Baldur’s Gate 3 players can return to the iconic city in D&D 2025 sourcebooks

It will soon be time to gather your party and venture forth to the Forgotten Realms, as the D&D campaign setting from Baldur’s Gate 3 is the focus of two new rulebooks that are launching in 2025.

The Forgotten Realms have long been the most popular Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Long before Tav got a tadpole in the eye socket, characters like Elminster and Drizzt Do’Urden were going on adventures throughout Faerun and beyond, captivating fans around the globe.

While the default D&D campaign setting in the upcoming updated Dungeon Master’s Guide will be Greyhawk, the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be the focus of two upcoming books. Wizards of the Coast revealed these new titles during the August 2024 D&D Direct.

These books are tentatively titled The Forgotten Realms Player Guide and The Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide. Both are scheduled to launch in late 2025, marking the first time the setting will get a dedicated book in D&D 5e.

The Forgotten Realms Player Guide is set to feature new subclasses, feats, backgrounds, spells, types of spells, and a chapter detailing factions, such as the Red Wizards of Thay, who appeared as villains in the D&D movie.

The Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide is aimed towards Dungeon Masters and will detail aspects of the setting. This includes the city of Baldur’s Gate, as well as familiar locations from other D&D video games like Icewind Dale. The idea is that different locations can suit different playstyles and campaign vibes.

One question that fans will naturally be asking is, “Will the events of Baldur’s Gate 3 be referenced in the new books?” It might seem like a given but don’t forget that the game had lots of endings, some of which would drastically alter the setting as a whole.

Then again, the writers of D&D had to pick an ending for Baldur’s Gate 2 so they could add it to the lore, so we might see the same thing happen here. Either that, or the events will be referenced, but their conclusion will be left unmentioned. However, it is unlikely that the Dark Urge has taken over the world just yet.