Baldur's Gate 3 - Best Perks of Being Evil (But Not Dark Urge)

All Choices and Quests Are Much More Interesting With an Evil Character in BG3

From Act 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3, there seem to be very clear good and evil choices. For example, it’s possible to get the Tieflings to leave Druid Grove without the Druids slaughtering them or sending them to die at the hands of Goblins. But that path feels very linear with a foregone conclusion.

When playing as an evil character, there’s no set path. We spent hours exploring every option in Act 1 of the game to see which one would benefit us most because we played as a selfish character that doesn’t care about anyone else.

At every turn, there’s a great opportunity hidden behind a hideous deed. One example is that it’s possible to kill the druid healer and take all her stuff without anyone noticing. Then, players can head out to the Goblin camp after rescuing Sazza to gain the brand of The Absolute and find a roundabout way of earning even more loot from the Goblin Priestess in the Goblin Camp.

Playing as an evil character with no morals makes Baldur’s Gate 3’s story feel like a true D&D campaign. Anything goes, and while the other characters will object or approve from time to time, there’s no going back once a bad decision has been made, and dealing with the fallout, thinking in the moment about potential solutions, is genuinely thrilling.

Killing Important Characters Makes for a More Engaging BG3 Story

There is nothing more satisfying than killing important characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. We’ve killed Lae’zel and Halsin, and all our friends think we’re monsters. But we don’t care because we’re living our character’s life and motives exactly as we intended them to be from the character creation screen.

Lae’zel is rude when players first meet her, almost murdering the player before yelling at them when she gets stuck in a cage. Halsin is a bear who doesn’t explain who he is until after the player lobs a rock at him. Our character has no time for rudeness or druids hiding in bear form, so we killed both these characters and pleased the Tieflings and Goblins as we did it.

A character’s moral compass is one that players create as they play. There’s no point in being evil in certain dialogue choices but not following through on what that character would do when given the choice. We decided early on that Lae’zel was dying if we ever got the chance to kill her and we still don’t regret it. We felt bad about Halsin when we realized he was a druid, but our character cares more that they’re able to walk around the Goblin Camp freely so his body can rot for all they care.

For some players, and we’re not saying this doesn’t include us, killing important characters is all about laziness. It’s possible to steal amazing gear from these characters or just avoid a lengthy quest with a simple tap of a button. It’s harsh, but sometimes it’s easier to just kill people.

Nothing is Off Limits in BG3 When You’re Evil

Baldur’s Gate 3’s world makes it tempting to play as a hero because they’re the best people in that world. They’re renowned, everyone loves them, and they seem to have all the best stuff. If players reject that mindset and choose to be evil and selfish, they suddenly get to do so much more than heroes do.

For example, a hero would never antagonize Halsin in the Goblin Camp and let him kill the Goblin children who were throwing stones at him. A hero would never stick it to Lae’zel for being rude while dangling in a cage and let the Tieflings kill her, but an evil character would.

D&D is all about doing whatever a character would do in the moment. Living that ideal without the pressure of wanting to be a hero is so freeing and makes for some brilliant moments. For us, the best bit about being evil is double-crossing everyone we make promises to. Heading off to complete a quest in a new area but taking on new jobs to kill that first group from the second one is completely normal and makes players feel like true wandering adventurers.

Later in Act 1, we rescued a poor Tiefling called Pandirna, who had been tricked by a bad Druid, causing her to be paralyzed. She kindly let us access the room she was guarding, so we used Astarion to steal her treasure. Being evil doesn’t mean killing everyone. It just means doing whatever a character desires. It just so happens that usually, that desire is for the stuff other people have.

Encounters and Moments in BG3 Most Others Will Never See Start to Pop up

Being evil and making evil choices that other players would never make opens up so much unseen content in Baldur’s Gate 3. Despite many players being hundreds of hours ahead of us, we still manage to surprise them with the scenes we see in situations they’ve long since completed.

A great example of this is in the Goblin Camp. Many players don’t bother taking the mark of The Absolute from the Goblin Priestess, but if they do, they’ll see a unique cutscene where Gut gets murdered, and the player is freed from jail with no repercussions. It adds to the story in a way that makes the world feel more well-rounded.

The other benefit of these scenes is that they often lead to loot that other players won’t touch or have no idea even exists. With the mark of The Absolute, players can take Absolute-exclusive armor from Gut and wear it with no drawbacks. These scenes can even lead to other off-the-beaten-path cutscenes or encounters that make quests easier to complete thanks to notes or keys found along the way.

An Evil Character in BG3 Will Make Players Laugh Out Loud

We can’t tell you the number of times we’ve laughed out loud at Baldur’s Gate 3 because we were making evil choices. The first was when Lae’zel died to a single Tiefling hit after acting so tough. The second was when Gale got super stressed out with us for not wanting to give him an artifact before saying he’d stick around anyway. The third was when we booted a squirrel so hard at a tree that it exploded in blood, but that thing had it coming.

Hundreds of tiny moments are purposefully hilarious in this game and loads more that are unintentionally funny. At one point, we accidentally stole a chest, and when confronted, we decided our character was so stubborn that they wouldn’t admit they’d taken anything. We put the game down and walked away to laugh when they were sent to jail, and we realized we’d gotten them locked up with no idea how to get them out.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game where it’s so easy to make fun out of nothing, and experimentation through evil deeds is often the way. Even something as simple as speaking to a strange Ox can have an impact that stretches through each Act and leads to the discovery of a sinister sentience.

There’s No Right or Wrong Way to Play BG3

No matter what anyone says, there’s no right or wrong way to play Baldur’s Gate 3. Sure, there are optimal ways to speedrun it and earn certain pieces of gear, but players’ interesting choices weave each story.

We recommend players really think about the type of character they want to create and use that mindset to determine everything they do. It makes the game more fun to play and so much more immersive. It also gives people something new to talk about among a group of fans, provided they can ignore the looks of shock and disgust some evil choices justifiably draw.

Evil Character Ideas in BG3

There’s so much to do and so much fun to be had when playing as an evil character in BG3, but it can sometimes be a little hard to get into the right mindset. So here are some ideas and a few things to consider before you dive into a new selfish blood-soaked campaign:

ABCC (Always Be Choosing Chaos): There are plenty of linear outcomes when playing as a lawfully good character, so make sure you’re breaking out of your comfort zone and throwing a wrench into everyone’s plans with unexpected choices while going the evil character route. Remember, nothing’s off limits, no need to consider others.
Consider your character’s origins: D&D (which Baldur’s Gate is a part of) has incredibly rich lore that reaches into every aspect of your character. All the character races, classes, and sub classes have their own history and culture attached to them, some of which are hinted at in the character creation. You can force some interesting choices and outcomes in BG3 by leaning into a character’s traits, especially if you’re taking the role playing seriously. For example, turning a Paladin into an evil character will force you to contend with the vows you made as a part of your Paladin oath and the consequences of breaking that Oath; Rouges can excel at deception and stealth, allowing you to more easily get away with being a pathological liar and sneaking into places you don’t belong; Drow and Warlocks tend to be more evil-leaning, sometimes giving you dialogue choices pertaining to their more sinister origins.
Recruit Minthara: Most players will never get the opportunity to recruit Minthara as a party member because of the cruelty required to obtain her. Make sure you send Minthara to the Emerald Grove and slaughter everyone to see an entire new companion and character arc that you probably haven’t seen before.
Support Astarion’s naughty behavior: It wouldn’t be right to call Astarion evil per se, but he’s certainly the most evil-leaning out of everyone in the party (other than Minthara of course). So why not support your best vampire friend in his callous nature, pursuit of power, and rude attitude. Better yet, match his energy to become a catty duo.
Let Shadowheart follow her dark path: Shadowheart is a follower of Shar, so she naturally wants to please her goddess of loss and darkness. Encourage her.
Make use of hirelings: As Withers puts it himself, hirelings can be used as cannon fodder—an endless supply of bodies you can do with as you please. They’re there to do all your evil biddings even if it sends them to their doom. You can also fully change a hireling’s class and appearance using the camp’s Magic Mirror to create a full custom party of evil characters.
Don’t be afraid to steal and pickpocket: In your quest for power and narcissism, you should have the right to own everything. Stick your hand in everyone’s pockets, then push them down if they don’t like it.

About the author

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp is a Staff Writer at Gamepur. He's been writing about games for ten years and has been featured in Switch Player Magazine, Lock-On, and For Gamers Magazine. He's particularly keen on working out when he isn't playing games or writing or trying to be the best dad in the world.

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