In Baldur’s Gate 3, Auntie Ethel is a recurring character whose deceptive charm hides her terrifying true nature. First encountered in Act 1 as a mysterious swamp-dwelling hag, she reappears in Act 3, bringing a new layer of danger and intrigue to the city of Baldur’s Gate. Her role in Act 3 is more sinister, and the decisions you make when dealing with her can significantly affect the outcome of your journey. If you’re navigating this part of the game, understanding how to handle Auntie Ethel in Act 3 is essential for survival, narrative satisfaction, and full exploration of the game’s darker themes.
Where to Find Auntie Ethel in Act 3
Returning to the Shadows
Auntie Ethel can be found in Act 3 in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate, specifically in the sewers. While her initial encounter in the Sunlit Wetlands presented her as a helpful old woman, players now know the terrifying truth about her identity as a powerful hag. In the city, she returns under a more ominous context, still meddling in people’s lives and pursuing her dark schemes.
To locate her, players need to explore the sewers accessible through various entrances around the Lower City. Look for a suspicious area marked by unusual vegetation or magical anomalies these often indicate Auntie Ethel’s presence. She hides behind illusions and uses trickery, so perception checks and magical detection spells may help uncover her hiding spot more easily.
What Has Auntie Ethel Been Up To?
Her Plans in the City
Since escaping from your confrontation in Act 1 (if she survived), Auntie Ethel has continued her dark work in the shadows of Baldur’s Gate. She preys on the desperate, offering miraculous solutions to tragic circumstances. Her schemes involve deals with hidden costs, dark pacts, and soul manipulation. In Act 3, she becomes more than a simple side antagonist she now plays a deeper role in the unfolding chaos of the city’s crumbling order.
Players may discover that she’s involved in controlling individuals of power or that she’s attempting to bargain with dangerous entities for more influence. Her plot ties into themes of corruption, desperation, and the illusion of hope, making her presence a thematic fit for the moral decay evident in Baldur’s Gate.
Choices and Consequences
Confrontation vs. Deception
As in Act 1, players have multiple ways to deal with Auntie Ethel. She may initially approach the party under disguise, pretending to be someone else entirely. With high enough insight or successful perception checks, you may uncover her true identity early. If you fail to recognize her, you might get caught in one of her traps, leading to a more dangerous confrontation later.
When you finally meet her face-to-face, you’ll be presented with options:
- Fight her outright and end her influence once and for all.
- Make a deal usually with hidden consequences.
- Attempt to trick or outmaneuver her using dialogue and skill checks.
Each choice leads to different outcomes. Fighting her is a difficult battle, as she uses powerful illusions, summons, and charm effects. Making a deal might seem beneficial in the short term, but often leads to unexpected problems. Outwitting her requires high charisma or intelligence and a careful reading of her manipulations.
Combat Strategy for Auntie Ethel in Act 3
A More Powerful Hag
If you choose to fight Auntie Ethel, expect a much more powerful version than what you encountered earlier in the game. In Act 3, she has access to higher-tier spells, including crowd control abilities like Dominate Person, powerful illusions, and area-of-effect damage spells. Her lair may be rigged with traps or cursed objects that hinder your party.
Key combat tips include:
- Bring magic users who can cast See Invisibility or True Sight to deal with her illusions.
- Dispel Magic is useful for removing her magical protections and hexes.
- Focus fire to prevent her from summoning too many minions or escaping through teleportation.
- Use AoE control spells like Silence or Counterspell to disrupt her casting.
Victory grants valuable loot and narrative closure, especially if you encountered her in earlier acts and let her escape. Players will also unlock special items and knowledge depending on how they resolve her story.
Impact on the World and Side Quests
Saving NPCs and Changing Fates
One of the compelling reasons to confront Auntie Ethel in Act 3 is the chance to save or avenge NPCs who fell victim to her in previous acts. Some side characters may appear in her lair, either imprisoned or transformed into monsters. Freeing them or restoring their humanity provides emotional payoffs and sometimes unlocks additional quests or endings.
There are also unique interactions if your character made a deal with her in Act 1 and now has the opportunity to renegotiate, reverse, or suffer the consequences. For example, players who accepted her gift may find their soul partially bound to her will, which can influence interactions and even dialogue options with other powerful beings later in Act 3.
Loot and Rewards
What You Can Gain
Defeating Auntie Ethel yields rare magical items. These may include cursed gear with high stats but drawbacks, potions with permanent buffs, or trinkets tied to her dark magic. Some items can only be obtained if you complete her content through diplomacy rather than combat, encouraging replayability.
Additionally, her personal grimoire contains rare spells and lore about hagkind, the Feywild, and soul magic. Reading through these entries deepens the worldbuilding and may even foreshadow events in future expansions or games within the Forgotten Realms.
Character Development and Party Reactions
Your Companions Will Have Opinions
Much like other major decisions in Baldur’s Gate 3, your party members will react to how you deal with Auntie Ethel. Characters with strong moral compasses may disapprove of making deals with her, while others might be intrigued by the power she offers. If you have companions like Shadowheart or Astarion, expect them to comment on the manipulation and corruption themes at play.
These reactions aren’t just for flavor they may influence romance paths, loyalty, and late-game choices. Taking a strong stand against Ethel’s wickedness can earn approval from good-aligned characters, while exploring morally gray options may endear you to more chaotic companions.
In Act 3 of Baldur’s Gate 3, Auntie Ethel makes her return as a dangerous and manipulative figure in the heart of Baldur’s Gate. No longer a rural curiosity, she now operates in the city’s underbelly, preying on the desperate and continuing her twisted deals. How you deal with her through battle, bargaining, or cunning shapes not only the story but also the fate of those caught in her web. Her storyline is one of the best examples of Larian Studios’ commitment to consequence-driven gameplay, rewarding players who pay attention to details and make choices aligned with their character’s values. Whether you seek revenge or redemption, Auntie Ethel’s Act 3 arc is an unforgettable part of the adventure.