It's long been known from a file name left in datamines from Early Access that Halsin and Jaheira would have had a fight in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, but because it's been so hard to find anything, no one could ever find what it would have been over.
I managed to find some stuff in the datamine. The only problem is that it's all dialgoue that isn't tagged to any speaker or any scene, but by inference, I'm pretty sure I've found some lines and context for it. So I'll put that here. I am really sad this got cut- it gave some much-needed depth to both characters, and showed how much pain both were in at an unwinnable situation.
The TL;DR version: The Harpers had to abandon the Druids to save themselves. Halsin still blames the Harpers in part for the deaths of his friends since they were left to fend for themselves, while Jaheira still thinks the decision was painful but necessary, and that it wasn't personal since they abandoned some of their own Harpers too. Tav could take one or the other's side after hearing them explain what happened that day.
Below are the lines I found. I don't know for sure that they were meant to be in this order, or even if they were all in the fight scene. Like I said before: I’m doing my best, but I can’t guarantee 100% accuracy here. That said, I am going to do my best to guess the rough order the lines would have been spoken in, but this is just an educated guess.
Presumably Halsin, unknown if this line is directly before the following line or not: “The Druids stood beside Harpers once, in this very land. But then you left, instead of helping push back this curse. You left, and my friends died.”
(Presumably) Halsin: “We were so close. Instead, a century passed, this whole region still suffers, and the [Emerald] Enclave never recovered from the losses. You’re a druid yourself- you must understand.”
(Presumably) Jaheira: “Of course. We ousted Ketheric together, but all paid dearly, and would have paid more. Had our leaders not deemed the position… untenable.” (More dialogue, which I can’t recover, follows this: this probably leading to an accusation that Halsin is shortsighted based on his response)
(Presumably) Halsin: “I am focused, not shortsighted. I promised to lift the Shadow Curse, and will not leave until it is done.”
(Presumably) Jaheira: “Spare me your scowls. The Harpers did all they could- all but die in vain. The position was simply untenable.”
(Presumably) Halsin: “Untenable? My friends are rotting in this foul earth because we were left to fight Ketheric’s curse alone.
(Presumably) Jaheira: We abandoned our own too, if you wish to phrase it that way. The cursed lands are littered with Harper dead.”
At this point or another, possibly before this, Tav could have taken sides, saying either “sounds like the Harpers were just being pragmatic. They couldn’t have known,” or “and then Harpers abandoned you? No wonder you’re angry.”
I also found some other lines that are definitely outside of the fight and, assuming they belong to Halsin^, show he is PISSED about this:
^I assume they belong to Halsin because of the new context of the fight; no one else would have had a reason to be that salty at the Harpers. But since I don’t know for sure I’m gonna say about 80% confidence these are Halsin’s.
“I’m surprised to find you here. I thought the Harpers had forsaken this whole region.”
“Of course you heard. You Harpers all talk to each other. Run schemes. Play with lives.”
“Spoken like a true Harper- trying to juggle the world’s problems while solving none of them.”
(Presumably to the player character) “I’ve heard that kind of talk before, from the Harpers. I can only hope you seize your chance, when it presents itself.”
And another Halsin line I really liked that would have added so much depth: “The Oak Father lost many of his finest servants in what followed. And I lost many dear friends. As long as I hold on to that anger, a part of them stays alive with me. Until the curse is lifted.”
I am really sad this is no longer in the game, but hey, at least we have headcanons! I hope you enjoyed reading what I found, anyway.
i think the reason i like Gale Dekarios so much is because he doesn't actually want to die. of course, he would, and believes that is what he deserves - the weight of a decision already made and accepted. but that's just it, isn't it the decision is made for him. it's not his own.
lots of people are suicidal to gain control, but i don't even think my darkest moments were from control, but from resignation. the same kind that made Gale hear "you are most worthwhile to me if you are dead" and accept it at face value. of course, the words themselves never say that, but we can read between the lines.
Gale becoming the God of Ambition is such a romantic ending, if you don't look close. he could never be less than enough, because he is divine - he is everything. but divinity does not overwrite the part of him that will always be small ad scared.
accepting and celebrating a simple life and a whole self does that. i want that too.
Minsc is a Beast Master Ranger, Berserker Barbarian, and Champion Fighter, swinging his greatsword with Boo by his side. Yes, there’s mechanical overlap with Beast Master and Boo, and yes, I wrote the build anyway.
[check out my other builds, and view my build disclaimer about why this (and all my other builds) are not prioritizing gameplay optimization!]
Gameplay Notes
This is designed to approximate Minsc’s gameplay in previous games: rushing to the front lines of combat and swinging a big sword. The Ranger and Barbarian levels are used largely for lore purposes, and don’t have too much gameplay benefit - this is a true example of a multiclass that is weaker than any of its components. That being said, unlocking the Berserker ability (instead of the generic Rage) and having the ability to Summon Companion (even though you probably won’t, because you have Boo automatically) adds to the roleplay of being Minsc. Worth it, in my opinion!
Minsc’s (default) stats: STR 12 / DEX 17 / CON 13 / INT 8 / WIS 15 / CHA 10
Updated stats: STR 17 / DEX 14 / CON 15 / INT 8 / WIS 8 / CHA 10
[this is the one time I will break my own rule about changing companion stats, because this makes NO SENSE. I get that it’s because Rangers in 5e rely more on WIS, but that’s not a good enough reason for the default monstrosity…]
Level 1 - Ranger Level 1
Favoured Enemy: Ranger Knight [he literally became a statue so he could protect Baldur’s Gate again when it needed him. that being said, RIP the unused heavy armor proficiency since this is a Barbarian build]
Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer: Cold
Level 2 - Ranger Level 2
Fighting Style: Defence
1st Level Spells [take utilities like Longstrider and Enhance Leap]
Level 3 - Ranger (Beast Master) Level 3
Summon Companion [I guess you can use this if you want, but it’s mostly for the character vibe since we already have Boo]
Level 4 - Ranger (Beast Master) Level 4
Feat: ASI+ STR>18, CON>16
Level 5 - Ranger (Beast Master) Level 5
Extra Attack
Companion Bond [can anyone tell me if this actually applies to Boo? all my research so far has failed me, though I assume it doesn’t…]
2nd Level Spells
Level 6 - Barbarian Level 1
Rage [we’re aiming for Berserker mostly to match his backstory]
Level 7 - Barbarian Level 2
Reckless Attack
Level 8 - Barbarian (Berserker) Level 3 [yay! he is a Berserker again!]
Level 9 - Fighter Level 1
Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting
Level 10 - Fighter Level 2
Action Surge
Level 11 - Fighter (Champion) Level 3
Improved Critical Hit [if you’ve read enough of my guides, you’ll know that I tend to avoid using Battle Master unless it actually fits the character, despite it clearly being the best subclass]
Level 12 - Fighter (Champion) Level 4
Feat: ASI+ STR>20
Items
Armor - Adamantine Scale Armour (1 Grymforge)
Melee Weapon - Sword of Chaos (3 Murder Tribunal) [how many times does Minsc have to kill Sarevok? maybe if he steals his sword, it’ll be for real this time lol]
Ranged Weapon - whatever you have laying around
Amulet - Amulet of Misty Step (1 Defiled Temple) [i’m very aware this is not the cream of the crop. he’s recruited in act 3, and there aren’t many build defining items that make a 5/3/4 level split make optimized send, so here are some qol upgrades]
Helmet - Flawed Helldusk Helmet (3 Forge of the Nine) [i like the vibe of Minsc being untouchable by mages, so the bonus to Saving Throws seems fitting]
Ring 1 - Ring of Regeneration (3 Sorcerous Sundries)
Ring 2 - Crusher’s Ring (1 Goblin Camp) [i’m not giving strong items to Minsc, usually, so this is largely qol as well]
Gloves - Legacy of the Masters (3 Forge of the Nine)
Boots - Blackguard’s Greaves (3 Murder Tribunal) or Unwanted Masterwork Graves (3 Forge of the Nine)
Cloak - Fleshmelter Cloak (3 House of Healing Morgue) [if you haven’t given it to anyone else - it’s pretty good for frontliners]
Lore and Flavor
Minsc’s Berserk ability in previous Baldur’s Gate games provides a challenge when creating a lore-friendly build. I think the easiest way to replicate this ability is with a Barbarian Rage, and I think it’s cute that one of the subclasses is called Berserker, so I went with that. The issue this poses is that suddenly, Minsc shouldn’t be wearing heavy armor, which feels like a really big tradeoff to me, so I did want to point that out. A future Minsc build without Barbarian levels is in the works, with fewer nods to his lore but better gameplay.
In this build, I also break my self-imposed rule about changing companion statistics because… obviously. Minsc should be high STR and low WIS, like he is in previous games — I tried to get as close as I could. Also, I always pick the Wasteland Wanderer: Cold for Minsc’s Natural Explorer because it feels the most appropriate to his time in Rashemen.
The other thing to point out is that Minsc gets pretty much no benefits from the Beast Master subclass. If you just take Find Familiar and Summon Companion out of your hotbar and stick with summoning Boo, that is probably for the best. But I wanted to respect the fact that his bond with Boo is his Ranger companion, even though the game doesn’t handle it that way.
Basically, making a realistic build of Minsc is hard and definitely way below a threshold of optimization. [I run into similar problems with Jaheira - something something DND 2e blah blah changes in 5e… you get the point] But, by the time you recruit him in Act 3, you probably have some impressive party members already, so I think it’s fine.
Hello Rosymourning, I wanted to ask you if you were going to make any more BG3 builds? I also noticed under Party Comps you talk about builds that you haven't posted?
thanks for asking! i have been slacking lately due to real life pressure, but i do hope to post something again soon!
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