5 ms·

This game also has the meta that most recent D&D games missed. If you know the tabletop game, you can build an optimized character in the bg series, because the

This game also has the meta that most recent D&D games missed. If you know the tabletop game, you can build an optimized character in the bg series, because the game system is close wherever it can be. Some spells are just too freeform to work without a human DM, but they seem to have done very well, perhaps a bit too much focus on environmental damage like the divinity series, but they toned that down right? I haven't looked at it in over a year.

jon-wood 3y ago
Even the ones I would never have expected to work do, I had a couple of potions of speaking to animals, which led to a lovely (fully voice acted) conversation with some oxen.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  And I think this is one of the things modern games have missed for a lot of BG-era players -- discovery and delight. AAA production costs make it difficult: you can't just spread the game's budget equally into niche content most will never see. But if you do it smartly, it seems like there's still financial and development space for "Wouldn't players find it cool if...?" things. One of the major turn-offs of post-TES3 Bethesda style games has been just how soul-less the tracks through their content have been. It's obvious anything "weird" had to get approved through a committee and was watered down in the process. Games were the better when there was a path for a development team member to have 10% time to implement some kooky feature. And maybe now that needs to flow through approval... but don't soften it into pablum in the process.
- thebooktocome 3y ago
  My first attempt with Speak with Animals led to a somewhat awkward conversation with a boar, whom an absent druid had recently promised a mate. His "haunches" clenched and quivered with anticipation. I laughed heartily.
wlesieutre 3y ago
Main thing I'm missing so far is you can't ready an action, which makes it nearly impossible to play defensively. If your turn doesn't give you enough movement to run up to the enemies and stab them, you can't say "I run next to the doorway and wait to stab the first person who runs through it." Instead, you have to waste your turn and then stand around getting attacked. So it's often to your advantage to roll worse in the initiative order, because the enemies will spend their turn dashing to within your movement range and then you actually get to hit them on your turn. Kind of hate it, rolling high initiative is supposed to let you get the drop on people or set up the battlefield more to your liking. BG3 players, please let me know if I'm missing something here.
- dvngnt_ 3y ago
  i think the key is to start combat in stealth so they're surprised and they waste their first move
  - wlesieutre 3y ago
    Works for some characters, not really a strategy for a heavily armored fighter. And either way, if there's a crowd of archers in the next room I wouldn't want to walk in (sneaking or no) where I have no cover, so I'm going to try and hold at the door. Still the better play even if it costs a whole turn of not being able to use my action. The missing Ready action really tilts things toward those "alpha strike" characters made to hit first and hit hard, which isn't a design choice I like much. I want to be able to lure enemies into a room with minor illusion or other sounds and have the whole party readied the jump them.
    - theoriginaldog 3y ago
      Ready an action is only usable in combat, so RAW outside of combat readying actions to jump on people you lured with an illusion into a room is not possible. This is an ambush and would be dealt with stealth / surprise rules and THAT is in the game, so it is possible if you play it by the rules. The ready action is designed to get used for delaying actions to bypass initiative order.

jon-wood 3y ago

Even the ones I would never have expected to work do, I had a couple of potions of speaking to animals, which led to a lovely (fully voice acted) conversation with some oxen.

ethbr0 3y ago
And I think this is one of the things modern games have missed for a lot of BG-era players -- discovery and delight. AAA production costs make it difficult: you can't just spread the game's budget equally into niche content most will never see. But if you do it smartly, it seems like there's still financial and development space for "Wouldn't players find it cool if...?" things. One of the major turn-offs of post-TES3 Bethesda style games has been just how soul-less the tracks through their content have been. It's obvious anything "weird" had to get approved through a committee and was watered down in the process. Games were the better when there was a path for a development team member to have 10% time to implement some kooky feature. And maybe now that needs to flow through approval... but don't soften it into pablum in the process.
thebooktocome 3y ago
My first attempt with Speak with Animals led to a somewhat awkward conversation with a boar, whom an absent druid had recently promised a mate. His "haunches" clenched and quivered with anticipation. I laughed heartily.

wlesieutre 3y ago

Main thing I'm missing so far is you can't ready an action, which makes it nearly impossible to play defensively. If your turn doesn't give you enough movement to run up to the enemies and stab them, you can't say "I run next to the doorway and wait to stab the first person who runs through it." Instead, you have to waste your turn and then stand around getting attacked. So it's often to your advantage to roll worse in the initiative order, because the enemies will spend their turn dashing to within your movement range and then you actually get to hit them on your turn. Kind of hate it, rolling high initiative is supposed to let you get the drop on people or set up the battlefield more to your liking. BG3 players, please let me know if I'm missing something here.

dvngnt_ 3y ago
i think the key is to start combat in stealth so they're surprised and they waste their first move
- wlesieutre 3y ago
  Works for some characters, not really a strategy for a heavily armored fighter. And either way, if there's a crowd of archers in the next room I wouldn't want to walk in (sneaking or no) where I have no cover, so I'm going to try and hold at the door. Still the better play even if it costs a whole turn of not being able to use my action. The missing Ready action really tilts things toward those "alpha strike" characters made to hit first and hit hard, which isn't a design choice I like much. I want to be able to lure enemies into a room with minor illusion or other sounds and have the whole party readied the jump them.
  - theoriginaldog 3y ago
    Ready an action is only usable in combat, so RAW outside of combat readying actions to jump on people you lured with an illusion into a room is not possible. This is an ambush and would be dealt with stealth / surprise rules and THAT is in the game, so it is possible if you play it by the rules. The ready action is designed to get used for delaying actions to bypass initiative order.