In Baldur’s Gate 3, the first thing you’ll be asked to do (after the gorgeous opening cinematic) is make a character. You’ll make choices about Origin and Background, Race and Subrace, Class and Subclass, and assigning your ability points. (If you’re familiar with D&D, what follows is the process straight out of the Player’s Handbook.)
Making your character means making a bunch of choices in a row. Mechanically, these choices determine the stats — both the obvious stats like Strength and Dexterity, and the less obvious ones like Survival and Deception — you’ll use to interact with the world. We cover this a bit more in our Baldur’s Gate 3 beginner’s guide.
In this Baldur’s Gate 3 character creation guide, we’ll walk through the tabs of Baldur’s Gate 3’s character creation screen, the stats associated with Origin and Background, Race and Subrace, Class and Subclass, and give some advice on the building a straightforward starter character.
Origin
The Origin tab is really the combined Origin and Background tab. In this early access version, your Origin — where you’re from — only has one option and doesn’t seem to have much effect on gameplay (yet). This is also where you’ll put in your character’s name.
Background does effect mechanics. It’s a simple version of your character’s backstory that gives you Proficiency (a bonus) to two Skills. These Skills are themed to the Background, so, for example, an Entertainer will get a bonus to Acrobatics and Performance.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Backgrounds
| Background | Proficiencies (Skills) |
|---|---|
| Background | Proficiencies (Skills) |
| Acolyte | Insight, Religion |
| Charlatan | Deception, Sleight of Hand |
| Criminal | Deception, Stealth |
| Entertainer | Acrobatics, Performance |
| Folk Hero | Animal Handling, Survival |
| Guild Artisan | Insight, Persuasion |
| Noble | History, Persuasion |
| Hermit | Medicine, Religion |
| Outlander | Athletics, Survival |
| Sage | Arcana, History |
| Sailor | Athletics, Perception |
| Soldier | Athletics, Intimidation |
| Urchin | Sleight of Hand, Stealth |
Over on the right of the screen under the Background, you’ll see the Skills that’ll get the Proficiency bonus. Pick a Background with skills you think will be useful for this character. There’s no right or wrong answer here, but it will determine how (successfully) you interact with the world.
For a starter character, Sailor is a good choice. The Athletics Skill Proficiency is useful for things like jumping or throwing objects, and Perception is good for noticing things in the environment.
Race
Race and Subrace are … complicated issues in D&D. They’re working on it. Baldur’s Gate 3 uses the rules as written in the Player’s Handbook, so Race (and Subrace) will effect everything from your base stats to the weapons you can use to walking speed to your senses.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Races
| Race | Subrace | Race Features | Race Proficiencies | Subrace Traits | Subrace Proficiencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Subrace | Race Features | Race Proficiencies | Subrace Traits | Subrace Proficiencies |
| Elf | Wood | Dexterity +2, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Darkvision | Perception, Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, Shortbow | Wisdom +1, 35ft. speed | Stealth |
| Elf | High | Dexterity +2, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Darkvision | Perception, Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, Shortbow | Intelligence +1, 1 Wizard cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | - |
| Tiefling | Asmodeus | Resistance to Fire (half damage), Darkvision | - | Charisma +2, Intelligence +1, Thaumaturgy cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | - |
| Tiefling | Mephistopheles | Resistance to Fire (half damage), Darkvision | - | Charisma +2, Intelligence +1, Mage Hand cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | - |
| Tiefling | Zariel | Resistance to Fire (half damage), Darkvision | - | Charisma +2, Strength +1, Thaumaturgy cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | - |
| Drow | Lolth-Sworn | Dexterity +2, Charisma +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Superior Darkvision, Dancing Lights cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | Rapier, Shortsword, Hand Crossbow | - | - |
| Drow | Seldarine | Dexterity +2, Charisma +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Superior Darkvision, Dancing Lights cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | Rapier, Shortsword, Hand Crossbow | - | - |
| Human | - | Strength +1, Dexterity +1, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1, Charisma +1, 30ft. speed | - | - | - |
| Githyanki | - | Strength +2, Intelligence +1, 30ft. speed, Mage Hand cantrip (spell) | Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword | - | - |
| Dwarf | Gold | Constitution +2, Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison, Resistance to Poison (half damage), Darkvision | Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, Warhammer | Wisdom +1, HP Max +1 (per level), 25ft. speed | - |
| Dwarf | Shield | Constitution +2, Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison, Resistance to Poison (half damage), Darkvision | Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, Warhammer | Strength +2, 25ft. speed | Light Armor, Medium Armor |
| Half-Elf | High | Charisma +2, Two Abilities +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Darkvision | - | 1 Wizard cantrip, 30ft. speed | - |
| Half-Elf | Wood | Charisma +2, Two Abilities +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Darkvision | - | 35ft. speed | Stealth |
| Half-Elf | Drow | Charisma +2, Two Abilities +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Charmed, Cannot be magically put to sleep, Darkvision | - | Dancing Lights cantrip (spell), 30ft. speed | - |
| Halfling | Lightfoot | Dexterity +2, Reroll 1s on Attacks, Checks, or Saving Throws | - | Charisma +1, 25ft. speed | Stealth |
| Halfling | Strongheart | Dexterity +2, Reroll 1s on Attacks, Checks, or Saving Throws | - | Constitution +1, Advantage on Saving Throws against Poison, Resistance to Poison (half damage), 25ft. speed | - |
Race also plays a role in the way that your character interacts with the world. The non-player characters (NPCs) you meet in the world might react differently to a Dwarf than they do a Githyanki.
Again, there’s no right or wrong answer here — you’re making the character you want to play.
For our starter character, we’re going to suggest picking the Fighter Class (next step), so we’re going to say Dwarf and Shield Dwarf for your Race and Subrace. This gets you bonuses to Constitution (hit points) and Strength (hitting enemies with weapons).
Class
Class is mostly about how you fight. You’ve got your choice of six classes: Cleric (divine magic), Fighter (hitting things with weapons), Ranger (shooting things with bows), Rogue (being sneaky and agile), Warlock (street smart magic user), and Wizard (book smart magic user).
Baldur’s Gate 3 Classes
| Class | Subclass | Max Hit Points(per level) | Class Features | Class Proficiencies | Subclass Features | Subclass Proficiencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Subclass | Max Hit Points(per level) | Class Features | Class Proficiencies | Subclass Features | Subclass Proficiencies |
| Cleric | Life Domain | 10 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Charisma Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon | Additional healing from spells, Domain spells | Heavy Armor |
| Cleric | Light Domain | 10 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Charisma Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon | Warding Flare (reaction), Domain spells | - |
| Cleric | Trickery Domain | 10 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Charisma Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon | Domain spells | - |
| Fighter | - | 12 | Regain HP once per day | Strength Saving Throws, Constitution Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon, Martial Weapon | - | - |
| Ranger | - | 12 | Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer | Strength Saving Throws, Dexterity Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shield, Simple Weapon, Martial Weapon | - | - |
| Rogue | - | 10 | Sneak Attack (Melee), Sneak Attack (Ranged) | Dexterity Saving Throws, Intelligence Saving Throws, Light Armor, Simple Weapon, Hand Crossbow, Longsword, Rapier, Shortsword | - | - |
| Warlock | The Fiend | 10 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Charisma Saving Throws, Light Armor, Simple Weapon | Healing when you reduce an enemy to 0 hp | - |
| Warlock | The Great Old One | 10 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Charisma Saving Throws, Light Armor, Simple Weapon | - | - |
| Wizard | - | 8 | Spell slots (magic user), Regain spell slots once/day | Intelligence Saving Throws, Wisdom Saving Throws, Dagger, Dart, Sling, Quarterstaff, Light Crossbow | - | - |
| Druid | - | 8 | Spell slots (magic user) | Wisdom Saving Throws, Intelligence Saving Throws, Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields, Simple Weapon | - | - |
Classes come with a list of Skill, weapon, and armor proficiencies that mostly determine what kind of gear your character will use. If you choose a magic user, you’ll get to see (and pick) your first spells.
Fighter is a great starter Class. It’s the easiest to understand (hit bad guys with pointy things), and there’s no magic to deal with. It also gets you Proficiency with all armor, shields, and weapons.
Skills
Every character has the same list of skills. These cover things like Acrobatics or Perception or (knowledge of) History. Skills are a more specialized way to interact with the world of Baldur’s Gate 3. On the Skills tab, hover over each of them to see what they’re used for.
Your Abilities determine the modifier for each of your Skills. But if your Background, Race, or Class gives you Proficiency with a skill, you’ll get an added bonus (+2 to start) on top.
After that, you get to choose two more Skills to become Proficient in. These are listed at the top along the right side of the Skills tab.
For our starter Sailor-Shield Dwarf-Fighter, she’s already Proficient in Athletics and Perception, so those options are orange in the list. For our starter, Insight is good to have because it lets us know when someone is lying to us, and Intimidation is useful to threaten people into behaving.
Abilities
Baldur’s Gate 3 determines and assigns your Ability scores for you. If you’d like, you can use the buttons here to tweak your stats. This isn’t a one-to-one adjustment, though. Higher scores — anything above a 15 or so — will require you to lose points from multiple others. (Getting into the weeds, it looks like this uses the Point Buy variant rules.)
For our starter Sailor-Shield Dwarf-Fighter, just use the recommended spread.
