Hotfix 17 has arrived for Baldur's Gate 3 and the good news is that it contains a fix designed to stop everyone’s favourite member of the shadow wizard money gang - Gale - from deserting you forever if you’re unable to offer him a magical item every time he asks.
Yup, following a hotfix that addressed the item issue which was causing some players to end up with completely softlocked honour mode runs and looked to cause some unintended issues of its own with certain mods, Larian’s put Gale in its crosshairs. To be fair, the posh bastard probably needed taking down a peg.
As documented in the patch notes for Hotfix 17, following its installation: “Gale will no longer permanently leave the party if you don't offer him any magic items while talking to him – unless you're abundantly clear that you don't plan on ever doing so.” Praise Mistra, accidentally being ditched by the magic man is no more!