As per the title, I think the choices made creating a custom character in Baldur's Gate 3 should have more impact on the game’s narrative. The separation of custom characters into either a Dark Urge character with narrative impact or a custom character with no narrative impact is not optimal and could be easily fixed.
What do I mean by narrative impact?By narrative impact, I mean that the character has a story that progresses during the game that depends upon their class/origin. An irritating part about making a custom character is that while companions progress in their interesting stories and sometimes gain unique and powerful items/abilities, the player character gains nothing (given you aren’t DUrge, but even then... what are you really gaining?). This made me feel like my character wasn’t a member of the D&D world; it lessened immersion and the satisfaction of story progression for my custom character.
When first starting the game and entering the character customization screen, choosing a class, an origin, or even a race for that matter feels as though it will have repercussions on your story. I remember thinking to myself things like: “What will happen if I make my character follow an evil deity; Will I be forced to perform acts of evil for their power and favor?”, “What will happen if I set my origin as a criminal; Perhaps I will have underworld connections in the game?”, or, “What will happen if I have a pact with a Devil/Great Old One/Arch Fey; What will be the price to pay for such power?”
Sadly, it was only after playing the game a few times that I realized these decisions, especially the origins, have basically no impact on the game. My character never once had to do something for his patron, nor did he have a single connection in the criminal underworld of Baldur’s Gate, the place where it was inferred he grew up. Even if I followed a relevant deity such a Selune, all I gained from it was some extra flavor text in a few specific conversations! My cleric armor was the same cleric armor as every other cleric origin, and I didn’t receive a single boon from my deity.
At the end of the game, it was the most jarring when the Nether Brain called out a mocking title of each member of my party, giving some great recognition to the characters. When it came to my custom character, however, it didn’t even announce a title, skipping over me! This made me feel like a side character in my own story. I wish my character had some sort of custom story that would merit him having a title.
When playing DUrge, the Nether Brain does announce your title as “Murder Incarnate” (odd since I rejected the legacy of Bhaal…), but still, I didn’t feel like my own character, nor did my character gain anything over the course of his journey as a child of Bhaal save a forced murder of a useful NPC, a few scenes, dialogue checks, and a 1v1 fight against Orin. Even if you side with Bhaal, all you get is a frankly awful transformation and a spell you’ll probably never use once since it is a one-time use. No cool thematic armor for the chosen of Bhaal? Seriously?
I propose that, depending on the custom character’s class or origin, that custom character be given a custom story. Only certain classes could have custom stories as a starting point to lessen amount of variability/workload. Easy class examples that I can think of off the top of my head for this would be clerics and warlocks having unique stories or content depending on their deity/patron (perhaps only certain deities could have custom content at first for simplicity’s sake).
I heard that in Early Access the cleric could choose to follow deities such as one of the Dead Three or Shar and that this was removed following release. This had really great narrative potential: Following the Dead Three could give the player character custom evil paths where they replace one of the Chosen and control the absolute
similar to DUrge, honestly speaking. Why can't DUrge become a Cleric of Bhaal, again?
, and following Shar could bring about unique paths in Shadowheart’s story. Something like this would add replayability to the game and a bigger sense of impact from the character customization screen. Simple communion with your deity alone would already add a lot of fun to the experience of playing a cleric!
Warlocks are another very important area of improvement. Playing a warlock entails that the warlock’s great power comes at a cost. Having absolutely no interaction with your patron seriously takes away from the experience that comes with playing a warlock. There is no moral dilemma between serving a dark/mysterious power while still trying your best to do what’s right (or being evil and trying to serve yourself as much as possible, if that’s your motive), no difficult task to complete for your patron, nor is there any form of actual interaction with your patron besides, as per usual, some flavor text in some conversations.
Paladins have some roleplay elements in game, but it’s toe-deep at best. All it turns out to be is sometimes having to pay 1000 gold or reload when you accidentally break your oath. That’s it.
With classes without inherent narrative repercussions, the origin could take hold as the deciding factor in the character’s story. Did you select a fighter/wizard/rogue/etc.? Well then, your story will be based around your origin. It doesn’t even have to be a deep story; I would be fine with just a sliver of extra content to make my character feel unique and integrated into the story while still being open enough to allow me to fit whom I want my character to be into that story.
Overall, I love this game a lot and hope this sort of content can be added. Thank you for taking the time to read through this post.
