Modding:Creating Race Mods

So, you wanna make a custom race for BG3. How do you do that, though? This guide will show you how.

Building a Race Mod Guide

Whispers of the Resource - Custom Race and Subrace Template

CharacterVisuals _merged.lsf.lsx

Here is where you're going to set up the default look for your race, aka how it looks when the player first selects them on the race menu. This can include hair, head, eyes, tattoos, makeup, and more.

Here are some nodes you'll find in the file, and what they do.

<node id="Object">
    <attribute id="ForcePresetValues" type="bool" value="True" />
    <attribute id="GroupName" type="FixedString" value="02Skin Properties" />
    <attribute id="MapKey" type="FixedString" value="02Skin Properties" />
    <attribute id="MaterialPresetResource" type="FixedString" value="7b0d0147-72f1-6b22-b32b-0bfebd47cb85" /> This sets default skin color
</node>

Skin Color

<node id="Object">
    <attribute id="ForcePresetValues" type="bool" value="True" />
    <attribute id="GroupName" type="FixedString" value="06Eyes" />
    <attribute id="MapKey" type="FixedString" value="06Eyes" />
    <attribute id="MaterialPresetResource" type="FixedString" value="da5e8c41-2f06-213f-855b-41291f26e3a6" /> This sets default eye color
</node>

Eye Color

<node id="Object">
    <attribute id="ForcePresetValues" type="bool" value="True" />
    <attribute id="GroupName" type="FixedString" value="05Makeup" />
	<attribute id="MapKey" type="FixedString" value="05Makeup" />
	<attribute id="MaterialPresetResource" type="FixedString" value="d4bf8e65-39c8-f87b-7e2a-ef5d4756aaca" /> This sets default makeup
</node>

Makeup

<node id="Object">
    <attribute id="ForcePresetValues" type="bool" value="True" />
    <attribute id="GroupName" type="FixedString" value="03Hair" />
	<attribute id="MapKey" type="FixedString" value="03Hair" />
	<attribute id="MaterialPresetResource" type="FixedString" value="536e441f-3fee-c04a-9698-6608ebe70824" /> This sets default hair color
</node>

Hair Color

<node id="Slots">
    <attribute id="Bone" type="FixedString" value="" />
    <attribute id="Slot" type="FixedString" value="Head" />
    <attribute id="VisualResource" type="FixedString" value="555b1e26-9a79-c11b-134d-a557b317bd93" /> This sets default head
</node>

Head

<node id="Slots">
	<attribute id="Bone" type="FixedString" value="" />
	<attribute id="Slot" type="FixedString" value="Hair" />
	<attribute id="VisualResource" type="FixedString" value="1dc629c7-382c-3090-e72f-c7f4d44d5e3d" /> This sets default hair style
</node>

Hair Style

CharacterCreationAppearanceVisuals.lsx

Here is where you'll define all of the heads you want your race to use.

<node id="CharacterCreationAppearanceVisual">
    <attribute id="BodyShape" type="uint8" value="0"/>
    <attribute id="BodyType" type="uint8" value="0"/>
    <attribute id="DefaultSkinColor" type="guid" value="fbfbdac7-b88b-840d-2601-e37aa45663ae"/>
    <attribute id="DisplayName" type="TranslatedString" handle="DISPLAYHANDLEHERE" version="3"/>
    <attribute id="RaceUUID" type="guid" value="RACEUUIDHERE"/>
    <attribute id="SlotName" type="FixedString" value="Head"/>
    <attribute id="UUID" type="guid" value="UNIQUEUUIDHERE"/>
    <attribute id="VisualResource" type="guid" value="VISUALRESOURCEUUIDHERE"/>
</node>

Here is an example node for adding one head. To find the correct Race UUID, see this page.