Summary
The popularity ofBaldur’s Gate 3has also had a positive effect onDungeons & Dragons, the famous TTRPG on which its gameplay and rules are based.D&Dis a massive franchise on its own that covers every type of media imaginable and includes everything from action figures to video games.
Books have been a part of the IP since the earliest days. These aren’t the adventuring modulesor Dungeon Master guides, but sweeping and detailed fictional novels that take place in theD&Duniverse.Baldur’s Gate 3takes place in a location where various adventurers have already fought some memorable battles and certain famous events that took place in Faerun, so fans who like the game would also love certain novels aboutD&D.
7Homeland
By R. A. Salvatore
Homelandis part one of The Legend of Drizzt book trilogy, which is a prequel to the Icewind Dale and Legacy of the Drow book series. Rumor has it that the famous Drow was supposed to appear inBG3, but certain licensing issues kept him out. To honor him as much as they could, the developers at Larian Studios putseveral references to himand his home city of Menzoberranzan into the game.
This book is the ideal place to start for those who are keen on learning more about theD&Duniverse as a whole and on a more focused level, the Drow. The first is about Drizzt’s early life and growing up in Drow society, including his training at the Drow Warrior Academy. The sequels,ExileandSojourn, are the story of Drizzt’s travels in the Underdark after escaping from the Menzoberranzan authorities, which includes his own family.
6Elminster: The Making of a Mage
By Ed Greenwood
Elminster is a recurring character who appears in various places in the D&D universe, and he also has a cameo inBaldur’s Gate 3. It’s not a huge part, but an important one that shows how important he is to the magical lore of theDungeons & Dragonsuniverse.
For those interested in the backstory of Elminster and how the magical side of society works inD&D, Ed Greenwood’s books are an ideal place to start.The Making of a Magetells the story of how the now-powerful Wizard first discovered magic as a child. Spoiler alert: as a thief, he crept into a temple of Mystra with the intent of stealing from the goddess of magic, but fate had other ideas.
5The Magic of Krynn
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The world of Dragonlancewas created as a campaign setting forAdvanced Dungeons & Dragonsin 1993, and it has since grown into its own branch of the original IP. Wizards of the Coast has also licensed Margaret Weis’s company, Sovereign Press, to create officialD&Dcontent since 1997.
The Magic of Krynnis the first Dragonlance book, and it’s a compilation of ten short stories about the people and places of Krynn. Although Weis and Hickman are listed as the authors, there were several others who took part, and eight of the ten stories are by other authors.
4Dark Sun: The Verdant Passage
By Troy Denning
There are a total of 16 novels set in the land of Dark Sun, and this is the first. It introduces the setting, protagonists, and main villain of the D&D novel as part of the PR for a new adventuring campaign at the time. Corrupt Wizards have turned the land of Arthas into a barren desert, and a motley crew of heroes has to fight the oppressive king Kalak of Tyr, to free the nation from his tyranny.
These books tend to be more on the gritty and dark side of theD&Duniverse, so they’re even better for those who prefer to create characters of Evil or Neutral moral alignments that dominate most of the storyline. The choices that players have for party companions inBG3are similar, and include everything from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil.
3Baldur’s Gate
By Philip Athans
This choice might be obvious, but some avid game players who loveBG3might not even be aware these books exist, or haven’t had time to indulge in the previous two installments and their various DLCs. Considering how bigBG3is, players might forget that the two games before it were equally impressive.
Baldur’s Gateis the start of a series that novelizes the entire story oftheBaldur’s Gategames, starting with the first one that begins in Candlekeep, moving on toShadows of Amn,and concluding with theThrone of Bhaal. Most of the locations in these books are the same as the ones in the third installment, or referenced in the books that Tav finds or the NPCs they meet.
2The Crystal Shard
Icewind Dale is one of the most popular settings in Faerun, distinguished by its polar climate. This book is the first part of a trilogy about the region.The Crystal Shardis also considered to be a continuation of the Drizzt novels, because the famous Drow is also a main character in this book and the ones that follow.
Drizzt travels here thinking that such an isolated and harsh place would be more welcoming to the Drow. He is mostly proven wrong, but makes some friends among the Dwarves. He travels with two companions: a dwarf named Bruenor, and a halfling named Regis. The latter happens to be a member of the local city council and possesses a magical ruby that hypnotizes the other local leaders into uniting against a barbarian attack.
1Dragons of Autumn Twilight
These are the first Dragonlance novels, predatingThe Magic of Krynnby a few years, and this book is also the first in a trilogy. It follows the same basic storyline as the Dragonlanceadventuring modules,Dragons of DespairandDragons of Flame.
The story begins with the introduction of several of the main characters, meeting again after five years of adventuring separately, with some of them absent for mysterious reasons. The Seekers, a group of cult leaders who are trying to replace the now-rejected deities of Krynn, are also introduced in this novel, and they’re the main antagonists for most of the series.
