Turns Out Homebrew D&D Rules Helped Shape ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
If you’ve ever felt bad about homebrew rules in your D&D games, just know that Larian went out of their way to use them for Baldur’s Gate 3.
One of the most important parts of any D&D game (or any RPG really) is coming up with your own house rules. Every DM should homebrew at least one thing or another into the mix. And even Larian Studios, developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 understand this principle, and went looking for homebrew rules to make their game pop.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Devs ‘Literally Went Through Forums Looking for Homebrew Rules’
At this year’s PAX West, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke and design director Nick Pechenin reminisced about the phenomenal journey that brought about Baldur’s Gate 3. During the retrospective panel, Vincke talked about the highs and lows of the game. But one of the key points for the team was capturing the tabletop experience. Which they’ve done in many ways, as anyone who has tried to break the bounds of the story has discovered, the developers have accounted for all sorts of player gremlins.
But more than that, they embodied the role of DMs and players – coming up with homebrew rules to help the game stand out on its own. To make it more playable. You can see it in the unique system of elemental interactions. Creatures doused in water take more damage from lightning and cold damage. But that’s not all. In the panel, Vincke and Pechenin talked about some of their inspirations.
“We literally went through forums looking for homebrew rules […] like the rule where you cannot cast a full action spell and a bonus action spell on the same turn.
It was just something that frequently fell by the wayside, so we were like – okay, we’re not crazy, some people do it, so maybe we can try it as well.”
– Nick Pechenin
And if you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ve likely run up against other instances of homebrewed rules. From the speed at which you can drink potions to the sorts of magic items and boons you can acquire from NPCs in the game. And honestly, Larian has the right idea.
The rules of D&D are just the jumping-off point. Every table makes it their own. From critical success on skill checks to weird fumbles or other interactions, homebrewing is a core part of the D&D experience.
So get out there and play by your own rules!
