Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3greets you with picturesque sceneries, compelling lifelike characters, captivating stories… and an unhealthy dose of conflicts. The Sword Coast is riddled with confrontations both obvious and hidden from the world at large, and the outcome of each of them can — and will — alter the fate of Faerun as a whole.
As a player, you’re the main character of this story, and it’s up to you to shape the future of the beloved fantasy realm. You can resolve most conflictsone way or another, usually by picking a side or leaving everyone to their devices. Here are the major confrontations in Baldur’s Gate 3 that you can take care of along the way.
10Tiefling Refugees Vs Shadow Druids
Emerald Grove Locals Seek To Kick Out The Outsiders… Kind Of
As you reach the Emerald Grove, you’re presented with the first major conflict of Baldur’s Gate 3. The local Druids led by Kagha want to seal off the Grove and demand that the tieflings leave — or else. If you dig deeper, you discover a plot as Kagha is a Shadow Druid who wants to make the Grove her new friends’ domain.
There are a few ways you can go about this conflict. Help the tieflings safely evacuate; ensure First Druid Halsin’s safe return; confront Kagha and the Shadow Druids to end their plot; or even encourage the slaughter between the Druids and the tieflings. The fate of the Emerald Grove entirely depends on your actions.
9Druids & Tieflings Vs Absolute Cultists
Cultists Want To Sacrifice The Emerald Grove To Their Deity
The Absolute cultists share the Shadow Druids’ sentiment that the Emerald Grove’s management has outstayed its welcome. However, the cultists seek to destroy the Grove entirely and kill everyone inside, including the tiefling refugees. Plagued by internal conflicts, the Grove locals can’t defend themselves without your help.
The two obvious options for you are to either join the Emerald Grove protectors and wipe out the cultists over at the goblin camp or succumb to Minthara’s charm and attack the Emerald Grove and kill its inhabitants. However, there’s another path: if you ignore this conflict, the Grove will be sealed off, and the cultists won’t find it.
8Myconids Vs Absolute Cultists
The Fungi People Fight Back Against The Duergar Oppression
As you venture into the Underdark, you meet more opposing parties. The Myconid Colony is suffering from the oppression of the Duergars led by the True Soul Nere. The Absolute cultists want to destroy the colony, and the mushroom people want to protect themselves. Each party will task you with taking out its foes, so it’s up to you.
you’re able to choose either side, depending on your playthrough. Bysiding with Nere, you’ll exterminate all his gnome slaves and the Myconids; by siding with the Colony, you’ll take on the gargantuan task of wiping out the True Soul and the Duergar. Alternatively, you can just leave the Underdark, and Nere will suffocate without help.
7Sovereign Spaw Vs Sovereign Glut
A Vengeful Myconid Wants To Take Over His Rival’s Colony
Even the Myconid Colony isn’t as peaceful as it initially seems. Sovereign Glut, a Myconid whose Circle was destroyed because of Sovereign Spaw’s refusal to help, is the most bloodthirsty when it comes to killing the Duergar, but he doesn’t intend to stop there. Glut wants to take over the Colony, which involves disposing of Spaw.
If you feel like Glut’s rage is righteous and deserves another chance as a ruler, you can help him take out the current Sovereign of the Colony. Otherwise, you can help Spaw destroy the rebellious Myconid and keep his position of power and life. But if Glut dies during your Duergar-killing rampage, this conflict won’t even emerge.
6Orpheus Vs Vlaakith
The Leech Queen’s Dark Secrets Might Just Become Her Demise
This hidden ancient confrontation is first somewhat unveiled at the Mountain Pass. After speaking to Vlaakith, the Leech Queen of Githyanki, you learn that Orpheus, the Prince of the Comet and Gith’s son, is still alive and held in captivity, and Vlaakith uses the lies about his death to establish her reign of submission and terror.
Orpheus’s fate is ultimately in your hands, since the Prince of the Comet is trapped inside the Astral Prism. You can either free him from his chains, and he will lead the war against Vlaakith’s tyranny after helping you, or sacrifice Gith’s son to your own ends, be it the Emperor’s embrace or the taking over the Crown of Karsus’s power.
5Harpers Vs Absolute Cultists
The Classic Tale Of Good And Evil Clashing For People’s Souls
For centuries, Jaheira’s Harpers have been tracking down any and all evil forces to protect the Sword Coast and save its good people. The Cult of the Absolute is just another enemy for them, but the most formidable one they have encountered to date, and even Jaheira admits that it’s a battle that takes a heavy toll on them all.
Your first chance to choose a side comes in Act Two, as you travel in the creepy company of Kar’niss and get ambushed by the Harpers. This fight, however, doesn’t even tip the scales. You can later join the Harpers and Jaheira in their fight against the cultists or destroy them at the Last Light Inn by killing Izobel, their protector.
4Selune Vs Shar
Typical Sibling Quarrels Are More Dramatic On The Deity Scale
Shar and Selune are two sister goddesses with opposing domains who hate each other. Shar is the deity of loss, and Selune is the Moonmaiden who tries to defeat her sister’s darkness with her light. The Shadow-Cursed Lands are Shar’s territory and her pride, and Selune has long attempted to end its unspeakable horrors.
To aid the Moonmaiden, you’re able to cleanse the Shadow-Cursed Lands, save her daughter Dame Aylin, and turn Shadowheart to the light. Should you wish to help Shar, do just the opposite and destroy Selune’s only fortress in the area, the Last Light Inn. This won’t exactly resolve their conflict, mind you; they’re deities, after all.
3Guild Vs Zhentarim
Baldur’s Gate’s Criminal Underworld Falls Into Internal Struggle
Massive criminal organizations can rarely ever conduct their business without interfering with each other, especially in a place like Baldur’s Gate. The Guild’s power over the city is strong, but the Black Network wishes to take over the reigns and return to its former glory. The Zhentarim plan a rebellious attack on the Guildhall.
This confrontation is very straightforward: duringthe Guildhall attack, you may support either the Zhents or the Guild members. Your decision will shape the future of Baldur’s Gate’s criminal underworld for years to come… Especially if, after taking out one party, you turn on the other and destroy both these organizations.
2Illithids Vs Githyanki
The Ancient War Keeps Raging Amid Mortals’ Perils
The two powerful races of the Astral Plane, Mind Flayers and Githyanki, have been at war for ages. The latter seek to exterminate the Illithids for enslaving them back in the day, and Mind Flayers still attempt to conquer and dominate other races on their supremacy grindset. The main reason Githyanki came to Faerun is to hunt ghaik.
While you don’t directly partake in their epic confrontation, you may severely hamper the Githyankis’ chances of winning. When siding with the Emperor, you have to sacrifice Orpheus, the Gith’s son prophesied to save his people. Alternatively, if you free the Prince of the Comet, you sort of take a shot at the Illithids by releasing him.
1Compassion Vs Power
Did You Do What’s Right Or What’s Easy And Beneficial?
Baldur’s Gate 3 has many bloody conflicts and struggles, but the internal ones are the most important. Every choice, every situation in the game puts you in a tough spot, and you often find yourself between a rock and a hard place. Being kind and compassionate often proves difficult and lacking in the benefits department, too.
Regardless of your previous choices,the finale of Baldur’s Gate 3 is the ultimate moral decision. Do you free the good people of the Sword Coast from tyranny or do you seize the power for yourself and begin the new reign of terror? This is your last choice between the good and the easy that will affect Faerun’s history greatly.
