Baldur’s Gate 3: How to romance the Emperor Mind Flayer in BG3

If you think the romance in Baldur’s Gate 3 can’t get any wilder, I’m happy to say you and I were wrong because players can romance the Emperor Mindflayer and successfully achieve the Mind Blown achievement in BG3. Like all romanceable companions and characters, there’s a way to increase your approval with the Emperor, and it all starts when you meet them in Act One.

Here’s how to romance the Mindflayer and get the Mind Blown Achievement in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Please note: This guide contains spoilers.

How to romance the Emperor Mind Flayer, explained

Although you won’t get to officially romance them until Act Three, you have met them before because the Emperor Mind Flayer is your Guardian.

So, every interaction and all the choices you’ve made regarding your Guardian have affected your favorability with them.

Emperor Mind Flayer, the Guardian, Key Campaign Moments

There have been many pivotal moments between our characters and the Guardian in the campaign, and we’ve had to make tough decisions. Depending on your choices, this will affect whether you can romance the Emperor Mind Flayer.

Your responses to your Guardian in your dreams

As the Mind Flayers are hierarchical, they prefer answers steeped in deference, and if that isn’t an option, friendly or positive dialogue choices are also good. You must choose your words carefully and be as friendly to them as possible.

Embracing your Illithid Powers and Evolving

Our Guardian did have an ulterior motive, and we now know why because they are a Mind Flayer. So, if you want to romance the Emperor, you must embrace the Mind Flayer tadpole in your brain and your Illithid Powers. 

This means seeking out other Tadpoles and consuming them. When you’re given a choice, you should evolve, like a Pokémon, to learn better Illithid Powers.

But increasing your Illithid Powers and consuming tadpoles won’t sit well with some of your other companions, so you have to decide if romancing the Emperor is worth it.

Siding with your “Guardian” in the Astral Plane

In the Astral Plane, you had to decide whether to side with the Githyanki or your Guardian. And if you sided with the Githyanki and tried to kill the Guardian, you already know they couldn’t be killed and weren’t pleased with you.

The best decision is to side with your Guardian in the Astral Plane, even if it means killing a lot of Githyanki at their creche.

In addition, you will have to choose whether to help the Emperor or go against him in the Astral Plane. Even if you don’t want to romance the Emperor, the best choice is to side with him because if you don’t, you’ll end up dying. So it’s just easier to side with him.

How to get the Mind Blown achievement in BG3

If you play nice with The Emperor’s plan, they will be at your camp in a dream during the final act, and you can romance them after a long rest. Here, you can attempt to get the Mind Blown achievement in Baldur’s Gate 3.

In Act Three, there will come a time when you can have a scandalous romantic encounter with the Emperor Mind Flayer. To trigger this scene, you need to be careful of which dialogue options you choose.

Dialogue options to romance the Emperor

When the Emperor says you’re both working toward a common goal, you can choose either of the following options as they are both positive and friendly:

• “You led an exciting life. Why did you conceal it from me?”
• “You really don’t sound like a mind flayer.”

Regardless of your choice, you will get the same dialogue from the Mind Flayer, where he will tell you that he studied you and chose his actions based on what he thought you would prefer. For your next dialogue choice, you can select either of the following options:

• “And what did you learn?”
• “You make it sound like I was some sort of experiment.”

Depending on your choice, the dialogue from the Mind Flayer is a little different initially, but it all leads to him saying that he didn’t expect to enjoy your company. You’ll both stand, and you’re given several dialogue options to choose from, but you should select the following if you want to romance the Emperor:

• “True”

He mentions this might be the last opportunity to connect on a deeper level and asks if you want that. If you’re trying to romance the Emperor, you should select the option:

• Take its tentacle in your hand, invite it in

You then want to kiss him, but you aren’t sure where his mouth is. If you succeed in a History check, you’ll remember that a Mind Flayer’s mouth is underneath its tentacles. As you want to kiss its tentacles, you should choose the following dialogue option:

• Kiss the tentacle and hope that it’s an erogenous appendage

This is where it starts to get spicy. When given a choice, you should do it again and either close your eyes from what your character does with the tentacle, or you’ll be snickering until you fall off your chair. Then, you and the Mind Flayer will enjoy an exciting and romantic night. I should warn you, your tadpole shares your night with the Emperor with your companions. This shouldn’t affect your favorability with them (at least it didn’t for me).

So, as long as you choose suitable dialogue options, you should be able to have a fun and romantic night with the Emperor Mind Flayer.

But if that’s not your style, you can reject him.

So, there you have it. Blow your gaming minds and romance the Mind Flayer to get the Mind Blown achievement and enjoy yourself along the way.