Same goes for all the origin characters. I hope Lae'zel isn’t portrayed as commander of Githyanki forces or whatever. She should be a rookie as befitting the skills she has at the start of the game.
By "larger than life" I don't mean powerful or skilled. For instance, Lae'zel is larger than life. She's this alien warrior, ultra dedicated to the destruction of the Illithids (and is slowly becoming the thing she's sworn to hate). She doesn't look like a random villager or even a random warrior. Her look, culture, and aesthetic are "larger than life". None of that requires her to be renowned or experienced.
Astarion is also "larger than life" because he isn't a typical rogue/thief. Instead, he's an actual creature of the night. He isn't just some tough guy who's willing to kill--he actually munches down on you and is indifferent to death. His persona is what I find "larger than life".
Gale has been my punching bag, mainly because he has the worst visual design. I highly doubt they asked the concept artists to come up with a highly plain character to be their hero wizard. If that's what you were going for it would have been handled differently. Mostly likely there were a list of requirements and approvals that pushed and pulled the design until the end result was just a mushy nothing. Visually he should have some distinctive elements that make him memorable and tell us who he is. Whatever their intent was on the design for Gale, it seems to have been lost.
