Baldur’s Gate 3 And Dragon Age Communities Have Very Different Atmospheres, And It’s Because Of The Writing

Dragon Age (specifically Dragon Age: Origins) and Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) are two games I’ve always compared. Both are CRPGs in the classical vein with a strong focus on characters. Both also have very passionate communities that adore these characters. A difference though, is the atmosphere of these two communities can be wildly different, and it’s because of the contrast in how both games’ respective characters and narratives are written.

The presentation of Baldur’s Gate 3 is classic Forgotten Realms fare. The player’s party displays a sort of easygoing, irreverent attitude towards situations that are ostensibly very serious and dangerous. It’s intended to replicate the experience of a group playing tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. That’s not to say there aren’t emotionally charged moments or that Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t deal with serious themes, but if someone is revealing their trauma, they’re usually quick with a witty follow-up immediately after.

A Tale Of Two Communities

Additionally, the Baldur’s Gate 3 party members don’t oppose one another in any serious manner. Even if the player plays as The Dark Urge and commits horrible atrocities, the party won’t have any real problem with the player’s actions. I remember confessing to Shadowheart that I heard voices telling me to murder everything in sight all of the time during our second-ever conversation and she just brushed me off.

The characters of Baldur’s Gate 3 have their objectives separate from the player, but they’re mostly personal, and not ideological. You can finish Baldur’s Gate 3 with a world state that leaves every party member relatively pleased. Sure, some of them like Karlach and Lae’zel still have trials ahead of them, but they’ve made progress on their journeys and they’re glad to have met the player.

Contrast this with Dragon Age, where most of the party is somewhat ideological or factional. A lot of them will openly disagree with the actions of the player. Even though you’re all facing down a world-ending threat (as is also the case in BG3), people can and will turn on one another over matters they feel strongly about.

In Dragon Age: Origins, every single member of your party except your trusty canine companion can leave you over a disagreement. The majority of these moments are dependent on your decisions during main quests. The religious party member isn’t going to allow you to defile the remains of her prophet and the mage won’t allow you to condemn all of her peers to death without a fight. An air of conflict in Origins isn’t as prevalent in Baldur’s Gate 3.

This has led to differing psychologies among both of these communities. Fans of each of Baldur’s Gate 3’s characters can co-exist easily, as none of these characters come into significant conflict with one another. Even the rivalry between Shadowheart and Lae’zel is endearing for fans, rather than anything that provokes intense emotion. Sure, some are critical of Astarion’s apathy and express as much to his ardent lovers, but nobody gets riled up about the whole thing.

Contrast this with characters like Anders and Solas, who are liable to spark typing contests at their mere mention on a forum post. Anders is an extremist, willing to do anything to secure the emancipation of mages from the Chantry. His character arc in Dragon Age 2 was so polarising that his writer left BioWare after receiving terrible abuse and death threats from so-called fans. Solas, the subject of the upcoming Dreadwolf, wants to remake Thedas into an Elven paradise, a group that faces significant persecution from humanity. This, as you can imagine, is a contentious topic for people.

The lighthearted writing of Baldur’s Gate 3 has created a community broadly supportive of everyone within it, while the more serious, contentious writing of Dragon Age has its community engaged in a never-ending debate. I’m not suggesting one thing is better than the other as both games remain true to their respective narrative visions. It’s just an interesting aspect of fandom – writing complex and flawed characters sparks discussion, especially when these characters conflict with one another, and this discussion can become toxic.

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