Who Is Tav In Baldur's Gate 3?

Summary

The name-change option in
Baldur’s Gate 3
is hidden and can be easily missed during character creation.
Initially, there was no way to change a character’s name once it had been assigned.
However, thanks to the Magic Mirror, it’s now possible.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has more than its share of mysteries, with hidden endings, obscure side quests, and head-scratching puzzles, but its most baffling by far is the identity of Tav. Well after launch, players are still discovering new things to do as they journey through the Forgotten Realms. It’s a truly massive game, and it seems like there are new oddities and Easter eggs being found and shared every day.

However, the biggest mystery in Baldur’s Gate 3 is staring players in the face, and it’s hard to find easy answers. The name Tav is present from the very beginning, and if they’re not careful, it can follow the party throughout the entire game. Thankfully, this mystery is easily solved – even if the game somewhat hides the answer.

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Tav Is The Default Name For Custom Characters In Baldur’s Gate 3

“Tav” Refers Generically To Any Non-Dark Urge Custom Player Character

A tiefling player character in Baldur's Gate 3, with shoulder-length white hair and beard. He stands before a starry background, surrounded by an ethereal rendering of the character customization menu.

“Tav” is the default name that Baldur’s Gate 3 assigns to custom characters until the player changes it. However, it’s also becoming common parlance as a generic term for the concept of a player character itself, the same way “Dragonborn” was used for Skyrim and “V” is used for Cyberpunk 2077. It’s gender-neutral, monosyllabic, and easy to pronounce in any language.

While it may appear in-game if the player decides to stick with it or neglects to choose another name, “Tav” may be used interchangeably, as either a particular character’s name or a generic term for the Baldur’s Gate 3 player character, on Steam Community forums and social media posts.

Where Does The Name “Tav” Come From?

BG3’s Default Name Is A Reference To A Small Part Of The Game’s Development

Baldur's Gate 3 Female Wood Half-Elf Monk In Character Creation Menu

As it turns out, “Tav” isn’t just a random name – before the official announcement of Baldur’s Gate 3, the game was first teased by Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke towards the end of a documentary from Gameumentary on YouTube (at around 1:07:57), which focused on the studio’s previous game Divinity: Original Sin 2. In it, Vincke referred to the at-the-time unannounced Baldur’s Gate 3 by its codename, “Project Gustav,” from which the default player name “Tav” is derived, serving as a small Easter Egg for players who’ve been following Larian since the studio’s previous games.

Some players have speculated that “Tav” could be short for “tavern,” as a reference to a common starting point for the
DnD
campaigns which
BG3
draws heavily from, or else as a reference to “Tav” being the last letter in some alphabets, like Hebrew, but given the “Gustav” connection, these other points of reference are likely coincidental, or at least not the main intent of the default player name.

Furthermore, the name “Gustav” is itself a reference to Vincke’s real-life dog of the same name, making “Tav” a reference to the game’s lead developer as well. Further references to the name Gustav can be found in the game’s files, and multiplayer campaigns are loaded as Gustav, giving players with more knowledge about the development process of Baldur’s Gate 3 a few small Easter Eggs to find. While it’s a relatively small part of the game’s history, the hidden details can be fun to find for players who have been following the game’s development closely.

Can You Change Your Name From Tav In Baldur’s Gate 3?

BG3’s Name Change Options In Character Creation Can Be Easy To Overlook

Withers, an aptly withered skeleton, stands in a grassy clearing in a screenshot from Baldur's Gate 3.

The name-change option is easy to overlook. It’s hidden under the “Background” submenu of the character creator, which sounds like a relatively unimportant option unless character lore is the player’s priority. Character creation is a complicated process with multiple steps, and it’s easy to miss the name option in all the excitement of starting a new Baldur’s Gate 3 save file. If the character’s name isn’t filled in, the game assigns Tav by default, and many people may find themselves going into the game stuck with a name they never chose.

At launch, there was no way to change a character’s name in Baldur’s Gate 3, which meant people were stuck with it. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 character customization has gone through several updates across five patches since launch, and it’s now possible to change the player character’s name via the Magic Mirror. This was a much-needed improvement, and it thankfully means people don’t have to be stuck with the Tav moniker if they don’t want it.

All things considered, Tav is a pretty perfect catch-all name for player characters in general. However, it can be frustrating to forget to name a character and get stuck with the default option, only to realize the mistake just when it would become a pain to start over. Thankfully, the Magic Mirror in Baldur’s Gate 3 now means changing names is possible.

Source: Gameumentary/YouTube

Baldur’s Gate 3

Platform(s): PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X
Released: August 3, 2023
Developer(s): Larian Studios
Publisher(s): Larian Studios
ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence