Baldur’s Gate 3 players discover very well-hidden reference to first game

A single line of dialogue in Baldur’s Gate 3’s epilogue is actually an obscure references to the development of the original game in the franchise.

In the first Baldur’s Gate, when the player delves into the Nashkel Mines (the game’s first story dungeon), they encounter Xan, an elven mage wielding a glowing moonblade. If the player frees him, he can join the party, using his enchantments to control the minds of their foes.

It was revealed in an interview with IGN that during the development of Baldur’s Gate, Xan was meant to be a Githzerai. This was changed for game balance reasons, which backfired as Xan is a notoriously terrible party member, thanks to an incredibly low Constitution/hit point score.

A user on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit has pointed out a connection between this Xan race tidbit and the events in the post-launch epilogue scene.

During Baldur’s Gate 3, you have the chance to procure a Githyanki egg as part of a quest. If you choose to keep it, Lae’zel will adopt the child when they’re born, naming them “Xan”, in what is likely a reference to the origins of the old party member.

This isn’t the only time that Xan is referenced in Baldur’s Gate 3, though the other one is a bit more risque, as he’s discussed in a romance novel.

As another user in the thread pointed out, “Also, you may know this, but one of Withers’ hirelings is Xan’s son: Zenith, once an optimistic Evereskan Graycloak, journeyed to Faerûn in search of a new sunrise. An Absolute warband proved his dour father right: Zenith was doomed!“

Other users in the thread praised the discovery, “I haven’t played the previous BG games, this is awesome trivia to know! Hopefully, at some point, I’ll get the chance to play BG1 and 2 in the future so I can pick up on more of these little references.”

Xan might not have been a powerhouse in Baldur’s Gate, but the developers of the third entry clearly had some affection for him, considering the subtle references to the poorly mage and his incredible magic sword that he can’t use. He’s overdue for a return. Maybe he’ll show up in one of the new D&D books.