Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Favourite characters and storylines

Another one - sorry, I'm on a run right now.
What are your favourite characters (doesn't have to be companions, sometimes, one just clicks with a random character) and what storylines/quests/areas you like the most?


I have a bunch of characters, I love - outside of our four legged freinds (Scratch, Owlbert and Us) , those are probably a given with most of us

From the companions, I really love Gale, Karlach and Jaheira. They are so chill and fun to be around. I found a big appreciation for Wyll lately and use him a lot in my playthroughs.
Gale gives really nice good friend vibes. His scene in act 2, when you can help him through a panic attack is so reliable. ANd he is a total bookworm, which I can rely too.
Karlach is just so fun to be around and I just love to have her in the party.
Jaheira is Jaheira - I loved her in BG 1&2 and I think, she got even better in BG3. She seldom leaves my party as soon as she is recruitable.

NPCs I really love:

Barcus
He is just an all around great character and I wish, he could have been a companion (along with the artificer class). I love his development and story a lot.

The Hearthflame sisters
Hope has to be saved in every playthrough, I do. I adore her. And I do like Korrilla. I want to know more about those two and what happened, that they got involved with Raphael. (And I think, Korrilla is one of the prettiest female characters in the game)

Arabella
She is my favourite out of the tiefling children, though I like them all. It's sad, we might never know, what becomes of her, but her storyline is great and her inetractions with WIthers are the best.

Gandrel
I don't know, I just like him, he is pretty wholesome

Omeluum
Our chill mindflayer neighbour. I wish, he could be our ally in the end against the Netherbrain

Florrick
I'm a bit lowkey in love with that voice

Aylin and Isobel
My favourite lesbian couple. I was so happy, when those two joined my camp. I especially like Aylin, over the top as she is.

Abdirak
First time I saw him, I thought 'Yay, a fellow gothic'. I just like him, chilling in his bdsm corner and warning us that the goblins have blood on their mind ('Honey, we are the reason, they have blood on their mind '). The voice actor is pretty versatile. When I heard, what other character he voiced, I couldn't really believe it. That guy has range for sure.

Rolan and his siblings
Love those three as a team and always make sure to keep them save.

Favourite baddies
Auntie Ethel is great, love every conversation with her.
Raphael is good too, teh voice acting of course is top. I just hate, that he was kind of underused, the deal didn't seem that impactful and the whole Haarlep thingy was just juvenile imo.
Ketheric: great build up and good character.
Gortash: I like his involvment, I don't like, how he is implemented. I love the idea of one of the the Chosen being a powerful political figure , who is versed in intrigues and getting people to do what they want, but I don't like , that this is underused with Gortash and that he is in fact totalyl missable outside his boss fight. Like with Wyll, he should have more impact in Baldurs Gate. Still Jason Isaacs is good as always.

Areas

Underdark is just so pretty, I love just running around there. And teh music, when you first enter it is so peaceful.

I honestly love the whole of the Shadowcursed Lands. As a Lovecraft and general horror fan, I love the vibes there, even after all teh playthroughs. That part is creepy and dangerous and I'm here for it.

I know, most people hate it, but I love the Iron Throne - love the setting, the steampunky feeling and the quest.

The swamp in act 1 - same as Shadowcursed Lands: I love the creepy uneasy feeling. And of course Ethels quest is just so much fun.

House of Hope: I kind of liked Raphael in my first playthrough before doing HoH. It really hammers home, how bad he is (I meanyes, duh, devil, but he comes across as pretty chill before). Speiking with Hope nad finding all the lore tidbits there are my highlights. Seeing how the debtors are treated really brings home the fact, that you don't want to be endebted to a devil ever. It's nice and creepy.

I love some of the camp sites too: Underdark, Grymforge, act 1 default are all really nice. I also like the harbour camp in act 3, though I sometimes use the Elfsong room.

Honourable highlight mention: the bardsongs. I love, that my bards can just play instruments and those songs are so pretty.

So what are your highlights - characters, quests, areas, classes etc?

You can't expect me to choose which of my sweeties is my favourite child! (But it's Lae'zel )

I also like Wulbren. Writing and characterising an unsympathetic character that is still very believable like Wulbren takes a lot of skill and I respect and appreciate how they pulled that off. His involvment is also nicely tied into the story.

Oh, Fylimar, no need for excuses. Far from it, thank you so much for providing the forum with discussion topics that deviate from the one or two points of contention that otherwise seem to gobble it up at times. (And the new bunny is adorable too.)

My favourite character, to nobody's surprise, is Gale. Not just because I simply like him, but because I deeply appreciate the way he is written. He is the only one of our dear tadfools who instead of having a fancy set-piece or dungeon to his name, has a fully developed friendship plot and even his romance to me feels most deeply rooted in friendship. He also offers the most flexibility within his conversations. Along with the usual extra nice and extra awful options (and they are really awful in his case), you are generally given lines that reflects difference stances on a topic - or are just fun banter. You can tease him, you can even have productive arguments with him that get resolved amicably.

As an example, there is a scene in act 1 in which you can peak into his mind to learn his deep, dark secret. In the aftermath, you are given the chance to feel guilty about your behaviour and confess to your transgression, resulting in a heated argument during which you both explain your positions and get to understand each other better. It is such a rewarding scene and such a great example of how you can use conflict to forge a stronger bond. (Bae'zel approves.)

As one of the less-than-seven-percent who like to play Origins as Avatars, I am also so very happy about the attention Gale's writing pays to Origin-Avatars. Everyone has their own little concept of harmony during the magic lesson, and he finds a way to compare them to Tara as well - Astarion has Tara's sharp tongue and teeth, while Shadowheart has her pragmatic streak. His player-dialogue (which I think is the best written in the whole game) is very easy to read in the voices of the other three beach-gremlins. There's always a line that sounds like Astarion, Shadowheart or Lae'zel (if you add a chk!) so it's a pleasure to have him around as an Origin-Avatar because he allows me to feel like my character - unlike a lot of the other dialogue choices the player is given.

Then there's the whole complex system through which the fate of the Crown is resolved, which isn't some weird one time persuasion check, but an up and down during multiple conversations, which eventually shape his opinion. What you say matters and he (sort of) remembers your position on the subject. It's also a nice twist that you only discover the fruits of your decisions at the very end of the game - with possibly heartbreaking moments if you didn't take care to prepare his ascension properly.

There's so much more I could say about him, how I love the sincerity his voice acting adds to the sometimes very overboarding, poetic dialogue. How I love that his plot treats a crisis of faith as a romance. How I love that his worst villain is himself and that he can patch things up with Mystra. But this has gotten out of hand already, so making it short: Gale is my favourite travelling companion.

Lae'zel is not far behind though and her and Gale's conversations are just so deeply wholesome and interesting, they are both a pleasure to have around.

Gandrel is a fav of mine too. I find it always very impressive if the writing and line delivery can convey a rudimentary sense of personality for a character with such minimal screen time.

More on places and such at a later date.

Anska: yeah, I wanted to get some discussions going that are not about how bad the game is or which expression characters should have in certain situations.

I have to try that with Gale, that sounds interesting.

I generally like the Gur people. I have a Gur character myself and just like their culture. Uma is a great character too.
Generally I think this game is full of strong female characters.

I'm sure nobody is surprised that my favorite is Astarion and his Ascension storyline. But I will have to say I really like Minthara as a character (I'm sad about the fact that her story is lacking so much though). Shadowheart is really great, and her storyline is really good. I loved finding out the mystery of her scar, it was a really well done story.

Of the lesser characters I really like Rugan from the Zentharim, I do not think I've seen him mentioned before (although I'm sure somebody have). His part is short but the acting he delivers with the face animations still stand out vividly to me.

The best big bad is Ketheric for me. I'm also one who feels so sorry for him and his whole family. It might have something to do with how much he looks like my dad though.

@anska Gale comes in really high for me too. At first I felt like his obsession with Mystra would be a bit of a red flag, but when you play the romance path with him you get to really process that and move on to a much better place with him.

Rugan still owes me a f***** drink at the Elfsong Tavern!

(I liked his story too, just sad that we didn't get to follow up on it in act 3)

There is a big Rugan fancrowd at Reddit, I don't think, I have sen him mentioned here. He is hard to keep alive, if you come from the cave. It's easier from the front.

I know, I would have loved to meet up with him there. I know he is a bit shady (being Zentharim and all), but he seems like an interesting guy. I can imagine him presenting some kind of scheme to Tav in the tavern with a quest of thiefing, double crossing and intrigue. Maybe it could have tied into some political stuff too.


If you knew how many reloads I have done to try and keep those two alive...

Oh yeah, Rugan and his friend are really annoying to keep alive. Nowadays I just approach from the front. The fight is harder, but those two won't enter combat that way.

Really? I never knew. In any patch I started the fight, all of the gnolls immediately aggro on me alone and leave the two in the cave alone. I thought that was the intended behavior. It's very reasonable, since the party might seem easier to access for the gnolls.

My favourite character is Gale. I find him really entertaining and relatable. I like this anecdotes, and I think he's hilarious. I was unfamiliar with Faerûn, so having him there to give background info was great. If you get the adventurer version of his romanced epilogue, there's class specific and Origin specific lines showing he's learning about his partner's interests. For example, he's learning music with a bard, or if you're playing as Lae'zel, he'll learn your language.

Astarion has a strong arc, and I like his little camp scenes. They really help flesh out his character, and they fortunately aren't locked behind romance.

Lae'zel also has a strong arc, and I love how poetically she speaks, and how mature she is, especially for her age. I'm very fond of her banter with the other companions. Her conversation with Shadowheart about burying the axe is delightful. I had heard not to judge her before the creche, but her act 1 banter with Gale is actually very respectful, so I got to see some of her good side before that.

I adore Jaheira. She has a great sense of humour, and is a great mix of tough and compassionate. Highly competent, but still flawed and willing to admit her mistakes. She had me at "Hello."

Some side characters with little screen time also have really strong writing. Barcus, Rolan, and Mayrina can have shockingly good arcs. I feel so proud of them by the end.

Tara has been a joy for my Gale playthrough. I only wish she reacted to more plot points.

Raphael is the greatest Disney villain of the last decade.

I know the artist's quest is unpopular, and I was frustrated with bugs and pathing issues myself. However, I actually get choked up when the ghost explains why she did it. The line and the voice acting really got to me.

I really like exploring the Arcane Tower in the Underdark. It has some really cool things hidden away inside.

Gale is funny... He's the only character who has a funny dialogue with you if you talk to him wearing Haarlep's underwear.

That is such a good detail. If you play as Gale and trigger the "In case of death" quest, Lae'zel comments that Gale is improving her vocabulary once he's back among the living. So Gale learning her language, feels like a reference to this. The Origin specific lines, which I have seen from Gale's romanced epilogue, are all very thoughtful and keep the shared stories of the characters in mind. As Astarion you can be a bit self-conscious about having dragged him into your weird lifestyle and he'll ease your worries.

I also didn't have much of a problem with Lae'zel early on, you just have to get used to how blunt she is but she is a team player right from the start. If you don't let her bully Zoro, she waits until after the conversation to tell you her opinion of it - which is good conflict resolution - and she never rises to Shadowheart's attempts to goad her. Shart otoh is the one I really don't like in the beginning. Depending on how you save her, she can be very sweet to you right from the start, while trying to drive a rift between the other companions. I do not like that at all.

Poor Rugan, I feel I owe him a drink at this point because I have made his life truly miserable once or twice.

I do like the "save the artist" quest too, it's surprisingly deep for what starts out as a silly side-quest and can have some very interesting resolutions depending on how you deal with the situation. It's just a shame that the portrait is bugged - and that you can't offer it as a gift to Astarion.

The Arcane Tower is a favourite place of mine too. I like the design, the puzzle and the reflection it offers on your companions. Lenore must have been in a very similar state as Gale during his year alone and the story about the Sharran, the vampire and the wizard who used to be friends but then succumbed to power isn't a very subtle reference either.

Act 2 is my favourite in general. I do love the bleakness and its horror elements, but I most of all love how it is constructed around a theme. Everyone in act 2 deals with their faith and their relationship with the gods and in the end - at least on a good run - the faith in yourself and your friends.

Shout out for LAe'zel, who might not have been to diplomatic school, but she and Karlach are the only companions being totally honest with you from the start. And when lae'zel can't give you an information, she gives you a reason. I really respect that with those two, but especially with Lae'zel, since for her, sharing like that is a new thing, given how strict gith culture is.
I also love, how she opens up throughout the game. I'm romancing her now with my tiefling lady and she is already warming up to the notion, that she might actually feel something for my character. And tries very well to justify it by saying, that I'm the most capable and formidable among our companions (my girl is a wild sorceress and has summond more stuff to hinder us by accident, than I can count, so I call bs, dear Lae'zel).

I never was interested in githyanki before, but Lae'zel made me rethink. ANd now I have three gith playthroughs going.

I also like Voss as a character and Orpheus too.
And in the gith creche, the young gith boy, who sectrely admires Orpheus. And the crazy scientist and the quarter master, who reminds me of Monk with her phobia for dirt and sperms

Wulbren is lowkey the best written and most realistic villain. Yes, Raphael is flashy and Ethel funny, and the three Stooges have their simps, but Wulbren is your everyday villain, who starts out wanting teh right thing (stopping Gortash and retaining right of free speech as he explains at one point to you), but he looses his humanity along the way. If you read his diary in the Underdark, you see a glimpse of the person, he once was.
I also think, that Wulbren is the only villain, that is redeemable.

I'll add you a Kagha. I feel the most terrifying villains are the ones that are the more normal ones, the ones you look at and think that in some twisted reality, you might have ended up just like them. Poor Barcus who holds out hope until the end.

Right, I forgot about her - yes, she is in the same category than Wulbren. And tbh, she is the second most interesting druid character in the game - after Jaheira of course.

I think, Barcus might be the means for Wulbrens salvation in the future. I totally can see the m reconsile and come to terms.

Barcus and Wulbren are just so wonderfully interweaved. They enchance each other as characters and add so much depth to their respective stories.

I would love for Astarion to react to the painting or the statue. I love Astarion's mirror scene, but I wish we could be more creative when trying to help him with it. My first reaction to the mirror scene was wanting to get Gale to cast a modified mirror image for Astaion.

Personally, my favorite is Shadowheart, and her redemption story arc. Never had her stay with Shar, it is not a good fit for her anyways, based on what makes her happy which triggers her "Mark of Discipline" (what she calls her 'wound'). I do like her sarcasm
Gale, and the challenge to keep him grounded and not to make the same mistake he made in the past. With him he is... "what you see, is what you get" kind of person.
Wyll, despite his poor choices of power per say, he is an honorable man. Like shaming him about his warning about Raphie, while packed to Mazora.

I just can not stand Laez'zel. I either let Shadowheart kill her, or just do not bother with her at all, and kill her with the pack of other Gith. Laez'zel is a constant threat to the party for her own gain, and appeasement. Plus, the constant Githyanki this, and Githyanki that, Protocols etc. I wish there was a line my Character can tell her that :We are NOT Githyanki and not beholden to their ways." I played quite a few play throughs without Laz'zel the main story runs so much better.
This is not to say the character is not well done, it is very well done, just adds unnecessary complications to the main story and super annoying.

When it comes to the main origin characters, it's hard for me to cast any aside, tbh. Obviously I have a favourite (and I feel annoying just bringing that up, so I won't) but I like the rest. I think Lae'zel has the most complete and satisfying arc, as she is the only one that managed to get a satisfying ending at the docks. She is very charming and compelling in her own way. Classic tsundere if you ask me. Minthara also has a very compelling story. And I know this is controversial but... I like Karlach, and I think her dying is her most complete ending :P I like it for that reason!

In terms of storylines, I honestly think that outside of the companions the storylines aren't that interesting... I'd have to say Ketheric is the most compelling I can think of. Orin had the potential to similarly be compelling, but I think she was either rushed or flanderised or both, and you just get a glimpse of it and kind of have to fill in the gaps and put in that effort yourself. (Don't get me wrong, I love her, she is beautiful and I'm always up for that kind of crazy character- I'm just saying her storyline is extremely flat.)

Do speak about your favourite if you want to. I think if we stopped seeing it as some sort of competition, the attitude and atmosphere would be so much more pleasant. Someone else can roleplay their character and story and like other things than I do and I can do whatever I like in my game.

The poster above strongly dislikes my favourite and will often let her die or kill her, and I have no ill feelings towards them. I am not going to try to convince them and win them over to my "team". It's not like she ends up dead in my games because of what they do in their game.


Think of it as masturbating with a cheese grater, it's not for everyone and it takes a while to get into it.

I agree with a lot of the popular views about the companions, at least the ones I've gone with, but one I haven't seen as much on is Shadowheart. Early on in the game I said "I don't have a problem with you worshipping Shar," probably because I as a player misinterpreted Shar's evil, and Shadowheart had already been a pretty decent companion. Right from the start of the game, she and my character seemed like really good friends, except for act 2 where she gets really zealoty. Turning her to the light and seeing her come out as such a nice person is a wonderful way to finish her story.

Again with NPCs that haven't been mentioned as much here yet, Alfira. The first encounter when we wrote Weeping Dawn together is one of the first times I fleshed out my bard's personality, and then it was great having all the tieflings so pleased to see me at Last Light. But the cutscene when I rescued Lakrissa is the best part. I've never felt more like a hero in a video game than watching the relief in Alfira's voice and gestures, for completing an optional side mission. And not to forget my character beaming with pride as she settles into Baldur's Gate.

It took me a while to get to like Barcus Wroot because he seems annoying at first. But when you look back on his plot and Wulbren, it is a great one. I was willing to listen to Wulbren until... I don't remember when, but pretty late on. Certainly into act 3.

I never really liked Kagha that much, she's OK but just reminded me too much of certain politicians. "All our problems are caused by these refugees..."

Not much of a character arc, but I always liked visiting the Yorkshire quartermaster at the Last Light. A short bit of one of the most evocative tunes in the game, then such a nice, soft accent from the voice actor.

With the big bads, I love it when Ketheric Thorm goes "You! What... have you done... to... me?" Like most people here, I'd agree he's the best of the three main villains. Raphael is so well acted, that I think it's a good thing that whenever he spoke I was thinking "You smarmy git, let me go!"

I wonder if my attitude to him was influenced by my (then) last D&D game, where people kept saying "Don't make deals with devils!" I can imagine this being something you teach kids in a D&D world, like the equivalent of "Don't get into a car with a stranger"

I like all origins and Jaheira and Minsc. I do like what I saw of Minthara. I managed to get her twice on a good playthrough, but first time,she was bugged and didn't say too much. Second time we are still in act 2.

I don't like Halsin, he stays in camp for Orin. I did actually forgot about him in my last playthrough and just went to do other stuff before going to the Bhaal temple.

I think this game has a bunch of memorable side characters,more than I ever remember in another game,apart from Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, which is still in lead for me character wise.

Halsin just isn't for me in terms of romance and attraction. What I've seen of his romance it seems pretty fine and wholesome. But if I don't have him as a love interest, there just isn't much to do with him as a companion in act 3, apart from watching him crack walnuts with his ass cheeks.

I like his epilogue and learning about him finding his new purpose helping people building new lives. His little gift is cute and hugging him makes for nice and fuzzy warm feelings.

I had a good laugh, thank you

Halsin is my absolute favorite. I love the twist that despite being so devoted to nature, he actually isn't that good at being a Druid, as shown by his belief that undead/vampires deserve to live like anyone else (a distinctly un-Druidic belief; even Jaheira has lines saying she beat the crap out of some vampires once to the point that Cazador warned Astarion to stay away from her part of the city). I love his guilt and trauma, interspersed with his kindness. And I have a soft spot for healer characters. Before I played Baldur's Gate, my favorite video game was Trauma Center, for precisely the reason that you were trying to save people instead of kill them. Halsin is like every character trait I love rolled into one.

The worst part about Karlach's death for me was, that I couldn't keep my promise to her and instead of being at her side, had to hide from the tyrant sun in the shadow of some crates.

Halsin isn't for me either, he's alright as a npc or neutral-approval companion who sits in camp and whittles. But I do like Minthara and am very glad we can now save her on goodish runs. Her dialogues are among the most memorable in the game and her recruitment at Moonrise along with her retelling of how she got trapped by the Absolute are the game's best horror moments. I wish Durge had the intensity of Minthara's tale.

It's also nice that the start of Minthy's romance can double as a scene of friendly bonding. Especially with Gale, Lae'zel and Shadowheart I enjoy the conversation because I think they can relate to having their destiny laid out for them at an early age. Talking about Shadow, I like the wine scene with her. For Avatar-Astarion and -Gale it's nice because they are given an opportunity to talk with a friend about their past, and for Avatar-Lae'zel the scene is plain adorable.

Ketheric is great too. I love how absolutely done he is with everything.


Especially when I am plaining the people-pleasing wizard as my player character, I would really like that option, more though I would love to be able to tell a romanced Astarion that he saved my life though, I mean, I can tell Mystra. But those are points on my list of very niche requests. XD

One day we should make a thread called "Our BG3 dream editions", in which we imagine a world in which for some reason they did everything exactly how we wanted them to.
I'd have a bunch of absolutely trivial petitions in it. Like making Cazador short.

In the spirit of this thread, I like the potential of the Aylin storyline. It's clear that after killing Lorroakan she's supposed to have a sort of... corruption arc? I like that.

Why would you make Cazador short? As a shorty player: We are way better than him and don't want him
I would have however leaned even more into his pathetic book keeper side.

I think, some of the companions would have been great as shorties. The only ones, that have story connection with their race are Lae'zel, Karlach and maybe Wyll ( Duke Ravenguard is an important NPC in Ascend to Avernus and I guess, he is described as a human there?). The rest could have been anything.

I also like when characters have flaws. I don't like when they are all sanded down and have all their edges and imperfections smoothed out.

Some of the things that annoy people about the companions are precisely the reason I like them.

I don't mean short as in a short-race, just a short elf. A 5'6 elf. As to why? Well, just because. I never said they were logical petitions :P

Halsin would need to be a long-lived race I suppose (though druid longevity could explain it).

But dwarf Shadowheart, halfling Astarion and gnome Gale would be adorable 3>

Ideal height for petting Tara. ^^

I mean, there are mods for halfling Gale and gnome Astarion, I'm planning on using them after my HM run. And you can have Shadowhearts face for gnomes - and I'm not kidding, it looks much better on a gnome than on a half elf.

Halsin could be a gnome or a dwarf - gnomes live up to 500 years, dwarves up to 350 years. That should fit, I guess. I think, there is a mod too ...


jinet: Ah, ok. I think, someone made a mod for heights, maybe after patch 7, you can customise NPCs.

He drank so much normal blood, he eventually developed a taste for the exotic. One dead cleric and a curse by a particularly petty god later, he had lost 4 inches in both departments.

Gnome Astarion would be so much internalised racism (but what's another issue in Astarion's long list of demons he is struggling with?)

I think I'll just start my own thread so we don't derail this one with the comments about Shortie Cazador :P

I forgot to shout out Jaheira earlier: I don't think she has that much of a storyline here, but nevertheless, I think the new angle on her characterisation (being older, her family etc) was interesting and very well executed.

SHe has quite a lot going on in act 3 - and do take her to House of Grief and the Bhaal tribunal, best together with Minsc. They have some fun liens of old auqqaintances.

She also seems to explain Orin's art projects to you. I had her in the group when we found Dribble's head and she explained the references. I still have to take her along to find the rest of the clown.

I get Sera vibes right there ...

As a goblin fan I have to give a shoutout to my goblin sweeties.

Sazza, Torturer Spike, Priestess Gut... The captions and voice acting did the goblindom justice.

I gotta be honest a lot of the party members I preferred in Early Access. Much as I love Shadowheart, I miss her bite actually having sharp teeth behind it. Same with Wyll, he was so much more interesting when he was confident and open about his self-indulgent past though it was good that they toned down his obsession with goblins.

Minthara's entire deal is one of my favorite things in the game otherwise. I would be down for an entire extended story following her back to Menzoberranzan to have an aristocracy style campaign there, especially since they made her part of the most interesting family to mess with.

Jaheira is great, I just wish she and Minsc had MORE going on, especially with Viconia. I loved Viconia in BG1 and 2, and still love what's going on in 3 but it was a HUGE missed opportunity to explore why she became who she is in 3 and really dig into potential interactions with the three of them and Shadowheart together.

Justice for Sazza. It would've been absolutely hilarious to have her as a full companion if she survived all the way through.

Couldn’t agree more about Florrick and Isobel. Not sure if I progressed too fast to skip over her scenes, but I’m in the beginning of act 3 and have yet to see her again. I’ve grown to love Wyll & Astarions storylines from where the game begins the most. Unless I’ve yet to discover it, I wish one of the werewolf’s played a larger role as the play style could be interesting, and could differentiate enough from the Druid class. Sorry for the rambling here, I’ve just gotten into the game over the past two weeks and have gotten completely sucked in & have been dying to talk about it.

Finally someone who appreciates Wyll's story. He was a fun mess in the EA, before the rework, prone to bitching, boasting, and violent outbursts against evil, especially goblins. He was also being actively pushed by the story into extremely uncomfortable situations where his heroic ideals were tested, such as torturing an innocent for information or (very likely) killing a child as a part of the devil's bargain. In the EA you either liked him for being a humane jerk or hated him. His post release version is so Chad that I can't do nothing but like him, even if he comes of as boring at times. This new softer demeanor while paired with giant balls to exploit the evilest means to pursue the good. It works so well in my opinion as a story, it's like playing chess when your board is full of pawns and still managing to win here and there.

There was a werewolf origin character planned: Helia, a halfling werewolf bard. And I'm still mad , she was scratched.

Florrick you see again in act 3, but after Rivington.

Dans Baldur's Gate, il est difficile de choisir un seul personnage préféré car chacun apporte quelque chose d'unique à l'aventure. Minsc avec son humour décalé et sa bravoure est un véritable atout, tandis que Jaheira incarne une force tranquille avec sa sagesse et son lien avec la nature. Imoen est une bouffée d'air frais, toujours optimiste malgré les épreuves, et son évolution au fil du jeu est fascinante. Chaque personnage enrichit l'histoire à sa manière, et c'est ce qui rend ce jeu si captivant pour moi !

I dislike Astarion, even from the first meeting during EA I disliked him. I keep him in camp, but don't enlist him except for 2 times. For the Cazador quest, cause I do want to allow him his revenge, and more importantly, to take him to Araj Oblodra (one of the side characters I like most of the game) to let him taste her blood. I think this is one of the funniest scenes in the game, and a valid reason to keep Astarion alive.

So when I enlist him to go visit her and he tells me "Darling, I thought you'd never ask". I have to smile and think, "if you knew what I have in store for you buddy".

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Damn, I would’ve loved to see that come to fruition. I’ll have to ask around for my next playthru because I wanted to try and make a character as horror centric as possible within the limitations of the story & being a werewolf would have made for some great combat. I’ve gotten a tiny bit into a campaign with some of my friends and one is a Dragonborn, I had no idea it would put us into a sacrificial murder mystery

Yes, the halfling werewolf bard sounded awesome. There is a werewolf mod, but I think, I'll wait until patch 7 to use it.

Since we had the topic before: I just saw the conversation with Wulbren about stopping Gortash again. I think he meant to do teh right thing and taking out the steelwatch before going after the man directly is the clever move for sure. The problem was, that he was too focused on the Gondians being the bad guys, that he didn't listen to reason at all.
I remember when I met him again, that I thought 'Great, we want the same thing' and I still was mad, that he was so dismissive of Barcus, who risked his life for him, but I still thought, we could come to terms and he would see reason, once we proof, that the Gondians were Gortashs slaves. So yeah, I actually think, that Wulbren is a pretty well written antagonist. He started out wanting to do right, but was so blinded by his own personal headcanon of what had happened, that he was beyond reason.
He certainly is one of the most grounded antagonists in the game.

I have to give a shoutout to Brother Donnick from the Open Hand temple. He is the one, making soup in the kitchen. He is also one of the Ilmateri, who does defend the refugees. And if you go into the cellar, there is a document in a side room, where someone documented strange occurences and one of them is that soup is still delivered somehow to the refugees, even though the temple is officlally closed down. So Donnick, the unsung hero, is making soup in secret and delivers it. Love the guy.

I just sent Myshka to Derryth Bonecloak and it is so precious. Baelen died in the Underdark, because the resurrected Bulette accidentally jumped into the bibberbang and exploded everything.
Seems that was good , because now Derryth has a cat and is muc hmore happy. That's so cute. I always was sad, I couldn't help Myshka.

I just ran into Blurg again! He and Omeluum are just precious. I forget how fond I am of some of these characters when I haven't talked to them in awhile.

Same. There are so many precious side characters around.
I love Kira the cat in Sharess Caress. And another cat recruited Vayu, my sword bard, into a Sharess cult against the Absolute. He said yes, because a cat asked.
Just found out recently, that Sharess seems to be loosely based on Bastet ( and I play DnD for a very long time).

I just realised, that Karlach and Wyll have a full conversation with Tav included, if you click on Wyll with Karlach after her recruitment instead of doing that with your Tav/Durge. It is so much more fun. I wonder how many more hidden options like that exist, if you accidentally use a companion to talk to another companion. A lot of times, you can't even do that.

It's not the same, but if you use Halsin to talk to Jaheira, there's a conversation about the previous battle against Ketheric. It was cool. I might never have tired if I hadn't read that it was an option.

Yeah, I wish, there would be more like that to be honest. And maybe some companion friendship scenes - Wyll and Karkach bonding over their experiences in hell, Lae'zel and Shadowheart coming to terms. Jaheira and Halsin talking about their first time in Reithwin and how they experienced it.
Make the camp evenings a bit more lively and not focus solely on our characters.

I think the Gith in the monastery actually have a lot of business, and it's an interesting peek into their culture, like with the hatchery warden and the reluctant trainee.

Lakrissa, the Tiefling you can banter with and make a bet with before the battle, is fun to follow through the acts. She and Alfira end up together in the third act, and I kinda want to run through a few variations there to see how much Larian put into it.

I love all the goblins terribly. Crusher is the main character we're stealing the spotlight from. I wish we got more from them and their perspective. There's an evil route I can get behind! It's nice to be dumb.

All the origin characters range from good to ok, I'm crawling through a Wyl playthrough just to get a better feel for him after his rewrite, but I got sidetracked playing around with the modding tools.

I've had the most fun as a with Astarion and Shadowheart character stories, but I enjoy the banter with Gale most of all.

Well we have Shadiwheart now , asking Scratch what he's been doing in their abscence....

I might do a Wyll playthrough at one point. He does feel like a main character. Shadowheart is interesting in light of act 2 and Gale has a lot of insight into the whole background of the Crown of Karsus and Lae'zel and the githyanki culture is interesting too. And yes, those conversations at the creche were nice.
I don't really vibe with Karlachs and Astarions story - Karlach is my favourite character and I love to have her in the party, and her outbreak after we kill Gortash is one of my favourite scenes in the game, but her quests are pretty barebone - get infernal iron and upgrade her two times and kill Gortash - oh and those false paladins. It's not much.
Astarion is just - I think, I'm a bit tired of the sexy vampire trope and if I want a vampire story, I go and play Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines (malkavian supremacy ). He is the origin, I click the least with, so maybe I should take a leaf from your book, and play his origin.
Karlach is probably more fun to play as a main character too, though I love to have her in the party for her interactions alone.

Lakrissa and Alfira made me so happy - I love, how those two end up together in act 3 (if you don't do Durge stuff in act 1).

Talking of Astarion Origin and special interactions. If you play his origin and chat with Araj as one of his companions while Astarion himself is out of range, they get a special interaction too.

Some of the other threads from yesterday made me think of how much about the interpretation of Astarion and his story changes depending on whether you see him as the sexy vampire trope and like it, or see him as a deconstruction of it who himself is fed up with the trope and has very little interest in sex and romance.

I think as a deconstruction he is very interesting. I'm really glad they went with that. I'm not necessarily against the sexy vampire trope- as I consume a lot of vampire stuff and it is quite common as seduction is a big theme for them- but Astarion's seduction in specific was so unbelievably cringe and obviously, painfully, ineffectively fake that when we had it confirmed that was the case and that it was intentionally part of his arc to deconstruct that it was a huge relief.
It was a very nice surprise, honestly, because in EA all I could think was "wait... it seems they're playing his hypersexuality straight, but wouldn't he have trauma from doing all that for centuries" so me seeing they addressed it in full release proved me wrong in thinking they would just never take that part of his story seriously.

The part of him that I mostly liked in EA that made me bear the terrible act 1 romance (a Bad Romance, you could say...) was his almost... joker-like? (doesn't feel a fully apt descriptor but eh) nature and random bouts of violence and his hatred for pity, and they mostly kept that straight... I guess? It's also deconstructed in places, and they mostly removed the scenes where they address his hatred for pity and didn't really lean into his violence except for the Petras scene, so that and the lack of addressing his magistrate past was a bit of a disappointment.
I quite liked the display of vulnerability introduced in the scar reading scene, and they did very much lean into that later, so in that department they delivered. I think that's where the deconstruction starts.

Feel free to intervene, fylimar, if you consider this derailing a bit too off-topic for your thread, I feel like we invade conversations with Astarion discussions sometimes ^^U

I'm fully aware and didn't want another Astarion discussion here, I even regret even mentioning him. So yeah, this is an intervention, please take it to the other dozens of Astarion threads. Thank you

Back on topic - is it true, that you can now meet Doni, the boy, that can't speak, in act 3?

Edit: Sorry! Your post hadn't been there when I hit the reply button. I put it in spoilers as I currently don't know where to transplant it to.

Where are we supposed to meet Doni?

Put it in one of the Astarion threads, there are enough of them.

As for Doni: I have read, you can find him in act 3, but I'm not sure, if the person confused him with one of the other children. I'm not yet in act 3 in my patch 7 playthrough, so I thought, I'd ask. I always find it sad, that you can find his letter to his dad and can't even bring it up. And that Doni basically vanishes from the game after act 1.

Interesting, I'll have a look around when I get there. I always thought it odd how Sylfi disappears in act 2 and then pops up again in act 3 without any connection to the other kids.

I'm pretty sure, Silfy is with Matthis and the other kids at LLI in act 2, but Doni is somehow missing. I think, he is the only one of the kids, if Rolan saved them. According to Alfira she and all kids survived thanks to Rolans and his siblings interventions. SO I always wondered, why Doni wasn't with the other kids. And is never seen again.

I saw a video where they could make Doni say a few lines in Act 1. Though I 've not been able to test it myself.

That is true and as a bard, he will ask you to play a certain song, when you perform.