Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General SPOILERS The missing companions!

Minsc will be a welcome addition to my party -- I need a tank for my wizard to hide behind. But I think the example of Minsc speaks against the PR line that we getting fewer companions than BG2 delivered because the BG3 NPCs are deeper. There ain't much in plumb in Minsc's shallows. What you see is what you get.

Minsc will help it make feel like BG3. As will a total of 17 NPCs.

You are confusing the companions having involved, multi-layered story arcs with companions have complex personalities. These aren’t the same thing.

So Minsc lost levels while he was a statue?

Oh please let the druid companion be Halsin!

If we could get one wish for full release, this would be mine!

There hasn’t been any confirmed Druid companion. The data just shows Minsc, Karlach, and Helia.

It happens. Lack of practice and all that, he evidently emerges in need of several years' worth of stretching out and catching up.

OMG hope we never meet IRL

I'm dying to see his dialogues with Astarion!
However Minsc romance?

Minsc only romance is with justice

Good one

Assuming Minsc is actually in the game, I hope he's a unique type of companion that can't be chosen as an Origin character or romanced. Minsc is the archetype follower, not a leader. I just can't imagine him leading the party. Especially if the MC has an option to take the evil path with the tadpole. That's just not Minsc.

As for romance, I dunno... it would feel weird to have an iconic character like that eager to jump in the sack with the MC. So I hope he's a unique companion choice with some limitations that preserve his BG archetype.

Hope you'r prediction will come true

Why? That’s ridiculous. Why do you hope the game doesn’t have options you never need to use?

Also, Minsc does go on to lead his own adventuring company. That is in his ToB epilogue.

I want to play with Minsc as a main character. You don’t want to? You don’t have to? But hoping that other people can’t do something you don’t want to do is absurd.

There are a couple of reasons you should consider:
1. Making Minsc an origin character as opposed to normal companion means dedicating much more resources to it, resources that could be used elsewhere (other companions, Dixit broken quests, improving other aspects of the game)
2. Unlike the rest of the origin characters, Minsc wasn't written specifically to be an origin character. That means that in order to make him one some adjustments are needed. Personally I prefer to keep his character as it was, but that is more a matter of opinion. Maybe you care more about having romance or playing as minsc than to keep his character as it was.

1. Allocating resources to anything categorically means that those resources can’t be used for something else. I’m well aware of this.
2. This assumption that he will need to be changed in any way is predicated on nothing. Why would he need to be changed?

I think the main problem with Minsc as an Origin character is that it looks like the central plot involves offering the MC a choice between using the tadpole powers to become an Evil Power in the world, or else fight it and be a good guy.

That just doesn't line up with Minsc's nature as an established character in the FR lore. He would never take the Evil option.

I'm normally in favor of player agency, and playing "Evil Minsc" might be fun, but in a case like this with a pre-established personality I think it breaks immersion to even have that option with someone like Minsc. It looks like there will be plenty of other ways to play an Evil MC in this game without drawing Minsc into it.

For me, Minsc is too big a character to be playable. He has an established personality and no, I can't see myself playing him as evil. Maybe as a weird one-off, but not for the whole game.

I reckon he'd work best as a quest-giver or someone who the party can turn to for information. Maybe a quest to find Boo.

By that logic we shouldn’t be able to play as Wyll either. Though Wyll is not as righteous as Minsc, Wyll’s personal story involves killing the goblins. He demands you help him do this for him to join you. If you are playing a different main character and don’t kill the goblins, Wyll leaves.

And for that matter, it is totally out of character for Astarion, Lae’zel and Shadowheart to help the refugees. So maybe they shouldn’t be playable character either?

See where I’m going? Minsc’s personality being established in prior games makes no difference. All of the characters have defined convictions and predilections. If that doesn’t stop them from being origin characters, there is no reason it should stop Minsc.

I think that just drawing minsc from a 20 year old game into a new game written by different people in different context means that he wouldn't be the same, unless the writers are super talented (and honestly I don't think Larian's writers are talented enough).
So if only bringing minsc is a very complicated writing work, creating him as an origin character is even more complicated.

Hmmm... I strongly disagree with that. Minsc is not a complicated character to write. He is about as easy and straightforward as a character can be. He is big and dumb and runs around saying “evil, meet my sword. Sword, meet evil!” and “butt-kicking for goodness!”

There is nothing complicated about that.

True. But you got it backwards, I'm not worried they will ruin him by simplifying him, but by overcomplicating him