Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Which companion(s) won't make it?

Ah fair enough. I don't really do the romances.

I chose Karlach. But it's funny that Astarion and Minthara are both the most loved and most hated characters in the community

You choose Karlach....as the companion who won't make it (since that is the original topic of this thread)? Or Karlach for a romance?

As for Astarion and Minthara, I guess if you don't find anyone who's nice and interesting to do the bear thing with (:P), you'll find someone not so nice and interesting. These two appear as primary targets for romance hunters. And I have to admit, if I were into that, I'd find the situation unsatisfactory amd turn to the not-so-nice.

To be fair Minthara gets a lot of votes simply because she's a required kill for one of the two initial paths in the game, at least in early access. If she could just be bypassed, or recruited regardless of path, I'm sure a lot of people would do that.

Astarion on the other hand is an either love him or hate him. A similar number of people want him dead as want to romance him.

I think he’s an obnoxious little shit, but he’s the only canon rogue so I might have to drag him along.

In my first playthrough, I'm going to minimise killing that's not strictly required in order to help whoever my PC wants to help. So Minthara might die if that's still a requirement for helping the grove and the tieflings in the full release, but everyone else will survive as long as they don't force my PC into a corner, and she'll bring as many along with her as she can.

There are no companions so far that I'd rule out for future playthroughs, though, and I've found something to enjoy in all of them. Minthara is the one I'm least fussed about, and so far I've been immune to her charms that have clearly captivated many other players. But then I only helped her once in EA so didn't really get to know her, and I guess she could grow on me if her story in the full release is interesting, and there is the potential there for a different perspective and different alliances.

For me, a big part of it is the voice acting. There's this throatiness to it. I don't really know how to describe it.

Also, the vulnerability displayed after the sex scene is fascinating, in my opinion. It's sudden, and the way she immediately latches on to the player character speaks of so much emotional pain and damage. It's spontaneous. Maybe that's the wrong word. It's... too soon for most people to express that level of commitment. Which gives me this impression of depth to her character. This idea that she's deeply hungry and starving for something more.

*

Unfortunately, most of my playthroughs will go a different direction. I find it difficult to go through the grove killing people who just want a house with a little door for a cat. They don't deserve the harshness of the world, and while I can't make life fair, I don't want to be a part of that harshness.

Still, I will make at least one playthrough with Minthara to explore that line of the story. I just have to create a character who is as damaged as she is, and maybe the two of them together can find some way out of the tangled mess of life.

Jand “I can fix her” K

I don’t think I will ever do a playthrough that sides with the goblins. Actuality, I know I won’t. So, sorry Minthara. Ya gettin’ bodied.

Fix her?

Hell, I was hoping she could fix me.

This gives me hope that Larian may also do this with the EVIL origins (emphasis very intentional). I would give Larian so much credit if they provided a "redemption" path for the evil companions Lae'zel, Astarion, and SH, especially SH, only to have them turn around and stab the PC in the back towards the end of the game. Now *this* would be good writing!

THIS IS BULLSHIT

I don't think that kind of turn around would be fitting for characters like Shadowheart and Lae'zel.

Shadowheart's heart is in the right place at the start of the game...in spite of her beliefs she also lacks her memories and behaves as a generally good person. And Lae'zel is just very young and hot headed...she only knows what she has been taught so far. But she almost certainly doesn't know or understand the scope of what Vlaakith is and the things she does. Lae'zel has much growing and maturing left to do. Astarion yeah, it would probably fit his character to do such a turnaround.

Sorry, I don't at all buy any of the "SH is good" lines. Sharrans are evil. End of story.

But I will grant you your perspective on Lae. I myself have said repeatedly in the past that of all the nominally evil companions Lae is the one I could most tolerate in my all-good party. And so, if Larian is going to provide "redemption" storylines for any of the companions, I do hope it will be for Lae, because she may be the only one truly *worth* saving.

my plan with Astarion for the playthrough as the half orc pally is this: I am going to drag him around doing good deeds either he likes it or not. My character is going to be very persuasive with all that CHA and STR. If he's not persuaded he'll be intimidated lol.

Honestly sharrans are often victims...desperate people in desperate situations driven to committing terrible acts and then controlled through wiping of memories. Shadowheart says it was voluntary but how would she know? She doesn't remember...if she had tried fight or run or disobey those memories would be gone. I believe that all it would take to have her abandon Shar would be full memory restoration. If we can find a way to restore her memories she'd probably have a really bad identity crisis.

I know that Sharrans are evil. You know that Sharrans are evil. There is a high chance Shadowheart does not.
She has memory loss (fits Sharran MO) and every time she talks about Shar you get the Shar-is-not-evil propaganda.
She doesn't even try to modify it to make it more believable for someone with a passing knowledge of Shar.

This, coupled with her tendency to approve being a secretive, but helpful person led to many people, including myself, to believe she is brainwashed.

And quite honestly, why wouldn't an evil cult brainwash people to send them on suicide missions? Makes more sense then to send actually useful and loyal people there.

Its got kids there and we attack it in the middle of a party and then even on ge most bloodless path we kill the leadership to create a goblin thunderdome.

Don't get me wrong saving the grove is probably still the better option, but let's nit oat ourselves on the back too hard.

A party where the goblins are eating people and enslaving people and tormenting animals en masse.

Sure, goblins are mostly evil, yes, but they arnt zombies or skeletons, we decapitated their leadership and then bounced to let their village collapse. We essentially didn't change the number of dead lives, just what they looked like. That's Astarion's argument.