Baldur’s Gate 3 spell has more recorded dialogue than most films

Scott Baird
Baldur's Gate 3 spell has more recorded dialogue than most films

A popular Cantrip in Baldur’s Gate 3 has several hours worth of dialogue recorded for it, more so than some feature films.

It’s difficult to find a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 or D&D 5e that doesn’t use the Vicious Mockery Cantrip. This class spell list-exclusive Cantrip involves the player insulting the enemy so hard that it hurts their mind, potentially killing them if they’re weak enough.

The popularity of Vicious Mockery is such that the developers of Baldur’s Gate 3 gave it special attention, even though there are no Bard party members. To hear most of the insults, your Tav/Dark Urge needs to be a Bard, or you need to multiclass/respec one of the existing party members.

(You can also get Vicious Mockery without taking Bard levels by taking the Magic Initiate: Bard Feat, as that lets you take Cantrips from the class’s spell list.)

In a recent fan discussion, it was mentioned how detailed some of the character animations are for spellcasters when they use magic. It was mentioned how much dialogue there was for Vicious Mockery, with over two hours worth of lines recorded for the game.

These include Vicious Mockery insults performed by all of the Tav voice options, the party members (as they can respec/learn the Cantrip), and NPC spellcasters. There are also some unique enemies that possess Vicious Mockery with their own specific jabs, such as Auntie Ethel.

A video of the Vicious Mockery spells in action can be seen on the Chubblot YouTube channel, clocking in at over two hours.

Bards are one of the best classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 for a variety of reasons. The ability to murder your foes with a well-timed slight is one of the class’s highlights, especially as the game has so much fresh material to work with.