Yes. When I have time I can explain all your questions. I can’t do it now though. Perhaps someone will get to it before I do.

You mentioned perception so I assume you’re playing 5th edition. It’s different than earlier editions. I’ll answer assuming that

1) Yes some versions of D&D have rules for reacting to others’ moves while they are happening. I actually haven’t played Baldur’s Gate 3 yet, so I can’t give advice, but the idea is that doing some things next to other people may result in them getting an opportunity to react. If BG3 is an action point system, it might be one of those games where you might want to not use all your action points for a turn, in order to be be able to react if an enemy tries to do something next to you, or something like that.

2) A “saving throw” refers to a chance a character might have to avoid being affected by something. It could be a magic spell, where the spell’s effect might be resistable, or some trap you might avoid by dodging it, or something trying to flatten you that you might be able to resist with strength. It’s a “throw” in the sense of throwing dice, meaning that there’s a chance for you to resist or not, based on some ability level you have.

3) Yes, cantrips are lesser spells that that can be cast repeatedly.

4) The rules or wiki should explain what attributes and classes do. For example, on the wiki page for barbarians, it says what various attributes do for them. There’s a ton of stuff like that to learn about in D&D, not all of which makes super-great sense, which is why I usually stick to GURPS rather than D&D.

5) Difficulty Class is a representation of how hard some task is to do, and is determined by conventions and by whoever designed the situation (the GM, or in this case, the computer game developers). A big iron door is probably harder to break down than a wood door, so it should have a greater Difficulty Class for the task of breaking it down.

I know nothing about it, but googled “D & D for Dummies” and it does exist. I find those dummy books very helpful.

@Zaku thank you so much. Yes it is an action point system so that makes sense now. I will check that link for the class systems. And ok, wasn’t sure if class difficulty was based on my character stats or set by the game. Makes more sense now.

I thought that is what saving throw meant but the “throw” part confused me. Makes more sense.

Thank you

@MakeItSo1701 I’m at a computer now so I can answer
“Reaction Points” are not a thing in D&D TTRPG. That must be an online thing. There are “action points” in edition 3.5 where you roll an extra d6 on top of your d20, but I don’t think it’s the same thing. In 5e they are called “hero points”.

For a saving throw, each ability has a plus or minus attached to it. If you have a Dex of 16, you are +3 to your “saving throws’. so if your DM calls for a Dex save (let’s say you’re trying to avoid a fireball) then you roll your d20 and add 3 to it, and any other plusses you might have from spells, abilities, or whatever. If you achieve the difficulty class of the saving throw (which is set by the DM) then you “make” the save and mitigate the damage. The DM will tell you what kind of save to roll.

For actions during combat you have a move action, a standard action, and maybe a bonus action depending on your character. A move action is a move. A standard action is an attack, a spell, or another move. If you cast a spell, you lose that spell for the day unless it’s a “cantrip” which is a 0 level spell. You can cast those every round. Cantrips are low level spells.

For a skill like “persuasion” it’s charisma based. So you take your charisma modifier and add it to your d20, plus any bonuses you might have. So if you have a Charisma of 14, then your modifier is +2. You might say, “I try to convince Grok to move aside to let us pass”. Your DM will say, “Roll a persuasion”. You roll a 5, add +2 which is 7. The DM says, “You didn’t make your persuasion, he doesn’t move, and he draws his sword”. Or if you roll a 20 (which is a critical hit) your DM might say, “Grok moves aside and offers to shine your shoes”.

Difficulty Class or DC is what you are rolling against. So when you roll an attack, a save, an ability check (like persuasion), you are rolling against an arbitrary number set by the DM. That’s the difficulty class. You generally do not know the difficulty class ahead of time.

If you cast a spell, you lose that spell for the day unless it’s a “cantrip” which is a 0 level spell.

Okay that makes sense. I noticed the game doesn’t let me use spells after a battle or two and I did not understand why. I am not used to being so limited.

Reactions are what Zaku explained, so probably a game exclusive thing then.

I wasn’t sure if the difficulty class was a set standard across all games or if it is set individually, thank you.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is fifth edition, so that applies to the game I am playing. Thank you :)

@MakeItSo1701 The spells limitation is a method of game balance. Otherwise higher level spell casters would be overpowered. As it is I think one of the flaws of 5e is that it’s too easy to regain spells and hit points (all you need is a long rest) but it is what it is.

Anyway, if you have more questions ask. I know the game pretty well as I DM several of them.

I agree it is a bit OP. Other RPGs I have played limit spells by turns. So you have to wait x amount of turns to use again. If I have more questions I will let you know:)

Sounds like BG3 is based on D&D more than I thought, I thought it was more “inspired”.

@MakeItSo1701 Yes, BG3 is based upon D&D very closely as I understand it, since Baldur’s Gate is a city in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, which is a D&D invention.

@Caravanfan “For actions during combat you have a move action, a standard action, and maybe a bonus action depending on your character.”

This is correct, but you also have one reaction per round as well. Reactions happen (in game and in the table-top version) based on specific events which may or may not occur. For example, some characters have a Shield spell. When something targets them to do damage and would otherwise hit, they can burn their reaction that round to cast shield out of order and get a bonus to their A/C until their next turn, often this makes the other guy miss. There’s another reaction that can happen called an opportunity attack. If an enemy is within melee range of you and you have a melee weapon in your hand and then they move out of melee range (without using their action do disengage) then you get a free melee attack on them if you want out of order in addition to your normal turn. Note that you can’t cast shield and also take an opportunity attack in the same round, nor can you opportunity attack more than one opponent in a round. Most rounds you won’t have the chance to use a reaction, and sometimes you have the opportunity to make a reaction, but chose not to use it (perhaps you’d rather take damage from a weak enemy than waste one of your spell slots casting shield to prevent negligible damage). It sounds complex but it’s pretty simple once you get used to it.

BG3 is very close to the tabletop.

@gorillapaws Yes, I was trying not to get too complicated. In my game I have a couple of rules lawyers so if there is a question on the rules then I ask them.

@Caravanfan For sure, I was just trying to explain reactions because @MakeItSo1701 was specifically asking about them and I’ve played BG3. Hopefully I didn’t over complicate them. they’re pretty simple in practice.

@gorillapaws He mentioned something like “reaction points” That’s not a thing in the TTRPG. There are “action points” in d20 modern but that’s different.

If you mean me, I am a she. But yeah neither of you complicated things, thanks for adding on @gorillapaws and @Caravanfan. I am understanding it better now.

Glad I could help. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Is “she” an allowed word?

I will go by “Bad Bitch” if need be.

LOL!

@MakeItSo1701 Sorry. I usually write “they” when referring to someone else whom I do not know the gender. I slipped here. My excuse is that I’m over 60 and I forget. I am told that that’s not a real excuse but that’s mine and I’m sticking to it.