The Absolute is the main antagonist of Baldur’s Gate 3. This entity controls all creatures that have Illithid parasites in their minds. Most enemies and bosses you face serve the Absolute as Cultists or want to control it themselves to attain malevolent outcomes.
We have some vague sense of what’s going on throughout the game. Our first encounter with the absolute takes place during Act 1, after you beat the goblin leader Dror Ragzlin inside the Goblin Camp. Interact with a dead Mind Flayer there by using the “Speak with the dead” spell.
But it is not until Act 2, inside the Moonrise Towers, that we finally discover who or what this mysterious evil entity truly is. No greater mystery could compare to the question of who or what the absolute might be in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Story of the Absolute in Baldur’s Gate 3
To understand the Absolute in Baldur’s Gate 3, we must go to the Dead Three’s origin. Each of the Dead Three or Dark Gods, Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul, were once mortals from a time long forgotten. Sometime after the fall of Netheril, they sought to achieve Godhood. They went on an adventure, seeking magic, and even slayed one of the seven legendary gods of the time.
They are known to have absorbed some divine powers by that point. But they went as far as assaulting the Domain of Jergal, the lord of the End of Everything. After all that, these mortals fought each other for the position of Godhood.
However, this lasted until Jergal himself intervened and devised a game of knucklebones to be played. Bane stood victorious, taking the title of God of Strife, Hatred, and Tyranny. Myrkul, being the runner-up, became the God of the Dead, and Bhaal became the Lord of Violent Death or murder.
In subsequent centuries, these gods became the most destructive deities in all the Forgotten Realms. They were infamous for the activities of their cults and followers and misery to all good folk of Faerun.
Many centuries later, Bane and Myrkul instigated the cataclysm. They stole the powerful Tablets of Fate from Lord Ao. They hoped to acquire Ao’s powers and overthrow him in the process. Ao called upon all the deities to question them about the culprit. As a result, Ao banished them once no one admitted their part in the mischief.
That period when all deities were forced to live as mortals was called the Times of Troubles. No one could return to their planar realms, and the net result was the death of all three mischievous gods. Soon after this, they were branded with the moniker the Dead Three.
The Elder Brain is the Absolute
As you progress into the main story plot, you will learn more about the Absolute in Baldur’s Gate 3. The Elder Brain is called the Absolute. However, it does not work of its own will.
Each previously mentioned dark god possesses a champion associated with his name. Ketheric Thorm worships Myrkul, Lord Gortash follows Bane, and Orin is the chosen one of Bhaal.
These Champions together act upon the wish of their masters and control the Elder Brain. They each have a Netherstone, and they use them to control the Brain. We realize that it is not the Absolute or Elden Brain that controls the strings of Baldur’s Gate 3. Instead, it is the chosen ones who are responsible for all the events happening in the world of Forgotten Realms.
Can you become The Absolute in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you complete flexibility over the gameplay choices and decisions. You can use this to your advantage by choosing what’s best for your characters and party members. Your primary goal is to fight the evil forces and save the world from the Absolute. However, joining or becoming the Absolute instead of one of the endings is completely possible. To join, you will need to obtain the Mark of the Absolute from Priestess Gut during Act 1.
To become the Absolute yourself, you must fight and kill the champions of Myrkul, Bhaal, and Bane to obtain their netherstones. You can use the power of these stones to get control over the Elder Brain and become the Absolute yourself.
