As part of a late-game quest in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can decide either to join the murderous Church of Bhaal or to defy it. This coincides with the introduction of Sarevok, one of the Church’s leaders and a recurring antagonist from earlier Baldur’s Gate titles. You first meet Sarevok at the conclusion of the “Open Hand Temple Murders” questline, in which you help the hollyphant Investigator Valeria solve a series of mysterious killings in and around Baldur’s Gate.

The murderers are revealed to be Bhaal worshipers, and you pursue them through a hidden door in Candulhallow’s Tombstones. From there, you have two options: schmooze your way in, offering up stray viscera found during your investigation to present the party as would-be Unholy Assassins, or kill the remaining targets to earn passage. Inside, Sarevok presides over a Murder Tribunal where each prospective member must kill six people to be initiated, and Valeria is imprisoned.

What Happens If You Become An Unholy Assassin In Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Evil Route

First and foremost, becoming an Unholy Assassin means murdering Valeria on the spot. It may be difficult to do so from a moral standpoint, but not from a strategic one. Valeria’s stats aren’t great, and she’s chained up from the time the party walks in, making her completely defenseless. A few well-placed hits should end this non-fight quickly. If nothing else, it’s a far easier battle than the one against Sarevok.

Also, to round out their numbers, the party will also have to kill some of the other targets on Sarevok’s hit list: Jaheira and Minsc. These two are a little stronger than Valeria, and can hold their own in a fight. But more importantly, Jaheira and Minsc can both join the party, and are some of the best non-Origin companions you can recruit in Baldur’s Gate 3. Kill them, and the party loses two worthwhile allies.

The rest of the party will also disapprove of these decisions. If Jaheira and Minsc have already been recruited when Tav chooses to become an Unholy Assassin, their affinity may decrease so much that they immediately leave the party. After all, they’re both sworn enemies of Sarevok as recurring characters from the Baldur’s Gate series, and if Tav joins the Bhaalists, they’re in direct, mortal danger.

Either way, once the Tribunal is satisfied with the bloodshed, Sarevok allows the party to enter the Temple of Bhaal. You’ll need to do so either way in order to continue the main story, as Orin the Red, one of the main antagonists of BG3, is waiting inside. Defeating Orin is a necessary step in reaching the endgame, and joining the Unholy Assassins is the easiest (but not only) way to find her.

Finally, becoming an Unholy Assassin grants access to an extraordinary merchant, who sits at Sarevok’s right hand. Echo of Abazigal offers a great deal of rare weapons and armor, including a few unique items, and can serve as a one-stop shop for outfitting a melee rogue. Some notable items he sells are as follows:

• Bhaalist Armor – +2 to Initiative rolls; makes everyone around the wearer vulnerable to piercing damage
• Assassin of Bhaal Cowl – +2 to Initiative rolls; provides limited Darkvision; cast see invisibility once per short rest
• Dread Iron Dagger – user can deal extra necrotic damage while hidden

What Happens If You Kill Sarevok In Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Good Route

If you decide instead to decline Sarevok’s offer, the party will have to kill him. Killing Sarevok means sparing Valeria, Jaheira, and Minsc, along with all the other people Sarevok and his followers intended to murder. This is the less violent, if more difficult, option.

Sarevok is level 16, with an Armor Class of 20 and a deep pool of 262 HP. He’s permanently under the effect of the spell haste, and he can’t be slowed, paralyzed, or restrained. He summons multiple spirits throughout the fight that, when banished, give him different buffs, like bonuses to Saving Throws or vampiric attacks that heal him as he harms others. And after he performs a total of four attacks, Sarevok can summon Bhaal himself, dealing up to 200 damage with a special move called Deathbringer Assault.

The entire party should be at full tilt here. It’d be a good idea to take a Long Rest before even approaching the Murder Tribunal, and to pop some buffs before the fight, so everyone can attack on their first turn. Sarevok doesn’t have any damage weaknesses, so beyond the usual game-breaking, boss-nuking strategies in Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s no special trick to defeating him.

Make sure everyone is kept healed, and use everything at your disposal to take down Sarevok. He’s one of the game’s most difficult foes, so don’t worry about expending high-level spell slots; you’ll be able to take a long rest afterward. Try not to aggro the three guards – That Which Guards, That Which Lurks, and That Which Watches – into the fight with Sarevok. Either kill them beforehand, or make sure the door is closed and that you do not get too close to them during the fight.

If you do happen to pull the three That Whiches, target them first. You generally want to reduce the number of enemies that can attack, but be selective about which of the Echoes you destroy. Killing Sendai and Illasera gives Saverok very powerful buffs, so if you can, eliminate them in other ways, such as stunning or silencing them. Turn Undead is a great way to deal with the Echoes, since they’re undead creatures.

All these extra enemies can make the fight tough, but at this point in BG3, you should be at or close to max level (12), in which case the fight is more than doable. Your rewards aren’t necessarily as good as Echo of Abazigal’s loot, but Sarevok drops some pretty good items:

• Sword of Chaos – heals the user upon a successful hit
• Sarevok’s Horned Helmet – increased critical hit chance; grants Darkvision; immune to Frightened condition

Those who go this route will still receive the Amulet of Bhaal necessary to enter the Temple and find Orin, so there’s no need to worry about closing off that quest by killing Sarevok. Also, freeing Valeria earns the party her gratitude, and she’ll give a good report to the people of Baldur’s Gate. In turn, the City Watch will come to the party’s aid in the final boss battle.

You Should Kill Sarevok In Baldur’s Gate 3

Better Rewards (And Morally Correct)

Killing Sarevok is the best option, and not just because of its moral implications. It may be harder to achieve, but rejecting the Bhaalists means keeping Minsc, Jaheira, and Valeria alive, which in turn provides the help of all three in the final battle. Since Jaheira and Minsc can join the party at other times, they may come in handy before then.

While becoming an Unholy Assassin sounds cool, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Echo’s weapons and armor are nice, but not necessary. Other than that, there’s nothing else that can only be unlocked by going down this path. Especially if you do this quest late in the game, you will likely already have better loot that caters more specifically to your build.

Either way, you still find a way into the Temple and Bhaal and can move on with the main quest, but joining Sarevok means three more allies dead and another disadvantage in the final boss battle. Neither choice affects the ending of Baldur’s Gate 3, and becoming an Unholy Assassin only changes a couple of things in the short term, so it’s better to defy and kill Sarevok.

Still, it’s impossible to say that a single story choice is either universally good or universally bad in Baldur’s Gate 3. What comes naturally to one player character may be completely out of the question for another, so to some extent, everyone needs to make the decision for themselves. Becoming an Unholy Assassin is fitting for an evil character, or an unredeemed Dark Urge character, so there are some for whom this route makes sense. In the end, the Murder Tribunal choice, like all other choices in Baldur’s Gate 3, is up to player preference.

Systems

Released

August 3, 2023

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

Engine

Divinity 4.0

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op

Cross-Platform Play

Full cross-platform play.

Cross Save

Full cross-platform progression.