10 D&D Rules That Were Changed In Baldur's Gate 3 (2024)

Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the closest representations of put to video games. It accurately recreates most of the D&D 5e ruleset, from turn-based combat to the ability checks characters have to make. However, Baldur's Gate 3 is not a one-to-one replication of the game.

Baldur's Gate 3 is riddled with changes to the D&D 5e ruleset from top to bottom. Many of these are minor, such as tweaks to specific abilities and their functionality. Some changes are much more substantial, with sweeping changes to how the D&D 5e rules work as a result.

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10 More Default Bonus Actions

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Baldur's Gate 3 retains the basic turn structure of D&D 5e. Characters have movement, an action, a bonus action, and a reaction. However, it vastly expands on one of these categories. Some D&D 5e characters can go through an entire campaign without using their bonus action due to having no abilities that naturally use it. Baldur's Gate 3 gives every character bonus actions by default.

Shoving a character is a bonus action in Baldur's Gate 3 rather than an action-based attack option lik ein D&D 5e. Jumping, which happens as a part of movement in Dungeons & Dragons, is also a bonus action. There are also brand-new options, such as dipping weapons in a substance to increase their damage. This breadth of bonus action options also opens up brand-new tactical windows. For instance, a character can attack an opponent twice before shoving them off a ledge to finish the job.

9 Limited Short Rests

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Resting is limited by practicality in D&D 5e. Characters can short rest to regain hit points and refresh abilities at any point, as long as they have an hour to spare without interruption. However, events continue to unfold while the PCs catch a breather. It's impractical in dangerous areas, and the PCs are limited by their hit dice for regaining hit points.

Baldur's Gate 3 simplifies short rests but imposes far more limits on them. Player characters can take a short rest instantly, even if enemies are just out of sight. This regains half of their hit points and short rest abilities. However, this can only be done twice before the party needs a long rest. The Baldur's Gate 3 bard's Song of Rest effectively gives a third short rest in a day rather than boosting the number of hit points regained during the rest.

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8 Spellcasting On An Action And Bonus Action

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One of D&D 5e's firmest limits on spellcasting is also one of its most often misunderstood rules. If a D&D spellcaster uses their bonus action to cast a spell, this limits the rest of their turn somewhat. They cannot cast any other spells that turn besides cantrips with a casting time of one action. This prevents them from burning through all their resources in one turn for immense effect.

Baldur's Gate 3 has no such limitation. A player can cast all the spells they want, only held back by their one action and bonus action and their spell slots. A character who casts Shield of Faith with their bonus action is free to cast Guiding Bolt that turn as well. This is most significant for Baldur's Gate 3 sorcerers, who can use the Quicken Spell Metamagic to cast almost anything as a bonus action.

7 Ranger Options

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Many D&D 5e fans consider the ranger to be one of the game's weakest and most underwhelming classes. Its unique features are often unrewarding, providing meager and situational benefits at best. Baldur's Gate 3 has almost completely overhauled the ranger's design by making their early-game choices more impactful.

In Baldur's Gate 3, a ranger's Favored Enemy doesn't provide out-of-combat benefits to finding a specific creature type. It instead unlocks combat tools, such as Ranger Knight wearing heavy armor. Similarly, Natural Explorer has been overhauled to give a passive buff, such as resistance to fire damage.

6 Grouped Initiative

Much like D&D 5e, Baldur's Gate 3 switches to turn-based gameplay as soon as combat begins. Characters take turns to move and attack in an order decided by their initiative. However, Baldur's Gate 3 makes one significant change. In D&D 5e, creatures always take their turns one by one, even if they're surrounded by allies in the initiative order.

Baldur's Gate 3 makes things far more flexible. Allied characters who are next to each other on the initiative tracker can act simultaneously. This doesn't just reduce the downtime between player turns. It also allows for strategies relying on specific orders of events or combinations of player abilities.

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5 Bonus Action Feather Fall

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Many D&D 5e spells have been altered significantly to work better in Baldur's Gate 3's video game format. Few have seen greater changes than Feather Fall. In D&D 5e, Feather Fall is a reaction spell a creature uses when others are already falling. It slows their descent and prevents falling damage.

Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't allow for reactions this granular. Instead, Feather Fall is a bonus action buff spell that lasts for ten turns and switches off falling damage. This does prevent it from being used to save allies falling to their death in combat. However, it also lasts longer and affects more creatures, allowing entire jumping puzzles to be trivialized.

4 Preparing Spells At Any Time

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Spell preparation is carefully regulated in D&D 5e. Prepared spellcasters like wizards and clerics have immense flexibility and their spellcasting, but they have to match it with forethought. Characters can only prepare new spells at the end of the long rest and must choose options that will be valuable for the next day.

Baldur's Gate 3 does away with this restriction. Characters can change their prepared spells whenever they're not in combat. This means a prepared spellcasting character in Baldur's Gate 3 will almost never find themselves without the tools to tackle a problem ahead of them.

3 Camp Supplies

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Long rests are a relatively straightforward affair in D&D 5e. Characters need to find a safe place for eight hours in which they don't engage in strenuous activity. This limits a long rest from being taken in most dangerous environments. However, Baldur's Gate 3's long rests automatically take place in a safe camp that can be traveled to from almost anywhere.

As a result, Baldur's Gate 3 limits long rests with camp supplies to prevent patient players from resting after every encounter. Players have to supply enough food and drink for their group for a long rest to take effect. Otherwise, characters only get very limited benefits. This encourages players to space out their rest and hunt down food in the Baldur's Gate 3 world.

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2 Thief Rogue's Fast Hands

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The Thief rogue has some of Baldur's Gate 3's most substantial changes to any character subclass. In D&D 5e, their Fast Hands ability expands how they can use their bonus action. D&D 5e Thief rogues can use items, disarm traps, or pick locks as a bonus action. In Baldur's Gate 3, it instead gives them an additional bonus action.

This is unprecedented in Baldur's Gate 3. Certain abilities temporarily give characters a second action, but nothing increases a character's bonus actions, much less permanently. This gives the Thief rogue a significant niche in Baldur's Gate 3 and makes it one of the most popular multiclass options.

1 High Ground Accuracy

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D&D 5e does use tactical combat, but its rules on positioning are limited. Many D&D 5e groups play without battle maps or miniatures, limiting how granular these rules can be. As a video game, Baldur's Gate 3 has no such restrictions. It makes significant adjustments to reward positioning in combat. The accuracy bonus from taking the high ground is by far the most significant.

In Baldur's Gate 3, characters are significantly more likely to hit if they make a ranged attack from above their opponent. On the flipside, they're far more likely to miss if attacking upwards. D&D 5e has nothing of the sort in its ruleset, but positioning now dominates many Baldur's Gate 3 fights.

10 D&D Rules That Were Changed In Baldur's Gate 3 (2024)

FAQs

What rules did Baldurs Gate 3 change? ›

Fundamental changes
  • The level cap is 12.
  • Characters must use 27 point buy. ...
  • All races have a +2/+1 flexible ability score bonus - similar to the alternate rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything - though the standard 5e racial ability score bonus and the +1/+1/+1 option do not exist.

What D&D rules does BG3 use? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 uses the 5e rules of D&D, making it easier for newcomers to jump into the game and with fewer restrictions than the 2nd edition rules of Baldur's Gate 2.

How does Baldur's Gate 3 change from D&D? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 implements changes to adapt the 5th edition ruleset for D&D, ensuring that players always have fun. An example of one of these changes is it replaces the grid-based movement system with a line-based movement system, allowing for more flexibility in combat.

What has changed in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

New features like Wither's Wardrobe of Wayward Friends and the Magic Mirror enhance gameplay and character customization. Various improvements such as fixing jumping mechanics, adding new endings, and introducing epilogue scenes have greatly enhanced the overall gaming experience.

How faithful is BG3 to D&D? ›

In Baldur's Gate 3, the combat system is faithfully recreated so that players are put into a turn order and combat will be turn-based, with the order determined the same as in D&D.

How true to D&D is Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 does an excellent job of adapting the Dungeons & Dragons experience to video game form, but there's no small number of differences between it and its inspiration.

What version of D&D is Baldur's Gate 3 based on? ›

Unlike previous games in the Baldur's Gate series, Baldur's Gate 3 has turn-based combat, similar to Larian's earlier games Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin II; all combat is based on the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition rules.

What to know about D&D before Baldurs Gate 3? ›

As per classic D&D, you won't be acting in real-time during combat either. Dungeons & Dragons has always been turn-based, and the same is true of Baldur's Gate 3. Once you enter a fight, you'll roll for Initiative to determine when you'll be able to act in relation to everyone else.

Can you side with the goblins in BG3? ›

If you side with the Goblins, you will have to join them in a raid through the Druid Grove. With the Goblin army and leaders by your side, you must wipe out the grove. This means killing all the Tieflings and all of the Druids.

What is the most op class in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

The Paladin is the strongest class and subclass in Baldur's Gate 3 due to its damage output, survivability, and versatility. The Paladins can access various weapons and armour types, allowing for diverse playstyles. Combining Extra Attack with Divine Smite results in exceptional raw damage potential.

What does 1d4 mean in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Basically for 1d4 it means you roll one four-sided dice and for 1d6 it means you roll one six-sided dice. So yeah basically the ranges are 1-4 and 1-6 in those cases. For 1d6+1 it means roll one six-sided dice and add one to it. So basically the range is 2-7. For 2d6 it means roll two six-sided dices.

Will they add Dragonborn to Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Dragonborn is a playable race in Baldur's Gate 3. This guide will provide an overview of this race, including Dragonborn race features, skill modifiers, and subrace options in BG3.

What is the big update for Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7, set to be one of the game's largest updates, will introduce new ending cinematics for darker playthroughs, official modding tools and bug fixes. A closed beta on PC will precede the full release, allowing players to test the update before its official launch.

What did patch 6 do in BG3? ›

The main updates include: Brand new cinematics and animations. New animations have been added for kisses and key romance scenes (notably at the Elfsong Tavern), and new cinematics have been added for story elements like the Sorcerous Sundries scene. There are some new idle animations which will display at camp, too.

Does gender matter in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 romances are not gender-locked either. For potential Dark Urge players, your violent intrusive thought generator doesn't have a huge impact on romance scenes, but it's worth considering when you go through character creation.

What happened to Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Baldur's Gate 3 runs on Divinity Engine 4.0. In March 2024, Swen Vincke announced that Larian Studios would not be producing any DLC or sequels for Baldur's Gate 3, citing the constraints of developing within the D&D ruleset and a desire to "pass the torch to the next developer" and pursue other projects.

Did they raise the level cap in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

The video game caps characters at level 12, while actual 5e DnD extends to level 20. Players who stick mostly with the main questline may finish the game around level nine or 10, but many players hit the level cap early into the game's third act.

What are the rules for initiative in BG3? ›

Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant rolls a d4 and adds their Ability Modifier (Dexterity) to determine their place in the initiative order. The participant with the highest adjusted roll goes first and the participant with the lowest roll goes last.

Does baldurs gate 3 have act 2? ›

Act Two continues the party's quest to rid themselves of their illithid tadpoles. Their search leads them to Moonrise Towers, located somewhere in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and the Cult of the Absolute whose activities are based there.

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