Baldur's Gate 3: Small Decisions With Big Consequences

Summary

Every decision in Baldur's Gate 3 can have significant consequences, from comments to treasure to relationships.
Giving Lady Esther a Githyanki egg leads to the death of the Society of Brilliance in Act Three.
Killing Isobel at the Last Light Inn triggers the Shadow Curse and prevents access to important questlines.

One of the best aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3 is the fact that every decision the player makes could come back to haunt them or reward them down the line. Whether it’s a comment they made to an NPC, a piece of treasure they left behind, or a relationship they decided to pursue. There are some things in Baldur’s Gate 3 that are irreversible, and even the smallest decision could have a large impact on the game’s narrative and cast of characters.

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Players will want to be careful to not make silly mistakes, or, embrace the chaos and just get wild with Baldur’s Gate 3. However, players should know that some small decisions have big consequences going forward in the game, so maybe don’t kick every squirrel into a wall.

Spoiler alert for some choices that can be made in Baldur’s Gate 3

6 Giving Lady Esther The Githyanki Egg

The Society Of Brilliance Will Be Killed

At the start of Act 2, players might stumble across a rather nice elderly lady called Lady Esther. Lady Esther explains how she has been tasked with obtaining a Githyanki egg to bring it back to the Society of Brilliance to determine whether the violence within a Githyanki is nature or nurtured. Players can deny the request to help, albeit at the cost of Lady Esther’s life in combat. Alternatively, they can go fetch an egg, or an Owlbear Egg.

Providing either of these eggs may result in payment and a happy customer, but when players reach the Society of Brilliance in Act Three, they will discover that the experiment wasn’t just a failure, but a disaster, as the hatched egg has killed all members involved.

5 Killing Isobel

Everyone At Last Light Inn Dies

Isobel is a Cleric of Selune and holds strong importance for Act 2 in Baldur’s Gate 3. Isobel is the only reason why those who oppose the Absolute are still alive, for she has cast a great spell at the Last Light Inn to make sure that the Shadow-Cursed Lands do not consume the inn and everyone within it. Yet, some players might be mischievous or outright murderous thanks to the Dark Urge, and they can decide that they are going to kill this character instead.

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If players do this, the Shadow Curse will consume the Last Light Inn, and kill many of the characters inside, thus looking players out of many important questlines, on top of feeling pretty bad about what just happened. It’s best to let Isobel do her thing because she is the only reason this sanctuary still stands.

4 Bothering The Strange Ox

Fight A Terrible Ooze Form

Whilst not exactly the biggest consequence in the world, players can begin to harass and ask questions to the Strange Ox, which is first found in Act One at the Druid Grove among the real ox. The Strange Ox can be conversed with if players use a potion of Speak with Animals, but it is best not to pry about the past and nature of this beast, less the player wants to uncover some terrors.

The Strange Ox will reveal its true form as a horrible ooze creature, after claiming how all he wanted was to be fed hay and occasionally brushed. Killing the Strange Ox in its true form has no dire consequences, and players will receive the Shapeshifter’s Boon Ring. Yet, the Ox isn’t exactly doing anything wrong–at least, not anymore.

3 Investigating Kagha

Stop The Rite Of Thorns Ritual

A close up of the Druid Kagha and the Pale Oak in Baldur's Gate 3

In the Emerald Grove, players can find a secret route to get behind a bookshelf and discover a letter addressed to Kagha. This will then see players unlock a quest to Investigate Kagha, where they need to venture to the Sunlit Wetlands in the South. Investigating this swamp will make players find a hidden letter at a tree stump, detailing the arrival of the Shadow Druids.

Players can confront Kagha with this letter, and the Shadow Druids will reveal themselves. Players can either kill or save Kagha from the Shadow Druids and their influence. Either way, the Rite of Thorns will end, and the teiflings will be saved, and grant the player some unique rewards. It’s a hidden quest with some detailed consequences for those who want to help the tielfings.

2 Freeing Oskar The Artist

Unlocks Further Quests & Loot

Artist in Baldurs Gate 3 — Oskar Fevras, an artist in need of freeing in Baldur's Gate 3.

When players find themselves in the Zhentarim Basement, they will meet an NPC known as Oskar Fevras, who is a slave to Brem thanks to his renowned skills as a painter. Oskar begs the player to purchase them, to which Tav can barter, threaten, or outright purchase Oskar. In doing so, players might lose a pretty penny, but they will have done the right thing by freeing a slave. Yet, the reward does not end there.

A split image of Malus Thorm, Linsella, and Lyrthindor as a Rat in Baldur's Gate 3

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When arriving in Act Three, players can meet Oskar at Lady Jannath’s Estate, to which they will be met with another questline which is fairly interesting and rewarding to complete. It involves a few characters, but nothing that could blow up the world. That’s saved exclusively for Gale.

1 Murdering Gale

End The World And The Game

Gale is a brilliant and charismatic wizard found early in Baldur’s Gate 3, and he’s one with more importance than first impressions might imply. If Gale is killed by any means, then trouble is bound to brew, because Gale has been imbued with the power of a Netherese orb, meaning that if he does not consume magical artifacts, he will explode, unleashing a magical blast that can easily wipe out the inhabitants of Baldur’s Gate like a nuclear bomb made from the Weave itself.

Players who kill Gale, or just fail to resurrect him after death, will see a warning from Gale’s magical projection, who lets players know that if he is not brought back to life in three days, he will explode. This is not a bluff, and killing Gale, just one man, can result in a Game Over screen due to the harshness of the explosion.

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