The ages of companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t something that Larian Studios did an especially thorough job of disclosing to players early in the game, especially origin characters. To figure out how long companions have been alive, you need to do a little bit of reading between the lines as you learn more about their history in Act Two and Act Three.
Note: This article contains spoilers.
One line of dialogue later in the game has baffled players who seem to be shocked at how old everyone’s favorite Cleric Shadowheart is. In Act Three, while coming close to the conclusion of her story arc, Shadowheart starts to learn more about herself and realizes that she’s been groomed by Shar and her followers for practically her entire life. This leads to one line of dialogue that directly addresses her general age range.
“These are all about me,” Shadowheart will say. “Forty years of my life documented like I was some sort of specimen.”
It’s unclear if that is supposed to represent Shadowheart’s entire life or only most of it. Either way, it’s made obvious at that moment that the half-elf is at least 40 years old, and might even be a little bit older than that despite looking like she’s no older than someone in their 20s.
Many players in this particular Reddit thread were quick to point out that her being part elf effectively makes it so ages slower than a typical human would. That didn’t stop some players from being surprised at the idea that Shadowheart would be 15 to 20 years older than she looks, though.
Meanwhile, countless others came out of the woodwork to present examples of real-life humans who were in their 40s and still maintain the appearance of someone in their 20s. So perhaps, we should be all that surprised that Shadowheart has been able to sustain a relatively youthful look.
