applying the method used in an answer to this question to the original example, here is an approach that gives an improved result.
\documentclass[a4paper,div=calc]{scrartcl} \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} \usepackage{array,booktabs,calc} \newdimen{\lcellwd} \newcommand{\lcell}[2][\lcellwd]{% $\vcenter{\hsize#1\baselineskip11pt\vspace*{3pt}\raggedright#2\strut\par}$} \setlength{\extrarowheight}{1pt} \begin{document} \setlength{\lcellwd}{.5\textwidth-6\tabcolsep-8em} \begin{tabular}{>{\raggedleft}m{2.5em}b{.5\textwidth-6\tabcolsep-8em}p{5.5em}}% \toprule\textbf{\#}&\textbf{Name}&\textbf{Notes}\\\midrule% A & \lcell{Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit}&\ &\\ B & \lcell{% An\\even\\higher\\row\\with\\linebreaks}&\ &\\ 2 & Short Entry\strut & \\\bottomrule \end{tabular} \end{document} 
EDIT: by moving the \baselineskip instruction to just before \par in the definition of \lcell it is possible to introduce a variable that can be set externally:
\newlength{\lcbaseline} \setlength{\lcbaseline}{11pt} \newcommand{\lcell}[2][\lcellwd]{% $\vcenter{\hsize#1\vspace*{3pt}\raggedright#2\strut\baselineskip\lcbaseline\par}$} this will adjust the baselines of continuous text, as in group "A", since the baselines currently in force are used when a paragraph is "wrapped". however, it breaks down when \\ is used, and i haven't figured out where \\ "freezes" the current baseline value. using \break instead of \\ does produce the adjusted baselines, but it isn't very latexy; including the \baselineskip instruction in two places would overcome that problem, but it's inelegant.
