Originally Posted by Tzelanit
I guess I'd need to hear an example of what a D&D game is, because a 5e ruleset on the backdrop of The Forgotten Realms feels like a D&D game to me.
I'm playing through DOS2 for the 7th time and alternate back and forth between the games, and the core feel and tone are very, very different.


If you play BG1 and 2, or the Icewind Dale series, or Kingmaker (since Pathfinder is just off brand D&D), just about every element of the gameplay in those games is tied to the ruleset they're adapting. Class features are the go to (and almost only) tool players have to deal with combat which makes the D&D classes the stars of the show. In BG3, my class features haven't played as big a role in my progressing through the early access build as the elements brought over from DoS. My fighter eats food to heal more often than he uses his second wind, because it's just more effective and plentiful. Astarion is casting spells from scrolls about as often as he's setting up a sneak attack because I've got a zillion scrolls and they don't need stealth or an ally nearby. And if I can carry an explosive barrel or two around with me I am, because setting one of those up and then firebolting it does way more damage than anything Gale can do by himself at level 4. The end result is that the classes don't actually feel very important and none of the class features seem especially useful, so the parts of the game that are unique to 5e D&D really take a back seat the parts that remind me of DoS2.

I don't want every spell scroll, barrel, or bit of food removed from the game, I just want the game designed so that the classes and which ones are in the party feel more important to the gameplay.