Highlights

  • Baldur's Gate 3 explores the complexity of Mind Flayers, challenging the negative beliefs surrounding their parasitic nature.
  • Omeluum, an Illithid living peacefully among the Myconids, defies the cunning and manipulation of Mind Flayers to help players.
  • The Emperor, while initially kind, reveals his true nature of domination and self-preservation, betraying the party and seeking control.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s main premise revolves around a cast of characters who have been abducted by Mind Flayers and are slowly undergoing the process of ceremorphosis, a unique scenario that serves as the perfect excuse to assemble a party of diverse adventurers. Beginning as a prisoner of the Nautiloid ship, most players are likely to bear an inherent disdain for the Illithid species. Despite their generally evil and predatory disposition, however, the Mind Flayers have some representatives in BG3 who are capable of both challenging and confirming the negative beliefs surrounding their parasitic species.

Since early editions of tabletop, the main purpose of Illithids in DnD and Baldur's Gate has been to act as an opposing force that can strike fear into players with their alien physiology and unending hunger for brains. As a race that only survives by infecting others and taking over their bodies from the inside, it’s understandable that Illithids are typically seen as such a monolithic menace. On the other hand, many players who have reached the later sections of BG3 will know that this assessment contradicts the reality of how some individuals actually are.

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How Omeluum Breaks Mind Flayer Stereotypes

Baldurs Gate 3 Omeluum and Blurg

The Wholesome Secret of the Underdark’s Myconid Colony

Hidden from the surface and the control of an Elder Brain, the Illithid known as Omeluum lives out a peaceful existence in the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3 among the Myconids. Only feasting on the brains of the vicious creatures of the Underdark, it shows just how much it has forsaken the cunning and manipulation of the Mind Flayers by attempting to help the player be cured of their tadpole.

How an Evil Monster Can Become a Hero in the Iron Throne

If encountered in Act 3, Omeluum can show its true nature in a way that speaks to the potential of Mind Flayers. Assuming that the Githyanki egg didn’t make it to the Society of Brilliance, Omeluum can be found trapped along with the Gondians and Duke Ravengard in Gortash’s Iron Throne prison. If it is freed first, Omeluum will become a temporary party member with the spell Teleport to Submersible, something that can prove crucial to saving all the prisoners during the limited turns available before the entire place self-destructs. Not only could it have chosen to simply teleport itself selfishly instead, but Omeluum will plead with the player to leave it behind and save Ravengard instead.

The Emperor's True Illithid Nature

Baldurs Gate 3 Romance The Emperor Act 2 Astral Prism Protect Orpheus

The Manipulation of the Guardian and the Subjugation of Prince Orpheus

The Emperor is another Mind Flayer who has freed itself from the control of an Elder Brain and offers assistance to the player by subduing their tadpole in the form of BG3's Guardian. The truth is that there is ultimately no choice but to work with The Emperor, as betraying him will lead to an instant death from ceremorphosis. He actively tricks the player and lies about his true nature until he can no longer keep up the facade, revealing his preventative power is actually drawn from the trapped, lost prince of the Githyanki, Orpheus.

Several Moments Reveal The Emperor is No Different to His Kin

While he may seem kind and clever on the surface, even being able to form a romantic connection with the player, The Emperor will show his true colors when he is not obeyed. He will make threatening remarks that emphasize the control he seeks to have over his chosen adventurer, and he will even completely betray the party and join the Netherbrain if the player seeks to free Prince Orpheus. It may seem that he seeks to save Baldur's Gate, but The Emperor's only real goal is saving himself at all costs. Despite all of his words that go against this reality, The Emperor proves to be yet another Illithid whose true nature centers around domination and self-preservation.