Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Why is Tav the least interesting character?

Larian's avoidance of making the custom player character the protagonist of their games is one of the reasons I struggle to get as invested in their games as I do other crpgs. It's very possible to let the player customize their character *and* have that character be the protagonist due to some kind of circumstance that ties them into the world and the story. Off the top of my head, the games that do this include: BG1 + BG2, all the Dragon Age games (especially DAO and DAI), NWN2, Pathfinder: Kingmaker + WotR, Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader, Jade Empire, KotoR 1 + 2, Pillars of Eternity. I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

But in these games, the player character is customizable to some degree (appearance/gender/class/sometimes race) and has a plot reason to be at the center of the story, whether that's because of something in their backstory or because of something that happens to them at the beginning of the game. For example, Pathfinder: Kingmaker begins with a blank slate protagonist who nonetheless becomes the heart of the story. No other character can replace them as that heart.

With Tav, something does happen to them at the beginning of the game, but it isn't unique to them. Because Larian favors their origin characters, whatever character you play will have the same tadpole connection to the plot, but origin characters get *extra.* Tav gets no unique quest, they basically just act as a supporting character to everyone else. Tav feels more like the blank slate characters in Icewind Dale and NWN1, where the PC is the one who does stuff to move the quest forward but has no personal reason to do so, if you stop and think about it (other than basic self-preservation).

For other players, I'm sure Larian's origin system is really effective and preferable. It just isn't for me. I want my character to have a story arc and a special place in the story and the world, not be an interchangeable "avatar."

Edit: I do appreciate that Durge is customizable, and I enjoyed playing Durge. However, while I am fine with the backstory being predetermined, I wasn't super thrilled with aspects of my Durge's personality being predetermined (like engaging in certain uh practices).