“We wanted to give her vulnerability”: Not Astarion, Nearly Every Player Chooses to Kill One Baldur’s Gate 3 Character That is Very “Dear” to Lead Writer’s Heart

Discover why players consistently grapple with their feelings when making choices in Baldur's Gate 3.

astarion in baldur's gate 3

SUMMARY

  • Minthara is Baldur's Gate 3 Lead Writer Adam Smith's favorite Character
  • Smith wanted players to experience the vulnerable side of Minthara, which he finds the most compelling.
  • Every decision in Baldur's Gate 3 carries weight in the grand scheme of the story.
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In Baldur’s Gate 3, every choice matters as it determines the other characters’ response. This means any character in the game can become your ally or foe if players play their cards right. Thinking before making any choices matters as it can sometimes lead to some characters’ deaths.

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There are very many characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 but the one that the Lead Writer Adam Smith likes is usually killed by players by choice. He is very sad about that as he thinks the character has much more depth than players realize. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 Lead Writer’s Favorite Character

there is no correct or wrong choice in Baldur's Gate 3
Every choice carry weighs in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Larian Studios

Adam Smith, the Lead game writer, has created many characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. But the one he feels is the best character is Minthara, due to her background and perspective. She is a recruitable companion character and appears in the first act of the game. 

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In Act 1, players will be faced with many choices in the story which will ultimately lead to players facing her or becoming an ally of her. But usually, the “correct” or “moral” choice is to not side with her, which mostly leads to her death. For reference, there is no correct or wrong choice in Baldur’s Gate 3 as every player thinks differently and the choices they make will influence the game’s story. 

She is a recruitable companion character and appears in Act 1
Minthara is Adam Smith’s favorite Character | Larian Studios

In the interview, Smith was telling his favorite lines in the game and also told us that he is very sad that players usually kill off Minthara in Act 1. He thinks if players try to understand her they will see the vulnerability in Minthara. He said:

We wanted to give her vulnerability, give her an actual character. Somebody who grew up being told what they should be and how they should be, getting taught to be cruel and paranoid.

Smith further went into the background of Minthara and the one line that he thinks perfectly personifies the character:

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“She has a line where she references that, where she says ‘If I’d never met you, if you’d never given me a chance, I’d just be one more corpse on your crusade.'”

According to him, this is the best line in the game and perfectly fits her character. 

Characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 have their own story to tell 

Characters in Baldur's Gate 3 has a very deep background story
Every Character in Baldur’s Gate 3 has an interesting story | Larian Studios

Minthara is one of the characters who has a very deep background story which players usually don’t dive into. Smith also loves the Astarion’s story as well when in the end Cazador dies. He gets very emotional about all the character’s story and says this: 

The Karlach scene after Gortash dies, which I get teary-eyed thinking about because I’m a softie; the end of Astarion’s story, once Cazador’s dead – there’s a lot of catharsis in them, which is very meaningful to me.

Even the Astarion story can end in many ways as player choices tend to influence his story That’s why Smith loves the game and enjoys reading about the character’s backstory.

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Just like these 2 characters, players should try the game once again but with different choices and try to befriend new characters and learn about their backgrounds. Who knows which character’s background may stick with them, and becomes their favorite in Baldur’s Gate 3. 

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Written by Shubham Chaurasia

Articles Published: 139

Shubham is a tryhard gamer who loves to play and write about games/news. At first, writing was just a hobby but now its his profession. If he is not online lurking in Valorant or trying his luck in gacha games, you can find him binging on some anime series.