The entire core cast of Baldur's Gate 3 will come together to role-play their own characters in what I can only describe as the ultimate D&D session.
On Friday, September 22 at 11am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7pm BST, Mark Hulmes of the High Rollers D&D group will host the six actors behind Baldur's Gate 3's Origin characters for a tabletop session that appears to be sponsored by Larian Studios. We'll see Neil Newbon as Astarion, Devora Wilde as Lae'zel, Samantha Béart as Karlach, Tim Downie as Gale, Theo Solomon as Wyll, and Jennifer English as Shadowheart.
It seems that the session has already been recorded, judging by the brief clip below with the actors introducing their characters, but it's clear that we're in for a good time. With English introducing herself by referencing Shadowheart's best meme you know the vibes are gonna be just right for that special Dungeons & Dragons blend of earnest role-playing and extremely silly shenanigans.
- Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart actor and her real-life partner "are finally playing opposite each other" in this gorgeous fantasy action game set in "shattered" London
- Baldur's Gate 3 Lae'zel actor is enjoying romancing herself in the RPG again because "there's a lot of the stuff I've kind of forgotten about"
This Friday at 7pm BST, join the cast of Baldur's Gate 3 for a D&D adventure with @HighRollersDnD! Tune in at https://t.co/UpAKWb6HD7 pic.twitter.com/fLOhr8BFkeSeptember 18, 2023
Even before this D&D gathering, the main Baldur's Gate 3 cast members have been pretty proactive about sharing their love of the game. Béart's playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 as Karlach is an absolute delight - almost as delightful as watching Newbon get killed by his own character after rolling a natural 1.
I spoke with Newbon last month - you can read a big chunk of that Baldur's Gate 3 conversation here - but in a few quotes that didn't make the published interview the actor made absolutely clear that he is and always has been a superfan of both D&D in general and Baldur's Gate in particular.
"I played the original when it came out," Newbon told me. "My friends and I played - it was the first time I played a role-play multiplayer game, through a friend that had a LAN system or something. It was amazing. I remember being completely blown away, and feeling this is as close to tabletop role-play as you can get. I was also a D&D geek and a Warhammer geek and all this kind of stuff. I've been a fanboy for most of my life."
It doesn't get much more 'full circle' than growing up as a tabletop nerd and eventually joining a D&D session as the beloved character you played in the biggest digital Dungeons & Dragons game ever. I can't wait to see what hijinks the whole cast gets up to.
None of us at the GR+ offices can stop roasting Heather for failing to recruit Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3.
