Baldur's Gate 3: You Shouldn't Skip The Githyanki Crèche Questline (2024)

Baldur's Gate 3 includes multiple questlines that offer the possibility of having the mind flayer tadpole removed from their brain. Some of these are simply side quests, while others are part of companion questlines that uncover more about party members. As such, it can be worth going through these quests, even if they can be on the longer side. This is especially true for those who are invested in the storytelling aspect, because there's no shortage of lore to be found. This includes "Githyanki Crèche," which is part of Lae'zel's companion questline.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]

Lae'zel is the first companion that Tav comes across and a romance option in Baldur's Gate 3. After the Nautiloid crashes, the party can reunite with Lae'zel and free her from the tieflings who've captured her in a cage. Helping Lae'zel opens up the opportunity to grab her companion quest right away. Her priority is getting rid of the mind flayer tadpole, and she believes a Githyanki Crèche is the key to doing so. This begins the "Githyanki Crèche" questline, which comes with several possible rewards and outcomes.

The Githyanki Crèche Questline Should Be Completed In Act 1

To be more specific, the "Githyanki Crèche" questline should be started at the end of Act 1 in Baldur's Gate 3. Information about the crèche can't be obtained from Zorru in Emerald Grove. This is at least possible until after the fight against the goblins. Parties will want to soak up all the experience they can before heading to the crèche because the enemies they'll be facing there are fairly tough. For those who need to level up, exploring in the Underdark for a little while is an excellent way to get more experience and gain levels before heading to the Mountain Pass, where the githyanki crèche is located.

Lae'zel Approval Rating Can Increase During Her BG3 Companion Quest

The githyanki are, unsurprisingly, a big part of Lae'zel's companion quest. This gives opportunities to raise approval with her, which is particularly useful for those who plan to choose her as their romance option. The nature of events among the githyanki leads to an opportunity to truly help the githyanki as a result of Vlaakith plotting to abuse the power of Ascended githyanki for her own benefit. However, going against Vlaakith is much later down the line of this quest chain in Baldur's Gate 3.

Players Can Lose Approval With Shadowheart In Baldur's Gate 3

The "Githyanki Crèche" questline isn't without drawbacks, however. Those who plan to romance Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3 might find that the questline brings a lot of difficult options with it. The decisions within these quests can impact the approval rating of both Lae'zel and Shadowheart, since gaining approval with one almost certainly means losing approval with the other. It doesn't help that Shadowheart's artefact, which happens to be of githyanki origin, plays a role in this questline.

Voss, a githyanki soldier the party meets on the way to the crèche, is looking for an artefact, and it happens to be the exact one that Shadowheart has been so secretive about. At this point, the party can hide it or reveal that they have the artefact. However, hiding the artefact requires Lae'zel to make a Deception check. She has a pretty low Charisma score, so the party will likely have to fight the githyanki here either way while Voss escapes. Depending on what players have done so far, this will likely be the first hint in Baldur's Gate 3 that something strange is going on among the githyanki.

You Can Lose Lae'zel As A Companion During Her Quest In Baldur's Gate 3

Another risk during Lae'zel's companion quest is losing her as a companion in Baldur's Gate 3. Part of the "Githyanki Crèche" questline involves attempting to remove the mind flayer tadpole using a device called a zaith'isk. Supporting Lae'zel in her attempt to use this device to remove the tadpole results in the player-created character gaining a lot of approval, which can help them avoid losing Lae'zel as a companion during this area of the campaign. Unsurprisingly, the device cannot remove the tadpole, but Tav can convince Lae'zel that it was tampered with, which will also help maintain her as a companion.

The next section is where the party can lose Lae'zel as a companion while facing the Inquisitor in Baldur's Gate 3. The choices made up to this point, and the approval rating with Lae'zel will decide if she fights with them or if she fights with the githyanki. Fighting the Inquisitor can't be avoided regardless of the choices made with the artefact, but entering the artefact will reveal information about mysterious NPCs, and the party isn't forced to kill the being within after they enter. This confrontation ends this section of Lae'zel's companion questline.

Possible Rewards From The Githyanki Crèche Questline In BG3

Since Vlaakith is still alive and plotting in the world, the companion quest isn't over, but the" Githyanki Crèche" questline in BG3 is complete now. Other than loot dropped off any mobs killed, there aren't specific item rewards for this questline. Instead, Tav can earn a lot of approval with Lae'zel, learn about the artefact and their Guardian, and open up the next portion of Lae'zel's companion quest.

However, anyone who enters the zaith'isk instead of Lae'zel has the chance to earn the Awakened buff for illithid powers. This will only work if they're able to pass the correct saving throws, however. The buff itself could be a big incentive because it allows the illithid powers to be used as Bonus Actions. Because of this, many players may decide the risk is worth the reward.

While it isn't a direct reward, the party can also pick up Blood of Lathander, a legendary mace, on their way to the githyanki crèche. This weapon requires a little extra effort, however, because the party will need to complete the "Ceremonial Weapons" side quest as well. Those who want to grab this will need to stop by the Rosymorn Monastery in the Mountain Pass. Because the "Githyanki Crèche" questline naturally takes players through the Mountain Pass, it's fairly easy to pick up this legendary mace along the way.

The "Githyanki Crèche" questline isn't required, but it provides a lot of insight into Lae'zel's character, the githyanki, and how this race is being used by the Absolute. Those who want to romance Lae'zel will get a lot of benefits from this questline with the amount of approval that can be earned. However, it's best to make sure that these quests are done before leaving Act 1. This is because there's a point in Act 2 that will completely block the party from returning to Act 1, so it's important to finish quests in each act before progressing too much further into Baldur's Gate 3.