A Dungeons and Dragons experience using tabletop-like game mechanics can differ wildly depending on the Dungeon Master and how heavily they enforce RAW (Rules As Written). Some Dungeon Masters will not let their players change their characters as they feel it breaks the immersion of the game. Others will let you change elements of your character between sessions if you are not enjoying them anymore, or even let you have your current character leave the party by some means, so you can have a new character come into play.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is ramping up to be one of the biggest D&D video game releases and will give you plenty of premade characters to choose from, including an option to make a character completely from scratch. However, all the Origin companions that you will have access to come with predetermined races and classes. This is where hirelings will come into play.
Updated by Chad Thesen on August 7th, 2023: This guide has been modified to include a new section covering how to recruit these Hirelings so that you know how they might be able to join your party and help you overcome all the obstacles the game throws at you.
What Are Hirelings?
Hirelings are a group of characters that you can use to join and be removed from your party as the need arises. If one or more of your companions dies, you can fill their spot with a hireling to keep up the party performance. You will have a large roster of characters to choose from when recruiting hirelings, each of whom have their own race, name and appearance.
Why Should You Use Hirelings?
The biggest thing about them is they can be fully respec'd. This means you can use them to have a team of optimized characters ready to go into the fray at a moment's notice. You can then keep your companions for their story elements even if you don’t require them for combat encounters and skill challenges.
Are Hirelings Bound To Classes?
Not at all, any of the Hirelings can have their classes changed at any time you wish. This means allocating classes to the races that best suit them and that will give you the best outcomes for rolls. One of the biggest reasons that the Hireling mechanic is such a good idea is that it allows for the player’s main character to still feel special, and they are not just managing a group of characters, but that one of the characters is still their central story choice.
Recruiting Hirelings
In order to recruit these hirelings you will need to speak with Withers. You will meet this NPC in the Dank Crypt as part of the Explore the Ruins quest. This is a well-known location from the game's Early Access days for its infamous trap room. For a more in-depth walkthrough, check out our guide on How To Recruit Hirelings.