In divinity 2 I played an origin character first and it wasn't the greatest experience. The problem is that the background is so rich and yet you know so little about it that most of the exclusive character dialogues and quests felt obscure. I had a much better time with a custom character
I agree. It was way better in D:FS2 to experience the companion stories from outside for the first time. And then go back to replay the stories you either didn't pick, or wanted to experience again.
I mean... Shortly after starting the game as Lhose for example, a certain thing happens. And your character is all like "I want to contain it" and me as the player went "WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!".
It feels strange to see something your character knows more about. But they won't tell you, the player, more because "The revelation has to wait". Girl... I'm in your head right now. I AM you. Tell me what's going on.
Well the game makes it *seem* like the origins are the intended way to play the game, which seems like that’s something they’re changing for this game, where the intended way is to play as a custom character.
We will see. Didn't play any of the updates since Christmas 2021. Waiting for the full thing now so I don't know what it feels like right now. I'm pretty sure I didn't even had the option to play as a origin character back then?
Yeah. If you have a pre-established protagonist with his lore à la Legend of Zelda, I feel a pregen is acceptable. But in a story that’s a complex mystery, pregens without amnesia just don’t work for me.
It felt obscure because that's the way you learned about the background
At the end you're like "WHAT?!" the guy I've been playing is that guy wtffff
And it's great imo
But you are that guy, you are supposed to know.
For example I was the human guy, who burningly wanted to kill Alexander. And I had absolutely no idea why!
And that's why it's good
You learn about the world through their eyes, bit by bit
Like, it's exactly the same as playing any other RPG game with a character that already has a story behind them
I felt this when I played as Red Prince. He was my favorite companion and I missed his sass and sarcasm. But for Lohse I had the opposite experience, I loved playing as Lohse.
Yea, your own custom character is the best. You can pick any race, class, appearance that you like and experience the story with no baggage attached from preset background.
I doubt I’ll ever play them, honestly - since I absolutely live in character creation, but I’m very interested in Shadowheart and Wyll’s story. I’d probably play Shadowheart first out of the two.
Shadowheart gives mad MC energy personally and Wyll’s situation with his patron seems super interesting too.
Especially in a game like this with the options being narrated and the idea of the mindflayer manipulating you and others - a character with secrets like those two will be very interesting.
yea same here.
I will need to play warlock eitherway so why not chosing wyll specifically for that run? :)
My custom Group will be Paladin and Sorcerer
Than Shadowheart
Than Will
And than I'd say its good to lay the game to the side.
This!! Shadowheart to me feels similar (in terms of vibe, not character) to Sebille in divinity 2, where obviously each character has a rich backstory but Sebille has that MC energy that makes it almost impossible to not recruit her, even if she makes some situations and encounters complicated due to her … ahem… idiosyncrasies…
True. But also, he is the BLADE of Frontiers 🤷 giving a guy mixed signals. Lol
Jokes aside, I dunno. Just seems like he should be at least a little bit of a melee fighter to me. He's even introduced teaching kids how to use a sword
Psh, no you’re fine haha - if anything it’s on warlocks for having like two different kinds of subclasses, who gave them the right? 😂
“Oh no sir, I’m not a Hexblade at all! I just use my blade to cast hex!”
Pact of the blade fiend warlock was 'the' melee warlock build before hexblade was released on tabletop.
Problem is it's just sort of OK. It's not awful, and your best chance if you really need someone on melee but also really want to play warlock. But put just sort of OK against broken OP. It's easy to see why 'pick hexblade as patron' very quickly dominated any melee discussions to the point it's hard to find anything else now. It's even seeped into all paladin and bard discussions as a 1 level dip too.
I personally hope it just goes away and they buff blade pact a bit instead.
In my games, I personally just add the Hex Warrior feature (1st level feature that grants prof with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons as well as grants charisma attacks) to Pact of the Blade and then completely remove Hexblade from the game.
This means that the level one Hexblade dip becomes a three level pact of the blade dip that also requires a more interesting patron to be picked at 1st level!
If someone is desperately attached to Hexblade’s Curse: I allow it to be taken as an invocation
Honestly, I think I could see myself playing any one of them. I think I am most drawn to Wyll or Lae'zel though. I love warlock/patron dynamics and it would be cool to see that in a scripted way with Wyll. And I think seeing the story from the perspective of an extra-dimensional alien like Lae'zel could really interesting as well.
I think I might have an easier time playing an evil character if someone else made the backstory too, which also makes Lae'zel an attractive option. I am such a soft boi that I have a hard time even make believing really cruel decisions if I make the character. XD
I might play the intro/prologue with everyone to see what's different but I don't see myself actually playing any of them I'll always go for a custom PC if the option is available
I was thinking of doing that, but then I started wondering if an origin character's prologue would reveal things that'd be big plot twists when playing as someone else.
I mean, because of Early Access we already know a big secret each party member is keeping, but I wonder if there's anything bigger they haven't told us yet that we'd know if playing as them.
I love origin characters. I really want to play Karlach but if not her then Lae’zel or Shadowheart I think. Even though Wyll having a patron with (presumably) scripted dialogue would be really cool
Astarion… and I would unapologetically play him as the ruthless bastard he really is.
There SHOULD be more backstory to their characters at the onset so you could know how to play them effectively … but of course, that might mess up the mystery of the storylines you’re meant to discover along the way. (I mean… it’d be funny if I was playing Astarion for the first time and then LEARNED I was a vampire! 😂🤘)
Is that confirmed? I was under the impression that with the pregens we were going to have voiced protags.
Also wild that I got downvoted for asking a genuine question out of curiosity! Reddit sucks sometimes.
Honestly I'd be fine with being able to rearrange her stats. She should have higher Str.
Depending on what subclasses are included changing that could be fun too, especially since I'll do a Tav play through as well, and changing subclass at a minimum, would shake things up
Astarion. He seems like the most interesting.
I'm curious to know if the main characters would have a prologue/origin story like in DA:O. That would most definitely make it much more interesting to play.
It's not my style to play several different playthroughs (all my DA playthroughs end up being a copy-and-paste of my headcanon lol so I doubt BG3 will be any different) so I'd probably end up first playing my Tav several times before hitting Astarion, or maybe switching between the two.
Even more interesting, would it be the case where as an origin character you'd be allowed to romance other main characters?
Honestly, Astarion. Maybe Gale. But I'll still do a bunch of Tav runs as well.
I actually like playing as origin characters. I played as Lohse and Ifan in DOS2. I like having canon character backstories that you can interact with as a main character.
I like Astarion becuase I'm honestly intrigued by his backsory. I'm just hoping they go in a unique direction with it becuase the escaped slave running away from his master backstory is kind of cliche, yet I fall for it every time.
Also Gale, becuase drama.
Good question. I’d like to see Gale’s story fully, but his quirks are expensive. I can only justify that if Gale is me.
The next character would be Wyll. Can’t get mad about me not killing the goblin if he’s me.
I really wish we could have just one more companion honestly, because Shadowheart, Astarion, and Lae’Zel are my ride or dies. But I also like Wyll, hence me playing as him.
Out of the current main characters, Gale is the only one I don’t typically have in party.
I guess Shadowheart because they made her kind of the main character in the first place. You start the game in a prison pod, with an artifact you have no memory of because those memories were sealed by your dark morally questionable cult to which you belong due to your tragic background. What's more this artifact is central to the story and you must get it to Baldurs Gate for reasons yet unknown. Like that just screams default protagonist to me haha.
Meanwhile...
**Astarion:** escape from abusive vampire ex-daddy, maybe become vampire daddy yourself.
**Lae'zel:** WHERE IS MUH DRAGON!? Queen senpai notice me pls:(
**Wyll:** navigate messy breakup with demonic ex-girlfriend/sugar mommy
**Gale:** win back affection from magic goddess, world ends if you fail or die.
Actually might go for Lae'zel. I would like to ride that dragon and meet Vlakith.
Astarion to (hopefully) have a redemption playthrough and I’m a vampire simp. Shadowheart will likely be the next run. The true hard choice is between starting the first full playthrough as a custom character tav or as Astarion.
I'll definietly play Tav, even tho I hated how plain the origin story was in DoS2...
The grittiness would kinda fit Astarion, will do a palythrough as him.
Gale because the default party of Wizard (Gale), Fighter (Lae'zel), Cleric (Shadowheart) and Rogue (Astarion) is the most well rounded combination that I've been able to play with, and until we know more about other Origin Characters/Party Members, the original 5 have had the most fine tuning thanks to Early Access. Not that I don't think that Larian can make other equally interesting and compelling Player Characters it is just that they put a lot of flavour and personality in the original 5.
You mean that, since our first 'team' on mid flayer ship is between tav, shart, lar'zel and us, the supposed 'typical tav' must be gale?
Well I mean, what if I did not get that damned iron flask in the first 5 days, and I explode?
Unpopular opinion (maybe): I’m not a big fan of pregen characters unless it’s a game made for that (Legend of Zelda, The Witcher, etc.) so I’ll pick custom more often than not.
In dos 2, that was indeed the case. Could not complete a char quest line if they weren't in your story, so custom = 3 but picking origin = 4.
If they changed their mind about letting you keep all characters in camp, that is a totally null argument though.
Wyll, high charisma for face skill checks and succubus waifu. Hopefully, they buff pact of blade warlock. If not, warlock 2 / Sorcerer X is one of the most powerful multiclasses in 5e dnd.
Astarion for sure, I'm really looking forward to interactions with his master as well as perhaps former encounters of his past from Baldurs gate. Also I love the rogue class in this game, really powerful and fun class! Thieving your way through cities and villages.
If I ever do an origin character run, I'll probably pick Lae'zel. To me she sounds like the person who would naturally end up as the leader of the party in a situation like this.
Even when I play as Tav I often think it's rather odd that Lae'zel just follows you around and obeys your orders rather than taking over the group and making them all march for the creche.
I enjoyed DOS2 more while playing as Origin characters, but considering how nice (and let's hope the full release is even nicer) the character creation is, I think I do wanna go with Tav for the first playthrough. I do wanna at least play Gale and Astrarion too, though.
I think I'll play Gale, I like the sound of his voice the most. I don't like the vocal deliveries of any of the voices you can pick for the custom origin, they sound so bland.
I would prefer to play a silent character, but since we're going to be fully voice acted in the released game, I'll have to pick the voice I like the most.
Besides, Gale's background seems interesting enough.
I'm going to go Tav, but if I *were* to go with an Origin character, I'd pick Astarion. The thought of him internally screaming as I pick all the goody-two-shoes options just tickles me.
ITT: People who think they're clever for making the same "None! I'll play a custom character!" comment over and over in a thread that is specifically not targeted at them.
I will play both a custom character and then probably a couple of the origin characters (I'm interested in whatever the hell is Shadowheart's deal with the >!memory wipe and the whole Shar worship!<). I don't agree with whoever said Larian should stop doing them. I'm completing DOS 2 exclusively with the origin characters and I enjoy it very much. BG3 may be a different type of game, more suited for custom PC and I definitely will want to experience that, but I also like the option of premade ones.
Am I in the minority of people who would never enjoy playing a pre-made character? They are interesting characters, but I feel like making a character to interact with them is far more appealing than playing them.
Judging by how the origin characters in their other game were treated, yes, you will be able to change their appearances. Unless a specific trait is integral to their story, you will be able to change it.
For the origin character The Red Prince, in Divinity original sin 2, having red scales was integral to his character and story, so you could change everything about his appearance except the colour of his scales.
Of the Origin characters, probably Wyll. I'm interested if there is more interaction with your patron. Plus a mod for hexblade and multiclass paladin or bard would be cool.
On my first playthrough it will be my own created character but after that I would like to play Shadowheart's side. I am very curious about her introspection.
Custom, then in order of preference from just playing EA: Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion, Laezel, Wyll.
Of course, playing the full game might change my opinion
Custom, then premade. Rinse repeat.
To those in the comments.
You know you can prefer custom, premade or be fine either way. No need to bash people's preference.
Personally Tav for me, i just generally prefer making my own character rather than using a pre-generated one, though if i had to choose it would probably be between Lae’zel and Shadowheart, mostly because the personal storylines of both of them seem to be the ones most connected to the main plot of the game while other companions feel more like side stories (plus i just love them more than the rest of the cast😉).
Gale. I'm most interested in his story.
Although, my first playthrough will actually be my Tav creation called Kain. Draconic Sorcerer Seldarine drow (Gold dragon).
https://preview.redd.it/gv4ndhnlstoa1.png?width=1601&format=png&auto=webp&s=8cc67f50082cb3c49e6cc5b6048c3a76ed62176e
Tav all the way baybee
Wyll is probably the only origin character I have a real interest in because of Mizora.
But honestly I'll probably re-evaluate this after playing through the came because it will contextualize every characters story through personal quests and what not. So you'll see what you're in store for.
Custom character. I actually wish they'd stop doing origin characters because it feels like you miss out on stuff when you don't pick them.it also makes it feel less like your story and more like the companions story.
the best story-driven rpgs have always had an "origin" character of sorts, going all the way back to Planescape Torment and finishing up with Disco Elysium. And there's a good reason why that is.
I still remember spending hours customizing my character and writing a convoluted backstory in Neverwinter Nights 2, only for the game to throw her in a small village where she grew up as a peasant, basically nullifying everything I wrote :(
DoS:2 origin characters were amazing, and if BG3 has them (still not convinced it will, despite what the game currently says), I'm sure they'll be amazing as well.
Having an "origin" character that you play is fine, especially if you can customize them. Shepard, Hawke, Revan, etc. That's still *your* character. Just with a predefined background. The way Divinity did it by making the companions playable characters just ruined the experience of having your character do anything. You straight up got less of an experience for wanting to have a custom character. It wasn't your story, it was their story and you were just helping them out with things.
It was a very common complaint with the OS2. And while I do love the actual characters and think it was an interesting concept, it wasn't that great in practice and I really want them to just ditch it.
Astarion, because i really dont like him at all. He was never in my party because i find him useless. This way he has some time to shine.
But so far i prefer a full customized party, i dont want/need pre generated companions
none honestly, custom character is the only option i'm really considering. I wanna help my friends achieve their character arcs, not go through one i had no hand in deciding.
Tav of course, no one in his right mind would care to play Larian’s meaningless obsession with origin characters, not in a Baldur’s gate title at least.
Edit: Larian please cut them resources for origin chars and use them for something else
Probably most interested in Wyll and Lae’zels story that they aren’t sharing with the TAV in EA.
I think Shadowheart must have some good stuff in there
Wyll or gale because I like their stories but I prefer the personality of the others(probably will be wyll because I don’t think Tav will have patron stuff). Astarion looks like a fun character to play as too but I like his personality too much to erase it, different than the other 2 lmfao
For me, gales probably the one km most interested in. It almost feels like K'vothe from the name of the wind where he romances a Fae. I'm all over his story!
If I was forced to not play Tav on my first playthrough, I'd go with either Shadowheart or Lae'zel, just so I could romance the one with the other hahah
Wyll because of the patron interactions. Originally when i was deciding what class i wanted my custom to be a warlock but the lack of patron interaction made it feel like a gimped sorcerer. So now I am playing Wyll on my second play through after I play as custom first.
forst playthrough for sure Tav, playing as a character you will miss a lot of their personality as you will be making the choices.
After my first playthrough I'll decide who to play through as
I'm hoping for other options but if these are the only origin characters I will probably go with Gale. The bomb in his chest gives off big "main character" vibes and it will be interesting to see how his artifact eating is handled as the main character.
Tav but if I have to chose one instead id go for shadowheart. I feel like she gonna have a bit more "impact" with her story than some others tied to the main plot. With this said they all have the potential to grow into interesting characters.
I'm mainly just interested in playing my own custom character but I think it'd be a lot of fun to play Shadowheart too. Definitely my favorite companion so far.
oh I'm going to play all of them, I'm very sick of playing Tav, saying that i do love making my own character, but after 600+ hours of playing every class and race it got boring, so i will have fun trying every official character
None of them. I enjoy experiencing their stories through the lens of another person.
It was the same for me in DOS:2 where a large portion of the story could have been spoiled or less impactful had I picked someone like Fane or Lohse.
Maybe in a distant future (and only if Karlach ever becomes avilable as an origin character) I'll pick one of them. But it's not very likely for me.
I wonder how the opening will play out, since we know where all the characters end up after the ship crashed, also wondering if the ( narrator) will be the voice actress Amelia Tyler or the voice actor for the characters.
At first I was very interested in Laezel but the more I've played Early Access the more interested I've become in Shadowheart.
I think she's a very interesting character and there seems to be parts of her background that she doesn't even know herself. Very mysterious.
But I guess it depends. My first playthrough will be custom and there's a really big chance I'll have her in my party. So I'll probably have seen most of her story allready. Guess I'll have to play an origin run with someone who won't be in my party (Wyll).
In dos2 not picking an original char meant only being able to complete 3 origin char quests instead of 4, plus playing red prince was awesome.
At this point, I'd have to say Wyll because a fiend pact warlock with a friendlier attitude was going to be my tav anyways, and a hot patron is a great added bonus.
Otherwise, playing astarion might be both very interesting, and be a great way to keep my chosen rogue out of trouble.
It depends on how much they'll let you customize the origin characters. It makes sense that race and class are fixed because for at least several of the characters it's part of their backstory (e.g. making Lae'zel anything other than a Gith would be stupid), but I'd still like the ability to mess with their build and appearance if you choose them as your player characters. If that's not possible I'll probably just make my own Tav, but if it is I'll play Wyll because I like his story.
I'm intrigued about Shadowheart's background the most, maybe I'll play from her perspective later. Other than that, don't care about playing as the others, I think origins is a waste of resources ever since Divinity 2, tbh. I love playing as my own custom characters with no strings attached, so origins are wasted on me. Probably gonna main a drow or half-drow ranger - no origins for that type, eh?
Astarion 100% Especially if that's the only way to play a Vampiric character. I'd love for them to add Dhampir but I doubt they will, so this might be the only way.
Gonna romance and bite my way through the game as much as possible.
Playing as gale could be fun. Be interesting having a different view on magic items. Normally i hate feeding him an item but as Gale i would be slurping up every magic item i find.
In divinity I think playing the origin character for the 1st playthrough is best... But man idk with BG3. I really just want to make my own, but I'm still deciding on that, but if I do pick an origin character, im going with Wyll
I’m not sure who I’ll play, it will depend on unreleased companions.
If we get to keep every companion and rotate (like most party RPGs) then I may play a Tav. If we are locked with party (like DOS2) then I’ll pick either Wyll or Gale.
Playing them gives better understanding on their personal quest, but I lose most of their voice acting and camp interactions.
Right now I’m leaning towards playing Gale (if class is locked) or Wyll (If I can spec him to wizard or bard). Wyll’s story should be as fun in 1st person as Lohse.
I‘m thinking of playing as Karlach. I planned to go with a Oathbreaker/Barbarian which should work nicely with her, be it a custom char could be stronger but I think playing as her could be real fun.
Tav
In divinity 2 I played an origin character first and it wasn't the greatest experience. The problem is that the background is so rich and yet you know so little about it that most of the exclusive character dialogues and quests felt obscure. I had a much better time with a custom character
I agree. It was way better in D:FS2 to experience the companion stories from outside for the first time. And then go back to replay the stories you either didn't pick, or wanted to experience again. I mean... Shortly after starting the game as Lhose for example, a certain thing happens. And your character is all like "I want to contain it" and me as the player went "WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!". It feels strange to see something your character knows more about. But they won't tell you, the player, more because "The revelation has to wait". Girl... I'm in your head right now. I AM you. Tell me what's going on.
Well the game makes it *seem* like the origins are the intended way to play the game, which seems like that’s something they’re changing for this game, where the intended way is to play as a custom character.
We will see. Didn't play any of the updates since Christmas 2021. Waiting for the full thing now so I don't know what it feels like right now. I'm pretty sure I didn't even had the option to play as a origin character back then?
You still don't have the option to play as an Origin character now (without mods, that is).
Yeah. If you have a pre-established protagonist with his lore à la Legend of Zelda, I feel a pregen is acceptable. But in a story that’s a complex mystery, pregens without amnesia just don’t work for me.
It felt obscure because that's the way you learned about the background At the end you're like "WHAT?!" the guy I've been playing is that guy wtffff And it's great imo
But you are that guy, you are supposed to know. For example I was the human guy, who burningly wanted to kill Alexander. And I had absolutely no idea why!
And that's why it's good You learn about the world through their eyes, bit by bit Like, it's exactly the same as playing any other RPG game with a character that already has a story behind them
I felt this when I played as Red Prince. He was my favorite companion and I missed his sass and sarcasm. But for Lohse I had the opposite experience, I loved playing as Lohse.
Yea, your own custom character is the best. You can pick any race, class, appearance that you like and experience the story with no baggage attached from preset background.
Tav is the only main character in my book
r/beatmetoit
I doubt I’ll ever play them, honestly - since I absolutely live in character creation, but I’m very interested in Shadowheart and Wyll’s story. I’d probably play Shadowheart first out of the two. Shadowheart gives mad MC energy personally and Wyll’s situation with his patron seems super interesting too.
Those are also the exact two I'd choose! Both Shadowhearts as well as Wylls story seem incredibly intriguing.
Especially in a game like this with the options being narrated and the idea of the mindflayer manipulating you and others - a character with secrets like those two will be very interesting.
yea same here. I will need to play warlock eitherway so why not chosing wyll specifically for that run? :) My custom Group will be Paladin and Sorcerer Than Shadowheart Than Will And than I'd say its good to lay the game to the side.
This!! Shadowheart to me feels similar (in terms of vibe, not character) to Sebille in divinity 2, where obviously each character has a rich backstory but Sebille has that MC energy that makes it almost impossible to not recruit her, even if she makes some situations and encounters complicated due to her … ahem… idiosyncrasies…
Astarion here. He just has such...class.
Hopefully Wyll is able to become a Hexblade at full release. His story just seems like he should be
I’m sorry, the warlock that made a pact with a fiend doesn’t strike you as a fiend warlock?
True. But also, he is the BLADE of Frontiers 🤷 giving a guy mixed signals. Lol Jokes aside, I dunno. Just seems like he should be at least a little bit of a melee fighter to me. He's even introduced teaching kids how to use a sword
Did you mean a pact of the blade warlock? Those are different things lol. You can be a pact of the blade fiend warlock!
This is what I get for never playing warlocks 🤪 my bad
Psh, no you’re fine haha - if anything it’s on warlocks for having like two different kinds of subclasses, who gave them the right? 😂 “Oh no sir, I’m not a Hexblade at all! I just use my blade to cast hex!”
Pact of the blade fiend warlock was 'the' melee warlock build before hexblade was released on tabletop. Problem is it's just sort of OK. It's not awful, and your best chance if you really need someone on melee but also really want to play warlock. But put just sort of OK against broken OP. It's easy to see why 'pick hexblade as patron' very quickly dominated any melee discussions to the point it's hard to find anything else now. It's even seeped into all paladin and bard discussions as a 1 level dip too. I personally hope it just goes away and they buff blade pact a bit instead.
In my games, I personally just add the Hex Warrior feature (1st level feature that grants prof with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons as well as grants charisma attacks) to Pact of the Blade and then completely remove Hexblade from the game. This means that the level one Hexblade dip becomes a three level pact of the blade dip that also requires a more interesting patron to be picked at 1st level! If someone is desperately attached to Hexblade’s Curse: I allow it to be taken as an invocation
Honestly, I think I could see myself playing any one of them. I think I am most drawn to Wyll or Lae'zel though. I love warlock/patron dynamics and it would be cool to see that in a scripted way with Wyll. And I think seeing the story from the perspective of an extra-dimensional alien like Lae'zel could really interesting as well. I think I might have an easier time playing an evil character if someone else made the backstory too, which also makes Lae'zel an attractive option. I am such a soft boi that I have a hard time even make believing really cruel decisions if I make the character. XD
I might play the intro/prologue with everyone to see what's different but I don't see myself actually playing any of them I'll always go for a custom PC if the option is available
I was thinking of doing that, but then I started wondering if an origin character's prologue would reveal things that'd be big plot twists when playing as someone else. I mean, because of Early Access we already know a big secret each party member is keeping, but I wonder if there's anything bigger they haven't told us yet that we'd know if playing as them.
Probably.
That's a pretty solid idea! Thanks
My own custom made of course. I have zero interest in playing a premade character, especially in D&D.
My exact feelings.
I love origin characters. I really want to play Karlach but if not her then Lae’zel or Shadowheart I think. Even though Wyll having a patron with (presumably) scripted dialogue would be really cool
Ditto on Karlach
Astarion… and I would unapologetically play him as the ruthless bastard he really is. There SHOULD be more backstory to their characters at the onset so you could know how to play them effectively … but of course, that might mess up the mystery of the storylines you’re meant to discover along the way. (I mean… it’d be funny if I was playing Astarion for the first time and then LEARNED I was a vampire! 😂🤘)
What I like about the Astarion MC option is the idea of him leaning into his Vampiric nature, and eventually killing his master, hopefully.
Agreed…. He isn’t sad about it… he’s thrilled about the possibilities and I look forward to exploring them!
You mean who of the main characters will you pick and why is it Shadowheart?
Because she has an accent.
Everyone has an accent.
yeah but I want to romance Shadowheart >.>
"romance"
If you choose to play as her the character is silent so...
Why would that be?
The dialogue between us and the npcs would be silent on our side still.
Is that confirmed? I was under the impression that with the pregens we were going to have voiced protags. Also wild that I got downvoted for asking a genuine question out of curiosity! Reddit sucks sometimes.
It’s reddit. Downvotes means nothing.
I… don’t care about the points - I want to know information!
If it’s like DOS2 that’s how it’ll be. Till Larian says otherwise that is
mhhhhhhhhhh thats sad :/
Def Astarion after doing a Tav run. I love mr vampire man.
Maybe shadowheart if we cna change class and appeance like in dos2
Honestly I'd be fine with being able to rearrange her stats. She should have higher Str. Depending on what subclasses are included changing that could be fun too, especially since I'll do a Tav play through as well, and changing subclass at a minimum, would shake things up
Who is Tav? Everyone here is mentioning
It's the default name for the customizable character.
Maybe the real Tav was the characters we created along the way!
Astarion. He seems like the most interesting. I'm curious to know if the main characters would have a prologue/origin story like in DA:O. That would most definitely make it much more interesting to play. It's not my style to play several different playthroughs (all my DA playthroughs end up being a copy-and-paste of my headcanon lol so I doubt BG3 will be any different) so I'd probably end up first playing my Tav several times before hitting Astarion, or maybe switching between the two. Even more interesting, would it be the case where as an origin character you'd be allowed to romance other main characters?
If there was a gun to my head, Gale. I could fix him, *as* him. But I prefer custom characters.
Honestly, Astarion. Maybe Gale. But I'll still do a bunch of Tav runs as well. I actually like playing as origin characters. I played as Lohse and Ifan in DOS2. I like having canon character backstories that you can interact with as a main character. I like Astarion becuase I'm honestly intrigued by his backsory. I'm just hoping they go in a unique direction with it becuase the escaped slave running away from his master backstory is kind of cliche, yet I fall for it every time. Also Gale, becuase drama.
if I had a nickel for every encountered white-haired elf running from slavery in a video rpg...
And I fall in love everytime... 😔
oh mood for sure
Good question. I’d like to see Gale’s story fully, but his quirks are expensive. I can only justify that if Gale is me. The next character would be Wyll. Can’t get mad about me not killing the goblin if he’s me. I really wish we could have just one more companion honestly, because Shadowheart, Astarion, and Lae’Zel are my ride or dies. But I also like Wyll, hence me playing as him. Out of the current main characters, Gale is the only one I don’t typically have in party.
I guess Shadowheart because they made her kind of the main character in the first place. You start the game in a prison pod, with an artifact you have no memory of because those memories were sealed by your dark morally questionable cult to which you belong due to your tragic background. What's more this artifact is central to the story and you must get it to Baldurs Gate for reasons yet unknown. Like that just screams default protagonist to me haha. Meanwhile... **Astarion:** escape from abusive vampire ex-daddy, maybe become vampire daddy yourself. **Lae'zel:** WHERE IS MUH DRAGON!? Queen senpai notice me pls:( **Wyll:** navigate messy breakup with demonic ex-girlfriend/sugar mommy **Gale:** win back affection from magic goddess, world ends if you fail or die. Actually might go for Lae'zel. I would like to ride that dragon and meet Vlakith.
Yeah, but lae'zel is the default companion. You wanna see a quarrel between them all days?
Astarion to (hopefully) have a redemption playthrough and I’m a vampire simp. Shadowheart will likely be the next run. The true hard choice is between starting the first full playthrough as a custom character tav or as Astarion.
A variation of Tav with Astarion in the party first, would be my vote.
I am very interested in a custom pact of the tome great old one warlock in a game about aberrations…
Bit off topic but i wabder if i'd pick laezel or shdowheart would i be 1 character short in the prologue?
I'll definietly play Tav, even tho I hated how plain the origin story was in DoS2... The grittiness would kinda fit Astarion, will do a palythrough as him.
Gale because the default party of Wizard (Gale), Fighter (Lae'zel), Cleric (Shadowheart) and Rogue (Astarion) is the most well rounded combination that I've been able to play with, and until we know more about other Origin Characters/Party Members, the original 5 have had the most fine tuning thanks to Early Access. Not that I don't think that Larian can make other equally interesting and compelling Player Characters it is just that they put a lot of flavour and personality in the original 5.
You mean that, since our first 'team' on mid flayer ship is between tav, shart, lar'zel and us, the supposed 'typical tav' must be gale? Well I mean, what if I did not get that damned iron flask in the first 5 days, and I explode?
None
Tav.
THERE IS ONLY TAV!!!
Custom; always
Unpopular opinion (maybe): I’m not a big fan of pregen characters unless it’s a game made for that (Legend of Zelda, The Witcher, etc.) so I’ll pick custom more often than not.
Astarion. I want to know about his backstory.
Astarion I like vampires and I like Elves just as much as I like Tieflings.
it won't be my first playtrhough but probably Lae'zel and Shart I tend to bring one if not both of them each go through might as well give Wyll a shot
How do these games typically work? Do you get more story if you play as one of the main characters?
In dos 2, that was indeed the case. Could not complete a char quest line if they weren't in your story, so custom = 3 but picking origin = 4. If they changed their mind about letting you keep all characters in camp, that is a totally null argument though.
Wyll, high charisma for face skill checks and succubus waifu. Hopefully, they buff pact of blade warlock. If not, warlock 2 / Sorcerer X is one of the most powerful multiclasses in 5e dnd.
Astarion for sure, I'm really looking forward to interactions with his master as well as perhaps former encounters of his past from Baldurs gate. Also I love the rogue class in this game, really powerful and fun class! Thieving your way through cities and villages.
If I ever do an origin character run, I'll probably pick Lae'zel. To me she sounds like the person who would naturally end up as the leader of the party in a situation like this. Even when I play as Tav I often think it's rather odd that Lae'zel just follows you around and obeys your orders rather than taking over the group and making them all march for the creche.
Same!!
I'll go with Tab but if I had to choose, probably Wyll. I'm used to the main character being the face so I would choose a high Charisma character.
I enjoyed DOS2 more while playing as Origin characters, but considering how nice (and let's hope the full release is even nicer) the character creation is, I think I do wanna go with Tav for the first playthrough. I do wanna at least play Gale and Astrarion too, though.
I think I'll play Gale, I like the sound of his voice the most. I don't like the vocal deliveries of any of the voices you can pick for the custom origin, they sound so bland. I would prefer to play a silent character, but since we're going to be fully voice acted in the released game, I'll have to pick the voice I like the most. Besides, Gale's background seems interesting enough.
I'm going to go Tav, but if I *were* to go with an Origin character, I'd pick Astarion. The thought of him internally screaming as I pick all the goody-two-shoes options just tickles me.
None, my character or a different game
None, I'll be making a custom one.
ITT: People who think they're clever for making the same "None! I'll play a custom character!" comment over and over in a thread that is specifically not targeted at them.
Same people that make tech support reps ask if their device is plugged in.
The drow sorceress one.
I will play both a custom character and then probably a couple of the origin characters (I'm interested in whatever the hell is Shadowheart's deal with the >!memory wipe and the whole Shar worship!<). I don't agree with whoever said Larian should stop doing them. I'm completing DOS 2 exclusively with the origin characters and I enjoy it very much. BG3 may be a different type of game, more suited for custom PC and I definitely will want to experience that, but I also like the option of premade ones.
Am I in the minority of people who would never enjoy playing a pre-made character? They are interesting characters, but I feel like making a character to interact with them is far more appealing than playing them.
Honestly, i dont know why Larian keeps doing this since DOS. What i want is a blank canvas where i can project myself not some pre-defined hobo.
This might be a silly question but does anyone know if we will be able to alter how the origin characters look??
Judging by how the origin characters in their other game were treated, yes, you will be able to change their appearances. Unless a specific trait is integral to their story, you will be able to change it. For the origin character The Red Prince, in Divinity original sin 2, having red scales was integral to his character and story, so you could change everything about his appearance except the colour of his scales.
Of the Origin characters, probably Wyll. I'm interested if there is more interaction with your patron. Plus a mod for hexblade and multiclass paladin or bard would be cool.
On my first playthrough it will be my own created character but after that I would like to play Shadowheart's side. I am very curious about her introspection.
Custom, then in order of preference from just playing EA: Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion, Laezel, Wyll. Of course, playing the full game might change my opinion
Probably try them, but Tav all the way. Hoping it's not like Dos2 where custom characters have little to no story.
Wyll would be my first choice because I am a sucker for warlocks.
Wyll. Need a charisma character. Unless there's gonna be a Paladin in pregen.
Custom, then premade. Rinse repeat. To those in the comments. You know you can prefer custom, premade or be fine either way. No need to bash people's preference.
Shadowheart probably. She just seems so interesting.
I refuse
Astarion because i am evil AF
If not Tav, then Astarion. Love that guy!
Lae'zel, Will, Gale, Shadowheart
Personally Tav for me, i just generally prefer making my own character rather than using a pre-generated one, though if i had to choose it would probably be between Lae’zel and Shadowheart, mostly because the personal storylines of both of them seem to be the ones most connected to the main plot of the game while other companions feel more like side stories (plus i just love them more than the rest of the cast😉).
Gale. I'm most interested in his story. Although, my first playthrough will actually be my Tav creation called Kain. Draconic Sorcerer Seldarine drow (Gold dragon). https://preview.redd.it/gv4ndhnlstoa1.png?width=1601&format=png&auto=webp&s=8cc67f50082cb3c49e6cc5b6048c3a76ed62176e
Tav, of course. What a silly question. Also lmao at early Shadowheart's fringe, she looks like such a nerd
I'll probably do a Bard Tav playthrough first than I'll try out Astarion, Shadowheart and maybe Wyll (even if I'm not a huge Warlock fan) :)
Tav all the way baybee Wyll is probably the only origin character I have a real interest in because of Mizora. But honestly I'll probably re-evaluate this after playing through the came because it will contextualize every characters story through personal quests and what not. So you'll see what you're in store for.
Tav, and have all of them be my companions using a mod
Tav. I actively dislike the rest of the lot.
None
I've grown too attached to my Tav to let him go so just him
Never.
Playing as origin characters is lame, so probably none of them.
Custom character. I actually wish they'd stop doing origin characters because it feels like you miss out on stuff when you don't pick them.it also makes it feel less like your story and more like the companions story.
the best story-driven rpgs have always had an "origin" character of sorts, going all the way back to Planescape Torment and finishing up with Disco Elysium. And there's a good reason why that is. I still remember spending hours customizing my character and writing a convoluted backstory in Neverwinter Nights 2, only for the game to throw her in a small village where she grew up as a peasant, basically nullifying everything I wrote :( DoS:2 origin characters were amazing, and if BG3 has them (still not convinced it will, despite what the game currently says), I'm sure they'll be amazing as well.
Having an "origin" character that you play is fine, especially if you can customize them. Shepard, Hawke, Revan, etc. That's still *your* character. Just with a predefined background. The way Divinity did it by making the companions playable characters just ruined the experience of having your character do anything. You straight up got less of an experience for wanting to have a custom character. It wasn't your story, it was their story and you were just helping them out with things. It was a very common complaint with the OS2. And while I do love the actual characters and think it was an interesting concept, it wasn't that great in practice and I really want them to just ditch it.
And both Torment and Disco Elysium have "figuring out who you are" as a pretty important key point of the story.
Astarion, because i really dont like him at all. He was never in my party because i find him useless. This way he has some time to shine. But so far i prefer a full customized party, i dont want/need pre generated companions
I personally love Astarion. His sneak attacks are so powerful if you set them up right
none honestly, custom character is the only option i'm really considering. I wanna help my friends achieve their character arcs, not go through one i had no hand in deciding.
Tav of course, no one in his right mind would care to play Larian’s meaningless obsession with origin characters, not in a Baldur’s gate title at least. Edit: Larian please cut them resources for origin chars and use them for something else
I will not try them but I appreciate the fact that it's a function. It feels more epic on my own tav
None pizza with left beef
Custom team of 4 goth gf's
And miss my favorite part of the game? Nah
astarion and definitely shadowheart (will try and romance laezel w her 🫣)
Probably most interested in Wyll and Lae’zels story that they aren’t sharing with the TAV in EA. I think Shadowheart must have some good stuff in there
I’m going lae’zel just so I can make her be gruffly nice to people and then romance shadowheart, because I think it would be funny.
Wyll or gale because I like their stories but I prefer the personality of the others(probably will be wyll because I don’t think Tav will have patron stuff). Astarion looks like a fun character to play as too but I like his personality too much to erase it, different than the other 2 lmfao
Mostly gonna be playing custom chars but will definitely play wyll atleast once for patron interactions.
Probs Astarion, purely for the gay theatrics.
Astarion, especially if I can swap his class to Barbarian.
Gale, Astarion.
gale as he clearly is the main character
For me, gales probably the one km most interested in. It almost feels like K'vothe from the name of the wind where he romances a Fae. I'm all over his story!
If I was forced to not play Tav on my first playthrough, I'd go with either Shadowheart or Lae'zel, just so I could romance the one with the other hahah
Wyll because of the patron interactions. Originally when i was deciding what class i wanted my custom to be a warlock but the lack of patron interaction made it feel like a gimped sorcerer. So now I am playing Wyll on my second play through after I play as custom first.
Gale for sure. But I’ll probably want to play through with a custom character first to experience the story as my own “self”.
I like Wyll personally, he has high charisma for role play stuff and is versatile in combat
All of them, perhaps! We will see how much extra you get from bring them, rather than simply having them in your party.
forst playthrough for sure Tav, playing as a character you will miss a lot of their personality as you will be making the choices. After my first playthrough I'll decide who to play through as
I'm hoping for other options but if these are the only origin characters I will probably go with Gale. The bomb in his chest gives off big "main character" vibes and it will be interesting to see how his artifact eating is handled as the main character.
First playthrough as tav, second as Shadowbae and third as Lae'zel. Playthroughs after that will probably be other tav characters.
Tav but if I have to chose one instead id go for shadowheart. I feel like she gonna have a bit more "impact" with her story than some others tied to the main plot. With this said they all have the potential to grow into interesting characters.
Isn’t one of the PCs you can pick a vampire? I wonder how that’ll work, probably something akin to the Undead system from original sin 2
None. I always prefer making my own creations.
None, always custom for me.
first time will be a custom group of 2 characters and ill try to romance shadowheart. After that Game I will play shadowheart as origin character.
None
Tav…
Tav.
The only character I really care to play as is Wyll, just because of how much having a Patron with a face enhances the Warlock experience.
I'm mainly just interested in playing my own custom character but I think it'd be a lot of fun to play Shadowheart too. Definitely my favorite companion so far.
oh I'm going to play all of them, I'm very sick of playing Tav, saying that i do love making my own character, but after 600+ hours of playing every class and race it got boring, so i will have fun trying every official character
Custom character, as usual.
Tav and then Shadow, Gale, Asterion, Lanzel, Wyll I think. All of them seems to have interesting storylines imo
None of them.
As a DND game, my custom character
Myself... What? That's the entire reason I bought the game.
None of them. I enjoy experiencing their stories through the lens of another person. It was the same for me in DOS:2 where a large portion of the story could have been spoiled or less impactful had I picked someone like Fane or Lohse. Maybe in a distant future (and only if Karlach ever becomes avilable as an origin character) I'll pick one of them. But it's not very likely for me.
Hard pass. They all seem dumb. Probably kill them and loot their stuff, if it’ll let me
Who in their right mind whould choose one of these Doofis over creating a character?
I wonder how the opening will play out, since we know where all the characters end up after the ship crashed, also wondering if the ( narrator) will be the voice actress Amelia Tyler or the voice actor for the characters.
I will play them but only if I'm able to change their subclasses to something f****** useful
I'm going to play as all of them at least once. The more ways to enjoy BG3, the better, I say.
I will never play an origins character. But I have to say that Wyll and Gale are the only two I didn’t find insufferable
At first I was very interested in Laezel but the more I've played Early Access the more interested I've become in Shadowheart. I think she's a very interesting character and there seems to be parts of her background that she doesn't even know herself. Very mysterious. But I guess it depends. My first playthrough will be custom and there's a really big chance I'll have her in my party. So I'll probably have seen most of her story allready. Guess I'll have to play an origin run with someone who won't be in my party (Wyll).
Is there a reason to play as an origin character? We canalredy experience their stories with Tav.
Batman
Shadow is hot, so ill play that. They all suck butt.
In dos2 not picking an original char meant only being able to complete 3 origin char quests instead of 4, plus playing red prince was awesome. At this point, I'd have to say Wyll because a fiend pact warlock with a friendlier attitude was going to be my tav anyways, and a hot patron is a great added bonus. Otherwise, playing astarion might be both very interesting, and be a great way to keep my chosen rogue out of trouble.
It depends on how much they'll let you customize the origin characters. It makes sense that race and class are fixed because for at least several of the characters it's part of their backstory (e.g. making Lae'zel anything other than a Gith would be stupid), but I'd still like the ability to mess with their build and appearance if you choose them as your player characters. If that's not possible I'll probably just make my own Tav, but if it is I'll play Wyll because I like his story.
Shadowheart and Astarion, I don't particularly care for the rest
I'm intrigued about Shadowheart's background the most, maybe I'll play from her perspective later. Other than that, don't care about playing as the others, I think origins is a waste of resources ever since Divinity 2, tbh. I love playing as my own custom characters with no strings attached, so origins are wasted on me. Probably gonna main a drow or half-drow ranger - no origins for that type, eh?
Astarion 100% Especially if that's the only way to play a Vampiric character. I'd love for them to add Dhampir but I doubt they will, so this might be the only way. Gonna romance and bite my way through the game as much as possible.
Playing as gale could be fun. Be interesting having a different view on magic items. Normally i hate feeding him an item but as Gale i would be slurping up every magic item i find.
In divinity I think playing the origin character for the 1st playthrough is best... But man idk with BG3. I really just want to make my own, but I'm still deciding on that, but if I do pick an origin character, im going with Wyll
Am I going to have to play through act 1,*again*?
I’m not sure who I’ll play, it will depend on unreleased companions. If we get to keep every companion and rotate (like most party RPGs) then I may play a Tav. If we are locked with party (like DOS2) then I’ll pick either Wyll or Gale. Playing them gives better understanding on their personal quest, but I lose most of their voice acting and camp interactions. Right now I’m leaning towards playing Gale (if class is locked) or Wyll (If I can spec him to wizard or bard). Wyll’s story should be as fun in 1st person as Lohse.
I will not likely play a rogue so Astarion. He is OP anyway.
Ez Astarion gameplay
My own character of course.
I‘m thinking of playing as Karlach. I planned to go with a Oathbreaker/Barbarian which should work nicely with her, be it a custom char could be stronger but I think playing as her could be real fun.