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One of the big encounters of Act 1 involves Auntie Ethel, a Hag disguised as an old woman in order to disarm the locals of theEmerald Groveand sell her potions and lotions. The sidequest leading up to Auntie Ethel’s fight, as well as the fight itself, can be skipped entirely - you do not have to complete it in order to progress to Act 2. However, fighting Auntie Ethel is in your best interest, as one of the potential rewards you may get from fighting her will permanently raise one of your primary abilities (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma) by1.This piece is used in many builds, so be sure to pick it up!
you may first meet Auntie Ethel in the Druid Grove itself, but her sidequest begins out on the road. Heading south from theBlighted Village, you will come upon Auntie Ethel and two men arguing on the path. The two men are demanding to know where Ethel’s taken their sister, and should you pass an Insight check, you will quickly realize that Etheldoesknow something about their sister’s whereabouts.
This roadside encounter used to end without bloodshed - but now, Auntie Ethel may just kill these two right before your eyes.
Auntie Ethel will flee from here, heading deeper into the Sunlit Swamp… which, upon entering, you may realize has been an illusion all along. If you pass a DC20 Investigation skill check, the illusion will lift to reveal a bog, filled with traps and deadly Red Cap enemies which lurk just down the path from where you enter.
Encounter 1: The Red Caps
If you did not pass the skill check mentioned before, these Red Caps will appear as sheep. Hilariously, if youdopass the skill check, they will not realize that you know they’re Red Caps and will continue to act as sheep.
This gives you some time to prepare. There are 2 Sages among the Red Caps - they’re casters, and can buff the other two melee-oriented Red Caps as well as cause you to have the Bleeding status effect. My recommendation is to take advantage of the fact that they’re not hostile at the moment to position by one or both of the Sages, and take them out quickly. I used Astarion’s Sneak Attack on one, which at level 4 will just kill a Sage on a crit.
If you do not kill these guys here before you venture deeper, they will ambush you when you start the initial encounter with Auntie Ethel upon arriving at her home in the swamp. It’s better to take them out here before you meet Auntie Ethel - you will have more space to maneuver, and the advantage of positioning.
If you follow this advice, the fight shouldn’t be too tough. For your party, I recommend Astarion for the intial Sneak Attack bonus, and Shadowheart for the extra spell casting damage and support utility. Your third member can be anyone you like - I picked Lae’zel, because the Fighter class is, frankly, overpowered at this level.
Encounter 2: The Gur
As you pass by the teleport point, a path will branch off and go up a hill to where you’ll see a Gur.
I recommend speaking to this guy with Astarion in your party, and allow Astarion to steer the conversation. It becomes clear that the Gur, Gandrel, is hunting for a very specific monster - the vampire spawn, Astarion, himself. Killing him here will net you some chances to improve your Approval rating with Astarion, but if Astarion has not come out to you as a vampire spawn just yet, you should hold off. Gandrel will reappear in your camp after some time to attack Astarion, and you can kill him then.
If you do fight him now, don’t worry too much about it. It’s a 4 on 1 fight and there’s really no way you’re going to lose if you all just melee him down together. I wouldn’t even waste spell slots on this guy.
If you decide not to kill Gandrel, you can trade with him. He carries a few good supplies and health potions, as well as Garlic.
Encounter 3: Initial Auntie Ethel ‘Fight’
Before you go into Auntie Ethel’s house, it’s wise to do aLong Restto regain all your spell slots for the fights to come. Having theShort Restswill be very useful as well. When you’re ready and you’re happy with your party, head inside.
You immediately enter into a cutscene between Auntie Ethel and Mayrina, who are arguing about eating. Ethel is trying to forcefeed the girl, who you will quickly realize was the sister the two brothers died searching for. You can reveal that Ethel has killed Mayrina’s brothers here and now to begin the encounter. If you do not, you can have a long conversation with Ethel and she may potentially give you a special eye impant - but this is not nearly as useful as the item you get for beating her in a fight, so don’t bother with it.
Reveal that Ethel murdered Mayrina’s brothers, and she will transform into her true Hag form right before your eyes. She teleports Mayrina away, and depending on your Initiative rolls, you may have the opportunity to get a couple hits on her before she goesInvisibleand attempts to flee deeper into her home.
Let her go - save your resources for the last fight with her, because if you can’t kill her here then it will be a wasted effort. When she’s gone, go ahead and loot the room - you may find some nice healing potions, which will be useful for the fights to come!
Auntie Ethel’s Puzzle House
You will advance into a room filled with the victims of Auntie Ethel’s previous deals. She will taunt you as you shuffle from victim to victim, learning about just how Ethel’s tortured people throughout all her years. She continues speaking to you until you come across a locked door that looks something like the trunk of a tree, but with a face carved into it.
Speaking to the tree will reveal that it is, in fact, another victim of Auntie Ethel’s. It bids you to run, but can be convinced to show you how you may advancethrough it. You can walk straight through it, but need one of the masks on the table adjacent to you to be able to do so.
Before you pick one up and throw it on, ensure that you haveProtection from Evil and Goodon the character you’re planning to have wear this item. You can use a scroll to achieve this buff, or Shadowheart can put it on herself and be the one to pull your party through the door.
Encounter 4: The Masked Victims
After you pass through the door, your next encounter will be against other adventurers who solved the puzzle - putting on the masks, just like you did. Unlike you, however, they didnotuse Protection from Evil and Good, and are possessed to kill you on sight. Every turn through the fight, the four of these creatures will need to pass aWisdom saving throw.If they succeed this throw, they will not attack you.
I have a soft heart for these guys, and opted to knock them out rather than kill them. You can toggle non-lethal damage to do so - but remember, spells and arrows will kill regardless of this toggle. Only melee damage with no extra damage types will stop you from killing these guys. This may make the fight more difficult, but they shouldn’t be too hard if you focus ongetting rid of the ranged ones first.
If the whole team wears one of Auntie Ethel’s masks, you’re able to just walk by these guys. They will not attack you.
After dealing with the victims, you may proceed from here. The twisting, poisonous path beyond is the last stretch between you and Auntie Ethel - take it slow. It’s riddled with traps.
Encounter 5: Auntie Ethel Finale
Being a Fey creature, Ethel is a trickster at heart. This fight will be rife with her illusory tricks and mischief, but there are a couple of ways to navigate this fight quickly so she doesn’t get the chance to bog you down too much with her trickery.
First thing’s first - this fight revolves around saving Mayrina, primarily. She will be in the center of the room in a cage, which Auntie Ethel will set aflame. You will want to set aside one of your party members (the one with the most Movement, ideally) to save Mayrina by pressing a button to lower the burning cage.
After the encounter begins and Auntie Ethel sets Maryina’s cage on fire, her next move will be to summon 4 identical illusory clones of herself. They will be alike in all ways except one - the real Auntie Ethel has the Fey Life buff.
you’re able to hit her to immediately progress to the next stage of the fight, or take some time to kill her clones. It may be worth it to take them out, as they can all castHold Personand do damage on their own. They’re quite annoying. My recommendation is to ignore them and only hit them to break their Concentration when necessary.
Auntie Ethel’s next trick will be to disguise herself as Mayrina herself. This one is easy to figure out as well. If you have paid attention to Mayrina before now, you will have seen that she is a level 1 Human. However, when Auntie Ethel is disguised as Mayrina, one of the Mayrinas on the field will be level 5.
Hit that one, and it will break Auntie Ethel’s illusion immediately.
Round Three
Next, Auntie Ethel will summon another 4 identical clones. All of the Ethels you see on the field will be fake - Auntie Ethel herself is actually Invisible. If you do not find her, she will be invisible for 2 turns, and won’t do anything except hide. It’s worth it to spend your time taking out the adds, even if you know where Ethel is - unless you can get Ethel low enough to finish the fight at this point.
Once you’ve found her and done some more damage, she will start a cutscene with the closest party member to her. This is the end of the fight, and you should bargain with her in order to get the item I mentioned before - an item which permanently grants you a +1 to any Ability of your choosing.
You can get this itemandsave Mayrina, if you roll well enough. Make sure you save!
The next time you’ll see Auntie Ethel is in Act 3. Stay tuned for our Auntie Ethel (Act 3) guide!
Baldur’s Gate 3: Where to Find All Companions
This resource will serve to tell you when and where you will encounter all of the companions you can possibly have in Baldur’s Gate 3.
