Baldur's Gate 3 player unwittingly turns colossal late-game boss into a pal after installing a mod that lets them wield D&D spells more powerful than the RPG allows

Baldur's Gate 3 DLC
(Image credit: Larian)

A Baldur's Gate 3 player has unwittingly turned a late-game boss into their pal thanks to a busted spell - but it was all thanks to a mod.

Earlier this week, the Baldur's Gate 3 subreddit post below drew attention to the fact that the 'Control Undead' spell was apparently "busted," as it allowed them to control the Ansur boss. This isn't entirely true, however - it's actually a mod that's removing the level cap from the spell and thus letting them turn Ansur into their companion.

So, uh... turns out Control Undead is busted. from r/BaldursGate3

Ordinarily, the Control Undead spell wouldn't be able to capture bosses like Ansur, because the spell and the player level is capped at 12. Removing that cap, however, effectively breaks Baldur's Gate 3 wide open, as spells like Control Undead become an absolute force of nature and just fully break the game in ways that shouldn't be possible.

This whole deal is a really good example of why the Baldur's Gate 3 level cap is set at 12. Dungeons and Dragons rules dictate that, beyond level 12, the player should gain access to some wildly powerful spells, not just like Control Undead, but also ones that let them access other plains of existence and warp reality around them. That would've been a hell of a lot more work for developer Larian.

"The description of the spell does say that the target's level must be lower than yours, it just shouldn't have worked on Ansur," writes the top comment underneath the Reddit post. "Ahh, I have the level 20 mod enabled, didn't occur to me that it'd be contributing here," responds the original player, explaining that they'd leave the post up because the entire thing is just wild.

If you're curious about the level 20 mod, you can download it here from NexusMods. Just don't say you weren't warned about the dangers of removing the level cap in Baldur's Gate 3 beforehand. 

Good news - the Baldur's Gate 3 Xbox release date is still on track for December, as Larian pledges to reveal the exact date at The Game Awards next month.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Baldur's Gate 3 mind flayer with pale purple skin and facial tentacles stares ahead with glowing yellow eyes
Custom Baldur's Gate 3 campaigns with "levels and lands comparable to the Skyrim modding community" could come "this year," says one of the RPG's experienced modders
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"
Baldur's Gate 3 pale vampire elf Astarion, a man with curly white hair and red eyes
Baldur's Gate 3 sleuth discovers "extremely dark" Astarion kidnapping scene that almost nobody has seen even more than a year later
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke gives his official approval to the Stardew Valley mod that brings the D&D RPG to Pelican Town
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 mod showing Henry in the Nautiloid ship
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Henry comes to Baldur's Gate 3 thanks to a mod commission, and our RPG hero is predictably scared and horny: "Henry’s romance could go anywhere, I think. Maybe Karlach"
Latest in RPG
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
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Horses
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has another secret skill, and this one is an absolute game changer - looking down makes you duck under branches while riding your horse
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
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"