Highlights

  • Baldur's Gate 3 maintains its CRPG roots while achieving success through a turn-based system based on Dungeons and Dragons rules.
  • Resting in BG3 requires strategic management of limited Short Rests and Camp Supplies for Long Rests, unlike traditional DnD rules.
  • The game's approach to resting introduces survival mechanics and strong incentives to acquire resources, enhancing gameplay depth without being tedious.

While turn-based RPGs haven't necessarily been the most popular side of the genre in recent years, Baldur’s Gate 3 challenged this idea through achieving landmark success without compromising its CRPG roots. The effective usage of its turn-based system is due in part to the game’s basis in the rules Dungeons and Dragons, but these haven’t been followed in every element of Baldur’s Gate 3.

There’s a plethora of powerful abilities available to the player, but these are counter-balanced by various resources which must be replenished by resting. Short Rests are limited and offer partial benefits, while Long Rests in BG3 cost Camp Supplies and also restore Short Rests. This is a reasonable system which incentivizes the acquisition of food and drink items, even if it’s actually one of the game’s biggest divergences from the gameplay of its tabletop source material.

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Resting in Dungeons and Dragons is a Lenient Policy

Long Rests Only Cost Time

It might be surprising to players of BG3 who haven’t ever tried tabletop, but the DnD version of Long Resting doesn’t have the same resource cost associated with it. The party sleeping for the night is generally considered to be free of charge, restoring health and spell slots for the price of mere in-game hours lost. There’s more of a risk of an ambush outside scripted video events, but that ties into the Game Master’s discretion. The contingency on time that Long Rests have in tabletop isn't even possible within Baldur's Gate 3 due to its lack of a day and night cycle, so it makes sense that it needed to be redesigned for a modern CRPG.

GMs Can Rule on Short Rests

Similarly to the full variation, Short Rests are quite unregulated within the rules of DnD. They aren’t even explicitly defined as limited, but use Hit Dice which are rolled to determine how much health is regained. These dice aren’t even fully replenished by a Long Rest, making spending each Hit Die a potentially critical move in dire situations. It could be said that the lack of Hit Dice in BG3 makes for an easier experience, but it also manages to compensate for this through its own costs.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Reins in the Potency of DnD’s Resting

Quantifying Short Rests and the Success of Camp Supplies

Larian Studios took a risk when it decided to conclusively limit the player’s access to both forms of resting, but it ended up paying off due to the balance it introduced. While some DnD parties might get bogged down by players trying to squeeze them out of the GM, Baldur’s Gate 3 has measurable resources which dictate the player’s access to their abilities. Limiting Short Rests not only makes the world tenser, but even means BG3's Bards are stronger through Song of Rest. The complete removal of Hit Dice from this mechanic seemed like a potentially troublesome area initially, though the game has ultimately reached players beyond the existing audience of Dungeons and Dragons.

Implementing survival mechanics like hunger systems into RPGs is a tricky area which has yielded mixed results, yet the Camp Supplies used for Long Rests are a relatively non-intrusive way of handling this. Supply Pack items in Baldur's Gate 3 offset the need for rations, but food and drink are important to acquire throughout the journey in a way that elevates them from typical vendor trash. By combining these systems which are usually lackluster within the genre, BG3 is able to address problems within the tabletop and video game format simultaneously via its approach to resting.