Despite being a heroic story about saving Faerûn from the Absolute,Baldur’s Gate 3allows the party to do some pretty cruel things. Mixed in among the plethora of choices and decisions Tav and company can make that are good and helpful are plenty of downright evil things to do and say throughout all three acts. And, while I do enjoy the fun of an evil playthrough, some of these choices go a little too far even for me.
The amount of choice available to the party inBaldur’s Gate 3is nothing short of amazing, with seemingly every option accounted for within the epic game. With Dark Urge playthroughs, twisted versions of each Origin character, or a bespoke evil Tav, there are plenty ofeasy-to-miss evil decisions inBG3to give some of the worst endings. These options range from somewhat misguided to astonishingly cruel and are some of the most evil things in any playthrough.
10Reuniting Mayrina With Her Husband
Connor Has Changed A Bit Since Mayrina Last Saw Him
Mayrina is a young woman who can be met during Act 1 at Auntie Ethel’s house, having made a deal with hag. The heavily pregnantMayrina made a promise to trade her baby in order to have Ethel resurrect her recently deceased husband, Connor. During the quest “Save Mayrina,” she can be rescued from the hag’s clutches, although she is not immediately appreciative of this.
If Mayrina survives Act 1 she can be met again during Act 3’s “Help the Hag Survivors.” She will have been polymorphed into a sheep and will be with the rest of the survivors group in Old Garlow’s Place.
While it might seem like the most evil thing to do is to kill Mayrina, there is a far more callous option to conclude this quest. Within Ethel’s workshop is the wand Bitter Divorce, which can be used to give Mayrina exactly what she wants; her husband back. Of course, as it was made by Ethel,the wand will resurrect Connor as a zombie, much to the distress of Mayrina.
9Let Arabella’s Parents Kill Kagha
Add To Their Grief With Some Guilt Too
Arabella and her fate is probably one of the earliest moral decisions that the party will encounter, with Kagha, the acting head of the Emerald Grove, calling for her imprisonment. Letting Kagha kill Arabella is already a pretty evil thing to do, butthere is a way to make the situation so much worse. Oddly, the first step is to help redeem Kagha, helping her see the error of her ways.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Should You Kill Or Save Kagha?
As with many decisions in Baldur’s Gate 3, the choice of whether to redeem or kill Kagha has many different outcomes and long-term consequences.
By completing the quest “Investigate Kagha,” and persuading Kagha to side with them instead of the Shadow Druids, the party can help her atone for her actions with little Arabella. Then, toward the end of Act 1, at the camp party with the tieflings,sit back and watch as Arabella’s parents confront the woman responsible for their grief. Arabelle’s mother Komira will poison Kagha in any playthrough where her daughter dies, but helping Kagha see the light before leaving her to her fate feels especially cruel.
8Convince Kar’niss To Hand Over His Moonlantern
You Need It More Than Him, Right?
The Shadow Curse in Act 2 is a debilitating effect that will cause affected party members to take damage and eventually turn people into Shadow-Cured Undead. The best way to combat this while traveling is to have a strong light source, withone of the best options being a Moonlantern to protect all who stay in its light. One early Act 2 quest, “Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse,” has the party teaming up with a group of Harpers to get their hands on a lantern.
Drow, bards, and rogues will have unique dialogue to convince Kar’niss to hand over his lantern along with advantage on the check.
The Harpers plan to ambush a group traveling to Moonrise Towers, led by a drider named Kar’niss. While the caravan can be fought, there is a meaner option available topersuade Kar’niss to give the party his lantern with a DC 10 Persuasion check. This is so cruel as part of the trick is making him believe that his queen wants him to suffer before he sadly walks off into the Shadow Curse and succumbs to it.
7Let Shadowheart Kill The Nightsong
Help Shadowheart Become A Full Dark Justiciar
At the end ofBG3’s Act 2, the party comes face to face with the source of Ketheric Thorm’s immortality and the much-talked-about Nightsong relic. However, the Nightsong isn’t a relic at all and is the imprisoned daughter of Selûne, Aylin, who has been held in the Shadowfell in a Soul Cage. While most parties will choose to free Aylin, and, by extension, free Shadowheart of Shar’s influence, there is the option tolet Shadowheart complete her goal of becoming a Dark Justiciarbykilling the Nightsong.
This evil choice comes with many consequences, not just for Shadowheart. With Aylin dead,the shield that has been protecting everyone at Last Light Inn will weaken and collapse, dooming everyone at the location. With so many casualties, it’s hard to believe the fallout being any worse, but for anyone romancing Shadowheart, it will affect the relationship. Shadowheart will become noticeably cooler and very blatantly state that she is only interested in a physical relationship now with no room for an emotional connection.
6Convince Wyll To Sell His Soul But Don’t Save Ravengard
Mizora Would Be Proud
After arriving in Act 3 and the city of Baldur’s Gate, the party learns that Duke Ravengard, Wyll’s father, is being held somewhere by Gortash. Mizora will offer to help locate him, but for a price, asshe wants Wyll to sign a new contract with her pledging his soul. She offers the terrible choice between freeing Wyll from his previous deal with her at the cost of his father’s life, or him giving up his soul to keep his father safe.
To make this option as evil as possible, Wyll should be encouraged to sign the new contract and the party can go to the Iron Throne to fetch Duke Ravengard. Once he is found,Ravengard should be allowed to die to make Wyll’s sacrifice all for nothing. This can be achieved either by leaving him in his cell to drown or letting any of the sahuagin guards deal with him.
5Turn Orpheus Into A Mind Flayer
Force Him To Exchange One Prison For Another
Close to the end ofBaldur’s Gate 3, when it becomes clear that just using the Netherstones alone isn’t going to work, the party is faced with a choice. They can either allow the Emperor to eat Prince Orpheus’ brain to gain his ability to block out the Netherbrain, have one of the party transform into an illithid, orfree Orpheus and have him turn himself into a mind flayer. While the Emperor is not completely acting in the party’s best interest and might seem like the best choice for an evil playthrough, freeing Orpheus is the crueler option.
It’s unclear just how long Orpheus has been imprisoned in the Astral Prism, after watching his mother’s people taken over by Vlaakith. To free him, only tomake him turn into his worst enemy is far more evil than simply killing him. To further twist the knife, the party can persuade Orpheus to continue living as an illithid after the final battle.
4Give Baelen The Noblestalk
Helping One Person Harms Another
While traveling through the Underdark, the party can meet Derryth and Baelen Bonecloak, two dwarves from Baldur’s Gate looking for alchemy ingredients. When first encountered, Baelen has gone missing, although his wife doesn’t seem particularly worried. Chatting to her and the couple’s deep rothé, it becomes clear thatBaelen’s mind isn’t what it used to be, but that is preferable as he was very abusiveto Derryth previously.
If Baelen’s mind is restored, Derryth can be met again in Act 3 in the Elfsong Tavern, having left him and with nothing to her name. However, she will thank the party, saying having her freedom and peace is worth more.
Baelen can be found and saved from an area filled with bibberbang and returned to Derryth, who will reward the party with theGloves of Uninhibited Kushigo. However, Baelen can also be given someNoblestalk, which willrestore his mind back to his old violent self. It takes a certain kind of person to learn about Baelen’s past behavior and then still restore him, and in all my many playthroughs, this is the one evil act I’ve never been able to do.
3Handing Aylin Over To Lorroakan
Lorroakan Plans To Use Her Immortality To Extend His Own Life
One of the earliest quests the party can pick up in Act 1 is “Find the Nightsong,” with various hints and clues about what and where the relic could be. It isn’t until the end of Act 2 thatthe Nightsong is revealed to be a person, an aasimar and daughter of Selûne, named Aylin. Aylin can be rescued from her prison and will join the party camp as an ally.
Should You Help Lorroakan Or Nightsong In Baldur’s Gate 3?
One big choice in Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3 forces the party to pick a side between two characters, and there’s one that comes out on top in the end.
However, it is possible to betray Aylin and hand her over to the owner of Sorcerous Sundries, Lorroakan, for 5,000 gold. In terms of the final battle, it is far better to have Aylin free to help the party, sothere is no benefit at all to handing her over to Lorroakan. Just like Orpheus, this decision frees Aylin only to force her into another prison under Lorroakan’s control.
2Hand Shadowheart Over To Viconia
If Shadowheart spared Aylin and turned her back on Shar, then her personal quest,“Daughter of Darkness,” will shift in Act 3. When returning to the Sharran cloister in Baldur’s Gate, Shadowheart will be determined to find and free her parents from Shar’s grasp. However, there is another path open to those who want to be really evil, one thateven Lae’zel will disapprove ofand comment on.
When confronted by the Mother Superior,returningBaldur’s GatecharacterViconia DeVir, the party can choose to hand over Shadowheart. The reward for this betrayal is Sharran Adepts for the quest “Gather Your Allies,” but also mass disapproval from most other companions. This is a horrible fate for Shadowheart, who can be met again after taking a long rest but willhave had her mind wiped and has forgotten ever having friends.
1Give Scratch Back To Angry Mar’hyah
Sell Faerûn’s Best Boy Out
Finally, there is Scratch, the loveable furry little guy who can be met in Act 1 guarding the body of his fallen master. Scratch can be adopted by the party and, after showing him some affection and playing fetch with him, the ability to summon him as a familiar will be unlocked.Scratch is fantastic for finding treasure chestsand hidden loot, making him a useful member of the team as well as the cutest.
However, upon arriving in Act 3 ofBG3, the party can discover who Scratch used to belong to, the aptly named Angry Mar’hyah at Sword Coast Couriers. Mar’hyah is one of the most unpleasant characters inBaldur’s Gate 3, who regularly abuses the animals in her care, and she demands Scratch’s return. It’s hard to imagine even the most evil Dark Urge handing Scratch over, but that is an option, even though there is absolutely no reward.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.
