D&D (2024) What innovative elements from Baldur's Gate 3 would you like to see implimented in 2024 D&D?

[Scott Christian]

Interestingly that seemed to come up in the first episode and then seemed to almost disappear. Almost like they wanted to make a point and then forgot all about it. I didn’t particularly like the seediness of that either back then but at least it was something I could just passively observe rather than interact with. Plus it was short lived.

I can’t speak to other people but it just isn’t normal in most of the social groups I move in, to freely and frequently discuss sex… let alone want to act it out with our imaginary characters. It just isn’t polite conversation.

The halfling references it several times though. But I think you are right. They were trying to keep a mood, with the vampire, death, and dragons, that it just didn't seem to fit in anymore.

As for rl groups, it really does depend. I mean, I remember a couple I use to game with always threw in raunchy sexually explicit content in almost every session. And then they invited me to meet their friends who were strict Mormons. Not a word about it. So while it might not be in your circle, it doesn't mean that those same people don't discuss it openly with others. In my experience, it is brought up more often than not. But most people I gravitate towards are pretty open people to begin with.

 

[TheSword]

The halfling references several times though. But I think you are right. They were trying to keep a mood, with the vampire, death, and dragons, that it just didn't seem to fit in anymore.

As for rl groups, it really does depend. I mean, I remember a couple I use to game with always threw in raunchy sexually explicit content in almost every session. And then they invited me to meet their friends who were strict Mormons. Not a word about it. So while it might not be in your circle, it doesn't mean that those same people don't discuss it openly with others. In my experience, it is brought up more often than not. But most people I gravitate towards are pretty open people to begin with.

To be clear I do talk to my partner about sex!

But even if he played DnD I definitely wouldn’t try and involve other people in it. And I definitely wouldn’t act out sex scenes with another person - imaginary or not. I think that would go down like a lead balloon.

That said, it takes all sorts as my Grandma would say.

 

[MGibster]

I was trying to work out why in the Witcher 3 I didn’t find it as jarring. I’m kind of at the place where I think it might just be a quantity thing- where the sexy times were not only was less frequent but also more subtly woven into the various character storylines in Witcher 3.

I found BG3 jarring because I didn't expect that kind of thing in a D&D game. Not knowing a whole lot about the Witcher series, I had no such expectations when playing.

But way they have implemented it means there is this barrage of horniness coming of the NPCs. I’m on my third play through now and this time round now I’m aware of it, it is super jarring.

I don't find anything atypical about how romance is handled in BG3 when compared to other CRPGs. Most of them handle it rather poorly, and I think in one of the Bioware games I even romanced an NPC on accident. Like I was just going through dialogue to be friendly and suddenly they were ready for good time fun.

i appreciate these are my own hang ups and it may be a generational (and male) thing but nonetheless I don’t think I’m alone. Particularly where IMHO it’s not justified by some other creative requirement. I am definitely am uncomfortable with a computer game that I would be acutely embarassed about if my family (adults, not children) walked into the room.

True story: Many years ago my mother and sister were at my apartment and my sister selected a movie for us to watch. Boogie Nights. It's a good movie, but not one I would want to watch with my mother. Personally, I'm not embarrassed by these kinds of things. I'm not embarrassed about the random harlot table for 1st edition AD&D as I think it's perfectly fine for any random table of urban encounters. On the flip side, I'd be embarrassed to have a copy of Avalanche Press' d20 supplement Doom of Odin sitting on my coffee table for all my guest to view. We all got our hang ups and sometimes it's hilarious what bothers us versus what doesn't bother us.

 

[Scott Christian]

To be clear I do talk to my partner about sex!

But even if he played DnD I definitely wouldn’t try and involve other people in it. Either way I definitely wouldn’t act out sex scenes with another person - imaginary or not. I think that would go down like a lead balloon.

That said, it takes all sorts as my Grandma would say.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean those two gave us their raunchy adaptations. They just made sexually explicit jokes, as did some others at the table. We are all older and married, so it means so little to us. But as I said, they were all (as all my groups have been) pretty open.

 

[Vael]

TBH, I think the raunchiness and randiness of the companions makes sense. What binds most of party together is mind flayer tadpoles that let them all into each other's heads. Reminds me a little of the show Sens8, a DIY cluster.

 

[MichaelSomething]

When people say D&D can do any type of role-playing, BG3 took that to heart!

 

[TheSword]

When people say D&D can do any type of role-playing, BG3 took that to heart!

It does make me wonder what they worked on that the publishers thought was going too far. Like they were fine with the bear sex, but the aboleth-tentacle-sex concept art was a step too far? Or the beholder sex?

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

This might be a good way to illustrate the differences between playing a game alone on a computer versus face-to-face with multiple participants. What I'm comfortable with in a computer game might not be the same thing I'm comfortable with in a face-to-face game with multiple participants. I can't imagine roleplaying an NPC and commanding a PC to "taste" and then telling them to continue by going further down.

A video game is the best place for such RPG content (as opposed to a TTRPG product) because it can be a personal experience that doesn't require in-person interaction with other human players. Obviously there is a market for a game like this, and social media and sales is proving this. That said, it is one product and it does a good job delivering what it does, which is a a mature-themed, vulgarity-ridden, raw fantasy story with characters that are instinctually motivated by their worldly desires. With themes of violence, corruption, and temptation, it's appropriate, in my opinion. Sexuality is a primal driver of the human condition, and the fact that it gets ignored a lot of the time can make it seem sanitized and shallow. I like the occasional game where it is included. But not all the time. I'm not interested in sexuality in Zelda or Mario games, for instance.

Adult, sentient, consent is what matters in a fantasy world that has scores of different species that are sexually compatible. A wild animal cannot consent and is off limits. However, a sentient, adult, half-elf, wildshaping druid who engages in love, romance, and sex within their society of fellow wildshapers in a fantasy world with lots of mixed species (half-elves are the most popular race in BG3) isn't immoral. It can be really weird or uncomfortable for some players because it is so foreign, and they don't have to like it. It's also not immoral to dislike that stuff. The line is crossed when people are attacked for their preferences (when they are not immoral).

 

[Divine2021]

One thing I hope changes is that somehow Duergar will be made wicked cool again, the ravagers of the Underdark like they are in BG3, as opposed to the boring, frankly banal version we were presented in Monsters of the Multiverse.

 

[Reynard]

Or the beholder sex?

After all, beauty is...