Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General What goals/themes are you thinking about in your first playthrough?

This fun thread is all about initial characters. I'm also interested in an adjacent discussion about stories/themes you're looking forward to exploring when you get your hands on the real deal.

The two that most interest me, and that you get very little of in EA are (1), Lae'zel's story line, and (2) going all in with the wormy. I want to get branded, cozy up to Min, and devote myself to the cult of the Absolute, at least once. I'm having a bit of trouble thinking up a character that would *want* to do this, but I've got just under a month to figure it out.

But I'm really, really curious what just throwing discretion to the wind and embracing my (likely short) life of tadpole power might bring. But I will never kill Scratch. Never.

My theme will be getting as much grasp of the big plot as possible, but at the same time obstaining from the tadpole usage. Detecting every thought, speaking with every dead, perceiving, investigating, persuading for knowledge etc. Would probably require a solid number in arcana and insight. I am literally aiming for beating the puppeteers at their own game, while not giving them any excessive advantage against me.

The second thing I am aiming for is giving my companions a test of trust. I'll be merciless to anyone who betrays me - "cull the weak" - you may call it. I am looking forward to putting down Shadowheart first after she spoils her "gith problems", probably stake Astarion during THAT night. Haven't decided on Gale and Wyll. The first one seems to be a huge impediment with his explosive problem, but just killing him would not suffice. Might have to carry him around or leave him. Wyll has some short temper, but I could keep him for his skills (not the rapier skills unfortunately...). I would probably follow with the Halsin path and join with him, he seems pretty competent. The Absolute path can easily force me to use the tadpole at one point, which I don't want.

I will play with friends who are very sensible to picking "wrong" options, like killing innocents or doing any evil thing. So I guess my first run will but a very lawful good one where everyone is saved and happy, maybe fit for a paladin?

To date I've been goodish - especially as I hate GAWBLINS! - so for a change my first playthough could be "evil". But as I'm planning a coop campaign with my son it will be a Family Council decision come August

My initial playthroughs are almost always self-inserts. Meaning, I do decisions based on what *I* would do. So I imagine it'll be a a tame, rather strongly good-leaning run, trying to get as much story out of all companions and NPCs. My goal would probably be to live to se a happily ever after, preferably without any tadpoles or other parasites catched along the way.

Second I'll try to be as evil as the game allows without treading into the "chaotic stupid" territory. I'm strangely excited to see what Larian cooked up in that department, especially considering I'll be playing with my significant other the second time around and he is always a goodie-goodie paladin. Also wondering how that turns out for him

I've almost always played self insert in most games, and one of the things I've really enjoyed about this EA is that having years of playing basically the same short game over and over, I've developed more of an ability to role play than I have in the past with other cRPGs.

It's one thing in person, where you've got others doing their role playing and you can feed back on each other, but with computer games, the self insert style has always felt the most natural to me. I'm really, really looking forward to playing a character who's very much not me, but who I've taken the time to think about and understand beyond "I wanna bard because bards are hella dope" and that's the end of the thinking about it.

Sneak everywhere and find as many secrets, nooks and crannies as possible, pickpocket important looking characters, romance Shadowheart, RP a 100 year old Neutral Evil drow half elf Thief that worships Hoar, has and “eye for an eye” mentality (Astarion is already dead, just don’t know it yet), doesn’t take sht from anyone and despises weaknesses in himself and others. Absolutely refuses to accept the tadpole. Murders anyone who does.

So many of y'all seem so ready to murder companions. I've only once, ever, gotten fussed with Astarion on THAT night. Only once have I taken the attack Lae'zel option when you re-encounter her. I think I've killed Gale twice, maybe three times, but that's a bummer because of the effect it has after a couple more rests.

These are companions... they're like... I dunno, the workmates who are annoying, but you need them around to do their job so that you don't have to. Why is everyone slaughtering them willy-nilly as if they were gobbos? (... says the dude who plans his first 1.0 playthough to be I <3 tadpole ...)

I feel exactly the same. Only once in a game have I ever killed a companion I didn't strictly have to, and that was because she was revealed late in the game to be a serial killer and I was given the choice to do so, and I was playing a character that could not allow her to keep living. The blood thirst people demonstrate here is genuinely shocking and baffling to me.

Honestly, in my case this is not about bloodthirst, it is about staying true to the character while roleplaying. In games like this I don't like mirroring my real self as a playable character.

Hah exactly, if i was doing decisions based on what “I” would do - I’d have to play a goody two shoes paladin, save everyone for free and(try to)have sex with all the hot chicks.

For me, my first playthrough will be about exploration, trying to find as much out about the world and the stories in it as possible, and just trying random things out and seeing if they work - and not reloading if they don't short of TPK. Though this is mainly driven by what I most want to do in my first playthrough as a gamer, I will choose a character for whom that will be a natural fit for roleplaying. I'm still dithering between a few at the moment.

Once I have a grasp on what's there and therefore what goals/themes have the most potential then I'm sure I will do a number of other runs with other characters who are best suited to exploring them, but I don't feel I can craft those properly without a first sort-of trial run.

Get the hell outta dodge!

Meticulously sifting through every inch of act 1 to see what the finished product looks like, I finally break free!


Most importantly, to discover what to do with a brain in a jar.

I am most looking forward to the shadow curse story line! I love environmental themes, and we have two great druid companions!😊🐻

I am also looking forward to finding out more about the main story!

Well, duh, you throw them.

As good a theory as any lol .


I routinely send a boatload of interesting crap back to camp (like iIithid scrolls) on the off chance they are meaningful.

So while I was half joking, there is a part of me that hopes I meet a mad scientist who needs a live brain to finish his construct.

If I were a writer I would absolutely think of uses for items most people would dismiss.

I'll probably play the origin characters myself.

But I have noticed a couple things in the game that feel like themes to me.

1. One Eye: there's Wyll with his sending stone eye, there's the Hag with her offer, there's Volo's eye that he happens to be carrying, one of the kids wears on eye patch

2. Rebirth: there's the gnoll that's born from the body of the dying hyena, there's the whole idea of the tadpole and what it does--transforming us into something "beautiful"

Like the Red Queen up there, I typically don't start working on "themed" playthroughs until at least one full run is finished, so I have an idea of what themes might work and how they are (or are not) addressed in the game. Then I'll bundle character creation and backstory and choice of love interest around that theme. There are interesting possibilities regarding Astarion, the tadpole, the lure/cost of power, and what is justified in the name of survival, but I'm not sure how.... influenceable Astarion will be, whether there's any chance of swaying his beliefs or the path he's walking. There's also potential with Gale if we get more chances to call him out on his crap.

First run is just going to be me grabbing Halsin, Minsc and Jaheira and having a grand old time exploring a strange new world.

Not sure what I'll play, as it has always been a toss up between Mage or Cleric (in the past chaotic good)... whatever backstory I create, I will not play as one of those DoS 2 style prefab characters. As for the companions, we have in act 1, I don't care what happens to them, just as long as they do not follow the camp like some horrid BioWare collectable.

Same as in every playtrough in every roleplay game i ever played ...
See what would my character do.

I usualy dont start such game with "a goal" in mind ... i just create a character and set it loose.