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Every creature inBaldur’s Gate 3is comprised of stats, abilities, and powers that determine what they can do and how they interact with the game world. Outside of important NPCs, it’s very likely that the most complex creatures you’ll encounter are your own party members. Everyone in the game is the sum of their stats, which you can view by examining the individual in question.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3: Every Feat In The Game
While it’s not always critical to know the distinction between a Trait, a Feature, and a Passive, knowing where your capabilities are coming from can help you make informed decisions.
What Is A Trait?
A Trait is any aspect of your character that isgranted by their Race.The sentient species of Faerun all have unique capabilities, so two otherwise-identical characters of different Races will have different Traits, and thus slightly different gameplay. Some Traits, like the extra Skill Proficiency of humans or a halfling’s Luck, are subtle but useful, while githyanki Psionics and a dragonborn’s Breath Weapon are much more noticeable!
Unless your character somehow undergoes a complete biological transformation, their Traits will remain the same throughout the game; you will neither gain new Traits nor lose access to the ones that you started with.
What Is A Feature?
Features are the powersgranted by your character’s Class, from the spellcasting capabilities of Wizards and Warlocks to the martial maneuvers of Fighters and Rogues. Your Class will gain new Features as you level up; these additional capabilities are the main method by which your characters will become more powerful throughout their quest.
Related:Baldur’s Gate 3: Every Playable Race
What Is A Passive?
Most of the powers in Baldur’s Gate 3 need to be activated in order to work; casting a spell, making an attack, or using a Reaction are all examples of this. Passives, whether gained from Traits, Features, or external effects like magic items or enchantments, arealways turned on. They usually grant persistent effects such as a bonus to a specific type of die roll.
Some Passives are marked asToggleablein their tooltip; by clicking the icon for them, you canturn these Passives on or off.While a Passive is off, it has no effect, just as if you didn’t have the power at all. Toggling a Passive ensures that you only use its effects when you need them, which can be useful when subtlety is in order, or you want to pull your punches.
