Baldur's Gate 3 is a massively successful role-playing game developed by Larian Studios and based on Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, and its success drove it to 2023's Game Awards, where it was officially declared Game of the Year. It continues to wow and amaze with its brilliant storytelling, engaging gameplay, and memorable characters. Among those characters are a host of companions that players can take with them on their journey, each of which has a unique personality, wishes, and desires that can be revealed through the game's dialogue and the player's choices while progressing through the game.

Early on in Act One, players may encounter a mysterious Ornate Mirror in the basement of an old building in the Blighted Village. Upon inspecting it, it presents players with a series of questions, of which all but one can be answered in the same way by the player character and each companion. The only question that inspires different answers for each character is the last one — "If you could see anything in me, what would it be?" Every character's dialogue options for this question are true to them, which allows players some insight into their real motives and personalities.

Tav and the Dark Urge (Player Character)

• I'd see the ones I love.
• I'd look for whatever spell will rid me of this worm in my head.
• I'd see my enemies suffering.

Tav and the Dark Urge both function as the player characters, and their answers are always the same: one good, one evil, and one focused on the task at hand. Since these choices ultimately rely on what the player wants for their character, it's impossible to discern the player character's personality. However, selecting "I'd see the ones I love" results in a negative outcome. The most acceptable answer is the neutral choice about getting rid of the worm.

Lae'zel

• I'd see myself as a kith'rak: ghaik head in one hand, silver sword in the other.
• I'd see the zaith'isk, the purifier — a relic used to extract a tadpole.

Lae'zel's answers are entirely as expected. Githyanki are generally very skilled in combat, and both of her answers reveal that much about her. She is arrogant and often cruelly blunt, but these characteristics undoubtedly contribute to her confidence and battle prowess, especially as she claims she would see herself in the mirror as a conqueror of both mind flayers and the parasite inside her brain.

Lae'zel is a practical, single-minded Githyanki warrior. She just wants to ride a dragon, honor her Queen, slaughter her enemies, and extract the enemy spawn that lives inside her head. Her answers reflect that she truly believes that she can accomplish her goals if her people help her. She's the first ally that the player encounters and the most aggressive, so her sincerity is a relief.

Shadowheart

• I have no memory of my parents — I'd like to see them, at least once.
• I'd see myself as Shar's Chosen, with all her powers at my disposal.
• I'd see those who'd tormented me in the past receive the same.

Shadowheart is a cleric of Shar, the goddess of darkness and destruction, and she is on a sacred mission to retrieve the Astral Prism but has had her memory altered to preserve the confidentiality of the artifact's purpose. Curiously, none of her answers refer to removing the parasite from her head, despite that being her main topic of conversation in-game. Instead, her answers reveal the ongoing conflict within her — that, despite her loyalty to Shar, she still has at least one arm outstretched toward the past.

While one of her answers is indeed a reflection of her apparent devotion to the goddess, the others could be seen as weakness, due to the compromising emotions that seem to drive them. This is quite a massive revelation, all things considered, primarily because it shows that her loyalty to Shar may not be as strong as she claims it to be — that perhaps a part of her sees it more as obligatory commitment rather than voluntary devotion.

Her first answer, for instance, reveals in her a weighty desire to see her parents. One would think that if she were wholly committed to Shar, she would not even consider the memory of her parents and would instead keep her eyes forward and fixed on her mission. Her third answer shows her bitterness toward those who tormented her in the past and her desire to see them tormented as well. This line of thinking makes sense, especially considering her loyalty to the goddess of darkness and loss. However, Shadowheart's bitterness still reveals that her past is a weak spot for her. To see her loyalty to Shar quite literally sandwiched between her past is a clear indication of her humanity and perhaps even her longing to finally serve herself for once.

Astarion

• I'd see my home. My real home — the one I haven't seen in centuries.
• I'd see how to safely keep the powers this mind flayer's worm has given me.
• I'd see Cazador, my old master, burning in the sun.

Astarion is a vampire spawn who was in service to the Szarr family in Baldur's Gate for nearly two hundred years. Cazador Szarr, a power-hungry vampire lord and the patriarch of his coven, turned Astarion into a vampire spawn after a group of Gur attacked and nearly killed him one night in Baldur's Gate. In a way, Astarion owes his life to Cazador, as he would have died, had Cazador not appeared and saved him. Of course, Astarion then became nothing more than a slave to Cazador and his family, who tormented and tortured the elf during his time in their service. Now, Astarion believes the mind flayer has loosened Cazador's grip on his mind, allowing him a sort of "twisted freedom" that he may not be ready to relinquish.

Astarion's answers to what he would see in the Ornate Mirror are crystal clear revelations about his personality and character, especially when it comes to his contempt for his former master. His answers about the mind flayer's worm and his longing to see Cazador burn both reflect his desire for power and tell of a being who is willing to do whatever it takes to see vengeance enacted on those who have wronged him, even if that means finding a way to use the worm to his advantage. More than that, he likely now seeks to have even greater power than his old master — that he might make up for the weak and subjected state he was in for so long.

The biggest surprise here is Astarion's homesickness, which he never mentions in the entire first act, save for the occasional party banter where he laments the comforts of Baldur's Gate. However, it's also no surprise at all to think he would want to go back to a time before Cazador found him fatally wounded in the streets of Baldur's Gate; before his life changed forever. He clearly misses the life he had before, which could be an indication that his constant sarcasm and seeming ruthlessness are nothing but a facade meant to disguise centuries of pain and torment. The desire for revenge has nearly blinded him, but, apparently, only just nearly.

Gale

• I would see a wizard tower. A safe haven for me and a sweetheart — forever.
• I'd see myself in my next incarnation: a living manifestation of Netherese magic. A mythal in my own right.
• I'd see my rivals humbled — jealous of the majesty that I've become.

Gale introduces himself as a powerless, but highly approachable wizard. As the player gets to know him better, he weaves a tale of unrequited love and youthful folly that landed him in a precarious position — even before he was tadpoled by tentacled monsters. When he was young, his parents denied him a kitten, so he conjured a tressym named Tara. His talents eventually caught the attention of Mystra, the Goddess of Magic and Lady of Mysteries, who quickly took Gale under her wing and made him one of her Chosen, eventually even becoming his lover. Unfortunately, upon failing an attempt to win the goddess' favor after she spurned him, Gale lost his position as one of her Chosen, and she severed all ties with him.

Gale's first answer has obvious ties to companionship, as he remains heartbroken from his bitter history with Mystra. A part of him longs to return to the wizard tower he grew up in, this time with a lover — back to a time when things were simpler and sweeter. However, his second answer is much darker, as it tells of the doom that haunts him. Long ago, in hopes that he might win Mystra's favor once again, Gale had attempted to retrieve a powerful tome of gateways for the goddess. Sadly, when he opened the book, it only transformed him into a vessel for a Netherese orb that, if not continuously fed, would one day destroy him. Now, he can't escape this lingering thought that any moment could be his last.

His third answer is perhaps the answer that betrays him the most, as it reveals one very distinct detail about him that explains his personality well: Gale is a highly insecure wizard. This answer not only tells of Gale's desire for power but also his desire for his rivals to be "jealous" of that power. Surely, much of this revolves around the feelings of rejection that he experienced with Mystra, as she constantly made him feel that he was not good enough until she finally abandoned him for good.

Wyll

• I would see my father — his arms extended in forgiveness.
• I'd see Mizora, cowered before me and begging my mercy.
• I'd see droves of admirers, gathered to hail the Blade of Frontiers.

Wyll, also known as the Blade of Frontiers, has a complicated backstory, which also conveniently explains each of his answers. When he was only seventeen years old, Wyll's father, Ulder Ravengard, had just been named a Grand Duke when he was called away to Elturel to assist in settling a dispute. While Ulder was gone, the Cult of the Dragon infiltrated Baldur's Gate with the intention of summoning the Dragon Queen and destroying the city. Mizora, a cambion in service to the archdevil Zariel, then appeared and offered Wyll the power to save Baldur's Gate in exchange for his soul. Wyll agreed to the terms and annihilated the cultists with ease, and Baldur's Gate was saved.

Upon Ulder's return to Baldur's Gate, he confronted Wyll, a devil then at his side. Wyll tried to tell his father the truth, but he couldn't form the words, and there was no other way to explain it all, as Mizora had swept the battlefield clean. Ulder then simply said to his son, "Go," and Wyll did exactly that. This is where Wyll's first answer comes into play. He longs for his father's embrace — his father's forgiveness — that he might regain his sonship and a place of honor at his father's right hand.

Wyll's second answer then stretches toward Mizora. While he could not have saved Baldur's Gate without her, there is a bitterness burning within him that creates an appetite for power — enough power that he might turn the tables on Mizora and make her his subject for once. However, his final answer still tells of a desire that likely got him into this mess in the first place. He wishes to be a hero, just as he has always wished. He seeks to be admired, not scorned or estranged. He dreams that his deeds might one day be recognized as honorable, rather than being recognized as the work of one who sold his soul to evil.

Karlach

• I'd see my folks in our house in the Outer City. Mince pies on the window sill. Perfect.
• I'd see myself whole again. My heart beating away in my chest. And Zariel's head on a pike for good measure.
• I'd see the Hells filled in with flowers, and my old boss Gortash on his hands and knees tending them for eternity.

Karlach is a very passionate individual, and perhaps one of the more level-headed companions in Baldur's Gate 3, simply due to her love for life's simple pleasures, her fearlessness, and her commitment to those she cares about. However, her tragic backstory still influences her drive to continue pressing on, and it's largely a revelation of what she would end up seeing in the mirror.

As a citizen of the Lower City of Baldur's Gate, Karlach once took a job guarding a particularly notorious individual, Enver Gortash, for some "easy money." She kept him safe and got paid well, long enough that she learned to respect and trust him, and he reciprocated. Unfortunately, Gortash eventually sold her to the archdevil Zariel, who then implanted a hellfire engine into Karlach's chest and made her a prized soldier.

Karlach's answers reveal her internal conflict. She is certainly a sentimental Tiefling who wishes to leave this life of war behind for the life she used to have in the Outer City — enjoying the simple things in life, like mince pies. Unfortunately, her history with Zariel, who formerly held her in captivity, keeps her bent on a quest for revenge, despite any longing for a normal life. Perhaps it is this desire for a normal life that fuels her rage against Zariel, as she desires wholeness for herself to the point it has driven her mad with anger. Her third answer is also filled with bitterness, as she longs to see the one who sold her into slavery getting his just desserts.

Baldur's Gate 3 presents players with some very interesting ways of getting to know their companions, especially when they speak to the Ornate Mirror. This is ultimately one of the game's greatest features, as it shows the developer's ability to create a host of unique characters, each of whom contributes to the game's overarching narrative in a variety of ways.