Hidden Baldur’s Gate 3 content makes random fish the hero

A dedicated Baldur’s Gate 3 player found a series of late-game failsafes including one that puts the fate of the Forgotten Realms into the fins of one random fish.

Baldur’s Gate 3 players have plenty of evidence to prove that developer Larian Studios thought of nearly everything. That level of detail and foresight led one YouTuber to test out what happens if you lose certain key items in locations you have no way of returning to.

The end of Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 2 introduces the Netherstones, powerful magical artifacts held by the Chosen of the Dead Three. After defeating Thorm and getting his Netherstone, players spend Act 3 obtaining the rest.

Since these items are necessary to reach the final boss, the game makes it very clear they are important. The Emperor will even chastise players who drop the Netherstones, ordering them to pick them up and keep them safe.

In a video, Proxy Gate Tactician shows off a variety of failsafes they found that prevent players from softlocking themselves should they lose the Netherstones, some of which are pretty wild.

The YouTuber found unique lines of dialogue and even some encounters that only occur if you lose the Netherstones in certain places.

Most interesting is what happens if you lose the Netherstones at the Iron Throne, an underwater prison that self destructs once you leave. Since you obviously can’t return there, the game has measures in place to prevent players from accidently making their save impossible to complete.

If this happens, the Emperor will send you to the Lower City docks, and defeating and looting the Suhagin will allow you to get the stones back. However, since that encounter happens regardless, Proxy Gate Tactician tested what would happen if you already completed it before the Iron Throne.

As they found, that causes the Netherstones to fall into the hands of a merchant in that same area, where they can be purchased for a couple of gold each. But because, like the Suhagin, the merchant exists no matter what, the YouTuber tried again, killing him to see what happens if both failsafes are removed.

The result is that a random fish will consume the stones and wash onto shore where it can be looted, leading Proxy Gate Tactician to joke that it had “giving its life to save Faerun.”

Also surprising is an entirely unique encounter that takes place if you lose the stones at the Steel Watch Foundry.

While you can’t go back inside, returning to the area reveals the Netherstones have been taken by kobold looters. They won’t attack, but they’ll try to escape – resulting in a game over if they get away. This encounter doesn’t happen under other circumstances, meaning it only exists for this exact reason.

Each of these sequences also involves unique voice lines from the Emperor, which shows just how much effort Larian put into failsafes that, given all the warnings, are unlikely to occur unless you intentionally leave the Netherstones behind.

Though Proxy Gate Tactician admits that these aren’t “super extensive,” the YouTuber says they’ve already put 1,400 hours into the game.

Surprisingly, that’s not the only discovery Baldur’s Gate 3 players have made after reaching a four-digit playtime, as another player says they found an adorable hidden merchant after over 1,000 hours.