Baldur's Gate 3 writer says they're sorry they "fumbled" an infamous community romance: "At least you know I ship it"

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Dark Urge x Gortash is so close, yet so far

Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Gortash, a human man with tousled brown hair and shadow-y facial hair, smirking
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

If there's one thing Baldur's Gate 3 stans have been dreaming about, it's the ability to romance Gortash - and one of Larian Studios' former narrative design leads wishes they could make it come true.

The Baldur's Gate 3 companions are unique, each with distinct personalities and looks - from the aggressive Lae'zel to the cunning Astarion. There's just one flavor of companion missing, and it's one that would complement Dark Urge Tavs quite nicely - evil. You could argue that Minthara fits the bill, but she just doesn't cut it compared to the main three antagonists - Orin, Ketheric, and the handsome devil stealing fans' hearts, Gortash.

It isn't just fans, though - the RPG's companion and romance lead would also love to rewrite the script to allow for long-requested Dark Urge x Gortash action. Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, writer Baudelaire Welch reveals that while they personally "believe in the Dark Urge x Gortash ship wholeheartedly," they "never saw it coming." Gortash's popularity came as a surprise - as did his presentation in-game.

"I think we always imagined that Gortash was going to be an 80-year-old man over the course of development, and then we saw his model and it was like, 'Oh!'" Suddenly, the villain was more akin to a hot emo boy band vocalist than an elder like Ketheric. "I so, so, so wish that I had seen that coming and added some optional hints of reactivity into that whole thing," says Welch, thinking back on the possibilities.

In a follow-up post about the Dark Urge x Gortash ship that sadly never sailed, Welch jokes that they're "Sorry I fumbled the aging scene band frontman x bad dragon" - but says "at least you know I ship it." Unfortunately, it's likely that Larian won't get around to allowing us to smooch the bad guy with good hair - the studio recently said you still can't make out with the "complicated" yet handsome Gortash in the RPG's upcoming patch.

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.