Not all side quests in Baldur’s Gate 3 will remain completable forever; some side quests are time-gated, and failure to complete them can mean a character dies forever. To that end, here’s how much time you have to save your companion from Orin in BG3.
How Much Time Do You Have to Save Your Companion From Orin in BG3?
Once kidnapped, you have all the time in the world to save your companion from Orin.
Yes, no matter how many long rests you take, Orin will keep your companion alive and untouched. They won’t even come home with any new trauma. But you can lose your companion if you fail to correctly handle your conversation with Orin at the altar where you fight her.
So, go out and do those side quests. Take those long rests. Your companion and Orin will both politely wait.
When Does Orin Kidnap a Companion?
There are two separate potential instances in which Orin will kidnap a companion: through the sewers or during a camp cutscene after long resting.
In the most likely scenario, you’ll find Orin disguised as one of your companions at camp. This cutscene will trigger once you long rest after entering the Lower City in BG3’s Act 3.
But if you avoid long resting, the instant you head too far into the sewers, there’s a very good chance that you’ll stumble across one of your companions who, you guessed it, is Orin in disguise. This can happen at two points: the sewer entrance accessed through the Emperor’s hideout or near the Undercity Ruins waypoint.
The kidnapped companion, who seems to be restricted to being either Lae’zel, Halsin, Gale, or Minthara, will then completely vanish from your camp. You’re then given an order from Orin: kill Gortash or lose your companion forever.
Orin will not kidnap a companion who you have in your party. If Lae’zel, Halsin / Minthara, and Gale are all in your party when Orin decides to kidnap someone, she will instead kidnap Yenna and kill her cat, Grub.
Orin kidnapping a companion seems to be unavoidable. But If Orin takes a companion that you really need, feel free to reload a previous save. In our playthrough, Lae’zel was our mutli-hitting muscle, so we reloaded until Orin took Gale instead. Sorry, wizard buddy.
Orin will prioritize kidnapping whichever companion has your highest approval rating, with exception of romanced companions which she will not target. If you want to keep a particular companion from Orin, put that companion in your party.
How to Save Your Companion From Orin
To save your companion from Orin in BG3, you’ll need to gain access to her at Bhaal Temple in the Lower City sewers. If you follow the Open Hand Temple Murders questline, this will take you to where you need to go. But all you really need is to obtain the Amulet of Bhaal from the Murder Tribunal underneath the Candulhallow’s Tombstones shop.
Once you have the Amulet of Bhaal, you can take it to Bhaal Temple located northwest in the sewers. Here, you’ll have a few options depending on your playthrough.
If You’ve Killed Gortash
If you’ve killed Gortash before approaching Orin and your companion in Bhaal Temple, you can demand she leave your companion alone as part of your deal. She’ll play nice and turn her focus on you instead. After defeating Orin, you can then approach your companion and interact with the table to save them.
If You Haven’t Killed Gortash
If you haven’t yet killed Gortash, you can try to convince Orin to leave your companion alone, but whatever dialogue option you choose, you’ll have to pass a DC25 dice check. If you fail the dice check, she’ll gruesomely murder your companion, and you won’t be able to revive them.
If the dice check is too high for you to pass, you potentially have one other option, but you’ll need access to the Speak With The Dead spell. Once you enter Bhaal Temple, don’t trigger the conversation with Orin. Instead, follow the circular room left. Past the last alcove, you’ll see a hole in the wall (coordinates X:76, Y:1033) which you’ll want to walk through and follow to the end to enter The Chosen’s Room.
In the Chosen’s Room, head forward to the body displayed against the wall. This is Orin’s Mother Helena, and you can use Speak With The Dead on her for a lovely conversation and some interesting lore.
After talking to Helena, you can leave the room via the main entrance to approach Orin from behind. Tell her about the information you learned from Helena, and you’ll upset her enough to completely ignore your companion, allowing you save your companion from Orin without having to pass a dice check.
Fighting Orin
A fight with Orin is unavoidable in the Bhaal Temple, whether or not you successfully save your companion from Orin. For a full detailed guide, you can check out our walkthrough on how to defeat Orin the Red, but here are some quick tips for taking down the slayer herself and saving your companion at the end of it all:
- Your companion in need of saving can take damage and die if they’re hit during the battle, so make sure you’re not too reckless when slinging around large spells.
- Orin’s minions cannot take direct hits, but they can be damaged by splash attacks from AoE attacks.
- Defeating all of Orin’s minions or pushing them off the platform with spells like Thunderwave will get rid of Orin’s Unstoppable boon.
- Avoid killing minions with the Bhaal’s Murderous Mark condition active.
- Casting a high-level Magic Missles spell is particularly effective at breaking the barrier from Orin’s Unstoppable boon.
- Shadowheart’s Harm spell has a good chance of reducing Orin’s max HP by up to half, helping you take her down quickly after getting past her barrier.
Once Orin is down for good, you can waltz over to the altar your companion is lying on. To free your companion, interact with the altar and select the prompt to release them. If you’re playing on console, the prompt to rescue your companion can sometimes be a little elusive; you may want to use the Search Area function by holding down the interact button (X on PS5, A on Xbox) or directly target the altar with the cursor by pressing in the left stick.
But again, there’s no hurry to all this. So, yes, take as much time as you need to save your companion from Orin in BG3. But if you want to know about a choice that will really matter, and can have your party member permanently leave, then look no farther than all the choices you can make when Astarion finally meets his vampire master.
