Things kick into high gear when your Dream Guardian calls to you before you enter Baldur’s Gate in Baldur’s Gate 3. They create a portal to summon you, with multiple Githyanki attacking your camp, preventing you from going through. When you return inside the Astral Plane, you learn a terrible truth: your Dream Visitor is a Mind Flayer.
This Mind Flayer’s name is The Emperor, and they reveal themselves to be the reason that you do not become a Mind Flayer, or that you give into the Absolute’s control. They request you help against the Githyanki attacking force, but you can choose to turn against them and fight this Mind Flayer. Should you help The Emperor against the Githyanki or fight The Emperor in Baldur’s Gate 3?
What Happens When You Help the Emperor in Baldur’s Gate 3
The initial reaction to speaking with The Emperor is for you and your current Baldur’s Gate 3 party members to help him in his battle against the Githyanki. Should you choose this, you and The Emperor will be allies in this battle, alongside several Intellect Devourers. You’ll need to clear out all of the Githyanki and purge them from the Astral Plane.
When you decide this option, you choose to help The Emperor and ensure he can continue assisting you throughout the rest of Baldur’s Gate 3. From my playthrough, none of my immediate party members, with me, Karlach, Shadowheart, or Wyll, had a problem helping The Emperor.
What Happens When You Fight The Emperor in Baldur’s Gate 3
The other choice you can make during this first encounter with The Emperor is to refuse to help him. You can decide to fight against him alongside the Githyanki. However, you’ll be fighting against the Githyanki, The Emperor, and the Intellect Devourers trying to fight off the Githyanki. It’s a free-for-all brawl against everyone, and you’ll need to find a way to focus your efforts on destroying The Emperor.
The battle is relatively tough because the Githyanki are focused on taking out your party far more than they are fighting the Emperor. Plus, the Emperor will have several Psychic-based attacks that he can use being a level 12 Mind Flayer. It is not an easy encounter to overcome.
Unfortunately, if the Emperor dies in this encounter, you and your companions will join the Absolute and become Thralls. A cutscene plays out, and everyone in your party becomes Mindflayers.
Should You Help or Fight The Emperor in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Unfortunately, between the two choices during this Baldur’s Gate 3 encounter, helping the Emperor is your only choice. If you die during this battle, then the Absolute’s voice rings through to you, and your game ends. You’ll have to start again and prevent him from dying. I tried to see if there was a way to avoid the Absolute’s rule over me, but it didn’t look possible during this part of the game.
This is a very locked-down decision in Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign. However, you can fight The Emperor and then against the Githyanki. If you defeat all the Githyanki, the Emperor can live, and the cutscene plays out as if you helped him, but he will comment that attacking him was a poor decision.
