The lead mocap choreographer for Baldur's gate 3 reveals that Lae'zel’s combat stance was inspired by a real technique which came to an ancient Samurai master through a dream

Baldur's gate 3's character animations are just one of the many brilliant things about the game. They give each character their own personality. From the poise and elegance in Shadowheart's stance to the cute soft-step shuffle of Karlach as she gets ready for battle to the brutal lunges and kicks from Lae'zel, these characters have a vivid and real feel.

A new video diary by Larian gives us some never-before-seen insights into the creation of the animations in Baldur's gate 3, with a special focus on everyone's favorite Githyanki war queen. Mustapha El Bashiri, Larian's choreography and mocap master, stars in the video. You can watch it in full above.

The most impressive thing I learned from this video was the amount of research Mustapha did to create many of Lae’zel's moves. He confirmed that the Githyanki's swordplay was influenced by "eastern martial art samurai backgrounds." Mustapha studied these ancient combat techniques so thoroughly that he was able to add a "little elusive touch" by introducing a move that an old master had once imagined.

Mustapha explains that the ancient master had a vision of a 'final missing move' which would help him to win. The move involved eluding the opponent by hiding the position of his blade. He would rest it backwards behind his side-on arm and on his inside arm, and this would help to conceal his intent and timing of his attacks until the last moment. In Baldur's Gate 3 Lae'zel rests large blades on her elbows in the same manner when she is idle. She also hides the blade's position behind her body as she prepares to strike.

In our Baldur's Gate 3 Review, we gave it the highest score in over 16 years. We called it "an unrivalled, RPG that will devour your life."