There are tons of Easter eggs to be found as you explore the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, with a wide range of pop-cultural references scattered, there and everywhere throughout Faerûn.
There is plenty of fun to be had with the Easter eggs that you can find, so let’s dive into ten particularly noteworthy ones that you might have missed.
10 Easter eggs you might have missed in BG3
The Cabbage Man
This Easter egg isn’t exactly a subtle one, but it is one of the funniest you’ll find. When you are in the Lower City in Baldur’s Gate, you might come across a distraught cabbage merchant who is wailing over his spilled cabbages. He blames a group of thieves for the cabbage chaos, before continuing to mourn his precious veggies.
This is a reference to the highly popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. A running gag in the show revolved around Aang and his friends barging into a cabbage seller’s cart and wrecking his goods, and it would seem that this Lower City cabbage merchant is having the same problem.
There is even some extra dialogue for players who take on the Monk role, as the merchant will sense that you are one of those “monastic types” and tell you to stay away from his cart, as your kind has done enough already.
Final Fantasy XIV quote
The next Easter egg is more of the emotional kind, as it references the last words of a beloved character from Final Fantasy XIV. The quote will appear as an Inspiration, though it can only be obtained by the Folk Hero character type early on in the second act of the game. The quote reads, “A Smile Better Suits…”
We are getting into spoiler territory for Final Fantasy XIV next, so be aware before you read on. This quote refers to the last words spoken by the character Haurchefant when he sacrifices himself to save the Warrior of Life. Thanks, Larian. Now I’m emotional.
Undertale Mirror quote
This is another Easter egg that references a video game quote, though this one is admittedly less depressing than the last one. The 2015 indie game Undertale had a huge cultural impact, and its influence on Larian Studios is apparent with the inclusion of this simple yet particularly powerful quote.
In Undertale, you play as a child who falls into the underground world of monsters. You have to choose whether to battle the monsters who live there or try to befriend them on your journey through the depths. One moment involves the player character inside a house. You can interact with a mirror and if you do, text appears saying “Despite everything, it’s still you.” As I said, simple yet powerful. Despite all the ups and downs that you go through in the game, you are still just you at the end of it.
This is reflected (literally and metaphorically) in BG3 when your character looks in the mirror. One of the things they can say when doing so is “Still me—even after everything.” Much like in Undertale, you are embarking on a journey that is sure to change you as a person, but at the end of the day, it’s still you when you look in the mirror.
I love this callback as I think it perfectly encapsulates the life-changing, eye-opening, and sometimes mind-bending adventures that you go on in both Undertale and BG3, as well as highlighting the importance of trying to stay true to yourself despite the chaos that you come across.
Jaheira and Minsc
Though they also act as recruitable companions, Jaheira and Minsc are also Easter eggs in themselves as they have both appeared in previous games in the series.
Both characters can be recruited in BG1 and BG2, and you have the chance to decide their fate once again in BG3. They’ve been in the series for more than two decades, so try your best to keep them—and the spirit of the original games—alive.
Infamous D&D characters
Much like Jaheira and Minsc are characters that act as Easter eggs for the Baldur’s Gate series, other characters in the game are well-known individuals in the Dungeons and Dragons lore.
Characters such as Volo and Elminster are pretty much legendary in D&D, and their appearance in BG3 makes for a nice reference to those who are die-hard fans of the fantasy role-playing game.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 portraits
Before their behemoth success with BG3, Larian already had a good thing going with their Divinity: Original Sin series. The series has a dedicated fan base, but it is also clear that Larian took a lot of inspiration from Divinity: Original Sin, particularly in terms of combat.
Larian Studios refers to the second game in the series—Divinity: Original Sin 2— via a series of portraits that you can find in various places in the game, such as hanging up on the walls in taverns, inns, or in people’s homes. They aren’t just pretty pictures either, as you can look at the description of the painting more closely by interacting with it and pressing the examine option.
The Doom Hammer
This next Easter egg is a shout-out to one of the other biggest fantasy RPGs out there: World of Warcraft. This reference comes in the form of a weapon called the Doom Hammer, which is a legendary weapon that you will find in WoW. The BG3 version of the Doom Hammer does have its similarities to the WoW version, as the BG3 weapon is a two-handed maul which is as similar to the hammer as you can get.
Evil Dead Necronomicon
Early on in the game, you might stumble across a rather menacing-looking book called The Necromancy of Thay. This book has some interesting abilities should you open it (though you will need to pass some skill checks for things to go well), but the book itself is also a reference to another book called The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, which appears in the Evil Dead series.
The Necronomicon has the same eerie vibe as the BG3 Necromancy of Thay thanks to them both having a creepy, screaming face on the cover. Don’t fail your rolls if you open it!
Gale’s Shakespearean prowess
Wizard companion Gale is something of a know-it-all, albeit a charming one. His intellect and knowledge revolve around magic and the Weave, but it would also seem that he is incredibly well-read too. When I say well-read, I mean he can quote from literature that doesn’t even exist in Faerûn.
Gale will quote the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the game, sometimes when you switch to him or during combat. He will say “What fools these mortals be”, which is a famous quote by the character Puck from William Shakespeare’s great work.
I don’t think Shakespeare exists in the Baldur’s Gate universe, but Gale’s exploration of the Weave may well have led him to find relics from other universes, such as our own. Why wouldn’t you pretend that you are lyrical enough to make it up yourself if you stumbled upon classic literature from another universe? That seems very much like a Gale thing to do.
Swen Vincke’s menu cameo
Last but not least is a cameo from the chief executive of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke. When the game was in development, Vincke promoted it by dressing up in a suit of armor at every possible moment. He truly is a precious human who should be protected at all costs.
At the end of the early access version of BG3, Vincke gives a little speech before venturing off into the void ready, dressed in his adventurer garb. In the game’s main menu, you can just about see Vincke and his team entering the Temple of Bhaal and slowly descending the stairs.
There is a feeling of the whole thing coming full circle with this cameo, with Vincke and his party leaving the early access adventure to finally enter into the terrifying yet exciting full release of the game. This is a great cameo and one that is well-deserved due to the efforts of Vincke and the entire team at Larian Studios.
