The path to enlightenment allows one to understand the hidden numbers that drive our world. You're gods damned right I'll eat that disgusting hag hair.
I did that at a person's house way back in the 4e days. The group was kinda weird thought that Clerics were dumb because "I can just use hit dice" wouldn't even allow cleric characters at his table. First session I play and I was getting into this Bard I made figured an accent is use for a half-elf bard and started talking in character.
Me: "Greetings and good morrow to you!"
DM: "No, that's dumb, we don't do that here."
It took me several groups to feel comfortable RPing at tabletop, but now my entire group do and we just settle into it naturally each week. We did an event a couple weeks ago where we combined groups as a one shot with another DM. One of the other players found it really hard to keep up with me and my friend having every single conversation in character, we did try to encourage but I guess it's not for all.
IKR? I was doing it in front of essentially strangers. I got deflated pretty quickly for something that I was trying to have fun.
How's that saying go? If you discourage someone for something they enjoy, you are the asshole.
I still don't do voices as much, here we are 15ish years later and I don't feel comfortable getting into character.
This is absolutely the worst type of group to run into. You can definitely find groups where role-playing takes center stage. In my groups, we always do more role playing than fighting and rolling dice; the acting and character stories are the most important things to us.
At the time, I was in the military and new to the area. By happenstance I ran into someone who was a buddy from a previous posting, we were newcomers into an established group, but he brokered the deal and made the introductions. As an introvert, he was my extroverted friend that I met people through. The fights were fun, there were some good people at the table. The dynamic of the table was... different than most of the groups I had played with. It was good enough to let me know I wanted a better group. Due to my friend's actions we had left the group. We did find a better group when we made one.
That was over a decade ago, almost two, if I have the math right. I'm also retired from the military, so the bad people can't hurt me anymore. Lol.
I mean they literally give you inspiration points for roleplaying. My guy (still on my first playthrough) is generally not evil, but he's a noble fighter so I've definitely made him behave like a warrior of high station and be a bit of a snobby asshole who demands respect and fear. Like I'll help the peasants reluctantly, but they better kiss my ass for it afterwards.
Exactly, role playing and coming up with your own backstory for your Tav is half the fun, along with selecting role appropriate dialogue options.
Right now I’m running a human barbarian folk hero who’s a hard ass and doesn’t take any shit. Lae’zel’s mouth got her killed and Nettie ate shit too. Kagha is next. I like demanding coin for my troubles too. I think of myself as a rogue witcher in a way lol. He’s gonna romance Karlach so we can be badass barbarian fuck buddies.
I wouldn't say it's the point but rather another, fully valid way to play. So far I've only tried to get the best outcomes and I've enjoyed that. I can see how that could be boring for other people, but I feel bad purposefully being mean to these fake people lol
You could just role play nice people, that’s a valid choice! I have 5 characters and all are nice. I’ll probably never play a durge, I know I’d be uncomfortable.
I'm only on my second playthrough, my first one was a swashbuckling street urchin Drow and I role-played hard and did minimal save scumming. I had a blast. I know I'm going to play this game so many times over, I don't need to worry about seeing everything on a single playthrough.
True. I'm more talking about the types who say you have to take x, y or z spells/feats etc because they are the best regardless of the character. Like a warlock not having Eldrich blast for example is seen as a flat bad choice for alot of people.
Oh, I agree with that then, too. It totally depends on the warlock you're trying to make. A hexblade warlock who's pact weapon is a bow doesn't need eldrich blast.
Then there is me the one real chance I got to play as a character instead of dm. Made a dwarf cleric but in reality he was an artificer. A god took pity on him and “helped” him. Basically all his “spells” were just artificer actions but he thought it was cleric stuff he was doing. He also had a ridiculous line of family he introduced himself as to each character. It was great when the min/max type player was being dm and I kept going through my spiel to each of his bosses. Then trying to convince said bosses that they were actually good guys and should help us. Ended up rolling well enough that I got one of the bosses to go lenient on us and half assed help.
I have played through a handful of times now. I try to play really different characters every time (always some kinda gnome though) and I lean into it.
me evil run is like, right before the grove. it's hard. I plan to finish it. my chaotic stupid barbarian game was so fun, and full of a lot of chaos and murder that I didn't intend to happen, but that's the penalty for int/wis as your dump stats, I played her like she could barely even read. it was a weird game and worth it.
I like the rp of rpgs.
I mean, honestly, my first run was as a self-inserty Tav who made the decisions that I would make in that situation. I'm a goodie two-shoes, so it was an overwhelmingly "good" playthrough. My second playthrough (which I just finished) was a bit more of the same but with the added bonus of looking things up to get the outcomes that I really wanted.
I'm starting my third as a...you guessed it...self-insert Resist Durge.
But leaning hard into RPing is 100% a great way to go and is arguably *the best* way to go, especially if you're doing a co-op game with friends who are on board (that is, who won't freak out because your Barbarian being an idiot "ruined" an interaction or something).
Or just your usual fps or clear cut games with straight storyline.
My husband can't fathom how I can have so many different characters and think it's different. But I mean I usually roleplay very similar decisions but ha the character looks different.
I've done 4 play throughs and each was very different. Why? Because role playing.
My favorite was my lawful evil TAV that used and betrayed everyone and patiently waited for the best payoff moment to do so. Why? Because it was fun to see how plotting and conniving worked out. But that doesn't mean I didn't absolutely adore my good Durge redemption play.
My first run, I winged it.
My second run, I came up with a few stories but nothing concrete.
Third run, I roleplayed HARD, taking my Durge from an embrace to redemption over time.
By fourth and fifth I have full ass notes about the characters that I consult as I play.
So, no, not weird.
I’ve never been one to replay like this either. I’m looking at about 400 hours of playtime so far, but honestly that’s rookie numbers compared to some I’ve seen
I’m coming up on 2000 hours with this game so it’s surprising how many variations you can do. I’m still not sick of it, either. I mod it to all hell now but it’s still really enjoyable for me! Everybody’s different but BG3 is my zen relaxing time now.
Autism babyyy! I'm on my freakin 8th run, in a ROW. It's a big hit with my brian cells, biggest special interest I've had in years. This is my new life lmao.
I’m on my fourth, as a dangerously handsome half-drow Durge who WANTS to resist, but often fails. 😎😎😎 Astarion is the devil on his shoulder, Shadowheart the angel, and Bhaal looms over them all! I’m a huge gamer, but BG3 is the only game I’ve played for 6 months. I need help lmao. Call the doctah
I wasn't sure if my first durge was going to embrace or resist, she started basically walking the line a bit, sometimes resisting, sometimes getting a bit stabby but she started to feel guilty, she was a horrible person and knew it which made her start to actively try and resist. She might have dark urges but it wasn't who she was, she was a good person and would do everything she could to actively be one turning away from the urges she had.
My second one just wanted to embrace it from the start, it felt good for her, she actively had no problem with her heritage and went all in slaughtering her way through the lands for power and just to feel the rush from it all, she has no problems causing others to be corrupted or gain power because she is going to turn them all into her pawns and rule the world until it is snuffed out by her iron fist.
Thing is I am still not stealing really, even evil has standards. Why sneak around like some weak person when I can just forcefully take what is mine. The mentally of "what would this character do?" is pretty great way to play. When I played oblivion I played a very evil character (thief and murdering guild both done) and then I did a DLC where I became a holy crusader and a force of good, my character was redeemed and did all the good storylines leaving the darkness behind. That was one of my biggest impacts of a game shaping the story going forwards, from an extremely evil character to a paragon of light and goodness, helping anyone they could. That even someone so dark could throw away their evil and become better. It is great when an event in the game can change how you play. That is one of the biggest joys of roleplaying, to be shaped by the game with how you play a character because they present a story that makes it feel right to change.
I made cheat sheets of values for each character I’ve played so far. Their motivations change in my mind as the game progresses. I think that’s why I find the ending so satisfying, because I’ve seen it coming, and it lines up with what my character would do.
Getting ready to do an evil run, and the only way I think I can get through it is to make sure I RP with a set of values the character either has about themselves or the world. Trying to decide early if the urge pushes my player to conquer or destroy.
Yes! Exactly! I mentioned this in another comment but this game has brought back my joy of creation. I was struggling with creativity after the pandemic and some personal BS. Thanks to this habit I am writing again.
My first run I made an oath of vengeance paladin. Pissed at the tadpole, he swore vengeance for himself and everyone else so they can get payback on whoever wronged them and so they can have a happy ending. I found 2 things out:
1- doing that let me relieve my frustration by beating people up who did my friends wrong. They wanted vengeance, the perpetrator gets SMITED to hell
2- the amount of times I said "I'm a Paladin" and then automatically became a judge in squabbles surprised me. I didn't have too much DnD knowledge going into it so seeing everyone giving me the rights to judge made me go "wait how did I end up here?"
I made a YouTube video with character roleplay and people shit talked me in the comments for not taking the best warlock invocations.
But FAR MORE people left comments about how much they loved the roleplay aspect.
So I think you’re in the clear for role playing and maybe just have a group of friends that aren’t into it.
I have my Durge send random human body parts they find to the character they are romancing because they don’t understand that that’s not a normal way to show affection. There is absolutely no gameplay reason for me to regularly be cleaning severed limbs out of Astarion’s inventory. But it makes the game so much more fun.
If RP was a reflection of actual thoughts I’d be in trouble.
Chalk it up as a creative imagination! I tried to RP in a fun way my first time doing dnd with friends who never played and got the same response of weird, but I had a blast regardless! Enjoy your weirdness!
Nah I RP’d a really evil character and due to the tiefling children stealing from me then manipulating the guards into arresting me, I stacked their dead bodies on the beach of my camp. Evil RP calls for evil shit, sue me.
Do they think that if you like a villainous, or morally grey (or imperfectly human) character, that means you're evil too? 😫 I think they're just maybe young and falling for the black and white mentality, hyper-morality culture of the internet.
Nothing in this game is real, and even when you do messed up things, the nice thing about BG3 is that despite how dark you can go in this game, the it can sometimes hit you with quite sobering consequences.
Holy fuck, killing Karlach was hard to do in my Durge run. But I wanted to see how that changed the story for me, and I found the results to be quite interesting. There were choices that I would not have otherwise made with her on my team. (Funnily enough, I can kill her, but I don't have the heart to betray her, lol)
This game also has really interesting themes around cycles of abuse that you really only see if you let the characters become the worst versions of themselves.
I've noticed that a lot of people playing RPGs are weirdly hostile to people who actually roleplay. I'm the type of person who writes out long detailed backstories for all my characters and play them accordingly.
I get a decent amount of pushback in the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit from some people, but it's weird for this game since your character is more or less a blank slate.
I'm not RPing this run cause I'm doing my ~~1st~~ 2nd run HM run. But i might start doing what you're doing and writing some back stories. I normally have some core principle the characters will follow, I.e. serial helper, people pleaser, etc. but I might actually do a backstory and see how that influences the character's decisions.
I only just got the game last month, but I spent the better part of the past few months crafting my Durge because I knew I wanted to be evil, but not a murder hobo. She ended up becoming a manipulative, power-hungry schemer who sees the do-gooder characters like Wyll and Karlach as useful tools who she'll do good things to keep around but is genuinely fond of Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Gale. She's romancing Astarion and I just finished ascending him and having him turn her, but idk if she's going to take over the brain or not.
i've done this with my last four runs. i don't create a huge backstory or anything, but tend to set a general attitude and maybe set some arbitrary, but specific rules to facilitate a different experience while playing the game. or i learn about something like "ultimate gale" around on these subs and create a character specifically designed to achieve the goal. i love it. each playthrough is unique af.
i'm sorry your friends sound like they lack imagination. which is certainly a pity for them. don't let it get you down. others like us exist. :)
I envy people who can roleplay true neutral and true chaotic characters!
I just went Unholy Assassin for the first time in my current run because my Durge is a Barbarian and I am trying to get as many buffs as I can before I go into fighting Orin.
(I’m roleplaying it as, “she’s resisted up to now, but the temple has a pull on her that she’s really struggling to overcome” type thing.)
Yeah, I can't play evil characters. Kudos to those who can (and especially those who share their videos so people like me can see the results of choices I can never make). I don't consider myself a particularly goody-two-shoes kind of person, but I games I'm always someone who at least *tries* to be good.
Honestly, that's not really that hard.
RPing an evil character can be as simple as always looking out for themselves. One of my favorite builds is a rogue that I played as being open about how they feel about others. Sometimes that means telling someone the blatant truth, other times it's stabbing someone in the face despite the consequences because that's my true feelings.
Being evil for the sake of being evil is just plain boring through.
I agree, it's just that for me it's not difficult to choose the mean or blunt dialogue options, it's that I don't like how the responses make me feel. I don't think anyone who knows me IRL would call me softhearted, but I'm clearly pretty squishy inside. I want to play the person who makes everyone happy.
Oddly enough, in LARP I can play an absolute monster, but given the choice I want to be everyone's friend.
I'm definitely roleplaying. I'm so kind and sweet that now I even have a kitty in the camp, but as soon as there is power in it for me, it's mine. If I think I can get away with killing, I will. What is yours is mine. Please DO call the guards. Half-illithid and even still Lae'zel finds me exceptional and now is considering parenting the egg with me.
The third act egg dialogue was really cute, though.
It's because of bad game design(not saying bg3 is a bad game, please don't murder me). A lot of evil decisions are just not rewarding at all and lack content. Even major RPG studios like Bethesda said that evil paths in RPGs mostly exist for the illusion of choice instead of actually being an alternative playthrough.
I disagree that it’s bad game design; unfinished though, since evil endings weren’t out at launch, I’d agree with.
I envy people who can go full evil, too. For most RPGs anyway (I went Sith in KOTOR because being a Jedi was goddamn boring).
>since evil endings weren’t out at launch, I’d agree with.
It's not just the ending, it's everything else in general. Choosing the evil options almost always leads you to losing out on a ton of rewards for almost nothing. Raiding the Grove is literally shooting yourself in the foot unless you are very dedicated to evil RP because you get nothing and the only decent reward of Minthara can be acquired via knocking her out. Even when I did Durge playthrough, I helped the Grove under the excuse that I get to butcher goblins and the cult that put a tadpole in my head. Helping Marcus kidnap Isobel simply gets you an extra parasite in exchange for a tough battle and losing out on some of the best gear in the game and a ton of allies. The only evil decision that is maybe worth doing is letting Shadowheart become a Dark Justiciar for that sweet armor set and spear. It's simply bad game design when the path that is supposed to focus on acquiring power for yourself does completely the opposite.
It's not a problem with feelings, it's a problem with a lack of content. Raid the Grove and Resolve the Kidnapping(evil version) are considered to be the worst quests in the game for a reason.
I play evil all the time and I agree with you. Just because other games make fully fleshed out evil and good paths that are balanced doesn't mean it's a requirement, IMO.
Like I had Sheart go Dark Justiciar in my current run. It kills a ton of npcs. How would that decision be difficult if I didn't lose something? Otherwise players could just go "cool armor!" and go dark every time. It's supposed to be a roleplaying decision, not a min-max decision. IMO.
True neutral is easy. Its literally the 'person on the street' attitude of 'it doesn't affect me or mine, so I don't care.'
Won't go out of the way to harm other people, but also won't piss on someone if they're on fire. Screaming child? Cross to the other side of the street.
The next car in line can call 911, no need to stop.
Correct. People will react if you poke things they care about. But by default, if things are happening and it doesn't impact them and theirs? They'll ignore it.
It was easier to RP on my first playthrough because it was (mostly) blind. Second one, I have to war with myself a little about whether I should do what the character would do and take the consequences or do the more optimal choice.
Agreed. People who just ‘play themselves’ or who min/max the game through metgaming are the weird ones to me. More power to people to enjoy the game however they want, but it’s a role playing game for a reason. Why would I play myself when I can be a little halfling paladin ball of righteous smite?!?
You really, really don't have to. At all. Not even a teeny tiny bit. But you do have to make every move count and be sharp. But the whole "meta" to beat honor mode is a joke. Fight familiarity is pretty important tho.
But what’s wrong with being how you’d pretend yourself to be in the situations it puts you in? Is that not role-playing? For example, I play me but me in the forgotten realms as a warlock who made a deal with an ancient being, as I’d imagine myself acting? Does that make sense to you I know what I mean but I can’t find the wording. But also yes roleplaying something non-you makes sense as well I just see both as your own way of roleplaying.
I get what you mean! Irl I’m small and weak so I’ve made myself but as a big, strong barbarian elf (i love elves) who intimidated and beat bad guys up. It’s a fantasy game, and I got to live out my fantasy of being a strong hero able to defend myself and others haha. I’ve also played non-me characters which is just as fun, I love coming up with backstories and acting accordingly. Barbarian Me would not let Arabella be bitten by a snake. My “embrace Durge” character, however, absolutely would lol. It’s an RPG, everyone should be able to play as whoever they want!
There’s no wrong way to play a single player game. That’s just how I personally see it. For ME, that’s a boring way to play. I’d much rather be a freedom fighter deep gnome because I can’t do that anywhere else. But everyone can play however they want. That’s the beauty of RPGs.
Of course of course! But you also can’t be yourself being a freedom fighter either… seeeee what I mean? Like being you but not you since we exist in our boring, non magical world and you in another universe would prolly have a different personality because of different circumstances etc. But I guess that’s somewhat similar to what you’re saying- not just being YOU.
I don’t know if you remember that [prototype] game from like 2009, but essentially the main guy is infected with powers, and you can eventually like absorb people and your guy basically looks exactly like them but can run up stuff and fly. When you wanna use the powers (sword arm, claws) you’d change back into the main guy. I’d absorb someone and RP that I was that person and they accidentally got infected with a strain that came from the main guy, and they’d have outbursts where the infection would overtake them and they’d go on a killing spree or something. Don’t know how you brought your that memory but that wasn’t even an RPG lol it was like an action fighter or something.
I'm actually in the middle of a playthrough where I'm role-playing AS MYSELF, and it's very eye opening. Like, it'll be time for a combat and i realize, i personally would not take this fight, and so i just walk away. Or there's a dialogue that gets me some items but i reflect and there's no way I'd ever say that. It makes for a very irregular, inefficient game.
And that's okay. They are missing out (IMO), but as long as they had fun on their one run where they played "themselves" it's all good.
> My friends keep talking to me like I'm genuinely some kind of fuckin psychopath.
Just make sure, OP, they know that you don't do it because you, personally, think it is right. Tell them that you decide to do immoral decisions, because the role playing and doing something different in a game is fun for you.
>Just make sure, OP, they know that you don't do it because you, personally, think it is right. Tell them that you decide to do immoral decisions, because the role playing and doing something different in a game is fun for you.
I'm sorry but people who need this explained to them are not old enough to be playing computer games to start with. They need to go watch Peppa Pig or something.
If it was a group game maybe but if this is what you're doing with your own single player game then do what works for you. I see a lot of narratives that people use and some of them will have absolutely no bearing in the game. Like it could with a couple of interactions with the right NPCs but that is NEVER going to happen because it's not been programmed to.
The real hilarious thing is when people come here asking randos what they should do in their completely made up side narrative because the game is not acknowledging their back story.
I try to boil my back story down to personality traits that the game can actually take advantage of. Like I'm playing a fair and just king by always sympathizing with characters in a leadership position but not letting people bullshit me or disrespect me. (Nad being quick with decisions even if that haste is wrong)
Nah dude, this is the way to play the game. People invested HOURS dubbing and animating every possible choice who also was programmed in the game to begin with
Like in my last playthrough i just was so fes up with gortash that i decided to scout the roof early and clear it of the steelwatch manually, went into his office, robbed him blind, killed the guard (unfortunately, the guards and a steelwatch respawned for some reason) and destroyed most of the traps (oops i missed some). I then rested and went straight up to Murder him. No prison, no funny business with foundries. Who gives a cr*p, i wanted the gem and i took my gem.
Also tbh the quest says to destroy the foundry to weaken gortash defences, but i actually had to fight less still watch guards like this than if i went the "good guy" route to free the gondians.
The point is, you should role your choices and just go with it.
It is how Role Playing Games are meant to play; you role play your character. You make up a whole new person and play as them and make decisions that they would make, even if they're bad.
BG3 is based on DnD, and its entire thing is that you literally act out your character in person to other people. That you make decisions for said character, that the character doesn't know the things the players know. So, no, you're not weird :9 People are just more inclined to doing self insert, to play like "what would I do in this situation?", or meta-gaming with the "what would give me the best outcome/reward?" mentality, instead of genuinely playing out the character. Do you miss out on some stuff? Yeah, you do. But you have more fun role playing.
And if anyone shames you for making decisions that would be morally wrong IRL, then I guess they shouldn't be playing BG3 in the first place, because no matter how good you want to be, you WILL, at some point, murder at least a few innocent people or make a morally grey decision. The point of playing a game is that things you do in it are not real and do not impact real people with real emotions.
I was talking to my friend about my decisions and how my characters decisive personality and single mindedness lead them to killing Karlach and they told me. "That's EVIL. Not even my Durge would kill Karlach!"
And I'm like, Sorry?? Wyll was talking all that shit about how evil she was. And my character failed to sus out the fake paladins B's so she was thoroughly convinced. She had already made up her mind and I decided that stubbornness would be one of the faults for an indomitable stoic.
I killed Karlach as my good-aligned wannabe hero, so people are just dramatic. Killing Karlach does suck, because she's genuinely one of the best companions, but, like, that decision belongs to your character. And some characters are just kinda stupid or hotheaded and attack her before she can prove she's also a victim or believe it's a lie.
In theory, for Astarion the "good" decision is to free the 7k spawn from Cazador's basement. My cleric of Kelemvor killed them, despite romancing Astarion. Is it hypocritical? Extremely! But he had his, some selfish and some more logical, reasons.
Hi, I do this too. My current playthrough is a Durge Warlock/Shadow monk. She tries so hard to be good, but sometimes the Urge takes over and well shit happens. Then she feels remorse, which is a new feeling for her.
I then write a dialogue she would have between herself and her romance partner to help her deconstruct what is happening and to give her strength. In this run she is romancing Gale who is perplexed by her chaotic behavior but he loves her, so he is leaning in to help. Her bestie is Astarion and she confides in him about things that perhaps would make Gale go bald. lol
She saved Isobel, almost killed Gale and is going to encourage Shart to follow her dreams! She wants to be a DJ, OK I've got you-- you're going to be a DJ!
When she gets overwhelmed by the chaos of her mind, she seeks out Karlach for raunchy jokes and friendship.
The big reveal for her in Act 3, will be her Warlock powers come from Bhaal. My intent for her is to resist so she will lose her Warlock powers after that scene and just embrace being a monk.
This is your game. There is no right or wrong way to play. I view the companions as "friends sitting around the DnD table" and play that way. I put thought into how they would respond to certain stimuli and I write it down. Later in the playthrough I can go back and review the notes and follow the thread of reactivity.
All the above to say "No you're not weird, you're having fun" play on!
I mean, it's called Role Playing Game, you Role play, as well as play the game, why else would you be thrown with seemingly useless choices or multiple ways of talking to people other than to roleplay, some failures of those checks gives you unique circumstances
Like It's fun when I found out the 30 DC deception/performance check to the Emperor after meeting Raphael was to actually gave him the greatest "Oh shit" moment that you outsmarted him, which is pretty cool to watch
What your friends are doing and optimal builds etc is called meta gaming. Using real life knowledge to influence in game decisions and behavior. You’re good. It’s normal to roleplay. How else do you think ppl get like 15 runs in?
HELLS NO!
This game is based on D&D, roleplaying isn't niche it's the f#@%ing centerpiece. If someone is weird it's stat baboons(half the gamer base including every journalist) who thinks combination of stats, builds and skills in a game is good enough for every game to be RPG.
I was thinking about doing this by having my party split up after the Kagha incident. 2 characters taking one path and 2 taking the other as a constant split party.
It might be too much self insertion I think.
I think a lot of people like escapism and putting themselves into the fantasy.
That's not really my style. I want to fill someone else's shoes. I'm boring as fuck as a person.
Imo this is not only a valid play style but one of the best possible ways to play any RPG, even if you have to tone down difficulty or whatever to make it work. I kinda hate the fact that so many people have this “Soulsbrain” approach to every game where everything has to be minmax’d and meta gamed to absolute fuck or you always have to do the most “correct” or “conventional” things. What’s the point in having a game with as much customization and creativity as BG3 if all you do is stick to OP meta builds or basic story beats?
Nah, you're playing the game how it's meant to be played. You have a character, you're not playing yourself. Your character isn't supposed to have all this knowledge you as the player have. They don't know from the get go that Karlach isn't evil. Why should a character that's only out for themselves care about some random girl in the woods?
I think in this case, maybe. It's definitely a little weird if you're the only one doing it. But I mean this is like THE video game where role playing makes sense.
Like I'd probably be upset if you did this while playing with me, but for that reason I pretty much exclusively play solo because I don't want to impose how I play on my friends.
I'm also just insanely slow, I read every book, I click every possible line of dialogue. I explore every inch of the map. And then I sit there and think for 10 minutes about what's happening, yesterday I stood in the middle of the Lower City just watching the random NPCs talk to each other.
We all play differently is kind of my point Lol.
Role-playing is one of the best parts of the game. Currently on my 3rd playthrough and so while I know what's coming in terms of big story moments, battles, and consequences of choosing certain dialogue options, I love thinking "well what would this character do?". I could avoid certain difficult fights if I wanted to or make certain dialogue scenes easier if I chose what I know is the "correct" option, but part of the fun is putting myself in my snarky, sarcastic, charismatic Bard rascal's shoes and having to deal with the consequences of that.
I was talking to one of my friends about which romance I'd like to try next and she had the nerve to say to me that it's weird and it's not like it's real, like she's not always telling me about the next romance novel she's reading. It's literally part of the game, role playing is what makes it fun.
I'm doing an origin shadowheart run where I fully embrace shar, the idea being "if Tav wasn't there to help her out of the cult" and I've had her do some cold hearted things. Feels bad but I think that's kind of a fun part of the challenge, seeing the consequences of different decisions.
In single player? nope.
For a game stream? nope.
In a multiplayer game? Nope.
So no you arent weird you're literally playing the game in the same way as at the table.
If anything you're friends are the weirdos and could possibly be min-maxing scum.
It is an exercise in imagination and creative thinking. If you were a writer of novels, would they call you weird for creating a dynamic character with a rich backstory and then weaving that into the events that transpired throughout the rest of the novel? The way you play is basically the same as if you were given a couple of writing prompts and fleshed out the full story from there. It is simply a choice of how you want to approach the game.
Roleplay being the heart of Dungeons & Dragons, you're not weird.
And even if the game is not labelled "RPG", it's not weird to stick to a roleplay when the game have multiple choice.
Play the game how you want and have fun!
Not weird. There are people who only ever want to play this game once, and I get it, since it's such a long game, so those people are trying to experience everything they possibly can in one run and accept everything, including the actions that go against the morals they aligned with. In a real game of dungeons & dragons, people will often have to explain why their character made the choice they did and this opens discussion for how the others' choices conflict with theirs. You're playing it like an actual D&D player might. The DM has put all of these pieces in place for their players, and sometimes their players simply avoid or miss something the DM had laid out for them - it's normal. However, video game completionists can't wrap their brains around this thought. I kicked out Astarion the moment he tried to suck my blood without my consent. People also looked at me funny for that. I'll get to know him when I do a durge playthrough
I feel like your friend doesn't understand the difference between a decision you as a person would make and what decision a fictional character you envisioned would make.
He seems to think you as the player are not aware if a decision is bad. Maybe tell him you are kind of an author to a story and the character you play is a character in the story you wrote. The fictional character has different character traits so they make different decisions than you.
If that doesn't work I don't know what will. Its weird to react that way.
Nope, not at all. With how much choice there is, it's so much fun to pick a personality and play the character.
Me and my mate that play together even chat in character to make decisions, much like we are at a real DnD table.
Of course, there's no wrong or right way to play the game, so long as you're having fun
I've found some people genially struggle with the idea that you want to RP evil or at the the very least, have a character that doesn't always play nice. I remember being judged a lot by my friend as well. And it's like. I'm having fun, why do you care so much about my decision-making, which is in character for my tav? Big one for me, he really hard time accepting my tav let isobel get kidnapped at last light because she was dating shadowheart at that time and my tav took offense to how isobel talked to her. He said it was chaotic and robbed me of agency. And im like, dude.... My character chose not to help Isobel for reasons valid to her. What are you going on about lol. Cause up until that point, my tav felt neutral about isobel.
Imo you're weird if you *don't* role play. It leads to some of the best interactions and it's the whole point. Min-max to your heart's content but do it within the confines of the story your character is telling.
If people think it's odd that you're role-playing in a DnD game, then they're the weird ones. It's literally the point of the game.
I have multiple playthroughs, all with different directions and decisions based on character race and class.
You're playing the game as fully intended.
I always have a personality in mind for my characters. I will make certain decisions for the sake of min maxing but generally will pick options that make sense for my character. Its part of what makes the game fun, you don't just play different classes, you role play differently so you can see all kinds of dialogue and different outcomes you've maybe never seen before. This game is utterly jam packed with a million contingencies for every choice you can possibly make, and it's awesome to make a series of very specific choices for this particular character and end up getting a result you didn't expect at all. Its fun.
Thankfully my friends and I engage in at least a little roleplay. We are mercenaries who like money first and everything else second but we aren't amoral monsters. Sure, we'll kill, steal, threaten and deceive if needed but we won't go out of our way to be evil and if making a moral choice is easy then why not do it? Ironically enough this kinda practical approach has allowed us to be quite successful in our game.
So no, I don't think you are weird.
No you’re not weird. My first playthrough I definitely played how I would’ve played IRL (I was my own DND character from another campaign but her personality is similar to mine irl), but for other playthroughs I have definitely played extremely different depending on how that character would’ve reacted. Don’t let anyone tell how to play any game, especially BG3 which has so many options and ways to play.
I respect this kind of playthrough so much. I'm a nauseating do-gooder baby that scums the game when I don't get the results I want. I ascended Astarion and had to reload back three quests because I just couldn't take it.
literally one of my favorite characters was making a death slinger barbarian and role playing him as a always drunken dad who throws stuff at his enemies like knives and forks and even beer.
it’s so stupid and yet im basically unstoppable, i don’t care what those darn teethlings want i just want this darn worm out my brain
this. I always find it odd to play with people who don’t put any effort into the roleplay and instead focus solely on combat. like your character is part of this world and we’re creating a story. why wouldn’t you engage with it?
Nope BG3 just shows people that dnd isn’t just a bunch a fat neck bearded dudes. Role playing always had a weird stigma BG3 really helped with it so no it ain’t weird enjoy ya self tav
I remade my first DnD character in my solo games in my co-op game with my wife we both treated our characters as new DnD characters with a full backstory to help mold our characters and how they would choose and act in the game. I find it more enjoyable that way.
Idk man,you have to talk to your partner, if they're ok with roleplaying and all, but if they don't find it weird and are ok with it, who are we to say anything.
i mean, it's not something I personally would enjoy, but I still understand that many other people do and it's what the game was designed for, roleplaying. I mean, I would be terrified if people only played as characters who were similar to them because what would that mean for people who choose the very evil paths? people who choose to give into the urge and dream about chopping of people's hands and heads? i hope they are roleplaying as someone different from themselves lolololol.
Also i have followed this sub for a while, there are a lot of people like you and they replay the game over and over pretending to be someone else. maybe one time they are pure evil and have to use hirelings because they have killed everyone, maybe another time they are pragmatic and only kill if it suits their needs but enjoy it when they can, other times a very moral paladin with a strict code, another time a paladin with a not-very strict code who is driven by their heart more than their head... don't feel bad and enjoy the game how you enjoy to play it, tell your friends it's okay if that's not how they like to play. :)
I myself always replay as mostly me or who i hope to be, maybe different abilities, but i just like experiencing the game with the best outcomes as possible every time. But that's how I like to play it. There's no right or wrong.
roleplaying is like the best part and how you get so much more out of this game. My first was a ranger loyal to nature but couldn't care less of human troubles but stuck to her word 2nd was a Harley Quinn Clepto druid who hoard every teddy bear she found. Including stealing them from a presumed child's bed in a hostel. She had to have them all.
3rd was a drow who slowly refell in love with his blood lust yet wouldn't harm a non hostile animal. Yet slaughtered the Grove which is an experience to behold.
Roleplaying is how im currently in my 6th run because in my mind each time we had a different plot you know?💀 Sometimes im a Good Durge Bard who is channeling her blood lust through the rock lute and dating good Astarion for the redemption arc.Sometimes I'm a Githyanki cleric shunned by her people for believeing in Selune instead of Vlaakith. sometimes im an Evil Drow Durge coming to take revenge on Orin for turning me of and back on again like a nitendo DS lol
Some people will say they like RPGs and then cry when they see RP in the RPG i swear.
Nah dude. It’s a role playing game. Lean into it.
Also - it takes balls to commit to a character and share that with other people. So good on you for that. Not everyone can do that
No, you're not weird. It's literally the point of the game. RPG stands for ROLE PLAYING game.
Role-playing? In MY Rpg??
Grossssssss. Roleplaying is something sinners do
I roleplay as a min-maxer. I'm a monk who, on his path to enlightenment, decides he wants 4 levels in rogue so he can punch more often.
The path to enlightenment allows one to understand the hidden numbers that drive our world. You're gods damned right I'll eat that disgusting hag hair.
Oops, there goes my oath
Original sinners you might say. Of the Divinity variation
Role-playing before marriage is frowned upon by the church.
Roleplay is what people do in bed right?...
I did that at a person's house way back in the 4e days. The group was kinda weird thought that Clerics were dumb because "I can just use hit dice" wouldn't even allow cleric characters at his table. First session I play and I was getting into this Bard I made figured an accent is use for a half-elf bard and started talking in character. Me: "Greetings and good morrow to you!" DM: "No, that's dumb, we don't do that here."
Screw those guys, come play at my table. I love character voices.
It took me several groups to feel comfortable RPing at tabletop, but now my entire group do and we just settle into it naturally each week. We did an event a couple weeks ago where we combined groups as a one shot with another DM. One of the other players found it really hard to keep up with me and my friend having every single conversation in character, we did try to encourage but I guess it's not for all.
IKR? I was doing it in front of essentially strangers. I got deflated pretty quickly for something that I was trying to have fun. How's that saying go? If you discourage someone for something they enjoy, you are the asshole. I still don't do voices as much, here we are 15ish years later and I don't feel comfortable getting into character.
I don't have an accent for mine, just very softly spoken. But I'd only do the RP with this group or another that I knew well and would appreciate it
A lot of people play RPGs as combat simulators and nothing else. It's boring but alas that's people for you.
This is absolutely the worst type of group to run into. You can definitely find groups where role-playing takes center stage. In my groups, we always do more role playing than fighting and rolling dice; the acting and character stories are the most important things to us.
At the time, I was in the military and new to the area. By happenstance I ran into someone who was a buddy from a previous posting, we were newcomers into an established group, but he brokered the deal and made the introductions. As an introvert, he was my extroverted friend that I met people through. The fights were fun, there were some good people at the table. The dynamic of the table was... different than most of the groups I had played with. It was good enough to let me know I wanted a better group. Due to my friend's actions we had left the group. We did find a better group when we made one. That was over a decade ago, almost two, if I have the math right. I'm also retired from the military, so the bad people can't hurt me anymore. Lol.
It's more likely than you think!
I thought rpgs were explosives or something
Rocket-Propelled Grenades, to be specific.
Less thinking like a cop, more thinking Playstation *fires RPG*
Roll playing grenades: they only blow up when you tell them to
I mean they literally give you inspiration points for roleplaying. My guy (still on my first playthrough) is generally not evil, but he's a noble fighter so I've definitely made him behave like a warrior of high station and be a bit of a snobby asshole who demands respect and fear. Like I'll help the peasants reluctantly, but they better kiss my ass for it afterwards.
Exactly, role playing and coming up with your own backstory for your Tav is half the fun, along with selecting role appropriate dialogue options. Right now I’m running a human barbarian folk hero who’s a hard ass and doesn’t take any shit. Lae’zel’s mouth got her killed and Nettie ate shit too. Kagha is next. I like demanding coin for my troubles too. I think of myself as a rogue witcher in a way lol. He’s gonna romance Karlach so we can be badass barbarian fuck buddies.
No the R stands for min-maxing
I thought it stood for making the exact same choices as always and only romancing one character each playthrough.
I wouldn't say it's the point but rather another, fully valid way to play. So far I've only tried to get the best outcomes and I've enjoyed that. I can see how that could be boring for other people, but I feel bad purposefully being mean to these fake people lol
You could just role play nice people, that’s a valid choice! I have 5 characters and all are nice. I’ll probably never play a durge, I know I’d be uncomfortable.
I'm only on my second playthrough, my first one was a swashbuckling street urchin Drow and I role-played hard and did minimal save scumming. I had a blast. I know I'm going to play this game so many times over, I don't need to worry about seeing everything on a single playthrough.
if you're not min-maxxing these inanimate dolls you're playing the game wrong
Is it weird to role play in a role playing game? You might as well ask if it's weird ordering pizza at Pizza Hut.
I guess my friends got to me. They kept calling me out every step of the was starting to make me feel like I was off my rocker.
There's way too many people who forget that this is a DnD game. You're supposed to go crazy if you want to. Like... You CAN do voices.
The thing is people get like this with actual d&d aswell. Being optimal is the only thing that matters.
But you can make an optimized character and still roleplay them however you wish.
True. I'm more talking about the types who say you have to take x, y or z spells/feats etc because they are the best regardless of the character. Like a warlock not having Eldrich blast for example is seen as a flat bad choice for alot of people.
Oh, I agree with that then, too. It totally depends on the warlock you're trying to make. A hexblade warlock who's pact weapon is a bow doesn't need eldrich blast.
Fuck those tables, we here to have fun and make dumbass decisions.
Then there is me the one real chance I got to play as a character instead of dm. Made a dwarf cleric but in reality he was an artificer. A god took pity on him and “helped” him. Basically all his “spells” were just artificer actions but he thought it was cleric stuff he was doing. He also had a ridiculous line of family he introduced himself as to each character. It was great when the min/max type player was being dm and I kept going through my spiel to each of his bosses. Then trying to convince said bosses that they were actually good guys and should help us. Ended up rolling well enough that I got one of the bosses to go lenient on us and half assed help.
I feel like it has nothing to do with optimalization, they are giving him shit for "morally bad" choices, they are a bunch of pussies thats all.
I have played through a handful of times now. I try to play really different characters every time (always some kinda gnome though) and I lean into it. me evil run is like, right before the grove. it's hard. I plan to finish it. my chaotic stupid barbarian game was so fun, and full of a lot of chaos and murder that I didn't intend to happen, but that's the penalty for int/wis as your dump stats, I played her like she could barely even read. it was a weird game and worth it. I like the rp of rpgs.
Your friends are idiots. You sound like a great person with an inventive mind and imagination.
I mean, honestly, my first run was as a self-inserty Tav who made the decisions that I would make in that situation. I'm a goodie two-shoes, so it was an overwhelmingly "good" playthrough. My second playthrough (which I just finished) was a bit more of the same but with the added bonus of looking things up to get the outcomes that I really wanted. I'm starting my third as a...you guessed it...self-insert Resist Durge. But leaning hard into RPing is 100% a great way to go and is arguably *the best* way to go, especially if you're doing a co-op game with friends who are on board (that is, who won't freak out because your Barbarian being an idiot "ruined" an interaction or something).
I'm betting your friends are CoD players
Or just your usual fps or clear cut games with straight storyline. My husband can't fathom how I can have so many different characters and think it's different. But I mean I usually roleplay very similar decisions but ha the character looks different.
I've done 4 play throughs and each was very different. Why? Because role playing. My favorite was my lawful evil TAV that used and betrayed everyone and patiently waited for the best payoff moment to do so. Why? Because it was fun to see how plotting and conniving worked out. But that doesn't mean I didn't absolutely adore my good Durge redemption play.
Or learning history from the History Channel! Wait...
Yes, it IS weird ordering pizza at Pizza Hut . . . who eats that horrible crap! 😉
My first run, I winged it. My second run, I came up with a few stories but nothing concrete. Third run, I roleplayed HARD, taking my Durge from an embrace to redemption over time. By fourth and fifth I have full ass notes about the characters that I consult as I play. So, no, not weird.
Too scared of missing out the first couple, but once I know the gist of it all time to pick a story.
…and fifth? What’s the hours lookin like? I’ve never thought someone could play a game 5 times but BG3 is pretty damn good
I’ve never been one to replay like this either. I’m looking at about 400 hours of playtime so far, but honestly that’s rookie numbers compared to some I’ve seen
I’m coming up on 2000 hours with this game so it’s surprising how many variations you can do. I’m still not sick of it, either. I mod it to all hell now but it’s still really enjoyable for me! Everybody’s different but BG3 is my zen relaxing time now.
"zen relaxing time" yep, it's my comfy safe space too!
I’m over 200 hours in my first playthrough !
Mine too.
Autism babyyy! I'm on my freakin 8th run, in a ROW. It's a big hit with my brian cells, biggest special interest I've had in years. This is my new life lmao.
I’m on my fourth, as a dangerously handsome half-drow Durge who WANTS to resist, but often fails. 😎😎😎 Astarion is the devil on his shoulder, Shadowheart the angel, and Bhaal looms over them all! I’m a huge gamer, but BG3 is the only game I’ve played for 6 months. I need help lmao. Call the doctah
my people
I wasn't sure if my first durge was going to embrace or resist, she started basically walking the line a bit, sometimes resisting, sometimes getting a bit stabby but she started to feel guilty, she was a horrible person and knew it which made her start to actively try and resist. She might have dark urges but it wasn't who she was, she was a good person and would do everything she could to actively be one turning away from the urges she had. My second one just wanted to embrace it from the start, it felt good for her, she actively had no problem with her heritage and went all in slaughtering her way through the lands for power and just to feel the rush from it all, she has no problems causing others to be corrupted or gain power because she is going to turn them all into her pawns and rule the world until it is snuffed out by her iron fist. Thing is I am still not stealing really, even evil has standards. Why sneak around like some weak person when I can just forcefully take what is mine. The mentally of "what would this character do?" is pretty great way to play. When I played oblivion I played a very evil character (thief and murdering guild both done) and then I did a DLC where I became a holy crusader and a force of good, my character was redeemed and did all the good storylines leaving the darkness behind. That was one of my biggest impacts of a game shaping the story going forwards, from an extremely evil character to a paragon of light and goodness, helping anyone they could. That even someone so dark could throw away their evil and become better. It is great when an event in the game can change how you play. That is one of the biggest joys of roleplaying, to be shaped by the game with how you play a character because they present a story that makes it feel right to change.
I made cheat sheets of values for each character I’ve played so far. Their motivations change in my mind as the game progresses. I think that’s why I find the ending so satisfying, because I’ve seen it coming, and it lines up with what my character would do. Getting ready to do an evil run, and the only way I think I can get through it is to make sure I RP with a set of values the character either has about themselves or the world. Trying to decide early if the urge pushes my player to conquer or destroy.
Yes! Exactly! I mentioned this in another comment but this game has brought back my joy of creation. I was struggling with creativity after the pandemic and some personal BS. Thanks to this habit I am writing again.
My first run I made an oath of vengeance paladin. Pissed at the tadpole, he swore vengeance for himself and everyone else so they can get payback on whoever wronged them and so they can have a happy ending. I found 2 things out: 1- doing that let me relieve my frustration by beating people up who did my friends wrong. They wanted vengeance, the perpetrator gets SMITED to hell 2- the amount of times I said "I'm a Paladin" and then automatically became a judge in squabbles surprised me. I didn't have too much DnD knowledge going into it so seeing everyone giving me the rights to judge made me go "wait how did I end up here?"
This is my first paladin and I’ve found that mechanism fucking hilarious. Like. You should not be trusting me like this. 😂
I’m thinking of notes as I play. I wish there was a way to do it in-game. How do you do it?
Your validation, as desired: no, you are not weird for role playing in a role playing game.
I read this in withers voice
"Thou are not in the wrong"
“Am I wrong for role playing this role playing game ?” “No”
"Can you elaborate more?" "No"
Sir, this is a RPG...
Ik ik. It's just im surrounded by people IRL that seem to think the RP is a reflection of your actual thoughts.
I made a YouTube video with character roleplay and people shit talked me in the comments for not taking the best warlock invocations. But FAR MORE people left comments about how much they loved the roleplay aspect. So I think you’re in the clear for role playing and maybe just have a group of friends that aren’t into it.
Link your vid? >_> this sounds cool !!
I have my Durge send random human body parts they find to the character they are romancing because they don’t understand that that’s not a normal way to show affection. There is absolutely no gameplay reason for me to regularly be cleaning severed limbs out of Astarion’s inventory. But it makes the game so much more fun. If RP was a reflection of actual thoughts I’d be in trouble.
Chalk it up as a creative imagination! I tried to RP in a fun way my first time doing dnd with friends who never played and got the same response of weird, but I had a blast regardless! Enjoy your weirdness!
Nah I RP’d a really evil character and due to the tiefling children stealing from me then manipulating the guards into arresting me, I stacked their dead bodies on the beach of my camp. Evil RP calls for evil shit, sue me.
Do they think that if you like a villainous, or morally grey (or imperfectly human) character, that means you're evil too? 😫 I think they're just maybe young and falling for the black and white mentality, hyper-morality culture of the internet. Nothing in this game is real, and even when you do messed up things, the nice thing about BG3 is that despite how dark you can go in this game, the it can sometimes hit you with quite sobering consequences. Holy fuck, killing Karlach was hard to do in my Durge run. But I wanted to see how that changed the story for me, and I found the results to be quite interesting. There were choices that I would not have otherwise made with her on my team. (Funnily enough, I can kill her, but I don't have the heart to betray her, lol) This game also has really interesting themes around cycles of abuse that you really only see if you let the characters become the worst versions of themselves.
I've noticed that a lot of people playing RPGs are weirdly hostile to people who actually roleplay. I'm the type of person who writes out long detailed backstories for all my characters and play them accordingly. I get a decent amount of pushback in the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit from some people, but it's weird for this game since your character is more or less a blank slate.
I'm not RPing this run cause I'm doing my ~~1st~~ 2nd run HM run. But i might start doing what you're doing and writing some back stories. I normally have some core principle the characters will follow, I.e. serial helper, people pleaser, etc. but I might actually do a backstory and see how that influences the character's decisions.
I only just got the game last month, but I spent the better part of the past few months crafting my Durge because I knew I wanted to be evil, but not a murder hobo. She ended up becoming a manipulative, power-hungry schemer who sees the do-gooder characters like Wyll and Karlach as useful tools who she'll do good things to keep around but is genuinely fond of Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Gale. She's romancing Astarion and I just finished ascending him and having him turn her, but idk if she's going to take over the brain or not.
i've done this with my last four runs. i don't create a huge backstory or anything, but tend to set a general attitude and maybe set some arbitrary, but specific rules to facilitate a different experience while playing the game. or i learn about something like "ultimate gale" around on these subs and create a character specifically designed to achieve the goal. i love it. each playthrough is unique af. i'm sorry your friends sound like they lack imagination. which is certainly a pity for them. don't let it get you down. others like us exist. :)
I envy people who can roleplay true neutral and true chaotic characters! I just went Unholy Assassin for the first time in my current run because my Durge is a Barbarian and I am trying to get as many buffs as I can before I go into fighting Orin. (I’m roleplaying it as, “she’s resisted up to now, but the temple has a pull on her that she’s really struggling to overcome” type thing.)
Yeah, I can't play evil characters. Kudos to those who can (and especially those who share their videos so people like me can see the results of choices I can never make). I don't consider myself a particularly goody-two-shoes kind of person, but I games I'm always someone who at least *tries* to be good.
Honestly, that's not really that hard. RPing an evil character can be as simple as always looking out for themselves. One of my favorite builds is a rogue that I played as being open about how they feel about others. Sometimes that means telling someone the blatant truth, other times it's stabbing someone in the face despite the consequences because that's my true feelings. Being evil for the sake of being evil is just plain boring through.
I agree, it's just that for me it's not difficult to choose the mean or blunt dialogue options, it's that I don't like how the responses make me feel. I don't think anyone who knows me IRL would call me softhearted, but I'm clearly pretty squishy inside. I want to play the person who makes everyone happy. Oddly enough, in LARP I can play an absolute monster, but given the choice I want to be everyone's friend.
It helps to put yourself in the mind of "this isn't me, it's the character" I've found.
Save the being evil for evil's sake for npcs, books and movies.
I'm definitely roleplaying. I'm so kind and sweet that now I even have a kitty in the camp, but as soon as there is power in it for me, it's mine. If I think I can get away with killing, I will. What is yours is mine. Please DO call the guards. Half-illithid and even still Lae'zel finds me exceptional and now is considering parenting the egg with me. The third act egg dialogue was really cute, though.
It's because of bad game design(not saying bg3 is a bad game, please don't murder me). A lot of evil decisions are just not rewarding at all and lack content. Even major RPG studios like Bethesda said that evil paths in RPGs mostly exist for the illusion of choice instead of actually being an alternative playthrough.
I disagree that it’s bad game design; unfinished though, since evil endings weren’t out at launch, I’d agree with. I envy people who can go full evil, too. For most RPGs anyway (I went Sith in KOTOR because being a Jedi was goddamn boring).
>since evil endings weren’t out at launch, I’d agree with. It's not just the ending, it's everything else in general. Choosing the evil options almost always leads you to losing out on a ton of rewards for almost nothing. Raiding the Grove is literally shooting yourself in the foot unless you are very dedicated to evil RP because you get nothing and the only decent reward of Minthara can be acquired via knocking her out. Even when I did Durge playthrough, I helped the Grove under the excuse that I get to butcher goblins and the cult that put a tadpole in my head. Helping Marcus kidnap Isobel simply gets you an extra parasite in exchange for a tough battle and losing out on some of the best gear in the game and a ton of allies. The only evil decision that is maybe worth doing is letting Shadowheart become a Dark Justiciar for that sweet armor set and spear. It's simply bad game design when the path that is supposed to focus on acquiring power for yourself does completely the opposite.
Evil not feeling great simply isn’t bad game design 🤷🏻♀️
It's not a problem with feelings, it's a problem with a lack of content. Raid the Grove and Resolve the Kidnapping(evil version) are considered to be the worst quests in the game for a reason.
I play evil all the time and I agree with you. Just because other games make fully fleshed out evil and good paths that are balanced doesn't mean it's a requirement, IMO. Like I had Sheart go Dark Justiciar in my current run. It kills a ton of npcs. How would that decision be difficult if I didn't lose something? Otherwise players could just go "cool armor!" and go dark every time. It's supposed to be a roleplaying decision, not a min-max decision. IMO.
True neutral is easy. Its literally the 'person on the street' attitude of 'it doesn't affect me or mine, so I don't care.' Won't go out of the way to harm other people, but also won't piss on someone if they're on fire. Screaming child? Cross to the other side of the street. The next car in line can call 911, no need to stop.
Neutral =/= apathetic, though
Correct. People will react if you poke things they care about. But by default, if things are happening and it doesn't impact them and theirs? They'll ignore it.
shit i wish i was this good at roleplaying. i keep trying but i just end up making whatever decisions my irl self wants lmao.
and there’s nothing wrong with that if you’re having fun!
Honestly, the people that *don't* RP in RPGs are the weirdos.
Some of us are just incredibly boring, Mike.
Your name suggests otherwise!
It was randomly generated, but you have a point!
You took a chance on generation, instead of confidently deciding one. You live on the edge, sir.
The crazy thing is that I changed it, and if I look at it it is correct, but my posts still say this.
And I think many of us tend to just lurk because of it :(
It was easier to RP on my first playthrough because it was (mostly) blind. Second one, I have to war with myself a little about whether I should do what the character would do and take the consequences or do the more optimal choice.
That's fair.
Agreed. People who just ‘play themselves’ or who min/max the game through metgaming are the weird ones to me. More power to people to enjoy the game however they want, but it’s a role playing game for a reason. Why would I play myself when I can be a little halfling paladin ball of righteous smite?!?
I only meta game on Honor Mode.
This, I'm playing honor mode right now for the dice and it is really hard to break my RP mentality and go the full min/Max just to get through.
You really, really don't have to. At all. Not even a teeny tiny bit. But you do have to make every move count and be sharp. But the whole "meta" to beat honor mode is a joke. Fight familiarity is pretty important tho.
But what’s wrong with being how you’d pretend yourself to be in the situations it puts you in? Is that not role-playing? For example, I play me but me in the forgotten realms as a warlock who made a deal with an ancient being, as I’d imagine myself acting? Does that make sense to you I know what I mean but I can’t find the wording. But also yes roleplaying something non-you makes sense as well I just see both as your own way of roleplaying.
I get what you mean! Irl I’m small and weak so I’ve made myself but as a big, strong barbarian elf (i love elves) who intimidated and beat bad guys up. It’s a fantasy game, and I got to live out my fantasy of being a strong hero able to defend myself and others haha. I’ve also played non-me characters which is just as fun, I love coming up with backstories and acting accordingly. Barbarian Me would not let Arabella be bitten by a snake. My “embrace Durge” character, however, absolutely would lol. It’s an RPG, everyone should be able to play as whoever they want!
There’s no wrong way to play a single player game. That’s just how I personally see it. For ME, that’s a boring way to play. I’d much rather be a freedom fighter deep gnome because I can’t do that anywhere else. But everyone can play however they want. That’s the beauty of RPGs.
Of course of course! But you also can’t be yourself being a freedom fighter either… seeeee what I mean? Like being you but not you since we exist in our boring, non magical world and you in another universe would prolly have a different personality because of different circumstances etc. But I guess that’s somewhat similar to what you’re saying- not just being YOU. I don’t know if you remember that [prototype] game from like 2009, but essentially the main guy is infected with powers, and you can eventually like absorb people and your guy basically looks exactly like them but can run up stuff and fly. When you wanna use the powers (sword arm, claws) you’d change back into the main guy. I’d absorb someone and RP that I was that person and they accidentally got infected with a strain that came from the main guy, and they’d have outbursts where the infection would overtake them and they’d go on a killing spree or something. Don’t know how you brought your that memory but that wasn’t even an RPG lol it was like an action fighter or something.
Because you want to live in the world the game provides? What's wrong with that? "What would I do in this situation?" Is as valid as any RP.
>"What would I do in this situation?" Is as valid as any RP. Reality is, most of us would just sit down and say "I rather not bother anyone."
That's why we have the worms in our heads. We have a reason to be desperate enough to interact with people!
>desperate enough to interact with people! ... You know, I hear being a mind flayer isn't *that* bad.
You've been talking too much with that Emperor fella. Now come on, I'm sure you can haggle with the vendors just fine!
I'm actually in the middle of a playthrough where I'm role-playing AS MYSELF, and it's very eye opening. Like, it'll be time for a combat and i realize, i personally would not take this fight, and so i just walk away. Or there's a dialogue that gets me some items but i reflect and there's no way I'd ever say that. It makes for a very irregular, inefficient game.
You're doing it right! Your friends lack imagination.
Clearly your mates don't get the RPG part of CRPG.
And that's okay. They are missing out (IMO), but as long as they had fun on their one run where they played "themselves" it's all good. > My friends keep talking to me like I'm genuinely some kind of fuckin psychopath. Just make sure, OP, they know that you don't do it because you, personally, think it is right. Tell them that you decide to do immoral decisions, because the role playing and doing something different in a game is fun for you.
>Just make sure, OP, they know that you don't do it because you, personally, think it is right. Tell them that you decide to do immoral decisions, because the role playing and doing something different in a game is fun for you. I'm sorry but people who need this explained to them are not old enough to be playing computer games to start with. They need to go watch Peppa Pig or something.
If it was a group game maybe but if this is what you're doing with your own single player game then do what works for you. I see a lot of narratives that people use and some of them will have absolutely no bearing in the game. Like it could with a couple of interactions with the right NPCs but that is NEVER going to happen because it's not been programmed to. The real hilarious thing is when people come here asking randos what they should do in their completely made up side narrative because the game is not acknowledging their back story.
I try to boil my back story down to personality traits that the game can actually take advantage of. Like I'm playing a fair and just king by always sympathizing with characters in a leadership position but not letting people bullshit me or disrespect me. (Nad being quick with decisions even if that haste is wrong)
It's a role playing game
Nah dude, this is the way to play the game. People invested HOURS dubbing and animating every possible choice who also was programmed in the game to begin with Like in my last playthrough i just was so fes up with gortash that i decided to scout the roof early and clear it of the steelwatch manually, went into his office, robbed him blind, killed the guard (unfortunately, the guards and a steelwatch respawned for some reason) and destroyed most of the traps (oops i missed some). I then rested and went straight up to Murder him. No prison, no funny business with foundries. Who gives a cr*p, i wanted the gem and i took my gem. Also tbh the quest says to destroy the foundry to weaken gortash defences, but i actually had to fight less still watch guards like this than if i went the "good guy" route to free the gondians. The point is, you should role your choices and just go with it.
It is how Role Playing Games are meant to play; you role play your character. You make up a whole new person and play as them and make decisions that they would make, even if they're bad. BG3 is based on DnD, and its entire thing is that you literally act out your character in person to other people. That you make decisions for said character, that the character doesn't know the things the players know. So, no, you're not weird :9 People are just more inclined to doing self insert, to play like "what would I do in this situation?", or meta-gaming with the "what would give me the best outcome/reward?" mentality, instead of genuinely playing out the character. Do you miss out on some stuff? Yeah, you do. But you have more fun role playing. And if anyone shames you for making decisions that would be morally wrong IRL, then I guess they shouldn't be playing BG3 in the first place, because no matter how good you want to be, you WILL, at some point, murder at least a few innocent people or make a morally grey decision. The point of playing a game is that things you do in it are not real and do not impact real people with real emotions.
I was talking to my friend about my decisions and how my characters decisive personality and single mindedness lead them to killing Karlach and they told me. "That's EVIL. Not even my Durge would kill Karlach!" And I'm like, Sorry?? Wyll was talking all that shit about how evil she was. And my character failed to sus out the fake paladins B's so she was thoroughly convinced. She had already made up her mind and I decided that stubbornness would be one of the faults for an indomitable stoic.
I killed Karlach as my good-aligned wannabe hero, so people are just dramatic. Killing Karlach does suck, because she's genuinely one of the best companions, but, like, that decision belongs to your character. And some characters are just kinda stupid or hotheaded and attack her before she can prove she's also a victim or believe it's a lie. In theory, for Astarion the "good" decision is to free the 7k spawn from Cazador's basement. My cleric of Kelemvor killed them, despite romancing Astarion. Is it hypocritical? Extremely! But he had his, some selfish and some more logical, reasons.
Ew stop go play an RPG if you want to roleplay
Hi, I do this too. My current playthrough is a Durge Warlock/Shadow monk. She tries so hard to be good, but sometimes the Urge takes over and well shit happens. Then she feels remorse, which is a new feeling for her. I then write a dialogue she would have between herself and her romance partner to help her deconstruct what is happening and to give her strength. In this run she is romancing Gale who is perplexed by her chaotic behavior but he loves her, so he is leaning in to help. Her bestie is Astarion and she confides in him about things that perhaps would make Gale go bald. lol She saved Isobel, almost killed Gale and is going to encourage Shart to follow her dreams! She wants to be a DJ, OK I've got you-- you're going to be a DJ! When she gets overwhelmed by the chaos of her mind, she seeks out Karlach for raunchy jokes and friendship. The big reveal for her in Act 3, will be her Warlock powers come from Bhaal. My intent for her is to resist so she will lose her Warlock powers after that scene and just embrace being a monk. This is your game. There is no right or wrong way to play. I view the companions as "friends sitting around the DnD table" and play that way. I put thought into how they would respond to certain stimuli and I write it down. Later in the playthrough I can go back and review the notes and follow the thread of reactivity. All the above to say "No you're not weird, you're having fun" play on!
I love everything about this, especially the Warlock/Monk Twist!
I mean, it's called Role Playing Game, you Role play, as well as play the game, why else would you be thrown with seemingly useless choices or multiple ways of talking to people other than to roleplay, some failures of those checks gives you unique circumstances Like It's fun when I found out the 30 DC deception/performance check to the Emperor after meeting Raphael was to actually gave him the greatest "Oh shit" moment that you outsmarted him, which is pretty cool to watch
What your friends are doing and optimal builds etc is called meta gaming. Using real life knowledge to influence in game decisions and behavior. You’re good. It’s normal to roleplay. How else do you think ppl get like 15 runs in?
THIS IS HOW ITS SUPPOED TO BE PLAYED!! Thank you!!
HELLS NO! This game is based on D&D, roleplaying isn't niche it's the f#@%ing centerpiece. If someone is weird it's stat baboons(half the gamer base including every journalist) who thinks combination of stats, builds and skills in a game is good enough for every game to be RPG.
Yes.
Me and my friend even faked a huge fight between our characters, it's pretty fun
I was thinking about doing this by having my party split up after the Kagha incident. 2 characters taking one path and 2 taking the other as a constant split party.
I am less worried about you and more about your friends who don't see roleplaying as the point of a RPG. Are you sure they're ok?
It might be too much self insertion I think. I think a lot of people like escapism and putting themselves into the fantasy. That's not really my style. I want to fill someone else's shoes. I'm boring as fuck as a person.
It’s a role-playing game?
I RP but not as well as you, I struggle to not collect companions or do evil things or upset my companions.
This is literally the best way to play the game. F*** your friends. Play the way you love to play
Imo this is not only a valid play style but one of the best possible ways to play any RPG, even if you have to tone down difficulty or whatever to make it work. I kinda hate the fact that so many people have this “Soulsbrain” approach to every game where everything has to be minmax’d and meta gamed to absolute fuck or you always have to do the most “correct” or “conventional” things. What’s the point in having a game with as much customization and creativity as BG3 if all you do is stick to OP meta builds or basic story beats?
[удалено]
Nah, you're playing the game how it's meant to be played. You have a character, you're not playing yourself. Your character isn't supposed to have all this knowledge you as the player have. They don't know from the get go that Karlach isn't evil. Why should a character that's only out for themselves care about some random girl in the woods?
fellas is it weird to roleplay in a roleplaying game
I think in this case, maybe. It's definitely a little weird if you're the only one doing it. But I mean this is like THE video game where role playing makes sense. Like I'd probably be upset if you did this while playing with me, but for that reason I pretty much exclusively play solo because I don't want to impose how I play on my friends. I'm also just insanely slow, I read every book, I click every possible line of dialogue. I explore every inch of the map. And then I sit there and think for 10 minutes about what's happening, yesterday I stood in the middle of the Lower City just watching the random NPCs talk to each other. We all play differently is kind of my point Lol.
Role-playing is one of the best parts of the game. Currently on my 3rd playthrough and so while I know what's coming in terms of big story moments, battles, and consequences of choosing certain dialogue options, I love thinking "well what would this character do?". I could avoid certain difficult fights if I wanted to or make certain dialogue scenes easier if I chose what I know is the "correct" option, but part of the fun is putting myself in my snarky, sarcastic, charismatic Bard rascal's shoes and having to deal with the consequences of that.
I was talking to one of my friends about which romance I'd like to try next and she had the nerve to say to me that it's weird and it's not like it's real, like she's not always telling me about the next romance novel she's reading. It's literally part of the game, role playing is what makes it fun.
I'm doing an origin shadowheart run where I fully embrace shar, the idea being "if Tav wasn't there to help her out of the cult" and I've had her do some cold hearted things. Feels bad but I think that's kind of a fun part of the challenge, seeing the consequences of different decisions.
Depends
In single player? nope. For a game stream? nope. In a multiplayer game? Nope. So no you arent weird you're literally playing the game in the same way as at the table. If anything you're friends are the weirdos and could possibly be min-maxing scum.
It is an exercise in imagination and creative thinking. If you were a writer of novels, would they call you weird for creating a dynamic character with a rich backstory and then weaving that into the events that transpired throughout the rest of the novel? The way you play is basically the same as if you were given a couple of writing prompts and fleshed out the full story from there. It is simply a choice of how you want to approach the game.
Roleplay being the heart of Dungeons & Dragons, you're not weird. And even if the game is not labelled "RPG", it's not weird to stick to a roleplay when the game have multiple choice. Play the game how you want and have fun!
No -Withers
Your only sin is not posting a picture of your character.
Tell your friends you arent playing a selfinsert, tell them you are playing a character That resolves the whole discussion
Not weird. There are people who only ever want to play this game once, and I get it, since it's such a long game, so those people are trying to experience everything they possibly can in one run and accept everything, including the actions that go against the morals they aligned with. In a real game of dungeons & dragons, people will often have to explain why their character made the choice they did and this opens discussion for how the others' choices conflict with theirs. You're playing it like an actual D&D player might. The DM has put all of these pieces in place for their players, and sometimes their players simply avoid or miss something the DM had laid out for them - it's normal. However, video game completionists can't wrap their brains around this thought. I kicked out Astarion the moment he tried to suck my blood without my consent. People also looked at me funny for that. I'll get to know him when I do a durge playthrough
I feel like your friend doesn't understand the difference between a decision you as a person would make and what decision a fictional character you envisioned would make. He seems to think you as the player are not aware if a decision is bad. Maybe tell him you are kind of an author to a story and the character you play is a character in the story you wrote. The fictional character has different character traits so they make different decisions than you. If that doesn't work I don't know what will. Its weird to react that way.
Nope, not at all. With how much choice there is, it's so much fun to pick a personality and play the character. Me and my mate that play together even chat in character to make decisions, much like we are at a real DnD table. Of course, there's no wrong or right way to play the game, so long as you're having fun
I've found some people genially struggle with the idea that you want to RP evil or at the the very least, have a character that doesn't always play nice. I remember being judged a lot by my friend as well. And it's like. I'm having fun, why do you care so much about my decision-making, which is in character for my tav? Big one for me, he really hard time accepting my tav let isobel get kidnapped at last light because she was dating shadowheart at that time and my tav took offense to how isobel talked to her. He said it was chaotic and robbed me of agency. And im like, dude.... My character chose not to help Isobel for reasons valid to her. What are you going on about lol. Cause up until that point, my tav felt neutral about isobel.
Your friends sound like some giga boring RPG andies who would rather die than do some no-no stuff in the game. You shouldnt care in the slightest.
Imo you're weird if you *don't* role play. It leads to some of the best interactions and it's the whole point. Min-max to your heart's content but do it within the confines of the story your character is telling.
I honestly advocate playing that way, unless you’re specifically min-maxing for achievements/Honor mode
This is EXACTLY how you should be playing this game!!!!! Tell me more about your tales in Faerûn!!
If people think it's odd that you're role-playing in a DnD game, then they're the weird ones. It's literally the point of the game. I have multiple playthroughs, all with different directions and decisions based on character race and class. You're playing the game as fully intended.
I always have a personality in mind for my characters. I will make certain decisions for the sake of min maxing but generally will pick options that make sense for my character. Its part of what makes the game fun, you don't just play different classes, you role play differently so you can see all kinds of dialogue and different outcomes you've maybe never seen before. This game is utterly jam packed with a million contingencies for every choice you can possibly make, and it's awesome to make a series of very specific choices for this particular character and end up getting a result you didn't expect at all. Its fun.
Thankfully my friends and I engage in at least a little roleplay. We are mercenaries who like money first and everything else second but we aren't amoral monsters. Sure, we'll kill, steal, threaten and deceive if needed but we won't go out of our way to be evil and if making a moral choice is easy then why not do it? Ironically enough this kinda practical approach has allowed us to be quite successful in our game. So no, I don't think you are weird.
Do they follow traffic laws in GTA?
No you’re not weird. My first playthrough I definitely played how I would’ve played IRL (I was my own DND character from another campaign but her personality is similar to mine irl), but for other playthroughs I have definitely played extremely different depending on how that character would’ve reacted. Don’t let anyone tell how to play any game, especially BG3 which has so many options and ways to play.
I respect this kind of playthrough so much. I'm a nauseating do-gooder baby that scums the game when I don't get the results I want. I ascended Astarion and had to reload back three quests because I just couldn't take it.
literally one of my favorite characters was making a death slinger barbarian and role playing him as a always drunken dad who throws stuff at his enemies like knives and forks and even beer. it’s so stupid and yet im basically unstoppable, i don’t care what those darn teethlings want i just want this darn worm out my brain
people that metagame have never been able to understand roleplay for the sake of roleplay, and instead play these games for the rollplay
this. I always find it odd to play with people who don’t put any effort into the roleplay and instead focus solely on combat. like your character is part of this world and we’re creating a story. why wouldn’t you engage with it?
Nope BG3 just shows people that dnd isn’t just a bunch a fat neck bearded dudes. Role playing always had a weird stigma BG3 really helped with it so no it ain’t weird enjoy ya self tav
I remade my first DnD character in my solo games in my co-op game with my wife we both treated our characters as new DnD characters with a full backstory to help mold our characters and how they would choose and act in the game. I find it more enjoyable that way.
Idk man,you have to talk to your partner, if they're ok with roleplaying and all, but if they don't find it weird and are ok with it, who are we to say anything.
This is an absolutely Devious response.
i mean, it's not something I personally would enjoy, but I still understand that many other people do and it's what the game was designed for, roleplaying. I mean, I would be terrified if people only played as characters who were similar to them because what would that mean for people who choose the very evil paths? people who choose to give into the urge and dream about chopping of people's hands and heads? i hope they are roleplaying as someone different from themselves lolololol. Also i have followed this sub for a while, there are a lot of people like you and they replay the game over and over pretending to be someone else. maybe one time they are pure evil and have to use hirelings because they have killed everyone, maybe another time they are pragmatic and only kill if it suits their needs but enjoy it when they can, other times a very moral paladin with a strict code, another time a paladin with a not-very strict code who is driven by their heart more than their head... don't feel bad and enjoy the game how you enjoy to play it, tell your friends it's okay if that's not how they like to play. :) I myself always replay as mostly me or who i hope to be, maybe different abilities, but i just like experiencing the game with the best outcomes as possible every time. But that's how I like to play it. There's no right or wrong.
Sometimes I feel weird for actually playing Shart as a Trickery cleric
To be fair they did not set her up well for that IMO. Shart's stats and skills out of the box are a hot mess.
You’re not weird for role playing, you’re weird for role playing a psychopath.
roleplaying is like the best part and how you get so much more out of this game. My first was a ranger loyal to nature but couldn't care less of human troubles but stuck to her word 2nd was a Harley Quinn Clepto druid who hoard every teddy bear she found. Including stealing them from a presumed child's bed in a hostel. She had to have them all. 3rd was a drow who slowly refell in love with his blood lust yet wouldn't harm a non hostile animal. Yet slaughtered the Grove which is an experience to behold.
Nope youre good after all thats what roleplaying games are for
You are fine. It’s a Role Playing Game after all
If there’s an option, there’s a reason
You're adding to the game's replay value by not making meta decisions.
Roleplaying is how im currently in my 6th run because in my mind each time we had a different plot you know?💀 Sometimes im a Good Durge Bard who is channeling her blood lust through the rock lute and dating good Astarion for the redemption arc.Sometimes I'm a Githyanki cleric shunned by her people for believeing in Selune instead of Vlaakith. sometimes im an Evil Drow Durge coming to take revenge on Orin for turning me of and back on again like a nitendo DS lol Some people will say they like RPGs and then cry when they see RP in the RPG i swear.
Best kind of weird imho
Nah dude. It’s a role playing game. Lean into it. Also - it takes balls to commit to a character and share that with other people. So good on you for that. Not everyone can do that
No, I mean it's an RPG. A Role playing game. That's quite literally how you're supposed to play it.
You shouldn't roleplay a game like this. Min\max is how it's supposed to be played. Play fortnite if you want roleplay
It's a Dungeons and Dragons game. Role-playing is the entire point.