A Surprise

(The first three chapters serve as an introduction and prologue. The main story begins from chapter four.)

It was an ordinary day. Clouds in the sky obscured the weak winter sun, making the already cold earth lose another sliver of warmth.

Zhang Yuan, the owner of this unremarkable name, was an average-looking shut-in. As a graduate student, after struggling through a day of group projects and library research, he finally returned to his cramped, ten-square-meter rented room. He skillfully turned on his long-owned desktop computer, which was now covered in dust from his laziness in cleaning it. Without hesitation, he opened Dota 2 on Steam, a game also known as the "Auto Chess Launcher."

While waiting for the game to load, he plugged in the kettle and put tea leaves into the teapot. All that remained was a short wait. A game, a cup of tea – truly life's greatest pleasures, Zhang "Chess Master" Yuan thought contentedly.

Fortunately, there were no annoying disconnections like waiting for a teammate for two minutes only to have them drop. The game proceeded smoothly. "Bling Blong, I am a robot!"

A perfect start with Goblin! Seeing a whole row of Clockwork Goblins pop up on the screen, the surprised Zhang immediately chose the Clockwork Dragon.

Then he looked at the legendary orange card pool: Dwarven Vindicator, Goblin Machinist, and Ember Elemental were all listed. It was settled! This game was all about Goblins! The first round began, and the little Clockwork Goblin waved its wrench, effortlessly defeating two monsters.

Along with the two gold coins, a treasure chest dropped. Zhang, who habitually bought the other two Clockwork Goblins, didn't open the treasure chest. He was accustomed to waiting three rounds and then choosing the reward item based on his lineup, so he had the patience for it.

After three rounds, although he didn't get a Goblin Sapper, he managed to form the Goblin synergy with Clockwork Goblin, Goblin Machinist, and Bounty Hunter. He successfully defeated the enemy in round four. As each round ended, however, the situation began to look less favorable.

By the seventh round, the three small units had been upgraded to two stars. With a five-unit lineup of Lina and Storm Spirit, he had some fighting power, but the core unit of the Goblin faction, the Goblin Sapper, had yet to appear.

"Don't mess with me!" Zhang Yuan, who had been waiting endlessly for the Goblin Sapper, glanced at the other players' boards. He discovered that there were two other players who were also aiming for an all-Goblin strategy. An old brother playing a Hunter lineup had even managed to pull out a two-star Goblin Sapper and Beastmaster to form the front line.

"That's MY Goblin Sapper!!!" Zhang's eyes turned red with envy.

In Auto Chess, it's not about having a stubborn strategy; it's about others being more stubborn than you. It's not about having a good draw, because often someone else has a better draw.

Especially since Goblins were already at a disadvantage compared to the T0/T1 level "Evil" or "Shaman" compositions in the current version. Furthermore, with so many players choosing the Goblin faction, the number of Goblin cards in the pool was limited. For the Goblin strategy, which desperately needed to draw specific three-star pieces, this competition was simply too fierce.

"All Goblins die together" was the norm. As for the late-game invincible "All-Orange Goblin" strategy? It only existed in dreams. Ninety-nine percent of players going for the Goblin strategy died in regret before ever seeing a single Orange Goblin.

What should he do? Should he switch to a Mage lineup or continue with the stubborn Goblin strategy? After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Yuan opted for a compromise: "I choose you – Retro Goblin Mage!" Goblins in the front, mages in the back, aiming for three Human Mages to get the book buff, three Artisans for the core buff, and playing defensively. He'd decide based on what pieces he drew later in the game, whether Mage or Goblin pieces were more favorable.

Although it wasn't a perfect start, he still had a bit of luck. After outlasting the other two Goblin players, he managed to secure third place with his late-game six Goblin, three Mage lineup.

Facing the fully formed "Evil" lineup with a Great Demon and the Shaman lineup, which was like a Transformer or a magical girl, the tough Goblin mechs could only rust and fall apart.

"No loss this round, 666." After praising his own gameplay in his mind, Zhang Yuan contentedly exited the match. As for luck? Absolutely not! It was all about gameplay, gameplay! Zhang Yuan thought about the just-concluded match and sent his blessings (and curses) to the game's dealer.

As he exited the game, he glanced at his desktop. "Hmm? New email." Zhang Yuan casually opened his inbox but was almost knocked over by the surprise that followed.

"Baldur's Gate 3?!" Zhang Yuan exclaimed when he saw the notification email from Steam. Ever since Larian had hinted at the release of Baldur's Gate 3 and produced a CG trailer for it, Zhang Yuan, a devoted fan of Baldur's Gate, had immediately added it to his wishlist.

"Why are you only arriving now?" he muttered as he clicked on the Steam link for Baldur's Gate 3. The classic status of Baldur's Gate needed no introduction. Its release had shaken the gaming market at the time. Its rich content, diverse gameplay paths, memorable character development, vivid character interactions, and thrilling storyline had almost redefined the RPG genre of that era and continued to have a profound influence afterward.

Baldur's Gate was rightfully hailed as the game that saved Western RPGs. Even after all these years, Zhang Yuan would occasionally click on that nostalgic icon, controlling the great Chane Mcha as he wandered the familiar lands of Faerûn.

On one hand, the game he had been eagerly anticipating was finally released. On the other hand, he had doubts about its unknown quality and reputation. As he clicked on the Steam store page, Zhang Yuan felt as anxious as he did when receiving a graded test paper from his teacher.

After entering the page, he looked at the rating section: Overwhelmingly Positive! With a great weight lifted from his mind, Zhang Yuan displayed the essential quality of a true fan: he went straight for the target, no, the comments section.

Most of the commenters were likely old fans of the Baldur's Gate series. For this sequel, the majority were supportive.

However, after browsing for a while, Zhang Yuan discovered that Baldur's Gate 3 was still a work in progress. The unfinished main story and numerous bugs were understandable, as it wasn't complete yet, and a final judgment couldn't be made. But the gameplay of Baldur's Gate 3 gave him pause: turn-based combat.

Traditional D&D series games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights used real-time action RPGs with a pause function, also known as semi-real-time combat. Turn-based games, apart from the equally familiar Heroes of Might and Magic series, were something Zhang Yuan had only heard about regarding the famous Chinese Paladin, which he had never tried.

"Please don't mess it up," he silently thought, then looked at the price: €59.99! For an international student, this price was still a bit steep. Even though he really wanted to support the official release, Zhang Yuan politely declined the idea of spending a large sum of money to be a volunteer tester.

Should he wait? Perhaps G-Man would have a change of heart and put a "discount" label on Baldur's Gate too? The game wasn't finished yet, so he could hold off for now and definitely buy it when it goes on sale!

Zhang Yuan suppressed the urge to add it to his cart. Closing the Steam interface, Zhang Yuan, with nothing else to do, aimlessly moved his mouse around the Windows desktop. His cursor unintentionally stopped on the Baldur's Gate 2 icon.

This article is actually a collaborative fan piece written in my spare time for fellow D&D enthusiasts (at least I'm having fun). I'm not a professional writer, so I apologize for not being able to make any promises about updates. But I won't drop it! My gaze is firm.

(P.S. The first three chapters are all about establishing settings and preparations. You can skip them and revisit them if you find anything unclear.)