In Baldur’s Gate 3 you can take three of ten possible companions on your adventures at any time. Each of them has their own agenda. However, if you follow the companions’ wishes, it might turn out quite badly for some of them.
What wishes do the companions have? Each companion has a more or less detailed backstory along with their goals and desires. By pursuing these side quests, you can influence their outcomes through dialogue and your actions in the main story.
Here are a few examples of what the companions plan at the beginning of the game:
- Shadowheart wants to become a dark inquisitor for her goddess.
- Astarion wants to become an ascended vampire and overthrow his master.
- Gale aspires to divinity.
- Lae’zel wants to
ascend
, which is regarded as the highest honor in her culture. - Wyll is to kill the demon Karlach for his patroness.
- Karlach wants to survive, get rid of the deadly machine in her chest, and live in her true homeland, the Sword Coast.
At first glance, these are not bad ambitions. However, if you assist the characters in pursuing these goals, it does not necessarily turn out well for everyone.
High Ambitions and Sinister Consequences
What could the consequences be? If the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 achieve their initial goals, it does not turn out well for everyone:
If Wyll, for instance, manages to kill Karlach in Act 1, you lose one of the coolest, most powerful, and kindest companions. His patroness Mizora also tells him afterward that she lied to him regarding Karlach. Wyll’s conviction then wavers, and his celebrations are subdued.
If you keep Karlach alive and help her gradually deactivate the deadly machine in her chest, sadly, that does not solve her problems. Until over a month after the original release of the game, there was only the option to transform her into a soulless mindflayer so she could live on the Sword Coast.
Under all other circumstances, she simply died, and as a mindflayer, she is no longer herself. With Patch 2, at least she received an alternative ending, but that does not fully satisfy her original desires.
Lae’zel’s ambitions to ascend are difficult because, during the course of the game, it becomes clear that ascending means being absorbed by the Githyanki goddess Vlaakith to keep her powerful and alive. Lae’zel would thus die.
If Gale manages to achieve divinity, he, similar to mindflayer-Karlach, is no longer himself. He leaves his humanity behind. He also does not turn to the goddess Mystra, to whom he originally wanted to prove himself with the move. By the way, if anything goes wrong in the attempt to become divine, Gale simply dies just before the finish line.
Vampire Astarion, on the other hand, would carry on just like his master if he takes his master’s place. He would exploit others just as he was exploited and would absolutely abuse his power. And he would do this without any guilt. You can read more about this in the Act 3 section of our Astarion Romance Guide.
However, Shadowheart has the potentially most tragic ending: If she follows her original ambition, she will become a dark inquisitor for her goddess Shar. This means she completely turns away from Selûne, her parents, and her original destiny. She becomes evil and entirely dedicates herself to darkness, forgetfulness, and her goddess Shar.
In short: Most Act 1 ambitions of the characters fit very well into an evil Baldur’s Gate 3 run.
Wishes, Not Destinies
Can the companions be saved from their fates? Yes, it is possible. Even if the other possible endings can have their own consequences, albeit not as grave – here are a few examples:
- Shadowheart can turn to Shar’s sister Selûne and even reunite with her parents.
- Astarion can choose to remain a vampire spawn and still take revenge on his master, with a little encouragement.
- Gale can be gently encouraged to finally come to terms with his ex Mystra and set aside his divine ambitions.
- Lae’zel can turn against Vlaakith and start a liberation struggle for her people.
- Karlach can return to the hells with her new ending, survive, and perhaps even find a solution for her flaming heart there.
- Wyll, if he spares Karlach, will turn to a devil, but later he can free himself from his pact with Mizora and live freely.
Hardly any ending for the companions seems perfect when focusing on the details. However, there are endings where the characters do not lose themselves or have to make great sacrifices for a still beautiful ending. Even if it might not be the perfect happy ending. If you aim for an absolutely evil run, you can either let the characters have free rein or even incite them to do worse. By the way, a player once was even so evil: A player in Baldur’s Gate 3 was so evil that he had to call his mom to apologize.
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