Save or Destroy the Brain in Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a video game with a tremendous amount of choices that players will need to make. Though oftentimes, you won’t be able to predict what the consequences of a particular choice are going to be down the line. This can be very fun, but also very frustrating – especially if you are weak and underleveled. And this is exactly why one of the first choices in the game is so difficult. Namely, right at the start of the game, you will stumble upon a mysterious brain that asks you to set it free. Should you spare the Brain or free the Brain? Here’s what the consequences are and whether you should save or destroy the Brain in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Should You Free or Kill the Brain in BG3?

After the opening cutscene, make your way to the next room on the ship. There, you will hear someone (or better yet – something) calling for help on the platform above. When you climb up, you will see a curious sight – a body with an exposed brain. In fact, it is the brain that is calling you to help it. With enough points in the Arcana skill, you can quickly deduce that this is an Intellect Devourer. That is, a servant of the Mind Flayers that have abducted you. So what should you do with it? Well, there are several choices that you can make here.

First of all, you can simply destroy the Brain. This is the most straightforward option. Select it if you want to role-play a character that wants nothing to do with the Mind Flayers. Instead of killing it, you can also free it. To do this, you will need to successfully pass an attribute or skillcheck. Once you have the Brain in your hands (eww), you can also choose to cripple it. If you do this, it is going to be weaker. After you have freed (and potentially crippled) the Brain, you can then take it on as a potential Companion. Don’t worry, this is only temporary.

So what is the best choice here? Well, while it depends on what sort of character you are role-playing as, our recommandation is that you free the Brain and not cripple it. This way, you will have another companion for the prologue, making this section a lot easier. This is especially important if you are playing as a vulnerable character such as a Wizard or Sorcerer. There are no downsides for having it tag along with you and helping in combat, and it will be gone once you are out of the ship anyway.