It’s highly unlikely that you uncovered every single secret and piece of lore in your first playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Even the most seasoned RPG player is bound to miss something due to the impressive attention to detail Larian applied when developing the game. With BG3 soon approaching its second anniversary, players are still discovering content that they’ve never experienced before.
BG3 is heavily character-driven, and your experience can completely change given the companions you decide to take with you. Characters have a variety of complex interpersonal relationships, and it’s easy to miss out on the tension and history between two beloved character. By the time you reach the end of the third act, you may not have obtained some interesting information from one of the late-stage companions.
Minsc Met The Emperor Before The Events Of BG3
The Emperor Is Hesitant To Protect Minsc, And There’s A Big Reason Why
When the player first recruits Minsc in BG3, they may realize that the Emperor is reluctant to place him under his protection. On a surface level, he justifies this as being due to Minsc’s chaotic and unpredictable nature, which he doesn’t want to take risks with. However, his reasoning seems to actually go quite a bit deeper than this. Minsc has met the Emperor before and doesn’t trust him, since he suspects that he’s up to his old tricks.
His history with the mind flayer isn’t exactly hidden information, but it’s easily missed by not asking Minsc about it. The Emperor once appeared to Minsc in the same way he appears to the player as the Dream Guardian, but he took the face of his deceased friend, Dynaheir. Minsc at first thought he had been reunited with her but eventually realized that the Emperor was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear, which was too out of character for Dynaheir.
Minsc’s undying trust in his comrades seems to be a common weakness for him, as he is similarly tricked by the doppelgänger who takes Jaheira’s face.
Despite everything, I think this shows that Minsc, at least on a subconscious level, is smarter than he is given credit for. Minsc has a strong sense of justice, so the Emperor knows how reluctant he will be to work with him after what happened between them. The Emperor’s plan relies on the cooperation of the party, yet it’s evident that Minsc would never allow himself to be manipulated by him again. Minsc always strives to do what is right and prefers freeing Orpheus over siding with the Emperor, as it’s the morally correct thing to do.
Who Was Dynaheir In Previous Baldur’s Gate Games?
Minsc’s First Witch Companion Who Met A Tragic End Before BG3
As you may very well know if you’re a fan of the Baldur’s Gate series as a whole, Dynaheir is a character from previous installments of the franchise. She was actually once a companion character like Minsc, Jaheria, and Viconia, though she’s not as relevant in BG3 as they are. Like Minsc, Dynaheir was from Rashemen, and she was a powerful witch, otherwise known as a Wychlaran by the Rashemi people.
“The Wychlaran: Wise women of Rashemen, each bonded to a berserker bodyguard for life. There is no higher title, nor deeper bond, in all of Rashemaar custom.” – Baldur’s Gate 3 Narrator
As a berserker, Minsc was sworn to protect her, but at the start of BG2, she was killed in her efforts to defend him. He has felt deep grief over this ever since, as the connections between Wychlarans and berserkers are typically unbreakable. Minsc later has another BG2 companion, Aerie, as his witch, and he can declare Jaheira to be his new witch in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s Minsc’s opinion that such a bond cannot be wasted and that the best way to honor the dead is to continue to protect the living.
Dream Guardians Aren’t Limited To The Player
The Emperor Knows The Best Ways To Get into Your Companions’ Heads
This is not the only example of companions describing their guardians. Karlach describes hers as being a “Golden Paladin,” while Gale will always refer to his guardian as being a “she,” no matter the gender of the player’s guardian. It’s possible that Larian originally planned for the Emperor to trick Gale in a similar fashion to how he treated Minsc by taking the form of Mystra, though there would likely be more dialogue about Gale being visited by the goddess if this were true. Still, the Emperor may have taken on a form that reminds him of her.
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The act of designing the dream guardian is a clever tactic to make sure that they fully appeal to the player, so it’s interesting to think about how the Emperor would choose to appear to the rest of the companions. I’d quite like to know more about Lae’zel’s in particular, since she is the least open to trusting and discussing her guardian. Minsc’s experiences with his dream visitor truly put the questionable morality of the Emperor’s actions in Baldur’s Gate 3 in the spotlight.
Baldur’s Gate 3
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Larian Studios
- Engine
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Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full cross-platform play.
