Highlights
- Baldur's Gate 3 features a diverse and entertaining cast of characters, including both well-known companions and random NPCs.
- The game's best characters have compelling backstories, motives, and dialogue options, making each playthrough unique.
- Auntie Ethel, Jaheira, Us, Mizora, Minthara, the Guardian, and Raphael are all standout characters with their own captivating storylines.
Baldur's Gate 3 is a massive RPG with an incredible cast of well-rounded characters and while the origin characters, such as Astarion and Shadowheart, often steal the show, other companions, enemies, and random NPCs are just as entertaining.
The best characters in Baldur's Gate 3 have great backstories, compelling motives for their actions, and of course the best quotes and dialogue options. The best thing about the game is that any one playthrough is vastly different from others. Since choices truly matter, players will always run into new interactions with their favorite BG3 characters.
7 Auntie Ethel
Auntie Ethel is an extremely interesting character from Baldur's Gate 3 whom players will meet in Act 1, most likely in the Emerald Grove where she can be seen selling potions and fussing over the player. However, there is more to Ethel than initially meets the eye, as players will soon find out by heading down to her Riverside Teahouse.
As with anything in the game, there are many ways for the encounter with Auntie Ethel to go, but in most cases, players will soon realize that she is in fact a Hag with pretty dark intentions. Interestingly, if players make certain choices, Auntie Ethel might even offer a cure for the infectious parasite swimming around in the character's head. As with anything she says, players must consider her motives.
6 Jaheira
Jaheira is one of the returning characters from previous iterations of the Baldur's Gate series, and if players can keep her alive she is one of the best characters to have around and can even be recruited as a companion. First found in Act 2 at the Last Light Inn, Jaheira is the leader of the Harpers and with years of fighting behind her, she can offer plenty of wise advice to the player.
As a natural leader, Jaheira is charismatic and unafraid to give her opinion on matters. With her own house in the city of Baldur's Gate, there are also plenty of interesting interactions awaiting Jaheira if she is able to return in Act 3.
5 Us (The Intellect Devourer)
In the opening stages of the game on the Nautiloid, players have the opportunity to dislodge what at first appears to be a brain but is a walking-talking Intellect Devourer who refers to itself as Us. Perfectly balanced between creepy and oddly cute, Us easily has the most interesting voice in the game.
While Us is only temporarily recruited as a companion on the Nautiloid, players can find it again in Act 2 in the Mind Flayer Colony. As Us is caged up, the gratitude it shows upon being saved is one of the most heartwarming moments in the game, and Us can then be summoned permanently.
4 Mizora
Mizora is one of the more alluring characters in Baldur's Gate 3 and none can be blamed for falling for her irresistible charm. As the holder of Wyll's Warlock contract, her story is very much tied to his, and sooner or later as long as he is alive, players should get a visit from her.
Thankfully, players are not limited to just one conversation with her as she can appear at other stages of the game, where players will even have the chance to romance her.
3 Minthara
There are many characters in Baldur's Gate 3 who players might want to avoid killing, and one of these is Minthara who most players likely killed without a thought. Minthara is one of the three leaders at the Goblin Camp, but players can talk to her and get her on their side if they team up with the goblins.
At first, Minthara comes off as rather ruthless and players cannot be blamed for thinking little of her. However, if they can save her from Moonrise Towers and recruit her as a companion, players will see that she also has a sensitive side that makes her one of the more well-rounded characters in the game.
2 Your Guardian
One of the most interesting characters in BG3, whom players get to design themselves at the start of the game, is their Guardian. This mysterious figure appears at night in the dreams of the main character, and as players progress through the story, more is revealed about their power and exactly why they are protecting the player.
The Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3 soon turns out to be one of the best-written characters, and players can expect to have their heartstrings pulled more than once as certain cutscenes later in the game unfold.
1 Raphael
First disguised as a normal man and speaking in cryptic poetry, the part devil Raphael is easily one of the most intriguing characters in Baldur's Gate 3, and players cannot be blamed for looking forward to their next encounter with him. Every time Raphael is on screen he steals the show, drawing in all who are listening with his simultaneously honeyed and barbed words.
Unlike other great NPCs who can be easily missed if players don't fully explore or find secret passageways, Raphael will find the player no matter what in Act 1. The most interesting part of Raphael's story awaits players who make it to Act 3 of the game.
Baldur's Gate 3 is currently available on PC, macOS, and PS5. An Xbox Series X/S release is in development.