Baldur’s Gate 3: Should Your Party Members Use the Astral-Touched Tadpole in BG3?

When you reach the final act of Baldur’s Gate 3, there are several revelations that you have to come to terms with while playing the game. The major one is a Mind Flaying inside the artifact you’ve been trying to protect throughout the entire campaign, known as The Emperor. Without his help, you and your party members would become Mind Flayers.

However, he offers an alternative to this and provides you with an Astral-Touched Tadpole that you can use to transform yourself or your party members into Half Illithid creatures. The choice is yours if you want to do this, but supposedly, this will aid you in your fight against the Absolute. Should you convince your party members to use the Astral-Touched Tadpole and become Half Illthid in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Should You Convince Party Members to Evolve in Baldur’s Gate 3?

After you have the Astal-Touched Tadpole in Baldur’s Gate 3, approach any party members that have joined you in your campaign. There is a dialogue option where you can make a decision that you can attempt to convince them that you’d like for them to accept the tadpole and evolve. If you do this, there is a Persuasion Check that you’ll need to make when attempting to convince them.

If you convince your companion to use the Astral-Touched Tadpole, they’ll have the same dialogue options your main character had when speaking with the Emperor. They can choose to eat the tadpole or open their mind to it. Similar to your choice with The Emperor earlier in Baldur’s Gate 3’s campaign, if they open their mind to the Astral-Touched Tadpole, the character becomes Half Illithid. The outcome is the same if they decide to eat it, but the tadpole is still available and can be used by others.

What Happens if You Don’t Convince Your Party Members to Evolve Baldur’s Gate 3

The alternative to getting the Astral-Touched Tadpole in Baldur’s Gate 3 is never using it. Your main character in the campaign can choose never to use the tadpole and potentially even destroy it if they want to unlock more Illithid powers. My playthrough has primarily focused on avoiding these tadpoles and making sure never to use them whenever possible. It was an easy decision never to offer them to my party members and to crush the Astral-Touched Tadpole rather than rely on it.

Is it Better To Become Half-Illithid & Use the Astral-Touched Tadpole in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Having reached the ending of Baldur’s Gate 3, I think the Astral-Touched Tadpole is a way to highlight which character will become the Illithid for you when battling the Elder Brain. Given my playthrough, everyone was against my character becoming a Mind Flayer, even if it was the save the world, and I believe this would have played out differently if my character had been actively consuming the Mind Flayer Parasites, and had evolved, based on The Emperor’s recommendation.

However, you can also always have Orpheus go down this route for you, or Karlach. Some of these choices might be better based on the playthrough you’re going through, and your Baldur’s Gate 3 choices.