Baldur's Gate 3 Catch-All

Malor wrote:

And real D&D is turn-based; while I really like the Infinity engine, the D:OS2 approach is a lot closer to the original game system. And to fight really intelligently in BG1 and 2, to extract every erg out of your characters, you have to set so many autopauses that it's pretty much a turn-based game anyway.

That is why I prefer RTwP. You can make it as “turn based” as you want it to be.
In PoE I might certainly pause multiple times per second in some battles and just let the game run in others. Less wasted time.

Since I have never played PnP D&D I don’t really know how it should be. D&D to me is Baldurs Gate etc.

PnP 5e D&D is closer to something like Xcom* in terms of how it's combat plays out, so it would be tricky to have it be real-time and still have it feel like 5e D&D, which i imagine is the goal.
*xcom chimera squad, especially, with the initiative queue.

Having played Baldur's Gate for the first time recently, there is a ton of overtly goofy stuff in the game, especially in the side quests in the wilderness. The main quest was pretty serious overall, but they really let loose in other areas. It actually reminded me of D:OS, which took that tone and applied it to the entire game. I don't know how Baldur's Gate 2 compares in that regard, but it seems like a good match for Larian.

RTwP - Apparently not a D&D game I missed. Took me 2 days to finally google it (its Real Time with Pause)

That is why I prefer RTwP. You can make it as “turn based” as you want it to be.
In PoE I might certainly pause multiple times per second in some battles and just let the game run in others. Less wasted time.

Not to mention AI/companion scripting adds a significant layer of strategy on top of that.

polypusher wrote:

RTwP - Apparently not a D&D game I missed. Took me 2 days to finally google it (its Real Time with Pause)

Riggella's Tyranny: Wiirlan Prophecy was an underrated BG expansion, in my opinion.

Latest update from the Guerrilla gaming collective thing. Lots to be excited about, the Underdark you say?

Staying away from the early access for this is going to be a nightmare.

Coming August 2020. Maybe.

Reaper81 wrote:

Coming August 2020. Maybe.

I approve of honesty.

And that trailer was incredible. Bravo to their team on that one!

garion333 wrote:
Reaper81 wrote:

Coming August 2020. Maybe.

I approve of honesty.

And that trailer was incredible. Bravo to their team on that one!

I'm trying to remember, what happens to the protagonist at the end of BG2? Do they ascend?

you can choose - either ascend and take on Bhaal's portfolio or turn your back on it.

Canonically the throne is left empty but bhaal is still worshipped by cultists of The Dead Three that plague current day Baldurs Gate. (The Dead Three being Bhaal , Bane and Myrkul - all three of which were killed during the Time of Troubles)

Spoiler:

These cultists form some of the antagonists in the opening chapter of Descent Into Avernus

Watched the live stream today. Looks very good for pre-alpha.

The description that Act 1 is longer than all of OS 2 is a negative for me. These style games just don't have enough variety in the middle and back half to support a game that long. Combat becomes an absolute slog and leads to balance issues, power gaps, incredibly lengthy slogs, and pretty much the same skills being used over and over.

Vector wrote:

The description that Act 1 is longer than all of OS 2 is a negative for me. These style games just don't have enough variety in the middle and back half to support a game that long. Combat becomes an absolute slog and leads to balance issues, power gaps, incredibly lengthy slogs, and pretty much the same skills being used over and over.

Yeah I agree with all of that. I struggle with long games as it is. In terms of story based RPG's in the last five or six years, only Witcher 3 (116 hours) and Red Dead 2 (93 hours) have managed to hold my attention for the amount of time it would take my to play BG3. It would have to be really, really good.

Which it might be... so here's hoping.

Vector wrote:

The description that Act 1 is longer than all of OS 2 is a negative for me.

I like long games but that sounds completely silly OS2 is already a very long game, especially due to being turnbased.

Did you all know that in real D&D it can take players 3 to 4 hours just to clear one floor of a relatively small dungeon?

Everything I saw from the stream yesterday seemed like a net positive. What I don't like is that they're releasing it as early access. Just don't release your story based game if it's not going to be finished?

Vector wrote:

The description that Act 1 is longer than all of OS 2 is a negative for me. These style games just don't have enough variety in the middle and back half to support a game that long. Combat becomes an absolute slog and leads to balance issues, power gaps, incredibly lengthy slogs, and pretty much the same skills being used over and over.

I think that was a language hick-up, it sounds like what they meant was the early access portion of BG3 will be longer than (the early access portion) of DOS2

b12n11w00t wrote:

Did you all know that in real D&D it can take players 3 to 4 hours just to clear one floor of a relatively small dungeon?

Everything I saw from the stream yesterday seemed like a net positive. What I don't like is that they're releasing it as early access. Just don't release your story based game if it's not going to be finished?

Hell, i had a single BATTLE in Curse of Strahd that lasted 3 hours just a couple of weeks ago

thrawn82 wrote:
Vector wrote:

The description that Act 1 is longer than all of OS 2 is a negative for me. These style games just don't have enough variety in the middle and back half to support a game that long. Combat becomes an absolute slog and leads to balance issues, power gaps, incredibly lengthy slogs, and pretty much the same skills being used over and over.

I think that was a language hick-up, it sounds like what they meant was the early access portion of BG3 will be longer than (the early access portion) of DOS2

Ah thanks. That sounds a lot more reasonable.

Spoilers... a bit of story and lots of gameplay. This is the second livestream for those that didn't know. Lots of bad roles in the original and in this one. lol

I have looked up some of the classes as that is my number one jam.
There is some good stuff in there:
Druid of the land gets circle spells a spell at a certain which seem to be infinitely castable? Or is it just an extra spell?
Bard - college of lore can hurl insults as a reaction that debuffs enemy attack rolls? Plus at 6th you can choose 2 spells from ANY class?
Cleric Trickster Domain - stealth and poison?
Rogue Arcane Trickster - mage hand?
Monk way of the shadow - stealth teleport? Illusions?

I am playing two separate runs through the BG->Siege of DS -> BG2 -> TOB series right now and I'm loving it all over again. It's been years and the game has aged like a fine Berdusk Dark Wine.

fangblackbone wrote:

I have looked up some of the classes as that is my number one jam.
There is some good stuff in there:
Druid of the land gets circle spells a spell at a certain which seem to be infinitely castable? Or is it just an extra spell?
Bard - college of lore can hurl insults as a reaction that debuffs enemy attack rolls? Plus at 6th you can choose 2 spells from ANY class?
Cleric Trickster Domain - stealth and poison?
Rogue Arcane Trickster - mage hand?
Monk way of the shadow - stealth teleport? Illusions?

Subclasses I am hoping for:

Oath of Conquest paladin - spiritual weapon and cloudkill.
Path of Zealot barbarian - undying fanatical warrior of the gods.
Hexblade warlock - Eldritch blllaaast.
Arcana domain cleric - wizard cantrips and magic missile!
Shadow magic sorcerer - undead-ish sorcerer

fangblackbone wrote:

I have looked up some of the classes as that is my number one jam.
There is some good stuff in there:
Druid of the land gets circle spells a spell at a certain which seem to be infinitely castable? Or is it just an extra spell?
Bard - college of lore can hurl insults as a reaction that debuffs enemy attack rolls? Plus at 6th you can choose 2 spells from ANY class?
Cleric Trickster Domain - stealth and poison?
Rogue Arcane Trickster - mage hand?
Monk way of the shadow - stealth teleport? Illusions?

In 5e Land Druids get an extra cantrip. All cantrips are spamable.
Bard gets cutting words, and yeah, at 6 (for lore) and all Bard subclasses get 2 spells from any list at 10, 14 and 18.
Cleric domains all get neat stuff! Many of them get bonus melee damage of a type matching their domain.
Arcane Tricksters get access to the wizard spell list and a more powerful version of the mage hand cantrip, which they get asca class feature.
Shadow monks get the Minor Illusion cantrip and can move from shadow to shadow.

fangblackbone wrote:

I have looked up some of the classes as that is my number one jam.
There is some good stuff in there:
Druid of the land gets circle spells a spell at a certain which seem to be infinitely castable? Or is it just an extra spell?
Bard - college of lore can hurl insults as a reaction that debuffs enemy attack rolls? Plus at 6th you can choose 2 spells from ANY class?
Cleric Trickster Domain - stealth and poison?
Rogue Arcane Trickster - mage hand?
Monk way of the shadow - stealth teleport? Illusions?

Land Druids are the spellcasting-focused Druid; there are also subclasses based on wild shaping into animals, healing, and summoning. Land Druids get another cantrip, and can also meditate and recover a spell slot, which is, for lack of a better term, a "Wizard thing" normally.

Lore Bards are IMO the best subclass in the game, and, yes, they can insult enemies to make them miss, and it gets progressively more impactful as you level in Bard. You start with a d6, and can get it up to a d12. Also, the generic default Bard cantrip is Vicious Mockery, where you can insult people and inflict psychic damage. So, yes, you can Yo Momma a dragon to death.

As for the others, yep, both of those. Trickery Clerics and Shadow Monks are both IMO better in theory than reality, because they're a bit situational in cases, and, well, if you're a Trickery Cleric and get poison damage on a weapon strike . . . why are you using a weapon if you're a Cleric? You're a spellcaster. There are a few domains that are decent at melee, but, really, at some point your cantrips are just going to do so much more damage than any weapon strike, so, as a rule, weapon damage + pure spellcaster is a bit of a waste.

So . . . this is not actually a D&D thread, but, well, every thread is a D&D thread if you're ambitious enough. It looks like all the Player's Handbook subclasses are in there, which is I think 43 subclasses spread among the 12 classes, which is a LOT of options. Maybe there will be an expansion that adds all the Xanathar's subclasses and Volo's races, so I can play my beloved Tabaxi Drunken Master Monk in BG3 . . .

I like that they've listed half drow as a race. I don't see it anywhere in the PHB or any online resources aside from BG3 stuff.
I can't wait to make one.
I'd wager people may be mad that the draconian sorcerer has been simplified. I always wanted to make one but was overwhelmed with the choices. I always felt like I was doing it wrong so I never played one more than a couple levels. The 5e changes look nice to me so I look forward to finally play one.

fangblackbone wrote:

I like that they've listed half drow as a race. I don't see it anywhere in the PHB or any online resources aside from BG3 stuff.
I can't wait to make one.
I'd wager people may be mad that the draconian sorcerer has been simplified. I always wanted to make one but was overwhelmed with the choices. I always felt like I was doing it wrong so I never played one more than a couple levels. The 5e changes look nice to me so I look forward to finally play one.

Half-drow are mentioned in the SCAG in a random box text note under half-elves.

Well I guess if you did the Viconia romance you kind of want to see how that pans out, even 300 something years later

RISE THREAD.

So on a side note I'm plugging along with both of my BG campaigns (We're deep into ToB and in Watcher's Keep in particular), and I'm also coincidentally playing Sims 4 at the same time.

So I had a Reese's pieces moment and combined the two. I made a Baldur's Gate 2 family in the Sims 4 gallery, and then wondered "if these characters had jobs in the Sims 4, what would they be?"

Here's the first list of characters I made:
Minsc
Neera
Hexxat
Jaheira
Aerie
Viconia

What Sims 4 jobs would the above characters have? I intend to make more (Eg, Haerdalis would definitely be an actor, Cernd a conservationist job, etc), but would love to hear some folks feedback figuring out what career paths the above characters would have.

Thanks!

Minsc would be a zoo keeper or a Veterinarian, with a focus on small mammals.