20 recruitable and story-critical figures — from the six Origins to late-recruit party members and Withers's paid hirelings — plus tips to manage approval and unlock personal quests.

Curated by our editors. Approval mechanics, romance gates and hireling costs verified against patch 7 (2024-09).
Companion	Race	Default Class	Party Role	How to Recruit
Astarion	High Elf (Vampire Spawn)	Rogue (Assassin)	Stealth + burst DPS	Act 1 · nautiloid escape
Karlach	Tiefling	Barbarian (Berserker)	Front-line rage tank	Act 1 · Risen Road
Gale	Human	Wizard (Evocation)	AoE control mage	Act 1 · waypoint near beach
Shadowheart	Half-Elf	Cleric (Trickery)	Healer + support	Act 1 · nautiloid escape
Wyll	Human	Warlock (The Fiend)	Ranged single-target caster	Act 1 · Emerald Grove
Lae'zel	Githyanki	Fighter (Battle Master)	Melee weapon master	Act 1 · caged near crashsite
Halsin	Wood Elf	Druid (Circle of the Moon)	Shapeshift bruiser + heals	Late Act 2 · save the tieflings path
Minsc	Human	Ranger (Beast Master)	Ranged bow + pet (Boo)	Act 3 · Baldur's Gate lower city quest
Jaheira	Half-Elf	Druid (Circle of the Land)	Battlefield control + control healer	Late Act 2 · Last Light Inn defender
Minthara	Drow	Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)	Evil-path damage paladin	Act 1 · goblin-path only OR pull-out reunion Act 2
Withers	Undead (Jergal aspect)	Camp NPC · Cleric-like	Class/subclass respec + hireling shop	Act 1 · Dank Crypt · always in camp thereafter
Volo	Human	Bard (Camp NPC)	Story flavor + eyepatch quest	Act 1 · Emerald Grove or Goblin Camp side quest
Isobel	Half-Aasimar	Cleric (Selûne)	Act 2 defender NPC · anti-shadow curse	Act 2 · Last Light Inn (temporary escort)
Aylin	Aasimar	Paladin (Selûne's Chosen)	Story-critical rescue · flavor NPC	Act 2 · rescue from Moonrise dungeon
Vojin	Half-Elf	Cleric (Hireling)	Filler healer / respec dummy	Buy from Withers · 200 gold
Nym	Elf	Wizard (Hireling)	Backup mage · flex class	Buy from Withers · 200 gold
Sef'Ryn	Halfling	Rogue (Hireling)	Backup rogue · trap disarm	Buy from Withers · 200 gold
Ord	Human	Paladin (Hireling)	Backup tank · smite bot	Buy from Withers · 200 gold
Aliyeth	Human	Fighter (Hireling)	Backup martial · shove specialist	Buy from Withers · 200 gold
Zoss	Tiefling	Warlock (Hireling)	Backup caster · Eldritch Blast fodder	Buy from Withers · 200 gold

クイックヒント

Companion approval unlocks personal quests, camp scenes, and romance options — pick dialog cues that match their alignment even in indirect situations.
You can only recruit either Halsin OR Minthara depending on whether you side with the tieflings or the goblins at the Emerald Grove.
Karlach and Wyll gate several late-Act 1 & Act 2 story beats — keep them in the party for maximum content.
Long rest often between story beats — most companion cutscenes trigger during rest, and skipping them locks approval and romance milestones.
Hirelings from Withers (200 gold each) let you respec class or fill missing party roles — they have no approval, no personal quests, and no romance.
Withers is always in camp after Act 1 and offers unlimited class + subclass respec — use him to test builds without permanent commitment.
Certain choices give companions permanent -20 to -40 approval (e.g., killing tieflings for Wyll, siding with goblins for Karlach) — these can lock romance even if you rebound with dozens of small approvals later.
Late Act 2 has a 'point of no return' checkpoint before the Nightsong sequence — grind approvals before that or you lose the romance confession window entirely.