Auntie Ethel is one of the most frustrating enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3 but there is also a possibility to make a deal with her and have her help remove your parasite. The Baldur’s Gate 3 Deal with Auntie Ethel quest is all about that and figuring out if you should work with her or put her down for hurting all those innocents.
Auntie Ethel in BG3 is a Hag pretending to be an elderly woman in the game. When you first enter Ethel’s swamp or Sunlit Wetlands, you will see her in a confrontation with two guys who accuse Ethel of kidnapping their sister Mayrina. Now it is up to you to figure out the truth.
Where to Find Auntie Ethel
Dealing with Auntie Ethel in Baldur’s Gate 3 involves multiple sub-quests. The first step is to locate Auntie Ethel and follow her from there to her residence.
To find Auntie Ethel, you need to visit the Swamps located to the south of the Blighted Village. To fast travel there, you can use the Blighted Village waypoint. Once you are there, start exploring the area and you will see two men inquiring about an old lady.
Upon getting involved in the discussion you will know both men are Mayrina’s brothers and the old lady is Auntie Ethel. The brothers have a doubt about Auntie Ethel and from their discussion, it seems she has kidnapped their sister because she has disappeared since she went to see the Hag after her husband’s death.
After a short conversation, she disagrees with the boys accusing her of capturing their sister and disappearing from the spot. The next step is to follow her up where she resides.
Where to find the Riverside Teahouse
To reach her residence, you need to travel to the South of Blighted Village and Southwest of the point where you find her with Mayrina’s brothers. She lives at the Riverside Teahouse. Reaching the Riverside Teahouse for the first time, a cut scene will initiate with Mayrina and Auntie Ethel.
Soon, Ethel will notice that you have a parasite in your head and will offer her assistance in the matter. However, all favors come at a price, and Ethel’s price is quite out of the ordinary. She needs to temporarily take one of your eyes out for a quick little kiss.
When the conversation comes to a conclusion, you will see her teleport Mayrina away and tell you that her door is always open should you need her help. If you disagree with the ‘eye’ deal, then the alternative path takes you down on a quick little adventure. However, if you agree to the deal, Ethel will reveal her true self and pull your eye out, only to later realize that she cannot remove the parasite due to Netherese.
You will get Auntie Ethel’s Charm and have a debuff that gives you a disadvantage on perception checks. You can’t do any critical hits either. Following this, she will escape the scene using the Fireplace nearby in the same room.
Finding the hidden Hag
Take the liberty to stroll around the Teahouse, and your natural perception should kick in. If you succeed, you’ll realize that something isn’t right. The fireplace is an illusion, and you can go through it to find a stairway behind it.
Pass through it even if you didn’t successfully perform the perception check. Ethel will have gone through this secret path if you choose to let her help you with the parasite initially.
You’ll find Baldur’s Gate 3 Overgrown Tunnel underneath along with Ethel as an old hag. She’ll disappear after warning you to leave. You’ll find bizarre things in the Overgrown Tunnel. Nothing seems right, and definitely not as friendly as you initially may have thought. You can use the ‘Speak with Dead’ spell on the Blinded Elf to learn about her story.
How to get past the Gnarled Door
While exploring the Overgrown Tunnel, you will come across a giant interactive door made up of Roots. You need to cross this Gnarled Door if you wish to chase after Ethel.
Just by the door, you will find a helm named Whispering Mask. After picking it up, you need to equip it and the door will allow you to pass through it. Just after passing the door, make sure to un-equip the mask.
Past the door, you’ll meet four individuals named after a mask. They don’t want to fight you, but they’re compelled to. You’ll have to retaliate for your safety.
How to deal with the Noxious Fumes
After taking care of the masked enemies, head south and then west to come across a waterfall. Jump across the gap through the waterfall to find a wide cloud of noxious gas fumes. You can get past noxious fumes in BG3 by lighting them on fire or putting them out with water.
With a perception check, you’ll discover a flower in the gas pit that you can shoot to torch it up. Be wary of the explosion. Past the gas pits lies the Ancient Abode. Here you will find the Hag along with Marina captured inside a hanging cage.
How to save Mayrina from the Hag
If you wish to save Mayrina, be prepared for a pretty difficult boss fight ahead. Mayrina will insist that she does not want to be rescued and you will know the reason after saving her. However, as you get closer, it will become too late to leave and a battle will start shortly after a cutscene with Ethel.
Auntie Ethel is level 5 and she’s fairly deceptive. This fight can get extremely tough. As soon as the battle kicks off, Ethel will light Mayrina’s cage on fire. If you want to save her, you’re going to have to put the cage’s fire out. You can do either of three things to save Mayrina. Throw a water barrel at the cage, use a level 1 spell, create water, or throw water bottles at the cage.
Fighting Auntie Ethel
The Auntie Ethel boss fight will start with her cloning herself. There’ll be three Ethel’s on the field, and upon discovering the right one, you’ll prevent her from disappearing. To deal with Ethel’s clones, hit her with a debuff. Wherever she heads off to, the real Ethel will have the debuff on her.
A little while later, Mayrina will be pulled out of the cage, and Ethel will clone herself as Mayrina. If you hit the correct Mayrina, she will transform back into Ethel. However, hitting the wrong one can instantly kill Mayrina. That’s why you need to place a long-lasting debuff on her like Bane, before she clones herself.
Ethel will dash to a spot where no clones appear. She will stay in this spot until the invisibility buff is over. Take care of Ethel’s clones every now and then if they get too annoying. They do dish out a considerable amount of damage, so leaving them around on the field isn’t a good idea.
How to get Ethel’s Hair
While fighting with the Hag in BG3 you have both options either to kill and finish her or you can also spare her life. Once Ethel’s health is less than 10 she will attempt to convince you to let her go. She will offer you power if you let her keep Mayrina and spare her life.
You can make a power move depending on your successful persuading or intimidation role to get both the power and Mayrina. For sparing her life, she will reward you with an item called Auntie Ethel’s Hair which help you get a +1 Ability point.
Should you Resurrect Mayrina’s Husband?
You can find a door that leads to the Acrid workshop now with all sorts of goodies. You’ll find a necklace, a staff, and multiple options for your use. You can also use the Staff of Crones to progress your quest with Gale. If you didn’t give Mayrina to Ethel, you will have a wand in here known as the Bitter Divorce. Picking the wand up will open up a new step for Mayrina’s side quest.
You can tell Mayrina about the wand and how you can use it to revive Mayrina’s husband. Auntie Ethel made a deal with Mayrina where she will live with her husband again using the magical power and in return, she will give her upcoming baby to the Hag.
Even after reviving Mayrina’s Husband using the wand, he will stand there like a zombie. Just give the wand to Mayrina and the side quest will be complete. By defeating Ethel, many of the prisoners back in the Overgrown Tunnel will have regained their sanity. You can pay them a visit and get some new information if you like.
