Better Companions 1.0.0.0 — Baldur's Gate 3

[Kowe]

Having an issue with wilhelmina 1.0.0.5

Seeing what the image was, thanks to Rusty, it's no issue after all.
It is intended that the portrait for Duke Ravengard gets overwritten.

[indefiance]

Getting a mod conflict with NoAlphabet or Realms Restored, I think... Not sure which when trying to use the Astaria replacer. It didn't say they were incompatible...Or is it required to start a new game? Those are the only 2 mods that I have that I think would be affecting anything.

EDIT: Figured it out. Nothing to do with mod conflicts. I had forgotten I had edited Astarion during my playthrough using a resculpt cheat and that prevented him from being configured correctly for this mod. My bad. Works Perfectly.

[indefiance]

THIS. Such a great mod. Fixed all that feminized gay dialogue and behavior from characters by just making them female. Genius. I no longer feel ill talking to smarmy feminine 'Gale', Instead I am intrigued and endeared by a very intelligent 'Gaile'. Same with Wilhelmine and Astaria. Astaria was such a godsend for this game. I hated the original with such a passion I had him in my party a sum total of 0 times. Now I find I actually like Astaria. Same dialogue, voiced by a female makes such a huge difference. Great Work.

[Calumininium]

Hello Kowe,

Any way to have the previous version of Astaria ? I can't edit the face on the new one, the faces are actually duplicating on themselves but the previous version I used to be able to, same for Gaile and Whilemine

Try this one: Link.
Couldn't do some QA since MO2 requires fixing again. Just from looking at its content, it's gotta be the first version.

Having an issue with wilhelmina 1.0.0.5

Image isn't getting displayed on my end.
Just in case a reminder that Realms Restored 2.0 or 3.0 has to be used.

It's alright thanks to OrinEsque guidance I was able to fix the portrait issue, it was with another mod conflicting now I can use your latest updates

[Calumininium]

Having an issue with wilhelmina 1.0.0.5

Seeing what the image was, thanks to Rusty, it's no issue after all.
It is intended that the portrait for Duke Ravengard gets overwritten.

By the way Kowe do you use Appearance custom unlocked for origin character ? I tried using it but it's way too buggy I was thinking maybe you have one version that works for your mods ?

[bardmonk]

Why don't they get new armor, when i hit introduction button, female Wyll and Astarion have fantastic clothes. But when playing it's vannilla. Also thank you so much for female cast. Hopefully, one day you will relase Halsina in BT3, i am using currently one from nexus.

[Trickster]

Why don't they get new armor, when i hit introduction button, female Wyll and Astarion have fantastic clothes. But when playing it's vannilla. Also thank you so much for female cast. Hopefully, one day you will relase Halsina in BT3, i am using currently one from nexus.

Female Halsin makes the bear scene even weirder.

[Kowe]

Sorry for the delayed response.

Having an issue with wilhelmina 1.0.0.5

Seeing what the image was, thanks to Rusty, it's no issue after all.
It is intended that the portrait for Duke Ravengard gets overwritten.

By the way Kowe do you use Appearance custom unlocked for origin character ? I tried using it but it's way too buggy I was thinking maybe you have one version that works for your mods ?

Provided you mean Appearance Edit Enhanced, haven't used it really. A recent test of it resulted in a few conflicts with this mod project. Fixable. Only requires shrinking the Origins add-on of that project and a few changes to the Visuals files from here. Takes maximum 1-2 days to accomplish.

Why don't they get new armor, when i hit introduction button, female Wyll and Astarion have fantastic clothes. But when playing it's vannilla. Also thank you so much for female cast. Hopefully, one day you will relase Halsina in BT3, i am using currently one from nexus.

Different equipment is on the to-do list already. Can be expected in the near future.

[Face]

Better Companions

Previously known as Wilhelmine Ravengard, which is now part of this bigger project. Use the download links below for everything.
For more lines to be changed in the Localization, post them in the Mod Support thread. I won't answer to anything regarding those lines here, as to not see this thread cluttered with it.
For Romance Changes, go to the Even Better Romance thread.
Be sure to read the FAQ for future plans of the project before posting any questions that have been asked already.

Status Report: 12/22/2025:
The update to Wyll's visuals took longer than wanted. A couple of issues arised. Version 1.0.0.5 is compatible with Hotfix #35 (Update 8). Version 1.0.0.4 still isn't.
For the Voice Conversions update, depending on the effort and necessity of refinement, an early version may get released ahead of the finalized one.

Introduction and General Information

An overhaul of the present companions with surprises coming in the future. This project is planned to change the backstories of the characters to varying degrees. A few examples: Astaria Ancunín being the Sister of Astarion, Gaile not being a lover of Mystra and Jaheira being an Elf. It is all a Work-in-Progress and open for changes. The currently available content of the project can be downloaded below.
Be sure to read the FAQ!

Previews

Wilhelmine Ravengard – Version 1.0.0.2

► Show Spoiler

(Armor on the two image parts on the right is either from Extra Gear - Camp Clothes Add-On or Fancy Camp Clothes.)

Wilhelmine Ravengard – Version 1.0.0.5

Wilhelmine Ravengard – Version 1.0.0.4

Astaria

Le'zil

Gaile

Karl

Jaheira

Minthara

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Downloads

Downloads

Companion	Visuals	Voice Conversions (Dialogue)	Voice Conversions (Point & Click)	Localization
Astaria
Gaile
Le'zil
Wilhelmine	1.0.0.5
Karl
Minthara				-
Jaheira		-	-	-
Surprise 1	-	-	-	-
Surprise 2	-	-	-	-
Surprise 3	-	-	-	-
Surprise 4	-	-	-	-
Surprise 5	-	-	-	-

Companions	Animations	Scripts	Items	Class Progressions
Shadowheart	-	-	-	Nightblade
Astaria	-	-	-	Sorcerer
Gaile	-	-	-	-
Le'zil	-	-	-	-
Wilhelmine	-	-	-	Spellblade
Karl	-	-	-	-
Minthara	-	-	-	-
Jaheira	-	-	-	Druid/Fighter
Surprise 1	-	-	-	Monk
Surprise 2	-	-	-	-
Surprise 3	-	-	-	Mercenary
Surprise 4	-	-	-	Shaman
Surprise 5	-	-	-	Engineer

Toolkit Project Back-Ups

Toolkit Project Back-Ups

• Visuals

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Installation

Installation

When not using Mod Organizer 2
Unzip the Zip files and just drag and drop the PAKs into the Mod Manager. VCs will appear under Overrides, the others in the list above.[/spoiler]

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Uninstallation

Deinstallation

Visual Overhauls, Localizations and Voice Converions are safe to be set inactive or removed anytime during a playthrough.

Archive

Visuals

Companion	Visuals	Voice Conversions (Dialogue)	Voice Conversions (Point & Click)	Localization
Wilhelmine	1.0.0.2 / 1.0.0.4

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Mod-Dependencies

Mod Dependencies

Wilhelmine - 1.0.0.5
Realm Restored v3.0. The update uses one of the new default heads.

Wilhelmine - 1.0.0.2

• Vemperen's Other Heads Repairded.
• Tav's Hair Salon for Tav's Hairpack 9.

Other Companions

• None at the moment.

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Known Issues

Known Issues

In-Game

• Bloodstone Eyes in the Character Creation Menu: It should be overwritten by the ORIGIN_Wyll settings. Similar to the previous issue of red eyes. Will look into it soon.
• Similar issues occur for the other origins in the Character Creation Menu.
• Character Creation Menu Origin Character Camera Cut-Off: There are camera settings for each origin. Haven't found a solution yet, but a few ideas have come up.
• Infernal Robe Replacement (Wilhelmine): There is an issue with the Infernal Robe. While it is worn on a female character outside of the cut-scene, it is worn like female armor. Inside the cut-scene, the game sees it as a
• male-armor and it leads to some visual issues.
• Hair Highlights: Tav's Hair Salon doesn't allow for it, but it is available with the Base Game Hairstyles. Haven't tested it for Umberlee's or Vesnelle's Hair mods yet.

Compatibility

• Appearance Edit Enhanced
• Ring of Metamorph
• Nolester's Voice Conversions
• Origin Mirror Unlock
• Any other Visual Overhauls, Voice Conversions and Localizations sharing the same UUIDs or handles.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it compatible with other mods which changes the visuals ?
Depends. The Visual Overhauls of this project are gender, texture and head changes at the current state. There is compatibility with mods who change the body of the races. This applies to equipment. Humans, Elves, Drows, Half-Elves, they share the same body armature.

Why do the companions still sound like the original characters sometimes ?
It is difficult to extract the missing sound files from SharedSoundBanks.pak with their .bnk file format. These are, as indicated, sound banks bundled together.
All other voice tracks of the companions, with their SpeakerUUID_DialogHandle file names, are part of the currently available Voice Conversions here. Same with the Point & Click Sounds.

When is the next update of the Voice Conversions coming ?
In due time. It takes more time to get this done. Worst case the companions have to be muted for a more immersive experience, for the time being.

Help! Why is the new speaker name not shown ?
It only checks for the Speaker Name when encountering a NPC for the first time. For example, in case of Le'zil, it requires a new playthrough, as he appears in the Nautiloid at the start. Otherwise, it uses the default.

Why are there lines where the wrong pronouns are still in ?
The game is filled with so much content that a few details can easily be missed. If you find any lines requiring changes, be sure to post them here. Will update the Localization when missing lines appear during my playthroughs as well.

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Change Log

Change Log

Better Companions

• 6th of May, 2025 - Small Update for Dialogue VCs, chaning them from PAKs to ZIP files. For Compatibility with MO2.
• 5th of May, 2025 - [Voice Conversion] Changed Point & Click Voice Conversions files from PAK to ZIP. For Compatibility with MO2.
• 5th of May, 2025 - [Voice Conversion] Added Point & Click Voice Conversions for six companions: Astaria, Gaile, Le'zil, Karl, Wilhelmine, Minthara.
• 1st of May, 2025 - [Localization] Updated all for compatibility with Mod Manager and Patch 8. Added two Durge-related lines to Astaria's Localization.
• 24th of January, 2025 - Localization: Updated Localizations to version 1.0.0.1 for Astaria, Gaile, Karl, Le'zil and Wilhelmine.
• 19th of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Gaile 1.0.0.2, Karl 1.0.0.1, Minthara 1.0.0.1. Proper portraits added.
• 22nd of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Astaria 1.0.0.3, Jaheira 1.0.0.2, Le'zil 1.0.0.1, Wilhelmine 1.0.0.4. They all have proper portraits. With the Speaker/Display Name, check the FAQ above.
• 23rd of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Jaheira 1.0.0.1 added. Toolkit Back-Ups for the Visuals have been uploaded too.
• Inbetween 4th and 23rd of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Wilhelmine 1.0.0.3, Minthara 1.0.0.0 added. Both are stand-alone with imported head armatures. Minthara also got a VC.
• 4th of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Astaria 1.0.0.2 added. Has Vemperen head armature implemented so it is stand-alone.
• 1st of October, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Gaile 1.0.0.1 added. Includes Character Creation Menu changes like camera zoom, introductory text. Has Vemperen head armature implemented so it is stand-alone.
• 27th of September, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Astaria 1.0.0.1; Karl and Le'zil 1.0.0.0 added. Includes Character Creation Menu changes like camera zoom, introductory text.
• 26th of September, 2024 - Visual Overhaul: Jaheira added. She looks younger now and has been changed to an Elf.
• A few visuals and voice conversions added. Very early stuff.

Wilhelmine Ravengard

• Version 1.0.0.1: Duke Ravengard has been added to the mod. He has a new look.

• Version 1.0.0.2: Proper Portraits have been added for both Wyll and Duke Ravengard. Intro Scene has seen a change in clothing and the removal of horns. Wyll also has a right eye more akin to a Bloodstone. Transformation scene now has the normal camp clothes.

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To-Do List

To-Do List

Wilhelmine

• [Visuals] Add proper Bloodstone eye texture. Potentially add Wings to her Devil form.
• [Class] Add the Spellblade Class.
• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Equipment] Fix or replace the Infernal Robe.
• [Equipment/Animation] Add a letter of Duke Ravengard to his dead wife after he has been rescued. Initially part of the tutorial chest then scripted into the game. Alternatively, a night talk cutscene of the Duke and his daughter.
• [Equipment] Implement a Keepsake of her dead mother. A trinket which adds stats to saving throws.
• [Voice] Change Pronouns, Titles and other dialogue content.
• [Animation] Fix some Animations.

Astaria

• [Visuals] Add teeth to Astaria's current headmesh or to a new one.
• [Class] Change her Class to Sorcerer. Canonically Storm Sorcery or Shadow Magic.
• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Voice] Change Pronouns, Titles and other dialogue content.
• [Animation] Fix some Animations.

Karl

• [Visuals] Add Karlach's horn mesh to the head armature.
• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Voice] Change Pronouns, Titles and other dialogue content.
• [Animation] Fix many Animations.

Le'zil

• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Voice] Change Pronouns, Titles and other dialogue content.
• [Animation] Fix some Animations.

Gaile

• [Visuals] Change her hair.
• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Equipment] Add wearable Glasses.
• [Voice] Change Pronouns, Titles and other dialogue content.
• [Animation] Fix some Animations.

Le'zil

• [Visuals] Make her a real beauty.
• [Class] Potentially change her class.
• [Equipment] Add new Starting Gear.
• [Voice] Remove the smoker accent.

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Credits

Credits

• @orinEsque: For the initial help through the tutorials and the spreadsheets. Previous NoAlphabets Lingo file and some further help here and there.
• @loregamer : For technical help, be it providing tools or modding progress which can be utilized.
• @Lancaster : For important help with the Voice Conversions.
• Any everyone else from ModHQ for their feedback.

If anyone has any questions about this mod, feel free to ask! Same with recommendations or suggestions, and if any conflicts with other mods arise. Just lemme know.

[BaldursNotGay3]

tbh this is how it should have been ingame already. like what man is named Gale? I aint even heard of no man with that name but like the hot reporter chick from Scream had that name. and Laezel and Karlach absolutely needed to be dudes if they are the only 2 frontline fighters. I will say I cant help but mentally go "kkkkkkaarrrrrlllll" when I read the changed name for karalach though. Lae'zel sounds kinda girly for a name so changing the name yeah but Karlach already is a rather butch manly name so I would personally say you dont need to change Karlachs name.

[Morningstar]

tbh this is how it should have been ingame already. like what man is named Gale? I aint even heard of no man with that name but like the hot reporter chick from Scream had that name.

[BaldursNotGay3]

tbh this is how it should have been ingame already. like what man is named Gale? I aint even heard of no man with that name but like the hot reporter chick from Scream had that name.

idk who that is.

[Reichspepe]

tbh this is how it should have been ingame already. like what man is named Gale? I aint even heard of no man with that name but like the hot reporter chick from Scream had that name.

idk who that is.

A poor guy who got ****** by circumstance, you could say. From Breaking Bad.

[BaldursNotGay3]

idk who that is.

A poor guy who got ****** by circumstance, you could say. From Breaking Bad.

Ohh. I didnt watch Breaking Bad. I did watch 2 seasons of Better Call Saul but in general I dont watch much tv.

[Morningstar]

idk who that is.

A poor guy who got ****** by circumstance, you could say. From Breaking Bad.

Ohh. I didnt watch Breaking Bad. I did watch 2 seasons of Better Call Saul but in general I dont watch much tv.

His name is Gale.

[Reichspepe]

A poor guy who got ****** by circumstance, you could say. From Breaking Bad.

Ohh. I didnt watch Breaking Bad. I did watch 2 seasons of Better Call Saul but in general I dont watch much tv.

His name is Gale.

And he was far less of a weird annoying *** than mage Gale

[Unknown998]

Thanks for the mod. Im waiting for more content for it to replay BG3

[Unknown998]

Hello I did play some time with the 1.0 version of Galie and Astaria. They spoke all the lines with male pronouns in a female voice. I think tried to replace them with the 1.00.1 version but am getting this: Its downloading forever

[Demonic Fate]

@Kowe I noticed that your localization job for Gale -> Gaile was fairly sloppy - it didn't check capitalization or spacing/punctuation, so it ended up replacing all the strings with the words "gale" or "regale".



Here's an attached file with - I think - most of the mistakes removed: https://f.rpghq.org/X4An4m7jv7nY.xml?n=english.xml

But to be safe, you could re-run the find/replace job using an editor that supports regex (notepad++ works), set case sensitive, and use the pattern (Gale)(?:[^a-z]|$) ("Gale" followed by anything that isn't a letter, or by the end of the string). There's a couple more that will need to be pruned manually, like a monk ability called Rush of the Gale Spirits, but those are very few.

e: until Kowe makes an official update, here's a hastily-patched version: https://f.rpghq.org/caSJxGd0rDjs.zip?n=LocaGaile.zip

[bardmonk]

Great mods, completely changed the game. One problem though, Minthara's face sometimes goes super dark color.

[Magus224]

Hi I discovered this mod and I have noticed something.

Astaria says she is Astarion in the introduction when you play it.

Gaile casts spells in Gale's voice and when I click on Gailes portrait it is Gale who says talks and not Gaile.

[Sumguy_2077]

That part isn't done yet. The To-Do List shows improvements, including pronouns and voice work, still needs to be done.

Great mod, by the way. Turned Astarion female. Didn't quite like having a twink drama queen prancing around camp.

[rusty_shackleford]

Great mod, by the way. Turned Astarion female. Didn't quite like having a twink drama queen prancing around camp.

So you made him a ******?

[bardmonk]

Is this mod still alive ? Will there be new updates ?