In Baldur’s Gate 3 you can recruit a total of 10 different companions for your adventures. In an interview with IGN, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke revealed that there could have been many more, including one of the biggest villains of the game.
Attention Spoiler: The following discusses characters and events from Acts 2 and 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3. Those who are not there yet and do not want to know anything are warned!
Who is the villain? The antagonist that Swen Vincke talks about is none other than the final boss of Act 2 himself: Ketheric Thorm. Alongside Orin and Gortash, he is the third leader of the Cult of the Absolute and the chosen one of the god of decay Myrkul.
Before his days as the general of the Cult of the Absolute, he was a devoted follower of the moon goddess Selûne. However, after the tragic death of his wife and daughter, he turned to the opposite goddess Selûne, Shar. After the triggering of the Shadow Curse, he surrendered to Myrkul, who was supposed to resurrect his daughter.
You will encounter him in the game in the Towers of the Moonrise, where he holds court. Regardless of whether you are playing a good or evil run: sooner or later you will have to fight him, as you need his crystal.
Swen Vincke on companions and content that didn’t make it
What would his role have looked like? According to Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larian Studios, Ketheric Thorm could have become a companion: If you have completed the quests surrounding the Night Song, you confront Ketheric. The fight lasts a total of three phases, but if the content had not been cut, it would have led to the villain being recruited to your team:
When you play the game, there can be a moment where you can convince him and you see the moment he breaks. That should lead to his inclusion in the team.
We cut that when we were rewriting. It was part of the correction of Act 2 when we got bogged down. That was what happened during the reimagining.
He was actually supposed to be in camp while players dealt with Gortash and Orin. He was supposed to become a source of information about them. You could trust him; you could complete his arc.
But you could also be convinced to switch to his side. So it was a great story, but yes.
Swen Vincke in conversation with IGN, March 25, 2024
What other content didn’t make it into the game? In the interview, Vincke also mentions a few other things that unfortunately fell victim to the cutting room:
- The palace of Vlakith, the queen of the Githyanki
- An astral plane of the Gith
- The Candlekeep, a library where the original Baldur’s Gate started
- A visit to hell
One reason for the many cuts, according to Vincke, is that the maps were originally supposed to be much smaller. They could have included much more and much more diverse terrains in the game. But in doing so, they lacked the pioneering spirit in development. They just had to find a balance.
The interview comes just a few days after Swen Vincke dashed the hopes of many fans by announcing that there would be no DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3 and no Baldur’s Gate 4 from Larian Studios. Although the team of Baldur’s Gate 3 was already working on the DLC.
