You may have heard the ridiculous claim of the 17,000 ending variations in Baldur’s Gate 3. There’s certainly a lot, and while there are very minor differences that can build and stack as you end the game, there are not that many actual endings that have the most direct impact. Today’s guide will go through all the possible Baldur’s Gate 3 ending choices, so you can be aware of all the main endings and what you can do to activate them.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Ending Choices¶
Here’s a look at all the major triggers that can affect the outcomes and endings of Baldur’s Gate 3.
We have split all the currently known major ending choices in Baldur’s Gate 3 into the triggers that cause them. These are typically related to the NPCs you can side with during the actual ending, but, there’s a few other options.
Free Orpheus Endings
- Baddie Ending: Betray Orpheus (when he is a mind flayer), and then command the Absolute under your will.
- Goodie Ending:
Command the brain to destroy itself and all the tadpoles. - Dark Urge ending: Take control of the brain and use it in the name of Bhaal (Dark Urge)
Emperor Endings
- The Good Emperor Ending: Ally with the Emperor and let him destroy the tadpoles and the brain.
- The Bad Emperor Ending: Betray the Emperor in the final moments, and then use the crown to control the Netherbrain and the Absolute.
- The Emperor’s Absolute Ending: Convince the Emperor to join with you and command the Absolute together.
Raphael Endings
- Raphael’s Deal: If you take the Raphael’s Deal in BG3 in the Sharess Caress or take the deal while deciding to free Oprheus in the
Astral Plane, then Raphael can get a cutscene at the end as he uses the crown. You get this as long as you kill the Netherbrain and the tadpoles. The cutscene shows him speaking to you about how he is conquering Avernus against Zariel, and Mephisto is working a deal with Raphael at the very moment. - Game Over: If you refuse the deal a second time when siding with Orpheus and not the Emperor, and refused the deal beforehand, then you can game over in the Astral Plane, as Orpheus cannot be freed, and the Emperor sides with the Netherbrain. This was added in patch 1 as working as intended, so may need some testing still for this to appear.
Gale Endings
- You can end the game in act 2 if you decide to let
Gale use his pocket nuke on the absolute in 
Moonrise Towers. It is noted you can get the Save Faerun achievement by doing this, but it could be a bug.
Gortash and Orin Endings
- If you side with Orin and kill Gortash, then you need to kill Orin anyway.
- If you side with Gortash, you can skip a lot of Act 3 and go straight to the Netherbrain. However, Gortash dies in the process, and you have to use the endings listed above as normal.
The list of endings above seems to be the actual Baldur’s Gate 3 ending choices you have, that directly affect the final cutscene. Some of the answers are locked behind certain decisions, mind you, with the Dark Urge option only available to any players who played the Dark Urge origin character, and took the option to be a Mindflayer. The endings where you can control the Absolute also seem to be locked behind reading the Crown of Krasus, a book in the Sorcerer’s Vault, and it seems to be a part of both Minthara’s hinted ending, and a part of Gale’s potential storyline too.
The main ending differences tend to arrive if you free Orpheus or side with the Emperor, as they are the ones who can directly affect the boss being beaten. This doesn’t take into account if you take the Ceramorphis option, but, it does lead to an achievement and trophy.
If you take the good endings, then the ending will be slightly different in the final cutscene on the pier of Baldur’s Gate. If you freed Orpheus, and you took the Mindflayer option, then there’s some more content to see. If you had Lae’Zel and did her storyline, you have options to let her go with Orpheus and wage her rebellion together. You can also ask her to stay with you if you want to. If you’re playing the Dark Urge and saved Faerun, you also get a slightly different ending where Bhaal expresses how displeased he is with you, regardless if you are an Illithid or your regular Dark Urge form.
There are also three achievements/trophies you can get, with their achievements for killing the Netherbrain, controlling the Netherbrain, and for the Dark Urge. You can find them below.
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