Near the end of Baldur's Gate 3, you have several chances to free Orpheus, prince of the Githyanki, depending on the choices made along your journey.
Orpheus is an essential Baldur's Gate 3 character tied to several story-defining decisions that could see your party save the royal figure or cause his demise. Captured by the Emperor, the Githyanki Prince only has a short time before the Mind Flayer consumes his brain. Your choices throughout your adventures might make saving Orpheus easy or a tragic sacrifice.[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]The "Free Orpheus" quest appears in Baldur's Gate 3's Act 3 as part of a personal mission tied to the potential companion Fighter Lae'Zel. This Githyanki warrior has remained loyal to Orpheus despite their circumstances and has no doubt been reminding your character of the Prince's plight during your journey. You'll discover that Orpheus has been trapped in the Astral Prism, with his powers used to suppress the Absolute's influence.
How To Rescue Orpheus In Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)
There are two paths that help you free Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3, either using the Orphic Hammer to break his chains or sacrificing a character to become a Mind Flayer. Before thinking about this, you must travel towards the Elder Brain hidden far below the Lower City in Act 3. Traveling through the sewers near the Basilisk Gate Waypoint will lead your party to the Undercity Ruins and, eventually, the Temple of Bhaal.
After you face the dangers in each of these places, your group should reach the Morphic Pool Dock, an area you must take a boat across to reach the Elder Brain. As you get closer to the source of the Mind Flayer hive mind, everyone in your party will have to succeed in Saving Throws against the Brain. Failing these rolls could cause a character's mind to be broken before you can even reach Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3.
Make sure you have someone in your party cast a spell like Guidance on characters to give them an extra d4 to add for the Saving Throws made to resist the Elder Brain.
To travel across the Morphic Pools, you must have collected all three Netherstones from the events of Baldur's Gate 3's main story. Defeating Ketheric Thorm, Orin the Red, and Lord Gortash are steps your party must complete before trying to rescue Orpheus. When you get close enough to the Elder Brain, you can dominate it using Strength or Intelligence to reveal it and the Emperor.
Confronting the Emperor reveals that the Brain is being transformed into something far worse, if possible. The monstrous leader offers to take your party to Orpheus, where the choices mentioned earlier finally come to fruition. To free the Prince from their bonds, you must provide an alternative character to be turned into an Illithid or even choose to turn into a Mind Flayer yourself in Baldur's Gate 3.
One of the options The Emperor will give you to free Orpheus is to hand over the Netherstones, but while this choice does recruit the Mind Flayer as an ally, he will still eat the Prince's brain.
How To Get The Orphic Hammer In Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)
Your party may also get the Orphic Hammer Legendary weapon to break Orpheus' chains instead of turning a character into a Mind Flayer. This instrument of war may only be found through exploration of Act 3's side content. You'll have to travel to the Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, to steal the Hammer from a powerful devil who may offer the weapon to your party first in an infernal deal.
The Orphic Hammer belongs to the Cambion devil Raphael, who will gladly hand over the weapon in exchange for the Crown of Karsus once the Absolute has been taken down. Dealing with a devil is dangerous, as their pacts are binding and hardly lead to a good outcome. The devil will honor any deal made for the Hammer once your party collects all the Netherstones in Baldur's Gate 3.
Your character can get out of any deal you make with Raphael by stealing the physical infernal contract from the devil's lair, preventing the infernal creature from using the incredible power of the Crown to rule the Nine Hells.
Another way to get the Hammer involves stealing it from Rapheal's lair, the House of Hope in Baldur's Gate 3. This mansion in Hell is a massive dungeon filled with enslaved minions, devils, and terrifying infernal magic. Taking the weapon under the devil's nose leads to one of the hardest boss battles in the game against Raphael, requiring your party to be close to the max level cap to stand a chance against the fiend.
If you manage to reach Orpheus with the Hammer, all you need to do is break the two crystals binding the Prince to the Astral Prism. You may only do this after declaring your intentions to the Emperor, although the Mind Flayer won't try to stop you. Doing this will free Orpheus but cause the Emperor to retreat and become assimilated by the Netherbrain, making the Aberration a permanent enemy at the end of Baldur's Gate 3.
Can You Save Orpheus Through Sacrifice In Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)?
If you can't obtain the Hammer, Karlach will suggest that she become a Mind Flayer instead of Orpheus as you talk to The Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3. According to her, the Infernal Engine that may explode at any moment within Karlach made her days numbered anyway. Even if you agree, Karlach can't sacrifice herself without eating Orpheus' brain, making this option save you but not the Prince.
Refusing Karlach's suggestion allows you to sacrifice your character instead, but this choice forces you to build a new character for the final moments of Baldur's Gate 3. Not only does this mark a tragic end to your original character's story, but it also does not save Orpheus. Even though the Emperor suggested you might not have to eat the Prince's brain, he was deceptive and forced you to consume the Githynaki's mind anyway.
Those who have Lae'Zel in their party while trying to free Orpheus should be careful not to suggest letting the prince die, as only a DC 30 Persuasion check will prevent Lae'Zel from attacking the entire group in anger.
Surprisingly, Orpheus can also willingly turn into a Mind Flayer after you use the Orphic Hammer, preventing anyone in your party from having to make a sacrifice in Baldur's Gate 3. When speaking to the Prince, say, "Someone will need to turn into a Mind Flayer. Are you willing to do that?" This selfless act will save anyone in your party from becoming an Aberration but cause you to lose Orpheus forever.
If you manage to save Orpheus at any point, he offers to join your party as a high-level Monk with many different class features and abilities. During the "Gather Your Allies" mission, you can also call upon the Prince for the final events of the story. Making an effort to free Orpheus in Baldur's Gate 3 creates an eternal ally who gladly helps your group with every ounce of power they possess.
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Baldur's Gate 3
- Developer(s):
- Larian Studios
- Franchise:
- Baldur's Gate
- Genre(s):
- RPG
- Platform(s):
- macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5
- Publisher(s):
- Larian Studios
- Summary:
- Baldur's Gate 3 is a long-anticipated sequel to Baldur's Gate 2, released in 2000 from BioWare and now being handled by Larian Studios. Set 120 years after the events of Shadows of Amn, Baldur's Gate 3 puts players in the role of a customizable protagonist who has been captured and infected with a parasite that will turn them into a mind flayer. Before the process is complete, the ship they are on crashes, leaving them on a quest to cure themselves as they meet up with other survivors. Gameplay is turn-based and can be played co-operatively online or tackled alone in a single-player campaign with NPC allies.
- Prequel:
- Baldur's Gate 2
- Released:
- 2023-08-31
- How Long To Beat:
- 50 - 100 hours
