D&D 5e class changes

This page describes any changes that have been made to classes in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3), from their original specifications in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition 2014 (D&D 5e 2014). Other rule changes can be found on their related pages.

The rule changes described on this page and related pages are written with the assumption the reader understands the relevant D&D 5e rule. These pages do not explain what the D&D 5e rule is, only what the changed or altered BG3 rule is. These pages also include many BG3 features and abilities that are unchanged from D&D 5e to help a D&D 5e player quickly see which options have changed and which have not, and make decisions without having to do additional research. If the BG3 rule aligns with a rule from the 2024 5e revision or other material from future playtests, that is considered a rule change from D&D 5e.

Artificer[edit | edit source]

The Artificer class is not available.

Barbarian[edit | edit source]

Rage bonus damage also applies to Dexterity damage rolls and those using thrown weapons/objects.
Reckless Attack is either a normal melee attack or as an after-attack reroll with all melee attacks, rather than before the first attack each turn.
- Advantage is applied to all attack rolls once used, not just melee.
- It is not limited by the attack's ability modifier.
Feral Instinct gives a fixed +3 bonus to Initiative, instead of advantage.
Relentless Rage does not require a saving throw, but can only be used once per short rest.

Wildheart (Path of the Totem Warrior)[edit | edit source]

The physical totem object required for the 5e Path of the Totem Warrior subclass is not used.
The level 1 feature Spirit Seeker was renamed Speak with Animals, as the Beast Sense spell is not in the game.
- Speak with Animals can be cast only once per long rest using this feature, but the spell's effects do last until the next long rest.
The level 3 feature Totem Spirit was renamed Bestial Heart and has the following changes:
- Each option provides a new unique class action.
- The Tiger option increases the Barbarian's jump distance by 4.5 m / 15 ft (instead of a 10 ft increase to long jumps and 3 ft to high jumps).
- The Wolf option affects enemies within 2 m / 7 ft (instead of 5 ft).
- All Bestial Heart benefits still apply while raging in heavy armor.
The level 6 feature Aspect of the Beast was renamed Animal Aspect and has the following changes:
- The Bear option grants advantage on all Strength checks, not just those for pushing and pulling things.
- Chimpanzee is a new option that provides resistance to fall damage and the ability to blind enemies by throwing camp supplies at them.
- Crocodile is a new option that increases movement speed while standing in water and provides advantage on saving throws against falling prone on slippery surfaces.
- The Eagle option grants full Darkvision and advantage on Perception checks, instead of just removing the disadvantage on Perception checks for being in dim light.
- The Elk option increases the party's movement speed by 1.5 m / 5 ft, instead of improving long-distance travel pace (which is not relevant in this game).
- Honey Badger is a new option that provides a 50% chance to automatically start raging (without expending a charge) if starting a combat turn while poisoned, frightened, or charmed.
- Stallion is a new option that grants temporary hit points when using the Dash action.
- The Tiger option improves attacks against Bleeding or Poisoned targets, and grants proficiency in Survival only (instead of a choice among Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, and Survival).
- The Wolf option grants the entire party a bonus to Stealth checks equal to the Barbarian's Dexterity modifier, instead of improving long-distance tracking and stealth movement.
- Wolverine is a new option that inflicts the Maimed condition when attacking a Bleeding or Poisoned target (even on a miss).
The level 8 feature Land's Stride, traditionally a Ranger class feature, is granted to Wildheart Barbarians. This eliminates the movement penalty for moving through difficult terrain.
The level 10 feature Spirit Walker is replaced with the ability to select a second Animal Aspect option (which is granted at level 14 in 5e).

Berserker (Path of the Berserker)[edit | edit source]

Frenzied Strike applies a cumulative -1 attack roll debuff until the rage ends instead of causing the character to gain a level of exhaustion.
While in Frenzy, a character may use Enraged Throw as a bonus action to throw a creature or object at a target.
The level 6 feature Mindless Rage prevents Rage from being ended by Calm Emotions being cast on the Barbarian, in addition to its other effects.
If a creature resists Intimidating Presence, they are immune to its effects until their next long rest, instead of 24 hours.

Wild Magic (Path of Wild Magic)[edit | edit source]

Magic Awareness lets anyone within 3m add their Proficiency Bonus to Saving Throws against spells.
- As opposed to letting the Barbarian identify the location and school of an upcoming spell within 60 feet that is not behind complete cover.
The Rage: Wild Magic table has some minor changes:
- The Teleport option has a range of 18 m / 60 ft instead of 30 ft.
- The Intangible Spirit option always summons a flumph (never a pixie) and can be summoned anywhere within 30 ft rather than needing to be next to a creature.
- The Weapon Infusion option causes the weapon to deal an extra 1d6 Force damage, instead of just changing the weapon's existing damage to Force.
- Difficult terrain created by the Vine Growth option affects everyone other than the Barbarian, instead of just enemies.
- The Dark Tendrils option affects everyone in range other than the Barbarian, instead of just enemies.
Bolstering Magic works somewhat differently; instead of being able to use it a number of times equal to the Barbarian's Wisdom modifier and choosing the effect each time, each effect is a separate option that can be used once per long rest.
- The option that improves attack rolls and ability checks grants a bonus of +1d4 instead of +1d3.
- There are separate options for recovering spell slots of levels 1, 2, and 3 (instead of rolling 1d3 to determine the slot level recovered). The option to recover a level 3 spell slot is granted at class level 9.

Giant (Path of the Giant)[edit | edit source]

Thaumaturgy is granted automatically at level 3; there is no option to choose Druidcraft, which doesn't exist in BG3.
Vaprak's Greed is a new level 3 feature that increases the character's carrying capacity by 25%.
Giant's Rage adds the Rage Damage bonus to throw attacks twice instead of once.
- This is because, unlike in 5e, in BG3 it is already applied once to throw attacks for all Barbarians.
Boot of the Giants is a new level 5 feature that allows kicking an adjacent target. This works mostly like a Shove that also deals damage, though the weight limit for things it can be used on is doubled.
Elemental Cleaver can be activated at any time during a Rage, not just at the start.
Mighty Impel is reworked slightly to align with BG3's existing mechanics for throwing things; it is essentially a way to use the normal Throw action on a creature as a bonus action.

Bard[edit | edit source]

Bards automatically gain proficiency in all musical instruments, which include hand drums, flute, lute, lyre, and violins.
Bardic Inspiration has a number of charges that scales with class level, rather than being tied to the Bard's Charisma modifier.
- This feature has three charges initially at class level 1, with a fourth granted at level 5 and a fifth at level 8.
Song of Rest is a once per long rest ability that allows the party to take an additional short rest, and it does not get any upgrades.
Countercharm lasts 3 turns, rather than 1.
Jack of All Trades does not apply half the Bard's proficiency bonus to initiative rolls. (In 5E, Initiative is a Dexterity Ability Check that the Bard is not proficient in, so Jack of All Trades has been ruled to apply.)
Magical Secrets is restricted to a limited list of additional spells, instead of allowing the Bard to pick any spell.

College of Glamour[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
Mantle of Inspiration has a few changes:
- The number of targets that can be affected is a fixed 2, rather than being the Bard's Charisma modifier. However, it increases to 3 at level 6 and again to 4 at level 10.
- This does not allow the affected targets to use a reaction to move around without provoking opportunity attacks as the 5e version does.
- However, it does provide an additional benefit wherein if the affected target is hit with a melee attack while they still have the temporary hit points, the attacker becomes Charmed.
The level 3 "Enthralling Performance" feature is not available.

College of Lore[edit | edit source]

Cutting Words cannot be used to reduce an enemy's damage roll. However, it can be used to reduce an enemy's saving throw, which is not permitted in 5e.
The Additional Magical Secrets are restricted to the same list as the general Bard feature.

College of Swords[edit | edit source]

See Fighter below for Fighting Style changes.
Blade Flourish underwent a number of changes:
- Taking the Attack action no longer grants a movement bonus.
- Blade Flourish is not limited to once per turn.
- Defensive Flourish now provides a fixed +4 AC, instead of rolling the Bardic Inspiration die to determine the bonus.
- Mobile Flourish now pushes the target back 6 m / 20 ft, rather than 1.5 m / 5 ft.
- Slashing Flourish now performs a single attack on two targets with separate Attack Rolls.
  - As opposed to using the Bardic Inspiration bonus as the damage for the add-on attack.

College of Valour[edit | edit source]

No Changes

Cleric[edit | edit source]

Destroy Undead does non-scaling radiant damage to all undead affected, rather than instantly killing weaker undead.
Clerics may select the Produce Flame Cantrip (exclusive to Druids in 5e).
- Clerics normally have a single damaging Cantrip, Sacred Flame, nullified on a successful save by the target.
Each Cleric character can only use Divine Intervention once ever instead of once a week. Instead of being a fairly open-ended plea for assistance, it is limited to four specific options, none of which uses an action:
- Arm Thy Servant summons a very powerful magical weapon, Devotee's Mace, and immediately equips it.
- Golden Generosity summons a chest containing a large amount of camp supplies, elixirs, and healing potions.
- Opulent Revival resurrects all dead allies within 60 ft and grants all allies in the same radius all the benefits of a long rest.
- Sunder the Heretical deals a large amount of radiant damage to all enemies within 50 ft.
Adding a Cleric level to a character of another class grants proficiency with Flails and Morningstars, in addition to the same armor proficiencies granted in 5e.

Death Domain[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
The level 9 domain spell Antilife Shell is replaced with Contagion.
Inescapable Destruction applies to all Necrotic damage dealt by the Cleric, not just that from their spells and Channel Divinity effects.

Life Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 2 domain feature Channel Divinity: Preserve Life has a few changes:
- The amount of healing scales with the Cleric's total character level, rather than their level in the Cleric class. (This is only relevant for multiclass characters.)
- All allies in range automatically regain hit points equal to three times the Cleric's level, rather than the Cleric having five times their level in hit points which they can distribute among allies as they choose.
- This effect can heal creatures up to their full hit point maximum, rather than only half of it.
The level 3 domain spell Spiritual Weapon is replaced with Aid.
The level 9 domain spell Raise Dead is replaced with Greater Restoration.

Light Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 1 domain feature Warding flare has unlimited charges rather than having a limit of the Cleric's Wisdom modifier.
- It also triggers when an enemy has already rolled and is going to hit, unlike 5e where the character must choose to use it before the enemy rolls their attack.
The level 2 domain feature Channel Divinity: Radiance of the Dawn adds the user's character level, rather than cleric level, to its damage roll. (This is only relevant for multiclass characters.)
The level 9 domain spell Scrying is placed with Destructive Wave.

Knowledge Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 1 domain spell Identify is replaced with Sleep.
The level 2 domain feature Channel Divinity: Knowledge of the Ages gives proficiency to all skills associated with a chosen Ability Score, and lasts until the next Long Rest.
- This is opposed to a granting proficiency in a single skill or tool, and lasting 10 minutes.
The level 3 domain spells Augury and Suggestion are replaced with Calm Emotions and Hold Person.
The level 5 domain spell Nondetection is replaced with Slow.
The level 6 domain feature Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts does not allow a Wisdom save, requires concentration to maintain, and does not provide the option to cast Suggestion on the target (as that spell does not exist in this game).
The level 7 domain spell Arcane Eye is replaced with Otiluke's Resilient Sphere.
The level 9 domain spells Legend Lore and Scrying are replaced with Dominate Person and Telekinesis.

Nature Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 5 domain spell Wind Wall is replaced with Sleet Storm.
The level 9 domain spell Tree Stride is replaced with Wall of Stone.

Tempest Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 1 domain feature Wrath of the Storm has unlimited charges rather than having a limit of the Cleric's Wisdom modifier.
Thunderbolt Strike is triggered by dealing either thunder or lightning damage, as opposed to just lightning damage.
The level 7 domain spell Control Water is replaced with Freedom of Movement.

Trickery Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 1 domain feature Blessing of the Trickster requires concentration, but can last until the next long rest rather than only 1 hour.
The level 2 domain feature Invoke Duplicity underwent a few changes:
- It does not allow a character to cast spells through the illusory duplicate or move it on subsequent turns.
- The range of the duplicate's effect providing advantage on attack rolls is 10 ft rather than 5 ft.
- This effect applies to the Cleric's allies, not just the Cleric, as long as both the attacker and target are within range of the duplicate.
The level 3 Domain Spells Blink and Dispel Magic are replaced with Bestow Curse and Fear.
The level 8 domain spell Modify Memory is replaced with Seeming.

War Domain[edit | edit source]

The level 1 domain feature War Priest has a number of charges that scales with class level, rather than being tied to the Cleric's Wisdom modifier.
- This feature has three charges initially at class level 1, with a fourth granted at level 5, a fifth at level 8, and a sixth at level 11.
The level 8 domain feature Divine Strike always does the damage type of the weapon in the main hand, even when doing offhand strikes.
- As opposed to always doing the damage type of the weapon associated with the attack roll.
- This is a possible bug, rather than an intended feature.
Unlike all the other Cleric subclasses, there are no changes to the domain spells.

Druid[edit | edit source]

There is no restriction preventing a druid from wearing metal armor.
The Druidic language (and languages in general) is not available.
Wild Strike is a new level 5 feature that grants an extra attack when taking the Attack action while in Wild Shape. Improved Wild Strike adds an additional attack at level 10.
Wild Shape has several changes:
- While in Wild Shape, some actions associated with spells a druid casts before entering Wild Shape (e.g. Activate Call Lightning) are not available while in Wild Shape. This appears to be due to these actions being implemented as "spells" in the game engine and thus falling under the general prohibition on casting spells while in Wild Shape. These actions become available again if the druid leaves Wild Shape before the spell ends.
- The rules for which class features, racial features, and feats still work while in Wild Shape are not internally consistent and do not always match the 5e rules. See List of features that work in Wild Shape for a detailed analysis of things that do and don't work.
- There is no time limit on how long the transformation can last, though it ends automatically if the character enters an important dialogue scene (e.g. meeting a companion).
- While in a Wild Shape form that has its own innately available spells, the Druid can cast those spells (though they still can't cast their normal spells). According to 5e Rules As Written, Druids under level 18 cannot cast any spells while in Wild Shape.
- There is no option to have the Druid's equipment fall to the ground or be worn by the animal form; it is always merged into the new form.
- Wild Shape forms have modified stats from their Monster Manual counterparts.
- Instead of being able to Wild Shape into any beast they've seen within restrictions imposed by druid level, druids are limited to these specific forms:

Wild Shape Forms
Druid Level	All Druids	Additional Moon Druid Forms
2	Badger, Cat, Spider, Wolf	Bear
4	Deep Rothe	Dire Raven
6	Panther, Owlbear
8		Sabre-Toothed Tiger
10	Dilophosaurus	Air, Earth, Fire and Water Myrmidons

Circle of the Moon[edit | edit source]

No changes besides the aforementioned Wild Shape changes

Circle of the Land[edit | edit source]

Natural Recovery can be used any time out of combat (rather than only during a short rest) and does not need to be done all at once; it has a number of charges equal to the number of spell slot levels it can restore (half the class level rounded up) and can be used multiple times throughout the day until they are all expended.
Land's Stride does not provide advantage against magical plant spells such as Entangle.
A character is able to select a different terrain at 5th level than the terrain selected at 3rd level.
- For example, the character can select arctic spells at 3rd level and forest spells at 5th level.
Circle (always prepared) spells were changed:

Land Druid Circle Spells
Druid Level		Arctic	Coast	Desert	Forest	Grassland	Mountain	Swamp	Underdark
3rd Level	Normal	Hold Person, Spike Growth	Mirror Image, Misty Step	Blur, Silence	Barkskin, Spider Climb	Invisibility, Pass Without Trace	Spider Climb, Spike Growth	Darkness, Melf's Acid Arrow	Spider Climb, Web
3rd Level	Changed	Hold Person, Spike Growth	Mirror Image, Misty Step	Blur, Silence	Barkskin, Hold Person	Invisibility, Pass Without Trace	Mirror Image, Spike Growth	Darkness, Melf's Acid Arrow	Misty Step, Web
5th Level	Normal	Sleet Storm, Slow	Water Breathing, Water Walk	Create Food, Create Water	Call Lightning, Plant Growth	Daylight, Haste	Lightning Bolt, Meld into Stone	Water Walk, Stinking Cloud	Gaseous Form, Stinking Cloud
5th Level	Changed	Sleet Storm, Haste	Sleet Storm, Call Lightning	Hypnotic Pattern, Protection from Energy	Call Lightning, Plant Growth	Daylight, Haste	Lightning Bolt, Grant Flight	Vampiric Touch, Stinking Cloud	Gaseous Form, Stinking Cloud
7th Level	Normal	Freedom of Movement, Ice Storm	Freedom of Movement, Control Water	Blight, Hallucinatory Terrian	Divination, Freedom of Movement	Freedom of Movement, Divination	Stoneskin, Stone Shape	Freedom of Movement, Locate Creature	Greater Invisibility, Stone Shape
7th Level	Changed	Conjure Minor Elemental, Ice Storm	Freedom of Movement, Confusion	Blight, Wall of Fire	Conjure Minor Elemental, Grasping Vine	Freedom of Movement, Polymorph	Stoneskin, Dominate Beast	Blight, Grasping Vine	Greater Invisibility, Dominate Beast
9th Level	Normal	Cone of Cold, Commune with Nature	Conjure Elemental, Scrying	Wall of Stone, Insect Plague	Commune with Nature, Tree Stride	Dream, Insect Plague	Wall of Stone, Passwall	Insect Plague, Scrying	Insect Plague, Cloudkill
9th Level	Changed	Cone of Cold, Contagion	Conjure Elemental, Greater Restoration	Wall of Stone, Insect Plague	Mass Cure Wounds, Contagion	Greater Restoration, Insect Plague	Wall of Stone, Conjure Elemental	Insect Plague, Cloudkill	Contagion, Cloudkill

Circle of the Spores[edit | edit source]

Halo of Spores must be activated manually, and can affect a creature within 6 m / 20 ft (rather than 10 ft).
The level 2 action Symbiotic Entity lasts until the Druid's long rest instead of 10 minutes.
The level 3 circle spell Gentle Repose is replaced with Detect Thoughts.
The level 6 reaction Fungal Infestation underwent multiple poorly documented changes:
- The raised zombies have more than 1 HP.
- Zombies can infect creatures they attack with the Crawling Gnaw condition, which causes them to become zombies if they die before it wears off.
- The number of Fungal Infestation Charges is 4 instead of the Wisdom Ability Score Modifier.
- Fungal Infestation Charges are Recharge: Once per Long Rest.
The level 10 feature Spreading Spores always deals 2d8 necrotic damage to affected creatures, instead of using the level-scaled Halo of Spores damage roll.

Circle of the Stars[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
The Starry Form: Archer form's attack, Luminous Arrow, is implemented as a spell in BG3, unlike in the tabletop version. The practical impact of this is that it can be interrupted with Counterspell.
The Starry Form: Chalice form is more limited in when it can be triggered than in 5e. See the ability's page for details.
The Starry Form: Dragon form does not provide any benefit to Intelligence and Wisdom checks, only to Concentration saving throws. However, it also provides a bonus action offensive ability called Dazzling Breath that is not in the tabletop version. This is a cone AoE damage effect similar to a Dragonborn breath weapon.
The various Cosmic Omen reactions only trigger if an ally's roll would fail without them, or an enemy's roll would succeed without them (similar to the BG3 version of Bardic Inspiration).
The level 10 feature Twinkling Constellations allows switching Starry Forms as a free action at *any* time during the character's turn, not just at the start of their turn. It can still only be done once per turn.

Fighter[edit | edit source]

Some changes to Fighting Style options:
- The Great Weapon Fighting fighting style allows rerolling add-on damage dice (such as Superiority Dice or Divine Smite) instead of just the weapon's own dice.
  - The 5e rule on this is somewhat ambiguous, but Sage Advice clarifies that the fighting style is only meant to benefit the weapon's own damage roll.
- The additional fighting style options from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything are not available.

Arcane Archer[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
Provides proficiency in both Arcana and Nature, rather than a choice of one or the other.
The cantrip options are completely different: Guidance, Light, and True Strike.
- This is because the options available in the tabletop version (Prestidigitation and Druidcraft) don't exist at all in BG3.
Arcane Shot can be used 4 times per short rest, rather than only 2.
Magic Arrow applies to all ranged attacks, not just those from shortbows and longbows (i.e., crossbows are included too).
Curving Shot always redirects a missed attack toward the closest enemy to the original target; the character does not get to pick the second target.
- This also has an odd and inconsistent set of things it applies to; see the ability page for details.
Changes to Arcane Shot options:
- Arcane Shot: Beguiling Arrow's target is Charmed by the character, rather than by an ally they designate.
- The radius of Arcane Shot: Bursting Arrow's damage effect is 5m / 17 ft, rather than only 10 ft.
- Arcane Shot: Seeking Arrow works somewhat differently than in 5e. It automatically hits and full damage (including the extra Force damage) is always dealt. The target then rolls a Dexterity save; if they fail, they are subject to Faerie Fire, eliminating any invisibility and providing advantage on subsequent attacks against them.
- Failing the save against Arcane Shot: Shadow Arrow makes the target completely Blinded, rather than just unable to see anything more than 5 feet away.

Battle Master[edit | edit source]

Changes to Manoeuvres:
- Attack manoeuvres are chosen at the time the attack is attempted, rather than after seeing that the attack hits. The superiority die is still not expended on a miss.
- Commander's Strike causes the targeted ally to make an extra attack using a reaction on their next turn, rather than immediately. It does not add the superiority die to the ally's attack roll.
- Distracting Strike can apply advantage multiple times if the next attack against the target involves multiple simultaneous attack rolls (e.g. Scorching Ray).
- Evasive Footwork imposes disadvantage on melee attacks against the Fighter, rather than rolling the superiority die and adding that to the Fighter's AC. It also does not require the Fighter to actually move.
- Feinting Attack requires the use of an entire action (rather than just one attack out of an Attack action) in addition to a bonus action.
- Parry and Lunging Attack are not in the game, nor are any of the additional options added in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.
- Rally gives a flat +8 Temporary HP, instead of rolling the superiority die and adding the Fighter's Charisma modifier.
- Sweeping Attack is now an action that does a whirlwind with superiority die as damage.
  - As opposed to a free situational action triggered by a melee hit that applies the attack roll to a selectable second target with superiority die as damage.
The level 7 feature Know Your Enemy is not present.
- All of the information this feature would grant can be freely obtained by selecting "Examine" on an enemy.

Champion[edit | edit source]

The Improved Critical Hit feature reduces the critical threshold by 1, rather than fixing it at 19 as in 5e. This allows it to stack with other effects that expand the critical range, such as the Spell Sniper feat.
The Remarkable Athlete: Jump feature increases the character's jump distance by a flat 3m / 10 ft, rather than scaling with the Strength modifier.

Eldritch Knight[edit | edit source]

Changes to Weapon Bond:
- Bonding a weapon takes only an action rather than 1 hour.
- Only one weapon can be bound at a time.
- Only melee weapons can be bound.
- When thrown, a bound weapon returns to the Fighter's hand automatically, rather than requiring the use of a bonus action to summon it back.
Two new spells are granted at level 7 instead of just one.

Monk[edit | edit source]

Monks get access to Ki at first level, as opposed to second level.
- Monks begin with 2  Ki Points and gain one Ki Point each level, rather than having a number of Ki points equal to their current level. Thus, a BG3 Monk's Ki Point maximum is one greater than that of a 5e Monk of the same level.
- Additionally, most Monk abilities base their saving throw DC and attack roll on Dexterity or Strength (whichever is higher) instead of Wisdom. Abilities from the Way of the Four Elements subclass still use Wisdom, except for Fangs of the Fire Snake which incorporates an unarmed attack.
Monk weapons are now any weapon with which the Monk has Proficiency and which does not have the Two-Handed property.
- 5e Monks are usually restricted to shortswords or any simple weapon that does not have the Two-Handed or Heavy properties. The class still only grants proficiency with Shortswords and Simple weapons, but now proficiencies from race, other classes and other sources can be used as well. The Heavy property is no longer implemented in BG3.
Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike does not become available after an attack made by throwing a weapon. Under 5e rules this should work when throwing a Monk weapon with the Thrown property, such as a dagger or spear.
Flurry of Blows does not require taking the Attack action first. (The bonus action unarmed strike granted by the Martial Arts feature still does.)
Both Step of the Wind options allow jumping without using a bonus action.
Return attacks made using Deflect Missiles count as unarmed strikes.
- This means that they benefit from the effects of a variety of items, such as Thunderpalm Strikers or Gauntlet of the Tyrant, which improve all unarmed attacks.
Slow Fall grants resistance to falling damage, rather than reducing fall damage by 5 times the class level.
- Although multiple sources of resistance to the same type of damage generally do not stack with each other, resistance to falling damage does stack with general resistance to bludgeoning damage. As such, a Monk with Slow Fall who has bludgeoning resistance from some other source has falling damage reduced by 75% rather than 50%. However, multiple effects that grant resistance to falling damage specifically still don't stack with each other.
Stillness of Mind is used automatically to end the Charmed or Frightened conditions; it does not require the use of an action.
Advanced Unarmoured Movement eliminates the movement penalty from difficult terrain and provides a jump distance bonus, rather than allowing walking on vertical surfaces and liquids.

Way of the Four Elements[edit | edit source]

Harmony of Fire and Water is a new class action granted at level 3 which restores expended Ki Points up to half of the Monk's current maximum, once per long rest.
Monks start with 3 Elemental Disciplines at level 3 as opposed to 2.
Elemental Disciplines can no longer be upcasted using additional Ki Points.
- This functionality has been replaced with the new level 9 feature, Improved Elemental Casting, which serves a similar purpose.
Using an action to cast an Elemental Discipline enables the use of Martial Arts: Bonus Unarmed Strike as a bonus action on the same turn, as if the Attack action had been taken.
- This combination is not allowed under the original 5e Player's Handbook version of the Monk class, though Tasha's Cauldron of Everything includes an optional Monk class feature that makes it possible.
Changes to specific Elemental Disciplines:
- Blade of Rime is a new discipline that casts Ice Knife.
- Chill of the Mountain is a new discipline that casts Ray of Frost, but deals 1d10 damage instead of 1d8.
- Elemental Attunement is not available.
- Embrace of the Inferno is a new level 6 discipline that casts Scorching Ray.
- Fangs of the Fire Snake causes melee attacks to deal an extra 1d4 fire damage, instead of converting the attack's main damage to fire. It is not necessary to spend a second ki point to get extra damage on the first attack.
- Shaping of the Ice is a new discipline that creates a large ice cube that can be climbed. This replaces the more versatile Shape the Flowing River from 5e.
- Sphere of Elemental Balance is a new discipline that casts Chromatic Orb.
- Touch of the Storm is a new discipline that casts Shocking Grasp, but deals 1d10 damage instead of 1d8.

Way of the Open Hand[edit | edit source]

The Flurry of Blows: Push option pushes an affected creature 5 m / 17 ft rather than just 15 ft.
A new set of passive features is acquired at level 6: Manifestation of Body, Manifestation of Mind, and Manifestation of Soul. These cause unarmed strikes to deal extra necrotic, psychic, or radiant damage respectively; only one can be active at a time. The extra damage for each is equal to 1d4 plus the Monk's Wisdom modifier.
Wholeness of Body now causes half of the Monk's Ki Points to be restored, and puts a condition on them for 3 turns that restores 1 Ki Point each turn and grants an additional bonus action each turn (allowing, for instance, two uses of Flurry of Blows per turn).
Ki Resonation is a new level 9 feature that imposes the Resonating condition on a creature, allowing the Monk to later detonate it to cause an explosion.
- This is similar to the level 17 feature Quivering Palm from 5e, though it deals less damage and does not immediately kill the resonating target if it fails a Constitution save.

Way of Shadow[edit | edit source]

Changes to Shadow Arts:
- Shadow Arts: Hide is a new option allowing the Monk to hide as a bonus action.
- Shadow Arts: Pass Without Trace lasts until the next long rest rather than 1 hour.
- Shadow Arts: Darkvision grants 40 ft of Darkvision instead of 60 ft (in keeping with the general changes to Darkvision mechanics throughout the game).
Cloak of Shadows is acquired at level 5 instead of level 11.
- This is the only Monk subclass granting a feature at level 5.
Shadow Strike is a new level 11 feature that allows a hidden Monk to teleport to an enemy's position and immediately make melee attack that deals extra psychic damage and prevents the target from making opportunity attacks that turn. This costs 3 Ki points.

Way of the Drunken Master[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
Cheeky Tipple is a new level 3 feature that eliminates the negative effects of the BG3-exclusive Drunk condition. Once per day, acquiring the Drunk condition regenerates causes half Ki Points to regenerate.
- The Drunk condition still triggers beneficial effects (e.g. Punch-Drunk Bastard).
Intoxicating Strike is a new level 4 feature that uses an action to make a single unarmed strike. If the attack hits, the Monk gains Life of the Party, which improves AC and attacks against Drunk targets. The target must also make a Constitution saving throw; on a failure they become Drunk.
Redirect Attack uses a reaction to make an unarmed strike against the attacker, rather than redirecting the original attack at a target of the character's choice.
Drunkard's Luck can only be used once per round.

Paladin[edit | edit source]

Characters select their Oath at first level rather than third.
- Channel Oath Charge is granted at level 1, and each subclass has a new level 1 option for it (see below). The existing 5e options for it are added at level 3.
- Oath Spells are still not available until level 3.
Characters can break their Oath by not following the tenets, at which point they become the Oathbreaker subclass.
- Character can pay financial tithe to restore their oath if desired.
- See the individual subclass pages for examples of specific actions that can break each oath.
Channel Divinity changed to Channel Oath, and each subclass gets a new Channel Oath feature at first level.
- This has implications on multiclassing with Cleric as the resources are now separate.
- The Amulet of the Devout only works with Channel Divinity, and is thus less helpful to Paladins than it would be in 5e.
Divine Sense is now a bonus action with one use per short rest which grants advantage on attack rolls against celestials, fiends, and undead until the end of the Paladin's next turn.
- As opposed to sensing the type of nearby creatures or consecrated objects, Charisma modifier + 1 times per Long Rest.
Changes to Lay on Hands:
- Instead of a pool of hit points equal to 5 times the Paladin's class level, the feature has 3 charges (increasing to 4 at level 4, and 5 at level 10). They are still restored on a long rest. The charges can be spent in the following ways, each of which uses an action:
  - Lay on Hands: Lesser Healing costs 1 charge and restores hit points equal to twice the Paladin's class level.
  - Lay on Hands: Greater Healing costs 2 charges and restores hit points equal to four times the Paladin's class level.
  - Lay on Hands: Cure costs 2 charges and removes poison and disease effects.
- The "Cure" option removes all poisons and diseases with a single use, rather than having to activate it once for each effect.
Characters can prepare a number of Paladin spells equal to their Paladin level plus their Charisma modifier.
- This is a very significant increase compared to 5e rules, in which this scales with half the Paladin level (rounded down).
See Fighter above for Fighting Style changes.
Aura of Protection, Aura of Courage, and subclass-specific aura abilities can be turned on or off as a free action.

Oath of the Ancients[edit | edit source]

The level 1 Channel Oath ability Healing Radiance, which heals the Paladin and all nearby allies for two consecutive turns, is new.
The Channel Oath ability Nature's Wrath can only be resisted by a Strength saving throw (as opposed to the target's choice of Strength or Dexterity).

Oath of the Crown[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
The level 5 oath spell Zone of Truth was replaced with Spiritual Weapon.
The level 7 oath spell Aura of Vitality was replaced with Crusader's Mantle.
Champion Challenge does not compel targets not to move away from the character.
Turn the Tide adds the Paladin's class level to its healing amount (in addition to the Charisma modifier). It is not limited to only creatures with below 50% hit points.
Divine Allegiance has some changes:
- Instead of taking the damage of the triggering effect, the character always takes double of the Paladin level in damage, and it is always Radiant damage.
- The ally who triggered the reaction is healed for the same amount at the same time.

Oath of Devotion[edit | edit source]

The level 1 Channel Oath ability Holy Rebuke, which causes anyone hitting the Paladin with a melee attack to take radiant damage, is new.
The Channel Oath ability Turn the Unholy actually does work the same as in 5e (targeting fiends and undead) though it is labeled incorrectly in the interface as targeting fiends and fey.
- This description is the same as the Oath of the Ancients version, Turn the Faithless, and possibly the result of a copy-and-paste error.
The Oath spell Zone of Truth, granted at level 5, is replaced with Silence.
The Oath spell Dispel Magic, granted at level 9, is replaced with Remove Curse.

Oath of Vengeance[edit | edit source]

The level 1 Channel Oath ability Inquisitor's Might, which adds radiant damage and Daze effects to the Paladin's or an ally's attacks, is new.
Relentless Avenger gives a flat movement increase of 4.5 m / 15 ft, rather than half the character's movement speed.

Oathbreaker[edit | edit source]

The level 1 Channel Oath ability Spiteful Suffering, which causes a target to take necrotic damage each turn and grant advantage on attacks against it, is new.
The Channel Oath ability Dreadful Aspect only lasts until the end of the Paladin's next turn, rather than for 1 minute. There is no option for an affected creature to re-attempt the saving throw if it ends its turn more than 30 feet from the Paladin.
The range of the Channel Oath ability Control Undead is reduced to 6 m / 20 ft, and the effect is limited by the target's level rather than challenge rating. This effect lasts until the next long rest rather than for 24 hours. It does not allow the player to actually control the targeted undead creature; rather, the creature follows the Paladin around and automatically attack the closest enemy.

Ranger[edit | edit source]

Favoured Enemy is a set of unique passive features rather than Wisdom Saving Throw Advantage against and language learning of the enemy:

Favoured Enemy Options
Archetypes	Description	Grants
Bounty Hunter	Gain Proficiency in Investigation. Creatures you hit with Ensnaring Strike (either ranged or melee) have Disadvantage on their Saving Throw.	Investigation Proficiency
Keeper of the Veil	You specialize in hunting creatures from other planes of existence. You gain Proficiency in Arcana and can grant protection against aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead.	Arcana Proficiency Gain a free spell ( Recharge: Long rest): Protection from Evil and Good
Mage Breaker	You have a history of battling spellcasters. Gain Proficiency with Arcana and True Strike, which gives you Advantage on Attack Rolls against a creature. Wisdom is your Spellcasting Ability for this spell.	Arcana Proficiency Gain a free cantrip: True Strike
Ranger Knight	You have sworn to serve a crown or nation and seek to bring its foes to ruin. Gain Proficiency with History and Proficiency with Heavy Armour.	Heavy armour Proficiency History Proficiency
Sanctified Stalker	You swore to hunt the enemies of a holy or druidic order. Gain Proficiency with Religion and the Sacred Flame Cantrip, which deals 1d8Radiant damage. Wisdom is your Spellcasting Ability for the Cantrip.	Religion Proficiency Gain a free cantrip: Sacred Flame

Natural Explorer is a set of unique passive features rather than uninhibited terrain movement and Intelligence/Wisdom proficiency check doubling:

Natural Explorer Options
Archetypes	Description	Grants
Beast Tamer	You have cultivated a strong bond with animals. You can cast Find Familiar as a ritual.	Cast Find Familiar once per short rest
Urban Tracker	An expert at navigating the wild within the city, you gain Sleight of Hand Proficiency.	Sleight of Hand Proficiency
Wasteland Wanderer: Cold	You have spent endless days surviving desolate tundras. Gain resistance to Cold damage, taking only half damage from it.	Cold Resistance
Wasteland Wanderer: Fire	You have spent endless days surviving forbidding deserts. Gain resistance to Fire, taking only half damage from it.	Fire Resistance
Wasteland Wanderer: Poison	You have spent endless days surviving fetid swamps. Gain resistance to Poison, taking only half damage from it.	Poison Resistance

The Primeval Awareness feature is not in the game.
See Fighter above for Fighting Style changes.
Hide in Plain Sight has a few changes:
- It requires only an action rather than a 1-minute preparation period, and does not require the Ranger to be pressed against a solid surface.
- It applies the Invisible condition in addition to its +10 Stealth bonus.
- It ends if the Ranger takes damage, which is not listed among the ways it can end early in 5e.

Hunter[edit | edit source]

The reaction attack granted by Giant Killer option must be an actual melee attack, not just an attack from within melee range.
Hunters get both Volley and Whirlwind Attack at level 11, rather than having choose one or the other.
- Both options are implemented as an AoE attack rather than picking specific targets, and damage friendly NPCs (though not companions).

Beast Master[edit | edit source]

The Summon Companion options are limited to Bear, Boar, Dire Raven, Wolf, or Wolf Spider, and have unique stats rather than monster stats.
- The companion acts on its own initiative rather than the Ranger's, and does not require the Ranger to take an action to command it.
  - The 7th level Exceptional Training feature allows the companion to take the Dash, Disengage, or Help action as a bonus action on its own turn rather than requiring the Ranger's bonus action.
- The companion can be swapped out or resummoned once per short rest. This takes only an action to perform and summons a new companion out of nothing, rather than needing to spend 8 hours bonding with an existing animal.
- The companion adds the Ranger's proficiency bonus to its attack rolls, damage rolls, Saving Throws, and Armor Class starting at 5th level rather than at 3rd level.
Beast companions all have the Prey's Scent feature, which causes them to receive the same damage bonus as the Ranger when attacking a target their Ranger has marked with Hunter's Mark.
At 5th level, 8th level, and 11th level the animal companion gains additional hit points.
At 5th level and 11th level the animal companion gains additional abilities specific to each companion type, and increases to some of its ability scores.

Gloom Stalker[edit | edit source]

The Dread Ambusher initiative bonus is a flat +3 rather than the Ranger's Wisdom Ability Score Modifier. To get the extra damage for a first-round attack one must use the Dread Ambusher (Melee) or Dread Ambusher (Ranged) actions.
For Umbral Sight, rather than getting normal Darkvision or Superior Darkvision if the race already had Darkvision, Gloom Stalkers get Superior Darkvision in all cases.
Umbral Shroud is a new action granted at level 3 that allows a Gloom Stalker to become Invisible while in shadows once per short rest. This replaces the section of Umbral Sight that makes the Ranger invisible to creatures with Darkvision.
Gloom Stalkers are automatically granted the spell Misty Step at level 5, instead of Rope Trick, which does not exist in BG3.
- The other granted spells are the same as in 5e, though note that Disguise Self (granted at level 3) is a ritual spell in BG3, meaning that Rangers no longer need to spend their very limited spell slots on it.
The level 7 feature Iron Mind gives Proficiency in Wisdom and Intelligence Saving Throws.
- As opposed to just Wisdom with a choice of Intelligence or Charisma if the Gloom Stalker already had Wisdom saving throw proficiency.

Swarmkeeper[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
There are three different options for the nature of the swarm, each of which has a damage effect, a teleport effect, and a utility effect. The teleport effects have different names and visual effects but are all mechanically the same (as each other, and as the 5e version).
- Legion of Bees is the same as the 5e version of the Gathered Swarm feature, including the level 11 upgrades.
- Cloud of Jellyfish has a damage option that deals Lightning damage, and a utility option that can make the target Shocked. At level 11 the utility option also disarms the target.
- Flurry of Moths has a damage option that deals Psychic damage, and a utility option that can make the target Blinded. At level 11 the utility option also makes the target Slowed.
The swarm type can be changed when gaining a Ranger level.
The damage dealt by each swarm's damage option benefits from Hunter's Mark.

Rogue[edit | edit source]

Thieves' tools proficiency is not in the game; instead, Sleight of Hand is used for relevant checks.
- This is one of the class skills available to Rogues, but it does not have to be selected; as such, unlike in 5e, it is possible to create a Rogue character that does not have proficiency in picking locks.
Changes to Sneak Attack:
- Two special actions are provided, Sneak Attack (Ranged) and Sneak Attack (Melee), which can only be used in situations where Sneak Attack damage can be applied.
  - It is not necessary to actually use these actions to apply Sneak Attack damage, but they help identify which targets are eligible for it. When using other actions to attack, there is no feedback that Sneak Attack damage has been dealt, but it does appear in the Combat Log as a separate, unnamed damage roll after the normal weapon damage roll.
  - In some circumstances these special actions are disabled even if a target is actually eligible for Sneak Attack. This occurs when there is an ally adjacent to the target and the attack has both Disadvantage and Advantage (e.g. if both the attacker and the target are Blinded). In this situation, the advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out, which should make the target eligible for Sneak Attack due to the adjacent ally, but the special actions are disabled with the message "Can't have Disadvantage against target". However, using the normal melee or ranged attack action still applies Sneak Attack damage, which can be seen in the Combat Log.
- Although described as a once-per-turn ability, Sneak Attack is actually implemented as a once-per-round ability; once Sneak Attack damage is dealt, it is not available again until the next combat round. In tabletop D&D it is possible to activate Sneak Attack a second time in a round as long as it is on someone else's turn (usually via an Opportunity Attack).
- When using two-weapon fighting, Sneak Attack damage is not applied to attacks with a second weapon made using the Off-Hand Attack (Melee) or Off-Hand Attack (Ranged) actions. Tabletop D&D allows Sneak Attack damage to be applied to an off-hand weapon attack if it wasn't already applied to a main-hand attack on the same turn (usually if the main-hand attack missed).
Thieves' Cant (and languages in general) are not available.
- However, some of the Rogue class-specific conversation options imply the use of Thieves' Cant.
Uncanny Dodge seems to be intended to work the same way it does in tabletop D&D, but has some bugs related to the reaction mechanics (mainly that it only triggers if a Reaction is available, but doesn't actually use the Reaction).
Evasion works on a variety of effects that it would not in tabletop D&D because they do not use a Dexterity saving throw; see here for details.
Although Reliable Talent works the same way it does in tabletop D&D, it should be noted that in BG3 it removes the possibility of an automatic failure on a proficient ability check due to rolling a natural 1 (a mechanic that is not in tabletop D&D).

Arcane Trickster[edit | edit source]

Arcane Tricksters get two additional 1st-level spell slots at level 10, for a total of 6, instead of capping out at 4 as in 5e.
- This is the only way to get more than 4 spell slots at a given level without using elixirs or items, which never occurs in 5e.
Mage Hand Legerdemain causes the Mage Hand to always be invisible (as opposed to the Rogue having the choice of making it visible or not in 5e). It also extends the spell's duration such that it lasts until the caster takes a long rest.
- The extended duration makes this spell a lot more useful as its BG3 version has the unusual limitation of only being castable once per short rest.

Assassin[edit | edit source]

Assassin's Alacrity, which immediately restores a Rogue's action and bonus action on the first turn of combat, replaces the tool proficiencies granted at level 3 in 5e.
- The practical effect of this is that if an Assassin Rogue triggers combat by attacking someone (or using some other action or bonus action) they still have an action available on their turn in the first round, which other characters have not. Similarly, initiating combat through the use of a bonus action normally leaves a character without a bonus action on their first combat turn, while an Assassin Rogue still has one.
Infiltration Expertise disguises the Rogue in a single action without a week of preparation or gold requirement; the Rogue chooses which race and body type to become when activating it, from among the same options available in the character creator.
- This effect is essentially the same as the Disguise Self spell. However, it is not a spell, and thus can be activated while Silenced or otherwise unable to cast spells.

Swashbuckler[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
Rakish Audacity's bonus to Initiative rolls is not tied to the Rogue's Charisma modifier. Instead, it starts at +2, rising to +3 at level 5 and +4 at level 9.
- This is the same progression as the proficiency bonus, but it is tied to Rogue class levels rather than character level.
Dirty Tricks is a new level 4 feature providing some new debuff options for Swashbucklers. Each is a bonus action that deals damage and has an additional effect. Successfully using any of these options also grants advantage on the Rogue's next attack against the same target.
- Dirty Trick: Flick o' the Wrist makes a melee weapon attack, which on a hit deals damage and possibly disarms the target.
- Dirty Trick: Sand Toss makes an attack with pocket sand, which deals damage and possibly blinds the target.
- Dirty Trick: Vicious Mockery casts Vicious Mockery at the target.
Panache largely works like the 5e version, but appears to roll a Persuasion check against the target's Passive Insight score, rather than using a contested Persuasion vs. Insight roll.

Thief[edit | edit source]

Fast Hands changed to grant an additional bonus action each round, instead of allowing Sleight of Hand checks, Thieves' Tools checks, or Use an Object actions as bonus actions.
- This enables a character to make two off-hand attacks in a turn when holding a light melee weapon in each hand, allowing a Thief Rogue to make three attacks in a turn two levels earlier than martial characters with Extra Attack.
Second-Story Work grants resistance to falling damage instead of a climb speed and a jump distance bonus.
- Although multiple sources of resistance to the same type of damage generally do not stack with each other, resistance to falling damage does stack with general resistance to bludgeoning damage. As such, a Thief who has bludgeoning resistance from some other source has falling damage reduced by 75% rather than 50%. However, multiple effects that grant resistance to falling damage specifically still don't stack with each other.
Supreme Sneak allows the Rogue to use an action to become invisible once per short rest, instead of granting advantage on Stealth checks when moving slowly.
- This is equivalent to the casting the spell Invisibility on oneself, with the same duration and triggers for ending early.

Sorcerer[edit | edit source]

The number of sorcery points listed for a given Sorcerer level is just the number that the pool is reset to when taking a long rest; it is not a limit on the total number a Sorcerer can have at a time. In particular, converting spell slots to sorcery points can cause the pool to increase beyond this number, which is not allowed in 5e.
- This can be abused in conjunction with effects that restore spell slots without resting (e.g. Potion of Angelic Reprieve) to gain a theoretically unbounded number of sorcery points, though the excess is lost when taking a long rest.
Metamagic is available starting at level 2, rather than at level 3. Sorcerers choose two Metamagic options at level 2, a third at level 3, and a fourth at level 10.
- This progression means that a BG3 Sorcerer generally has one more Metamagic option available than a tabletop D&D Sorcerer of the same level.
- At level 2, only Careful Spell, Distant Spell, Extended Spell, and Twinned Spell are available. Heightened Spell, Quickened Spell, and Subtle Spell become available at level 3.
Changes to Metamagic options:
- Metamagic: Careful Spell affects all nearby allies, rather than being limited by the caster's Charisma modifier.
- Metamagic: Heightened Spell affects all targets of the spell rather than just one.
- Metamagic: Quickened Spell costs 3 sorcery points instead of 2.
- Metamagic: Subtle Spell allows the spell to be cast while the caster is Silenced.
- The Empowered Spell option from 5e is not available at all, nor are the additional options added in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (though a variant of Seeking Spell is available from an item).
Each subclass's last feature is granted at level 11 rather than level 14 (which is not attainable in this game) though there are significant changes to some of them, as detailed below.
Adding a Sorcerer level to a character of another class grants proficiency with Daggers, Light Crossbows, and Quarterstaves, which are not granted in 5e.
- In practice, this only makes a difference for a Druid adding a Sorcerer level, as the Druid class does not provide proficiency with light crossbows. All other classes already have proficiency with all three of these weapons.

Draconic Bloodline[edit | edit source]

Characters do not double their proficiency bonus on Charisma checks when interacting with dragons.
- However, the subclass gives characters additional dragon-themed dialogue options.
Characters learn an additional spell at level 1 based on their chosen ancestry:

Draconic Ancestry Additional Spells
Draconic Ancestry	Grants
Red (Fire)	Burning Hands
Black (Acid)	Grease
Blue (Lightning)	Witch Bolt
White (Cold)	Armour of Agathys
Green (Poison)	Ray of Sickness
Gold (Fire)	Disguise Self
Silver (Cold)	Feather Fall
Bronze (Lightning)	Fog Cloud
Copper (Acid)	Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Brass (Fire)	Sleep

The 14th-level "Dragon Wings" feature is granted at level 11 instead, and is simply the addition of the Fly bonus action.

Shadow Magic[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
The range of Darkvision provided by Eyes of the Dark is 80 feet rather than 120 feet.
Strength of the Grave automatically happens; it does not require succeeding on a Charisma save.
Casting the version of Darkness granted by Eyes of the Dark allows the caster to see through all magical darkness, not just that from the spell they cast themselves.
- The effect is essentially the same as the Warlock invocation Devil's Sight.
Changes to Hound of Ill Omen:
- The summoned hound has a name, Nimbus, and is a summon the character can fully control, rather than being limited to relentlessly hunting one specific target. It lasts indefinitely rather than only 5 minutes, and only disappears if it is reduced to 0 HP.
- It has much better AC, somewhat more hit points, and a slightly higher Intelligence than the 2014 Dire Wolf stat block that the 5e version uses. Its other stats are generally a bit weaker.
- Its bite attack imposes a condition on the target that causes subsequent attacks with a specific damage type to restore a Sorcery Point to the caster. It also has a unique attack that deals necrotic damage and entangles its target.
- It has two unique reactions, one that teleports it next to a creature the Sorcerer has just attacked, and one that creates a slightly less powerful clone of itself when it is attacked.
Changes to Shadow Walk:
- Granted at level 11 instead of level 14.
- Only the destination needs to be in dim light or darkness; the starting point can be anywhere.
- After teleporting, the next spell the character casts that same turn has the effect of Metamagic: Distant Spell (with no Sorcery Point cost, and the character does not need to actually have Distant Spell as one of their Metamagic options).

Storm Sorcery[edit | edit source]

Tempestuous Magic's fly speed is 30 feet instead of 10.
Storm Spells is a new feature granting automatic access to several themed spells. This replaces Storm Guide from 5e, which granted some weather control ability.
- This is similar to the origin spells granted by newer 5e Sorcerer subclasses such as Aberrant Mind or Clockwork Soul, but all granted at level 6.
The area affected by Heart of the Storm's extra damage is expanded to a 20 foot radius (from 10 feet in 5e).
Storm's Fury is granted at 11th level instead of 14th, and deals thunder damage instead of lightning damage.

Wild Magic Sorcerer[edit | edit source]

Wild Magic surges have a 5% chance to trigger after any spell of first level or higher the character casts.
Tides of Chaos increases the chance of surges triggering from 5% to 50%.
- Tides of Chaos recharges on a Short Rest, but does not refresh when a wild magic surge triggers.
Controlled Chaos is granted at level 11 instead of level 14, and is a reaction that triggers a Wild Magic surge on an enemy casting a spell.
- This is completely different from the 5e feature, which grants some control over one's own Wild Magic surge by allowing the Sorcerer to roll twice on the table and choose which one to trigger.
The Wild Magic Surge table has changed to the following:

Effect	Min Level	Description
Action Surge	1	You gain an additional action this turn.
Blur	1	Each creature within 9 m / 30 ft becomes Blurred.
Burning	2	Each creature and item within 6 m / 20 ft starts burning and takes 1d6Fire per turn.
Cambion	10	Summon a cambion from the fiery nexus of the Nine Hells. It is hostile to everyone.
Cats and Dogs	2	Each creature within 9 m / 30 ft is randomly transformed into either a cat or a dog.
Enchant Weapons	1	Enchant the weapon of each creature within 6 m / 20 ft. Their next attack is a Critical Hit and deals an additional 1d4Force.
Enlarge/Reduce	2	Each creature within 9 m / 30 ft is randomly Enlarged or Reduced.
Entangle	2	Create a vine surface around yourself, slowing down creatures, possibly Entangling them.
Explosive Healing	1	When you hit a target with a spell, heal all creatures within 3 m / 10 ft for 1d4hit points per Spell Slot level used.
Flight	2	You can Fly until the end of the turn.
Fog	1	Create a cloud of fog around yourself. Creatures within are Heavily Obscured and Blinded.
Polymorph	2	You are transformed into a beast.
Resilient Sphere	2	Enclose yourself in an arcane sphere. You cannot be damaged by attacks or effects from outside the sphere, nor can you damage anything outside the sphere. Movement Speed is halved.
Shield	2	Armour Class is increased by 5 and you are immune to the effects of Magic Missile
Slow	2	You are Slowed.
Sorcery Points	2	Until the end of your next turn, each spell you cast restores Sorcery Points equal to its Spell Slot level.
Speak with Animals	2	Gain the ability to comprehend and communicate with beasts.
Spike Growth	2	Shape a piece of ground around yourself into hard spikes. A creature walking on the spikes takes 2d4Piercing for every 1.5 m / 5 ft it moves.
Summon Mephit	1	Summon a hostile mephit.
Swap	1	Swap positions with a target each time you cast a spell or cantrip.
Telekinesis	2	Able to lift and throw objects and creatures with your mind until the end of your turn.
Teleport	1	Until the end of your next turn, you can use a bonus action to teleport up to 9 m / 30 ft
Turn Magic	2	At the start of each turn, trigger a new random magical effect.

Warlock[edit | edit source]

It is not possible to swap out a known Eldritch Invocation for another one when gaining a Warlock level. The only way to change selected invocations is to have Withers respec the character.
Changes to Pact Boon:
- Pact of the Chain is limited to the Imp and Quasit options along with those offered by the normal Find Familiar spell. Pseudodragons and sprites are not available.
  - The Quasit's scare ability is recharged on a Short Rest rather than a Long Rest.
  - The Imp's Sting ability deals 1d6 poison damage on a failed save and none on success, rather than 3d6 on failure and half that on success.
- Pact of the Blade and Bind Pact Weapon are both immediate rather than taking 1 hour.
  - Bind Pact Weapon can be used on non-magical weapons, which makes them magical for damage resistance purposes, as well as magical ones.
  - Pact weapons use the wielder's Spellcasting Ability Modifier (instead of Strength or Dexterity) for attack and damage rolls. The save DC for weapon actions is still calculated using Strength or Dexterity.
  - Conjured Pact Weapons are limited to battleaxes, glaives, greatswords, rapiers, tridents, and warhammers. 5e allows the choice of any melee weapon, though mechanically speaking most others are essentially inferior versions of one of these.
- Pact of the Tome only grants the cantrips Guidance, Vicious Mockery, and Thorn Whip rather than any 3 Cantrips from all classes.
Changes to Eldritch Invocations:
- Agonising Blast does not add the caster's Charisma modifier to the damage roll if the modifier is negative.
- Book of Ancient Secrets is not available until level 7, and grants three specific spells ( Ray of Sickness, Chromatic Orb, and Silence, of which only Silence is normally a ritual spell) that can be cast once per long rest without using a spell slot. This invocation does not require having taken Pact of the Tome as it does in 5e.
- The range of Devil's Sight is reduced to 80 feet instead of 120, in line with the Superior Darkvision range reduction.
- Dreadful Word, Mire the Mind, Sculptor of Flesh and Sign of Ill Omen do not limit a character to one use per long rest.
- Lifedrinker does not require having taken Pact of the Blade.
- Repelling Blast pushes the target back 15 ft instead of 10 ft.
- Various 5e invocation options are not available, including all of the level 15 options, those specific to Pact of the Chain, those that involve casting a spell that doesn't exist in this game, and any added in Xanathar's Guide to Everything and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.
Deepened Pact is a new level 5 feature that improves the benefits of the chosen Pact Boon option without using an invocation. The Blade and Chain options grant an extra attack with the Attack action for the warlock or their familiar respectively. The Tome option allows casting Animate Dead, Haste, and Call Lightning once each per long rest.
- This is likely meant to take the place of the missing Pact Boon-specific invocations.

Archfey[edit | edit source]

Misty Escape lets the Warlock cast Misty Step on their next turn rather than immediately, and the invisibility lasts one turn.
Beguiling Defenses just makes the Warlock immune to the Charmed condition; it does not also allow the Warlock to turn the charm back on the attacker.

Fiend[edit | edit source]

Dark One's Own Luck can only be used for Ability Checks, not Saving Throws.
The expanded spell list has Cone of Cold as a 5th level spell, replacing Hallow.
Fiendish Resilience is not ignored by magic weapons.

The Great Old One[edit | edit source]

Awakened Mind, which allowed telepathic communication with creatures, is replaced by Mortal Reminder.
- Mortal Reminder causes the target of a critical hit and nearby enemies to be frightened until the end of their next turn.
The expanded spell list has Bestow Curse and Slow as 3rd level spells, replacing Clairvoyance and Sending.
The level 10 feature Thought Shield does not provide immunity to having one's thoughts read, which would really throw some wrenches into the plot of this game.

The Hexblade[edit | edit source]

A weapon affected by Hexed Weapon has a 20% chance to apply Hexblade's Curse to something just by hitting it, which does not use up the normal once-per-short-rest use of the curse.
Rather than setting the critical threshold to 19, Hexblade's Curse lowers the critical threshold by 1, allowing it to stack with other effects that do the same (e.g. Improved Critical).
Changes to Accursed Spectre:
- The target must have been killed while under the effect of Hexblade's Curse.
- Targets are not limited to humanoids, but can't be constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, or undead.
- The spectre adds the Warlock's Charisma modifier to its damage rolls rather than its attack rolls.
- The spectre cannot be controlled directly, but generally goes around fighting the Warlock's enemies on its own (like the zombies from Danse Macabre).
- There are three different versions of the spectre, each with different stats, based on the size of the creature killed to create it. All of these have a unique reaction to teleport next to a target the Warlock has just hit, and the larger ones have an attack that can cause the Warlock to regain some HP.

Wizard[edit | edit source]

The wizard has the spellbook feature, but does not have a physical spellbook which can be stolen or damaged. The animations for certain actions, such as Arcane Recovery, do show an illusory spellbook in the character's hands.
There are several changes to the process of copying spells from scrolls into one's spellbook:
- It is instantaneous, rather than taking 2 hours per spell level. The gold cost remains, and is halved as normal for spells from the chosen subclass school.
- No Arcana is required to successfully copy a scroll.
- It is not limited to Wizard spells, in keeping with the general ability for anyone to use any spell scroll regardless of class. This allows Wizards the opportunity to learn many spells they would not otherwise have access to.
- Cantrips can be copied, with the same gold cost as a level 1 spell. These show up as spells that can be prepared in the Level Up interface, but are listed as regular cantrips in the Spellbook interface.
- A Wizard can copy spells of any level they have spell slots for, even if they obtained the spell slots by multiclassing. For instance, a character with four levels in Cleric and one in Wizard could copy level 3 spells.
Arcane Recovery can be used any time out of combat (rather than only during a short rest) and does not need to be done all at once; it has a number of charges equal to the number of spell slot levels it can restore (half the class level rounded up) and can be used multiple times throughout the day until they are all expended.
Adding a Wizard level to a character of another class grants proficiency with Daggers, Light Crossbows, and Quarterstaves, which are not granted in 5e.

Abjuration[edit | edit source]

Arcane Ward works somewhat differently. It starts with a number of charges equal to the Wizard's level. When the Wizard casts an Abjuration spell, the Ward gains a number of charges equal to the spell's level. When the Wizard takes damage, the Ward reduces it by an amount equal to the number of charges, then loses one charge.
- Projected Ward has analogous changes.
Improved Abjuration grants additional charges to Arcane Ward equal to the Wizard's class level on each short rest, instead of improving ability checks related to abjuration spells.

Bladesinging[edit | edit source]

This subclass was added in Patch 8.
Grants proficiency in several one-handed melee weapons, rather than making the character choose one.
- The game does ask the character to choose one from a specific list, but this just adds that weapon to their inventory. They still gain proficiency in all the weapons on the list — Dagger, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Shortsword, and Sickle — and can use any of them for Bladesong.
Extra Attack granted at level 6 does not allow for substituting a cantrip for one of the attacks.
Changes to Bladesong:
- Requires that the character is wielding one of the weapons the subclass grants proficiency in. Bladesong cannot be activated if having a weapon not on this list equipped in either hand.
- Adds proficiency bonus to Armor Class, rather than the Intelligence modifier.
- Adds proficiency bonus to Constitution saving throws, rather than the Intelligence modifier.
  - This can result in effectively granting expertise on Constitution saves, if already having proficiency in them from some other source.
- Enables a new bonus action called Bladesong Climax, which causes the character to jump to an enemy and deal Force damage to them while healing them and their allies. The amount of damage dealt is based on how many times the character casts a spell during that Bladesong, while the healing amount is based on how many times they attacked with a weapon during it.

Conjuration[edit | edit source]

Minor Conjuration grants the ability to cast Create Water without using a spell slot once per short rest, instead of creating inanimate objects out of nothing.

Divination[edit | edit source]

Divination Savant is technically unchanged, but it should be noted that there are very few Divination spells in Baldur's Gate 3 to use with it, and none above level 2. This is likely because many of the Divination spells in tabletop D&D require complex open-ended interactions between a player and the dungeon master, making them difficult to implement in a video game without a live DM.
Using a Portent die requires a reaction, and can only be used on attack rolls and saving throws, not on ability checks.
Expert Divination grants an extra portent die, rather than regaining an expended spell slot when casting a Divination spell of 2nd level or higher.
- As part of this feature, taking a Short Rest applies a randomly selected Prophecy condition for each expended Portent die. Completing the task associated with the prophecy causes the expended die to be restored. Most involve casting spells of specific schools or dealing damage of specific types.
- This change is likely meant to help compensate for the lack of higher-level Divination spells in the game, without which the original 5e feature would've been nearly useless.
Changes to Third Eye:
- Third Eye: Darkvision grants Darkvision with a range of 24 m / 80 ft instead of 60 ft.
- Third Eye: See Invisibility has a range of 9 m / 30 ft instead of 10 ft.
- Both effects last until the next long rest, rather than the next short or long rest.
- Ethereal Sight and Greater Comprehension are not available.

Enchantment[edit | edit source]

Hypnotic Gaze can only be used once per long rest.
Instinctive Charm actually applies the Charmed condition to the target, which it doesn't in 5e.

Evocation[edit | edit source]

Sculpt Spells applies to all allies affected by an evocation spell, and is not limited by the spell's level.
Empowered Evocation applies to all damage rolls for evocation spells, not just one per spell.

Illusion[edit | edit source]

Improved Minor Illusion allows Minor Illusion to be cast as a bonus action. It can be cast while Silenced and does not reveal the caster's position.
The level 6 feature Malleable Illusions, which let the character change illusion forms after a cast, is replaced with the ability to cast See Invisibility without using a spell slot once per short rest.

Necromancy[edit | edit source]