Thanks to years of tireless development and an extra batch of patches,Baldur’s Gate 3has become one of the most feature-rich games around, with a campaign that can take over a hundred hours and enough replayability to keep players going for years. With crossplay on the horizon, the co-op will become an even larger focus, and the lineup of new subclasses coming in Patch 8 could makeBG3resemble a greatD&Dmodule more than ever. Patch 7 adding mods has already putBG3on the path to immortality, similar to the likes ofSkyrim.
With all ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s features, developer Larian Studios seems to have taken the lessons it learned fromDivinity: Original Sin 2and applied them toBG3.Divinityalso added plenty of content after its release and featured a different form of mod support, with an extensive Divinity Engine modding tool but no place in-game to download custom content). Despite this,Larian did not include a version ofDivinity: OS2’s Game Master mode inBaldur’s Gate 3, which seems ironic in light of the Dungeon Master’s central role inD&D.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Would Have Benefitted From Divinity’s Game Master Mode
It Could Have Been The Perfect Entry Point To Play D&D
Divinity: Original Sin 2had a Game Master mode in which a player could host a game usingDivinity’s ruleset and resources, similar to other digital tabletops.The massive advantageDOS2had was that it was a fully fledged game, with animations, effects, and a wealth of enemies, so it was immediately higher quality than many digital tabletops. It was just limited by the game it was used for. While successful,Divinityhas been eclipsed byBaldur’s Gate 3, and its player numbers are but a fraction of 2023’s Game of the Year.
Like running a tabletop game, using the Game Master mode was a lot of hard work.Divinitydidn’t quite have the accessibility to get the masses playing it, even if it is one of the best CRPGs around. While a Dungeon Master mode inBaldur’s Gate 3would still have a steep learning curve, itwould have been massively beneficial for several reasons. One would be the possibility forBG3todouble as the definitive digital tabletop forDungeons& Dragons, keeping its popularity ensured for years to come even if players get tired of the main story.
Baldur’s Gate 3is based onD&D’s fifth edition, which was released back in 2014 and received a recent set of 2024 rules revisions.
Thanks toBaldur’s Gate 3’s popularity, a Dungeon Master mode would have been the perfect way forD&Dplayers to introduce theirBG3friendsto the tabletop, and the fluid, intuitive gameplay ofBG3could provide a streamlined experience.It has enough character creation options and subclasses to at least get people started, and with its online co-op infrastructure, the title already has the resources to get players together. A Dungeon Master mode could have been a great way to keep players in the world ofBG3without them having to replay the campaign over again.
BG3 Could Have Been The Definitive Digital Tabletop For D&D
Most Don’t Make It To Level 20 Anyway
There aren’t many 3D digital tabletops around, and practically none featureBG3’s level of polish.TalespireandTabletop Simulatorboth come to mind, butTalespireisn’t the most feature-rich (largely due to being early access), andTabletop Simulatortends to be better for traditional board games than for TTRPGs.BG3already uses a modified version ofD&D’s rulesetand looks better than any digital tabletop could hope for thanks to being an actual game. It has already proved to be an effective gateway intoD&Dfor many players.
BG3’s improved graphical fidelity overDivinity: OS2can be attributed to its newer, propriety engine, Divinity 4.0.
It’s no secret that online play tends to be more difficult to have fun compared to playingD&Din person. Although there are plenty of programs andwebsites to help withD&D, nothing beats playing in person with models and friends around a table. Not even aBG3DM Mode could probably top this, but it would bebetter than staring at a 2D map and grid on something like Roll20. WhileBG3’s hypothetical DM mode would have restrictions due to its roots as a video game, as a tool to get people started withD&D, it would be unmatched.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 is the latest and greatest window into the world of D&D, and got a long term player like me to finally care about the world of Faerûn.
One issue arises fromBG3’s level cap, which only goes to level 12, although there are mods that allow players to multi-class up to level 20. Another would be the lack of character class options compared to actualD&D5e, but this is something that is also solved by mods,since the community has ported many subclasses toBG3. In fact, mods could have been a great way to port adventure modules fromD&DtoBG3, with DMs able to install something like thepopularCurse of Strahdmoduleor a resource pack to run that specific adventure.
It Doesn’t Work With What Wizards Of The Coast Wants To Do With D&D
Baldur’s Gate 3took a long time to develop, especially with the effect the Covid-19 virus and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had on the world.With Larian pushing up the release window for fear of competing withStarfield(which likely benefited Bethesda in hindsight), there was a lot to accomplish within the time frame and resources available to the studio. Realistically, there wasn’t time to work on a DM mode, and there probably still isn’t, if Larian wants to fully focus on a new IPafter Patch 8’s release.
By the timeBG3came out,D&D 2024, a revised ruleset for the TTRPG, wasn’t far off, and having a tool that let players use 5e wouldn’t have helped the new version’s release.Wizards of the Coast even has its own 3D tabletop coming soon usingD&D 2024’s rules, currentlyknown as Project Sigil. GivenBG3’s popularity, a Dungeon Master mode would likely have hampered this effort. Pair this withBG3using some homebrewed modifications toD&D5e rules, and it does seem like a potentialBG3DM mode will never come to be.
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Still,a DM mode forBaldur’s Gate 3would have been such a relief to those struggling to make onlineD&Dsessions feel as funas their in-person counterparts. The foundations are there with a character creator perfect for making NPCs, a mod toolkit that could have seen use for importing models, a wealth of enemies already built into the game, and a solid co-op infrastructure. Larian has already proved it can do it withDivinity: Original Sin 2, and it is a shame that these lessons couldn’t be applied toBG3.
