Baldur’s Gate 3 Development and D&D Homebrew Rules

During a panel discussion on the development of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian revealed that they consulted D&D player forums for homebrew rules in order to make decisions on changes to the mechanics of Fifth Edition.

Overall, Baldur’s Gate 3 accurately reflects the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons 5e. Nevertheless, adapting a tabletop game to a video game format necessitates making some modifications.

Larian Studios, the developer, made significant changes to 5e in order to enhance the player experience while adding their unique touch.

At a PAX West panel, design director Nick Pechenin revealed that the team had initially assumed the role of combat and gameplay designers would be simple, given the abundance of 5e books available for reference. However, they soon realized that the rules of D&D were not as straightforward as they had originally believed.

Pechenin emphasized that the Dungeons & Dragons community is filled with talented creators who put a lot of thought into the game’s rules. He shared that they even searched through online forums to find homebrew rules, realizing that they were not alone in their experimentation. This inspired them to give it a try as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVIYrwn6y9c

Baldur’s Gate 3: A Retrospective (PAX West 2024 Panel) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVIYrwn6y9c)

The discussion of BG3’s design in relation to D&D rules begins at 8:22.

In his statement, Pechenin made a point to reference the 5e rule prohibiting magic users from casting both a full action and bonus action spell in the same turn. He used this as an example of a rule that is commonly disregarded, but one that the designers ultimately decided to eliminate based on discussions with D&D players.

It is not surprising that Larian turned to homebrew rules when considering how to best incorporate tabletop D&D into Baldur’s Gate 3. In fact, many gaming groups utilize homebrew rules to enhance their gameplay or accommodate their specific preferences.

Despite this, it is amusing to imagine Larian developers navigating the untamed realm of D&D forums to back their ideas and come to conclusions.

During the panel, the topic of Baldur’s Gate 3’s impact on Dungeons & Dragons was also brought up. Swen Vincke, Director and CEO of Larian, noted that the TTRPG has incorporated weapon mastery, a new system from the revised Player’s Handbook (2024) that significantly enhances martial classes, after its introduction in BG3.

Some other instances include the added feature of being able to consume potions as a bonus action and alterations to spells such as Cloud of Daggers, which were acknowledged by the lead designers at Wizards of the Coast as being influenced by their experience playing Baldur’s Gate 3.