I’m at a crossroads. As a Larian Studios fan, I’m excited to see what’s subsequent. However as a Baldur’s Gate 3 fan, I’m devastated. The RPG that stole my coronary heart gave me every part I may ever need in a sport: a parasitic an infection, an otherworldly risk, and a crew of superbly damaged heroes who carried my Tav by each inch of the Sword Coast. After pouring a whole bunch of hours into this world, I believed I’d be first in line when Larian introduced a DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3. Little did I do know that line would by no means type and that I’d be left with nothing however my tadpole and a harmful quantity of free time.
It’s grasping, I do know. Larian’s decision not to make Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC is a testomony to how full the sport already is. However completion doesn’t fairly lull my starvation to return—to step as soon as extra into the Sword Coast, to linger in tales that really feel like they’re nonetheless respiratory someplace. And whereas we could by no means get that chance within the type of a DLC, an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons launch centered on a beloved Baldur’s Gate 3 character looks like the following neatest thing. It’s not an growth, it’s not a detour, and it’s not one thing I could make house for on my Xbox to expertise. However it’s an invite to descend as soon as extra into the world that made us fall in love with this world and its characters.
Astarion’s E-book of Hungers: The Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC We’ll By no means Get
Astarion’s Book of Hungers looks like a love letter to everybody who ever rolled their eyes at Astarion, solely to finish up hopelessly dedicated to him. And its content material will certainly please any Baldur’s Gate 3 fan entering into Dungeons & Dragons. Astarion’s E-book of Hungers is a guidelines and journey complement written from Astarion’s POV. Consider it because the D&D Monster Handbook’s cousin that may’t keep too lengthy underneath the solar. This upcoming ebook can be launched digitally on November 11 as a digital growth for the Forgotten Realms Final Bundle. It will likely be launched individually at an unknown date.
Though Astarion’s Book of Hungers may lend itself to controversy, it’s an simple win for D&D monster aficionados, followers of the Ravenloft setting, and Baldur’s Gate 3 gamers who’re on the lookout for a segway into the tabletop. On a technical stage, Astarion’s E-book of Hungers’ additions are already promising:
- New Origins: Three vampire-themed backgrounds that allow you to construct a personality steeped in blood, appeal, and tragedy.
- New Species: Eight playable species, together with the dhampir, getting back from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
- New Feats: Sixteen distinctive character feats that give your adventurers a sharper edge, each actually and figuratively.
- New Villains: 5 stat blocks that includes infernalist vampires and Mephistopheles’ servants, good for including gothic horror to your subsequent marketing campaign.
Mechanically, it’s a simple promote for BG3 fans curious about D&D. However the place the E-book of Hungers actually shines is in its roleplaying potential: the best way it teases a continuation of Astarion’s story, not by cutscenes or DLC, however by the boundaries of your creativeness.
Astarion’s Backstory
Earlier than the spawn, earlier than the tadpoles, earlier than the celebs aligned over the Sword Coast for an Astarion romance within the woods, there was a spot referred to as Rat’s Run Tavern. Astarion’s E-book of Hungers breathes life into this forgotten hang-out, reworking it from an unknown footnote in lore into a totally mapped journey setting pulsing with secrets and techniques. The tavern isn’t only a backdrop; it’s a confession sales space.
Whether or not the ebook signifies that this previous stomping floor was his favourite in life or undeath, it stays a compelling setting regardless. It’s the type of place gamers can simply think about Astarion haunting in any of his former lives—charming, conniving, and all the time three steps forward. Alternatively, it may very well be a spot that reclaims a bit of Astarion’s humanity. For Baldur’s Gate 3 players, it’s an nearly disorienting invitation: an opportunity to face within the very place your favourite vampire might need smiled earlier than his circumstances broke him.
Persevering with the Journey
The true seduction of Astarion’s E-book of Hungers lies in what comes subsequent. The complement doesn’t simply allow you to examine Astarion; it permits you to combat alongside him once more. Two absolutely realized mini-adventures invite gamers to journey with the vampire spawn at both stage 3 or stage 12. And so they sound good for a D&D one-shot or a candy aspect quest in a marketing campaign. It stays to be seen whether or not he’s a guiding determine like Jaheira after BG3, or just taking a detour from Tav’s or Durge’s command. However I can’t think about that many Baldur’s Gate 3 followers who yearn to see extra of their favourite characters would reject an opportunity to journey with him only one final time.
There’s a bittersweet magic in that premise. Baldur’s Gate 3 gave us closure, possibly an excessive amount of of it for these of us who’re sentimentalists. And for gamers like me, someway a whole bunch of hours nonetheless aren’t sufficient. I may play this sport for hundreds of hours and nonetheless yearn for the magic of experiencing Baldur’s Gate 3 for the first time. However E-book of Hungers cracks the door open once more, simply sufficient for the moonlight to spill in. So whereas there could by no means be DLC for BG3, I’ll take this as the following neatest thing. If I can’t discover solace holding a controller, I can discover it round a desk: cube in hand, surrounded by associates, and persevering with a narrative that we refuse to bury.
Baldur’s Gate 3
9/10
- Launched
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content material, Robust Language, Violence
