Editor-in-Chief Leya can no longer say anywhere that she wants to play the druid in Baldur’s Gate 3 – this is the fault of that damn bear.
It could have been so nice.
Three years ago, Baldur’s Gate 3 was released in early access. At that time, I played it for a few hours and decided that I would play the RPG and let it rest until the actual release. The release is now planned for August 3rd.
It has always been clear to me that I will play my first playthrough with my favorite class: druid.
This class is linked to one of my best memories from my student days. Back then, I regularly met with a few friends at an old, rickety wooden table that creaked in protest when one leaned on it with their elbows and overused it.
For hours on end, we experienced adventures in Dungeons & Dragons, fighting our way back to the surface from the underground. I played for years an incredibly naive, but very wise druid who befriended a little mushroom creature.
I still miss her to this day.
Bear sex changes everything
Have you ever watched a movie with your parents where unexpectedly a pretty harsh sex scene appears before your eyes that just doesn’t want to end? I had a similar moment when visiting the development team.
On a fateful day, Larian Studios decided to offer their community a final update of the game before its final release.
Larian invited various content creators and media to Belgium to experience this update sitting in front of the stage while the rest of the world watched via Twitch, TikTok, or YouTube. I was one of the people present and sitting in the audience.
A new character is shown, and it is once again highlighted how much personal decisions influence the story. So far, so good.
The developers show a scene meant to demonstrate how many freedoms Baldur’s Gate 3 offers. A vampire meets a druid under the trees on a warm summer night. There is an intense chemistry between the two, so much so that the druid can’t hold back anymore and transforms into a brown bear thanks to his animal powers.
The player can now decide whether the druid prefers to take his human form again or whether the vampire chooses the animal variant. The developers leave the decision to the audience, and of course, there is a chorus shouting: “BEAR!”
The exact sequence has been visually represented for you by our great video producer Anna:
And here I am sitting among about 50 people I don’t know, watching on screens as a bear tenderly leans over a vampire. Thankfully, the camera pans away before it really gets pornographic.
The scene makes such an impression on TikTok that Larian receives an immediate ban on the platform for such lewdness. Even though this part wasn’t planned, I must say:
A successful marketing stunt.
The bear is chasing me
Since that damn live stream, I can’t shake off the bear! Just before the release, of course, conversations start among each other about which class to play in Baldur’s Gate 3.
And every time – really EVERY TIME – since that developer stream, people look at me with a greasy grin when I say I want to play a druid. They look at me with exactly the same grin that the druid in bear form has just before he leans over the vampire.
Immediately, everyone assumes that I have some sort of animal urges that I want to somehow fulfill in Baldur’s Gate 3. I just want to talk to animals and find out what dialogue options are available here. Do you know how strange it is to assure everyone that I’m not interested in “bear sex” when choosing my class?!
But that’s not all.
When Larian received the ban on TikTok for “bear sex”, I immediately commissioned a news article for MeinMMO. It’s just an entertaining story.
The task of writing this news fell to my esteemed editor Benedict Grothaus, who is also a big fan of Baldur’s Gate and is looking forward to the release. We naturally discussed how the news should be structured.
At some point, Benedict sent me a screenshot of a naked man’s butt, which belongs to the vampire in the scene. We wondered if the ban might also have been due to naked men’s butts on TikTok.
Why do I have to have these conversations with my colleagues? In other areas, this would already be relevant for the HR department…
In the comments under the news about the TikTok ban, a passionate discussion has erupted about whether this is zoophilia or not – and at this point, I also had to inform our community manager Mary about this bear sex issue so she can keep an eye on it and ensure that the discussion remains as civilized as possible.
It just doesn’t stop with this bear.
This is part of Dungeons & Dragons
But what can I say? Whether you approve of this freedom or not, whether you need it in your game or not: It is part of Dungeons & Dragons.
If you play long enough, you will eventually have that one bard in your group who has set his sights on the most powerful dragon in the story you are currently experiencing.
Baldur’s Gate 3 takes the rules and world of Dungeons & Dragons and packs them into a video game. It is true to the game that this option exists – and for those who don’t want it, they can always choose another path.
It could have been so nice with the druid. Now I have to endure a few weeks of giggling looks when I mention the druid as my class.
Until everyone is immersed in their own story and has forgotten the bear.
I believe it will be nice.
