After entering the Planecaster, a major moment in the story happens in Baldur’s Gate 3 involving the Guardian, who has been protecting you and talking to you in your dreams, and you’re faced with a crucial choice to either help or attack them.
Which route should you go down?
What happens if you help the Emperor?
If you help the Emperor, you will get an Astral-Touched Tadpole that will increase your Illithid powers and favor with the Emperor, but you will also start a war with the Githyanki.
- By aligning with the Emperor, you must battle against the Githyanki hostiles in the area, with the Emperor and the Intellect Devourers (the walking brains) on your side—though the latter has severely limited HP.
Gaining favor with the Emperor is important because it has been revealed that the Emperor is the Guardian visiting you in your dreams. They’re the same person encouraging you to accept your Illithid powers. Like you, they were once an adventurer who took a tadpole to the eye, and, best of all; the Emperor is romanceable. So, if you want to explore that, you must side with the Emperor.
After helping the Emperor and defeating the four Githyanki, you will receive a gift: an Astral-Touched Tadpole that provides access to extremely strong Illithid abilities. Still, it comes at a cost—you will become a half-Illithid hybrid.
You do not have to accept the opportunity, and if you reject it, the Astral-Touched Tadpole will be given to you for future wishes, should you choose.
What happens if you attack the Emperor?
If you decide to go down this route and attack the Emperor to experience what happens, make sure you save first, as the choice is pretty catastrophic.
Attacking the Emperor in Baldur’s Gate 3 leads to the end of the game. Doing so sees you face off against them, the Intellect Devourer, and the Githyanki. So, it’s not even worth attempting.
Why should you avoid attacking the Emperor?
Ultimately, you should help the Emperor in BG3 because you can gain advanced Illithid powers, his favor, and can continue playing through the story.
Even if you successfully defeat the Emperor, the Githyanki, and the other Mindflyers, you’ll see a cutscene where a new Mindflayer is born by bursting out of your character’s body, and that’s the end of you. Unless you’ve decided this is the end of your character’s journey, you should steer clear of this option.
