Baldur’s Gate 3 is due to enter Early Access soon and Larian Studios has released a new community update that outlines some of the character creation options available to players at launch. With the announcement, we know what races will be playable during the Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access period.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is expected to enter Early Access on October 6, barring any further delays. The Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will contain the first of three planned acts. This will give players a chance to get a feel for the game and its new systems. The latest entry is set a century after Baldur’s Gate 2 and it uses the rules from a brand new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. As such, the people who haven’t touched the series since Throne of Bhaal will need to adjust to a lot of new systems. The Early Access for Baldur’s Gate 3 is expensive, but it promises a substantial experience for its price tag, and it should offer enough of an introduction to bring everyone back up to speed.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Mind Flayers, Explained
The latest update on the official Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam page has revealed the playable races in the Early Access period. Humans are playable in the game, though it’s unconfirmed if players will be able to choose between the different variants from the Player’s Handbook (the +1 to all stats version or the bonus Feat version). Githyanki are playable in the game, even though they are generally rare in the Forgotten Realms. This makes some sense, as Githyanki are an important part of the story and at least one companion is a member of the race.
There are a ton of options for elves in Baldur’s Gate 3. High elves and wood elves are in the game, with the former being closely associated with the arcane arts and intricate hidden cities, while the latter are closer to nature and choose to live in the wild. Seldarine drow elves eschew the evil ways of their race and follow the gods of the surface, while the Lolth-Sworn drow still serve the evil pantheon of the Underdark-dwelling drow elves. There are also three variants of half-elf: high half-elf, wood half-elf, and half-elf — all of which share elements of their fey ancestry and human parentage.
There are different kinds of dwarves and halflings in the Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access version, and they use the Forgotten Realms names, rather than the Player’s Handbook names. Gold/hill dwarves and shield/mountain dwarves are in the game, while lightfoot halflings and strongheart/stout halflings also made it in. The cultural differences between these aren’t as severe as those among the elves. Sadly, dragonborn, half-orcs, and gnomes won’t be present in the Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3, though they could make it in through future updates.
Lastly, there are three different versions of tieflings in the game: Asmodeus tieflings, Mephistopheles tieflings, and Zariel tieflings. Asmodeus tieflings share a bloodline with the ruler of the devils, which gives them control over darkness and fire; Mephistopheles tieflings share a bloodline with Asmodeus’ closest rival, giving them skill in the arcane arts; Zariel tieflings share a bloodline with the fallen angel, giving them incredible martial prowess. Zariel will be familiar to people who played the Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus D&D adventure, as she is one of its main antagonists.
It’s unclear if these races play in the same way as their D&D counterparts. Check back in with TheGamer when Baldur’s Gate 3 launches in Early Access for more details on the available races.
Next: Baldur’s Gate 3: What Happened To Bhaal?
Baldur’s Gate 3 launches in Early Access on Google Stadia and Steam on October 6, 2020.
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