Summary
As a massive RPG based around the mechanics of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a number of secrets and mechanics that many players might not be familiar with, with one specifically relating to the burrow holes found throughout the game. While combat is a major part of the game, and mostly straightforward to understand in a mechanical sense, many of BG3’s options for exploration and dialogue can depend on a player’s choice of race, class, or other spells and features that may not seem useful at a first glance.
Like past games in the series, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a relatively faithful adaptation of DnD mechanics to a video game format, with most fifth edition mechanics having been adapted with relatively few changes. Spell slots, for example, function almost exactly the same as their tabletop counterparts, with spells from most classes using up their slots until a long rest is taken. For DnD rookies playing Baldur’s Gate 3, however, some mechanics can be a little less apparent than others – and knowing these mechanics can often lead to alternate solutions and additional exploration options.
How Size Works in Baldur’s Gate 3 (And D&D)
Anyone playing through Baldur’s Gate 3 may have run into a burrow hole that they can’t fit through – even if they’re playing a smaller race, like a halfling. Fitting through these holes is dependent on a character’s size, but no player character can actually fit through them by default. Following DnD size classifications for creatures, which range from Gargantuan at 20 feet tall or more, to Tiny, which is on foot or less, burrow holes seem to only allow creatures that are Tiny through them. This precludes any default, unmodified player character races, as the even the smaller races are classified as Small, or on to three feet tall.
How To Get Through Burrow Holes In BG3
Fortunately, there are ways to gain access to the burrow holes, which often are shortcuts or alternate routes to secret areas. While a Small-sized race wouldn’t be able to fit by default, casting the reduce spell on a character of that race will allow them to fit – and, as a result, they can also be accessed by a character using disguise self to turn into one of those races. Similarly, druid characters can use their Wild Shape to turn into a cat, which is small enough to fit. Finally, any character capable of using gaseous form can go through the holes as well, bypassing the size limitation completely.
While BG3 doesn’t get a significant amount of mileage out of DnD’s size mechanics, they can still come into play in some potentially important ways, with burrow holes in particular being especially useful for getting some extra treasure or easy shortcuts in the early portions of the game. Although using them will cost players some potentially valuable resources, using burrow holes in Baldur’s Gate 3 can net some great rewards.
