Baldur’s Gate 3 players are discovering more and more details about the Emperor, and it’s leading them to wonder about everyone’s favorite illithid entity.
The Emperor has always been one of the most controversial characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. Aside from someone like Minthara and some other companions, there is no figure that divides the community so much, mainly because he is very difficult to pin down. Having tentacles instead of a mouth certainly helps keep one’s poker face.
The community has been divided on the Emperor since the game’s release. On the one hand, he is a major asset in the fight against the Absolute, and it is even possible to seduce him if you manage to get past the tentacles.
On the other hand, he is a manipulative liar who lures you into eating mind-altering grubs. It’s a difficult choice. But now, players are starting to spot additional little details in his behavior that make the Emperor much more sinister.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players still unsure who the Emperor really is
On Reddit, player u/ArtfulDodgerEZDoesIt pointed out a “cruel little detail”in a late-game interaction with the Emperor that caused her to see him in a different light. She said: “At the very end of Act 2, if you succeed at the Willpower check to reject the Astral Larva, it forces your hand to close on it. I’ve seen people say that he’s “good” if you believe in him, but I believe his intentions from the start are to turn you into an illithid. He spends all of Act 1 encouraging you to embrace the powers, and if you do so even once, he knows you’ll struggle to resist when he introduces you to the astral larva. And this subtle act is so deviously sinister.”
She added another disturbing detail: “I never saw him as a good guy, but it wasn’t until my last game that he directly told me that I’m his puppet, what if I don’t ‘Don’t obey, he’s threatening to just manipulate me.’
However, this malevolence did not prevent a lot of players from following the romantic quest with the Emperor, necessary to complete Baldur’s Gate 3 at 100%.
Leave a Reply