‘There wasn’t a dry eye in the house’ – Baldur’s Gate 3 writer reflects on including tribute to a fan’s father with Alzheimer’s

A Baldur’s Gate 3 writer has reflected on Larian Studios’ decision to include a tribute in the game to a fan’s father who has Alzheimers, and said they’re “really happy we got to honour the mighty mindflayer hunter.”

As IGN reports, the origins of this story date back to 2020, when one player, who goes by the username Solfalia, took to the Larian forums to thank the developers for releasing Baldur’s Gate 3 in early access. They explained that the early access release would enable them to play the game alongside their father – something they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to do after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Their post resonated with the people at Larian Studios, and in a follow-up post made by Solfalia last September, they confirmed that a “super writer” had reached out to them to ask if the team could include something in the full release of the game to honor their father.

The tribute in question came in the form of an NPC named Golbraith, described as a legendary, retired mindflayer hunter, who can be found in a cellar in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate. Solfalia wrote at the time: “Not only did Golbraith look like my father, but he had multiple lines of dialogue. Some really touching ones too (for me, at least). The different papers in the house were amazing, the stack of letters between Golbraith and his son put a lump in my throat. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t misty-eyed. The secret mind flayer hunter cellar was awesome.”

Solfalia added that although their father can’t play the game now, when they told him about Golbraith, “he loved every moment of it.”

As screenshots of this post have been doing the rounds on social media, Baldur’s Gate 3 writer Rachel Quirke responded on Twitter / X, and wrote: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when we read that letter, and I volunteered to write Golbraith. (I’m not super writer [by the way], and I’ll respect their privacy unless they want to reveal themselves). Really happy we got to honor the mighty mind flayer hunter.”

At the time of writing, the anonymous “super writer” seemingly hasn’t come forward. However, in a separate post, Baldur’s Gate 3’s director and the CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, added: “Super writer is an amazing human being.”

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