Emperor or Orpheus Guardian only increases, which is aggravated by the meeting with the heir of Gith. The of one of the sides determines which character will help in the battle against the Absolute.
It is unknown whether the illithid should be trusted and what exactly of his words is true, as well as how much the final ally in the final battle will affect the ending. In the guide we will tell you who to choose in BG3 - Emperor or Orpheus. Read about the consequences of each choice: if you side with a sentient illithid or the Githyanki people, and whether you can remain neutral.
Who to choose: Emperor or Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3
First of all, let us note that good or bad ending can happen both when you decide to trust the Emperor, and if you want to save Orpheus. The following information contains extensive plot spoilers, revealing the details and consequences of each side's .
Emperor, if you believe him, have become an illithid, are having an affair with him, or are indifferent to the fate of the githyanki. Take a side Laezel.
Primary the problem is illithid preference or prince It serves that the Emperor cannot be accurately defined as a negative or positive hero. Here are a few facts about him:
- Keeper honestly its that manipulated the main character for the sake of defeating the Elder Brain, but it is unknown how sincere his words are. The Emperor was a good person during life, but after the process of ceremorphosis, the creature becomes a different person, as the larva in the illithid tries to imitate the past character and habits of the owner of the body.
- You can find information about what The Emperor resisted the Brain's control and pretended, but it cannot be said unequivocally that this was true, and his goals were good. Many consider the Guardian to be a liar, but in reality he only withholds the truth, like Raphael.
- Regarding the death of Ansur, everything is also ambiguous, since the only The Emperor's goal is to survive. If he had not killed his friend, he would have died himself, since Ansur decided in this way to prevent his transformation into an illithid.
- The Emperor's bad deed Stelmina control and turning her into a puppet. However, it is worth ing that illithids and humans think differently.
- Keeper did not imprison Orpheus, but only used it, since it was Vlaakith who initially locked it.
- Withered says illithids no soul, but notices the peculiarity of the Emperor.
- If you condemn the Guardian while having an affair with him in lack of feelings, then he will answer that the hero somehow managed to wound them.
What happens if you help the Emperor and accept his offer?
If you choose the Emperor as an ally, he will absorb Orpheus. The Githyanki people will be in ruins, in the final battle monsters will appear that copy the party based on the type of their classes, and you will be faced with a choice:
- Give the Netherian stones to the Guardian;
- Become an illithid or allow one to become one Karlach.
Depending on the decisions you make, you will be able to:
- Become the Emperor's puppet;
- Go traveling;
- Become Absolute.
If you become a mind flayer, you will have the opportunity to:
- Revive the Knights of the Shield and rule the city with the Emperor;
- Eat the Guardian's brain.
What happens if you help Orpheus
When deciding to help Orpheus, due to betrayal, loss of protection and fear of death, the Emperor will flee and merge with the Netherian brain. Prince Gith would never harm the survivors of the illithid ship, as the Guardian feared.
- Failure of the persuasion check could put Laezel's romance, and her life in general, in danger.
- In the final battle you will have to fight against the Emperor on a dragon and Dream Catchers who have the “Order” spell.
- When freeing Orpheus, you can still sacrifice him, as an alternative you will have to turn into an illithid or allow Karlach to do so.
- Laezel will be able to leave with Prince Gith, stay with the main character, or replace Orpheus if he dies.
There will remain the opportunity to either kill the prince and become the Absolute, or allow him to destroy the Netherian brain.
Read in a separate guide how to free Orpheus.
Can the Emperor and Orpheus be saved?
Many people wonder whether it is possible to free Orpheus and leave the Emperor. Unfortunately, this possibility was not realized, so in the finale one of them will have to be sacrificed, and there are two options for the development of events: the Guardian will absorb Prince Gith, or will escape to the Absolute.
We hope the article helped you decide whether to choose the Emperor or Orpheus in Baldurs Gate 3. If you have any questions, please write comments. In the corresponding section of the site you can find other Baldur's Gate 3 guides.
With Orpheus, everything is simple - he is a good guy. That is, when we are released, he first looks at us like a wolf because we killed his guard, but if we build a dialogue on checking Orpheus himself, and then offer our candidacy for the role of the illithid, then Orpheus will change his mind and will respect us, which is logical.
As for the Emperor, he is perceived as an ambiguous figure throughout the plot. He saved us, protected us from submission to the elder brain. But on the other hand, he deceived us, appearing in the form most pleasant for our perception. He killed his best friend Ansur. However, Ansur himself wanted to finish off the Emperor. He was a great hero in the past. In general, until a certain point it is not clear how to perceive him, but there is one decisive act. If we side with Orpheus, the Emperor runs to the elder brain. Between possible death and slavery to absolute evil, the Emperor chooses slavery. That is why I would still call him a villain who pursued his own selfish interests.
It's a pity that it's impossible to persuade the Emperor to cooperate with Orpheus. He would make a deal, but for some reason the Emperor doesn't consider this option. And because of this, we have to choose someone for the role of the illithid.
I don't know, the problem is not to kill Bald**a. He is clearly rotten and a real scumbag, judging by his behavior, what he inclines to, the triggers he aggroes for, who wants power over an entire, alien, military race. This is perceived only as "I want this gun." I don't feel sorry for him at all. Baldur died in the Moon Towers. And this is just an immoral brain eater, who re what other races consider good and bad, which allows him to easily disguise himself. But these are alien memories of another creature for this creature, whose morality is fundamentally different, and therefore he will easily behave in accordance with his internal morality at the right moment, and not guided by the morality from his memories.
Another thing that pisses me off is that the developers slipped a piano in the bushes by saying that an illithid is needed for some reason to kill the brain, having justified it very vaguely and forcing the player to turn someone into the same creature as the Emperor. Karlah? Are you kidding? To turn this spark of positivity into a monster? Yes, together with her, we are making a new heart in Avernus and let anyone come, look at one devil 666 who left before he could understand it. An unfinished merchant, hah, a baron of all Hell, yeah right.
Laesel? That's not an option either, it will break her. The warrior will die and Laesel will live a quiet life. There will be emptiness instead of eyes. That can't be done.
Orpheus? Damn, this guy has suffered enough, that's why this will finish him off and he'll commit suicide. If he hadn't lived in captivity for centuries, he would have gone quiet like Laesel, but there's even more suffering here, considering his launch platform, that's not how he pictured his future.
Transform yourself? Not an option. What was the point of it all then? He didn't sign up to save the world. The main and dominant phrase is I want to get rid of the parasite, and then variations for RPG.
I don't understand why the main character can solve any situation without any problems, and neither the Emperor nor Orpheus can even come close to him in strength, especially since his comrades will him, while Laezel will purse her lips and endure while her beloved Orpheus is being driven along with the Emperor with their faces on the ground on the topic that either they also clench their buns, sticking their principles in there and do what is necessary, solving pressing problems together, or they both die and we all become illithids here. They will start cooperating at once. But no, the developers forbade it, a sacrifice is needed. Scum.
thank you very much, I certainly dreamed of the opportunity to turn Laezel in illithid
Thank you very much for the article. But to be honest, this doesn't make the choice any easier. It’s a pity that you can’t save Orpheus and not kill the Emperor. On the one hand, the Emperor was always with us and helped, but I very well ed the book in his lair about the illithids - do not believe their words and look at their actions, since they will always pursue only their own goals. It’s sad to kill someone who was once a bastard who founded the city. But as he himself said, he is a completely different person.
Then there is Orpheus. Honestly, I didn't like the Githyanki at all as a race. Their behavior too. However, Vlaakith really pisses me off. Besides, I can’t forget the epic trip to Nadezhda’s house and the murder of Raphael. It was not for nothing that I took the hammer. At the same time, I categorically do not want to turn myself or Karlakh into an illithid.
I will also not forget how much the Emperor lied to us. He lied and did not finish speaking all the time. Having compared all this, I decided to free Orpheus after all and he turned into an illithid.
Let's see what the ending will be like.
Thank you very much for the article. The most intelligent in the entire RuNet.
Hello. Yes, the severity of the choice is also justified by the fact that you no longer know who to trust at the last game act, since there are practically no clearly good personalities - the same illithids and Orpheus are in some way worth each other, but in the end, due to new information about the Emperor the advantage often goes against him, unless the player decides to remain loyal to him for all the help, since without him he could be completely dead. It is possible that in the future developers or fans will release a patch or mod that expands this solution, but so far, unfortunately. We are happy to help and thank you for your pleasant (and it may also help someone make a choice).
I really wanted someone to end up knocking Vlaakith in the teeth, so I chose Orpheus. Besides, he turned out to be a normal guy, albeit with his Githyanki habits. But after the story with Ansur, sympathy for the emperor decreased... Thanks for the article!
We're glad that the information was useful)
Well, with Ansur the emperor can be understood. You've turned into a brain vampire, you eat criminals, and you seem to be fine. And your best friend or even lover says that you are no longer you and he will kill you out of mercy. And a dragon is not something that you can simply shrug off. Actually, this Orpheus also says that, as a decent person, I should have run my belly into the sword of his guards, so as not to defile the world with my illithid presence, since it is a great honor and mercy, if infected, to receive a worthy death from interdimensional barbarians. And the Githyanki are just barbarians and pirates who crawl out of their astral plane either to destroy illithids, but more often to rob and kill, as well as capture slaves. They plundered all the jewelry with which their armor and weapons were decorated in their raids, devastating entire cities. That's just their culture. In the end, they sold Takhisis' ass for the dragons.
In general, everyone is good. But at least the Emperor doesn’t say that it would be better for you to die.