Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Origins - Needs Fleshing Out

So, going off a bit on a previous point I made elsewhere, I strong encourage Larian to provide story and gameplay for our origins. Levels 1-3 should happen based on your origin and how you got captured by the mind flayers. Starting on the nautiloid is too jarring and makes your PC feel less important than your companions with their strong backstories.

I get that Larian loves their Companions and the ability to play as those companions/origin stories...but I'm going to be honest, I'd much rather have that time spent on providing a solid origin for a PC I've created, not Larian's companions. Don't get me wrong, I think the companions are awesome, but I have little desire to play as them. I want to play as the character I create, but, as it stands, I don't feel very connected to my PC in early access.

There really needs to be 3-4 hours of game time for each origin and race before you get pulled onto the nautiloid to really attach you to your character. I know it would be a lot of work, but I think the whole game would be the better for it. I could see where the "Who are you" transitions to character creation transitions to a flashback sequence before returning to the nautiloid. But, as it stands, it feels like if you started Dragon Age Origins at the joining ritual as opposed to getting attached during those origin stories.

I know it would take a lot of work (there are a lot of combinations), but, in the long run, I think this would create a more solid foundation for the game that will effect everything going forward.

Gosh, I don't think dragon age even dedicated that much time to the origins, lol. Dragon Age only had like, 5 origins (human noble, mage, city elf, dalish elf, dwarf noble, dwarf commoner) and not all of them were equal.. some definitely had stronger writing than the other ones. While I loved the option to choose an origin, it would be nice to have, the variations you can have in race/class would be far too much to make anything memorable for the origins without a colossal amount of investment or cutting down the options to like 2-3, since they're there mostly to provide a skill. Arguably it would be better to have the origins as dialogue options since then it could be the same for every character with that origin, which I assume might already be a thing, though I haven't seen it come up yet for me.

Nope. That is a terrible idea. It’s a massive amount of work. All of the origin characters haven’t been added yet. There is a reason BioWare only did the origins thing once. It is not efficient design.

I can understand that.

That said, I think it's less intensive than you make it out to be. You would really only need a maximum of 3 origins stories dependent upon Race. There would be a lot of overlap between the Baldur's Gate races. Really, you'd only need a special setting for Githyanki and Drow. Most could be set in the city or outskirts. Which, Baldur's Gate needs to be built anyways.

So Race is one factor that could determine the "plot" of the origin. Would be a lot of overlap.

Background determines your character's starting friends or companions. Same for Class.

But you'd really only need three main plot lines, just with some variation and flavor for the background/class thrown in.

I'd rather have time spent on that than 6 full length companion stories. But I think you can do both.

Well, see my above post why I don't think it's as massive as you make it out to be. But I think it's necessary for the story. As the story currently stands...why should I care about my PC on this nautiloid ship? I've not been given any time to develop who they are before being thrust into the insanity. Furthermore, why should I care about the pc I made when all this background and story exists for the companion NPCs.

Additionally, another way to do it that would be less time intensive, pull a Pathfinder Kingmaker and provide it via Text in likea storybook mode. Wouldn't be that difficult.

I think trying to pull a Dragon Age: Origins move at this stage would be madness on Larian's part, especially with the wider variety of race and class combinations. But I agree that there needs to be more done to flesh out your character and help you feel connected to them. Your suggestion of doing it like Kingmaker is a good one, but I would suggest they do what Pillars of Eternity 1 did; give you a chance early on to have a conversation where you choose a few options relating to your background that lets you flesh things out. Like if you play a noble you can choose whether you were cast out of your family, decided to wilingly go off on your own for adventure, had to go off on your own because your family squandered its fortunes, etcetera. Those choices didn't impact the game but it really helped you build up you character in your head and make them feel less like a blank slate. And I think that's gonna be important when you have the option of playing one of at least six characters with firmly defined and interesting-sounding backstories.

It won’t happen because, Yes, your PC is not more important than the companions as they can, are intended to be, and will be controlled by other players when they hotjoin on a save. While I agree that waking up in hell on a brain-eating alien’s flying cephalopod is a really fast start, the group would have to be formed before abduction to maintain the narrative and multiplayer designs.

Good thoughts, I hadn't considered the POE approach, but I agree that such would be incredibly useful. Even if it's just something done during character creation. Because, yes, I could sit down and write a full backstory on my own, but what happens when what I've written is suddenly contradicted in game?

I can understand certain games "forcing" you into the role of someone. Mass Effect and The Witcher come to mind, but this is DnD. You should have the ability to really play out -your- character. Not a predefined one. I think it's worth the time and effort to provide that opportunity to build your backstory in game.