BG3: Who are and Origin Characters? Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough

An important decision in Baldur's Gate 3 is to create your own character or choose an Origin Character. On this guide page, you will learn about the main differences between them and, above all, about what can change by choosing a character with a specified origin and appearance.

Differences between Origin Characters and custom heroes

1. A very important element of the character creator in BG3 is the option to determine who you want to play as. You make this choice in the creator's first tab, Origin.
2. The default setting is custom character. This means creating a 100% new character. You can use all options of the creator to customize, e.g. gender, appearance, race, or character class. This is a variant for players who want to have the most control over who they will play.
3. The Origin Character is a pre-made hero chosen from several available. They have specified appearance, race, gender or class. Astarion, Laezel, Gale, Shadowheart, Wyll and Karlach can become Origin Characters. This is a good choice for players who want to use a pre-made character. You can also have greater control over the further shaping of a given character by making important choices.
4. Choosing an Origin Character changes their role - they become the main protagonist of the game. For obvious reasons, the given character will no longer appear as a companion in the game world. For example, if you choose Lae'zel in the creator, you will not meet the Githyanki on board Nautiloid or in the cage in act 1. You will be playing as her from the very beginning.
5. Not all companions from the game are available as characters that can be selected in the creator. For example, Minsc or Jaheira are people who can join your party only after finding them in the game world and successfully recruiting them.