Baldur's Gate 3 fans lament the RPG's best defensive skill is only for NPCs in a classic example of D&D DMs getting all the best toys

Baldur's Gate 3
(Image credit: Larian)

Baldur's Gate 3 players are wondering why one of the game's best defensive tools is only available to NPCs - despite it being directly linked to one of the six major characters - and the answer is a classic D&D trope.

In a post on the Baldur's Gate subreddit, user Coroder asked "any reason why AI gets this and Lae'zel doesn't?," highlighting an ability called 'Githyanki Parry'. Available only to Githyanki, as the name suggests, this passive effect allows Vlaakith's chosen people to "parry unarmed and weapon attacks to reduce their damage by 10." It's a potent skill, and it turns the few times that you end up in straight-up fights with Githyanki bounty hunters into some pretty difficult tests of skill.

Any reason why AI gets this and Lae'zel doesn't? from r/BaldursGate3

However, despite very clearly being a Githyanki, as well as a Fighter who would definitely benefit from the ability to mitigate incoming damage, Origin character Lae'zel doesn't get access to Githyanki Parry. A handful of reactions let Lae'zel get her own back in combat, but the only way to drop the damage she takes is to wear better armor and hope that you don't get hit in the first place.

This isn't the first time that players have noticed the lack of what should be considered a signature ability almost as quintessential to Lae'zel as something like Action Surge, but unfortunately, there's no canon answer as to why it's missing. There is a pretty simple, convention-based answer, however, and that's that in D&D, the Dungeon Master gets to do what they want.

As one commenter so eloquently puts it, "the DM can give his toys any ability they want. Players have rules to follow, the DM doesn't." While I don't quite agree with that statement in its entirety, there's definitely truth to it - lots of NPCs have access to tools that D&D players don't, and that's partly because you're designed to get past them pretty regularly. 

If the goblins outside the Druid Camp didn't have multi-attacking abilities that far outstrip their actual level, the entire early game would be a cake walk. A more polite way to put that comes from another comment, which suggests that "players get character sheets, NPCs get stat blocks, there's no reason to expect 1-to-1 parity. Stat blocks will often have a 'thats bullshit' ability or two specifically because they're so much less fleshed out or versatile compared to PCs."

The other side of the coin is that a good DM does get to play with the rules a little bit. From the 'rule of cool' to the confusion around Baldur's Gate 3's Karmic Dice, anyone but the most rules-lawyering Dungeon Master is going to utilize a few behind-the-scenes tools to make their fights more entertaining. The trick is generally to keep that a secret, but in the case of Githyanki Parry, it's proved a bit tricky to keep hidden.

There are some other defensive tools at the party's disposal. One of my favourite is Counterspell, which simply nullifies any attempt to cast a lower-level spell. There's also Shield Master, which offers a little extra protection. Of course, you can also just do what I did with Karlach, and push your Armor Class as high as it will possibly go - who needs to parry if your opponents can't even hit you?

Parry or not, Lae'zel helped me up Baldur's Gate 3's final gauntlet with a whole new fighting style.

Ali Jones
News Editor

I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.

Read more
Key art for Solasta 2.
A single D&D spell in Solasta 2's Steam Next Fest demo proved to me that not every RPG needs to be Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
New Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 stress test update nerfs one of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG's most OP subclass cantrips – and axes "physics for genitals in Photo Mode"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Lae'zel, a Githyanki woman with olive green skin and tied-back red hair, smirking
Baldur's Gate 3 Lae'zel actor was "paranoid" about making the githyanki girlfriend’s voice "lower and lower" through Act 3 until she realized "it really works with her character development"
Drow and Tiefling Toughs
D&D community wrestles over lack of Orc and Drow stat blocks in the 2025 Monster Manual: "They should have also removed the goblins, lizardfolk, gith, centaurs, bugbears, hobgoblins, kenku, and kobolds"
Baldur's Gate 3 bard build character creation
Best Baldur's Gate 3 Bard class build and choices
Baldur's Gate 3 player holding flaming sword weapon
The best Baldur's Gate 3 weapons and how weapons work
Latest in RPG
The Legend of Vox Machina
If you're craving more D&D after Baldur's Gate 3, Critical Role is "hard at work" on a video game – and it'll be unveiled "any day" now
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot of a boss turned to gold surrounded by blood
5,000 gold, 2,500 hours, and one priceless scroll: Baldur's Gate 3 player cooks up a "Midas run" by turning the RPG's bosses into solid gold trophies, because "why not"
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Stardew Valley player bringing a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to ConcernedApe's farming sim, now with Larian's seal of approval, says they've played over 1,500 hours and will improve the mod
Avowed screenshot showing two companions assisting in combat
Avowed director says Xbox and Microsoft are "very happy" with the reception to its new Obsidian RPG
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
I've found my Assassin's Creed Shadows playstyle, thanks to this clip of Yasuke smashing dudes with a huge club instead of sneaking around
World of Warcraft housing
World of Warcraft's new housing system lets you decorate without the floating hacks I've been using in Final Fantasy 14 for 11 years, and I weep
Gemma Chan in Eternals
Eternals star Gemma Chan is hopeful she'll return to the MCU someday: "There's unfinished business there"
two aliens firing miniguns
4 years after shutting down, this dead sci-fi MMO is being brought back to life, but there's no word on its canceled TV show tie-in
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Netflix wants Daniel Craig to join the cast of Greta Gerwig's Narnia movie – but it's not certain if he'll take it
The Last of Us
The Last of Us season 2 trailer breaks HBO viewing records, becoming the network's most-watched trailer