Baldur’s Gate 3, oh boy, where do we start? The game’s filled to the brim with enigmas, and one of them that has us scratching our heads is this character, the Guardian. You know, the one Larian Studios has us customizing right from the get-go. So, today, I figured, let’s try to unravel this mystery and make some sense of who this Guardian really is, shall we?”
Who is the Guardian in Baldur’s Gate III?
Honestly, we do not know what precisely the Guardian is at present, as I’m still playing through Baldur’s Gate III. What I do know is that the Guardian is a mysterious being that is adamant about you retaining your new-found friend (tadpole parasite demon thing) and, in turn, saving the world or something along those lines. The Guardian will appear in dreams at specific key points and engage in dialogue with you, but their true purpose and intent are unknown.
Each Guardian will be unique to the player, as you have full character customization over them, but in appearance alone. You can create a woman with a beard or a half-orc with pink hair; the options are endless. You can choose the race you desire, apart from Dragonborn, for some unknown reason.
But that is all. There are no class options, background, or stats. Nothing. From what I’ve played of Baldur’s Gate 3, I’m 99% sure the Guardian is not playable or a companion.
Though it’s safe to be sure she is important, as why go through the effort of customizing them?
When do you first meet the Guardian in BG3?
Your first rendezvous with the Guardian unfolds in a surreal dreamscape after you’ve flexed your Illithid abilities, the ‘tadpole parasite demon slimy thing’ as we lovingly call it, a few times. To trigger this meeting, ensure you take advantage of your parasitic powers, then take a well-deserved long rest back at your camp. Your dreams then become the stage where the Guardian makes their grand entrance, and boy, is it grand! They’ll tell you tales of how they’ve watched over you since the Nautiloid crash. Comforting, right?
They’ll urge you to gain mastery over the parasite, selling you the promise of safety from the transformation into a mind flayer and all of that jazz. All this is delivered in your dream on some sort of surreal astral plane. Upon waking, you find that your companions have had a similar night-time visitor. Spooky? Exciting? Both, I’d say.
Now, the real question that’s going to tickle your curiosity: can you trust this elusive Guardian? They appear in your dreams, they’re persuasive, and they claim the parasite is your lifeline against becoming a mind flayer. Are they a friend, a foe, or just another piece in the grand puzzle that is Baldur’s Gate 3?
Can the Guardian be Trusted in Baldur’s Gate 3?
In the game’s early stages in Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s truly based on how you perceive the Guardian. To trust or not to trust is up to you alone. We’ve only met in dreams, and while dream meetings are quite common in folklore and fairy tales, in Baldur’s Gate 3, they feel a bit…dodgy? I enjoy a good dream, but when someone tells me to keep a mind-flayer-spawning parasite in my head, I tend to raise an eyebrow or two.
The Guardian seems sincere enough, advocating for the retention of our head parasite and dangling the tempting promise of salvation in front of us like a juicy piece of mind flayer steak. But let’s face it; they are dodgy but ever so charming. And by charm, I mean the nagging sense of uncertainty that’ll gnaw at your brain – much like the tadpole itself, I reckon.
I, for one, am excited to dive back into BG3 and find out more about the Guardian. But, while the Guardian can sound persuasive and even caring, we advise you to tread carefully.
The Guardian could be a grand master villain connected to the mind flayers and your tadpole friend. Or something that sees the potential in everything, and by creating a good tadpole friend (if possible), could take control over the mind flayers as a whole? At this stage, all I know is that my Guardian has a fantastic beard, and I’m rather jealous.
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