Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Anybody want to gush about the characters they love?

Romancing Shadowheart as a part charming bard, part cleric of Selune, resisting Dark Urge is the most satisfying arc I have ever played in a video game. Sparing the Nightsong, rejecting Bhaal and becoming a wholly new person, saving her parents and retiring to a lovely little cottage in the countryside with a barn full of animals, and house full of cats, and a garden? Like, could it get any more perfect than that? You’ve got two origin characters with similar struggles, torn between darkness and light, not remembering who they are exactly. Playing a Shadowheart Selunite redemption arc along with a Selunite Durge’s redemption arc is just incredible, trust me. It’s epic. Throw bard in there for flavor because who doesn’t love a witty little bard charming her way out of anyone suspecting her of being a serial killer (in her past life). But I digress.

Along with a lovely story arc on her own terms or alongside a resisting Durge, you have a lovable and extremely well written (and played) character! The writers who came up with, and the voice actor who delivered, some of Shadowheart’s wittiest lines (that are always good for a laugh) and her most earnest lines, knocked it right out of the park. In a huge way. I appreciate the depth, as well, that you see at so many points in the game. I’m thinking, for example at the very beginning, when Shadowheart approves of you being kind to a wild boar. In pretty much the first 30 minutes of the game, the “real her” is shining through almost instantly. So yeah, I love that character and she’s even better than Sebille from DOS2, who I also absolutely loved. The epilogue put her over the top in this regard.

With Lae’zel, I just want to repeat what I wrote on a thread titled “Lae’zel is the most unlikable character.” Let me have those comments linked to a much more positive thread. In all of my playthroughs, Lae’zel is an incredible, loyal friend with a spot-on dead-pan sense of humor… Tell me more about how the gith eat miniature space hamsters like Boo, lol. (Thanks to her voice actor, wonderful work.)

Plus she practically kills the netherbrain all by herself with a haste potion, and then just letting her loose to spin. She’s not somebody who lets you down. And I adore her. I’m not able to romance her because I have severe Shadowheart brainrot, as they call it. But Lae’zel is my second favorite character. We all see how she grows over the course of the game.

Then I chose to persuade her to stay in Faerun and figure out what she wants to do with her life, apart from Vlaakith and Orpheus. In the epilogue, she seemed so happy. She had made a lot of new friends with whom she was fighting against Vlaakith’s forces on the Sword Coast, liberating creches. And she was raising the kid from the gith egg as her son. She said that she was raising him to choose his own destiny (a scholar or whatever he wanted to be, not a warrior brutalized like Lae’zel had been). Just like she had been able to determine her own destiny. I was tickled to death. (Another theme of breaking generational trauma anyone? Astarion lovers can get behind that.)

Lae’zel is an absolute boss, one of the best characters I’ve ever seen in a video game (also, love you Shadowheart). Plus, it feels so GOOD when she greets you in the epilogue and calls you “old friend.” She is never not in my party. And I will never not gush about my favorite little green lizard.

Jaheira I also think deserves a lot of love. I wasn’t sure whether I liked her until I helped her rescue Minsc, and then whenever I would talk to her, she would say, “The cub speaks.” I thought that was so sweet and endearing. And to visit her house and see how playfully she interacts with her adoptive kids, and to hear her talk about her husband, was just lovely. Her personality as a tough, but fair and affectionate, “camp mom” of sorts is excellent.

Lakrissa and Alfira, they’re just adorable together and I can’t get enough of it. Their little chats together at the tiefling party, Last Light Inn, and atop the Elfsong Tavern are so cute. Same with Isobel and Aylin. It warms my heart. Two already great characters combine and create a sum even greater than its parts.

Astarion has been gushed about enough, I suppose, but I especially liked how he was used in Gale's Origin. Whenever the narration told me Mystra would disapprove of something, Astarion played devil on Gale's shoulder. After Astarion spun his little tale about taking over the cult, Gale's thought as he went to bed drifted towards what else could be achieved with the secrets at the Heart of the Absolute. Such a perfect partner in crime who does not shun you for ideas of magical power and employing less savoury methods.

Along with that though, I loved that Astarion was a very good Tav for my Gale. In Origin you don't get to share a beautiful illusionary sky with your dearest friend or loved one - you'll eventually figure out that exploding the orb is probably a stupid idea but all your companions are too wrapped up in their own affairs to care about the lonely guy with the divine mission to explode. I was wondering where I'd get the emotional component from that gives Gale some will to live and some sense of being more than just useful - and then Astarion came along with his hesitant confession. His confession is a lovely scene on its own, but I found it especially impactful with Gale. The transition from exploiting someone for their power to wanting a genuine relationship with them because they are a great person touches upon the core theme of Gale's character arc and resolves is much better than Gale's own romance does. My sole regret: I can tell Mystra that Astarion saved Gale's life, but I cannot tell Astarion.

While it sounds mean: I do like the ending without her parents better. During the epilogue I discovered that finding a cure for Astarion apparently can also include hunting shadow mages and since travelling Shart seems to do also fight those, I imagine her and owlbear teaming up with Astarion and Gale again for some further adventures. Her cottage core fantasy is also just a little bit too idyllic for my liking. I know it's mean, especially since I do quite like her parents.

I really like Gale’s ending where he becomes a professor and spawn Astarion becomes a heroic assassin. And Gale invites my character to come give a lecture, that was cool.

Mol annoys me at the end though because when I told her that I had freed her soul from eternal imprisonment in Raphael’s house, she threatened me and told me she would get her vengeance on me! Like girl, you escaped from Moonrise and got a new eyeball for free, seriously?

I think that what Shadowheart’s “best ending” is may depend to some degree on what the main character hopes for after the events of the game are over? I still think that for Shadowheart, from her perspective as a character, it would be better for her to have her parents around. But if the player character wants to have a life of adventuring, then they might choose to sacrifice her parents for that ending.

That would not be my choice. Because my character would want that peaceful life after all of the hell that she went through as the Dark Urge. I’m extremely happy with that ending. My playthroughs are very much centered on Shadowheart and Lae’zel, though, so your playthroughs being more centered on Gale and Astarion may be part of why we have a difference of opinion. Meaning, your ideal vision for her future centers around Gale and Astarion. And that’s fine, we all have our preferences!

Yes! She gets angry when you kill her warlock patron because she wants to be powerful and take over the city. ^^ It's a little sad - but also cool - that her "I look out for my family" line really is just an act. Though it is sad how much the other tiefling children still miss her.

I generally like the adventuring style epilogues better, especially Gale's. In Shadowheart's case my preference is mostly based on the writing. The lonesome cleric looking for meaning while battling shadows with her trusty owlbear companion is appealing imagery to me and I like how she is written in that ending. From Shart's point of view the cottage core fantasy is most definitely the better ending.

Also, I should say, I didn't aim for the adventuring ending with her, it just happened because I gave her her own choice in the moment, but I was very pleased with the story it eventually created for me. =) Now only Lae'zel has to come back ...

Hope as a character. Even though I have a bad habit of temporarily knocking her out for her +4 shield… lol. She still sends a nice letter to you in the epilogue! Personifying Hope and having a quest where you rescue her is creative and rather profound. Plus she’s adorable, especially when she thinks she’s horribly disfigured but isn’t.