10 Worst Outcomes from Casual Decisions in Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 has a dizzying number of paths and decisions to make, and Larian somehow accounted for all of them. Many of these decisions lead to some unexpected consequences, most of which are actually positive. Some of these decisions, however, appear benign but end up ruining everything.

Unless you're doing an honor run, these consequences can be pretty funny, even if they're disastrous. Some of my favorite moments are from choosing to go the sassy route and ending up dead. Other times, you think you're being kind, but the world doesn't cooperate. These Baldur's Gate 3 consequences could happen dozens of hours later, or just moments after you choose, but they always feel right in the moment.

10 Putting All Your Trust in the Dream Visitor

There's a Lot of Take in this Relationship

The Dream Visitor is a friend. They protect you from the Absolute, they serve as your guide through an uncertain time, and they give helpful advice when needed. You designed them to be exactly what you need and want.

And then you find out that the Dream Visitor is an illithid. Not just any illithid, but what's left of the legendary adventurer Balduran. The tricky thing about illithids is that, canonically, they do not feel emotion, and there's plenty of evidence that the Emperor is constantly lying and manipulating you to get its way. Trust the Emperor, and you may just go the way of Duke Stelmane.

9 Trusting Astarion to Stop

Death by Vampire Bite

Astarion is unfortunately very pretty and, as gamers, we want to believe in the best of our companions. This is a combination that leads to some pretty unwise decisions, such as letting Astarion bite you and letting him keep drinking through two possible interventions. Trusting him to stop on his own is a fool's errand and you will die.

The next day skips the scene where you tell everyone Astarion's a vampire. Instead, get someone to resurrect you from bad-decision death, and you can yell at him about killing you. I actually really like this route, especially as the Dark Urge if you romance him, because both of you end up ominously looming over the other in the dead of night and trying to kill the other. You also get to tease him about it all the way into Act 2.

8 Giving Baelen the Noblestalk

He's Just an Awful Person and Derryth Deserves Better

You'd think that helping a man recover his senses would be welcomed by his wife, but she hates it and so do I. Give Baelen the Noblestalk in the Underdark, and Act 3 will drive home that he's an abusive husband and caretaker in every sense of the word. It's a horrible ending for everyone but Baelen, trapping Derryth in an abusive marriage that will never end.

Not giving Baelen the Noblestalk is a more positive ending, but an even better one is taking the Noblestalk and killing Baelen anyway. Nothing is more satisfying than blowing up the bibberbang field, and it leaves Derryth free to live her life as she pleases, and even adopts one of Baldur's Gate's many stray cats.

7 Eating All the Tadpoles

Power That Comes with a Cost

The Illithid powers the tadpoles offer give a definite edge in battle, and there are so many to be found across the Storm Coast that it's easy to just indulge for massive upgrades. Until the Emperor offers you a tadpole you just don't have the wisdom modifier to resist, or getting to the end intending to control the Netherbrain and you have to pass a constitution saving throw to not turn into a mind flayer.

This is all fine if you're planning on doing an illithid run, but consuming tadpoles for the extra abilities, then finding you're forced to become one is not a good time. Sure, you get a ton of warnings before making the leap, but having a choice taken away from you, especially one that comes with undoing everything you worked towards, is not a fun consequence and may make you reconsider those tadpoles on a replay.

Timing is Key

Going into the goblin camp guns blazing feels like the natural and normal way to approach it, but doing so is a grave mistake. The goblins are all levels 2–4, but their true danger is their numbers. It can be very easy to get overwhelmed when it's just the four of you versus 40 goblins.

The goblins approach you with aggression, but it's honestly better to stand down than start a fight just as you arrive at the camp. Getting to at least level 4 but preferably level 5 is recommended before you actually try to take down the camp. Being friendly with them at first also gives you access to the goblin vendor who has some interesting items, and the priest of Loviatar, who gives a fantastic buff.

5 Being Rude to Vlaakith

She's Very Sensitive

Vlaakith is very big and angry, and there's just something about her arrogance that makes you want to sass her. Taunt her enough, though, and she'll follow through with killing you using the most powerful spell in Dungeons and Dragons.

Taunting Vlaakith has been the end to many an honor mode run. I did it on my first playthrough, which was thankfully not honor mode, so I just reloaded. Despite being a very ignoble end to my first ever run, vexing Vlaakith to that point was one of the highlights of my BG3 experience, and I still laugh when I get to that point in my subsequent playthroughs.

4 Befriending Mol

She Pulls the Ladder Up Behind Her

Supporting and befriending Mol means sticking up for the little guy and giving a scrappy young leader the head start in life she would otherwise never have had. Right?

Mol isn't quite as simple as that and she talks a good talk. Her actions, however, speak otherwise. She happily sends "her kids" into certain death, including a harpy nest and stealing from the druids, and doesn't care if they get killed in the process. She makes a deal with Raphael, which would be understandable as she's a child and others far older and wiser than her have done the same, but then once she gets the benefits from it, she's fine with abandoning the rest of her gang to the slums. Mol is just not a good kid or person, and staying on her side is a thankless task.

3 Encouraging the Tiefling Siblings to Leave the Grove

Rolan Needs to Be in Act 2

This sibling trio isn't really a part of the tiefling group, and it can seem like a fair response to encourage them to leave as tensions in the Grove increase and the danger becomes worse.

The consequences of this, or simply running past them without stopping to chat at all, is that the tiefling children are all murdered by cultists in Act 2. Rolan saves the children offscreen when the tieflings are beset by the cult, and if he's not there because some intrepid adventurer encouraged him to leave, then there's nothing standing between the children and certain doom. This removes Mattis as a vendor, and all the other children besides Mol.

2 Condemning Mizora

Watch the Fine Print on that Infernal Contract

Mizora is on my list alongside Florrick as the most annoying character in Baldur's Gate 3, but even I wouldn't choose to destroy her in the mind flayer colony. This is a moment that feels good for a good few seconds before the consequences kick in.

Doing so results in Wyll being dragged to the Hells, or simply disappearing forever if he's not in your party. Failing his patron is considered the highest of betrayals and, even though Mizora is no longer around to leash him, the Hells as a whole consider him free for the taking. Even if you don't like Wyll, Karlach's reaction is more than enough to avoid this at all costs.

1 Supporting Gale's Cause

God Gale is Not It

The gods in the Forgotten Realms range from being okay to absolutely awful. Mystra, the goddess of magic and the Weave, falls on the better end of the spectrum, but her past relationship with Gale has a lot of very problematic elements, not least of which is the implied grooming.

So supporting Gale in his efforts to balance the scales a little more seems like a good decision, and a couple of innocent dialogue choices will push Gale in that direction. What comes after in the Epilogue, however, is the worst version of Gale. God Gale is up there with Ascended Astarion for most insufferable companion. He comes with very few positives that are all incidental, such as curing Karlach, which requires actually playing as Karlach.