Should You Spare Or Kill The Mother Superior In Baldur's Gate 3?

But can you bring yourself to strike down a series-long favorite?

Viconia DeVir's return in Baldur's Gate 3 is probably not what many fans of the franchise expected - especially not as a run-of-the-mill villain. But whether you're a Viconia fan or a newcomer to the franchise, her fate remains beholden to your whims.

RELATED: Baldur's Gate 3: House Of Grief Guide

With the fate of Shadowheart, the Dark Justiciars, and your pockets up for grabs, what will you decide? Spare the castaway cleric of the Underdark or cancel her life-subscription policy permanently? If you're stuck, don't worry; we've got just the thing to help you make the choice a little easier.

Sparing Viconia DeVir appears to have no late-game story consequences if you're worried about her returning and ruining your picnic. Don't worry; your date with Karlach will be just fine.

Viconia will run away, and she won't appear again for the entirety of the game. You receive nothing positive or negative for sparing her life beyond whatever moral feeling your character might experience in your imagination.

While you might not get anything (except maybe Jaheira's approval if she was in the party), this is the nicer option for those who journeyed with and grew fond of her during the first and second Baldur's Gate games.

While this is perfect for a pacifist run, sparing Viconia is known to cause issues with paladin Oaths (particularly with Vengeance Oath paladins). If you have no interest in becoming an Oathbreaker, you'll likely have to kill Viconia DeVir anyway.

Viconia DeVir, based on the accounts of Shadowheart and Viconia's own journals in the Dormitory, is very changed in personality from her previous appearances. Instead of the potential hero or an assassinated, loving mother, she's your mustache-twirling villain.

For those who were attached to Viconia, considering killing her might be easier if you imagine her to be a different person under Shar's influence.

Viconia's change in personality is, based on Larian's statements, consequence of the direct influence of Wizards of the Coast. They requested to change her fate and personality to be more in line with their canon rather than the Baldur's Gate lore. Knowing this Viconia is WotC-Viconia and not Baldur's-Gate-Viconia may make it easier to reconcile killing her for die-hard Viconia fans.

Far colder and guilty of torturing Shadowheart (amongst many others) for over a decade, killing her might feel like overdue justice against a run-of-the-mill villain. It may also feel nice after the nightmare of a fight she puts you through to get to this point.

But beyond the moral implications and frustrations, killing Viconia has one major bonus: loot. Legendary loot.

For loot-connoisseurs and item-grubbing-gremlins, choosing to kill Viconia is the best and easiest method of obtaining her slew of high-value items and the key to her personal lockbox in the Dormitory (for even more high-value items, which leads to a key to a Lower Vaults vault for even more high-value items!).

Killing Viconia (whether by your hand or Shadowheart's; there is no distinction beyond flavor) will net you these rewards:

Handmaiden's Mace

Very rare mace. +2 Enchantment. Deals 1d6 + Strength Bludgeoning and 1d6 Poison damage. The wielder's strength is increased to 18.

Viconia's Priestess Robe

Rare clothing. 10AC (+1 Enchantment).

Viconia's Walking Fortress

Legendary shield. +3 to AC. Wielding gains Reflective Shell action and Warding Bond spell.

Viconia Personal Chest Key

Opens Viconia's chest in the dormitory for:

In short, depriving an evil kidnapper, brainwasher, and professional emotional gaslighter of her life while simultaneously getting legendary rewards and sticking one to the goddess Shar might be the preferable option.

But if you're still attached to Viconia and can't quite pull that sword, don't worry; we understand. Some losses are just too painful.

NEXT: Baldur's Gate 3: All Answers For The Trial Of Love

Alexis is an ex-narrative designer & game developer working freelance in the game journalism industry. Games with engaging stories are her bread & butter, and game journalism is her guilty pleasure and partially an excuse to justify buying more games. She has graduated from Washington University in St. Louis & Oxford University, holds a Bacherlor's in English Creative Writing, and has a minor in GrecoRoman Classics.