Baldur’s Gate 3 is a Love Letter to a D&D Setting 5th Edition Fumbled

The Forgotten Realms has many planes of existence and settings within those planes. One of the settings that hasn’t received as much attention in 5e is the Underdark, a massive network of subterranean caves and passages that house a multitude of races, flora, and fauna. While 5e has passed over the Underdark in recent years, Baldur’s Gate 3 turned the Underdark into a marvel, where exploration of it felt like venturing into an alien world. The Underdark is encountered in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, and has several entrances.

The Underdark as a Setting

For many of the inhabitants of Faerun, the Underdark is as alien as the Astral Plane, but there are characters and factions who live out their lives there without ever seeing the surface. The Underdark has a reputation for being cutthroat and ruthless, with the Underdark itself having an alignment that ranges from Neutral to Chaotic Evil. The de facto rulers of the Underdark are the drow, elves with gray skin and white hair who typically worship Lolth, the Spider-Queen. The drow have a matriarchal society and are renowned as slavers, typically enslaving deep gnomes and duegar. The drow primarily live in the Underdark city of Menzoberranzan, which is located in a massive cavern.

Races who originate from the Underdark include:

• Drow
• Duergar
• Deep gnomes
• Myconids

Though the Underdark appears grim with monstrous creatures, Baldur’s Gate 3 shows that there are also a lot of positives about the setting. As the Underdark is totally underground, the caverns are lit thanks to bioluminescent fungi. Other incredible plants, such as the beautiful Sussur tree, are unique to the Underdark and provide both valuable resources and wonderful experiences. The hunt for the Noblestalk, hidden among the bibberbang mushrooms, showcases the danger of the Underdark through its environment, which hides a resource treasured by those who live on the surface.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Depiction of the Underdark

While the Underdark’s beauty is distinct, Baldur’s Gate 3 makes it clear that danger lurks around every corner. The dangers of the Underdark are both natural and artificial, thanks to the abandoned Arcane Tower, the defenses in the abandoned Selunite outpost, the duergar, possible enemy myconids, poisonous fungi, hook horrors, a bulette, a Spectator, random drow, and minotaurs. The myconid colony is a civilization that feels distinct from anything else seen in Baldur’s Gate 3, but despite this, the group still provides refuge to runaway slaves at great cost to the colony.

How BG3 Successfully Depicts Scale

The Underdark is a massive setting and that scale is hard to convey in a video game, even if the area itself is big. Still, Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Underdark traverses the entirety of the Shadow-Cursed Lands, as well as the area beneath Act 1. This is evident by the Underdark entrances, which are scattered across Act 1’s area. Grymforge, which lies within the Underdark, used to be a Sharran temple, and is a part of the Gauntlet of Shar encountered in Act 2.

All the major races that originate in the Underdark are depicted in the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, including drow, duergar, and deep gnomes. While Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t depict Menzoberranzan, the drow NPCs who are present give an overview of their society and culture. With the scale of the Underdark, its beauty, and its resources, there may not be a vital reason to visit, but Baldur’s Gate 3 makes the setting a worthwhile diversion for every playthrough.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a Dungeons and Dragons inspired RPG developed and published by Larian Studios. Featuring both a single player and cooperative element, players create their character by selecting a starting class, take on quests, level up, and engage in turn-based combat using the D&D 5th edition rule set.

Franchise

Baldur’s Gate

Released

August 3, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

Metascore

96