Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3shows off a lot of what makesDungeons & Dragonsgreat, but the game’s weak points are actually what influencedDnD’s upcoming 2024Player’s Handbookthe most. After a decade of following the rules established in the 2014 core rulebooks,DnDis getting a refresh that maintains backward compatibility while making a lot of tweaks. Pinpointing exactly what needs to be changed can be difficult, however, andBaldur’s Gate 3provided a surprising assist in that regard.
In an interview withScreen Rant,DnDlead designer Jeremy Crawford explained thatBaldur’s Gate 3helped the team get a feel for some rules and mechanics that could use reworks. AlthoughDnD’s designers obviously have plenty of tabletop experience, feeling something out in video game form can clarify just how much a tune-up could help.
Jeremy Crawford: “[W]e would see how some of our own rules worked in BG3 and then change them in the tabletop game, hoping that then in the next Baldur’s Gate we could use our new design and not the old one. So it was much less about us adopting design decisions from BG3, but instead reacting to our own design that was in BG3 and saying we want to change it.”
The Beloved Game Has Definitely Won Over Fans
It’s interesting to get some confirmation ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s impact onDnD, although it might not be in the way that everyone would expect. Despite staying generally loyal toDnD’s core ruleset,Baldur’s Gate 3does make a number of tweaks to various mechanics, and it doesn’t sound like any of those will becarrying over to the 2024Player’s Handbook.The one concept that definitely will recur is the Wildheart Barbarian, a subclass name thatBaldur’s Gate 3developer Larian Studios andDnDpublisher Wizards of the Coast chose together.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Taught Me One Huge Thing About How To Make D&D Combat Better
Baldur’s Gate 3 goes about Dungeons & Dragons combat in some smart ways, and one particular emphasis has had a big impact on my tabletop campaign.
Tabletop and video game design prerogatives are ultimately very different, and it makes sense thatthe tweaks that worked forBaldur’s Gate 3would often be less purposeful in actualDnDplay. As to whether the nextBaldur’s Gatewill follow up on the newchanges in the 2024Player’s Handbooklike Crawford hopes, that mostly hinges on whether the game gets a sequel.Larian has moved onto other projects, so another studio would have to be selected to create another game. The demand is certainly there, but it’s a difficult act to follow.
The enormous success ofBaldur’s Gate 3positions it as a potential entry point toDnDfor many players, and the 2024Player’s Handbookmakes it an exciting time to try tabletop play. It won’t be as close toBaldur’s Gate 3in design as the 2014 book is, but if all goes well, the changes that it’s making should largely be for the better.Baldur’s Gate 3is great, but it isn’t perfect, and continually iterating on the ideas that makeDungeons & Dragonsso compelling is a large part of what has made it resonate across the decades.
Check outScreen Rant’s full interview with Jeremy Crawfordhere.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
