Taking a chance and rolling the dice isn’t just a phrase, but the core gameplay mechanic for Dungeons and Dragons — and, by extension, Baldur’s Gate 3.
Throughout the game, you have to roll your dice to see if you can succeed various checks and saves. Some are easier than others, depending on your build and dump stats; if you happen to have a high Charisma, most rolls end up being a breeze, especially since Tav (or Durge, depending on your preference) is the talker.
However, not all rolls are created equal. In fact, some are meant to be so difficult it’s nearly impossible to beat, some requiring you to roll a Nat 20 to even have a chance. It makes the simple rolls so much sweeter.
For these rolls, it would be a good idea to quicksave right before in order to save-scum it. If you’re playing Honour Mode, however, you just have to hope and pray that your Inspiration will be enough.
9 Resist the Urges
Willpower and Dice Combined
Playing as the Dark Urge is probably one of the most enriching experiences in the entire game. It’s so interwoven with the game’s main story that you’re more of a main character than Tav themselves. You’re the catalyst and the resolution, and it’s such a wonderful story even on the second and third playthrough.
Throughout your time playing as The Dark Urge, you’ll be faced with just that: dark, twisted urges that will almost always end in death by your hand. Sometimes, you have to roll to resist them, and they can be pretty challenging.
The main challenge, however, is to resist those urges even out of curiosity. I’m the kind of player who hates bad outcomes, so I reload my save to go back on the consequences of my actions, and I’ve had to do this countless times with the Urges. Curiosity kills the cat, and many others if you don’t resist the temptations.
It’s equal parts a feat of willpower and divine intervention with your dice, since each urge gets far more tempting than the last — with an increasing AC to follow suit.
8 Open the Hidden Door
Hiding the Dawnmaster’s Crest
In order to obtain The Blood of Lathander (without stealing it outright), you’ve got a particularly tedious puzzle you have to solve to get the Dawnmaster’s Crest — essentially, the key to the weapon.
Or you could skip all of that altogether and lockpick the hidden door that the Dawnmaster’s Crest is residing in. With a solid 30 DC, if you don’t have anyone in the party who has proficiency in Sleight of Hand, you’re in for a tough time.
Then again, that’s if you can even find this door in the first place. You have to pass a Perception Check in order to find it, so you can even attempt to lockpick.
That said, it completely bypasses the need for this puzzle, and makes getting The Blood of Lathander all the easier.
7 Talk Gale Out of Godhood
Stop Trying to One-Up Your Ex
As much as I love Gale, his constant drive to get back at Mystra is borderline exhausting, even more so once you have to talk him out of pursuing godhood.
After learning the truth about the Elder Brain, Gale wants to snag the Netherese Crown resting on top of it, using it to take control of a new strand of Weave and become the God of Ambition. If you romance him, it’s incredibly easy to talk him out of it; but if you’re just friends? That’s an entirely different story.
Not to mention, there’s a common glitch that makes it appear as if Gale was lying to you. You could successfully talk him out of it, only for him to try anyway and be dead by the Epilogue. There’s not much else that can be done other than hoping it works this time.
Just get over your ex, dude, she’s not worth this hassle.
6 Convince Lae’zel to Leave the Zaith’isk
Все не то, чем кажется
Lae’zel is going through quite possibly a Githyanki’s worst nightmare. Being infected with a mind flayer tadpole, thrown onto an unfamiliar plane away from everything and everyone you knew, only to be discarded by your people and labeled as a traitor.
However, she doesn’t know this. She won’t know this, and it takes quite a push in order for her to open her eyes — the Zaith’isk, the very device that’s supposed to cure the tadpole, is fraudulent. Instead of killing the tadpole, it steals memories and kills the infected instead.
You have to talk her out of staying in the Zaith’isk, or else she’ll face dire consequences. The first couple checks, which are already a DC 30, will result in her Intelligence and Wisdom being permanently lower. However, if players aren’t able to talk her out by the last persuasion check, she dies outright.
With that in mind, players would want to talk her out of this immediately — just know that she’s far too stubborn to listen unless you hit the DC.
5 Convince Yurgir to Fight Raphael
A Pretty Stubborn Orthon
This will not be the first time that you have to convince Yurgir to do something for you — and given how his DC is a 30 every single time you have to ask him to do something. If you see him, you should save right away.
In the House of Hope, you’ll be caught by Raphael, accompanied by Yurgir. Finally done with dealing with you, this triggers the boss fight with Raphael, which is without a doubt one of the best encounters in the entire game. You could make it easier, however, if you persuade Yurgir to fight with you instead of against you.
If you succeed, he’ll not only help you defeat Raphael, but you’ll also gain a valuable ally for when it comes time to defeat the Elder Brain. It’s a win-win situation if you bring him aboard.
Or you could just kill him along with Raphael, just know that the encounter would be that much harder because of it.
4 Persuade Shadowheart to Defy Shar
Приди к свету
When you first meet Shadowheart, her faith and devotion to Shar is blinding. As the game progresses and she grows to trust you, she’ll start telling you more about her life and dreams, which allows her to start doubting her goddess and religion overall.
So by the time you make it through the Gauntlet of Shar and finally meet Dame Aylin in the Shadowfell, you’re left with a choice: let Shadowheart kill Aylin and become a Dark Justiciar, or convince her to defy Shar and come back to the path of light.
If you have a high enough relationship with her, you could trust her to defy Shar on her own — especially if you play as a Selûnite cleric and can directly contribute to her doubts. Otherwise, you’d have a DC 30 persuasion check you have to beat, otherwise Dame Aylin (and by extension, the rest of Last Light Inn) will die.
If you save Aylin this way, she and Isobel will both be allies who will help you in the final fight against the Elder Brain.
3 Convince Yurgir to Kill Himself
And Everyone Else, For Good Measure
The Gauntlet of Shar is one of the most eventful and influential areas of the game, so it’s not too surprising that Raphael has a tie here. Specifically, his old enemy is here, an Orthon by the name of Yurgir.
Yurgir is tense, on edge, and practically mad from constantly being subjected to his contract with Raphael — a song, specifically, detailing that all who hears it must die. Because of this, you must die.
However, if you succeed in an Insight Check to find a loophole in the lyrics, you can stop him in his tracks and trick him into killing his followers, his Displacer Beast, and finally, himself. Persuading him to kill his followers is relatively simple (DC 16), but every subsequent roll is a 20 or higher, with no way to give yourself Advantage.
Charm Person, Friends, and other spells that would normally give you Advantage on Persuasion are null and void with Yurgir, so you have to simply hope that you have enough modifiers, and you can roll high enough. Then again, if you failed the Insight Check earlier, then this is impossible to do overall.
2 Unlock The Counting House Vaults
Skip the Puzzle Altogether
Getting into the Counting House is essential if you want to recruit Minsc into your party. However, before you can get into the High Security Vault, you have to figure out the code in order to unlock the door.
The puzzle itself is basically just trial-and-error, unless you remember it from a previous playthrough. Then again, it’s tedious, annoying, and not worth it just to open a door, especially when you can lockpick it.
That said, nothing about lockpicking this vault is easy. Not only does it have a DC of 99 — meaning the only way you can succeed is with a Natural 20 — but it doesn’t even offer anything special once you make the roll. At least with the Elder Brain there’s a tinge of an incentive.
The single easiest way to get around this is the Knock spell. Save yourself time, lockpicks, and many, many reloads.
1 Dominate the Brain
Make the Final Boss a Little Easier
Some of the last rolls of the game involve you trying to Dominate the Brain — and failing. The DC is 99, and even if you roll it, you don’t end up Dominating the Brain at all. You still have to fight the boss, unlock the many other encounters you could talk (and roll) your way out of it.
Given the DC, just like with the High Security Vault, the only way that you can succeed this roll is by getting a Natural 20. Even with mods, there’s no way you can have enough modifiers to beat it.
That said, it’s not completely pointless to do. Succeeding the DC 99 roll to Dominate the Brain actually results in 10 percent of the Brain’s HP being reduced, permanently. And given how tough that final fight is, you need all the help you can get.
Just try not to panic when you see that DC for the first time. You’re meant to fail, so even if you don’t roll well, your experience stays essentially the same.
