Should You Give Auntie Ethel Your Eye or Not?
Should players give Auntie Ethel their eye in return for her help in removing the tadpole? This is one of many choices in the beloved game that is Balder’s Gate 3. This brief breakdown of pros and cons may help you decide whether or not you want to give Auntie Ethel your eye. It’s a choice that happens relatively early in the game and it will have lasting consequences.
You’ll meet Auntie Ethel on your way to the Sunlit Wetlands, the area south of the Blighted Village. You’ll find her again in her Riverside Teahouse. She offers to remove the Mindflayer Parasite in your brain in exchange for one of your peepers. She even lets you choose which one, so kind. Let’s break it down, petal.
First off is the whited out eye you receive which is a permanent change to your characters appearance. Something I struggled with because I wanted my character to stay pretty. The whited out eye gives you the “Paid The Price” condition which gives you a +1 to intimidation checks. That could come in handy later but there is a downside. The whited out eye also gives you disadvantage on perception checks and disadvantage when fighting hags.
Auntie Ethel will ultimately fail to remove the parasite anyway. She figured out it’s been tampered with and wants nothing to do with it. If you complain about her breaking the deal, she’ll give you Auntie Ethel’s Charm. It’s a one use item and when you break it, it gives you a +1 to all ability stats until the next long rest.
Personally, I think it’s only a mediocre deal. Perception is infinitely more useful to me than intimidation is. There are many other options when it comes to intimidating a person. There aren’t a lot of options when it comes to seeing traps or secrets. The charm is a one time use as well so unless you plan to hoard it or do a bunch in one day without long resting, it doesn't feel worth it.
Plus if players plan to pursue the Save Mayrina side quest then it’s not great to go into a fight against her with the Disadvantage against hags. It’s already a tough fight, no need to make it tougher.
I hope this guide helped you decide if you should give Auntie Ethel your eye or not! If you do plan of going after Mayrina, check out our other guide on how to get to Auntie Ethel’s Lair and beat her!
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