Baldur’s Gate 3 player reveals “heartbreaking” reason Gale really wants Crown of Karsus

The Karsus Crown in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most important item of Act 3, with everyone asking you to give it to them for ultimate power. Gale is one of those people, but the reason may be different from what he’s telling your player character. 

As you delve deeper into Gale’s story in Baldur’s Gate 3, you find that he is an ex-lover of the Goddess of Magic Mystra, and that in his hubris he unleashed volatile magic that forced him to keep a piece of the Weave trapped in his body. He could blow up at any moment, and he knows it. 

The bomb in his chest has a higher purpose, however, as the renowned wizard Elminster reveals. Just before leaving for Act 2, he will tell you that Mystra wants Gale to use the orb inside of him to destroy the Absolute, effectively killing himself. 

Later on, you and Gale discover that the Absolute is being controlled by the Crown of Karsus. This is a powerful magical artifact that has the ability to let the user wield magic and remain independent from the Weave. This leads Gale to believe that Mystra really wanted to Crown destroyed, not the Absolute, to protect her position as Goddess of Magic. With this information in hand, Gale gets the idea to become a God himself. 

As one Baldur’s Gate 3 player pointed out, however, this search for power may not be the real reason he wants the Crown of Karsus. In a post on Reddit, ‘jynsersos’ said, “Gale is not suddenly obsessed because he wants power. He’s responding to a deep betrayal. And he’s trying to address it in the only way he knows how: magic. If he’s focused on the crown, he’s not focused on the hurt.”

Essentially, the OP believes that Gale wants the Crown for himself because he won’t have to be in service to Mystra anymore. Gale says to the player character in-game that ‘Gods’ are never going to give their followers what they want, and if the party can take it from themselves, the world would be better for it. This is not the full story, according to players who commented. 

As one player put it, “It’s so heartbreaking to know that he thinks Tav would love him more if he was a god.”

More players agreed that the OP’s theory could be correct. “Gale is bitter about it. He actually wants an apology from her. But she never gives one. Why would she? He is simply a tool to her, a worm in the dirt who thought he knew better,” a fan commented. 

Other fans pointed out that Gale deserved this betrayal to some extent, because he acted in a power-hungry way that almost destroyed the Weave. Overall, though, the discussion pointed to how nuanced his story really is, explaining further why he is a favorite character among the community. 

For more Baldur’s Gate 3 content, check out this Gauntlet of Shar discovery that’s the stuff of nightmares and what happens if you give the Githyanki egg to Lae’zel.