Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Your favourite character development

Having given this question a few more thoughts: I like that the BG3 characters start out with a perception of the world, and their place in it and you can either affirm or challenge it. From this point of view Gale and Shadowheart have my favourite developments because theirs are the most dynamic and feel the most natural.

I don't want to gush about Gale too much again, but he has issues with his self-worth and the need to proof himself, while he really just wants to help others and make their lives better. So his mental state fluctuates between wanting to be a sacrificial lamb and claiming godhood, neither of these extremes fulfils his desire though and the truth rest somewhere in the middle ground. His romanced ending too is written with some nuance as his character will slightly shift depending on whether you accompany him back to Waterdeep, go on adventures with him or ask him to stay with you in Baldur's Gate.

For Shadowheart, who struggles with her sense of identity and is torn between her faith in Shar and wanting to discover who she is, rediscovering her memories is important. Up to a certain point she just wants to be free of Shar's deception when on the Selunite path but if she discovered enough bits of her past, her desire to be with her parents wins over her desire to free herself from Shar.

Astarion is the one who's character development I love best when he is my Avatar. As a companion, his arc is too binary for my taste and too focused on one big decision. Many of your conversations and experiences don't really hold any sway. As an Avatar his story feels much more rewarding to me, especially when I can send him to the Underdark with Gale. While the UD ending with Companion-Spawn focuses mostly on how dangerous the UD is, the one for Avatar-Spawn and Gale puts more emphasis on how they try to create a good place to live for the other spawn with their joint talents. To me this is both, a much more perfect rejection of Cazador than simply not following in his footsteps, as well as a beautiful conclusion for both characters' arcs as it shows how much they can achieve together without any divine or hellish powers.