In one of the busiest threads of the week, Reddit user elegant-atrocities has sparked a celebration of Baldur’s Gate 3’s funnier elements. For the past day, fans have been sharing their favorite moments and it’s impressive just how much diversity there is.
Every beloved role-playing game masters all sorts of tonal shifts and Baldur’s Gate 3 is no different. Although the prelude is high-intensity, within a couple of hours you could find yourself meeting wizard companion Gale for the first time. It is during his introduction that elegant-atrocities recounts one of the first moments this game allows itself to be silly. “My favorite part is when you’re getting Gale out of the broken portal and you slap his hand,” they said. “Especially with how he even feels the need to change his ‘expression’ through his hand.”
Although admittedly early in the game, far away from the deadly serious nature of the story’s conclusion, this nugget of gold highlights a key element to Baldur’s Gate 3’s success. Replicating the iconic setting of Dungeons & Dragons, it evokes those feelings of sitting around a table and having a great time with your friends. Without the intrigue, ingenuity, and humor those days would be far less enjoyable.
Astarion has undoubtedly become the poster child of this franchise for many different reasons, one of which is his unrivaled wit and banter. Va_Dinky recalls an exchange between both him and Jaheira while walking through the lower city section of Baldur’s Gate itself. This particular dynamic works so beautifully since the High Half-Elf is a stoic sort and one who looks down on the vampire spawn. “Every time Astarion plays scandalized, whether it’s the banter with Jaheira or morning-after gossip, never fails to send me,” responded AriRashikae.
Yet it seems like, amongst the forum, there is one character that eclipses even Astarion for quality of quotables and hijinks. That character would be one Barcus Wroot. This hapless gnome finds himself captured not once, but twice in the space of one act. First, you discover him tied to a blade of the windmill in the Blighted Village. Then, he gets himself captured again and sent to the Grymforge where you must rescue him for a second time.
You can get a good sense of poor Barcus from the moment you part ways after helping him down from the aforementioned windmill. “If we will meet again, then we will have met again,” said Nayauru verbatim before concluding, “I’m stealing that one for real life.” Of course, as AlbionPCJ points out, the laughs could arrive even earlier should you pull the wrong lever to aid in his escape. “That gnome goes flying,” they remembered.
I think the most incredible part of this all is that this man of many laughs can be missed entirely. In my own playthrough, I completely missed the windmill only to find poor Barcus a corpse on the floor: A further testament to the quality and depth that Larian Studios has placed in their product. There was never any doubt in my mind that a second playthrough was in my future, and now I’ll be on the lookout for him for sure. From sassy to slapstick, this incredible narrative has it all.
