Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Why I Want More D&D 5e Rules

Magically shifting from the Ethereal Plane to the Material and vice versa is not teleporting. They are parallel dimensions. If a phase spider shifts into the Ethereal Plane, they still have to move up to you physically.

So, as a bonus, they disappear and move up to you. They could sit in the Ethereal for rounds. Then, as a bonus, BAM! They suddenly appear and attack.

THAT is a phase spider. Ninja assassins close range attackers.

Robert, you are not understanding the difference between prepared and learned.

You do not prepare your cantrips; You choose which ones you learn at 1st level. You cannot CHANGE them; you just know them. At higher levels you will be able to learn more cantrips, up to 6 (in normal rules).

You prepare spells of 1st level or higher, and you can change them each LR (or in the game, at any time out of combat). You cannot, however, change your cantrips in this manner because they are not prepared.

In the game right now, you can scribe cantrips to learn new ones - this shouldn't be happening, but either way, if you do scribe a new one, again, it's just something you now know, without limitation. You don't have to choose between which cantrips you do or don't have access to on a particular day, because you always have access to every cantrip you know, every day, without preparing them.

I would encourage you to roll a wizard, as you say, and then get to a point where you can rest. Try to change your cantrips to four different ones that you had the option of picking on the character creation screen - you'll see that you cannot.

In more detail, to speak about BG3 specifically:

In character creation, you'll note that there are separate headings for cantrip, then spells, then, below that, prepared spells.

The first section lists the game's wizard cantrips for you - as you noted, there's 12 of them. You can pick 3 at character creation.

The second section presents all 1st level wizard spells - these are different from cantrips, which are functionally 'level 0' spells. You can pick 6 of these to learn at 1st level.

The third section asks you which of your spells you want to prepare. Cantrips are not presented here; you don't prepare them, you just know the ones you picked. This list presents you the 6 1st level spells you just selected above, asking you to choose which 4 of those you want prepared when you start the game.

Once you begin the game, you have the freedom to change your spells at any time when you're not in combat. You can open your spell book by pressing 'k' by default.

Here, you'll see your known spells, arrayed by level. Your 3 cantrips will be at the top, on a line of their own. You might have an additional one if you picked a race that gets a bonus cantrip. Notice how they are lit up, but do not have a selection line around them. This means they're available to use, but aren't counting against your prepared spells limit.

Below that, you'll have your first level spells. There will be 6 of them, and four of them, the four you selected in character creation, will be lit up, and will have white border around them; this means that they are available to cast and are counting against your prepared spells.

At the bottom of the spell book ,you'll see a blue bar that represents you prepared spells - it's showing you that you can prepare up to 4 spells, and that you currently have 4 prepared. If you click one of the spells with the white border, it will unpreapre that spell, letting you select a different one.

You do not prepare your cantrips; You choose which ones you learn at 1st level. You cannot CHANGE them; you just know them. At higher levels you will be able to learn more cantrips, up to 6 (in normal rules).

You prepare spells of 1st level or higher, and you can change them each LR (or in the game, at any time out of combat). You cannot, however, change your cantrips in this manner because they are not prepared.

Cantrip Formulas (Optional)
At 3rd level, you have scribed a set of arcane formulas in your spellbook that you can use to formulate a cantrip in your mind. Whenever you finish a long rest and consult those formulas in your spellbook, you can replace one wizard cantrip you know with another cantrip from the wizard spell list.

Okay. Let me apologize. I think there was a major misunderstanding about this particular branch of the conversation. Right now you are really focusing on one tiny thing that I said. Meanwhile the overall point is being missed.

Yes, there should be only one use for a cantrip scroll. That use is to allow a mage who does not know that can trip to be able to cast it. That is the only use for such a scroll. The point I was trying to make, is that in the game right now characters who are not mages have yet another item that they can use to make mages obsolete and not needed.

In other words, if my fighter can simply pick up an item and even cast a can trip, then what good is a mage at all? My fighter cannot only take a lot of damage, deal a lot of melee and ranged damage, but he can also use scrolls to cast firebolt or frostbite or whatever the cantrip is. He can also use scrolls to make clerics null and void. So my fighter can cast revive cure wounds, guiding Bolt, etc.

So, again I say, why not just create a fighter, select a background that gives you sleight of hand and stealth, and then rely on potions, scrolls that heal, and so on and so forth? After all, now my fighter can do everything all by himself. He essentially has spell slots in the form of scrolls and potions and other magic items. So he doesn't need any other class at all.

That is my point.

4. Cantrip scrolls do have a valid function, in that an arcane caster that doesn't have that cantrip castable, or simply wants to save that slot for later, can/should be able to use the scroll.

Cantrips do not cost spell slots - they can be cast infinitely with no expenditure of resources, so cantrip spell scrolls can never be about saving slots. For spell scrolls of 1st level or higher, though, saving on slots is very much a valid (and arguably even the main intended) use of them.

I think you're the only one seeing an argument, Robert. I'm definitely not intending to argue - just clarify opinions and support with information. No ill-will is intended here.

The way you wrote and worded something about led me to interpret something you were trying to say incorrectly, and that's fine; you clarified and we're clear on that score now and I didn't see any further need to interject. As long as what you're saying is that the literal only use for cantrip scrolls is or should be a character for whom the cantrip is on their spell list casting it (and destroying the scroll in the process), then we're on the same page.

Here's anther quick piece of clarification:


Cantrips do not cost spell slots - they can be cast infinitely with no expenditure of resources, so cantrip spell scrolls can never be about saving slots. For spell scrolls of 1st level or higher, though, saving on slots is very much a valid (and arguably even the main intended) use of them.

I'd be willing to bet that a fighter that "splashes" rogue for Arcane Trickster would short circuit GM completely. Assuming, of course, that that's even possible in 5e.

When I say, "the only build you need" I mean that with items being so easily acquired, and anyone can use any of them, I can literally create a superior character build as a Fighter. With Fighter, I can use all weapons, all armor, all scrolls and potions, so all spells, including healing and resurrection, I can throw potions, replacing my need of a cleric altogether, talk to animals and undead, and if I pick the background that gives me sleight of hand and stealth, I can do everything just as good as any rogue can too including stealth as Bonus Action and picking locks just as well because Rogues have no expertise. That was my point.

Part of the problem is that I can exploit the homebrew rules, and more importantly, the monsters DO exploit them. So I might limit myself to as many 5e rules as I can, but the monsters and NPCs will not.

Also, I am a DM. However, even I can't remember who can cast what spell every time. So, in order to even play true to 5e, I have to constantly look things up myself and restrict myself if I want to play true to 5e... Which I do try to do. But sometimes I just say, ah forget it. Because I don't feel like looking it up, I just guess. That's frustrating and annoying.

But regardless, the game doesn't include certain class features and abilities like expertise for rogues which SERIOUSLY diminishes their class. And then there are other homebrew that make class abilities null and void. Those are the ones I have bigger issues with. Stealth and Drink Potion as Bonus makes Rogue Cunning Action and Fast Hands less valuable. I cannot change this or fix this. I just have to accept that the homebrew completely strips the Rogue of their uniqueness.

And Haste being 3 rounds makes Haste potions worthless to me. Instead of using them for boss fights, expecting them to last most of the fight, now I'd better only use them for baby monsters or maybe as a final boost against the bosses when they're almost dead anyway.

All the homebrew throws all previous strats I might know out the window. That is not cool. I know strats for fighting phase spiders, for example, but I got utterly destroyed in BG3 (originally) by them because now they can teleport everywhere. Without Ready Action, the normal strat of wait for them to pop up at melee and get a readied attack is out the window. Same with Readied spells. And I was NOT expecting them to pulverize me from a distance. So many things I'm familiar with tossed in the trash because they changed so much. I go from DM to noob player who doesn't know the game at all, and it's all because they homebrewed SO much.

That said, I still enjoyed the game. I just had to REALLY adjust my way of thinking. Instead of playing with D&D strats and such, I had to learn a WHOLE new game. And at the end of the day, I think the whole new game is too heavily based on items and not based enough on classes and your characters working as more of a team.

When I say, "the only build you need" I mean that with items being so easily acquired, and anyone can use any of them, I can literally create a superior character build as a Fighter. With Fighter, I can use all weapons, all armor, all scrolls and potions, so all spells, including healing and resurrection, I can throw potions, replacing my need of a cleric altogether, talk to animals and undead, and if I pick the background that gives me sleight of hand and stealth, I can do everything just as good as any rogue can too including stealth as Bonus Action and picking locks just as well because Rogues have no expertise. That was my point.

So, you don't know who has the ability to cast Divine scrolls, and who can cast Arcane scrolls? Is this what you're saying here? With no context, this is what it appears to be from here.