Lazarus in Baldur’s Gate 3 has a great secret. For he is one of the most important characters in the entire universe of Dungeons & Dragons.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is full of various characters and many of them are surrounded by a certain myth. But hardly any character is as peculiar as Lazarus (“Withers”), whom you can recruit to your camp early on. But who is he really?
Spoiler Warning: As expected, this is about a secret of Baldur’s Gate 3. If you don’t want to be spoiled, you should not continue reading.
Who is Lazarus? You first encounter Lazarus shortly after your crash with the nautiloid. To the north, there are ruins where you can retrieve this figure from a grave.
Lazarus then goes directly to your camp and accompanies you for the rest of the game. His “Gameplay Function” is quite important. He can not only reset your character, allowing you to learn new classes and abilities, but he can also bring characters back from the dead and equip you with strange mercenaries if you have killed or spurned too many of the “right” companions.
You can neither kill nor hurt Lazarus – and he doesn’t hold it against you if you try. He laughs, praises your efforts, and even makes permanent remarks if you have not found a partner in the game after some time.
Lazarus is thus not only immortal but also has extreme power over death.
But who is Lazarus actually? Is he just a gameplay mechanic or is there more to it?
Lazarus – An Old God Who Intervenes
By now, many players are sure that Lazarus is one of the most important characters in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons – namely the God of Death, Jergal.
At the time of Baldur’s Gate 3, Jergal is worshipped by only a few followers, and his temples have become rare. However, you can find such a temple in the ruins just north of the nautiloid’s crash site. If you succeed in a religion roll upon entering the ruins, your character (or one of your companions) will point out that this appears to be a temple of Jergal.
Another clue comes much later in the game, namely in Act 2. There, you can find a diary in which a wanderer describes his encounter with Jergal. According to the book, Jergal was “masked in gold, his skin fine and worn like parchment.” He asked a question: “How much is the life of a single mortal worth?”
This is almost the same question that Lazarus poses to the character who opens his sarcophagus in the ruins.
Additionally, Lazarus refers to himself as a “scribe” – and that is also one of Jergal’s titles: Scribe of Fate.
Who Was Jergal?
Jergal is deeply connected with the plot of Baldur’s Gate 3, even if he intervenes very little and is hardly mentioned.
Jergal was once the God of Death himself, but grew weary of his task. He chose three mortal adventurers to be his successors, who would take on his role – Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul.
These three gods are known in the game as the “Dead Three” and they are the driving force behind the antagonists Thorm, Gortasch, and Orin.
This also seems to confirm one of the endings of Baldur’s Gate 3. At the end, Lazarus is seen standing in front of an image of the “Dead Three”. He wonders that the Dead Three really believed that such a “massive destruction of souls” would remain hidden from the other gods.
Even though there will probably never be a final confirmation, all the clues suggest that Lazarus is Jergal.
Next time you get annoyed with Lazarus in camp or want to confront him: Always remember that you are currently pissing off a god.
