Paladins have some of the most interesting class features in Baldur's Gate 3, thanks to the breakable oaths that play a central role in defining them. Although the idea of upholding oaths seems to be the most popular choice among Paladin players, breaking Oaths can be equally rewarding. While there are consequences to doing so, you will gain access to a secret and exclusive Paladin Subclass that excels in combat.
For those who don't know how to break their oaths in Baldur's Gate 3, there are many diabolical acts that players can perform, to release you of your holy bounds. While this seems contrarian to most playthroughs, especially those of Origin characters, by choosing the right misdeeds to perform for your specific oath, you will gain an excellent set of skills and abilities.
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How To Become An Oathbreaker In Baldur's Gate 3
Commit Wrong Deeds
In the vast world of Baldur's Gate 3, a Paladin's divine magical powers aren't fueled by their bond with a deity but by their commitment to the oath they swore. Consequentially, a player who makes evil or dishonorable in-character decisions can wind up losing access to their Paladin's special abilities until they atone, or, alternately, they can become an Oathbreaker Paladin in Baldur's Gate 3.
Anyone who doesn't want to break a Paladin oath would be best advised to err on the side of caution, whether through sticking to obviously upright choices or quicksaving before any dubious ones. If you do choose to break your oath, it will limit your abilities, impacting your combat skills. However, there are many benefits of the Oathbreaker subclass, which are discussed further.
In a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, Paladin characters generally break their paladin Oaths when they commit a blatantly amoral act or kill an innocent person unprovoked. Stabbing other characters in the back is one common trigger for Paladins to betray their oaths, whether figuratively by going back on a promise or literally with a blade.
Evil actions such as betraying the Druid's Grove in Act 1 to Minthara in Baldur's Gate 3 are easy enough to avoid for Paladins wishing to stick to the straight and narrow path, but other oath-breaking actions are harder to parse.
The Easiest Oaths To Break In Baldur's Gate 3
Break Oaths Based On Your Sublass
Players can break their oaths in Baldur's Gate 3 in many ways, but it depends on which Paladin oath you selected when creating your character in Character Creation. There are three oaths players can take in their Paladin subclass, all of which require different wrongdoings to break free of them, as shown in the tables below:
There is one misdeed that can break all Oaths in Baldur's Gate 3, no matter which one you swore to obey. Killing the Tieflings that imprisoned Lae'zel in Baldur's Gate 3 in the cage at the beginning of Act 1 after the Nautiloid crash will be a violation of any oath, allowing you to gain the Oathbreaker subclass almost immediately when you start your journey. This is the fastest and easiest way to break your oath.
Oath of The Ancients
The Oath of the Ancients Baldur's Gate 3 paladin subclass, comparable to the green knights of Arthurian mythology, is a more Neutral Good take on the Paladin archetype. Oath of the Ancients paladins vow to protect life, nature, and all the joys of the natural world.
As they level up, these Paladins gain access to several druid spells and abilities, like speaking with animals in Baldur's Gate 3, along with the exclusive feature Healing Radiance, which heals all nearby allies. Level 7 also unlocks Aura of Warding, which can provide Resistance to spell damage for the allies of an Oath of the Ancients paladin.
The table below showcases which deeds you can perform to break the Oath of Ancients. It mainly consists of killing innocents and harming nature unnecessarily. For those who want the Owl Bear cub as their pet, you can still harm its mother without affecting the cub's relationship with you.
How To Break Oath of Ancients | Wrong Deeds |
Kill an innocent, non-hostile NPC | |
Free the imprisoned goblin Sazza in Emerald Grove | |
Kill both the Owlbear and the Owlbear cub in Owlbear Cave | |
Use Auntie Ethel's wand to bring Mayrina's husband back from the dead | |
Kill the Tiefling Pandima at Emerald Grove |
Oath of Vengeance
The Oath of Vengeance completes the balance and potentially offers the best Paladin build in Baldur's Gate 3 by providing a subclass for Paladins who reject the softer methods of Oath of Devotion and Oath of the Ancients paladins.
Those who have sworn the Oath of Vengeance in BG3 share the Devoted Paladins' compulsion to strike down evil but are willing to forego their own moral code to pursue absolute justice. The Inquisitor's Might class action is the unique Baldur's Gate 3 boon for Oath of Vengeance paladins, allowing them to add Radiant damage to attacks and daze enemies.
Below, you will find that most misdeeds involve betrayal. However, you can still break the Oath of Vengeance by attacking or killing an innocent NPC again.
How To Break Oath of Vengeance | Wrong Deeds |
Reveal Emerald Grove's location to Minthara | |
Free the imprisoned goblin Sazza in Emerald Grove |
Oath of Devotion
Lastly, the Oath of Devotion Paladin embodies the classic fantasy archetype of a 'knight in shining armor' bound by a (Lawful Good) vow to protect the innocent, keep their promises, and stand up against evil wherever it is found. Accordingly, Oath of Devotion Paladins have features designed to bolster themselves and their allies in front-line combat.
One such ability, the Holy Rebuke action in Baldur's Gate 3, damages enemies who strike a Devoted Paladin's allies. To abide by this oath, your main objective is to stop evil when it is present. Therefore, to break it means that you do nothing in the face of evil, as shown in the table below:
How To Break Oath of Devotion | Wrong Deeds |
Choose to torture Liam, the man strapped to a board, in the Shattered Sanctum at the Goblin Camp. | |
Turn on the Goblin Camp after convincing Minthara not to attack Emerald Grove. | |
Let Arka kill Sazza in Emerald Grove | |
Kill someone of weak standing for no apparent reason |
This variety of ways to pursue or forsake Oaths means that those looking to do good and evil alike can find an interesting way forward with a Paladin character in Baldur's Gate 3. The existence of oaths can seem a little overwhelming compared to the more basic approaches to subclasses with some other classes in Baldur's Gate 3, but it's easy to get used to how things work in practice.
With your oath broken, you will also gain more freedom to truly do as you please while exploring in Baldur's Gate 3, as your word won't bind you. This offers players a much more organic and natural playthrough, allowing you to follow your impulses for good or evil, which, while as chaotic as it sounds, makes for a thrilling experience.
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How To Get The Oathbreaker Subclass In Baldur's Gate 3
Breaking Your Oath Will Trigger The Oathbreaker Knight
Shortly after committing an oath-breaking act, you will be visited at your camp in Baldur's Gate 3 by a sinister-looking Undead knight named the Oathbreaker Knight, who offers to initiate them as an Oathbreaker, which replaces certain iconic Paladin abilities with dark, more selfish powers like the ability to curse an opponent or command the Undead.
Curiously, the Baldur's Gate 3 story doesn't seem to treat Oathbreaker Paladins as intrinsically evil. The NPC who unlocks the Oathbreaker subclass makes the argument that these dark powers can be used for good or ill. Simply accept his offering, and you will unlock the secret subclass, giving you a wealth of new abilities.
Benefits Of The Oathbreaker Subclass
While committing heinous acts seems like there would be no upside, you can create an entire build around it that will give you many other benefits despite the drawback of losing your traditional Paladin abilities. Upon accepting the Oathbreaker, you get access to some powerful spells in Baldur's Gate 3 exclusive to the Oathbreaker build:
Oathbreaker Subclass Features | ||
Spell | Effect | Level |
Spiteful Suffering | The target takes 1d4+3 Necrotic damage each turn and Attack Rolls against it have Advantage. | 1 |
Control Undead | Use the power of your Oath to gain control over an undead creature. The undead will follow you around and attack your enemies | 3 |
Dreadful Aspect | Let your darkest emotions burst forth as a menacing pulse to Frighten nearby enemies | |
React to your next attacker with flames that deal 2~20 Fire damage | ||
3-30 necrotic damage Putrify a creature with the necrotic energy filling your hands | ||
Inflict WoundsOathbreaker Subclass Features | ||
Spell | Effect | Level |
Instill Madness in a humanoid enemy, making them attack the creature closest to them (other than you), even if it’s allied | 5 | |
Create a dark shroud that Heavily Obscures and inflicts Blinded condition on creatures within | ||
Aura of Hate | You and any nearby fiends (and Undead) gain additional damage from melee weapons equal to your Charisma modifier. The aura disappears if you fall Unconscious | 7 |
Curse a creature with your touch. The curse either bestows Disadvantage on Checks and Saving Throws in BG3 or attacks, lets you deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of its actions | 9 | |
Create an Undead servant from a corpse | ||
Crown of Madness
Darkness
Bestow Curse
Animate DeadWith so many new abilities available in this secret subclass, this may be an appealing build for Dark Urge players in BG3, as betrayal shouldn't be so problematic for them in exchange for some of the most powerful combat features in the game. Pair it with the Half-orc or Zariel Tiefling races to make it perform its best. For traditional players, choose the Soldier, Noble, or Guild Artisan backgrounds.
How To Restore Your Oath
While it's incredibly useful to have certain paladin advantages without worrying about keeping to a code, some may wish to revert to their holy ways. For those who don't want to use the Oathbreaker subclass anymore, or even if they broke an oath by mistake, which is more common than you'd think, you can speak to the Oathbreaker Knight again.
If you pay the large sum of 1,000 Gold in Baldur's Gate 3, you will be made back into your original Paladin character, but if you break your oath again, you must pay the same price. Unfortunately, the Oathbreaker Knight cannot be bartered with, nor persuaded through Skill Checks, to lower his price. So be sure if you're ready to restore your original Paladin subclass.
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Baldur's Gate 3
RPG
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:96/100 Critics Recommend:98%
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Platform(s)
- PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- X|S Enhanced
- yes
- Metascore
- 96
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
- Cross Save
- yes
- Cross-Platform Play
- Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't support crossplay
