Baldur's Gate 3 Companion's Ending Is The Worst Thing, Except For One Huge Exception

Summary Make Gale a god by encouraging him to reforge the Crown of Karsus, but be prepared for disastrous consequences in Baldur's Gate 3.

Gale's ambition as the new god of ambition sets him on a collision course with Mystra and the rest of the pantheon.

Despite potentially villainous actions, Gale keeps his promise to come back for those who chose to romance him in the game's ending.

Baldur’s Gate 3 weaves together the storylines of multiple companions alongside its main plot to create an epic fantasy story that has won over many. Due to the multitude of choices throughout the three acts, there are many different endings that can be encountered, some good and some not. However, there is one ending for a particular companion that is not only the worst outcome for them but possibly for the Forgotten Realms as a whole.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

When Baldur’s Gate 3 was first released, the main story culminated in an ending on the docks of Baldur’s Gate. After a hard-fought battle, the motley crew of companions said their goodbyes as the Narrator named them the saviors of Baldur’s Gate. Then a more detailed epilogue was added with Patch #5 that sees Withers gathering the remaining party members together for a party that allowed their personal conclusions to be explored in greater detail.

Related Baldur’s Gate 3 Ending Explained (& What Choices Can Change It) Baldur's Gate 3 can end in a number of different ways, but the overarching plot will generally remain similar between different endings.

Gale Reforges The Crown Of Karsus To Become A God

Not All That It's Cracked Up To Be

Among the many outcomes for all the companions, there is one that stands out as a seemingly good ending with terrible ramifications. Those who encouraged Gale to reforge the Crown of Karsus will see him at the party as the new god of ambition, which might appear like a positive at first but is far from it. Aside from his noticeable personality change, this new divine portfolio potentially sets the former wizard on a collision course with disaster.

How To Make Gale A God In BG3

The Natural Progression Of Things

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In order for Gale to attempt to become a god, there are two paths to this ending for him. The first requires little to no interaction with him from the player character, as without them actively discouraging him, Gale will default to attempting to reforge the Crown of Karsus. However, without the proper knowledge, Gale will fail and perish in his pursuit of godhood.

To make Gale successfully become a god, his personal quest must be completed, and the player character must encourage him at every turn to reforge the Crown. Gale's personal quest starts slowly in Act 1m with him explaining his condition before Elminster intervenes on Mystra's behalf in Act 2. However, the most important aspects of Gale's personal quest for those seeking to make him a god all take place in Act 3.

Related Baldur’s Gate 3: Everyone That Can Join The Camp In Baldur's Gate 3, 25 characters can join your Camp, allowing you to share meals, stories and moments with your companions throughout the story.

Once in Baldur's Gate, Gale will want to visit Sorcerous Sundries to learn more about the Crown. Breaking into the Sorcerous Sundries Vault will lead to more information but also another visit from Elminster, who will explain that Mystra wants to speak to Gale. Mystra will ask him to reforge the Crown but give it to her however the player character can instead encourage him to keep it for himself.

Depending on whether or not his deal for the Crown was taken, Raphael will have various things to say about Gale's fate, which will range from anger to amusement.

Why Is This The Worst Ending For Gale And Faerûn

The Crown Of Karsus Is Heavy

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Many would think that becoming an all-powerful being would be the epitome of success. However, the problem with Gale becoming a god is the domain that he is given, that of ambition. Ambition has no limits and does not take sides in the fight for good or evil, making Gale the new god questionable to many people.

A recurring theme throughout Gale’s personal storyline is that of ambition and exceeding one's reach. When Gale explains to the player character how he came to have the Netherese Orb inside him, it is a tale of ambition, as Gale wanted to prove to Mystra he was capable of more. Both Elminster and Tara will comment on Gale’s ambition and the negative impact it had on his life when he spoke — to show that his ambition went hand in hand with a dose of arrogance.

By becoming the god of ambition, Gale has not only given in to the worst aspects of himself but has also personified them. This provides him with no closure when it comes to Mystra, as instead of moving on from his fixation with her, Gale will instead challenge her for control of the Weave. His challenge will fail, and Gale will instead make use of his own Weave, derived from the Karsite Weave, and immediately make an enemy of the goddess of magic.

But it will not only be Mystra who will end up at odds with the new god of ambition if Gale is made into a god. Ambition, by its very nature, has no limits. Once a goal is achieved, the ambitious will set a new, higher goal and aim for that. It will be become an endless cycle, and Gale is now doomed to embody.

Related Baldur’s Gate 3’s Gale Might Be A Rare Type Of Spellcaster Gale in Baldur's Gate 3 will happily tell players about his magical abilities, but some of what he says don't match up with wizards in D&D.

Gale's Personality Is Worse As A God

Disparaging Good Friends

As the god of ambition, Gale is now on a collision course with the rest of the Forgotten Realms pantheon. In the earliest months of his new godhood Gale challenged Mystra, but due to his new nature he is destined to try again. This will either lead to his or Mystra’s destruction, but should Gale succeed, his ambition domain will demand that he pick a new target and challenge them.

Gale’s personality also takes a change for the worse with this ending and could potentially set him up as villainous figure in the future. When spoke to during the epilogue, Gale is only concerned with growing his influence and will support any who pray to him. This logically means that he would have supported and perhaps aided the antagonist of Baldur’s Gate 3 as there is no doubt their plans were ambitions.

This seems to be confirmed if playing as an Astarion Origin, who can ask Gale to cure them. Gale will refuse with the reasoning that he has a lot of vampire worshipers and he doesn’t want them to think he disapproves of their condition. Gale will also mention that he is very popular in Amn, a mercantile nation concerned with wealth and Thay, the home of the ambitious necromancers the Red Wizards.

One Potential Upside

Gale Keeps His Promise

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury.

The only upside to Gale becoming a god comes for those who chose to romance him, either as a custom character or another Origin. Gale will promise to come back for them and ascend them to godhood as well, a promise that he keeps. The new player god does not get to see which domain they become the new god of, but this ending does at least provide some comfort. It can especially provide a small amount of closure for any who played Baldur’s Gate 3 as the Dark Urge who turned their back on Bhaal, moving on completely from their ‘father’s’ shadow to become a god in their own right.