ThorThunderfist

On behalf of /r/baldursgate and many longtime fans of the Baldur's Gate series, I have collected some of the most popular and frequently asked questions from the community (especially to support those unable to ask their questions in person). Hopefully this is not too overwhelming, but we greatly appreciate this opportunity to sate our curiosity and look forward to being involved with the development of the game through community feedback.

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1. Reactions are a really important part of D&D 5e. A lot of classes have features that revolve around them, there are a ton of really important spells that are reactions (shield, counterspell, absorb elements, etc.). Are you making changes to the 5e reaction rules, and if so, how are you implementing these crucial features/spells?

2. Along those same lines, you have touted emulating the degree of player freedom offered in table top D&D, but there are a few core battle mechanics that have not been shown off. Will grappling be a battle mechanic? Can you ready an action such as an attack or spell? Will Extra Attack work the same way it does in 5e? Can you set spells (especially cantrips) to auto-cast every turn? Will ammunition and spell component mechanics be present?

3. In the demonstrated gameplay, many non-magical skills (dash, jump, etc.) had flashy visual effects attached to their use. Has there been consideration given to making mundane skills appear mundane and reserving fancier effects for spells and truly magical/supernatural abilities?

4. There have been hints of other 5e sources being implemented into the game. Are you going to include material from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and/or other player materials outside of the core material of the 5e Player's Handbook? Additionally, at full release, will all content of the PHB be represented (notably, (sub)classes and (sub)races)?

5. What is your plan for magic items? Are you using the classic magic items from existing D&D source material and/or creating your own? Will we be able to design/craft our own magic items in-game?

6. You have mentioned that the scope of Baldur's Gate 3 is huge, but we do not have much to go off of. How many places will we be able to visit and explore? Will it only be a small part of the Sword Coast or can/could we venture off to places like Neverwinter or to the South to see Amn? Is it closer to an open world or will it be closer to D:OS 1/2 in that it is a large map that is sectioned into smaller areas?

7. There has been a back and forth over the inclusion of Origin characters in Baldur's Gate 3. Namely how origin characters had much more interesting story/plot beats than player-made characters in Divinity: Original Sin 2. Do you have any plans in place to combat this and give player made characters more agency/story beats in Baldur's Gate 3?

8. Will all possible companions be available as Origin character options or will there be companions available only as NPCs?

9. There have been concerns that some aspects of the game, from what has been seen, feel too clean and or feels too much like D:OS 1/2 (i.e. characters not having a certain air of grit or grime about them despite the circumstances) and does not fit the darker themes that have been a part of the Baldur's Gate series. Do you plan on addressing this as you continue to work the overall aesthetics throughout early access and into release?

10. Writing and storytelling is a major point of contention in discussions surrounding Baldur's Gate 3. While there has been speculation about the plot, the player responses when interacting with other NPCs have been specifically noticed. Many agree that the first person, past tense style of the writing is jarring and breaks immersion. Is this the style you wish to continue forward with or is this still being worked on?

11. The demo gameplay demonstrated a very strong buff to bonus actions compared to the 5e rules. This seems to break or make other aspects of the game less desirable, especially when concerning the balance of classes. The Cunning Action from the Rogue class becomes largely invalidated when all classes can dash, disengage, or hide with a bonus actions. Is this an issue you are aware of or has there been something lost in translation and this is not an issue?

12. When you mentioned that loot will be static, is that only for magical items or is that for all items? Following this, will all magical items be know upon finding them or will a player have to use the Identify spell or something similar to discover the magical qualities an item holds?

13. There has been concern about the team initiative showcased in the demo. Specifically with how this greatly favors whoever goes first and is able to Alpha Strike their enemy, which worries people that this will cause combat to be too one-sided. Is the plan to continue with Group initiative alone or do you plan on adding individual initiative as an option, at least for single player?

14. How will Camp work in Multiplayer? Will we still be able to interact with each other?

15. The original Baldur's Gate games were somewhat of a departure from classic D&D in that they focused on a specific protagonist, while party members were more or less just tagging along. Will the story of Baldur's Gate 3 eventually grant special significance to the player character or is it purely a tale of a gang of adventurers who have been uniquely effected by the Illithid "tadpoles"?

16. It has been previously stated that Larian has been working with Wizards of the Coast to make Baldur's Gate 3 a close approximation of 5e. Will any of the new material created by Larian eventually he adopted by Wizards of the Coast in future source books (e.g races that are playable in Baldur's Gate 3 but are not official in 5e)? Did Wizards of the Coast encourage Larian to use materials not yet available to the public?

17. And finally, less specifically about what has been seen so far: What makes Baldur's Gate for you, personally? What are its qualities that resonate with you?

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Thank you again for the time you are taking for this AMA!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of these. There is a lot to parse here and I am sure this will open up even more questions among the community. I hope we can look forward to continued, open dialog with you all during these early development stages.

Some folks in /r/baldursgate who could not make it had some questions for you guys:

1. What's the EXP cap in SoD? Any new items/quest choices that'll carry over to SoA/ToB?

2. What is the plan regarding the 2.0 patch and ios/android?

3. Where to from here? Whats the next project for the team?

From myself, I just wanted to congratulate you all on this release and say how much I look forward to see your future work.

Thank you for the answers, I will pass them along. =)