Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Mega-threads and Guides Differences and Similarities between BG3 and D&D5e core ruleset.

I'm wondering if we should maybe make a complete list of differences in rules. Not because I think that there can't be any differences, but just for posterity.

So list differences you've found here, and I'll edit them into the top post. If there's something that people generally feel the Devs need to rethink I'll add notes.

I'll start:


01. Mage Hand requires Concentration(it does NOT in the PHB), but it can also now shove/interact with enemies (which it couldn't do in the P&P version). ~ (So buffed and balanced against said buff?)

02. Firebolt is now 1D6 + A chance to catch fire instead of 1D10 (Might be considered a slight Buff).

03. Ray Of Frost now creates an ice surface that can knock enemies prone (Buffed)

04. Acid Splash has been changed to an AOE attack that reduces AC by 2 (a considerable buff).

05. Wizard's can learn any spell (hopefully a bug)

06. Can get sneak attack with Great Sword (hopefully a bug)

07. Food heals health (hopefully a bug)

08. Scrolls can be used by anyone (hopefully a bug)

09. Grease is flammable (Have to test myself, Sage Advice, states it is not, might be an intentional buff / return to older rulings on Grease, also it might just make the spell that much more useful).

10. Automatic Passive Perception Checks are missing (this is something I think should be addressed sooner rather than later).

11. Darkness has an arbitrary block on firing ranged into and out of it.

12. Devil's Sight warlock invocation does nothing, since even with it, you are still blinded in Darkness.

13. Sleep spell has been changed to a fixed amount of hit points (16 + 8HP Per Level). in the PHB it says "This spell sends creatures into a magical slumber. Roll 5d8; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can affect.

14. Rogues do NOT get Expertise at level 1 (which is a bummer, I think that should be changed to be more like 5e P&P).

15. Rogue Cunning Action has been nerfed to only be used for DASH (which is also a bummer, and I also think that should be changed to be more like 5e P&P).

16. Spears should be VERSITILE Weapons (They are only Two-Handed in Open Access, and it really serves no purpose mechanically).

17. Dipping/coating your weapon takes a bonus action instead of an action. Also you can use fire to add 1d4 fire damage instead of poison. (Yes, Basic Poison is described in the PHB and explicitly says you can coat your weapon with it as an Action for additional 1d4 damage added to the attack.)

Regarding your first point, Mage Hand is definitely buffed. It can do things like shove people, which it absolutely could not do in the tabletop. The Concentration trade-off seems fair.

Noted, and added!

Wizard's can learn any spell (hopefully a bug)

Can get sneak attack with Great Sword (hopefully a bug)

Food heals health (hopefully a bug)

Scrolls can be used by anyone (hopefully a bug)

Grease is flammable (From Sage Advice, JC states it is not)

What about stuff that a bit grey? Attacking from above in BG3 gives advantage, that not really in the rules but could be a DM call / interpretation so definitely a house rule in BG3.

Anyone can use thieves tools.

Thanks, adding those now!

I mean, if we're talking about differences between BG3 and the PHB, which is the title of this thread, then this one doesn't count. The PHB absolutely does not say that Grease isn't flammable, it historically has always been flammable, and many people disagree with the Sage Advice. If I had to guess, between the DMs that don't know/care about Sage Advice and the ones who think this particular one is wrong, I'd venture that at least 3/4 of tabletop 5e games play with flammable Grease.

Jeremy Crawford
@JeremyECrawford
If the grease spell created a flammable substance, the spell would say so. It doesn't say so. #DnD

From PHB

Grease
1st-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bit of pork rind or butter)
Duration: 1 minute
Slick grease covers the ground in a 10-foot square centered on a point within range and turns it into difficult terrain for the duration.
When the grease appears, each creature standing in its area must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. A creature that enters the area or ends its turn there must also succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.

Darkness has an arbitrary block on firing ranged into and out of it, and Devil's Sight warlock invocation does nothing, since even with it, you are still blinded in Darkness.

Firebolt is considerably buffed because of the way it works now, I don't know if it's just because I've been having good luck or something, but in my experience it always applies burn and it burns right away, as well as at the start of their turn, on top of causing damage because they take more damage when they move out of the fire surface. I'm hoping this is just a bug and that it won't give burn damage right away or cause damage for moving out of that tiny pool of fire.

I believe the Sleep spell has been changed, because in the PHB it says "This spell sends creatures into a magical slumber. Roll 5d8; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can affect. Creatures within 20 feet of a point you choose within range are affected in ascending order of their current hit points (ignoring unconscious creatures)." while I believe the way it works in BG3 is that it puts creatures up to a predetermined HP amount to sleep. Could be wrong on this one, been a while since I looked at sleep in BG3, will check and edit if needed.

Nothing you quoted invalidates my point. PHB doesn't say it's not flammable, it has historically been flammable, and people don't follow/agree with Sage Advice. Simple as that. It's not a BG3/PHB difference, it's a BG3/Sage Advice difference.

Plus, if we followed the Sage Advice reasoning, there are a TON of things players and DMs pull that are "against the rules" because he's taking a 'only things clearly defined are allowed' stance in this instance when it's not taken in any other instance. Can a player recover caltrops? The PHB doesn't say they're "recoverable" so the Sage Advice logic says no but a practical application would be that of course a player could spend 5-10 minutes picking them up.

I changed my text to leave Grease more open ended. I'm going to test the spell soon, as it might just be that much more of a utility thing being flammable. Either way, this list of differences isn't to poo poo devs or to champion Rules Lawyers...it's just to give people a guide to things that might not be what they expect, and if something really sucks, we'll be honest about it.

I really appreciate you speaking up about Grease though, I've never seen anyone use it in a P&P game as flammable, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be a better spell for it.

You are definitely right about sleep. Adding it now.

Well, I have always gone with, if it does not state it can do something, it probably can't. Look at the Web Spell, main use is to restrain creatures but also can be set on fire. If grease is flammable, why did they add that for Web but not add it for Grease?

"The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot cube of webs exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing 2d4 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire."

This and some spells in general. I actually think they are going slightly off to be more realistic, and those providing immersion to the spells. A thing D&D doesn't do because it's up to the DM to decide.

Case in point firebolt having a smaller damage die, but causing things to burn. So it's 1d6 now vs. 1d10 a difference of a 1d4. It's a slight buff I've not seen any massive numbers off of burning normally within the 1d4 range. The flame also doesn't last long usually 2 rounds, which is 12 seconds D&D time. on average your still only getting 4 extra damage on an enemy. Since the burn doesnt stack, then your next firebolt will still only be 1d6 worth of damage. plus on average an extra 4.

If they simply stuck with a nongraphical games listing of spell effects then it would be boring. I know DM's that house rules things like using fire in a forest has a chance of starting a fire. It adds more realism, and consequences to the game. Makes you think, instead of going murder hobo all the time.

Yes sleep is way off.

So are spears = in game they are 2handed, in 5e they are versatile. It makes no sense that they are only 2handed in game, not even realistically.

Racial cantrips - are not according to 5e, most seem to have the same ones. could be place holder for future updates after bugs, and other things are done.

Passive perceptions are indeed automatic, they just show you. = When you spot a trap as your walking, spot a lever, secret door, etc. It's using your passive perception, since currently there is no way to have your characters actively looking. They simply use your passive perception for it, and it's always going.

Familiars in BG3 have an attack. This is not the case in PHB unless you are a Chains warlock.

So for sleep, the spell goes up by 8 hp for the upcast from level one to two (24 hp to 32 hp). I suspect rather than go with an average value of 5d8--(5+40)/2=22.5, round down to 22--for the spell, they just reduced the maximum by 16 and then increase the spell's affected hp by 8 for each level of spell slot above 1.

If they went with average, it would be 22 for the level one version, then 31 for the level 2 version, and so on, adding 9 (the average roll of 2d8) every time.

I don't understand exactly why they did it this way, but seeing as how level 4 Gale can knock out two goblins in one go with level 2 sleep, it may be for balance? If they actually did the die roll, he could knock out the entire goblin group at the front gate to their camp, or most of them at least.

Also where would they put the die roll? If they put it before you cast the spell, then you could just cancel the casting and reroll. If they put it after, you wouldn't have any clue how effective it would be (which is how this goes in 5e but usually you can modify your aiming after you roll the HP dice if you have a normal, decent DM).

this prob bugs me more then it should, Spears are 2h in bg3 but not in core. Spears dont have reach and have the damage of a 1h unlike polearms ect that are 2h which have reach. side note reach is 10 ft not 8.3 but its effectively the same.

Let's add weapon ranges to the list? Right now, both longbow and short bow have a range of 18m, leaving 1d6 vs 1s8 as the only meager distinction.

Disengage and Jump are the same thing, and are bonus actions for all classes... even if that's supposed to be a power granted by the tadpole, it should be changed. Both are proper actions, only disengage should be a bonus action for rogues.

- Sleep only lasts for 1 round I believe? (While its 1 min in the PHB). But most spells have duration changed. Shield of faith for example lasts until rest I believe (10 min in the PHB).
- Rogues have no expertise.
- Arrows create surfaces.
- Fighters get a fighting style at lvl 2 instead of at lvl 1.
- You can only have 1 short rest between long rests. In the TTRPG there is no such limitation.
- The help action immediately gives someone 1hp. Originally you need a Medicine check of 10 to stabilize them, and they 1hp after 1d4 hours.
- Shove as a bonus action for everyone.
- Disengage as a bonus action for everyone.

Those are the unlisted changes on top of my head.