Cutting content is unavoidable in video games due to tight schedules and deadlines, and Baldur’s Gate 3 almost added one of the most iconic NPCs to your roster of companions.
On April 15, a player called TheCrowsPalace shared on Baldur’s Gate 3’s subreddit that Alfira was supposed to be your companion. It seems there are remnants in the code hinting she was a companion.
You meet this cute Tiefling early in Act One, in Emerald Grove, and you interact with her throughout the other two parts of the story (unless she dies tragically). From the first interaction where you help Alfira finish the song she’s been working on, it’s clear she has more personality than other NPCs that are there to push the story forward or just be quest givers. Alfira is kind and curious—but most importantly, she’s a Bard. If you want a Bard in your party, you have to create one yourself.
TheCrowsPalace found this while interacting with Mayrina in Act Three after the Auntie Ethel encounter because of the Show Approval Ratings in the Dialogue Choices mod. This mod shows you which companions will approve or disapprove of your decision and how much rating you might get or lose. This mod is handy when romancing a companion and you want to trigger specific romance scenes early. For example, you can start your romance with Astarion when you reach 40 approval with him, and you don’t even have to have a party.
Alfira isn’t the only scrapped companion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Ketheric Throm, the main villain in Act Two, was supposed to become a companion who gives you intel on Orin and Gortash. Larian still plans to push out a couple of major patches, but the game isn’t getting DLC, and the odds of ever seeing Alfira and Ketheric Throm as companions are almost non-existent. But you can always dream.
