Did you know? (Baldur's Gate 3 edition)

[Antimatter]

This is a thread for interesting things that people have picked up over the years. The game is big enough that every player might find something they missed.

I'll start.

1. The DC for pickpocketing is not directly displayed in the game's interface, and the number you see is actually NOT the number your character has to hit to pass the check.

Spoiler

Here, you can see Astarion attempting to steal a blue bow from a merchant with a "Roll Target 13".

The number shown in the pickpocketing interface is the "roll target." This is the value you need to roll on a d20 to succeed, including any relevant bonuses. The actual DC (Difficulty Class) of the check is not directly displayed. The DC is calculated by subtracting your Sleight of Hand bonus from the roll target.

To find the DC, you need to open the combat log and hover over the Sleight of Hand check. The combat log will show the actual DC of the roll.

Spoiler

So the DC there was 23, not 13.

Note the following: the pickpocketing DC is capped at 30. The maximum bonus you can get from Sleight of Hand is +17. This means the roll target can never be higher than 13 if you have the maximum Sleight of Hand bonus.

The pickpocketing DC is influenced by the following:

• Item value
• Item weight
• Target's WIS (bonus adds directly to the DC, so 10 WIS means +0, 12 WIS means +1, etc)

Personally, I would recommend paying attention to that round indicator and its color. For example, in the first screenshot above, the indicator is at around the 1/3 mark and has a white color, so the odds are not favorable, around a 1/3 chance.

2. On a related topic, you can split the merchant's gold stack into a bunch of smaller stacks. That's how you do it: in the merchant UI, pick Barter. Then right-click the merchant's gold and set the amount you'd want to "detract". Then move the smaller money stack from the "demand value" spot to the merchant's goods.

Spoiler

Note that the odds of successfully stealing 108 gold there are around a 2/3 chance. Still not high, but favorable at least.

3. In order to pickpocket, you'd need to hide your character. The best option for this would be:

Cast Minor Illusion cantrip. Hold Shift (to show NPCs' line of sight - red areas on the screenshots above).
Wait until the illusion breaks.
As soon as the NPCs start coming back to their spots, note the moment when the merchant in question has a non-red area behind them.
It means no other NPC is looking that way.
As soon as that happens, hit Shift + Space to enter the TB mode outside of combat.
Use a bonus action on your rogue to sneak.
Stand right behind the target, in the non-red area.
Pickpocket.
When you're done stealing, close the window and run.
What you need is to get away from the NPC and wait for them to stop being alerted and searching for thieves (you can tell that by the NPC behavior and "banters" above them).
You can then return and repeat the whole process. Unlike D:OS 2, BG3 allows you to PP the same target many times.

 

[Black Elk]

I was just watching Dungeoncraft and the 6-13 hard and fast rule sorta strikes again! hehe

Sorta random stuff related to pickpockets or messing with merchants or non-hostile NPCs...

If you cast Hold person and it lands, you will have no attitude malus if you steal from that NPC or do a non lethal knockout. If you have a spellcaster or two who have an alright chance of stunlocking that NPC, I think it's an alright method to stun and then run. Especially if you can use things like Meta magic, guidance, advantage, or any way to tip the scales there.

The easiest way to accomplish this I found is to Hold when the NPC is either distracted or otherwise unable to spot you immediately. If multiple characters have a Holding spell you can basically double the chances of success on this. To jet, exit Turn Based mode and immediately hit M or pull up the mini map and fast travel to another waypoint or camp. If you rest between Thieving or KO attempts, and return the NPC will be none the wiser about whatever went down yesterday. This works best when Merchants are isolated, but beware that some NPCs will have spotters who may run over if you fail too many times in a row.

Also, many NPCs will have an inventory of items and can trade as Merchants. This may not be immediately obvious, but you can barter/trade with many NPCs throughout the game if you click the Trade button in the dialogue menu. It will be shown on the far left of the convo popup menu, listed with other conversation icons. If the NPC can trade as a vendor you will see 5 icons, the middle one looks like an outstretched palm collecting coins.

The prime example of one of these NPCs is Volo. If rescued he will join the camp and is available in all 3 Acts. Makes him a pretty good Merchant to sell anything that might be needed later on, or for the fenced goods.

You can improve merchant attitude by gifting them stuff via the convo trade button. To do that you just don't balance the trade, it will give a warning that you're about to gift the items away for free. This can work well if you need to get back in someone's good graces after a failed Hold, or knockout attempt, to keep them alive for things like scrolls or potions on random tables. Planning to KO a merchant may recommend buying something first, as they will typically drop the 3 most expensive items, sometimes that third item will be random, but if you make a purchase first you can control which item gets dropped using that method. After they are looted once, the merchants will return the next day, but with fewer specialty equipment on offer. Usually there is some interesting ring or set of gloves or whatever more at the low end of the pricing spectrum for the first round buy before KO. The gold you spent can be recovered provided you don't long rest, so it's better to shop I think.

To do Non-Lethal attacks, you have to click into the passives menu on the hotbar.

Some of this stuff is just never explained through gameplay really, so it can be very easy to miss.

 

[Xzarloxara]

If we are going to start by talking about pickpocketing, then I have a few tips that make it easy.

First off, it really helps to have an Advantage when picking pockets. It doesn't show that you have an advantage in the pickpocket window, but believe me, it works. Some of the easier ways to get an advantage for thieving are:

• The level 2 spell: Enhance Ability; pick Cat's Grace
• The Gloves of Thievery; available for purchase from Brem in the Zhentarim hideout.
• The Graceful Cloth; available for purchase from Lady Esther at the Trielta Crags

Any items or spells that boost the Slight of Hand ability will help as well. You may want to hang on to such items so you can boost the skill when you need it. The cantrip Guidance will also help a little, so try casting it on your thief before pickpocketing.

Second, a simple, but extremely helpful tip: it helps to enter turn based mode while pickpocketing. This will give you time to think and plan your theft carefully without worrying about being spotted or discovered. I should note that you have to be careful not to consume your action points while in turn based mode, as you need at least one to initiate pickpocketing.

Third, a tip that makes it easy to pickpocket practically anyone no matter where they are or how big the crowd is around them: use Fog or Darkness. If you can create a cloud of fog or darkness near a mark, then you can hide in it even in a crowd and pickpocket anyone. Lets use this scene as an example:

Spoiler

Our target is Mattis in the corner over there. Normally it would be nigh impossible to hide in a scene like this with so many eyes watching you, but just add fog and we get this:

Spoiler

A perfect little pocket of fog to hide in and steal in. The easiest and least expensive way to create fog is with the Cloak of Cunning Brume. This cloak will infinitely create clouds of fog every time the wearer Disengages. It is available for sale from Mattis in act 2. Just be careful not to stand too close to the target when you activate it, as fog has a tendency to make people hostile.

So there you go, a few tips on how to be a better pickpocket.

 

[Antimatter]

Very good advice there. I think I've now mastered 0-risk pickpocketing for a no-reload run.

Steps to take:

Unchain your group.

Go to the Barter menu and offer smth around (from your own items) ~30 gold worth. Then click "Balance Offer". The merchant will put his gold in. Then left-click that gold and move it to the merchant's main "stack" of items. But it won't add to the bigger gold pile, it'll be added as a separate item. Click "Balance Offer" again. The merchant will put his gold again, but will detract it from their bigger gold pile. This saves time from using the menu to manually adjust how much gold you want to detract. Repeat as many times as you need.

Cast Minor Illusion.

Wait until NPCs react to it, the illusion disappears, and they all start to go back to their usual placements.

Hold Shift all this time to see NPCs' LOS (line of sight).

As soon as you see the space behind the merchant is safe, enable the TB mode manually.

Hide your rogue and pickpocket. With Roll Target at 0, you should be able to complete all the theft naturally (granted, you have at least the basic Sleight of Hand skill numbers), as many times as you need.

There is no Critical Miss when you're pickpocketing, so even if you roll 1, your added stats should provide the roll just high enough.

Chain your group up again.

Disable the TB mode and run away.

Wait ~1 min for the merchant to give up on chasing a thief.

Spoiler

The screenshots above show how I did it in the goblin camp. The first screenshot is there only to demonstrate that finding a safe spot is impossible. Using Minor Illusion is safe and doesn't trigger anyone, so it can be a good choice for someone who doesn't want to risk using Darkness.

You can then buy expensive item(s) for the stolen gold (not to risk bad rolls during PP), and repeat the whole procedure again.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

The endorsement of kleptomania in this thread is shocking, quite frankly.

 

[Xzarloxara]

There is no Critical Miss when you're pickpocketing, so even if you roll 1, your added stats should provide the roll just high enough.

I think there actually is, I recently saw it in the log briefly before the "You're under arrest!" dialog appeared. It said I rolled a critical failure on a slight of hand attempt... I think it may just be misleading if you have an Advantage in Slight of Hand, because the odds of a critical failure are really low, probably around 1% if my math is right (which it may not be...).


Anyway, I would like to start a mini-series in this thread: "Hidden containers that contain interesting loot." I am talking about containers that contain non-generic loot and are hidden in some way or other. There are plenty of hidden containers that contain the same old usual junk, but I don't mean those.

Here is one of the more interesting of such containers.

Spoiler

This skeleton on the risen road in act 1, which is heavily obscured by the bushes, contains a unique magic ring which helps with Stealth and Slight of Hand skills. It can be easily missed if you aren't extremely observant.

Another hard to find container that I didn't even notice until just recently.

Spoiler

This skeleton is near the chasm behind Dammon's forge inside the Emerald Enclave in act 1. you need to jump in order to reach it. It doesn't contain too much of interest, but it did have some gold and an Ice Arrow for me. I suspect its loot is random, but still more interesting than the usual.

 

[Zaxares]

Just be careful not to stand too close to the target when you activate it, as fog has a tendency to make people hostile.

I remember in the early patches, throwing fog/darkness on NPCs wouldn't cause any hostility, so I would cast it on the shopkeeper to both make them run away AND give me cover to loot all of the items sitting on their shopfront in plain sight and then run away before the spell wore off so there was "no culprit in sight". I was very sad when Larian changed this.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Pickpocketing is fun, but educate me on something a little more barbaric. School me on the Throw metagame.

I love this feature, both on tabletop and in BG3. Throw spears, throw random objects, throw your companions, it's always fun to get a little create with projectiles. How do you maximize the effectiveness of this tool? Are there any quirks I should know about?

I had a throwing-spear focused character for a while with some equipment to enhance the bonuses, was quite enjoyable.

 

[Xzarloxara]

Pickpocketing is fun, but educate me on something a little more barbaric. School me on the Throw metagame.

I love this feature, both on tabletop and in BG3. Throw spears, throw random objects, throw your companions, it's always fun to get a little create with projectiles. How do you maximize the effectiveness of this tool? Are there any quirks I should know about?

I had a throwing-spear focused character for a while with some equipment to enhance the bonuses, was quite enjoyable.

Don't know much about that stuff personally. I rarely use throwing since the result always seems underwhelming compared to my other available options. This page seems to have a fairly detailed description of the ability. https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Throw

 

[Black Elk]

Throwing is pretty intense. Some quick ideas there...

Gravity damage. If the thing that ends up killing the enemy is gravity, this will sometimes fail to award Xp. This is different than say yeeting the enemy into a chasm or a deadly surface or AoE spell, I mean when they just smack into the floor and die at the regular elevation, not changing planes. So keep an eye on that if throwing say Imps into the floor.

To lift enemies for a toss, the weight of the target, but also the overall weight of the items in Thrower's own inventory (including equipped stuff), will effect the total. This is why you'll see speed runners completely disrobing so they can do crazy stuff like carry/toss medium sized NPCs off bridges hehe.

There are a couple items with that boomerang 'returns when thrown' property. For this to work, you have to be in initiative and targeting a hostile creature (red), otherwise you'll just see the weapon laying on the ground afterwards. Similarly it takes a second for the weapon to return, so after hurling the Returning Pike say, it's better to wait before clicking End Turn for the animation to complete, or for the second throwing attack, again sorta same thing, you need to wait a second for the item to show back up in the inventory.

I would suggest not having your main thrower also be your main mule, just so it's not as tedious when you have to survey the inventory in each attack. Usually the thrown weapon will return to the upper left of the grid, but sometimes will reappear somewhere else in the grid. Often times the Thrower is going to be your highest STR character though, so if they have to pack it all anyway, it can help to just toss everything that isn't 'throwable' into a backpack inside your inventory.

The first extra backpack we get is sitting right next to Shadowheart's pod in the prologue. It must be a Trickery backpack because it's super camouflaged, and even though I know where it is, I still miss it half the time lol. There's nothing all that useful inside, usually like a garnet and some gold, but it's good for keeping all the non essentials organized in the inventory hotbar. You can also just fill a backpack with crap to have something really heavy to hurl, for gravity damage bonus superslams.

Spoiler

Most classes can still throw pretty effectively, if they have access to pikes, tridents or hammers as an option for their weapon (any of the standard returning weapons available in BG3), this is because STR potions are pretty cheap and you can buy a bunch in Act I for the long haul. It does take some getting used to for the arcs of the weapon though and the lines of sight. Unless you're playing a druid or something, I'd keep a regular ranged weapon equipped just in case of awkward railings. Beware of doors and thresholds, since sometimes it can be impossible to target a throw through these.

Usually the Throw distance will have a farther radius than the crossbows and longbows, especially when you have 20+ STR behind it, from the high ground it can be pretty nuts! The feat Tavern brawler is a top choice, also the Barbarian class Berserker and Giant. Zerkers get an extra bonus action throw, and Giants get the Elemental Cleaver at lvl 6 and double damage applied. They're comparable to each other for tops throws. I thinker Berserkers come out ahead, but the Cleaver is pretty crazy because it allows any weapon to gain the return property. If doing this you have to Rage and then hit the Cleaver icon that looks like an Acid Axe. Sometimes I forget to click the second icon in the heat of the moment, and that's rough because then if you throw the weapon it won't return. I would buy/steal the Returning Pike and keep it at the ready as a backup just in case that happens or you get disarmed before setting it all up. A couple javelins that you don't care if they get lost, just something that doesn't need to be equipped first. Returning pike or things like Javelins will unequip the main hand weapon which is sort of annoying. I find that it's pretty tough to keep a nice Sword or Battle Axe equipped and then be switching to the throw weapon from the inventory. Just seems like once I start throwing it's sorta the only attack worth making at that point. Any Barbarian or Fighter/Martial style probably works, but they're all somewhat better as a multiclass. Stuff like Fighter for Action surge, or sub-classes that give extra attacks, actions or bonus actions depending on the combo, to get in another throw per round. Throws seem to hit more reliably and with more consistent dmg than other attack types at range for me. The numbers are perhaps not as insane as some other burst type attack classes, but it's easy to get a reliable 20 dmg per attack which is usually enough to get the job done and kill the weakest whoever, or maybe two before clicking end turn.

Throwing potions ends up being pretty significant to the Meta of the entire game. This is because the action economy is more forgiving than the bonus action economy for most classes, and also because, when thrown, potions can target multiple characters. It means it's almost always more expedient to throw a potion, or attack a potion sitting on the floor, than it is to drink it with a bonus action for a single character. Moving items from one character's inventory to another's, or into the environment takes no action, so this is a good way to reposition objects that can be thrown, like passing hot potatoes. It's weird, but also just the way this game is set up apparently. As a fighter with say 2 actions and the surge for multiple throw attacks per turn, but only one bonus action, it's frequently better to throw a potion at your feet than it is to burn the bonus action to drink it. Elixirs and such can also be used this way, thrown at multiple targets if possible, although if targeting with a splash radius the trade off is usually fewer rounds for whatever effect. Be careful if using a Thrower to toss potions though, because if they have extra dmg added to their throw attacks this can sometimes lead to potion bottles doing damage before heals are applied, then losing an action that way as the character may be downed before the heal effect kicks in.

Another good trick for throwing, or just generally... the cursor can drag and manipulate objects within the environment beyond the typical interactable distance. So if a weapon or some improvised whatever is laying on the floor, you can often bring it into your pickup or throw radius without having to actually move your character the full distance. If the object seems to be just out of reach, click and hold/drag to try repositioning it at your feet. Before running all the way over to pick something up, first see if you can you use the Force to bring it closer to you without expending the full movement for that turn.

For items on panel traps, sometimes these can be thrown a safe distance from the trap before it activates. Mage Hands can do as this as well, or throw potions, small corpses and weapons, things of that sort too.

High strength throwers are more maneuverable when jumping around so it makes ritual spells like Enhanced Leap very powerful, especially if you can jump up to the high ground and get gravity working for you too. But I also find that spells like Longstrider, or anything that boosts Dex is also helpful, since often I have to do a lot of repositioning at the last few meters to get a good throwline.

Spoiler

Ring of Fling from Arron will be on one finger, for sure, and other items that add extra dmg to throws sometimes compete with other useful attribute boosting items, so something to consider when deciding on how to share the kit. Arron's Ring and the Pike from Grat. Derryth's gloves and acid ring are both pretty helpful. I think the Acid ring is pretty good on a Barbarian to help boost their dmg a bit compared to fighters and paladins and such, but especially a thrower since it will also apply when thrown. There is an amulet in Act 2 that is extremely useful for Throwers, because it allows you to brand an enemy for vulnerability to a specific a damage type. If using the standard returning weapons Piercing is generally best for that one, but if doing the improvised stuff a Crushing dmg brand can be pretty insane vs the right foes.

If using Lae'zel as a thrower remember her Astral bonus to STR ability, it's a daily +1 to the ability check which she has available from the prologue on. This can help if you have to grapple enemies to toss them too.

If your character is the main thrower it's also useful to remember that you can reposition small enemies pretty easily by tossing them around. Depending on your Athletics and line of sight this can be more reliable than a shove, because you will be able to control the arc of the throw, whereas the standard shove may not allow you to push the target if the shove shows red preview lines. Shoves that can't even knock an enemy prone are pretty annoying, but a Toss will almost always knock them prone and do at least some gravity damage even if it's only like 2 or 3 dmg. Giants are kinda fun because they resize to be jumbo when Raging, which can allow you to manhandle medium creatures, depending on the overall weight limits, their super shove also does damage which is kinda cool.

ps. Oh and keep a couple mundane items with some weight just for the improvised throws. Most weapons that aren't the piercing standards, will use the bludgeoning property when thrown, even if it's a sword or whatever. You can use anything with a decent weight to bludgeon from afar. This can be very useful for specific enemies that have a vulnerability to bludgeoning damage, as the thrower can just toss a frying pan or whatever and it will hit like a gigantic maul of doom from the high ground! That sort of thing hehe.

You can also throw stuff to activate a lever or hit a button, which can be easy to forget.

 

[Xzarloxara]

Time for another episode of "Hidden containers that contain interesting loot." Today we look at two henge containers.

This bird nest can be found on a henge overlooking the druid ritual circle with the idol of Silvanus nearby where you meet Alfira. It contains some random gems or jewelry,

Spoiler

The second container is in the same area on the opposite side of the ritual circle. The "shiny key" to this "shiny chest" can be found pretty much right below it, lining the nest of Topaz the blue jay. The chest usually contains some gold and a potion or two.

Spoiler

There is another somewhat hidden chest near Ormn the bear who is down by the shore near the ritual circle. This chest usually contains a few random magical consumables, some of these possibly tend not to appear until later in the game. This time I got an Arrow of Arcane Interference in it.

Spoiler

By the way, Ormn is a good fisher and will share his catch with you, should you ever be short on camp supplies (unlikely as that may be), drop by and he will stock you up (he stops fishing once Halsin returns, though).

 

[Antimatter]

I guess it might fit in this thread:

If you put spare items in your camp chest, "sorting" them manually in rows by the item type, you'd get one screen with all appropriate items. E.g., a row with two-handed weapons, a row with helmets, etc. The camp chest inventory width is just enough to show all of them at a glance:

Ofc, you might sell items you don't need, but there is always a chance you might need some of them for specific fights and/or equipping new party members.

As for consumables, I'm a fan of using containers and keeping them on the main character. I have containers for:
- "throwables"
- potions & elixirs ("what you can drink")
- oils & poisons ("what you can use on your weapon")
- arrows & scrolls
- all books, papers, etc ("readables")

I use mods to make a lot of these weight 0, but even without such a mod, you can still sort items like that, and probably just dispatch excessive amounts into the camp chest.

 

[Xzarloxara]

I just had my own thought for using the camp chest, and, if I do say so myself, it is quite inventive. I wish I had thought of it sooner!

It happens to every necromancer: "I want to create an undead minion, but I cant find a body to use!" Well, why not collect and store dead bodies in your camp chest? The bodies of small animals are easiest since they are light weight, but, if you have strong enough helpers, you can store heavier bodies as well!

The bodies must be manually put in the camp chest (by clicking and dragging), but you can take them out as needed to animate some undead servants later. Cool idea huh?

 

[Xzarloxara]

Another episode of hidden containers with interesting loot!

In the underdark, on a ledge above the field of Bibberbang mushrooms is a skeleton with a unique ring that grants some skill increases. The easiest way to get to it is to have your best jumper jump along the ledges following the path shown in my screenshot. May want to clear the mushrooms out first, just in case...

 

[Xzarloxara]

This cracked wall can be broken as an alternate entrance to the Goblin sanctum, but attacking the wall makes a lot of noise and wakes up the nearby drunken goblins.

However, if you cast Silence on the wall, it will not wake up the goblins no matter how long it takes to beat the wall down. Just a neat little thing that shows the attention to detail in this game.