Baldur's Gate 3

Dungeons & Dragons Systems

Baldur’s Gate 3 is heavily based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Character creation includes races, classes, subclasses, backgrounds, ability scores, spells, dice rolls, and skill checks. Dialogue, combat, exploration, persuasion, stealth, lockpicking, and many story moments can be decided by dice rolls, making the game feel close to a playable tabletop campaign.

Companions & Choice

A major part of the game is building a party from memorable companions like Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, Lae’zel, Wyll, and Karlach. Each companion has their own personality, questline, conflicts, romance options, and reactions to the player’s choices. Decisions can change relationships, quest outcomes, character fates, and even the direction of major story events.

Combat & Exploration

Combat is fully turn-based, with characters using actions, bonus actions, movement, spells, weapons, stealth, high ground, environmental hazards, and positioning to win fights. Exploration is just as important as combat: players investigate ruins, towns, caves, forests, temples, and the city of Baldur’s Gate while discovering hidden paths, secret loot, optional bosses, and alternate quest solutions.

Co-op & Multiplayer

Baldur’s Gate 3 can be played solo or in cooperative multiplayer. Players can create custom characters, join a campaign together, and make choices as a group. Larian’s FAQ lists both single-player campaign support and cooperative multiplayer, and Patch 8 added cross-play across PC, Mac, PS5, and Xbox.