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What is the point of playing a Custom character from the eponymous city if several of the Origin Characters already hail from the Gate? Wyll is (allegedly) a local hero from the city, Astarion is from the city (if being held as a slave for a vampire counts as home). Can a custom PC who hails from the City (one of the more common races Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, etc) give us the same connection/insight to the city as the Origin Characters? I ask because I want to make/play a custom character but will doing so give me any benefits/special moments like for a native for the Underdark or any of the more exotic races.


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As of the present time and judging from previous games by Larian and their style, the most likely answer is no... in fact, you will be made to feel like you're being punished for not playing an origin character, and that you are missing out on things; that your character is a cardboard cut-out tied to a mop that does nothing and adds nothing whatsoever to the game.

Those of us here who aren't totally jaded are still hoping for some sign of genuine evidence that this won't be the case; Larian have said they want to make the custom PC feel more alive and purposeful... but they've also intimated that they've done things to make them so in the current state, and they clearly have not.

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I haven't played since the new patch was introduced so let me know if they've included this, but one thing I think would be great is if we can actually get some insight into what our character's backstory is. As it stands they're basically a blank slate, and apparently we're going to find out more about our backstory as the narrative goes on, but I think that's the wrong way to go. From a roleplay perspective, if they're gonna give us a backstory, it would be great if we could define parts of it or even just have a way to get an insight into what's coming later. I think that would also help us feel invested in our character as well, since a lot of people seem to not care much for the custom PC as they stand.

Relating to this, I was thinking about why people are disatisfied with the custom character in comparison to various other examples of blank slate characters in games. In Pathfinder: Kingmaker for example, you definitely start as a blank slate and all you know about your character is that they're someone who would answer a call to try and establish a barony for yourself. I think the problem with BG3 is that we really have NOTHING to anchor our characters on in terms of who they were as people. They were vanished from wherever they happened to be, got implanted with a tadpole and then escaped. We have no in-story hook to build our character's backstories out from, no indicators of who they could have been. Sure we have the choices present at character creation, but I think those are different from in-game information.

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Originally Posted by Gray Ghost
Relating to this, I was thinking about why people are disatisfied with the custom character in comparison to various other examples of blank slate characters in games. In Pathfinder: Kingmaker for example, you definitely start as a blank slate and all you know about your character is that they're someone who would answer a call to try and establish a barony for yourself. I think the problem with BG3 is that we really have NOTHING to anchor our characters on in terms of who they were as people. They were vanished from wherever they happened to be, got implanted with a tadpole and then escaped. We have no in-story hook to build our character's backstories out from, no indicators of who they could have been. Sure we have the choices present at character creation, but I think those are different from in-game information.

Yea, anything at all would be an improvement than what we have now. I'm just a completely random guy that for some reason everyone is willing to follow me around. If it ends up being a child of bhaal type situation, that'd be fine, but right now it feels like the "right" way to play is to play an origin character, which just reeks of DOS2.

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I presume they simply had to put our characters in somewhere ...
And Baldur's Gate is citty as good as any other, better even, since there is a lot of "exotic" people ...

If you want to play non-Baldurian, all you need to do is not picking [Baldurian] choices ... that sounds quite acceptable for me. O_o


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Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
I presume they simply had to put our characters in somewhere ...
And Baldur's Gate is citty as good as any other, better even, since there is a lot of "exotic" people ...

If you want to play non-Baldurian, all you need to do is not picking [Baldurian] choices ... that sounds quite acceptable for me. O_o

I don't have citations to show but I have seen it mentioned that they do want to give custom characters special background stuff relating to being Baldurian. They certainly talk like being Baldurian is meant to mean something in particular. If that turns out not to be the case and you can just not choose the Baldurian choices, that's fine. Though if Wyll and Astarion and potentially other future companions can also choose those options, I will say that would be disappointing.

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Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
If you want to play non-Baldurian, all you need to do is not picking [Baldurian] choices ... that sounds quite acceptable for me. O_o
Exactly.

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost
I don't have citations to show but I have seen it mentioned that they do want to give custom characters special background stuff relating to being Baldurian. They certainly talk like being Baldurian is meant to mean something in particular.
I really hope they don't force this Baldurian origin on us. They should keep it the way it is now with dialogue choices, because a proper custom character should have the freedom to be from anywhere.

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I'd rather pick in character creation, where we have some options like Balduran, Waterdevian, Uthgard, et etc, with one option being Other that can be a blank for us to insert our own headcanon into.

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I'm going to be mildly disappointed if Baldurian background is forced on custom characters too. I want to make my own character have a Waterdhavian background. As I am taking part in a tabletop campaign that's centered around Waterdeep (specifically Dungeon of the Mad Mage), I am privy to certain plot points already present in BG3 that would be interesting to explore from that kind of background.

Namely, the Zhentarim and Mindflayers have a HUGE presence around Waterdeep. Other than Gale being from Waterdeep himself.

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Originally Posted by Saito Hikari
I'm going to be mildly disappointed if Baldurian background is forced on custom characters too. I want to make my own character have a Waterdhavian background. As I am taking part in a tabletop campaign that's centered around Waterdeep (specifically Dungeon of the Mad Mage), I am privy to certain plot points already present in BG3 that would be interesting to explore from that kind of background.

Namely, the Zhentarim and Mindflayers have a HUGE presence around Waterdeep. Other than Gale being from Waterdeep himself.


Also Waterdeep is much bigger (Population 1 million) than Baldur's Gate (Population 42,000) and far more fashionable, richer, more influential and cosmopolitan. You are essentially outclassing anyone from Baldur's Gate.

Nothing against Baldur's Gate of course, I think its the far easier jumping off point for adventures than Waterdeep would be. Has anyone even simmed Waterdeep anyway?


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The last proper game that took place in Waterdeep was some 30 years ago. I forget the name of the series, but it was one of those first person view dungeon crawlers and I only heard of it off-hand.

There was a mobile game that pretty much failed about 3 years ago. Some dungeon diving gacha sort of thing from what I heard.

It's why I have a particular interest in hoping WotC sends a contract to the Solasta devs to create a Waterdeep series of games. One because they seem to be a perfect fit for that sort of thing assuming they are given a bigger budget, and two because I don't see Larian staying on the DnD train after finishing BG3 (or they will veer back towards making a proper DOS3 immediately after this).

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Given that the game is Baldur's Gate, and all the NPCs are strongly hinting that all roads lead to there and we'll all end up in the city eventually, it isn't an issue for me that the player character could also be from there (IF you choose the Baldurian conversation options) as are several of the companions. It certainly doesn't feel forced at this point.

If you don't see your character as being from the city of Baldur's Gate, do not choose those conversation options - particularly as they MIGHT flag something that comes up later in the game that happens actually in the city?
Such as in DA:I (fresh in my mind after a replay), the more often you say you're a faithful Andrastian, the more faith-related options show up ie faithful-Inquisitor judging options, conversation options, etc.
I have a feeling some of the conversation flags will be important later on in BG3 as well.

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Originally Posted by CJMPinger
I'd rather pick in character creation, where we have some options like Balduran, Waterdevian, Uthgard, et etc, with one option being Other that can be a blank for us to insert our own headcanon into.
There is problem ...
Once you create 4 cities, you need to remember that in every little conversation you have. :-/
It would be expected from people to have special reactions for them all, otherwise many people would be mad about "why did i even picked this, if that does nothing". :-/

I really believe it was pure decision to keep development at least a little far from hell ...
Every surface dweller is Baldurian ... why is that a problem?


Originally Posted by Saito Hikari
I'm going to be mildly disappointed if Baldurian background is forced on custom characters too. I want to make my own character have a Waterdhavian background. As I am taking part in a tabletop campaign that's centered around Waterdeep (specifically Dungeon of the Mad Mage), I am privy to certain plot points already present in BG3 that would be interesting to explore from that kind of background.

Namely, the Zhentarim and Mindflayers have a HUGE presence around Waterdeep. Other than Gale being from Waterdeep himself.
I believe you will be totally able ...
You just dont get any [WATERDEEPIAN](?) chat option. laugh

Last edited by RagnarokCzD; 29/06/21 09:34 AM.

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Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
Originally Posted by CJMPinger
I'd rather pick in character creation, where we have some options like Balduran, Waterdevian, Uthgard, et etc, with one option being Other that can be a blank for us to insert our own headcanon into.
There is problem ...
Once you create 4 cities, you need to remember that in every little conversation you have. :-/
It would be expected from people to have special reactions for them all, otherwise many people would be mad about "why did i even picked this, if that does nothing". :-/

I really believe it was pure decision to keep development at least a little far from hell ...
Every surface dweller is Baldurian ... why is that a problem?


Originally Posted by Saito Hikari
I'm going to be mildly disappointed if Baldurian background is forced on custom characters too. I want to make my own character have a Waterdhavian background. As I am taking part in a tabletop campaign that's centered around Waterdeep (specifically Dungeon of the Mad Mage), I am privy to certain plot points already present in BG3 that would be interesting to explore from that kind of background.

Namely, the Zhentarim and Mindflayers have a HUGE presence around Waterdeep. Other than Gale being from Waterdeep himself.
I believe you will be totally able ...
You just dont get any [WATERDEEPIAN](?) chat option. laugh

I think it should only be considered to things that apply. For example, if you are Waterdevian you can actually talk about Waterdeep with Gale or any NPC that explicitly mentions it or explicitly from that city. Otherwis3e, Waterdevian shouldn't matter, like how Baldurian doesn't matter much rn.

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That is the point ...

Now, when they create characters (and no, its not just about Origin companions, its about all NPC) ... all they need to remember is that character can be from BG / Underdark / Astral Plane (thats it, isnt it?) and if so, add apropriate reactions ...
If surface dweller would have 4 cities to pick ... the number of potential reactions, would be more than doubled ...

Now count all the others permutations that can be created and you find out that with adding single another option to react, the amount of work is incerasing exponentialy. :-/

Example:
I heard few years ago that some people are trying to create new generation of procesor, that will be able to recognize 3 states, instead of 2 ... so no more 0 and 1 ... but 0, 1 and 2! ...
It may not seem like much at first, but with single bit you were able to create only 2 states (0/1) ... now you would be able to create 3 (0/1/2)
With two bits you are able to create 4 (00/01/10/11) ... now you would be able to create 9 (00/01/02/10/11/12/20/21/22) ... so you see that your calculation power was allready more than doubled!
With three bits ... im too lazy to count, and i believe you get the idea. smile

I dont say its exactly the same, but some paralel can be found even here ...
Sure, we could add "unimportant" choosing the citty of origin, if noone ever would react on it ... but many people would not exactly be happy about it. laugh
And once we start to concidering that "just one another choice" ... we might be easily surprised how many additional work we just created. laugh

Therefore its just easier to pick some place, where we all are from ...
And if we are not, let us to make some little conversation in our head. wink

Last edited by RagnarokCzD; 29/06/21 10:00 AM.

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To reiterate, I want to make a custom PC, ideally, a Human Wizard (because I want the classical 4 man party of Fighter (Lae'Zel), Rogue (Astarion), Cleric (Shadowheart), Wizard (Me)) mainly because I want to be from the city, have thoughts and opinions on what has been going on. Also, I don't trust Gale or Wyll and I need pure caster to supplement the party. I understand and enjoy the Larian approach to the Origin stories, but I prefer them as party companions. It would be like playing the original BG as Minsc or *shudder* Imoen or playing Dragon Age as Alistair, Leliana, or Morrigan. In Pathfinder Kingmaker I was happy and content to play and make a custom PC even though I didn't have an established past like the companions the fact I didn't have a 'canon' backstory allowed me to get invested and involved in the life of my PC. In Divinity Original Sin 2, I enjoyed my adventures as the Godwoken, but in the back of my mind, I felt as if I was missing something even though I have lots of great memories with my Custom PC Mage (Water and Necro), the Red Prince (Fire and Warrior), Beast (Rogue and Air) and Sebille (Marksman and Geo).


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Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
And once we start to concidering that "just one another choice" ... we might be easily surprised how many additional work we just created. laugh

Therefore its just easier to pick some place, where we all are from ...
And if we are not, let us to make some little conversation in our head. wink

Yep, agreed! And for those of us who don't have any experience with DnD or the previous BG games, there is enough in the character creation screen to choose from already in regards to background, stats, etc, to make my head spin - before even choosing a city of origin. As a new player to this world, I don't mind having this come up via conversation in game. Like - ooh what's this [Baldurian] option? Am I from Baldur's Gate? As a new player, I didn't know anything about it, but if it helps me connect with my new companions, sure, why not?

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Originally Posted by Zarna
Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
If you want to play non-Baldurian, all you need to do is not picking [Baldurian] choices ... that sounds quite acceptable for me. O_o
Exactly.

Originally Posted by Gray Ghost
I don't have citations to show but I have seen it mentioned that they do want to give custom characters special background stuff relating to being Baldurian. They certainly talk like being Baldurian is meant to mean something in particular.
I really hope they don't force this Baldurian origin on us. They should keep it the way it is now with dialogue choices, because a proper custom character should have the freedom to be from anywhere.

As far as I am aware, no matter what you pick - you'll still have the Baldurian tag. Which is *not* fine by me. ESPECIALLY if it turns out that this is gonna be forced upon us once we reach the city (like people recognizing PC or anything similar).

Personally, I am the type of player that prefer having a blank background, as far as the game is aware. Since you cannot 100% custom tailor your background (like you can with a DM), there is always going to be details that feels off and that can be game-breaking for my experience since that is one of the biggest reasons I cannot play Origin characters at all. I play Origins as maybe just-fun play-throughs, but they are NEVER my first choice.

I get that a lot of people feel differently and that they feel disconnected if their character has no story elements or past to refer to - but for players like myself, the less details the game tries to imagine about my past the better - because that means I will have 100% freedom to conjure up whatever my heart desires.


That said - I really do want some kind of in between option for those who don't quite wanna go full origin, but neither is satisfied with being a 100% blank sheet. I hope Larian can find some way to please at least most of the player base in the manner. ... However, as it is right now I am *extremely* salty about the BG-tag on my character as I suspect that Larian chose our characters to be from Baldur's Gate for a (story) reason - not just to enable some flavor conversation "just in case". And if it turns out that we actually DO have a past forced upon us, then I will be anything but happy. :[

Last edited by Dez; 29/06/21 10:24 AM.

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Originally Posted by RagnarokCzD
And once we start to concidering that "just one another choice" ... we might be easily surprised how many additional work we just created. laugh
Where you see work, I see opportunity.

On the work side, let the "city of origin" tag default to zero, for both the player character (until he, she, or it establishes a point of origin through dialogue) and all NPCs for whom city of origin is not important. Then, set up a limited number of "gab" responses that any casual NPCs with cities of origin can use with the player character. Finally, for important NPCs, dialogue writers have the option of deciding for that character how important their home city is, how they feel about the PC's home city, what they have to say about it, and what the PC has to say about what they have to say about it. They don't need to, if it's not really relevant to the NPC, but if they do, all they really need is a "reaction" line.

Boom. The work drops from exponential to near-linear.

On the opportunity side, immersion counts. Right now, we have one and only one option if we want to declare a city of origin - but Faerun is a pretty big place, with lots of different cultures intermingling. Being able to declare a different home, and getting an occasional shout-out to that home (for good or for bad), rewards you for your backstory (or part of it), and can give a stronger sense of connection.

However, I don't think we'd be having this conversation at all if Larian hadn't given us the option to declare ourselves Baldurians in the first place. I, for one, would be perfectly happy with a blank sheet that I can write on myself, so long as it was truly blank. Not exactly a fan of being told repeatedly that my character is a parent in search of his or her child in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, for instance.

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Originally Posted by Dez
As far as I am aware, no matter what you pick - you'll still have the Baldurian tag. Which is *not* fine by me. ESPECIALLY if it turns out that this is gonna be forced upon us once we reach the city (like people recognizing PC or anything similar).

Personally, I am the type of player that prefer having a blank background, as far as the game is aware. Since you cannot 100% custom tailor your background (like you can with a DM), there is always going to be details that feels off and that can be game-breaking for my experience since that is one of the biggest reasons I cannot play Origin characters at all. I play Origins as maybe just-fun play-throughs, but they are NEVER my first choice.

I get that a lot of people feel differently and that they feel disconnected if their character has no story elements or past to refer to - but for players like myself, the less details the game tries to imagine about my past the better - because that means I will have 100% freedom to conjure up whatever my heart desires.


That said - I really do want some kind of in between option for those who don't quite wanna go full origin, but neither is satisfied with being a 100% blank sheet. I hope Larian can find some way to please at least most of the player base in the manner. ... However, as it is right now I am *extremely* salty about the BG-tag on my character as I suspect that Larian chose our characters to be from Baldur's Gate for a (story) reason - not just to enable some flavor conversation "just in case". And if it turns out that we actually DO have a past forced upon us, then I will be anything but happy. :[

I didn't know the Baldurian tag was for everything, thought it was only for optional dialogue. That sucks. It will really be immersion breaking if people recognize us in the city. Also, this will not work for some backgrounds (Outlander and maybe Hermit.)

I am the same as you in wanting a complete blank background, especially since this is a DnD game. I really can't understand why people have such a hard time with making characters but since this is unfortunately a common issue, perhaps they should have some generic character templates in addition to the full custom.

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