Set approximately 120 years after BG2, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a complex story weaving together a number of threads. Most of the companions have their own motivations and character arcs – some directly tied to aspects of the main plot and some more peripheral. But the basic conceit is that you wake up on a Mind Flayer Nautiloid ship under attack, with only hazy memories of exactly how you came to be on board. You have been implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, and unless you find a cure it is only a matter of time until you are transformed.
This setup can make for strange allies. All you really have in common is that you are facing the same fate and looking for the same cure. You are also among the few that have survived capture and implementation – at the cost of all of you being substantially weaker than you may once have been. (This allows characters starting at L1 whose backgrounds suggest far more accomplished careers).
Shadowheart (Wiki Entry)
Race: Half-Elf (High)
Class: Cleric/Trickery or Twilight
“luis royo painting;fantasy;welsh half-elf woman,age 30,suspicious,pale,tight smile.drawn face,dark eyes,dark hair gathered in back with sidelocks,dark leather armor with purple trim,tight black pants;in dark forest“
Shadowheart is the first character you meet in BG3 aboard the Nautiloid. She needs help escaping her Illithid sarcophagus, and while immediately making common cause to escape she clearly has her own agenda as well. She is evasive and slow to trust, but her memory is so swiss-cheesed – more so than any other companion – that it can be hard to tell the difference between her hiding things and her trying to cover up how much she can’t remember. There’s a lot of twists and turns to her story, and she can go in very different directions depending on how you interact with her. There is a lot of initial hostility between her and your second companion (Lae’zel), but both of them can grow into a more constructive relationship over time.
Lae’zel (Wiki Entry)
Race: Githyanki
Class: Fighter (I like Psi Warrior for her)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;githyanki warrior woman,age 25,sharp features,high forehead,long face,slender,tiny ape nose,intense expression,leathery pale yellow skin with feline brown markings,short serrated ears,sharp teeth,brown hair tied back in topknot,breastplate,greaves,leather skirt,holding serrated sword;in dark forest“
Lae’zel is young, prideful, and utterly convinced of the superiority of the Githyanki and their queen. She is also quite young, with little experience of worlds outside Githyanki creches and with few of her sometimes peculiar notions of Githyanki honor and duty having ever really been tested or scrutinized. She is disdainful and untrusting at first, but extremely practical and pragmatic. The enemy is the Illithid, and she is convinced that her people can (and will) help them rid themselves of the tadpoles.
She can come a long way over time, as few of her idealistic notions of what Githyanki and their Queen truly represent stand up to direct exposure. She remains stubborn and direct, but she is quite intelligent – and more willing than most to re-examine her beliefs when reality begs to differ.
Astarion Ancunin (Wiki Entry)
Race: High Elf*
Class: Rogue (Swashbuckler)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;french elf man,age 25,pale complexion,short toussled silver hair,incisors,cunning expression,mocking smile,smooth skin,cocked head,red-brown eyes,tailored dark blue leather armor;in forest“
Astarion is a hard guy to like – particularly at first. He is sly, ingratiating, caustic, and difficult to trust. That fact that he is also a vampire is poorly concealed and comes to light rather quickly. – although the tadpole seems to allow him to tolerate daylight He also largely consents to living off of animal blood if you are firm with him. He can be funny and charming, but is definitely not one on which to turn your back.
Astarion has reasons for being the way he is, and you can certainly help him deal with some of what he’s running from. And without that stress and trauma he can be far more tolerable. But he can be a pain to work with if you’re less self-centered and self-serving than he is.
Gale Dekarios (Wiki Entry)
Race: Human
Class: Wizard (I like Conjuration for him)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;english mage man,age 35,long unkempt brown hair combed back,nerdy,awkward smile,five oclock shadow,wide face,strong jaw,purple robes,leather bracers,staff;in forest“
Gale is a nerdy, awkward wizard who shows definite signs of having spent too much time cooped up by himself. He is a former archmage and Chosen of Mystra who made a spectacular error in judgement attempting to woo and impress the Goddess. He instead ended up Cursed and out of favor. Between that and the tadpole infestation he needs to relearn most of the magic he once knew, and then figure out how to fix both issues. And while he seems open and trusting, there’s much he won’t tell you until he’s studied you for longer. His closest friend is Tara – who you eventually discover is a winged-cat (Tressym) familiar. You get the impression she is a friend, sister, or even girlfriend before finally clue-ing in that he is essentially talking about a cat.
Gale is another character with a lot of layers. On the surface he’s a pretty good-natured if awkward lover of all things magic. And he loves to share that passion with others. He generally fits in best with good-aligned parties. But he has a bit too much ambition and pride for his own good, and its gotten him in trouble more than once.
Wyll Ravenguard (Wiki Entry)
Race: Human
Class: Warlock/Infernal
“luis royo painting;fantasy;african-american adventurer man,age 35,friendly,scarred eye,smooth skin,short corn-rows with shaved sides,fine leather armor,;in forest“
Wyll has an interesting setup. His father is a powerful noble in Baldur’s Gate – and Wyll has spent most of his life failing to live up to his own and his father’s expectations. He tried to follow in his father’s footsteps as a soldier, but just wasn’t cut out for it. So he made a name for himself as “The Blade of Frontiers” as a wandering adventurer. Unfortunately, he eventually got in over his head. He made a pact with a devil to gain the power to head off what he thought was a demonic invasion of Baldur’s Gate. And he has been paying the price ever since. His infernal patron, Mizora, forces him to hunt demons for her. And he tolerates it largely because of a clause in his contract that he can only be forced to hunt infernal/demonic adversaries. His story arc truly kicks in the first time she twists this clause in ways he did not anticipate – making him choose between “right” and the consequences for violating an infernal contract.
All of this adds up to Wyll being a black sheep noble attempting to be a hero while bound to a devil and desperately searching for a way out of his contract. Mizora takes an active part in his story arc and appears often when he doesn’t do as she wishes. He projects more confidence than he feels, and is often conflicted, but he is ultimately trying to do the right thing in a difficult situation.
Karlach Cliffgate (Wiki Entry)
Race: Tiefling/Zariel
Class: Barbarian/Berserker – I tend to go Berserker for her – flavoring it as fighting on adrenaline and instinct rather than bloodlust. Most of the other Barbarian variants just don’t seem to fit her for me.
“luis royo painting;fantasy portrait;large warrior woman,german,tiefling,muscular,friendly smile,red skin,strong,boisterous,horns, Burgundy punk hair sticking up,red eyes,skin covered in scars and scales,ragged leather armor,tail,boots;in dark forest“
Ah Karlach. She is another fun twist on a character stereotype. She is a former street urchin from Baldur’s Gate who was betrayed by her benefactor and sold off to the devil Zariel to be a soldier in the Blood War. Her heart has been replaced with an infernal artifact with a tendency to overheat when she gets excited – making it difficult to safely touch people. And it is slowly breaking down and will eventually kill her if she doesn’t return to Hell. And that’s before getting captured by Illithid and infected with a tadpole. Sounds like the setup to a gloomy, brooding gothic warrior type, right?
Instead, Karlach is one of the sunniest, most purely joyful characters in the entire set. She’s not “happy” about her past or her future, but she’s too busy enjoying the present to let that slow her down. She’s so overjoyed to have escaped Hell and the Blood War that she gushes over every sunset, picturesque vista, tavern meal, and warm bed.
Its a bittersweet friendship. She’s fiercely loyal and a rock solid companion, but she’s doomed one way or the other. And there’s nothing you can really do to fix it. Turn into a Mind Flayer, die of heart failure, or return to the Blood War. That’s the options. But man does she ever live life to the fullest while she’s got it! And she idolizes Minsc. That counts for something too.
Halsin (Wiki Entry)
Race: Wood-Elf
Class: Druid (Moon)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;big burly Sioux elf,smooth skin,bare chin,large scars on face,age 45,friendly smile,brown hair tied back beads,tanned,sleeveless leather tunic,leaf medallion;in forest“
Halsin’s not a bad sort, but he feels like a glorified NPC rather than a true companion. He’s the missing archdruid of the local circle where you crash land. You don’t meet him until towards the end of Act 1, he doesn’t join you until much later than that… and his arc is essentially finished when he signs on. He’s not even infected. He’s an amiable fellow, prone to spending large amounts of time in the form of a bear. But since Jaheira becomes available shortly after he does… its just no contest.
Minthara Baenre (Wiki Entry)
Race: Drow Elf
Class: Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;dark elf woman,drow,harsh spanish face,age 45,dark blue skin,red eyes,blue lips,cunning,white hair tied back,strong jaw,wide face,purple cape,fine chainmail armor;in dark shadowy forest“
I’ve never actually played with Minthara as a party member. You first meet her as a primary antagonist, and until a number of patches after release you had to either follow a decidedly evil path or jump through a lot of convoluted hoops to get her in the party. From what I’ve read she can be a devoted companion – in a “lets destroy/rule the world together” vein, but she’s manipulative, cunning, and utterly amoral. Not the kind I would trust at my back even if she does have the same tadpole problem.
Jaheira (Wiki Entry)
Race: Half-Elf (High)
Class: Druid (Circle of the Land)
“luis royo painting;fantasy;czech half-elf woman,mature,weathered skin,one raised eyebrow,cocked head,druid,brown eyes,mischevious smirk,gray hair in rows of short beaded braids,leather scale armor;in the forest“
Jaheira herself, the one and only. Older, wiser, a little less full of herself, but for me hands down the most awesome companion in the entire game. She just *radiates* no-nonsense grandma sass. She’s got every bit as much snark and sarcastic wit as ever – and the game gives her plenty of opportunity to use it.
Jaheira is by far the most self-assured companion in the set. And while others (Shadowheart, Astarion, Wyll) can be sensitive to insults and slights Jaheira is far more likely to laugh out loud and zing you right back. And her sarcastic takedowns of various self-important bosses and crime lords across the game are a wonder to behold – including a truly epic takedown of a resurrected Sarevok. “Isn’t that the same drivel you were ranting the last time I killed you? Didn’t death teach you anything?” She and Minsc even step back to allow you the killing blow, since “We killed him last time. Its your turn.”
And in a game where you can truly take an evil path – particularly if you choose the “dark” origin – Jaheira one ups them all. Several companions will complain or leave if you go too far evil. Jaheira will recruit whichever companions she can convince and attempt to straight up end you if you cross the line. She is the most fiercely loyal friend you can have if she thinks you are fighting the taint – illithid or otherwise. But she’s not walking off and leaving the problem for someone else if you are embracing it.
Minsc (Wiki Entry)
Race: Human
Class: BG3 defaults him to a ranger. I always immediately respec him to a bear-totem Barbarian. Minsc without rage is just unthinkable, and Totem Warrior’s animal-themed abilities make for a good “ranger-y” barbarian – including inherent “speak with animals”.
“luis royo painting;fantasy;bald cherokee man holding small hamster,age 40,smooth skin,large,bodybuilder,barrel-chested,large purple face tattoo,friendly smile,battle scarred,clean shaven,barbarian armor,thick neck,brown eyes;in the forest“
The irrepressible Minsc. In the flesh. He’s the second hardest companion to recruit – as he comes very late and being mind-controlled. Freeing him without killing him is a challenge. But well worth it. Being human, he’s only still alive because he spent much of the past century stoned – literally – petrified and passed off as a statue honoring his own past deeds.
Freed of control, he becomes his familiar butt-kicking self in no time. He has a complex relationship with Jaheira – as befits their long history. She finds him erratic and prone to getting in over his head. But they respect and support each other – no matter what. The key to breaking him free is getting him to recognize Jaheira – because he trusts her implicitly and completely.
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