Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Build Discussion Chosen of Shar Playthrough

So I am working up a play through where my "Tav" will be a Monk of the Order of the Dark Moon. This teaming up with Shadowheart makes great RP sense, both servants of Shar. Now looking at other party members. Astarion makes sense as a Vampire would embrace the Darkness so working with followers of Shar fits. That leaves slot 4...

Gale is a bit to goody for this group I would think. Lae'zel is not someone that would embrace the greatness that is Our Lady of Loss, plus our Priestess has a distrust of her, we would not want her with us stealing the prize we have collected for Shar. Karlach is way to goody two shoes and of course Halsin would not support our seeking to expand the darkness.

So I am debating what I want to bring for the 4th. I can use a custom character for a second "Tav" using my wife's game to make it. I am considering an evil Mage or just a pure fighter (could do an anti-paladin) .

Would love to hear others thoughts.

Minthara... of course

Had not considered that, nice...

However from a RP perspective, will she give up the Absolute? The reason I ask is I see this group as opposing the Absolute not just for those that worship Shar but to be free of the tadpoles. A Paladin of the Absolute might oppose this. (I have never even considered adding her before so I know nothing of having her as a companion.)

She is for the Absolute at first then... Well she feel betrayed so yeah, she will fit your team:)

Get a Hireling and Customize it the way yu want to Fit your Chosen of Char bro.. it Just Works..lol ( i always go with Maddala or Varanna and Custom the hell out of then.)
(nowadays i never bring all companions they just Get in the Way i only bring 2 of then, or i bring all to just let then die.. Like Laezel i always let Shadow kill her and yu get a Neat Conversation if yu let her do it..lol)
And depending on the side yu take Bring Minthara she is amazing for a Dark Game.
(aswering what yu asked Before.. She will Wake Up for The Absolute Stuff if yu Save Her.. actually she start to see things different at the Moment yu See her the First Time in Goblin Camp Later she will talk about it..)
will not say more becouse of Spoilers but.. Bring her man.. yu will not regret Trust me.
(and fun Fact for a Dark Game she is the Best Choice for Romance.. Dark Shadow its not that Great..)
in all my games after i get the Romance scene i just Gave up on her and Stay with Minthara becouse romancing Shar Shadowheart Sux..
(she turns into a Trully fanatic and dont give a F for yu anymore.)

Yeah definitely go with Minthara on this one. She's not a Paladin of the Absolute so much as she's a Paladin of a fitting moral temperament and life experience that is currently in the Absolute's grasp. She's also got some very nice flavor dialogue that would fit well with such a playthrough.

Hireling Wiz - Sir Fezzalump I think, but you can now change the names.

Oathbreaker Paladin, perfect for adopting new deity, Shar - but is Minthara a Shar type girl? Dunno

She's not necessarily pro-Shar, she's honestly quite similar to Astarion on that front. Both their life experiences fit pretty perfectly within the bounds of Shar's divine portfolio in terms of loss and living in darkness. And as Oath of Vengeance so long as whatever you're doing serves the party's goals she's in even if she doesn't end up approving of every little choice on the way.

My biggest thing against Hirelings is just that they have no reactivity. Minthara will at least chime in and add to the flavor of the playthrough.

Yeah the reactivity of the Hirelings are really few.. thats kinda bad and why i only bring one of then normally..
the only game i made with just Shadow as companion i kinda regret i bring just her and 2 hire to actually see all her unique scenes in the game..
(felt a little bit empty during the exploring..)
i already tested this with all the companions i like..haha
(Know i already know the best ones so when time cames i just remove from the party the ones i dont like.. becouse some companions like to Steell the best line of other will just say that.. Karlach is notorius for that.)
so far 500 hrs in going to 600 in a few hrs i beleave.

I have close to 500 hrs (not really proud of it) and have had all the companion interaction I need and I'm not into the pixel porn.

My Durge run through uses 3 hirelings.

she is not the girl you meet in act 1... once you find her again the actual reasons become clear but short version = yes she fits in

I have Minthara as basically a Paladin of Shar in my current run. The entire party bows to Shar after what went down in Act II, and Minthara's was pretty much "By My Oath" nodding in agreement. She looks badass in the Dark Justiciar armor, and there's definitely enough Shar themed gear to go around for 4 party members to dress the part hehe.

Of course the main Dilemma is who take slot in the 4th spot while you handle the stuff in the first Act.

I went with Necromancy Gale for that lol. Somehow he got himself killed almost immediately in my Evil Tav run, so it seemed thematic.

I did a Durge run much the same, but that one is a little different. It's been kinda buggy with the Minthara romance still in Act III, I still haven't finished that playthrough. You might go with Shadowheart for that, or just fly solo like dedicated only to Shar. Or just make sure to keep saving and clicking on Minthara to make sure she don't get the "You are bold to seek me out" romance loop. Otherwise she's good to go though and hits way heavy in the second Act.

From an RP perspective the Shar worshippers could try to convert Wyll. I know, he is a good aligned character but he knows loss better than anyone else. He lost his familiy, his home, his soul. He sacrificed everything and got very little in return. Shar worshippers would knock on his door first.

Using this same reasoning Karlach would be a good recruit as well.

Minthara is excellent for this role. The problem with mercenaries is that they are boring. Recruitment options are definitely lacking in the companion game for the dark game.

If you need Minthara then yes, she is evil and will fit in with the Shar crowd like a long lost cousin.
After talking with her I'm shocked that she isn't an Oathbreaker, though. Abandoning one goddess ater another - Shar would be no.3 for her:)
But I'd suggest a run with three characters. Getting to Moonrise with 3 characters is a breeze ...
IMO Karlach is not enough of a cunt to join a Shar cult.
Three out of six origins are raging evil nutjobs, then there's Minthara waiting in the wings, and you say lacking?

As others have said, I'd go with Minthara (if you can wait till near the end of Act II to get her), otherwise there's always the hireling option... but... Hirelings won't use tadpoles, so if you want your group using tadpoles, best to use either Minthara or go with your wife's game to make a custom character.

I am currently doing a DU playthrough. This is my party makeup...

Main DU character is a Ranger (Gloom Stalker).
Shadowheart is a Cleric, but I plan to multiclass her as a Paladin fitting her Dark Justiciar story. To prep for this, I have respeced her with higher Charisma, and chose Knowledge (instead of Trickery) as the Cleric domain.
Astairan is a multiclass Rogue / Warlock (pact of the blade).
Currently using a hireling Bard to fill out my party towards the end of Act 1.

My whole party can sneak around in the shadows!

Lae'zel seemed to fit in with her dark foreboding nature,, but Shadowheart killed her.
I plan to add Minthara later. When going through the goblin camp, one of them beat the drum making the whole camp hostile. I was able to knock Minthara out and leave her alive, so I hope she shows up at Moonrise Tower.
Despite killing all of the Druids (and also most of the goblins), Wyll did not leave my camp (since there was no raid after the camp went hostile). He doesn't seem to fit in though, so I leave him at the camp. Maybe I should romance him so that my DU character has the option to kill him.
Karlach refused to join my party. Told us to F@#$ off, so I killed her.

I respected Minthara as a Ranger (Beastmaster) and summon the giant wolf spider which seems to fit her well.