Modder adds an entire chapter to Baldur's Gate 3 between the second and third acts

In mid-September, modder SquallyDaBeanz released Act Two Expansion, a solo-developed custom campaign for Baldur's Gate 3, in beta. The mod adds an extra chapter to the main story.

The new content sits between the second and third acts. The party travels through The Chionthar Wilds while the Absolute's Army marches on Baldur's Gate, the city the series is named after. The author has now explained why the second half of the story needed a few more forks in the road before the final act.

I wanted to keep the narrative structure more or less the same as the base game. Moonrise is definitely a narrative high point, and it was never the goal of the mod to compete with it in that regard. Entering Rivington in Act 3 can already feel a bit like a detour (like visiting the circus) despite the looming threats, but it serves as a needed release of tension and a change in pace after the climax of Act 2, in my opinion.

The mod aims for a similar effect, but in a way closer to the opening act of Baldur's Gate 3. The idea is "letting the player explore a large area where not everything is necessarily critical to the main quest but still ties in to it". The modder added:

You know the army is on the march, but getting sidetracked doesn’t feel too unnatural.

Tension ramps up again toward the end of the mod. By the time you step into the third act, you're back in the mood for a fight, even if you've had your fill of Rivington's clowns.

SquallyDaBeanz also talked about the technical side. According to the modder, the Baldur's Gate 3 modding community is still far from mastering every nuance of the game, even though Larian Studios released official tools a couple of years ago.

There were many toolkit bugs that made development difficult, but it's hard to complain since many of the features were also made by the community and modders for free. There are many bugs that are out of my control, unfortunately. A huge hurdle for the project is that much had to be learned by trial and error or by seeing how Larian did it in the base game. There was little documentation and still is, but there are more resources being created thanks to community members like Lizardphunk!

The author had prior experience from time on the Skywind team, the Morrowind remake built on the Skyrim engine, where they worked on new lands and dungeons. Even so, the second act expansion meant learning plenty of new skills.

"Before this, I had largely only done level design and set dressing, so it’s been quite a learning experience. Things like scripts, enemy behaviours, new items, cutscenes, and more are all new to me, and I recognise they could still use some work."

For now, the modder is preparing version 1.0 and says there are already "tons of fixes and balance changes coming in the next patch thanks to the community reporting bugs and sharing their gameplay of the mod".

Act Two Expansion is available on Nexus Mods in two versions, the main download and a quickstart one. The former works for a full new playthrough, while the latter warps you straight to The Chionthar Wilds. If you choose to replay the game, the mod description has instructions on how to reach the new region after finishing your business at Moonrise.