Baldur's Gate 3 Murder Hobo Build Tips

Highlights

Players can still enjoy being evil in Baldur's Gate 3, known as the Murder Hobo trope, by aligning with companions who approve of their chaotic actions.
Consuming Illithid Tadpoles provides powerful abilities and opens up a new skill tree for players who embrace their evil nature.
Players should pick a powerful class, such as an Oathbreaker Paladin or a Wizard, to create a strong Murder Hobo build and maximize their killing potential.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a CRPG that won Game of the Year in 2023 for its impressive characters, story, and adventure that saw players attempt to put an end to a dark plan where fiendish Mind Flayers took over the world. While players may enjoy leading their party as the hero, in this game, based on the table-top RPG Dungeons and Dragons, some may instead wish to be evil. This path has become commonly known as the Murder Hobo trope.

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Although the trope is frowned upon in regular D&D due to breaking the dungeon master's story, Baldur's Gate 3 has so many avenues of story that players can make it the entire way through the story while also mindlessly killing those they have encountered. With this in mind, these are some tips for players when creating their Murder Hobo build, so they can still survive while enjoying themselves.

8 Align With Similar Companions

Minthara And Astarion Will Always Approve

Typically, when a player becomes a Murder Hobo in a tabletop RPG, others may not want to play with them anymore. While some companions in BG3 will feel the same, others are thrilled to experience the chaos brought on by murdering everyone by simply not caring to help. Astarion is a perfect example of this in the first act of the RPG.

If players agree to help the Tieflings or pick the morally good options, Astarion will dislike their choices. However, if the player outwardly refuses to help or jumps straight into combat without caring to scare enemies away, they will become fast friends with the High Elf Vampire.

7 Give In To The Tadpole

Greater Power Brings Better Kills

Using a tadpole to unlock Illithid Powers in Baldur's Gate 3.

Although it isn't one of the most crucial steps of a player creating a Murder Hobo build, players may feel more inclined to use the tadpoles provided throughout the game. Illithid Tadpoles open up a whole new skill tree to players who consume and encourage their allies to consume the tadpoles.

This can lead to plenty of powerful abilities that can either instantly cause a critical hit, or damage multiple enemies at once. Players can even take this a step further in the final act of the game if they choose to use the astral tadpole that unlocks the final ring of the tadpole skill tree.

6 Be Strong To Hide The Evidence

Picking Up Bodies To Avoid A Scene

Dead people in Bhaals Temple in Baldur’s Gate 3

It may be fun for a player to mindlessly walk into a public area and start killing every innocent – or not – person they see, but a true Murder Hobo knows how to be tactful about their kills. Once a player has killed a person, they will need to hide the evidence.

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Bodies can be incredibly heavy and not every person a player kills will be a Gnome or a Halfling. Having high strength or an ally that has plenty of inventory space, is crucial when picking up bodies to hide the evidence from possible witnesses.

5 Pick A Powerful Class

Something That Can Defend Itself

To make the perfect Murder Hobo build in Baldur's Gate 3, players should consider what skills they will need to pull off the perfect kill or what class works the best from a role-playing point of view. Firstly, an Oathbreaker Paladin not only has the cool backstory of a Paladin that has left their oath behind, but the class itself is also incredibly powerful due to its high defense and ability to smite enemies.

Combining this with the Wizard class would turn the player into a powerful Death Knight that raises its foes as undead thralls or stops a person in its tracks to make them easier to kill.

4 Collect Anything Smokepowder

Kill Many Swiftly With The Power Of Explosives

Although a silent kill is far better than a loud one, players can't deny the joy of setting up several explosives to begin a chain effect of death and destruction. One of the greatest explosive materials players will collect throughout their adventure is Smokepowder. This highly volatile magic dust comes in several different forms, from satchels to barrels, and bombs.

Hitting this material with fire will cause it to ignite, dealing an immense amount of damage to all those who stand near it. Using barrels of Smokepowder is sure to give a Murder Hobo joy, as many don't even pay attention to the barrels until they have been set off in an explosion.

3 Use Hirelings To Avoid Angry Friends

Hirelings Have No Opinion On Murder

Players may have both Minthara and Astarion on their team, but due to the game having a max of four slots to make up a party, this leaves one space left for another. While many of the main companions as mentioned disapprove of the tendencies of a Murder Hobo, there is another way. Withers, the peculiar skeleton that hangs around camp, can provide the player with Hirelings.

A grid showing the characters Alfira, Wyll, and Lae'Zel in Baldur’s Gate 3

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These are husks of past Absolute cultists that can now do the player's bidding. Like a normal companion, their class can be changed to whatever the player needs but doesn't come with any of the extra baggage of opinions and a personality that would make them disapprove of the player's choices.

2 Find A Way To Kill Silently

Hold Person Spells Or Sneak Attacks Are Great

hold person on karniss — Hold Person being used on Kar'niss in BG3.

The quicker the player kills, the easier it is to pretend that it never happened so that they don't get caught. One great way to do this is through silently dealing with others. Spells are brilliant tools for those who wish to either deal with an enemy from afar or stop them in their tracks to deal with them easily.

A spell that every Murder Hobo should have in their entourage is Hold Person. As long as the opponent has failed their save, they will become paralyzed. Therefore, every hit from a melee weapon will be critical, and they can't even react to it, making them an easy target.

1 Choose Dark Urge For Added Story

Don't Just Be A Murder Hobo, Have Purpose

The Dark Urge with blood on his hands in Baldur's Gate 3

The final tip for any player considering a Murder Hobo build is to choose the origin character of the Dark Urge as their template when beginning. Unlike other origin characters, players can fully customize them to create their own person with murderous intentions.

This not only allows a slight justification for the player's actions throughout the game if they so wish but also gives them an added story where the game will encourage the player to give in to their violent tendencies and even award them for it on some occasions.