Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback My Steam Not Recommended Review

As a note, RAW in D&D since 3rd edition is a Nat 20 is only auto success in attacking and the same with Nat 1.

The idea of Nat 20 and Nat 1 being auto success/failure in skill rolls is a frequent house rule, but it has never been RAW.

That said, the general rule of GM etiquette is "if 1 can't fail or 20 can't succeed....don't make them roll."

While I'd love to have cover, a lot of the stuff you list as cons for combat I consider pros and are things I've implemented in tabletop games for literal decades. Because active environments are fun. Surface effects for the most part are not auto hit, the exception being burning which...makes sense really...you don't walk through fire without getting burnt. I do sort of wish my fire resistant tiefling would have less trouble, but eh, it's minor.

In RAW D&D grease bottles and such have always had the same effect as spells but with lower save DCs and usually smaller AoEs. Having played a lot of NWN and NWN2 I can say that the effect of grenades in this game are roughly on par with the effects of grenades in that game. And I can also say, having played characters that do the Alchemy skill thing to churn out thunderstones, tanglewebs, and such, that are comparable with the effects you get in tabletop.

Spells start outpacing grenades at around 5th to 6th level, and we don't get there yet.

The characters in this version are a lot better designed than the characters of past CRPGs for the most part. (notable exception for Neeshka of NWN2 who is one of my long-time favorites).

Inventory management is a mess, yet, and I have yet to see a CRPG where it is not a mess. But, to be fair, the inventory management here is better than it was in Baldur's Gates 1&2, Icewind Dale, Gold Box games, NWN, NWN2, or Sword Coast Legends.

The story is a cheap novel story, but again, that's expected. There's a lot going on in the development of a video game and even the "good" storylines rarely impress me too much. There's one or two video game storylines that really understand how to tell a story in the medium, but for the most part it's a Saturday matinee where you push buttons. This storyline is on the side of competent and enjoyable so far and the one spoiler you mentioned is predictable because to do otherwise would be a poor gameplay decision and this is, first and foremost, a game.