It’s 2026, and somehow I’ve sunk another couple of hundred hours into Baldur’s Gate 3. Don’t judge me – the brain worms are long gone, but my addiction to tactical combat and looting every rotten crate isn’t going anywhere. Thing is, even the juiciest campaign can start feeling a bit… predictable. I’d memorised the goblin camp layout better than my own flat. That’s when I stumbled across Trials of Tav, a mod that transplants a full-blown roguelike mode straight into Faerûn, and mate, it’s an absolute game-changer. If you’ve ever wished BG3 would stop holding your hand and just throw you into endless randomised scraps with escalating difficulty and loot that makes your inner magpie sing, this one’s a no-brainer.

Instead of the usual story beats, Trials of Tav spits you out onto procedurally selected maps filled with weird and wonderful enemy combos. One minute you’re brawling with a pack of gnolls in a swamp, the next you’re staring down a hook horror while ankle-deep in Underdark fungus. Every encounter you survive dumps a pile of loot into your pockets – and I mean proper loot, the kind that makes you cackle like a hag who just got a new bargain. It’s the perfect playground for anyone who thinks BG3’s combat deserves a standalone, endlessly replayable arcade mode. Honestly, it’s such a hoot that I nearly forgot the Absolute was even a thing.

Now, hold your horses – before you can go full murder-hobo, you’ve got to get the mod up and running. Don’t get your knickers in a twist; it’s mostly a piece of cake if you’ve ever fiddled with a mod manager. The community still swears by Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Manager (BG3MM) , and in 2026 it’s slicker than ever. Head over to the usual spot (you know, the Nexus that isn’t full of MMO refugees) and grab the Trials of Tav file, along with BG3MM if you haven’t already. Once you’ve got everything downloaded, fire up the mod manager, click Open Mods Folder, and drag that juicy mod package right in. A quick refresh, a drag to the active column, and one click on the Export Order to Game button – and you’re golden. If your interface looks like a tax return form, just look for the button in the screenshot below; it’s the one that saves you from a world of hurt.

With the mod loaded, launch BG3 and start a fresh campaign. After you wrestle with the character creator for an hour (we’ve all been there), you’ll pop into the game and get a prompt that asks, “Welcome to Trials of Tav! Start Playing?”. Smash that Yes button and you’ll be instantly warped to your first randomised brawl. I’ll be honest – my inaugural fight was a right disaster: I got jumped by three imps, an owlbear cub, and what I can only describe as a very angry mushroom. I loved every chaotic second. Clear the encounter, hoover up the spoils, and you’re zapped back to safety with your goodies, ready to go again. It’s like a D&D slot machine that punches you in the face – in the best way.

Now for the bit where I put on my sensible wizard hat. The mod is designed for new saves, and honestly, that’s the smoothest path. But maybe you’re feeling cheeky and want to convert an existing playthrough. You can do that – but for the love of Mystra, back up your save first. Converting is a one-way ticket; once a file goes roguelike, there’s no going back. If you try to limp along with the old story afterwards, the game will throw a tantrum of bugs and crashes that’ll make you wish you’d never heard of the Weave. Thankfully, the mod is off by default on each save load, so if you accidentally click the wrong campaign, the “Welcome” prompt still pops up – just hit No and you’ll dodge a bullet. The developers were clearly one step ahead of our butterfingers.

If you’ve been looking for a way to spice up your nth campaign without another tedious trip through the Druid Grove, Trials of Tav is the ticket. It turns BG3 into a frantic roguelike where every fight is a mystery box of pain and treasure. Even in 2026, when the base game is older than some of the new RPGs gathering dust on my hard drive, this mod keeps things fresher than a bag of holding stuffed with mint leaves. So go on, give it a whirl – the Absolutist cult can wait, I’ve got randomised encounters to survive and trousers to loot.