Baldur’s Gate 3 proves once again that its maximum challenge mode, Honour Mode, forgives no oversight. In January 2026, a player known as LogensTenthFinger saw a campaign of dozens of hours come to a premature and frustrating end. The reason? A single point of necrotic damage, caused by a hidden mechanic of the wizard Gale. This incident, which occurred during an attempt to revive allies at camp, became an expensive lesson for the Brazilian gaming community, highlighting the ruthless complexity of Larian Studios’ RPG.
The tragedy happened in Act 1, right after an unsuccessful attempt to recruit the character Minthara without violence. With the party decimated, only the warrior Karlach survived, returning to camp with a single hit point. However, when asking the skeleton Withers to revive his companions, the player ignored the warning “Take a step back.” Thus, at the exact moment Gale’s corpse was teleported to the location, Karlach suffered 1 point of damage from the wizard’s necrotic aura, ending the run forever.
The Hidden Danger of Gale’s Corpse
The reason behind this seemingly insignificant damage is actually a crucial part of the game’s lore. Gale’s body houses the Netherese Orb, an unstable artifact that emanates necrotic energy. Therefore, even after death, it causes 1d4 damage per turn to any nearby creature. This mechanic, which many discover the hard way, has an even more drastic outcome: if the corpse is left without revival for three long rests, the orb explodes and causes an instant game over.
The episode served as a fun and cruel warning to the community. Many joked that Withers’ warning was never so serious, turning a basic safety request into a vital instruction. Despite the frustration, the player involved was only at the beginning of the adventure, which means there was still enthusiasm to restart in 2026. In the end, this story became another chapter in the countless reports of tragedies and triumphs that define the Honour mode experience, solidifying Baldur’s Gate 3 as a game where every decision, even the most subtle, carries immense weight.
