Romance is in the air in Baldur’s Gate 3. Just like in reality, the mysteries of love can make romance confusing, frustrating, and sometimes baffling — but if you really want to get busy with your favorite party members, that’s a big option in this massive cRPG. All 10 party members have romantic storylines you can complete, and we’re going to give (general) details on how to romance them all. We’ll also explain the ins-and-outs of love, and why your romantic endeavors might be falling on deaf ears. There’s a lot to say about romance in Baldur’s Gate 3, so grab your biggest box of heart-shaped chocolates and let’s break down exactly what you need to know.
More Baldur’s Gate 3 guides:
Beginner Guide | All Origin Companions | Should You Use Tadpoles? | Recruit Minthara | Recruit Halsin | Recruit Jaheira | Recruit Minsc | Romance Karlach | Infernal Iron Locations | Best Magic Items In Act 1 | Owlbear Companion | Craft Healing Potions | Perfect Pickpocket Guide | Oathbreaker Paladin Subclass | How To Cure Gale | How To Rescue Halsin | Kill The Goblin Camp Leaders | Assassin & Gloomstalker Tips | Defiled Temple Puzzle | Auntie Ethel Guide | Underdark Entrances | Easy Gold Trick
Who Can I Romance In Baldur’s Gate 3?
There are 10 major romance options in Baldur’s Gate 3. Each party member can be romanced — though some party members have more in-depth romance storylines than others. Origin characters found in Act 1 will begin their romance storylines almost immediately if you speak with them often and raise their approval rating.
- Romance Options:
- Astarion the Rogue
- Gale the Wizard
- Lae’zel the Fighter
- Shadowheart the Cleric
- Karlach the Barbarian
- Wyll the Warlock
- Halsin the Druid
- Minthara the Rogue
- Jaheira the Druid
- Minsc the Ranger
There is also a secret romance option found at the very end of the game. We won’t spoil it here, but near the end you will be given the choice to ally with a disgusting creature. You’ll be able to romance that disgusting creature and even get a sex scene.
Are Sex Scenes Explicit?
Yes. Some characters will quickly progress their romantic plot to reach a sex scene, while others will demure and require patient progression. Karlach for example may seem hot-headed, but you will only be able to romance her by completing her companion quest in Act 1 and Act 2. Others like Lae’zel or Astarion are faster.
Sex scenes are explicit, with full-frontal nudity. You can disable / enable content restrictions in the options menu to censor nudity or remove it entirely — and yes, this is where your genital customization will appear front-and-center. Though these sex scenes aren’t extremely explicit — and yes, you can shapeshift or disguise self for these scenes. You can even be in a Bear or Animal form with a Druid, but don’t expect to see any animal nudity.
Does Gender or Race Matter For Romance?
No. Your character can be any gender or race and still romance any other character. No characters have special racial requirements or gender preferences. The only choices that matter are how your party members react to your actions, and how you talk to them at the camp.
Can You Romance Multiple Characters At Once?
Yes and no. Each individual party member can only have one romantic partner. If you are romancing once character, you will need to break it off to romance another by explicitly telling them. This will end the relationship permanently. While single character (your custom main character) can only have one romantic partner, your other characters can also have their own romance subplots.
By switching characters (to Gale for example) you’ll be able to pursue and romance Karlach, Shadowheart, Wyll, and more. You can control your party members separated, and you can try to pair them off and romance them. This can be tricky — if you’re mostly using your main custom character, you’re less likely to build up a relationship between characters. But some characters will bond naturally. Lae’zel and Astarion, Shadowheart and Wyll, Halsin and Jaheira, etc. By managing your characters and letting them lead the party more often or talk to each other at camp, you can spark multiple romance storylines in a single playthrough.
How To Improve Your Relationships
To improve relationships, you’ll need characters to be in your party and make choices they approve of. This isn’t always ideal — if you’re Good, it may be easier to romance characters like Lae’zel and Astarion by leaving them at camp and talking to them between visits. It is very important that you complete character Companion Quests. By progressing Companion Quests, your party members will naturally increase their approval of you — by helping and defending them, letting them speak for themselves, or by resolving their problems.
- Astarion: Neutral Evil. He approves of using tricks, deceit and being generally sneaky in your dealings. Help by tricking or defeating the hunters that are after him near Auntie Ethel’s house in Act 1. Let him talk to Raphael in Act 2, and deal with the Vampire Coven in Act 3.
- Gale: Neutral Good. He approves of any kindness and generosity shown. He does not care if you follow the law or not. Give him magic items to consume and be supportive while also helping him find an alternate solution to his magical problem.
- Karlach: Lawful Good. Despite her appearance, Karlach is actually one of the most heroic party members. She will always approve of helping the weak or being generous. She will also approve of fighting evil always. Take her to Dammon in Emerald Grove and upgrade her Infernal Heart with Infernal Iron pieces. This is required to progress her romance storyline.
- Lae’zel: Lawful Evil. She will approve of dealing with situations with violence and following authority. She generally will want you to ignore the weak and destroy your enemies with no mercy. Let her talk to the Githyanki in the far northwest of Act 1, then meet the Creche. Help her by letting her enter the purification machine first and support her turn against the Githyanki.
- Shadowheart: Lawful Neutral. Despite her desires to become a chosen of the evil goddess Shar, Shadowheart is actually kind and approves of doing the right thing in most situations. Help her learn more about Shar and let her complete rituals in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act 2. While she initially does not approve, push her to turn against Shar.
- Wyll: Chaotic Good. Again, Wyll will approve of general acts of kindness and helping others — anything that harms an innocent, he will be against. He also approves of using underhanded tactics against evil, making him (sometimes) align with characters like Astarion. You must help him break free of his pact with the devil Mizora to increase approval.
You can also romance the four additional unlockable party members, though their storylines are relatively shorter.
- Halsin: Neutral Good. A paragon of virtue, Halsin will always help the innocent and nature. You must help him save the Emerald Grove and remove the Shadow Curse permanently in Act 2. Doing this can almost guarantee romance.
- Minthara: Chaotic Evil. The most villainous character you can recruit. If you help her destroy the Emerald Grove, she will immediately join your party. She will also immediately (almost immediately) initiate a sex scene. She isn’t here for romance.
- Jaheira: Lawful Good. Another heroic druid. She will only join your party at the very end of Act 2. That makes her romantic subplot much more condensed.
- Minsc: Chaotic Neutral. The infamous (and infamously insane) Ranger returns late into Act 3. Yes, you can have a very short romantic interlude even with Minsc.
Can A Romance Permanently End?
Yes. If you initiate a full romance storyline with a character, you will preclude all others. Usually, these moments are marked with a kiss, a date or even a sex scene. At any point, if you’re worried you’ve gone too far, talk to your other party members. If you’ve progressed your romance a small amount but not initiated a full romantic storyline yet, you can back out — there are also certain key points that can end romantic subplots.
- Resolving the Act 1 Emerald Grove storyline can end or initiate multiple romance options. Halsin, Karlach and Wyll will become impossible to romance if you join the Goblin Camp and destroy the Emerald Grove. Most likely, this will also make Gale and Jaheira impossible to romance.
- During the party with at your camp with the Tiefling Refugees, you can initiate a romantic storyline by choosing one character to spend the evening with. You can only pick one!
- Minthara can only be romanced if you destroy the Emerald Grove and help the Goblin Camp achieve victory.
- Karlach can only be romanced if you keep Dammon alive and help him upgrade her Infernal Heart. She literally can’t touch you without these upgrades.
- Halsin can only be romanced if you resolve his storyline in the Shadow-Cursed Lands in Act 2.
And there are most likely many more wrinkles to the romance system we haven’t discovered yet. If your favorite character isn’t being romantic with you, you may have made a critical choice that makes them forever cold to you — either by siding with the wrong faction, not helping during their companion quest, initiating romance with a different character, or just because they’re not that into you.
Romance can be a complicated subject in Baldur’s Gate 3, so save often, visit your romantic partner and go through all their dialogue options, and support them in their adventures — it helps to keep them in your party too.
