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This page and related pages summarize rule changes from the implementation of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e) rules to Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3).
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 will 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 OneD&D rule or other playtest material from D&D 5e, that is considered a rule change from D&D 5e.
There will be rapid changes to these pages at BG3's launch, so leaving relevant comments with any edits are strongly encouraged.
New Feats and Feats with Changes
To see a discussion of all feats including the benefits they provide, see the Feats page.
- Actor grants double proficiency bonus on Deception and Performance checks rather than
Advantage, and it applies to all checks with these skills, not only when attempting to pass yourself off another person. The ability to mimic another person's voice is not included. - Alert does not prevent enemies from gaining Advantage on attacks against you while they are unseen.
- Athlete does not include the climbing speed or running jump features. Instead, it increases jumping distance, which is not a component of the 5e feat.
- Charger's movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.
- Crossbow Expert is revamped due to differences in BG3's ranged weapon mechanics:
- It does not include ignoring the loading property of crossbows, as BG3 does not have a loading mechanic.
- It does not include the ability to fire a hand crossbow as a bonus action after making a one-handed attack action, as BG3 allows freely switching between ranged and melee weapons at any time even when dual-wielding both.
- The removal of
Disadvantage when attacking at close range only applies to crossbow attacks, instead of all ranged attacks. - It doubles the duration of the
effect applied by 
, which does not exist in 5e.
- Defensive Duellist ignores the 13
prerequisite.
- Dual Wielder does not include the drawing and stowing weapon features, as BG3's action economy already largely ignores the penalty for switching between your equipped weapon sets.
- Dungeon Delver does not include the removal of the penalty on passive Perception checks due to traveling quickly, as travel speed is not included as a game mechanic in BG3. It also does not provide advantage saving throws against traps, only resistance to the damage from traps.
- Durable heals all hit points on a short rest, rather than simply implementing a minimum heal based on your
modifier. This is due to the lack of a Hit Dice mechanic in BG3. - Elemental Adept ignores the requirement to be a spellcaster. Non-spellcasters with this feat gain its benefits when casting a spell from a scroll or other item.
- Great Weapon Master's ability to take an attack penalty in exchange for a damage bonus only applies to Heavy melee weapons.
- In 5e, this applies to all two-handed melee weapons (though this distinction only matters for Greatclubs) and all Versatile melee weapons wielded in both hands.
- Heavy Armour Master's damage reduction applies to all non-magical damage, not just bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical attacks.
- Lucky's luck points give Advantage before an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, which has implications on mechanics such as the Rogue's Sneak Attack
- In 5e, Lucky does not use Advantage before the roll; it allows you to choose to spend a luck point after the roll, but before the outcome is determined, to roll an additional
d20 and choose which roll to use.
- In 5e, Lucky does not use Advantage before the roll; it allows you to choose to spend a luck point after the roll, but before the outcome is determined, to roll an additional
- Mage Slayer allows using your reaction to make an attack of any kind against a creature casting a spell within melee range, not just a melee weapon attack. For instance, a character with both this and War Caster can cast Shocking Grasp as a reaction to someone else casting a spell nearby.
- Performer is a new feat which increases your
by 1 and grants proficiency with all Musical Instruments. - Ritual Caster has several changes:
- It does not require 13
or 
. - It does not include the requirement to carry a ritual book.
- It does not allow you to learn ritual spells from spell scrolls (though Wizards can do this already).
- While the 5e version of this feat only allows choosing first-level spells at the time of feat selection, BG3 allows learning any of the six ritual spells available in the game, including the third-level
Speak with Dead spell.
- It does not require 13
- Savage Attacker is not limited to one roll per turn. It also applies to extra damage dice added by features such as Divine Smite, which was not the intended behavior in 5e, as clarified in the Sage Advice Compendium.
- Sentinel does not allow an
against enemies who use Disengage before moving out of melee range, as in 5e. Instead, it grants Advantage on all Attacks of Opportunity. - Sharpshooter ignores penalties due to High Ground Rules (a mechanic unique to BG3), rather than ignoring penalties due to attacking at long range (despite this mechanic also being present in BG3). The ability to ignore half and three-quarters cover is also not included, as BG3 does not include a cover system.
- Shield Master does not give the option to shove as a bonus action, as all characters already have this option. Additionally, the +2 bonus to Saving Throws applies to all such saves (e.g. to mitigate the area of effect damage from Fireball), rather than applying only to spells and harmful effects which target you specifically.
- Skilled does not allow you to select Proficiency with tools, as this mechanic is not present in BG3.
- Spell Sniper is revamped due to general changes in ranged attack mechanics:
- It does not require being a spellcaster. Since you do not select a class spell list, non-casting classes use their highest mental ability ( , , or ) for the selected Cantrip.
- It does not include the enhancement to spell range.
- It does not include the ability for spell attacks to ignore cover (as BG3 does not include a cover system).
- It decreases the critical hit threshold of all spell attacks by 1, which can stack with other similar effects.
- It does not require being a spellcaster. Since you do not select a class spell list, non-casting classes use their highest mental ability (
- Tavern Brawler has several changes:
- It does not include proficiency with
, as all characters already gain their proficiency bonus on attack rolls with such weapons in BG3. - The ability to grapple your target as a bonus action upon a successful unarmed hit is not included, due to the lack of a grappling mechanic in BG3.
- It doubles the
modifier added to unarmed attacks, instead of converting the base damage from a flat 1 to 1d4. This is an increase in average damage output for characters with a Strength score of 14 or higher.
- It does not include proficiency with
- War Caster has several changes:
- It ignores the requirement to be a spellcaster. Non-spellcasters with this feat gain its benefits when casting a spell from a scroll or other item.
- Taking this feat does not enhance your ability to cast spells without a free hand, as spell components (i.e. verbal, somatic, material) are not included as a game mechanic.
- While the 5e version of this feat allows you to cast any available single-target spell as an , the BG3 version of this feat explicitly only allows you to cast
, even if you did not previously know this cantrip or it is not normally available to your class.
Feats with No Changes
To see a discussion of all feats including the benefits they provide, see the Feats page.
- Heavily Armoured
- Lightly Armoured
- Magic Initiate
- Martial Adept
- The list of selectable Manoeuvres is limited to those available in BG3.
- Medium Armour Master
- Mobile
- Moderately Armoured
- Polearm Master
- Enchantments on the wielded polearm and buff spells affecting the wielder or weapon such as
or 
don't properly apply to the bonus action attack added by the feat. This appears to be a bug rather than an intentional change from 5e rules.
- Enchantments on the wielded polearm and buff spells affecting the wielder or weapon such as
- Resilient
- Tough
- Weapon Master