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Gyor
Master of Realmslore

1625 Posts

Posted - 12 Jun 2023 :  01:21:59  Show Profile Send Gyor a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
https://youtu.be/t0uYhTLPGLQ

The mad lads/lasses did it, its the whole freaking city, I can see all the wards,even the Outer City. And its the 5e version which is much bigger then in BG1, because of massive amounts of Spellplague refugees. BG is now the biggest city on Faerun in 4e/5e and when it full releases in August (28th for EA players, 31st for everyone else).

Its soooo beautiful.

Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1284 Posts

Posted - 12 Jun 2023 :  07:40:53  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So far I think Novidgrad in Witcher 3 is my fave video game RPG "city" representation - it's huge and feels immersive and bustling. I am excited by this Youtube clip thou - could give Novigrad a run for it's money!
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HighOne
Learned Scribe

215 Posts

Posted - 12 Jun 2023 :  18:28:46  Show Profile Send HighOne a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Impressive. But until they add NPCs who are actually fun to adventure with, I don't plan to play it.
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe

USA
283 Posts

Posted - 12 Jun 2023 :  19:17:30  Show Profile Send ElfBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I certainly will explore the city of Baldur's Gate in BG3..... as soon as it comes out of EA. I WILL NOT spend the time and effort of creating characters when there is the constant threat of the Devs erasing your build.
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore

1625 Posts

Posted - 13 Jun 2023 :  01:45:22  Show Profile Send Gyor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by HighOne

Impressive. But until they add NPCs who are actually fun to adventure with, I don't plan to play it.



Just replace the ones you don't like with Mercanies and later Minsc and Jahiera (not origin characters, but they are characters).
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Gyor
Master of Realmslore

1625 Posts

Posted - 13 Jun 2023 :  01:50:54  Show Profile Send Gyor a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

So far I think Novidgrad in Witcher 3 is my fave video game RPG "city" representation - it's huge and feels immersive and bustling. I am excited by this Youtube clip thou - could give Novigrad a run for it's money!



Looked at a map of Novigrad, might be the size of the Upper City, which is the smallest part of Baldur's Gate, the Lower City and Outer City are much bigger.
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Gelcur
Senior Scribe

517 Posts

Posted - 21 Jun 2023 :  02:28:06  Show Profile  Visit Gelcur's Homepage Send Gelcur a Private Message  Reply with Quote
So where's the rain and sleet? More importantly where are the fog filled streets? Mildew covered cobbles that require straw be thrown down?

Sometimes I wonder if maybe my interpretation of the Realms is somehow the one that's off.

The party come to a town befallen by hysteria

Rogue: So what's in the general store?
DM: What are you looking for?
Rogue: Whatevers in the store.
DM: Like what?
Rogue: Everything.
DM: There is a lot of stuff.
Rogue: Is there a cart outside?
DM: (rolls) Yes.
Rogue: We'll take it all, we may need it for the greater good.

Edited by - Gelcur on 21 Jun 2023 02:28:53
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Azar
Master of Realmslore

1308 Posts

Posted - 24 Jun 2023 :  11:35:17  Show Profile Send Azar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
No day/night cycle...and they spent a king's ransom on development? Lame.

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11815 Posts

Posted - 25 Jun 2023 :  16:51:16  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
wow, didn't even know they were developing this. I may have to switch from this stupid star trek game that's been eating the hours of my life.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Starshade
Learned Scribe

Norway
279 Posts

Posted - 06 Jul 2023 :  13:44:16  Show Profile Send Starshade a Private Message  Reply with Quote
How is BG3 coming along by the way? is it ok to start playing it atm, even though its in "beta" still? or should I wait :)
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ElfBane
Learned Scribe

USA
283 Posts

Posted - 06 Jul 2023 :  14:55:45  Show Profile Send ElfBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It's "supposed" to come out of EA (Early Access) in August of '23. I would wait until it does indeed leave EA.
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Master Katarn
Acolyte

30 Posts

Posted - 07 Aug 2023 :  20:19:02  Show Profile  Visit Master Katarn's Homepage Send Master Katarn a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The game's been out for some days now. What do people think? It is strange I get framerate drops when I can run Cyberpunk 2077 on full path tracing quite smoothly.
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1284 Posts

Posted - 07 Aug 2023 :  20:55:47  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I am waiting to buy/play on PS5 when it comes out later this year. Curious what people think.
I still believe they stole my plot from the novel I was writing in my head :)

http://candlekeep.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17356

quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

I have an idea for a Psionic human character.

As a background, his parents were adventurers before and during the Time of Troubles. As the gods came to Faerun, a teleport spell cast by his mage mother went awry because of the weave issues; so the parent's party ended up in the Underdark instead of their intended location.
In the Underdark, their party was taken prisoner by Mind Flayers...they decided to alter/experiment on the pregnant mage mother to make her unborn child psionic, but the parents escaped and retired from adventuring and became merchants in Sembia after their ordeal.

20 years later their now grown son's latent psionic powers start to emerge and he learns to use the powers/hide them from authority/people who would try to use him....but the big bads would be the mind flayers or drow allies who come back to reclaim their "experiment" now that he is of age. I'd have it set in the Dragonreach/Dales/Sembia...and our protagonist would have a gang of friends from various races and classes who are from his teenage "gang" (akin to how the Knights started in Espar).

I just feel Psions are not well represented in Realms novels!



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Azar
Master of Realmslore

1308 Posts

Posted - 08 Aug 2023 :  14:11:39  Show Profile Send Azar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
My opinion on Larian's attempt (specifically, the spectacle, the writing and the overall approach) being a bad fit for The Realms hasn't changed in the slightest. I imagine it will stand in the spotlight for anywhere from a few to several months before dropping off the radar; the original Baldur's Gate titles, it is not.

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.

Earth names in the Realms are more common than you may think.
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 08 Aug 2023 :  18:16:44  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azar

My opinion on Larian's attempt (specifically, the spectacle, the writing and the overall approach) being a bad fit for The Realms hasn't changed in the slightest. I imagine it will stand in the spotlight for anywhere from a few to several months before dropping off the radar; the original Baldur's Gate titles, it is not.



I have close friends who play the tabletop game a lot. They always game in the Realms because their DM uses the latest books. But they have no idea what the Realms is. They just know names like Waterdeep and Baldurs Gate. It's just a generic setting to them.

They absolutely love BG3 and just roll their eyes when I complain about how BG3 does NOT feel like a Realms game and feels more like some cosplay version of a Realms game. I get downvoted to the Nine Hells when I make the same complaint on Reddit.

Those of us who really love the Realms and care about it are a dying breed and are being crowded out by a lot of younger casual DnD fans who don't much care for the Realms. They just want to play some badass Tiefling Warlock and zap monsters. BG3 will (is) do very well but the result is the final nail in the coffin of the Realms we all grew up with.
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2474 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2023 :  18:07:23  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin


Those of us who really love the Realms and care about it are a dying breed and are being crowded out by a lot of younger casual DnD fans who don't much care for the Realms. They just want to play some badass Tiefling Warlock and zap monsters. BG3 will (is) do very well but the result is the final nail in the coffin of the Realms we all grew up with.



If I understood this well, the game is not -Realms because people is playing with what they like instead of using the Tolkienian races and rehashing Lord of the Rings?

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...
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HighOne
Learned Scribe

215 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2023 :  21:30:01  Show Profile Send HighOne a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Azar

My opinion on Larian's attempt (specifically, the spectacle, the writing and the overall approach) being a bad fit for The Realms hasn't changed in the slightest. I imagine it will stand in the spotlight for anywhere from a few to several months before dropping off the radar; the original Baldur's Gate titles, it is not.

I agree. When I played during the Early Access, it didn't feel like a Realms or Baldur's Gate game to me. I lost interest pretty quickly.
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 09 Aug 2023 :  22:32:42  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X

quote:
Originally posted by Caolin


Those of us who really love the Realms and care about it are a dying breed and are being crowded out by a lot of younger casual DnD fans who don't much care for the Realms. They just want to play some badass Tiefling Warlock and zap monsters. BG3 will (is) do very well but the result is the final nail in the coffin of the Realms we all grew up with.



If I understood this well, the game is not -Realms because people is playing with what they like instead of using the Tolkienian races and rehashing Lord of the Rings?



The tiefling warlock part was a dig at the proliferation of that character combo and mentality that makes it popular.
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Ayrik
Great Reader

Canada
7989 Posts

Posted - 10 Aug 2023 :  02:11:53  Show Profile Send Ayrik a Private Message  Reply with Quote
The Tiefling Warlock is the same thing as the Drow Ranger. As in, it attracts the same "casual" players who just want to play D&D. Roleplayers and powergamers alike tend to converge on certain natural cookie-cutter character designs which the game offers.

"The final nail in the coffin of the Realms" is describing a coffin that's been getting filled with nails since the first new publication which followed the OGB. The Realms is always growing, changing.

Older players tend to view newer-edition stuff as juvenile and cartoony.

Newer players tend to view older-edition stuff as stuffy and obsolete.

But telling other people how they must have fun is wrong. If they're enjoying the game then they're enjoying the game, even if it's a different game than you enjoy. If somebody seriously wanted to play an obvious stereotype/ripoff character at my table then I always allowed it.

[/Ayrik]
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 10 Aug 2023 :  04:12:17  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Older players tend to view newer-edition stuff as juvenile and cartoony.



I mean this is definitely me. I do realize that getting older changes my perceptions and tastes. But when I was younger and just getting into DnD and FR, the world was so fascinating to me. I liked that it had rules and a history. So it's not all about me getting older. It's more about the younger generations having different tastes and corporations making things to match those tastes. Hero worship is also insanely high with the younger generations and that's something I have always found distasteful.

quote:

But telling other people how they must have fun is wrong. If they're enjoying the game then they're enjoying the game, even if it's a different game than you enjoy. If somebody seriously wanted to play an obvious stereotype/ripoff character at my table then I always allowed it.



I'm not telling anyone how to play anything. I stopped gaming at my local game shop because I didn't like the vibe and atmosphere of the game sessions. I didn't stubbornly stick around and demand everyone change to meet my standards. But it does get tiring to see everything I used to love change to modern tastes. It's the plight of getting older in a capitalist society. The young is where the money is at, the old are to be forgotten.
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mastermustard
Seeker

USA
78 Posts

Posted - 10 Aug 2023 :  13:55:53  Show Profile Send mastermustard a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

The Tiefling Warlock is the same thing as the Drow Ranger. As in, it attracts the same "casual" players who just want to play D&D. Roleplayers and powergamers alike tend to converge on certain natural cookie-cutter character designs which the game offers.

"The final nail in the coffin of the Realms" is describing a coffin that's been getting filled with nails since the first new publication which followed the OGB. The Realms is always growing, changing.

Older players tend to view newer-edition stuff as juvenile and cartoony.

Newer players tend to view older-edition stuff as stuffy and obsolete.

But telling other people how they must have fun is wrong. If they're enjoying the game then they're enjoying the game, even if it's a different game than you enjoy. If somebody seriously wanted to play an obvious stereotype/ripoff character at my table then I always allowed it.



Is the Realms just generic backdrop for people to have fun in or is it a living, breathing world with decades of development from many creative people that deserves to be preserved?

I and many others believe that the latter is the case while the corporation that owns D&D wants the former to be true as it brings in much more revenue.

What I take issue with is not the Realms changing, as all organic worlds change. It's the killing of the Realms and replacing it with a cardboard cutout that bothers me.
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 10 Aug 2023 :  21:06:10  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by mastermustard

quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik

The Tiefling Warlock is the same thing as the Drow Ranger. As in, it attracts the same "casual" players who just want to play D&D. Roleplayers and powergamers alike tend to converge on certain natural cookie-cutter character designs which the game offers.

"The final nail in the coffin of the Realms" is describing a coffin that's been getting filled with nails since the first new publication which followed the OGB. The Realms is always growing, changing.

Older players tend to view newer-edition stuff as juvenile and cartoony.

Newer players tend to view older-edition stuff as stuffy and obsolete.

But telling other people how they must have fun is wrong. If they're enjoying the game then they're enjoying the game, even if it's a different game than you enjoy. If somebody seriously wanted to play an obvious stereotype/ripoff character at my table then I always allowed it.



Is the Realms just generic backdrop for people to have fun in or is it a living, breathing world with decades of development from many creative people that deserves to be preserved?

I and many others believe that the latter is the case while the corporation that owns D&D wants the former to be true as it brings in much more revenue.

What I take issue with is not the Realms changing, as all organic worlds change. It's the killing of the Realms and replacing it with a cardboard cutout that bothers me.



Yeah I agree with this. I feel it's similar to Disney's approach to Star Wars. There's really nothing sacred in the Star Wars story any longer. Any thing can be made up to service the story that a writer wants to write. Sometimes that works out like with Andor. Others, it just fails horribly like Boba Fett.
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2474 Posts

Posted - 10 Aug 2023 :  22:33:10  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You know your old Realms are still there in your books, right? Nobody is forcing you to buy the new products. Leave the new generation enjoy their Realms as they like it.

And I don't see anything bad with targeting casual players. I started as a casual, playing a dragonborn paladin, then got interested in his home region (mostly for DMing purposes), and fell into the Realms rabbit hole and now care for the Realms as much as the old grodnards. Perhaps this will happen to the new generation. Perhaps not, but I'm not going to sour their experience with gatekeeping.

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  00:00:22  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X

You know your old Realms are still there in your books, right? Nobody is forcing you to buy the new products. Leave the new generation enjoy their Realms as they like it.

And I don't see anything bad with targeting casual players. I started as a casual, playing a dragonborn paladin, then got interested in his home region (mostly for DMing purposes), and fell into the Realms rabbit hole and now care for the Realms as much as the old grodnards. Perhaps this will happen to the new generation. Perhaps not, but I'm not going to sour their experience with gatekeeping.



This is kind of a bad faith argument. It implies that older fans just need to step aside and shut up and let the younger generations take the thing you loved and make it their own. I actually stopped playing the table top game because I just didn't like the direction they took the Realms. But now I need to stop playing the video games for the same reason? I can't have an opinion on it? You have to see that this is not an easy pill to swallow. You mention gate keeping. But isn't this a form of gate keeping? Telling older players that they need to accept the new or else they can get bent?

I guess 50 years ago when adults were expected to drop the trappings of youth, this wasn't much of a problem. But in 2023, adults and kids share the same spaces and interests. So I just don't think the old idea of "step aside old man" is very fair or right.
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2474 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  05:27:43  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't think you should "step aside". You should just enjoy what you like, and let the others enjoy what they like. Kinda "live and let live" situation. If you don't like the new Realms, that's ok. The old Realms still exist in your old books. What is not ok is saying the new Realms are "not the Realms" just because you have a preconceived idea of what the Realms should be. Perhaps they are not the Realms for you, but they are the Realms for other people. I'm sure my Realms aren't anything like yours. And both Realms are equally valid.

I also think that everyone should make the Realms their own. After all, once you start playing a campaign (either in a videogame or in the TTRPG) in the Realms, you're changing them with your own experiences.

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...
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Master Katarn
Acolyte

30 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  05:48:29  Show Profile  Visit Master Katarn's Homepage Send Master Katarn a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin
Yeah I agree with this. I feel it's similar to Disney's approach to Star Wars. There's really nothing sacred in the Star Wars story any longer. Any thing can be made up to service the story that a writer wants to write. Sometimes that works out like with Andor. Others, it just fails horribly like Boba Fett.


This isn't an entirely applicable analogy. As someone else pointed out, the old Realms works are still there, most easily available on your latest digital reader. I'm going to go further and point out that, unlike Star Wars, those old Realms works are still technically canon to the new ones.

When Disney bought Star Wars, they literally declared 40 years (at the time) of Star Wars works non-canon (even filmed stuff like 2003 Clone Wars), and immediately wrote their new works in a way that cannot be reconicled with the old ones (it's still not clear why Shatterpoint had to be steamrolled just to make Depa Billaba into Kanan's master, when she's mentioned so sparingly in Rebels you probably forgot).

Nothing's stopping us from keeping the same old Realms stories alongside the new game and the movie. There are no major contradictions like Star Wars had and no overly dramatic declaration of all previous works being non-canon.
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TKU
Learned Scribe

USA
158 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  06:11:45  Show Profile Send TKU a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not to spoil anything. But I'm playing it right now, and I'm not sure I have played a Forgotten Realm that is so loose with canon before. Certainly not from such a big ticket high-production product. I saw a lot more love of the setting and attention to detail in the original saga than I am seeing here. I feel like they also grossly mishandled several returning characters from the first two games as well, which is a real shame, because now those characters going forward are going to be defined by the hackjob they wrote those characters into.

The game has other faults as well-large and small. Maybe the discussion of it's strengths and weaknesses will be able to be more nuanced and mature in a couple of months. The hype train for the game really snowballed right before release and the fanbase has a real fanatical do-no-wrong ...'hivemind'...you could call it (ha) right now that largely precludes criticism of that sort.

But to go back to its relationship with its predecessors and the setting with a whole, I don't see this as a particularly good thing. Again, this game is heavily redefining the legacy and events of the original saga, overwriting them with a 'new canon'. Comparisons between Star Wars 'Legends' and Disney Star Wars are appropriate. That goes for the setting as well, to an unknown extent. (guess we'll see what elements WoTC adopts from this game's success). Fundamentally though, the whole 5e treatment of the Bhaalspawn Saga really takes a dump on the Original games, and Baldur's Gate III pushes that forward in new and unfortunately creative ways. Doesn't mean it's necessarily the worst game ever made, but it is about the worst *sequel* you could hope for Baldur's Gate to receive.
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Caolin
Senior Scribe

769 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  06:35:29  Show Profile Send Caolin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
The old Realms still exist in your old books



I honestly don't get this sentiment. Are you saying that I should just keep rereading the old books and that should be enough? That to me is just another way of saying "Sucks to be you". All this is really doing is convincing me that coming back to this forum was a mistake.
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Athreeren
Learned Scribe

141 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  07:56:06  Show Profile Send Athreeren a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TKU

Not to spoil anything. But I'm playing it right now, and I'm not sure I have played a Forgotten Realm that is so loose with canon before. Certainly not from such a big ticket high-production product. I saw a lot more love of the setting and attention to detail in the original saga than I am seeing here. I feel like they also grossly mishandled several returning characters from the first two games as well, which is a real shame, because now those characters going forward are going to be defined by the hackjob they wrote those characters into.

The game has other faults as well-large and small. Maybe the discussion of it's strengths and weaknesses will be able to be more nuanced and mature in a couple of months. The hype train for the game really snowballed right before release and the fanbase has a real fanatical do-no-wrong ...'hivemind'...you could call it (ha) right now that largely precludes criticism of that sort.

But to go back to its relationship with its predecessors and the setting with a whole, I don't see this as a particularly good thing. Again, this game is heavily redefining the legacy and events of the original saga, overwriting them with a 'new canon'. Comparisons between Star Wars 'Legends' and Disney Star Wars are appropriate. That goes for the setting as well, to an unknown extent. (guess we'll see what elements WoTC adopts from this game's success). Fundamentally though, the whole 5e treatment of the Bhaalspawn Saga really takes a dump on the Original games, and Baldur's Gate III pushes that forward in new and unfortunately creative ways. Doesn't mean it's necessarily the worst game ever made, but it is about the worst *sequel* you could hope for Baldur's Gate to receive.



I haven't played the game yet, I've just seen videos. It seemed to me they relied on a lot of sometimes quite obscure canon, so they clearly researched the Realms. They also included things that don't fit quite well, but nothing on the scale of Irenicus, Suldanessalar, the Tree of Life, or the whole map of Amn. So could you give specifics (with the appropriate spoilers handling) about how it plays loose with canon, and how it's not the Realms? From what I've seen, my main complaint is that none of the returning characters have the same voice actors, which is understandable for the two PC, as that's a lot of lines to record, but for the other five I've seen who have cameos, it is a bit disappointing (especially since Siege of Dragonspear managed to gather so much of the whole cast).

Edited by - Athreeren on 11 Aug 2023 08:10:31
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2474 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  18:03:36  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Caolin


I honestly don't get this sentiment. Are you saying that I should just keep rereading the old books and that should be enough?



Well, if you don't like the new Realms, the only way to bring back the old Realms is to use the old products. We have to understand that things changed, and this change happened like 23 years ago, when WotC bought D&D and began to introduce their ideas into the Realms. 5e has been really successful, so I don't think they are going to change anything when they are getting all that cash.

It sucks? Yes, it sucks. And I'm not happy either with some of the changes (as you can see if you find some of my old posts, lol), but I've learned to live with it.

Mind, there is nothing wrong with disliking something, of course. You like what you like. The only thing I disagree with you is about saying that the new players are wrong for enjoying something you dislike.

quote:
Originally posted by TKU

Not to spoil anything. But I'm playing it right now, and I'm not sure I have played a Forgotten Realm that is so loose with canon before. Certainly not from such a big ticket high-production product. I saw a lot more love of the setting and attention to detail in the original saga than I am seeing here. I feel like they also grossly mishandled several returning characters from the first two games as well, which is a real shame, because now those characters going forward are going to be defined by the hackjob they wrote those characters into.

The game has other faults as well-large and small. Maybe the discussion of it's strengths and weaknesses will be able to be more nuanced and mature in a couple of months. The hype train for the game really snowballed right before release and the fanbase has a real fanatical do-no-wrong ...'hivemind'...you could call it (ha) right now that largely precludes criticism of that sort.

But to go back to its relationship with its predecessors and the setting with a whole, I don't see this as a particularly good thing. Again, this game is heavily redefining the legacy and events of the original saga, overwriting them with a 'new canon'. Comparisons between Star Wars 'Legends' and Disney Star Wars are appropriate. That goes for the setting as well, to an unknown extent. (guess we'll see what elements WoTC adopts from this game's success). Fundamentally though, the whole 5e treatment of the Bhaalspawn Saga really takes a dump on the Original games, and Baldur's Gate III pushes that forward in new and unfortunately creative ways. Doesn't mean it's necessarily the worst game ever made, but it is about the worst *sequel* you could hope for Baldur's Gate to receive.



Larian can't be blamed for canon changes or inconsistencies, as they follow whatever directives WotC gave them. As always, inconsistencies are on the part of WotC. If anything, Larian has showed great love for the Realms with all the time and dedication they have given to the game.

Also, you have to take into account that this game happens more than 100 years after the events of Baldur's Gate 2. There are many things that have changed in the Realms during that time.


Anyways, Larian has shared the statistics for the first week of the game. Half-elves, boring ass humans and elves are the three most played races of the game, followed close by dragonborn and tieflings in the top 4 and 5. The 5 most played classes are paladins, sorcerers, warlocks, rogues and bards.

So, the tiefling warlock is not that prevalent as it seems...

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...

Edited by - Zeromaru X on 11 Aug 2023 18:09:57
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Athreeren
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Posted - 11 Aug 2023 :  20:16:05  Show Profile Send Athreeren a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
Anyways, Larian has shared the statistics for the first week of the game. Half-elves, boring ass humans and elves are the three most played races of the game, followed close by dragonborn and tieflings in the top 4 and 5. The 5 most played classes are paladins, sorcerers, warlocks, rogues and bards.

So, the tiefling warlock is not that prevalent as it seems...



So, charisma and skills based. I'm not surprised: those are the classes that give the player the most chances to discover content (and you can always rely on the rest of the team to handle combat anyway). As for the races, I think it is a flaw in the choice of companions that there are few races. Astarion is an elf, and Shadowheart a demi-elf, but those aspects aren't nearly as important as other elements of their background. And there are no dwarves, gnomes or halflings, making those races far less likely to lead to interesting interactions (although I'm sure there are some with minor NPC throughout the game). That is probably why BG1 and 2 had far more companions, but less developed: they let you experience what those backgrounds can do. Of course, that's not really a flaw: we could say the same thing of Planescape Torment and its 7 companions, and that's the best game ever. But couldn't Gale have been a gnome, or Minthara a Duergar?
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