Highlights

  • Isobel and Aylin's love story in Baldur's Gate 3 is a powerful example of queer representation, resonating with players as a heartwarming romance.
  • Their relationship parallels the various romantic bonds players can form with other companions in the game, adding depth and relatability to the story.
  • While the couple's love can lead to a happy ending if they both survive, the game's multiple outcomes mean that Isobel and Aylin may not always get to reunite, adding a sense of uncertainty to their fate.

While Baldur's Gate 3's recruitable companions are a memorable bunch, they are far from the only compelling characters featured in the sprawling RPG. One pair of NPCs who have caught the hearts of fans are Isobel, the Selunite cleric, and Dame Aylin, the Aasimar paladin. These two are beloved by Baldur's Gate 3 players as powerful queer representation with a heartwarming love story which can parallel the player's chosen romance in many ways.

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Isobel And Aylin's Love Remains Strong Despite Tragedy

Baldur's Gate 3 Isobel

When players meet Isobel and Aylin, they have been separated from each other for more than a century. Isobel died, and was dead for a long time before she was resurrected. While distraught about the loss of her lover, Aylin was captured and held prisoner by General Ketheric Thorm, so that the man could steal the divine immortality her mother Selune provided. Both characters think that their partner is gone, and they have no chance of reuniting.

Should players choose to protect Isobel at the Last Light Inn and rescue Aylin from her imprisonment, the couple can have a heartwarming reunion after so many years apart. It is one of the game's sweetest moments, with both expressing joy and amazement that they have managed to come together once again. The time apart has not dimmed their love, only strengthened it - in fact, Aylin sends the player away with a blunt "I have a darling to adore."

Their Romance Shares Many Similarities With The Player's

Baldur's Gate 3 Camp Romance

As one of the most significant romantic couples encountered in the game, Isobel and Dame Aylin's relationship deliberately echoes many of the bonds players can choose to form with their various companions. Some of these similarities include:

  • The pain of an immortal dating someone with a finite life, a struggle the player experiences if pursuing the immortal vampire Astarion.
  • The interference of gods in mortal relationships, seen when romancing the faithful Shadowheart, the Lolth-sworn Minthara, or the former goddess-chosen Gale.
  • Building a relationship while also having a sacred duty to follow, a struggle shared by githyanki warrior Lae'zel and druid Halsin, who wishes to cleanse the Shadow Curse.
  • Finding comfort with one's partner when one is estranged from family, like Wyll, or has lost them entirely, like Karlach.

No matter who the player chooses to pursue, they can see something of their own bond in Aylin and Isobel's.

This Power Couple May Not Survive

Baldurs Gate 3 Nightsong Lorroakan Choice Guide

While Dame Aylin and Isobel's love is strong and can be heartwarming should they both survive, the many choices available to players in Baldur's Gate 3 mean that there are many outcomes in which the two do not get to reunite. Depending on what the player decides, either or both of the lovers can wind up dead:

Isobel

Dame Aylin

Potential Fates

Kidnapped by the Flaming Fist and returned to Ketheric

Killed by the player to remove Ketheric Thorm's immortality

Turned over to Ketheric by the player and brainwashed by tadpole

Returned to Ketheric as a show of loyalty to the Absolute

Killed by the Dark Urge to unlock the Slayer Form

Killed by Shadowheart as a sacrifice to Shar

Abandons the party should Aylin be given to Lorroakan

Given to the wizard Lorroakan as a captive

If both survive and remain free, however, Dame Aylin and Isobel prove to be a "power couple" in more than one way. Aylin becomes a summonable ally during Baldur's Gate 3's final battle, while Isobel stays off the battlefield but can heal the party from afar. Although they don't get a specific epilogue detailing their fate, it is possible for this amazing queer love story to have a happy ending, as the two can end the game happily reunited and safe, with Ketheric Thorm and the Absolute defeated once and for all.