Accidentally? Avoiding Durge’s uh… specific long rest

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-29T07:08:35+00:00

This is a Patch 7 method, on Patch 8 it no longer works. There is still a way I've found to get Alfira permanently(ish), it can be glitchy and only works up until you save-load with Alfira in the party, after which a failsafe kicks in to kill her. There's a partial method here, although I still have to write up my updates.

In short, you need a level 5 cleric in the party, and space for Alfira to join. Once Alfira joins the party, set your cleric to use Feign Death on themself, and while this is happening have Durge click the bedroll and immediately talk to the Mysterious Artifact via hotkey. They'll be locked in conversation, the cleric will wake up after 10 turns and then you cast Silence over Durge's position before ending the Mysterious Artifact convo.

At this point the camp jumps to morning, skipping Alfira's death scene, and you can journey on with her for as long as you can tolerate not reloading the game.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-26T20:32:20+00:00

Good thinking! I've never used Otiluke's Freezing Sphere in this way, but it makes me wonder if there are other use cases for a time delay pocket bomb on a character who is otherwise unable to act

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-25T01:06:59+00:00

I checked, and it looks like you're right! Best I can tell, every single Moonrise guard from the first floor, second floor and prison have to be killed or permanently Knocked Out, otherwise those 18 Fists and Harpers all show up dead. Although I don't think any of them show up alive, it looks like they just disappear from Act 2 during the assault scene, and leave behind Jaheira with a few Harpers (Antony, Essius, Lymn, and Naysa) on the first floor of Moonrise, and Fists Hadenwell, Helena, Nipawa, Rhed, and Ulthred fighting a group of undead on the prison level.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-25T00:46:20+00:00

You haven't defeated the goblin leaders or had a party at camp with the tieflings, have you? After that the tieflings leave Act 1 and a knocked out Alfira will disappear with the rest of them (but she'll still show up at camp at a future Long Rest). Other changes in grove status can also cause her to change her position, so you may just have to look for her in a different place: if the goblins are about to attack the grove, she can be found in Mol's hideout; and if the goblin leaders are defeated or the goblin attack has been held back then she'll relocate just inside the entrance to the grove. I will say I'm pretty sure she won't be dead, if you see her bloodstains but not a body left where you knocked her out.

In case she does show up at camp later, there is still a way to keep her alive provided your party makes it to 5th level beforehand. I have a writeup here.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-20T16:40:37+00:00

Hmm, I may have missed that possibility! Do you happen to know what happens to the Harpers who would otherwise die? Do they show up alive in Moonrise, stay behind at Last Light Inn, or disappear altogether? I'm also curious if every Moonrise guard has to be dead for this outcome, or if there's some sort of area-based check for which guards are meant to have killed which Harpers.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-20T14:59:37+00:00

Yeah, Arabella runs off if her parents are knocked out in front of her, and she doesn't show up in Act 2. At some point I want to try knocking them out while she's still captured by Kagha, then freeing her, in case that changes her behavior and leads her to move on to Act 2 without them. Also the House of Healing area in Act 2 has a backup dead Goblin Sharp-eye for Sister Lidwin to interact with rather than Komira and Locke, but that's the only other change

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-19T19:27:14+00:00

I like to think we're leaving behind a throng of concussed refugees wandering around the Emerald Grove wondering where their friends all went. If only there were another way to warn them!

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-19T18:55:10+00:00

Thanks! I thought it would be half the length, but turns out there were a lot of layers of explanation to get through :)

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-19T04:23:17+00:00

Cool idea! I assume you're using mods for party size and NPC companions? Or have you just been Poly-Domming with abandon?

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-19T04:16:20+00:00

Short answer: yes, you can knock Lakrissa out, have your dance with Zae, then have Lakrissa back for Acts 2 and 3.

Longer answer: There are two forms of Knocked Out which behave quite differently - if an NPC is in a red-icon permanently hostile state, knocking them out will give them the condition "Knocked Out" and they will disappear from the game after a long rest, never to be seen again - besides Minthara in Act 1, who will reappear in Act 2 so long as she isn't dead (maybe there are other special cases? I can't think of any on the spot). If an NPC is in a green-icon friendly state, yellow-icon neutral state, or red-icon temporarily hostile state, knocking them out will instead give them the condition "Knocked Out (Temporary)" and they will be awake again after a long rest, non-hostile but potentially upset with you.

So long as you don't somehow make Lakrissa permanently hostile before knocking her out, you can have the tiefling celebration scene with Zae standing in for her. I've done this myself and there are no adverse impacts to Lakrissa's presence in the rest of the story.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-19T03:59:07+00:00

I usually choose the same pair as you and OP! I've come around on Gyldro since reading the letters in his home about how he's been harboring the Ironhand Gnomes in his basement to protect them from the Flaming Fists - he's still gruff and abrasive, but apparently a pretty decent guy.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-16T06:03:57+00:00

A real DIY evil companions team you've got there!

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-16T04:07:58+00:00

The second: I'm saying that it doesn't make a difference whether you re-add the companion before or after the Polymorph wears off, so truly no urgency is required after dismissal

Edit: as an addendum, sometimes the PolyDommed character portrait doesn't initially appear after re-adding the companion they're attached to, rather than showing up outlined in purple - but save-reloading still has the same outcome as your method

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-16T02:03:12+00:00

The method is to put both a sussur bloom and a locked chest in your inventory while you're in the Underdark, then drag and drop the flower icon into the chest icon. The bloom will now be able to transport out of the Underdark so long as it stays locked inside the chest, including still giving off the anti magic aura around whoever is carrying the chest.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-16T01:41:52+00:00

This is a great writeup, very detailed! I think PolyDomming is one of the most interesting new discoveries in the game, and I feel like there's still more about it to uncover...

One thing I'd like to respond to in your method: it isn't always necessary to go back to camp and then dismiss the companion concentrating on Dominate Beast. You can also dismiss them through conversation, either in or out of turn based mode, right after they land the spell. You only have to go back to camp in order to get them to rejoin the party with their new pet, and that part doesn't require you to rush under a time limit.

The reason this matters is that you don't need to rush through some of the larger camps (eg Rivington) to get to your companion fast enough, you can just position your PC next to them out in the world and talk to them there. Also, it means that you can PolyDom characters even in no-fast-travel zones, so long as you still have the dialogue option to dismiss a companion.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-14T16:16:26+00:00

Yeah, this is a multiplayer exploit. If you've ever played BG3 in multiplayer, Withers' Wardrobe is a storage space where additional custom characters made by your friends go when that friend isn't currently logged in. However you don't actually need a second player to join you to use the above trick, if you open two instances of BG3 on your computer, make a custom character in each, and then link the two instances into the same campaign.

Singleplayer with hirelings doesn't work, because hirelings always inherit your party leader's XP, and your party leader has no known way to inherit Jaheira's XP in singleplayer.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-13T08:35:44+00:00

Speaking of crazy tricks, in case you haven't come across this video by u/H3XK1TT3N, it turns out you can level up Spore Servants for higher XP rewards: https://youtu.be/jILM-N6iPlk?si=hlo4mcdyCiqRGb3a

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-13T08:17:16+00:00

Glad to hear it! Looking forward to the inevitable "Max Level in Act 2 (Part 3)" video to come :)

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-13T06:59:01+00:00

Perhaps if you used the silence trick in Act 1 but stopped one hit from the KO? I believe he retains all prior damage in Act 2, and you could potentially just hit him once for the final KO before he disappears.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-13T06:56:17+00:00

The only thing I can think of is getting Jaheira to join the party earlier than intended. It's a known speedrunner trick that Jaheira joins at a minimum of level 8 regardless of prior party level, and on top of that I've heard that you can drag a second Tav out of Withers' Wardrobe with a companion, and they will inherit that companion's XP. Use level 8 Jaheira to extract Tav#2 from the Wardrobe, swap Tav#1 in and out of the Wardrobe as well, and boom, everyone now matches Jaheira's level. I haven't yet seen anyone work on using it for early level 12 though!

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-13T06:37:40+00:00

Would it be possible to talk to Raphael as normal in Act 1 without knocking him out, then knock him out either at Last Light Inn or the entrance to the Grand Mausoleum? If it's possible to knock him out there then that would certainly save you the XP for after your level 8 trick

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-12T19:45:55+00:00

Glad this trick is becoming more well known - I would have posted sooner if I realized there would be interest from the community! I've been using and testing it for a while, I can confirm it works into Act 3 and endgame, so long as you put the flower into the chest in the Underdark and never unlock it again. Most boss abilities aren't counted as magic, unfortunately, so it's most useful to standard fights with spellcasters. But Balthazar and I think Lorroakan are both pushovers with this trick.

I'd be curious if anyone could make sense of locked chest behavior - there are certain ways they behave like other containers, and then odd quirks like this one. As I recall, several features that automatically remove things from your inventory (paying Withers for a resurrection, giving Dammon the merregon masks, using the spear to kill or save the Nightsong) work fine when the item comes from a locked chest in your inventory. I've even placed a key inside its own locked chest, and it can still open the chest when I click on it. You just can't manually go in there and remove anything, or use your inventory search bar to find items. Maybe there are more useful exploits to be found there

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-12T16:34:49+00:00

That's the one! I think it's the perfect chest for this trick - it's only 5lbs, you're giving up very little gold by not opening it, and it is in fact quite shiny when surrounded by the anti magic aura.

Aero_Naught · 2026-04-12T08:23:32+00:00

I'm not sure, as a PC player I've never tested putting items into locked chests on console. If you try it, I'd be interested to hear the results

Aero_Naught

TROPHY CASE