This Thread is feedback focused on the issues with game-play and the trivialising of its own mechanics by way of the home-brew mechanics introduced in BG3. This isn't one of my normal focused feedback threads because it won't delve into the specific details of the mechanics themselves, but rather is a demonstrative journey that illustrates in a real setting what these mechanics do to the game.
In particular, the purpose of this thread is to discuss and illustrate the way in which the homebrew introduces globally across the game render all other aspects of character choice more or less irrelevant, redundant and ultimately superseded by an overtly more effective way to play that overbears them.
Larian's design for BG3 gives all characters, regardless of their class, race or other abilities and features, a number of universal options that overbear and overpower everything else; they can throw excessive amounts, excessive distances, for excessive degrees of damage, and without limit. They can shove creatures and objects as a bonus action in the same turn, or, if they don't wish to shove, can duck into stealth using that bonus action instead, to which the AI cannot respond. Added to this, they can all heal as a bonus action, thanks to a wide array of freely available food, although to date I have not even needed to use this feature at all, so overbearingly effective are the other elements mentioned above.
Designed like this, in its current form, there is no real purpose or value to class abilities, spells, skills, or indeed any element of a character at all – save perhaps their strength score, which makes this already too effective element even more so. Because of this, there is no real 'tactical' play available. Nothing is tactical at all, or even requiring any thought – every battle follows the same strategy, and deviating from it is only ever less effective that sticking to it. Functionally speaking, the game punishes you for doing anything else, or adopting any other strategy, more or less. This is a Problem.
To illustrate this, I started a new play through of BG3 Act I.
Meet Ka'chu'ka, Githyanki Wizzard (two z's, she insists). She is a Good and Strong Wizzard. She is a Good Wizzard because she knows TWO spells. The Spells are “Throw” and “Shove”. Kk'chu'ka is a Good Wizzard because she knows these spells super good. She can cast them as many times as she wants each day, and she never gets tired. Other Wizzards must surely envy her abilities, she thinks.
https://imgur.com/RjzW6szKa'chu'ka is a good Teacher, too. She teaches all of her friends the magic spells of “Throw” and “Shove”, and insists that they practice them, and use them, to the complete exclusion of all else, like she does.
For this play through, no-one used any class abilities, features or spells, of any sort. The only actions I permitted were Larian's specific home brew features – so, Throw in its current implementation, Bonus Action Shove, Bonus Action Stealth, Jump, and Help-To-Raise in its current form. I'll eat food to heal outside of combat, but only the food I find on the way – I won't go out of my way to accrue it. If I feel I need it, I'll let them eat food as a bonus action in combat as well, but I intend to ignore this homebrew unless I need it. That's it. If I do have wipes and failures, I'll note where they happen or reloads for other reasons, but I'll try to roll with the punches (and arrows of roaring thunder) elsewise.
Since wearing armour requires armour proficiency, and that would technically be using a proficiency gained from class, no-one is allowed to wear any armour or carry any weapons either (or indeed to equip anything at all, I've decided, even jewellery)
I'll highlight the major battles, with some descriptions of what happened, along with the screen shots I've been capturing along the way. I'll try to show what I'm throwing, and who I am throwing it at, or who I am shoving and where, etc.,
Waking up on the nautiloid and progressing through was fairly uninteresting; there were plenty of things to throw and no real challenges. I did not acquire Us, since the adorable little brain can't really throw things or shove people. I also didn't interact with Shadow, other than to steal her stuff. We pick up, at the entrance to the major battle on the nautiloid, at the Helm.
https://imgur.com/NFrM79KI've brought a few bodies with me, just because they were there, but the fight begins in earnest, because I forgot that starting in stealth will cause the combat itself to progress without you – oops!
https://imgur.com/w6lRa2uBy the time we rush in, the imps have begun to manoeuvre, but we quickly put a stop to the first one by braining it with a nearby nautiloid tank. One down. Meanwhile, Lae'zel kills a second one by throwing her handy charred body at it, and we begin moving across the room.
https://imgur.com/SJiey0nhttps://imgur.com/8ZV8nLbRound two, I try to kill the third imp by hurling it into the nodes at the ceiling, but it only takes one damage from the impact and no fall damage because it's flying already, I presume. Oh well. Lae'zel corrects my mistake by throwing another body. Thanks Lae!
https://imgur.com/ew2EfNZhttps://imgur.com/Jt9UYSUOur illithid is actually looking pretty poorly – he's not had much luck, and took a nasty hit or two before we engaged as well. No time to lose! I throw Commander Zhalk into the rafter, where he impacts the brine bulbs and apparently gets stuck. Huh. Didn't know that could happen – I had only meant to throw him down the other end of the room and deal some good impact and fall damage. Oh well!
https://imgur.com/JoFkJx9https://imgur.com/6wtGLQ6Unable to reach Zhalk, our illithid friend decides to take it out on the imps that have just spawned, and rushes to attack them... though he doesn't get there and leaves Lae'zel to throw her armour at the nearest imp instead. A solid hit, it dies.
https://imgur.com/Saq5kB4Zhalk shouts at us, he seems mad.
https://imgur.com/aKg7pbTKa quickly hurls one of the remaining imps at the other, to decent effect, though they both survive the impact; she retrieves Lae's armour, while our illithid friend finishes one of the imps. Lae'zel, not to be put off, conducts an experiment to see whether a dead illithid is better at killing imps than a live one. It is at least as good.
https://imgur.com/0mHGqkthttps://imgur.com/BeCi9oRZhalk's still stuck. No sign of his back up yet; we're actually done before they arrive. This has been the most efficiently I've ever cleared the room. The illithid knows Zhalk is there, but can't get to him; they exchange threatening words. At last, Zhalk's reinforcements arrive.
https://imgur.com/IHaDdDjhttps://imgur.com/C39tkKohttps://imgur.com/OCfQGBaIllithids Attack! Well, one does, the other needs a helping arm. The first cambion runs past our illithid friend (provoking some tentacle action), to try to reach Lae'zel; he doesn't quite get there, so she closes the gap and hurls him into the roof – another brine bulb to be precise.
https://imgur.com/HWV5eCfhttps://imgur.com/iaQfksHhttps://imgur.com/dM95o2DThe throw impact, fall damage and Brine bulb dropping and spreading on the floor add together to almost finish of the first cambion, as well as knocking him prone – 23 damage from a level one character in one action with zero chance of failure on my side.
https://imgur.com/zy8wuxCThe other cambion finishes off our illithid and sets his sights on us, while his friend melts to death in the acid at the start of his turn. We throw some dead imps at him while we wait for him to get closer.
https://imgur.com/DDyQXGmWhen he does, we chuck him right back again; impact damage, and fall damage, and prone again. Not quite as good damage this time, but we repeat the process when he runs close again, and that ends him.
https://imgur.com/V0CEArNWe're about to leave when we remember Zhalk, still stuck in the ceiling. Ka has a spell for getting people down off high platforms; it's called throw. She throws a candle at him.
https://imgur.com/18XbzH8The results are... Excessive. When he runs up to us, not quite making it, we close the gap and throw him back into another brine bulb; he does not survive the landing.
https://imgur.com/aWl0OkBhttps://imgur.com/Pps0grVAnd with that, and some quick and careful looting, it's tentacle time. This was easily the fastest, safest and most efficient run I've ever cleared this room in, and it was depressingly dull.
https://imgur.com/1CmCnnwFor this battle I'll mention that even had Zhalk not gotten stuck in the rafters, it would have been a small matter to continually throw him back down the length of the room, or into the other cambions; it might actually have made the fight even faster, had he not hung about in the ceiling.
Anyway, we hit the beach, level up, and take a nap; the fury of our anger to chuck all the things burns pure and bright.
https://imgur.com/oRV7Ztwhttps://imgur.com/gThwCbH
