Baldur’s Gate 3: Should You Consume or Purge the Slack-Skinned Head Waking Mind? – Answered

Baldur’s Gate 3 has a ton of miscellaneous side adventures that let you learn more about its world. Whether it’s eavesdropping on NPC conversations or interacting with objects in the environment, you can sidetrack from the main story to have some fun. Sometimes, you’ll even receive buffs or other benefits for doing so, as is the case with talking to the Slack Skinned Head. To learn more, continue reading to discover whether you should consume or purge the Slack Skinned Head’s Waking Mind in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Should You Consume or Purge the Slack-Skinned Head’s Waking Mind in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)?

It does not matter which option you choose if you mainly care about gaining the Githzerai Mind Barrier buff permanently, granting you Advantage on Intelligence saving throws. However, if you consume its mind instead, your companion affinity will change slightly. Characters like Astarion will approve of this, while someone like Shadowheart will disapprove. Purging the Waking Mind will not influence your relationship with anyone.

The Githzerai mind will also be horrified by you consuming its mind, but this will not significantly impact your playthrough. The Slack-Skinned Head will become unresponsive, allowing you to remove the Waking Mind from the interface and replace it with another.

If you want to dive into the brains of other deceased NPCs, you can use items like the Willing, True, or Fresh Mind on the Mind-Archive Interface and talk to the Slack Skinned Head again. However, the Waking Mind is the only one that provides a buff, so they’re mainly here for some extra conversation and lore.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on PC, Mac, and PlayStation 5 and soon on Xbox Series X|S. To learn more about the game, check out whether you should spin Akabi’s wheel in BG3, or click the game tag below to browse our growing article collection!