D&D 5E D&D Beyond Offers A Free Baldur's Gate Gazetteer

In Baldur’s Gate, thievery, blackmail, and illegal trade runs rampant. Now you can journey to this dangerous city of the Sword Coast with the Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer. Learn about each of the city’s districts and key locations and people, and unlock backgrounds for your next Baldurian character!

The Gazetter includes:

• History of Baldur's Gate
• Baldur's Gate Today
• Government
• Citizenry
• Economy and Trade
• Religion
• Dangers in Baldur's Gate
• City Landmarks
• Upper City
• Lower City
• Outer City
• Beyond Baldur's Gate
• Baldur's Gate Character Backgrounds
• Dark Secrets

The Gazetteer is quite sizable, and mainly lore-based, with two new NPC stat blocks (Nine-Fingers Keene, and Rilasa Real), some random encounter tables, and information on how the regular D&D character backgrounds fit in. There's also a new background, the Faceless. Finally there are some rules about 'Dark Secrets' which are a background element which the party shares.

Claim Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer now! - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Parmandur]

That makes it a prequel. I don't understand how no one knows what the word "prequel" means.

Prequels are tie-ins...?

And the large section they just put for free is a pretty direct tie-in, as it is a general Gazateer for the city itself.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They did a whole live event in 2019 that announced BG3 and introduced Descent into Avernus as a tie-in?

OK, then they have been super-bad at this for years.

For both WotC and people on this thread: The purpose of a marketing tie-in is to make extra sales than would otherwise happen. For Descent into Avernus to be a successful BG3 tie-in, it needs to be able to capitalize on the enthusiasm people are feeling about the videogame -- which is at its peak right now, and which was and never will be this high again -- and allow people to spend extra money.

Unless all of these people have time machines set for 2019 -- and they do not -- or WotC reprinted a bunch of Descent into Avernus books and put them where videogame enthusiasts can find them -- and they did not -- it is not actually a successful marketing tie-in.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but, why do you care so much about it so as to have to respond in all caps?

The folks throwing themselves as human shields between WotC and even the mildest criticism are just as exhausting as the WotC-can-do-no-right folks @Zaukrie is complaining about.

WotC can and does listen to criticism. We saw that happen this spring. Focused criticism -- not "WotC is evil and all who play their games must be burned at the stake" -- is useful and appropriate.

We don't need the Apu-throws-himself-in-front-of-mild-criticism-of-Elon-Musk meme to be acted out here every time WotC steps on a rake. People tired of the discussions of said rakes should be rooting for WotC to stop stepping on them, which is something I think the critics agree with them on.

 

[Demetrios1453]

OK, then they have been super-bad at this for years.

For both WotC and people on this thread: The purpose of a marketing tie-in is to make extra sales than would otherwise happen. For Descent into Avernus to be a successful BG3 tie-in, it needs to be able to capitalize on the enthusiasm people are feeling about the videogame -- which is at its peak right now, and which was and never will be this high again -- and allow people to spend extra money.

Unless all of these people have time machines set for 2019 or WotC reprinted a bunch of Descent into Avernus books and put them where videogame enthusiasts can find them -- and they did not -- it is not actually a successful marketing tie-in.

I was unaware that WotC has removed DiA from bookstore shelves and from D&D Beyond. So unaware that I must have been mistaken when I saw it on the shelf on Saturday when I picked up Bigby's and on D&D Beyond when checking out the free stuff from that very adventure that this thread is supposed to be about.

Again, why worry about it? You see it as a marketing failure, but... in the end, is that something deserving of so many posts? Unless you have a significant amount of Hasbro stock, how is this materially impacting you so much that you have to keep posting on it?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I was unaware that WotC has removed DiA from bookstore shelves and from D&D Beyond. So unaware that I must have been mistaken when I saw it on the shelf on Saturday when I picked up Bigby's and on D&D Beyond when checking out the free stuff from that very adventure that this thread is supposed to be about.

That's extremely disingenuous and intentionally ignoring what I said.

Again, why worry about it? You see it as a marketing failure, but... in the end, is that something deserving of so many posts? Unless you have a significant amount of Hasbro stock, how is this materially impacting you so much that you have to keep posting on it?

Why are you so interested in policing my speech?

If you work for WotC marketing, do better. If not, it doesn't affect you.

And I have "so many posts" because I'm replying to people like you talking to me. Is the appropriate response when you speak to me for me to sit in stony silence, thinking on my past sins?

 

[DEFCON 1]

What I want to know is why does anyone give a rat's ass whether or not WotC capitalizes on the success of BG3? What, do you people have stock in Hasbro and the fact there isn't a marketing tie-in is devaluing your shares?

I mean come on... is anyone actually mad that 5E isn't big ENOUGH that we need to get all bent out of shape that they didn't work hard to milk the D&D gaming populace of even more money? Since when did WotC monetization schemes become OUR problem?

 

[bedir than]

What I want to know is why does anyone give a rat's ass whether or not WotC capitalizes on the success of BG3? What, do you people have stock in Hasbro and the fact there isn't a marketing tie-in is devaluing your shares?

Some of us enjoy meeting new people through D&D and experiencing the stories that they can help tell that our current group cannot.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What I want to know is why does anyone give a rat's ass whether or not WotC capitalizes on the success of BG3? What, do you people have stock in Hasbro and the fact there isn't a marketing tie-in is devaluing your shares?

Because if they want to increase their revenue -- remember the "monetization" issue last December, before the OGL fiasco came along? -- they can either do it by producing and selling more good stuff, like a Neverwinter gazetteer to tie into DADHAT, or they can do it in a crappy way, with lots of microtransactions that slowly turn D&D Beyond and the eventual/theoretical VTT into a garbage site resembling a mobile game and move all the focus of the game's development there.

Everyone should be rooting for them to do this the right way.

 

[mamba]

Because they saw the feedback that happened after launch day?

They couldn’t have seen it before it existed.

I doubt their job description says they should sit on their hands until someone complains about them just sleeping at the wheel…

 

[Dire Bare]

Thank you for posting about this EN World. How would I normally have learned about this? I always miss these "freebies" that they offer for a limited time, and I don't know where to look to see what offers are available to claim. Can someone please let me know where I can normally find such offers on D&D Beyond.

If you create a free D&D Beyond account, you'll get emails about offers. Unless you opt out of marketing emails.