Even Baldur’s Gate 3’s PhD qualified engineer was confused by spell slots
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Baldur’s Gate 3 draws from D&D mechanics fun and confounding. Among these are spell slots which, according to director Swen Vincke, even stumped one of the game’s engineers.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is easily one of the best Dungeons & Dragons adaptations of all time. The game masterfully translates the tabletop RPG’s gameplay and level of choice on a huge scale that even resonates with people who have never rolled a d20 in real life.
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However, that also means some of D&D’s more obtuse mechanics are present.
One of these is the concept of spell slots, which Baldur’s Gate 3 director Swen Vincke says one of the game’s PhD-holding engineers had trouble understanding.
In an interview with Todd Kenreck of Wizards of the Coast, Vincke was asked which D&D class he gravitates towards. Vincke immediately replied Wizard, though he was sure to point out that he doesn’t like one of the class’ central mechanics saying, “I hate the spell slots system, alright?”
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He then told a story that reiterated how complex and frustrating spell slots are.
“My lead gameplay programmer had to explain to a really competent engineer, who has a PhD, what spell slots are. For an hour!”
Of all the Dungeons & Dragons mechanics, spell slots are among the more confusing, especially for new players.
Essentially, they act like mana or magic points in other RPGs, determining how many times a spellcaster can use their magic before needing a rest. While cantrips can be cast as many times as the player wants, stronger spells extend a spell slot when used.
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Making things more confusing is the fact that there are nine levels of spells and spell slots, and the number of spell slots most spellcasting classes get is determined by the character’s level. Many spells can also be cast at higher levels to an increased effect, and some classes, subclasses, and feats give a character the chance to cast certain spells without a spell slot (typically once per long rest).
If you’re not familiar with D&D, all this likely has your head spinning – and that puts you in the company of a PhD-educated engineer.
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Fortunately, Baldur’s Gate 3 being a video game makes things like spell slots much easier for players. Rather than having to keep track of them manually, the game displays how many the player has or has used on its UI.
It’s one of the reasons why Baldur’s Gate 3 is a great tool for learning D&D, something Vincke and Kenreck discussed in the interview. The game manages to make some complex concepts relatively easy to pick up – even if those required hours of explanation to even get started.
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