Hi, Alice here, so I thought it would be interesting to compile how other cRPGs start in comparison to BG3. This is partly because I am interested and partly because there has been criticism of BG3 for its bombastic start and I wanted to see how it compares to others.

Baldur's Gate 1
The last day of childhood intro. The classic last day of childhood life before reality sinks in, killing rats and doing other menial tasks before your foster father is killed.

Baldur's Gate 2
Prison escape intro. Imo this intro is the closes to BG3 at the moment - Imprisoned, experimented on and needing to escape as a tutorial. Of course the comparisons are not 1to1, Irenicus dungeon was a 2 floor dungeon with a lot going for it as opposed to the short BG3 tutorial; but the style of the start - a frantic escape after being captured and your captor being attacked by someone else - is certainly similar.

Icewind Dale
Random adventurers in a tavern intro. Followed by the everyone dies but you hook.

Icewind Dale 2
In medias res town under siege intro. Arriving just in time to save the day.

Neverwinter Nights
Graduating from Hero High before being supprise attacked intro.

Neverwinter Night: Shadows of Undrentide
Surprise attack before you have a chance to graduate from Rural Hero High intro.

Neverwinter Nights 2
Last day of childhood intro redux. This is very much the BG1 intro but more bucolic, it even has a foster father.

Dragon Age: Origins
Custom origins cool The Human Noble is a last day of childhood into, I can't remember any of the others.

Pathfinder:Kingmaker
Random adventurers in a tavern hall followed by surprised attack intro.

Solasta: Crown of the Magister
Random adventurers in a tavern intro

Please add your own for things I have not included if you would like. I am interested in anyone's thoughts on the BG3 intro compared to other cRPGs including ones I have not listed. Personally, it is clear that BG3 starts with more bombastic-ism than pretty much any of the others, the only comparable is BG2, which was a Level 7 (approx) start adventure, the only one of the above. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but I think it is interesting to compare it to others.

Last edited by alice_ashpool; 23/07/21 08:05 PM.