Baldur's Gate III

Video game fandom
Name	Baldur's Gate III
Abbreviation(s)	BG3, bg3
Developer(s)	Larian Studios
Release date	August 2023
Genre(s)	single-player and cooperative multiplayer, RPG
Parent series	Baldur's Gate
External link(s)	Official site
Baldur's Gate logo
Related articles on Fanlore.

Baldur's Gate III is a high fantasy role playing game created by Larian Studios in the Baldur's Gate series and is the sequel to Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. The game takes place a few months after the events of the Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus adventure module for Dungeons and Dragons and features a new cast with an original player character (a "blank slate" in terms of back story), or the choice of playing as one of seven pre-made "origin characters". The game also allows the player to have these "origin characters" join their party as companions, aside from featuring other companions as well.

It was released on early access October 6, 2020, and had its full release on August 3, 2023. The macOS and PlayStation 5 versions are scheduled for release on 6 September 2023. Players don't need to have played the previous games, DLCs or Dungeons and Dragons in order to enjoy this new story.

Gameplay

Baldur's Gate III features both a single-player and cooperative multiplayer element. On single-player, players can create one or more characters and form a party along with a number of pre-generated companions. On cooperative multiplayer, players are able to take one of their characters and team up online with other players to form a party. The game exploration in both these modes is the same. Like previous games in the Baldur's Gate series, it has turn-based combat, similar to Larian's earlier games. The game's combat is based on the Dungeons and Dragons' 5th Edition rules, also known as D&D5e.

Plot

The player wakes up inside a flying ship after being kidnapped by illithids (mind flayers). Abord the illithid ship they are implanted with a parasite (lovingly nicknamed a tadpole) in order to later be transformed into an illithid themselves, but, just as this happens, the ship is attacked by githyanki warriors. The player frees themselves during the attack and finds two other equally tadpoled survivors, Lae'zel and Shadowheart, with whom they are able to have a telepathic connection due to their parasites. Leaving them behind or together with them, the player steers the damaged ship to Faerûn, crashing it on the Sword Coast. Exploring the debris and the area surrounding it, they can find the survivors from the ship, as well as several other people who had also been kidnapped and connect with them using the tadpole.

The player may chose to go about their adventure alone, but they may also travel with the similarly infected companions, all of whom have different personalities and secondary objectives. They may also travel with two non-infected companions, Halsin, who joins them if helped in his personal quest, and Jahera, a character from previous games. The player and/or the party try to have their tadpoles removed with the help of several NPCs and through several methods, but none of them are successful. As time progresses, the tadpoled survivors fail to transform into illithids (through a process called ceremorphosis) due to the help of a mysterious Dream Visitor, who resides inside the artifact one of them carries.

The adventure follows the player through three distinct Acts, where they learn more about the mysterious Cult of the Absolute, eventually meeting the puppet masters behind the curtain and learning more about each other and the state of the world as they go.

LGBTQIA+ Representation

The launch of BG3, with a cast of pansexual companions and several queer characters that are part of the main quest and cannot be avoided, has caused many fans to express their distaste at the Forgotten Realms apparently forgetfulness of its "original lore". Ed Greenwood, the original creator of the Forgotten Realms game world, has stated the game's universe has always been queer and that queerness is lore friendly.

On January 13th 2024, Ed Greenwood accidentally retweeted a Comicsgate post not knowing its context. He apologized for it, both in video and in text, across several tweets.

I want to make it very clear that I am sorry for what occurred earlier. I want EVERYONE to feel safe and included, and I did not mean to cause any harm with my haste and negligence when promoting that tweet. Representation is so important and I want to be an ally to that ideal.

It’s come to my attention that I retweeted something earlier today that was harmful and offensive. We all share one planet, and there is NO place for homophobia or anti-inclusivity or even name-calling. I should have read the tweet before reposting it, and that’s on me. For that, and the hurt the tweet has caused, I’m deeply sorry. I reviewed the script of the first issue of a future comic book back when COVID hit, then wrote a foreword for it, for free. I thought it was a good story at the time, and I was pleased to see it was finally coming out, so I quickly retweeted it without paying proper attention. However, I am NOT okay with LGBTQIA+ people being attacked, or for that matter ANYONE who feels left out or othered. Storytelling often explores violence and important moral choices, but safe spaces are important. I have always considered myself supportive of everyone being treated with the same respect, and feeling represented. I am pro inclusivity.

I DON’T want to be associated with ANYONE who can’t get along with people who are different.

So, I’m sorry. EVERYONE is welcome at my gaming table.

Ed Greenwood on Twitter (X)

He received positive comments from LGBTQIA+ users, mostly stating their forgiveness and gratitude for the retraction, while most negative comments, advising him to retract his apology, seemingly came from users who were angry at his supposed "wokeness".

Some of the most notorious queer NPCs are Isobel Thorm and her lover Dame Aylin, and a trans character, Nocturne, although fans might miss the fact she is trans, as the information is tied to the earlier consumption of an in-game item by Shadowheart. It is notable that she's not the first trans character in the series. That title goes to Mizhena from Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, a DLC of the first game in the series.

The fact that some characters are voiced by LGBTQIA+ actors has also made them very popular with fans of the same orientation or identity. One notable case is with Jennifer English, who uses the labels gay, queer and lesbian, and whose character has a large following of lesbian fans thanks to the actress' public orientation status.

Treatment of actors/characters of colour

During October 28th, at the MCM London Comic Con 2023, information was shared on Twitter that Wyll Ravengard's voice actor, Theo Solomon, wasn't given a chance to tell his story along with the rest of the cast during their panel. Fans wrote that, with the excuse of lack of time, the presenter skipped him in order for fans to ask questions to the cast. A fan (Ancuninz on Twitter) asked other fans to leave the actor messages under their post and later showed them to Solomon, as a way to show fan support and just how much he meant to them.

Previously some fans also felt that the VA had been sidelined during the one-shot, while some fans felt this to be a result of shyness and his lack of experience with DnD.

Fans also assert that Wyll, the only human POC character Origin character, is also frequently absent from fanart, or is OOC in fics. Due to being a sensitive topic, some fans are quick to assume that any apparent lack of representation can be a sign of racism, which also leads to some harassment towards artists.

There was also a mod that made Wyll white.

Characters

Spoiler Warning: This article or section may contain spoilers. If this bothers you, proceed with caution.

Campfire by Poticceli

Typically characters based of D&D will have alignments, but D&D5e significantly made them less inflexible, so expect companions to be able to change their views on the world and people around them depending on how the players interacts with them:

Tav: The default name of the player character. Players may choose to name them differently. There are no consequences to this choice and the name is never spoken out loud. They can be one of 11 different races, some with different sub races (for example, a half-elf character might actually be a half-drow, which significantly changes the way some npcs or companions interact with them). The character can have he/him, she/her and they/them pronouns and the player may choose from a variety of different genitalia which are not locked to a specific body type, allowing for transgender character creation.

The Dark Urge: Another default name of the player character or (if playing Tav) a character found in the game. Just like with Tav, this character is fully customizable, except for their background. By choosing to play as The Dark Urge, the players will effectively be playing a different character than Tav, albeit following much of the same path during their adventure. This character has a distinct and unique background that cannot be changed nor played with other characters, and which follows a different personal quest, explores alternative story paths and presents the player with unique interactions and choices. Playing with this character also allows the player to discover parts of the main Tav playthrough that would be otherwise unavailable.

Potential Companions

Astarion: An origin character. A High-Elf Rogue with a cruel sense of humour who values personal loyalty. The most popular fandom origin character and fandom romance option.

Shadowheart: An origin character. A private Half-Elf Cleric who has a heart of gold under a tough exterior. The most popular in-game romance according to official statistics.

Lae'zel: An origin character. A loud and direct Githyanki Fighter who enjoys the subjugation of others.

Gale: An origin character. A morally upstanding Human Wizard who is easy to romance. The most popular in-game origin to play as according to official statistics.

Wyll: An origin character. A heroic Human Warlock with some moral weaknesses.

Karlach: An origin character. A Zariel Tiefling Barbarian who is both violent and compassionate. Unlike Lae'zel and Astarion, she is against evil acts.

Halsin: A gentle and humble Wood Elf Druid who is a nature lover. The player can only take Halsin into their party during Act 2.

Minthara: A disdainful Drow noble Paladin who is highly devoted to the Absolute.

Jaheira: A Half-Elf Druid, originally encountered in both Baldur's Gate I and II, who favours a direct approach and likes snarky jokes. The player can only take Jahera into their party at the end of Act 2.

Minsc: Originally encountered in Baldur's Gate I and II. A not so bright Human Ranger who is immensely loyal to his friends. His Ranger companion is the hamster Boo. The player can only take Minsc into their party during Act 3, if also having Jaheira in their party, making him the final permanent player companion they are able to acquire.

Other Notable NPCs

Withers: A mysterious undead who joins the player's camp and provides resurrection and hireling services.

The Emperor: An Illithid who joins forces with the player against the Absolute.

Dame Aylin: The aasimar demigoddess daughter, and paladin, of Selûne.

Isobel Thorm: A cleric of Selûne who has joined forces with the Harpers in Act 2.

Ketheric Thorm: The Chosen of Myrkul.

Enver Gortash: The Chosen of Bane.

Orin the Red: The Chosen of Bhaal.

Kar'niss: A drider who is encountered in the Shadow-Cursed lands, in service of the Absolute.

Canon Romances

The romance options in this game are not locked to race or gender (unlike in Dragon age: Inquisition, for example) and are considered playersexual. There are in-game indications of past lovers and current crushes for some characters, possibly shedding a light on their canonical preferences. Independently of choosing to play as Tav, The Dark Urge or a different Origin, the player is able to romance all origin characters, plus Halsin and Minthara, and also have flings or pay prostitutes for their services.

If left single, some non-playable origin characters will pair up for sex, although it doesn't seem like they develop a romance amongst themselves. In the current release of the game, the only characters who will pair off without playing interference are Lae'zel and Astarion.

A short list of the most popular canon romances follows:

• Astarion/Tav
• Astarion/Gale
• Astarion/Halsin
• Astarion/Wyll
• Gale/Tav

Fandom

Shipping

The game's most popular romanceable character on AO3 is Astarion. Since the full game's release, the character's popularity has exploded on AO3 and twitter, as well as other websites with fannish culture, and as of August 23, he is part of the most popular AO3 ships of the franchise, which are a variation of the player character and himself (with around 1353 tags in 1836 works). The Player character is defined in many ways (which might cause the tags to overlap):

• Original female character
• Original male character
• Reader
• Original character
• Charname ("character name")
• Tav (default player name)

The second most popular romance is with Gale, the Human Wizard, who was, during the first version of the Full Release, the easiest companion to romance. His romantic behaviour has changed throughout the release of different patches, with him going from falling in love with the player without any previous romantic interaction, to not even having romantic options available even at full approval. Because of his initial easy romance he'd been compared to Anders of Dragon Age 2, who also very easily falls for the Player Character. Both Gale and Anders seemed to cause the same phenomenon of making some cis-gendered male players uncomfortable, due to how easily they flirted with the player and showed attraction, even when the players themselves doesn't actively try to romance them.

Because there are a lot of newcomer fans from Dragon Age in this fandom, there are some interesting events occurring:

Since both Fenris and Astarion are white-haired elves who were slaves changed by their master and both Anders and Gale are humans with a feline companion, who can perform magic, have some sort of magical trouble and have the ability to cause big explosions, some fans say they are essentially the same. While there are some similarities, they are very different characters with different goals, personalities and backstories. Bioware's lead writer for the Dragon Age series, David Gaider, has also expressed a similar opinion regarding Fenris, but not exactly on Anders. Some fans also claim that Astarion is similar to Fenris and Zevran, if the two's backgrounds and personalities were mixed. In the same vein, there are also opinions that Gale feels like a mix of Anders and Alistair. Some fans have playfully mocked this event, hinting that Dragon Age fans (even themselves) simply haven't branched into other high fantasy franchises enough to recognise that some tropes are more common than they think.

Relationship Names

See also: List of Baldur's Gate 3 Relationship Names

The fandom commonly uses both portmanteaus and more thematic names for ships.

In cases where the whole group of origins is shipped together (including, or not, Tav or The Dark Urge), the name of the ship is Tadpolycule. Sometimes Halsin is part of this ship, even though he isn't canonically tadpoled. It can also be called Partycule, although it is not necessary for all party members to be present in the ship. The ship included in these tags is more commonly polyamory than simply a collection tag of different party members being paired off with each other in inflexible pairings.

Pairings (other than the player character)

• Wyll/Mizora
• Dame Aylin/Isobel Thorm

Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fanfiction

• What Drifts on the Air, Tadpolycule “You have to kiss Gale,” Shadowheart tells Halsin, glittering with mischief. “It’s the rules.” Shadowheart and Astarion start a game. It escalates quickly. by Letterblade
• late nights in the elfsong tavern, Tadpolycule “What exactly is this game,” Lae’zel looks between them, suspicious. “Oh, I think you’ll like this one,” Karlach grins. “We all sit in a circle and spin the bottle; whoever it lands on, you make out with. Or, if we’re playing Seven in Celestia, we shove the pair in a closet for seven minutes to, you know, get a little taste of heaven.” She nods. “I have had competitions on who could bring their partner to climax the swiftest. This seems comparable.” Gale, Wyll, and Shadowheart all choke on their drinks at that; Karlach belts out a laugh. “I think things may be better if we keep things at kissing,” Gale suggests. by shadowfell
• left hungry with the want, Tadpolycule There are more dangerous mushrooms in the Underdark than simple poisons; Halsin takes the brunt of one, leaving the rest of the party to try and assist in the aftermath. by shadowfell

Fanart

• Jar (Our Greatest Enemy) by heph on Tumblr
• Team building by balsamcandle on Tumblr
• GAME. OF. THE. YEAR! by kindlingonfire on Tumblr
• short rest by mcsiggy on Tumblr

Gallery

• 

  Fanart of Karlach hugging Tav and Astarion by Poticceli (2023)

• 

  Fanart of Astarion in the Wavemother's Robe by stephaniepepper (2023)

Fan Vids

• Swamp Star | Baldurs Gate 3 by SloshiChannel on Youtube
• ORIGINS (Baldur's Gate 3 FRIENDS intro) by Sho_VT on Youtube
• Frank Reynolds in Baldur's Gate 3 by eli_handle_bwav on Youtube
• Nice to meet you | Baldur’s Gate 3 | Animatic by indigonite on Youtube
• Perception check but the Dark Urge is a ✨BARD✨| Baldur’s Gate 3 | BG3 Animatic by yaaayhem on Youtube

Resources

• Dialogue parser for BG3 by an anonymous creator on Tumblr
• Baldur's Gate III Fandom Tag on AO3
• Baldur's Gate 3 Wiki
• Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Baldur's Gate 3 Reddit page

Fan Communities and Challenges

• Baldur's Gate Kinkmeme on Dreamwidth
• Baldur's Gate 3: Kinktober 2023 on AO3
• Baldur's Gate Kink Meme Non-Anonymous Collection on AO3
• Baldur's Gate Kink Meme Anonymous Collection on AO3
• Baldur's Gate Tav-less Secret Santa 2023 Masterpost on Tumblr