Keep in mind Candlekeep? The monastic library-fortress was the primary space of the unique Baldur’s Gate, a spot for introductory sidequests like curing a sick cow, discovering a guide in a haystack, and murdering rats in a storehouse. Traditional stuff, most of which I managed to overlook the primary time I performed it as a result of I used to be naive sufficient to suppose I ought to get on with my quest as an alternative of completely rinsing the tutorial zone for each attainable little bit of XP. Oops.
When you do get to return to Candlekeep in chapter six of Baldur’s Gate, we nearly bought to revisit it once more in Baldur’s Gate 3. “I had a bunch of concepts for it,” lead author Adam Smith advised Rock Paper Shotgun. “I feel that it is a good setting, partly as a result of it is going again to the place all of it started. In order that was all the time compelling. But in addition since you get an educational dungeon, and there is one thing attention-grabbing about that sort of library dungeon. It is huge, you recognize, inside the lore. And the thought of getting this place the place you’ll want to go to do analysis or one thing, or you’ll want to go down into it. And then you definitely additionally say, properly, that is the place the Bhaalspawn was raised—you recognize, it’s extremely, very enticing.”
Larian’s CEO Swen Vincke was additionally current for the interview, and he reminded Smith of the “loopy shit” he wished to place in Candlekeep for Baldur’s Gate 3.
“So there’s a spot within the Forgotten Realms,” Smith defined, “or the D&D universe, I ought to say, referred to as the Far Realms. And among the lore says that is the place the thoughts flayers started—it is the cosmic horror place, you recognize. So I had this entire thought that you simply’d have this seer, who’s sitting on the backside of Candlekeep, who’s principally staring into the Far Realms, you recognize, and has gone utterly insane, and you must go down there and discover out what he is seen. I nonetheless suppose it might have been very cool.”
Sadly, it wasn’t to be. Including an additional chapter on the best way to town of Baldur’s Gate would have messed with the pacing of the sport, which is frankly sufficiently big to be getting on with already. Smith means that including extra to Baldur’s Gate 3 would have made it really feel exhausting. “And you recognize, there is a level the place it turns into like, properly, is that this content material for the sake of content material? I hate the phrase ‘content material’, however you recognize—is it truly including to the story and the journey I am on, the place I’m in my journey? You’ll be able to have too many climaxes. They’re exhausting as properly. I am not speaking about intercourse once more.”
Larian additionally scrapped the concept that in the event you died in Baldur’s Gate 3 you would be despatched to the Forgotten Realms’ personal limbo, the fugue airplane. The studio actually had loads of concepts that have been finally put to 1 facet, however we can’t get to see them explored in expansions or sequels—Larian has moved on from Baldur’s Gate and is as an alternative creating two formidable new RPGs, and has opened a studio in Poland to help that work.
