"It's a dreadful thing you've asked us to do": Baldur's Gate 3 writer says creating the game's "celestial elephant detective" was an uphill battle for devs who really wanted her to drink a glass of wine

A screenshot shows the Hollyphant Valeria enjoying a goblet of wine.

Baldur's Gate 3 has an elephant detective – yes, an elephant detective – who might seem effortlessly cool. Valeria, a member of the generously golden, winged Hollyphant species in D&D, likes enjoying a cup of vino like it's no big deal, like she isn't an elephantine abnormality. But it might be easier to believe her supposedly nonchalant 'tude if Larian junior writer Martin Docherty hadn't revealed how demanding Valeria was during development.

Talking to Larian senior communications developer Aoife Wilson in a new episode of the developer's Show and Yell stream, Docherty explains that creating a pompous, drunken elephant out of thin air is as hard as it sounds.