Glorious fantasy RPG Baldur's Gate 3 is full of a wonderful roster of diverse and interesting characters, all of which help to make it one of the best RPGs of the decade so far. However, one mod aimed to callously erase the LGBTQ+ identities of certain characters from the game before it was banned by the folks as Nexus Mods.
Though there's nothing inherently wrong with a mod that changes the gender of characters in a game, this "No Alphabets" mod was designed to "ensure that the gender and sexuality of world NPCs match medieval status quo" (via Gayming).
The mod's central feature was the removal of fan-favorite lesbian romance between angelic demi-god Dame Aylin and Isobel, an altruistic cleric of Selûne. The mod also erased the identity of Nocturne, a trans character from the game's third act, by giving her a male character model.
In a post on the Nexus Mods forums, the site runners announced their decision to ban the mod. "We are for inclusivity, we are for diversity," says the post. "If we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it. The same goes for people attempting to troll other users with mods deliberately to cause a rise."
The post continues: "We aren't the authority on what users can and cannot mod. Us removing a mod only means it cannot be found at Nexus Mods, nothing more, nothing less. As a private business, we have a right to choose what content we do and do not want to host on our platform. Respect this right the same way you want respect for your rights."
The mod also created a stir on Reddit. A post by Redditor Significance No2411 drew attention to the mod's "hate", receiving over 18,000 upvotes on the site.
Baldur's Gate 3 has queer identities firmly baked into its themes and characters. In an interview with Jennifer English, the voice of companion character Shadowheart, the actor made it clear that her character was intended to be a queer "allegory." It's gratifying to see Nexus Mods make the effort to shut down hateful efforts to stifle the game's diversity.
Looking for more evocative titles like Baldur's Gate 3? Check out our lists of the best single-player games and best story games.
