You ever considered why you discover so many potent, highly effective magic objects in Baldur’s Gate 3? No, actually—whereas many of the locations you delve into are harmful, they’re additionally deserted and misplaced to the ravages of time. Why within the 9 hells is there the arcane equal of a fully-functioning Glock in some chest within the deep wilderness?
Turns on the market’s precise, honest-to-Mystra D&D lore justifications for this, and so they contain a kindly outdated Wizard. This is not substantiated in-game—however it’s one hell of a deep-cut that justified why I preserve discovering enchanted cloaks on corpses.
As noticed by SurroundBulky4109 on the sport’s subreddit (thanks, TheGamer), a passage within the 26-year outdated ebook “The Temptation of Elminster” by Ed Greenwood particulars the adventures of Elminster himself as one in every of Mystra’s chosen. Elminster, after all, takes stage in Baldur’s Gate 3 as an outdated pal of Gale, in addition to the bearer of Faerûn’s worst fantasy textual content message from an ex on the high of Act 2.
The passage itself follows Elminster coming into into The Crypt of Moondark. To not pilfer it, however so as to add wealth to it. Hilariously, it reads:
“Eaergladden Moondark had died destitute, begging his kin for a couple of coppers with which to purchase a roasting-fowl… however who, save one Elminster, was nonetheless alive to keep in mind that? So completed a mage as Eaergladden might fairly effectively have had a wand, and naturally a spellbook.” He proceeds to then put a wand, a spellbook, and a dagger within the tomb for later adventurers to search out.
“This work took up a lot of his time within the service of Mystra, as of late, at her bidding, Elminster travelled Faerûn visiting ruins and the tombs of useless mages, planting ‘outdated’ scrolls, spellbooks, minor enchanted objects, and even the occasional workers for later people to search out… and all such leavings had been in fact objects she’d simply completed Grafting, and made to look outdated.”
So not solely are the magic objects most D&D gamers discover full forgeries from the mom of magic herself—they are not even antiques. Elminster’s generosity is nice for tomb raiders, however should’ve wrecked havoc on any well-meaning historian making an attempt to place collectively Faerûn’s historical past.
The explanation? Mystra simply desires magic to be proliferated, fairly than within the fingers of “a couple of archwizards lording it over the spell-poor or magically barren, as had occurred within the days of misplaced Netheril.” I shan’t delve into it an excessive amount of to keep away from spoilers, however contemplating Gale’s situation in Baldur’s Gate 3, the plot thread of Mystra’s opposition to Netheril is saved alive and effectively practically 26 years later.
Contemplating his involvement within the sport’s story, it is extraordinarily potential that—for the lion’s share of things you discover not on already-legendary creatures—Elminster Claus put them there. So there you’ve gotten it: I’ve apparently received a futzy outdated wizard to thank for the gear that turned my Honour Mode bard into an absolute monster.