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This page serves as a basic style reference for contributors to bg3.wiki. Everything written here is intended as a guideline to be referenced when needed, not as an unbreakable rule.

General wiki guidance

1. Contributors should write articles using straightforward, succinct language. Remember: less is more.
2. Always (briefly) describe the nature of your edits by filling out the 'Summary' field on the submission page.
3. Regarding disputes and disagreements: Always prioritise fixing factual errors over rewriting articles to conform to a specific style. Please avoid getting into edit wars. Take disagreements to the Discussion/Talk page or the bg3.wiki Discord.

Article names

Guidelines for naming articles vary based on the type of article.

Concepts

When both singular and plural forms of a concept are viable, opt for the singular form. This enables easier linking.

• Saving Throw (Saving Throws)
  • Link markup: [[Saving Throw]] and [[Saving Throw]]s both lead to Saving Throw, allowing for easy plural usage

Exception: When a concept is frequently searched for or described as a plural, use the plural form instead. Additionally, create a redirect for the singular form. This enables easier linking of articles.

• Feats (Feat)
• Spells (Spell)

Characters

Opt for the character's simplest name, without any titles, aliases, or nicknames. Titles and aliases can be described in the text of the article itself. If a title or alias is very frequently used in-game, consider adding a redirect for it.

• Gut (True Soul Gut Priestess Gut)
• Spaw (Sovereign Spaw)

Firstname Lastname is also acceptable.

• Roah Moonglow

Items

Use the name of the item shown on the ingame tooltip, including the enchantment value, if any:

• Longbow +1

When an item has both an enchantment and a unique name, use the unique name without the enchantment value:

• Merregon Halberd
• Speedy Reply

Locations

When a location has multiple names, opt for the name displayed on the minimap while standing in that location. Create redirects for alternative names.

• Ebonlake Grotto (Myconid Colony)

If a notable location does not have a minimap name, opt for the name of the nearest Waypoint or fold the location into a larger region or area that encompasses that location (such as The Risen Road).

Terminology

Use the term Region to refer to multi-location areas that have their own map (e.g. Wilderness), and the term Location to refer to named places within those regions that appear on the minimap or the name of the save file, (e.g. Goblin Camp, Sacred Pool).

For other places at the lowest scale, describe the place based on what the in-game map calls it, such as Entrance, Waypoint, or Secret, or a similarly descriptive term if it's unmarked.

For Locations which themselves contain smaller Locations (e.g. Emerald Grove, Abandoned Refuge), the preferred term is area† when clarification is necessary.

† Areas are not defined as such in-game, but are used on the wiki to describe a collection of related locations, both as defined geographically and by the characters and lore within game. An example is the location Emerald Grove, which itself includes the locations The Hollow and Sacred Pool among others, while also being the name of save file should created on the ramparts or some of the connecting paths.

Wiki organisation

Various wiki organisation guidelines, plus generally agreed-upon word choices for organisational terms.

Chapters or acts?

Follow the 'Act' nomenclature used by Steam achievements, but spell out the act number. This has been generally agreed upon by wiki editors for formatting consistency and adherence to most style manuals.

• Act Two (Act 2 / Act II / Chapter Two)

Regarding divisions between acts: per Steam achievements, Act One begins when the party arrives on the Ravaged Beach at the start of the game and includes the Mountain Pass. Act Two begins when the party enters the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Act Three begins when the player exits the Shadow-Cursed Lands and takes a Long Rest.

Character locations

When noting a character's location(s), try to list all permutations of where that character may appear. Group and sort multiple appearances for the same character by Act.

Exception: For the Characters infobox that appears at the bottom of named NPC pages (Template:NavCharacters), try to limit each character to only one location - whether that is the first location or the most common location for that character. For particularly significant characters who appear in multiple Acts and/or multiple locations in the same Act, use your best judgment to determine whether it's appropriate to list multiple appearances for the same character.

Links

Frequency of link usage

Linking to other articles is an important part of wiki information discoverability, but inserting too many inline links can break the flow of text. A general guideline to follow when a term is mentioned several times in quick succession is to link the first instance of that term in each section of an article.

Formatting, grammar, and spelling

Abbreviations

TBA

Capitalisation

Bg3Wiki uses two different capitalisation conventions: title case and sentence case.

The following conventions apply to both titles of articles as well as the text of articles.

Sentence case

Articles and their textual contents, including article names and headings, are given in sentence case, with the exception of names and titles.

Capitalise proper nouns (including specific items, locations, effects and conditions, and BG3 Wiki page names), titles (see Title Case below), as well as adjectives derived from proper nouns such as regional adjectives. Do no not capitalise common nouns unless it is warranted.

Game concepts and mechanics, including any adjectives derived from them, should be capitalised when they are used as proper nouns.

Example #1

• The spell only affects Medium characters.
• The Spell only affects medium characters.

In this example, the word spell should not be capitalised, because the concept of a spell is not a concept unique to this game, distinct from the meaning of the common noun spell.

The term Medium should be capitalised, because it is referring to the specific game concept of a Medium character – It is distinct from the common adjective medium.

Example #2

• If the Longsword of Power is equipped, the character may no longer use potions.
• If the longsword of power is equipped, the character may no longer use Potions.

The term Longsword of Power is referring to a specific named item in the game, and so it should be capitalised.

The term potions is referring to potions in general, and should not be capitalised.

Example #3

• For more information about Baldurian beverages, see the Potions article.
• For more information about baldurian beverages, see the potions article.

The term Baldurian is a regional adjective, and so it should be capitalised.

The term Potions should also be capitalised, because it is referring to the Potions article, not potions in general.

Names and titles

Use in-game capitalisation for capitalisation of names and titles of things from the game, such as item names or spell names. This does not include game mechanics or in-game concepts.

• Circle of the Moon (Circle Of The Moon)
• The Festering Cove (the Festering Cove)

Follow the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines when the in-game capitalisation is inconsistent, as well as for titles and names of things not from the game (such as BG3Wiki).

In short:

• Capitalise nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
• Use lowercase for articles (a, an, the) and prepositions, except at the beginning of a proper noun clause.

Punctuation and grammar

Baldur's Gate 3 follows British English punctuation and grammatical rules (barring a few errors and inconsistencies). Aim to consistently employ these rules wiki-wide for consistency.

Quotes

• "Double quotes" ('Single quotes')

Commas

Use Oxford commas (also known as Serial Commas) when listing three or more items, unless directly quoting game text that omits this comma.

• Clerics, Rogues, and Barbarians (Clerics, Rogues and Barbarians)

Perspective and objectivity

Write from a third-person, objective perspective. Ideally, omit the perspective entirely.

• This item is bugged in Patch 9. (We know this item is bugged in Patch 9.)
• A Bard can use this to inspire allies. (We can use this to inspire allies.)

Second-person is also acceptable when the tone of a statement benefits from a more direct addressing of the reader, but try not to switch between third- and second-person perspectives too often.

• Your choice of reward does not matter here.

Never use first-person perspective in the main wiki namespace, even when making conjectures. If a statement is tentative and needs to be verified, that's okay - simply include the {{Verify}} template to let readers and other wiki editors know.

• This is also dropped by John Baldursgate.^{[Needs Verification]} (I think this is also dropped by John Baldursgate.)

Exception for guides and walkthroughs: When writing content for the Guide: namespace, feel free to write subjectively and from any perspective. This namespace is your place to interject your opinions and recommendations for players. Additional guidelines tailored for this namespace may be added at a later date.

Present tense

Write in present tense, not past tense. bg3.wiki is first and foremost a 'snapshot' of the current version of BG3.

• Wyll is a Companion. (Wyll was a Companion.)
• Mystra is the goddess of magic. (Mystra was the goddess of magic.)

Exception: Past tense is acceptable when describing a notable change from a previous version of the game:

• Prior to Early Access Patch 9, this weapon was dropped by Zevlor.

Try to avoid slipping into future tense unless absolutely necessary.

• You regain 10 Hit Points. (You will regain 10 Hit Points.)

Pronouns

Mimic pronoun usage from in-game text, where available. Otherwise, maintain gender neutrality when a pronoun is called for, and use 'they/them' for both singular and plural cases.

• The Paladin can heal their allies. (The Paladin can heal her allies.)

Spelling

Aim to consistently employ British spelling rules wiki-wide, particularly when copying text directly from the game, as with item, feature, and spell descriptions.

• Armour (Armor)
• Defence (Defense)
• Colour Spray (Color Spray)

Content guidelines

Various guidelines to follow when adding content and information to the wiki.

Article structure

Characters

Each Character page should include a brief description of the character in the introduction. Additional structure guidelines depend on the nature of the character.

Origin characters

• Background: The Origin character's description in-game.
• Gameplay: The Origin character's unique quest and interactions within the game.
  • Personal quest: Can be named after their personal quest, which should be detailed here.
  • Unique interactions: Their unique interactions in the game, outside of their personal quest.
• Companion: Interactions with the player, when recruited as a companion.
  • Recruitment: How to recruit the character in-game.
  • Approval & disapproval: A brief description of the character's Approval & Disapproval mechanics. If necessary, can also link to a subarticle with a list of approval and disapproval gains.
  • Romance: The romance with the character.
• History: Their past and history in the world prior to the start of the game.
• Additional sections beyond the scope of the other sections, which should be added as necessary.
• Notes
• Achievements
• Gallery
• References

Use additional subsections as required.

Non-origin companions

• Background: A brief description of their contextual involvement with the plot.
• Gameplay: The character's quest and interactions within the game.
  • Personal quest: Can be named after their personal quest, which should be detailed here.
• Companion: Interactions with the player, when recruited as a companion.
  • Recruitment: How to recruit the character in-game.
  • Approval & disapproval: A brief description of the character's Approval & Disapproval mechanic. If necessary, can also link to a subarticle with a list of approval and disapproval gains.
  • Romance: The romance with the character.
• History: Their past and history in the world prior to the start of the game.
• Additional sections beyond the scope of the other sections, which should be added as necessary.
• Notes
• Achievements
• Gallery
• References

Use additional subsections as required.

Major NPCs

• Background: A brief description of their contextual involvement with the plot.
• Gameplay: The character's quests and interactions within the game.
  • Quests: The character's involvement in quests.
  • Additional gameplay sections as needed.
• History: Their past and history in the world prior to the start of the game.
• Additional sections beyond the scope of the other sections, which should be added as necessary, such as Dialogue or Conversation.
• Notes
• Achievements
• Gallery
• References

Use additional subsections as required.

Minor NPCs

The structure of the Minor NPC articles should be determined by their involvement in the game. The first section should include contextual information such as their location and and role within the game, whereas the second section should include gameplay and mechanical information, such as quests or interactions with the player. Later sections can include additional information about the character, such as Approval, Loot, or Notes – In that order.

Locations

Large locations

Large locations or areas that themselves contain multiple locations, and may even serve as hubs to access other locations in the game.

• Description: A detailed overview of this location. Should not include descriptions of individual locations themselves.
• Locations: Location contained within this location. Locations with articles should be listed in a separate subsection section, whereas locations which don't have their own articles should be given their own subsection and be described in detail.
• History
• Notable characters
  • Traders
• Notable interactions
• Related quests
• Notable loot
  • Quest items
  • Quest rewards
  • Other
  • Hidden treasure
• Notes
• Achievements
• Gallery
• References

Small locations

These are small but noteworthy locations that don't contain any locations themselves.

• Locations: If a location itself contains multiple locations, they should be listed in a Locations section. If these locations don't have their own articles, they should be described in detail here as well.
• Description: A detailed overview of this location.
• History
• Notable characters
  • Traders
• Notable interactions
• Related quests
• Notable loot
  • Quest items
  • Quest rewards
  • Other
  • Hidden treasure
• Notes
• Achievements
• Gallery
• References

Spoilers

For a more thorough guide to our spoiler policy see Help: Spoiler Policy

Spoilers should be marked on the wiki using the most user-friendly template. Ideally, they should not disrupt the user experience, but should effectively warn the user of spoilers.

For the purposes of articles on this wiki, excluding the main page, the following is considered a spoiler:

• Plot development and story beats of the main narrative of the game.
  • Examples of Main Story spoilers can be found in Help: Spoiler Policy
  • HOWEVER: If the spoiler is about the subject of the article, it is fine to leave it unhidden, provided there is a spoiler warning at the top of the article.
• Scripted Character Deaths in any Act. This means deaths that are outside of the players control.
• The Dark Urge is where spoiler policy comes to die. This origin is so spoiler dense that we elected to add a new tab template specifically for their page. When including Dark Urge-related information on a page, use your best judgement and consult with experienced wiki editors if you're unsure of whether and how to hide it.

Things that are Not Spoilers:

• Jaheira and Minsc, as characters and companions featured in pre-release marketing material, are not spoilers.
• Spoilers regarding the subject of the article.

How to mark spoilers

There are multiple ways of marking spoilers on the wiki.

• Template: SpoilerWarning: Provides guidance to viewers on what part of the game they may expect to be spoiled on if they read the articles.
• Template: SpoilerBox: Intended for sections with major spoilers.
• Template: RomanceBox: Intended for the Romance sections of articles, including Romance encounters with non-companions.
• Template: Blur: Intended for inline spoilers in NavBoxes and, rarely, in lists.
• Template: imgblur: Intended for spoilery images.

"Where to find" sections

When describing where to find an item, include all of the following details:

1. A description of the location of the item - or the source, if it's a quest reward or sold by a vendor
   • Include both broad and specific information in this description, as needed (e.g. "Found in Act One in the Underdark. The sword is near the Selûnite Outpost, embedded in a rock (X:116, Y:-192).")
2. Instructions for any additional steps necessary to find or obtain the item (e.g. 'Jump up to the ledge behind the purple mushroom.')
3. Map coordinates of the item, if applicable, in the format (X:123, Y:123)
   • This can be done in the form of the 'Coords' template: {{Coords|123|123}}

Lengthy instructions can be formatted with sublists, as necessary:

• Can be found near the sign that says "Here Lies Our Dear Leader", after solving the Torch Puzzle.
  • By the north end of Pickens' farm, jump across the gap onto the three large rocks, then light the numbered torches in the following patterns: 6, 9, 2, 3. The item will then appear near the sign.

When an item can be found in multiple places, list all known locations. Exception: For common and very plentiful items, don't worry about documenting every location via text. Instead, consider working with other wiki editors to generate a map of all locations or include a link to an external map resource.

Templates and category styles

Guidelines for templates and how to use them, and style consistency within page categories. For guidance on general template usage, see the Templates guide on How To Contribute.

Creating a new page

When creating a new page, whenever possible, try and use a Page Creation Template.

Visually Indistinct Items or Effects

Some items are visually identical but have differing descriptions or statistics, in this case:

1. If the only difference is a single value (description/price/weight etc.), using a single template and using bullet points for that information is recommended.
2. If multiple values for items of the same name vary, creating multiple pages with disambiguation parentheses are recommended. i.e. 'Item (Ice)' & 'Item (Fire)'.
3. If all else fails, having two entries on the same page is considered an acceptable temporary solution.

Image naming

General guidelines

These are general guidelines. Items and game mechanics follow separate guidelines, detailed later.

• Use the following naming conventions: Prefix_Page_Name_Suffix.fileformat
• Preferred image format: .png or .webp

The Prefix should be a brief term that gives context to the image. When contextually applicable, it can be the category of the image. A suffix may be added when further clarification is needed. Both should be brief, concise and descriptive.

Examples:

• Underdark_Sussur_Tree.png
• Underdark_Mushrooms.png
• Underdark_Mush_Bibberbang.png
• Underdark_Arcane_Tower_NE.png
• Underdark_Arcane_Tower_S.png

Items and objects

Includes in-game items and objects.

• Prefix_Itemname_Faded.fileformat - Faded pictures, in 380x380.
• Prefix_Itemname_Unfaded.fileformat - Unfaded pictures in 144x144.
• Prefix_Itemname_Unfaded_Icon.fileformat - Unfaded pictures in 64x64
• Preferred image format: .png or .webp

The Prefix is usually the category of the item, and does not need to be included when it is unnecessary or the item or object lacks any specific category.

In cases where an item or object has multiple image variations, distinguish them by using a single letter following the item name:

• Backpack_A_Icon.png
• Backpack_B_Icon.png

When multiple items or objects share the same in-game image, only one file should be uploaded. Instead of uploading duplicate images, create Redirects to that image using the same naming conventions as above, corresponding to each item using that image.

Game mechanics

Includes spells, actions, abilities, conditions, passive features, and feats.

Large faded images:

• Use the following naming conventions: Page_Name.fileformat
• Preferred image format: .webp

Small unfaded icons:

• Use the following naming conventions: Page_Name_Icon.fileformat
• Preferred image format: .webp

Image layout and presentation

Character images

For character pages, whenever possible, include both a cinematic portrait/screenshot and a 3D model of the character. Display the cinematic portrait first and ensure the PageSeo template has been invoked with the cinematic portrait as the image parameter. This will help ensure consistency across character pages and external link previews (e.g. social media sites and Discord).

• 

  Cinematic Portrait Example - display this first.

• 

  3D Model Example

Exception: When an official render or character art is available - as in the case of Origin characters such as Lae'zel - display that image first.

• 

  Official 3D Art - display this first.

Exception: For common, non-named creatures, it is okay to display a 3D model first.

• 

  3D model for the common, non-named Lesser Imp

Image alt text

When using the File template, alt text (text which appears when the image fails to load) should be added as necessary to improve accessibility. The text should be clear, concise and descriptive.

Alt text can be added to the File template with this parameter:

|alt=

Examples

Good alt text:

• {{File:A_Nice_Summer_Stay.png|alt=Astarion flinching in pain after being hurt by concentrated sunlight at the Githyanki Créche.}}
• {{File:Gale_Flirting.png|alt=Gale is serenading Tav while sitting on Mystra's picnic blanket at Lake Hurricane.}}

Poor alt text:

• {{File:A_Nice_Summer_Stay.png|alt=Astarion discovering the difference between a nice Summer stay and the full concentrated power of the sun.}}
• {{File:Gale_Flirting.png|alt=Gale sings while sitting at lake.}}