Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Adult content in BG3

Yes, but many people are pushing back against GM4HiM's suggestion that they just fade to black. You can certainly have a romance without showing the sex act.

I would compare sex in video games to the taste of crushed ice ...
It works without it, it still serves its primary purpose ... but when strawberry juice is added, it's a little better right away. :P

Raspberry would be good, too.

Sextistics:
Percentage of time an average human thinks about it = 28%
Percentage of time an average human performs the act = 0.0003%

Because potentially this is additional content in cutscenes. There is no point delete this content if it already exists, but if it didn't exist initially, then no one would worry about it.

good question

For me, I actually enjoy pornography and sex games (very hardcore) but in terms of regular games, I usually don't enjoy sex because of how off it usually feels. People throw in a titty and call the game "mature", or for this game in particular, spend a lot of time talking about story boards that describe various hardcore sex acts. It's just weird to me for a developer and fans to spend so much time focusing on such a relatively minor aspect of a game.

as for whether or not sex would affect my purchasing of a game, no, it wouldn't really have an effect, unless it's unskippable/trying to make an ideological point, but at that point, it's not about the sex. Sexy characters in games definitely make a game more attractive to me, if I'm honest, that's part of the reason I don't like the companions at all, none of them are remotely attractive. I'm a straight guy and my options are an alien who hates me or an emo girl that hates me. Yay..?

If they removed the sex I would be happy because that would show me that they're more intent on building an actual game, instead of just encouraging the less mature instincts of buyers (yes, I recognize that I'm immature in wanting attractive companions)

I view this the same way I view an ending game cinematic, only it's a sort of end of romance success cinematic. Sure, you could fade to black and have a text scroll tell you what happens after you beat the game, or they could show it, because games are a visual medium and it's more satisfying this way.

I believe it had been mentioned before: a bad game won’t become any better with erotic content included. It will still be a bad game.
But a good game with reasonably done erotic content in it, will become an even better game in my opinion. Now what means "reasonably done"? It means not every character should be willing to get intimate with the player character just like that. It should require some flirting & teasing during the game, some deep talks via dialogues, in short: romancing, which eventually might lead to a sexy scene or two.
For some other npcs this might not be fitting, because they have a much more direct personality. Then it’s okay, if they are quite open or blunt about their desire. Just keep it reasonable or somewhat realistic.

Again I’d refer to Witcher 3, which was an excellent game and the sex made it even more interesting. No hardcore scenes were shown by the way, just some soft-core and naked bodies. There was even a quite hilarious romance ending in it, if the player seduced both Triss and Yennefer during the game, they would teach the player a lesson by initiating a threesome, but will leave Geralt handcuffed and unsatisfied on the bed, while walking out of the room and in the end you lose both. So the game punished the player if he played with the feelings of both, instead of choosing one. It was also possible to not romance anyone in the game afaik. So Witcher 3 really had it all, even prostitution, but nobody forced you to do it.

Having just a fading black screen would be quite disappointing for a modern rpg game in opinion. That used to be the state of the art quite a couple of years ago, but today a lot of people expect more from the mature rating. If the game is really good, I’d still buy and play it without any erotic content in it, but concerning a game like BG3, which is supposed to be the next AAA fantasy rpg, I think it would be really missed potential. People are expecting more from such a title and a modern successor to the Baldur's Gate series/legacy.


Indeed!


I'll second that. There is just one option for a straight guy with a more "common" taste so far, which is Shadowheart. She even isn't very attractive, just mediocre optically. Furthermore her personality is below-average. That's quite a disappointment so far. Therefore I really hope for better options to come.

Addressing House Hunters: Whatever. Point was that Americans look like jerks and difficult to get along with in this show. I've seen memes about Americans as well that come from other countries. It also does not paint Americans in a good light. That was more my point.

As for devil worship and so forth, I'd like to make some points of clarification here:

There is a difference between the Law of God and the Law of Man. Jesus Himself pointed this out in Matthew 15. He warned against being like the Pharisees all the time. They did things like condemn Jesus' own disciples for not washing their hands before they ate. Jesus pointed out that washing ones hands before eating was not a Law of God. It was a Law of Man that they created and enforced upon people as if it was a Law of God. However, they DID break God's Law that they should HONOR THEIR FATHER AND MOTHER.

Unfortunately, many Christians throughout the ages have done exactly this same thing. They have done the opposite of what Christ warned them not to do. They started implementing their own laws and traditions and rules instead of what the Bible ACTUALLY says. These individuals have given so many people this perception that Christians are all a bunch of strict, damning people to Hell, no one is allowed to have any fun kinda people.

This is not Biblical, nor is it every Christian who upholds such things. It is just the most vocal Pharisee-style people who say they are Christians who give all Christians this bad name.

This is an example of a Law of Man: If you see sex on TV or in movies or video games, or if you see violence in TV or movies or video games, you have sinned and therefore need to repent right now. If you die right now before you repent, you are going to Hell." Another Law of Man, meaning a law that people created and not God, is that if you even think lustfully towards someone, you have sinned. This second one was taken out of context and has been promoted by many Christians. However, the Bible is very clear that a sin is an act, not a thought. You can have sinful thoughts, and those thoughts can lead to sin, but until you actually commit an act of sin, it is not a sin. This is why James 1:15 says, "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." Death in this case means negative consequences. When Jesus said that if you think lustfully you have sinned, He was meaning that you should draw the line long before you commit an act of sin. If you read the WHOLE passage, it is clear that He was trying to set a new standard that was different from the Pharisees. He was trying to teach people HOW to avoid sin. You should draw the line way back at when you first start thinking sinful thoughts. You should not dwell on sinful thoughts and then try to not commit the sinful act. In Jesus' example, He was actually referring to the sin of adultery. He was not calling lust a sin. Lust can lead to sin, but it is not a sin. What Jesus was actually trying to teach is that if a person wants to not commit adultery, they should not allow themselves to dwell on such thoughts. As soon as you start lusting after another man's wife, you should immediately cast those thoughts out of your head and reject them. Don't dwell on them, because if you dwell on them they will lead you to sin. All it takes is a brief moment of weakness, an inappropriate moment where a person gets too close to someone they shouldn't and because they entertained thoughts of adultery, they give in. Resisting the thoughts early gives people more of a resistance to sin. THAT was what Jesus was teaching, and there are many other passages of scripture that support this that I won't throw at you because I'm sure most don't care.

Now, this IS a Law of God (1 Corinthians 6): Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me]. The Biblical teachings therefore state that through Christ, all sins are forgiven. Sin is therefore no longer what we are supposed to be focusing on. Christians are supposed to focus on Christ, and what He did for us - meaning He died on the cross to forgive our sins and pay the price for our moral crimes. We are supposed to teach others that because Christ died for our sins, He paid the price for our sins so that we don't have to. What is the price for sin? Death which then leads to Hell and the Lake of Fire. Jesus died so that though we will still die, He will resurrect us from the dead so that we can live forever with God, free from sin and guilt and shame forever.

Therefore, we are free from sin and shame, but only if Christ is our King. Since He paid the price for our debts, our sins, our moral crimes, only if we commit ourselves to Him will our sins be forgiven. After all, what king would forgive a criminal of their crimes if they are not willing to even acknowledge him as king and if they actually have no intention of ever ceasing in their crimes? A king would be a fool to forgive a criminal of a crime and let him roam around a city full of his citizens if that rebel was not willing to accept that king as his/her own king and try to live according to what that king commands. No king in their right mind would allow a murderer, for example, who he knows is going to kill again, to wander freely around his kingdom amidst his beloved citizens. Therefore, only if he knows beyond a doubt that the murderer will not kill again, and he knows the murderer is willing to learn how to behave better, will he allow that murderer to go free. If an earthly king would be a fool if he let a murderer dwell amongst his people when that criminal is not willing to acknowledge him as king and try to live by the king's laws, why would God allow such things? Those who will not accept Him as King will not respect His laws and His ways. Therefore, how can He allow them to dwell in His Eternal Kingdom forever?

So, in short, the true Christian serves Christ because they want to. They try to not do things that are considered morally wrong because they are grateful to Christ for forgiving them of their moral crimes. They try to avoid further moral crimes because they recognize that sin leads to negative consequences which then leads to pain and suffering in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. They no longer avoid sins because they are afraid they are going to Hell if they don't. They try to avoid sins because they recognize that God's ways are good and our ways are not. They try to avoid sins also because they are thankful for their sins being forgiven. THAT is the sign of a true Christian according to the Bible. They are people who live a life of gratitude and thankfulness towards their God, for they believe that He died for them and forgave their sins.

And what is Christ's primary command as King? Love God first. His Second Command is to love one another as we love ourselves.

Therefore, any Christian who goes about condemning others for playing video games with sex and violence in them, or for playing Pokemon, or for whatever else Christians love to condemn people for, these people are not operating in the Spirit of God. That is one of the whole reasons I'm going into all this. I want people to be aware that the Bible clearly states that those who are operating in the Spirit of God are those who display (Galatians 5): "love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."

So I want to make sure everyone is fully understanding of this because one of my missions in life is to fight against this misconception about Christians. I don't like it when Christians are all lumped into the whole "You can't ever have fun" category because "if you have fun you are a sinner and are damned to Hell."

All this to also say I am not condemning BG3 for having sex in it. I'm not condemning anyone on this thread for wanting sex in the game. Again, even the Bible teaches that God gave humanity sexual desires and then commanded them to have sex and lots of children. I, of course, would advise that sex be removed for many reasons, but I am not condemning anyone for playing a game with such things. Other people who say they are operating in the Spirit of God might condemn you for it, but they would be wrong to do so.

My conscience does not bother me at all about playing a game like this. I play it the way I want and avoid the stuff I think would not be good for me. You see, the way it is supposed to be for Christians is that all things are permissible. I can do whatever I want because my sins are forgiven. However, because I love and respect God, I recognize that not all things are good for me to do. The things He says we should not do are things that are good for us to not do. Even though I could, if I wanted to, because I am forgiven of sins, I recognize that those things are not good both for me and those in my life. So I do not do the things that I recognize are not good for me. I also do not just do bad things because I am sincere in accepting Christ's sacrifice. You see, those who are sincere do not just flippantly continue to do things that are against Christ's teachings. Those people are hypocrites just like the Pharisees. So a sign that a person is not truly a Christian even if they say they are is that they flippantly sin and then try to pretend they are not sinners because they say they accepted Christ as their savior.

As a case in point. I have no problem admitting to you that I also played the evil path in BG3. My female Drow Fighter went about killing all the druids and tieflings. I wanted to see what the evil path was like. Yeah, I didn't care for it myself, as I'm not really keen on evil paths. But I played it to get the experience, and I don't feel guilty about it. Was it a sin? No. Why? Because it is just a game. I didn't ACTUALLY kill someone. Could someone actually kill someone because of the influence of the game? I suppose, but I have never actually seen any valid evidence about such things. No one I've ever known has said, "I killed someone or beat someone because of the influence of a video game." Oh sure, people blame video games for violence, but before video games ever existed, violence was a thing. You can't really blame media for that. I also like John Wick and have no problem with it. In fact, I find that movie series to be incredible. I can't wait for number 4! I don't know what it is, but watching John Wick ridiculously blow the crap out of people is just fun.

Again, though, it's all fantasy and make believe. If someone really did that stuff, I'd be sick to my stomach to watch such things.

Likewise, if I did watch the sex scenes in BG3, it would not be a sin. Why? Because I didn't actually commit any acts of sexual sin. It is just a game and pretend. Therefore, it is not a sin. This is also something I am wanting to make clear. I am not in any way saying that it is a sin and condemning anyone for it.

I know this is like a lengthy sermon, but it is only because some have taken to kinda sorta bash Christians and such because I brought it into this thread. I wanted to make sure everyone fully understood the truth about it because there are too many misconceptions about the truths in Christianity. So, again I repeat, I am not doing condemning anyone or even BG3. I am not trying to force my Christian beliefs on BG3 either, even if you think I am.

What I am doing is:

1. Offering a SUGGESTION that they remove sex from the game. If the game is good enough, it doesn't need it. If Larian wants to appeal to an even bigger audience, removing sex from the game would allow them to then appeal to a larger group. You may not agree, but that was just my suggestion and opinion. I've seen many Teen games with dark themes and story and even content that is really borderline, but parents will let their kids (teens usually) play those things because they aren't "too bad".

2. Offering a different point of view. Most people, when they talk about including things like sex in a game, don't think about how that might impact others. I do. I brought it up because, as I said in a different post, I know people who struggle with sex in any form of media including art, poetry, TV, video games, music...you name it. So I bring it up to offer this different perspective because so many were telling me that sex cannot hurt people and others. I've personally known people who can say that this is not true. It may not hurt you and those you know, but it can hurt people. I don't expect Larian to remove sex from the game, honestly, just because of this, but it is something to consider. It is a reason why I suggested removing sex from the game.

3. I personally don't like games with sex in them. That is my personal preference, I realize, and I respect that you probably disagree. But it is my personal preference nonetheless. I do wish this game didn't have sex in it at all. I don't think it needs it. I think it's shaping up to be a great game, and I would feel better if they didn't have it there at all. In my opinion, and again, just my opinion, Larian wouldn't have to change any other content in the game except the unnecessary sex stuff. Some might think they should remove more of the violence an disturbing other elements, but that doesn't affect me. I realize sex doesn't affect you, and it is the same for you as violence is for me. That's fine. I just prefer no sex in games. I respect your difference of opinion.

Anyway. Enough said. Hopefully this is received as I am intending it to be received; with respect for everyone, as just a chance to clear up some misconceptions, and that I'm NOT trying to force Larian to do anything. Everything I have posted has been suggestions. Nothing more. I'm not trying to fight and argue and push and urge Larian to do anything. I am making suggestions, and if they don't do them, I'm not going to cry and complain and yell at them or anything for it. I respect their decision in these matters. It is, after all, their game. If the game does well, they benefit. If the game does poorly for any reason, they are the ones who suffer the most.

Look, I didn't come here for some exegesis. It's not that serious.

lol. Hey. Whatever. Just responding to some comments about prude Bible belt Americans, pastors who condemn people to Hell for playing video games, etc.

Just setting things straight because people have lots of misconceptions about Christians because of these stereotypes.

I'm only here for the computer game, and maybe some minor titillation in said game.

Honestly, this one topic has gone through so many subjects so quickly, while still being grounded in the subject of Adult Content in BG3, it is kinda impressive.

You can probably call me out for having bias by saying this as one, but Americans are people like everyone else, and we have the nice people and rude people like anywhere else.
Also there is a reason I specified Evangelism with Christianity, as that is a dominant form of it where I live, so I have had experience of people trying to preach to me that certain things are evil and that I shouldn't be engaging with them because I am Christian, or even certain aspects of myself were evil. I am very aware that Christianity as a whole is actually very diverse and filled with many different sects that hold different interpretations of the Bible. Heck, there are sects that handle Snakes during their sermons and practices. However, personally, as a Christian, I am very critical of modern churches and modern Christianity, and more on topic, the rampant condemnation of fantasy I heard a lot of when I was younger. But that criticality is not to Christianity as a whole so much as individuals and individual sects as I do think its is unfair to judge an entire group by a few, but it still stands that a specific collection of individuals calling themselves Christians would, in my experiences, consider violence and sex in a game as equal and sinful.

That all said, your perspective is definitely appreciated, and I hope my response is received well. From what I got from the overall conversation, I think making the scenes harder to get, in other words more natural and requiring actual romance with the character, would likely be best for all involved for multiple reasons. I doubt Larian would get a T rating even if they removed the sex as they would have to tone A LOT of this game back and remove whole sequences, and even have to get voiceactors back to redo lines to fit the new rating (especially with how it feels like US raters seem to be even stricter with language and what people talk about than content shown). Many people seem to want and enjoy it, and I personally see it as a part of some of the characters, Laezel and Astarion specifically as it does actually reveal things about the character. However, also, many don't want it dropped on them and would rather play an RPG where they are not dropped into content that they personally dislike, and thus be able to play the game nearly unaware that such content is in the game.

And ultimately DnD is about player choice, so it would stand to reason exposure to sexual content should be a choice on the player's part, like how one can mark to have no blood effects so they are not exposed to excessive blood/violence so should they have to explicitly pursue sexual content to receive such content.

I mean no ill-will when I say that I feels as though GM4Him is spending an inordinate amount of effort talking about their personal religion, in order to say that personal religion has no place in this discussion, and also to say that their personal dislike of sex in video games has nothing to do with their personal religion, by way of talking about their personal religion at length. I don't feel that belongs in this thread; I feel it would be better for the thread to take that degree of religious belabouring to private messages instead, please.


For me personally... I'm longing for a good D&D video game, and we haven't had one in a long time. I'm concerned that the current game is what Larian is presenting because ultimately, it is NOT shaping up to be a D&D video game at all. Just another D:OS with a forgotten realms twist and flavour.

However, that brings my attention to the question of "What CAN this game be for me, if not what I was hoping it would be?"

The answer is, it can be a forgotten realms adventure where I can make characters and roleplay as them, at least in my own mind... it can be a *Chance* to explore roleplay as a variety of characters with a physical, visual medium that is to date unparalleled... I'm a roleplayer, and an author... and the written romance and intimacy of characters I'm fond if is important and moving to me... and I would dearly, DEARLY love a chance to experience representations of them engaging in romance to their tastes, and intimacy to their tastes, along with the rest of their adventure, in a visual, player-controlled media.

The game itself looks like it cannot, and will never be the game that I felt we were initially promised and sold on. It isn't ever going to scratch that itch for a proper 5e D&D video game. what is left is a chance to get emotionally involved in the romances and intimacies of the characters I make for the game... We currently have no real choice for such a thing, and this game offers a chance at experiencing that as no game previously has, from my perspective... so if it is NOT going to do that, and do that well, then there isn't much left here for me.

It should always be player choice, of course - player choice is why, traditionally in these games, the player character always has to make the first intimate move in romance - the player must signal the game that that is what they want, and the game shouldn't push it on the player without them doing so. That's something the current BG3 is tripping over and needs to fix.

Nah, Niara. I really was just wanting to clearly state my own stance on things. I noticed some offhanded comments from a few folks and just wanted to set the record straight. Besides, some seemed to be enjoying the convo, so I was explaining where I was coming from.

I agree a lot with your above comments about this game. I am still hoping they implement some sort of 5e difficulty or something that will make it more of a 5e experience. I would actually love to see more romance too. I would like to see more true romance where some sort of relationship is being built.

For example, I enjoyed Jaheira's romance because it was harder and more meaningful. I had her in my party all through BG1 and 2, and SOD. I grieved with her for Khalid and felt a deep connection to her. That was a great romance story and it didn't need a sex scene.

Don't get me wrong. A sweet clean romantic scene is exactly what I'd like to see between characters I feel have built a connection, but right now there really isn't any that I feel genuinely connect.

I also want more character building with everyone. I feel so disconnected from everyone in this party. I instantly connected with Minsc and Jaheira and Khalid and even Imoen. I want that here too. I like the characters, but I need something more to draw me in to connect with them.

If they have the player trigger the romance, that would be better. I Still, of course, think the game is better off without a true sex scene, but whateves. I know I'm not going to win that argument.

Yeah. No problem vometia. I'm done anyway.

I'm just gonna go back to being Fat, Ignorant, Racist, Picky as hell, Backstabbing - HEY I get advantage for that right - Violent, attitude towards SEX OMG, puritanism at its best lol.

But, just for the record, I am fat, I've studied many cultures and historical records, sciences, religions, have a college degree, I go to a multicultural church with several African American pastors and close friends, I tend to be somewhat picky, but Im getting better, I dont think Ive ever backstabbed anyone, I hate actually killing things, and I am not a puritan. Oh, and I don't have an attitude towards sex.

Inner Hannibal's showing.

He said Americans are violent. I like killing things in games. I don't like killing things in real life.

Is that more clear? 😒

I think the other guy (eagle) was just making a joke. Besides, who hasn't become a serial killer in a video game? Hasn't everyone just played a game so long they pass out cause they were already exhausted, only to wake up with a large part of the game done. Their character surprisingly rich and with a mansion in Solitude. Also having married a dark elf mage from the College of Winterhold. And to shortly discover they filled the empty room/basement full of various dead dark elf women... Just me...? Oh...

(More seriously, I don't remember how any of that happened, just that it was messed up and I did genuinely question if I was ok sanity wise cause... Honestly, thinking I did any of that was messed up cause I really don't like to do the evil path in videogames, dnd it's fine but videogames I tend to be as good as I can be. My character in Skyrim went from a normal adventurer to Elder Scrolls Bluebeard... At least I did not wake up to him being a cannibal, Hannibal style.)

Karlach's language alone would be enough to get this an adult rating!

(For the record, I'm no prude, I've enjoyed all the grown-up stuff, and think on the whole they've done a good job of using it proportionately and non-gratuitously. The only bits that made me wince a bit were the pointless gore of the various arms, legs, intestines and heads dotted around the landscape. If I can't build my own girlfriend out of them or feed them to a gnoll for a favour, why are they even there?)

Mm, kinda unfortunate. Though despite their hostility, there is something to look at in their opinion, mainly that they consider sexual content and/or nudity in a videogame as pornographic and thus something that shouldn't be in a videogame.

To be quite honest, I never considered sexual content in videogames to be appealing on that front, always just considered it part of the plot, mechanics, character, or aesthetic of a game. And if adult content was for porn, modders could and would do it a lot better than developers who need to stay at a M rating.

And there is something to be said on haphazardly, that is, if the content is added badly then no one will be happy. Cause if it is handled poorly and shoved into the game for those who don't want it, it'll be glaring and be detrimental to the game. And if handled poorly, even if implemented decently, it could be glaring to those who actually want it. It could have complete character breaks, bad writing, very bad animations, forced on the player, or even just really strange for time and place. So as much as they argue for absolutely no implementation of sexual content in BG3, I argue that Larian actually needs to be careful with how they implement characters at their most vulnerable and be considerate of those who really don't want to see it on their screens.