Why Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 is the perfect excuse to try D&D Wizards of the CoastIf Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 has you curious to give D&D a go, we\u2019ll help you decide if the game is right for you. Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 is having its big moment. An instant and beloved success that has exceeded its developers\u2019 wildest expectations of popularity. Larian\u2019s Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 is a carefully crafted experience, and many fans may be wondering what inspired the game\u2019s story and systems. The world, rolls, checks, spells, and more that appear in Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 are all directly lifted \u2013 and in many cases slightly adjusted \u2013 from Dungeons & Dragons. Specifically, D&D Fifth Edition, the most recent version of the beloved RPG. D&D has exploded in popularity and worldwide reach with the advent of Stranger Things and actual play shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20. And now Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 has the opportunity to introduce the game to an even wider audience. Maybe you\u2019ve completed BG3 and are itching for something similar or are partway through and have decided you absolutely want more of all this dice-rolling and roleplaying. Or perhaps you haven\u2019t even started and would like to give D&D a shot before playing BG3 at all. Whatever the case, we\u2019ll help you make the leap from Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 to the tabletop. RPGs like Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 are just D&D anyway Video games and D&D are a lot more similar than most people might assume, and not just those games that directly draw on it like BG3. Prospective D&D players might hear \u2018roleplaying\u2019 and balk, assuming the game requires expert knowledge of improv or professional acting. But the secret is, if you\u2019ve ever played any RPG before, you\u2019ve got all tools you need to dive into D&D. How many people have played Dragon Age: Origins and fondly remember \u2018their\u2019 Warden? An initial blank slate with a tailored background, that slowly came to life as the player made choices that shaped their personality? That\u2019s pretty much D&D player characters in a nutshell. Even for characters with set personalities and histories \u2013 like Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher 3 \u2013 their games still give you dialogue choices and other methods of altering how their story proceeds. Roleplaying isn\u2019t all \u2018verily\u2019 and silly voices \u2013 though that can absolutely be part of the fun \u2013 it\u2019s just making choices and progressing a story. Fighting monsters, slinging spells, swaying NPCs, and gaining experience? Key elements of D&D that are all still pillars of modern video game RPG design. (Not so coincidentally, both Dragon Age and The Witcher have their own D&D-like RPG systems available.) D&D might seem daunting to get into at first, but truthfully, you\u2019ve seen a lot of its tricks before. D&D is all about the party While your D&D character might start out as just numbers on a sheet, you\u2019ll be surprised at how attached you grow to them when inhabiting them for hours at a time. And when you think of how characters like Karlach, Astarion, and Shadowheart may charm you over the course of BG3, It\u2019s even better when similar characters are being played by real people. The interplay between characters is one of the most crucial parts of D&D. That push and pull of ideas and personalities, teamwork, and drama. It\u2019s also part of what makes the party dynamics in BG3 so thrilling. But while Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 might feature extremely well-written companions, they are ultimately supporting players in your story. When sitting down to play Dungeons & Dragons, there is no one \u2018main character\u2019. Everyone\u2019s stories are their own, and that makes the party feel that much more real and alive. What is a Dungeon Master? A Dungeon Master is a dedicated player who manages and keeps the game running smoothly. The need for one is both a blessing and a curse of D&D. While Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 does all the nitty-gritty work of sorting out the stats and rolls behind the scenes, D&D requires a little more oversight. Don\u2019t go thinking it\u2019s all graft with no payoff. Just like there are many reasons to want to be a player in D&D, being a DM comes with its own rewards. Players control a character, but DMs control a whole world. For anyone fascinated by the places you\u2019re adventuring through in Baldur\u2019s Gate 3, being a DM means designing spaces of your own. It also means drawing your players in. You may write puzzles and plots, build challenging combat encounters, and fill the world with engaging characters. Your group\u2019s story will truly be yours, and there\u2019s no better feeling than when your players engage with it. Dungeons & Dragons Campaign books offer a wealth of new stories If your group doesn\u2019t feel like homebrew games are for them \u2013 or your DM simply doesn\u2019t have the time to regularly prep new material \u2013 don\u2019t worry. Wizards of the Coast has you covered. D&D Fifth Edition (5e) has over a dozen official sourcebooks to choose from, allowing you to run your own games without having to write a single extra word. These books offer a wide variety of adventures in different genres and settings, from one-shot sessions to full campaigns. Baldur\u2019s Gate 3\u2019s campaign is epic and expansive, but it is ultimately a single story. Wizards\u2019 sourcebooks offer you the chance to explore the Sword Coast and beyond from a dozen different angles. There are books that will take you through Ravnica, a key Magic: The Gathering plane. You could even play Descent into Avernus and live through the events that canonically lead right up to Baldur\u2019s Gate 3. D&D is just the beginning D&D has stood the test of time for a reason, and Baldur\u2019s Gate fans are almost guaranteed to love it. But as flexible a system as 5e is, D&D can\u2019t be expected to do everything. Fortunately, it doesn\u2019t have to. While it might be the most well-known, D&D is just one of many tabletop RPG (TTRPG) systems available today. Your group might want to run stories and games that don\u2019t quite mesh with D&D, and in those cases, it can sometimes be better to look further afield Whether you care about combat or characters, investigation or action, fighting monsters, or being monsters (or kissing monsters), there\u2019s a TTRPG system out there for everyone. From bonafide classics of the medium like Call of Cthulhu and Shadowrun, to exciting modern systems such as Blades in the Dark, Tales from the Loop, and Monsterhearts. Hopefully, Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 will be the first step on your journey to finding the perfect game for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 is the perfect excuse to try D&D Wizards of the CoastIf Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 has you curious to give D&D a go, we\u2019ll help you decide if the game is right for you. Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 is having its big moment. An instant and beloved success that has exceeded its developers\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}