#bg3 multiplayer

[shay-does-art-things]

Shovel says fuck the authority

(part 2)

[niccdevv]

I'll love you always, Shadowheart

[j-l-kepler]

BG3 - How I Make Single Saves with Multiple Tavs on PC (No Mods Required)

Hey hey BG3 buds

So one day when I was very sick and a little bit delirious, I decided to try making a multiplayer save so I could play twins in BG3. I'm a twin who loves twin narratives, and my half-conscious state demanded I bend the laws of reality to see some authentic twin content for some reason. Little did I know my clunky little influenza-fueled experiment would completely change how I play the game, because I haven't made a fresh single-Tav save since...

I've got 2 different methods (one I use more since it just works for me).

Keep in mind I have a relatively beefy PC and I also own 2 Xbox controllers I got for like $27 on Amazon (not proud of that source). So if your PC is already struggling to run this game on the lowest graphics, and/or you don't have the money for 2 controllers you might not otherwise use, this might not be very helpful!

Also keep in mind I have only used these methods to get 2 Tavs/Origins in one playthrough. They can probably get more. I just haven't tested my abilities that far yet.

[TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT]

METHOD 1 - THE TWO-WINDOW METHOD

I also call this the Two-Instance method. This is the method I started with months ago, and I've struggled to recreate it myself but I also haven't really tried that hard.

For this, all you need is BG3. It helps to have a secondary monitor, but it's not necessary. You might need Mod Manager, but you don't need Mods.

For clarity: I use the word "instance" to refer to the different BG3 windows you will have open.

Load your first instance of BG3 (I don't think you should close your launcher). Go to your settings and make it so it's a smaller window you can drag your mouse off of. This'll make it easy to see both of your instances at once and swap between them.

Load a second instance of BG3 (same thing, don't close that launcher right now). I believe I did this by directly loading the exe from my File Explorer or via the Mod Manager to bypass launching it via Steam. I think the way I did it was I went to Mod Manager, swapped my "profile" from my Steam to "Public" so it wouldn't try opening my Steam instance.

Go to Multiplayer on either instance and start a local closed multiplayer game. Get a multiplayer access code so only people with the code can join your game.

Enter that code in your other instance.

Go through the character creator and start the game on both instances like normal.

Once your Tavs/Durges/Origins have climbed out of their pods, save on your main instance of the game.

Once you've saved, have your second instance quit the game.

If all goes according to plan, your Tavs can now be controlled on one instance, and will follow each other like any other party member!

Fun fact, I didn't figure out the "disconnect your game" bit until I had already recruited Astarion, Gale and Shadowheart the first time I did this. I was playing the game by swapping back and forth every ten steps to keep the party together because I'm a genius.

Don't do that. Disconnect your other run as soon as your characters can be controlled. Good God. Don't be like me. It was so tedious.

You can probably use this method to get up to 4 Tavs in one playthrough if your PC can handle it.

METHOD 2 - THE CONTROLLER METHOD

This is the method I use the most because it's way easier. Like. WAY easier, both on my PC and on my braincells.

This method requires 2 compatible controllers for your PC. I use Xbox controllers because I'm more familiar with the configuration and I have 2 from my streaming days.

Connect both of your controllers to your PC/laptop at the same time.

Open BG3 (only 1 instance) and start a local multiplayer game.

Push A on the first controller to activate it if you didn't already (I always default to keyboard so I wait until I enter this screen to turn on the controller).

Turn on the second controller by pressing A. Accept that controller in-game, putting 2 players total in your multiplayer lobby.

Start the game. You'll now be in a split-screen where both views are visible.

Customize your characters and launch (I usually design the Tavs in a single-player ahead of time so I know what options to pick. In my case, if I take too long, it crashes my game so this is a time-saver. I think this is because of my mods).

Once your Tavs/Durges/Origins are out of their pods, SAVE your game and unplug BOTH controllers. If you only unplug one, it usually changes on of your avatars to keyboard control without going into single-player mode, so I always do both for good measure.

If all goes according to plan, you can now control both like they're companions/avatars! If you use controller, just plug your controller back in.

This method is way faster and way less convoluted, but it also requires the controllers to get it to work as far as my tests have gone.

If you have 4 controllers, you can probably get 4 Tavs in one playthrough.

SO WHY WOULD I WANT 2 AVATARS IN ONE SAVE?

THE UPSIDES

It can make for interesting roleplay opportunities! Having 2 characters that don't have a defined story can be a lot of fun as a player. I like familial relationships between Tavs (my Markolac Twins are my favorite example), but it's also a fun way to get a Durge and a Tav in one run.

Building off the previous point, you can explore more stories and character relationships in one run. You can do two romances in one run, have one Tav hate a certain character and the other really like them, etc - it's a cool way to experience the companions without having to make a fresh save every time you want to explore a certain avenue.

If your Tavs are the first two party slots, you get more chances to hear them react in-world to stuff as you walk around, which is really fun and makes your characters feel more alive.

THE DOWNSIDES

Unless you use the Party Limit Be Gone mod, that's now another slot in your party that cannot be used by a Companion, potentially limiting how many unique interactions you get. This method is compatible with the Party Limit Be Gone, so if you're okay with modding, it's a non-issue.

This is a me-problem, but I already spend like 2 hours every time I load playing dress-up with my Tav. If I have another Tav, that's another 2 hours. No wonder only 1 of my active saves has made it to Act 3.

STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

You can't have 2 Durges in one save. Pas possible. That's an Origin character. Tavs, you can have loads of.

If you have a Durge in your party, your Tav and even Hirelings will spout off the Durge walking around lines. It is extremely funny to me.

As far as my understanding goes, 4 Avatars is your cap even if you have Party Limit Be Gone. If you need more custom characters for your roleplay, get some mods and alter some hirelings. I can't attest to how STABLE that'll make your saves, so do that at your own risk.

LEMME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO UPDATE THIS WITH VISUAL AIDS OR ANYTHING THAT'LL HELP CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSIONS YOU MIGHT BE HAVING. I made this in like 10 minutes before a meeting.

I hope this helps you 2-Tav peeps who just wanna walk around with their blorbos and their OCs in this cool cool game.

[secretlyaraven]

A story in 4 parts

[shinyredgloss]

"I feel like we're being watched."

[zowiezoi]

Meeting Scratch! Seb (left) and Zirconias (right)

Zirconias on the right is my durge and left is @solarseptum ‘s tav Seb

[darkurgetrash]

So, um, playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on a MacBook is going well…

(Headphones warning, I got jump-scared by @jardya’s Tav 😂)

NSFW glitching under the cut.

[nucleqr]

my younger sibling and i have been playing a multiplayer game of bg3 and it's been going, uhh...

well?

[dustin-redfin]

Originally drawn: 28, 29 September, 4 October 2024

Played a Baldur's gate 3 multiplayer session with a Blusky mutual!! it was a lot of fun!

Chose Mahado/The Dark Magician from Yugioh as my character (sorcerer1/wizard2+), who got isekai'd into the world of BG3. it was extremely funny for the longest moment in our playthrough he was surrounded by 3 scary and strong women (Mutual's character who hit every single guiding bolt, shadowheart, lae'zel)

[n0stalg1a404]

Currently obsessed with durge x tav shippers, but here's an idea for y'all:

A Tav who already knew Durge pre-game, and the entire time is conflicted because this isn't the same person they remember. Or maybe it is, but they know something's wrong.

A Tav and Durge who, before Durge even found the Bhaal temple, were in some sort of relationship and now Tav has a grudge against Durge who, in their mind, either left without warning or tired to kill them and failed. And Durge has no idea why Tav's acting as if they've done something to them.

Think of the angst! The possibility of Durge and Tav interactions in act two!

(No i did not come up with this because it's the dynamic between my tav Rhys and my durge Asreah when I played Rhys in an evil multiplayer run and while im playing Asreah in a solo durge run why would you think that)

[shay-does-art-things]

the boots give her +3 to initiative

[niccdevv]

just some girls pondering the artifact. nothing else

[photochoco]

Astarion gremlin moments

[pr8yy]

ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧ good start

[zowiezoi]

Meeting Scratch! Seb (left) and Zirconias (right)

Work in progress

[kaboonkey]

bg3 has quickly become my favourite game and this screenshot means the absolute world to me ive always wanted to play d&d but never had a chance to due to social anxiety and the friends/family i grew up around finding anything like that to be 'cringe' and responding grossly to stuff like live action roleplay, d&d campaigns and ren fairs. so grateful that i could finally have the d&d campaign experience i always dreamed of with my best friend @vigodraws i finally feel confident enough to tackle the anxiety surrounding IRL campaigns and hope to one day join in with a group of friendly like-minded people - without the fear of judgement from people that don't know how to have a good time lol ngl bg3 changed my life