Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Your favourite character development

Which characters have the best development in the game - it can be a companion, an npc etc. What are your favourite character developments?

Companionwise I have to go with Lae'zel - she starts out as this strict, indoctrinated Vlaakith worshipper, looking down on every other race and culture and dismissing everything not tied to fighting.
She end as literally a different person, if she follows Orpheus - liking her companions, in a romance finding a different side in herself and becoming an ambassador to the Githzerai people.
I was really impressed, how much she changed.

I would say Shadowheart too, but she always had a softer side and wanting to help people, so her being a kidnapped Selunite wasn't that much of a surprise - many people in EA already called it. It is still a good story.

Spawn Astarion - he basically is a different person, much more reflective and happy. He even apologises to a gnome Tav for being racist (in a romance, he does that in act 2, otherwise in act 3, if I remember correctly).


Other characters:

Barcus Wroot: He is so helpless and insecure, yet determined in the beginning. And then he takes over the Ironhand gnomes to basically save his former friend from himself and try to stir them into a better direction. He is the classical normal guy to hero, because of circumstances story and I love it.

Rolan: He is arrogant, overestimates himself and selfish in the beginning, but on his journey, he learns how to become a better person and mage.

Mayrina: From someone, who has lost all hope and is insufferable because of it to leading a resistance is a big step. She also learns to let Connor go and take resonsibility for her baby. I found her arc truely impressive for a pretty minor character.

Arabella: I mean, that little girl is full of surprises and I love her arc (still sad about her parents though). How she got from frightened child to binding two shadows without batting an eye and then accepting her fate and go on alone to find her destiny is kind of bittersweet.

I probably will come back to this post and add characters along the way.

Withers: After waking up from centuries of sleep in a sarcophagus, he quickly figures out how to monetize his unique skill sets. Then when those skills are no longer needed he changes career to party planner.

Looking from a different side, I like the backstory we can find about Ketheric Thorm. How the death of Isobel basically breaks him and he turns to Shar (aside: the reasons people give for following Shar are really quite believable in this story), destroying him and the whole area as he's overtaken by evil.

And Alfira. She goes from being overcome by grief when you first meet her, to fear and relief in the Last Light, then she's so happy and ready to take on Baldur's Gate when you get there.

I also quite enjoy Wyll's story, as he has to face up to the consequences of his pact. And yes, he says that he would still have done the same thing in the same situation, but he also now recognises the evil and the need to break out of the pact (or not)

I do quite enjoy this feeling I get that deep down he's very entertained to be around the party. Like in a tsundere way he likes us. Although Tsundere Withers isn't a word combo I ever imagined typing down, but him planning a reunion party 6 months after the fact just for shits and giggles is awfully out of character for what you'd expect out of an ancient, cold ex-deity, so one can only think he does like us a little bit, I guess mummies can't blush.

He was probably charmed by the answer you gave to his question "what is the worth of a single mortal life?" You must have really nailed it, and won his total respect.

In one of the lower city mausolea, there's a log from a Jergal devotee, who describes an event when he came face to face with the God, and he was asked that same question. But he didn't know what to answer. So, I guess he failed and did not ever get a party invite.

I love Wyll, he is so underrated. People tend to overlook him for the more flashier companions, but he has a lot going on


And yay for party planner Withers

Laezel easily. For one she feels like absolutely best fit for the story - As Gith infected by a tadpole of her peoples mortal enemy she has personal drive to cure it. Her personal dilemma also fairly naturally ties to the narrative due to major involvement of Gith. While I didn't find her personal arc particularly inspiring, it is well executed and satisfying to see play out. And has branching paths, which unlike lets say Shadowheart, I could see myself pursuing in the future.

From side characters? I don't know, I don't think there was an NPC I cared for the entire way through. Maybe the misterious cow. but it's more for the amusement than narrative reasons.

I like to play Origin Laezel who frees Orpheus and becomes a god by romancing Gale just to spite Vlakath(sp). Vlakath burns the souls of her ppl just to get a taste of godhood and all Laezel had to do was bang and human wizard.

I have a weird answer to this, because I think the development that impressed me the most is the development allowed for by the epilogue.

When I finished the game as Gale with Astarion at my side, I thought Gale would probably love to go home to Waterdeep but that Astarion might not enjoy the settled life. So I offered to go looking for a cure with him. When opening my letter from Elminster at the party, the old wizard recognised that leaving his library to go adventuring was an unusual move for Gale to make. In short, the game had recognised character development of my Avatar, which I think is pretty cool. The epilogue /morning-after-conversation has a few of those thoughtful little moments for the Origins which I do extremely appreciate.

Oh yes and Ketheric's fall from grace is wonderfully tragic development.

Vlahath sacrifices others, while Laez sacrifices herself

The evolution of Lae'zel sounds interesting and cool. Of all the companions, she's the one I saw from the beginning of the game's development as at least being an honest and believable character, despite my aversion to evil-alignments.

SH, OTOH, being confirmed as a "kidnapped Selunite," constitutes the worst and most ridiculous cliche character story of all time for me.

I think, you would love Lae'zel, she is great. I think, you might like Wyll, Gale and Karlach too, given by what I know about you m

Yup. She was a honest "in your face evil bitch from hell", and not the "murder you in your sleep" type of sleazy evil cunt like Astarion or Shadowheart.
LE is much more palatable than CE or NE.

I like Lae'zel also, but the big thing bothering me with her ,is that she stays in the party even when we stubbornly refuse to find a nearby crèche. Roleplayingwise, she should leave us and seek her own people. The prism protection is no factor to make her stay in the early 1st act, as we don't know that it protects us until we meet the "shadows" of the 3 near goblin camp.

How far does that go on? She might think you're useful to her at first (and indeed you are presumably following up other leads to have the tadpoles removed), but if you go into act 2 without visiting the creche she needs a moderately difficult persuasion check not to leave the party as I understand it

Yeah I feel I may end up liking Lae'zel, and possibly Jaheira. Astarion and Halsin are automatic NO's for me. All of the others would be companions I may tolerate to one extent or another, but probably will not like any of them.

Kanishata: I do like most of them, but Halsin. He is clearly meant as a meme character. But the rest is not bad. Gale and Katlach are nice, Wyll has a bit less content, but I like him too.
Shadowheart has a nice story and Astarion is ok.
Jaheira is great, I love her.

In Early Access it was Shadowheart hands down. In the final game, it's Minthara and it's not close. I still enjoy Shadowheart's character a great deal but I do so wishing she were still her EA self as it would have made all the growth, the opening up, the reveals about her past that much more meaningful from her, and have that much more impact to see from someone that spent so much time sounding so confident in their blatantly evil words even if the approval log betrayed her inner feelings to the player.

Honestly though I really gotta give Honorable Mention to Karlach. It's so rare to see a character so genuinely positive and upbeat about everything, doubly so when they're as openly passionate in expressing their thoughts and feelings as her. The tragedy of her circumstance would have been so much weightier if it were earned by the player's own poor choices or failures instead of just being inevitable.

my vote has to be Minthara from crazzy blood happy whore to reasonable but haunted victim then she finally gets closure [after revenge or without it]... i mean its a slow burn that many people don't see but when we are talking 'development' its hard to see any other character coming close

+1, I don't actually have one favourite character since they were all part of any amazing story. My Tav didn't get along with Astarion until Act 3, but that's a problem between those two. I also didn't think Halsin is nearly as bad as some people felt he is, but in terms of team dynamics, Karlach was so important in my playthrough. All of the companions have their own inner and out battles to fight, so I could imagine that many camp nights and dungeon crawls would have been rather gloomy with everyone staring holes into the campfire and fighting spectres within and without, were it not for Karlach.