8 Boss Fights That Can Be Avoided With Charisma Rolls

Fans of Baldur’s Gate 3 have eagerly returned to replay the game, thanks to the release of Patch 7 and all its additional content.

Patch 7 is currently only live on PC, but players can expect to dive back into a fresh version of the game they love, potentially trying new tactics during certain encounters, fully expecting new results — such as talking to the enemy instead.

Some fights could be completely avoided with a charisma roll (such as Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation, or Performance), a relatively easy feat for anyone playing a Bard, Warlock, or Sorcerer (or for those who just took the Skilled Feat, no judgment).

The real treat, however, comes from the fact that this strategy also applies to boss fights.

This article will contain spoilers for Act 1 and Act 2.

8 Lump The Enlightened

Act One

Early in Act 1 in the Blighted Village, players encounter a group of ogres eating a tiefling.

They are not immediately hostile, as their leader, Lump the Enlightened, instead asks the player’s Tav if they bear the mark of the Absolute. If the players have not been marked by Priestess Gut and are honest, Lump will attack.

However, if the player chooses to lie (DC 10 Deception roll), they could befriend Lump and his accompanying ogres, then convince them to fight for the party rather than for the goblins.

Lump would be open to the idea, only if the player makes an offer – two of those offers involve additional charisma rolls (DC 10 Deception or DC 20 Persuasion).

Whichever option is chosen will also grant Lump’s War Horn to the player, which allows the players to summon Lump and additional ogres to fight for the party whenever it is blown in Act 1. And yes, this includes the Goblin Camp. Go crazy.

7 Kagha

Act One

Kagha isn’t really one that cares about first impressions, as when the party first encounters her in Act 1, she’s threatening a tiefling child with a snake. Due to this, she can end up as a boss fight for a multitude of quests, most of which end violently for the inhabitants of the Emerald Grove.

In a more peaceful route, players can snoop around the Inner Sanctum and find a hidden chest with an incriminating letter inside, the quest Investigate Kagha.

Following the investigation, players can find that Kagha has been working with the Shadow Druids, which they can confront her about.

They then have the option to try and cast doubt on Kagha (DC 15 Persuasion roll), which, if successful, will finally be able to convince her to return to the light (DC 10 Persuasion or Religion roll).

Instead of beginning a boss fight, Kagha will renounce the shadows and join sides with Tav as an ally during combat against the remaining three Cloakwood Druids.

6 The Owlbear

Act One

When encountering the Owlbear, it’s important to remember that charisma options are only available if Tav has Speak with Animals cast.

While exploring the Forest in Act 1, players can stumble upon an Owlbear Cave that’s east of (and in a sense, under) the Blighted Village.

In this cave, players can find a small shrine to Selûne, while deeper into the cave, they can find an Owlbear, influenced by a deadly combination of being injured, hungry, angry, and protective. In true Mama Bear fashion, she’s guarding her cub as well as an egg in a nest.

Immediately, she will approach the party and threaten them, in which the player can try and calmly defuse the situation (DC 10 Persuasion roll) and leave without killing the mother Owlbear.

If successful, this prevents the entire boss fight and potentially losing the cub as a companion later on in the game.

5 Thisobald Thorm

Act Two

In an entertaining (and also surprisingly pleasant) interaction at The Waning Moon in Act Two, instead of Thisobald Thorm meeting the party with hostility, he actually invites Tav for a drinking game. Refusing or failing the game, however, results in a fairly tough boss fight.

The drinking game is simple enough: Tav drinks with Thisobald (DC 14 Constitution Save that increases by 2 with every round that comes next) or mimics drinking (DC 18 Sleight of Hand check), tells a story (DC varies depending on which story is told, but they are Performance rolls), and then Thisobald answers a question in a unique quid pro quo.

If they fail the Performance check, players will have one more chance to tell a better story, even if they have to lie (DC 18 Deception). Failing or refusing to tell stories also results in Thisobald’s hostility.

Upon completing the drinking game, however, Thisobald will have had so much to drink that his stomach explodes open, killing him.

4 Gerringothe Thorm

Act Two

To do this, all players will need is a single gold piece.

In the Reithwin Tollhouse in Act Two, players can run into Gerringothe Thorm, the toll collector, also called the “coin lady,” as that’s all she demands from the party.

Of course, the players could refuse, which would make her hostile. However, fighting her is not ideal, since her Jealous Avarice ability can absolutely devastate a character’s HP, not including all the other difficult actions she can take.

Instead, simply toss her one gold piece, and this will open a few different Charisma options while she’ll demand more. Specifically, she’ll require all the gold that the player has, to which can be answered with either the “I’ve already paid” or “I don’t hand out so much gold for so little in return” dialogue options.

This opens up two options, either by lying to her that she’s being replaced as toll collector (DC 18 Deception) or by convincing her to take her gold and be free (DC 18 Persuasion).

After this, players can choose to either fire/threaten her (DC 21 Intimidation), lie to her about her gold/position (DC 21 Deception), or convince her to leave (DC 18 Persuasion).

Finally, she will have a moment of clarity, saying she’ll give back all the gold, which kills her, preventing a boss that’s immensely challenging.

3 Malus Thorm

Act Two

In the House of Healing in Act Two, players meet Malus Thorm, a deranged doctor of Shar teaching a small group of undead nurses (called the Sisters of Mercy) wielding bonesaws, trepans, and syringes.

Malus is carrying Art Cullagh’s lute, which is essential for removing the Shadow Curse, so Malus has to be defeated in one way or another, but Tav won’t have to lift a finger if the dice rolls in their favour.

Upon interrupting his lesson (which is basically mutilating a poor man they have strapped to a table), Malus will try and teach this doctrine to Tav as well. Which, considering the state the previous poor patient was in, is probably not something that would end well.

Upon claiming that the Sisters of Mercy aren’t ready (DC 16 Persuasion), Malus will wonder how to train them in Shar’s teachings. This then opens up two pathways: having the sisters kill each other, or having them kill Malus (DC 21 Persuasion for either route).

Having the nurses kill Malus is the easiest way to get around things, as the nurses don’t become hostile as he dies.

2 Yurgir

Act Two

Perhaps one of the more challenging charisma rolls in the game, Yurgir can be found in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act Two. Before entering, players run into Raphael, who warns the party about an old enemy he wants them to kill, in exchange for telling Astarion what his scars mean.

However, he didn’t say how the Orthon had to be killed.

Upon meeting Yurgir, he’s been driven mad by his contract, which is a song — and the constant singing he’s been exposed to for centuries since. After asking about his contract, he’d sing it for the party.

In order for the Charisma options to be unlocked, Tav has to pass a DC 14 Insight check after the song is complete, so it may take a couple of tries. It’s also worth noting that Warlocks and Bards both get special dialogue here that makes it much easier to pass.

Players will have to point out the loophole in the contract, convincing Yurgir to kill the Merregons (DC 16 Persuasion), his pet Displacer Beast Nessa (DC 21 Persuasion), and then, himself (DC 21 Persuasion). Successful rolls for each will result in completely slaughtering the room just by mentioning it.

Doing this will also make him available later again in the House of Hope, where he can be convinced (DC 30 Persuasion) to side with the party while fighting Raphael. It’s a win-win all around.

1 Ketheric Thorm

Act Two

Every single Thorm that the party meets can be talked out of a fight, and that, surprisingly, includes Ketheric Thorm, one of the best villains in the entire game. Specifically, this avoids the first phase of his final fight in Act Two, skipping straight into the second phase, the Apostle of Myrkul.

When confronting him on the rooftop at Moonrise Towers, players have the option to spare him with a DC 21 Intimidation check (or a DC 10 Persuasion check that’s only available if the party is thorough exploring the towers and finds out what happened to Ketheric’s wife, Melodia).

Then, players have to succeed another Charisma roll (DC 30 for either Persuasion, Intimidation, or Deception). Unfortunately, this doesn’t skip the rooftop fight, and this continues in the Mind Flayer Colony under the towers.

If players passed the previous checks by the time they catch up to him, there is one more option (DC 18 Persuasion) before Ketheric calls for Myrkul. This will completely skip the first phase of Act Two’s final boss.