Who Is the Guardian in Baldur’s Gate 3 (Explained)

After spending a day or two in the character creator of Baldur’s Gate 3, you finally prepare yourself for hours of gameplay. But alas, you’re greeted with another character creator, and that’s for the Guardian. A mysterious being present in-game since Baldur’s Gate 3 early-access days, the Guardian has an in-depth character creation flow. So, this brings up the question of the importance of this character in the game, and that’s what we will answer today. So, who is this Guardian in Baldur’s Gate 3? And what role do they play in the story?

Guardian’s First Appearance in Baldur’s Gate 3

The first encounter with the Guardian in Baldur’s Gate 3 happens after you create the character. You are presented with a neat character creator similar to the previous one. This character creator does not contain choices to decide the classes or abilities. You only get to customize the look of the Guardian via the character builder.

This proves that the Guardian plays a crucial role in the game. However, it also tells us that the Guardian is not a character you can add to your Baldur’s Gate 3 party.

This is also the first time in the series that we had to create another separate character outside your custom character. Baldur’s Gate 3 is the third installment of the well-beloved CRPG game series by Bioware. Those games require you to create a custom character and venture out to the adventure.

But Guardian is a new addition, and it raises the suspicion of the character being an important part of the game’s story.

Who is the Guardian in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Note: Remember that most of the information written below is spoiler-heavy. So, please proceed with that knowledge if you are curious.

In Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, the Guardian appears in your dream when you rest for the second or third time. The Guardian says they are protecting us and are the reason we survived the Nautiloid crash. Remember how you floated just before touching the ground to your death? Possibly the work of the Guardian. They insist that we control the power of the parasite to save the world. They also insist on preventing us from becoming a Mind Flayer if we do so.

After encountering the Goblin cult that worships the “Absolute” in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Guardian appears for the second time in your dreams. They explain that the Absolute uses tadpoles to influence the cult leaders, asserting that they can change them into Mind Flayers whenever it pleases them. Furthermore, since they stole powerful magic from a being, they are constantly fighting every time they communicate with us. And because of this, they need our help to assist them through Faerun.

We learn who the Guardian actually is after the end of Act 2 and at the beginning of Act 3 in Baldur’s Gate 3. Well, the Guardian is a transformed Mind Flayer named Balduran. A well-known adventurer, Mind Flayers transformed him into one of them when he ventured into the Moonrise Towers. He goes by the name Emperor after his transformation, and unlike other Mind Flayers in BG3, he has free will and memories intact post-ceremorpohosis.

After freeing himself from the Hive-Mind, he worked in the shadows with prominent figures of Baldur’s Gate to preserve peace. He was also responsible for finding the Knights of the Shield in Baldur’s Gate. Unfortunately, Gortash, one of the villains, recaptures him and sends him back to the Hive Mind.

When the Hive Mind instructs them to find Prince Orpheus, the Emperor who discovers him first. This results in him regaining his free will and breaking free from the Hive Mind again. In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Emperor captures Prince Orpheus, who is the son of the first queen of Githyanki, and keeps him in captivity. This ensures that we don’t turn into a Mind Flayer. So, the Emperor is constantly fighting an invading Githyankis force trying to rescue Orpheus, explaining his pain from the previous meetings.