Who is The Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3?
What is the mysterious second character?
Baldur's Gate 3 is a huge, sprawling RPG with numerous Dungeons & Dragons-inspired quests to get lost in. But one of the game's biggest mysteries happens early on, when it's time to create your character.
Besides creating the main character, BG3 also tasks you with creating a character called The Guardian. This NPC is shrouded in mystery, with it unclear at the time why you're creating this character and what role they'll play. So what is The Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3? And how do you find them? For answers to these burning questions and more, we're here to help.
What is The Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3?
Early on in Baldur's Gate 3, The Guardian appears to you and your party in dreams when you take long rests at camp. They won't appear every night but periodically throughout your adventure to drop interesting hints about the wider story of Baldur's Gate 3 and to encourage you to use your Illithid powers.
In your first encounter with The Guardian, they recommend that you don't remove the Mind Flayer's parasite that's in your brain. The Guardian says you can use the parasite's powers to your advantage. Whether you trust The Guardian and decide to embrace the way of the tadpole is up to you though.
If you're wary of The Guardian's promises you can avoid using the parasite's Illithid powers in your playthrough. As you progress through the main quest line you will also come across companions who claim they can remove the tadpole. If you decide to trust The Guardian instead and utilise the parasite's powers, you will progress through a secret Illithid powers skill tree.
How to find The Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3
The Guardian appears to you in your dreams, with this happening for the first time when you take a long rest in Act One at camp. When you first encounter The Guardian they reveal a few important things.
Spoilers to follow so skip to the next section if you don't want any plotlines spoiled.
Still here? OK. In your first meeting with The Guardian, it says the reason you survived the Nautiloid crash is because they were protecting you. The NPC also promises you that it will stop you turning into a Mind Flayer if you decide to use Illithid powers, and that these abilities can help you save the world.
Should you trust The Guardian?
Whether you trust The Guardian is entirely down to you. If you decide to use the tadpole to your advantage, you will be able to unlock 25 powerful abilities through an Illithid skill tree.
These abilities are divided into five categories - manipulation, health restoration, psionics and abilities that torment enemies and deal huge amounts of damage. Each time you consume a parasite specimen, which you can find dotted around the game's world, a new Illithid power is unlocked.
Your party members also can consume parasite specimens, but some of them won't agree to it. There is a trade-off to using Illithid powers, as your party's perception of you will change depending on how you use them.
And that's what the decision to trust The Guardian essentially boils down to. If you decide to follow The Guardian's advice and take advantage of the parasite it lets you access a range of powerful new abilities, but it can also lead to corruption. Whether you think it's worth it is down to you, but BG3 developers Larian have encouraged players to check out these powers.
Need more help with Baldur's Gate 3? If you need a hand creating your main character then check out our pages on the best Baldur's Gate 3 Warlock build, best Sorcerer build and best Bard build. For more on BG3 we've also got guides on how to find your belongings in the Hollow, where to find Benryn and Mirileth's Dowry and much more.