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After Larian released mod tools for Baldur’s Gate 3, it didn’t take long for clever tinkerers and hackers to start creating their own maps. The initial use-case for the tools was creating custom campaigns, though katszenBurger took it one step further. Meet ‘Avernus’.
Avernus, the moniker of the newly created map, was created through the use of BG3 Toolkit Unlocked. Available from Nexus Mods, it’s the cracked modding kit used to make maps. There is also a Discord server that focused on the development of the toolkit.
The creator writes that they were “taking some inspiration from Elden Ring’s Caelid for the mushroom / red theme,” in case you thought the aesthetic was familiar.
The modder has gone on to suggest that cutscenes are a work in progress, that reusing existing content is a possibility, but the alignment of lip-syncing and facial expression is going to be the biggest roadblock.
Unfortunately, these homemade maps aren’t fully playable in Baldur’s Gate 3, and screenshots have been taken from the editor instead. That said, Avernus’ creator has said that other people have made natively playable maps by “placing teleporter doors in the main map.”
In terms of how feasible it is for people to do this for themselves, katszenBurger has said – in the YouTube video comments above – “it’s a lot like a more complex version of the Sims games’ house designer,” though this is prefaced with a little flex: “Though I have an intuition for these types of game level building tools myself.”
The capabilities of genuine custom campaigns are only emboldened by the work-in-progress map creator. Sure, Wizards of the Coast are well underway with its digital tabletop service, though the reality is that nothing is going to compare to the Baldur’s Gate 3 engine for quite some time.
Avernus is not the only custom map that modders have made for Baldur’s Gate 3. u/Lotrich3 has created too. It’s a little less like a trip into hell, too.
When asked if they were going to be creating custom quests in this world, they confirmed. “But, I need to do a lot of work to even finish this map; dialogue, NPCs, loot, enemies. And, I need to learn this tool much more.” (Quote edited for readability).
It seems as though we’re still a long way off from seeing fully playable custom maps in Baldur’s Gate 3 and, while they’re certainly not going to be as polished as Larian’s, that homemade je ne sais quoi is something to look forward to.
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