You've finished the game. Maybe twice. You've seen the ending where the brain explodes, you've tried the "evil" path that felt a bit hollow, and you've definitely romanced Astarion or Shadowheart more times than you'd care to admit to your friends. But now the itch is back. You want the combat of Baldur’s Gate 3 without having to sit through twenty minutes of dialogue about druid grove politics just to get to a single fight. This is where Trials of Tav BG3 enters the chat, and honestly, it completely changes how the game feels.
It’s a roguelike. In Baldur’s Gate 3.
If that sounds like a weird fever dream, you aren't alone. Larian Studios built a massive, sprawling RPG, but the modding community looked at the bones of that system—the 5e rules, the verticality, the elemental interactions—and realized it was basically the perfect engine for an endless combat gauntlet. Trials of Tav isn't just a small tweak; it's a total conversion of the gameplay loop that strips away the narrative weight and replaces it with pure, unadulterated tactical chaos.
What Exactly is Trials of Tav BG3?
Let's get the basics down first because it can be a bit confusing when you first look at the Nexus Mods page. Basically, Trials of Tav BG3 is a mod created by Shizof that turns the game into a series of combat "rooms." You start at level one in a small, isolated hub area. You pick your party, grab some starting gear, and then you dive into a portal.
Each portal leads to a randomized battle pulled from the massive library of assets in the base game. You might find yourself fighting goblins in a cave, or suddenly staring down a Mind Flayer on a Nautiloid deck. You win, you get loot, you get XP, and you go back to the hub to prepare for the next round. It’s addictive. It’s the "just one more run" feeling that makes games like Hades or Slay the Spire so dangerous for your sleep schedule.
The mod uses a points system. Every time you kill something, you earn "Trial Points." You spend these points at a special chest in the hub to buy equipment. It’s a genius workaround for the lack of vendors in a traditional sense. Instead of hoping a specific merchant has the +1 Scale Mail you need, you’re gambling your hard-earned points on randomized loot drops that could either make or break your run.
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Why People are Obsessed With This Mod
Traditional Baldur’s Gate 3 is a slow burn. It’s a masterpiece, yeah, but it’s a commitment. You can’t just hop in for 15 minutes and feel like you’ve accomplished something. Trials of Tav BG3 fixes that. It caters to the "tactics" crowd—the people who spend hours in the character creator theory-crafting the most broken multiclass builds imaginable but get bored during the long treks across the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Here, you test those builds immediately. Want to see if a Monk/Rogue/Fighter hybrid actually works at level 6? You can reach level 6 in about forty minutes of play in Trials of Tav. It’s a laboratory for violence.
The difficulty scaling is also remarkably tight. In the standard game, once you hit level 5 or 6, you usually become a god. Nothing can really touch you unless you're playing on Honor Mode and make a massive mistake. In this mod, the enemies scale with you in a way that feels aggressive. You’ll find yourself using consumables you ignored for 100 hours in the main campaign. That Potion of Speed? It’s no longer a luxury; it’s a survival requirement.
The Roguelike Loop and Randomization
The randomization is what keeps it fresh. The mod draws from a huge pool of maps. Some are tiny, others are sprawling. You never quite know if you’re going to be fighting in a cramped basement where your Fireball will hit your own teammates or a wide-open field where your Archer can reign supreme.
Then there are the "modifiers." As you progress, the trials get harder not just because the enemies have more HP, but because the game starts throwing curveballs at you. You might enter a room where everyone is permanently Silenced, or where every enemy has a chance to explode on death. It forces you to adapt your strategy on the fly. You can't just rely on the same "Hold Person + Critical Hit" combo every single time.
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How to Get Started Without Breaking Your Game
Installing Trials of Tav BG3 isn't as scary as it sounds, but you do need to be careful. Since the Patch 7 update for BG3, modding has become a bit more "official," but this specific mod often requires the BG3 Script Extender.
- Make sure your game is updated.
- Install the Script Extender.
- Download the Trials of Tav files from Nexus Mods.
- Use a mod manager (the official in-game one is okay, but many veterans still swear by the BG3 Mod Manager for complex stuff like this).
One thing to keep in mind: this mod is a "standalone" experience in terms of your save file. Don't try to load your Level 12 Paladin from your main campaign into a Trial of Tav run. It’s meant for a fresh start. You create a new character, and that character lives and dies within the trials.
Managing the Loot Economy
The most common mistake people make in Trials of Tav BG3 is hoarding their points. Don't do that. The difficulty curve is a vertical wall if you aren't constantly upgrading your gear. Because the loot is randomized, you might spend 500 points and get a bunch of junk, or you might get the Blood of Lathander early on.
It’s also worth noting that the mod creator, Shizof, has been incredibly active in balancing this. There are different "tiers" of chests you can buy. Early on, stick to the cheap stuff just to fill your slots. A basic ring that gives +1 to AC is worth more than a legendary weapon you can’t use because you haven't found any decent armor yet and you keep dying in two hits.
Common Misconceptions About the Mod
A lot of people think Trials of Tav BG3 is just a "boss rush." It's not. While you will fight bosses, the meat of the experience is the mob management. It’s about learning how to handle 12 Goblins and a couple of Ogres when you only have three spell slots left.
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Another misconception is that it’s "too hard." While it is definitely more challenging than Balanced or even Tactician mode in the base game, it's highly customizable. You can adjust the settings to make it more of a power fantasy if that's what you're into. But honestly? The struggle is the point. Winning a trial when your last character has 2 HP left is a rush that the base game rarely provides after your first playthrough.
Why This Matters for the Future of BG3
Larian has moved on to their next project. They’ve given us the tools, but they aren't adding new story DLC. This means the longevity of Baldur’s Gate 3 rests entirely on mods like this. Trials of Tav BG3 represents a shift from "interactive movie" to "replayable system."
It proves that the combat system Larian built is robust enough to stand on its own without the million-dollar cutscenes. That’s a huge testament to the design of the game. It also opens the door for other creators to build similar "modules." We’re essentially seeing the birth of a DIY Dungeons & Dragons digital ecosystem where the community provides the "dungeon crawl" experiences that the developers didn't have time to implement.
Actionable Tips for Your First Run
If you’re diving in tonight, keep these things in mind to avoid a quick "Game Over" screen.
- Priority One: Action Economy. Pick classes that get extra attacks or have strong bonus actions. A Thief Rogue with two bonus actions is a godsend in the early trials for repositioning and drinking potions.
- Don't Ignore the Environment. Even in the trial maps, there are explosive barrels and high ground. Use them. The AI is still the base game AI; it will try to shove you off ledges, so do it to them first.
- Variety is Vital. Don't bring four Fighters. You need a Cleric or a Bard for heals and buffs. The "Short Rest" mechanic works differently here, and resources are your most precious currency.
- Check the Settings. The mod has a config file or an in-game menu (depending on the version) where you can tweak how many points you get and how hard the enemies scale. If you're getting frustrated, turn the difficulty down until you get the hang of the loot system.
Trials of Tav BG3 breathes a weird, violent, and incredibly fun new life into a game many of us thought we had finished. It strips away the talking and leaves only the steel. If you miss the days of the Icewind Dale games where it was all about the crawl, this is exactly what you’ve been looking for.
To get started, head over to Nexus Mods and search for "Trials of Tav." Ensure you have the latest version of the BG3 Script Extender installed, as most of the logic for the randomization and point system relies on it. Once installed, start a new game, and instead of waking up on a beach, you'll find yourself in the hub, ready to begin your first trial.