#is rping rare for the younger folks because we haven't seen games like bg3 be popular in forever?

[vspin]

I've been playing RPGs my entire life, and I find it very interesting that for BG3 specifically, I see a lot of people say that Tav/Durge is always a self-insert/representation of you.

Of course, we've all played a self-insert character before (and it is a valid way to play) but half of the fun for me personally is RPing a character. Coming up with a backstory and personality. These traits will be the driving factor behind the decisions they make in the game, not my IRL views.

That's not to say my personal experiences aren't influencing my characters, because they are. But I'm not playing me in the game.

I wonder if that is why in the BG3 fandom I've seen so much discourse around certain choices?

No wonder people are fighting about Ascending vs Spawn Astarion because they believe that if you Ascend him you are making that decision based on your real-life views. After all, your character is a representation of you! (Btw, I'm not saying all outcomes are good for the in-game characters, I believe there are bad vs good endings)

I find it very fascinating. It's like the concept of role-playing in an RPG doesn't even cross their mind.

I have also never seen so many self-insert/second POV fics before!! Even in Elder Scrolls fandom where I've read so many fics and the character is also a blank slate like Tav.