Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to launch in early access next week, and fans are excited for a number of reasons. It’s been over 20 years since the first Baldur’s Gate game released, which is quite the gap between installments, even for video games.
Baldur’s Gate 3 might just redefine the RPG genre, just as its predecessors did in their day. It also looks like it’ll set the stage for all future Dungeons & Dragons-based games, of which there are quite a few in development, meaning whatever happens in Baldur’s Gate 3 will leave its mark on the Forgotten Realms permanently. The events of the game could cause change across the Sword Coast and beyond, something all future games will need to acknowledge.
Dungeons & Dragons is currently in its 5th edition, and the currently existing adventure books have already brought new lore for the history of Faerun. But that’s not all; there are multiple existing video games set within the popular Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms setting, and what happens in the games is written into the history of the world for those who play either D&D itself, D&D-based video games, or both.
Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn made their mark on the gaming industry and fans everywhere, but they also made their mark on the Forgotten Realms and Faerun. Once the games released, the Bhaalspawn crisis (which covers the player character’s journey through both games and the ensuing expansion) became canon in the Forgotten Realms.
That includes the existence of the main Bhaalspawn – in canon, it’s Abdel Adrian, D&D‘s default that fills the place of the player-character for the games – the almost-war that Sarevok waged in Baldur’s Gate, the experiments of Jon Irenicus, and more. In addition, the god Bhaal lives once more in 5th edition canon, though his resurrection happened over a century after the events of Baldur’s Gate.
Since Baldur’s Gate 3 is a sequel to these games, it’s entirely possible the Bhaalspawn crisis could be mentioned in-game. Either way, Baldur’s Gate laid the foundations for future D&D-based games, including Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale. Baldur’s Gate 3 will do the same thing today.
Knowing that whatever goes into the games becomes canon means that the events of Baldur’s Gate 3 could really take their toll on the Forgotten Realms. Even in the opening cinematic trailer for BG3, we can see a massive Mind Flayer dreadnaught wreaking havoc across the city of Yartar, and kidnapping people to be infected with the Mind Flayer tadpoles. With people being forcibly turned into Mind Flayers left and right, it’ll be a long time before the people of Faerun forget what happened.
So, when future Dungeons & Dragons games are created, they’ll have to deal with the aftermath of Baldur’s Gate 3. What a post-BG3 Faerun looks like remains to be seen, but that’s the stage that developers of other D&D games will have to work with. It’s possible the events of BG3 could even be mentioned in future adventures for 5th edition, simply as part of the flavor of Faerun. In that way, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a lot of power over the D&D games that’ll follow, though the exact effect they’ll have is yet to be seen. Nonetheless, the events of BG3 are likely to leave a lasting imprint on the Forgotten Realms; it’s hard to imagine a Mind Flayer incursion doing anything less.
According to Wizards of the Coast, there were “7 or 8” Dungeons & Dragons video games as of late 2019 planned out for release in the next few years. While most of them remain unannounced, and therefore a mystery, that number includes Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, the latter of which lets players take on the persona of Drizzt Do’Urden and company. Every game after BG3 will inherit the world space existing upon BG3‘s conclusion. Thus, Baldur’s Gate 3 sets the stage for all future Dungeons & Dragons games.
After the legacy left by its predecessors, Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to have to make an equally big mark in order to stand out and live up to its name. If it does that successfully, Baldur’s Gate 3 might very well change the standards of the modern RPG with its mechanics, graphics, and story. Beyond that, Baldur’s Gate 3 is perfectly poised to change the history Dungeons & Dragons‘ main setting. Here’s hoping Larian can make that happen.
Baldur’s Gate 3 enters early-access on October 6 for PC and Google Stadia.
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