Baldur’s Gate 3 currently has seven Origin characters that you can choose to play as at the start of the game or recruit to your team when you find them during your quest. While players are welcome to craft a character from scratch, an Origin character comes packed with truly unique personal quests that a party full of custom characters doesn’t get. Here are all the Origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 ranked.
Related: How to Create Custom Party Members in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)
Best Origin Characters in BG3, Tier List
- S-Tier – Shadowheart, Astarion
- A-Tier – Karlach, Wyll, The Dark Urge, Lae’zel
- B-Tier – Gale
While all the Origin characters are good, Shadowheart and Astarion are the best because their classes make for great party members and I find their stories to be some of the best. My personal favorite Origin characters, in terms of story, are Karlach and Wyll, but I find that they aren’t as useful or strong in combat compared to Shadowheart and Astarion, but that could be different depending on your custom character’s class.
The Dark Urge is a very interesting Origin character that blends character customization with the unique story, which is really cool. Lae’zel is a very versatile Origin character that’s great in any scenario, but I find her attitude to be kind of insufferable. Gale is a great character in combat and in story, but his major drawback is that he needs to continually eat magical items which isn’t great.
Shadowheart
“A loyal cleric of Shar, Shadowheart is the sole survivor of a holy mission undertaken on the Mistress of the Night’s behest. She alone must deliver a relic of immense power to her coven in Baldur’s Gate, while threatened by a strange new magic that is burgeoning from within.”
Race: High Half-Elf
Class: Cleric
Shadowheart is simply the best. Nobody likes to play Cleric, but they are extremely useful allies to have on your team. Her support and healing spells are unmatched, making her a perfect fit in any party. Plus, I find her story of worshipping Shar to be very interesting.
I don’t recommend it because it can very quickly mess up their personal stories, but if you want to change something about Shadowheart, you can respec every Origin character to change their class, subclass, learned spells, and more.
Astarion
“Astarion prowled the night as a vampire spawn for centuries, serving a sadistic master until a mind flayer parasite freed him from his bonds. Now that he can walk in daylight the game is on, for only his old master stands in the way of him becoming the greatest vampire the world has ever known.”
Race: High Elf
Class: Rogue
Astarion is an amazing Origin character because of his vampiric personal story as well as his effectiveness in combat. Astarion has an extra vampire attack which comes in handy and makes for a fascinating character to get to know.
Karlach
“I was a prisoner, forced to fight in the Blood War. The eternal battle between bad and worse.”
Race: Tiefling
Class: Barbarian
Karlach is one of my personal favorite characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 and it’s mostly because of her story. I think her unique story of being a controlled warrior in the Blood War is really interesting, and she makes for a good Barbarian.
Wyll
“Noble by birth, Wyll made his name as the heroic ‘Blade of Frontiers’. But to become a living legend, he struck a bargain with a devil, a bargain from which he longs to break free before it consumes his soul for good.”
Race: Human
Class: Warlock
While Wyll’s combat role as a Warlock isn’t as powerful as Astarian or Shadowheart, his story as the Blade of Frontiers bound to a devil is one of the best. He’s a charming character that I always have in my party because he is useful and fun to get to know.
Related: Can You Change Appearance in Baldur’s Gate 3?
The Dark Urge
“You remember nothing of your past besides that you walked a path paved with blood. As you venture on, you find yourself inescapably drawn towards unimaginable cruelties. Where do these thoughts come from?”
Race: Dragonborn
Class: Any
The Dark Urge is an Origin character that you get to fully customize. They are known to be Dragonborn, but you can select any class you want. What makes The Dark Urge a unique playthrough for Baldur’s Gate 3 is that they have an unknown impulse for blood and carnage. You can choose to fight this urge, lean into it, or discover where it comes from.
According to the Baldur’s Gate 3 wiki, The Dark Urge can be found in the campaign just like the other Origin characters, but The Dark Urge is the only Origin character that you can’t recruit once you find them.
Lae’zel
“Lae’zel is a ferocious Githyanki warrior, mighty even by the standards of her mind flayer-hunting kind. Faced with transforming into the very monster she’s sworn to destroy, Lae’zel must prove herself worthy of rejoining her people – if they don’t execute her first.”
Race: Githyanki
Class: Fighter
Probably my least favorite character in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Lae’zel simply because her negative attitude and insistence to dislike everyone gets old fast. Though she does warm up to her companion as the story continues, she’s just hard to deal with. However, she is one of the most useful characters to have in your class because Fighters are really powerful.
Gale
“Gale is a wizard prodigy whose love for a goddess made him attempt a dread feat no mortal should. Blighted by the forbidden magic of ancient Netheril, Gale strives to undo the corruption that is overtaking him and win back his goddess’ favour before he becomes a destroyer of worlds.”
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
I like Gale because he is an interesting character that has a fun story tied closely to magic, and he’s a great Wizard on the battlefield, but every so often, you’ll see an exclamation mark over his head and know it’s time to give up one of your powerful magic items to just keep Gale happy. Granted, you find a lot of magical items throughout Baldur’s Gate 3, so you will likely have spare magical items to give to Gale, but it’s a constant chore.
If breaking free from the developer’s molds is more your style, check out which races and classes you can select for non-Origin characters.
