Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Awkward interaction with Gale

I was in camp when Gale wanted to talk. He said he wanted to "teach me how to use the weave." After 3 rounds of making and succeeding skill checks, I suddenly realized he was coming onto my male character who has eyes for Lae'zel.

I like Gale a lot. He comes across as very open and transparent and reminds me of a lot of people I've worked with. His coming onto my character was totally out of the blue and frankly not realistic. Why couldn't we just have a nice platonic bro moment sharing the weave? I have no interest in romancing Gale and did not see his request as a come-on until my only option was to select the "It's late - Good night Gale" option, and even then the game told me I felt lonely and at a loss for not taking things further. In reality, my character would have found the whole situation awkward and uncharacteristic of Gale and would have been happy to put an abrupt stop to things.

Yeah, it can be a bit weird that the act of just giving you the chance to experience the weave is somehow considered intimate.

Like, I get if you were romancing Gale he might create a more romantic mood with the weave... But other than that it should be platonic (Unless the weave is inherently sexually charged and thus all mages are channelling horny power to fuel their spells... Though, that would explain Sorcerers...)

But as it stands, it's written as purely a pre-amble into advancing Gale's romance (Also, during Act 1 you can't lock into a single romance path so come ons are possible even when you're devoted to a single romantic partner). In much the same way that Wyll's dancing scene is (You'd think it'd also be possible to dance with someone to have a bit of fun amid all the murder and chaos you have to deal with on a constant basis... But no, dancing is only for people who want to get into Wyll's pants...)

In the end, it's one of the plethora of aspects that highlights how poorly done the overall romances are and the complete incapability of truly having a platonic friendship with any of the companions...

I don't see that scene as purely romantic. I often do go down the route of imagining him and my character sharing a nice meal between friends and he refers later to that scene as having a foreshadowing of us becoming such good friends, so I actually like that scene, especially since you can get a bit sarcastic in the end and he takes it in good stride.
I wish, there would have been a similar turn in Wylls dancing scene to make it work as a friendship and a courting scene, whichever you want it to be.

I don't think it is purely romantic either. I'd say that if the scene triggers before the tiefling party (I can't remember what the scene is like during the party properly) Gale's intentions are not romantic at all. He will be surprised if you choose one of the romantic interactions at the end of the scene.

Intimate doesn't necessarily mean romantic or sexual, it means emotionally close to someone, and maybe vulnerable. I can understand that this might be a terrifying feeling to share with someone, especially someone you have known for only a little while. The writing does too, and so you are given several options to step out of the scene if it gets uncomfortable for you. (You did and that's ok.) If you go through with it till the end, as Fylimar wrote, you can choose to envision a friendly meal.

Apart from triggering the romance, the scene also serves the purpose of showing you what the Weave is to Gale. A place of solace and quiet in tumultuous times, a place of connection when you feel lonely (as he was for a whole year) and safety. I thought, it was described as slightly addictive, a sensation to get lost in, and this makes it an excellent introduction into understanding Gale's character and predicament.

When the scene ends, the night always suddenly feels cold and lonesome, no matter what you chose. After being connected with all creation and another person for a moment, you are on your own again, in the cold harsh night.

Gale - and the game - simply do not understand "no".
I let Gale show me The Weave, oblivious that it was the local code for "take this candy so I can give you a peak under my coat", turned him down, and he just kept trying to get into my pants! And he spread lies that we are an item - when I spoke with the nice half-or lady manager at Moonrise Towers I had the option of "fry her brain with visions of your lust for Gale". Ick!

You gave actively choose one if the two clearly romantic options to get that outcome. As Anska and I wrote, that scene is mainly to establish Gales character and to connect with him in friendship, as a colleague ( as wizard) or to show him your interest. The latter you have actively choose and the options are pretty clear ( hand holding or kiss).

I do not remember choosing hand holding, let alone a kiss.
But never mind ...

He was also bugged for a while after release, where the game thought you were in a relationship while you weren't. I had the reverse problem with Karlach who thought I was cheating on her for basically all of act 2 despite having had no romantic interactions with her before, and going through the break up dialogue with her multiple times didn't change a thing. The same goes for Wyll's dance scene, it now only triggers if you have been flirting with him during the party. (Though it would have been nice to have a longer friendly scene with Wyll too.)

By the end of the third round, it was clearly a prelude to romance. My character and gale were getting uncomfortably close to each other, and I felt that if I did not choose the "escape" option (which perhaps should have been F8), they were going to kiss. The weird text afterward about my character being lonely, his sad look, and Gale saying something about loss further evidenced that the relationship with Gale was going off the rails. It really did feel a bit Kevin Spacey-ish.

Maybe this explains what happened. I am a very collegial person IRL and have always been understanding and supportive of the NPCs, including Gale. Perhaps I need to start being more snarky.


Lol... imagining the havoc Karlach might wreak during breakup scene...


Wyll's another one who I think gets a bad rep on these forums. I feel like he has a heart of gold, though he has no EQ. After Mizora comes into play, he looks like something off the cover of a Marilyn Manson album, so I could never romance him.

Nope, it wasn't. In that round you can choose the friendship options and nothing romantically happens.

The Weave evaporates and as it does so, you realise the night feels suddenly cold and lonesome.

"There it goes. How easily things slip away from us, no matter how hard they were in the obtaining."

I love those lines. (I love the whole scene to be fair.) They are not about your character though, neither is the sad look. They are about the Weave slipping away and in a larger context also about the image he was conjuring up in the beginning. It's funny that this scene also can get strong negative reactions from people who actually want to romance him and get insanely jealous of Mystra through it.

About the snark. Yes, do yourself a favour and be a little snarky. Gale is written in a way that you can have good arguments and discussions with him, so choosing dialogue options that are neither the super mean nor the most kindest on offer, is what I find most rewarding with him.

He actually often gives approval, if you use the funny, snarky lines, similar to Jaheira. I like that about him.
And yes, the Weave scene is mostly about him and his connection to magic. I think, we might be the first person in a long while, he allows a glimps into his thoughts to.

There are mods that enable just friendship for various characters, but they are not on Nexus. Just an FYI. You can install them in existing saves.

I think it was. I reloaded an old save and took it a bit further: "The weave connects you. The moment feels intimate." "Hold on a moment. It's a good night for intimacy." "Picture kissing him. With tenderness. Then with passion." This is not what I signed up for when I joined the navy... Sure, I could still bail, but the whole episode was a "Gale's down with O.P.P." video (where my character was the "O.P.").

Are you mad that there was the option to kiss him? Besides the romantic options (imagining a kiss or hand-holding) there's also the option to imagine having a friendly meal, or options to picture violence. If the player chooses to imagine a romantic option, Gale is extremely surprised. The player can't actually kiss him until act 2. He's happy if you choose the friendly meal, he actually gives approval.

I've seen people who interpret his "There it goes. How easily things slip away from us, no matter how hard they were in the obtaining." line as Gale being sad he's rejected. He's actually sad that the spell has ended. If the player does choose a romantic option, he says the exact same line once the weave has dissipated.

I'm glad there's a friendship route for the weave scene, but I can understand why players are unhappy with the body language in the scene. That's part of why I'm glad we have a silent player character, so I don't have to hear my character say something in an unintended tone. But, I'm willing to forgive some misplaced eye contact if it means we get more platonic scenes. I also want to dance with Wyll, as bros. I want to be able to drink wine with Shadowheart, as bros.

That was one of the options. If you choose the good meal among friends or the walk, it is the friendship path. Intimacy doesn't automatically mean sex, it can also mean a deep connection with someone, like a close friend.

Along with what SteelTempest and Fylimar wrote, you also have an option to leave the scene at every step of it if you are uncomfortable. Same with Shart. In my first run, she invited me to share a bottle after the party and because my actual love interest had a bomb in his chest, I accepted. She indicated that she wanted to be kissed in the morning, I didn't, she was disappointed but we had a chat about it and things were fine. Her little disapproval always makes me sad, but overall it is a very lovely scene.

The point that intimacy doesn't mean sex is also very important for Gale in general I think, because he is written as a very emotionally open friend or lover. Even his romance is extremely dialogue heavy and focused on emotional intimacy.

Don’t chose the (Druid) option… it’s a very linear path.