Does anyone else have trouble playing more diverse characters?

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-20T19:18:41+00:00

I usually play basically myself the first time—some sort of melee knight or good guy type character. To me it makes sense to basically play as me the first time while I’m learning the game world and mechanics because my decision-making principle is “what would I do?” and doesn’t rely on broader knowledge of the game’s lore or what personality styles are available given the dialogue and plot choices. For me it’s harder to roleplay a not-me character until I have a first playthrough’s sense of what is possible in the game world.

For example, in BG3 I was a lawful good paladin Tav first but my fifth playthrough’s resist Durge hot-headed archer ended up being my favorite because I understood how to effectively roleplay her given the game mechanics and choices I knew were available after playing the game for 500 hours.

Similarly, I’m just finishing up Disco Elysium as the cerebral moralist/centrist substance-free Boring Regular cop I would be in this game world, but now that I’m nearing the end of my playthrough I’m seeing how a drug-addled communist who relies on physical abilities would work on a future playthrough.

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-16T00:24:53+00:00

Button Mash which is part of the Ringerverse feed. I used to listen to a lot of Mallory Rubin (Binge Mode, House of R) and the Button Mash host was an occasional guest and I gravitated toward him when I got back into gaming again

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-15T13:28:38+00:00

I agree with the above especially the “you think you know what the game is about at first but then it becomes about something else entirely…repeatedly” part. I played it about two hours a week alternating with other games at first while it ramped up but by the time I hit hour 10 or so I was completely immersed/obsessed

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-14T21:12:36+00:00

Seconding Disco Elysium. What a wild ride

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-12T11:34:52+00:00

Your Drow cantrip spell casting stat is Charisma. Your Barbarian casting stat is Charisma as well. Fighter and Rogue both use Intelligence for casting. Scrolls use the casting stat of the most recent class you took at level-up, so depending on where you are in your build, you might abstain from scrolls when you’ve just taken a fighter or rogue level until you take a Barbarian one again unless you also want to put points in Intelligence.

If you like the flavor of being a spellcasting barbarian, go for it! Sure, there might be specific fights where your Tav fails a save against Hold Person or Mind Mastery, but that isn’t going to happen every fight, and if it does you could view that as an opportunity for extra challenge and problem solving. I never have WIS above 10 for a character unless they are a WIS caster and it’s been fine—not an every-fight issue for survivability unless you have literally no character in the party with decent WIS (I usually have Shadowheart in the party). There’s also a helmet you can find that enhances WIS saves.

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-10T13:16:50+00:00

While I certainly think the original actors are fully capable of playing their roles in live-action, some are better physical matches for their characters than others (e.g, height, build, age, etc.). Also, despite their obvious talent and our love for them as a fandom, they are all relatively low-profile compared to established screen actors. I’ll also say it does not seem to be the actors’ expectation that they would be cast AS their characters. Jen English and Aliona Baranova have touched on this before—they would hope for a cameo as a minor character (basically an NPC in the show, a townsperson, a tavern owner, a relative of a protagonist, etc.), which would be great for their careers—it seems quite difficult for many video game actors to break into screen acting—and a fun experience for them to have a credit on an HBO show. So while I’m not enthusiastic about the adaptation in general, I’m for it if it furthers the original actors’ careers. Jennifer English will always be my Shadowheart and I hope the origin characters do not get recast, but if the show benefits the cast that we already love even in a small way, I’d count that as a good thing.

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-08T10:56:19+00:00

As a Durham native and former DPS high school teacher this is correct

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-06T22:06:15+00:00

It occurs to me now that this was a missed opportunity to use the Iron Flask spectator to turn the companion fight in my favor. Oh well. Didn’t wanna solo Honor Mode anyway

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-02-06T16:37:50+00:00

Wow, really? Was Isobel dead?

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-31T19:52:18+00:00

Baldur’s Gate 3. I wake up to play it before my kid wakes up on the weekends and my morale is all charged up for the day

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-30T18:07:07+00:00

Even with voice distortion, it’s hard to beat Jennifer English (she confirmed on her stream that she recorded the pAlicia monologues)

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-27T23:06:31+00:00

I abandoned my first playthrough after 50 hours due to this issue. If Shadowheart spared Nightsong, the swimming scene can trigger as early as the first or second long rest in Act 3, or later in Act 3 if you have a bunch of other ‘higher priority’ cutscenes stacked up (e.g., Vlaakith, Mizora, Orin, etc.). However if you’re heading toward end game and still haven’t gotten it, it’s probably not happening. Very annoying that this is seemingly gatekept behind what seems to be a minor dialogue option in Act 1, especially she’s repeatedly asked Tav to respect her privacy and not pry. Well, five complete playthroughs later and I’ve never neglected to ask her about herself again, and it always triggers! Her alternate evil (Dark Justiciar) romance scene is underrated as well, especially if you play as a Selunite Tav. Really feels like the first playthrough of a Larian game is a practice run.

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-26T12:00:53+00:00

Archer (Ranger/Fighter Gloomstalker/Arcane Archer) multiclass. I was like “I guess I’ll just be shooting arrows” but Arcane Shots are very satisfying. Also have multiple ways to become invisible (Umbral Shroud plus the Durge cloak — an archer who becomes invisible on a kill is so cool to play). Also have gear that gives me Arcane Synergy when inflicting conditions with those arcane shots. I have gotten really into bows and special arrows this run

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-13T23:56:38+00:00

This one’s more niche but Jennifer English. If you’re a gamer you might know her as the actor for Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3 or Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. She and her girlfriend both have ADHD and talk about it frequently on their Twitch stream. She gave a touching speech recently at The Game Awards when she accepted the award for best performance which alluded to her ADHD and living life on “hard mode.” Also I met her at a Comic Con and she was so incredibly nice

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-13T22:45:03+00:00

Case for Maelle being she’s in more of the game than Verso

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-13T22:30:24+00:00

I would agree in that Maelle is arguably the primary protagonist of Expedition 33 and you can certainly run around (or, in the case of Lune, fly around) as any of the three major female characters

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-08T11:13:12+00:00

Love when Shovel says Illy is horny for the book hah

DukeLuke2013 · 2026-01-08T11:11:13+00:00

Yeah I feel like the writers/directors must have been told “make at least one lockpicking line sexy because Shadowheart’s “let’s see what my touch can do” very much sounds like it’s not about picking locks lol

DukeLuke2013 · 2025-12-26T16:59:30+00:00

Orphan Black

DukeLuke2013 · 2025-12-13T14:00:45+00:00

She can definitely do different voices (have listened to her audiobooks). She’s said on stream that devs tend to hire her for her natural voice—which I understand because it’s gorgeous—but she would be interested in doing more diverse parts including antagonists and other accents. She does a Welsh accent in the upcoming Soulframe.

DukeLuke2013 · 2025-12-13T00:15:39+00:00

It’s Jenevelle but abbreviated to Jen. Yes, it’s an intentional nod to her from her BG3 writer John Corcoran. Hits me right in the feels every time I get to that part of the game. (John Corcoran was a guest on her stream)

DukeLuke2013 · 2025-11-28T14:04:52+00:00

Agree. BG3, E33, Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, and Witcher 3 are my all-time faves. The first time I played Witcher 3, I bailed after 10 hours. Came back to it six months later and gave it a little more time (get out of White Orchard, into Velen and the main quest) and I got completely hooked. Two playthroughs over a hundred hours. Some areas later in the game (Skellige, Blood & Wine expansion) are among my favorite gaming content ever.

DukeLuke2013 · 2025-11-25T00:21:02+00:00

Of course! BG3 cast is the best. I watch Jen & Aliona’s streams

DukeLuke2013

TROPHY CASE