One of the only things missing from Baldur’s Gate 3 is the option to care for the many orphan children found throughout the game—something Skyrim and D&D both allow.
It’s safe to say Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t leave many stones unturned. The game has been rightly praised for letting players approach its challenges however they want, rewarding creative and unconventional strategies. Plus, there are a multitude of secrets that players are still uncovering months after launch.
However, there is one place where the game falls short, and it’s something Skyrim allowed players to do: adopt children.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s dark world is full of children in need of parents. Early on, you’ll meet various tiefling children among the refugees being pushed out of the Grove. Not all are orphans at this point, but many of their parents don’t survive the game.
Among the tiefling children are some of the most interesting arcs in Baldur’s Gate 3. Saving Arabella from Kagha means she’ll appear in Acts 2 and 3, in which she loses her parents and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Withers. There’s also Mol, the leader of the refugee children, who ends up making a deal with one of the game’s most beloved villains.
Another standout child character is Yenna, a child from Rivington who, in part, exists to get kidnapped by Orin if no one else is available.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
These child characters have so much potential, with Arabella acquiring magic in Act 2 really feeling like a plot thread for whoever ends up developing Baldur’s Gate 4 to build upon. But even though there’s a chance we’ll see more of the kids down the line – likely once they’re all grown up – I can’t help but wish I could take care of them now. And I’m not alone as a Reddit post titled “Let Me Adopt The Children You F******” shows.
Skyrim’s Hearthfire expansion added the option to adopt children among various home buying and designing features. Players with homes or homesteads can adopt children they find on the street or visit Honorhall Orphanage. The latter even allows players to adopt children whose parents die during gameplay.
I’ll admit that it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to add home building and parenthood to Baldur’s Gate 3 from a story perspective. After all, Tav has enough on their hands, many of the Origin characters don’t seem like they’d be great parents, and the Dark Urge should be kept away from children at all costs.
Then again, the perils of the adventurer’s life haven’t stopped countless Dungeons & Dragons parties from adopting children they find during their journeys. Pretty much every Dungeon Master, myself included, has at least a couple of stories about their players getting super attached to an orphaned child or stray animal. Many players love to, formally or otherwise, adopt NPCs and make them key parts of the story, even (or especially) if it makes no sense.
But that in itself is one of the beauties of D&D and something Baldur’s Gate 3 embraces. The game accounts for so many chaotic and ridiculous things players want to do, which makes me wish adopting the orphans of Baldur’s Gate 3 was an option.
