We were all taught by 8th grade English teachers to 'show, don't tell' who your characters are/how your world works/etc.
They meant through action and subtle details.
You have a group of strangers who were kidnapped, violated, debased, and stranded. DISEMPOWERED. Now, you realize you have the same affliction and have better odds of working together... at least until you can solve this common problem.
This being a DnD game with a lot of free choice, you could add "or not" to everything I'm saying, but going with the standard 'hero's journey' structure, the band of captives would start off fairly meek, identifying as 'teammates' only in the sense of shared goals. Act 2 the group starts to come into their own abilities, but also things about the group members are revealed that cause bonding/conflict. Act 3, the individuals risk for/protect one another and you make the decision to accept (or not) the characters and flaws you've come to know.
So the obvious narrative cycle is weakness>team of convenience>discovery&revelation>acceptance/rejection.
None of that can happen when Astarion walks in practically wearing a nametag that reads 'posh day-walking vampire.' That's not to pick on him. All of these characters need to be toned way thafuk down. A lot of the creative decisions bite against the narrative we're being fed, but the lowest hanging fruit is the over-the-top high fantasy equipment. You can't accept the idea that 'we're all in this together' when everyone else is wearing what looks like late-game armor in any other franchise. I can't discover/decide accept Astarion as a vampire when in the first scene he is wearing a uniform for vampires which is a thing that eats everyone else.
If you have any hope of making these characters relatable or building any amount of emotional pay-off, then strip them of things that make them appear A. dangerous and powerful B. obviously who they are C. seemingly not having any of the same bad luck we are. We all need our gear stripped.
Shadowheart is presented wearing glistening metal armor, surrounded by the bodies of a bunch of squishy-looking monsters she killed. Astarion is wearing evening wear, and looks fairly dangerous. Your character even remarks on both of these things. If either of these characters went up against three of those enemies they'd get ROFL-stomped. None of the characters look like they're in dire straights, none of the characters look like they just spent a day in a slime pod. And none of them leave anything to be discovered because they look like minor super heroes who's outfit needs to remind the audience of their origin because they didn't get enough screen time.
Interesting characters court interest, they don't buy billboards.
Do you see. Where I'm going. With this.
The ultra-high fantasy art style works against the narrative at. every. turn. It works against the lived experience of the player. Your team DOES need to band together, the ARE weak and in danger. Why work so hard to undermine the experience you crafted? These Tieflings are in danger, are you sure because they have the coolest, most ornate and cleanest armor I've ever seen, and the goblins are wearing stuff they made from sticks.
I disagree . Did Minsc needed to hide who he was? did he conceal his hamster ? Did Jaheira and Khalid needed to hide themselves? Did you have to discovers that Tiax is a madman ? That Viconia is a drow? That Aerith is a naive winged elves whose wings were torns? That Keldorn was a paladin and Nalia the Heir of a rich noble family? Most of baldurs gate character had very strong, very immediate identity, and only a few of them concealed some important elements (Yoshimo comes to my minds).
Moreover, in Baldurs gate 3 , we don't know who is Shadowheart. We didn't heard much about Will contract with the demon. I'm at the underdark right now, didn't hear anything about Gayle problem as well. A lot of character has hidden things.
By the way, about Astarion being a Vampire spawn , and Will's demon, a lot of that stuff was revealed during the teasing, but if you were an actual new players, you would guess that Astarion is a vampire, but you wouldn't now for sure until either the boar, or the night feeding scene. There are obvious clues, but from the point of view of a players that don't know anything, it may not be as immediate. And Astarion being a vampire spawn isn't the end. Its the beginning. Its how he presents himself but I suspect there is much more to the character.
About Lae'Zel armor : Its the Githyanki armor. Its a cool looking armor. That great, I mean, you want the stuff in game to look bad? You want the armor to look like piece of garbage till you reach lv 10? I don't; And I suspect Larian has even cooler armor for the end game.
And the character aren't weak. They aren't disempowered. They are no farmer or basic villagers. They are a Githyanki elite fighter, a vampire spawn that has lived for centuries, a priestess of one of the most evil goddess in the cosmology, a heroic warlock that has spend years fighting and making a name for himself, and a wizard. So no, no matter how you look at it, they aren't weak or disempowered.
