Character creation is usually one of the most stressful parts of any RPG, but Baldur’s Gate 3 cranks that factor up to 11. The character creation system in Baldur’s Gate 3 is deep and complex, presenting you with several important choices to make right off the bat about who you are. In a hardcore CRPG like Baldur’s Gate 3, your stats and abilities matter much more than other popular role-playing games like Fallout or Skyrim. You have to put a lot of thought into what kind of character you want to play.
It sounds tough on paper, but this process is actually a whole lot of fun. Plus, we’ve got your back with this handy guide. Here’s everything you need to know about character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Origin
The Origin tab is where you can choose your character’s Origin and Background. In early access, the only Origin available is “Custom,” so you’ll have to make your own character from scratch without a preset starting point to go off of. After inputting your character’s name in the text field below, it’s time to choose your Background. Your Background will grant you proficiency in two skills, which you can see listed under the Background Features section. Having proficiency in a skill means you get a bonus for it, so choose a Background that meshes well with the skills you wan to use. Rogues may want to choose Criminal for the Deception and Stealth bonuses, while a Fighter might choose the Solder Background to gain proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation.
| Background | Skill Proficiency |
|---|---|
| Acolyte | Insight/Religion |
| Charlatan | Deception/Sleight of Hand |
| Criminal | Deception/Stealth |
| Entertainer | Acrobatics/Performance |
| Folk Hero | Animal Handling/Survival |
| Guild Artisan | Insight/Persuasion |
| Noble | History/Persuasion |
| Hermit | Medicine/Religion |
| Outlander | Athletics/Survival |
| Sage | Arcana/History |
| Sailor | Athletics/Perception |
| Soldier | Athletics/Intimidation |
| Urchin | Sleight of Hand/Stealth |
This is a pretty important choice, but it’s not as important as some of the choices you’ll make later in character creation. Choose one you think will fit your playstyle. If you like to play stealthily, choose a Background that features stealth skills. If you want to be a mage, choose a background with Arcana proficiency.
Race
There are eight Races and multiple subraces to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3, and race actually has several effects on your character’s stats and skills. If you want to be a Dwarf then, by all means, choose a dwarf, but just know that there are specific stat buffs and skill proficiencies that you may be missing out on by not choosing another race. Elves are great with bows and have bonuses to their Dexterity, for example. Any race can excel at any role, but if you’re the type of player who likes to min-max and squeeze every possible stat point out of character creation, then you’ll want to choose your race carefully.
| Race | Race Features | Skill Proficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| Elf (High Elf) | Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Darkvision, Dexterity +2, Intelligence +1 | Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, Shortbow, Perception |
| Elf (Wood Elf) | Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, Darkvision, Dexterity +2, Wisdom +1, Fleet of the Foot, Mask of the Wild | Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, Shortbow, Perception, Stealth |
| Tiefling (Asmodeus) | Hellish Resistance, Darkvision, Intelligence +1, Charisma +2, Thaumaturgy Cantrip | N/A |
| Tiefling (Mephistopheles) | Hellish Resistance, Darkvision, Intelligence +1, Charisma +2, Mage Hand Cantrip | N/A |
| Tiefling (Zariel) | Hellish Resistance, Darkvision, Strength +1, Charisma +2, Thaumaturgy Cantrip | N/A |
| Drow (Lolth-Sworn) | Fey Ancestry, Dexterity +2, Charisma +1, Superior Darkvision, Dancing Lights Cantrip | Rapier, Shortsword, Hand Crossbow |
| Drow (Seldarine) | Fey Ancestry, Dexterity +2, Charisma +1, Superior Darkvision, Dancing Lights Cantrip | Rapier, Shortsword, Hand Crossbow |
| Human | Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1, Charisma +1 | N/A |
| Githyanki | Intelligence +1, Strength +2 | Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword |
| Dwarf (Gold) | Dwarven Resilience, Constitution +2, Wisdom +1, Darkvision | Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, Warhammer |
| Dwarf (Shield) | Dwarven Resilience, Constitution +2, Strength +2, Darkvision | Light Armor, Medium Armor, Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, Warhammer |
| Half-Elf (High) | Fey Ancestry, Charisma +2, Any Two Abilities +1, Darkvision, Choice of Any Cantrip | N/A |
| Half-Elf (Wood) | Fey Ancestry, Charisma +2, Any Two Abilities +1, Darkvision, Mask of the Wild | Stealth |
| Half-Elf (Drow) | Fey Ancestry, Charisma +2, Any Two Abilities +1, Darkvision, Dancing Lights Cantrip | N/A |
| Halfling (Lightfoot) | Lucky, Dexterity +2, Charisma +1, Naturally Stealthy | Stealth |
| Halfling (Strongheart) | Lucky, Dexterity +2, Constitution +1, Strongheart Resilience | N/A |
If you’re unfamiliar with any of the terms this game uses, then simply hover over the name of the skill or feature in-game to get a helpful explanation of what it does. Pay attention to each race’s Base Racial Speed, as some of them are inherently faster or slower than others and can move further per turn.
Class
There are six main Classes to choose from in Baldur’s Gate 3, but each class has a handful of subclasses that allow you to specialize even further. This is the most important choice during character creation, as it will affect how your character plays. The Cleric uses divine magic, the Fighter is your traditional sword class, the Ranger is the ranged bow class, and the Rogue is the sneaky stealth class. The difference between Warlock and Wizard can be tough to understand at first for players new to roleplaying games like this, but the Wizard is your traditional magic-using class with flowing robes that studies different schools of magic, while the Warlock engages in more corrupt, destructive magic and uses it for more unsavory purposes.
| Class | Class Features | Skill Proficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| Cleric (Life Domain) | Spell Slots Unlocked, Disciple of Life, Domain Spells | Wisdom Saving Throw, Charisma Saving Throw, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Simple Weapon, Heavy Armor |
| Cleric (Light Domain) | Spell Slots Unlocked, Warding Flare, Domain Spells | Wisdom Saving Throw, Charisma Saving Throw, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Simple Weapon |
| Cleric (Trickery Domain) | Spell Slots Unlocked, Domain Spells | Wisdom Saving Throw, Charisma Saving Throw, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Simple Weapon |
| Fighter | Second Wind | Strength Saving Throw, Constitution Saving Throw, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon, Martial Weapon |
| Ranger | Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer | Strength Saving Throw, Dexterity Saving Throw, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon, Martial Weapon |
| Rogue | Sneak Attack (Melee), Sneak Attack (Ranged) | Dexterity Saving Throw, Intelligence Saving Throw, Light Armor, Simple Weapon, Hand Crossbow, Longsword, Rapier, Shortsword |
| Warlock (The Fiend) | Warlock Spell Slots, Dark One’s Blessing | Wisdom Saving Throw, Charisma Saving Throw, Light Armor, Simple Weapon |
| Warlock (The Great Old One) | Warlock Spell Slots | Wisdom Saving Throw, Charisma Saving Throw, Light Armor, Simple Weapon |
| Wizard | Spell Slots Unlocked, Arcane Recovery | Intelligence Saving Throw, Wisdom Saving Throw, Dagger, Dart, Sling, Quarterstaff, Light Crossbow |
Your chosen class will determine the weapons, armor, and Skills that you’ll be using throughout your playthrough, so choose wisely. If you choose a magic-using class like the Wizard, be sure to choose your preferred starting spells. If you’re a beginner, try the Fighter or Ranger. These are the most traditional classes on the list and excel at melee and ranged combat respectively. If you choose Cleric, you’ll be asked to choose a Deity, but this choice doesn’t affect much. You’ll occasionally get unique dialogue options based on your Deity, but these are few and far in between.
Skills
In the Skills tab, you can choose two skills to become proficient in on top of those you’re already proficient with because of your Race or Class. You can see all your current proficiencies on the left-hand side of the screen underneath your Abilities and character information. You can select the two Skills you want to add to your proficiencies on the right-hand side of the screen. Just choose whichever seems appealing to you. There are no wrong answers here. If you can’t decide, then Athletics, Perception, and Survival are good to have.
Abilities
Baldur’s Gate 3 automatically chooses and assigns your Ability points for you. It is highly recommended to leave this how it is if you’re a beginner player. If you’re an RPG expert though, feel free to tweak and make changes however you see fit. Once you reach a certain threshold for certain Abilities, you’ll have to start spending multiple Ability points to gain levels. Don’t put all your points into one Ability unless you really know what you’re doing. If you make changes but aren’t happy with how you ended up, just click the blue “Use Recommended” button to return to the default point spread.
Who Do You Dream Of?
This is definitely the strangest part of character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3. After selecting your character’s Race, Skills, and Abilities, the game asks you a personal question. Who do you dream of? Who attracts you? This isn’t a trick question or anything. The game really wants you to design your dream romantic partner. No one really knows what this is for quite yet, but this character will more than likely make an appearance in the story at some point.
Don’t think too hard about it though. Just make the prettiest girl or the hottest dude you can. You have the same set of character creation tools as you did making your own character, so you should already have some idea of how everything works. You won’t have to choose a Class or Skills for this character, however. After confirming your character’s appearance and this character’s appearance, you’ll be dropped into the Baldur’s Gate 3 prologue.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now on PC and Google Stadia. The game is currently in early access with a full release planned after at least a year in early access development.
