Baldur's Gate 3 Character Tournament

Welcome to the BG3 Tournament blog! Here, we run... BG3 tournaments. Below, you'll find a list of previous tournaments' results.

Suggestions for future tournament themes are always welcome! After each tournament concludes, a poll is posted with a shortlist of submitted ideas to determine the next one. :)

Current Tournament: TBA

Results

Round 1 — Match 13 / 152 — Ray of Sickness vs. Finger of Death

Ray of Sickness is a level 1 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters to hit enemies with a ray of nauseating energy that deals Poison damage, and potentially Poisons them.

"ray of sickness was one of those spells i picked on my first run because I didn't understand what was good and then just kept using anyway because I got attached to it 😭 when the poisoned condition actually lands it feels great, especially early on when one enemy having disadvantage can save Gale from getting smacked unconscious AGAIN"

"There are definitely too many poison-resistant/immune things for Ray of Sickness to be universally amazing, but against normal humanoid enemies I think it gets dismissed too easily. It hits reasonably hard for a first-level spell and potentially makes the target worse at hitting you afterward, which is exactly what I want from an early-game spell slot. I used it a lot more on my first wizard than Magic Missile, which I realise may get my wizard licence revoked."

vs.

Finger of Death is a level 7 necromancy spell. It is only available to Apostle of Myrkul after it consumes a Necromite and has the condition Reaper's Reward, and deals a target 7d8 + 30 ⁠Necrotic damage.

Round 1 — Match 12 / 152 — Gylph of Warding: Fire vs. Wall of Ice

Glyph of Warding: Fire is a level 3 abjuration spell. This spell is a variant of the Level 3 Abjuration Spell, Glyph of Warding. It allows spellcasters to inscribe a ward which explodes and deals Fire damage to enemies when triggered.

vs.

Wall of Ice is a level 6 evocation spell. It creates a wall of ice that deals strong Cold damage to anyone nearby.

Round 1 — Match 11 / 152 — Freedom of Movement vs. The Closed Fist of Bane

Freedom of Movement is a level 4 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to imbue an ally with the ability to avoid some slowing effects.

"nothing makes me angrier than a melee character losing half their turn because the floor is sticky for some reason. MOVE. GO KILL HIM."

vs.

The Closed Fist of Bane is a level 6 conjuration spell. It allows Gortash to conjure a giant fist that falls to the ground, punching for a great deal of Force damage.

"bigby's hand for people with fascist religious branding sorry but the visual alone gets my vote. giant divine fist of the god of tyranny slowly preparing to squash you into the floor is exactly the level of subtlety i expect from bane."

Round 1 — Match 10 / 152 — Keeper's Fee vs. Conjure Air Myrmidon

Keeper's Fee is a level 5 spell. It is unique to Helsik in Tactician difficulty, and disarms a target.

"disarming someone by basically going 🫴 give me that is funny. sorry."

vs.

Conjure Air Myrmidon is a level 6 conjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to summon an Air Myrmidon.

Round 1 — Match 9 / 152 — Speak with Dead vs. Harm

Speak with Dead is a level 3 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters to grant a semblance of life to a corpse, allowing it to answer questions.

"I cast Speak with Dead on basically every corpse the game lets me because I am nosy and apparently death does not exempt NPCs from being interrogated by me. Sometimes you get genuinely useful quest information! sometimes you get horrible little bits of backstory! sometimes the corpse has absolutely had enough of your shit! all three outcomes are worth the spell slot imo."

"This is probably my favourite non-combat spell just for how much extra STUFF it lets you find. There are so many bodies lying around that would otherwise just be scenery, and then Speak with Dead turns them into actual people who knew things, had grudges, saw what happened, whatever. It rewards poking around in exactly the way I want an RPG to reward me."

vs.

Harm is a level 6 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters to greatly enfeeble an enemy.

Round 1 — Match 8 / 152 — Haste vs. Prayer of Healing

Haste is a level 3 transmutation spell. It allows spellcasters to allow their allies to become Hastened.

"once you start using it you suddenly understand why everyone is obsessed with it. extra action, extra movement, +2 AC, advantage on dex saves… okay sorry apparently this person is the main character now. put it on Lae'zel and watch her take approximately seventeen turns before anyone else gets to play"

vs.

Prayer of Healing is a level 2 evocation spell. It allows clerics to heal all allies outside of combat.

Round 1 — Match 7 / 152 — Find Familiar: Cheeky Quasit vs. Poison Spray

Find Familiar: Cheeky Quasit is a level 1 conjuration spell. It summons the quasit named Shovel.

"SHOVEL PROPAGANDA. THAT'S IT THAT'S THE SUBMISSION. she is tiny. she is invisible. she is unbelievably rude. she keeps yelling about fisting. why would i summon some normal little bird when i could bring my horrible gremlin daughter into battle"

vs.

Poison Spray is a cantrip (Conjuration). It allows spellcasters to deal Poison⁠ damage to a target.

"poison spray defenders WHERE ARE YOU. yes the range is tiny. yes poison resistance is everywhere. but when it actually lands and you get to melt someone’s remaining health with a cantrip that basically amounts to breathing toxic fumes directly into their face?? extremely satisfying"

Round 1 — Match 6 / 152 — Sleep vs. Cure Wounds

Sleep is a level 1 enchantment spell. It allows the spellcaster to temporarily make conscious creatures fall into a deep slumber.

"sleep has no saving throw!!!! if they're under the hp limit they are GOING TO BED. I cannot overstate how much I appreciate a spell that doesn't make me watch “Saved! (WIS)” pop up after I spent one of my three precious act 1 spell slots"

vs.

Cure Wounds is a level 1 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to heal allies with divine magic through touch.

"There are fancier healing spells later but this one is just dependable. Especially early game when a decent Cure Wounds can be a genuinely huge chunk of someone’s health bar. Shadowheart has dragged my stupid ass back from the brink with this thing approximately eight thousand times."

"me: I’ll position carefully this fight also me two rounds later: lae’zel is on 6 hp, astarion is poisoned, gale is on fire somehow shadowheart walking over with cure wounds: for FUCK'S sake"

"I actually like that Cure Wounds being touch range makes it feel a bit more like the cleric is physically getting in there and patching someone up. It’s inconvenient sometimes, sure, but there’s something satisfying about running over to the person who’s getting absolutely battered and dumping the biggest heal you’ve got into them. Also it upcasts perfectly fine, so I end up using it way longer than I expect to every playthrough."

"cure wounds is not glamorous but neither am i when half my party is red and i’m panic-clicking every healing spell on the hotbar. big heal. friend less dead. thank you cure wounds you’ve done nothing wrong ever"

Round 1 — Match 5 / 152 — Eagle's Splendour vs. Glyph of Warding: Cold

Eagle's Splendour is a level 2 transmutation spell. It allows spellcasters to bestow upon a creature the elegance of an eagle. Affected creatures gain Advantage on Charisma Checks.

"I know Enhance Ability isn’t the sexiest spell in the game but Eagle’s Splendour specifically has probably saved more reloads for me than half my combat spellbook lmao. BG3 has so many important charisma checks and sometimes I just really, REALLY need this idiot NPC to believe me. It also means I can play characters who aren’t charisma-based without feeling like I’ve doomed myself to failing every conversation, which I appreciate immensely"

vs.

Glyph of Warding: Cold is a level 3 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to inscribe a ward which explodes and deals Cold damage to enemies when triggered.

Round 1 — Match 4 / 152 — Feign Death vs. Gust of Wind

Feign Death is a level 3 necromancy spell. It allows spellcasters to put their allies into a magical, protective coma, feigning death.

vs.

Gust of Wind is a level 2 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to conjure a squall to clear dangerous gasses or throw creatures back, potentially causing a dangerous fall.

"cliffs everywhere. pits everywhere. enemies standing suspiciously close to edges everywhere. larian knew what they were doing"

Round 1 — Match 3 / 152 — Cloud of Daggers vs. Otiluke's Freezing Sphere

Cloud of Daggers is a level 2 conjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to conjure a barrage of daggers in an area which deals Slashing damage to any creature entering or starting its turn in the area.

"BG3 LOVES fights in cramped rooms, corridors, staircases etc there are so many places where it just becomes obnoxiously effective"

"cloud of daggers + shove is one of those combinations that activated something evil in me. oh you survived the blender? :) get back in"

vs.

Otiluke's Freezing Sphere is a level 6 evocation spell. It creates a ball of churning ice that can be launched instantly to generate a frosty explosion or stored for later use.

"i picked this spell the first time entirely because “freezing sphere” sounded cool and then gale basically dropped a magical ice bomb on half the room. no regrets. i am not above choosing my level 6 spells based on whether they make me go OHHHH when i cast them"

Round 1 — Match 2 / 152 — Hellfire Orb vs. Shield

Hellfire Orb is a level 6 evocation spell. It allows spellcasters to unleash a streak of fire from their hands that ignites into a large explosion at a chosen point within range.

"20d6 fire damage. twenty. d. six. i know bigger number = better is caveman logic but unfortunately i am a caveman. also the fire straight up ignores resistance AND immunity which is just rude 😭 like what do you mean being immune to fire doesn't help."

"regular fire was apparently not doing the job so somebody invented EVIL FIRE"

vs.

Shield is a level 1 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to avoid being hit by an enemy attack at the last possible instant. It also nullifies Magic Missile damage against them.

"+5 AC as a reaction is kind of nuts for a level 1 spell"

Round 1 — Match 1 / 152 — Shield of Faith vs. Command: Halt

Shield of Faith is a level 1 abjuration spell. It allows spellcasters to surround themselves or an ally with divine protection and gain a bonus to their Armour Class.

"I’m gonna defend Shield of Faith because I think people underrate AC buffs in this game in general. If you already have someone sitting at 18-20 AC, another +2 is VERY noticeable, especially against groups making a bunch of attacks. I’ve had fights where it was almost certainly saving me more damage than a healing spell would've restored. Is it exciting? not really lol. but it has saved my ass enough times that I feel loyalty to it now"

"maybe this is just cleric brain but I love having shield of faith available at level 1. especially when everyone’s gear is still kind of crap and a couple bad hits can genuinely ruin the fight. it’s cheap, lasts as long as you keep concentration, and there’s always SOMEONE i want standing in front getting hit less. also i like the visual effect. sue me"

vs.

Command: Halt is a level 1 enchantment spell. It allows spellcasters to order their target temporarily from moving or taking Actions, Bonus Actions, or Reactions.

"making the scariest person in the fight stand there doing fuck all while everyone jumps them is extremely funny. especially bosses who have some horrible multiattack planned. sorry king you’ve been put in time out"