Baldur's Gate 3: Should You Make a Deal with Gortash in BG3?

Publish date: 2024-07-01

What Happens When You Accept Gortash’s Deal in Baldur’s Gate 3

If you accept to make a deal with Gortash, he will make a pact with you that he, or any of his people, will not harm you or your Baldur’s Gate 3 party. Doing so could make your stay in Baldur’s Gate much easier, especially if you only have to deal with Orin.

Now, the deal is that you’ll be focusing entirely on her, and once you have her Netherstone, you can bring it to him and reign the Elderbrain under your control. Although the consequences of the deal are pretty negative, you’ll suffer the consequences when you initiate the ending sequence.

However, Karlach, a vital party member in Baldur’s Gate 3, won’t find Gortash’s deal appealing and will encourage you to decline it. She’s not going to want to go with it whatsoever, especially since Gortash is the one who sold her to the devils 10 years ago. This might not be the best route if you want to appease her. I also found that making a deal with Gortash prevents you from completing specific objectives in Baldur’s Gate, such as freeing Wyll’s father, Saving the Gondians, thus saving all the prisoners in the Iron Throne, Gortash’s prison.

What Happens When You Don’t Make the Deal with Gortash in Baldur’s Gate 3

When you don’t accept Gortash’s deal during the ceremony of his becoming Archduke, he forces you and your Baldur’s Gate 3 party to stand there and watch it happen. You can choose to fight him, but engaging in a battle at this time is not advised. It is possible to defeat him here, but the many Steel Guards and guards he has working to protect him are all weighing in his favor. There are also dozens of traps in this location, and he’ll use those to his advantage to defeat your party.

It’s better to go after him later in your Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough. You’ll need to find a way to get him alone, away from prying eyes, and eliminate him. However, this location, in the audience chamber, is also full of traps. Karlach will also want to bring him down, so that’s always good if you wish to remain on her positive side.

Is it Better to Make the Deal with Gortash in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Ultimately, it seems that regardless of whether you make a deal with Gortash when the two of you attempt to tackle the Elderbrain, it kills him during this engagement. If you instead choose that you don’t want to work with Gortash, taking him out in your Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign seems like the better choice, especially if the other option does not hold too much weight to the finale of the game, and you’re trying to get on Karlach’s good side. Karlach has a deep hatred; eliminating him would be a good way to get on her positive side.

For my playthrough, I did decide not to take Gortash up to his offer and eventually found a way to eliminate him and acquire his Netherstone. I didn’t trust him from the start, and for my Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, it felt like the best approach to the situation. Plus, there were a lot of quest objectives I would have missed out on if I took this deal and worked with him rather than defeating him and Orin.

The enormous appeal to not accepting Gortash’s deal in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the number of side quests you can’t complete. Many of them involve Wyll, his father, and Karlach, who is eager to be there to defeat Gortash. If she does, this completes her companion story, which is heartbreaking to watch for any fans of Karlarch who want to see her try getting out of Avernus. As someone who enjoys completing as many side quests in major RPGs, accepting Gortash’s deal or Orin’s is an excellent way to lock yourself out of completing everything Baldur’s Gate 3 offers.

About the author

Zack Palm

Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.