Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Build Discussion Most appropriate class/subclass for companions?

I don't mean canon. And I *definitely* don't mean most effective. Just what classes and subclasses do you think best represent the companion characters?

These are just my off-the-top thoughts.

1. Shadowheart: Trickery 6 / GOO Bladelock 6
--weird, I know, but maybe? this way she can see in darkness, use her spear effectively, and still have some clerical magic.
--her stats almost *have* to be respeced to represent her character.
--I'm not convinced this is the right build for her (the shar version), but that's mostly because of the textual flavor of the warlock. if I can accept shar as a "great old one" type then I can begin to get behind this.
--if she switches to selune, then change trickery to light and goo to fey?

2. Astarion: Thief 4 / Shadowmonk 8
--I like this because the shadow monk gives me a sense of Astarion's vampiric nature.

3. Gale: Wizard 12 (subclass?)
--not sure what subclass best represents Gale? evocation or divination maybe?

4. Lae'zel: Battlemaster 12
--I could see someone trying to build a gish version of her, but I think battlemaster is probably the best fit for her.

5. Wyll: Fiendlock 5 / Vengeance 7
--maybe Wyll changes direction when he realizes Mizora sent him after a tiefling instead of a devil? I don't know.
--then again, I suppose I could see bard considering his ridiculous dance.

6. Karlach: Barbarian 12? (subclass?)
--I just don't have a good feel for her.

7. Minthara: ???
--she's supposed to be a paladin canonically, but I don't know. I'm not feeling it.

8. Halsin: Moon 12
--focusing on the shapeshifting seems to be his thing.

9. Jaheira: Land 7 / Ranger 5
--I'm not settled on this, but land druid seems to fit her best. as for ranger, I don't know, I just want that dual wielding scimitar feel that seems to fit her.

10. Minsc: Berserker 8 / Ranger(hunter) 4
--shrug, just spitballing here.

***

Any thoughts? What do you think when you imagine these characters? Again, not the most powerful. Not even canon. Just what do they seem like to you, at heart?

Astarion feels like a College of Lore bard to me because he’s so well-spoken, witty, and dramatic. He feels like somebody who would talk trash and sling insults across the battle field (via Cutting Words), his snark the last thing his enemies would hear.

As we find out later in his story, he’s also needed to be charming and charismatic to carry out his… master’s wishes, which is also bard-like.

Jaheira: Cleric of Selune 2/Druid 10. This build seemed pretty powerful and also captured some ideas I had of her from BG1/2. I liked War, Tempest or Light for the Clerical domain, which all seemed to fit pretty well. I think any circle could probably work, though Moon Druid seems cool for what's going down in the story.

Wyll Padlock or Bardlock. I like Paladin if he goes for truth justice and the Baldurian way, Bard if he's going blade of Avernus. Not sure on the split, I just like the vibe.

Karlach: Barbarella Ranger, aspect of the Elk (cause why not!? hehe) still rage-y but with an animal companion to boot! I think I just like the whole idea that she's being bounty hunted, but then somehow flips the script there. I don't need to go all the way with Ranger, because I don't like the masks on the Animals. But yeah - be still my beating heart - do like the idea that Scratch might have a love interest with another hound! And this way I don't have to wait until Act III to explore that idea.

Shadowheart: Spore Druid. I gotta give that one to the Dame (Padlock Wyll, and Karla-ranger too since that was the first time I saw any of those combos attempted.) Head canon might be something like, Shadowbae takes the noblestalk and has an Owlbear epiphany. The setup in Act 1 makes this seem plausible to me since it leans into everything that's going down at the Grove and in the Underdark, culminating at the end of Act II, where it all comes full circle of boom hehe.

Halsin: Druid of the Land pure class. Mainly because I know there's just never going to be an instance where Halsin is in my party but Jaheira isn't, and since I like her better as a Moon druid just a way to slot him in somehow that still seems interesting. I think because he's main form is the Bear (but not a polar bear) and it's not really necessary.

Minthara: Paladin by my Oath! I guess I was feelin' it! lol. Though I could also see just going straight up War Cleric with her, since that reminds me of the earliest access.

Astarion: Assassin. I know default selection would go tricky trickster, but I just feel like Shinobi Astarion with the hood is Assassin all day.

For the others, I think the defaults work quite well for me. Like BM Lae'zel just works so perfectly I can't see much need to branch out, so I think I'm the same there. Gale works the same, though for evil Gale I think Necromancy is kinda fun. I still don't know what to do with Minsc haha

ps. knock on thought (sorry boards timing out and internet has been spotty all week) but specifically on the Astarion Assassin concept...

So this wouldn't have been my first thought, like I think I gave the hood to Shadowheart originally. But then seeing NoBigNeil discover the hood and go instantly ninja mode, that revamped my thinking a bit there. I mean even if story doesn't quite account for it, the idea that at some point in 300 yrs, he'd have picked up some serious immortal technique for just slicing and dicing all over the place. Like the way dude laughed, and then also like those origin volume suits and how he tumbles around just insane!!! But then I also like the idea that it'd just come out of nowhere, sorta like muscle memory. So say at first the tadpole has his third eye vision clouded, but then somewhere around the end of Act 1 is starts coming back to him, effortlessly, with a total recall. Anyhow, that's how I work that one. Vampire Shinobi for genesis mode, like just full ascension! hehehe

? oh I like that too, the 'gunslinger' version haha. That'd work for me as well. I couldn't give up the rakish rogue archetype entirely, cause D&D without the thief just didn't feel right (like unless someone else or the main is diving in on that front that's pretty much his deal) but I seem to use him more for sniping anyway, so I like the quickdraw blaze of glory idea! Might have to give that a whirl too!

Gale for me always is the classical Evocation Wizard 12. Luckily one of the most effective subclasses.

Shadowheart is a Trickery Cleric, after her change I change her to Thunder domain, which fits her character and is btw the strongest of the domains. Light domain would also be a good choice, but I want her a bit less caster oriented and a bit better with weapons and defense. With the Thunder domain you can control the battlefield very well or deal good damage with the use of very few spell slots.

Astarion is Fighter 9 (Battlemaster)/ Rogue 3 (Thief). With hand crossbows the strongest ranged build possible. Some might overlook that Astarion was not just a dandy but a kind of police officer/peacekeeper in his normal life, a "Gunfighter" orientation for me is fitting.

Karlach is a throw oriented Berserker Barbarian 8 /Rogue 4 (you only need Rogue 3 but I always want the feat, so Rogue 4)

Minsc is a Wildheart Barbarian 8 / Rogue 4, oriented to tank damage. I don't see Minsc as a Ranger, he even speaks of himself as a "Berserker", but Wildheart is approved by Boo.

Jaheira is a Figher 12 (Battlemaster). She was a Druid/Fighter hybrid in the ealier BG games (I read, I did not play them), but I absolutely don't like Druids and convinced her to be a pure Fighter (Druid/Fighter is a bad multiclass).

Lae'zel and Halsin are dead. Not much of a loss.


Edit: I forgot Wyll. He always is in the camp, so he stays Warlock, does not matter.

Shadowheart - Light Domain Cleric

Even if you stick with Shar, if you know which deity is truly granting her powers, then Light makes the most sense.

Lae'zel - Eldritch Knight Fighter or Way of the Four Elements Monk

Githyanki all seem to have a mix of martial and magic. Would make sense for Lae'zel to follow suit.

Karlach - Berzerker Barbarian or Oath of Devotion Paladin

Karlach is a passionate gal. The flames surrounding her when you first meet her and the boost from giving her a Soul Coin are suggestive of a Barbarian Rage. Though it can be possible to justify Oath of Devotion given her ideologies, also the fact that when she decided to turn her life around she became a bodyguard to someone she ended up trusting a lot. Then spent a lot of time killing fiends in Avernus after her betrayal and subsequent servitude to Zariel.

Gale - Conjuration Wizard

Gale is a Wizard through and through. As for school, he seems to have a penchant for conjury, what with him conjuring up images of Mystra or automated copies of himself to deliver messages.

Wyll - The Fiend Warlock and College of Swords Bard

Warlock is obvious given its prominence in his story. But before he got his pact, I could see him be a Swords Bard - The dancing he did and the martial training he received and his preference for a single rapier nudge me towards Swords Bard.

Astarion - Arcane Trickster Rogue

It doesn't come across like he'd have been looking to fight head on prior to becoming a vampire thrall (Also, given how he became one after being beaten up by thugs suggests he didn't have spectacularly amazing fighting capabilities). He seems the sort that would have messed around with people with Arcane Trickster spells (Which would have come naturally to him being a High Elf) in fact, it seems somewhat likely that the reason thugs wanted to beat him up was because he messed around with them too much

Minthara - Gloom Stalker Ranger

I'm no expert on Minthara, since most of my interactions with her involve stabbing her in the face. But what I gather from her is that she's a Drow. She doesn't seem like she's spent her whole life on the surface. So Gloom Stalker might have been how she lived before the Absolute came along and I guess caused her to become Oath of Vengeance Paladin? Honestly, I don't really know.

Halsin - Circle of the Land Druid

While he's fond of his forms and notably his Bear form (Which players can only use as Moon), he seems to be devoted to the land with his idolizing of Silvanus and his connection to Thaniel. He mentions about communing with the lands in regards to him not physically going to places in lieu of his communion.

Jahera & Minsc I've had too little interaction with to get any sense of their class.

Halsin - next, please ...

Shadowheart - her dream is of being a Judiciar, an enforcer for her cult. I think adding Ranger to her Cleric would be most flavourfull.

Karlach - I see her as Fighter, a Champion. She is a girl of simple tastes and outlook

Gale - Wizard, but maybe with a dash of Bard or Rogue.

Minthara - a bully girl, the KGB/SS of whatever cult she drifts into. Paladin - if interpreted as "Templar", a Fighter sworn to a Diety and given Magic Powers in return, fits like a glove. But if interpreted in more traditonal Dnd Manner, i.e. a Knight with manners a Code, then lolnope. Eldritch Fighter, Oathbreaker (for the mechanics) or Ranger for her.

Wyll - the whino should be a Ranger, something akin to Witcher Geralt

Astarion - self-centred hedonistic sadist - Rogue fits him best, but I suppose that Bard of Lore could as well. He'd read dusty tomes to broade his knowledge of torture, plant growing, sexual perversions, baking, hair styling etc.

Lae'zel - similar to Shadowheart and Minthara (all Larian's muscle gurls are the same?) - same sort of cult enforcer/torturer. Eldritch Knight. Paladin as Templar of Vlaakith.

Jaheira - I never cared about the Druid class. I'm used to her being Fighter/Druid, so I'd make her Fighter/Cleric. 50-50? "Nature's servant is ready" - you know what Domain I'd give her. As she and old and willy biddy, she Battle-Master, beating foes into pulp by Superior Tactics and Shilaleighed club.

Minsc - see Halsin

Halsin and Minthara - work as they are, though I gave Halsin one level of ranger for the weapon proficiencies (for the myrmidon shapeshift).

Jaheira - fighter / druid, since that is who she was in the original games.

Minsc - barbarian; he was a ranger in the original, but he could rage, and since wildheart barbarians can talk to animals, still fits.

Shadowheart - since she was chosen as a healer for the mission, cleric or lore bard. Either way, with high dexterity instead of the stats that she has.

Wyll - my favourite was warlock/sorcerer, played it as his sorcerous powers awakening when Mizora dragged him through hells. But storywise I think multiclass with bard, paladin or fighter all work.

Gale - wizard, his story is centered around him being one.

Laezel - berserker

Karlach - I don't think barbarian fits her story. She was a Baldurian city kid before the hells, and devils are lawful, so I'd expect their troops to be organized and disciplined, the opposite of barbarians. Fighter battlemaster, or maybe a ranger hunter.

Astarion - I liked him as a dexterity based fighter archer. I don't think his story is that connected to his class, so a lot of builds might work.

If you stick with Shar, then it's her that continues to grant her powers. Light domain doesn't fit until the moment Shar abandons her (and then trickery doesn't fit). Shadowheart was created with the respec function in mind.

Astarion gets to be a Thief/Sword Bard, it allows him to fight while dishing out insults when it suites the situation. I also like the flexibility of dual-wielding knifes and crossbows, and having the option for crowd control when necessary. This way he never feels helpless, strong without the need of a dark ritual.

Gale I like as an Evocation Wizard with two levels of Wild Magic. He makes enough weather puns for me to have given him a mostly weather based spell list which goes best with evocation. Wild Magic adds a little tempestuous moodiness and the option to threaten with explosion in dialogue.

Wyll gets two levels of Vengeance Paladin, which suits him and his disposition well.

For Minsc I found a build which mixes Ranger with Berserker and Fighter, and feels appropriately "smash first, think later."

Lae'zel simply stays a Battle Master, it suits her and there is just nothing to really improve about it.

For the rest, I haven't made up my mind yet. Especially Shadowheart gives me a heart - I mean hard - time because I am not overly in love with any of the Cleric subclasses. As a Dark Justiciar, I'd probably make her a warlock, since that seems to match the other Sharrans better - not to mention the set you find in the Gauntlet.

Sure.

If you completely ignore the part where after Shar abandons her and she retains her powers Shadowheart says "I guess we know who was granting my powers all along"

Suggesting that it's not the goddesses passing over responsibility for Shadowhearts power, but it's always been Selune.

It's an observation made by the protagonist in that dialogue, that her goddess (Shar) abandoned her: "admitting who empowers her now might break her spirit".
On the evil run Shadowheart it would make even less sense for Selune to grant her powers then.