Baldur’s Gate 3: Act 1 Checklist – All Things to Do Before Completing

Baldur’s Gate 3 has no shortage of things to do, but as you scour Act 1, you might wonder, “Am I missing something?” Here’s the full BG3 Act 1 checklist, so you don’t miss out on anything.

Everything You Should Do in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, Listed

While Act 1 may seem constrained to the Emerald Grove and the Goblin Camp, it actually stretches quite far into the game. You can delve all the way into the Underdark without putting a single toe into Act 2. And that means there’s plenty of things you don’t want to miss before you move on.

Though, worth noting, you can continue to travel back to all Act 1 areas until you start Act 3. That means many of the items on this checklist can be done quite late in the game, and at your leisure. If it’s time-sensitive, it will be marked as such.

Now, let’s dive right in.

Everything You Should Do in the Emerald Grove in Baldur’s Gate 3

So, the Emerald Grove will be cut off once you complete the Goblin Camp quest. That makes everything in the below section time-sensitive, though some are more sensitive than others.

Here’s everything you should do before completing the Goblin Camp.

• Emerald Grove Battle (Time-Sensitive)
  • Found once you approach the gate to the Emerald Grove. If you take one long rest without finishing or joining the fight, the tiefling who opens the gate will die. He’ll then have a grave, and you can speak to his friends to get unique dialogue. The unique dialogue seems Time-Sensitive, so speak to them before taking a long rest just in case.
• Druid Grove Ritual (Time-Sensitive)
  • This quest is found at the Emerald Grove and starts once you enter through the gate. The ritual will conclude after 10+ long rests.
  • However, you can stop the timer entirely by completing Kagha’s side quest.
• Investigate the Beach / Harpies and Tiefling (Time-Sensitive)
  • From the Emerald Grove, you can access a beach. But once you find the beach, you’ll automatically trigger the timer on the quest ‘Investigate the Beach’. Taking one long rest will lead to the boy on the beach dying unless you kill the harpies.
  • Likewise, failing to rescue the boy before dealing with the Goblin Camp will lead to him dying, even if you never discovered the beach.
• Save the Tiefling Child Thief (Time-Sensitive)
  • Once you arrive in the Emerald Grove and go to speak to Kagha, you’ll get a cutscene where a tiefling child is being threatened by a snake. If you don’t resolve the situation, and let her get back to her parents before dealing with the goblin camp, she’ll be dead.
• Tiefling Bard (Time-Sensitive)
  • Near the ritual area in Emerald Grove, you can find a tiefling bard struggling to compose a song. You’ll have the chance to help her and gain musical proficiency until the goblin camp is dealt with.
  • Likewise, you can still learn from her (and even save her!) if you’re Dark Urge.
• Sazza the Goblin Prisoner (Time-Sensitive)
• In the northwest corner of the Emerald Grove, you can find Sazza the goblin imprisoned. She’s being threatened by a tiefling. She’ll die if you don’t deal with her situation before defeating the goblin camp.
• Complete Investigate Kagha (Quest)
  • Kagha is a druid who has taken over for Halsin. She’s within the Druid dormitories near the Idol. To start this quest, you’ll need to investigate the library near her.
• Get Help from Healer Nettie (Quest)
  • As part of the Investigate the Cure questline, you can speak to Nettie, the druid healer. She’s in the druid building with Kagha and the rest. She’ll be attending to a bird, but she’ll look at you and come to the conclusion that she can’t help you. But she will give you some poison to kill yourself with. How kind of her.
• Get the Druid Treasure
  • There is a treasure beneath the wolf statue in the druid building. To access it, you’ll need to either pickpocket the Rune of the Wolf from Rath, defeat the Shadow Druids in Kagha’s quest, or return to the grove with Halsin and then speak to Rath. Once you have the Wolf Rune, insert into the empty slot near the wolf statue and a stairwell to the treasure will reveal itself.
• Find and Speak to Mol (Quest)
  • Mol can be found in the hidden hideout. To access this hideout, you can get Doni to tell you about it, or you can save the tiefling child while investigating the beach. Doing so will set you up to get a key for free in Act 2, and Mol has an ongoing presence throughout the game.
  • Mol will also give you a quest to steal the Idol of Silvanus.
• Convince Rolan, Lia, and Cal to Stay
  • You can speak to three tieflings arguing in the grove and convince them to either leave or stay. If you want them alive later, you should ask them to leave if you’re going to raid the grove with the goblins. But if you’re going to kill the goblins, convince them to stay and defend the camp. Doing so will ensure you see them in Act 2, where they’ll add another layer to a quest you’ll encounter there.
• Speak to the Strange Ox
  • The Strange Ox is a reoccurring character you can speak to using Speak with Animals. He can be found in the Emerald Grove with the other ox near Doni. Speaking with him now will lay some groundwork if you want to confront him about his strangeness in Act 2. But you won’t lose anything if you don’t speak to him.

Everything You Should Do in the Wilds in Baldur’s Gate 3

The first area you encounter after your crash landing is sprawling. You’ve got the Ravaged Beach, the Dank Crypt, the Blighted Village, the Putrid Bog, and on and on. And because that’s quite a lot of places, let’s dive right in.

• Dying True Soul (Time-Sensitive)
  • While wandering the wilds near the Owlbear Cave, you will likely stumble across a True Soul and his two disciples. Once your companions note they hear voices, you have one rest to speak to the disciples, or they’ll be gone.
• Owlbear (Time-Sensitive)
  • If you enter the Owlbear Cave but don’t interact with the Owlbear and her cub, the goblins will kill the Owlbear mother after one long rest. The owlbear cub can then be found at the goblin camp.
• Burning Inn / Rescue the Trapped Man / Rescue the Grand Duke (Time-Sensitive)
  • Once you stumble upon the Burning Inn at Waukeen’s Rest, the timer will start. Taking one long rest will lead to everyone inside the burning inn dying. So, once you’ve entered the area, you must commit.
• Bugbear Assassin (Time-Sensitive)
  • Most people will probably stumble upon this event from the Emerald Grove, but triggering it in the wilds is possible. Once you’ve found the bugbear assassin, you’ll need to immediately kill the assassin to save his target, looking through the telescope. Doing so will save her, and you can then pickpocket a Soul Coin from her. Or kill her, I guess.
  • If you haven’t found her or the bugbear assassin, she’ll stay alive even after completing the goblin camp.
• The Zhentarim Hideout (Time-Sensitive)
  • Information surrounding the hideout, found in a hidden cellar near Wakeen’s Rest, is conflicting. Some state that after one long rest, the camp vanishes. Others claim it’s a story beat. In my experience, accepting the quest from the Zehntarim leader stops the timer, whatever it may be.
  • Either way, be sure to interact with the artist being held captive in the hideout to prevent being locked out of his quest in Act 3.
• Caravan Ambush / Find the Missing Shipment (Time-Sensitive) (Quest)
  • Once you’ve stumbled upon the caravan ambush to the far north of the map on the Risen Road, you must save the merchants or kill the gnolls attacking them immediately. Taking a long rest will lead to their deaths. I recommend avoiding this area until you have the quest officially.
• Recruit Scratch the Dog
  • Scratch the dog can be found outside of the Blighted Village beside his dead master. You can pass a persuasion check or animal handling check to get him to eventually come to your camp.
• Explore the Ruins (Quest)
  • This is a fun little quest that can have you encounter Withers. Head to the Ravaged Beach and follow the beach North to encounter the ruins. There will be a few bandits here, which you’ll need to fight. As you explore the ruins, you can find The Amulet of Lost Voices, The Watcher’s Guide, a Soul Coin, and a secret room housing Withers.
  • Failing to find Withers will not stop him from joining your camp. He’ll eventually appear.
• Explore the Owlbear Cave
  • You can opt to explore the Owlbear cave near the Blighted Village. Doing so may trigger a fight against the Owlbear mother. If you want to recruit the cub, you must not kill the cub. The Oak Father’s Embrace can be looted from the Headless Skeleton. If you kill the Owlbear mother, you can get the head of the Absolute Spear from her body. The rest of the spear is on Edowin’s body. The Moondrop Pendant can be taken from the Selune Chest in the cave.
• Save Mayrina (Quest)
  • South of the Blighted Village in the Putrid Bog, you can encounter Auntie Ethel and two brothers arguing. After speaking to them, head top the Riverside Teahouse to find and Save Mayrina. Doing so will net you the Staff of Crones and the Bitter Divorce. I highlight Bitter Divorce because you can give it to Mayrina, which will have an impact on a quest in Act 3.
• Free the Artist (Quest)
  • Once you’ve found the Zhentarim Hideout, you should speak peacefully to the leader in order to access the lower area. Here, you’ll find an artist in indentured servitude to one of the Zhentarims. He’ll ask you to buy him, and you should do so because it will open a quest in Act 3.
• Explore the Tollhouse Basement
  • In the same building where you can find the Paladins Anders and Tyr on the Risen Road, there’s an ornate hatch that leads to a basement and a secret door. By exploring this basement and solving its puzzles, you can get the Gloves of Heroism.

Everything You Should Do in the Blighted Village in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Blighted Village, which is now occupied by goblins, has quite a few things you can do within.

• Gnome Strapped to Windmill / Rescue the Gnome (Time-Sensitive) (Quest)
  • At the far west of the Blighted Village, you can find a gnome strapped to one of the fans of a windmill. If you don’t deal with the situation, he’ll eventually disappear. Uncertain at the moment of how many long rests that might be. I recommend saving him because you later speak to him at the Grymforge, and he’ll join your camp as a merchant.
• Find the Dark Amethyst
  • In the Blighted Village, go down the well to find the Whispering Depths. This area is full of spiders but also loot. Grab the Poisoner’s Robe, Spurred Band, and Spiderstep Boots from the small room at the edge of the cave. Then, grab the Dark Amethyst from beneath the matriarch Phase Spider.
• Search the Cellar (Quest)
  • Use the hatch in the abandoned pharmacy’s basement to access the cellar. There’s a lever that will take you to a secret area. Within this secret area, you can get the Necromancy of Thay, which will eventually unlock an excellent Necromancy skill in Act 3. Assuming you pass all the skill checks to read it and you don’t destroy it. But to use the Necromancy of Thay, you’ll need the Dark Amethyst.
• Get Shovel the Quasit
  • While you’re in the secret cellar where you found the Necromancy of Thay, search the coffins. One coffin will contain a Scroll of Summon Familiar. Use it to summon the unique Familiar Shovel. It has some unique lines, which are fun.
• Investigate the Barn
  • One of the barns in the Blighted Village is locked. Investigate it for a fun (and seductive) surprise.
• Speak to Lump the Ogre
  • On the edge of the Blighted Village, you can find three ogres snacking on tiefling. Speak to them, and you can convince them to work for you instead. Doing this will require you to roll some high saving throws. Or, alternatively, for you to pay a significant amount of coin. You can also opt to kill Lump and his friends in order to get the Warped Headband of Intellect.
• Finish the Masterwork Weapon (Quest)
  • At the coordinates X: 30, Y: 425, you can find Highcliff’s Journal in the abandoned blacksmith’s house. Which will start the quest to find the Masterwork Weapon. This quest can’t be completed until you find the Sussur Bark in the Underdark in Act 1.

Everything You Should Do in the Goblin Camp in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Goblin Camp is the point of no return for some of the quests previously listed. Especially quests in the Emerald Grove. Be sure to check out our article on all time-sensitive quests to ensure that you don’t accidentally lock yourself out of anything.

• Rescue Volo (Quest)
  • Once you enter the Goblin Camp, there’s a good chance you’ll see Volo performing for the goblins. Speak to him once, and he’ll be moved inside the Goblin fortress. This will allow you to rescue him permanently.
• Speak to Volo at Camp
  • Once you’ve rescued Volo in the goblin camp, he’ll eventually appear at your camp. You can have him examine your tadpole. And after a long rest or two, he’ll come to the conclusion that he can remove it. It seems like a bad idea, but do it, as it will give you a permanent passive to see invisible enemies or items. Doing this will change the appearance of one of your eyes, however.
• Speak to Abdirak and Let Him Punish You
  • Near the right wall of the Goblin encampment is Abdirak, a worshipper of the goddess of pain. If you let him torture you and pass several skill checks, you can get the buff “Loviatar’s Love.”
• Save Liam from His Torturers
  • In the room adjacent to Abdirak, you can find a human being tortured by goblins. You can deceive them into letting you take over and then lockpick the cuffs on Liam to let him escape.
• Free the Spiders
  • This is optional, but you can enter the spider’s cage beneath where you’ll first find Priestess Glut. You can then free them, and they’ll start running amok amongst the goblins, doing damage. They’re just very hungry, and who can blame them?
• Grab the Infernal Iron in the Treasure Room
  • When you find the goblin leader Dror Ragzlin, head up the stairs. You’ll find a locked balcony. Lockpick it and then loot it to get Infernal Iron. You can then take this Infernal Iron to Dammon, assuming you have Karlach in your party, in order to progress her companion quest.
• Kill All the Goblin Leaders / Join the Goblin Leaders (Quest)
  • Depending on your preferences, you can either join the goblin leaders by speaking to Minthara or you can kill them all. By choosing to join Minthara, you are deciding to raid the Emerald Grove, which likely means killing all the tieflings and druids. If you decide to side with the Emerald Grove, you’ll need to kill all three Goblin Leaders and likely the majority of the Goblin Camp.
• Free Halsin (Quest)
  • Halsin can be found in bear form in the prisons. You’ll have to defeat everyone in the room in order to ensure his escape. Halsin will then help you fight if you so wish.

All Companion and Their Quests in Act 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3

In Act 1, there are eight potential companions you can recruit, with two of them becoming permanent members in Act 2/3. Here’s the checklist for all eight.

• Recruit Shadowheart
  • Shadowheart can be found on the Ravaged Beach, whether or not you managed to free her from the pod on the Nautiloid.
• Recruit Lae’zel
  • Laezel can be found just west of the ruins and immediately south of the Emerald Grove in a cage. You’ll have to destroy the cage or convince the tieflings to release her.

• Lae’zel at the Mountain Pass (Time-Sensitive)
  • Once Lae’zel leaves to confront the Githyanki party, you can technically just leave her. But going to camp will kill her. Likewise, she seems to die if you just leave. So, her death is likely on a proximity trigger. Don’t worry; you can always have Withers resurrect her.
• Discover The History of Prince Orpheus (Quest)
  • There are three Githyanki texts, which are necessary to complete this quest. The first is in the Githankyi Creche, which can be obtained by persuading Youth Vaarl. Or by looting it from his body. The second disc can be found in the Arcane Tower. The final disc won’t be obtainable until Act 2, where you’ll find it in Balthazar’s study in Moonrise Tower.
• Recruit Gale
  • Gale can be found at the Roadside Cliffs, south of where you’ll find Lae’zel. He’ll be in a portal, and you must pull him free to recruit him.
• Gale Hungers for Magic Items
  • Gale will periodically get an exclamation point over his head in Act 1. When this happens, it likely means that he needs a magical item to sustain himself. He’ll ask for a magical item every two rests. If you refuse to give him a magical item two times, he’ll leave.
• Recruit Astarion
  • Astarion is a little out of the way. You must go through the crashed Nautoloid, heading west, then south towards the beach.
• Recruit Wyll
  • You’ll first encounter Wyll outside of the Emerald Grove. After the fight, he’ll be inside the Emerald Grove in the training area, teaching kids to fight.
• Recruit Karlach
  • Karlach will be across the northern bridge past the Blighted Village. But instead of turning left, towards Waukeen’s Rest, follow the road all the way east and then down when you hit a dead end. You’ll find Karlach near the river.
• Bring Karlach to Dammon
  • Once you’ve recruited Karlach, bring her to Dammon the tiefling blacksmith in the Emerald Grove. Doing so will help you progress her quest and her romance much faster.  Dammon will ask you to get Infernal Iron, which you can find in the Goblin Camp.
• Recruit Halsin OR Mithara
  • Technically, you can’t recruit Mithara or Halsin in Act 1, but you do lay the foundation. In the Goblin Camp, you’ll be asked to decide between the Goblin Camp / Absolute or the Emerald Grove. If you select the Goblin Camp, you can eventually recruit Mithara. If you select Emerald Grove, you’ll eventually have the chance to recruit Halsin.

Everything You Should Do in the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Underdark is the wind up to Act 2. And there’s quite a bit to do here in the dark.

• Save the Poisoned Gnome in the Mushroom Village (Time-Sensitive) (Quest)

• You’ll find a poisoned gnome once you’ve found the Myconoid Village in the Underdark. You must give her an antidote before saving Nere or starting Act 2. Otherwise, she’ll die. You’ll find her on top of the mushroom with Leader Spaw in the Myconoid Colony.
• Save Nere at the Grymforge (Time-Sensitive) (Quest)
  • Unfortunately, the timer for this quest starts the moment you enter the Grymforge. Nere and the gnomes trying to free him will die if you long rest, visit the camp, or leave the zone twice. Harsh.
• Free the Petrified Drows
  • After arriving in the Underdark, you can head west to find a Spectator and a few Petrified drow. Kill the Spectator first and then cure the drow to speak to them. The leader can be persuaded (or bullied, if you’re a female drow) into giving you his Memory Shard. But killing him might be better, as he has on his person a part of a unique weapon that can’t be obtained anywhere else.
• Visit the Festering Cove and Become God
  • From THE Selunite Outpost, continue west, and you’ll find a craggy rock that descends into the depths of the Underdark. Here, you can find Kuo-Toa worshipping a false idol. You can convince them to make you their god instead.
• Visit the Arcane Tower, Get Loot
  • The Arcane Tower is just past the Festering Cove. To access it, you’ll need to disable the magic turrets. Once inside, you can find an assortment of magical items, including a Club of Hill Giant Strength.
• Get Sussur Bark for the Masterwork Weapon
  • The Masterwork recipe you found in the Blighted Village can finally be completed. Head to the Sussur Tree at the far west of the map to gather some bark.
• Avenge Glut’s Circle / Defeat the Duergar Intruders (Quest)
  • Once you stumble upon the Myconoid Colony, you’ll find Glut. Glut will ask you to kill the duergar dwarves in the Underdark Beach. Do so, and you’ll get a title, a passive boost, and a new quest.
• Deliver Nere’s Head (Quest)
  • After helping Glut and Spaw kill the dwarves, you’ll be tasked with finding Nere and getting his head. Kill Nere in the Grymforge after freeing him, then return to Spaw and Glut to get your rewards.
• Find the Missing Boots (Quest)
  • If you’ve opted not to kill the duergar dwarves, you can help them get their missing boots. This quest is picked up at the Underdark Beach. The missing boots are on a gnome named Thulla you can find in the Myconoid Colony.
• Find the Mushroom Picker (Quest)
  • In the Myconoid Colony, you can find a female dwarf who’s missing her husband. Her husband is in the nearby underground cave full of exploding mushrooms. You can help him escape the mushrooms, and he’ll return to his wife.
• Get and Use the Noblestalk
  • Near where you found the Mushroom Picker will be a Noblestalk. It’s in the exact same cave as all the exploding mushrooms, on the far right wall. You can give the mushroom to the mushroom picker’s wife, to Shadowheart, to the husband, or you can use it on yourself if you’re the Dark Urge.
• Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite (Quest)
  • In the Myconoid Colony, speak to Blurg, the Hobgolin merchant. Tell him you have a tadpole in your brain, and he’ll summon his illithid friend, Omeluum, to help. This will start this quest.
• Grab the Rare Longsword Phalar Aluve
  • There’s a longsword at X:119 Y:-191 in the Underdark. It’s set in a grave, but you can remove it by passing a Strength or Religion check. Doing so will let you claim this unique weapon.
• Find All the Moulds for the Adamantine Forge
  • Near the Grymforge is the Adamantine Forge. You can find six moulds and three veins of Mithril, which will allow you to craft a Mithril armor or weapon of your choice. However, to do this you’ll need to beat the Adamantine Forge boss.
• Help the Cursed Monk (Quest)
  • While you’re near the Adamantine Forge, you can jump into the nearby lava lake to find a chest with The Sentient Amulet. The being within the amulet will ask you to reunite him with his granddaughter. You won’t be able to do this until Act 3.

Everything You Should Do in Rosymorn Monastery / Creche Y’llek in Baldur’s Gate 3

Lae’zel will spur you on to Rosymorn Monastery, which has been converted to the Creche Y’llek. While you might get a notification that makes it seem like going here will push you into Act 2, that’s not the case. You can visit the Creche at any point in Act 1 without fear.

• Steal a Githyanki Egg (Quest)
  • Outside of the monastery, you can find a woman who really wants a Githyanki egg. Her hope is to raise it in a non-hostile environment to see how it turns out. Typical nature vs nurture experiment. Agree to it, and Lae’zel will disapprove, but you can steal an egg from the creche. Alternatively, you can give the woman an owlbear egg.
• Take Lae’zel to Be Cured  (Quest)
  • Lae’zel is confident that the physicians in the creche can cure her. So, take her there and let her see what happens.
• Get the Blood of Lathander
  • The Rosymorn Monastery is hiding a secret area that contains the Legendary weapon, the Blood of Lathander. You can either complete a puzzle to claim it without hostility or run against the clock. Either way, it’s worth getting.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is filled with so many things to do, that keeping track of them all can feel like an impossible challenge. Check out our guide on Steam achievements in BG3 to keep up with those as well.

Related: Can you still recruit Lae’zel later in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Act 1? on Destructoid.