Baldur’s Gate 3 Still Has A Major Plot Hole In Act 3 & It Ruins One Of The Best Quests (2024)

The writing of Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the many elements that made it worthy of Screen Rant's 2023 Game of the Year award. Characters are given arcs, the plot progresses in interesting ways and the dialogue is charming, cutting and witty. When paired with amazing vocal appearances and overall great visuals, the writing is given the chance to shine, but the sheer size and diverging nature of the title means that some plot holes are inevitable.

Some questlines build over the three acts of BG3, with one being the development of The Absolute plot and the Dead Three. This sets up the villains of the title, being General Ketheric Thorm, Lord Enver Gortash, and Orin the Red, who all control the Elder Brain in the name of their unholy deities. While Ketheric and Gortash keep proceedings relatively professional, Orin makes things personal by kidnapping a member of Tav's camp in Act 3. This can include one of their party members.

How A Plot Hole Ruins Orin's Quest in BG3

The Party's Tadpoles Should Resolve The Quest Easily

Orin the Red is a major antagonist, and while Ketheric is the general and Gortash is the schemer, Orin is the unpredictable murderer who would cross any boundary just for the fun of it. Her presence and erratic nature make her someone to fear, especially if the player has chosen the Dark Urge backstory and has personal links to the Champion of Bhaal. Her kidnapping a member of the player's camp should cause alarm bells to ring, but the game gives Tav very few options in working out who has been taken, which is odd for a game all about choice.

Orin is a changeling, and her ability to take the form of anyone else means that she can replace a camp member without alerting the party. If Gortash is met early on in Act 3, he will reveal that Orin has infiltrated the player's camp as part of a deal to get rid of her, although he cannot tell Tav who she has replaced. If the player takes enough Long Rests, then one of the party members will act suspiciously, accusing Yenna, a street urchin, which will reveal who has been taken.

Until then, there are a few ways in which players should be able to tell who has been taken, but the player is never given the option. The Illithid Tadpoles should allow party members to communicate, and if someone who should have one cannot use it, then that member has been replaced by Orin. Of course, this wouldn't work with Jaheria, Yenna or Halsin, who could all be taken by Orin, but it would narrow it down.

Ways Baldur's Gate 3 Could Fix The Orin Plot Hole

Subtle Clues & Roleplaying Options

As a changeling, Orin can perfectly match the appearance of a party member, but not their abilities. This could have given the player the opportunity to notice that one of their camp members was acting weird. They could decline to travel with the party for whatever reason or have slightly different voice lines, as Orin lacks the experience with Tav that the camp members would have. She would also lack distinct characteristics that the party members have.

More perception or insight checks when around the replaced camp member, after finding out from Gortash that Orin has infiltrated the camp, could have helped too, if linking Tadpoles wasn't an option for whatever reason. For instance, noticing that Astarion hasn't drunk any blood for a while or not feeling the heat from Karlach's engine while wandering by could have been options. Orin shouldn't be able to replicate class abilities either, so if the kidnapped camp member is in the party, giving them different abilities could tip the player off.

Still, using telepathy with the Tadpoles is the easiest way to tell who Orin has kidnapped, as well as a secret way to communicate with party members that have definitely not been kidnapped. This form of communication could not only be used to figure out who Orin has taken, but it could also be used to formulate a plan to stop her. If those without Tadpoles have been captured, a dialogue scenario in which the player has to choose the right questions to figure out who has been kidnapped could have followed, leading to Orin's retreat.

The Plot Hole Almost Ruins Orin's Quest

One Of Act 3's Most Interesting Characters

Orin is an intriguing antagonist whose shape-changing abilities are used to torment Tav and the crew, especially if players choose the Dark Urge origin, but this specific aspect of her questline is a bit under-baked. This is the case with a lot of aspects of Act 3, such as Baldur's Gate's Upper City not being included. Time restraints were an issue for Larian Studios, but the developer still managed to put out a masterpiece and have continued to add to it post release.

This quest could be expanded in future to address the plot holes around Orin's kidnapping of a camp member through future patches and updates. As it stands, it seems underdeveloped, and the kidnapping seems arbitrary when the player should have logical options to counter it. This plot hole hampers an otherwise great Baldur's Gate 3 villain who has the unpredictability, charisma and creepiness factor to be one of the game's most memorable.

Baldur's Gate 3

Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Platform(s)

PC , Stadia , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

Genre(s)

RPG

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence