Baldur’s Gate 3 is all about player choices and rolling with what happens. Death can be one of those factors that can change a player’s playthrough. So is there permadeath in Baldur’s Gate 3, and can party members die permanently?
Is there permadeath in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Death can be final in the game, but the Baldur’s Gate 3 permadeath rules apply differently to different characters. The protagonist doesn’t have permadeath, so it’s not like players have to start over if get a string of bad rolls and croak.
It gets a little more complicated in regards to other characters. Characters who haven’t been recruited into the player’s party will die permanently if they’re killed. However, party members that fall can be revived by using Revivify or through Withers. Withers is the skeletal corpse-like character that can be recruited in the beginning of the game in the Dank Crypt. He also lets players change their class, making him an invaluable asset. Reviving a character takes 200 gold pieces. It’s not going to be cheap, but it is there for players who want a specific character back.
Revivify is a spell clerics, paladins, grave domains, and celestials can use (as well as the cleric subclasses life domain, light domain, and trickery domain). It’s a level three spell that revives a companion and gives them a single hit point. There’s also a Scroll of Revivify that can be purchased or found, but that only has one use.
When a companion falls in battle, they’ll often get a few saving rolls before croaking. They’ll need three to get back up. Companions within five feet of a fallen character can use the “Help” command to help them get back on their feet. Healing spells can also be used on fallen character in battle to get them back in the game quickly. So while permadeath isn’t a constant threat, these options help characters from dying in the first place.
It’s possible that Larian Studios implements some more permadeath options in the future. Divinity Original Sin 2, Larian’s last game, had a permadeath mode called Honor Mode where it locked players to one save. However, that was a little different, as it just wiped the player’s save if everyone in their party died.
