Baldur’s Gate 3 enemies have exclusive access to a powerful D&D 5e subclass

Baldur’s Gate 3 has a Warlock subclass from D&D 5e that is only accessible to NPCs, giving them exclusive access to its powers.

The Warlock class in Baldur’s Gate 3 and D&D 5e is given magical powers by making a contract with a higher power. You pick your Patron at level 1, with Baldur’s Gate 3 giving players access to The Fiend, the Great Old One, and the Archfey.

D&D 5e has more options for Patrons, including the Undead, where your power comes from a being like a lich or a vampire, such as Vecna or Strahd von Zarovich. Unfortunately, Baldur’s Gate 3 players cannot use this Pact for their Warlock.

There is an enemy in the game who does have the powers of the Undead Warlock however: Ch’r’ai Tska’an, a Gith who is part of a group that ambushes the party. Ch’r’ai has access to the powers of the Undead subclass, including Form of Dread, which lets them take on a monstrous appearance.

The Undead Pact also has fairly easy abilities to adapt to Baldur’s Gate 3. Form of Dread gives you temporary hit points and lets you scare enemies when attacking them, Grave Touched lets you switch a damage type to Necrotic, and Necrotic Husk makes you resist/immune Necrotic damage, as well as giving you a Reaction attack when you drop to zero hit points. All of these abilities have equivalents in Baldur’s Gate 3, so it wouldn’t have been too difficult to implement the Undead Warlock subclass.

As pointed out on a thread on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, fans are mad that this wasn’t an option for the player. The Warlock Patrons are barely present in Baldur’s Gate 3 (excluding Wyll and Mizora), so it’s not like a ton of extra narrative content would be needed.

Larian has confirmed that Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t receive any DLC, so the Undead Warlock won’t be added to the game… officially. Mods already provide access to the Undead Pact, so PC players can at least unleash the power of the living dead on their enemy.