Highlights

  • Duellist's Prerogative is a powerful Rapier in Baldur's Gate 3, with high damage and useful abilities. It's worth the effort to obtain.
  • To get the sword, players must defeat Auntie Ethel in Act 1, then find her again in Act 3 and save her captive Vanra by crafting a special potion.
  • The Duellist's Prerogative is great for classes capable of wielding Rapiers, and pairs well with the Duelling Fighting Style and Defensive Duellist Feat.

Baldur's Gate 3 features no shortage of legendary swords. Given this, some players may be tempted to skip the rapier Duellist's Prerogative, which is earned in the game's third act after completing a lengthy, difficult side quest. However, this weapon is in fact extremely powerful, as it blends high damage with effective abilities. Duellist's Prerogative fits into many Baldur's Gate 3 classes and builds, and is well worth the effort required to obtain it.

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Duellist's Prerogative Stats & Abilities

baldurs-gate-3-duellists-prerogative-rapier

The Duellist's Prerogative is a Legendary Rapier that is obtained upon concluding the "Save Vanra" quest in the city of Baldur's Gate in Act 3 of the game. To complete this quest, players must defeat the hag Auntie Ethel while also saving her captive Vanra. The Duellist's Prerogative has the following stats and abilities:

  • Enchantment +3.
  • Damage: 1d8 Piercing + 1d4 Necrotic.
  • Elegant Duellist: When wielded in the main hand with an empty offhand, wielders gain an extra Reaction and score a Critical Hit on a roll of 19.
  • Withering Cut: When hitting an enemy with a melee weapon, wielders may use a Reaction to deal Necrotic damage equal to their Proficiency Bonus.
  • Challenge to Duel (Level 1 Spell): Enemy will attack only the wielder. Also inflicts Bleeding on target.
  • Dueller's Enthusiasm (Weapon Action): Wielders who are not dual-wielding can make an additional attack.

Obtaining This Sword Is A Multi-Step Process

Auntie Ethel speaking to the protagonist in Baldur's Gate 3

The road to unlocking the Duellist's Prerogative in Baldur's Gate 3 begins in Act 1 of the game. Players must visit the Riverside Teahouse in Act 1 of the game and defeat the optional boss Auntie Ethel. Ethel is one of the toughest early-game enemies, as she has high stats and summons multiple clones of herself mid-fight. Players may struggle even if they reach Level 5 before challenging Ethel.

Once Ethel is defeated in Act 1, players must find her again in Act 3 by locating a group of Hag Survivors and a grieving mother called Lora in Baldur's Gate. Lora is Vanra's mother, and will offer players a valuable reward if they can save her daughter. However, Auntie Ethel has swallowed Vanra, and players must craft a Hag's Bane potion to make her vomit up the child. Failing to use the Hag's Bane potion can result in Vanra dying alongside Ethel.

Ingredient

Location

Hag's Bane Recipe

Safe inside Old Garlow's place (Lower City)

Ashes of Dried Fey Flower

Safe inside Old Garlow's place (Lower City)

Any Essence

Buy Swarming Toadstools from Potion Shop in Wyrm's Crossing

Use Nightlights, Sylvan Stone or Timmasks Spores from Underdark

Purchase any of above from Bonecloak Apothecary in Lower City

If players successfully save Vanra, they will receive the Duellist's Prerogative upon returning her to her mother.

Duellist's Prerogative Build Suggestions

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The Duellist's Prerogative is an excellent weapon for any class capable of wielding Rapiers. This can include Fighters, Paladins, Pact of the Blade Warlocks, College of Swords Bards, Rogues, and more. It pairs well with the Duelling Fighting Style, which can be accessed by many classes and lets it deal extra damage. Another excellent pairing is the Feat Defensive Duellist, which lets players wielding a Finesse weapon use a reaction to add their Proficiency Bonus to their Armor Class. This makes shrugging off heavy hits when duelling an enemy much more likely.

One class that pairs particularly well with Duellist's Prerogative is the College of Swords Bard, which can use special moves called "flourishes" to deal extra damage, take less damage, or teleport around the battlefield. A Pact of the Blade Warlock can also choose to make this excellent weapon their Pact Weapon, allowing them to use Charisma for attacking rather than Strength or Dexterity. The options for using Duellist's Prerogative effectively are nearly limitless, making the multi-step quest to obtain it absolutely worthwhile.