Fantasy Books to Read Based on Your Favorite Baldur's Gate 3 Character

Magic? Check. Memory issues? Check? Angsty emo phase? Triple check.

This book is dripping with everything that makes our favorite moody cleric… well, our favorite.

The life of 16-year-old Bree Matthews is left in shambles after the death of her mother, and she is desperate to leave behind her childhood home—as well as her childhood memories. UNC-Chapel Hill's residential program for brilliant high schoolers offers the perfect escape. At least, it does until her first night on campus sees a magical attack.

There's a flying demon feeding energies, drawing out the secret society of “Legendborn” students to hunt it down. But in the chaos of the attack, a teen mage by the name of Merlin tries—and fails—to wipe Bree's memory of the magic she's witnessed.

In Merlin's failure, a magic awakens inside of Bree, along with a hidden memory. The night her mother died, Merlin was at the hospital.

Knowing now that there is more to her mother's death than a simple accident, Bree will stop at nothing to find the truth—even if that means becoming a Legendborn.

Bree recruits self-exiled Legendborn-with-a-grudge Nick into her cause, and as they toe closer to the society's secrets, they also find themselves getting closer to each other. However, when the Legendborn reveal that they are the descendant's of King Arthur's knights and divulge that a magical war is on the horizon, Bree must figure out just how far she'll let things go.

Will she use her magic to tear apart the society? Or will she stand beside them in the war?

Gale Dekarios is a know-it-all through and through, but then again, what wizard isn't? What makes him interesting is his ravenous ambition, set against the ticking time bomb inside his chest.

So if you like talented, doomed wizards, then Mélusine is the perfect read for you.

Mélusine is a wondrous and corrupt city. Power and magic thrive within the city walls, making Mélusine the perfect place for one Felix Harrowgate.

Felix is a highly respect wizard and court darling, but behind his magical brilliance he is harboring scandalous secrets. He has a dark past—one that includes a cruel wizard that enslaved both his body and mind. As this sadistic mage taught Felix how to flourish among noblemen, he also inflicted endless abuse.

Felix thought he was free of this darkness. But when he returns to his old master's lair, the life he has built for himself begins to shatter.

At his lowest point, Felix finds hope in an unlikely ally, Mildmay the Fox. Mildmay may be a thief now, but she was once trained to be an assassin. As the enfeebled wizard and wanted killer flee Mélusine, the journey through peculiar lands full of even stranger magic and demons.

In these lands, they will discover shocking secrets that will forever tangle them together.

Full disclosure: Astarion is the love of my life, and maybe that tells you that I spent my first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough hustling people for money and telling children to solve their own problems.

Astarion might have evil tendencies, but some of them aren't his fault! And I'm just a woman, a tragic backstory makes me swoon…

What was I saying?

Right, From Blood and Ash delivers on a sexy, manipulative love interest, perfect for Astarion-romancers.

Since birth, Poppy's purpose in life was to be pure—to be kept worthy for the gods. She is the Maiden, never to be touched, spoken to, or looked at. She must simply wait for the day of her Ascension. But she would rather be amidst the guards, battling the evil that took her family.

The fate of the kingdom rests on Poppy's shoulders, whether she likes it or not. But she can't help that she still longs for something more. And when she meets Hawke, the handsome guard bound to ensure her Ascension, she finds desire is a formidable foe to duty.

Hawke not only enrages her, but he forces her to question everything she has come to believe. And worse, he is the most forbidden temptation she has ever known.

Wyll can best be described as a pure-hearted hero, sacrificing anything and everything for the good of the people. In the midst of a lot of morally gray companions, this can be refreshing.

So if you like your heroes all-heart, then this is the next fantasy read for you.

The gods have awoken after centuries to once again go to war. But all 18-year-old Iris Winnow wants is to keep her family together. As her mother struggles with addiction and her brother has vanished from the front lines, her best hope is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

Trying to sooth her anxieties, Iris writes her brother letters and slips them underneath her wardrobe door. Here they vanish—directly into the hands of Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper. As he anonymous responds to these missives, the pair build a connection that carries Iris through a battle for her brother, mankind, and her heart.

Karlach is one of the most captivatingly dynamic companions in Baldur's Gate 3. Bursting with fury after an unspeakable betrayal, she also manages to be soft and just. A force of brutal nature to those who deserve it, she never takes it out on the wrong people.

If you love a muscular baddie with a chip on her shoulder, Godkiller will definitely tickle your fancy.

The gods were created from human desire and grew powerful from their worship. There are numerous gods in power now, but in the wake of a great war, the king of Middren has outlawed gods altogether. Now he hires “godkillers” to eliminate any who may try to crawl out of the shadows.

When Kissen was a child, she watched her family die at the hands of a fire god. Now she enjoys making a living out of killing gods. Things change, however, when she's asked to help a noble girl whose soul is bound to a small god of white lies. Unfortunately, killing this god would mean ending the child's life, too.

Accompanied by a jaded knight on a secret quest, they must journey to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the remaining wild gods reside. Here, they must each beg a favor.

But first they must survive assassins, demons, and a brewing civil war. There is something dark at the core of their world, and they are all that stands in its way.

Lae'zel is perhaps the most divisive Baldur's Gate 3 companion, known for a cold bluntness and an aggressive blood-thirst. Sure, her edges soften a bit if you opt to get close to her. But some of us like our alien girls nasty.

If you love a military-minded character with brutal capabilities, then you'll love The Poppy War.

The Keju is an Empire-wide test that seeks to pinpoint the most promising youth to teach at the Academies. When Rin aced this test, everyone from the test officials to Rin's own guardians were surprised. Even Rin herself couldn't believe it.

Still, the war orphan was overjoyed at the thought that her life of hopeless servitude was changing. And she thought that getting into Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan, could be nothing but good.

Unfortunately, being a dark-skinned impoverished girl for the south makes her time at Sinegard extraordinarily difficult. Her classmates single her out for every perceived fault. But Rin soon discovers she has an aptitude for the lethal art of shamanism.

Through the teachings of a mad teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin discovers that the gods thought to be dead are very much alive. What's more, mastering her powers could mean much more than just making it through school.

The Nikara Empire may be at peace, but the militarily advanced Federation of Mugen waits across the sea. After the First Poppy War, the Federation occupied Nikan for decades. Nikan barely broke free in the Second War. And now a Third Poppy War is teetering on the brink.

Rin's new shamanic powers may be the only thing that can save her people. But the god that has chosen her is the vengeful Phoenix, and leaning into her powers may come at the price of her humanity.