Choosing whether you free Orpheus or not can have major implications in Baldur’s Gate 3, so making the decision won’t be easy. Even when you decide which path you want to follow, there are certain steps that need to be taken, or the Githyanki Prince may never truly be free. I’ll explain which decision makes the most sense here.
Should You Free Orpheus in Baldur’s Gate 3?
You should free Orpheus if you want to help Lae’zel and the Githyanki in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you don’t have Lae’zel in your party or you don’t care for what happens to her people, then freeing the prince won’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme. However, he can offer your party some extra help in the final act, even if you don’t care for the outcome.
Freeing the Prince doesn’t have to be entirely about the Githyanki though. If you felt as if the Emporer was a bad character, or deserved a different fate, then it’s yet another reason to bring Orpheus along for the final battle in the game.
Like so many other parts of BG3, there are consequences to any decision. Deciding to free Orpheus has plenty of different outcomes depending on how you approach it. And you can also lose some major characters in the story.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: What Happens if You Annihilate Mizora – Answered (BG3)
What Happens if You Free Orpheus in BG3?
If you decide you want to free Orpheus, you will automatically lose The Emperor as an ally. You won’t need to fight him on the spot, but he will leave your party to join the Netherbrain. After all, the Githyanki hate everything about the Illithids and The Emperor had far different plans for the final of Baldur’s Gate 3.
There are also two different ways to approach freeing Orpheus. He can be liberated as a Githyanki that provides help as a monk to your party, or he can later be turned into a Mind Flayer. For the best Lae’zel ending, you want to make sure that Orpheus remains a Githyanki in BG3, and that requires the Orphic Hammer and another party member to become a Mind Flayer. In that case, Karlach is typically your last resort for a party member that is willing to evolve.
For those of you who are just meeting Orpheus for the first time, check out our guide on whether you should help The Emperor or not in the Astral Plane of BG3.
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