Baldur’s Gate 3 – Hidden Quests, Secret Companions, and Powerful Items Larian Never Told You About

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a masterclass in hidden design. Beneath every dialogue tree, dungeon corridor, and companion interaction are choices and secrets so subtle that most players finish the game without ever seeing them. Larian built an entire second layer beneath the visible narrative — a network of forgotten NPCs, optional storylines, and hidden mechanics that shape your world behind the scenes.

This guide exposes the secrets most players overlook, from unmarked quests and rare items to dialogue chains that completely change the story.

The Secret Underdark Merchant – “Araj Oblodra”

In Act I, many players discover the Underdark but never meet its most secret NPC — Araj Oblodra, a drow alchemist hidden deep within the Myconid Colony.

How to Find Her:

1. Enter the Underdark Beach via the Selûnite Outpost or the Whispering Depths tunnel.

2. Head south toward the mushroom fields near the Myconid Colony.

3. Pass through a locked door that only opens if you have a drow companion (Astarion or a custom drow).

4. Inside you’ll find Araj, working with bubbling vials and rare ingredients.

Why She’s Special:
Araj trades in unique “experimental potions” that permanently boost stats — but she’ll only sell them if you agree to give her a vial of your blood. The transaction alters future dialogue with her, as she becomes obsessed with your character’s DNA.

If you give her vampire blood via Astarion, you trigger a secret scene later in Act III referencing her genetic experiments — one of the rarest continuity events in the game.

Hidden Companion Interaction – Scratch and the Owlbear Cub

Both the dog Scratch and the Owlbear Cub can be recruited as camp companions, but there’s a hidden synergy between them that unlocks a secret event.

How to Trigger It:

1. Recruit both Scratch (near the forest ruins) and the Owlbear Cub (in the goblin camp).

2. Wait three long rests after recruiting both.

3. At night, you’ll see a new camp cutscene where Scratch tries to play with the cub.

If you pass a DC 14 Animal Handling check, you unlock a new camp animation and a hidden perk called “Fur and Feathers” — granting +1 to Initiative rolls while traveling with both companions alive.

This event never appears in your journal, but it’s one of Larian’s most charming secrets.

The Secret Quest: “The Sculptor of the Dead”

There’s a cryptic side quest hidden in the Lower City of Baldur’s Gate that doesn’t appear on your map.

How to Begin:

1. In Act III, travel to the Graveyard District at night.

2. You’ll hear faint hammering behind a locked mausoleum.

3. Pick the lock and enter to find a pale sculptor named Elandra Voss.

She’s carving statues of the recently deceased — but her materials are corpses coated in petrifying wax.
If you question her, you can uncover a story involving necromancy and grief, leading to two outcomes:

• Kill her and loot Elandra’s Wax Blade, a unique short sword that applies Slow on critical hits.

• Spare her and gain access to her services as a crafter, letting her transmute +1 weapons into custom variants with permanent elemental bonuses.

This is one of the most complex optional storylines in Act III — a haunting masterpiece that few players ever trigger.

The Hidden Necromancy Tome in the Whispering Depths

Many players explore the Whispering Depths in Act I but miss a secret chamber hidden by an illusion.

How to Access It:

1. Enter through the well in the Blighted Village.

2. Defeat the Phase Spider Matriarch.

3. In the main chamber, use Detect Magic or See Invisibility.

4. Reveal an illusory wall near the webbed chasm.

Behind it lies the Codex of the Unliving, a necromancy tome that grants the spell Raise Undead: Lesser Minion as a permanent addition to your spellbook (usable once per long rest).

Only Wizards and Clerics can attune to it, but it offers an incredible advantage for summoners and evil-aligned playthroughs.

The True Secret of the Nightsong

Even if you save or kill the Nightsong in Act II, there’s an additional resolution that most players never see.

How to Unlock It:

1. Save Nightsong and complete Ketheric Thorm’s storyline.

2. In Act III, visit the House of Grief and locate the upper sanctum.

3. A secret dialogue option appears if your character previously prayed at all three Selûnite shrines in the game.

Choosing it grants you a special scene where Nightsong transforms her wings, becoming the full Aspect of Selûne. She blesses your party with Moonlight’s Grace, a permanent +1 Wisdom aura during nighttime.

This hidden blessing applies only if you’ve never desecrated any Selûnite altars — a quiet reward for consistent role-playing.

Secret Dialogue Chain – The Emperor’s Past

The Emperor (the mind flayer ally) has an extended backstory hidden in Act III that’s easily missed.

How to Unlock It:

• During the Astral Prism dialogue, select every “probe deeper” option three times in a row without rejecting him.

• Then long rest immediately afterward.

• A new dream sequence triggers where he reveals his pre-illithid identity — a scholar named Lorien Thane from Baldur’s Gate’s early history.

If you comfort him during this revelation, you gain +5 approval and a new dialogue line in the ending where he thanks you “for seeing the man before the monster.” It’s one of the most emotional, easily missed threads in the game.

Secret Merchant – The Smuggler in the Shadow-Cursed Lands

In Act II, beyond the Shadowed Battlefield, a hidden smuggler camp offers powerful equipment and unique items.

How to Reach It:

1. Start from the Moonrise Towers waypoint.

2. Head south until you see a destroyed cart and broken bridge.

3. Cast Light or drink an Elixir of Moonlight Resistance to survive the curse.

4. Cross into a cave illuminated by faint lanterns.

Inside, you’ll find Ravengard’s Smuggler, a merchant selling:

• +2 Weapons with unlisted radiant bonuses.

• Boots of the Silent Step, reducing stealth DCs by 5.

• The Shadow Lantern, an artifact that grants +10% radiant damage but darkens nearby areas — ideal for Paladin builds.

This vendor disappears after Act II ends, making it one of the few time-sensitive secrets in the game.

Advanced Combat Trick: Multi-Surface Elemental Combos

Larian’s combat system hides one of its most powerful features — elemental surface chaining. Players can combine elemental effects to create devastating combos.

Examples:

• Grease + Firebolt = Fire Explosion (standard)

• Create Water + Lightning Bolt = Chain Stun Field

• Ice Knife + Ray of Frost = Triple Freeze Chance

• Cloud of Daggers + Gust = Expanding Blade Storm

Few realize that stacking Elemental Adept and Spell Sniper feats amplifies these surfaces’ critical effects, letting even support casters dominate the battlefield.

This is the foundation of the “Battlemage” meta — one of the most advanced hidden builds in the game.

Why Baldur’s Gate 3’s Secrets Are Legendary

Every hidden thread in Baldur’s Gate 3 — from secret NPCs like Araj to the Emperor’s lost humanity — reinforces Larian’s philosophy: the world doesn’t revolve around you, but it always reacts to you.

The real magic lies in discovery. The more you question what’s behind that locked door, the more the world opens up, whispering rewards meant only for the curious.

Few RPGs manage to make exploration feel like revelation — but this one does, every single time.