Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Characters in Dialogue

Hey! I am new here! First things first I have only a few hours in the game (about 18, but 1 or 2 were character creation and I am running two characters simultaneously so I am about 7-8 hours in the story)
And I like many aspects of the game I do have a complaint/suggestion

I reckon there have been numerous posts about this in the past, since I've seen several people complain about this in reddit and steam already.
Yet the search function did not yield me any relevants results in the 200 it generated in this forum.
So excuse me but I think this is imperative to be said and hopefully fixed.

So on to the actual problem... One of the biggest issues BG3 I have encountered in BG3 many times already is this:
Not being able to switch characters in dialogue!
Please do hear me out.

I understand Larian was probably trying to discourage "cheesing" skill checks and dialogue options, and maybe they thought this was making conversation feel more natural and real-time.
Yet, in many cases this admittedly makes no sense at all and is simply frustrating.
Even more so for the dialogues you do not initiate yourself, but simply trigger based on proximity.
For example:
Some possible enemies spot you but you have the chance to parley with them. Yet the closest character happens to have either no charisma or is more aggressive than the rest of the party and thus has no peaceful options.
I do not see why the more peaceful and also more charismatic character nearby cannot join in the conversation to avoid the bloodshed.

It's not -only- about taking the highest chance option to succeed on a skill check. It is about making it make sense roleplay wise as well!

Why would the good aligned bard stand idle, painfully watching his friend botch any chance at diplomacy just an arm's reach away, unable to join in and help him save the day? Only because the fighter was only a couple of steps ahead when the dialogue was triggered.


Or if the Paladin makes a succesful persuasion attempt and the NPC opens up and then starts revealing information.
Information and theories about how the weave and magic work in Faerun, why does the Paladin have to be the one to try to comprehend it? Why can't the Wizard standing just behind him step up to comprehend, roll any relevant arcana checks that might be needed and share his views on the topic etc...

You see where I am getting at? It simply makes more sense roleplay wise.
I think it would be only natural to be able to switch characters!
If not mid conversation (because, even though it is preferrable, this might complicate things too much) at the very least at the start of every dialogue. As long as the character you switch to is in talking distance of course.
I understand a few dialogues maybe have to be more private, but for the ones that are not please fix this Larian. At least include a toggle option for this in the settings. Many people want this and justifiably so.

And as for people who were going to "cheese" it by always going for the highest modifier... they will manage to do so eventually, either through mods or save scumming everything every few seconds anyway.

Totally agree with this. In a tabletop game, the appropriate character would automatically step up and handle the situation because they're the best equipped to do so. One of the main reasons to have companions is to make up for the things that you lack. Having Wyll step in to handle a charisma based check is completely appropriate and more real to life to the way you'd handle a game with your friends at the table. Otherwise, your companions are just there for combat, which is a huge underuse of their skillsets.

Gods I hate the proximity triggered dialogues, I've started save scumming every time I think I see an NPC in the distance and ungrouping my party far enough away just in case thats how the conversation triggers. Letting us switch characters as soon as a conversation starts would be wonderful, but I'd settle for those proximity triggers defaulting to your controlled party member/Tav even if they didn't trigger the conversation. I'm tired of having a party member trigger dialogue just because they decided to take a couple extra steps after I stopped moving. MY CHEST IS LITERALLY TOUCHING HER BACK WHAT DO YOU MEAN KARLACH GETS TO LEAD THE CONVERSATION INSTEAD OF ME??

Thanks for the support and understanding guys.

CasAngel, at least let us choose at the beggining is what it should be done I think.
Defaulting to the MC would be terrible in some cases. I have a Bard and a Monk currently. Guess which one I usually wouldn't want to default to.
And yes not all skill checks in dialogue are charisma based, but the majority of them are.

It's not even about succeeding. There is a mod that lets you use highest party member modifier but I don't want this. ( and not a huge fan of mods either ) I want each member to have their own unique options when using them.

ie: I don't want to succeed on a diplomacy check for nonviolence with the evil trigger-happy Sorcerer (if there was hypothetically such a companion) just because they have high persuasion modifier.
I want to have his options if I am using his modifiers which only include an intimidation attempt, as it would make sense in character (at least as long as the enemies were no serious threat, otherwise persuasion would make sense too maybe? Anyway you get the gist of what I am saying.)

Has Larian said anything about fixing this issue? To me it's a huge drawback, and it really hinders my enjoyment of the game, which is a shame because it really shines in some other areas

Sorry, it's late here and I didn't read the whole first post ...Sorry? But I just wanna add I would LOVE it if instead of you being able to switch characters, at least with multiplayer, the other players could just roll a dice to see who talks. Just make in the background. It would be a good way to keep everyone involved with the conversations and make it random at the same time.


P.S. I may have played too much swtor