Baldur’s Gate 3 players explain why blowing up this NPC is the morally good option

Michelle Cornelia
A screenshot featuring Shadowheart with Fire Bolt spell icon in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur’s Gate 3 players have admitted that they would rather let this particular NPC get blown up rather than rescuing him, claiming it’s the morally good thing to do.

As you journey through the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll stumble upon a dwarf named Derryth Bonecloak, searching for her missing husband, Baelen. After a bit of exploring in Underdark, players will find that Baelen’s situation is much worse than simply being missing.

The mushroom picker had ended up getting trapped by himself, surrounded by dangerous explosive mushrooms with nearly no way out. One wrong move and literally everything will blow up to pieces — and it’s up to your party to save him.

Initially, if you’re playing as a good character, naturally, you’d want to land your hand to get him out of the situation. However, in a Reddit thread poking fun at “accidentally” blowing up the mushrooms, players admitted that they’d rather leave Baelen to a cruel fate rather than rescue him for the sake of his wife.

baldur's gate 3 choices
Baelen Bonecloak in Baldur’s Gate 3 turns out to be abusive to his wife.

“Once I learned that if you blow him up, Derryth loses (1) one abusive husband and gains one (1) adorable cat (with your assistance). BIBBERBANG,” commented one user.

For the uninitiated, freeing Baelen can be considered one of the “morally misleading choices” in the game. This is solely because while Baelen appears confused and suffers from memory loss when you first meet him, a bit of digging later on in Act 3 can reveal that he’s been an abusive husband and a heavy drinker.

As such, players are going out of their way to make sure the dwarf doesn’t see the light of day. One user even jokingly described the situation by writing: “Baelen: Help me…!!! Tav: OK. IGNIS!”

Meanwhile, another user mentioned:  “‘yo BIBBERBANG WATCH OUT-’ Me grabbing the Noblestalk before it blows away to feed Shadowheart.”

“I saved him the first time. Then found out he’s an abusive d****wad and kinda wanted to murder him. Next playthrough just let him die,” one chimed in.

At the end of the day, it’s up to the player to choose whether they want to rescue him and give him the Noblestalk. Though if you’re romancing Shadowheart, it’s worth giving this to her as it will allow her to restore her memories.

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