D&D 5E New Baldur's Gate 3 Video

[wicked cool]

I have watched some let’s play videos of this and game looks epic. They have done a really good job with releasing this early for play testers to iron out bugs

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's a pretty funny justification given how little else (particularly tone and Forgotten Realms-ness) is "consistent with BG1/2".

I don't know what you've been playing, but the BG3 I've been playing is jammed nerdishly full of Forgotten Realms lore. Everything gets referenced,: The Bhaalspawn saga, The Second Sundering, Decent to Avernus, and more FR gods than you can shake a stick at are all in.

No. There's loads of stuff that's clear about it, and what's not in it is important, too. It's certainly not Lawful Good and wasn't it you who pointed out that earlier? Someone did. It's NG if anything.

It certainly might be neutral good, but it boils down to what is "the Light"? It might be the Light of Justice to a lawful paladin, the Light of Freedom to a chaotic one, or even the light of Enlightened Self-Interest to an evil paladin. It's an oath so vague it's impossible to break.

I could agree with that sentiment in Kingmaker, but not in Wrath of the Righteous. They both use slightly different ways of handling alignment, note.

It was in WotR that I encountered problems with it. Apparently if you choose more "good" options than "lawful" ones your alignment changes to neutral good. No chaotic choices required.

why would it be a problem if they adapted Champion?

Sure, the could do it, but why bother with a subclass that no one likes? There are plenty of other better official fighter subclasses outside the PHB. "Everything in the PHB" isn't a promise, it's a straightjacket.

 

[Seramus]

Wrath uses the Secret Circle alignment system. So yeah, doing all good things and no lawful things forces you along an invisible circle towards Neutral Good.

 

[DarkCrisis]

On thing that bugged me about BG1 and 2 is that due to the real time movement/casting, Fireballs where useless outside of sneaky sniping.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I gotta hand it to Baldur's Gate 3 for one thing.

They got Volo exactly right.

When I heard he was going to be in the game, I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly did myself an injury, because I assumed that they'd present him like a lot of FR material tries to, as this slightly blowhard but loveable dude.

But nope.

They got him right. They nailed his ass. He's a fundamentally dishonest (some would say a pathological liar) narcissist, who is truly delusional about his own skills and abilities and the breadth and depth of his knowledge. He's foolhardy and intensely irritating. That's the 2E Volo I know.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I gotta hand it to Baldur's Gate 3 for one thing.

They got Volo exactly right.

When I heard he was going to be in the game, I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly did myself an injury, because I assumed that they'd present him like a lot of FR material tries to, as this slightly blowhard but loveable dude.

But nope.

They got him right. They nailed his ass. He's a fundamentally dishonest (some would say a pathological liar) narcissist, who is truly delusional about his own skills and abilities and the breadth and depth of his knowledge. He's foolhardy and intensely irritating. That's the 2E Volo I know.

Did you ever play NWN2: Storm of Zehir? He is perhaps a bit too helpful and competent in that. Come to that, you said you didn't like BG1: did you see the Volo cameo in that?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Did you ever play NWN2: Storm of Zehir? He is perhaps a bit too helpful and competent in that. Come to that, you said you didn't like BG1: did you see the Volo cameo in that?

I don't remember the Volo cameo in BG1, but bear in mind my animosity was such I haven't played it since the 1990s.

I never played NWN2, I heard a lot of good things about it generally, but it was 3E so I was sort of "meh" about it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I don't remember the Volo cameo in BG1, but bear in mind my animosity was such I haven't played it since the 1990s.

He is in an out-of-the-way inn in Nashkel. And he is the irritating long-winded egotistical unhelpful blowhard we expect.

I never played NWN2, I heard a lot of good things about it generally, but it was 3E so I was sort of "meh" about it.

The 3.5(ish) rules can be rather irritating, and the graphics are horrible, even when it first came out, and the main campaign is some of the worst railroading in a CRPG, and the companions make they ones in BG3 seem lovely. But apart from that...

Masks of the Betrayer is interesting at least.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

the companions make they ones in BG3 seem lovely

Ooof.

I will say the companions in BG3 have got less snippy and ill-tempered pretty much every patch for the last few patches. To the point where people were moaning that Shadowheart isn't "sassy" anymore (i.e. she isn't so hostile that that seems like she'd murder you in your sleep). It was pointed out that if you want her "sassy", just don't rescue her on the ship at the start, then she's back to her old self lol.

the main campaign is some of the worst railroading in a CRPG

God I almost want to play it just to see that. That's got to be incredible.

I think the praise I heard was for NWN2 and Mask of the Betrayer, not Storm of Zehir lol.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

God I almost want to play it just to see that. That's got to be incredible.

It's worth checking out if you can pick it up for minimal cost and have a few hours to spare, but in case you don't, spoiler:

Spoiler

It has the protagonist chasing a fake antagonist for a good part of the adventure. Whist it's quite possible the player can figure out what is actually going on quite early, the player character is forced to remain oblivious, leading to the unavoidable scripted death of one of the less unlikable characters.

NB, for clarity this is the main campaign, not Storm of Zehir, which is just generic and dull (and mischaracterises Volo). It tries to be more sandboxy than the other adventures.