"It's a dreadful thing you've asked us to do": Baldur's Gate 3 writer says creating the game's "celestial elephant detective" was an uphill battle for devs who really wanted her to drink a glass of wine

A screenshot shows the Hollyphant Valeria enjoying a goblet of wine. — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 has an elephant detective – yes, an elephant detective – who might seem effortlessly cool. Valeria, a member of the generously golden, winged Hollyphant species in D&D, likes enjoying a cup of vino like it's no big deal, like she isn't an elephantine abnormality. But it might be easier to believe her supposedly nonchalant 'tude if Larian junior writer Martin Docherty hadn't revealed how demanding Valeria was during development.

Talking to Larian senior communications developer Aoife Wilson in a new episode of the developer's Show and Yell stream, Docherty explains that creating a pompous, drunken elephant out of thin air is as hard as it sounds.

Show And Yell: Aoife talks with Junior Writer Martin Docherty about Birds, Bunt Chugley and more! - YouTube

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"You're like, what if this, like, celestial elephant detective was like Columbo but bad at his job, right?" Docherty says about the process of pitching Valeria as a character. "Then there's all the arguments, all the debates, and the champion of, 'No, no we do need to give them the hat. The hat is very important.'"

I have to admit, Valeria wears her saucy little detective's cap with style. But fashion is only a small problem for Valeria. It's the alcohol that we really need to talk about.

While creating her character, the writing team apparently decided that, after Det. Valeria concludes an investigation, she'd like to saunter down the road for a drink. This idea resulted in "cinematic artists being like, 'We desperately want this elephant to drink the wine. However, it's a dreadful thing you've asked us to do,' which is, yeah, fair enough," Docherty remembers. But it all worked out in the end. I mean, come on, it's just one glass of wine. How bad could it be?

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