Summary
- Baldur's Gate 3 is based on fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, but there are some things players shouldn't borrow from the video game when starting a tabletop campaign.
- BG3 had to make plenty of changes to 5e in its adaptation, and some of those changes could benefit a DnD campaign.
- BG3's initiative system and unique weapon abilities, for example, might have a place at a DnD table, even if they bend official rules.
It is no secret that Dungeons & Dragons' popularity. It uses the same basic rules, after all, being based on the tabletop RPG's fifth edition, known for being the simplest edition to date. Despite this, 5e was built for the tabletop, so Larian Studios chose to make changes to the rules in order for it to properly function as a CRPG title.
Amazingly, some of these changes can actually be taken into the tabletop version and improve the gaming experience. Some others, less so, but many players may be unaware of the differences between BG3 and DnD, and may expect a one-to-one translation from CRPG to tabletop. It should be noted that Larian has put its own spin on the rule set, taking some features from its previous titles, similar to how many Dungeon Masters will have their own spin on the system as they play it.
"An Iconic, Engaging Mess Of Brilliant Ideas": Baldur's Gate 3 Review
Baldur's Gate 3 is imposing in stature and its best moments are truly memorable, but some early issues with scale suggest an uneven experience.
10 Take Unique Weapon Type Abilities
Add More Than Just Visuals To Weapon Types
For the most part, the main difference between certain weapons in DnD is the damage dice used, but many do share the same dice. For instance, a mace and a shortsword both use 1d6 for their damage, meaning that there is almost no reason to pick one over the other unless an overall aesthetic is taken into consideration. This gets worse for longswords, since they do less damage than true two-handed weapons and are strength-based. For those looking to use both hands for one weapon, a longsword is objectively worse.
This is where BG3's unique abilities for weapons come in – each weapon type allows players to do different things with those weapons. For instance, someone with a greataxe can cleave foes once per short rest, while someone with a longsword has a dash attack to cover more distance. This adds gameplay differences and more flavor to combat, especially for martial classes who usually have fewer options than their spellcasting counterparts with bonus action spells.
9 Don't Take Limited Short Rests
It's There Because BG3's A Video Game
Short rests are fundamentally different between BG3 and D&D. For BG3 there is no day-night cycle, nor is there an active ing of time. Time only es when Tav and the crew bunker down for the night, and the short rests keep them going until they are in dire need of sleep. Mechanically, BG3 needs to restrict short rests, otherwise there would be no reason for a long rest for certain classes, like fighters and warlocks.
In DnD, short rests take an hour and can be more fraught with danger since they aren't instant. They can only be done in a safe environment where the party won't be attacked for that hour and aren't quite as powerful, since the age of time will continue to tick as they are taken. In BG3, Tav can rest before a time-sensitive encounter. This is not the case for 5e, so there is no reason to restrict it, especially since two short rests in a day are rare enough anyway.
Some DMs may choose to make their players exhausted if they do not have a long rest after a set amount of time, which short rests would eventually not be able to alleviate.
Dungeons & Dragons: Long Rest and Short Rest Differences Explained
A Dungeons & Dragons party can either take a short rest or a long rest, and they'll receive different benefits, depending on which one they choose.
8 Take BG3's Use Of Verticality
Who Doesn't Like Using The High Ground?
DnD encounters can be quite flat, literally speaking. It isn't easy to install a sense of verticality onto the tabletop, especially online, where many tools, like Roll20 are entirely 2D. Still, this should be attempted, as BG3 has introduced high and low ground mechanics, such as doing more damage from the high ground, which Larian also featured in Divinity: Original Sin 2. This can (literally) add depth to the game, while giving players new problems to solve and new tactics to utilize.
BG3 also introduced instant death to certain chasms, allowing players to shove enemies to their doom. The downside to this, which stops it from being the go-to method, is that the body cannot be looted, but this is a better system than 5e's fall damage. D&D's fall damage caps out at 20d6, which is odd since it means that some players with enough health could survive a 200ft drop, and said drop doesn't get any more dangerous past 200ft.
7 Don't Take BG3's Use Of Camp Food
Hoarding Sausages Isn't As Fun As It Sounds
As funny as it would be to begin with, having players spend countless hours picking up potato after potato to eat when they have a long rest at night would stop anything from getting done. There can, of course, be supplies and systems that mean players have to buy some provisions for the road, but having them pick up individual morsels of food to later use would be a monumental waste of time. DnD is notorious for players wasting time arguing about nonsense, so streamlining where possible is key.
Instead, consider allowing players to forage for food, and state that this food will last a certain amount of time, rather than having players decide what to cook that night depending on the random mushrooms and eggs they picked up. If there is anything to take from Baldur's Gate's food system, it's the use of camp supplies. This streamlines the long rest, and even then food can be entirely ignored. It can just be assumed that the party went hunting or foraging in their free time.
Easily Missed Baldur's Gate 3 Details Show Larian's Dedication To D&D Lore
Baldur's Gate 3 crams in plenty of homages to the rich history and lore of Dungeons & Dragons, and one approach that it takes is particularly cool.
6 Take BG3's Initiative System
Plan Moves Together
By default, DnD uses a d20 to determine initiative, while Baldur's Gate 3 uses a d4 instead, allowing party to move at the same time. This makes sense when one person is controlling multiple characters, but can also work to allow multiple player characters to work in tandem. In general, 5e keeps everyone's turns separate, even going so far as to make the character with the higher dexterity go before anyone else with the same initiative.
By allowing players to go at the same time, it allows one to take an action together with another character. For instance, if a player soaks an area with water, another player can freeze that area to make the terrain difficult for enemies to traverse. This can also apply to enemies, as they can work in tandem to bring a new, tactical edge to the game. One could take an action, wait for another to take their entire turn, then use their bonus action. It also encourages players to work together during encounters.
Due to fewer numbers being rolled, BG3's d4 initiative system makes it more likely for players to share a turn. If a player has the same initiative as an enemy, then the one with greater dexterity goes first.
5 Don't Have Your Own Withers
Death Works Fine In Base D&D
Death is very different in DnD compared to its CRPG counterpart. BG3 wants its players to see all the content it has to offer, hence why characters can be revived for a small fee by Withers. Revivify scrolls are also common in BG3, making death seem trivial in the game, because it is. Video games usually make death something that can be brushed off, and the reloading mechanic can help rectify any mistakes.
This is not the case in DnD. When something happens, it happens permanently and that is important to make the stakes of the game feel real. Having Withers, who is effectively a safety net for a character, would trivialize all of this, while making death, a very important mechanic in all editions of Dungeons & Dragons, something that shouldn't be feared. Having an ethereal and mysterious guide isn't the problem, having someone that can erase mistakes is.
There are several forms of revival in DnD, each with varying levels of power. In BG3, all revival is done with the revivify spell, but it cannot be used on NPCs, only player characters.
4 Do Use Only Gold
Silver & Copper Are Basically Worthless
Larian has always kept currency simple in its games. Both Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 use gold as their only currency, similar to other RPGs like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Comparatively, DnD has many different currencies, all of varying value. One gold equals 10 silver, and one silver equals 10 copper, similar to World of Warcraft's system. There are more currencies, such as platinum and electrum, but both are ill used.
Very quickly, copper and silver become useless, and keeping track of change, although not difficult, can become a hassle. Beyond the first few levels, there's no reason to keep copper or silver, so why have them at all? Streamline the process by only using gold pieces. That way, there are fewer useless items to keep track of.
Platinum is equivalent to 10 gold. Strangely enough, electrum is worth half a gold piece, or five silver, and is the most disliked currency in the DnD community.
3 Don't Take BG3's Crafting System
Table Tops Aren't Video Games
Baldur's Gate 3's alchemy crafting system seems to be a carryover from Larian's last title, Divinity: Original Sin 2. Although it adds an extra layer to a video game, and is welcome, if uncommonly used, it isn't at all necessary for the tabletop. Numerous ingredients will need to be kept track of in order to make this work – far more than is worth the effort, especially if it all falls on the shoulders of a single DM. Potions can always be bought and found, after all.
DnD already has somewhat of a crafting system that is far more streamlined and works better for a tabletop setting. Alchemy can be done by a character that is proficient with an herbalism kit, time, and money. The components are presented as "25 gp worth of ingredients," for instance, which saves both the player and DM time in the game. It is certainly better than having a player constantly ask about local flora just to get a specific mushroom for a potion.
2 Do Make Player Characters Meet Somewhere Interesting
No More Meeting In Taverns
There is a reason that "you all meet in a tavern" has become an inside joke in the community. It's an overused trope that tends to be quite bland. Sometimes it can be worked into a compelling beginning, but why bother with the effort of doing so when players will see plenty of taverns during their travels? Instead of trying to get everyone to meet in a tavern to later introduce a plot hook, just begin with the plot hook.
This is what BG3 does brilliantly, throwing the player right into the heart of the action and making them form bonds out of necessity, which later blossom or crumble. This can stop some character relationships from being forced and give players a tangible reason to stay together. It's also more exciting and will immediately set the tone for the kind of campaign that they will be playing. Plus, it avoids the dreaded tavern trope that could lead to teasing later down the line.
Baldur's Gate 3: 7 Reasons To Play As The Dark Urge
Playing as the Dark Urge Origin in Baldur's Gate 3 offers a unique experience unlike any other playthrough with fantastic roleplay opportunities.
1 Don't Make The Level Cap 12
The Tabletop Isn't Restricted By Coding
Thankfully, Dungeon Masters don't have to extensively code their campaigns to play with their friends. Unfortunately for Larian, it does, and the sheer freedom of a TTRPG means that not everything can be translated over. Seventh-level spells were a particular problem for the Belgium studio, given their extra nuance and multi-effect nature. This was likely the reason BG3's level was capped at 12, since players get access to seventh-level spells at level 13.
For a DnD campaign, there is no reason to cap the players at level 12. Most campaigns may not make it past then, but there's no reason to stop players from reaching the higher echelons of power unless the DM has a narrative reason for doing so. Mechanically, there is nothing wrong with seventh-level spells for a tabletop game, it just requires greater interpretation from players. Plus, this is territory not visited by Baldur's Gate 3, so it could be interesting for those that have only played that game and never played Dungeons & Dragons.
Baldur's Gate 3
-
- Top Critic Avg: 96/100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Engine
- Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full cross-platform play.
Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3 is an role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Platform(s)
- PC, macOS
Your comment has not been saved