Rosemyrn Monastery is a classic dungeon layered with sharp craft and potent emotional catharsis.

A lot of airtime and screen-space has been spent talking about just how big Baldur’s Gate 3 is.

And it’s massive, even growing bigger consistently as the game gets an array of foundation-altering patches.

However, Baldur’s Gate 3 best sings in its relentless commitment to careful combat and dungeon design.

Rosemyrn Monastery is RPG level design at its most straightforward and its most dazzling.

Rosemyrn was dedicated to the god of dawn, Lithander, and many ventured there to ask his favor.

Once-lively ruins are classic video game (and tabletop RPG) fodder for good reason.

Its power is reducible to a few fantastical images: An enchanted suit of armor guards abandoned treasure.

A magical alarm system speaks a warning over and over again, which no one living can hear.

Remnants of the pilgrims' devotions and wishes remain rotting in the sun.

The Githyanki who invaded didn’t care to empty its halls of treasure; the space was enough.

It is another sacred space, against which another threat completely succeeded.

It also sets up some of the more emotional stakes of the dungeon.

The warrior culture to whom party member Lae’zel belongs wrought this death.

A community of Githyanki awaits the protagonist and Lae’zel below.

It’s a stark reminder of the harm her empire can do.

One of the initial encounters of the dungeon is against kobolds who have raided the Firewine stores.

Drunk to bursting, you’ve got the option to explode them with fire attacks.

That absurdity shows off the game’s fantasy logic.

Githyanki teenagers bristle against unfair, strict authority and trade whispers of revolution.

This humanization (for lack of a better term) is inconsistently applied across the rest of the game.

Many of them have names and individual perspectives.

BG3 does not have the flexibility of a tabletop game.

Rosemyrn Monestary is a point of no return for many of Baldur’s Gate 3’s characters.

Shortly after, Vlaakith promises the position and power that Lae’zel longs for.

The Githyanki rulers also seek the gear that you carry, which protects your party from becoming mind flayers.

Shadowheart’s patron goddess Shar gave her this equipment to aid her mysterious mission.

It also houses a mysterious being who aids you and who pleads for your assistance in turn.

To be clear, this is all shaped by BG3’s straightforward fantasy tenor.

Vlaakith is a cartoonish evil, a massive witch given over to unholy power.

What makes it special is the emphasis it places on regular, human feelings.

Lae’zel is characterized as brash and proud, uncaring what other people think and unflagging in her principles.

Before Vlaakith’s image, she is simply devotional.

She does not presume what she deserves, but is dazzled by what Vlaakith promises.

The question is simply whether she will let her proud doubts carry her forward.

Frankly, part of the reason I enjoy this so much is my own predilections.

Shadowheart’s reckoning is yet to come, but the monastery forces Lae’zel to confront her dedication.

It’s just confident, admittedly a confidence earned through years of early access and extensive testing.

Much has been made of what BG3 will mean for games in the future.

It’s a massive release that is (for the most part) a single purchase.

But I think the lesson is pretty simple: People respond to strong, considered level design.

Rosemyrn Monastery is among the greats.

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