Many more or less popular Dungeons & Dragons mechanics have made it into Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay. A fairly essential one, however, is not: exhaustion. Curiously, however, a very specific NPC suffers from it!
What mechanics do you mean? Unfortunately, the “Fatigue” mechanic from Dungeons & Dragons did not make it into Baldur’s Gate 3 gameplay. It is regularly used to give players debuffs in harsh environments – or simply to punish them for overloading their character.
Where does she appear in Baldur’s Gate 3? When you enter the Emerald Grove, you can follow one of the quest markers to Druid Nettie. It’s one of the first ways to have your parasite examined and possibly even removed.
Before you can talk to her, however, she asks you to be quiet: she is still busy with another patient. This one is a small blue bird that upon closer inspection appears to be severely exhausted. With some druid magic, however, Nettie quickly resolves the condition.
How does the mechanic work? In Dungeons & Dragons, it is very important that player characters take regular breaks. In contrast to Baldur’s Gate 3, in the table-top RPG it is very important how long the characters have been on their feet. Other triggers can be environmental hazards and certain special abilities.
The common thing is that the negative consequences add up. Here are the disadvantages of each level:
A long rest avoids or reduces one level of fatigue if the character has enough supplies.
Why is the feature missing in Baldur’s Gate 3? There is currently speculation about this. PC Gamer colleagues suspect that the ability was planned for the game but was later canceled.
Due to the lack of a day-night cycle in the game, which would indicate the passage of time, there is currently no concrete indicator for times. Short and long breaks can be freely divided as the player needs it.
This brings flexibility into play, as predetermined rest times would interrupt the adventure unnecessarily. There are also points in Baldur’s Gate 3 where resting is generally not recommended. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus has summarized the points for you here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: Watch out, a “Long Rest” can cause quests to fail immediately
Do you miss exhaustion in Baldur’s Gate 3? Let us know in the comments!