Baldur’s Gate 3 has some of the best-written NPCs and most loveable characters in RPGs. But what would a socially complex game be without irritating and infuriating characters that crawl under your skin? Here are my Top 10 worst Baldur’s Gate 3 NPCs that are annoying and unlikeable.
Top 10 Worst NPCs in Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranked
10. Oskar the Painter
I had no problem helping this guy out at the Zhentarim Hideout — until I found out how he treats people. The fact that he’s lowkey cheating on his wife and unable to do right by anyone was a big red flag. But then you free him, and he has the audacity to try and scrounge more money from you. This dude just makes me mad, and to top things off, the quest reward is a painting that goes for a measly 20 gold.
9. Mayrina
A lot of people in the BG3 community find Mayrina annoying. I’m on the fence, though. Sure, she’s made some poor choices in her life and blames you for them in the end. But then again, she goes through a lot, and I ultimately feel sad for her.
Her’s is a similar case to Rolan, where you may find him annoying, but he’s acting like that because he can’t save his siblings. That said, both of them find some sort of a redemption arc in Baldur’s Gate, which puts Mayrina firmly in the center of my list.
8. Naaber
It’s Noober’s great-grandson! Naaber starts out annoying but grows on you if you played previous games. I personally love the voice actor, too. That said, his vexing voice, fratboy persona, and endless dialogue do make him unpleasant to interact with if you don’t know about his legacy value in the series.
7. Volo
Alright, this one is similar to Naaber. Volo’s made to be annoying. He’s your classic comedy relief sidekick meant to irk the heck out of you, thereby making the journey lighter. I’m much more okay with him in my second playthrough, but I was furious with him in my first one.
His incompetence and empty self-confidence end up costing you an eye, and you can’t cosmetically alter it in any way. To be fair, the See Invisibility spell is useful against the Duergar.
6. Lae’Zel
While much more than an NPC, Lae’Zel can understandably be irritating at times. It’s the point of her character; she’s stubborn and self-centered after being raised in a militant culture of zealots. She ended up growing on me as we learned more about each other, but throughout Act 1 and Act 2, I had a lot of “Listen here you little…” moments.
5. Zanner Toobin
While Zanner joins you as a potential companion and, from a narrative standpoint, does help out, he’s mechanically useless in a fight. That’s not to mention he doesn’t give you the password to get around the Steel Titan fight, forcing you to risk life and limb for nothing.
In short, Zanner only looks out for himself. One pro tip I have is to cast Speak with Dead on him for some answers if he ends up dying in your playthrough.
4. Omotola
Most merchant characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 are decently pleasant to interact with. Typically, we pay them no mind and move on with our wares. Enter Omotola, a passive-aggressive trader who mixes subtle insults with poor salesmanship. She owns the Glitter Gala in the Lower City, and personally, I would have steered clear of this place in hindsight if it wasn’t related to some quests.
3. Kagha
Talk about being generally unlikeable. Kagha not only kicks out refugees by force but almost murders a child for touching an artifact she couldn’t possibly steal. We can understand her actions to the point of defending her people, but it’s such an extremist and unempathetic way to go about things. Also, the two half-elves in her sanctum are the worst little buggers ever — even after you save their pathetic asses.
2. Wulbren and the Ironhands
This is hypocrisy manifest. I was down for saving Wulbren from Moonrise in my BG3 playthrough, though I was skeptical about the Ironhand rune powder terrorism terrorist plot.
I didn’t have the full story. Jump forward to rescuing Wulbren, where he wants to eliminate criminals for acts he himself committed by cooperating with Sarevok willingly, and that all changed.
The entire Ironhand cast is a bunch of hypocrites, and they even refused to save Wulbren in the first place, looking out for their hides and leaving you in Grymforge. The worst part is that we don’t even get a dialogue option to call them out on their BS.
However, if you disagree with them, you automatically trigger a fight. Unlike most BG3 NPCs, I can’t relate to these dudes at all.
1. Nere
Yes, villains are made to be unpleasant and annoying, but there’s just something especially punchable about Nere. It’s the haughty aristocratic persona and a general lack of empathy for others, I think.
Not only does he completely disregard you even after you save him, but he wants to sacrifice you just for mentioning he spares the lives of slaves he’s treating like trash. Suffice it to say, I not only defeated him in combat but reloaded a save to Shove him into lava for good measure.
And that’s my list of the top 10 worst Baldur’s Gate 3 NPCs that are annoying and unlikeable. For more BG3 features like this one, check out our best Speak with Animals interactions.
