As I’ve dubbed this summer “Short King Summer,” Baldur’s Gate 3 developers Larian Studios had other plans. When I created my goofy Gnome Wizard YoungElmo, I was ready to fall in love with the hottest demon lady I could find. However, things did not go my way.
You might be thinking, ‘Hey, I’ve heard this story before,’ and that’s because you have, thanks to our friends over at Kotaku.
After falling in love with the beautiful, strong Tiefling Barbarian Karlach, I was ready to be swept off my feet, literally and figuratively. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Larian Studios had not accounted for very large characters having to kiss much shorter characters like a Gnome of Halfling. I was heartbroken and did not know how to reconcile with this apparent attack on short king summer.
It’s Finally Short King Summer in Baldur’s Gate
So I did what every normal person would do: I took to Twitter (now known as X) and aired my grievances.
It wasn’t long before other players shared their sadness and even reached out to show support to us hopeless romantics.
Today, Larian released its first major patch for the game, and at the very top of the notes, we got a glimpse of my most requested feature: the ability to finally love Karlach the way she needs. I didn’t go through hell and back to quench her literal flaming body only to be unable to kiss my queen.
The romance scene with Karlach works perfectly fine, considering both characters are lying down, but something about standing up and asking for little smooches at camp is a problem. Other characters like Gale will kneel when interacting with smaller characters, so it surprised me when my wife Karlach did not do the same.
Larian Studios has decided that Short King Summer is back on the menu, and now all of us Gnomes and Halflings can love the same way as those tall Drow and Elves have always been able to. Always remember it’s not the size but how you use it, and my Gnome has a lot of love to give and a lot of time to make up for.
The patch also features over 1,000 other changes, but the fact that Larian made kissing the tall characters the first note means that they have their priorities straight, and for that, we thank them.
YoungElmo can finish his adventure now with Karlach by his side, but only if we can get an animation where Karlach gives YoungElmo some uppies. I want to be picked up by the big, strong demon lady.
There is so much to do in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Larian’s attention to detail is unrivaled. It’s clear the studio has a passion for ensuring the community is happy, and we look forward to seeing what the studio does with the game for years to come.
