Larian seems pretty set on massively pushing players to use the pregen characters given the amount of work put into them having involved backstory included in the narrative. I get the effort there and don't begrudge them that honestly, it's almost essential given everyone being voiced (a problem that does not exist with silent protags, which I've always preferred).
The major perceivable downside at this time (for me anyway) is that before you even begin play, the experience is already diminished if you create your own character from scratch (which with D&D, is entirely the damn point) when compared to the experience you'll see with a pregen character. You can fashion an incredibly compelling motivation and narrative agency in a character created from scratch (see Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 among the many that exist).
It won't stop me from playing it of course, but I'll certainly never use one of the pregens (as party NPCs, sure, but I will never choose to play as one).
From PCGamesN.com:
“This isn’t D:OS2,” senior writer Adam Smith says in a Reddit AMA. “In BG3, custom characters have a much stronger connection to the world and the main arc of the story – whether they’re from Baldur’s Gate, further afield, or somewhere else entirely (hey, githyanki). The campaign is much more reactive to your actions – when we say there are serious consequences to your choices, we really mean it – and as you move through your adventure, you’ll discover quest-lines and stories that relate directly to the character you’re roleplaying, and the things that you’ve done.”
So even if you don’t have a pre-baked backstory, your character’s place in the world will be determined by the parameters you’ve decided on – like if they’re Baldurian or from the Underdark – and the choices you make throughout the game.
You’ll even get full voice acting for custom characters. Larian founder Swen Vincke says “you’ll choose a voice as part of character creation – and your character will be fully voiced, not just for barks!”
So there you have it. They are aware of the problem and working on it. This isn't something they have no clue matters to anyone. Hopefully that's as heartening to you as it was to me when I read it.
I'm not completely against Origin characters. I actually really like Lohse in DOS2, though I got lucky there. Currently, however, neither Shadow nor Laezel is anything like what I'd want to play; in my first playthrough I always want to go for a character who's a kindred spirit to me. I like both but don't feel connected to them in a protagonistic sort of way. Only two female characters puts me at a choice disadvantage again, though at least this time the male characters aren't all water water everywhere. I mean, you go into DOS2 wanting to get it on with Beast or Red Prince or pre-mask Fane then you are VERY different from me. *lol* Just saying. But I digress.
I do like Origins to a degree, but this time I don't yet see one I'd want for myself, and I'm far more excited to play a drow or half-drow and a dwarf and an aasimar, maybe a tiefling. I think the tags are also a very good system. Ideal, for me, is something like in Inquisition where the game knows things about your character based on what you chose to be--if you're a mage, that has a huge effect. An elven mage was raised among the Dalish, a nomad, rather than being part of the Circle Tower a human would've been cloistered in. A qunari mage is lucky to not be truly qunari anymore, but a Tal-Vashoth mercenary, because they haven't had their eyes and mouth stitched shut like the saarebas. Racism in the setting and cultural variations have different effects as well even for non-mages.
That sort of setting variety IS present here. If you're a warlock, for instance, or a noble, or a drow, there's a lot that can be done with that. I hope it will be so, and more pervasive but less restricting than being an undead in DOS2. Bring on the tags, I say.
a custom character you create in a videogame will never, ever have the personal attention to detail and the depth of story interactions that you can get with a human dungeon master that tailors a plot based on a player's character in a pen and paper RPG.
I'm confused as to what your goal is with this. It's like walking onstage at a theater event about to begin and saying "Hey, hey guys, you know what? This isn't a movie, it's a stage play. It's a stage play not a movie. They can't do as much as a movie can. The whole building won't explode like in movies. You didn't know so I'm telling you." Well... actually, we did know, and we bought our tickets knowing such, but we still have some reasonable expectations for what we want to see based on previous stage plays we've seen and that is fine and normal, we're just talking about those expectations and what would satisfy us. Since Larian's interviews imply they are pushing the envelope now that they have grown in their capabilities, we are hardly amiss to do so. Their own community update says
"It has always been Larian’s plan to create games that allow you to play however you wish." Discussing our hopes for how that will be achieved is par for the course on a message board about an upcoming game.
It would be great if you also can get some character variations that are "earned", not only chosen at start.
With that I mean introduce some rules that could also add or modify things about your character in the campaign, not only in character creation, depending on your choices in the campaign. I´m fond of that type of modifications that depends on your actions while playing, like campaigns with alignment changes tied to your doings or wrongdoings.
Something in the way of the "Fame and renown" or "Prestige" points or the old reputation system of 3.5 (because alignment is not going to be important or so they told us), different reputations with several factions, maybe titles that you can get in your adventures in the game, boons and curses, or character improvements that you can learn in your free time?
I like this idea so much! I was just thinking how unsatisfying flat positive/negative reputation is. There was a hero tag you could earn in DOS2--maybe something like that, but a bit more complex, like hero points that could be offset with villain points. If you have 10 hero points, people think you're dashing and expect you to rescue them when you show up. 10 villain points, and they run for the hills. If you have 5 hero points and 5 villain points then they're just confused and nervous. *lol*
Among companions, a more personal reputation would be
amazing. You could get callousness points, so you're not the one people turn to when they're upset or need something, or empathy points so that they are. Would be harder to implement but very rewarding to see the companions grow to expect you to act a certain way. I like it when significant moments are recorded in some way and come back to haunt you. Even a small measure of that sort of thing makes you feel like you're having an impact and really roleplaying.
