An entirely unofficial poll that has no bearing on reality: Baldur's Gate 3
PhillipDaigle
Member Posts: 654
Hi there, sports fans. We're going to play a game today. You're going to like this game. It's really easy to play, and there's no way to lose!
The game we're going to play is called "If Baldur's Gate 3 were to happen, what story direction would you prefer?"
Here's how you play: Vote for the choice you like best. That's it! You've won!
I'm sure some people would like to discuss which version of the D&D rules they would prefer, and that's fine. But be aware: if a BG3 were to happen, it would most likely use whatever current D&D rules WOTC has, rather than an older rule set. Some people may not like this, but keep in mind that it makes sense for a company to promote the latest incarnation of their ruleset and you can't really expect them to do otherwise.
Additionally, and this is conjecture on my part, I imagine that it would have to take place in the present realm year, which is over a century after the conclusion of Throne of Bhaal.
Have fun, and no cheating!
Unrelated: Here is a baby bighorn sheep, the provincial animal of alberta.
The game we're going to play is called "If Baldur's Gate 3 were to happen, what story direction would you prefer?"
Here's how you play: Vote for the choice you like best. That's it! You've won!
I'm sure some people would like to discuss which version of the D&D rules they would prefer, and that's fine. But be aware: if a BG3 were to happen, it would most likely use whatever current D&D rules WOTC has, rather than an older rule set. Some people may not like this, but keep in mind that it makes sense for a company to promote the latest incarnation of their ruleset and you can't really expect them to do otherwise.
Additionally, and this is conjecture on my part, I imagine that it would have to take place in the present realm year, which is over a century after the conclusion of Throne of Bhaal.
Have fun, and no cheating!
Unrelated: Here is a baby bighorn sheep, the provincial animal of alberta.
- An entirely unofficial poll that has no bearing on reality: Baldur's Gate 3440 votes
- I would like Baldur's Gate 3 to continue the story of Throne of Bhaal, with the same player character as the previous games.14.77%
- I would like Baldur's Gate 3 to continue the story of Throne of Bhaal, but with a NEW player character.36.36%
- I would like Baldur's Gate 3 to be an entirely unrelated story from Throne of Bhaal, BUT with the same player character as the previous games so that I can continue their (frankly ridiculous) adventuring career.6.36%
- I would like Baldur's Gate 3 to be an entirely unrelated story from Throne of Bhaal.42.50%
13
Comments
Though it would be nice if we could import a final save from BG2EE into this hypothetical BG3 so it could reference our old Bhaalspawn by name/race/etc.
Then again, continuing the story with the same character and setting the third part mostly in the planes so that most of battles would be against gods or other super-powerful planar beings would also be really interesting.
That said, if it is to be a continuation of the Bhaalspawn saga in some way, then yes, it should be with a new character. That would be my second choice.
Also, how awkward would it be to transfer a 2nd edition level 40 thief to be a 5th edition level ?? whatever thieves are called in 5E?
I'd like to see them do something similar to what they did with KOTOR 2 in relation to KOTOR 1.
It would still be an isometric CRPG.
The rules though, there's no other way to make a game based on DnD without using the current rules.
I would like BG3 to go back to the roots, with a level 1 protagonist, a relatively open world with tons of charm and personality, but with strong personal motivation to move forward with the main storyline (in BG1 some huge dude in spiky armor wants you dead, that's pretty good motivation for me). I don't mind references to the Throne of Bhaal storyline, but having replayed the same thing for the last 10 years, I'm craving for something bold and new.
Also give us some romances where the romantic partner is not just suffering from some mental trauma and all it consists of is listening to him/her whine and being incredibly patient. In that regard I hope the BGEE romances don't go the way of the BG2 ones.
Also, technology-wise, I hope BG3 won't be based on the Infinity Engine, however revamped you guys will have made it by that point. I'm aware your small team is probably not able to rival The Witcher 2 in visuals, but at least give us something worthy of the last decade, not the one before that. When I stroll around the streets of Baldur's Gate I want to look up and around me and get a real sense of the size and depth of things. Isometric, party-based combat doesn't preclude the use of 3D as Dragon Age and NWN2 shown, and the technology is there today to make 3D that looks as impressive and detailed as the pre-renders of before.
Oh and 5th edition rules FTW.
Level 1! GO!!!
(someone more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong)
In Baldur's Gate a lot of fights would come down to working the terrain, planning choke points and having my front line fighters act as a wall to protect my vulnerable casters and ranged characters. I didn't have to micromanage EVERY character's ability set. Just make sure the right weapon was equipped and pop the occasional potions. Classes like Ranger/Paladin gave some exciting variability, as once in awhile they would have something important to do, but for the main the close quarter tactics of the classic part of six was just pure gaming bliss.
Dragon Age for comparison gives every class a great many options and abilities, and as a result to keep things sane, you have a cut down party of 4, which for me really hamstrings my ability to control the battlefield, beyond the ability of my chosen tank to taunt mobs onto him. I do hate the whole concept of taunt, in that if you are fighting a highly trained mercenary band, they are going to use tactics that were possible will take down your casters. The other thing I passionately hate about taunt is how it is rarely used against you. One of the things I loved about Baldur's Gate is you are up against things that are using the same ruleset as you are, whereas in Dragon Age and a lot of MMOs there are special "player" abilities you rarely see used as often or as well, this to me makes the world feel inconsistant.
Also to refute @PhillipDaigle assertion that an RPG company has to push the current iteration of its game system as it's only natural, that is not happening with White Wolf's World of Darkness online. Which is choosing the far more popular and well known "classic" setting for it's upcoming MMO. Now granted this is an apples and oranges scenario as CCP Games (the guys who make EVE), actually bought White Wolf and hence own them, and call the shots to make the videogame that will be most well recieved. Whereas Overhaul do not (as yet, *crosses fingers*) own Wizards of the Coast so aren't able to do that. The point still stands that what a pen & paper rpg publishing company wants, may not make the most optimally well recieved videogame. In fact I'd go as far as to say it won't make much difference at all, I loved Infinity Engine games because I feel that 2nd Edition has made the clearly superior transition to videogames, but I don't use it for tabletop, because I feel 3.5 fills that niche for me, better than 2nd Ed did, and I don't play 4th Ed, because whilst I am sure it is great in it's own way, it hasn't impressed me enough to make it my prefered ruleset.
If BG3 were to change story AND the rules it would not be Baldur's Gate.
If BG3 were to only change the rules and try to extend the story, it would be a pathertic attempt to cash in on Baldur's gate.
BG3 must be like BG2 which must be like BG.
Also interesting about the beginning of KotorII is that the game assumes that your character from kotor was male and evil. However, you are able to change this by saying 'No, it was a woman' and 'No, I heard that they saved the Republic'. Saying either of those things actually makes it true in your game.
Or if you wanted to be more interactive I guess you could have something like the Mass Effect comic recap in between 1 and 2 that allowed you to choose what happened in the previous game.
Either option would work in allowing the player to have some input in saying how BGI and II turned out without needing buggy save import mechanics. (stupid Conrad Verner).
Let me go from BG to Tethyr, then east to the dales, further to thay, then north to rasheman. I want to travel the silver marches. When all is said and done I want hundreds of oPen source npc's like Kelsey added in as well as home brewed quests. There are thousands of modders out there. Make wiki forgotten realms a game that is moderated by the owners but contributed to by anyone. You just download what you want added.
It would be fantasy paradise.
Technically the game you want is Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2. There are many fan made campaigns out there, and some are quite good. But if you are expecting them to all tie together into one all-encompassing metaworld I'm afraid you will be forever disappointed. How can hundreds of open source npcs and mods exist in the same setting without severe conflicts with each other?
Heck, one of the main reasons for BGEE in the first place is that they can't all exist... even the few dozen major mods/fixes/npcs that already exist are capable of messing up the game so badly that people are willing to shell out twenty bucks just to make it easier on themselves.
The last time I tried playing BG I had to start over because some combination of things I had installed caused Branwen's statue to be killed... somehow... I couldn't revive her because she was a statue and couldn't use stone to flesh because she was dead. I had to restart and lost hours of playtime. I never did pinpoint the conflict that caused it.
What you are asking for might as well be in paradise, because I think that's as close to it as we can get.
That said, on topic... I think a brand new set of characters in an entirely new area of Faerun would be the best case. Showcase more of what the Forgotten Realms has to offer with a brand new story, it can be connected to the originals through cameos.