Having a tadpole in your brain might seem like a disadvantage. But with the Astral Prism in your hands, you get all the strengths and few of the consequences. And one of those strengths includes becoming a Displacer Beast, a tentacle-clad feline creature that can teleport and project images of itself.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Become a Displacer Beast
Here’s How to Unlock Displacer Beast Form in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Get to the end of Act 2.
- Accept and use the Astral Tadpole offered by your dream guardian.
- Use Mind Flayer Parasites to unlock Displacer Beast Shape on the outer rim of your Illithid Skill menu.
Your Dream Guardian can be a little pushy about tadpoles. But if you’ve been on the fence about munching the Astral-Touched Tadpole, let me tempt you further. If you eat it, you can become a Displacer Beast.
Yes, the only way to become a Displacer Beast is to consume the Astral-Touched Tadpole, which becomes available to you at the end of Act 2. Consuming this tadpole will allow you to access the outer-rim of the Illithid brain menu. And the only consequence is getting a few black veins across your face and body.
To get Displacer Beast Form, you’ll first have to consume enough tadpoles to reach the Displacer Beast Shape skill in the Illithid Powers skill tree. This involves collecting Mind Flayer Parasites throughout the first two acts of the game—you’ll need at least two. The Illithid Powers menu will unlock once you’ve consumed one parasite. At that point, you can use the game menu to check out the Illithid skill tree splayed out across your brain. There are a total of 25 abilities you can slot parasites into, and to reach abilities further out, you’ll first have to unlock their connecting abilities.
After consuming the Astral-Touched Tadpole at the end of Act 2, every first-tier skill in the Illithid powers menu will unlock. That includes Psionic Overload in the middle-top left, which is the first skill you need. To reach the Displacer Beast Shape skill on your brain, slot your first parasite into the Stage Fright skill branching off from Psionic Overload. You can then use your second parasite to unlock Displacer Beast Shape, which is connected to Stage Fright.
How to Have Companions Get Displacer Beast Form in BG3
To unlock Displacer Beast Form for you companions, make sure you choose to “open your mind to the tadpole” when you receive the Astral-Touched Tadpole. If you eat the tadpole, your companions won’t be able to use it. You can also choose to “refuse the tadpole,” which will allow you to keep it in your inventory until you’re ready to use it for yourself and your companions.
Your companions may be revolted by your decision, but if you can pass a [PERSUASION] check, they’ll come around. At that point, you can also convince them to use the Astral Tadpole’s power and unlock Displacer Beast Form for them too.
And it’s well worth convincing them, too. They don’t have to be Druids to unlock this Wild Shape, and they’ll get the following abilities:
| Illusory Copy | Create an illusory displacer beast to attack nearby enemies. 3 turns, 18 meters. |
| Displace | 2~16 damage. 2d8 Psychic. Teleport yourself and a target to a nearby location, shredding the target’s mind, and leaving behind an Illusory Copy of yourself. 3 Turns. 3 meters. |
| Tentacle Whip | 8~28 damage. 2d6+4 Bludgeoning. +2D6 Piercing. Lash out with a sleek, spinous tentacle. 3 meters. |
While you’re considering munching that Tadpole for otherworldly abilities… consider this. Is having that midnight encounter with your dream guardian worth it?
