Maxis hid some Baldur’s Gate 3 references in The Sims 4 Life and Death expansion, including a nod to Astarion

If you’re playing The Sims 4 Life and Death and thought your Baldur’s Gate 3 sense tingled, you did, in fact, roll a successful perception check

Larian Studios

If you’re playing The Sims 4 Life and Death and thought your Baldur’s Gate 3 sense tingled, you did, in fact, roll a successful perception check. A Sims 4 fan on Twitter posted what they were sure was a BG3 reference hidden away in an item description, and one of Maxis’ writers confirmed that they weren’t hallucinating.

The reference in question is the build mode description for a new tombstone, the “Sun and Stars Headstone,” which mentions a “cheeky” Sim who happened to end their sentences with “darling.”

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"A grave that marks the end of an era and the beginning of another much more hopeful one," the item description reads. "Perhaps this is the perfect gravestone to commemorate a cheeky little Sim who faced the trials of life's shadowy depths, all the while craving the sun. Though, perhaps not the full, concentrated power of the sun after so many years spent out of it. Just a little bit of sun, as a treat, darling!"

There’s no way The Sims 4 referenced BG3 in this

I love it 🖤😭#TheSims4 #sims4lifeanddeath #BaldursGate3 #TheSims #Astarion pic.twitter.com/TcUm8AWFHp

— Jayce on bsky (@JayceDoesVoices) November 2, 2024

I didn’t get anything particular Astarion-y until “darling,” but Twitter user JayceDoesVoices clocked it immediately.

“There’s no way The Sims 4 referenced BG3 in this,” they said above a screenshot of the item. “I love it.”

A Sims 4 producer who goes by SimGuruNova on Twitter responded and said there’s another reference they snuck into the Life and Death expansion as well.

“That was me! hehe I'm glad someone found it,” they said. “I also have another small one buried in there somewhere.”

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One commenter said they thought it was the Giant Mollusk Poof, and after checking the description, I’d say they’re probably right.

“Have you ever wanted to find yourself in a situation that could only be described as briny, squishy, eldritch horror?” the pouf description begins. “Well today’s your lucky day. The moist squelch that echoes through the room as you take a seat on this scalloped scallop-esque seat will leave you feeling utterly horrified.”

That’s fairly general so far, but the last bit gets much more specific.

“You’ll smell like a haunted wharf, an abandoned town where the citizens (for some reason) left a bunch of rotting fish in baskets for unfortunate adventurers to happen upon, instead of actually useful loot.”

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Faerun culture seems to dictate that wherever there is a fishing spot, there must also be baskets, barrels, and boxes with at least one rotting fish. That’s especially true in The Wilderness where you end up after the Mind Flayer’s Nautiloid ship crashes, so Risshellala, it looks like you were spot on.