Baldur’s Gate 3 community divided as some claim the Emperor gets special treatment
Baldur’s Gate 3 players have been divided by recent analysis of the Emperor, mostly thanks to comparisons between him and Cazador, everyone’s least favorite vampire.
One of the more enduring questions facing the Baldur’s Gate 3 community is the morality of the Emperor, the mindflayer who catfishes you and provides immunity to the Elder Brain’s control.
He’s a strange guy, not only because he pretends to be a cool guardian figure to lower your suspicions, but also because he really wants you to become a squid just like him. It’s a tough sell, but those illithid powers aren’t nothing.
Come Act 3 and you’ll have to make a choice between the Emperor and Orpheus, the prince of the comet, who’s also trapped inside the Astral Prism. But while the Emperor’s motives and tactics are often described as nuanced and complex, there’s another Act 3 character who does similar things, but gets treated very differently.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players highlight the Emperor’s blatant double standard
One player on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit highlighted the fact that Cazador and the Emperor both enslaved people against their will, with Cazador controlling everyone’s beloved, Astarion, and the Emperor manipulating Stelmane, former leader of Baldur’s Gate.
The difference in treatment could be down to the fact that no one likes Stelmane as much as Astarion. To be fair, no character is liked as much as Astarion. Still, it gave some players pause for thought.
One player said: “I do actually feel sorry for Cazador and find it weird how people treat him as a cartoon villain when he is written pretty well despite having so much cut content.
“He’s a terrible person, obviously, but he is also another cog to the curse of vampirism. Just like Vellioth before him, just like Donnela before them both…”
