The sheer amount of options available in Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the things that separates the title from even some of the greatest RPGs ever. This game offers you a stunning number of ways to approach and overcome the various obstacles you’ll encounter during your journey. As such, you’d think that the game would offer you easy ways to change your character’s appearance and class.
However, it turns out that one of those options is significantly easier to access than the other. Here’s everything you need to know about changing your characters appearance and class/stats in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Change Your Character’s Appearance
Unfortunately, there is no way to directly change your appearance in the base version of Baldur’s Gate 3. By that, I mean that you can’t simply visit a certain NPC or pull up a menu in order to alter your character’s physique, race, and other major physical features. You will want to make sure you’re happy with your character’s appearance by the time you leave the initial character creation screen, as that is the only place in the game that offers you complete control over their looks.
However, you can alter your character’s appearance throughout the game via less direct means.
For instance, you can always use the Mask of the Shapeshifter to change your basic appearance. Those who purchased the Deluxe edition of Baldur’s Gate 3 will find the Mask of the Shapeshifter at their campsite in the nearby inventory chest. By equipping that item in your character’s “Helmet” inventory slot, you will gain a skill called “Shapeshift.” Click on that spell and then click on your character, and you’ll be presented with a list of optional appearances that essentially double as disguises. So, if you happen to choose to disguise yourself as another race, you’ll gain access to the unique interaction options that race would typically have access to. You’ll even gain access to some of that race’s unique bonuses, which is especially handy when you’re trying to overcome certain puzzles that require a specific touch.
Unfortunately, the Mask of the Shapeshifter doesn’t allow you to fully-customize your appearance. Furthermore, there is no known way to acquire the Mask of the Shapeshifter if you did not order the Deluxe edition of Baldur’s Gate 3. If someone discovers another way to craft or acquire this item, we’ll be sure to let you know.
You’re not completely out of options if you didn’t purchase the Deluxe edition of the game, though. Most notably, Bards, Clerics, Rogues, Rangers, Wizards, and Sorcerers can gain access to the “Disguise Self” spell, which essentially allows you to replicate the Mask of the Shapeshifter’s basic functionality. Warlocks can also access the Mask of Many Faces ability, which is their class’ equivalent of the Disguise Self spell. Every version of that spell will allow you to access the benefits of the race you disguise yourself as.
Just note that these disguises will automatically wear off after your character takes a Long Rest. Furthermore, some subclasses will not be able to access that spell at all, even if their main class’ other subclasses have access to it. For instance, Gloom Stalkers are the only Rangers that can access the Disguise Self spell, and Arcane Tricksters are the only Rogues that can utilize that ability through natural progression.
Beyond that, the only other way to notably alter your character’s appearance is to change their currently equipped items. Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of those RPGs that alter your character’s appearance in order to reflect their equipped gear, which means that each new piece of gear will change your look at least slightly. That’s probably not the expansive appearance-altering option that you’re looking for, but it’s always something to consider.
Finally, you may eventually be able to alter your character’s appearance mid-game via Baldur’s Gate 3 mods. At the moment, though, I can’t find a recommended mod that allows you to change your character’s appearance at will or through an NPC. However, I’d be willing to bet that some ambitious modder out there will find a way to add that functionality to the game.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Change Your Character’s Class
While it’s surprisingly difficult to alter your appearance in Baldur’s Gate 3, changing a character’s class is remarkably easy.
To respec your Baldur’s Gate 3 character, you need to visit Withers at your campsite. To unlock Withers as an NPC, head to the Dank Crypt area near the beginning of Act 1. At the end of that mini-dungeon, you will encounter a hidden wall containing a mysterious sarcophagus. Interacting with the sarcophagus will cause several nearby corpses to become reanimated. Those corpses will attack you, so it’s a good idea to come into this area with full health and a couple of companions ready to help you fight.
After the fight, interact with the sarcophagus again. You’ll summon a mysterious mythical corpse known as Withers who will ask you a series of questions. At the moment, it appears that all of the dialog options you choose will eventually end with Withers deciding to set up shop at your camp. There doesn’t appear to be a way to kill Withers at this time (he’s already dead after all), so it’s best to just let him get on his way.
Once Withers is at your camp, you’ll be able to speak with him and purchase some of his various services. Among those services is the ability to change your current character’s class for the modest fee of 100 gold. You’re able to purchase that service as often as you’d like, and the fee will never change. As such, there are few actual downsides to utilizing it as often as you’d like.
However, there are a few other things you need to know about respeccing characters in Baldur’s Gate 3:
– Withers can change your companions’ class as well as your player character’s class.
– Withers will not allow you to change a character’s race or appearance. However, he will let you change your subclass and reassign all of the ability points you’ve earned with that character so far.
– It’s generally more difficult to respec your character late in the game, especially if you’re trying to respec into a class that can’t use your previous class’ primary equipment. If you believe you may want to respec your character into a completely different class later in the game, it is best to ensure you have a way to properly gear them before doing so.
Finally, while changing your class via Withers is fairly cheap, quick, and relatively painless, it’s never a bad idea to save before initiating that process just to make sure that you can quickly return to your previous form for no additional charge should you feel the need to do so.