The Witcher 3’s Geralt Played A Role In This Baldur’s Gate 3’s Character Design

Highlights

Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Witcher 3 are different in gameplay, but share deep characters and narratives in epic fantasy settings.
Characters in BG3, like Minthara, evolved during development.
The Dream Guardian in BG3, inspired by Geralt and a spider, went through changes, much like other characters in the game.

Side by side, there aren’t a lot of similarities between The Witcher 3 and Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3. While The Witcher is an open-world action RPG, BG3 leans more heavily into its turn-based CRPG. However, both do share incredibly deep characters and brilliantly written narratives woven into an epic fantasy universe.

It’s safe to say that Baldur’s Gate 3 has undergone some changes since its early access days, as do most games throughout this development period, but it seems as though Geralt has made an impact on one BG3 character’s initial design before they evolved into how players see them today.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Minthara Actor Discusses Character’s Hidden Depth And Early Access Appearance

Baldur’s Gate 3’s actor Emma Gregory talks about how Minthara isn’t “just a one-dimensional, evil killing machine.”

The Evolution of The Guardian in BG3

Speaking at MCM Comic Con last weekend as part of a panel (via The Gamer), Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor for the male Dream Guardian, Ethan Reid, discussed how his audition process developed while reading for the role. For those who played the early access release of BG3, they will have noticed some character design changes, like Minthara for instance, and it seems the Dream Guardian also succumbed to these alterations.

“They sent me a picture of Geralt and a spider and were like, ‘These are the themes’,” Reid expresses. “His lines were kind of like dark, gothic. So I did them, sent them off, didn’t hear anything for four months.” While Reid waited to hear back if he got the part or not for a few months, he eventually got the call from Larian Studios. “They put me in the ping pong [mocap] suit, and then didn’t hear for two months and thought, ‘That was torturous’, and then they offered it without telling me what the job was.”

We aren’t too sure what exactly the Geralt/Spider Guardian would look like, but it’s certainly an interesting concept. However, there is a character in BG3 that sounds very similar, so maybe this is where the team got the idea for Kar’niss, a half-man, half-spider who players will meet while entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Many other characters also received a bit of a makeover. Dave Jones, who plays Halsin, said that his character was originally “just a buff guy”, while Karlach, played by Samantha Béart, was a cool lesbian biker.