Even since Baldur’s Gate 3 dropped into the online world and showed its face I couldn’t stop thinking how much this game reminds me of Dungeons and Dragons (DnD). That’s no coincidence of course since the developers had DnD in mind when creating this game, but I was really surprised at what lengths they went to recreate the tabletop experience in a virtual world.
So, can we actually call Baldur’s Gate 3 a game that has brought the tabletop experience to video game players? There are a lot of pro and con arguments in that idea but let’s dive deeper and see what will be the final verdict.
Related: Can You Play Baldur’s Gate 3 Solo? (BG3)
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 a Video Game Version of Dungeons and Dragons?
There are many arguments that can pull this debate to either side. DnD fans can say that nothing can replace their imagination-based role-playing experience where the only limiting their gameplay is their own imagination. On the other hand, BG3 fans can admit that that’s true, but that the game really went beyond what was thought possible to bring the tabletop action experience as close as possible to gamers. And I would in general agree with both.
DnD, and other similar tabletops, will naturally have more options since people’s imagination is unlimited. Because of that, it’s safe to say that nobody can bring the true DnD experience to the video game world (well at least not with current technology) since that would mean that new instances and adventures that players think of spontaneously would need to be programmed and ready to go as the game is being played.
For example, here’s a true story from one DnD session for players unfamiliar with it, that talks about the game’s spontaneous spirit. A guy was holding a magic bag that could fit crazy amounts of items (think of Hermione Granger’s magic bag) and decided to carry plenty of swords with him. During one boss battle, instead of picking the strongest sword from his bag, he climbed a small hill above the boss, and simply emptied the contents of his bag on top of the big guy’s head, killing him. This was something unusual and unexpected for everyone. I would say that even the guy that did it didn’t know what he was going to do until the opportunity presented itself.
Closest Thing to DnD?
If you have ever played games like DnD even a bit, you will feel at home as soon as you join Baldur’s Gate 3. We can call Baldur’s Gate 3 the closest thing currently to the DnD-like tabletop adventure. The whole combat system, narration, and adventure planning is a pretty good recreation of DnD and I feel that we need to be grateful for this really detailed work on a such unique game.
Narration is one of those elements that I would say helps the most in this attempt to bring the DnD experience to someone who has never played the game. BG3’s narrator tells the story of your adventure, explaining things that are going on around you in detail and channeling that Dungeon Master (DM) energy that is key in any DnD session.
The Realism of Baldur’s Gate 3
I would say that the main feature that DnD has that holds so many of its fans together is its realism. Real life is neither fair nor unfair, it’s simply random (bear with me through this philosophy) and that’s what both DnD and BG3 are giving us. What I mean by this is that the combat dice-rolling system that these games implement allows you to either slam the enemy so hard that you cut him in half with one hit or take the strongest sword ever made and miss him entirely doing 0 damage.
Contrary to that, most of the popular RPG games are based on a system in which your attacks deal damage in a certain range, let’s say from 50 to 100. That means a stable damage output, no great wins, and no great losses. But when we think about real life even for a second we know that that’s not authentic. It’s totally possible that we try to hit a basketball shot 5 times in a row and miss or score 5 times in a row. That authenticity is what DnD patented and what BG3 is now giving to video game players through virtual dice-rolling.
There are a couple of more ways through which the developers of BG3 tried to help us get the real DnD feel. For example, they implemented the pushing someone off a cliff mechanic. When you knock even a strong monster with full HP off a high cliff, it will die instantly, which is unimaginable to other classic RPG video games. Can you imagine doing that to the Butcher in Diablo IV? It would sound crazy! And to add a bit more reality to this, you need to go to the place where his corpse is if you want to grab the loot!
Baldur’s Gate 3 Outperforming DnD?
Even though we talked about the limits that BG3 as a video game has over tabletop DnD, there are some well-thought-out advantages that they worked on as well. For instance, you can move anywhere you like during combat. And when I say anywhere you like I literally mean that. You can move 2.4 meters, 3.9 meters, 6.1 meters, etc. Classic DnD tabletop game doesn’t allow you to do that since you have a premade combat map with a hexagonal or square grid. Your movement is limited to cells in those grids so you can either move 1 meter, 2 meters, 7 meters, 12 meters, etc.
Plenty of Choices Left to the Player
What was most exciting for me (and I guess for many other players who helped make this game so popular) was the fact that the team behind BG3 used the precious time they had in the long development process and programmed many different scenarios that are based on your decisions and gameplay. Cutscenes are plentiful and carefully made with many options left to the player. When you level up your personality skills such as intimidation or persuasion you get a ton of new options in dialogues with other NPCs which spices the game up further.
Also, the ability to play a coop with your friends is totally great because it’s one of those key elements that can attract DnD players who don’t play many video games. You guys can complement each other’s roles and whenever you are bored with your current class you can simply respec your character for a bit of money. This is something that is only occasionally allowed in DnD adventures (depending on the DM’s will). There, players would more often keep their roles until the end of the campaign (unless they had a specific class or a subclass that allows for changing of the stats).
We hope this feature has brought Baldur’s Gate 3 closer to you. Check out our other articles on the game: What is the Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3? and How Many Companions Are There in Baldur’s Gate 3. You can then join Gamer Journalist on Facebook and read more new guides every day.
