relationship with Bhaal, or Gale's relationship with Mystra.
If you play as a Githyanki, Lae'zel will still be treated as more important to the Githyanki storyline by Voss and Vlaakith.
If you play as a Warlock, your patron will have no real presence in the story while Wyll's will be a prominent figure in the story.
If you play as a Wizard, you will be in the shadow of Gale, the former chosen of Mystra who was both his mentor and lover, and who is well known by Elminster.
If you play as a Druid, the folks of the Emerald Grove won't be that much different towards you (from what I hear, I've never played as one), and in the Shadow-Cursed Lands only Halsin can lift the curse even if the player character is a Druid and has access to Halsin's journals and notes and such.
If you play a Folk Hero, you'll already have Wyll and Minsc around as the famous heroes that everyone has heard of.

I think if playing as a custom character, the character should have more significance in some of these storylines if it would fit. For examples:

Playing as a Cleric, ones' deity could have at least a few cutscenes with the player character, maybe once or twice per act during a long rest, to give them guidance.

As a Githyanki, I think a lot of the time that Vlaakith or Voss are talking to her, they should instead be talking to your player character, and a lot of the emotional turmoil that occurs at the end of Act 1 for Lae'zel after visiting the Creche should be shared with the player character too. Vlaakith's temptation to ascend and become her right-hand should you side with her against Voss and Orpheus should also be offered to your character in addition to Lae'zel.

As a Warlock, you could either be able to create your own patron (similar to how you create your own Guardian), or choose between one of three premade or preexisting choices of patron, one for each subclass (perhaps Mizora for the Fiend subclass, Auntie Ethel for the Archfey subclass, and the Emperor or the Elder Brain/Netherbrain for the Great Old One subclass). In either case, the patron would then play a role in the character's storyline, popping up once or twice per act during a long rest to ensure the character's loyalty and/or give the character a task related to the main quest or something of the sort.

As a Wizard, Elminster could also come to speak with your character, having taken notice of your talent. You could also have scenes with Mystra too, perhaps her trying to persuade you into getting Gale on board with her plans, or promising to make you her chosen if you encourage Gale to sacrifice himself or discourage him from trying to keep the Crown of Karsus for himself. I also think if you're playing a wizard/sage, you should be able to make the Shadow Lantern without Gale being in your party. It would also be great if you as a wizard could retrieve the Crown of Karsus yourself and master its power to become a new god instead of Gale.

If playing as a Druid, if Halsin is dead then you should be able to use his notes to do the quest to lift the Shadow Curse.

If playing as a Folk Hero, it would be nice if some NPCs recognized you as a known hero and gave you respect for such, especially with the Tieflings and the Druids in the Emerald Grove since they are in need of a hero at the moment.

Finally, while this relates to an NPC rather than an origin or companion character, I think if one is playing someone with the Guild Artisan (blacksmith) background and proficiency or expertise in Arcana and/or Medicine, they should be able to perform the heart upgrades for Karlach instead of Dammon. The quest is mainly just a fetch quest to find and retrieve the Infernal Iron anyway, so why not let your own character be the one to "install" it after retrieving it if you're a Guild Artisan (blacksmith) with knowledge in Arcana and/or Medicine? This would also help a lot if Dammon is killed during the attack on the Emerald Grove.

7) No NPC should be completely exclusive to one origin or companion character's story.

This is just a little pet peeve of mine, but it bothers me when an origin or companion character dies or leaves the party then certain NPCs connected to them just vanish and no longer exist in the game. Examples of this include Wyll and Mizora and Halsin and Thaniel. If you choose to raid the Emerald Grove for the Absolute, Wyll will leave your party. After that I assume he either dies, turns into a mind flayer, or makes an even worse deal with Mizora to save himself. But Mizora also vanishes from the game. But why? Why does Mizora need Wyll to continue in the game? She even says when you first meet her at camp that she'll be keeping an eye on you (the player avatar character). So why does she lose all interest in you after Wyll is gone? Why does she not instead offer to make you a deal in his place? If anything, choosing to raid a grove full of Druids and Tiefling refugees from Avarnus should make you more interesting to her, as it shows you're willing to do things that Wyll would not.

And this has already been mentioned, but if Halsin has died and you've taken his journal and notes, and play a Druid yourself, why can't you try to find Thaniel and lift the Shadow Curse yourself? Such a quest is more than just a little companion quest. Lifting the Shadow Curse should be a goal of any altruistic character passing through the Shadow-Cursed Lands if they have the power to do so. So why lock saving the Act 2 area behind an optional companion?

I suggest that even without the origin characters or companion characters, certain NPCs connected to them should still remain in the game where it makes sense.

8) Let custom characters choose a faction.

Several of the origin characters and companion characters have ties to various factions. Some examples include:

Shadowheart is a follower of Shar.
The Dark Urge has ties to the Cult of Bhaal.
Jaheira is a member of the Harpers and has ties to the leader of the Guild.

Another way to help make the custom character have a more unique playthrough would be to allow them to start off with some chosen ties to one of the factions in the game. This could be like another tag that offers new dialogue choices, and also mean that NPCs who are connected to that faction could have unique dialogue or even cutscenes with the player character. Example factions could be being a follower of Shar or Selûne‎ (without actually being a cleric), or a member of the Flaming Fist, the Harpers‎, the Guild, the Zhentarim, etc. Again, origin and companion characters wouldn't need this since as part of their storylines they already come with connections to various factions in the game world.