BG3 Game Plan

The party holds 4: you two plus two companions. Gale, Astarion and the rest wait at camp. See Camp & bad rolls.

Shadowheart: Life Cleric

She starts as a Trickery Cleric. As soon as Withers is at camp (Act 1), have him respec her into a Life Domain Cleric: better heals and heavy armour. Her story stays the same.

Her turn in a fight

First turn: Bless the party. From level 5, cast Spirit Guardians instead and stand next to the Paladin.
Someone is down: Healing Word from range (bonus action).
Anything else: Sacred Flame (or Toll the Dead from level 4).
Before a dialogue roll: cast Guidance on whoever is talking.

Respec at Withers

Class: Cleric, Life Domain
Abilities: STR 16 · DEX 10 · CON 14 · INT 8 · WIS 17 · CHA 8 (15s in STR and WIS, then +2 Wisdom, +1 Strength)
Cantrips: Guidance, Sacred Flame, Light
Gear: Heaviest armour you can spare, a shield, any mace. Loot chips marked S in the acts.

Prepared spells

Bless, Cure Wounds, Aid, Revivify and the other Life Domain spells are always ready for free. Fill the rest from the top:

Healing Word · Shield of Faith · Guiding Bolt · Sanctuary (level 1+)
Spiritual Weapon · Prayer of Healing (level 3+)
Spirit Guardians · Mass Healing Word (level 5+)
Freedom of Movement (level 7+)
Heroes' Feast (level 11+, cast before a big fight)

Karlach: Berserker Barbarian

No respec needed. Keep her starting stats and gear her with a two-handed weapon. No heavy armour: medium armour or none.

Her turn in a fight

First turn: Rage (bonus action; from level 3 pick the Frenzy rage), then Attack.
Every turn after: Attack, then Frenzied Strike as the bonus action.
Enemy next to a ledge: Shove it off.
Drink a Strength elixir after every long rest.

Camp & bad rolls

The party holds four: your two characters, Shadowheart and Karlach. Recruit everyone else anyway. They wait at camp, talk to you there, and you can swap them in at camp any time.

When a roll goes wrong

Quicksave before every dialogue roll and every fight. In co-op only the host can save and load.
A roll failed and you don't like the result: load the quicksave and try again. No shame on Explorer.
Before rolling, cast Guidance on the speaker (Shadowheart and the Warlock both have it). Use Inspiration rerolls when the game offers one.
Keep Karmic Dice on in the settings.
A companion died: cast Revivify or use a scroll, or pay Withers at camp to bring them back.

Gale

Beach: pull him out of the glowing portal. If it doesn't work out, load the quicksave, or come back to the portal later. Unconfirmed
He asks for magic items to eat (Act 1–2): hand him a spare magic item you don't use. If you keep refusing, he eventually leaves for good. Unconfirmed
Finale: he may offer to blow himself up. Say no; the good ending doesn't need it.

The rest of the camp

Who	Recruit	The one thing to get right
Astarion	Act 1, beach	Act 3: don't let him become a vampire lord when you face Cazador.
Lae'zel	Act 1, by the tieflings' cage	Bring her for the Crèche (Act 1) and to Voss (Act 3).
Wyll	Act 1, after the Grove gate fight	Act 3: rescue his father, Duke Ravengard, from the Iron Throne.
Halsin	Act 1, goblin camp cell	Act 2: defend his portal by the river before Moonrise.
Jaheira	Act 2, after saving Last Light	Keep Isobel alive. That's what makes her join.
Scratch & Owlbear cub	Act 1, woods and the owlbear cave	Optional camp pets. Bring Scratch along to the reunion. Unconfirmed
Minsc	Act 3, Jaheira's quest	Optional. Talk him down instead of killing him. Unconfirmed

Swapping someone in for a quest? They'll have pending level-ups. Take the first option on each screen; on Explorer it doesn't matter.

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