“Updated the visuals of His Majesty, who previously looked like Steelclaw. His Majesty’s appearance now befits his name and stature,” reads Baldur’s Gate 3’s latest patch notes. But does it? The emperor once had no clothes, but now His Majesty, a cat who lives in Baldur’s Gate 3, is a fluffy longhair instead of the smooth Sphynx we came to love—and an awful lot of fans aren’t happy about it.
His Majesty is a minor NPC celebrity in Baldur’s Gate 3. Talk to him normally, and he’s just a regular cat who hisses at you. Cast the Speak With Animals spell, though, and he’s revealed to be a dandy fop with a high opinion of himself, and a low one of Isobel, the cleric of Selune keeping everyone in Act 2’s Last Light Inn alive (she promised him a bowl of milk and didn’t deliver).
RTX off. (Image credit: Larian)
RTX on. (Image credit: Larian)
He’ll dish some hot gossip on the Shadow-Cursed Lands’ inhabitants and, if you’re of the Noble background, even toss out a shiny Inspiration point for winning his respect. Crucially to his character and striking first impression, His Majesty was a wee naked man, specifically a hairless Sphynx cat, and I found this breed fit his imperious nature.
Now, His Majesty is a grey and white longhair, still cute, sure, but I’m supposed to believe he sprouted this coat overnight? I feel as though we’ve lost something, though I do understand Larian’s reasoning of trying to differentiate him from fellow Act 2 cat Steelclaw, another Sphynx. Until I reached Baldur’s Gate proper and met some more felines, I just figured Larian had the one cat model it was using for the whole game.
The response from fans has been less than positive—they want their nude lord back. A high traffic post by Zazulio on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit demands an explanation for His Majesty’s new hirsutism, and the comments are similarly disapproving. Over on TikTok, videos with thousands of likes from minkda and supremestabigail have expressed outrage at the change.
LARIAN! Why is His Majesty not a Sphinx anymore? Explain! from r/BaldursGate3
Even the holdouts on 2023 Tumblr are weighing in on #BaldursSphynxGate, with the account ladyshinga getting plenty of… likes? Re-blogs? Whatever they do on Tumblr for a post lambasting the new His Majesty. “You nerfed him. You made him weaker. This is a sin, Larian. What have you done to my boy?”
With Larian’s blistering pace of updates since Baldur’s Gate 3’s launch, an oversight like this is plenty understandable. Hopefully it’s as simple a fix as just throwing the “nude” switch in Larian HQ back to “on,” but I worry about a potential knock-on effect with the Realm of Naked Men. If all else should fail, surely a modder will step in and set this to rights—after all, those guys love making nudity mods.
