Players who are excitedly entering Baldur’s Gate 3, the highly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons RPG, most likely haven’t read the initial license agreement. But for players who decide to read the mountain EULA agreement, developer Larian has a little surprise.
Gamers and several media outlets, including Polygon, have spotted a small easter egg in the game’s long EULA contract, titled “Our Cursed Deal”. Chapter 5, “Additional Obligations in the Eldritch Law,” asks players to pause “after enduring the numerous legal jargon provisions above.” Players are urged to “be mindful that by accepting this Agreement you are agreeing to refrain from making a deal with Fey, Infernal, or any other creature of Eldritch origin.” Those who heed the siren call of such evil forces should know that Larian reserves the right to sever ties with the user and “seek an appropriate remedy from the Morning Lord”.
For those who don’t know, the Morning Lord, aka Lathander, is the impartial good god of renewal, spring, new beginnings, and all things young and alive in the Forgotten Realms. The message may point to events that will take place in the game’s long adventure. At least he’s not blaming anyone for the intended romance options, because that’s one of the things that got a lot of people excited about the game.
The entire document consistently refers to itself as a “Pact,” which is a much better term for any binding legal agreement. Unfortunately, the EULA excludes Section 5 when it talks about managing the deal. This is a bit sad, because we would love to see Irish courts try and parse a deal not to sign any pact with the devil.
Larian did something similar in the early access version of Baldur’s Gate 3. The company added a notice to its EULA agreement in 2020 that draws attention to the mission of a kind of bard. Those who accepted the “deal” also agreed to send Larian “a recording of a hymn, song, text, poem, or interpretive dance performed by you in praise of your interest in the Forgotten Realms.”
The announcement implied that those who refused to complete the “mission” after three winters “will forfeit subsequent fame, fortune, and/or notoriety as founding members of our Great Genius Guild.” It’s been rumored that a few players have heeded the call in the three years since the game went into beta, but the developers haven’t shared any of them online yet.
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