BG3 - Illithid Powers Explained Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough

You could say that having the Mind Flayer parasite in your head in Baldur's Gate 3 means nothing good, but there are special hidden psionic skills available to those who decide to harness the power of the parasite. Our guide to Baldur's Gate 3 explains what Illithid Powers are, how to unlock them, which powers to choose and what the consequences of their use are.

• What are Illithid Powers?
• How to unlock Illithid Powers?
• Which Illithid Powers to choose?
• Illithid Powers consequences

What are Illithid Powers?

After their abduction by the Mind Flayers / Illithid in the prologue, the protagonist is implanted with a tadpole - a parasite serving as the main plotline of the game. It can grant you special, hidden abilities, unlocked relatively early on. The first strange ability you'll spot is Illithid persuasion. During some conversations you can convince the other person or even command them using an Illithid option. This is their most basic power. Note: you don't need to unlock these powers and you can even miss them entirely. It's worth knowing how to use them though, as Illithid Powers can significantly tip the scales in combat. After unlocking Illithid Powers, a special Illithid tab will appear in the character sheet, accessed with the 'B' key. You can gain skill points by consuming other found tadpoles.

Initially, only your protagonist can use Illithid Powers - you must convince your party members first to have them use them through a Persuasion check. Their opinions and thoughts differ - for example, Astarion is very easy to convince, while Karlach is very difficult to convince. You can't convince Halsin and Jaheira, as they don't have tadpoles.

How to unlock Illithid Powers?

Illithid Powers are unlocked over time - by long resting and sleeping. Eventually, you'll have a dream during which your Guardian will encourage you to harness the tadpole's power. From this point on, you can access the skill tree and spend Illithid points. You gain them by consuming Illithid tadpoles. The easiest way to acquire them is by killing bosses - for example, there are three tadpole hosts in the Goblin Camp, those being Priestess Gut, Dror Ragzlin and the drow Minthara. After killing each one, you can loot their tadpoles off their bodies and consume them.

Green arrow - Edowin's location. Orange arrow: entrance to the Druid Grove.

The first and easiest way to earn Illithid points is to encounter Edowin, Brynna and Andrick near the Druid Grove (point 20 on the map or click here to go to our interactive Baldur's Gate 3 map). You'll meet them near the Owlbear's cave. Edowin was wounded and is dying - you can take the first tadpole off his corpse. Note: you can't use it right away - you must rest a few times to progress the storyline and meet the Guardian.

Which Illithid Powers to choose?

There are many Illithid Powers in BG3, unlocked gradually - starting with the weaker Tier 1, then progressing to the stronger Tier 2. Below we've described some Illithid Powers and given some tips on which ones to choose.

Here are some particularly useful combat skills: Favourable Beginnings and Luck of the Far Realms. They increase your hit and crit chances. If you want to increase your combat potential, try Repulsor - this skill deals damage and knocks enemies backwards (e.g. into a chasm). Psionic Backlash is a great Reaction, letting you attack enemy spellcasters even outside of your turn. Force Tunnel could be a good choice for fighters and other melee classes, as it works similarly to a charge - deals damage, pushes back and doesn't trigger opportunity attacks. Try to avoid Illithid powers that come with negative effects - for example, Psionic Overload deals damage both to the enemy and you.

Tier 1 Powers:

1. Psionic Overload - deals 1-4 damage to you and the enemy.
2. Favourable Beginnings - passive skill. You get a bonus to your first attack roll or skill check. This will make hitting targets much easier, making it very useful in combat.
3. Force Tunnel - works like a Fighter's charge ability. You rush forward, pushing back enemies.
4. Concentrated Blast - an attack dealing 3d6 Psionic damage, but you need to maintain a concentration spell (e.g. an active shield spell). If your target's also concentrating, the blast will heal you.
5. Transfuse Health - sacrifice half your HP to heal the target by the same amount. Could be clutch in difficult battles.

Tier 2 Powers:

1. Ability Drain - passive skill. Once per turn, when you attack, you reduce a target's ability score by 1. The reduced ability depends on the kind of attack. Melee attacks reduce strength, ragned attacks reduce dexterity, spells reduce intelligence, charisma and wisdom.
2. Luck of the Far Realms - passive skill. You can change a regular attack into a guaranteed critical hit. Very useful in combat.
3. Charm - passive skill. Just like a similarly-named spell, it prevents enemies from attacking you.
4. Displace - passive skill. Enemies take additional 1-8 fall damage when you cause them to fall.
5. Repulsor - deals 2d6 damage and repels enemies. A good, recommended offensive skill.
6. Cull the Weak - if you bring an enemy down to less HP than you have Illithid Powers unlocked, the enemy dies instantly. Also deals 1-4 damage to nearby enemies. Useful against groups of weaker foes.
7. Psionic Backlash - passive skill. If an enemy within 9 meters of you casts a spell, you can use your Reaction to attack them, dealing 1d4 damage per spell level. Very useful, given how many enemy spellcasters there are in BG3.
8. Shield of Thralls - create a shield granting 10 temporary HP. The shield can daze nearby enemies when destroyed.
9. Perilous Stakes - the receiver of the spell (.e.g. a party member or a companion) will heal with each attack, but is at the same time Vulnerable to every damage type.
10. Stage Fright - inflicts an enemy with disadvantage on attack rolls and deals 2-12 damage each time they miss. Useful in combat.

Illithid Powers consequences

Baldur's Gate 3 repeatedly warns you against using Illithid Powers - it's a part of the story and should be treated as such. Using them affects certain story events later on and your relations with other party members. Nothing will happen to the player character themselves. The choice is of a moral nature - are you willing to give in to the temptation and harness the parasite's power instead of removing it?

The question "Should I use Illithid Powers?" is a dilemma you need to answer for yourself. They are definitely very useful - these additional skills help immensely in combat, sometimes turning the tide of battle in your favour. There is a hidden achievement in the game called "Ceremorphosis" which reflects how important the choice to either delve deeper into the Mind Flayers' ways or stay away from such ungodly powers is during the campaign. Surely, using Illithid Powers will have an effect over which ending you'll receive, but let's stress that using these skills is a moral choice and the decision is completely yours.

Having said that, the game will warn you if you use Illithid Powers too often - if, despite the warning, you'll pass the so-called point of no return, it may turn out that there is only one ending for you - the bad one. However, if you use Powers with caution and don't consume every tadpole you encounter, everything should be in order.