The truth behind one of Baldur's Gate 3's most hotly-debated lines might have been found lurking in a 28-year-old D&D source book

Mar. 29, 2024

“A handsome younger man,” huh?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

The answer to one of the most hotly-debated lines inBaldur’s Gate 3might have been found lurking in a decades-old D&D source book.

This article contains late-game spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3.

If you’ve made it to the end of Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll have met Enver Gortash. The archduke of the city is up to some nefarious deeds, and you get your first peek at him beneath Moonrise Tower, shortly before you head to Baldur’s Gate itself. For many players, that first peek was a source of some confusion.

Bane preferred never to be seen in person and hence almost never sent a pure avatar to the Realms. He did possess mortals from time to time to serve as his ersatz avatars, preferring young and good-looking men of slim build, cultured tastes, wealth, and power - often bored young noblemen. Any person Bane possessed quickly assumed the appearance of a handsome, black-haired man of oily looks and a derisive, even cruel, manner.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Interestingly enough, while the Baldur’s Gate 3 community has been puzzling over that line for months, this potential answer to Gortash’s appearance has been part of D&D canon for nearly three decades.

Bane could cast spells from any sphere or school, but could not mend or create anything material or living. He could raise recently slain beings, however, and evoke solid but temporary spell effects such as the whirling blades of a blade barrier.

After playing Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin 2, I’m more convinced than ever that I’ve found the best power in any RPG.

I’m GamesRadar’s news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I’ve run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam’s latest indie hit.

The Witcher 4 may not have Geralt after all: his actor was “slapped by CD Projekt” for accidentally sharing a rumor that he’d be in it, just not as the protagonist

Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a surprise update a year after its once-final update, even after CDPR moved basically every dev to other games: “Sometimes, you want to do it ONE MORE time!”

Todd Howard “rolled his eyes” at the idea of Troy Baker playing Indiana Jones in the Great Circle, but the Bethesda boss later told him “you’re doing a hell of a job”