Baldur’s Gate
A new look at the character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3 is here with there being many of the core races from Baldur’s Gate in the mix
Next week a good portion of gamers out there will be diving into what Baldur’s Gate 3 has to offer in the Early Access phase of it all. While some may be scoffing at the idea of this instead of just having Larian Studios go through the whole process alone, there is quite a bit we will get to experience in this one when it goes live on the PC. It is still slated to hit on October 6th as a reminder and now it looks like we will have about 25 hours worth of content to play through in Baldur’s Gate 3 when it does. All with our own character and party we have created. The reason we are here, as it looks like there will be a plethora of options for us to enjoy when diving into all of this.
As it turns out, we will have eight main races we will be able to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3 here with six different classes to add to the mix. If that is not enough, there will be many different subraces we can select to further customize our characters with. That is only for background and stats too, as it looks like Baldur’s Gate 3 will also have an extremely filled character model creator with hundreds of heads, bodies, and the like all based on real-world body scans. It is interesting to hear about all of that, but it is cooler to see some of it too. that is what we have listed below with the finer details for each race and subrace. Have a look at those screens and then get ready to join in that Early Access next week.
Larian Studios today announced the races, variations and classes that will be a part of Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access phase of development. Players will be able to select from 16 races/subraces, as well as six classes, from day one of early access, which starts Oct. 6, 2020, on Stadia, Steam and GOG.com.
At launch, players will be able to create humans, githyanki, elves, drow, half-elf, dwarves, halflings, and tieflings, including subraces of each race. The early access release of Baldur’s Gate 3 provides around 25 hours of content, designed for multiple playthroughs. Players can create their own characters in single-player, or as a party of up to four players in multiplayer, each with their own character.
Races more alien to the Sword coast — like the Drow and Githyanki — are so rare to the average NPC that you’ll find their interactions to be unique, as well. The world of Baldur’s Gate 3 is a highly reactive one, so this single choice will have huge ramifications across your play experience.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s character creation features photorealistic fantasy races based on 3D scans of actors and models (blemishes and all), selected because their features roughly resembled the direction for each race in the game, as well as, of course, for diversity and variety in the human-like races. Our team spent much of pre-production carefully selecting, scanning, and moulding these scans to become the base heads for character creation. Launching into early access is a total of 150 heads to pick from, across 16 races and subraces.
Here’s what you’ll have access to at the start of early access:
Human
The most common face to see in Faerûn, humans are known for their tenacity, creativity and endless capacity for growth. They live fully in the present — making them well-suited to the adventuring life — but also plan for the future, striving to leave a lasting legacy.
Githyanki
Githyanki are peerless warriors from the Astral Plane, known for their legendary silver blades and red dragon mounts. They seek the total destruction of mind flayers, whose ancient empire enslaved the githyanki for millennia.
Elf
- High Elf: Heirs of the mystical Feywild, high elves value magic in all its forms. Even those who do not study spellcraft can manipulate the Weave.
- Wood Elf: Wood elves spend their reclusive lives in Faerûn’s forests. Decades of training in archery and camouflage are enhanced by an otherworldly swiftness.
Drow
- Seldarine Drow: Drow are the result of an ancient schism between the elven deities Corellon Larethian and Lolth. The latter’s treachery drove the drow into the Underdark, where they splintered into warring factions. Seldarine drow can be found seeking allies from all over Faerûn, aiming to settle their conflict with Lolth — and each other — by any means necessary.
- Lolth-Sworn Drow: Raised by Lolth’s cult in the city of Menzoberranzan, these drow extol the virtues of their corrupt and merciless goddess. Lolth marks her followers with bright red eyes so the Underdark will learn to fear drow on sight.
Half-Elf
- High Half-Elf: A touch of the Feywild remains in half-elves with this bloodline. Even those untrained in magic possess a hint of wild power.
- Wood Half-Elf: Like their wood elf parents, these half-elves have a quickened stride and eye for stealth. Yet many break away from isolation in Faerûn’s forests to explore the rest of the Realms.
- Drow Half-Elf: Most half-drow result from liaisons between Seldarine drow and surfacers. While half-drow inherit a few magical gifts, they aren’t usually raised in the Underdark.
Dwarf
- Gold: Gold dwarves are known for their confidence and keen intuition. The culture of their Deep Kingdom values family, ritual and fine craftsmanship.
- Shield: Shield dwarves survived a long fall from grace, surrendering many of their ancient kingdoms in wars with goblins and orcs. These losses have led to a cynical mindset, yet shield dwarves will endure anything to restore their ancestral homelands.
Hafling
- Lightfoot Halfling: Lightfoot halflings are stealthy but social, travelling all over Faeûn to make names for themselves.
- Strongheart Halfling: Legends say dwarven blood gave stronghearts their hardiness. Resistant to poison and wellsprings of endurance, these halflings easily hold their own.
Tiefling
- Asmodeus Tiefling: Bound to Nessus, the deepest layer of the Hells, these tieflings inherit the ability to wield fire and darkness from the archdevil Asmodeus’ infernal bloodline.
- Mephistopheles Tiefling: Descended from the archdevil Mephistopheles, these tieflings are gifted with a particular affinity for arcane magic.
- Zariel Tiefling: Tieflings from Zariel’s bloodline are empowered with martial strength and can channel searing flame to punish their enemies.
The Sword Coast attracts adventurers from across all of Faerûn. The nearly 600 NPCs you can meet in Act 1 are drawn from across the Forgotten Realms. Character creation includes hundreds of options to ensure that each character is unique, and the world reacts to you in ways that help ensure you and your choices are unique, too.
In early access, you’ll have six classes to choose from — Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, and Wizard — each with at least two subclasses available. Will you be a beast-taming, mage-breaking, charlatan halfling ranger with a toxic frog as a familiar, or a noble githyanki eldritch knight who let herself be seduced by the Absolute, with the ability to psionically drag her enemies towards her? Or will you go for a more traditional tiefling warlock who made a pact with the devil? The choices are endless!
Were you expecting this much out of the Early Access for Baldur’s Gate 3 or do you think it will be too much? Will the final version of the game even more options in all the categories here or will it only get filled in with more character models to manipulate? Have you already made your choice for the first playthrough of the game or will you be holding off until you are in the system directly? Let us all know what you are thinking down in the comments and then feel free to discuss it all. If there is more for Baldur’s Gate 3, and I am sure there will be, we will have it up on the site for you. Just be sure to keep coming back here for all of that and much more.
