A GamesRadar+ writer's self-imposed "no weapons" challenge run in Baldur's Gate 3 hit a major snag when party member Lae'zel was kidnapped mid-playthrough, forcing a significant rethink of how the run could continue. Rather than abandoning the restrictive challenge, the author restructured their party composition around the setback, adapting strategy and character roles to keep the no-weapons rule intact while working around Lae'zel's absence.

The piece is a first-person account of the trials of self-imposed challenge runs in Larian Studios' role-playing game, where players voluntarily restrict themselves to unarmed or non-weapon-based combat and problem-solving. The kidnapping of a key party member threatened to derail the attempt entirely, but the author describes respeccing and reshaping their remaining companions to compensate, ultimately salvaging the run rather than restarting it.