The Camp in Baldur’s Gate 3 reflects its adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons mechanic of the Long Rest. When players run out of resources after a fight, the Long Rest is usually their best way of recovering them. This transitions into downtime, where players mingle with each other or do some light tasks before ending the day. In Baldur’s Gate 3, downtime is illustrated in Camp where characters reflect on their current adventure so far.
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However, Camp isn’t just there for the current party to hang out and rest. Aside from all Origin characters and potential Companions that players would meet, Camp also becomes a refuge for other people they get to meet in their adventures.
Updated March 22, 2024 by Erik Petrovich: Baldur’s Gate 3 has a lot of NPCs, but a surprisingly large number of them will show up at camp at some point throughout your playthrough. These BG3 camp companions aren’t necessarily permanent members, and are usually tied to specific Origin characters or story decisions. For example, Alfira won’t join the camp unless you play as a Dark Urge character, and Tara won’t appear unless you choose Gale at character creation. But these characters don’t stick around for long, and won’t appear at all in normal circumstances. Though they aren’t permanent, this guide to all camp companions in BG3 has been updated to include NPCs who fall under these restrictions.
12 Temporary, & Origin-Restricted BG3 Camp Companions
Alfira
Alfira is the Tiefling Bard that most players will meet in the Emerald Grove a few hours into the game. She shows up at parties, but unless you are a Dark Urge Origin character, she will never join your camp.
If you play as a Dark Urge character, though, things are different. After you get to the Druid Grove and talk to her, she will show up at your camp the next time that you take a Long Rest. Alfira doesn’t stay at camp for long, though, thanks to the Dark Urge’s dark urges.
Elminster
Elminster is one of the most famous Wizards in Faerun, and someone that Gale looks up to. As long as Gale is in the party by the time Act 2 rolls around, Elminster will show up in your camp and give him something of a talking to. He won’t stay around, and only appears concerning Gale. If you try to interact with the NPC who is obviously Elminster without him in the party, he won’t say anything of interest.
Quil Grootslang
Quil Grootslang is a very, very rare NPC in Baldur’s Gate 3, and someone who will only appear to the Dark Urge if they are able to knock out Alfira. Normally, Alfira is the Dark Urge’s first brutal kill, but if she is knocked out before that cutscene triggers, Quil Grootslang will take her place. Quil is a Dragonborn Bard, and fills the same role that Alfira would have – an innocent whose path crossed with the Dark Urge.
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Scleritas Fel
Another Dark Urge-exclusive character, Scleritas Fel only appears after the player has killed Alfira or Quil. A humble goblin butler, and a servant of Bhaal, Fel shows up several times throughout the Dark Urge playthrough. Only towards the end of Act 3 will he turn into a Camp follower, and will either praise the player or deride them, depending on their decisions. He will stay or be killed, depending on which of the two reactions he has to your choices.
Tara
Tara is a camp character exclusive to Gale. Tara might look like just a magical cat with wings, but she’s actually a Tressym, a race of… winged cat-like creatures. Tara is Gale’s childhood pet, and appears at camp at several points in Act 1 and 2 to speak with the Wizard of Waterdeep and help him with his affliction.
Do not read the next entry if you have not finished Shadowheart’s questline
Arnell & Emmeline Hallowleaf
Arnell and Emmeline Hallowleaf are two characters players won’t meet until very, very late into the game. At the conclusion of Shadowheart’s questline, she needs to make a choice: if she makes the choice to save them, Arnell and Emmeline Hallowleaf will stay alive, and will join you at the camp for the final moments of BG3.
11 Withers
An Early, And Crucial, Member Of The Camp
Players first encounter Withers in the Dank Crypt during the “Explore the Ruins” quest of their Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, taking place just along the Overgrown Ruins. Given how the large door near the Waypoint is locked, players are advised to work their way around the area, conveniently meeting other Companions along the way. Once they reach the Chapel and work their way inside, they can fight bandits and end up in the aforementioned crypt.
Withers takes the appearance of a skeletal lich-like figure, whose purpose in life (as far as he tells the players) is to accompany them on their journey. After their initial conversation, Withers joins Camp as a permanent NPC. He’s mainly in charge of reviving allies, respeccing characters, and even recruiting new Companions.
10 Volo
He Wrote A Guide To Monsters – With Lots Of Embellishments
Despite his appearance as a whimsical bard, Volo is actually a famed scholar, sage, and Wizard who traveled Faerun in adventures that often end up in guidebooks. He’s the same Volo in the D&D book “Volo’s Guide to Monsters,” with the author sharing rather intimate knowledge on monsters that other authors have yet to explore. In Baldur’s Gate 3, players meet Volo in the Emerald Grove trying to document the goblin invasion, and they eventually have to rescue him from the Goblin Camp after he’s been abducted as a “pet” by one of the locals.
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Upon rescue, Volo chooses to become a permanent member of the Camp and serves as a rather humorous NPC that players can regularly interact with about their adventures. Volo takes the perspective of an author writing Faerun’s greatest adventure thus far and reacts frequently to the player based on their choices.
9 Scratch
Loyal Pooch, And The First Of Three Camp Animals
Gamers who start roaming around Act 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay may soon stumble upon a corpse with a dog beside it. The dog is wearing a collar with the name “Scratch,” and his whimpering implies the recently deceased was its owner. With the right checks, players can invite Scratch over to Camp, and it will appear there the next day.
While Scratch just roams around the Camp, petting him will earn the Approval of all party members. With players looking for features to pet dogs in games, being able to constantly pet Scratch can become a stress reliever from the game’s rather intense story.
8 Owlbear Cub
Win The Goblin Camp Game To Rescue This Cute Companion
Players who enjoyed exploring the area of Act 1 will likely encounter the Owlbear Mother and her Owlbear Cub in a cave near Moonhaven. Should players meet them for the first time, they’re encouraged to leave, enter, and then leave again. Soon, the Owlbear Cub will be seen chased in the Goblin Camp. It’s imperative that players leave, or else they may have to fight the Owlbear Mother and the Cub with their Versatile Weapon or spells.
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When players manage to catch it in the chasing game and persuade the Goblins to free them, the Owlbear Cub can find its way to the Camp. This is one of the trickier Companions to become a staple in the player’s presence, given the specific nature of their acquisition.
Oathbreaker Knight
Paladins are one of the most unique Classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 courtesy of their Oath, a promised duty they plan on fulfilling on behalf of their deity. In both D&D 5e and the Baldur’s Gate game, Paladins who break their Oath become Oathbreaker Paladins, summoning the Oathbreaker Knight to Camp to oversee the holy knight’s penance.
The Oathbreaker Knight stays in camp for the duration the Paladin in question remains an Oathbreaker. Should they pay the price to renew their Oath, the Oathbreaker Knight finally takes his leave.
7 Arabella
Save Her From The Snake To Give The Bone Man A Friend
The young Tiefling Arabella was a victim of Kagha’s cruel new leadership of the Emerald Grove, with the rest of the Druids shocked at her zero-tolerance policy towards the refugees. When players mediate in Arabella’s stealing of the idol, they can save her and return her to her family.
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And when the Emerald Grove is saved from the goblin attack, players can encounter Arabella again in Rethiwin Graveyard. Should this reunion happen in a player’s Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, they can recruit Arabella as a trainee. This prompts her to appear in Camp as an interactive NPC.
6 Thaniel
The Spirit of A Once-Cursed Child To Haunt Your Camp
When players visit the Shadow-Cursed Lands in their Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay, they’ll be surprised to learn that the child Thaniel serves as its cursed spirit. If players inform Halsin about the child’s condition, they formulate a plan to help Thaniel be restored.
Once players manage to do this, Thaniel will be healed and will join Camp soon after. Despite his appearance as a child, he offers both childlike wonder and unique insights to the players as they talk to him. While not as “unique” as the other NPCs in terms of his dialogue, the presence of an actual spirit makes for an interesting addition to the lively Camp.
5 Isobel
A Cleric Of Selune, Tied To Several Big Names
While Selune and Shar are at odds with each other in Dungeons & Dragons lore, her servant Isobel becomes a Camp settler once players lift the Shadowcurse and help her free her lover. Thankfully, the Shadowcurse arc makes up a significant part of Act 2, which means recruiting Isobel rests heavily on the decision of whether to help her lover.
Being the daughter of Ketheric, Isobel can offer unique dialogue on Selunite culture and lore, which makes for an interesting contrast to the team’s resident Shar follower, Shadowheart.
4 Nightsong
Spoiler Alert: The Nightsong Isn’t A Weapon, She’s A Person
When players reach Act 2 of their Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay, they come across Nightsong or Dame Aylin. Upon freeing her from her prison and defeating Ketheric, she joins the party in the Camp.
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While not necessarily a recruitable character, the inclusion of such an important figure in the story can give players a semblance of how important their mission is to the people of Faerun. She also provides rather unique insight regarding the player’s current adventure, making her interactions with the other characters more worthwhile.
3 Yenna & Grub
A Girl And Her Cat – And Orin’s Interference
After players begin Act 3, they will enter Rivington and be greeted by a young girl named Yenna. Yenna – alongside her cat Grub – asks the player to help find her mother. There are a few options for players to choose from in this dialogue choice, but ultimately it doesn’t matter which response is selected.
After finishing her introduction in Rivington, Yenna will show up at the camp and ask to stay. If players let Yenna stay in the camp, she stays as a permanent camp member – until the Orin questline, during which she can be kidnapped or killed if players don’t have Lae’Zel in their party.
2 Mizora
Wyll’s Personal Demon, Given Physical Form
Mizora is the devil responsible for Wyll’s warlock powers, and serves as his patron. An agent of the Archdevil Zariel, who Karlach and Gortash have deep connections to, Mizora will interact with players and Wyll several times throughout the campaign. However, it is only after Wyll makes another deal for knowledge of the location of his father, Duke Ravengard, that she will offer to stay at the camp.
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Like many camp companions in Act 3, Mizora doesn’t react to nearly as many in-game events as other, recruitable camp companions met earlier in the game. But what she lacks in unique dialogue she makes up for with the possibility of romance. If players pursue the Mizora sex scene, though, their relationship with Wyll may never be the same.
1 Duke Ravengard
The True Duke of Baldur’s Gate, And Wyll’s Father
Duke Uldur Ravengard is Wyll’s father and the leader of the city of Baldur’s Gate. He is captured during the events of Act 1, in the northwestern Waukeen’s Rest, and is given a Mind Flayer Parasite to allow total control over his mind by the Absolute. However, after players learn where he is being kept by Gortash – after he unwillingly ascended Gortash to Archduke – they can stage a rescue and bring him to camp.
The Iron Throne is an underwater prison that can be extremely difficult to get through in one piece, especially when there are only five turns to perform the rescue and escape. But after bringing him back to camp, he and Wyll will speak, and he will tell players of a dragon hiding underneath Baldur’s Gate who might be recruited to the heroes’ side.
Baldur’s Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
