Originally Posted by 1varangian
Rehashing any of the characters from the original games was a big mistake.

For the BG1&2 players who this rehashing is for, there is no canon with these characters. None of the characters brought back for BG3 match any of my versions of them. My Minsc was killed by an Ogre Berserker trying to rescue Dynaheir. I romanced Viconia and she was not the evil kidnapper from BG3. She doesn't look or sound anything like her. De-leveling them doesn't feel right either.

Sarevok being demoted to a mini-boss did not do him justice. What were they thinking? It feels more like some arrogant statement, taking the main antagonist of BG1 and turning him into some minor encounter for your own sequel.

New players who are not familiar with these characters don't care. They have no frame of reference. So who was the rehashing for, really? The idea was doomed from the start. Really poor decisions from Larian. They ruined several old characters when they could have introduced fresh new faces. And respected the old cast in another way. Tavern tales. Books. Legends lore. Quick cameos with proper wow-factor.

I agree with you about bringing back old characters but they did it for marketing reasons. Name-dropping all these 'brand names' from the past - Jahiera, Minsc, Volo, Elminster, Saravok, Viconia and even Balthazar helps to generate the buzz and sustain the (over-)hype.