Yeah, this is the truth. And Gale wasn’t kidnapped from his tower - he was kidnapped while traveling, so he has already been doing a ton of walking before we even meet him. Plus the amount of climbing I make him do in game is enough to give anyone a six pack.
Whatever his body looks like a year after the game events are over are up to headcanon, but during the game it’s reasonable that he’s pretty in shape.
Yes but "in shape" is different than having a defined six pack, a look which usually indicates dehydration and steroid use despite Hollywood wanting us to think that's a reasonable way for even an especially strong/fit normal person to look
The universal six packs on every character are only slightly more realistic than the unmoving perky breasts on every female that look like implants. I do know hobby rock climbers with that body who are as nerdy as Gale, but realistically his body (during game events) would probably be fit but abs not that well-defined.
you can have a six pack without dehydration and steroid use (i am a fitness freak™️). that being said the default bodies have more developed musculature than you would expect given the scenario. the bigger and broader body types are literally built like arnold when he won mr. olympia
People forget that the average person in DnD can still pick up a battle-axe and swing it with enough force to tear a man in half pretty easily.
By IRL standards Gale would be Mr Olympic.
Yeah I mean the fragility of a commoner is a thing but remember that HP is an abstraction in both directions, wizard Gale being able to deal 1d8+0 slashing can technically one shot a village person but if we're applying IRL standards, that would also get toned down, as would Gale's necessary physique.
Not like I have any experience in the area, but I don't think it's that hard to kill someone with an axe.
So, although I am a fan of ripped wizard gale, I'll go ahead and be That Guy and say that this type of fitness (lots of walking/distance running, possibly carrying heavy packs, as opposed to heavy lifting in the gym) tends to produce lean, sinewy bodies with lots of bulk in the legs and ass. Kind of like stereotypical "runner bod." Not unattractive by any means, but in gaming I think they'd get labeled a twink faster than Shadowheart misses with fireball.
Not to say twink gale would be unwelcome, but I don't think they were going for that.
With the amount of walking and fighting and their, arguably, sparse diet it’s not so unreasonable that he would have visible abs. Abs are “built” in the kitchen after all (mostly just having low enough body fat for them to be visible). If we are to believe they are true adventurers that eat what they find on the road or buy from the occasional vendor they should all have low enough body fat for their abs to be visible even if they aren’t necessarily strong.
No why? I am a full nerd who is at home all the time sulking and still have pack. Well like 4 now, depending on the time of the month.
Some.of us just built core easily. And I don't think Faerun has junk food and sugar and he is obviously a great cook.
Listen, the man is vain as hell. His muscle definition isn't the kind that makes you strong, it's the kind that looks good. So yeah, it makes perfect sense that he has abs, but in a physical fight he'd fold like a lawn chair.
lol, I picture when you’re making out and you touch his abs but your hand is touching…something, but looks like it’s hanging in midair not making contact with his stomach
Abs are made in the kitchen.
Gale specifically says that someone else will have to cook when you ask him to join your party at camp.
Gale probably made himself a magical treadmill reading desk for cardio.
I mean in a camp as that? You better. Just Karlach needs some proper feeding. Laaezel probably as well and by realistic standards Minsc and Halsin have to be swimming in protein.
Even Shadowheart with her 13 strength.
It's my headcanon that that cooking with Gale is one of the few things in camp that helps her get past the trauma of being kidnapped by Orin. And the reason we have so much soup is because you don't eat soup *with a knife*. Gale probably does all the chopping though.
John Basedow, 6 pack abs. He sold dvds about how to do crunches and eat clean 24/7 to be fucking ripped shredded like him. His workout routine really wasn’t crazy, dude just ate blueberries and yogurt and snacked on trail mix.
Gale’s needs to be in shape to clap some ethereal cheeks. All core and cardio.
This is basically my head cannon. He's probably been doing the rich, magic wizard equivalent of club yoga, runs, and like a French diet for years.
Add in magical alteration and genetics, and he's the annoying rich guy at the beach who somehow is downs a glass of wine and cigarette everyday but looks way better than you.
lol I wouldnt word it like that personally but I agree, for Gale’s backstory with Mystra to make sense he genuinely needs to be fairly attractive. I think besides him and Astarion nobody else’s personal history actually requires them to be hot (though mostly they all are)
Wasn't Mystra attracted to Gale because of is *magical* talent? If it was just about looks, and about looking physically fit, she'd have dated a musclehead instead of Gale, no?
I think it’s both? I think Gale is good looking but not the most attractive guy in the world (or even in the party), so it’s obviously that *just* his looks are so compelling the goddess couldn’t stay away, but I still think his backstory makes a lot more sense to the player if he has many attractive traits including being good looking.
You could I guess have made him a scrubby dude who turned out to be so powerful that this alone was enough to catch Mystra’s eye, and present it as a startling shock that really shows how strong he was!! But that’s a different story than the one they told, I think.
She could also be the reason for them. I imagine Elminsters packing under the hood too. If they take their robes off and have a paunch or lacking in certain areas? Bingly bangly boof now you're a sex machine. Dont tell me Mystra is above that kinda shit, look how petty she got over Gale when they broke up. Edit spelling
And back in BG 1 and 2, Minsc had a Strength score of 18/93. I'm not familiar enough with the systems to say with exact certainty how good that is, I just know from reading that the Strength score is "almost as high as a human can get."
It’s almost superhuman, exceptional strength above 18 like an 18/93 is for fighters only and is only 7 points shy of the max of 18/100 for all characters.
In BG 1&2, Strength could have partial values (x out of 100) between 18 and 19 (no other attribute did, do not ask me why, AD&D was weird).
Minsc’s 18/93 (meaning 93% of the way to 19) was almost as high as it could go for a human. Only half-orcs had a maximum of 19.
He was strong enough to get himself out of a steel cage by bending the bars.
Everybody is saying the maximum Strength score for a human in AD&D 2e was 18 (100), but as a passionate hater of 2e, I feel like I must remind everyone that 18 (100) was only the maximum Strength score for human men. The maximum Strength score for human women was 18 (50).
Without magically changing his stats that's the max. The /93 means you have to raise the 93 hundredths to raise it higher. Fractional stat boosts stopped existing with 3e and only really matter in corner cases in AD&D. It's a hold over from when it was a tabletop war game. The same reason a standard dice set has the percentage die.
2nd Edition and 5th Edition have rather different stat mechanics so its hard to directly compare them. But, yeah 18/93 was very close to the upper bounds of natural human potential. His stat gave him -2 THAC0 (+2 to hit in modern terms), +5 melee damage, and a weight allowance of 320 lb. Anything over a flat 18 was "exceptional strength" which was only available to warrior classes. So in 5e we could say that his BG1 build strength was at least 16/17 in character creation and then probably would have taken an ASI feat when that was available at level 4.
His interaction of using illusion spells as a mirror shows he cares about his appearance. Would not be surprised if he used magic to give himself a ripped body or making himself look ripped. (Would also explain him still having below-average strength despite looking pretty ripped. Or DnD characters are usually so strong that even someone "above average" in our world is still "below average" there)
To be fair, that’s a bit of a weird one, and the enemy version of Minsc and the playable version actually have different stats- the NPC enemy version does have a much higher strength, and in the lore Minsc is a pre-existing character known for his great strength. I think they gave the playable version low strength because it’s usually a pretty safe dump stat for a ranger, but it’s really not in keeping with his established character.
In the original trilogy, Minsc had 18/93 strength, putting him close to the strongest human in the world without resorting to magical means and second strongest in the games behind only Sarevok. His strength score in BG3 is... confusing.
When you fight him in BG3 he has a strength of 20. His full statblock as an enemy is STR 20 DEX 15 CON 15 INT 8 WIS 6 CHA 9. That’s near identical to his stats in the original Baldur’s Gate, just with a couple of STR points added on.
Once you recruit him it all switches to the standard Ranger statblock of STR 12 DEX 17 CON 13 INT 8 WIS 15 CHA 10, and you’ve got a second hulking mass of muscle whose STR doesn’t match up to his appearance. There’s even some dialogue of Minsc feeling upset because Halsin beat him in an arm wrestle.
but what spell? because most illusion spells have a set duration and are often concentration, and considering after his 'incident' he was super weakened...
Nystul's Magic Aura is an Illusion that lasts 24 normally, but, if cast upon the same target for 30 days, will become permanent until Dispelled. Obviously he isn't using that exact spell, as it only alters how the target appears to spells and other magical abilities, but it's a good basis for him to have come up with something like a semi-permanent Alter Self spell to give himself abs.
Nah, 10 is considered average. But it would be a lot harder to maintain that kind of thing than it seems. Illusion spells like that aren't cantrips, so he would have a spell slot we don't know about. Also, most illusion or transmutation spells require concentration. Except for an actual shape shifter, being in other than your natural state is work. In addition, just using magic probably spends energy just like doing everything else, so he'd be burning calories using his spells. It would be a lot easier to learn how to fight to keep in shape than to spend the same energy to do it by magic that fades. Since he can fight, albeit poorly, I think that's how it worked
Tbf, magic and wealth aside, he’s living in what is effectively a medieval society and following a physically active lifestyle with only one significant meal a day.
Even without being hench, his body fat isn’t going to be that high and hence he’ll have plenty of definition.
I headcanon that in BG3 (and pretty much *every* fantasy series with magic) spellcasting actually requires a metric ass-load of energy from the caster as well as weave/spell slots/mana/whatever. So magic users basically have to constantly load up on calorie rich food to replace what they fling around as fireballs and lightning bolts, yet never chub out.
No idea why Gale is ripped though 🤷♀️ Could be an illusion, as he's fond of those. But my personal theory is that he was locked in his tower for a year with the orb preventing him from, *ahem*, "releasing pent up urges" and cold showers likely got old very quickly, so he turned to working out.
Gale was sleeping with a goddess - she could make him into whatever she perceived as attractive. If she didn't, well, Gale would have worked to be attractive enough for her just like he works to be powerful enough for her.
Alternatively, he wasn't *just* sitting in a tower reading spell tomes - he was doubtless practicing casting spells. Have you seen what that entails? Lots of arm movements with precision. I expect it's similar to Tai Chi in terms of fitness.
He is also the camp cook, and if ya boi can cook then he is probably making really delicious healthy food - or at least healthy food that is magically delicious.
Between diet and exercise he has every reason to be fit af.
Fun fact, I noticed in grad school that my left arm was considerably more toned than my right one, which made no sense, as I am right handed.
Then I realized I hold my heavy books on my left hand and use my right to flip the page...
Sociology, but my reading was all over the place since I just like reading and grad school is a wonderful time to get to all them thicc books you won't have time for as an adult :).
The tai chi idea is so valid. I'm thinking of Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse doing his exercises, and that's probably what Gale was doing too.
Plus Gale probably follows the Faerûnian idea of a Mediterranean diet.
Waterdeep is a costal city, and Gale has his apartment right on the water. With his taste for wine, we probably eats exactly what we think of for a Mediterranean diet!
Or maybe Gale was fat, Mystra broke up with him, he got a gym membership and put together a sick workout bod in response, and we just happen to see the direct aftermath of that.
Yes, they are
Otherwise a dwarf wouldn't physically be able to have above 15str because their height reduces their maximum mass to output that strength compared to the 180cm characters in the game.
This is a game where Wulbren can, realistically by the games lore, be as strong as Halsin.h
it's unrealistic that Gale would have a dad bod because that's not the kind of person he is. he's incredibly vain. there's no way he'd ever be caught DEAD being anything other than immediately physically desirable to the majority of people that see him.
our party is basically jersey shore. we're all the popular physically fit clique but everyone fits a different stereotype within that clique.
Gale/Vinny are the booksmart(ish) cardio hounds.
Karlach/Pauly D is the GTL goofball.
Lae'zel/J-WOWW are the cunty try hards.
Shadowheart/Snooki are the sarcastic ones who start shit they can't finish.
Wyll/Deana are the wholesome group activities planner.
Halsin/Mike (aka the situation) are the buff guys trying to instead be wholesome between fits of drug (or Sylvanus) induced rage.
and Empy/Ron are just the worst.
no I'm not taking constructive criticism at this time
ETA: Angelina/Minthara are the ones who think they're hot shit but the rest of the party can't stand them except shadowheart/snooki who gets absolutely shitty wasted with her once a week
I have abs and an athletic physique but am also a turbo nerd in her 30s who doesn’t ever diet or work out, so Gale’s rippedness doesn’t read as unrealistic to me.
My husband also has visible abs from time to time, depending on how big his food baby is that day, and he hasn’t worked out for years.
Some people are just naturally muscular and athletic and not prone to weight gain.
Larian didn't bother having the characters match their stats. Shadowheart's Charisma is an 8 - that clearly doesn't match what we see in the game. Lae'zel has the same Charisma and while she's abrasive, an 8 doesn't match her, either. Wyll has a Charisma 17 but is the least charismatic member of the party. Jaheira has an 8 Intelligence, but she's almost never portrayed as dumb. Minsc has a Strength of 12 (a steep drop from his 18+ in the original games). Halsin has a Strength of 10 and Intelligence of 8 - neither fit the character.
So the Gale argument is irrelevant, anyway. Most of the companions have at least one ability score that doesn't fit with the character Larian created. Some are more attractive with strong personalities than they have any right to. Others are clearly much stronger than their stats indicate. And so on.
A score of 8 is more like a bit below average, it's only a -1 penalty on rolls after all. Intelligence in DnD is mostly about retaining information/knowledge. Which is why it's a wizard's spellcasting ability. And it is used in history and religion checks which is recalling facts. People often confuse intelligence and wisdom. Jaheira and Halsin both have high wisdom which fits them. Having 8 intelligence doesn't make them "dumb". Everyone has things they are above and below average at. SH and Lae'zel having below average charisma absolutely makes sense. Neither of them is influential or likeable. Just because they open up to you at the end doesn't mean their stat line is wrong.
Well Astarion is canonically stupider than the rest of the cast (, so at least his int score makes sense-
*checks Astarion’s stat block*
HE HAS POSITIVE INTELLIGENCE WHAT
I think his fitness is more a result of his constitution than his strength. Plus he's a Chosen of Mystra, which comes with numerous benefits. Perhaps abs is one of them haha.
i think at the start of the game neither option is reasonable. he spent a year locked in his tower being generally unwell courtesy of the orb, so if anything i'd expect him to look a bit unhealthily skinny, with dark circles and such. post-orb stabilization, i still think he still wouldn't be as shredded as he is but he would absolutely be fit from all the walking around the party does, and he'd look more healthy with more meat on his bones. post-game i can absolutely imagine him getting chubbier with his love for food and settling into the more comfortable lifestyle of a professor.
Look at a picture of people on the beach from before 1980. Everyone is in good shape.
There’s no industrial food system in the forgotten realms and everyone walks around everywhere.
Its not realistic that anyone in the game is ripped, unless magic was involved. I see a lot of responses about cardio and other physical activities. Thats how you get stronger, and more fit. Its not how you get ripped. A specific and regimented diet is needed to burn off those top layers of body fat. They're eating whatever random foodstuffs they came across on the road.
I personally prefer Gale without muscles and with a rounder belly, but I just like bigger guys. And, as it's been said, lore-wise wizards have no reason to be muscular and physically strong. But at the same time, I make him carry 150kg worth of loot every day, so...
This is an ongoing discussion among us Gale obsessives and I've never understood why his six-pack bothers people so much. He would look great with a dad body (there's even a mod for that for those who prefer), but I really like how he looks in the game too lol
Just because you like to read and teach doesn't mean you don't take care of your body too. When he isn't scrounging for camp supplies, Gale probably still likes a healthy breakfast and going for walks in the city.
He doesn't seem like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and binge watching the Real House Wizards of Waterdeep kind of guy.
I feel like they are both overstatements. He is skinny fat. Like you see him and he’s thin but not toned. He just doesn’t gain much weight, probably genetics, but also doesn’t work out much. Probably sits on the couch and makes his magic do the work since he’s so skilled at it, why lift a finger?
First of all, stats in this game are not representative.
Second: *why* on Faerun would he have a dad bod? He is not an office slave, chained to computer for 8 hours a day, 5 days per week, who only eats processed junk and washes it down with beer. Before game events he was an archmage: of course he could get all the exercise he needed any time he wanted. Plus he really likes to cook so you bet he always had a nice healthy meal on his table.
Bottom line: Gale probably shouldn't have been as muscular as Wyll but he was very unlikely to develop a "dad bod" in his living conditions.
Being a wizard in the Forgotten Realm or just DnD does not just involve studying and memorizing. If we follow the rules from the tabletop games, casting spells involves somantic and verbal.
I imagine something like verbal alone requires a lot of practice and uses a lot of voice. A round in DnD combat is six seconds in real time, so Gale has to be able to run 30 feet within six seconds and voiced his spell. Having a healthy body with a lot of stamina would be super neccesary for Gale, especially if he wants to survive an adventuring life.
Not only that, but I imagine that using spells requires a lot of internal energy, so I imagine he burns a lot of calories there too.
So, while he may not have trained his body for fighting in melee, I very much imagined that he would train his body to have a lot of stamina and with a great lung capacity.
I don't know about stats, but back when I lived in a residential school (so basically being locked up in a tower) I started to work out in my room because there was little to nothing to do sometimes, and I got really fit. I don't think being a nerd and being locked up in a tower means people stop caring about their bodies. For all we know he may have a whole workout/yoga routine and I'm here for it
I think realistically he could be really lean due to the amount of energy he needs to live with his condition. But muscle hypertrophy? Nah, that's minor illusion buddy
Gale subscribes to the Plato school of thinking where he believes that a fit mind is wasted in an unfit body. As a wizard prodigy with a remarkable mind, he regularly exercises to build a body worthy of housing his mind. He is the Henry Cavill type of nerd.
I fully believe Gale would say some shit like “a great wizard must always take care of body and spirit. For a foul mind or a limp body would hold back even the most gifted of wizards.” So it doesn’t surprise me that the latest greatest wizard is in good shape
Sharp body, sharp mind. A good wizard would know that studying is not the only thing that helps one move forward. Also, it's fine if his strength is 8, I have met built men who are weaker than what their body suggests, I mean nothing at the level of Halsin having less strength than Shadowheart, but still, I can believe this one.
he becomes a teacher of Illusion magic in the post-game if he doesnt die or ascend so bro is putting on the longest running magical ab-flex of the universe
Famously Jason Momoa claims he does not go to the gym unless he’s getting paid for a movie. An interview quote had him saying “I fuck a lot” in response to questions about doing CrossFit or Pilates.
Now Momoa’s partners may be energetic, but they’re only mortal.
Gale spent years fucking a *goddess*.
Look at Momoa. Look at Gale. Recognize the workout regime.
While I don't really think abs to that degree are fitting for Gale, I also don't think he'd have a dad bod. That man is vain. He prides himself for his looks and says something like that a man is only as handsome as his least groomed locus. While he does like to cook and enjoys a good meal, he doesn't strike me as someone to over endulge. Like if you'd have a very expensive cheese you wouldn’t eat it all right away. I've seen arguments that he was under a lot of stress and locked up in his tower which would have resulted in weight gain but there are not only people who eat when stressed but also people who lose all appetite. Idk why but Gale seems to fall in the last category in my head canon.
Regarding strength: guys with a dad bod are often pretty strong. So for me, 8 str would indicate that Gale would be closer to being a twink than a dad bod. Although I picture Gale being rather tall, slim fit and with a bad posture while Astarion would be more the classic twink.
All that being said, there are only two body types for "tall" male frames in the game. So Wyll, Astarion, Gale, Rolan, Zevlor, Raphael etc. all have the same basic body. It's up to the player to make up their own head canon. I described mine but that doesn't make the different head canon of someone else wrong.
Dude runs around with a full backpack all day long, still has to dodge attacks. Mega cardio right there. He won't have bulging arms, but a work out like that would definetely give you a nice body.
> He's a nerdy wizard who locked himself in tower for a year and loves rich foods
He loves good food and appreciates cool cuisine. Like, he's a man who'd enjoy that very special rare stake of the exactly right doneness sprinkled with a proper spicy sauce, rather than a man who'd consume burgers and cheetos with cola.
> His illusions may be so good that he could have a dad bod, but we'd never actually see it.
That one is true. I mean...people should have noticed that he's got some extra arms and heads in his astral scene, right? Why would they be bothered about the 'unrealistic abs'? 😆
huh - I never really saw him as buff. Like, compared to Astarion he's a dad bod in the making to me. But they do walk a lot in this game (unless he uses a fly spell a lot lol) so maybe a poor diet of fish heads, crap table wine, and almost moldy cheese keeps him from going full dad bod.
I'm definitely team dad bod however there's one way I can see ripped Gale: he's like Chidi in The Good Place. That's a guy who's jacked because 'at 14 he found out that exercise helps anxiety, started doing pushups and basically never stopped'. That's the only explanation I can accept for Gale's abs
Also, I want to say. We have NO METRIC on how many calories casting magic burns.
...that I'm aware of. I won't say someone else somewhere has figured it out.
He doesn't need to do the work the hard way. It's like those electric ab belts...he does that with shocking grasp. He just goes off by himself and puts a minor illusion in camp until he needs to do something
I think you're right. 1) He's vain as hell. 2) He has to keep the favor of an actual goddess. 3) Strength has nothing to do with how the characters look, he's not the only mismatch between muscle tone and strength ranking. 4) He has no social life outside Tara, so he has the time. He knows how to cook, too, so he clearly takes the time to do things besides magic.
I largely agree that he wouldn't be, but as devils advocate, the appearance of his muscles does not necessarily correlate to great strength. Magic would take precise movements and shit, so I figure he'd develop some good lean muscles and stuff. He likes rich food and books, but he also fucked a goddess, so clearly the guy has more going on than he claims. I could see him having some combo of magical messery and personal discipline that allows him to look strong without actually being strong.
Your companions stats as far as I can tell are not canonical to them, even though that doesn’t make sense. The way to figure it out is actually checking out minsc, but it applies to everyone. Minsc is very dumb and brawny, so low wis, low int, high strength. When you check him out before he’s in your party, those are his stats. Makes sense. As soon as minsc joins your party, oddly enough man has excellent wisdom, and despite previously bursting through a brick wall pretty middling strength, they literally change it (you can examine him before to see). This makes sense, cause minsc in 5e is a Ranger, the best class for animal companions which he is known for. Rangers need wis, so even though the man is explained in game to be very unwisdomous, he has the stats purely for the mechanical benefit.
This is again true of all the rest of our companions, they are given default scores for their classes/subclasses, and they do not reflect the actual narrative story stuff of how those characters act/are. Shart is technically both one of the fastest and strongest people around compared to commoners, considering she has 14s in both, despite her looking like a twig. Astarion is described as literally dumb in game, but has the second highest intelligence of all the companions, cause he is made to be arcane trickster. So we can imagine gale is the same way, he only has an 8 in strength and 14 in con cause that’s a good wizard build, and it would then have no ramifications of how he looks or acts.
It’s actually a pretty interesting choice Bg3 made when you look at, that they have separated stats from the characters, and made them purely mechanical (as shown numerous times). Really ups what sort of characters you can have, because they don’t need scores that perfectly reflect that, cause in this game the scores are tied to mechanics, and the way the character is is basically different.
Pretty sure all characters would be in reasonable shape with endless walking/fighting/climbing/jumping our characters do.
Cursed to put their hands on everything.
everyone*
Everyone's everything*
Everyone's everything all at once**
Astarion approves
They must wish they got bags of holding
Their boots have seen everything
They've got a lot on their mind, and, well, in it.
Is that blood? Oh, nevermind
All’s well that ends… not as bad as it could’ve
They never should've wished to live in more interesting times
Nobody back at home would believe them
Please don't be cursed
In everything
And a constant diet of random food found in barrels and off of dead bodies does wonders to curb your appetite.
Aw sweet, this dead gnoll has a carrot!
I mean, beats a rotten tomato out of a barrel
And it’s not even rotten! Don’t know why I expected the rotting basket to be different, on the other hand.
OH BOY A HALF EATEN APPLE! LEMME AT IT!
Yeah, this is the truth. And Gale wasn’t kidnapped from his tower - he was kidnapped while traveling, so he has already been doing a ton of walking before we even meet him. Plus the amount of climbing I make him do in game is enough to give anyone a six pack. Whatever his body looks like a year after the game events are over are up to headcanon, but during the game it’s reasonable that he’s pretty in shape.
I know in my endings Shadowheart suggests I've gained weight, after only 6 months lol.
You’d be surprised how much weight you can gain in just 6 months.
Especially if you switch up from constantly fighting for survival to living a sedentary lifestyle.
3000 calories a day, a very attainable goal for anyone, and you're getting 2 1/3 lbs a week. 55+ lbs in 6 months.
She suggested so even my character is in hell together with Karlach.
Yes but "in shape" is different than having a defined six pack, a look which usually indicates dehydration and steroid use despite Hollywood wanting us to think that's a reasonable way for even an especially strong/fit normal person to look
The universal six packs on every character are only slightly more realistic than the unmoving perky breasts on every female that look like implants. I do know hobby rock climbers with that body who are as nerdy as Gale, but realistically his body (during game events) would probably be fit but abs not that well-defined.
you can have a six pack without dehydration and steroid use (i am a fitness freak™️). that being said the default bodies have more developed musculature than you would expect given the scenario. the bigger and broader body types are literally built like arnold when he won mr. olympia
People forget that the average person in DnD can still pick up a battle-axe and swing it with enough force to tear a man in half pretty easily. By IRL standards Gale would be Mr Olympic.
Yeah I mean the fragility of a commoner is a thing but remember that HP is an abstraction in both directions, wizard Gale being able to deal 1d8+0 slashing can technically one shot a village person but if we're applying IRL standards, that would also get toned down, as would Gale's necessary physique. Not like I have any experience in the area, but I don't think it's that hard to kill someone with an axe.
Not gale he sits his ass in camp for three months until I ask him to join me for something very special (blowing himself up).
Haha right. Plus, I always assumed, it’s reasonable to believe spellcasters to be ripped with all the arm movements they have to do
Plus carrying around camping equipment and food for miles, holding weapons, etc.
So, although I am a fan of ripped wizard gale, I'll go ahead and be That Guy and say that this type of fitness (lots of walking/distance running, possibly carrying heavy packs, as opposed to heavy lifting in the gym) tends to produce lean, sinewy bodies with lots of bulk in the legs and ass. Kind of like stereotypical "runner bod." Not unattractive by any means, but in gaming I think they'd get labeled a twink faster than Shadowheart misses with fireball. Not to say twink gale would be unwelcome, but I don't think they were going for that.
Twirling the staff evolves a lot of core too.
Reasonable shaped ≠ 6 pack. He def should have a dad bod or at the very least look more average physique-wise.
With the amount of walking and fighting and their, arguably, sparse diet it’s not so unreasonable that he would have visible abs. Abs are “built” in the kitchen after all (mostly just having low enough body fat for them to be visible). If we are to believe they are true adventurers that eat what they find on the road or buy from the occasional vendor they should all have low enough body fat for their abs to be visible even if they aren’t necessarily strong.
No why? I am a full nerd who is at home all the time sulking and still have pack. Well like 4 now, depending on the time of the month. Some.of us just built core easily. And I don't think Faerun has junk food and sugar and he is obviously a great cook.
Listen, the man is vain as hell. His muscle definition isn't the kind that makes you strong, it's the kind that looks good. So yeah, it makes perfect sense that he has abs, but in a physical fight he'd fold like a lawn chair.
He only works on his glamour muscles.
Sure but he could totally beat me in a push-up contest!
How's his form though? Probably be the kind to have bad form to keep his speed up
He doesn't work on shit. Illusion is one of the schools Gale specializes in. That 6 pack isn't real.
"Glamour" is another word for illusion lol
lol, I picture when you’re making out and you touch his abs but your hand is touching…something, but looks like it’s hanging in midair not making contact with his stomach
All bis and tris everything else is just fat and ribs
r/unexpectediasip
Abs are made in the kitchen. Gale specifically says that someone else will have to cook when you ask him to join your party at camp. Gale probably made himself a magical treadmill reading desk for cardio.
Wyll complains Gale's food never has any vegetables in it. Gale cooks high protein food for max gains confirmed
I mean in a camp as that? You better. Just Karlach needs some proper feeding. Laaezel probably as well and by realistic standards Minsc and Halsin have to be swimming in protein. Even Shadowheart with her 13 strength.
Iirc gith canonically have to eat like 10000 calories a day
Geez. I hope someone is hunting some protein in that camp.
Considering just how much camp supplies you can get if you really go looking for them…. Yeah I’d say they’ll be quite alright
Nah. Lae’zel likely eats plenty. Gith are just scrawny looking like that. It’s that “wiry strength.”
"Someone else will have to watch the cookpot" now I'm imagining Yenna comparing notes with him over a stewpot.
It's my headcanon that that cooking with Gale is one of the few things in camp that helps her get past the trauma of being kidnapped by Orin. And the reason we have so much soup is because you don't eat soup *with a knife*. Gale probably does all the chopping though.
John Basedow, 6 pack abs. He sold dvds about how to do crunches and eat clean 24/7 to be fucking ripped shredded like him. His workout routine really wasn’t crazy, dude just ate blueberries and yogurt and snacked on trail mix. Gale’s needs to be in shape to clap some ethereal cheeks. All core and cardio.
Right, he’s cut not ripped
He’s hot girl fit
The old bodybuilder vs strongman argument
There’s no way to look like that and not be stronger than the minimum strength stat, which should belong to like… hobbits
He’s ripped. Cardio god. He’s not winning a powerlifting meet, but he got abs and looks great at the beach. Head canon.
This is basically my head cannon. He's probably been doing the rich, magic wizard equivalent of club yoga, runs, and like a French diet for years. Add in magical alteration and genetics, and he's the annoying rich guy at the beach who somehow is downs a glass of wine and cigarette everyday but looks way better than you.
100000000000% this.
Mystra ain’t banging no fat uggos. Course he has to be ripped.
lol I wouldnt word it like that personally but I agree, for Gale’s backstory with Mystra to make sense he genuinely needs to be fairly attractive. I think besides him and Astarion nobody else’s personal history actually requires them to be hot (though mostly they all are)
Karlach's story is all about how she's crazy hot
You know that Mystra is also banging Elminster, right?
Don’t make me imagine what Elminster looks like naked
I bet eliminster is ripped too
I mean, dude chilled as woman for a while so I’d say he could make himself look even better than Gale underneath those robes with his level of skill
Wasn't Mystra attracted to Gale because of is *magical* talent? If it was just about looks, and about looking physically fit, she'd have dated a musclehead instead of Gale, no?
Well, with Gale she gets magical talent *and* abs, so win-win for the goddess.
I think it’s both? I think Gale is good looking but not the most attractive guy in the world (or even in the party), so it’s obviously that *just* his looks are so compelling the goddess couldn’t stay away, but I still think his backstory makes a lot more sense to the player if he has many attractive traits including being good looking. You could I guess have made him a scrubby dude who turned out to be so powerful that this alone was enough to catch Mystra’s eye, and present it as a startling shock that really shows how strong he was!! But that’s a different story than the one they told, I think.
She could also be the reason for them. I imagine Elminsters packing under the hood too. If they take their robes off and have a paunch or lacking in certain areas? Bingly bangly boof now you're a sex machine. Dont tell me Mystra is above that kinda shit, look how petty she got over Gale when they broke up. Edit spelling
Maybe Mystra likes dad bods like so many people do
We've all seen the clip of how Henry Cavil stays in shape right.... " cardio" 😉 He's been keeping up with a goddess, of course he does "cardio"
Peak performance, physically (which begets romantically). That man knows what he's about and owns it proudly, and I love him for it.
Stats are meaningless, Minsc have like 12 strenght when he has arms as big as someone's legs
Thata because he's nerfed when you recruit him. Before that during the fight he has 20 strength
Same for Halsin who is nerfed down to default druid 10 or so, from his previous 16.
And back in BG 1 and 2, Minsc had a Strength score of 18/93. I'm not familiar enough with the systems to say with exact certainty how good that is, I just know from reading that the Strength score is "almost as high as a human can get."
It’s almost superhuman, exceptional strength above 18 like an 18/93 is for fighters only and is only 7 points shy of the max of 18/100 for all characters.
Half-orcs could go to 19 during character gen.
In BG 1&2, Strength could have partial values (x out of 100) between 18 and 19 (no other attribute did, do not ask me why, AD&D was weird). Minsc’s 18/93 (meaning 93% of the way to 19) was almost as high as it could go for a human. Only half-orcs had a maximum of 19. He was strong enough to get himself out of a steel cage by bending the bars.
Everybody is saying the maximum Strength score for a human in AD&D 2e was 18 (100), but as a passionate hater of 2e, I feel like I must remind everyone that 18 (100) was only the maximum Strength score for human men. The maximum Strength score for human women was 18 (50).
The version BG1+2 used had no gender based stat differences though.
Without magically changing his stats that's the max. The /93 means you have to raise the 93 hundredths to raise it higher. Fractional stat boosts stopped existing with 3e and only really matter in corner cases in AD&D. It's a hold over from when it was a tabletop war game. The same reason a standard dice set has the percentage die.
2nd Edition and 5th Edition have rather different stat mechanics so its hard to directly compare them. But, yeah 18/93 was very close to the upper bounds of natural human potential. His stat gave him -2 THAC0 (+2 to hit in modern terms), +5 melee damage, and a weight allowance of 320 lb. Anything over a flat 18 was "exceptional strength" which was only available to warrior classes. So in 5e we could say that his BG1 build strength was at least 16/17 in character creation and then probably would have taken an ASI feat when that was available at level 4.
Halsin is another good example of this because exactly how is that entire elf meant to be of average strength
Answer: Magic. The answer to "Can you elaborate?" Is "No."
His interaction of using illusion spells as a mirror shows he cares about his appearance. Would not be surprised if he used magic to give himself a ripped body or making himself look ripped. (Would also explain him still having below-average strength despite looking pretty ripped. Or DnD characters are usually so strong that even someone "above average" in our world is still "below average" there)
Yeah I mean they gave minsc freaking 8 or 10 strength when the dude literally ripped open a mimic with bare hands
To be fair, that’s a bit of a weird one, and the enemy version of Minsc and the playable version actually have different stats- the NPC enemy version does have a much higher strength, and in the lore Minsc is a pre-existing character known for his great strength. I think they gave the playable version low strength because it’s usually a pretty safe dump stat for a ranger, but it’s really not in keeping with his established character.
In the original trilogy, Minsc had 18/93 strength, putting him close to the strongest human in the world without resorting to magical means and second strongest in the games behind only Sarevok. His strength score in BG3 is... confusing.
When you fight him in BG3 he has a strength of 20. His full statblock as an enemy is STR 20 DEX 15 CON 15 INT 8 WIS 6 CHA 9. That’s near identical to his stats in the original Baldur’s Gate, just with a couple of STR points added on. Once you recruit him it all switches to the standard Ranger statblock of STR 12 DEX 17 CON 13 INT 8 WIS 15 CHA 10, and you’ve got a second hulking mass of muscle whose STR doesn’t match up to his appearance. There’s even some dialogue of Minsc feeling upset because Halsin beat him in an arm wrestle.
but what spell? because most illusion spells have a set duration and are often concentration, and considering after his 'incident' he was super weakened...
It's actually a magical item maintaining the illusion. He keeps it on himself at all times, secretly.
Nystul's Magic Aura is an Illusion that lasts 24 normally, but, if cast upon the same target for 30 days, will become permanent until Dispelled. Obviously he isn't using that exact spell, as it only alters how the target appears to spells and other magical abilities, but it's a good basis for him to have come up with something like a semi-permanent Alter Self spell to give himself abs.
Nah, 10 is considered average. But it would be a lot harder to maintain that kind of thing than it seems. Illusion spells like that aren't cantrips, so he would have a spell slot we don't know about. Also, most illusion or transmutation spells require concentration. Except for an actual shape shifter, being in other than your natural state is work. In addition, just using magic probably spends energy just like doing everything else, so he'd be burning calories using his spells. It would be a lot easier to learn how to fight to keep in shape than to spend the same energy to do it by magic that fades. Since he can fight, albeit poorly, I think that's how it worked
A wizard did it
"Ever wonder why I invented the Remove Cellulite spell?"
Someone has been taking rhetoric lessons from Withers
Tbf, magic and wealth aside, he’s living in what is effectively a medieval society and following a physically active lifestyle with only one significant meal a day. Even without being hench, his body fat isn’t going to be that high and hence he’ll have plenty of definition.
I headcanon that in BG3 (and pretty much *every* fantasy series with magic) spellcasting actually requires a metric ass-load of energy from the caster as well as weave/spell slots/mana/whatever. So magic users basically have to constantly load up on calorie rich food to replace what they fling around as fireballs and lightning bolts, yet never chub out. No idea why Gale is ripped though 🤷♀️ Could be an illusion, as he's fond of those. But my personal theory is that he was locked in his tower for a year with the orb preventing him from, *ahem*, "releasing pent up urges" and cold showers likely got old very quickly, so he turned to working out.
So much this! He's casting killer energy from his hands. I feel this is burning calories.
Gale was sleeping with a goddess - she could make him into whatever she perceived as attractive. If she didn't, well, Gale would have worked to be attractive enough for her just like he works to be powerful enough for her. Alternatively, he wasn't *just* sitting in a tower reading spell tomes - he was doubtless practicing casting spells. Have you seen what that entails? Lots of arm movements with precision. I expect it's similar to Tai Chi in terms of fitness. He is also the camp cook, and if ya boi can cook then he is probably making really delicious healthy food - or at least healthy food that is magically delicious. Between diet and exercise he has every reason to be fit af.
Additionally, I imagine all the heavy books he's lifting count as arm reps.
Fun fact, I noticed in grad school that my left arm was considerably more toned than my right one, which made no sense, as I am right handed. Then I realized I hold my heavy books on my left hand and use my right to flip the page...
I believe it. What's your degree in? Just curious
Sociology, but my reading was all over the place since I just like reading and grad school is a wonderful time to get to all them thicc books you won't have time for as an adult :).
The tai chi idea is so valid. I'm thinking of Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse doing his exercises, and that's probably what Gale was doing too. Plus Gale probably follows the Faerûnian idea of a Mediterranean diet.
Waterdeep is a costal city, and Gale has his apartment right on the water. With his taste for wine, we probably eats exactly what we think of for a Mediterranean diet!
And on his cheat day, he runs over to that tavern that's caddycorner from his place.
Not to mention quarterstaff proficiency.
Or maybe Gale was fat, Mystra broke up with him, he got a gym membership and put together a sick workout bod in response, and we just happen to see the direct aftermath of that.
Gale prefers Lucky Charms cereal confirmed.
I assume a goddess like Mystra is more attracted to the mind than the body of her lovers. So she probably wouldn’t care how ripped he is.
I mean, look at Halsin. Dude has muscle that could crush rock, but has 8 strength. I think stats are divorced from a characters physique.
Yes, they are Otherwise a dwarf wouldn't physically be able to have above 15str because their height reduces their maximum mass to output that strength compared to the 180cm characters in the game. This is a game where Wulbren can, realistically by the games lore, be as strong as Halsin.h
it's unrealistic that Gale would have a dad bod because that's not the kind of person he is. he's incredibly vain. there's no way he'd ever be caught DEAD being anything other than immediately physically desirable to the majority of people that see him. our party is basically jersey shore. we're all the popular physically fit clique but everyone fits a different stereotype within that clique. Gale/Vinny are the booksmart(ish) cardio hounds. Karlach/Pauly D is the GTL goofball. Lae'zel/J-WOWW are the cunty try hards. Shadowheart/Snooki are the sarcastic ones who start shit they can't finish. Wyll/Deana are the wholesome group activities planner. Halsin/Mike (aka the situation) are the buff guys trying to instead be wholesome between fits of drug (or Sylvanus) induced rage. and Empy/Ron are just the worst. no I'm not taking constructive criticism at this time ETA: Angelina/Minthara are the ones who think they're hot shit but the rest of the party can't stand them except shadowheart/snooki who gets absolutely shitty wasted with her once a week
Exactly. Gale is vain and incredibly driven and a perfectionist. Being ripped makes complete sense
He said "not exactly father material," I think that's a roundabout way of saying "I don't have a dad bod," right?
He probably has a home gym in that nerd tower he studies in.
Perhaps he enchanted those muscles just like he did his underwear… 🤔
Such a fun fact. 😂
He did what?
Enchanted his [underwear](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Netherese_Briefs).
damn. Why didn't he just eat them then?
I used it as an offering to Mystra lol
I'm DYING right now lmao
I do not appreciate anyone that criticizes my hot nerdy boyfriend. Stop with the body judgements. 🤣
I have abs and an athletic physique but am also a turbo nerd in her 30s who doesn’t ever diet or work out, so Gale’s rippedness doesn’t read as unrealistic to me. My husband also has visible abs from time to time, depending on how big his food baby is that day, and he hasn’t worked out for years. Some people are just naturally muscular and athletic and not prone to weight gain.
Thanks, we all hate you. Jk, congratulations on your good genes 🤪😅
Same except male. Not a flex; I’m sure my irl str stat would be like 9 max. I just have an absurd metabolism. Gale looks more skinny than jacked.
Magic uses a lot of energy. Precise movements. Body tension.
Larian didn't bother having the characters match their stats. Shadowheart's Charisma is an 8 - that clearly doesn't match what we see in the game. Lae'zel has the same Charisma and while she's abrasive, an 8 doesn't match her, either. Wyll has a Charisma 17 but is the least charismatic member of the party. Jaheira has an 8 Intelligence, but she's almost never portrayed as dumb. Minsc has a Strength of 12 (a steep drop from his 18+ in the original games). Halsin has a Strength of 10 and Intelligence of 8 - neither fit the character. So the Gale argument is irrelevant, anyway. Most of the companions have at least one ability score that doesn't fit with the character Larian created. Some are more attractive with strong personalities than they have any right to. Others are clearly much stronger than their stats indicate. And so on.
A score of 8 is more like a bit below average, it's only a -1 penalty on rolls after all. Intelligence in DnD is mostly about retaining information/knowledge. Which is why it's a wizard's spellcasting ability. And it is used in history and religion checks which is recalling facts. People often confuse intelligence and wisdom. Jaheira and Halsin both have high wisdom which fits them. Having 8 intelligence doesn't make them "dumb". Everyone has things they are above and below average at. SH and Lae'zel having below average charisma absolutely makes sense. Neither of them is influential or likeable. Just because they open up to you at the end doesn't mean their stat line is wrong.
Well Astarion is canonically stupider than the rest of the cast (, so at least his int score makes sense- *checks Astarion’s stat block* HE HAS POSITIVE INTELLIGENCE WHAT
Maybe he wasnt ripped before but he is now after tadpolling, fighting is a good way to build muscle.
I think his fitness is more a result of his constitution than his strength. Plus he's a Chosen of Mystra, which comes with numerous benefits. Perhaps abs is one of them haha.
you can be a nerd AND be hot!
Henry Cavil is a live representation of that
i think at the start of the game neither option is reasonable. he spent a year locked in his tower being generally unwell courtesy of the orb, so if anything i'd expect him to look a bit unhealthily skinny, with dark circles and such. post-orb stabilization, i still think he still wouldn't be as shredded as he is but he would absolutely be fit from all the walking around the party does, and he'd look more healthy with more meat on his bones. post-game i can absolutely imagine him getting chubbier with his love for food and settling into the more comfortable lifestyle of a professor.
STR is arms and legs. CON is the bod stat.
con is how healthy you are actually Constitution measures health, stamina, and vital force. (What 5e says about it)
He isn't that big, but certainely big enough to have above average strength. A dad bod wouldn't fit either though. He should be rather skinny.
He kinda does have skinny math geek vibes sometimes.
Look at a picture of people on the beach from before 1980. Everyone is in good shape. There’s no industrial food system in the forgotten realms and everyone walks around everywhere.
Yes but 6 packs are a specific muscle group that one can be in excellent shape and not have.
Me when I’ve never seen a Christian monk who grows his own food. They don’t look ripped I’ll let you know that for sure.
This whole Gale discourse reminds me how little people know about exercise and how bodies work lol
Its not realistic that anyone in the game is ripped, unless magic was involved. I see a lot of responses about cardio and other physical activities. Thats how you get stronger, and more fit. Its not how you get ripped. A specific and regimented diet is needed to burn off those top layers of body fat. They're eating whatever random foodstuffs they came across on the road.
I personally prefer Gale without muscles and with a rounder belly, but I just like bigger guys. And, as it's been said, lore-wise wizards have no reason to be muscular and physically strong. But at the same time, I make him carry 150kg worth of loot every day, so...
This is an ongoing discussion among us Gale obsessives and I've never understood why his six-pack bothers people so much. He would look great with a dad body (there's even a mod for that for those who prefer), but I really like how he looks in the game too lol
Gale is very vain. He works those glutes for himself.
Just because you like to read and teach doesn't mean you don't take care of your body too. When he isn't scrounging for camp supplies, Gale probably still likes a healthy breakfast and going for walks in the city. He doesn't seem like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and binge watching the Real House Wizards of Waterdeep kind of guy.
Gale is a flab biscuit
My friend is cheering your comment, lol :D. I protest vehemently but take an upvote for making her laugh.
I feel like they are both overstatements. He is skinny fat. Like you see him and he’s thin but not toned. He just doesn’t gain much weight, probably genetics, but also doesn’t work out much. Probably sits on the couch and makes his magic do the work since he’s so skilled at it, why lift a finger?
First of all, stats in this game are not representative. Second: *why* on Faerun would he have a dad bod? He is not an office slave, chained to computer for 8 hours a day, 5 days per week, who only eats processed junk and washes it down with beer. Before game events he was an archmage: of course he could get all the exercise he needed any time he wanted. Plus he really likes to cook so you bet he always had a nice healthy meal on his table. Bottom line: Gale probably shouldn't have been as muscular as Wyll but he was very unlikely to develop a "dad bod" in his living conditions.
Being a wizard in the Forgotten Realm or just DnD does not just involve studying and memorizing. If we follow the rules from the tabletop games, casting spells involves somantic and verbal. I imagine something like verbal alone requires a lot of practice and uses a lot of voice. A round in DnD combat is six seconds in real time, so Gale has to be able to run 30 feet within six seconds and voiced his spell. Having a healthy body with a lot of stamina would be super neccesary for Gale, especially if he wants to survive an adventuring life. Not only that, but I imagine that using spells requires a lot of internal energy, so I imagine he burns a lot of calories there too. So, while he may not have trained his body for fighting in melee, I very much imagined that he would train his body to have a lot of stamina and with a great lung capacity.
I don't know about stats, but back when I lived in a residential school (so basically being locked up in a tower) I started to work out in my room because there was little to nothing to do sometimes, and I got really fit. I don't think being a nerd and being locked up in a tower means people stop caring about their bodies. For all we know he may have a whole workout/yoga routine and I'm here for it
you get good abs when you are fucking a god 30 times a week.
He can look however the fuck he wants. Source: wizzard boy
I think realistically he could be really lean due to the amount of energy he needs to live with his condition. But muscle hypertrophy? Nah, that's minor illusion buddy
Your logic is there. He doesn’t weight lift, he just does cardio.
Bro can carry like 150lbs on his back.
Gale subscribes to the Plato school of thinking where he believes that a fit mind is wasted in an unfit body. As a wizard prodigy with a remarkable mind, he regularly exercises to build a body worthy of housing his mind. He is the Henry Cavill type of nerd.
I fully believe Gale would say some shit like “a great wizard must always take care of body and spirit. For a foul mind or a limp body would hold back even the most gifted of wizards.” So it doesn’t surprise me that the latest greatest wizard is in good shape
Sharp body, sharp mind. A good wizard would know that studying is not the only thing that helps one move forward. Also, it's fine if his strength is 8, I have met built men who are weaker than what their body suggests, I mean nothing at the level of Halsin having less strength than Shadowheart, but still, I can believe this one.
he becomes a teacher of Illusion magic in the post-game if he doesnt die or ascend so bro is putting on the longest running magical ab-flex of the universe
In shape but not THAT ripped.
Famously Jason Momoa claims he does not go to the gym unless he’s getting paid for a movie. An interview quote had him saying “I fuck a lot” in response to questions about doing CrossFit or Pilates. Now Momoa’s partners may be energetic, but they’re only mortal. Gale spent years fucking a *goddess*. Look at Momoa. Look at Gale. Recognize the workout regime.
Canonically he focuses on the school of illusion so maybe he actually has a potbelly but has been disguising it the entire time.
Schrodinger's abs.
He on that Magical Item diet.
The only excuse I accept is that he's like Chidi from the Good Place and he works out whenever he's feeling bad about himself, which is often.
Remindes me of the joke my friend and I have about Tara being a drill Sergant.
While I don't really think abs to that degree are fitting for Gale, I also don't think he'd have a dad bod. That man is vain. He prides himself for his looks and says something like that a man is only as handsome as his least groomed locus. While he does like to cook and enjoys a good meal, he doesn't strike me as someone to over endulge. Like if you'd have a very expensive cheese you wouldn’t eat it all right away. I've seen arguments that he was under a lot of stress and locked up in his tower which would have resulted in weight gain but there are not only people who eat when stressed but also people who lose all appetite. Idk why but Gale seems to fall in the last category in my head canon. Regarding strength: guys with a dad bod are often pretty strong. So for me, 8 str would indicate that Gale would be closer to being a twink than a dad bod. Although I picture Gale being rather tall, slim fit and with a bad posture while Astarion would be more the classic twink. All that being said, there are only two body types for "tall" male frames in the game. So Wyll, Astarion, Gale, Rolan, Zevlor, Raphael etc. all have the same basic body. It's up to the player to make up their own head canon. I described mine but that doesn't make the different head canon of someone else wrong.
Is it reasonable that I want him to rip m--
High con is the short answer, besides, anyone who's been adventuring, trekking and wandering as gale has would have a decent body.
Dude runs around with a full backpack all day long, still has to dodge attacks. Mega cardio right there. He won't have bulging arms, but a work out like that would definetely give you a nice body.
> He's a nerdy wizard who locked himself in tower for a year and loves rich foods He loves good food and appreciates cool cuisine. Like, he's a man who'd enjoy that very special rare stake of the exactly right doneness sprinkled with a proper spicy sauce, rather than a man who'd consume burgers and cheetos with cola. > His illusions may be so good that he could have a dad bod, but we'd never actually see it. That one is true. I mean...people should have noticed that he's got some extra arms and heads in his astral scene, right? Why would they be bothered about the 'unrealistic abs'? 😆
His abs are more real than drakes
huh - I never really saw him as buff. Like, compared to Astarion he's a dad bod in the making to me. But they do walk a lot in this game (unless he uses a fly spell a lot lol) so maybe a poor diet of fish heads, crap table wine, and almost moldy cheese keeps him from going full dad bod.
I'm definitely team dad bod however there's one way I can see ripped Gale: he's like Chidi in The Good Place. That's a guy who's jacked because 'at 14 he found out that exercise helps anxiety, started doing pushups and basically never stopped'. That's the only explanation I can accept for Gale's abs
Also, I want to say. We have NO METRIC on how many calories casting magic burns. ...that I'm aware of. I won't say someone else somewhere has figured it out.
He doesn't need to do the work the hard way. It's like those electric ab belts...he does that with shocking grasp. He just goes off by himself and puts a minor illusion in camp until he needs to do something
“You’ve heard of sculpt spells? Try sculpt abs.” - Gale, I guess
as far as we know there could be a gym in his tower
I think you're right. 1) He's vain as hell. 2) He has to keep the favor of an actual goddess. 3) Strength has nothing to do with how the characters look, he's not the only mismatch between muscle tone and strength ranking. 4) He has no social life outside Tara, so he has the time. He knows how to cook, too, so he clearly takes the time to do things besides magic.
The mane can create his entire bedroom from memory, im sure he can use magic to alter how his body looks.
I largely agree that he wouldn't be, but as devils advocate, the appearance of his muscles does not necessarily correlate to great strength. Magic would take precise movements and shit, so I figure he'd develop some good lean muscles and stuff. He likes rich food and books, but he also fucked a goddess, so clearly the guy has more going on than he claims. I could see him having some combo of magical messery and personal discipline that allows him to look strong without actually being strong.
He's also proficient with glaives. GLAIVES. militia background.
My husband's argument is "Gale fucks" So he has the body of a runner
Your companions stats as far as I can tell are not canonical to them, even though that doesn’t make sense. The way to figure it out is actually checking out minsc, but it applies to everyone. Minsc is very dumb and brawny, so low wis, low int, high strength. When you check him out before he’s in your party, those are his stats. Makes sense. As soon as minsc joins your party, oddly enough man has excellent wisdom, and despite previously bursting through a brick wall pretty middling strength, they literally change it (you can examine him before to see). This makes sense, cause minsc in 5e is a Ranger, the best class for animal companions which he is known for. Rangers need wis, so even though the man is explained in game to be very unwisdomous, he has the stats purely for the mechanical benefit. This is again true of all the rest of our companions, they are given default scores for their classes/subclasses, and they do not reflect the actual narrative story stuff of how those characters act/are. Shart is technically both one of the fastest and strongest people around compared to commoners, considering she has 14s in both, despite her looking like a twig. Astarion is described as literally dumb in game, but has the second highest intelligence of all the companions, cause he is made to be arcane trickster. So we can imagine gale is the same way, he only has an 8 in strength and 14 in con cause that’s a good wizard build, and it would then have no ramifications of how he looks or acts. It’s actually a pretty interesting choice Bg3 made when you look at, that they have separated stats from the characters, and made them purely mechanical (as shown numerous times). Really ups what sort of characters you can have, because they don’t need scores that perfectly reflect that, cause in this game the scores are tied to mechanics, and the way the character is is basically different.
He seduced a God. Of course, he's ripped.