Baldur’s Gate 3 character creation guide – races, classes, backgrounds, and abilities

Looking for a detailed Baldur’s Gate 3 character creation guide? With nearly a dozen races and almost 50 subclasses, this game makes creating your character a tall task. Each choice has a meaningful impact on how you interact with the Dungeons and Dragons title.

Don’t let that put you off Larian Studios’ PC and PlayStation 5 RPG, though. Baldur’s Gate 3 classes like Rogues and Fighters are great starting picks. Knowing all the stats will let you pick from Baldur’s Gate 3 races. Here’s all the information in one place so that you can design the character of your dreams.

How to create your character in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3 involves selecting your hero’s Origin, Background, Race, Class, Skills, and Abilities. Each of these has an impact on how your character interacts with the world. While some of these can be changed after you begin the D&D game, you can’t change your race or origin once you start a playthrough. Baldur’s Gate 3 shows off an incredible level of inclusivity and diversity with a range of visual and performance options. Read on to know more about customizing your character in the game.

Origin

The Origin tab is currently disabled in the Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3. It lets you pick from a handful of Origin characters, letting you start the game as one of them instead of a custom character. Each character has its own unique backstory and dialogue choices. It’s a testament to how fleshed out the game’s side characters and companions are. Here are the Origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Astarion
• Lae’zel
• Gale
• Shadowheart
• Wyll
• Karlach
• The Dark Urge

Background

Backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3 let you characters have a past. It grants a Proficiency bonus to two skills. For example, an Acolyte has a bonus for Insight and Religion checks. Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 backgrounds for more on inspiration goals and how they factor into backgrounds. Here’s a list of all Baldur’s Gate 3 backgrounds:

• Acolyte – you have spent your life in service to a temple, learning sacred rites and providing sacrifices to the god or gods you worship. Gain proficiency in Insight and Religion.
• Charlatan – you’re an expert in manipulation, prone to exaggeration and more than happy to profit from it. Gain proficiency in Deception and Sleight of Hand.
• Criminal – you have a history of breaking the law and survive by leveraging less-than-legal connections. Gain proficiency in Deception and Stealth.
• Entertainer – you live to sway and subvert your audience, engaging common crowds and high society alike. Gain proficiency in Acrobatics and Performance.
• Folk Hero – you’re a champion of the common people, challenging tyrants and monsters to protect the helpless. Gain proficiency in Animal Handling and Survival.
• Guild Artisan – your skill in a particular craft has earned you membership in a mercantile guild, offering privileges and protection while engaging in your art. Gain proficiency in Insight and Persuasion.
• Noble – you were raised in a family among the social elite, accustomed to power and privilege. Gain proficiency in History and Persuasion.
• Outlander – you grew up in the wilds, learning to survive far from the comforts of civilization. Gain proficiency in Athletics and Survival.
• Sage – you are curious and well-read, with an unending thirst for knowledge. Gain proficiency in Arcana and History.
• Soldier – you are trained in battlefield tactics and combat, having served in a militia, mercenary company, or officer corps. Gain proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation.
• Urchin – you are trained in battlefield tactics and combat, having served in a militia, mercenary company, or officer corps. Gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand and Stealth.

Race

Your race in Baldur’s Gate 3 impacts how you interact with the world and vice versa. Some characters might favour interactions with specific races while others might subject you to racist remarks. There’s no right or wrong answer. Your race will also offer a few bonuses to abilities, spells, weapon proficiencies, and resistances. Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 races and subraces guide for an in-depth look at racial features, ability bonuses, and subrace features. Here’s a list of all the Baldur’s Gate 3 races and subraces:

• Dragonborn – 10 subraces with unique attack and resistance
• Drow – Lolth Drow, Seldarine Drow
• Dwarf – Gold Dwarf, Shield Dwarf, Duergar
• Elf – High Elf, Wood Elf
• Githyanki
• Gnome – Deep Gnome, Forest Gnome, Rock Gnome
• Halfling – Lightfoot Halfling, Strongheart Halfling
• Half-elf – High Half-elf, Wood Half-elf, Drow Half-elf
• Half-orc
• Human
• Tiefling – Asmodeus Tiefling, Asmodeus Tiefling, Zariel Tiefling

Class

Classes determine your skills, weapon, and armor proficiencies. Magic users can also pick which spells and cantrips they can use. Subclasses offer even more unique variants to customize your playstyle. Read our Baldur’s Gate 3 classes and subclasses guide to know more about class features, spells, and weapon proficiencies. Here’s a list of all of Baldur’s Gate 3 classes and subclasses:

• Cleric – Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, War
• Fighter – Battle Master, Eldritch Knight, Champion
• Ranger – Hunter, Beast Master, Gloom Stalker
• Rogue – Arcane Trickster, Assassin, Thief
• Warlock – Archfey, The Fiend, The Great One
• Wizard – Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Necromancy, Illusion, Transmutation
• Druid – Land, Moon, Spores
• Barbarian – Berserker, Wildheart, Wild Magic
• Bard – Lore, Valor, Swords
• Sorcerer – Wild Magic, Draconic Bloodline, Storm Sorcery
• Paladin – Ancients, Devotion, Vengeance, Oathbreaker
• Monk – Open Hand, Shadow, Four Elements

Skills

Skills let you interact with Dungeons and Dragons’ Forgotten Realms setting and its inhabitants. They are largely dependent on your abilities. Skill checks are an essential part of navigating the world, speaking to people, or engaging in combat. Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 abilities guide to learn how they improve your skills in the game. You gain a +2 to a skill if you are proficient in it. Picking the right background, race, or class can have this effect. Here are the abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3 with the skills they influence:

• Strength – Athletics
• Dexterity – Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
• Constitution
• Intelligence – Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion
• Wisdom – Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival
• Charisma – Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion

Abilities

Ability scores are the final part of character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3. You can add or subtract points to gain bonuses for skill checks and dice rolls. The character has a pre-allocated number of points to tinker with. Before you begin, you can opt for the recommended values or tinker to your heart’s content. There are six core abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Strength – denotes a character’s raw power
• Dexterity – measures agility
• Constitution – showcases health
• Intelligence – shows off your character’s smarts
• Wisdom – considers intuition and common sense
• Charisma – general likeability

And here’s how these values impact your dice rolls:

• A value of 8 grants a -1 modifier.
• A value of 10 grants a +0 modifier.
• A value of 12 grants a +1 modifier.
• A value of 14 grants a +2 modifier.
• A value of 16 grants a +3 modifier.
• A value of 18 grants a +4 modifier.
• A value of 20 grants a +5 modifier.

That covers everything you need to know about character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3. The game’s rich flexibility can be augmented with Baldur’s Gate 3 mods to unlock even more customization. Prepare for the Baldur’s Gate 3 release date by heading into Early Access and creating a fresh character. Remember that these saves will not be carried forward to the main game this August.

How many races will be in Baldur’s Gate 3?

There are 11 different races in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How many playable characters are in Baldur’s Gate 3?

There are seven playable origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3.