Baldurs’s Gate 3: Minthara Can Become an Oathbreaker In These Rare Interactions

In Baldur’s Gate 3, the defining ability of the paladin class is their sacred oaths. There is one paladin companion in the game, Minthara, who follows the Oath of Vengeance. Even if the party is going to betray her, one universal way for a paladin player character to break their paladin oaths is to reveal the location of the Emerald Grove to Minthara in Act 1. However, since Minthara as a non-companion is a crucial part of this quest, some players may wonder if Minthara can break her Oath.

Minthara is only recruitable past Act 1, and she obviously can’t be part of the party while raiding the grove. Despite the player character breaking their own oath by siding with her, when she is encountered again in Act 2, she will still be a Vengeance paladin. A paladin’s oath is core to their character, so a main character breaking theirs would be rather significant. With that being said, is Minthara able to become an Oathbreaker?

How To Get Minthara To Become An Oathbreaker

Minthara Can Break Her Oath After Joining The Player In Act 2 and Act 3

The short answer is yes, Minthara can become an Oathbreaker. The most straightforward way to get her to this status is to respec her using Withers and changing her subclass to Oath of the Ancients before killing a random NPC. However, this can be done with any character or companion, and Minthara can still become an Oathbreaker while holding her canonical oath. This can be achieved by having her in their party while committing particularly heinous acts or by showing mercy to the wicked.

The best ways for Minthara to become an Oathbreaker come from questionable acts of mercy. In Punish the Wicked, for example, the party is given the choice to forgive Madeline. Doing so as Minthara will break her oath, as will telling her to stab herself and then stopping her. This stands out as a decision that perfectly represents how breaking the Oath of Vengeance works, as turning away from punishing a perceived evildoer flies in the face of the oath. Similarly, letting a key character from Shadowheart’s backstory live after an Act 3 fight can break the Oath of Vengeance.

Making Minthara An Oathbreaker Can Be Challenging

The Dark Urge Does It Best

On the other hand, some options to become an Oath of Vengeance Oathbreaker may not always work for Minthara. Killing the Strange Ox after sharing its thoughts will cause any Dark Urge Origin character to become an Oathbreaker, but characters with other Origins won’t suffer the same fate. It’s also simply harder to trigger Minthara breaking her oath overall. Most opportunities to break the Oath of Vengeance come from roleplaying, and if the primary player character is dealing with the scenario rather than MInthara herself, she can sometimes get off scot-free.

Minthara becoming an Oathbreaker works in the same way that a player breaking their oath would – the Oathbreaker Knight appears to her, and the player has to decide whether they would like Minthara to retain her previous subclass or not. As seen in Pikajulie Art‘s video on YouTube, Minthara’s dialogue when the player asks her about the nature of her oath will also slightly change upon becoming an Oathbreaker. She will state that she is glad to no longer be bound by her oath, another of the many details in Baldur’s Gate 3 that demonstrate how well-thought-out it is.

Why Isn’t Minthara Already An Oathbreaker?

Minthara’s Oath History In Baldur’s Gate 3

Since players break their Oath by siding with Minthara, players may wonder why her oath still holds up while theirs doesn’t. The generally accepted answer is that she technically never broke her oath. Her character appears to have a theme of her serving various causes, like Lolth, Orin, and The Absolute, and upon realizing their corruption, directing her vengeance towards them instead. The player meets Minthara while she is serving the Absolute. While the player knows most of the inhabitants of the grove are innocent, Minthara didn’t see them as such, being under the influence of the Absolute.

When Minthara is recruited, she will direct her vengeance towards Orin and The Absolute instead of those who opposed them. Though she has very different motivations than before, it still technically fits under her oath. She never stopped punishing those who threatened her cause — what she considered her cause just changed. Minthara is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized characters in the main Baldur’s Gate 3 cast, but exploring different ways to break her oath proves just how interesting she can be.

Source: Pikajulie Art/YouTube