Baldur’s Gate 3: My Disastrous Journey Through Honor Mode (Act 3)

Welcome back, folks! If you’re lost and confused, that’s because you’re reading the third part in a series of posts. Before going on, make sure to read through my adventure through Act 1 and Act 2. Thanks!

Without further ado: let’s get to the finale of this disastrous journey.

Act 3

My spirits were high going into Act 3. If I could defeat the God of Death, then nothing could stand in my way! As Elya looked out towards the distant city of Baldur’s Gate, my mind ran rampant with plans for the days ahead. Spells to learn, gear to earn, and foes to slay.

Excitement rapidly turned to panic when the githyanki attacked that night. At the same time, the Elder Brain tried to seize control of the party’s tadpoles. I had three turns to reach a portal for the next encounter. The cherry on top: I lost all my daily buffs. Luckily, Karlach managed to reach the portal in one turn before anything got too crazy, so I went into the fight ahead at full capacity.

To my surprise, the fight inside the Astral Prism went without a hitch. The same cannot be said for my ensuing conversation with the Emperor. Lae’zel wanted to gut him there and then to free Orpheus, Prince of the Comet and rightful ruler of the Githyanki. But as his power was the only thing protecting them from the Elder Brain, Elya persuaded her to indulge the Emperor a little longer.

It’s at this point that you can access to ascended Illithid powers. These are some of the most busted abilities in the game. Flight alone makes traversal and combat a thousand times easier. Now, Elya could transform into a Displacer Beast, had a huge boost to all Charisma dialogue checks, and got amazing new crowd control attacks in Mind Blast and Black Hole. And thanks to her session with the zaithysk, she could use them all as bonus actions.

My bard was already powerful. Now? She was a monster. Every encounter outside of the city was a complete joke. My confidence quickly became arrogance. A fact that would soon come back to bite me.

The following day went as smooth as butter. Our party ousted a local lord for trying to bomb children, investigated a murder in the local church, and stopped a black market trade. Astarion agreed to help the Belmonts Gur find their missing children, Karlach cheated a legendary spear out of a cheating djinn, Elya and Shadowheart went on a date, and the party murdered a clown. There was some trouble with the guards at the crossing, but the Ironhand gnomes helped us out with some good ol’ fashioned terrorism.

That joke is gonna land me on at least five watch lists.

After making some errands, Elya and Jaheira went to rendezvous with some nearby Harpers. Unfortunately, only one remained. All the others had been slaughtered by doppelgangers looking to ambush Jaheira. With our list of allies growing rapidly thinner, the Head Harper urges Elya to meet up with the leader of the Thieves Guild, Nine-Fingers. Their goal: to find Minsc of Rashemen, a legendary hero, old friend of Jaheira, and my favorite character of Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2.

Elya, Jaheira, Wyll, and Karlach arrived at Wyrm’s Rock in time for a special event: the coronation of Enver Gortash. The man who ruined Karlach’s life and planted a mind flayer parasite in Wyll’s father. A man whom Elya once knew very, very well.

Here, at long last, Elya’s lost memories returned. With them comes a horrible truth. Elya is a Bhaalspawn, daughter of the God of Murder. Together with Gortash, she created the cult of the Absolute in a bid to dominate the world. Once, she was the main villain of this story. Then Orin, her sister, betrayed and attacked Elya, reducing her mind to an empty shell. All of the suffering and death left behind by both the Urge and the Absolute were because of my own player character.

A terrible truth which Gortash reveals to the rest of the party. Close as Elya had become to her friends, none were too pleased to learn of her heritage. None save one: Astarion. Being a slave to a terrible master of his own, the vampire spawn sympathizes with the plights of the Bhaalspawn. In that moment, the friendship between Elya and Astarion became unbreakable.

Jaheira was not so sympathetic. Coming from Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, she knew very well the road a Bhaalspawn walks. She knows that heroes can rise from it as well as monsters. Having grown to trust Elya, she decides to give our heroine a chance to prove herself. Should she fail, the old Harper will be there to slay her. That night, Elya slept beneath the watchful gaze of a woman who would kill her without hesitation. Unable to do harm to anyone around her.

She had never slept so well in her life.

Once you reach the Lower City, Baldur’s Gate 3 completely lets go of your hand. There are over a dozen quests that you can tackle in any order you want. The only question was: where to start?

I decided to start small, tackling the easiest side quests first. To start, I went beneath the Elfsong to kill some rats, then some githyanki, and acquire some of the Emperor’s old equipment. Afterwards, I had a rematch with Auntie Ethil and saved a little girl, earning a legendary rapier in the process. Then I robbed Lorroakan, though I didn’t fight him; Dame Aylin’s side of the quest bugged out, so I decided not to bother. He didn’t even notice his magic items were missing.

Jaheira and Elya visited the Thieves Guild to find intel on Minsc’s whereabouts. Here, they learned about his new identity: the Stone Lord. Servant of the Absolute. With some digging, they learned that he was going to rob the city bank, and Nine-Fingers arranged a trap for him there.

Chasing Minsc from the vaults into the sewers, Elya managed to break the Absolute’s control over him. So it was that Minsc of Rashemen and his miniature-giant space hamster Boo joined the party. With him in tow, we returned to the Thieves Guild, stopped a Zentarim coup, and convinced the criminal network to assist us in the battle against the cult.

And made a very pretty profit doing it.

Things couldn’t have been going any better. The party reached max level, and they were becoming more powerfully armed by the day. After over fifty hours of struggling and many disasters, I felt confident that I could win.

My first major test came when Orin kidnapped Halsin. She gave Elya a simple ultimatum: kill Gortash, then face her in a duel to become Bhaal’s true Chosen. Fail to do so, and the druid would die.

The time had come for Elya to conquer her Urge once and for all. But first, the party had to find the Temple of Bhaal. So they thwarted a murderous dwarf, stole his collection of severed hands, and broke into the Murder Tribunal. Here, we confronted Orin’s grandfather: the main villain of Baldur’s Gate 1, Sarevok. He traded barbs with Jaheira and Minsc, then the battle began.

Sarevok is a monster of a boss fight. Man can deal hundreds of damage per turn, with long combo attacks or Power Word: Kill. On top of that, he has three servants that, when killed, give him a permanent buff to his damage and armor class. But as deadly as he is, he can only do so much when four level twelve characters are kicking him from all sides.

With Sarevok dead, it was time to raid the Temple of Bhaal. The only remaining obstacle was a test: kill an angry ghost. Fail to do so in five turns, and the party would be wiped out and the run would end instantly. Needless to say this fight gave me a fucking heart attack. But the party prevailed and entered the temple.

In a normal run, Orin is the easiest Chosen boss fight. She moves fast and applies a lot of frightened effects. The most difficult mechanic is Bhaal’s Blessing; during the fight, praying cultists give Orin several charges of Unstoppable, reducing that many hits to one damage. In Honor Mode, the fight is largely the same. But Orin hits way harder, and those cultists are completely invincible. Great for earning the First Blood achievement. Not so great for my prospects of survival.

Elya managed to convince Orin not to gut Halsin, and their one-on-one duel begin. Determined to refuse her father, Elya did not transform into the Slayer. Orin did not restrain herself the same way.

When it became clear that Elya could not defeat her sister alone, Astarion, Shadowheart, and Minthara intervened. Even with their help, I barely made it out of this fight alive. Orin hopped between party members faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, nearly dropping them each with one combo. But after a long and grueling battle, Minthara smote Bhaal’s Chosen into oblivion.

Despite the party’s intervention, Bhaal was more than pleased with Elya’s performance. Using her butler as a vessel, the Lord of Murder appeared before her. He would grant our heroine the power to take back control of the Absolute cult. All she had to do was surrender her will back to him.

But Elya was not the monster she once was. The Urge would control her no more. Knowing full well the consequences, she refused Bhaal’s offer. As punishment, her father unmade what he had created. Beneath the god’s vengeful wrath, Elya’s blood was spilled, and she died upon the floor of His temple.

Luckily, Elya had an ally Bhaal had not prepared for: Withers. With a wave of his skeletal hand, the mysterious scribe resurrected the bard. He went on to explain that Bhaal could only destroy that which he knew. But over the course of her adventures, Elya had become so much more. Now, she could live as her own person. Free of the Urge at last, she was the Daughter of None. And she still had work to do.

That night, as the party celebrated their victory, they were assaulted Astarion’s siblings. They were determined to bring him back to Cazador for hopes of a reward. But they were no match for Shadowheart’s Spirit Guardians and Minthara’s smites. Now my next target was clear. It was time to slay the vampire.

Cazador Szarr is one of the hardest fights in Honor Mode. All because of one simple spell: Thunderwave. If you don’t position yourself carefully, he’ll knock your party off a cliff and instantly kill them. Even if you exploit his weakness to sunlight, this dude is still a nightmare to deal with. To top it off, he’s accompanied by a whole gaggle of ghouls, bats, and werewolves.

Feeling bold, I raised held through his mansion without even a hint of fear. Elya and Astarion were best buds. He had supported her against the Urge; now it was time to repay the favor. Riding high, I charged the vampire lord directly.

But I had gotten too cocky. Too reckless. My plan was half-baked and fell apart immediately. Barely one round into the fight, I was scrambling to clean up the mess I had walked my characters into. I nearly managed it. Nearly managed to turn the tables.

I was too slow by one turn. Cazador captured Astarion. None of my party were in position to stop him. I could do nothing but scream as Cazador completed his ritual, becoming the unkillable Vampire Ascendant and reducing Astarion to a bloody pile.

All of my confidence in the run came crashing down in an instant. I barely managed to collect Astarion’s equipment and escape before Cazador could deliver my game over. Monstrously powerful as he was, I could not kill him anymore. I had no choice but to abandon that effort completely.

This caused a rather unnerving glitch. While Elya mourned the death of her friend, the rest of the party were completely unaffected. None of them even remembered Astarion. I felt as though I’d walked into a nightmare. Astarion wasn’t just dead; the game now treated him like he had never even existed. The only proof left of his existence was a lump of gore on Cazador’s floor.

Losing Astarion absolutely gutted me. Just as when Last Light Inn fell, I nearly gave up on the campaign then and there. If I couldn’t beat Cazador, what hope did I have against the other, more dangerous bosses?

But it was too late to give up now. I needed another victory. Something to rekindle the dying embers of my hope.

And I knew just where to go.

The House of Hope. Domicile of the devil Raphael. One of the best – and hardest – boss fights in Baldur’s Gate 3. If I could defeat him, then surely I could finish this disgraced run. If not, I could think of no better place for the campaign to end. So, mustering what little courage I had left, I sent Elya, Karlach, Lae’zel, and Gale into the Hells.

Once we broke into Raphael’s crib, the party met the lovely Hope. A prisoner tortured by Raphael into near insanity. Being a hero in need of redeeming, Elya swore to set her free.

At least, that’s the character reason. My reason was a desperate need for another cleric to fight Raphael. Trust me, the investment was more than worth it.

But first, I had to steal the Orphic Hammer. That was surprisingly easy. Elya and the party killed Raphael’s sex mirror (after asking about his impotence in bed) and learned the password to the weapon’s barrier. Unfortunately, this upset the servants of the House, so the party had to fight their way through them. As well as the Spectators downstairs guarding Hope’s prison.

With Hope freed, it was finally time to face Raphael. Between listening to the best music track in the game, I was having a panic attack. Not only does the devil have the highest HP pool in the game, but he is surrounded by powerful servants and can deal massive fire damage. Right from the first round, it was clear I was fighting an uphill battle.

A battle I was losing. I managed to destroy the Soul Pillars and his servants, but Raphael himself was giving every member of my team a swirlie. In my desperation, I sent a near-dead Lae’zel running towards the sauna. But of course, the healing water was disabled.

Yet this single-handedly saved my campaign. See, Raphael chased Lae’zel away, giving Hope room to resurrect a dead Gale. With the devil having left his own boss room, Gale came back to life outside of the initiative order. Giving him free reign to blast Raphael in the back with his strongest 6th level spell. This massive hit brought Raphael down low enough for Elya, Karlach, Lae’zel, and Hope to deal the killing blow.

Raphael’s death was my most monumental victory in the run. My shattered confidence was reforged yet again, stronger than ever before and tempered with humility and experience. As an extra bonus, I got the best armor in the game, raising Elya’s AC from a measly 16 to a titanic 25.

With the Orphic Hammer in hand, the parth made a pitstop in the sewers to check in with Voss. In doing so, we earned Lae’zel a silver sword, her most powerful weapon. Now we could only wait for an opportunity to free Orpheus.

With Lae’zel’s questline mostly complete, I figured it was time to take care of Shadowheart’s. I was especially nervous for this one. Viconia and the Sharans have given me no end of trouble in previous playthroughs. They love spamming Bone Chill and Darkness, making healing and seeing impossible. If you’re not careful, you can quickly get overwhelmed.

Unless you have a level twelve Minthara on your team. One equipped with gear that lets her see in magical darkness. Who lands a critical hit max level Divine Smite on Viconia the instant she was vulnerable.

I was worried this fight would be a nightmare. It turned out to be a joke. Elya and the party wiped the Sharans off the map and saved Shadowheart’s parents from Shar. Not to sound arrogant, but it was so easy I felt disappointed. Luckily, I had a far more dangerous enemy in the pipeline.

It was time to go dragon hunting.

Buried beneath Wyrm’s Rock, past trials of wit and might, rests the great dragon Ansur. The Heart of the Gate. Wyll believed he would be a great ally in the battle to come. So the party delved into the dungeons to find him.

The trials were easy to solve. Namely because I’ve done them four times now and had their solutions memorized. Only the torch trial gave me any stress, purely because of how relentless the myrmidons can be. But my worries were all for naught.

Until I met Ansur himself. Being the dragon in this Dungeons & Dragons game, Ansur does not fuck around. He hits hard, flies all around the arena, and comes packaged with devastating lightning abilities. Luckily, my six Globe of Invulnerability spell scrolls protected the party from most of it. Most being the operative word.

Once again, the party managed to squeak out a victory. Barely; all four of my characters were in single-digit HP range when Ansur was slain. But the rewards were well worth it. The Helm of Balduran provides free healing, and Balduran’s Giantslayer is one of the best swords in the game.

With every other major boss defeated, it was time to assassinate the archduke. Gortash was the last major boss standing between me and the Elder Brain. And the only thing between me and him was a castle loaded with traps, killer robots, and insane priests of Bane. Just another Tuesday.

Step one: eliminate the Steel Watch. The factory is run by captive Gondian gnomes. My options: blow them all up, or risk the run on an incredibly dangerous encounter to save their captive loved ones. Having made the mistake of having a heart, I chose the latter. Which meant stealing a submarine and breaking into the Iron Throne, an underwater gulag.

One that Gortash set to self-destruct the moment Elya arrived.

This is my favorite encounter in the game. I had just five turns to save the hostages and steal as much loot as possible. Down one path is Omeluum the Mind Flayer of the Society of Brilliance. In the other, Duke Ravengard, Wyll’s father. Finally, there was the loot chamber. Scattered all throughout the facility: the captive Gondians. All guarded by an army of Sahuagin and a rising water level.

So I made every DM’s nightmare come true: I split the party. Accompanied by a Storm Myrmidon, Elya went to save Omeluum. Karlach and Wyll moved to save Ravengard. Meanwhile, Shadowheart played crowd control with her Spiritual Guardians and Guardians of Faith, ensuring no fish got too near the exit. Everything was going so well.

Until Mizora summoned living grenades around the Duke. My plan had been to cast Sanctuary on Ravengard to protect him. Which was a mistake. Apparently divine protection didn’t account for explosions. But at least he got to see his son again two seconds before dying horribly.

After that, things went downhill fast. I managed to save a handful of Gondians, but the rest decided it would be more fun to fight than flee. In the end, I had no choice but to retreat. If they wanted to die horribly beneath the sea, so be it. At least I got my squid friend out. Call me cold, but he was the only one I really cared about.

Wyll was understandably upset about all this. His dad was dead, the city’s guardian dragon was dead, and Mizora was still giving Elya suggestive looks at camp. But after a quick pep talk, he decided on his new course in life: to become the Blade of Avernus and wreak havoc in the Hells.

Can’t say that’s what I would have done, but we all handle grief in our own ways.

Before Wyll could become a wannabe Doom Slayer, we had to save the remaining Gondians. At least, that was my intent. By the time I arrived at the factory, most of them were already dead. I tried to preserve the survivors, but they were just as suicidal as their family in the Iron Throne. Total gnomes saved today: maybe three.

Having completely failed in all her heroic endeavors, a frustrated Elya decided to bomb the damn place and be done with it. Unfortunately, there was a giant robot tank in the way. Luckily, I came prepared with lightning arrows and spells aplenty. It was a close fight, but once again, our heroes proved triumphant.

Normally, this is the part where the deep gnomes show up to be racist against the Gondians. But with the Gondians already being dead, they kinda just patted Elya on the back for being racist. Our heroine corrected their mistake by drowning them all in the harbor. She was a Bhaalspawn no more, but dear old Dad’s lessons weren’t so easily forgotten.

On the subject of drowning, there was also a dwarf guarding the sub Elya took to the Iron Throne. I gave him over to the priestesses of the Bitch Queen. After the Iron Throne disaster, I did not have the energy to defend one vaguely reasonable jailer.

With the Steel Watch disabled, it was finally time to confront Gortash. Luckily, the aforementioned castle of traps and minions proved no match for Elya, Karlach, Minthara, and Shadowheart. The four of them carved a bloody path to the top of Wyrm’s Rock to confront the Archduke of Baldur’s Gate.

I figured this fight was going to be way harder than it ended up being. Gortash is a god damn Monk that multi-classed into Artificer; as such, he has as many defensive options as he does high-damage ranged and melee attacks. His various shields protect him from ranged and magical damage. Get him down low enough and he’ll transform into a self-healing giant. One that hits like a semi-truck strapped to a rocket. Not to mention his room is full of minions casting buffs. And traps. Oh so, so many traps. I fully expected this to be the fight of my life.

But Karlach went absolutely ballistic. Wielding Balduran’s Giantslayer, she gave Gortash the thrashing of a lifetime. Shadowheart healed the Barbarian, while Elya and Minthara cleared the disposables. Once they were gone, it was just a matter of dog-pilling the boss until he was dead.

Whereas Wyll got none of what he wanted, Karlach got everything. The ability to touch others. Revenge on the man who ruined her life. But she was no happier than the warlock. Victory and vengeance were sweet treats indeed. Yet they could not wash out the bitter taste of her impending doom.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gale got a surprise summons from Mystra. Who told him once again to blow himself up. Ever the kind and caring friend, Elya encouraged him against it. Whatever was coming, they would face it together.

That’s what the character was thinking. I, the player, was much less certain. After so many catastrophes, close calls, and fuck-ups, I was more rattled than a maraca. Did I risk the run to save one party member? What would Astarion say to that?

The mood at camp was grim that night. On the morrow, all was to be decided. Would Elya and the party save Baldur’s Gate? Or was I doomed to return once more to the Nautiloid and Act One?

After a solid hour of deliberating (no joke), I put together my final party.

• Elya: 12th Level Bard, Jack of All Trades
• Karlach: 6th Level Barbarian, 3rd Level Rogue, 3rd Level Fighter, Ms. Rip and Tear Until It Is Done
• Minthara: 12th Level Paladin, Nuke-In-A-Box
• Gale: 6th Level Wizard, 6th Level Sorcerer, Master of Magic & Emergency Bomb

There was no turning back. It was time to confront the Elder Brain.

Unfortunately, the party’s first encounter didn’t go their way. Even with the three Netherstones, the Brain could not be controlled. It bursts free, evolving into a Nether Brain and unleashing a Mind Flayer fleet upon the city.

Of course, that’s all scripted. I got screwed over in a completely different way. See, when the Emperor saves you from the brain, you get a free full rest. But in my case, all that did was remove my daily buffs and elixirs.  No more Aid. No more Warding Bond. No more Death Ward. The game had stolen my safety blanket.

But there was no time to deal with that. A choice laid before Elya: save Orpheus, the Prince of the Comet, or side with the Emperor. Not wishing to wake up with Lae’zel’s sword in her gut, she decided to save the githyanki. Alas, the Emperor is a petty bitch and decided to join the Nether Brain.

That lead to an even more difficult choice. In order to subdue the brain, one member of the party needed to become an Illithid. Question was: who?

Most people would make Orpheus do it. But I didn’t want to risk the future of the Githyanki. That passed the ball to Elya herself. A noble and unfair sacrifice for our Bhaalspawn turned heroine.

Then I remembered: Karlach could do it too. My gut immediately rejected the idea. But logic won the day. Karlach’s only choices were to die or return to the Hells. Maybe this third option would be better.

Gameplay wise, it certainly was. Karlach may have lost the Infernal Engine. But instant access to every Tadpole ability more than made up for it. She was already a monster, but with this transformation, she became the strongest member of my party.

Just in time, because I was screwed. Having lost my daily buffs, I had to rely on passives granted by my allies. Just one problem: I barely had any allies! Most of them died back in the Last Light Inn, and my many fuck-ups in the city itself only made it worse. I had almost nothing to work with!

The following combat encounter was the most hectic of the entire run. Like any good RPG, the game throws just about every enemy type it has at you in one final gauntlet. Mind Flayers, Spectators, goblins, ogres, assassins of Bhaal, clerics of Bane, ghouls and skeletons, the works. All I had were my four party members, a handful of Harpers, Flaming Fists, a one-time use dragon, and Dame Aylin.

Turns out, I needed none of that. Throw-build Barbarian Illithid Karlach absolutely steam-rolled everything. Spears flew like birds, and monsters died by the dozen. Her flying made the next encounter a complete joke. Normally, you need to climb a crumbling tower while a Nautiloid lays down fire on you. Or you can just fly straight up to the Nether Brain’s stem and end it in one turn.

At last, I had arrived. The final boss. All that stood between me and my golden dice skin was the Emperor, half a dozen Mind Flayers, an army of tentacles, a red dragon, four Dream Guardians, and the Nether Brain. Easy, right?

Standing at the brain stem, I came to a cold realization: I couldn’t win. With the resources I had available to me, I wouldn’t be able to beat the dragon, much less the Nether Brain. If I lost, I would have to repeat the entire. Game. Again.

Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps I could have won. Problem was: I was exhausted. Between this run and the failures that came before it, I had spent over a hundred hours trying to beat this stupid challenge. I didn’t have the spirit left in me to lose another one.

But there was a second option. The Orb of Karsus. By sacrificing Gale, I could skip the entire final battle. There was no need to worry. I had won already. All it would cost me is one more party member.

No joke, I was debating with myself for half an hour over this. My pride urged me to tackle the challenge, come what may. The part of me that’s an adult with limited free time argued fiercely against it. I already lost Astarion; what was one more dead friend? It was only fitting, given how cursed this whole run had been.

After much deliberating, I came to my decision. If it was between losing my wizard or the entire run, then there was only one choice. You may call me a coward. But I did what I had to do.

With a heavy heart, Elya spoke with Gale one last time. The two shared one final hug, then the Wizard of Waterdeep urged her away. Climbing the stem alone, Gale confronted the Nether Brain. With one last joke, Mystra’s Chosen detonated the Orb of Karsus. In a flash of magic, the Absolute was destroyed. Baldur’s Gate was saved.

The party regrouped on the docks. Despite their victory, the mood was somber as everyone mourned Gale’s sacrifice. Not long after, Orpheus departed to wage war upon Vlakith, taking Lae’zel with him. So it was that Elya parted ways with her friends. The adventure was over.

So, remember how Elya accidentally failed and succeeded the Dark Urge quest back in Act 2? Well, this caused an interesting glitch come the end of Act 3. Apparently, Elya did not save Shadowheart from herself. Now freed of her Urge, she can do nothing but regret having killed the woman she loved.

Except not really. Shadowheart was fine. Elya married her and the two went to live happily on a farm with flowers and animals. That entire last scene was just a nightmare. One final petty jibe from Bhaal.

Epilogue & Conclusion

Months later, Withers gathered everyone around for a reunion party. Elya gave Shadowheart a kiss, then went to catch up with the others. Minsc was working to enforce ethics within the Thieve’s Guild in his own Minscy way. Jaheira went back to leading the Harpers with an iron fist. Wyll has been having the time of his life slaying devils as the Blade of Avernus. Lae’zel was busy leading a diplomatic mission with the Githzerai. Minthara returned to the Underdark to wage war on her homeland.

The mood took a turn for the tragic when Elya spoke with Karlach. In the days since the Absolute fell, she’s taken up work in a hospital. When a patient grows weary of life with no hope of recovery, she devours their brains. In doing so, they become part of a hive of souls held within her mind. It’s noble. It’s grotesque. And it’s warped Karlach so badly that nothing of who she was remains. Seeing that, Elya had to wonder: maybe death wasn’t such a bad fate after all.

But it was seeing Gale that got my waterworks running. In the event of his death, he left a mirror image behind to deliver a final message. A letter for Elya. Reading the note, our heroine was moved to tears. Unable to help herself, she hugged Gale’s double tight. To which the duplicate remarks that the real him must have been very lucky indeed to have a friend like her.

Wiping away tears, Elya spoke with Withers one final time. Gathering everyone around, the old Scribe of the Dead raised his glass in a toast. With one last cheer for Baldur’s Gate, the party drank, and the credits rolled.

My run was complete. My golden dice earned. Heaving a sigh of relief, I sat back in my chair and stared at the credits rolling by. Trying to appreciate each and every name there for their work on this incredible game. A game I now knew, without a shadow of doubt, was going to be my favorite for a long, long time.

Thus ended my disastrous journey through Baldur’s Gate 3. It was a catastrophe, but that’s part of what made it so damn memorable for me. I couldn’t just reload my mistakes. I had to live with them and adapt. Every roll of the dice had my heart racing. Because of my failures, I had to make decisions I normally never would. The story that took shape was more intense, tragic, and engaging than in any of my other playthroughs. I’ve never had an experience like it in any other game.

If you enjoyed what you read, consider giving Honor Mode a shot. It can be brutal and frustrating, but it was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had with a game. You certainly can’t do any worse than I did.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much for reading. This project quickly expanded beyond my original plans, and I loved every second of it. Even if it came out *checks calendar* two months later than I originally planned. Better late than never, am I right?

Maybe I should stop writing blog articles like they’re novellas…