Baldur’s Gate 3: Should You Give The Githyanki Egg To Lady Esther? (2024)

Lady Esther's request in Baldur's Gate 3 may seem like a simple side task, but its end result can have resounding consequences. It's no exaggeration to say that almost every choice matters in Baldur's Gate 3 - from the slightest difference in dialogue to perilous risks of life and limb, almost everything the party does will come back around in one way or another. That's why it's always important to weigh the options carefully, especially when a character makes a particularly objectionable and gross-sounding request.

The party will first encounter Lady Esther, a human woman, hanging around the githyanki camp in the early stages of Baldur's Gate 3. She has an unusual request: She wants a githyanki egg. The githyanki are a playable race in Baldur's Gate 3, and they pride themselves on their martial skill and mind flayer-hunting prowess. Lady Esther, however, turns her nose up at all that. She claims she's participating in an experiment assigned to her by the Society of Brilliance; they want to get a githyanki egg, raise the hatchling as their own, and see if it can meet the standards of their polite society. It sounds shady from every angle, but a few different courses of action are available.

What Happens If You Give The Githyanki Egg To Lady Esther

Unfortunately, the "Steal A Githyanki Egg" side quest will end in disaster no matter how the player's party approaches it. Some of that disaster can be mitigated, though, if players refuse to give Esther the githyanki egg. Two primary options are apparent from the start: Either give Esther the githynaki egg or refuse her. If she's given the egg, she'll accept it and remit payment of 258 gold, a decent sum, especially this early in the game. However, the party later encounters Esther and several others lying dead on the floor of a house in Baldur's Gate, surrounding the hatched egg. Choosing to give her the egg may also earn the disapproval of Lae'zel, a fellow githyanki and one of the best companions in Baldur's Gate 3.

Related: Baldur's Gate 3 Review

What Happens If You Refuse To Give Ester The Githyanki Egg

Of course, it's also possible to refuse Lady Ester's offer. Esther, however, doesn't take kindly to this decision and will drop all her high society trappings instantly in one roll of initiative. The fight against Esther can be a tough one, especially since she has the ability to turn invisible. However, if a party member has Volo's Ersatz Eye, which can be obtained by rescuing Volo in the Blighted Village early on in Baldur's Gate 3, the whole party can see her despite her invisibility spells, making the fight significantly easier.

No matter how someone chooses to approach this quest, it would be a wise idea to buy whatever they want from Esther's shop before choosing to accept or reject her mission. Esther is a merchant by trade and has some rare items that can be very helpful in the early stages of Baldur's Gate 3. If she ends up getting the egg, she'll scamper off, making her wares unavailable for the rest of the game. If she doesn't, she'll die on the spot. Naturally, collecting some of her loot after the fight is still possible, but it's still wise to wrap up any business with her before committing either way.

How To Get Out Of Giving Esther The Githyanki Egg, But Still Get Paid In Baldur's Gate 3

There's also a sly - if deadly - way to swap out the githyanki egg, fool Esther, and still collect payment in Baldur's Gate 3. In a cave near the Blighted Village languishes an injured owlbear, fiercely protective of its cubs. The party can go there first and either take on the owlbear themselves or interact with it, take a long rest outside the cave, and return to find it slain by goblins. Either way, once the owlbear is dead, the player can help themselves to the contents of its nest, which includes an unhatched egg.

Lady Esther's no expert, but she can tell the difference between an owlbear egg and a githyanki one. To convince her to accept it, Baldur's Gate 3 presents a difficult dialogue check - 21 DC in Deception, Persuasion, or Nature - to convince her either that it's real or that no one will know the difference. The outcome is largely the same: The owlbear will also hatch from the egg and go on to slaughter Esther and her Society of Brilliance employers.

It's darkly humorous to imagine the expressions on their faces as they prepare for their experimental githyanki to hatch, only for an owlbear to emerge from the egg, confused and enraged. The Society of Brilliance isn't the friendliest faction in Baldur's Gate 3, so wanting to strike back at them is justified. The difficult dialogue check, however, may keep many players from seeing this option to its end.

Naturally, choices rarely come without sacrifices in Baldur's Gate 3, and this one's no exception. It's possible to recruit the owlbear cub, but it won't happen if Esther gets the egg. The owlbear egg also sells for a hefty sum - 750 gold, which is far more than what Lady Esther offers. It comes down to a practical decision over whether it's better to incur Lae'zel's wrath and potentially be locked out of her romance option in Baldur's Gate 3, fight Lady Esther to the death, or save a bit of coin.

How To Get The Githyanki Egg In Baldur's Gate 3

It may be morally wrong to give away the githyanki egg in Baldur's Gate 3, but ultimately, that might be just what a money-hungry or downright cruel player character would be expected to do. Even well-intentioned players may decide to go this route because of its reward or wanting to avoid a fight. If they decide to get the egg for Esther, though, the party should proceed into the hatchery.

Once inside the hatchery, there are more githyanki guards in front of the crèche entrance. The best way to deal with them is to let Lae'zel do the talking - the party has to go inside anyway to complete a major story quest in Baldur's Gate 3, so she won't object to that, at least. As a fellow githyanki, Lae'zel will more or less get waved right in. Otherwise, the rest of the party will have to pass some dialogue checks or simply go on the offensive and kill the guards.

Once inside the crèche in Baldur's Gate 3, there's one final line of defense: Varsh Ko'kuu, who is responsible for the hatchery. It's possible to sweet talk him: Passing an Insight check, players can ask Ko'kuu why he wants to save the egg, and he can then be persuaded to hand over the egg by convincing him it's in the egg's best interest. A skill check of 14 or higher is required for Ko'kuu to tell the truth, and then another skill check of 16 or higher is needed to get the egg. Ko'kuu will hand over his boots, allowing the party to go through the acid and retrieve the githyanki egg.

Of course, players can also opt to simply kill Varsh Ko'kuu, but this means fighting him and two other githyanki. Ko'kuu can be a tough fight and has a lot of HP, so caution is needed if players go this route. To improve the chances of a peaceful outcome, it's best not to mention anything about stealing or selling the egg. From there, it's as easy as avoiding or disarming the traps around the githyanki egg, and finally picking it up.

With proper foresight, whether to give Lady Esther the githyanki egg becomes a sort of fantastical trolley problem. Is it more morally sound to directly cause the death of one person or to indirectly cause the death of several? While the consequences of giving away either the owlbear or the githyanki egg greatly outweigh the benefits, the only right choice is whatever makes the most sense for the player's character. Baldur's Gate 3 is all about role-playing, and the most rewarding way to experience that is to see the world through a well-crafted character's eyes.