‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Embraces Tabletop Chaos as Player Beats Game With Party of Cats
Baldur’s Gate 3 was never meant to be beaten by a party made entirely of cats. So naturally, that’s what one player has done.
Cats are one of humanity’s oldest memes – all the way back to ancient history. From the year 2101, when we made statues of them, cats have been a lingering presence in humanity’s collective consciousness. And there is good reason for that: these furry little murder engines make such a lovable sound when you touch them.
One Baldur’s Gate 3 player was determined not to leave cats all alone in the moonlight but rather to bring them into the spotlight. Not of the Heaviside Layer, but the sprawling RPG that is Baldur’s Gate 3. YouTuber Proxy Gate Tactician dares to ask, Can You Beat Baldur’s Gate 3 As a Cat?
The All-Cats Baldur’s Gate 3 Proves Everybody Wants to Be a Cat
Proxy Gate Tactician’s ‘oops all cats’ attempt proves the depths and flexibility of Baldur’s Gate 3. It also highlights the problem of D&D: no matter how permissible and flexible you as a DM might be, the players will always, always, every single time, choose the path of chaos.
Whether that’s the path of most resistance or just spending three hours arguing about whether or not they want to cross a river. D&D players have a knack for finding ways to break not only the game but the DM’s spirit.
Watching through Proxy Gate Tactician’s attempt, it’s nice to see Baldur’s Gate 3 suffer for a change. Watching the video, the game clearly does not intend you to beat the game as a cat. Though surprisingly enough it does anticipate that you will wander around and attempt things as a cat.
In one memorable sequence the Proxy Gate Tacticians’ character accepts a quest for a rat, who entreats our feline hero to slay a Tiefling that’s preventing the rat from doing what it wants. And then he does.
Now, to accomplish this feat, the Druid’s wild shape ability, as well as the phrase “cat,” is heavily used. Going by the rules that a Proxy Gate Tactician sets up for himself, he must be a Druid and remain in cat form as much as possible. He can only exit and be in the world as a human when the game requires him to, such as in cutscenes.
The attempt is surprisingly successful. The recruiting party members prove to be a little bit unorthodox, but it’s still possible. Thanks to the ability to respect everyone as a druid, the whole game can be spent herding cats.
At higher levels, the cats become deadlier. But even without combat cat forms, the game is still navigable thanks to Baldur’s Gate 3’s supreme power: Barrelmancy. With Barrelmancy, victory is not only possible but inevitable.
Everyone knows a cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at.
