Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t need Larian to have a brilliant sequel

Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t getting any DLC or direct sequels made by Larian Studios. However, the story of Tav and his companions doesn’t have to end in a single game, as the source material can keep it going in a D&D campaign. 

While Baldur’s Gate 3 entered early access in 2020, fans got their first taste of its story via a prequel D&D campaign called Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. It’s not required for you to play the game, but it does fill in some of the backstory, such as why the Tieflings were kicked out of Elturel and forced to seek refuge in the Druid’s Grove. 

Descent into Avernus is a fun, if extremely dark, D&D campaign, and it’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of Baldur’s Gate 3. More importantly, though, it could serve as the springboard for new stories with our favorite characters. 

D&D is returning to Baldur’s Gate (and what that means for canon)

Baldur’s Gate 2’s Throne of Bhaal expansion had two endings: one where you become the new god of murder and take Bhaal’s place or where you stay mortal. This made it easy when D&D made the game canon, but it’s going to be a big problem with Baldur’s Gate 3 due to how many endings it has.

Most importantly, this could mean establishing the fates of certain characters. This will be especially important if and when a Baldur’s Gate 4 is made or if D&D wants to use any of Tav’s companions in new projects.  

The fate of two companions could easily be woven into a new D&D book while also answering one of the loose ends brought up in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Descent into Avernus. 

Karlach and Wyll’s ending could set the stage for a new D&D campaign

Without getting into heavy spoilers, the Descent into Avernus campaign involves a confrontation with Zariel, the Archduchess of Avernus. This is a character who is mentioned many times throughout Baldur’s Gate 3, especially in regards to Karlach, who was forced to serve in Zariel’s realm.

Descent into Avernus has several different potential outcomes for your encounter with Zariel, but none of them are mentioned in Baldur’s Gate 3. As far as that game is concerned, a group of adventurers foiled her plans for the city of Elturel, but she’s seemingly still in control of Avernus. 

One potential ending for Baldur’s Gate 3 involves Karlach being forced to return to Avernus, as the Infernal Engine in her chest will stop functioning if she doesn’t. Your Tav can go back with her, as can Wyll. 

In the Baldur’s Gate 3 epilogue, it’s revealed that Karlach and Wyll are still fighting devils, with the hope that they can steal blueprints from Zariel’s forge that will fix Karlach’s Infernal Engine for good. This is the last we hear of their fates, with their war against the fiends are left to the player’s imagination. 

The thing is, D&D has just released an update for its fifth edition. This means we have years of new official adventures and campaigns to come, and you know Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to get shout-outs in some of them.

While we might not get a DLC or sequel for Baldur’s Gate 3, we could get a sequel to its prequel, which itself is a sequel, sort of. 

A D&D campaign that returns to Avernus could act as a continuation of Baldur’s Gate 3 and might actually be the best avenue for doing so, considering the nature of the prequel adventure. 

A campaign where the players are sent to Avernus and encounter Karlach and Wyll could give closure to their adventures in Baldur’s Gate 3. The premise being that you’re initially trying to help them steal blueprints from Zariel, leading to a full rebellion and overthrowing her for good. 

This would also allow players who completed the original Descent into Avernus to revisit characters & locations from that campaign. Only this time, you’re not sneaking around while trying to find a way to free Elturel; you’re here to start a revolution. 

While leading an army of fiends doesn’t sound like something D&D parties would do (well, that’s a complete lie, but bear with me), the residents of Avernus are Devils, which means they can be trusted to keep their word more than the other evil beings in the universe. After all, they represent the lawful and intentional acts of malice, so they can be worked with. 

The big appeal of the campaign would be working with the beloved Baldur’s Gate 3 characters and seeing them actively achieve their goals. 

It’s no secret that fans weren’t happy with Karlach’s ending, even though the epilogue did improve it somewhat. Being condemned to an endless battle in the Nine Hells is actually the best outcome for her, with the other options being death or turning into a Mind Flayer. 

Helping Karlach finally fix her engine and get revenge on the fallen angel who tormented her for so long would be the better ending to her story, and it’s one that an entire party of players could do.

The downside to this is that the players aren’t the focus, or at least their final goals would take a backseat more than they would in a usual D&D campaign. Still, kicking off an epic conflict in Hell, overthrowing an archdevil, and letting Karlach finally go home would still be an epic experience. 

And hey, you could finally do something that Withers couldn’t. You can finally show that creepy old skeleton who is boss and defy fate, even if it wasn’t Tav or the Dark Urge responsible for it.