What kind of character he will be in Larian's vision?

As for my opinion, depending on the narrative with the petrification he has suffered, I'd say:
While he was petrified, his arms were broken by vandals in Baldur's gate, it's canon (later returned and statue fixed, but who knows what kind of internal damage has been suffered in the process). It is one way to explain his loss of combat ability (becoming low-level). Although it would be probably more correct to surmise that he fixed that problem already, somehow (by finding someone who was able to Regenerate his torn out arms, considering it is Beloved Ranger we are speaking of).

Another issue to think of is his mental state:
Being petrified for some decades could lead to a total stasis-like state (although the 5e rules don't say that), or he could have been subjected to a worse, bitter fate of someone devoid of senses yet conscious.
That could lead to various side effects - Minsc wasn't very sane to start with, so anything could happen. It would not be too foolish to think he had some decades to think and grow up in many ways, except that his body lost all his accumulated combat experience, of course.

It can potentially lead to a very deep and interesting character if Larian would allow themselves to go high and reach long.

I just wanna bang him

Would be very strange not to make him a straight guy, by the way, with his Rashemen culture and upbringing. They can change this too, of course, according to modern agenda, but wouldn't it be a bad taste.

I'm pretty sure they said all companions will be rommanceable by all races and genders. And jokes aside, I think in this case it's a very poor decision unless they will manage to make it some sort of humourous romance.

I think it's essentially official that Minsc will be in the game. In what capacity though, that's another story.

As much I took him in my parties more often than Edwin, since he's a good lad and a powerful melee fighter, I find him to be a bit of a one-trick-pony comedic character. Like Jan Jansen. Edwin was better in my opinion.

At any rate, I hope Larian doesn't take a page from JJ Abram's book, i.e. "why bother with writing a good story when you can ride on nostalgic references ?". I think we've seen enough of that in the recent Star Wars to know it doesn't work.

I'd be happy if Minsc makes a cameo appearance as someone we can talk to, no more. Or perhaps someone we can be with for a fight (like Wyll at the Druid Grove's gate, or Halsin). Or perhaps we can take him as proper party member, but just for a short mission. Basically, I'm not hoping for him to be a companion. Even less a romanceable character. But well, what do I know ? Maybe Larian can make him interesting and have him be part of the story in a well-written way.

If were not given the option to become his witch, what are we doing here really?

As for his character, what character exactly? He's had really one mode, with Dynaheir being the yang to his yin, and consider BG:2 even that was lost. Though I remember playing a Minsc quest from one of the restored content mods that was interesting, I'm not sure about it's imprimatur

Minsc has a series of comic books. He is still just Minsc.

“Minsc, the legendary Ranger do-gooder with a heart of gold, brain of lead, and hamster of pronounced wisdom.”

Don’t expect him to be any different in BG3.

There is no reason why Minsc couldn’t or shouldn’t be gay if the player wants to romance him.

We'll see

I actually find it weird when every character is hero-sexual in a game, as for Minsc, I've never seen him as anything other than asexual, I'm even a little put off by the idea, but I haven't met the new and improved one yet so who can say.

Don't you think it would be dull to beat this petrified horse... again, after BGI&II?
He may be the old good companion he always was, but comic relief dialog would not look good with the current plot. It's not a swashbuckling adventure at all, even compared to BG II storyline and theme.

As for "if the player wants to romance" I'm of an opposite view, it's character inconsistency for me, in this case. When an NPC can have any kind of romance on a PC's whim, it makes the NPC less believable.

For me a romance with Minsc would just be wrong -- morally wrong -- because the big guy is so dumb I don't believe he could take care of himself on his own. He's too easily manipulated. His witch is essentially his case worker / custodian.

Also, there's also just not that much there there. The head wound was something of blank slate for me.


There's also the fact that Minsc's backstory -- according to the writer who first rolled him up -- isn't as pleasant as the character we had in the game. He was a ranger who used hamsters to trip traps. At one the point the DM declared that Minsc had taken on a form of madness and that he now loved the hamster he intended to use as trap bait. And silliness ensued . . .

BG2 opens after you and your sister have just been brutally tortured, your souls ripped from your bodies, and 2 of your companions murdered. I don’t find the tone of BG3 to be at all inconsistent with the previous games. Balancing thematically bleak stories with Dungeons and Dragons style absurdity for comic relief has always been a part of the series, so Minsc is not out of place. I don’t think having Minsc as he was in BG1 and 2 would be dull. I’m looking forward to it.

How would Minsc being gay be inconsistent? Inconsistent with what? I don’t think there is any indication that he is straight in the first games.

Concerning relation to previous BG's and comic relief - we'll see how Larian will handle that. Some prefer a bit more salt in their food, others differently. But generally, players respect dialog quality, even if it's not completely to one's taste, aren't they?

Minsc is Rashemen. Rashemen as people are very close to Russians; "domovoi", "samovar" and many other relations show that.
Gay relationships were always a shame in Russian tradition (and the most surrounding territories).

Imagine that people living in Russia correspond somewhat with Minsc' portrayal and would not be glad to see him gay. It is as with Muslim people being called gay.
So yes, would not be a good choice to go this way with character development. Unless you want to offend because you wanted some liberty for your game character. There are always such things to consider (if you want to go that deep).

Besides, there is simply character consistency going back to BG 1 and 2. Why even thinking of banging with the Rashemi ranger? He is into hamsters and fighting evil, and prefers talking to nice people, being eager and honest. That's how he was portrayed and how he would be seen - unless changed by Larian. It would take real skill to make his romance a good one, believable.

Haven't seen this post. Well said.

But maybe - maybe - he got his brain fixed after his biggest trouble with being petrified for decades. That is the ground for improvisation here for the writers, isn't it?

First of all, while I’m far from an expert, a cursory bit of Googling indicates that you are likely wrong about homosexuality being “always a shame in Russia.” It appears that homosexuality was openly accepted in Russia until the Europeanizaton of the 17th century.

But that is beside the point because Rashemen, while being inspired by Russia, is not Russia, so WotC can give that society whatever attitudes they want towards homosexuality.

And that still is beside the point because even cultures that condemn homosexuality still have gay people, so nothing in the Rashemen cultural attitude precludes Minsc being gay.

I’m pretty sure that most people in Russia don’t care one iota about a character from a fantasy land loosely based on Russsia in a video game being optionally gay.

I with you here, a lot of comedy can be very tragic if you treat it seriously, for instance if I remember correctly Minsc's behavior is the result of massive head trauma, right?

I also think the inconsistency people are talking about comes from how asexual he comes across as, by which I mean his child-like behavior, not whether or not he's gay or straight.

Don't ask Google. I'm Russian and I know the history, mindset and traditions of my country well enough. Let's stop at that, please. Any Russian still living in the country can support my claim.

As well as the fact that a lot of Russian gamers I personally know do count Rashemi as a somewhat-related people.

And we aren't talking about most people in Russia, just those who are interested already/could be interested. By no means I'm saying I know it all, but I would not have said anything about that inconsistency if I wasn't sure.

WotC and Hasbro can do whatever they want. As did V5 VtM. Look how it's turned about after mentioning Checnhya: https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/16/18098929/white-wolf-controversy-paradox-interactive-new-ceo

It would be not a nice thing to offend people and their culture, when you can easily be more diplomatic toward the whole case and people's beliefs and feelings.

@Sozz yes, that captures it. Agreed, for me Minsc is asexual.

And @Ellenhard -- it is possible of course. I haven't read the comic books but I've heard that it's also not clear if statue Minsc or some wild magic gone really really off.

Best possible moment to post my meme, I see.

Exactly. Unless Minsc is made saner by the writers (it could be, could be not, I think I'll check Minsc's datamined dialog),

Descent into Avernus, 184 pg says the magic gone off, I think it's canon material.

I could get onboard with that idea, but the OP was specifically arguing that Minsc should only be straight, not asexual, so that isn’t what he meant by inconsistent.

I said it would be very strange if he isn't straight (also asexual as it was), considering his culture. It is hard enough to find the right words in a non-native language without twisting words for argument's sake.

I didn’t twist your words but okay my dude. 😂

We can disagree about the propriety of it, but Minsc is romanceable by male and female protagonists. If you find that offensive, well prepare for that now, I guess.

It should be noted that a number of players, myself included, would like some more lighthearted and maybe even comical romance scenes instead of outright sex with all companions. Larian coded romance as "sex" in their files but Shadowheart's romance scene still tags you as having had "sex" with her AFAIK, so some romance scenes may be more PG or goofier.

I’m with you. I probably won’t do any of the romance options in the game, but if there was something similar to Fane’s sex scene from DOS2 I’d reconsider.

We'll see how it works out, I suppose. That is what this discussion is for - to understand each other opinion and maybe hear some new ideas.

Glad that that's sorted out. now it's a good time for my all-time favorite minsc sex lines we can expect from the romance:
"Minsc and boo stand ready" "jump on my sword while you can lover I won't be as gentle (squick squick)"
"Ohh we are all orgy you and boo and I! Hamsters and rangers everywhere!"
"Let's fuck! For justice!"
"*Squick squick* boo says, oh myyy"
"Go for the mouth boo go for the mouth ahhhhhhhh *semen*"

8 int
6 wis

...this dude cant even tie his own shoe laces

He can still kick butt with the unlaced shoes, it's ok.
I bet you they've made his Wis at least to 8 though.

Minsk not only the name of the character, is the capital of Belarus, where protests are currently taking place. (a minute of political information)

Actually, the comic book Legends of Badur's Gate tells another story. I don't know why they would publish this if it's not canon...

[img]https://ibb.co/FHb8N61[/img]
[img]https://ibb.co/xM9FZHP[/img]
[img]https://ibb.co/JH7M97J[/img]
[img]https://ibb.co/yFKvScP[/img]

Then again, I have Descent into Avernus and haven't red the part you mentioned, so I'll check it out.

Hold up, are we honestly talking about reducing romance options for gay players in an effort to avoid offending homophobes?

Yeah, they can go ahead and be offended while they wait in line to fall off the sharp edge of history into the relic bin.

Maybe it's a misunderstanding; I've meant it's clear that the "statue Minsc" has been reverted and the wild magic effect gone off him. https://ibb.co/Sxnf4JV
In any case, I've seen canon wrecked already by this game, or should I say overwritten, so it can happen again.

Plenty of people dumber than that are merrily breeding every day.

Source: am American.

Nah, I'm surprised you've read that like this, actually. The traditional society we all have come from is not equaled to homophobia at all, would be nice not judge and generalize anyone's beliefs, but that's beside the point. I understand what you mean.

I'm all for tweaking the noses of the censor and bigot, but I also don't like the way RPGs seem to treat all character's as sexually fluid.

If my character's romance as a woman is a copy and paste of their romance as a man I consider that a failure of writing, because it doesn't reflect very common world experience, even for a high-fantasy medieval one.
By that token if every companion is just a vessel for my MC's attention, it detracts from their characterization.

That said I'm afraid of talking about it here because the OP seems to be coming from a place involving the ongoing kulturkampf in Russia right now, about which I don't think any of my commentary would be welcome.

The part about romance being different for male/female characters is spot on. Thank you.

volcel mod day 1 install

I adore Minsc and hope Larian doesn't change him a bit, but I am never, ever choosing him as a romance option. That would feel so wrong.

Indeed, Boo would grow jealous.

Did you see what happened to the last guy Boo got jealous of? I think they only found his big toe...

Well, it seems to me that it is strange to add the possibility of romance with Minsc.
From the outside it may look like a poor shell-shocked big guy.
And to be honest, I think adding Minsc as a companion or origin character is not very good. So, in the fifth edition, his official statistics give him level 6, in the second part he could reach level 40. Larian will have to work hard to explain his weakening.

There's some evidence in dialogue that people who have been implanted with a tadpole are weaker than before. I don't think Minsc will be an origin character, but I haven't spoiled myself in those threads to be sure.

Separate from the data mine thread, Larian has already said in a previous AMA that all companions would be origin characters. That could change, but you should expect Minsc to be an origin character.

People keep saying that Larian are going to work hard to write around Minsc’s massive drop in level. They don’t and probably won’t. It will probably never be explained and we will just need to internally come to terms with it and move on.

I find this mind boggling, it's going to be like playing a INT 2 character in Fallout, except instead of grunting it'll be long tangents on Boo....oh, we're going to be playing as Boo

Playing as Boo is probably going to appeal to a lot of people....

I wonder what Boo's stats are? And class? Or did Boo take 20 levels in miniature giant space hamster?

I’m actually looking forward to playing Minsc. My first playthrough will be a Minsc run. I’m still going to make a custom character too. I’ll start with both (you can do this) and Minsc will be the main hero who does most of the dialogue while my custom character will be a rogue and the descendant of my Bhaalspawn who is constantly, quietly exasperated by “Uncle Minsc.” It’s going to be fun.

Also, some of Minsc’s unique dialogue options have already been data mined and they look to be pretty great.

If he isn't like a B-movie mad scientist with dramatic brass music playing in the background of his monologues I won't be satisfied.

I think we've all been ignoring the truly important question.

Will Jim Cummings reprise his role as the voice of Minsc?

no point in doing it without him, really. And unlike Jaheira who fell off the face of the Earth Jim is still working pretty regularly in V-O, he's also the reason I can't take Star Wars Rebels seriously...one of the reasons...

Jim did Siege of Dragonspear a few years ago, so no reason to expect him not to do BG3.

Of all the romance options I really don't see, no, I don't want to see how it works out with Minsc. Unless we're talking about the next level of friendship commonly referred to as bromance.

I always saw Minsc as a big brother figure, not a romantic interest. And it will remain that way... anyway, Minsc's true love is Boo. Let it end there.

Anyhow, he will most likely be a must have in my goody-two-shoe parties, if Larian does him justice of course and write him properly and true to character.

I saw him the same way. He was my Bhaalspawn’s quintessential bro. Steadfast, dependable, and a hell of a good time, with an idiot savant aptitude to always say the right thing. I hope Larian does him correctly, but I don’t have any doubts that they will. He isn’t a complex character to write, and I think they have done a terrific job with the rest of the party thus far. I can’t wait to play him as the hero of his own story (while still having a similar general dynamic by making my Bhaalspawn’s descendant his sidekick).