Baldur's Gate 3 characters are capped at level 12 because late-game D&D spells are too OP

Baldur's Gate 3 monk — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

The Baldur's Gate 3 level cap is set at 12, simply because high-level Dungeons & Dragons spells are too overpowered.

Speaking to PC Gamer in a new interview, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke addressed why Baldur's Gate 3 caps characters at level 12, instead of 20 like in D&D. It's apparently all down to the fact that it's "very hard" to create an experience that takes players from levels 12 to 20 because the spells therein are too powerful.

"[Level 12-20] adventures require a different way of doing things, in terms of antagonists you're going to have to deal with, which require a lot of development to do them properly. Which would make this much more than an expansion in terms of development effort," Vincke said.

"A lot of D&D adventures are sub-level 12 for precisely that reason. So it sounds like neat, easy expansion material until you start thinking about it and it's not as easy as one would imagine," the CEO continued. It's sort of for this reason that Larian hasn't started working on a Baldur's Gate 3 expansion.

Larian is scared of high-level D&D spells between levels 12 and 20 for good reason. There's incantations which can let players walk around and chill on the astral plane for a while, peer into the future to get an advantage on future dice rolls, and transform creatures into literal everyday objects. And that's before we consider Wish - pretty much the RPG's strongest spell - which lets you mess with the fabric of reality.

Yeah, they're just a little OP. Considering Baldur's Gate 3 has been in developing for a staggering six years, and early access for just under three years, it's easy to see why expanding spells and characters up to level 20 would take a mountain of work from everyone at Larian.

Check out our Baldur's Gate 3 Monk guide for a look at how to best maximize your effectiveness as the class.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.