Baldur’s Gate 3 plotline hinted in five-year-old D&D prequel adventure

Baldur’s Gate 3 players discovered a hidden hint about a character’s origins from the game’s official D&D prequel adventure, released in 2019.

Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that acts as a loose prequel to Baldur’s Gate 3, as it explains the origins of the Tiefling crisis and introduces characters who will be important in the game, like Duke Ulder Ravengard.

A user on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit has discovered a familiar face in Descent into Avernus, as Duke Belynne Stelmane is named in the book. Her entry mentions how she suffered a seizure after an encounter with a mind flayer.

This small reference would have huge relevance in Baldur’s Gate 3, as it refers to the Emperor and how they influenced Baldurian politics by using their psionic powers to influence Duke Stelmane and the mental struggle between them, which took a toll on the Duke.

Baldur’s Gate 3 underwent many changes during development, such as the Nightsong’s design being totally reworked and one of the main villains being a potential companion.

It’s unclear exactly how much of the original story remained in the final game, especially regarding the mind flayers and the Emperor’s identity.

There’s a chance that the Duke Stelmane reference was originally something small that was expanded when the narrative direction changed, or maybe it was there the whole time as an intentional hint at a story beat that would take years to fruition.

Whatever the case, Descent into Avernus has lots of little nods like this that people will notice in Baldur’s Gate 3.

It’s just a shame that Larian has confirmed that Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t receive DLC, as that would have been the perfect way to follow up on the campaign’s events, with Tav facing off against Zariel, the Archduchess of Hell, among the fiery pits of Avernus, in a battle that caps off both storylines.