In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, there is no shortage of characters with horns. However, in Baldur’s Gate III, a new video game based on the tabletop game, players are encountering characters who are excessively interested in intimate encounters. The developer, Larian Studios, has acknowledged that this is a bug and is working to fix it.
It is worth noting that the presence of explicit sexual content in Baldur’s Gate III is part of its appeal. During a preview of the game, players were given the option to engage in romance with a Druid character who transforms into a giant bear when aroused. However, even in a game that embraces the provocative nature of Dungeons & Dragons, the immediate and frequent opportunities for NPCs to engage in sexual activities came as a surprise to some. One columnist described the game as “relentlessly horny” shortly after its release.
In an interview with Baldur’s Gate III director Swen Vincke, it was revealed that the characters’ amorous behavior was not intended to be so overt. The thresholds for the player character’s relationships with NPCs were set too low, leading to NPCs becoming intimate after only a few conversations. This is quite forward considering the game can take anywhere from 30 to 100 hours to complete.
This situation reminds me of the “Nuclear Gandhi” glitch in Civilization, where the pacifist leader could unexpectedly become aggressive and use nuclear weapons. However, this glitch was purely fictional. Nevertheless, overly lustful RPG characters serve as an interesting example of computer code attempting to simulate human behavior but sometimes getting it wrong.
Vincke acknowledged that this was not the intended behavior, especially for a character named Gale, a popular hunky wizard in the game. The developer has since fixed this issue for some characters. Players who prefer not to engage in explicit content were relieved to find that the game’s dialogue options prioritize clear consent before any intimate encounters.
If you want to experience the passionate cast of Baldur’s Gate III in its current state, it is advisable to play the game soon. Once Larian Studios fixes all the bugs, players may need to rely on mods to restore the unintentional sensual nature of the characters.
