Baldur's Gate 3's Meanest Characters Aren't Who You'd Expect

No party is truly complete without a healthy dose of bickering, but when it comes to the art of trading barbs, the most vicious characters aren't always the most obvious candidates. As a game that's full of moral grays, doesn't only elect do-gooders as potential party members, tossing some downright malicious characters into the mix. Although no one who can be recruited in the game is completely irredeemable, characters like Astarion and Lae'zel are capable of plenty of cutting words.

Overuse can be the death of any conversational technique, however, and Astarion's consistent flippant remarks do tend to lose their edge after a while. He's capable of being truly mean, but cattiness is mostly just his default method of interaction. When other characters step into the same arena and attempt to bring each other down, they sometimes do it with even more edge, and the results are often even more memorable in the long run.

It's possible to majorly influence the fate of Origin characters in Baldur's Gate 3, and there's a choice that turns one into their worst self.

One great example of a typically peaceable character going for the conversational killing blow was noted by Reddit user polspanakithrowaway, who had the good fortune of featuring Halsin and Shadowheart in the same active party in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Halsin, who reveres nature, speaks regretfully of the damage done to the now-dead area, which earns a mocking offer from Shadowheart to make animal noises for him. In turn, he hits her with "," a comeback that even the rudest characters might be jealous of.

It's easy enough to see why both characters are leaping down each other's throats in this scenario, as the Shadow-Cursed Lands represent the work of Shadowheart's goddess and a deep affront to Halsin's sensibilities. Halsin tends to go after Shadowheart's religious beliefs in general, which is a reasonable prerogative considering their nature. It's not the only example of Halsin eviscerating another