Why is everyone hostile in Baldur's Gate 3 and attacking for no reason? Characters and NPCs like Zevlor, the Druid Grove and the Zhentarim going aggressive for no reason seems mysterious, but there's actually a very good reason for it, as it's likely the consequence of a particular spell that you've been using without realising the full consequences. It's certainly a mystery worth clearing, so if everyone's going hostile around you in Baldur's Gate 3 and attacking for no reason, we'll explain how that's actually not the case - and what the actual cause of it is likely to be.
Why are characters hostile and attacking me in Baldur's Gate 3?
If everyone is hostile in Baldur's Gate 3 and attacking you, it's probably because you've been caught doing something bad that you did a while ago. Most of the time this is probably because you've been using the Friends Cantrip or Charm Person spell in dialogue checks. These enchantment spells give you advantage on persuasion or deception checks in the short term, but once the spell ends a little while later, the target knows you cast the spell on them, something the spells' descriptions aren't very quick to tell you. This can upset them and even make them hostile.
Doing it once or twice on a character might be forgivable - it will lower their opinion of you, but maybe not to the point where they go hostile and aggro on sight. However, do it too often and they'll see you as a mind-manipulating monster.
The other reason NPCs might suddenly aggro without obvious reason is because you've been caught stealing. Taking an item without being spotted can still go badly if they then see the item missing and you close by, putting two and two together.
Depending on circumstances and the NPC's disposition, you might be given a dialogue check to resolve the issue, but that's not guaranteed, especially if you've upset them before.
How to stop NPCs attacking you in Baldur's Gate 3
If NPC hostility in BG3 is becoming a problem, there's a few things you can do to resolve the issue, depending on what caused it.
- Stop using Charm Person, Friends and other enchantment spells: While these powers are very useful, the damage they do to your reputation can be terrible - which is why they didn't make the list of our top Baldur's Gate 3 spells. Save them for extreme circumstances, or for NPCs you're not going to see again.
- Save, save and save again: It's a choices-matter RPG, so you'll need to "savescum" like mad regardless. If NPCs are trying to pull your head off, try reloading a save from before you did the offence and reconsider your approach.
- Use a different character for your interactions with them: The upset NPC is probably upset with the specific character who bewitched or stole from them - so leave them behind! Either separate them from the group before going into the area, or modify your Baldur's Gate 3 party at the campsite so the hated one isn't with you.
- Do something to make them happy: This is difficult to do and somewhat contextual if you can't interact with them directly without them attacking, but it's still possible. For example, when Zevlor the Tiefling leader went hostile for us, we managed to placate him by going to the goblin camp and killing their leaders so he could save his refugee friends. Obviously not every character will have something like this you can do, but in some cases it will be possible.
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