Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General New interviews

I have been playing D:0S2 and I think their combat system is similar to the D&D combat system without being exactly like it. It will have to be tweak more to be fully in line with the D&D 5E combat.

How so? D&D combat rules are about initiative and rounds and spellcasting time and weapon speed and the like. Actions are initiated at your initiative but sometimes maybe completed only at a later point in the round or at the end of the round. Characters can even have the same initiative and thus act simultaneously. Actions can be carried over into a future round depending on time needed for that action to complete. And as such, actions are subject to interruption.

The D:OS system has none of these things. In DO:S everything a character does happens within their turn and are fully completed and resolved within their turn. Then that character is completely done, and it is the next character's turn. Things are very strictly compartmentalized and sequential in a 'per turn per character' structure. These are radically different systems loosely lumped in together as "turn based" systems.

D&D 5E

• You take turns around the table.
• Initiative: If same, the one with higher DEX goes first
• Rounds: A round is after every one has their turn.
• Spell Casting Time: Spell times are Actions and bonus actions. Times very for not combat spells.
• Weapon Speed: There is not weapon speed in D&D 5E.

D:OS2

• You take turns.higher DEX robably goes first
• Initiative: Since the game handles initiative rolls. Higher dex
• Round: Everyone has their turn.
• Spell Casting Times: Are using the actions to cast
• Weapon Speed: Appears to be no weapon speed

The way I remember it, in Original Sin 2 the turns switch between the participating parties regardless of the initiative differences between the various combatants. The individual order is based on initiative which is increased by levelling WITS and a small amount of temporary buffs.

For example if you have a party of
Character_1: 12 initiative
Character_2: 13 initiative
Character_3: 10 initiative
Character_4: 14 initiative

And fight the following enemies
Enemy_1: 15 initiative
Enemy_2: 21 initiative
Enemy_3: 22 initiative
Enemy_4: 10 initiative

The order is
Enemy_3 (22 ini)
Character_4 (14 ini)
Enemy_2 (21 ini)
Character_2 (13 ini)
Enemy_1 (15 ini)
and so on...

It's honestly exceptionally stupid and one of the design decisions that, in my opinion, gets overlooked way too frequently whenever people want to criticise the game.

If by "similar to D&D combat" you mean it's a TB game, then yeah.

In tabletop D&D you have a real initiative-based combat turn order. In DOS2 it's a mix of 10% initiative and 90% round-robin.

There isn't even a "DEX" stat in DOS2, btw.

Edit: well, there is Finesse, but it has no effect on initiative.

There is an initiative factor involved in D:OS2. It will have to be tweaked to follow the rules of D&D 5E. As I said Larian could not copy the D&D 5E combat system in their game, so it had to be a little different. To fix it they would have to take out the round robin aspect and follow initiative order by the number rolled for both allies and enemies.

Initiative in D:OS2 is actually an attribute.

https://divinityoriginalsin2.wiki.fextralife.com/Initiative

The thing that made people disregard initiative in DoS2 is the fact that some bosses and minibosses are scripted to act first in the first round no matter your initiative (The witch, Alexander, some voidwoken) and there is that round robin thing that alternates allies and enemies. Before the latest patches that did not happen: you had the usual "the ones with higher initiative go first, no matter if they are alies or enemies"

Your own source here clearly says initiative in D:OS2 has no impact on combat and is essentially a useless attribute. D:OS2 is strictly round robin, and the character's actions are entirely completed within that character's turn. Characters cannot act simultaneously ever. Actions cannot be held over, and actions do not carry over to subsequent turns to complete.

Oh, and in D&D 5e spells do have casting time. Some spells only take your action or bonus action, but others do take minutes of time to cast.

The D&D 5e and D:OS2 combat systems are completely different systems. Since this is supposed to be a D&D game and NOT a goddamn D:OS game, one would expect it will use the D&D system and not the D:OS system.

I also said they would have to fix some things about it. The point is that is is there. If they didn't use the round robin method and went by the order rolled. Then it would effect the combat especially if all the enemies went first.

The spells that take time are usually spells that are not used in combat. You can do most spells with a ritual. But are you going to try that in combat?

All I said is they were similar and would have to be tweaked. Initiative they have can be tweaked to be 5E rules.

Sorry about double posting but I have some breaking news... well sort of cause I don't know what is inside since I live in the US.

Apparently there is an article about BG3 in the PC Gamer UK edition for August. Any one have a copy yet?

There are other interesting mechanics in 5e that I found interesting to use in a future BG game: The landscape-related ones. "Difficult terrain" and "Cover"
https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/5e_SRD:Cover
Since in DoS games you are able to use the terrain and weather as a weapon, it would be cool if they implement those.
Cover was also used in RT strategy games like Warhammer 40K so it would be no problem to use it in RTwP or TB. Larian does not have those features confirmed in any interview I know of. We have to wait until the next interview with Swen "Spoiler-free" Vincke

Edit: @Nobody_Special I will not put too much faith in PC gamer magazine. They have a nasty habit: They do not show full interviews. They add opinion and interpretations instead of the full answer. The reporter writes too much. The interviewed have some statements cut ( i supose that they found it boring)
If someone has it ( the august one¿?) would be nice to read, nonetheless.

Before this was changed to the current implementation, there were many topics about how it wasn't fun to have the entire party go first and make combat trivial, or to walk into an ambush and be wiped out without a chance to do anything.

I read that article. Nothing much; I don't think there's anything in it that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere.

- Quick summary of how WotC finally agreed to let them do this
- Summary of what's going on in the trailer
- BG3 will similarly let players have a lot of tools and let them have at it. SV: "We'll give players lots of systems, and lots of agency to use these systems and try to accomplish what you need to [...]"
- The article also says "This interpretation should still be more true to the tabletop RPG than its predecessor [...]". Don't know how they came to that conclusion, but we can certainly hope so.
- The article mentions that Swen is interested in "taking another crack at OS2's origin system", which gives players premade characters with unique backgrounds, talents, quests. Swen also said that their ambitions for this system in OS2 were actually higher than what they managed to do, which implies that we can expect a more polished or advanced version of this system in BG3.

That's about it.

Thx, @Try2Handing

I do not know where they get their information, but in the mid-july Kotaku´s podcast with Swen Vinke and Mike M.(WoTC) they said nothing of the sort o.O

https://kotaku.com/the-ranger-class-is-getting-some-changes-in-d-d-and-ba-1835659585

They also found the spell nomenclature and spell slots mechanic "complicated" and they are using a color coded
spell list. green for "nicked!" (magic missile?) and red for "NoWay!"o.O 34.20

And in some interviews, they stated that the WOTC guys are given them even more freedom to change the rules.

RPG Site (To Mike Mearls): Is there anything that was pitched about Baldur's Gate III where you guys were hesitant or had to push back in any way?

Mike Mearls: No actually, in some cases it's been the opposite. We sometimes get a pitch where [Larian] will suggest avoiding a change and we have to state that we're cool with them changing things. Our idea is that you can change things, even lore, as long as you show and don't tell why it might be changing. Especially if you can tie it back to the agency Swen talked about. We want to think of it as the player having a role in shaping the story and the lore, not that it's been violated or something like that.

"We'll give players lots of systems, and lots of agency to use these systems and try to accomplish what you need to [...]"


Who the hell knows what he means with this. At this point, all I really care about is:

1. Can I play the game the same way I could the previous BG games (NOT multiplayer only, and NOT TB or any other non-action oriented crap in which there's no real time danger and my party members have to sit there and jiggle while waiting for god knows what once combat begins),

2. And can I create multiple characters for my party based on the updated D&D ruleset.

If they are 2 for 2 in this respect... (and I don't care how many other alternative playstyle options they provide or general gametype choices they give us in order to "accomplish what we need") ... then they have my $59.99.

Otherwise, I'll be just as happy to find something else to spend my time and money on.

Oh, I remember fondly the MP sessions I played in '00 with regulars at the PlanetBaldursGate forum! (Waves to Pedro2112, Olias of Sunhillow, Polgara, and Kormar the Wanderer if they're out there.)

Swen Vincke said in an interview that they liked the fact that in RPG games you can solve quests with a sneaky approach, with bluffing and diplomacy, brute force, etc. He also stated that BG3 will have that kind of things. Maybe that is what he meant with the "systems"

In DoS games you have plenty of opportunities to mold and use the weather and the environment to solve quests or gain tactical advantage because they have systems that allow you to do so.

D&D5e have a very cool skillset (animal handling, bluff, knowledge, athletics). I hope they will use them.

That is what I thought he was talking about in his interviews that I have read. The many systems were the ones to emulate the DM. I hope they allow for swinging from chandeliers in the taverns.

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/baldurs-gate-3-erstes-gameplay-video-gamescom-kampfsystem,3345782.html

In the interview, Swen combat is not up for debate. Also said BG3 will only have 1 combat system but he didn't say which system. He also stated that it could be neither TB or RTWP.
Gameplay will not be shown at Gamescom either.

BG3 will have Early Access like DOS 1+2!

If any good folks can help translate it? Only one stem sounds bad
Thought they keep promoting different types of systems?

Early Access? Now that's something I don't really like. I remember DOS2 was it? It was really long in EA.