Baldurs Gate 3: Act 1 Checklist (Everything You Dont Want To Miss)

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There are many easy-to-miss quests in Baldur’s Gate 3, especially during the first act, which means the best way to ensure you don't miss a thing is to follow an Act 1 Checklist. Most party members join the group early on, making it easy to become overwhelmed and forget things, often resulting in an attempt to return to quests after it's already too late to finish them.

Given that your decisions affect aspects of the game and that Baldur’s Gate 3 is specifically designed for multiple playthroughs, it's impossible to do everything in the game in one go. Therefore, this list is optimized to see the most in a single playthrough, which typically means making strictly morally good and orderly selections.

Level 2/3 Checklist For Act 1

Meet Your Party Members & Begin Companion Quests

Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion reaching out a hand in a charismatic way during a conversation

After completing the prologue, you will find yourself alone on the Ravaged Beach. Your character level will range between 1 and 2 during the beginning of the First Act, depending on whether you decide to fight Commander Zhalk in Baldur's Gate 3 or not. Regardless, your first order of business should be to recruit a small team and take on some of the easier challenges.

It's a good idea to start thinking about any potential storylines you may be interested in and which companions you want to romance since some of these early decisions with your companions can massively affect their story later on and their overall feelings about you.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Revive Shadowheart	Ravaged Beach	Shadowheart will be lying nearby, unconscious. You may examine her artifact, but this may annoy her.
Encounter Astarion	Ravaged Beach	Astarion will ambush you along the northern beach road.
Save Gale	Ravaged Beach	Gale is trapped in a portal affixed to a stone. NOTE:During a Dark Urge playthrough, it is possible to permanently rip off Gale’s arm while fantasizing.
Explore the Crashed Ship	Ravaged Beach	Finish off a dying Mindflayer.
Free Lae’zel	Ravaged Beach	Open Lae’zel’s cage with any ranged attack or Cantrip.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Explore the Ruins	Ravaged Beach	Multiple fights against bandits and undead. This results in recruiting Withers, who will remain in your camp.
Emerald Grove Gates	Risen Road/ Emerald Grove	Make sure all the scouts survive. Afterward, you can ask Wyll to join the party.
Help Arabella	Emerald Grove	Make sure Arabella survives the snake. Unlocks more events in Act 2.
Meet Healer Nettie	Emerald Grove	After getting on her good side, explore the Druid’s Chamber for a nice spear.
Meet Alfira	Emerald Grove	Note: Make sure to knock her out if you are playing the Dark Urge.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Investigate the Beach and Find Mirkon	Emerald Grove	Defeat all the Harpies before they reach and kill the dazed Mirkon.
Recover the Locket	Emerald Grove	Steal back Barth’s locket from Meli or a locked chest in the child thieves’ hideout.
Bugbear Assassin	Emerald Grove	Save Nadria from the lone Bugbear on the upper gate.
Recruit Karlach	Risen Road	Find Karlach by leaping across the river outside Emerald Grove to avoid the roaming Gnolls.
Save Scratch	Risen Road	Find the dog by his dead master and allow him to come to camp.
Defeat the Owlbear	Risen Road	Defeat the mother Owlbear while letting the cub live. This will allow you to gain the Owlbear cub as a pet that appears in your camp. Also, take Shadowheart deeper into the cave for her commentary.
Rescue Barcus from Goblins	Blighted Village	Save the Gnome by turning off the windmill.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Search the Cellar and Repair Karlach’s Engine	Blighted Village/Emerald Grove	Explore the locked cellars to find Infernal Iron. Give this to Dammon to begin basic repairs.
The Ancient Tome	Blighted Village	Pass multiple skills checks with the Ornate Mirror and Ancient Tome.
Ogre Mercenaries	Blighted Village	Convince the Ogres to work for you for a fair price.
Rescue Volo	Goblin Camp/Shattered Sanctum	Talk to Gribbo and convince them to release Volo.
Embrace Pain	Shattered Sanctum	Speak to Abdirak and agree to be whipped. Bring Astarion and Shadowheart for more reactions.
Free the Owlbear Cub	Goblin Camp	Win Chicken Chase, either legitimately or by casting Speak with Animals , a Baldur’s Gate 3 staple spell.
Clear Out the Goblin Party	Goblin Camp	Kill and/or poison every Goblin partygoer on the outside of the Goblin Camp.

Level 4/5 Checklist For Act 1

Rescue Halsin From The Goblin Camp & Recruit Minthara

You should soon be around the fourth or fifth level unless you are speedrunning Baldur's Gate 3's Act 1. The latter is an important milestone, as many classes will begin to unlock their key combat features. For example, the Eldritch Knight Fighter will have two attacks per action. This change and your party's overall ability to deal more damage make previously difficult fights more likely to end in your favor.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Rescue the Grand Duke	Risen Road	Approach Waukeen’s Rest and save the leaders inside. NOTE: if you walk away, Florrick will die.
Rescue the Trapped Man	Risen Road	Use Baldur Gate’s 3’s Turn Based mode to easily get Benryn out of the burning building. He will ask you to find his wife, Miri.
Help the Artist	Risen Road	Agree to pay the Artist’s debts to the Zhentarim.
Locate the Shipment and Fight the Gnolls	Risen Road	Agree to recover the Zhentarim cache by killing the Gnolls outside the Tollhouse. NOTE: if you had opened the cache the Zhentarim will openly attack.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Confront the Paladins of Tyr	Risen Road	Bring Karlach to fight the Paladins inside the Tollhouse.
Uncover the Shadow Druids	Emerald Grove/Sunlit Wetlands	Investigate the notes in Kaga’s room that lead to the Wetlands meeting point. Then, confront Kaga directly.
Free Sazza	Emerald Grove/Shattered Sanctum	Release the Goblin prisoner and escort her to the Goblin Camp. Convince Minthara that Sazza is lying.
The Phase Spider Cave	Blighted Village	Defeat the mother spider living under the village. It can be knocked off the ledge into the Underdark.
Locate Halsin	Shattered Sanctum	Find Halsin in the dungeons. He asks to join you, but just know that this will make the whole Sanctum hostile.
Defeat Priestess Gut	Shattered Sanctum	Covertly kill Gut without anyone sounding the alarm drum. Note: the alarm drum can also be disabled.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Knockout Minthara	Shattered Sanctum	Use non-lethal attacks on Minthara so she can still be recruited.
Kill Dror Ragzlin	Shattered Sanctum	Kill the last Goblin leader, along with any stragglers left in the Sanctum. Dror must be killed last to meet the conditions for recruiting Minthara, as killing him, even stealthily, turns the whole place hostile, including Minthara, and can't be reversed.
Meet Gandrel	Sunlit Wetlands	Bring Astarion to dupe or kill the Gur.
Defeat Auntie Ethel and Help Mayrina	Sunlit Wetlands	Defeat Ethel and her illusions. Then, help Mayrina deal with Connor and any other Hag survivor.
Lae’zel and the Githyanki Patrol	Emerald Grove/Risen Road	Lae’zel will rush to Voss and his troops. Use diplomacy or fight them outright.
Raphael Arrives	Risen Road	The devil Raphael will appear in various spots around the map.

Level 6 (& Beyond) Checklist For Act 1

Explore The Underdark & Help The Myconids

A monster with one large eye and multiple rows of sharp teeth on a floating purple head, out of which protrude multiple tentacles. It's next to an ogre, a large monster with yellow skin dressed in a loin cloth. Behind the two are various battle scenes from Baldur's Gate 3.

Rosymorn Monastery and The Underdark are separate areas, but both officially mark the ending of Act 1. You may want to consider returning to some of the optional quests in these areas later on since many of them can still be quite tricky this early on and are not necessarily time-restricted. Note that the Shadowlands-focused Second Act of Baldur's Gate 3 is much larger and will have many decisions that significantly affect your overall ending, so be prepared before moving on.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

Save the Poisoned Gnome	The Underdark	Cast Lesser Restoration on Thulla. She will also give you a pair of boots.
Help the Mushroom Picker	The Underdark	Save Baelen Bonecloak by throwing him a Scroll of Misty Step .
Defeat the Duergar	The Underdark	First, give Gekh Coal the boots Thulia had. Then attack his band. NOTE: Glut can be brought along for extra support.
Decide Glut’s Fate	The Underdark	After Gekh is defeated, decide if Glut should die or help take over the Myconids
Make a Masterwork and the Sussur Tree	The Underdark	Defeat the Hook Horror around the tree, then use the bark to complete a Masterwork Weapon.

Activity

Map Area

Notes and Outcome

The Spectator	The Underdark	Defeat the Spectator and its enthralled Drow.
Find Explosives	Grymforge	Locate explosive barrels around Grymforge to free Nere.
Kill Nere	Grymforge	Side with Brithvar and execute all the True Souls.
The Forge	Grymforge	Destroy the Forge Guardian and create Adamantine equipment.
Bring Lae’zel to the Creche	Rosymorn Monastery	Infiltrate the Githyanki Crèche and help Lae’zel escape.
Deliver the Githyanki Egg	Rosymorn Monastery	Secure a Gith egg and give it to Lady Esther for an update in Act 3.
The Blue Jay and Eagles	Rosymorn Monastery	Kill the giant eagles on the roof and report back to the blue jay via Speak with Animals .
The Blood of Lathander	Rosymorn Monastery	Complete the Blood of Lathander puzzle. Or, purposely botch it and escape spectacularly.