Most Heartbreaking Choices In Baldur’s Gate 3

Summary

• Choices in Baldur’s Gate 3 shape companions’ fates and the world, with some leading to triumph and others to devastating consequences.
• Tough decisions like resurrecting Brian or killing the Nightsong have long-lasting impacts on the game’s narrative and characters.
• Players must grapple with moral dilemmas such as breaking pacts, saving parents, and freeing vampire spawns, each carrying significant consequences.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece of storytelling that paints a rich and immersive narrative by leveraging moral complexity, emotional depth, and unrestricted player agency. At the heart of this grand narrative are some of the most difficult choices that players make, shaping the fate of their companions, the world around them, and the many characters inhabiting this world.

While some choices result in triumph over evil and even earn solid approval from your companions, others can be utterly downright devastating. Here are 8 of the most heartbreaking choices in Baldur’s Gate 3 that leave many players grappling with the consequences long after the dice have been rolled.

8

Raising Mayrina’s Husband From The Dead

Mayrina’s Hopes Shatter As Her Husband Returns In An Expected Form

• Quest: Save Mayrina.
• Consequence: Choosing to resurrect Mayrina’s husband results in a monstrous, undead version of him emerging. However, not conceding to her request to raise her husband leaves her heartbroken and bitter.

Mayrina is an NPC that players first meet in Act 1 at Auntie Ethel’s teahouse. She struck a deal with Auntie Ethel, with the latter promising to bring back her husband from the dead in exchange for Mayrina’s child. Exploring Auntie Ethel’s teahouse, players can discover a magical wand that could raise the dead.

Once players have dealt with Auntie Ethel and rescued Mayrina, they can find her near her husband’s coffin and choose to raise him or break the wand. Opting to resurrect Mayrina’s husband results in an undead version of him rising from the coffin, and he is no more than just a husk meant to be commanded by the wand. On the other hand, breaking the wand results in Mayrina turning bitter and heartbroken as she witnesses the final opportunity to get her husband taken away from her.

7

Killing The Nightsong

Nightsong’s Death Dooms The Inn While Sealing Shadowheart’s Fate

• Quest: Find the Nightsong
• Consequence: Killing the Nightsong leads to Shadowheart completely devoting herself to Shar. The act also dooms the lives of those in the Last Light Inn and causes players to lose out on valuable allies for the boss fight in Act 2 and the final battle in Act 3.

Players discover the existence of the Nightsong in the first Act of the game, assuming her to be a relic of great value. In Act 2, Shadowheart learns that to become a Dark Justiciar she must kill the Nightsong. When players discover the Nightsong in the Shadowfell, they realize that she isn’t some ordinary relic but a celestial being touched by Selûne.

Players can choose to support Shadowheart in killing the Nightsong and fulfill her destiny at the heartbreaking cost of dooming the lives of all the refugees in the Last Light Inn.

6

Wyll’s Pact With Mizora

Wyll’s Pact Forces Him To Choose Between Freedom & Family

• Quest: The Blade of Frontiers
• Consequence: Breaking Wyll’s pact with Mizora frees him from the devil’s clutches at the cost of possibly dooming his father and surrendering his warlock powers.

In Act 3, just when Wyll was starting to believe he would be free from Mizora’s pact, the silver-tongued devil shows up at the camp with yet another impossible bargain. She offers Wyll a choice: uphold his pact, and she will ensure that his father is rescued, or break the pact but doom his father to an uncertain fate. The emotional weight of this decision is further elevated if players have no clue about Duke Ravengard’s whereabouts or presume him to be dead, which adds a layer of urgency and tension to the choice.

Wyll has already endured enough under archdevil Zariel, from being tricked into hunting Karlach and punished for sparing her, which makes upholding the pact even more unwise. Yet, breaking the pact would mean robbing Baldur’s Gate of a figure who is a beacon of hope for the citizens and refugees in the city. While it’s possible to save Duke Ravengard despite breaking Wyll’s pact, first-time players face a gut-wrenching choice — one that satisfies no one.

5

The Fate Of Shadowheart’s Parents

Shadowheart’s Choice Is A Battle Between Family And Freedom

• Quest: Daughter of Darkness
• Consequence: At the end of Shadowheart’s personal quest, players have the option to persuade her to save or abandon her parents. It’s a tough call to make, which impacts how Shadowheart feels about her choice for the remainder of the game.

When she was just a child, Shadowheart was tricked by Viconia DeVir into following Shar, the goddess of loss. As Shadowheart continues with her quest, she discovers that her parents are still alive and that she intends to save them. However, when the moment arrives to save her parents, she is confronted by Shar, who puts Shadowheart in a difficult position: save her parents or free herself from Shar’s curse.

Despite Shadowheart’s parents asking her to sacrifice them and claim her freedom from Shar, it’s still an emotionally challenging decision to make and no matter what option players choose, the game will continue to remind them of its consequences long after the decision has been made.

4

Killing Or Sparing The Vampire Spawns

Astarion’s Past Comes Full Circle In A Cruel Choice

• Quest: The Pale Elf
• Consequence: Much like Astarion, the vampire spawns are intelligent and sentient beings but driven by bloodlust. If Astarion deserved to be free from Cazador, shouldn’t the 7,000 spawns too? On the contrary, releasing the spawns could potentially doom Baldur’s Gate with thousands of vampires prowling the night.

Towards the conclusion of Astarion’s personal quest, the players have the choice to either kill all 7,000 of Cazador’s spawns or release them to claim their freedom. Some of these spawns have been held captive for over 170 years and all they want is to be free from their cages and live in peace.

Killing the vampire spawns may seem like a rational choice as they can potentially pose a threat to other creatures in Baldur’s Gate. On the other hand, granting them their freedom may seem to be more of a moral choice, but it doesn’t guarantee that the once-imprisoned spawns will not go prowling on other creatures for sustenance.

3

Turning Orpheus Into Mindflayer

Orpheus’ Sacrifice Leaves The Githyankis Without A Future

• Quest: Confront The Elder Brain
• Consequence: Turning Orpheus into a mindflayer breaks the hopes of the Githyankis, who look towards him as a liberator from Vlaakith’s tyrannical clutches.

The Githyankis harbor unfathomable hatred for the mindflayers, which they colloquially refer to as the ghaiks. Asking Orpheus, a respected leader of the Githyanki people, to turn into a mindflayer is a tough choice to make. If players want to truly free Orpheus, they’ll need to sacrifice their own soul to become an Illithid or accept Karlach’s proposal and let her become the mindflayer.

Given how much hope Lae’zel and Kith’rak Voss have in Orpheus’ leadership in freeing the Githyankis from Vlaakith’s tyranny, asking Orpheus to become a mindflayer is one of the most painful decisions players would ever make in Baldur’s Gate 3.

2

Karlach’s Fate

Watching Karlach Die In Baldur’s Gate Is Mercy Disguised As Cruelty

• Quest: Our Fiery Friend
• Consequence: Convincing Karlach to return to Avernus forces her to face Zariel, but staying in Baldur’s Gate means her death, although among friends and at home.

Karlach is one of the liveliest and joyful companions and all she ever wanted in life was to fix her infernal engine and live a happy life in her home, Baldur’s Gate. After the Netherbrain’s defeated, Karlach’s infernal engine reaches its limit, leaving her on the brink of death. Players can persuade her to return to Avernus, where she could live forever, but also contest with Zariel’s forever, or let her spend her final moments among friends.

This choice is extremely heartbreaking if players broke Wyll’s pact, as he can no longer accompany Karlach to Avernus. On the other hand, players can choose to accompany her instead, though it’s a decision that’s no less heartbreaking if they romanced someone else.

1

Becoming A Mindflayer To Defeat The Netherbrain

The Debt That Can Never Be Repaid

• Quest: Confront The Elder Brain
• Consequence: Embracing the Illithid tadpole means becoming the very creature players have fought against. It’s the ultimate sacrifice that requires setting aside personal agendas in service of Baldur’s Gate and all other realms.

Accepting the mindflayer evolution in Baldur’s Gate is one of the game’s most heartbreaking choices. It’s a decision that cuts to the core of what it means to be selfless for the greater good. After countless hours of battle against the Absolute and Illithids, the grim realization sets in — only a mindflayer can truly defeat the Netherbrain.

While players can refuse the mindflayer evolution, the choice remains heartbreaking, as it’s made with full awareness of the tragic and irreversible cost of such sacrifice.