Baldur’s Gate 3 Colouring Book Easter Eggs

Baldur’s Gate 3 has found another way to keep adventurers exploring Faerûn, even when the game is switched off. The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Coloring Book, released on 11 August by Ten Speed Press, contains 80 pages of characters, locations and carefully hidden references.

The book covers familiar faces and settings across the game world, including the Underdark, Baldur’s Gate and the companions carrying tadpoles in their heads. Its illustrations are more than simple portraits, however: illustrator Jaki King has filled the artwork with details aimed at players who know the game unusually well.

King discussed several of those details in a recent Reddit post and video. Some references are so specific that even players who have completed multiple playthroughs may need clues before spotting them.

A chess position hidden in Raphael’s artwork

One of the most surprising examples appears in the illustration of Raphael, the devil who tempts the player with a Faustian bargain. He is shown above a chessboard, but the arrangement is not decorative guesswork.

The board recreates move 18 from The Immortal Game, the famous 1851 match remembered for a sequence of daring sacrifices. The game involved the loss of a bishop, both rooks and eventually the queen before checkmate was delivered with very few pieces remaining.

King considered the reference appropriate because a Tav or Durge must make substantial sacrifices while working towards the game’s conclusion.

Four Baldur’s Gate 3 characters walk through an area illuminated by oversized blue luminescent mushrooms

Minsc, the thick-headed barbarian of the Baldur’s Gate franchise, in a screenshot from Baldur’s Gate 3.

Five more details to look for

King also highlighted a selection of smaller callbacks. They reward familiarity with particular encounters, locations and quests rather than just the game’s major characters.

Goblin Camp: Two small spiders appear in the background of the Goblin Camp leader’s artwork. They refer to the giant spiders players can free, speak with and recruit during the encounter.
Grymforge: The geometric design behind Grym, the enormous mechanical boss, is taken from the forge room’s floor. The lava beneath the main illustration also points towards the strategy used to defeat him.
Arcane Tower: The patterns surrounding Bernard, the arcane automaton, echo the moving elevator platform that players activate to reach him.
Minsc and Boo: The cracked masonry beside their portrait was traced from the floor plan of the room where players locate the ranger-berserker and his famously unusual space hamster.
Iron Throne: The gnome placed prominently in the illustration is Obelia Toobin, the character players must rescue during the “Save the Gondians” questline.

One commenter questioned how anyone could identify the chess reference without help. King’s answer was that she recognised it because she had deliberately put it there. The explanation captures the book’s appeal: its most rewarding discoveries are aimed at players who enjoy examining every corner of the game.

A quiet way to return to Faerûn

The colouring book is one of several Baldur’s Gate 3 books scheduled for release this year. It is available from major retailers including Target, Walmart and Amazon, and costs less than $20.

For Australian fans, it offers a low-key way to revisit the game’s locations and cast without starting another campaign. Even players who believe they know Act 1’s overworld thoroughly may find a few overlooked references waiting between the lines.

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