In Baldur’s Gate 3, your background defines your inspiration goals, and you are a Folk Hero, a saver of the helpless and a monster slayer.
By Pixel | Updated for Patch 9 on June 16th, 2023
What is Folk Hero Background?
Folk Hero is a background in Baldur’s Gate 3, and it represents their proficiencies, where the character comes from and what their life was like before. NPC characters, including your companions, will recognise your Folk Hero origin and can recognise you or admit that they’ve heard about your bravery and sacrifice to protect and save others. Being a Folk Hero can occasionally earn enemies but most likely fans and glory.
You’re a champion of the common people, challenging tyrants and monsters to protect the helpless. Saving innocents in imminent danger will make your legend grow.
Source Baldur’s Gate 3
What are Folk Hero’s Proficiencies?
In addition to the role-playing aspect, the background defines proficiencies, giving you a slight bonus to dice rolls and success in checks. Proficiency is what your character is good at and what knowledge they possess. This background’s default proficiencies are Animal Handling, Survival, History, Perception, and Medicine. Your Folk Hero’s proficiency features are Survival and Animal Handling.
Survival is a Dexterity skill that will help you with the following checks:
- Hunt in the Wild
- Follow Tracks
- Identify Tracks of Wild animals
- Field reconnaissance
- Guide the team on difficult terrain (woods, frozen wastelands, mountains)
- Avoid natural obstacles and hazardous environments.
Animal Handling is a Wisdom skill that will help you with the following checks (You will need to pass multiple checks while sneaking every time you enter the NPC eyesight cone):
- Better control of animals, even during risky situations
- Calm down animals or mounts
- Calm down an animals
- Understand Animal behavior
- Understand animal intentions
Should you choose Folk Hero in Baldur’s Gate 3?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, you should choose Folk Hero if it fits your character and you like it. Backgrounds have defined proficiencies, while classes have a list of skills they can be proficient with, and you can pick only two or three. As a protector of the helpless, the game will reward you for saving civilians, helping those in need and slaying monsters. So make sure it’s how you want your character to act before you make a final decision.
How Inspiration Goals Work Baldur’s Gate 3?
Further, in Baldur’s Gate 3, your Folk Hero background allows you to complete special goals that will award you with inspiration that you can later utilise when playing the game. When you perform an action that is authentic to your Hero’s origin, your character will be inspired.
Folk Hero Inspiration Goals
The following table presents the Folk Hero’s Inspiration Goals:
| Inspiration Goal | Description |
|---|---|
| A Lethal Endeavor | In the Underdark, escort Baelen and help him escape the Field of Bibberbangs. |
| A Timely Rescue | In Underground Passage, rescue Findal. Kill goblins and use a healing spell to cure him, or throw the healing potion next to him (hitting Findal directly will cause him to take damage). |
| Fate Worse than Death | In the Shattered Sanctum, free Liam from his Goblin |
| Guardian of the Forgotten | Save the Refugees Quest: Defeat the three goblin leaders – True Soul Gut, Minthara and Dror Ragzlin. Come back to Zevlor in the Druid Grove. |
| Liberator | At the crashed Nautiloid, break enthralled fishermen from the Mind Flayer control. |
| Protector of the Small | Save Mirkon and defeat the Harpies at the Secluded Cove |
| Rescue from the Flames | Save everyone you can from Waukeen’s Rest |
| Saved by a Thread | In Shattered Sanctum, save Smythin from falling to the Spiders’ Pit |
| Snake Whisperer | In Druid Grove, Protect Arabella from Kagha and her snake. |
| Soul Warden | Kill the Bugbear Assassin before he gets to Nadira. |
| The Bard with Nine Lives | In the Goblin Camp, convince Volo’s captor to free the Bard. |
| The Most Unfortunate Gnome | In Blighted Village Windmill, rescue gnome Barcus Wroot. |
| Unmasking the Truth | Free one of the Hag’s masked Thralls |
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