Beloved tactical role-playing video game Baldur’s Gate 3 is getting an official line of tie-in books from Random House Worlds. The 2023 Larian Studios release, set in the Dungeons & Dragons world of Faerun, will expand with a currently planned set of four books a year, beginning with Astarion, a novel starring the vampire elf of the same name by T. Kingfisher (Nettle & Bone). Neil Newbon, the character’s voice actor, will read the novel’s audiobook, which is now available to pre-order ahead of its release on September 29.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion cover art by Eleonor Piteira
A prequel, Astarion follows the elf during a contest to gain his master Cazador’s favor. The synopsis elaborates, “The blood of a dead god is buried deep beneath Baldur’s Gate, and, to get it, Astarion will need the help of a handsome Aasimar [part-angel] paladin named Hahn den Suriel. There are just a few problems. Astarion is not supposed to trust his fellow spawn. He’s not supposed to go out into the city for his own ends rather than the vampire lord’s. And he’s certainly not supposed to strike a deal with a stranger whose golden eyes can snare even a blackened, undead heart. But the city of Baldur’s Gate cares little for what’s supposed to happen.”
Polygon, who had the exclusive, adds Baldur’s Gate 3 senior writer Stephen Rooney served as a consultant on the book, ensuring its continuity would remain consistent with the game. Larian itself has said it will not develop a sequel or DLC, preferring to focus on its own IP. The original two Baldur’s Gate games themselves, from 1998 and 2000, were developed by future Mass Effect and Dragon Age creators BioWare, and novelizations of them were published by D&D owner Wizards of the Coast. The character of Minsc, who was introduced in them, went on to appear in IDW Publishing’s D&D comics from 2014 to 2020.
Baldur’s Gate 3: The Necromancy of Thay
Other books planned for the line consist of The Necromancy of Thay, a hardcover notebook styled after the ghoulish in-game tome (out July 21); The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Coloring Book, by Lore Olympus inker/colorist Jaki King (August 11); and A Feast for a Tenday: The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Cookbook by comic book writer Andrew Wheeler (November 3). You can check out the covers for the latter two below in the meantime. Artbooks, visual dictionaries, and prose novels starring other companions from the game, like Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Karlach, Gale, or Wyll, will presumably follow in the coming years.
What’s unlikely from Random House Worlds are graphic novels, since the D&D comics rights are currently held by Dark Horse, who are owned by Embracer Group, not Penguin Random House. Whether they do their own BG3 projects or not, the publisher has two D&D series set to launch this summer: Total Party Killers, starting July 22, and Ravenloft, on August 19. A Comics Giveaway Day issue, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe/Dungeons & Dragons, will also be available on Saturday, May 2; for more upcoming D&D releases, head to Dark Horse’s website.
The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Coloring Book cover by Jaki King
A Feast for a Tenday: The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Cookbook, by Andrew Wheeler
Like this:
Loading…
