We’re not in Waterdeep anymore.Baldur’s Gate 3takes place in the Forgotten Realms world from Dungeons & Dragons and, as such, lets you create your own character as you venture on your journey to defeat the Absolute. However, the game also features Origin characters, pre-made characters with their own backstories that you’re able to play as.
Even though most of these Origin characters will be companions on your adventure, and you can still interact with their story this way, they all get exclusive content when you play as one of them. That said, let’s talk about Mystra’s chosen one, the powerful wizard Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep, and how the game changes when he’s the protagonist.
11Your Initial Stakes
Save Yourself Or Risk Exploding
As is common with all characters, once you’re out of the Nautiloid, you get a very basic explanation of your main goal, which consists of freeing yourself from the tadpole in your head. Gale has a more urgent reason to get rid of it, though; if he transforms, he will likely explode due to the orb in his chest.
This first scene doesn’t give you all the details right away, but it’s an effective way to set the stakes of the adventure for you, as the consequences of the explosion would be far too great.
10Tara’s Long Rest
World’s Greatest Tressym
Gale has a pet -or friend, actually - called Tara, a winged cat creature known as Tressym. You usuallyfind her in the third actof the game and have a quick interaction with her, but things change a bit when playing as Gale himself.
She’ll appear way earlier and stay at your camp for most of the game. She also gives the rather useful Ring of Evasion and explains the orb situation in more depth to you, the player. you’re able to also pet her anytime.
9Your Arcane Hunger
Time To Eat Some Boots
Gale has a condition called Arcane Hunger, which triggers three times during the game’s first act. Essentially, you need to feed the orb in your chest with magic items to prevent it from going haywire and exploding, and you usually help Gale by giving him items.
As Gale, you can select any magic item in your inventory and consume it. Removing this condition is also good mechanic-wise because it’s an annoying debuff to deal with. Just don’t consume anything useful because you’ll lose the item.
8Elminster Aumar
One Great Wizard To Another
When you reach the game’s second act, you’ll encounter one of the most powerful wizards in the D&D universe, Elminster Aumar. He puts your orb under control (temporarily) and gives you instructions from your Goddess, Mystra.
This is where you find out you can blow up anytime you want (resulting in a game over, by the way), and you can use this ability to sacrifice yourself and defeat the Absolute. You also have another unique conversation with Tara, in which she encourages you to find another way to save the world.
7Elminster’s Letter
He Doesn’t Want You To Die, Either
While the previous conversation happens in any playthrough where Gale is at camp (minus the Tara part), when you play as Gale, Elminster will later send you a letter that also encourages you to find another solution to defeat the Absolute.
You’ll still get the chance to blow yourself up if necessary, but this raises the dilemma of whether you should kill yourself to save the world or find a solution where you get to live afterward.
6Gerringothe Thorm
Purification Or Corruption?
In a rather random interaction, you get a unique scene when you interact with Gerringothe Thorm’s body, one of the Shadowlands bosses. You’ll see that she’s infected with a malicious form of the Weave (the energy that makes magic happen), and you can do something about it—or not.
Aside from ignoring it, you can cleanse the corrupt Weave from the body or absorb these dark powers for yourself. Your Goddess is against such dark Weave, but your relationship with her is complicated anyway.
5Karsus' Book
A Third Option Appears
As the story progresses, you’ll find out that the villains are using an ancient item known as the Crown of Karsus, which has a different type of magic compared to your Goddess. With it, a new option appears besides saving the world with or without sacrificing yourself. You can use the magic from the Crown to achieve Godhood.
Turning away from your humanity to become a powerful deity leans a bit more towards evil, though the whole dilemma is in a big gray area that makes it hard to pinpoint morality. Do what you think is right.
4Mystra Calls
Dealing With Your Not-So-Great Goddess
There’s a lot of history between Gale and Mystra, as you’ll figure it out during your playthrough. When Gale is in your party, you may send him to talk to her, which essentially triggers a cutscene as you don’t control him. However, you can decide what you’ll say if you are Gale.
Mystra will promise to fix the orb permanently in exchange for the Crown, though you’re able to still choose later whether to give it to her. You can also be nice or aggressive or even try to win her love back.
3The Final Fight
To Explode Or Not To Explode
There are two moments you’re able to destroy the Absolute by exploding: the end of Act 2 or the end of Act 3. These moments won’t necessarily have a different outcome when you play as Gale compared to having him as a companion, but they’re worth mentioning due to their impact on the character.
Both ways will give Gale an abrupt ending, turning him into a tragic hero in a redemption arc. Doing so in Act 2 will not only cut a huge part of your playthrough but also unleash an army of free Mind Flayers in the world.You’ll get to skip the fightif you sacrifice Gale, though.
2Endings
A God, A Human, Or A Corpse
Aside from exploding, you can end the game by actually going through the final fight and keeping yourself (and everyone else) alive in the process. Doing so will make the Crown fall into the river, but it’s easy to recover. The point is: What will you do with it?
As Gale, you’ll get a second conversation with Mystra, where you may return the Crown, use it to become your own God, or even attempt to take her place as God of Magic. What happens here is up to you.
