![]() ![]() Astarion dipped his arrows in a nearby flame, then shot a fire arrow at the purple substance to make it explode. A little later on, Astarion and Shadowheart found their progress blocked by a mysterious purple liquid. Interacting with the terrain outside of combat is a big part of the game as well. The intellect devourer took damage from the fall and went prone, allowing Astarion to fire off another arrow with ease. As such, when one of the intellect devourers got too close, he shoved it out of the way - and off of a small cliff. (The technology wasn't really there yet back in BG and BGII.) Astarion primarily used a bow in battle. One impressive thing about combat is that terrain plays an important role this time around. Combat consists of all the standard D&D trappings: attacking with weapons, activating special abilities, slinging magic spells and quaffing potions to enhance skills. Depending on how complicated you want to make things, you could meticulously plan every character's every move and action, or just let the AI do some of the heavy lifting. Combat is turn-based, like the tabletop game, so you can pause and plan your moves before your characters execute them in real-time. As in previous Baldur's Gate games, you can always split up the party and position everyone to your liking before a big combat session begins.Īnd speaking of combat, it wasn't long before Astarion and Shadowheart found themselves facing down two small intellect devourers: buglike foes that serve the mind flayers. You can play the game from an isometric or closer third-person perspective, but the camera always keeps a respectful distance so that you can manage a whole party at once.Īfter recurring his first companion, a dark cleric named Shadowheart, Astarion journeyed through the wilderness, sometimes exploring on his own (he had an impressive Jump skill, letting him reach treasure in high places), sometimes with Shadowheart in tow. The first thing I noticed was that the game looks quite similar to other Larian Studios games, namely Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel. The demo began with Astarion, all by himself, in a wilderness area far from any bastions of civilization. Baldur's Gate III will use Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition: a modern, streamlined approach to the setting, which has resonated in a big way with tabletop players. The original Baldur's Gate games used the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, which were becoming outdated even as the games debuted. For those who aren't D&D experts, there have been various rulesets over the years as the game has evolved. Perhaps the most exciting thing about Baldur's Gate III is that it represents the first time Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition rules will be available in a video game. (Image credit: Larian Studios) Baldur's Gate III gameplay This came into play numerous times as Astarion made choices during the game, and it seems likely that any other backstory will have similar repercussions. The devs created a high elf rogue named Astarion, whose backstory dictated that he was also a vampire in thrall to a vampire lord named Cazador. What's new this time around is that you can also choose one of five origin stories for your character. ![]() Skills include more specialized disciplines, such as Athletics, Persuasion and Stealth. Longtime D&D fans know the drill: attributes represent things like Strength (for melee attacks), Dexterity (for ranged attacks) and Charisma (for charming other characters). You'll choose your character's race, class, name, sex and moral alignment, then distribute attribute and skill points accordingly. The final game will have at least eight playable classes. You can also choose to be a fighter, a rogue, a wizard or a cleric - at least in this demo. There are 15 playable races and subraces, including haughty elves, reptilian githyanki, demonic tieflings and regular old humans, if you want to be extremely boring. While the Larian devs didn't spend much time on character creation, it looked like an extremely deep system. Longtime fans know that one of the best parts of any Baldur's Gate game is creating your perfect adventurer from scratch. ![]() (Image credit: Larian Studios) Baldur's Gate III character creation ![]()
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