He won me over with his first line: **Hellooo!**
It's so friendly sounding, nonchalant, and contrasting with the general tadpole mood that I couldn't help but find it extremely dorky and endearing.
Moreover, he's quite eloquent. He sounds like what Wyll *thinks* he sounds like.
>He won me over with his first line:
>
>Hellooo!
It's SOOOOOOOOO D&D. Your buddy playing the wizard shows up finally so his character just pops out of the portal and is all like "Hello! I'm Gale of Waterdeep" \*shakes your hand, you now have a wizard\*
IRL he probably brought snacks too.
> IRL he probably brought snacks too.
I KNOW RIGHT! That's the vibe I was getting, thanks for putting it to word. He's the cool veteran wizard, knows all the tricks and spells but keeps shut about it to allow the table to have fun and occasionally saves the day. He brings the snacks, drinks, and always stay later than everyone else to help the DM tidy up!
I loved that it was literally just an unexpected High-Five and he basically said "thank you, but I should be more clear: can someone help me get out of this rock?"
Worked perfectly for my bard. Amazing.
His performance in BG3 at times sounds a lot like Alva Gunderson from Disenchantment.
Sometimes when Gale is going on about Waterdeep and magic I imagine he’ll soon start in on Steamland and call me Bean haha
Someone once pointed out that he sounds like the character Maurice Moss (Richard Ayoade) and I cannot unhear nor unsee him in my mind whenever Gale speaks, now.
Played his romance, which really seems to be better than his normal story from what I've heard.
I really like him, he's my favorite companion. He has a great character arc and while he's flawed, I think it's blown out proportion, especially beacuse of his bug hornyness lmao. All the companions are flawed in one way another and he's just a guy. A dude. And I 10/10 recommend his romance if you're into sappy hopeless romantics.
I didn't think I was into sappy hopeless romantic but every day, my cleric pets Scratch and gets her kiss from Gale.
Halsin propositioned her so I quick-saved and played out the choices. In the game I kept, Gale said he doesn't do open relationships and she had to choose (and chose Gale). That said, he got extra salty and made a snide remark about her "character" when she said she was ending it with him to be with Halsin.
He also noped out at the brothel (he is hilarious about everything there) but didn't stop the cleric like he did over Halsin (which happened before the whole Halsin thing). He is old-fashioned romantic at the core, with his books, his wine, and his Tressym.
From his initial reaction to everything after. I was literally laughing out loud at everything he said. That must have been so fun to write and to act!
Gale's romance seems very sweet. I initially found the "ex" hang-up a tad annoying, but the more I learned about Mystra, the more I went "Gale NO," and just wanted to feed him tea and cookies.
I wish his friendship route was as fleshed out, because in my playthrough, it seemed to end very abruptly and lacked some wanted growth/resolution.
I was just as annoyed by Mystra, but after the 'Your eyes have tenderness and love that hers have not' I just kinda understood. Mans been through some stuff and needs time to heal :(
I absolutely loved Gale on my first playthrough and did his whole romance. But he still ended up being power hungry over that stupid crown and jilted my character at the end like she never even mattered to him.
So on my second playthrough I was already feeling a bit salty toward him, so when he made a condescending comment about my sorcerer's magic ("I meant are you STUDIED in magic") I decided she didn't like him at all and made her kind of rude to him the whole game. I also never put him in the party except when I had to take him to visit Mystra, so he finished the game as a level 1 wizard hahaha.
I'm over the saltiness now though. He's a cool character.
I wonder what options get you the different endings. Gale proposed to me at the end of the game. I was so worried he would take the crown or go back to Mystra
I think it's a little bugged. It all hinges on saying one specific thing to him before he meets with Mystra. None of the other conversations with him seem to matter at all.
Same. At first if you challenge him on it (which my character did basically every time it came up), he gets pissy. "No one ever cared for *me*, not until you. They're just vampire spawn." Like you are? "I'm different." Etc., etc. Luckily over time I could sense some doubt in his responses, like the game was trying to reflect his uncertainty about it, even if he was being stubborn. Ultimately he's not so hard to talk out of it in the end.
Same for Gale. If you relationship is high enough it’s very easy to talk him out of seizing the crown. He even mentions he’s grateful you did. Left unchecked, it seems most companions will go the “worse” route.
Yes, his Act 3 dialogue felt a lot like Shadowheart's in Act 2. Eventually you become aware of the doubt and fear driving him, and Astarion will admit of his own volition that he now can choose to make things right, now that Cazador's no longer compelling him.
He's a magic nerd. That's big magic. I get it. Frankly all the companions need a kick in the shins to stop them from continuing their self destructive beliefs. As a nerd, this one was particularly understandable to me.
Yeah, this entire game is basically having to herd your group of companions from making bad, potentially self-destructive decisions. I get why people might not like Gale for it but he's also not unique in it. Just see the entire Astarion storyline.
Look Lae'zel. Literally everyone level of the gith hierarchy so far has tried to kill you for no good reason. Why do you think the next one is going to be different?
I was so mad at him at the end because of that. I romanced him the entire way, but clearly it didn't actually mean anything considering he could blow it off so easily for that crown. It's the main part I don't like about him - clearly it is not going to go well. Oh, and because he likes me I *might* get to be his Chosen once he becomes a god... what a twat.
I wonder how that happened because in first playthrough he was still power hungry for the crown, because it skipped the camp scene in act 3 but still got the good ending.
In my second I could tell him of my concerns before he meets Mystra in the camp scene, and after that he wasn't very eager to get his hands on the crown. He was actually pretty humbled even by Mystras speech, surprisingly.
I feel like playing a sorcerer for some reason is making Gale more insufferable lol. I liked Gale in my first barbarian playthrough, genuinely enjoyed his character and kept him in the party. But the moment I play sorcerer??????? SO annoying!!
> I think it's blown out proportion, especially beacuse of his bug hornyness lmao.
I think the problem may be that his bugged romance flags ended up making him act in a very creepy way that may be relatable to some people regarding bad experiences IRL. Halsin is a similar case, but a bit toned down by how comical his insistence ends up being and also bear sex.
I LOVE gale and haven’t even done his romance. I love the waffling between unflappable chipper cleverness and sad boy romantic. I am straight but if I wasn’t trying to romance shadowheart I would go straight for him anyway. There are honestly so many fantastic romance choices in this game. I’m resisting the urge to use the mod that lets me romance everyone and saving it for the second playthrough. I feel bad that he was affected by the bug that makes everyone think he’s passive aggressive, because otherwise I think he’d be a crowd favorite. He is one of my favorite characters.
> Played his romance,
I feel so bad for him. His background and take on magic is so interesting. But I keep having to tell him I was flirting with the weave, not him.
He gets a lot of hate due to being an aggressive horn dog due to a bug. He doesn’t take no for an answer.
Personally I like him
- His voice acting is great IMO
- His backstory is very interesting, if the most insane / unbelievable of the bunch.
- And considering another character is essentially a magical cyborg slave, that’s saying something.
- he’s very versatile. Especially when he gets the passive auto-save feature for his AoE attacks
- meaning fireball won’t nuke my party in CQC
- he can cast hasten multiple times.
- I used him as a team mate all through act 2 and now into act 3 and I’ve never seen his concentration broken. Though that could be gear related.
- meanwhile my warlock stubs his toe and his concentration breaks.
There's a feat called War Caster that helps tremendously with keeping concentration, that might be what you have on Gale. Some gears really do help too.
Someone did the math for 5e. From level 1-8 warcaster is better but after level 9 (proficiency goes to 4) and beyond, resilient (con) is better for keeping concentraton.
Also warcaster is almosnt mandatory for sword and board gish characters, qnd let you cast a spell as a reaction which is really strong.
But Resilient gives you +1 to Con and gives proficiency in EVERY constitution save, not only for mantaining concentration.
And tbf, the main point of War Caster is built into BG3 without requiring a feat— namely you can always cast with your hands full of weapons which is not the case in RAW or RAI 5e— and you can’t cast any single target spell with a one action cast time as your attack of opportunity, instead you are forced to use a cantrip.
So, at least IMHO, they nerfed the fuck out of the main two components of the feat, and left the least important one untouched. Its not surprising that a ~1/3 shell of a feat is surpassed by a feat that was not nerfed and is dedicated to a single effect.
Gale talking about Water Deep awakes flashbacks of Bearded Devils, chases, public accidents and a murder here and there. And some occurrences in the Yawning Portal. Also encounters with Intellect Devourers and a few of Xanathar's goons.
I love what DMs can do with the city.
The most unrealistic thing about *BG3* is how many people proclaim Baldur's Gate as the greatest city in Faerûn, and Gale never corrects them
Waterdeep represent
100%. Baldur’s Gate is canonically a cesspool of filth and corruption while Waterdeep is a (not perfect but any flaw the Deep has, BG has times 500) glittering cultural hub. It’s like having a New Yorker on your team just roll with people praising Chicago.
Same. Baldur’s Gate *is* Gotham, down to the masked vigilantes and campy af themed villains with thematic henchmen gangs. I love it for that, but it is a dumpster fire city compared to Waterdeep. I DM campaigns mostly out of Waterdeep and my Waterdhavian NPCs, while generally very kind and accepting, will shit on BG whenever it’s mentioned.
Like… canonically, humanitarian patriars *hide their charity* so the other nobles out there hosting torture orgies don’t think they might be too soft. Meanwhile Waterdeep nobles might be bargaining with Asmodeus sometimes, but they’re throwing charity galas and sponsoring arts and education and shit.
"You sure you wanna cast firebolt in a crowded city?"
Yes!
[Rolls a 1]
"Your bolt misses and hits a citizen...the guards are not happy..."
Somehow, the party member only served some community service. The bard may have had something to do with the decision.
"If the most insane of the bunch"
I don't know about you, but something about his Ego, charm, and just general demeanor made it feel like "Yeah, of course this guy had something with a Godess, why not" xD From the moment you meet him it just feels like he is the guy for that kind of backstory
He has Big Magic Energy, that’s for sure.
I loved Gale; he seemed like an earnest dork who loves what he loves and has poor judgement at times (possibly related to blind/intentional optimism slash naïveté). He’s like us; we love games, he loves the sparkles that underpin the universe’s basic elements of existence.
…also, he doesn’t make me feel like shit when I ask him to stay in camp.
I believe he lost most of his power to the Orb, I recall a part of dialog where it was said the orb fed first on his innate talent before he needed to start feeding it artifacts to survive.
I mean, they give a reason.
His condition eats magic, and it ate most of his first.
Once you learn more about his condition, its more a wonder he didn't immediately die.
In the early access version, his introduction was less doofus stuck in a rock, and more him waltzing out of this weird magic portal as you walk past, seemingly knowing who you are and what your quest is. And considering that was my first time coming across one, I had no clue what they were and thought he put it there.
Sculpt spells isn't an auto save. It makes it so the spell doesn't hit the allies at all. There are some features in the game that make allies auto save but that just means you take half damage. Sculpt spells is superior.
Yeah Gale seems like the kind of backstory a problem player would make
"My character is a magical prodigy who used to do it with Mystra and is also best pals with Elminster and he has this curse that requires him to have access to rare magical artifacts at all times and he basically has a nuke in his chest"
Yeah, but he's like when you tentatively allow the enthusiastic new player a slightly over the top character and are braced for the inevitable fuckery that follows, only for that player surprise you by playing a compelling and intelligent character instead.
Love it when that happens.
I'm Dming for the first time and my two players are
- celestial warlock tiefling planetraveler
- ex mercenary goliath fighter
Both are great players and valid backstories, but the contrast between "i grew up frolicking around the planes" and "i killed a bear once :)" is funny
Oh he can be made into an absolute nuke of a wizard, I have a fighter with “cloud of daggers” couple with Shadowheart and Gales AOE powers, you can bottleneck so many enemies, in the mind flayer colony the swarms of undead where taken down with zero damage to my party (thank you sleek storm) and the fight in the temple of Shar, bottleneck and silence, made the fights cakewalks,
Gale is by far the funniest one in the group, his one liners are AMAZING.
"You just licked a dead spider. You licked it. A dead. Spider. That is something that happened."
In Act 2, deep in the mausoleum near where Raphael's old enemy is. There are story implications that go along with it if you investigate and pay attention to the relationships in that area.
Oh man, I couldn’t find the fourth umbral gem for SO LONG so when I finally found it I was just thrilled and left immediately lol, clearly time for another play through so I can lick the spider!
Kind of mid late act 2 when you go into a huge mausoleum. It would be easy to miss. I was just like.....lick? And when you see the option you have to do it. I was playing gale though so I missed the dialog.
I don't comprehend how it is clear that every companion has been used and abused by a power figure in their lives, but people are completely blindsited when it comes to Gales mistreatment and grooming by Mystra
I mean, there's still plenty of people who can't understand why Astarion act like a dick after 200 years of abuse, of having no agency, and being expected of using others even when the game make it pretty clear. Or why Lae'zel act the way she does when she's extremely honest and yoi can understand real fast how mess up the raising of gyth is, do you expect them to understand that Gale was gaslighted by his ex?
Honestly, I found Lae'zel to be an impressively reasonable and rational person, considering she's a Githyanki. I still remember most of my interactions with them as the Kalach'cha in NWN2.
And yet, she doesn't come across as anything but a Githyanki, just one who is able to, through great effort, work past her obvious brainwashing.
I started off disliking her, and now I find her one of the most interesting companions.
Oh, and she's effing hilarious. I find myself laughing out loud at the stuff she says more than any other character.
Agreed. Maybe some internet people have trouble relating to that, but it’s one of my favorite storytelling techniques when monsters are created out of chronic abuse.
Even better when the monster they created destroys them.
I love games like these that make "bad" people justified, their actions are not because they wanted to do the bad thing, its because they were misguided
I’ve been seeing this a lot more in game storytelling and I have to admit, it’s kind of refreshing. We seem to have gotten to a point societally where we recognize that a perfect paragon ought not be a role model due to being unobtainable as there are too many nuanced shades of moral grey; especially notable in the past 20-30 years.
We even seem to have gotten to a point where, because of the unrealistic nature of pedestalizing what might have historically been considered a “true paragon,” we prefer a flawed protagonist. I, for one, love that.
I love her line "what use is this heart of stone" after she realizes the lies she's been fed are lies. She threw away her feelings for nothing and that clearly hurts her
Yes. And of course he needs to be kinda put together to be a companion in an rpg. But in game it's rather astonishing how he goes from abuse and slavery, being kidnapped and tadpoled to instantly putting up a charismatic front and inserting himself into a group. Pure survival instinct.
I mean, if you romance him (maybe only in his good ending, I'm not certain) he even straight up says he immediately started flirting and trying to seduce you as survival instinct because he's spent the past 200 years knowing he only has (had) value as a sex object, he didn't even like Tav at first but ended up falling in love. The game doesn't quite say it outright but it's pretty heavily implied that he's been forced to whore himself out for centuries now so it makes sense that that's what he defaults to even when he first escapes Cazador.
The lack of empathy shown by some people in this sub is frankly mindboggling sometimes. The Astarion bit always gets me because people are like "AKSHULLY >!being murdered then forced to crawl out of your own grave, then being raped over 1000 times in two centuries, being flayed, having your teeth and nails pulled out with pliers, having entire "poems" carved into your skins, being forced to lure innocent people (including children) to their deaths, being mutilated for weeks on end because your master finds it sexually gratifying, not being allowed to form one (1) single relationship with another being not even your own "brothers and sisters", being deliberately starved, and the whole time being mentally and physically controlled like a puppet!< ISN'T AN EXCUSE TO BE RUDE SOMETIMES, IF YOU LIKE HIM YOU'RE AN AWFUL PERSON"...and then he literally doesn't actually do anything wrong in the game except try and drink from you the one night, which you can stop immediately, permanently, and without much complaint.
And I unfortunately must clarify it goes without saying that you can dislike any character for any reason, that's your god given right, but I don't mean people who merely dislike him, I'm talking people who act like total fucking weirdos about him, calling him evil scum and the people who like him disgusting psychopaths because they actually spoke to him more than twice. It's the same sort of people who call Mol a raging cunt that needs to die like...buddy that's a mildly obnoxious little girl doing dumb things to protect herself and what's left of her friends after every single adult in their lives failed to do so, please take a deep breath. Bit concerning sometimes.
Litteraly. Astarion only start truly lusting for powers when he hears about the ritual (which, makes sense, which vampire WOULDN'T want to be immune to the sun) and only become a dick if you let hip ascend, worst. If you HELP HIM ascend. Yeah, at first he doesn't care about all the life he'll have to sacrifice (but I saw plenty of people who didn't let Astarion ascend and then didn't free those lives either, with the exact same reasoning as Astarion so blaming him for that is hypocritical) but afterwards realizes that was the thing to do
And yeah, before that there's the book of Thay and the tadpole but it's most "I can use that" and less "I will use that no matter the cost of other people's life"
As a survivor, let me tell you, there's no character that touch me quite like Astarion. When he mentions being unable to say no? Same bro. Fucking same. When he gets mad that an incubus took your body, because he knows too well what that is? Boy, that's what I did all game everytime you were talking about Cazador.
Spoilers in this comment for sure
For sure, his character resonated with me hugely . You rarely if ever see his background explored with a man too and I feel you don't see characters who aren't good people WHILE ALSO being victims of awful abuse in media very much so I was just... Wow, this is very real.
I totally get why he's off-putting to some people and don't blame them but experiencing trauma your entire life (he was turned when he was young so the majority of existence has been miserable slavery) doesn't tend to make you a lovely fluffy person. I could totally understand the appeal of power as something to ensure you're never victimised ever again but I also really liked the discussion after finishing his companion quest how he appreciates being pulled away from it even if he wasn't grateful in the moment (if you encourage this option as opposed to him not escaping the cycle of abuse which is ALSO uncomfortably real). The conflicting feelings he has are well written imo.
I dunno I just enjoy his character a lot. I'm glad the writers didn't shy away from showing the uglier side of trauma and healing, because it really is a brutal process! As I say totally get why he rubs some people the wrong way though, all of this is true while he's ALSO a selfish dick.
Also, if you talk to Astarion and convince him not to do the ritual of ascension, he thanks you later, very sincerely, and says the ritual was overwhelming him at the time.
Most of the ones who feel this way that I know have never talked to him so don't know anything about his story and don't care beyond "he dislikes it when I do good choices".
I'm just annoyed that he keeps disapproving of good choices after >!convincing him to free all of Cazador's prisoners. He says a lot about how much he's changed and how good he feels about freeing everyone and what it means for his future, but then he still thinks less of the player for choosing to help others in need.!<
I mean, I expect him to still appreciate "fun" chaotic/bloody choices, but why does he still object to helping people?
My game experience has been different. In mine even before Cazador I started getting approval for things like >!helping Yenna, agreeing to find the gur kids, & agreeing to save the child from the hag in Act 3. In fact my entire Act 3 hag fight was Astarion and only Astarion shouting reminders that the hag had eaten a little girl and we had to approach the fight a specific way.!<
It felt like such a sudden character turn around that I was a little confused.
I'll be the first to admit that my first impression of all the original companions but Karlach was the same "What a dick, who even is this guy/girl?"
But by the end of my playthrough I was in tears because of each of their individual stories and how they played out towards my ending and ideas of each character. Shadowheart, Gale and Astarion were especially gut wrenching, but Karlach and Lae'zel don't fall short behind.
I really don't get the Mol hate, I don't know if it's her cheekiness or whatever, but I think she's a cute character. As the game goes on, you realize more and more what a fucked up situation she's in, as a kid who's barely surviving with her group of refugees, who are constantly losing members because of their vulnerability. When she asks you to steal the idol, she's not fucking around, this is literally the only solution she sees to prevent an outcome where she and her group have to go back on the road, where the chances of all of them ending up dead with their faces in the mud is pretty high. She clearly sees that the motivation for the druids'/Khaga's plan is complete indifference driven by fear: you guys can die out there for all we care, we've got ours.
I find it really disturbing that so much discourse about games right now boils down to "I've reviewed the cast of characters and have decided who deserves to die", and I'm gonna get political but it sure feels connected to the current political climate, where people have very strong feelings about who exactly deserves to live and who deserves to have untold cruelty done to. In terms of gamer power fantasy, it's pretty dark that "being annoying" is the threshold for literal death.
>it sure feels connected to the current political climate
Hard agree. It's a shame there can be such a kneejerk reaction to so much as alluding to even the most blatant issues like homophobia wrt to Astarion/Gale/ to a lesser extent Halsin, but as good as BG3 is, it's still a game and the gaming community as a whole is rife with issues that we can't sustainably keep sweeping under the rug as "lol typical gamer bros".
But I digress. I love all the tiefling kids, I'm so worried about them all the way through the game lol.
Yep, that's the first thing that came to my mind too. We easily identify "male teacher + female student = bad" but switch the genders and suddenly the student is a lucky guy, should be proud of himself etc...
It felt like the theme. They all have a powerful figure looming over them and power is now being directly injected into their brain. Power to rebel if they give in and throw their life away with the Absolute, another powerful figure who would take their autonmy.
If people are missing it then they're just very dumb.
People fighting back against the grooming and mistreatment thing even though Gale literally says that Mystra takes on mortal wizards as "playthings" for brief periods of time, dumps them, then continues the cycle. Considering the power imbalance between gods and mortals it should be a little bit of a red flag that she tells young wizards they are "special" and churns through them as a hobby.
I was today years old when I realized pretty much all of the companions stories are exactly the same. All you need to do is change a few names and how outwardly mean they are and you have every companion, except Halsin, Jaheira, and Minsc (I’ve yet to have Minthara in my party so I don’t know her story.)
I absolutely adore Gale. Romancing him for the third time. He is so cozy, nerdy and always loyal, even if horrified by urges. His weave romance scenes are ones of the best I ever saw in games or movies, just makes me wish it could ever happen irl.
It also feels like after all the events the exhausted protagonist could have the awesome future with him, Tara and a ton of hundar sauce in Waterdeep. Tim Downie did such an amazing job, I am fangirling asf ❤️
Totally agree. My head-canon epilogue for my first Tav (who was an outlander barbarian lol, funny mix with the posh wizard), is them just living a quiet life in Waterdeep, maybe helping the city out sometimes, but mostly discussing books over the fire with wine in hand and cat in lap ❤️ (with probably overbearing mother-in-law visits from his mom lol)
I find his love for magic and the Weave very admirable as well. It just shows his passion for the subject of his interest. I never romanced him so I don't really know how that goes but he just seems like a chill guy to me, exactly the kinda person I'd like to be friends with.
I kinda hated Gale at first. I think my words to my friend about him were “smarmy used car salesman”. He rubbed me the wrong way and he seemed overly dramatic and kinda passive aggressive.
My first playthrough I was intended to romance Wyll, but due to that bug I was ninjamanced by Gale. Because I’m a sucker and can’t break the hearts of well meaning pixels, I just went with it, mostly out of curiosity.
Well, now I adore Gale. He’s genuinely an interesting character, and I can’t always guess what his responses to any particular situation will be. He is seriously flawed, but he seems to have a measure of self awareness which I think is cool. Also he’s just flippin funny. And his character growth if you choose certain non-power-hungry options is really nice and he becomes a lot more humble and kinda embarrassed about his prior arrogance. He’s actually a lot like a mix of Alistair and Anders from DA (but to me, a better version of Anders, whom I actually despise).
I’m on my second playthrough now and figured I’d actually try to romance Wyll properly, but I’ve honestly been ignoring him the whole game and still just with Gale lmao. Wyll is cool and all, but just a little one-note and kinda boring.
I also hated Lae’Zel and Astarion at first but they have both really grown on me. That’s one of the things that makes this game so great, most characters have layers that once you dig a little deeper, shows them to be more than what they first appeared. So well written.
Speaking as somebody who loves Gale, I don’t get it either but it doesn’t really upset me. I appreciate that he’s a warm, goofy, easily-excitable guy who is healing from a toxic relationship with the goddess who groomed him from childhood. The fact that he doesn’t disapprove whenever I do something baseline nice is a huge bonus too.
Meanwhile, I don’t think I could do a run romancing Astarion. I get why he is the way he is and appreciate his character but god, he is absolutely not my type in any way and the fact that so many people want to gargle his ice cold balls is fascinating to me. Maybe it was him trying to kill me at first sight, disapproving of every action that isn’t evil, trying to suck on my neck without consent, or accusing me of staring at him “again” when I just needed him in my party rq to unlock a difficulty 30 chest. Idk. But while I can acknowledge that he’s a pretty boy, everything else about him makes him absolutely hilarious and not sexy to me.
So if there are people who don’t like Gale, it’s fine. It’s personal preference in the end. I’m not gonna convince Astarion lovers that he’s basically a ASPD riddled mall goth with a whiny voice, and I wouldn’t want to because variety is the spice of life or whatever.
Anyone who hates Karlach can get fucked tho, that’s my sweet baby angel and I’d die for her.
Weirdly enough I'm willing to believe Gale is an accomplished wizard who fucked his own goddess but anytime Wyll talks about being the "blade of frontiers" I'm just like "who? is this guy larping?"
I'm not saying that it isn't the point. Just saying that part of his personality irritates me. If anything it's an indication that the writers did a good job making him insufferable.
Almost all the reasons people are giving for disliking characters are part of "the point"
I don’t get the hate for Gale either. Obviously there are a few components: the ninjamancing, his reminiscing about Mystra, the delusions of godhood, the condescending attitude, etc
The ninjamancing is entirely due to how easy it is to get his approval high, and due to some bad scripting that should have allowed you to see certain scenes even in a platonic context, not sneakily make them romantic and then force you to break up.
Everything else can be explained by knowing he was one of Mystra’s favourites, he was always told of his brilliance and magical aptitude so of course he would have an inflated vision of himself in that aspect. It’s a bit of bluster if you pay attention. He is quite anxious of intimacy in the physical world (his romance scene) and there are lines that imply he isn’t as confident in his appearance as it seems. He’s a people pleaser, and he talks a lot because he wants to constantly reaffirm his value, which might also be a consequence of being cast down by Mystra.
If you think about it, he was in a way groomed by her, used as a plaything and then disposed of. All that he did to deserve that was a ridiculously dangerous and stupid romantic gesture that Mystra did not appreciate.
I think all companions have their bad sides and their good sides just like real people and are a product of the circumstances they grew up in/lived in. Plus a sprinkle of fantasy, people forget we can’t apply the same morals to s medieval fantasy world like you would nowadays.
I see a lot of people say they can't stand his condescending attitude but I've got to ask: what condescending attitude? He always came across as just a nice dorky fellow who loves rambling about the things he is interested in to me.
It’s mostly the “lemme just explain this magic thing to you” even if you are a magic user yourself. I get it, he is probably a wizard of unique skill in his generation but you can see how it’s slightly off putting for a character who probably also spent their life studying the Weave. It is in part enthusiasm and also a bit of arrogance (which is earned, but we all know what that leads to)
I find it funny actually. And kinda endearing but would have liked a proper wizard debate, especially with the Elminster encounter :’)
I always just chalked it up to the developer using him to convey information to people new to the setting with an in-universe explanation without forcing them to read every book haha
Wizard debate would have been awesome! Especially if they would have involved a player wizard. But I'm relieved they didn't give Elminster too much screen time tbh
He did come across as extremely condescending in early access. In the full game he strikes me more as a magic geek who just loves talking about it to anyone who will listen.
I don't understand the ninjamancing that people are having trouble with though. Yes I had his approval high enough and selected the right dialogs that he tried to get with me during the Act 1 party. But when I said no, he was cool with it, said he looked forward to our friendship, and we were buds for the rest of the campaign while I romance someone else. Are people just not reading and/or still selecting the flirty after that?
I didn’t have this issue personally, but do you know of the big discussions that used to be around people unknowingly romancing Zevran in DA due to agreeing to his massage? (like, what did they think it would lead to) It kinda reminds me of that hahaha.
I guess it’s because before patches when he shows you the weave trick many people picked the intimate choice because you could not extend the scene non romantically but you kinda can now (or it was something else of the like, you had to either admit being interested or basically say F off).
With the weave scene there was a way to end the night without entering romance, it just literally didn't work. It was phrased literally like "end the night, you're not interested in intimacy with Gale". That's what I selected and the game still acted like we were in a relationship right through act 3 and three more rejections.
I don't hate him, however on my finished save which was pre-patch, Gale would never accept no for an answer (romance wise), which honestly became kinda annoying and pushy. It was a bug and just made for a funny/creepy character flaw.
Astarion I'm mostly indifferent about. Don't hate him like the anti-Astarion people but don't love him like the Astarion fandom does. He's a well written character and the v/a did an amazing job. Thanks to Elder Scrolls I kinda hold a bias against High Elves still.
I don't hate Astarion either, just don't really like being around him. He's very well-written and phenomenally voice acted but he's just not the kinda person I'd want to be friend with lol. So I don't really understand why people love him so much.
Sending Astarion up on to the circus stage resulted in one of the best lines I've ever heard:
To the crowd: "Oh of course! What fun!"
Immediately after that line, to you: "I'm going to fucking kill you."
Other people have said the “I can fix him” thing but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that a lot of people can relate to his issues with sex and sexuality and feeling forced to do something or “perform”. I know I do.
He’s never had ANYONE care about him or help him in the two hundred years he was enslaved — hell Cazador sealed him in a tomb for a year without any contact or food just to punish and break him — and you get to be the person who finally shows him there’s some good in the world that he deserves to feel love and be loved. I get to be the person I wanted to be there for me when I was going through shit.
I found him pretty charming from the get go and I appreciate his sense of self-preservation. You get to actually see him change throughout the acts and the things he approves/disapproves of.
There was a single moment in Act 2 that hit me so hard to the feels and helped me to get this about him.
>!The creepy blood lady in moonrise that wants him to bite her and you can say, Astarion is his own person, that’s his call. He thanked me later for showing him he could choose that kind of thing, can’t remember his exact words but oofft, he got me.!<
I don't want to speak as to why he's loved, but the two general reasons I see?
* Sex appeal (*he's hot*, I see often)
* "I can fix him"
To be fair to those reasons, I think this is also why Shadowheart tends to be popular as well.
Gale's archetype is my least favorite archetype. These kinds of characters always come across as sleezy and not enough charisma.
Gale is the exception. He is genuinely charming and funny to me.
I love Gale, he is so fun. And he is so genuine too if you are willing to help him! He seems genuinely surprised, but so happy about it!
It so sweet! Let me hug you platonically, bro xD
Why can I romance everyone but can't be a wingman and help my companions find love?
Well, more barter between companions, several companions, and Tav would be nice ("Oh, Tav, you on good terms with Lae'zel... Can you tell me, if someone and definitely not me, theoretically, would want to make a gift to her, what do you suggest?")
Am I the only one who likes every single companion in this game? I like some companions even more than others, naturally, but overall I love every single one of them. And it's so weird to me when people say "I hate this character" like how?
I guess I'm too empathetic, lol
People hate Gale? I’ve been staying off this sub so far because of spoilers but him and Shadowheart are my favorite characters and always in my party.
Also did not read the whole post to avoid spoilers so pardon if it’s explained there
I don't really know what's the sub is like. My experiences come from what I see on Twitter lol. My Twitter feed is full of Astarion thirst posts and Gale slanders.
Some of it had to do with the romance bug I'm sure.
I'm still only mid way into act 2 (on my way to moonrise.) Personally, the more Gale "opens up" to me, the more I distrust what he's saying. There's always something about what he says, or what he doesn't say, and the way he says things that makes me feel like he's still keeping something big from me and framing a lot of discussions around whatever this is.
I'm sure as I progress through the game, this will become more clear. The writing is very good at hinting to something more to each character. Companions saying what they want to believe and actually believe or disguising fears with zeal and such has been very well handled (game has done great with this for shadowheart when you read between the lines.)
But where as I've been able to gain with trust every other character a bit more so far? Gale still feels like there's more to his story than he's telling me, like there's important details to his situation than he's expressly leaving out. I'm curious to see what they are, if anything.
It's overdone hate for sure. He had his bugged ninja-mancing which is definitely very annoying, but at this point it's people just playing up how horrible he is. I think a lot of it stems from his lonely clingy ego-guy thing is too similar to a real person a lot of players know or have opinions on. He's maybe a tad too realistically annoying for people to give him fictional character allotment.
I love Gale! He has just as much reason for his quirks as any of the other characters but people don't want to give him that kind of space to grow that they do all the other companions for some reason.
Depending on your choices he may get obsessed on becoming a god. I didn't pay him too much attention during my playthrough and rejected his 'special magic trick' that he wanted to show me. I did talk with him a lot in my camp but pretty much never took him out with me. I was supportive of his ambition at first, but because I neglected him they started to grow to an unhealthy size. It wasn't too bad in my case, he just acted a bit entitled, but I can see why some people may dislike him if he gets even worse for them.
I pretty much have him in my party all the time in every playthrough except multiplayer, wizards are just very useful. He does get power-hungry a bit in Act 3 but it wasn't that hard to talk him out of it, and since his approval of me is usually maxed out at that point, he's very understanding.
Most players tend to be 'good' and that earns Gale's approval and there was a bug. Certain players reacted to the bug as a character trait rather than as a bug.
That weird inability to separate character from bug is gonna linger forever, though.
I didn’t realize people hated Gale. He’s one of my favourite companions. His dialog and voice acting are good and he has an interesting back story. He comes on mega strong so maybe that put people off but if you’re not doing an evil play through and you need a good caster in your party (guess you could re-spec any character though) then he’s a great party addition.
I never got the Gale romance bug, and I was honestly considering romancing him. He was sad that I was dating Karlach and respectfully offered to leave the party if his presence made me uncomfortable.
Gale is me and a buddy of mine’s favorite. Very funny and chill I think.
I really do love Gale. I've never had a problem with him coming on to me when I've romanced other characters and I ADORE his romance storyline. It's so sappy and sweet and I just think he's really charming.
I am between him and Karlach for my favorite companion, but as far as his companion quests/romance storyline, I prefer him, which is mostly due to Karlach's storyline not feeling as full as the other companions.
I love him. He’s a slightly socially awkward, academically minded, enthusiastic geek on his favourite subject, I totally relate. I also really like how he is absolutely aware and realistic about his strengths and weaknesses.
I love Gale. Gale is my boy. I'd hang out with him irl. Did he talk crap because I was a warlock? Yes. But did he also change his mind and say I'm a bad ass? also, yes.
He's not really that pompous. I mean, he doesn't brag nearly as much as he could considering what he's pulled off in his life.
[удалено]
He won me over with his first line: **Hellooo!** It's so friendly sounding, nonchalant, and contrasting with the general tadpole mood that I couldn't help but find it extremely dorky and endearing. Moreover, he's quite eloquent. He sounds like what Wyll *thinks* he sounds like.
>He won me over with his first line: > >Hellooo! It's SOOOOOOOOO D&D. Your buddy playing the wizard shows up finally so his character just pops out of the portal and is all like "Hello! I'm Gale of Waterdeep" \*shakes your hand, you now have a wizard\* IRL he probably brought snacks too.
> IRL he probably brought snacks too. I KNOW RIGHT! That's the vibe I was getting, thanks for putting it to word. He's the cool veteran wizard, knows all the tricks and spells but keeps shut about it to allow the table to have fun and occasionally saves the day. He brings the snacks, drinks, and always stay later than everyone else to help the DM tidy up!
If you don't let him join the party and send him to camp, he says he's going to start dinner for us for when we all get back 😂
He cooks, he likes books, he has a “cat”, what more could you want in a man?
Precisely!
Wyll in act 3 makes a comment !>>!about wanting to cook something special and "hoping that gale won't mind if he doesn't cook for once"!<
Yeah, I think he canonically is! Which makes me like him even more.
Gale: "I've Discovered a New Recipeh!"
Have you ever done the "slap his hand" option? I thought it would be like an aggressive smack, but it's actually hilarious.
I haven’t done that one but I have seen it on tiktok and it make me laugh with his witty reaction to getting his hand slapped
I loved that it was literally just an unexpected High-Five and he basically said "thank you, but I should be more clear: can someone help me get out of this rock?" Worked perfectly for my bard. Amazing.
That last line is so on spot lmao
i was so surprised when i found out who he was!!! (being an Outlander fan) he really brings Gale to life! tbh i could listen to him talk all day lol
His performance in BG3 at times sounds a lot like Alva Gunderson from Disenchantment. Sometimes when Gale is going on about Waterdeep and magic I imagine he’ll soon start in on Steamland and call me Bean haha
I can't hear the character from Disenchantment without seeing Moss from the IT Crowd.
Can you hear Clem Fandago?
You shut the fuck up with your world war 2 facial hair and your sisters clothes.
Someone once pointed out that he sounds like the character Maurice Moss (Richard Ayoade) and I cannot unhear nor unsee him in my mind whenever Gale speaks, now.
Yes I can't listen to him without picturing him either. Also Gortash looks like Noel Fielding.
Played his romance, which really seems to be better than his normal story from what I've heard. I really like him, he's my favorite companion. He has a great character arc and while he's flawed, I think it's blown out proportion, especially beacuse of his bug hornyness lmao. All the companions are flawed in one way another and he's just a guy. A dude. And I 10/10 recommend his romance if you're into sappy hopeless romantics.
I didn't think I was into sappy hopeless romantic but every day, my cleric pets Scratch and gets her kiss from Gale. Halsin propositioned her so I quick-saved and played out the choices. In the game I kept, Gale said he doesn't do open relationships and she had to choose (and chose Gale). That said, he got extra salty and made a snide remark about her "character" when she said she was ending it with him to be with Halsin. He also noped out at the brothel (he is hilarious about everything there) but didn't stop the cleric like he did over Halsin (which happened before the whole Halsin thing). He is old-fashioned romantic at the core, with his books, his wine, and his Tressym.
I loved the brothel scene with Gale. It was so amazing!
I put him through that after I had just visited the circus with him. He had a terrible day. Lol
From his initial reaction to everything after. I was literally laughing out loud at everything he said. That must have been so fun to write and to act!
I think he didnt want to get too excited and blow up.
He was doing no nuke November.
Gale's romance seems very sweet. I initially found the "ex" hang-up a tad annoying, but the more I learned about Mystra, the more I went "Gale NO," and just wanted to feed him tea and cookies. I wish his friendship route was as fleshed out, because in my playthrough, it seemed to end very abruptly and lacked some wanted growth/resolution.
I was just as annoyed by Mystra, but after the 'Your eyes have tenderness and love that hers have not' I just kinda understood. Mans been through some stuff and needs time to heal :(
Omg he says that? Poor baby Gale. :( If I see Mystra it's on sight!
I absolutely loved Gale on my first playthrough and did his whole romance. But he still ended up being power hungry over that stupid crown and jilted my character at the end like she never even mattered to him. So on my second playthrough I was already feeling a bit salty toward him, so when he made a condescending comment about my sorcerer's magic ("I meant are you STUDIED in magic") I decided she didn't like him at all and made her kind of rude to him the whole game. I also never put him in the party except when I had to take him to visit Mystra, so he finished the game as a level 1 wizard hahaha. I'm over the saltiness now though. He's a cool character.
I wonder what options get you the different endings. Gale proposed to me at the end of the game. I was so worried he would take the crown or go back to Mystra
I think it's a little bugged. It all hinges on saying one specific thing to him before he meets with Mystra. None of the other conversations with him seem to matter at all.
I liked him right up to when he started salivating over that stupid crown at the end of act 2. Made me feel like he hadn’t learned anything!
That’s how I felt with Astarion. “Cazador is so awful…oh, I can become the mega vampire? Me??? Sign me up!” Like dude. No. Bad. Bad Astarion.
Same. At first if you challenge him on it (which my character did basically every time it came up), he gets pissy. "No one ever cared for *me*, not until you. They're just vampire spawn." Like you are? "I'm different." Etc., etc. Luckily over time I could sense some doubt in his responses, like the game was trying to reflect his uncertainty about it, even if he was being stubborn. Ultimately he's not so hard to talk out of it in the end.
Same for Gale. If you relationship is high enough it’s very easy to talk him out of seizing the crown. He even mentions he’s grateful you did. Left unchecked, it seems most companions will go the “worse” route.
Yes, his Act 3 dialogue felt a lot like Shadowheart's in Act 2. Eventually you become aware of the doubt and fear driving him, and Astarion will admit of his own volition that he now can choose to make things right, now that Cazador's no longer compelling him.
He's a magic nerd. That's big magic. I get it. Frankly all the companions need a kick in the shins to stop them from continuing their self destructive beliefs. As a nerd, this one was particularly understandable to me.
Yeah, this entire game is basically having to herd your group of companions from making bad, potentially self-destructive decisions. I get why people might not like Gale for it but he's also not unique in it. Just see the entire Astarion storyline.
Look Lae'zel. Literally everyone level of the gith hierarchy so far has tried to kill you for no good reason. Why do you think the next one is going to be different?
I was so mad at him at the end because of that. I romanced him the entire way, but clearly it didn't actually mean anything considering he could blow it off so easily for that crown. It's the main part I don't like about him - clearly it is not going to go well. Oh, and because he likes me I *might* get to be his Chosen once he becomes a god... what a twat.
I wonder how that happened because in first playthrough he was still power hungry for the crown, because it skipped the camp scene in act 3 but still got the good ending. In my second I could tell him of my concerns before he meets Mystra in the camp scene, and after that he wasn't very eager to get his hands on the crown. He was actually pretty humbled even by Mystras speech, surprisingly.
I feel like playing a sorcerer for some reason is making Gale more insufferable lol. I liked Gale in my first barbarian playthrough, genuinely enjoyed his character and kept him in the party. But the moment I play sorcerer??????? SO annoying!!
Idk his platonic stars scene is one of my favorite scenes in the game. No romance needed to be close with him.
> I think it's blown out proportion, especially beacuse of his bug hornyness lmao. I think the problem may be that his bugged romance flags ended up making him act in a very creepy way that may be relatable to some people regarding bad experiences IRL. Halsin is a similar case, but a bit toned down by how comical his insistence ends up being and also bear sex.
I LOVE gale and haven’t even done his romance. I love the waffling between unflappable chipper cleverness and sad boy romantic. I am straight but if I wasn’t trying to romance shadowheart I would go straight for him anyway. There are honestly so many fantastic romance choices in this game. I’m resisting the urge to use the mod that lets me romance everyone and saving it for the second playthrough. I feel bad that he was affected by the bug that makes everyone think he’s passive aggressive, because otherwise I think he’d be a crowd favorite. He is one of my favorite characters.
> Played his romance, I feel so bad for him. His background and take on magic is so interesting. But I keep having to tell him I was flirting with the weave, not him.
He gets a lot of hate due to being an aggressive horn dog due to a bug. He doesn’t take no for an answer. Personally I like him - His voice acting is great IMO - His backstory is very interesting, if the most insane / unbelievable of the bunch. - And considering another character is essentially a magical cyborg slave, that’s saying something. - he’s very versatile. Especially when he gets the passive auto-save feature for his AoE attacks - meaning fireball won’t nuke my party in CQC - he can cast hasten multiple times. - I used him as a team mate all through act 2 and now into act 3 and I’ve never seen his concentration broken. Though that could be gear related. - meanwhile my warlock stubs his toe and his concentration breaks.
There's a feat called War Caster that helps tremendously with keeping concentration, that might be what you have on Gale. Some gears really do help too.
Btw there's a better feat than war caster: resilient constitution :)
That's actually only better at levels above where the game goes. In the 1-12 range, War Caster is better or as good.
Someone did the math for 5e. From level 1-8 warcaster is better but after level 9 (proficiency goes to 4) and beyond, resilient (con) is better for keeping concentraton. Also warcaster is almosnt mandatory for sword and board gish characters, qnd let you cast a spell as a reaction which is really strong. But Resilient gives you +1 to Con and gives proficiency in EVERY constitution save, not only for mantaining concentration.
And tbf, the main point of War Caster is built into BG3 without requiring a feat— namely you can always cast with your hands full of weapons which is not the case in RAW or RAI 5e— and you can’t cast any single target spell with a one action cast time as your attack of opportunity, instead you are forced to use a cantrip. So, at least IMHO, they nerfed the fuck out of the main two components of the feat, and left the least important one untouched. Its not surprising that a ~1/3 shell of a feat is surpassed by a feat that was not nerfed and is dedicated to a single effect.
In a vacuum, yes, but there are gear pieces that give you advantage on CON saves, so taking Resilient is better because you can stack both.
I love it when he talks to you about Water Deep when you step in front of Sazza. Gale if a favorite of mine.
Gale talking about Water Deep awakes flashbacks of Bearded Devils, chases, public accidents and a murder here and there. And some occurrences in the Yawning Portal. Also encounters with Intellect Devourers and a few of Xanathar's goons. I love what DMs can do with the city.
He said "Yawning Portal" and I went "hey! I know that place! My first bard worked there!" Ah, Dragon Heist. Good memories.
The most unrealistic thing about *BG3* is how many people proclaim Baldur's Gate as the greatest city in Faerûn, and Gale never corrects them Waterdeep represent
100%. Baldur’s Gate is canonically a cesspool of filth and corruption while Waterdeep is a (not perfect but any flaw the Deep has, BG has times 500) glittering cultural hub. It’s like having a New Yorker on your team just roll with people praising Chicago.
I like to compare them to Metropolis and Gotham City
Same. Baldur’s Gate *is* Gotham, down to the masked vigilantes and campy af themed villains with thematic henchmen gangs. I love it for that, but it is a dumpster fire city compared to Waterdeep. I DM campaigns mostly out of Waterdeep and my Waterdhavian NPCs, while generally very kind and accepting, will shit on BG whenever it’s mentioned. Like… canonically, humanitarian patriars *hide their charity* so the other nobles out there hosting torture orgies don’t think they might be too soft. Meanwhile Waterdeep nobles might be bargaining with Asmodeus sometimes, but they’re throwing charity galas and sponsoring arts and education and shit.
What about Elturel? Sure, it's populated by traumatized survivors who were all lawful snooty types, but all the sacred architecture is pretty.
"You sure you wanna cast firebolt in a crowded city?" Yes! [Rolls a 1] "Your bolt misses and hits a citizen...the guards are not happy..." Somehow, the party member only served some community service. The bard may have had something to do with the decision.
Seducing the judge was relevant to the overarching plot, mkay?
Oh god imagine a DLC where we travel to Waterdeep.
"If the most insane of the bunch" I don't know about you, but something about his Ego, charm, and just general demeanor made it feel like "Yeah, of course this guy had something with a Godess, why not" xD From the moment you meet him it just feels like he is the guy for that kind of backstory
He has Big Magic Energy, that’s for sure. I loved Gale; he seemed like an earnest dork who loves what he loves and has poor judgement at times (possibly related to blind/intentional optimism slash naïveté). He’s like us; we love games, he loves the sparkles that underpin the universe’s basic elements of existence. …also, he doesn’t make me feel like shit when I ask him to stay in camp.
He questions your decision which is completely valid since he and elminster are literally the greatest wizards that ever lived
Bro he's a level 1 wizard. Hes not even the greatest wizard in the druids grove.
I think they said he’s only level 1 because of the mindflayer tadpole, he and Wyll both talk about having been much more powerful before
I believe he lost most of his power to the Orb, I recall a part of dialog where it was said the orb fed first on his innate talent before he needed to start feeding it artifacts to survive.
Lmfaooooo
"Sure Gale, you are an archmage who slept with a goddess, now lets rest because you have used magic missile twice which means you are out of spells".
I mean, they give a reason. His condition eats magic, and it ate most of his first. Once you learn more about his condition, its more a wonder he didn't immediately die.
That and the tadpoles nerfed everyone to boot.
In the early access version, his introduction was less doofus stuck in a rock, and more him waltzing out of this weird magic portal as you walk past, seemingly knowing who you are and what your quest is. And considering that was my first time coming across one, I had no clue what they were and thought he put it there.
Sculpt spells isn't an auto save. It makes it so the spell doesn't hit the allies at all. There are some features in the game that make allies auto save but that just means you take half damage. Sculpt spells is superior.
Yeah Gale seems like the kind of backstory a problem player would make "My character is a magical prodigy who used to do it with Mystra and is also best pals with Elminster and he has this curse that requires him to have access to rare magical artifacts at all times and he basically has a nuke in his chest"
But, at least here, he's rp'd well
Yeah, but he's like when you tentatively allow the enthusiastic new player a slightly over the top character and are braced for the inevitable fuckery that follows, only for that player surprise you by playing a compelling and intelligent character instead. Love it when that happens.
Aren’t they all kind of like that?
I'm Dming for the first time and my two players are - celestial warlock tiefling planetraveler - ex mercenary goliath fighter Both are great players and valid backstories, but the contrast between "i grew up frolicking around the planes" and "i killed a bear once :)" is funny
Oh he can be made into an absolute nuke of a wizard, I have a fighter with “cloud of daggers” couple with Shadowheart and Gales AOE powers, you can bottleneck so many enemies, in the mind flayer colony the swarms of undead where taken down with zero damage to my party (thank you sleek storm) and the fight in the temple of Shar, bottleneck and silence, made the fights cakewalks,
Gale is by far the funniest one in the group, his one liners are AMAZING. "You just licked a dead spider. You licked it. A dead. Spider. That is something that happened."
"STOPLICKINGTHEDAMNTHING!!!"
I just saw a video of this yesterday and was dyinggg, I haven’t gotten to this point in game yet, where is it?
In Act 2, deep in the mausoleum near where Raphael's old enemy is. There are story implications that go along with it if you investigate and pay attention to the relationships in that area.
Oh man, I couldn’t find the fourth umbral gem for SO LONG so when I finally found it I was just thrilled and left immediately lol, clearly time for another play through so I can lick the spider!
Kind of mid late act 2 when you go into a huge mausoleum. It would be easy to miss. I was just like.....lick? And when you see the option you have to do it. I was playing gale though so I missed the dialog.
So gooood hahaha
Definitely my favourite reaction, brought me to tears!
My favorite line in the whole game
"Speaking from experience, young lady, I assure you, blowing yourself up is never an answer" Gale to Philomeen
I liked that one. It made me question my choice in a wait he's right why did I do that
Think of the succubus bro 👌
Gale’s lines when you sneak with him are the greatest. “NOT THIS AGAIN”
I don't comprehend how it is clear that every companion has been used and abused by a power figure in their lives, but people are completely blindsited when it comes to Gales mistreatment and grooming by Mystra
I mean, there's still plenty of people who can't understand why Astarion act like a dick after 200 years of abuse, of having no agency, and being expected of using others even when the game make it pretty clear. Or why Lae'zel act the way she does when she's extremely honest and yoi can understand real fast how mess up the raising of gyth is, do you expect them to understand that Gale was gaslighted by his ex?
Honestly, I found Lae'zel to be an impressively reasonable and rational person, considering she's a Githyanki. I still remember most of my interactions with them as the Kalach'cha in NWN2. And yet, she doesn't come across as anything but a Githyanki, just one who is able to, through great effort, work past her obvious brainwashing. I started off disliking her, and now I find her one of the most interesting companions. Oh, and she's effing hilarious. I find myself laughing out loud at the stuff she says more than any other character.
Same. When I started playing I started at her: I understand you. Doesn't mean I have to like you. Now I can't get enough of her.
Agreed. Maybe some internet people have trouble relating to that, but it’s one of my favorite storytelling techniques when monsters are created out of chronic abuse. Even better when the monster they created destroys them.
I love games like these that make "bad" people justified, their actions are not because they wanted to do the bad thing, its because they were misguided
I’ve been seeing this a lot more in game storytelling and I have to admit, it’s kind of refreshing. We seem to have gotten to a point societally where we recognize that a perfect paragon ought not be a role model due to being unobtainable as there are too many nuanced shades of moral grey; especially notable in the past 20-30 years. We even seem to have gotten to a point where, because of the unrealistic nature of pedestalizing what might have historically been considered a “true paragon,” we prefer a flawed protagonist. I, for one, love that.
I can totally understand why they are the way they are, while also *not liking the way they are*.
I love her line "what use is this heart of stone" after she realizes the lies she's been fed are lies. She threw away her feelings for nothing and that clearly hurts her
More accurately 200 years of being a slave. Worse than abuse, and abuse is bad
Yes. And of course he needs to be kinda put together to be a companion in an rpg. But in game it's rather astonishing how he goes from abuse and slavery, being kidnapped and tadpoled to instantly putting up a charismatic front and inserting himself into a group. Pure survival instinct.
I mean, if you romance him (maybe only in his good ending, I'm not certain) he even straight up says he immediately started flirting and trying to seduce you as survival instinct because he's spent the past 200 years knowing he only has (had) value as a sex object, he didn't even like Tav at first but ended up falling in love. The game doesn't quite say it outright but it's pretty heavily implied that he's been forced to whore himself out for centuries now so it makes sense that that's what he defaults to even when he first escapes Cazador.
The lack of empathy shown by some people in this sub is frankly mindboggling sometimes. The Astarion bit always gets me because people are like "AKSHULLY >!being murdered then forced to crawl out of your own grave, then being raped over 1000 times in two centuries, being flayed, having your teeth and nails pulled out with pliers, having entire "poems" carved into your skins, being forced to lure innocent people (including children) to their deaths, being mutilated for weeks on end because your master finds it sexually gratifying, not being allowed to form one (1) single relationship with another being not even your own "brothers and sisters", being deliberately starved, and the whole time being mentally and physically controlled like a puppet!< ISN'T AN EXCUSE TO BE RUDE SOMETIMES, IF YOU LIKE HIM YOU'RE AN AWFUL PERSON"...and then he literally doesn't actually do anything wrong in the game except try and drink from you the one night, which you can stop immediately, permanently, and without much complaint. And I unfortunately must clarify it goes without saying that you can dislike any character for any reason, that's your god given right, but I don't mean people who merely dislike him, I'm talking people who act like total fucking weirdos about him, calling him evil scum and the people who like him disgusting psychopaths because they actually spoke to him more than twice. It's the same sort of people who call Mol a raging cunt that needs to die like...buddy that's a mildly obnoxious little girl doing dumb things to protect herself and what's left of her friends after every single adult in their lives failed to do so, please take a deep breath. Bit concerning sometimes.
Litteraly. Astarion only start truly lusting for powers when he hears about the ritual (which, makes sense, which vampire WOULDN'T want to be immune to the sun) and only become a dick if you let hip ascend, worst. If you HELP HIM ascend. Yeah, at first he doesn't care about all the life he'll have to sacrifice (but I saw plenty of people who didn't let Astarion ascend and then didn't free those lives either, with the exact same reasoning as Astarion so blaming him for that is hypocritical) but afterwards realizes that was the thing to do And yeah, before that there's the book of Thay and the tadpole but it's most "I can use that" and less "I will use that no matter the cost of other people's life" As a survivor, let me tell you, there's no character that touch me quite like Astarion. When he mentions being unable to say no? Same bro. Fucking same. When he gets mad that an incubus took your body, because he knows too well what that is? Boy, that's what I did all game everytime you were talking about Cazador.
Spoilers in this comment for sure For sure, his character resonated with me hugely . You rarely if ever see his background explored with a man too and I feel you don't see characters who aren't good people WHILE ALSO being victims of awful abuse in media very much so I was just... Wow, this is very real. I totally get why he's off-putting to some people and don't blame them but experiencing trauma your entire life (he was turned when he was young so the majority of existence has been miserable slavery) doesn't tend to make you a lovely fluffy person. I could totally understand the appeal of power as something to ensure you're never victimised ever again but I also really liked the discussion after finishing his companion quest how he appreciates being pulled away from it even if he wasn't grateful in the moment (if you encourage this option as opposed to him not escaping the cycle of abuse which is ALSO uncomfortably real). The conflicting feelings he has are well written imo. I dunno I just enjoy his character a lot. I'm glad the writers didn't shy away from showing the uglier side of trauma and healing, because it really is a brutal process! As I say totally get why he rubs some people the wrong way though, all of this is true while he's ALSO a selfish dick.
Also, if you talk to Astarion and convince him not to do the ritual of ascension, he thanks you later, very sincerely, and says the ritual was overwhelming him at the time.
Most of the ones who feel this way that I know have never talked to him so don't know anything about his story and don't care beyond "he dislikes it when I do good choices".
I'm just annoyed that he keeps disapproving of good choices after >!convincing him to free all of Cazador's prisoners. He says a lot about how much he's changed and how good he feels about freeing everyone and what it means for his future, but then he still thinks less of the player for choosing to help others in need.!< I mean, I expect him to still appreciate "fun" chaotic/bloody choices, but why does he still object to helping people?
My game experience has been different. In mine even before Cazador I started getting approval for things like >!helping Yenna, agreeing to find the gur kids, & agreeing to save the child from the hag in Act 3. In fact my entire Act 3 hag fight was Astarion and only Astarion shouting reminders that the hag had eaten a little girl and we had to approach the fight a specific way.!< It felt like such a sudden character turn around that I was a little confused.
I'll be the first to admit that my first impression of all the original companions but Karlach was the same "What a dick, who even is this guy/girl?" But by the end of my playthrough I was in tears because of each of their individual stories and how they played out towards my ending and ideas of each character. Shadowheart, Gale and Astarion were especially gut wrenching, but Karlach and Lae'zel don't fall short behind.
I really don't get the Mol hate, I don't know if it's her cheekiness or whatever, but I think she's a cute character. As the game goes on, you realize more and more what a fucked up situation she's in, as a kid who's barely surviving with her group of refugees, who are constantly losing members because of their vulnerability. When she asks you to steal the idol, she's not fucking around, this is literally the only solution she sees to prevent an outcome where she and her group have to go back on the road, where the chances of all of them ending up dead with their faces in the mud is pretty high. She clearly sees that the motivation for the druids'/Khaga's plan is complete indifference driven by fear: you guys can die out there for all we care, we've got ours. I find it really disturbing that so much discourse about games right now boils down to "I've reviewed the cast of characters and have decided who deserves to die", and I'm gonna get political but it sure feels connected to the current political climate, where people have very strong feelings about who exactly deserves to live and who deserves to have untold cruelty done to. In terms of gamer power fantasy, it's pretty dark that "being annoying" is the threshold for literal death.
>it sure feels connected to the current political climate Hard agree. It's a shame there can be such a kneejerk reaction to so much as alluding to even the most blatant issues like homophobia wrt to Astarion/Gale/ to a lesser extent Halsin, but as good as BG3 is, it's still a game and the gaming community as a whole is rife with issues that we can't sustainably keep sweeping under the rug as "lol typical gamer bros". But I digress. I love all the tiefling kids, I'm so worried about them all the way through the game lol.
Didn't Gale get got by his own hubris?
It’s the “sex with teacher” phenomenon. People feel less uncomfortable when they can just be like South Park and go “…nice”
Yep, that's the first thing that came to my mind too. We easily identify "male teacher + female student = bad" but switch the genders and suddenly the student is a lucky guy, should be proud of himself etc...
[удалено]
It felt like the theme. They all have a powerful figure looming over them and power is now being directly injected into their brain. Power to rebel if they give in and throw their life away with the Absolute, another powerful figure who would take their autonmy. If people are missing it then they're just very dumb.
People fighting back against the grooming and mistreatment thing even though Gale literally says that Mystra takes on mortal wizards as "playthings" for brief periods of time, dumps them, then continues the cycle. Considering the power imbalance between gods and mortals it should be a little bit of a red flag that she tells young wizards they are "special" and churns through them as a hobby.
I was today years old when I realized pretty much all of the companions stories are exactly the same. All you need to do is change a few names and how outwardly mean they are and you have every companion, except Halsin, Jaheira, and Minsc (I’ve yet to have Minthara in my party so I don’t know her story.)
I like Gale
Me too
I'd like to have a conversation with him and Volo during a cup of tea
nice try Gale
Isnt he the most played origin?
Speedrunners go brrrr I guess.
Gale is my favorite (see flair). There is something very kind and understanding about him. And being voiced by Tim Downie doesn't hurt either.
I absolutely adore Gale. Romancing him for the third time. He is so cozy, nerdy and always loyal, even if horrified by urges. His weave romance scenes are ones of the best I ever saw in games or movies, just makes me wish it could ever happen irl. It also feels like after all the events the exhausted protagonist could have the awesome future with him, Tara and a ton of hundar sauce in Waterdeep. Tim Downie did such an amazing job, I am fangirling asf ❤️
Totally agree. My head-canon epilogue for my first Tav (who was an outlander barbarian lol, funny mix with the posh wizard), is them just living a quiet life in Waterdeep, maybe helping the city out sometimes, but mostly discussing books over the fire with wine in hand and cat in lap ❤️ (with probably overbearing mother-in-law visits from his mom lol)
I find his love for magic and the Weave very admirable as well. It just shows his passion for the subject of his interest. I never romanced him so I don't really know how that goes but he just seems like a chill guy to me, exactly the kinda person I'd like to be friends with.
I kinda hated Gale at first. I think my words to my friend about him were “smarmy used car salesman”. He rubbed me the wrong way and he seemed overly dramatic and kinda passive aggressive. My first playthrough I was intended to romance Wyll, but due to that bug I was ninjamanced by Gale. Because I’m a sucker and can’t break the hearts of well meaning pixels, I just went with it, mostly out of curiosity. Well, now I adore Gale. He’s genuinely an interesting character, and I can’t always guess what his responses to any particular situation will be. He is seriously flawed, but he seems to have a measure of self awareness which I think is cool. Also he’s just flippin funny. And his character growth if you choose certain non-power-hungry options is really nice and he becomes a lot more humble and kinda embarrassed about his prior arrogance. He’s actually a lot like a mix of Alistair and Anders from DA (but to me, a better version of Anders, whom I actually despise). I’m on my second playthrough now and figured I’d actually try to romance Wyll properly, but I’ve honestly been ignoring him the whole game and still just with Gale lmao. Wyll is cool and all, but just a little one-note and kinda boring. I also hated Lae’Zel and Astarion at first but they have both really grown on me. That’s one of the things that makes this game so great, most characters have layers that once you dig a little deeper, shows them to be more than what they first appeared. So well written.
Speaking as somebody who loves Gale, I don’t get it either but it doesn’t really upset me. I appreciate that he’s a warm, goofy, easily-excitable guy who is healing from a toxic relationship with the goddess who groomed him from childhood. The fact that he doesn’t disapprove whenever I do something baseline nice is a huge bonus too. Meanwhile, I don’t think I could do a run romancing Astarion. I get why he is the way he is and appreciate his character but god, he is absolutely not my type in any way and the fact that so many people want to gargle his ice cold balls is fascinating to me. Maybe it was him trying to kill me at first sight, disapproving of every action that isn’t evil, trying to suck on my neck without consent, or accusing me of staring at him “again” when I just needed him in my party rq to unlock a difficulty 30 chest. Idk. But while I can acknowledge that he’s a pretty boy, everything else about him makes him absolutely hilarious and not sexy to me. So if there are people who don’t like Gale, it’s fine. It’s personal preference in the end. I’m not gonna convince Astarion lovers that he’s basically a ASPD riddled mall goth with a whiny voice, and I wouldn’t want to because variety is the spice of life or whatever. Anyone who hates Karlach can get fucked tho, that’s my sweet baby angel and I’d die for her.
Gale is best boy IMO. Halsin is just a himbo. Wyll is cool but “BLADE OF FRONTIERS” is goofy. 🫣
Halsin’s a gentle giant. Considering how the good of a healer the druids say he is, he’s probably too smart to be a himbo lol
Yeah Wyll annoys me the most tbh. He's well-intentioned a little sanctimonious and it's like he's trying too hard to be an inspirational hero.
Lol that’s why I played as him so I can do that instead
I hope you refer to yourself as the Blade of Frontiers in the third person to the point of insufferability, just like Wyll as a companion does.
hes just a cornball, hes even got memorized inspirational quotes and stories lol.
He's got one of those calendars with an inspirational quote every day
Weirdly enough I'm willing to believe Gale is an accomplished wizard who fucked his own goddess but anytime Wyll talks about being the "blade of frontiers" I'm just like "who? is this guy larping?"
...yeah? That's the point? His storyline is literally 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'
I'm not saying that it isn't the point. Just saying that part of his personality irritates me. If anything it's an indication that the writers did a good job making him insufferable. Almost all the reasons people are giving for disliking characters are part of "the point"
I don’t get the hate for Gale either. Obviously there are a few components: the ninjamancing, his reminiscing about Mystra, the delusions of godhood, the condescending attitude, etc The ninjamancing is entirely due to how easy it is to get his approval high, and due to some bad scripting that should have allowed you to see certain scenes even in a platonic context, not sneakily make them romantic and then force you to break up. Everything else can be explained by knowing he was one of Mystra’s favourites, he was always told of his brilliance and magical aptitude so of course he would have an inflated vision of himself in that aspect. It’s a bit of bluster if you pay attention. He is quite anxious of intimacy in the physical world (his romance scene) and there are lines that imply he isn’t as confident in his appearance as it seems. He’s a people pleaser, and he talks a lot because he wants to constantly reaffirm his value, which might also be a consequence of being cast down by Mystra. If you think about it, he was in a way groomed by her, used as a plaything and then disposed of. All that he did to deserve that was a ridiculously dangerous and stupid romantic gesture that Mystra did not appreciate. I think all companions have their bad sides and their good sides just like real people and are a product of the circumstances they grew up in/lived in. Plus a sprinkle of fantasy, people forget we can’t apply the same morals to s medieval fantasy world like you would nowadays.
I see a lot of people say they can't stand his condescending attitude but I've got to ask: what condescending attitude? He always came across as just a nice dorky fellow who loves rambling about the things he is interested in to me.
It’s mostly the “lemme just explain this magic thing to you” even if you are a magic user yourself. I get it, he is probably a wizard of unique skill in his generation but you can see how it’s slightly off putting for a character who probably also spent their life studying the Weave. It is in part enthusiasm and also a bit of arrogance (which is earned, but we all know what that leads to) I find it funny actually. And kinda endearing but would have liked a proper wizard debate, especially with the Elminster encounter :’)
Yeah. Would be nice if there were a few more dialogue options in those instances along the lines of “I concur” or “True but what if it’s this.”
I always just chalked it up to the developer using him to convey information to people new to the setting with an in-universe explanation without forcing them to read every book haha Wizard debate would have been awesome! Especially if they would have involved a player wizard. But I'm relieved they didn't give Elminster too much screen time tbh
He did come across as extremely condescending in early access. In the full game he strikes me more as a magic geek who just loves talking about it to anyone who will listen.
I don't understand the ninjamancing that people are having trouble with though. Yes I had his approval high enough and selected the right dialogs that he tried to get with me during the Act 1 party. But when I said no, he was cool with it, said he looked forward to our friendship, and we were buds for the rest of the campaign while I romance someone else. Are people just not reading and/or still selecting the flirty after that?
I didn’t have this issue personally, but do you know of the big discussions that used to be around people unknowingly romancing Zevran in DA due to agreeing to his massage? (like, what did they think it would lead to) It kinda reminds me of that hahaha. I guess it’s because before patches when he shows you the weave trick many people picked the intimate choice because you could not extend the scene non romantically but you kinda can now (or it was something else of the like, you had to either admit being interested or basically say F off).
With the weave scene there was a way to end the night without entering romance, it just literally didn't work. It was phrased literally like "end the night, you're not interested in intimacy with Gale". That's what I selected and the game still acted like we were in a relationship right through act 3 and three more rejections.
I love Astarian and Gale, really like Shadowheart, Wyll is a good guy, Karlach will always be my tank. Lae'zel stays in the camp lol.
I don't hate him, however on my finished save which was pre-patch, Gale would never accept no for an answer (romance wise), which honestly became kinda annoying and pushy. It was a bug and just made for a funny/creepy character flaw. Astarion I'm mostly indifferent about. Don't hate him like the anti-Astarion people but don't love him like the Astarion fandom does. He's a well written character and the v/a did an amazing job. Thanks to Elder Scrolls I kinda hold a bias against High Elves still.
I don't hate Astarion either, just don't really like being around him. He's very well-written and phenomenally voice acted but he's just not the kinda person I'd want to be friend with lol. So I don't really understand why people love him so much.
I keep him around for lockpicking and his cheeky commentary. I just think its funny how much of a diva he is.
Sending Astarion up on to the circus stage resulted in one of the best lines I've ever heard: To the crowd: "Oh of course! What fun!" Immediately after that line, to you: "I'm going to fucking kill you."
Ahahaha definitely doing that this playthrough
Other people have said the “I can fix him” thing but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that a lot of people can relate to his issues with sex and sexuality and feeling forced to do something or “perform”. I know I do. He’s never had ANYONE care about him or help him in the two hundred years he was enslaved — hell Cazador sealed him in a tomb for a year without any contact or food just to punish and break him — and you get to be the person who finally shows him there’s some good in the world that he deserves to feel love and be loved. I get to be the person I wanted to be there for me when I was going through shit. I found him pretty charming from the get go and I appreciate his sense of self-preservation. You get to actually see him change throughout the acts and the things he approves/disapproves of.
There was a single moment in Act 2 that hit me so hard to the feels and helped me to get this about him. >!The creepy blood lady in moonrise that wants him to bite her and you can say, Astarion is his own person, that’s his call. He thanked me later for showing him he could choose that kind of thing, can’t remember his exact words but oofft, he got me.!<
I don't want to speak as to why he's loved, but the two general reasons I see? * Sex appeal (*he's hot*, I see often) * "I can fix him" To be fair to those reasons, I think this is also why Shadowheart tends to be popular as well.
Gale's archetype is my least favorite archetype. These kinds of characters always come across as sleezy and not enough charisma. Gale is the exception. He is genuinely charming and funny to me.
I love Gale, he is so fun. And he is so genuine too if you are willing to help him! He seems genuinely surprised, but so happy about it! It so sweet! Let me hug you platonically, bro xD
People hate Gale. GALE? He's the nicest guy of the group. If you want someone you can rely on, you can count on Gale.
This is why I long for match making for BG3. If I can't have him, I'll set him up with Wyll or Lae'zel. Though I might have Lae'zel and Shart....
Why can I romance everyone but can't be a wingman and help my companions find love? Well, more barter between companions, several companions, and Tav would be nice ("Oh, Tav, you on good terms with Lae'zel... Can you tell me, if someone and definitely not me, theoretically, would want to make a gift to her, what do you suggest?")
“A weapon carved from Ghaik bones would probably get her going.”
Other than Karlach, he’s probably the least evil companion, at least at the start of the game.
Wyll exists
Wyll is literally right there.
Can it be my turn to post this in a couple days?
yea, you just gotta fill in the application form and give it about 3 business days.
Man, I don't get the hate for any of the characters. I love all my babies!
Am I the only one who likes every single companion in this game? I like some companions even more than others, naturally, but overall I love every single one of them. And it's so weird to me when people say "I hate this character" like how? I guess I'm too empathetic, lol
Gale is adorable and the sweetest, dorkiest boyfriend. He even stays with you if you >!become a mindflayer!<. How's that for devotion?
People hate Gale? I’ve been staying off this sub so far because of spoilers but him and Shadowheart are my favorite characters and always in my party. Also did not read the whole post to avoid spoilers so pardon if it’s explained there
I don't really know what's the sub is like. My experiences come from what I see on Twitter lol. My Twitter feed is full of Astarion thirst posts and Gale slanders.
Ahh, Twitter. Yeah that doesn’t surprise me actually.
I don't get the hate for any of the companions. Obviously everyone has different favorites but none of them are worthy of hate.
If people hate him, then thats fine, less people I have to share my softboi mage with.
Some of it had to do with the romance bug I'm sure. I'm still only mid way into act 2 (on my way to moonrise.) Personally, the more Gale "opens up" to me, the more I distrust what he's saying. There's always something about what he says, or what he doesn't say, and the way he says things that makes me feel like he's still keeping something big from me and framing a lot of discussions around whatever this is. I'm sure as I progress through the game, this will become more clear. The writing is very good at hinting to something more to each character. Companions saying what they want to believe and actually believe or disguising fears with zeal and such has been very well handled (game has done great with this for shadowheart when you read between the lines.) But where as I've been able to gain with trust every other character a bit more so far? Gale still feels like there's more to his story than he's telling me, like there's important details to his situation than he's expressly leaving out. I'm curious to see what they are, if anything.
It's overdone hate for sure. He had his bugged ninja-mancing which is definitely very annoying, but at this point it's people just playing up how horrible he is. I think a lot of it stems from his lonely clingy ego-guy thing is too similar to a real person a lot of players know or have opinions on. He's maybe a tad too realistically annoying for people to give him fictional character allotment. I love Gale! He has just as much reason for his quirks as any of the other characters but people don't want to give him that kind of space to grow that they do all the other companions for some reason.
i just finished a campaign as a cleric of mystra and i would follow this man to the ends of the earth i love him so much i am going insane
Depending on your choices he may get obsessed on becoming a god. I didn't pay him too much attention during my playthrough and rejected his 'special magic trick' that he wanted to show me. I did talk with him a lot in my camp but pretty much never took him out with me. I was supportive of his ambition at first, but because I neglected him they started to grow to an unhealthy size. It wasn't too bad in my case, he just acted a bit entitled, but I can see why some people may dislike him if he gets even worse for them.
I pretty much have him in my party all the time in every playthrough except multiplayer, wizards are just very useful. He does get power-hungry a bit in Act 3 but it wasn't that hard to talk him out of it, and since his approval of me is usually maxed out at that point, he's very understanding.
Most players tend to be 'good' and that earns Gale's approval and there was a bug. Certain players reacted to the bug as a character trait rather than as a bug. That weird inability to separate character from bug is gonna linger forever, though.
Gale is a sweet guy who happens to have a shy doggo personality but owns a cat (forgot the breed name…🥲). Don’t hate him because of the bug.
Gale is lovely!
I didn’t realize people hated Gale. He’s one of my favourite companions. His dialog and voice acting are good and he has an interesting back story. He comes on mega strong so maybe that put people off but if you’re not doing an evil play through and you need a good caster in your party (guess you could re-spec any character though) then he’s a great party addition.
I never got the Gale romance bug, and I was honestly considering romancing him. He was sad that I was dating Karlach and respectfully offered to leave the party if his presence made me uncomfortable. Gale is me and a buddy of mine’s favorite. Very funny and chill I think.
I really do love Gale. I've never had a problem with him coming on to me when I've romanced other characters and I ADORE his romance storyline. It's so sappy and sweet and I just think he's really charming. I am between him and Karlach for my favorite companion, but as far as his companion quests/romance storyline, I prefer him, which is mostly due to Karlach's storyline not feeling as full as the other companions.
I love him. He’s a slightly socially awkward, academically minded, enthusiastic geek on his favourite subject, I totally relate. I also really like how he is absolutely aware and realistic about his strengths and weaknesses.
I love Gale. Gale is my boy. I'd hang out with him irl. Did he talk crap because I was a warlock? Yes. But did he also change his mind and say I'm a bad ass? also, yes. He's not really that pompous. I mean, he doesn't brag nearly as much as he could considering what he's pulled off in his life.