Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 RELEASE THREAD

[AwesomeButton]

I'm a bit behind because as usual I've been piddling around with alts, but got to the assault on Moonrise Towers - OMG Jaheira is made of fucking paper tissue. They really ought to do something about that. I mean, fair enough if you want to level her from lvl 1 as a companion, but before she joins you she should be at least something to be reckoned with ffs, it's positively embarrassing.

I vaguely recall someone mentioned ways to avoid that a billion pages ago - can anyone say what you have to do to ensure she stays alive? A different assault option than "take the main ground floor room?" - maybe get her to join your party, let her take charge, or tell her to keep out of your way?

During the moonrise tower assault , before entering the tower, you can talk to her and tell her to join your party. She will be added to your main char like a summon and you get to control her in combat.

But sadly not equip items on her.

 

[Joyvankek]

Anyone still have "Alternate Wyll Origin Appearance " mod? That turns out Wyll into a human?
Niggers from Nexus already yeeted it out.

 

[turkishronin]

boring RPGs that start at shitty village and first few hours consist of role-playing fantasy mailman and killing some bugs or other shit while collecting party consisted of peasant local drunk and your friendly neighbor level 1 mage

That's not a problem caused by the level of the campaign but with clueless writers. What you are describing is what bad DMs do with a low level campaign, as opposed to what they've done with BG3.

Is it an RPG if you start without killing rats?

 

[Zayne]

There's no way they can do an expansion with your main party post-game, but I'd enjoy a prequel where you play as the original 3 and the butler as your fourth

Mephistopheles crown heist? That actually sounded like an awesome adventure in villain diaries.

 

[AwesomeButton]

My highlights from the patchnotes:

• Made gold bounties more generous in several containers across the game.

• Fixed the Freecast tadpole power to properly reset on Long Rest. It was creating infinite spell slots and Sorcery Points for sorcerers. --

• You can no longer have multiple Mage Hands active at the same time.

• The Club of Hill Giant Strength now increases Strength to 19 and not some puny 15.

• Fixed an issue where multiple rolls trigger if you walk along the edge of a cone of vision.

• Grym, the Protector of the Forge, now deals more damage in Tactician Mode.

• Made the assault at Moonrise Towers a little less unforgiving if Jaheira is alone or dead and you don't have the Harpers to help you.

• NPCs are now less likely to attack Spiritual Weapons.

• Fixed Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardian receiving a to-hit bonus in Tactician Mode.

• Whirlwind no longer requires Concentration and has been reduced to 3 rounds.

• Fixed Pommel Strike being able to knock out characters that are immune to being knocked out.

• Fixed a bug allowing you to use the Knock spell to unlock magically protected doors in Cazador's dungeon.

• You can now cure the zaith'isk debuffs with tadpoles.

• Partial and full ceremorphosis now remove the zaith'isk debuffs.

• If Astarion has died, you can now report this to Gandrel.

• Killing the Emperor at the end of Act II will now trigger a Game Over.

• Fixed the hag in Act III being hostile by default if you attacked her in the Teahouse before she escaped to her lair in Act I.

• Fixed a scenario where players in the endgame could kill the Emperor but would still continue playing.

 

[AwesomeButton]

I have it. Though that's all it changes. Same voice, same character. His father is still black too. Too late to inquire with his mother about it.

 

[Lagole Gon]

For some reason I feel a need to post this unfortunate picture of Shadowmid.

 

[Grauken]

Thats a good thing that they went with epic approach, we have enough boring RPGs that start at shitty village and first few hours consist of role-playing fantasy mailman and killing some bugs or other shit while collecting party consisted of peasant local drunk and your friendly neighbor level 1 mage.

That's cool and all, but nobody cares what a person with an anime avatar thinks about writing.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Thats a good thing that they went with epic approach, we have enough boring RPGs that start at shitty village and first few hours consist of role-playing fantasy mailman and killing some bugs or other shit while collecting party consisted of peasant local drunk and your friendly neighbor level 1 mage.

That's cool and all, but nobody cares what a person with an anime avatar thinks about writing.

Alright. Against my better judgement, I will do a good will reponse to dumb low effort claims.

Consider the following:
- Nobody is making some caricature of an argument that a sleepy village and rats is the only way to go.
- We have mainstream cRPGs with decent low level openings that are not "sleepy village and rats". DA:O does it alright. Start as a young spoiled noble, something goes wrong, you get involved in a COHERENT grander narrative.
- It's not exactly difficult to come up with low level scenarios that put a fresh twist on things. Maybe a proper focus on the bottom of the barrel slum rat. Some games and fan modules touch upon that.
- Again, epic BS alone is not the problem here. The problem is trying to shove a maximum number of "muh epic" themes and not doing anything interesting with them. Even undermining them sometimes. Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

 

[Grauken]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

 

[Maxie]

For some reason I feel a need to post this unfortunate picture of Shadowmid.

 

[Black]

Why are you overthinking this shit?

He doesn't understand fun

BG2 is a game I haven't played in like 15 years, but if I recall wasn't it a similar hodpodge of every DnD trope out there? From illithids, to beholders, drow, githyanki and the planes?

Yes but not in the first 5 minutes.

 

[AwesomeButton]

The interview you were all waiting for:

 

[turkishronin]

Weebdex now watches Seiyuu interviews

 

[Maxie]

The interview you were all waiting for:

how to make a game character memorable - interesting build, novel ai routine, fun combat barks, challenging personal quest, some non-cringe dynamics with the plotline or the rest of the party or both
how to make a game character obnoxious - chewsday innit

 

[Lagole Gon]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

 

[S.H.O.D.A.N.]

Thats a good thing that they went with epic approach, we have enough boring RPGs that start at shitty village and first few hours consist of role-playing fantasy mailman and killing some bugs or other shit while collecting party consisted of peasant local drunk and your friendly neighbor level 1 mage.

I'll take collecting ten cranium rat tails over BG3's approach, thankyouverymuch.

 

[Grauken]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

There have always been big splashy blockbusters. Star Wars was the big scifi/fantasy slop of the 80ies. The same applies here.

 

[Volrath]

Why are you overthinking this shit?

He doesn't understand fun

BG2 is a game I haven't played in like 15 years, but if I recall wasn't it a similar hodpodge of every DnD trope out there? From illithids, to beholders, drow, githyanki and the planes?

Yes but not in the first 5 minutes.

Don't you literally meet a djinn in BG2's tutorial dungeon?

 

[Lagole Gon]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

There have always been big splashy blockbusters. Star Wars was the big scifi/fantasy slop of the 80ies. The same applies here.

I'm not sure what's your point here.
I don't want to compare games to movies, movies are linear and therefore easier to write.
But Star Wars is a charming and coherent fantasy adventure in space, with a good pacing. High quality meat and potatos. It's a fucking literary masterpiece compared to BG3.

A star Wars BG3 equivalent would be Luke waking up in Death Star garbage press room. And the Death Star is flying near a bloack hole. He would probably fight some personification of the Dark Side itself in the middle of the movie.

 

[Lagole Gon]

Why are you overthinking this shit?

He doesn't understand fun

BG2 is a game I haven't played in like 15 years, but if I recall wasn't it a similar hodpodge of every DnD trope out there? From illithids, to beholders, drow, githyanki and the planes?

Yes but not in the first 5 minutes.

Don't you literally meet a djinn in BG2's tutorial dungeon?

You do understand the idea of the mid level sequel, right?
I will help you out. Focus for a second: What "II" in Baldur's Gate II stands for?

No, it's not "eeee" sound. Try again.

 

[Grauken]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

There have always been big splashy blockbusters. Star Wars was the big scifi/fantasy slop of the 80ies. The same applies here.

I'm not sure what's your point here.
I don't want to compare games to movies, movies are linear and therefore easier to write.
But Star Wars is a charming and coherent fantasy adventure in space, with a good pacing. High quality meat and potatos. It's a fucking literary masterpiece compared to BG3.

A star Wars BG3 equivalent would be Luke waking up in Death Star garbage press room. And the Death Star is flying near a bloack hole. He would probably fight some personification of the Dark Side itself in the middle of the movie.

BG3 is a charming and coherent fantasy adventure with a good pacing. Lots of high-quality meat and potatos set pieces with good writing. You're just blind to it because you wanted something different and it's not doing that. Your loss.

 

[VerSacrum]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

There have always been big splashy blockbusters. Star Wars was the big scifi/fantasy slop of the 80ies. The same applies here.

Prequels were CGI slop, Disney Wars were woke CGI slop, but the original trilogy? Pulp, but certainly not slop.

 

[Grauken]

Are you honestly going to argue that the possible end game illithid transformation communicates the alien horror of transformation well?

No, but sometimes you enjoy a big comic book movie and sometimes you enjoy a serious drama. You wanted something different from what this is but for what it is, it's great.

If you're fine with fantasy turning into capeshit slop then I guess we have nothing to discuss here.

There have always been big splashy blockbusters. Star Wars was the big scifi/fantasy slop of the 80ies. The same applies here.

Prequels were CGI slop, Disney Wars were woke CGI slop, but the original trilogy? Pulp, but certainly not slop.

Pulp is literally slop

 

[Eisenheinrich]

I doubt the Definitive Director's Cut GOTY Legendary Edition will feature a complete re-write that the game badly needs.

I actually have a mind of starting D:OS 1 (i have a legit copy of it) at some point in the future to get another go at the Larian writing to fully comprehend how far the rabbit hole goes.

Or ... I know crazy idea around these parts ... why not play a game you might actually enjoy for a change? How much do you value your limited time on this earth?

Spoiler

Well. Nevermind.