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Baldur's Gate seriesare there POC and LGBT chars?(144 posts) (144 posts) 
(144 posts) 
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
I do Not care, I play games for story and engaging characters...... not so I can check off a list.
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
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kimowar: I do Not care, I play games for story and engaging characters...... not so I can check off a list.
This. I'm indifferent so long as the game is good with an immersive world, deep characters, and intriguing story. If it has the things certain groups care about, so be it. Those would just be things that just so happen to be in the good game. One of the issues some game developers have these days is that they try to jam down certain values down our throats (think the latest Star War movies) and forget what the core job of a game developer - creating a good game.
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
Yes, both are options if you want in BG3.
Post edited October 07, 2020 by KDarkmoon
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
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kimowar: I do Not care, I play games for story and engaging characters...... not so I can check off a list.
I will second that.

It's a game, not a place to air your IRL issues.
Posted October 07, 2020
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guises: Asking about POC characters is an odd question for a game like this. The term just refers to any minority group: what's a dwarf? What's an elf? Having broadly diverse characters is generally expected for a fantasy game like this, to a greater degree than can exist in real life, it's part of what informs the player that they're in a fantastical world.

Whether or not the in-game diversity reflects real world diversity is something else entirely. You can't have a Hispanic person in Balder's Gate, for example, there's no such thing as Spain or Spanish. If you're just interested in skin color then search for Baldur's Gate character portraits and see what's available for yourself.
Then why can there be white humans, dwarves and elves in games? Europe doesnt exist in fantasy games.
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guises: Asking about POC characters is an odd question for a game like this.
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_Pax_: It'd not an odd question at all, IMO. Someone who is, themselves, a POC ... might like to be able to have their in-game avatar be more reflective of their appearance, than (for example) my own fishbelly-white Irish self. Someone who is LGBT+ might like having their avatar within a game that allows for romancing NPCs be reflective of their real-life orientation.

It's about being able to more closely and easily identify with the "protagonist" of the game, by having more parallels to their own real-life self and experiences.

And that is not in the slightest degree "odd", "silly", or whatever else of that nature.
Its more about seeing a game world that in terms of diversity resembles the real world and not some cis hetero white hell. Always, the argument against diversity is nonsensical, like the guy above you stated "there cant be spanish people in the game because theres no spain" but that person has no problems with all chars being white even tho theres no europe in the game.

I need diversity in games to feel better about playing them. I wont waste my money on games from devs who dont see the world as it is but as they wish it were.

DOS2 for example, Larian create a white world, and the occasional lizard. The only char who can be black is the player char and thus you are a unicorn, the last or first of a kind in a white world.
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guises: Asking about POC characters is an odd question for a game like this. The term just refers to any minority group: what's a dwarf? What's an elf? Having broadly diverse characters is generally expected for a fantasy game like this, to a greater degree than can exist in real life, it's part of what informs the player that they're in a fantastical world.

Whether or not the in-game diversity reflects real world diversity is something else entirely. You can't have a Hispanic person in Balder's Gate, for example, there's no such thing as Spain or Spanish. If you're just interested in skin color then search for Baldur's Gate character portraits and see what's available for yourself.
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waltc: Yes, and all the relatively recent Role Playing games allow players to customize their characters, including skin colors--that's not new at all. Role-playing games in that sense have a lot to teach about racism--namely, that the best kind of society is a color-blind society in which a person's skin color is no more important to his or her life than eye or hair color, etc. When I hear the word "Diversity" I immediately think "racism" because all it reflects is someone's skin color inherited through their parental genetics--that's the pop-culture meaning for the word today. The word "diverse" used to mean "a varied mixture" of whatever you were talking about--not simply "a varied mixture of races as denoted by skin colors." You hit upon what is great about RPGs--various races, colors, etc. are accepted as normal and not unusual or special--and for the most part all are equal. You don't see race-baiting in RPGs, thank goodness...;)

As far romances and sex go--the Internet is awash in pornography and cheap romance novels are a dime a dozen these days. For me--romance just doesn't fit in the RPG where the purpose is battling "otherworld" evil in all its many forms, etc. If people want smoozy romancing let them fire up The Sims, etc....;) There are plenty of places to go for cartoon sex depictions if they want those, etc. I don't want to see that sort of thing pollute role-playing games--if people want to smooze or socialize, let them go to Facebook...;)
I know some people like the cheap, silly romances in RPGs--and that I cannot understand. It's like defiling the purity of the genre...;)
Saying "i dont see color" is a racist statement. And race is not a thing, we are all one species. Listen to Jane Elliott on this, im not going into a full essay here. I just want to know if there are enough LGBT and black NPCs.

And diversity matters in games as games are escapes of real life, thus they should feature all we have IRL that makes us comfortable. Yet when there are no POC and LGBT people in games i feel uncomfortable as its racist and bigoted to omit that they exist.
Post edited October 07, 2020 by SarahGabriella
Posted October 07, 2020
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midrand: I can't believe that this is number one thread in a forum about a game that nobody had a chance to play yet.

Play the game if you like Baldur's Gate, RPGs, Larian Studios etc. and make your own conclusions on whether LGBT and POC issues are sufficiently covered in the context of the fantasy role-playing game set in Forgotten Realms universe.

From my perspective I'm looking for hours of fun to be spent exploring the game that hopefully will be a worthy successor to the series.
Youre going to have fun because you are ok with a cis hetero white game world. I am not. Thats why this thread exists. I need to make an informed decision before i spend money, 60 euro, on a game thats not yet fully finished.
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dtgreene: One question that I have that is relevant to this topic:

According to the 5e rules, your character need not be limited to the categories of male and female. Is this carried over to Baldur's Gate 3?

In other words, what gender choices are available when creating a character in BG3?
Thats a good question. Will BG3 have non binary or gender fluid chars? Even Paradox added non binary pronouns to BattleTech.
Post edited October 07, 2020 by SarahGabriella
Posted October 07, 2020
I hope there'll be lots of physically repulsive characters with made up genders who will give patronizing lectures about racism and inequality
Posted October 07, 2020
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midrand: I can't believe that this is number one thread in a forum about a game that nobody had a chance to play yet.

Play the game if you like Baldur's Gate, RPGs, Larian Studios etc. and make your own conclusions on whether LGBT and POC issues are sufficiently covered in the context of the fantasy role-playing game set in Forgotten Realms universe.

From my perspective I'm looking for hours of fun to be spent exploring the game that hopefully will be a worthy successor to the series.
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SarahGabriella: Youre going to have fun because you are ok with a cis hetero white game world. I am not. Thats why this thread exists. I need to make an informed decision before i spend money, 60 euro, on a game thats not yet fully finished.
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dtgreene: One question that I have that is relevant to this topic:

According to the 5e rules, your character need not be limited to the categories of male and female. Is this carried over to Baldur's Gate 3?

In other words, what gender choices are available when creating a character in BG3?
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SarahGabriella: Thats a good question. Will BG3 have non binary or gender fluid chars? Even Paradox added non binary pronouns to BattleTech.
When creating a character, you have to select male or female gender, but as of now, you can set their voice to be male or female sounding regardless of which you chose. Your "romantic interest" can also be selected and can be a male or female regardless of your gender. While I haven't specifically noticed any POC, most people I've interacted with have been non-human races, such as tieflings, goblins, etc. The skin tones choosable range from very light to very dark.
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
I just booted up the game. Here are some screenshots. I don't know about LGBT characters yet, but we get a lot of variety when it comes to things like skin colour and hair styles.

https://imgur.com/a/v1GR4U7

https://imgur.com/a/E27At12

https://imgur.com/a/VlF1AYp

Edit: you can also choose your partner. My toon is female, and the game defaulted to another female character:

https://imgur.com/a/wnP0xm9
Post edited October 07, 2020 by J Lo
Posted October 07, 2020
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SarahGabriella: Does this game feature POC, especially black characters and LGBT characters in BG3?
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J Lo: I just booted up the game. Here are some screenshots. I don't know about LGBT characters yet, but we get a lot of variety when it comes to things like skin colour and hair styles.

https://imgur.com/a/v1GR4U7

https://imgur.com/a/E27At12

https://imgur.com/a/VlF1AYp

Edit: you can also choose your partner. My toon is female, and the game defaulted to another female character:

https://imgur.com/a/wnP0xm9
Thank you for your efforts! In terms of char creation Larian has been nice, on NPCs not so much. Maybe when the game is out for longer there will be more screenshots.

Thanks a lot. <3
Posted October 07, 2020
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two-bob flamebait
Posted October 08, 2020
The Forgotten Realms were created by Ed Greenwood in the mid-1970s for use in campaigns he ran. He's a white dude. His players were probably all white dudes. That's who played D&D back in the day. PC wasn't a thing back then.

While the FR will slowly shift to embrace modern sensibilities, it's impractical to expect them to retcon the entire lore--built up over decades.

If you're this sensitive about it, then you're probably better off looking at very modern intellectual properties only.
Posted October 08, 2020
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basileus: The Forgotten Realms were created by Ed Greenwood in the mid-1970s for use in campaigns he ran. He's a white dude. His players were probably all white dudes. That's who played D&D back in the day. PC wasn't a thing back then.
(a) being open to diversity in culture, ethnicity, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation isn't "PC", it's human.

(b) Calimshan exists, and has existed, in the FR for decades.

(c) Ed Greenwood, the very creator you so eagerly cite, openly supported the inclusion of a transgender character in the BG2 expansion "Siege of Dragonspear", stating (emphasis mine):

I am saddened by what I hear of the current kerfluffle raging about Siege of Dragonspear and the trans character Amber Scott designed and included in it.

Folks, the Realms have ALWAYS had characters (mortals and deities) who crossdressed, changed gender (and not just to sneak past guards in an adventure, by way of shapeshifting magic or illusions), were actively bisexual, and openly gay. How underscored this was by TSR and later Wizards varied over time, and was always softpedaled, because D&D wasn’t a sex game, and we generally don’t rub the reader’s nose in sex unless there’s a good in-story reason for it.

But even deities have changed gender, sometimes for good, and the servants of deities (Elminster, in ELMINSTER: THE MAKING OF A MAGE) have sometimes been forced by the deity to “spend time as the other” to learn what life is like.

So it has always been there, and is an integral part of the Realms. With that said, I’ve never met a gamer yet who doesn’t tinker with every adventure to “make it their own” at their own gaming table, so if trans, LGBT, or sexual matters at all don’t suit your tastes and needs in your gaming sessions, leave it out or change it.

But D&D has half-orcs, and half-dragons, and half-elves, and has magic items that specifically change gender, right there in the rules. Surely, if you can handle the basic notion of cross-SPECIES sex, having a full variety of gender roles should be something that doesn’t blow your mind. If it’s not for you, that’s fine. I hate wearing certain shades of yellow. But I don’t scream and yell at someone I see wearing those shades of yellow, and call them names, and threaten things. My right to dislike yellow applies to me; it doesn’t extend to others. Because somehow, through an incredible oversight on the part of the universe that still hasn’t been rectified, no one made me a god. (I’m still crushed.)
That diversity has always been part of the Realms. It's not a new thing; the only thing about it that is new, is the emphasis certain groups try to (falsely) put on how new it supposedly "really is".
Post edited October 08, 2020 by _Pax_
Posted October 08, 2020
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This is why we can't have nice things any more, but seriously... Can't gamers have a simple modern video game that is completely free of real-world politics?

I have unwishlisted Baldur's Gate 3. Why?

I am not going to spend a cent on anything that is going to do nothing but waste my time and money lecturing me. #GetWokeGoBroke
Posted October 08, 2020
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GogWarrior71: This is why we can't have nice things any more, but seriously... Can't gamers have a simple modern video game that is completely free of real-world politics?
Having LGBTQA/non-white/etc people in your game has fuck-all to do with politics. It's no more political than having straight/cis/white people in your game. It's just a reflection of the real world into the fantasy setting, as the existence of straight people is, etc.

Straight people exist, and therefore are represented in fantasy. Cis people exist, and are therefore represented in fantasy.

Gay people exist, and therefore should be represented in fantasy. Trans people exist, and therefore should be represented in fantasy.

It's not "political" just because they exist as characters within the world.

Seriously. Get over your damn self.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
Baldur's Gate seriesare there POC and LGBT chars?(144 posts) (144 posts) 
(144 posts)