Elements of Baldur's Gate 3 That Shouldn't Inspire Your D&D Campaign

Baldur's Gate 3 could be the biggest Dungeons and Dragons video game ever made, but some aspects of the game don't translate well to the table. This is not true for the entire game. In fact, many elements Baldur's Gate 3 They are the perfect inspiration for Dungeon Masters (DMs) campaigns. For example, by infecting all party members with Mind Flayer parasites, Baldur's Gate 3 gives a strong reason why the main characters would travel and work together, despite varying greatly in motivations and morality. Many D&D campaigns would benefit from such a strong inciting incident.

On the other hand, certain elements Baldur's Gate 3 I would probably do a traditional D&D much less enjoyable game. That doesn't mean these things are bad. Baldur's Gate 3. Some Theirs are the game's main selling points. However, they simply don't work as well in a TTRPG environment as they do in a video game. Part of this is due to the mechanics of running a game with real players, and part because certain video game elements can detract from the immersive narratives that make D&D attractive.

Too many companions change players' focus

All NPCs are controlled by the Master

Baldur's Gate 3The companions are easily one of its best features. It's always fun to hear what Astarion or Shadowheart will have to say about a given situation, and it's impossible not to love Karlach and his infectious energy. However, DMs creating a D&D The campaign should avoid trying to recreate this group dynamic by giving players similar NPC companions.

Party dynamics in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign must come from interactions between players. By overcrowding the party with a large roster of NPCs, no matter how interesting they are, it will be more difficult to allow inter-party dynamics to develop between the player characters. It can also be difficult to give player characters a chance to have big moments if they're constantly sharing the spotlight with lots of NPCs.

Additionally, NPCs in Dungeons and Dragons everyone needs to be controlled by the Master. This can cause the game's focus to shift too much towards a single player (the DM) and away from the rest of the group. Dungeon Masters need to make sure they aren't monopolizing players' time, and reducing the number of NPCs that are constantly present is a good way to do this.

Scenes with multiple NPCs make the DM talk to himself

The DM needs to make sure they are not monopolizing game time

Along the same lines as having too many NPC party members, a similar thing to avoid is creating story moments that rely too heavily on NPCs interacting with each other. It's a powerful moment in Baldur's Gate 3 when Karlach confronts Lord Gortash, or when all of the player's allies return for the final confrontation. However, these types of moments can fall a little flat when done in a TTRPG environment.

Typically, when two NPCs are interacting in Dungeons and Dragonsthe Master is playing both roles and talking to himself. This isn't something that should be avoided entirely, but it's worth keeping in mind what kind of experience it creates for players. It can be difficult for players to get too emotionally involved in a scene if they are forced to just watch one of their friends say a lot of lines to themselves.

Things get even more complicated if a scene involves three or more NPCs talking to each other and the players. Unless a Dungeon Master is particularly skilled at voice work, it can be difficult to keep track of many different characters all played by the same person. This can lead to confusion about where certain NPCs stand on an issue or which ones a player should approach. In general, D&D narratives should be less scripted than something like Baldur's Gate 3 and allow the narrative to emerge naturally through play to avoid these confusing scenes.

Leveling with XP encourages boring D&D sessions

The quest for experience interrupts the momentum of a story

Baldur's Gate 3The narrative structure of is probably the hardest thing to recreate at the table, but that doesn't mean it's the only element that players should be careful about including in their games. D&D campaigns. An easy-to-include element BG3 What can still be best avoided is the style of leveling up characters through experience points (XP).

D&D has built-in mechanics for leveling through XP, but many DMs choose to level characters based on progression through a campaign. This way, players are encouraged to pursue objectives based on what their characters want to do or what moves the narrative forward, rather than simply chasing XP. Allowing players to level up through experience can sometimes lead to boring gameplay sessions that miss out on the best parts of the game. Dungeons and Dragons.

For example, if players are about to face a major threat in their campaign, they may be tempted to accumulate experience before doing so. This can lead to them traveling aimlessly in hopes of gaining XP from random encounters or acting more aggressively to pick fights and hopefully gain some extra experience. By bringing many game elements to the foreground of a D&D In campaigns like this, players can become less immersed in their character roles, which undermines enthusiasm for the game and makes it feel like a series of tasks rather than a story.

Character deaths in BG3 don't seem significant

Withers bring companions easily, which can detract from the tension

Like anyone who has ever played Baldur's Gate 3 in Honor Mode can attest that the game has some seriously challenging encounters. Therefore, it would be very frustrating if character death was permanent, because players would feel like they had to go back to a previous save every time one of their companions died.

By allowing players to revive teammates with Withers, Baldur's Gate 3 avoids these frustrations and keeps the action moving forward without forcing players to miss any important parts of the game. While this is good, it also prevents character deaths from feeling too impactful.

Players will probably want to avoid including something like Withers in their Dungeons and Dragons campaigns to preserve the impact of character deaths. Characters dying in D&D They can be tragic, frustrating or even funny depending on the circumstances, but the last thing they should be is boring. The less players worry about their characters' safety, the less invested they will be in combat encounters or navigating dangerous terrain.

Character deaths in D&D It doesn’t have to be permanent to be meaningful. They can even be a great excuse to send players on an epic quest to resurrect their fallen companion. However, if bringing characters back from the dead is as easy as in Baldur's Gate 3It can kill a lot of tension.