A rolled 20 – every hero’s dream in Baldur’s Gate 3. But sometimes, that can also cause your save file to break.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is largely based on Pen & Paper rules, so pretty much all conflicts are decided by a dice roll. A high value is good, and a “Nat 20,” meaning a rolled 20, is always a success. That’s exactly what you want to have.
But sometimes such a critical success can also lead to almost losing the hard Honour Mode save in Act 3. In such cases, it can be better to roll a bit worse.
Which fight is it about? This refers to the final battle in the “House of Hope,” an alternative area from Act 3. It is located in hell and is also the seat of power of Raphael. You confront this devil at the end if you happen to steal possessions from his house. This is generally considered one of the toughest battles in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Before the battle begins, there is a small dialogue scene. In it, you can try to sway some of Raphael’s companions to support you in the battle – such as the demon Yurgir. This was achieved by kairaharuon in the Baldur’s Gate 3 Subreddit with a critical 20.
Why was a 20 bad? Since the battle against Raphael is generally considered quite challenging, many players prepare the battle area in advance. They spread bombs and explosive barrels to destroy the large pillars and smaller enemies as quickly as possible once the battle starts and their group is safe.
However, the critical 20 with Yurgir caused him to start the battle as a friendly ally. And he had nothing better to do than to directly attack one of the explosive barrels, triggering a chain reaction. The chaos that ensued nearly cost the player their save file, as they wrote:
I watched as the whole room went up in flames. Tav has one hit point left, Shadowheart has two. Hope is dead immediately, sorry Hope, Raphael still has over 500 hit points. I continue and just barely win. I leave the House of Hope and go into the shop Sorcerous Sundries to buy/take new scrolls. This triggers a fight with the whole shop. I barely win and then send the group to bed.
Things did not go as I had hoped, probably because Hope is dead.
Why did this happen? The reason is that Yurgir joins the heroes and supports them in battle but cannot be controlled by the player. The demon attacks all potential enemies and sources of danger – and thus also the explosive barrels.
The player’s original plan was to protect everyone with a Sphere of Invulnerability in the first turn and then ignite the barrels so that only enemies would take damage.
That everything went so wrong was solely due to the “Nat 20” because Yurgir on the player’s side thought it was a good idea to trigger the explosion beforehand.
Have you ever experienced something “negative” in Baldur’s Gate 3 due to a rolled 20? Or have you managed to escape well from every situation so far?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, by the way, there’s a perfect form of healing: damage and even more damage.
