Wither’s intro in Baldur’s Gate 3 could reveal why he can resurrect you

Withers might be the most useful ally the player has in Baldur’s Gate 3, yet there could be special reasons for why he’s able to help you so much.

Baldur’s Gate 3 strongly implies that Withers, the undead spellcaster who resurrects dead allies and creates hirelings, is actually Jergal, a former god of the dead. In the past, he gave up most of his divine powers to Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul but was still classed as a deity.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Jergal takes on the form of Withers and aids the player by charging a paltry sum of gold for some truly incredible feats of magic. His resurrection spells match those of the strongest Clerics in the setting, and he does it for practically nothing.

There could be a reason why Withers charges cash, and it has to do with the history of the setting. Baldur’s Gate 3 is set in D&D’s Forgotten Realms. There is a being above the gods named Ao, who enforces rules that prevent them from directly interfering with mortals.

In the past, this was more about gods sending avatars down to cause havoc. Instead, they had to rely on mortals, whom they guided in subtler ways.

As explained in a thread on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, the reason Withers charges money for his services is because it allows him to bypass Ao’s rules. This is coupled with the strange questions he asks about the value of mortal lives in your first encounter, as it’s his way of forming a divine pact with your character.

Once Withers has established why Tav wants to end lives and bring back the dead, he can then offer his services, as life and death fall under his divine portfolio. He just needs a reason and gold first. Otherwise, Ao might consider his actions a direct intervention rather than the relationship between follower and deity.

The real reason for Withers’ benevolence is that the developers want the player to have an easy way to bring back dead allies without violating the D&D 5e rules/lore. But at least this theory provides a more interesting explanation, especially as it ties into Withers’ mysterious personality and goals.