60 hours into Baldur's Gate 3, I meet my first group of githyanki. Clearing out the Emperor's den beneath Elfsong Tavern is meant to be a brief affair, but I spend most of it getting brutally bodied by a horde of martial-ready gith warriors. I'm amazed by their psionic strength, by the fact that they can go toe-to-toe with my BG3 Dark Urge monk effortlessly – even with an unholy blessing on my side. It's also when I realize that, wow, I haven't met a single githyanki since I parted ways with Lae'zel after the nautiloid crash.
By never tracking down Lae'zel in the early hours of the game, my first BG3 journey now lacks a crucial element: the entire gith storyline. I never find the crèche, let alone learn of its existence. Without the threat of Vlaakith's army to make me doubt the intentions of the Guardian, I have no need to free Orpheus. In forgetting Lae'zel I have accidentally created a version of Baldur's Gate 3 where the gith are nothing more than pesky alien creatures, inexplicably lurking beneath the city, and honestly? It was a pleasure tearing the place down without her.
Spoilers for the Dark Urge storyline and Act 1, 2, and 3 of Baldur's Gate 3
Lae'zy days
Not only did I forget a key character, I got good at BG3 by cheesing every boss.
It's not until starting a whole new playthrough that I find out just how much Lae'zel adds to the main plotline. So much so that in many ways, she's pretty much the main character of Baldur's Gate 3.
Not only is Lae'zel the very first non-brain creature you meet, she's also the one you have no choice in working with during those opening scenes. Shadowheart can be rescued from her pod, but it's just as easy to leave her be and pick her up later. Lae'zel also goes missing after you crash on the beach, but apparently, she's not too far away. I wouldn't know, however, since after picking up Gale to add to my merry band of followers alongside Shadowheart and Astarion, I turned to go exploring in the opposite direction.
The rest of Act 1 passes by normally, and nothing feels lacking for it. I never hear the word "githyanki", nor any of Shadowheart's not-so-veiled racist quips about them. I don't even venture to Waukeen's Rest or anywhere near the Mountain Pass, since I opt to head straight for the Underdark after Halsin gives me the choice between the two pathways. With the gith crèche and its inhabitants remaining unexplored, I also never meet Kith'rak Voss, learn of the githyanki rebels, or battle with the aftermath of betraying Vlaakith at the end of Act 2. Instead, I am able to make my merry way into Baldur's Gate unimpeded, with nary a dignified nose in sight.
Without Lae'zel in the game at all, my story is tightly focussed on my Dark Urge journey. Accepting or rejecting my birthright as Bhaal's Chosen is no choice to be made lightly, but however I want to eventually deal with the Netherbrain, I'll need the Emperor to get me closer to it. It's Lae'zel and the gith rebels that make you suspicious of the Emperor's intentions at all; oblivious of their plight, ole tentacle-face is a pretty sound guy. More than that, he's the best option I've got when it comes to reaching that brain. My party expresses distrust in our mind flayer protector. I pooh-pooh them all.
House of Nope
I got my happy, blood-soaked ending. Lae'zel died in a cage in Act 1.
I finally start to suspect that I've missed out on something rather big when Raphael makes me an offer: he'll give me the Orphic Hammer to free an imprisoned gith prince from the astral prism, in exchange for giving him the Crown of Karsus following my confrontation with the Netherbrain. But why would I want to free Orpheus at all?
To my limited knowledge, Orpheus is the one thing that's keeping me and my friends from sprouting suction cups. It sounds important enough at the time, though, so I accept the offer anyway and go on to infiltrate the House of Hope to break my own contract. Raphael's boss fight is a standout moment for me in the whole game, but it is a wholly pointless venture when I don't use the hammer at all before the final push against the brain.
Instead, I let myself get turned into a mind flayer and buddy up with the Emperor, because why the hell not? Again, without Lae'zel, there's no reason not to. I'm given one last chance to redeem myself and destroy the Netherbrain, but I still choose to enslave it in the name of Bhaal and decimate Baldur's Gate. I got my happy, blood-soaked ending. Lae'zel died in a cage in Act 1.
In hindsight, it's incredible to think how much of a sway this one companion has over BG3's core storyline. Without Lae'zel, the githyanki subplot simply never comes into play, rendering Raphael, the Crown of Karsus, and the whole of the Mountain Pass pretty much moot. That might sound like a great way to lock myself out of some fantastic in-game moments, but I would argue that Lae'zel's absence was justified in my case. Dark Urge is the "canon" BG3 storyline to me, vaulting the stakes dramatically higher than your standard original character playthrough.
Knowing what I know now, I wonder if Lae'zel's journey might have distracted from my own, or added even more depth. Maybe some deadpan gith influence would've kept me from taking my rightful place as Bhaal's Chosen. Maybe I would have let Shadowheart gank her at camp. One thing's for certain: I was not about to help a whole race of enslaved aliens out of the goodness of my cold, murderous heart, so perhaps it's just as well I left her to those tieflings.
Is this the most embarrassing BG3 death ever?
