How to Build a Character - Baldur's Gate III Guide - IGN (2024)

With the highly anticipated release of Larian Studios Baldur's Gate 3 many gamers may feel some apprehension when diving into the game’s character creator. If you’re new to the CRPG genre, or to Dungeons and Dragons as a whole, navigating the Baldur's Gate 3 character creator can be a daunting task with the sheer scope of options, classes, spells, backgrounds, and abilities available. Don’t worry, we’re here to give you a breakdown of what you need to know for your first character in BG3.

How to Build a Character in Baldur's Gate 3

You’ll have companions throughout the game to help you balance the decisions you make during your character creation process, so don’t worry about being able to do everything! You’ll be able to fully control them, level them individually, and truly tailor their abilities to your experience. In addition, you’ll always be able to change your classes and abilities as you see fit, though Race and Background are fixed.

Jump to:

• 1. How Do You Want to Play?
• 2. Pick Your Class
• 3. Race
• 4. Background
• 5. Ability Scores
• 6. Skill Selection

1. How Do You Want to Play?

The first decision to be made is how do YOU want to play the game? Baldur’s Gate III is an incredibly open ROLE playing game, modeled after Dungeons and Dragons, giving you almost endless options in playing the game your way. Do you favor stealth and thievery? Or do you want to Hulk out and smash your enemies? Maybe you love animals and want to make friends with them all! Or maybe you want to BE the animal instead?

Think about the kind of combat and interpersonal interactions you want to be good at, and the personality you want your character to have. Once settled on those ideas, then start making the actual character-building choices.

2. Pick Your Class

Your Class in Baldur’s Gate III is the biggest deciding factor in how you’ll handle combat and what skills you’ll bring to the party. Each has their strengths and weaknesses and brings something unique to the party structure. We suggest starting here before selecting your Race or Background.

Barbarian

Barbarian embrace the RAGE of battle, able to withstand incredible punishment and dish out twice as much more. Forgoing any armor for protection these warriors rely on their strength and instincts to be victorious.

As primarily close combat fighters, you’ll want to focus on your Strength attribute, with Constitution being secondary since it helps boost your armor class with the ability Unarmored Defense.

Bard

Bards are a support-style spellcasting class that power their magic through music and speech. Their abilities generally focus on bolstering your teammates or mocking the enemy into submission with a quick-witted word.

A Charisma based class that specializes in persuasion and performance can bring more options to interpersonal interactions. All of the Bard's spells are based on their Charisma stat, so focus on that attribute!

Cleric

Clerics channel the power of their chosen god into feats of magical ability. With seven different domains and 21 gods to choose from, there’s a cleric for every style of gameplay. Focus on healing your crew with the Life Domain, or focus on combat ability with Tempest or War Domain.

Clerics are Wisdom based casters that are at home on the front lines of combat. You’ll want to focus on Wisdom, Constitution, and Strength/Dexterity depending on what kind of weapons you’re using.

Druid

Druids use elemental magics and have a deep affinity for nature. They can even turn into beasts using their Wild Shape ability! Their later sub-class options allow you to focus on either the magic or Wild Shaping abilities depending on your preference.

Druids are also Wisdom based casters! Focus your attribute points there if you want more powerful spells, and know your Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity will be replaced by the beast’s stats when you use Wild Shape.

Fighter

Fighters are masters of their chosen type of combat. They have proficiency in almost all weapon and armor types as well as a Fighting Style allowing you to focus on the type of combat you want to engage in. This class is very much tailored to high combat gameplay.

Fighters will vary from frontline to ranged combat specialists depending on your chosen Fighting Style. If you’re going in close you’ll generally focus on your Strength Attribute, while ranged attacks are generally Dexterity based.

Monk

Monks are nimble characters capable of channeling their inner strength to dissemble their enemies with stuns, furious unarmed strikes, and a deluge of class abilities. Later class options allow them to channel their strength in different ways, mastering the elements, or the shadows around them.

Monks are primarily Dexterity based as it boosts their unarmed attack damage AND contributes to their overall Armor Class simultaneously. As a secondary attribute focus, choose Wisdom, as it contributes to your Monk abilities and Armor Class as well.

Paladin

Paladins, much like Clerics, use their connection to the divine to fuel their abilities and spells. Paladins are a more combat-focused version of clerics and won’t gain the same strength in spells as their holy counterparts, but do have more proficiencies in weapons, armor, and the ability to SMITE their enemies with holy light.

Paladins tend to be frontline fighters with a secondary focus on their spells. You’ll likely want to put most of your attribute points in Strength and secondary focus on your Charisma. Dexterity can be good as well, but you’ll eventually be wearing heavier armor that does not benefit from Dexterity bonuses.

Ranger

Rangers make for incredible scouts and trackers. Their connection with animals and nature, similar to a Druid, give them advantages in overland exploration and hunting down their prey. Similar to Clerics and Paladins, Rangers have more martial abilities and proficiencies than their Druidic counterparts.

Rangers are Wisdom based spellcasters, but that tends to be a secondary attribute to their Dexterity, as that is the primary attribute of ranged weapons like Longbows, Shortbows, and all Crossbows as well as Skills like Stealth. Your Ranger CAN be a more melee-focused fighter, so in that case pay attention to whether you want to use more Strength based weapons over Dexterity.

Rogue

Rogues are masters of stealth and use that advantage to devastating effect. Their ability to Sneak Attack and deal giant amounts of single-target damage can turn battles in your favor instantly. Rogues also have skill Expertise options, allowing you to DOUBLE your proficiency bonuses in certain skills.

Rogues are happiest with their highest stat in Dexterity. This gives them higher Stealth, Sleight of Hand, Lock Picking, and Precision Weapon damage bonuses. As a secondary trait, Intelligence is valuable for Investigation and finding traps!

Sorcerer

Sorcerers use the magical abilities granted by their bloodlines to cast their spells. More limited in number of spells than their Wizard counterparts, Sorcerers have the ability to cast the spells they do have in more versatile ways. Like Twinning spells to multiple targets or Quickening their spellcast to shorten the casting time.

Sorcerers are Charisma based casters, you should focus your attribute points there as their knowledge of spells and overall power are directly connected to that!

Warlock

Warlocks gain their magic and abilities through a powerful patron. They trade their loyalty to this entity, Fey, Fiend, or Unknowable Cosmic Entity, for supernatural abilities and devastating spells. Warlocks are bound to cast their spells at the highest level they can, and are limited greatly in the frequency they can cast these spells without resting, but they regain this power on only short rests, whereas Sorcerers and Wizards must rest overnight to recover their power.

Warlocks are also Charisma based casters, but they have a fixed number of spells so the Charisma bonuses will only affect the strength of the spell cast. As a secondary stat, Dexterity is likely the best choice as it contributes to you Armor Class and Warlocks do not have inherent armor proficiencies.

Wizard

Masters of the Arcane and specializing in one of the eight schools of magic, Wizards are the mathematicians of the magical world. Their power comes through intense study and research and their ever expanding spellbook makes them incredibly versatile magicians. Able to swap spells for any situation and learn spells between levels with spell scrolls gives them the largest arcane spell access of any class.

A Wizard relies on their Intelligence stat for spell knowledge and spell power, it should absolutely be your focus. As for secondary abilities, Wizards have one of the smallest health pools, so you’re either going to want to be harder to hit, Dexterity, or be able to take more hits, Constitution.

3. Race

There are 11 base races to choose from with 18 sub-races, not including the Dragonborns TEN subraces alone. Each race and sub-race have different abilities ranging from physical attributes, magical ancestries, to straight up just being lucky.

Not only does each race have different abilities, but the game will change around your selections and open up specific dialogue options based on these selections and non-player characters will react to your race differently depending on who you’re interacting with! Here’s a quick breakdown of the races and their abilities.

Elf

Long lived and aloof with a magical proclivity as a High Elf or a distinct connection to nature as a Wood Elf, Elves have the ability to see in the dark, weapon training, and benefits from their Fey Ancestry.

Tiefling

Descendents of devils in the Nine Hells, Tieflings will find themselves under constant scrutiny by the other races. Their fiendish heritage gives them resistance to fire and the ability to see in the dark.

Drow

Elves driven to the Underdark became Drow. Embracing a chaotic and ruthless goddess named Lolth, the Drow delight in her evil tenets, though there is a sect that rejects Lolth and her goals. Most other races will either fear or be incredibly suspicious of Drow. Drow have weapon training, Fey Ancestry like their Elven cousins, and can see in the dark further than surface-dwelling folk with superior darkvision.

Human

The most populous and versatile of Races, Humans are trained with militia style weapons and armor and gain additional skill proficiency exemplifying their capability for adaptation.

Githyanki

Githyanki are outsiders from the Astral Sea with psionic abilities bolstering an already martially prodigious race. They also have a unique class feature that allows them to gain proficiency in every skill of one Ability type for a limited period of time. Their goal is to hunt mind flayers and eliminate them, this may lead to some interesting interactions throughout the game!

Dwarf

Dwarves are stout and resilient. With some sub-races exhibiting even greater toughness than others, Dwarves have darkvision, weapon and armor proficiencies, and a distinct loyalty to other Dwarves which can be useful in social interactions.

Half-Elf

Benefactors of their Fey ancestors and their human heritage, Half-Elves are accepted most everywhere, but do not truly have a place they belong. Darkvision, Fey Ancestry gifts, and the militia-like training of humans make Half-Elves incredibly versatile selections. Their subraces also give the benefits of the selected Elven heritage.

Halfling

Just plain LUCKY. Halflings are small, brave, adventurers that benefit from an inherent luck that allows for a free reroll whenever you happen to roll a 1 for an attack, ability check, or saving throw.

Gnome

Gnomes are known for their intelligence and energy, their Gnomish Cunning giving advantages on saving throws for Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma! Each of their subraces give additional benefits, with some giving expertise in skills like History.

Dragonborn

Dragonborn are a proud race that value their clan above all others, and this is reflected often in social interactions. Each of their ELEVEN subraces gives them access to a breath weapon of that dragon’s type and resistance to that type of damage.

Half-Orc

Half-Orcs are intense, fully embracing the emotion of the moment, and move to action rather than contemplating options. Their resilience and persistence allows them to push past a point that would kill most others, and their combat prowess allows them to deal immense amounts of critical damage. Their Orcish heritage may lead to suspicion from others, however.

4. Background

Background plays one of the largest roles in the interactions you’ll have with your party and other characters. It will give additional options during conversations, give you skill proficiencies, and set you up to gain Inspiration. Inspiration is the ability to reroll ANY roll, but is only gained when you perform an action that your character goals or background align with. For example, a Noble background Dragonborn gainings Inspiration when asserting authority and earns a magical item.

There are 11 backgrounds to choose from, and each will alter how your character interacts with the world around them:

Acolyte

An acolyte's life is spent in service to a temple and a god, learning their sacred secrets and hoping the gods will guide you to greatness.

This background works well with Cleric or Paladin classes, they’ll also gain Insight and Religion proficiencies.

Charlatan

Charlatans are masters of manipulation and exaggeration, bending the truth to their benefit and profiting all the while. Charlatans have no regard for ally or enemy, just the next mark and profit.

Bards, Rogues, Sorcerers, and Warlocks make for great charlatans, gaining proficiency in Deception and Slight of Hand.

Criminal

A history of lawbreaking, using connections to benefit yourself, profit and opportunity awaits those who play outside the law.

With the skill proficiencies of Deception and Stealth, Rogues, Fighters, Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Rangers will likely benefit the most, but anyone can truly be a criminal!

Entertainer

Artists rejoice! A background to showcase your greatness and enthrall the people around you.

Sway your audience by performance alone! Bards are particularly at benefit with this background with additional proficiencies in Acrobatics and Performance.

Folk Hero

A champion for the common folk, standing up to common bullies and tyrants alike, Folk Heroes do their best to protect the helpless and save innocents.

Barbarians, Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers fit this archetype nicely with proficiencies in Animal Handling and Survival.

Guild Artisan

Guild Artisans are craftsmen of great skill, recognized by guild membership, offering privilege and opportunity. Repairing and discovering rare items can bring your character inspiration. Any single class is well suited to this background, though some races may see more benefit than others.

Dwarves and Gnomes, both known for their artisanry and inventiveness may see more worldly interaction than others. Regardless of this, the proficiencies of Insight and Persuasion are useful for everyone!

Noble

Power, privilege, and money. Accumulating renown and raising your status is the goal, bring respect and followers to your noble house.

Paladins, Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards all benefit from the proficiencies in History and Persuasion, though truly anyone can come from nobility.

Outlander

A child of the wilds, learning survival away from the comforts of civilization, and building knowledge of living a harsher way of life.

Barbarians, Druids, Rangers, and Fighters all make for great Outlanders, where surviving the hazards of the wilds brings inspiration and proficiency in Athletics and Survival are valuable.

Sage

You thirst for knowledge and understanding. Learning rare pieces of lore and using this knowledge brings Inspiration.

Wizards are acutely fit for the Sage background with proficiencies in two Intelligence based skills, Arcana and History.

Soldier

The battlefield is your home. Trained in tactics and combat, using these skills on the battlefields of your adventure will gain you Inspiration.

Fighters, Barbarians, Rangers, and Paladins all fit the Soldier archetype well, and benefit from both the Athletics and Intimidation skills.

Urchin

You survived a perilous and penniless youth and now you make the most out of every situation. What you lack in school teachings you have in street smarts and experience.

Rogues are especially suited to this background with proficiencies in Sleight of Hand and Stealth, but Rangers and Bards can benefit just as much!

5. Ability Scores

Once you’ve selected your class, it’s time to figure out what abilities, stats, you should focus on. Each class tends to have a primary ability focus, whether for spellcasting or other abilities to be maximized. In the released version of Baldur’s Gate 3, ability score bonuses are no longer tied to which race you select, allowing more freedom for your selections.

There are 6 ability scores that we’ll be assigning numbers to: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each of these correspond to different Skills and provide bonuses to your dice rolls on those skills at even number intervals. For example, when your strength goes from 10, a +0 modifier, to 12, a +1 modifier, you’ll see that your strength based skills will have the corresponding +1 modifier. In the opposite direction, numbers under 10 will result in negative modifiers being applied to your rolls. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as taking some negatives will allow you to be much stronger in specific areas and abilities.

Baldur’s Gate III does highlight specific abilities you should focus on for each class with a little star next to them, and you can use the Recommended button if it’s too overwhelming. Using their Point Buy style system, the higher the number, the more it costs of your allocated ability points. The highest base value on a skill you can get is 15, only the +1 or +2 bonus being applied gets the number any higher. Don’t worry, you can increase your ability scores over time as you level and certain breakpoints in the game.

Here’s a quick rundown of what each Ability Score affects:

Strength

Strength is tied to your Athletics skill, jump distance and height, carrying capacity, and damage when using Strength based weapons.

Dexterity

Dexterity is one of the most powerful single stats in the game. It’s tied to Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth, while also used for your Armor Class and Initiative Bonus. Armor Class being how hard you are to hit and Initiative being where in the combat order your character ends up. Higher Dexterity bonus, Higher Armor class, and faster Initiative.

Constitution

Constitution affects none of the skills, but is the basis of your health pool. For every positive modifier in Constitution, you gain another hit point per level. Higher Con also makes it easier to retain concentration when hit on Spells that require it.

Intelligence

Intelligence is your character's knowledge of things in the world, it’s tied to Arcana - knowledge of magic, History - knowledge of the past, Nature - knowledge of the natural world, and Religion - knowledge of the godly domains. Additionally it affects your character’s ability to Investigate items, rooms, areas, and traps!

Wisdom

Wisdom allows your character to notice things in the world around them more naturally, affecting the Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival skills. Wisdom contributes to how naturally your character will note changes in people’s behavior as well as spotting things in the world.

Charisma

Charisma is the ability for your character to influence others, through Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Performance. It can even help you haggle down prices in shops! Having proficiency in some of these Charisma based skills will also open other dialogue options in game.

6. Skill Selection

It’s time to decide what your character is good, or Proficient, at. There are 18 different skills to choose from and each class and background comes with options on skill proficiencies to be selected, so make sure you’re not overlapping on any one of these. The skills you select here will get a bonus applied to them beyond your Ability Score modifiers called a Proficiency Bonus.

Proficiency Bonuses grow with your character over time - the skills you select here will mean your character will go from being good at them to eventually mastering them as they level. It’s wise to focus your Skill choices around your higher Ability Scores, it’s better to be excellent at a few things than to try and balance your character's shortcomings, your other party members can shore up those pitfalls!

The depth of character creation alone and how it will affect your journey may inspire you to run multiple different characters through Baldur’s Gate 3, each experience being different than the last! And don’t worry, if you find your character lacking in any specific area, your party of Companions can more than fill that space.

Can you Change your Character's Appearance After Creation?

Once you've finished creating your character in full, make absolutely sure that this is the character you want to adventure into the Forgotten Realms with.

Currently, at this time, you are unable to change your character's appearance post-character creation. Ensure that everything is to your satisfaction before venturing forth.

Be careful with everything, as even a slight misclick may cause some minor headaches if you wish to go back through the character creator to make sure everything is absolutely perfect (which is completely understandable!)

While you can't change your character's main appearance and major features, you can still change your character's clothing, equipment, armor, weaponry, etc. through the course of the game. You can also change your character's class and also branch into multiple different classes as well. It's just your appearance that's final.