Who is Baldur’s Gate 3’s most evil Warlock Patron? The Devil vs Cthulhu

Baldur’s Gate 3 limits Warlock players to three choices of Patron, but which one is the evilest of the bunch? Can you play a truly good character if you’re constantly answering to the man downstairs?

In Baldur’s Gate 3 and D&D, Warlocks are characters who gain their magical powers through forming a deal with a supernatural being. The Patron and the specifics of their contract vary wildly, with some giving their power freely while others constantly interfere in the life of their signatory.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has three Patron options: Archfey, Great Old One, and Fiend. While the Archfey has the potential to be a good (if incredibly chaotic) being, the two other options are undeniably evil, but in different ways.

A thread on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit discusses the question of who the most evil Warlock Patron option is in the game. This breaks down into who is worse: a devil from the Nine Hells, or a Lovecraftian entity with destructive thoughts that are alien to most people?

“So you don’t need to sell your souls for power or anything, Warlock pacts are broad, but yeah fiends are by definition evil,” one user wrote, “If a fiend stopped being evil, they wouldn’t be a fiend anymore, since they literally are their soul and change into a celestial or whatever the neutral equivalent is. Great old ones got the whole Cthulhu thing going on, so as a Patron archery can be the nicest.”

“Devils are law and evil, GOO are unknowable evil and are just HP Lovecraft things,” another user said, and another agreed, “Fiend is undoubtedly the clearest Evil but the other two you can roleplay plenty of Neutral pacts,” one user said, while another wrote.”

“With the exception of the Fiend patron, I see the Archfey patron as some sort of partnership,” one user said, “and the Great Old One is your siphoning power from an Cthulhu-like god who is not aware of the little fly sucking his blood.”

The difference between the Warlock Patrons comes down to intent. The Fiend is often a Lawful Evil being who wants to bring about the downfall of a mortal soul, using them as a tool to sow discord and bring about death and carnage with their stolen power.

Meanwhile, the Cthulhu-like entities play a much more distant role, owing to their unknowable nature. They are beings of pure chaos and destruction, but it’s unfocused, making them a much less present and deliberate threat than the residents of the Nine Hells.