One fan figured out how to get Minthara and Halsin in Baldur’s Gate 3 without using mods, and ewe – er, you – can do it too. It’ll take a lot of work, a bit of luck, and one persistent Polymorph spell, though.
Note that mild spoilers for an evil BG3 playthrough follow.
Normally, you can either get Minthara or Halsin as your BG3 companions – but not both. Minthara only joins if you destroy Emerald Grove and facilitate the Tiefling refugees’ murders. Halsin, head druid of said grove, naturally takes a dim view of those actions and refuses to join. The reverse is true as well. Getting Halsin means murdering Minthara and a whole bunch of goblins.
One Taiwanese fan who uses the online handle pao870111 found a way to change that, and Reddit user ZookeepergameDeep360 posted it on Reddit in English for others to try (thanks, PC Gamer).
The method starts at the Goblin Camp in Act 1. You’re meant to kill all three leaders or help them, but Pao turned on the non-lethal attacks passive and only knocked Minthara unconscious before ending the other two leaders in the usual way. Minthara appears again, alive and well, after a long rest. Leave her alone, and head into Act 2. Halsin will join, since you killed the goblins, and the Tieflings will show up in the Shadowlands as usual.
Recruit Minthara and save Tieflings both without Mod/CE
byu/ZookeepergameDeep360 inBaldursGate3
After you activate the Moonrise Towers waypoint, Pao says you need to travel back to the Goblin Camp, where Minthara still waits. Use the Polymorph spell to turn her into a sheep and the Dominate Beast spell to make Minthara join your party. Both spells require concentration, so you’ll need to split them between two spellcasters.
Take Minthara-the-sheep to Ketheric’s throne room in Moonrise Towers to trigger her trial scene. This is an ordeal in itself. You need to drink an Elixir of Hill Giant Strength and pick Minthara-sheep up using the Improvise Weapon command. Place her gently in the throne room to avoid causing damage and turning her into an enemy. There’s a careful balancing act of disengaging when the sheep spell ends and keeping her safe from the guards. If she takes damage, she’ll probably run into the shadow-cursed lands and die.
Once she gets sent to jail, you can rescue her like normal in an evil playthrough, and her story and yours proceed like normal. You’ll miss the first BG3 romance scene with Minthara, though, since she won’t be your ally at the end of Act 1.
That’s a lot of effort to make everyone happy. Considering how that one branch in the first act alters almost everything in the game, it’s no surprise players are finding inventive ways to get around the game and find new ways to bring the band together.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
