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This isn’t the first time inBaldur’s Gate 3that you’ve had to determine if you can put your faith in the Emperor, but this will definitely be the last. As you juggle with your trust in your mind flayer companion, the future of the githyanki people rests in the balance. How are you supposed to make a good decision?
RELATED:Baldur’s Gate 3: Who Is Your Guardian?
Thankfully, we’ve made all the decisions so that you don’t have to. In the end, it seems that your mind flayer companion is not as forthcoming or truthful as you’d like to believe. But let’s take a deep dive into all the possibilities and truths hidden on a first playthrough.
What Happens If You Side With The Emperor?
The Emperor, your protector and Guardian, has been with you touched down on the beach, and it’sonly natural you’d want to side with the person who has supported youalong your journey.If you romanced himprior to your choice, this may complicate things further.
But siding with the Emperorwon’t be popular with all your allies- namely Lae’zel if you didn’t turn her against Vlaakith.
Any romance with Lae’zel will be broken by choosing to side with the Emperor and failing a DC30 Persuasion roll. She will thank you for past battles but leave you with the promise her future battles will be without you.
By choosing the Emperor, he’llconsume Orpheus’s brainanddoom the githyanki raceto continued subservience to Vlaakith. In the final fight, Voss will continue to assist you, but he will vow to hunt you down after the brain’s defeat.
On the other hand, you’ll continue your alliance with a familiar friend andavoid having to face an extra, powerful enemy in the final fight.
You will have the choice, when siding with the Emperor, togive him the Netherstones or have yourself or Karlach(with high approval)become an illithidto use the Netherstones instead.
By siding with the Emperor, you’llgive the Netherstonesto the Emperor. In the end, this means that he’llfight the brain with you as an allyand thendepart in the end,disappearing from the eyes of the world for the foreseeable future.
He will state (although the narrator admits that you are uncertain if he is being genuine) thathe will truly miss youand wishes you may see each other again.
However, if youPersuade him to control the Netherbrainand rule the world with you, he’llturn you into his thrall.Ruling the world from his throne on the Netherbrain, you’ll become apet at his throneside without free will or agency.
This endingseems to make the Emperor the most pleased, him even praising you for his ambition and admitting this had been his primary thought.
Why You Shouldn’t Trust The Emperor
As revealed in the bookOn Psionic Manipulations and Countermeasures, found inthe Emperor’s hideout:
“…it is in [mind flayers'] nature to assess the utility, strengths, and weakness of those around them, and to manipulate in order to get what they want. …Pay attention to its actions, not its words.Especially words that are tailor-spoken to fit a mind flayer’s manipulative agenda.”
With this in mind, one mustlook at the Emperor’s actions(and inactions) to determine his trustworthiness.
Though your choice to trust the Emperor is completely up to you as a player and your character’s morals,if you’re wondering if the Emperor is the “good guy,“we can safely say, by definition of his actions, thathe is not.
Overlooking his eagerness to turn you into a mindless thrall in one of the endings above, hereveals his true colors if you rejected him during his romance scene.
If you asked to look into his memories, he reveals that he hadturned his partner, Duke Stelmane, into a puppetanddirectly states:
“You are my puppet.Make no mistake. Without me,you have no value… Your puerile attachment to your material form jeopardizes us all. If I must,I will force you.”
you may also find record logs of his mind-tampering with Duke Stelmane as well as experiment logs where he systematically dismembered her. This log is found inhis secret hideout.
On the bank near the skiffy you take to reach the Elder Brain for the first time, you may find a book that reveals that the Emperor had told Gortash, Orin, and Ketheric about the Netherstones and the Elder Brain. Thus, theevents of the game are the direct influence of the Emperor himself.
In addition, he haslied repeatedlyby stating he has no more secrets to keep. During his romance, he states he has nothing else to hide, butventuring to Ansur’s lairreveals this to be entirely false (not to mention, it reveals he’dmurdered his best friend for his own preservation).
Although your wants and desires are aligned for the majority of the plot, it appears that your relationship with the Emperor appears to bemostly controlled through the manipulations and lies of your “Guardian.”
What Happens If You Side With Orpheus?
By telling the Emperor you wish to free Orpheus, he will completely reject you and leave the prism tojoin the Netherbrain’s forces.He’ll becomean enemy you must face in the final battle.
If you were afraid that Orpheus would attack you as the Emperor warned, don’t worry;Orpheus makes no aggressive actions against youno matter what choices you’ve made in your journey.
In order to free Orpheus, you must haveobtained the Orphic Hammer.
If you haven’t, there is one last chance to obtain it after the Emperor leaves as Raphael will appear and offer you his deal once more.
Although Orpheus will be unhappy with you - even if you haven’t consumed any tadpoles, he willagree to join you in your fight.However,someone must still be an illithidto use the Netherstones.
Whether you turn Orpheus into a mind flayer or not,Kith’rak Voss will side with your group, andLae’zel will have a positive opinionof the situation (if not a little more sour if Orpheus is the one who becomes an illithid).
In the final battle, you mustface the Emperor and a red dragonhe’s controlled into submission, making the final fight much harder than it would have been by siding with the Emperor.
When facing the Netherbrain, you canchoose to stab Orpheus in the backand kill him, becoming the Absolute yourself.
Otherwise, Orpheus willdestroy the Netherbrain and all tadpoles.
If Orpheus survives to the end, there will befour possible endings:
Orpheus Remains Mortal And Leaves With Lae’zel
If Orpheus doesn’t become an illithid, he’ll try to convince Lae’zel to come with him and liberate the githyanki people. If you don’t stop her, the two will leave on two red dragons to face Vlaakith.
Orpheus Remains Mortal And Leaves Alone
The same as above, but if you convince Lae’zel to stay on Faerun with you (DC30 Persuasion), Orpheus will leave to face Vlaakith alone while Lae’zel continues her journey with you.
Orpheus Becomes Illithid And Sacrifices Himself
If Orpheus becomes an illithid, he’ll ask you to kill him after defeating the Netherbrain. He’ll die at your blade after requesting Lae’zel take his dragons and face Vlaakith in his stead.
Orpheus Becomes Illithid And Survives
On a successful DC20 Persuasion check, Orpheus can be persuaded to live rather than die at your sword. After requesting Lae’zel face Vlaakith, he’ll find a far corner of the realms to stay in complete solitude and witness the liberation of the githyanki people thanks to Lae’zel and Voss.
Who Should You Turn Into A Mind Flayer?
Whether you choose the Emperor or Orpheus, youdo not have to give the Emperor the Netherstones.You may choose to make yourself or another into an illithid and control the stones.
People fit for becoming an illithid include:
Although Gale offers to blow himself up, there is no way to bypass someone becoming an illithid if you don’t give the stones to the Emperor. Orpheus in particular will not allow it.
Byfar, thebest person to turn into a mind flayer appears to be Karlach. Although there are a few requirements and the chance that bringing Gale renders this entirely impossible, Karlach’s offer to become illithid is willing and eager.
Above all, turning Karlach into a mind flayer is a way toprevent her from dying or returning to Avernus(something she strongly is against).
Turning yourself into a mind flayeraffects all romancesin different ways, strongly complicating all but Gale’s (who, yes, would still love you if you were worm). Most notably, itends Astarion’s and Lae’zel’s romances entirely.
For the most part, you will either need to seclude yourself from all humanity without ever receiving recognition for your deeds or embrace the evil impulses of your transformation.
Choosing tobecome a mind flayer but still side with the Emperoris possible, and it also unlockstwo additional endings:
By turning Orpheus into a mind flayer, you willprevent the prince from becoming personally involved in the revolution of the githyanki peopleagainst Vlaakith. This may have severe consequences against their efforts.
You will have a choice betweenkilling him or sentencing him to a future of separationin distant corners of the astral planes.
