Baldur's Gate 3 writer says the RPG's reputation system exists because Larian can't just let players "break" party members: "We would be working on the game forever"

If there's one aspect of Baldur's Gate 3 that players undeniably love, it's the RPG's companion system – one that's arguably quite unique, even when comparing Larian Studios' Dungeons & Dragons game to fellow genre gems.

Part of what makes it so unique is the reputation aspect of it all – not every single one of the Baldur's Gate 3 companions feels the same about any given situation or player response, and that's made clear by the whole "so and so approves" or "disapproves" pop-up that follows certain dialogue choices.

Speaking in a recent edition of Edge, writer Kevin VanOrd explains why Larian chose to implement this reputation system.

"Sometimes the answer is to just let the player break the game," VanOrd says, "but when it comes to party members, usually not." That's precisely why player reputation exists. "If a character trusts you enough, they'll go along with whatever you say," he continues – and, yeah… that's definitely how it feels.

If you do enough questing and proper decision-making to the liking of any particular companion, you'll gain their unwavering trust.

"But if you need to convince them, that's when it becomes a dice roll… Every time you see the 'Lae'zel approves' or 'Lae'zel disapproves' pop up, you learn a little something about that character," he concludes – such a reputation system keeps things simple for developers, too.

"We can't have every character reacting to every situation, otherwise we would be working on the game forever. So this is a way of showing how they feel without writing new dialogue."

That makes sense. Plus, it meshes nicely with the Dungeons & Dragons inspiration behind Baldur's Gate 3 as well, keeping players on their toes with dice rolls where necessary but also allowing fans to build meaningful relationships with companions.

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