Being based on Dungeons and Dragons, it's only natural that the Baldur's Gate franchise has plenty of terrifying magical creatures within. After hitting early access in 2020, Baldur's Gate 3 finally has a full release date, which was announced during the recent Game Awards. Along with the release date reveal, Baldur's Gate 3 also debuted a brand new trailer showing the return of a few iconic magical creatures - one of which is the eerie Drider.
Half-man, half-spider, Baldur's Gate's Driders come straight from Dungeons and Dragons' monsters codex. Appearing all the way back in D&D's first edition, Driders have been a staple of the game from the offset, and they've been present throughout the Baldur's Gate franchise. Baldur's Gate 3 is no exception to the rule, with at least one Drider appearing in the latest trailer, and for those that don't know, Driders aren't the type of beasts that players should mess with.
Baldur's Gate 3's Driders Explained
The origin of Baldur's Gate 3's Driders has its roots in the Drow civilization. Essentially just Dungeons and Dragons' version of dark elves, the Drow live in the Underdark, a vast and elaborate network of underground tunnels. The Drow are some of the most feared creatures in all the Forgotten Realms, known to be particularly cruel and vicious. The Drow use their superior intellect to determine the best course of action needed to survive, and this often means putting other creatures or beings on the line instead.
The Drow are also extremely religious people worshiping a number of gods, all part of the Dark Seldarine pantheon. The most influential being in this pantheon is Lolth, the Queen of Spiders and the Queen of the Demonweb Pits. As the leader of the Dark Seldarine, and knowing of the Drow's loyalty to her, Lolth has asked the Drow people to commit some heinous acts in her name. One of these acts saw Lolth commanding the Drow to cull their numbers and kill the weak, telling them that it would make their people stronger.
Over the years, some Drow would become disillusioned with the Dark Seldarine's teachings, and would refuse to participate in these acts. The vast majority of dissenters were killed by Lolth, or by her loyal Drow worshipers, but for the few that simply failed one of her tests, Lolth would be slightly more lenient. Rather than face certain death, these Drow were transformed by Lolth into Driders - half-elf, half-spider creatures.
While the transformation process is said to be excruciatingly painful, once a Drow has become a Drider, they are granted increased strength. Driders also retain any magical abilities they had in their previous form. However, Driders very rarely keep their sanity. Though they keep their memories of their previous life, this only serves to make Driders more resentful, and angry, and can often lead to them being particularly violent creatures. On top of needing blood at least once every four days to stay alive, Driders often relish the chance to hunt, seeing it as their only purpose in life now. As well as their unstable mental state, Driders are also an extreme threat based on their abilities. Driders can wield practically any weapon a Drow could, only now its increased strength means that any blow is lethal. Driders are able to walk on walls, and half of the population is able to spin webs, which they can use to set traps for unsuspecting prey.
Baldur's Gate 3 releases in August 2023 on PC.