The Paladin is a paragon of good in the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, a protector of the light that stands guard against the encroaching darkness of the Mind Flayers. Their rigid code of conduct can be difficult to follow in every situation, and if you break your sacred oath, you’ll be forced to become an Oathbreaker Paladin. This ‘hidden’ subclass gives your Paladin a new set of dark powers and an unchecked moral compass, allowing you to betray or kill whatever you want in exchange for absolute power.
There are multiple ways to become an Oathbreaker, and we’ll also cover how to reverse this decision. Even if you fail to live up to your Paladin’s code, you can still change back to a standard Paladin subclass. Learn how the Oathbreaker Paladin system works in the full guide below.
More Baldur’s Gate 3 guides:
Owlbear Companion | Perfect Pickpocket Guide
How To Become An Oathbreaker Paladin
By betraying your Paladin subclass, you can become a special Oathbreaker Paladin. This fallen Paladin gains innate abilities Control Undead, Dreadful Aspect and Spiteful Suffering. The Oathbreaker Knight will appear after breaking your Paladin oath and demand to confront you. At the end of the day at your camp, the knight NPC will appear again to talk to you. Here, you’ll be forced to become an Oathbreaker Paladin.
The method to become an Oathbreaker Paladin is slightly different depending on your Paladin subclass. There are two types of Paladin with different types of oaths.
Oath of Devotion Paladin | Breaking Oath
The Oathsworn Paladin much break an oath to become an Oathbreaker. There are multiple ways to break an oath — you’ll get chances early in the game while completing side-quests. Making a promise / oath and then going against it will almost always result in breaking your oath.
One concrete example is during the quest Raid The Emerald Grove, agree to protect the Emerald Grove from the Goblins, then infiltrate the Goblin Camp and talk to the Drow Leader, they’ll ask you to show where the Emerald Grove is. If you agree, you’ll betray your oath.
There are many more ways to betray your oath. Choosing to aid then betray the Goblins at the Shattered Sanctum, or torturing Liam will betray your oath. Or betraying the Tieflings when helping Lae’zel your Githyanki Fighter party member. All of these count toward breaking your oath.
Oath of the Ancients Paladin | Breaking Oath
The Oath of the Ancients is slightly more nebulous. To break this oath, you must perform dark acts that destroy nature or kill for the sake of killing. One of the earliest examples of breaking this oath occurs in the starting area of the game — when encountering the Owlbear Cave. By killing the Owlbear Mother and the Cub you will break your oath immediately.
How To Restore Your Oath
If you no longer want to be an Oathbreaker Paladin, you can easily reverse your decision. The price is steep but doesn’t require quest-specific choices that can be missed. All you have to do is trade gold to the Oathsworn Knight in your camp.
- To restore your previous Paladin subclass, talk to the Oathsworn Knight.
- Trade 2,000 gold and you will be reverted back to your previous Paladin subclass.
That’s an extremely high price to pay. A normal revival costs 200 gold — this price forces you to reconsider your choices if you ever want to betray your Paladin oath. You still can with no permanent repercussions, as long as you have the gold to revert back.
