eXputer

QuestmajorMain storyHard

Help the Emperor

A pivotal Baldur's Gate 3 choice in the Astral Plane: support The Emperor and continue toward the endgame, or reject his protection and face the Absolute without him.

RoleStory-critical decision involving The Emperor, the Astral Plane, and the party's survival against the Absolute.
Statusstory-critical choice
Importancemajor
RewardContinued story progression and The Emperor's protection.
TimeVaries by surrounding story progression.
  • Mission typeMain-story choice
  • Primary settingAstral Plane
  • Central figureThe Emperor
  • Decision focusSupport or reject The Emperor
  • Immediate riskParty becomes thralls if protection is lost
  • Story positionLate-game, endgame-facing

This is a narrative decision rather than a conventional combat mission. No reliable mission duration, encounter count, or numeric reward is established in the supplied material.

Key takeawaysSpoilers

The choice is both a survival decision and a major judgment of The Emperor's motives.

  • Cooperation preserves the run Siding with The Emperor prevents the immediate game-over outcome and allows the story to progress toward the endgame.
  • Refusal has an absolute consequence Refusing to help The Emperor or killing him in the Astral Plane leaves the party without his protection and results in the party becoming thralls.
  • The Emperor is deliberately ambiguous He protects the party, but his manipulative and self-interested behavior means that helping him is not the same as fully trusting him.
  • The decision connects to Prince Orpheus The Emperor's fate is intertwined with Prince Orpheus, creating a larger conflict that must eventually be addressed at the story's climax.
  • Earlier conversations provide context The Emperor's Guardian and Dream Visitor identity, his tadpole offers, and his past as Balduran all shape how the decision can be understood.

OverviewSpoilers

Help the Emperor is a pivotal story choice in Baldur's Gate 3 that asks whether the party will support The Emperor in the Astral Plane.

Help the Emperor is less a conventional objective-based quest than a major decision point surrounding The Emperor, the party's mysterious Guardian and Dream Visitor. In the Astral Plane, the player must decide whether to cooperate with the Mind Flayer who has protected the party from being enthralled by the Absolute. The choice carries immediate narrative consequences and determines whether the story can continue with The Emperor's protection.

Supporting The Emperor allows the party to move forward toward the endgame rather than immediately entering a game-over state. This does not make the relationship uncomplicated: The Emperor is a primary ally, but his motives remain difficult to read, and his willingness to manipulate the party makes cooperation feel like an uneasy arrangement rather than a simple heroic alliance. The decision is therefore both practical and personal.

Rejecting The Emperor's request, including killing him in the Astral Plane, removes the protection he has been providing. The party is then forced to face the Absolute without him and becomes thralls, ending the current run. The Emperor's history also gives the choice additional context: he was formerly Balduran, the legendary founder of Baldur's Gate, and his fate is connected to Prince Orpheus and the story's final conflict.

Where this sitsSpoilers

ConfrontationThe Emperor asks for support in the Astral Plane
DecisionChoose whether to cooperate or reject him
Endgame pathThe story continues if his protection is retained
  1. 1The EmperorcharacterThe immediate figure at the center of the choice.
  2. 2Astral PlanelocationThe location where the decision takes place.
  3. ●Help the EmperorquestThe current story-critical choice.
  4. 4Prince OrpheuscharacterA later conflict connected to The Emperor's fate.

The choice links The Emperor's protection to the endgame conflict involving Prince Orpheus.

RequirementsSpoilers

The choice becomes available during a late-game Astral Plane sequence in which The Emperor asks the party to support him.

  • RequiredReach the Astral PlaneThe decision is made during a confrontation in the Astral Plane rather than during an ordinary exploration objective.
  • RequiredHear The Emperor's requestThe party must reach the point at which The Emperor asks for support and presents cooperation as the way forward.
  • RequiredChoose a responseThe player must either cooperate with The Emperor or reject his protection, with rejection including the possibility of killing him.
  • OptionalReview earlier contextOptional context comes from The Emperor's roles as Guardian and Dream Visitor, his tadpole offers, and discoveries about his former identity as Balduran.

ObjectivesSpoilers

  1. Decide whether to support The Emperor in the Astral Plane.This is the defining objective of the sequence and determines whether The Emperor remains the party's protector.
  2. Preserve the party's ability to continue toward the endgame.Cooperation avoids the immediate game-over outcome associated with losing The Emperor's protection.
  3. Understand the consequences of rejecting The Emperor.Refusal or killing him causes the party to face the Absolute without his protection and become thralls.
  4. Consider The Emperor's history and motives.The Guardian and Dream Visitor's identity, his former life as Balduran, and his connection to Prince Orpheus provide context for the decision.Optional

WalkthroughSpoilers

  1. 01

    Reach the confrontation with The Emperor.

    Enter the Astral Plane sequence

    Proceed until the story places the party in the Astral Plane and The Emperor addresses the group directly. This is the setting for the decisive conversation, so treat the scene as a point of no return for the immediate outcome rather than as routine travel.

    Location: Astral Plane

    TipReview your intended decision before committing to dialogue or violence.

    Checkpoint
  2. 02

    Hear the request that defines Help the Emperor.

    Listen to The Emperor's request

    Allow The Emperor to explain why he wants the party's support and how his protection has kept the characters from being enthralled by the Absolute. The scene is designed to frame cooperation as a survival choice while leaving room for distrust.

    Location: Astral Plane

    Watch outDo not assume that rejecting The Emperor is a harmless dialogue branch; the supplied story outcome treats the loss of his protection as fatal to the current run.

  3. 03

    Decide how much trust to place in The Emperor.

    Evaluate the Guardian and Dream Visitor's identity

    Use the scene and your prior understanding of the Guardian and Dream Visitor to judge whether The Emperor's protection outweighs your concerns about his methods. His role as a Mind Flayer and his willingness to manipulate the party are central to the tension of the choice.

    Location: Astral Plane

    TipA practical survival decision and a moral judgment can lead to different preferred responses.

  4. 04

    Continue the story with The Emperor as an ally.

    Choose to support The Emperor

    Select the response that accepts The Emperor's help if you want the story to continue with his protection. Supporting him prevents the immediate game-over state and keeps the endgame path open.

    Location: Astral Plane

    Checkpoint
  5. 05

    Understand the consequence of refusing support.

    Reject The Emperor only if you accept the consequence

    Refusing to help The Emperor abandons the protection he has provided against the Absolute. The party then faces the Absolute without him and becomes thralls, so this is not a safe alternative route through the sequence.

    Location: Astral Plane

    Watch outRefusal results in the party becoming thralls according to the supplied story outcome.

  6. 06

    Avoid the fatal outcome unless deliberately testing it.

    Do not kill The Emperor unless ending the run is intended

    Attacking and killing The Emperor in the Astral Plane produces the same essential consequence as rejecting his help: the party loses his protection and is overwhelmed by the Absolute. Treat the attack as a failure state, not as a normal combat solution.

    Location: Astral Plane

    Watch outKilling The Emperor leads to the party becoming thralls.

  7. 07

    Carry the decision forward into the final conflict.

    Continue toward the endgame

    After supporting The Emperor, follow the continuing main story rather than treating the decision as a self-contained side quest. The choice preserves progression, while The Emperor's connection to Prince Orpheus remains an unresolved part of the larger climax.

    Location: Astral Plane and subsequent endgame path

    TipKeep the Emperor–Prince Orpheus conflict in mind when assessing later choices.

Mission mechanicsSpoilers

Help the Emperor is governed primarily by narrative state rather than by a conventional combat loop. The important mechanic is the protection The Emperor provides against enthrallment by the Absolute. Supporting him preserves that protection and allows progression; refusing him or killing him removes it and causes the party to become thralls.

The decision also reflects how Baldur's Gate 3 uses hidden identity and changing alliances to complicate a seemingly helpful NPC. The Emperor is simultaneously the party's protector, a Mind Flayer, the figure known as the Guardian and Dream Visitor, and the former adventurer Balduran. Those facts do not produce separate mechanical objectives here, but they inform the player's interpretation of the request.

The Emperor's tadpole offers are another part of the broader relationship. Throughout the game, he offers opportunities to evolve through tadpoles and unlock powerful Illithid abilities. Those offers can make cooperation more attractive to players seeking power, while his manipulative and self-interested behavior gives players a reason to remain wary.

What works and what does notSpoilers

Strengths

  • Supporting The Emperor preserves the immediate ability to continue the story.
  • The choice gives meaningful weight to earlier interactions with the Guardian and Dream Visitor.
  • The Emperor's history as Balduran adds context beyond his role as a temporary ally.
  • The decision connects personal trust, survival, and the wider conflict involving Prince Orpheus.

Weaknesses

  • Rejecting The Emperor does not provide a comparable alternate progression path in this sequence.
  • The Emperor's protection comes from a character whose motives are explicitly difficult to trust.
  • The outcome can feel binary because refusal or killing him leads to the party becoming thralls.

Best uses

  • Choose cooperation when the priority is reaching the endgame with the current party intact.
  • Choose based on role-playing or story interpretation when evaluating The Emperor's identity and motives.
  • Use earlier Guardian, Dream Visitor, and tadpole interactions to give the decision personal context.

Choices and consequencesEnding spoilers

  • Support The Emperor

    The Emperor continues to protect the party from the Absolute's enthralling influence, preventing the immediate game-over state and allowing the story to progress toward the endgame.

    Spoiler
  • Refuse to help The Emperor

    The party must face the Absolute without The Emperor's protection and becomes thralls, ending the current run.

    Spoiler
  • Kill The Emperor in the Astral Plane

    The protection is lost and the party becomes thralls, producing the same essential failure outcome as rejecting his help.

    Spoiler

Before committingSpoilers

  • Reach the Astral Plane confrontation with The Emperor.The decision is made in this story sequence.
  • Consider The Emperor's role as the Guardian and Dream Visitor.These identities frame the party's existing relationship with him.Optional
  • Remember that The Emperor has protected the party from the Absolute.This protection is the immediate reason cooperation matters.
  • Review your position on The Emperor's tadpole offers.His offers of Illithid evolution can affect how the alliance feels from a role-playing perspective.Optional
  • Learn about The Emperor's connection to Balduran if desired.The old identity adds context to his motives and history.Optional
  • Decide whether you want continued progression or the refusal outcome.Refusal and killing The Emperor lead to the party becoming thralls.
  • Consider the later conflict involving Prince Orpheus.The Emperor's fate is intertwined with this endgame choice.Optional

Failure conditionsEnding spoilers

  • Refuse to help The EmperorRejecting his request removes the protection he has been providing against the Absolute.
  • Kill The Emperor in the Astral PlaneAttacking and killing him leaves the party exposed to the Absolute.
  • Lose The Emperor's protectionWithout that protection, the party faces the Absolute directly and becomes thralls.

On failure

The supplied material describes refusal or killing The Emperor as an immediate game-over-style outcome. Make the decision only when you are prepared to accept the resulting end of the current run.

Rewards and outcomesSpoilers

  • Continued story progression
    Supporting The Emperor allows the story to continue toward the endgame.
  • The Emperor's protection
    The party retains the protection that prevents immediate enthrallment by the Absolute.
  • Access to the ongoing Emperor–Prince Orpheus conflict
    Cooperation keeps the larger endgame conflict involving The Emperor and Prince Orpheus in play.

AftermathSpoilers

The choice does not settle whether The Emperor deserves your trust

Supporting The Emperor is the route that preserves the party's immediate survival and story progression, but it does not erase the questions surrounding his motives. His history as Balduran, his manipulation of the party, his tadpole offers, and his connection to Prince Orpheus all remain relevant to the endgame.

TriviaSpoilers

  • The Emperor's former identity is Balduran, the legendary founder of Baldur's Gate.
  • The names Guardian and Dream Visitor refer to the protective figure whose relationship with the party eventually becomes identified with The Emperor.
  • The Emperor's role combines ally and antagonist-like traits: he protects the party while also acting in ways that can be read as manipulative and self-interested.
  • The Emperor offers tadpole-based Illithid evolution during the broader story, linking this choice to the game's recurring questions about power and transformation.
  • The Emperor's fate is tied to Prince Orpheus, making Help the Emperor part of a larger endgame decision rather than an isolated character encounter.

Relationships

Characters

  • The EmperorCentral characterThe Emperor's request and protection define this story-critical choice.
  • Prince OrpheusEndgame conflictThe Emperor's fate is intertwined with Prince Orpheus.
  • BalduranFormer identityThe Emperor was formerly Balduran, the founder of Baldur's Gate.
  • GuardianStory identityThe Emperor acts as the party's mysterious Guardian.
  • Dream VisitorStory identityThe Emperor acts as the party's Dream Visitor.

Locations

  • Astral PlaneLocationThe pivotal decision occurs in the Astral Plane.

Factions and threats

  • AbsoluteThreatThe Emperor protects the party from being enthralled by the Absolute.