The freedom Baldur's Gate 3 gives players is very generous, allowing characters to eat foods labeled as poisonous or to jump off cliffs that are clearly at deadly heights. Part of letting fans make good decisions also entails letting fans make bad decisions as well.
Some decisions that look bad, such as running through illusionary walls, might look bad at first but are actually quite rewarding. Baldur's Gate 3 sets up one such situation in front of Auntie Ethel's home in the Sunlit Wetlands. The well smells like corpses but players can take a risky drink out of it if they please.
This article divulges consequences within the game and reveals information the player's character may not know. Gamers committed to role-playing may wish to stop reading and find these things out for themselves.
Drinking Out Of The Well
- Before and after confronting Auntie Ethel: Well gives a +10 health point buff
- During the confrontation with Auntie Ethel: Well gives a poison and psychic debuff
The well gives everybody who drinks out of it a +10 health point buff until taking a long rest. For those planning on engaging in any amount of combat, this means that drinking from the well should be considered a daily activity for every party member. Switch party members and have them drink from the well too for when they join in a fight.
There is one caveat to this and it is a big one. Auntie Ethel is one of the toughest enemies in the game, even for gamers that have invited their friends to play with them. This buff, instead of being positive, will then become seriously negative during the engagement. After she has been dispatched, the well becomes clean again (even the dead body smell is gone) and players can then make the well a daily visit.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. The PlayStation 5 version will be available on September 6th, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is still in development.