Highlights
- Some characters in Baldur's Gate 3, such as Withers and Lady Esther, are unkillable, which may disappoint players who want a more specific confrontation and notable death.
- Characters like Elminster and Yenna's mother could have had more integrated storylines if they were given proper battles or side quests that explored their fates and deaths.
- The game missed an opportunity for players to challenge characters like Sa'varsh, Angry Mar'hya, Ptaris, Mizora, and Vlaakith, which would have added more depth to the gameplay and satisfying confrontations.
The discussion about characters who should have died is an interesting one when it comes to Baldur's Gate 3. Primarily, this is because players have the option to confront and kill almost any character in the game. They can truly take each characters' fates into their own hands, deciding which ones should die.
Of course, this doesn't always mean that they get a notable or narratively satisfying death, and there are a sparse few who simply cannot be killed. Out of that selection, these are some characters who perhaps would have benefited from a more specific confrontation and notable death.
9 Withers
The cryptic but pleasant skeleton camp assistant, Withers, is one of those few characters who are entirely unkillable. Players can attack him all they like. He will not retaliate, but he will not take any damage, and will just act completely nonplussed. There is a very good reason for Withers being unkillable. He lets players respec their class and, even more essentially, can revive fallen companions.
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The beauty of Baldur's Gate 3's branching narrative also means that many of the playable characters can be dealt some pretty miserable endings.
Despite this, players who go into the game with the intention of killing everyone may be disappointed that Withers has no reaction to their furious attacks. Losing Withers could have interesting repercussions on the story and gameplay, and satisfy players who intend to leave nothing but death in their wake.
8 Lady Esther
Lady Esther works for the Society of Brilliance, an organization that aims to prove that violence is taught, and is not innate to any one race. As an infamously violent race, it makes sense that the society wants to test this theory by raising a young githyanki in a peaceful environment. To do so, Lady Esther wants players to steal the only remaining githyanki egg from their crèche.
Players can accept or refuse, but even if they challenge her behavior, they can only choose to fight her outside a conversation. It is a shame that the confrontation can't be ended permanently during dialogue with her, especially since the fate of the society isn't any less brutal if they manage to get their hands on that egg.
7 Elminster
Elminster is an infamous and powerful wizard in Dungeons and Dragons lore, but putting the lives of beloved characters in jeopardy has never bothered Larian. Just ask Volo! Despite making a few prevalent and somewhat confrontational appearances, Elminster is not a character that players are likely to kill or see in harm's way.
Players can kill Elminster, but if they do, he disappears and is revealed to just be a simulacrum of the real wizard. It would have been interesting to have a proper battle with him, especially given the terrible task that he entrusts Gale with.
6 Yenna's Mother
Yenna is a sweet little girl that players can meet in act three, along with her nervous cat, Grub. Her mother has gone missing, so players can allow her to stay at their camp. As endearing as Yenna and Grub are, their primary narrative function seems to be to act as someone for the shapeshifting villain, Orin, to kidnap if the usually kidnapped companions are all in the player's party.
Without this scene, Yenna and Grub can feel like an unnecessary addition. But a side quest that saw the party searching for Yenna's mother and dealing with her likely death may make the pair feel more integrated into the game.
5 Sa'varsh Kethk
The githyanki combat tutor, Sa'varsh, has some deadly lessons to teach his students. When players encounter him, he will be forcing an injured githyanki youth to fight again as punishment for sparing the life of his previous opponent and fellow student. This time, Sa'varsh insists it will be to the death.
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"Speak With Dead" is an often distressing spell in Baldur's Gate 3. Using it on some deceased characters provides particularly chilling results.
Players can intervene, but whether the merciful student is spared or falls in the classroom, they can't actively threaten and attack the teacher. Attacking him outside of conversation will make the crèche hostile. Given the severe teachings of Sa'varsh, it would have been nice to challenge him to take a taste of his own medicine.
4 Angry Mar'hya
This inconsequential NPC fills a similar role to Sa'varsh as a character that players may want to fight, but are unable to challenge in conversation. Mar'hya is the kennel master for the couriers in Baldur's Gate, but players soon find her to be abusive to both her young apprentice and the dogs in her care.
Given that she also demands the return of Scratch, a dog who is now likely to be the player's close pet, it is unsurprising that many would want to 'give her a talking to'. Unfortunately, there is no specific cutscene for this. Players have to attack her outside of conversation, potentially causing the guards of Baldur's Gate to attack the player.
3 Ptaris
Ptaris is an interesting character, and a player's interactions with him can be just as interesting. Speaking of the githyanki egg from earlier, Ptaris is the githyanki that can hatch from that egg if it is given to the Society of Brilliance. Raised by a harsh moral creed after which he is named, Ptaris comes to see that the people who raised him were evil and, by their own creed, had to die. He slaughters the whole society.
If players confront Ptaris and are unable to grant the githyanki a change of perspective, they will fight and kill him. Players who are able to share new insight with him, however, may find the ending to the confrontation slightly anticlimactic. Given how often the game's enemies take their lives into their own hands, it seemed like they were setting up a fate like this for Ptaris, which may have had more impact than his current conclusion.
2 Mizora
Mizora is the patron devil of the warlock companion, Wyll. Given the misery that she can inflict upon multiple companions and her general disposition as an evil devil, players are likely to want to kill her. And they are more than welcome to.
Unfortunately, this will damn her warlock, Wyll, to a life spent in the Hells as a lowly lemure devil. This is not a pleasant fate for anyone, let alone such a kind-hearted companion. If Wyll escapes his pact, it would have been nice to have a proper confrontation with Mizora, perhaps akin to the other devilish battle against Raphael.
1 Vlaakith
Throughout the plot of Baldur's Gate 3, players become quite accustomed to fighting gods, or at least their avatars. Especially when it comes to the dead three, Myrkul, Bane, and Bhaal, fighting evil deities is part and parcel of the player's role as a hero of Faerun.
As another tyrannical deity that can become a thorn in the player's side, it would have been entertaining to play out a battle between the party, especially the githyanki companion, Lae'zel, and the githyanki goddess, Vlaakith. The closest players can get is fighting her followers after entering the astral prism, but it doesn't keep Vlaakith out of the player's hair, and a final confrontation would have been satisfying.