Baldur’s Gate 3 Review: The Plot, Races and Classes

Ready for some Dungeons and Dragons action? Let’s take a look at Larian’s latest video game Baldur’s Gate 3, storyline, classes and gameplay. 

Photo: screenshot

The Plot

The game is set in the continent of Faerûn, the most prominent location in the Dungeons and Dragons world of forgotten realms. The mind flayers have invaded the land and the player finds themselves captive aboard their ship, infected with a parasite intended at transforming the player into a  powerful mind flayer. Do you let power and corruption consume you or do you fight against it? The choice is yours to make.

The plot of the game changes depending on the player’s choices. Even choices made during character creation lille race and class alters the way the world reacts to the player. You can choose to be a saviour to all or slaughter everyone in your sight. The game does not have a morality system and lets the player decide how they want to play the game.

Chrystal Ding, one of the lead writers in the game states that there are close to 17000 endings depending on the choices a player makes. The potential for replayability is absolutely massive with the game adapting to the player rather than the other way round. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 Races

The world of D&D is packed with rich lore, including numerous races, monsters, magic, locations and so much more.  The game has 11 races to choose from with most races having multiple subraces. 

Elves: Elves have proficiency in Elven Weapon Training which includes the longsword, shortsword, longbow and Shortbow. The have two subraces to choose from, the high elf and the wood elf

Tiefling: Tieflings have darkvision and are resistant to fire damage. You can choose from three subraces, namely Asmodeus Tiefling, Mephistopheles Tiefling and Zariel Tiefling.

Drow: The Drow have proficiency in drow weapon training which includes the Rapier, Shortsword and Hand Crossbow.They have superior dark vision and can see up to 24m in the dark. The subraces include Loth-Sworn Drow and Seldarine Drow.

Humans: Next up we have humans, one of the most common races in Faerûn. Humans have proficiency in Civil Militia which includes pikes, spears, halberds, glaives, light armor and shields. There are no subraces for Humans.

Githyanki: The Githyanki are a race of warriors and sworn enemies of the mind slayers. They can gain proficiency in all skills of a chosen ability. They can use light to medium armor along with shortsword, longsword and greatsword. 

Half-Elf: Half elves also have proficiency in Civil Militia like humans but they also possess dark vision and Fey Ancestry. There are three subraces. High Half-Elf, Wood Half-Elf and Drow Half- Elf.

Dwarf: Dwarves have proficiency in Dwarvwen combat Training which includes, the light hammer, warhammer, Battleaxe and handaxe. There are three races to choose from which include gold dwarf, shield dwarf and Duergar. 

Halfling: Halflings have the lucky trait where if they roll a 1 on the dice they have the chance to reroll. There are two subraces to choose from, Lightfoot Halfing and Strongheart Halfling.

Gnomes: Gnomes have Gnome cunning which gives an advantage on intelligence, wisdom and charisma saving throws. The subraces include Rock Gnome, Forest Gnome and Deep Gnome.

Dragonborn: The dragonborn has the highest number of subraces which include, Black, Blue, Copper, Gold, Green, Red, Brass, Bronze, Silver and the White subraces.

Half-Orc: Lastly we have Half-Orc with Savage attacks, relentless endurance and Darkvision.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Classes

The player’s class shapes the way they can approach combat. There are a total of 12 classes with a staggering 46 subclasses amongst them. 

Barbarian: Barbarians rely on the strength ability. They have proficiency with simple and martial weapons along with light armor, medium armor and shields.

Bard: Bards specialize in the Charisma ability. They are proficient with Hand Crossbows, Shortswords, Longswords, Rapiers along with light armor. 

Cleric: Clerics have wisdom as their primary ability and have proficiency in simple weapons, medium armor, light armor and shields.

Druid: Druids have the ability to transform themselves into animals. They also possess the ability to talk to animals. Their primary proficiency is wisdom with simple weapons, light armor, medium armor and shields.

Fighter: Fighters are skilled with wielding weapons and armor. Their primary ability is strength and they can use almost all types of weapons and armor. 

Monk: Monks have high dexterity and wisdom and specialize in martial arts. They have proficiency with simple weapons and short swords

Paladin: Paladins have strength as their primary ability. They can wield all types of armors and shields with proficiency in simple weapons and martial weapons.

Ranger: As the name suggests, rangers prefer long range combat especially with a bow and arrow. Their primary ability is dexterity and they have proficiency in martial weapons, simple weapons, shileds and light to medium armor. 

Rogue: Rogue’s take a more stealthy approach to combat and have high dexterity. They can use crossbows, longswords, rapiers, simple weapons, shortswords and light armor.

Sorcerer: Sorcerers have Charisma as their primary ability and are natural spell casters.They have proficiency with, quaterstaves, daggers and light crossbow. 

Warlock: Warlocks can summon companions to aid in battle or distract the enemies. They have a multitude of offensive and defensive spells. Their primary ability is Charisma and they are proficient in simple weapons and light armor. 

Wizard: Wizards are masters of magic and spellcasting. Their primary ability is intelligence and they do not have many proficiencies when it comes to weapons and armor. The rely solely on powerful spells to aid in battle. 

Which races and classes would you enjoy playing the most?