You Shouldn’t Skip The Githyanki Crèche Questline

Baldur’s Gate 3 teases multiple questlines that offer the possibility of having the mind flayer tadpole removed from their brain. Some of these quests are just side quests, while others are part of companion questlines that uncover more about party members. As such, it can be worth going through these quests, even if they can be on the longer side, especially for those who are invested in the story aspect, as there’s no shortage of lore to be found.

Lae’zel is the first companion that Tav comes across and a romance option in Baldur’s Gate 3. After the Nautiloid crashes, the party can reunite with Lae’zel and free her from the Tieflings who’ve captured her in a cage. Helping her opens the opportunity to grab her companion quest right away because her priority is getting rid of the mind flayer tadpole, and she believes a Githyanki Crèche is the key to doing so.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3.]

The Githyanki Crèche Questline Should Be Completed In Act 1

To be more specific, the Githyanki Crèche questline should be started at the end of Act 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3. Information about the crèche can’t be obtained from Zorru in Emerald Grove until after the fight against the Goblins anyway, and parties will want to soak up all the experience they can before heading to the crèche as the enemies they’ll be facing are fairly tough. This means one might want to explore the Underdark for more experience and levels before heading to the Mountain Pass, where the githyanki crèche is located.

Lae’zel Approval Rating Can Increase During Her BG3 Companion Quest

The githyanki are, unsurprisingly, a big part of Lae’zel’s companion quest, but that gives opportunities to raise approval with her, which is particularly useful for those who plan to choose her as their romance option. The nature of events among the githyanki leads to an opportunity to truly help the githyanki as a result of Vlaakith plotting to abuse the power of Ascended githyanki for her own benefit. However, going against Vlaakith is much later down the line of this quest chain in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Players Can Lose Approval With Shadowheart In Baldur’s Gate 3

The Githyanki Crèche questline isn’t without drawbacks. Those who plan to romance Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3 might find that it brings with it a lot of difficult options that impact the approval of both Lae’zel and Shadowheart since gaining approval with one almost certainly means losing approval with the other. It doesn’t help that Shadowheart’s artefact, which happens to be of githyanki origin, plays a role in this questline.

Voss, a githyanki soldier the party meets on the way to the crèche, is looking for an artefact, and it happens to be the exact one that Shadowheart has been so secretive about throughout the game. At this point, the party can hide or reveal that the party has the artefact. However, hiding it requires Lae’zel to make a Deception check with her low Charisma score, so the party will likely have to fight the githyanki here either way while Voss escapes. This is the first hint in Baldur’s Gate 3 that something is going on among the githyanki.

Lae’zel Can Be Lost As A Companion In Baldur’s Gate 3

Another risk during Lae’zel’s companion quest is losing her as a companion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Part of the quest involves attempting to remove the mind flayer tadpole using a device called a zaith’isk. Supporting Lae’zel in her attempt to use this device to remove the tadpole results in the player-created character gaining a lot of approval, which can help them avoid losing Lae’zel as a companion during this area of the campaign. Unsurprisingly, the device cannot remove the tadpole, but Tav can convince Lae’zel that it was tampered with, which will also help maintain her as a companion.

The next section is where the party can lose Lae’zel as a companion while facing the Inquisitor in Baldur’s Gate 3. The choices made up to this point, and the approval rating with Lae’zel will decide if she fights with them or if she fights with the githyanki. Fighting the Inquisitor can’t be avoided regardless of the choices made with the artefact, but entering the artefact will reveal information about mysterious NPCs, and the party isn’t forced to kill the being within after they enter. This confrontation ends this section of Lae’zel’s companion questline.

Possible Rewards From The Githyanki Crèche Questline In BG3

Since Vlaakith is still alive and plotting in the world, the companion quest isn’t over, but the Githyanki Crèche questline in BG3 is complete now. Other than loot dropped off mobs killed, there aren’t specific item rewards for this questline. Instead, Tav can earn a lot of approval with Lae’zel, learn about the artefact and their Guardian, and open up the next portion of Lae’zel’s companion quest.

Those who enter the zaith’isk instead of Lae’zel have the chance to earn the Awakened buff for Illithid powers, but only if they’re able to pass the saving throws. However, this buff could be a big incentive since it allows the Illithid powers to be used as Bonus Actions.

While it isn’t a direct reward, the party can pick up Blood of Lathander, a legendary mace, on their way to the githyanki crèche and after completing the Ceremonial Weapons side quest. Those who want to grab this will need to stop by the Rosymorn Monastery in the Mountain Pass. Although, they will also want to have the Dawnmaster’s Crest from the monastery before moving into the secret chamber because the trap triggered by simply taking the mace is far from fun to deal with.

The Githyanki Crèche questline isn’t required, but it provides a lot of insight into Lae’zel’s character, the githyanki, and how this race is being used by the Absolute. Those who want to romance Lae’zel will get a lot of benefits from this questline with the amount of approval that can be earned, but it’s best to make sure that these quests are done before leaving Act 1. As there’s a point in Act 2 that will completely block off the party from returning to Act 1, it’s important to finish quests in each act before progressing too much further into Baldur’s Gate 3.

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