Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Suggestion: PC Personal Quest

My feeling about origin quests for custom characters is that it would be far too easy for them to guess wrong. For instance, my current character is a ranger who grew up working in her parents' leatherworking shop. (aka guild artisan background). It's hard for me to imagine that a generic Guild Artisan quest would fit seemlessly into her story. It seems much more likely to me that the inclusion of such a quest would feel like Larian telling me who my character is. If I wanted that, I'd play an origin character.

Ah, I get it. I have a similar problem, my characters aren't the romantic types and it'd be weird to have to create an ideal love interest for them.

Something I think that would be pretty great is just the ability to pick the kind of roleplaying that I'm doing as a created character. Instead of the BG tab showing up all the time say oh yea I heard of you ect, I think it would be cool to be more specific about the kind of life your character had and the things they would know and things that they probably wouldn't every time backstory dialogue has shown up thus far it seemed a bit stale.

As for the problem about how scripting a bunch of different arcs for each background would be too much I agree. I think a cool Idea would be give a pc characters more choices that give them additional tags as the game progresses that changes how people interact with out. Like in divinity when saving someone gave you the hero tag or you get the champion tag ect. This gives a sense of progression and a tie to the world where the current system just tells me that I am tied to the world when I had no direct hand in making those connections.


In D&D character creation there are Bonds, Flaws, Ideals, and personality traits would love to play with that system. Haveing a character pick up of a flaw would be fun to role play with especially if its player action that led to the flaw in the 1st place. I'm talking about less combat and mechanical flaws like the hags eye or volos thing and more social things like disadvantage on turning down a drink if they constantly like to talk and party. these type of systems really do a good job in engrossing me in a rp scenario so long as they are well communicated to the player.

Now imagine the table top session meltdown when the DM hands you a character sheet and says "this is who you are".

I would very much like to see a personal quest implemented along with a bit more background/personal story integration. I've seen this done in a couple games in very limited capacity, but they added nice flavor (imho). DAI: background generates quest for your advisors on the war table, Mass Effect has running content between the first 3 games depending on your origin.

I could see it being attached to our background ex. Criminal has to finish a heist to get help from their contact or get kicked out of gang, Acolyte must help a follower, Noble restoring family name, etc. One for an entertainer could be very fun if Bards make it to the game as a playable class.

Another option is attaching it to our bio. But at the moment our Bio is pretty generic. When I look at the tag for [CUSTOM] it just says we are an eager adventurer. I think it would be great to give several bio options here instead. Not only for a personal quest but also to help determine overall motivation for the character outside of the main quest for the full party. Ex. Start over somewhere new, Seeking Revenge, Keeping a promise, seeking a relic, etc.

I did notice some dialogue options resulted in adding tags to my character. ex [Baldurian], and in DOS2 [Hero] so maybe we could even pick up a personal quest from several different NPC depending on those tags that would allow a custom character to grow.

All that said, I agree it pretty late in the game to do something that is likely very challenging. And even if it doesn't happen, I'm enjoying the game. Still adding my vote to this in case it issomething they would consider, or maybe even something that might one day make it to an expansion pack that allowed us to continue our journey assuming we survive this one.

A valid point. One excellent way to introduce a Personal Quest for custom PCs would be to have it revolve around something that happens after the game begins. (Think Dragon Age: Inquisition. The character gets the mark at the beginning)
I do think finding a way to add a custom PC quest line would be excellent. Maybe even introduce 2 or 3 different ones and let the PC decide which one fits their character best and follow that path. Currently custom PCs have no voice, no history, and come off as props.

On a side note, its nice to see a good back and forth debate going on about this.

So for me personally, it really boils down to that, as of EA the custom characters just feel like they have 0 visible impact on the story/game outside of "I'm gonna fix the tadpole problem". Personally, when I play an rpg, I love to see my background and choices have some form of visible impact in the game. Most often, this comes down to branches in story dialogue, and if one is lucky, a good variety of prologue quests or callouts to your type of character throughout the game.

At the moment, background doesn't come up at all, and race and class really just boil down to either a proficiency skill check that has no story impact, or a single line of dialogue that boils down to "Yeah I've done that thing before". I can understand trying to keep the custom character blank enough to allow people to apply their own vision, but that really should only go so far. Im hoping maybe this will be better in the later acts, but right now Im not so sure. Im playing this game primarily for the story, so I could give them so lea-way on personal story quests that might steer your character in certain specific directions. I've never had an issue with other RPGs that do that. Otherwise, I at least hope they can drastically expand how much of an impact your race, class, and background have in dialogue.

Exactly. One of mine has the Criminal background but a heist or something would be entirely out of character and immersion breaking. Infiltration and sowing seeds of discord are what he does. With so many possibilities for backgrounds in DnD it would be impossible to have something correct for everyone.



I have a feeling our memories are supposed to be a bit scrambled and perhaps we are going to find out pieces of our pasts based on actions as the game progresses. Also we probably aren't even who we think we are and all our created backstories could be the tadpole screwing with our brains.

Except that the custom characters have all the impact on the game? Siding with this faction, or that faction is decided by the player character. We can put them on a back burner, and play as one of the Origin characters, but even then, it's a player choice to do that. None of the comps usurp your agency in those decisions, they only take what you, the player, give them.

That's the keyword in this debate too, agency. The only games I've played where this doesn't come up much is The Witcher, where you have lots of agency about what and who you do, but next to nothing with who Geralt was before the first game, and games like Tomb Raider, where it's pretty much a given. In RPGs like this one, including MMOs, players want all the agency they can get over their main character(s). They don't want to play the developer's vision of that character, but would rather have as many blanks as possible to fill on their own. You can see some of that in this thread too. There's an implied tradeoff here, you can have a predefined character, after the Origin characters become playable, or you can create your own to handle things as you see fit, including any relevant backstory. To me, that's the best way to handle it.

Not sure how giving you personal quest puts you on rails. I mean... not anymore than having the tadpole puts you on rails. There IS a plot. So making part of that plot specific to you is not restrictive.

if not tied to background or for ex. what you were doing at the time you were abducted, would anyone be opposed to having class specific quests available for your pc? the original bg2 even had questlines where you could gain your own base by completing your class related questline or would that be too prescriptive?

it would be neat to be able to customize elements of the custom pc character to make them feel more connected to the world from a gameplay mechanic or story hook aspect particularly when compared to the origin companions whom share the same tadpole concern while still having their own personal plotlines, and i get that some ppl may prefer to roleplay and create the story and background for themselves as they play the game and all the power to you, but that shouldnt preclude larian from being able to introduce more possible mechanics that responds to this feedback. even if just to determine when/where we got scooped up by the mindflayers would be an improvement

Specific to which me? I have a Wood Elf Thief, a Tiefling Warlock, a Drow Thief, and a Drow Ranger, off the top of my head, which toon are we writing this for? What happens when more races and classes are added after EA ends and the game launches? How much time should they dedicate to that now, instead of working on whatever's missing from the next two chapters, and all the bug squashing and polish that needs to be done? Time is a finite resource, and it has to be managed well if they're going to get the game out "on time". I would just as soon they spent that time between now and release fixing what needs to be fixed, and getting the rest of the game ready for launch, than hand holding me through who my custom character is.

I'm not sure how I feel about the 'who do you dream of...' character being pivotal or key to the blank slate PC.

More so because I first saw that character in my fourth playthrough... yeah I never used the illithid powers... only really did on my 4th run which was an absolute run. So it can very, very easily be a character you literally never see but in the character creation screen. Unless you can meet them in person at which point it would be a bit confusing probably. It's just Act 1 so early to say just how long you can avoid seeing them. I was actually confused for the longest time about what that who you dream of thing was all about considering it never triggered till I realized you need to use and abuse the illithid powers.

No matter which it is, they are all going through the same plot, doing the same quests, playing through with the same pool of companions. There's no scenario where you get to just make up what happens with your character. Giving the PC a quest line doesn't change whatever you imagine happened to your PC prior to the start of the game.

Still too difficult. Ranger for example, just the favoured enemy part could indicate different past environment. Race plays another part, did you live in the Underdark or elsewhere. Natural explorer even, an urban tracker would not feel as comfortable in the forest as a beast tamer. To make a generalised quest for any of this I feel would have to be too shallow to incorporate anything worthwhile.

frankly, seeing as if feels like we have nothing in regards to a personal or customized quest at this point for custom pc outside of being part of the shared tadpole plot and despite the difficulty it may cause for a game still in ea, id take anything at this point even if it was shallow - also, the way i was envisioning a personal questline was more along the lines of the bg2 or even skyrim (altho the skyrim mechanic probly opens up some more nuance in implementation given dnd 5es class system compared to the skill trees of skyrim) as in class related questlines you could jump into regardless of other character factors, like race, background, alignment, skills, etc. - you just need that class

using an example for ranger that would largely fit regardless of the concerns cited (favored enemy, race, roleplay elements), it could be something like joining a hunting lodge or a brotherhood of wardens where you could complete assigned tasks/quests (like hunting monsters, guiding npcs, exploring fogged regions/dungeons on the map) in order to elevate your position and progress that ranger class plotline towards an end game tier encounter, outcome, and/or reward.

again just limiting these to classes there ideally would be 12 in total - one for each class, but i could also see creative ways of blurring some class lines to reduce that number (ie martial, arcane, divine, primal 4e callbacks - and maybe add skill/performance based for the rogues/bards out there) as a druid or rogue (or warlock wyll) could also likely do the above ranger example (altho thieves guild always seems to be the rogues first go to). conversely the more sneaky scout/infiltrator based rangers or shadow monks (possible opt in deity based quests anyone?) could also pursue a rogue based questline. fighter/barb could likely be combined and ranger/paladin/monk could likely even blur into those spaces too, same as the shared spaces for the primary caster classes, but i would be much more inclined for a replay if i knew i had a different possible questline tied to a different class i was running as i would be experiencing somewhat fresh content. combining that with the potential to pursue a different main story route (which is another topic of debate on the forums) along with a different race and party composition i think would make for a novel campaign each subsequent playthrough

theorycrafting just bc, so take everything at face value as i know most of this is just wishful thinking - just some real quick and generic plotlines that could be expanded on for more class specific quests, and there may be some blurred lines, but im sure and would be interested in hearing if others had more FR specific ones (ie what barb tribes are around, active local thieves guilds [i think its safe to say from ea that the harpers and zhents still dont get along], prominent wizard circles, a quest to get a candlekeep library card)

-barbarian - become a gladiator/enter into a contest of champions or you need to hunt dangerous beasts (ranger too here)
-bard - bard college (kinda generic/boring imo) or traveling circus (again, kinda worn out)
-cleric - anything related to your deity choice (which i really hope larian gives us a sh*t ton of - but diety based quests could also be a thing) but maybe something generic would be quests to help a refugee camp or combat the plague?
-druid - become a member of silvanus local grove, help rebuild it or start our own? (could be interesting roleplay for any druid shar followers out there given the history of the og bg games or any malar holdouts)
-fighter - mercenary/body guard guild, maybe join the flaming fist (or harper/zhent factions) or supporting the dukes guard
-monk - monastery or you find a fellow monk traveling on a pilgrimage but they are mortally wounded and ask you to carry their burden to a final desitnation
-paladin - anything related to your oath (or broken oath) or deity but that could be too specific, leaning on old paladin themes maybe something mount related? (if mounts are a thing that is, which i doubt) or law and order and dispensing justice for the dukes of bg?
-ranger - see above
-rogue - thieves guild (generic, i know)
-sorcerer - i think both sorcerer and wizard likely blur so closely that most concepts could work for either, but the major differences is inherent v learned arcane abilities so outside of that maybe questlines around research and magic item retrieval?
-warlock - similarly to paladins and oaths and clerics and deities, warlocks are really tied to patron choice so maybe some mechanics around that (idk if raphael is gonna factor at all here in his story elements) or an AA for folks in bad patron relationships? lol, respectfully
-wizard - see sorcerer

if your still with us reading the ramblin to the end - much love fam

It could maybe be better if it was related to deity if they add the rest in, rather than class. That may help with all the billions of different character concepts people may have and allow for backgrounds and maybe alignments to influence the choices a bit.
Using your ranger example, it would still be entirely out of character for mine. Give him a House to infiltrate and assassination targets then sure, but he certainly won't join a hunting lodge or be guiding anyone anywhere (unless into an ambush ) If taking the rogue quests idea, well he already is involved in something and would not work for others. If deity quests were done (with more added) then it would make a lot more sense. Perhaps I make too much of a background for characters and most others could slot theirs into what you have posted easily? I don't know.

I would rather they ironed out the existing stuff before considering anything extra like this. Maybe something for them to add later on though.

5e has you choose more options in character creation.

Usually a weakness a bond and an ideal. Game masters read these things and the full character sheet and talk with the player to know their personal Goals. This is very much a part of dnd... It is missing in custom. That is why as is Origin is far superior. They also get to interject in conversations while the custom ones:

"Stand there like a Lemon!"

ya, i totally understand that personal quests likely wont be a one size fits all and i also agree that there are other game mechanics that likely should take priority (im a fan of alignment being in game, even if i just get to select it at character creation for roleplaying reference - altho i would hope there would also be more in game hooks tied to it if wotc approves it being added in). id be intrigued with deity quests too, but idk if that may also infringe on plot points for SH or other divine caster classes.

i think we both can agree that having additional personal quests for a custom pc is content that we would like to see in the game so it would be interesting to see if or what types of personal quests for custom pcs larian implements as there seems to be a player demand for such mechanics. obviously, as you indicated, for players who really enjoy the blank slate pc and roleplaying alot of their character history outside of the game mechanics/environment it likely would be difficult to make a storyline that fits exactly to their character vision (sounds like for your ranger and rogue you have already roleplayed some fairly established histories outside the actual game itself - considering blurred or open class questlines tho, would your ranger fit better in a rogue questline by any chance? given their preference for ambushes)

all that being said, id rather there be some personal questline (if via classes, deity, etc.) in game that players also can have the option to opt into rather than the need to roleplay those things 'off-screen' - i have no issue if thats how you prefer to play, all the power to you, but im just of the opinion that larian should implement those details to have more ingame mechanical weight.

hopefully larian has something waiting in the wings that would work for the both of us in this regard - as it stands ive been enjoying the game, i just hope larian hears some of this feedback in an effort to make the game even better