and our internal checks sometimes go
further than Wizards of the Coast’s.
They’re very flexible about making cool
adventures, and most of the things we’ve
pitched to them have been passes. We’re
really very aligned in our thinking and how
we do things, but ours is just the
videogame version.”
Original Sin 2 already shares quite a lot
with D&D, beyond the things that most
fantasy RPGs share. The Game Master
mode and co-op effectively let you play a
tabletop RPG on your PC, but even when
you’re playing alone it can still feel like
you’re doing so under the gaze of a
Dungeon Master, hoping they’ll let you try
this brilliant new idea you’ve come up with.
The sheer variety of systems and Larian’s
willingness to let players bend or
occasionally break the game leaves so
much room for ingenuity. Vincke loves to
talk about players solving conundrums in
ways Larian had never even considered,
and it’s exactly like listening to a proud
Dungeon Master gush about their party.
Baldur’s Gate III will similarly give
players lots of tools and then let them
have at it. “We’ll stay true to our roots,”
says Vincke, “so we’ll give players lots of
systems, and lots of agency to use these
systems and try to accomplish what you
need to on your adventure.
“That’s not going to change; that’s the
core of what we’re doing.”
There are some things on the chopping
block, however. It’s an interpretation of
D&D, specifically 5th Edition, because
porting the core rules, which Larian tried
to do, doesn’t work. Or it works, Vincke
clarifies, but it’s no fun at all. One of the
culprits is missing when you’re trying to hit
an enemy, and while the combat system
has yet to be revealed, you can at least
look forward to being able to smack
people more consistently.
“You miss a lot in D&D—if the dice are
bad, you miss,” he says. “That doesn’t
work well in a game. If I do that, you’re
going to review it and say it’s shit. Our
approach has been implementing it as
pure as we can, and then just seeing what
works and what doesn’t. Stuff that doesn’t
work, we start adapting until it does.”
This interpretation should still be more
true to the tabletop RPG than itspredecessors, however, capturing the feel
of D&D, even if it’s not borrowing every
single system and rule.PARTY PLANNER
To save Baldur’s Gate you’ll need a party
of heroes, and like a typical D&D party
they’re all the protagonists of their own
stories, each with their own motivations
and ambitions. When you make a
character, you’ll be filling in your character
sheet, essentially, not just with abilities
and skills, but backgrounds, personality
traits and ideals. While he’s not ready to
confirm that it will feature in Baldur’s Gate
III, Vincke’s also interested in taking
another crack at Original Sin 2’s origin
system, which gives players premade
characters with unique backgrounds,
quests and talents. They’re better defined
than their custom counterparts, and more
connected to the world.
“I thought the origin stories were a
really good addition to the RPG genre, and
it would be strange if we went back on
that,” he says. “The ambitions for the
origin stories in Original Sin 2 were
actually higher than what we managed to
do, though we did it well if you think about
all that we fit in there, but there’s so much
more that can be done with it. I’d certainly
be interested in exploring it.”
You’ll be controlling your whole party,
but Baldur’s Gate III will also let you strike
out on an adventure with pals. Larian’s not
ready to spill the beans on how the
multiplayer system will work, but
something resembling their last two co-op
systems seems likely, letting each player
choose exactly where to go and what to do
independent of the rest of the party. It’s
how it works in D&D, too, where parties
can split up and one player might be
getting sozzled in the tavern while another
is trying to pilfer a relic from a temple.
Despite the success of Larian’s last
two Kickstarters, it won’t be going down
the crowdfunding route this time. Larian
will still be publishing the game itself, as
well as involving the community and
posting regular updates. For prospective
players wanting to follow the game’s
development, there won’t be much of a
change. For Larian, though, it’s the
studio’s greatest challenge, and when
players finally get to return to Baldur’s
Gate, Vincke thinks they’ll be very
surprised by what they find. “We’re going
beyond what we’ve done before to make it
the game it deserves to be. That sounds
like a slogan—it is a slogan—but it’s true.”
Fraser BrownBALDUR’S GATE III WILL ALSO
LET YOU STRIKE OUT ON AN
ADVENTURE WITH PALSBaldur’s Gate III
PREVIEW
Fun fact: Mind flayers can suck
your brain out of your head.A natural reaction to hearing
about Baldur’s Gate’s return.