Dungeons & Dragons Lead Changes Rules After Playing Baldur's Gate 3

Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3 has directly inspired a brand-new set of rule changes for the long-running tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons.

The Dungeons and Dragons 2024 Players Handbook video reveals multiple changes coming to spells in the board game. The designers are reworking spells not only to improve the tabletop experience but also because of Baldur’s Gate.

They are majorly reworking two spells, Cloud of Daggers and Produce Flame, specifically because of the video game. Now, players can move Cloud of Daggers around the battlefield to give the attack more versatility, while Produce Flame has been made easier to use.

Lead designer Jeremy Crawford explained to fans in the Handbook overview that these changes followed a lengthy engagement with Baldur’s Gate 3. Although some changes were already under consideration, playing with the spells in a video game format cemented the plan to change how they work.

“Some spells that were really painful to cast in terms of their action economy are far less painful. An example of that is Produce Flame, the Druid cantrip,” the D&D designer said.

"That cantrip was really painful to set up - once you got it going it could be fun to hurl the fire, [but] now it's way easy to cast it,” they continued. “When I was playing Baldur's Gate 3, [it] was excruciating. And while playing Baldur's Gate 3 I thought: 'We are going to redesign Produce Flame so there will not be as much friction to cast this cantrip'."

Crawford also noted that they decided to change Cloud of Daggers when they wanted to move the attack in Baldur’s Gate but couldn’t.

“When I cast Cloud of Daggers in Baldur's Gate 3, I want to be able to move it," they said.

Baldur’s Gate 3 stands out as one of the best adaptations of the Dungeons and Dragons gameplay experience in video game form. It properly represents the entirety of D&D’s gameplay systems and allows players to use every tool in incredibly inventive ways.

Unfortunately, Larian Studios won’t be working on Baldur’s Gate 4, but the studio will likely still use the Dungeons and Dragons toolkit for its next project.