Baldur’s Gate 3 player uncovers shocking Emperor detail

A Baldur’s Gate 3 player found out about the Emperor’s betrayal through a note in the Counting House vault. *SPOILERS AHEAD

In Baldur’s Gate 3, The Emperor, who disguises himself as your Dream Visitor through most of the game, is one of the most hated characters. He is usually the entity that players side with in an “evil” playthrough, and he is known to be manipulative. 

When he presents himself to the player-character, he usually claims that he is looking out for your best interests and protecting you from the Absolute. Whether or not this is true, players only find out toward the end of the game – depending on who you side with. 

However, one player, felt a deep sense of betrayal when they found a note in the Counting House that detailed how the Emperor was the one piloting the Nautiloid you are captured on in the beginning. 

“Am I the only one who found the note?” they asked in a post on Reddit. “You know, the one that details the whole plan- including how the Nautiloid we’re on at the start of the game is piloted by none other than the g****g Emperor!?!? Why is nobody talking about this? I found that note immediately following a night of heated sexy squiddy passion and the BETRAYAL felt so real!” 

More Baldur’s Gate 3 fans took to the comments to explain that this may have been a confusing detail from the game’s side. The timeline makes it seem like the Emperor had been in the Astral Prism long before your adventure started, but that is not the case. 

“Gortash sent him and the Nautiloid on this mission, the Emperor was the first mind flayer to find the Prism which caused his free will to return (it was actually the Elder Brain letting him slip, but he didn’t know that at the time), so he followed the feeling inside the Prism and began his own scheming,” a player explained. 

Nonetheless, that did not stop the OP from feeling a deep sense of betrayal when they found the note. The Emperor does, after all, try to make you feel safe and that you can trust him – and that was all a lie for the OP. 

Other players commented that this kind of information coming out throughout the game is what makes the story so compelling. “I kind of love games where you wake up at the beginning and slowly find out more about what happened in the build up to immediately before the game starts,” a player commented. 

For more on Baldur’s Gate 3, read about how to find secret Myrmidon weapons and why players think Astarion may be irrelevant.