While immersing myself in Baldur’s Gate 3, I make it a habit to engage with every non-playable character (NPC) available, regardless of how many times I’ve interacted with them in prior playthroughs. I often find that I forget crucial details regarding specific areas, characters, or lore. Engaging in dialogue helps me recall the context and intricate details that I might have overlooked. Despite multiple playthroughs of each Act, there are still several dialogue interactions that I neglect to undertake, which can lead to missing out on vital information.

Many quests are layered with hidden information, particularly those tied to complex mysteries that can only be unraveled by speaking to the right individuals. Take, for instance, the murder mystery at the Way of the Open Hand Temple, where it’s essential to converse with all NPCs to collect clues surrounding another character’s demise. Players often overlook the most crucial NPC involved in such scenarios—the victim themselves.

Don’t Overlook the Importance of Using Speak with Dead in BG3

Deceased Characters Hold Valuable Secrets Waiting to be Uncovered

One of the most frequently overlooked spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Speak with Dead, a Level 3 Necromancy spell that grants you the power to temporarily imbue a corpse with a semblance of life, allowing it to respond to your inquiries. Utilizing this spell enables your character to pose five questions to the deceased before they return to their eternal rest. These questions can encompass a wide range of inquiries, including their identity, the circumstances of their death, their age, and details about their former employers, among many others.

Using Speak with Dead in BG3 is not always effective; corpses that have perished due to Acid, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, or Radiant damage may lack the necessary mouth to communicate. Additionally, this spell does not function on undead NPCs, which can make its utility quite situational and easy to neglect. It’s common to assume that a corpse cannot provide answers, particularly if it belongs to an enemy character who may not wish to converse with the individual responsible for their death.

After intense battles, where numerous corpses litter the battlefield, it becomes easy to forget to utilize Speak with Dead on those who have fallen. The sheer number of deceased you encounter across various Acts leads to countless opportunities for casting Speak with Dead, making it inevitable that you might overlook a few. However, neglecting to engage with the most significant fallen characters, such as key enemy leaders and quest givers, results in a loss of context for many key events.

Speak With Dead Unveils Memorable Story Moments

Discover Information Characters Would Never Share While They Were Alive

Many characters encountered in BG3 are unlikely to divulge their hidden secrets, but their lifeless bodies tell a different story. Using Speak with Dead allows you to extract crucial information from corpses, leading to intriguing discoveries. You can uncover secrets related to a character’s history, gather clues about upcoming locations your party will visit, or gain insights about characters you have yet to encounter in the game.

A particularly memorable instance of utilizing Speak with Dead occurred when I cast the spell on the corpse of True Soul Nere, a drow spellcaster. This follower of the Absolute, whom I met in Act 1 of BG3, had allied with Duergard to enslave Deep Gnomes for an undisclosed purpose. After I decided to liberate the gnomes and eliminate Nere, I discovered that they were under the service of Ketheric Thorm.

At the time, I had little knowledge of who Ketheric Thorm was, aside from a few passing mentions. However, through my interaction with Nere via Speak with Dead, I learned that Ketheric had commissioned him to excavate the Grymforge to gain access to a mysterious Temple. Additionally, I discovered the name of Ketheric’s Necromancer, Balthazar, who served as an advisor to this significant figure.

This information, while seemingly trivial in Act 1, proved to be essential as I proceeded into Act 2. Without this insight, I would not have been able to connect Ketheric’s invulnerability to necromancy. Knowing he had a Necromancer like Balthazar provided me with a crucial clue. Ketheric’s interest in a temple also hinted at his obsession with Isobel at the Last Light Inn.

Engaging Speak with Dead on fallen companion characters also unlocks additional insights into their personal quests. Almost every major boss or enemy from encounters can also be engaged, providing hints about future storylines or characters appearing in upcoming Acts. Using Speak with Dead allows you to learn about characters you won’t encounter again, revealing clues about their quests or relationships, even if they are no longer present.

Unique Speak With Dead Interactions Offer Conversations with Characters You’ll Never Encounter

Entities Communicate Through the Corpses of Former Champions

In rare instances, the most captivating dialogue interactions with Speak with Dead come from entities that communicate through the deceased instead of the character you temporarily animate. A prime example is Gortash in Act 3, whose spirit has departed from his body before you can utilize the necromantic spell. Instead of conversing with Gortash, you engage with Bane, one of the Dead Three gods whom Gortash served.

Some of the corpses you come across belong to characters you would never have the chance to meet while they were alive, resulting in eerie interactions that might not yield information but significantly contribute to the atmosphere of various locations. Engaging with the deceased mother of Orin the Red, Helena, or conversing with the deceased child Arabella, if her punishment by Kagha is allowed to happen, illustrates how Speak with Dead can be the sole opportunity to interact with certain NPCs.

Despite its grim nature, Speak with Dead opens up numerous avenues in your adventure, providing interactions that you would typically miss by ignoring the corpses scattered throughout the landscape. Even seasoned players with multiple playthroughs of Baldur’s Gate 3, like myself, can overlook the importance of using Speak with Dead; therefore, it is advisable to cast it frequently to uncover the hidden dialogues waiting to be discovered.