Baldur’s Gate 3 missed a huge opportunity with the Cleric class

Baldur’s Gate 3 underutilized the potential of the Cleric class, thanks to a lack of reaction in dialogue when it comes to your chosen deity, especially in regards to one party member.

In Baldur’s Gate 3 and D&D, a Cleric worships and draws power from a god or goddess. They are expected to follow their deity’s tenets and deal with their enemies, which means conflict often breaks out between different religious orders.

The game doesn’t require a Cleric party member, as you get one straight off the bat, thanks to Shadowheart landing right next to you after the tutorial. Unfortunately, Shadowheart is a Cleric of Shar, the goddess of Darkness, and one of the most hated deities in the Forgotten Realms.

If you also play a Cleric, you can choose Selune as your deity. Selune is the goddess of light and Shar’s sworn enemy. Despite this, Clerics of both gods aren’t particularly adept at spotting each other, as pointed out in a thread on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit.

Larian Studios

For one thing, the player character fails to recognize that Shadowheart is a Cleric of Shar, despite the prominent holy symbol she wears. But more importantly, there’s a distinct lack of animosity between the two, with the interactions taking the form of insults rather than outright hostility, even though they should be mortal enemies.

The lack of interactions between Selunite Clerics and Shadowheart is notable. As pointed out in the thread, “Yeah…the dialogue is pretty weak and not thought out very well tbh overall…Larian wasn’t really able to account for all types of scenarios, which is understandably a big job.”

“I am also running a Selunite Cleric/Paladin now, and was laughing at this exact same scene,” another used to say. “Also, the fact she tells about secrecy is everything to Shar while having all this blatant Sharran stuff around. Well, maybe common plebs don’t know how Shar worshippers look? I have no clue. But since Selûne is pretty popular, I guess Shar, being her counterpart, should be somewhat well-known, too.”

One user offered the most obvious answer. “She’s pretty and your cleric was just getting distracted.”

Baldur’s Gate 3 often tones down some of the D&D lore-centric interactions. If it didn’t, Drow would be unplayable, as people would attack them on sight. The game allows you to attack Minthara if you’re playing a Lolth-Sworn Drow, and the same should be true of Selunite Clerics when they discover Shadowheart’s secret, especially when it’s so poorly kept.