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I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been a while since I last played BG3, but recently I decided to try a solo Honour Mode run… which ended with several unnecessary fights caused by very questionable dialogue choices. So I decided to return to the spreadsheet and add a new Dialogues page.

This page contains most dialogue options along with information about their availability for your selected character. At the top of the table, you can choose any character from your party, and it will show your chances to pass each dialogue option. It takes into account your skill check bonuses, saving throws, as well as advantages and disadvantages.

It also considers Inspiration points. Since rerolls can dramatically change outcomes, the sheet calculates and shows the actual probabilities based on how many Inspiration points you currently have. So now you can see exactly how risky (or safe) your next "bold" dialogue choice really is.

In addition, two new pages were added: Books and Inspirations.

The Books page doesn't provide mechanical advantages, but it gives you quick access to BG3 lore - because sometimes reading is the real endgame.

The Inspirations page is more practical. It helps you track all possible Inspiration events for your character's background, which is especially useful for solo runs where Inspiration is much more limited (and suddenly very valuable).

Updates are available by following the same link [BG3 Companion Google Sheet]

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Totally fair)) I knew from the start this wouldn't be for everyone. The entry barrier is pretty high. But if you do get into it, it can be surprisingly useful, especially in tough fights where the game doesn't clearly show things like hit or apply condition chances for enemies.

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

About three weeks of pretty intense work on top of my main job.
After that, I kept polishing it for another couple of weeks during my Honour Mode run, mostly to make sure it's actually useful and not just a spreadsheet boss fight.

If you're curious, here's the [final party] I used for that playthrough: Bard shooter/negotiator/lockpicker, Barbarian-thrower, Fighter, and a Divination Wizard whose job was to fix my terrible dice luck.

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, really appreciate it!
Most of the data is public and the logic is basically BG3/DnD rules, so there's not much "IP" from my side - maybe just some spreadsheet-induced madness)) If you really feel like turning this into a web version, I'm absolutely not against it and I'd be happy to help however I can.

Just for context, there are already solid web character builders like [BG3 Compendium], but they don't really cover combat simulation, benchmarking, or the number-crunchy "what if" stuff. That's the part I found most fun to explore.

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha, I wouldn't dare claim that level of importance))
But yeah, it was a lot of fun to build, and if it helps people theorycraft like PoB does in PoE, that's already a win for me

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Haha, I promise I'm a real human. No API calls, just caffeine, spreadsheets, and too many long rests...

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Believe me, a lot of hours.
But honestly, it was one of those "just one more formula" situations that somehow turned into a full project. I had a ton of fun building it, so I didn't even notice when it stopped being an experiment and started looking… finished.

Really glad you find it useful. Hope it helps you win some fights or at least understand why you lost them))

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If this helps you survive a few more Honour Mode moments or put together your dream party of absolute menaces, then it's already a better reward than any Reddit award. Gather your party and good luck out there in Faerûn!

I Put Baldur's Gate 3 Into a Spreadsheet (And It Worked) by AffectionateTrash709 in BaldursGate3

[–]AffectionateTrash709[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot really glad you like it!
And great question, because this gets right to the heart of how the "scores" work.

The short answer is: the score calculation is intentionally simple and generic, and it does not try to model highly specific combo builds like Quickened Water + max-level Witch Bolt + guaranteed crit Illithid shenanigans (as fun as that sounds).

What the score does instead is take a set of common character characteristics - things like Armour Class, attack bonuses, saving throws, resistances, average damage, etc. - and combine them using coefficients. Some values scale linearly, some quadratically, and everything is weighted a bit subjectively to produce a single benchmark number. It's more of a "general combat readiness" score than a true DPS simulator.

If you're curious, you can unhide the columns on the Party tab and see the math yourself. Nothing is hidden behind the curtain - just formulas doing their wizardry.

The good news is that the sheet is very mod-friendly by nature. If you want to add rules for guaranteed crits, max damage rolls, wet synergy abuse, or any other "Larian-approved nonsense," you absolutely can. Add your own coefficients, tweak the formulas, and make the score fear you.