One Baldur's Gate 3 Character Choice Reveals An Incredible Amount Of Hidden Dialogue (2024)

Trying to experience the majority of what Baldur's Gate 3 has to offer in a single playthrough can be challenging, with plenty of interactions and scenes hiding behind specific choices and opportunities. This branching network of possibilities starts as soon as the character select screen, where some key decisions inform a lot more than just a character's appearance. Picking an Origin character can make jumping into things simpler, but deciding to build a custom character from the ground-up is easily overwhelming for those who aren't used to the Dungeons & Dragons format.

Choosing a specific fantasy race and subrace tweaks the Baldur's Gate 3 experience in a variety of ways, from opening up unique spellcasting options to simply offering basic stat boosts here and there. Everything is well-balanced enough to make choosing according to flavor and style perfectly reasonable, even if minmaxers will want to opt for more specific builds that take advantage of powerful combinations. When it comes to dialogue, race can change Baldur's Gate 3 in a less obvious manner, opening up unique conversation options and spurring NPCs to act in different ways.

Githyanki Have More Unique Dialogue In Baldur's Gate 3

A Data-Driven Comparison Shows A Huge Difference

Not all Baldur's Gate 3 races have comparable amounts of unique interactions, and Reddit user ZaunKonigin did the math to show just how wide the disparity actually is. A chart pulling game data to determine which scenes are affected by each race and subrace shows a mostly steady curve that starts with humans at the bottom and ticks upward through all the more fantastical alternatives. Towering above every other choice is the Githyanki option, which boasts 266 counted scenes compared to the distant second place of 83 achieved by Lolth-sworn drow.

The difference is especially impressive due to the lack of any githyanki subraces, as a good chunk of the tagged scenes for Lolth-sworn drow are specifically triggered by the subrace. In third place, duergar actually gain significantly more scenes from their subrace classification than from the parent category of dwarf. It's worth noting that these numbers may not be entirely accurate, as some scenes that don't actually appear in-game could be in the files, and some scenes that do appear might not be tagged. Even so, the gap established by the data that's available is undeniable.

The Githyanki Difference Makes Sense In BG3 Lore

Githyanki Stand Out In The World & Story

Baldur's Gate 3's unique githyanki interactions make sense when considering basic DnD lore, as githyanki are significantly more likely to receive comments than a dwarf or elf might be. While even the more esoteric options among other races are still native to Faerûn, Githyanki principally live in the Astral Plane, making them completely alien to the average inhabitant of that world. Add the frequently hostile behavior of the militaristic githyanki into the mix, and it's obvious that they're not going to blend seamlessly into most areas found within Baldur's Gate 3.

There's also an inherent aspect of prejudice involved, as the world of Baldur's Gate 3 features plenty of characters who are all too willing to judge others according to specific biases. Races like drow and tieflings that are often viewed with suspicion tend to deal with more hostility, and githyanki end up being significantly affected by this kind of behavior. Not every tag represented in the chart is there for that particular negative reason, however, and a good number are likely to give githyanki characters options to scorn those who they traditionally frown upon as well.

Beyond their place in the DnD universe at large, githyanki have a specifically large role to play within the story of Baldur's Gate 3. Although the details can veer into heavy spoiler territory, significant story elements involving the threat of the Absolute deal with key githyanki characters and beliefs. As long as the companion Lae'zel is recruited to the party, these narrative pieces can play into her personal character arc, but they're relevant to the overarching plot even if she ends up being left behind at the beginning of the game.

Githyanki Characters Can Be A Great BG3 Option

Githyanki Should Be More Popular

Picking Lae'zel as the Origin character is one great way to get a more firsthand githyanki experience, but taking the route of a githyanki custom character could also provide an interesting way to tap more directly into this part of the story. Despite all it has to offer, it's an approach to playing Baldur's Gate 3 that the vast majority of its players haven't experienced. Although there's no particularly fresh data on race choices, an infographic from developer Larian Studios on Twitter revealed that Githyanki only beat out halflings, gnomes, and dwarves in the overall popularity contest.

Getting to experience some extra interactions shouldn't be the primary deciding factor in what Baldur's Gate 3 race to pick, but it's definitely one to consider, especially when it comes to repeat playthroughs. Opting for a githyanki custom character could make for very different scenes than when sticking to the human path. The change can be felt immediately, with the first interaction with Lae'zel at the beginning of the game immediately offering up a unique Githyanki dialogue choice. Downsides don't take long to appear, like Shadowheart's prejudice coming to the forefront, but that likewise contributes to the unique progression.

The variety of unique githyanki scenes is only one of the reasons why the race is worth trying out in Baldur's Gate 3, as githyanki also have some useful class features like the extremely versatile Astral Knowledge. For those who care about story first and foremost, however, the number of unique options that arise from picking githyanki can definitely be the most enticing factor. Every Baldur's Gate 3 class has something unique to contribute, but when it comes to bespoke scenes, it seems like githyanki just can't be beat.

Sources: ZaunKonigin/Reddit, Larian Studios/Twitter

Baldur's Gate 3

Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Platform(s)

PC , Stadia , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Genre(s)

RPG

How Long To Beat

30 Hours