Summary
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Baldur’s Gate 3
The companions ofBaldur’s Gate 3are vital parts of the story and each one comes with their own story and history.Baldur’s Gate 3offers some amazing storytelling, and the stories of the companions are just as compelling as the main narrative of the game. Some have a happy past that turns sour, and others have had a particularly cruel past.
The backstories of the companions play into their personality inBaldur’s Gate 3. Such as how Gale dislikes it when players disregard valuable knowledge which could tie into his past of being a child prodigy in magic and howBaldur’s Gate 3’s Karlach approves when players help innocent people could tie into her traumatic past.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Origin Companion’s Backstories
Astarion: The Fallen Magistrate
Hailing from Baldur’s Gate, Astarion was originally a young magistrate who would sentence criminals. When he was 39 years old, he handed down a particularly severe sentence, and later a group of Gur attacked him on the street in revenge for the ruling he oversaw that day. Bleeding out and on the verge of death, the vampire lord, Cazador Szarr came to the rescue and offered Astarion eternal life in the form of vampirism.
Astarion agreed and became Cazador’s spawn, but quickly realized that he had made a grave mistake, as Cazador tormented and abused him. Cazador allowed Astarion to be buried after he “died”, forcing the new vampire to dig his way out of the grave, which was the first of many horrific acts that Cazador would commit against Astarion.
Over the 200 years of his slavery to Cazador, Astarion was sent to seduce people and lure them to his master to feed on. Any acts of defiance were severely punished, and in his first decade of slavery, he tried to run away after refusing to deliver Cazador another victim, a man he described as “a sweet innocent boy”. This defiance caused Cazador to seal Astarion in a tomb for a year without any blood or rats to feed on. Cazador always denied any of his Spawn to drink from the bodies of “thinking creatures” and forced Astarion to consume the blood of rats.
At some point, Cazador decided to make a pact with the archdevil Mephistopheles and carve the infernal pacts, which he called “poems”, on the backs of his spawn, taking the longest with Astarion stating that he liked hearing him scream. Over the years of constant torment, seducing Cazador’s victims became second nature, and inAstarion’sBaldur’s Gate 3romance, he explains that any kind of intimacy was something he did to lure victims to Cazador.
This is likely why Astarion becomes distant if he joins the player and the Drow Twins in Sharess' Caress, and why he puts up boundaries against sex when entering a committed relationship with the player. Fortunately for Astarion, when he was seducing Cazador’s latest potential victim, he was “rescued” by the mind flayers when they began abducting citizens in Baldur’s Gate.
Gale: The Prodigy Child & Mystra’s Chosen
Throughout Gale’s life, he has had a strong proficiency with magic, more so than the average wizard. Gale’s natural talent with the weave eventually lured Mystra, The Goddess of Magic, to him, and she chose for him to becomeone of Mystra’s chosen. Mystra taught Gale many things, and as their relationship grew, they eventually became lovers. However, Gale was determined to impress Mystra further and went in search of a tome that held a fraction of Netherese magic. Upon opening the tome, a Netherese orb flew out of the book and straight into Gale’s chest.
This orb was extremely dangerous and had the ability to become destructive if Gale didn’t consume the weave from magical artifacts. Due to Gale’s overconfidence in seeking out this Netherese tome and his carelessness in opening the tome, Mystra revoked his rank as her chosen. He retreated to his tower in Waterdeep with hisfaithful Tressym, Tara, and the two spent their time looking for magical artifacts for him to consume, that is until Gale was abducted by mind flayers.
Shadowheart: The Daughter of Darkness
Originally known as Jenevelle and the daughter of Selune worshippers Arnell and Emmeline Hallowleaf, Jenevelle was kidnapped as a child by Viconia DeVir while undertaking an ancient Selunite where she was abandoned in a forest and had to use her skills to find her way home.Baldur’s Gate’s Viconia DeVir, who is also a companion in previousBaldur’s Gategames, was ordered by the Goddess Shar to bring Jenevelle to a secret cloister in Baldur’s Gate to train her in the ways of the dark lady.
Jenevelle originally resisted the training, but due to the Mirror of Loss, she eventually succumbed to the indoctrination and became Shadowheart. However, with the help of her friend Rennald, eventually known as Nocturne, she was able to retain fragments of her previous identity, such asShadowheart’s love for night orchid flowersand animals, as well as a small fragment of the moment she was kidnapped. However, that memory was twisted and she believed it was Viconia rescuing her from a pack of wolves.
Before being abducted by mind flayers, mother superior Viconia had heard of the Cult of the Absolute, and that it was slowly gaining influence within the populace. The Sharran worshipers had recently learned of a Githyanki artifact of immense power and thus Shadowheart and other Sharrans were sent on a mission to find the mysterious artifact.
Lae’zel: The Brutal Student
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Lae’zel is a fierce Githyanki warriorhailing from a githyanki enclave known as Creche K’liir, which is settled on an asteroid near the moon Selune. Growing up, she experienced a brutal childhood full of military training. She mentions that at one point, she killed four of her classmates because they were either too weak, or they picked a fight with her.
Prior to the events ofBaldur’s Gate 3, she embarked on a mission after Vlaakith ordered the Githyanki to recover a mysterious artifact known as the Astral Prism. However, this mission would lead Lae’zel to become abducted by the mind flayers and infected with a unique Tadpole.
Wyll: The Blade of Frontiers
Wyll was born into a noble family and is the son ofGrand Duke Ulder Ravengard. He had a happy childhood and grew up observing the politics of Baldur’s Gate and learning practical skills such as swordsmanship. However, Wyll’s life took a drastic turn when he discovered a group of Tiamat worshipers on the outskirts of Baldur’s Gate who were planning to summon their powerful goddess. Determined to stop them, but powerless to do so, Wyll’s desperation unintentionally attracted the devil Mizora. Seeing an opportunity in Wyll’s desperation, Mizora offered to help stop the cultists in exchange for Wyll’s servitude.
Without hesitation, Wyll agreed to Mizora’s terms and was granted the abilities of a Warlock, and he and Mizora defeated the cultists. Due to the terms of Mizora’s contract, Wyll was unable to speak about what happened, and when his father returned from Elturel and saw Mizora by his side, he demanded an explanation. Wyll was unable to answer, and any evidence of the battle had disappeared. With shame, Ulder Ravengard banished his son, and Wyll started his new life and soon becamethe Blade of Frontiers.
Before being abducted by the mind flayers, Wyll had been sent on a mission to hunt down the Teifling Karlach, who he thought was a devil. He chased her through Avernus until he was captured by mind flayers.
Karlach: A Tragic Past But Full Of Life
Throughout Karlach’s life she has been through happy times and traumatic times, with the latter outweighing the other. Karlach grew up in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate and lived with her parents, Pluck and Caerlack Cliffgate. She says that in her household they had a secret language and that “Taters” meant “I love you”. Then, Karlach started to work for Enver Gortash and believed that she had become his trusted confidant; that is, until his malicious intent rose to the surface and sold her tothe Archdevil Zariel, ruler of Avernus.
Karlach became Zariel’s prisoner and champion and was used as an experiment to test the Infernal Engine, an invention intended to replace the hearts of her soldiers. She spent many years fighting for Zariel, until one day she saw a mind flayer ship appear in the sky. She saw this as an opportunity to escape Avernus and quickly boarded the mind flayer ship, and ultimately became infected with a Tadpole.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Additional & Returning Companion’s Backstories
Baldur’s Gate 3offers the return of several characters from the previous games, two of whom return as companions.
Halsin: Archdruid of the Emerald Grove
As a child, Halsin was friends with Thaniel, who is the embodiment of the spirit of the lands, though once he realized that Thaniel would not age like himself, he chose to become Thaniel’s protector as well as friend. Halsin has always had a fondness for flora and nature, and one day long ago decided to venture into the Underdark to experience its alien and fascinating flora. Instead of witnessing the beauty of the Underdark, he became a prisoner of one ofthe many noble Drow houses.
The matron and patron of the house were fascinated with Halsin and felt that having a Wood Elf was quite a novelty. He spent almost 3 years confined to the bedchambers of this noble house, and in Halsin’s words, he was seen as a consort, a guest, and a prisoner. As traumatic as the experience was, Halsin has never looked negatively upon it. Eventually, he managed to escape when his captor’s house was attacked by a rival house. It could be argued thatHalsin’s view on romance and polyamorycould stem from his time with the Drow, as it is possible that they included him in polyamorous acts.
One hundred years before the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, Halsin and the Druids of the Emerald Grove aided in the attack against Ketheric Thorm at Moonrise Towers. Shortly after Ketheric’s defeat, the Shadow Curse happened, and Halsin lost contact with his childhood friend, Thaniel. Not only did he lose his childhood friend, but he also became the Archdruid of the Emerald Grove when the previous Archdruid was lost to the Shadow Curse.
Just before the events ofBaldur’s Gate 3, Halsin joined Aradin’s expedition in hopes of finding a passage to the Shadowlands and Moonrise Towers. However, Aradin’s expedition goes awry and Halsin is captured by the goblins and the Cult of the Absolute.
Jaheira: A Hero Of Baldur’s Gate
Jaheira is a returning companion who originally appeared inBaldur’s GateandBaldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, in which she was a companion in both. Originally from the nation of Tethyr and born into a noble house loyal to the King, Jaheira lost her family at a young age during a civil war. Jaheira was rescued by one of the servant girls who worked for her family, and they fled into the forest of Tethyr. Shortly after, they stumbled across a group of Druids which happily took the two in and raised Jaheira as if she were their own.
At some point, she encountered the Harpers and joined their ranks. While serving the Harpers, she saved a Half Elf called Khalid from an assassination attempt by the Shadow Thieves, and the two quickly fell in love and got married. The Harpers sent Jaheira and Khalid on an investigation that eventually led to an encounter withBaldur’s Gate’s Sarevok Anchev, a Bhaalspawn, which Jaheira and her friends defeated.
Sometime later, after leaving Baldur’s Gate with her friends, including Minsc and Khalid, they were all captured by the Shadow Thieves and imprisoned beneath the city of Athkatla in Amn. Sadly, two of her friends perished, including her husband, Khalid. They discovered that their captor, Jon Irenicus, was after the Bhaalspawn essence, and thus they killed him.
Just like Halsin, Jaheira and the Harpers aided the fight against Ketheric Thorm at Moonrise Towers. With their unified force, they manage to kill Ketheric Throm, that is until his return inBaldur’s Gate 3. After she discovered Ketheric had returned from the dead, she set out to the Shadowlands with a squad of Harpers and set up a base in the Last Light Inn.
Minthara: A Cut Throat Past
Minthara is part of the Drow house of Baenre inDungeons and Dragons' Menzoberranzan. While growing up she was trained to be a soldier and to never let her guard down from those she can’t trust. As a newborn, she was the target of an assassination attempt, one that her mother protected her from. Later, when she was older, she was the target of another attempt, but this time it was from her mother.
Minthara joined the Cult of the Absolute through indoctrination and manipulation, primarily from Orin. Minthara had heard that the cult had been spreading their preaching and trying to gain more followers on the streets of Menzoberranzan. Ultimately, these emissaries of the Absolute were killed by the Drow and, in her curiosity, Minthara traveled to Moonrise Towers with a group of Drow.
What she encountered at Moonrise was not what she was expecting. She expected to be treated as an enemy, but instead, she was heralded as a hero, and a feast was held in her honor. During this feast,Baldur’s Gate 3’s Orin the Reddanced across the table, killing all the Drow, apart from Minthara. Orin the Red then dragged Minthara to the dungeons and infected her with a Tadpole, turning her into a True Soul.
Before encountering the player, Minthara, alongside Dror Ragzlin, orchestrated a search party for the mysterious artifact and the infected who had not yet become True Souls. As well as the search party, she organized a raid on Waukeen’s Rest in a successful attempt to capture Wyll’s father, Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, and another raid on the Emerald Grove as she believed the Tieflings and Druids had the mysterious artifact.
Minsc: The Berserker of Rashemen
A returning companion fromthe previousBaldur’s Gategames, Minsc is the owner of the beloved miniature giant space hamster Boo and is a loyal friend to Jaheira. He comes from the nation of Rashemen, a matriarchal society where young men must embark on a traditional coming-of-age adventure called the Dajemma, where they must travel the world and accompany a type of witch called a Wychlaran.
While traveling, his Wychlara, known as Dynaheir, was captured by a group of Knolls. To rescue her, he teamed up with the protagonist of the originalBaldur’s Gate. Once Dynaheir was rescued, the pair began traveling with the protagonist alongside Jaheira, Khalid, and Imoen. Minsc aided inresolving the Iron Crisis by helping defeat Sarevok. Sometime later, he and his friends were captured by the Shadow Thieves, and he was one of the few survivors alongside Jaheira and Imoen. He and his remaining friends eventually helped the protagonist kill Jon Irenicus, their captor, who wanted to use the Bhaalspawn essence for himself.
While traveling with Boo, he and the hamster were ambushed in Baldur’s Gate and were petrified for 80 years, and the citizens of the city were none the wiser and assumed he was a statue dedicated to the Heroes of Baldur’s Gate. A mage called Delina was in the middle of a fight when she accidentally hit Minsc’s petrified form with wild surge magic. The magic dispelled the petrification and released Minsc and Boo from their stasis. The three of them ended up traveling together for a time.
About 10 years later,Minsc reunited with his old friend Jaheiraand the two teamed up to investigate the Cult of the Absolute. One day, Minsc rushed into a battle with some cultists of the Absolute, and Jaheira, realizing they were unprepared for this fight, chose to abandon Minsc and spread information about the Cult.
Minsc was overwhelmed, and the cultists were able to infect him with a Tadpole. Due to the overpowering influence of the Tadpole and a doppelganger imitating the form of Jaheira, Minsc became the infamous Stone Lord, a feared murderer. Boo was separated from Minsc as the Tadpole suppressed all his memories of Boo, that is until the events ofBaldur’s Gate 3and the player frees Minsc from the Tadpole, and the two are happily reunited.
