The Baldur's Gate 3 Gale romance might not be quite as thrilling as getting intimate with a Tiefling giant who's literally too hot to handle, with Karlach, but if you like your magic and Gale's charms have taken effect, who cares what anyone else thinks? Gale does seem to be a bit of a love-hate character in terms of whether he comes across as charming, or an absolute creep, but either way, he is a romance option.
Unlike a lot of the other characters, Gale's romance is a bit of a long haul, and you won't properly seal the deal until act two. Still, it's got a lot of fun moments, and ultimately, Gale is an extremely flawed character, so if you want that RPG experience of trying to help a companion triumph against their worst nature, it's definitely a good choice. That said, here's how to romance Gale in Baldur's Gate 3. Be aware that since Gale's fate it closely tied with the ending of the game, there will be some spoilers in the endings section.
How to recruit Gale
You'll first encounter Gale at the Roadside Cliffs waypoint shortly after the Nautiloid crashes on the Ravaged Beach, where he'll appear as a hand sticking out of a magical portal. You can help pull him out and then, since he also has a Mind Flayer Parasite, recruit him to help you find a cure. Since Gale's a wizard that can learn spells through scrolls, he's a useful party member to have around.
How to build Gale's approval
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Gale is a good guy with a serious lust for knowledge, and likes it when you're kind, solve problems using magical acumen—like Arcana checks—or when you try to acquire forbidden knowledge, such as reading the Necromancy of Thay or puzzling out the Book of the Dead Gods in the Overgrown Ruins.
He also likes it when you resolve situations via talking instead of bashing an enemy's head in. If you're playing Baldur's Gate 3 as a good character, he'll likely warm to you pretty quick. Gale also likes when you give him magical artefacts to snack on, which he'll explain to you when your approval is high enough and you've travelled with him a little while. I'll explain that key event in a bit more detail below, though.
Important Gale Romance events
Based on my playthrough, there are three key events that lead to you sleeping with Gale and establishing a romance, besides just generally getting his approval. I'll go through each of them below in a bit more depth:
- Making magic with Gale: Once you have enough approval, Gale will want to speak to you in the camp, and will invite you to try and conjure the weave with him. After a few basic checks, you'll be able to imagine a situation involving you both. You need to imagine either kissing him or holding hands with him.
- Feeding Gale magic artefacts: After enough approval, Gale confides that he has a condition where he needs to consume magical artefacts. Agree to help him, and periodically give him a magic item to eat when he needs it. You'll know when because an exclamation mark appears above his head. After you've given him three artefacts over time, he'll confess to you in camp about his condition, past mistakes, and the dangerous magical orb inside him.
- Meeting Elminster Aumar: This elderly wizard appears as a messenger for Mystra—goddess of magic and Gale's ex—in the Mountain Pass just after you beat the undead enemies on your way to the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Invite Elminster back to your camp and he'll temporarily heal Gale so he doesn't need to consume artefacts, though he will ask Gale to use orb inside him to blow up the heart of the Absolute
Once you've done all three of these, you're ready to get a little more intimate with Gale.
How to sleep with Gale
If you've progressed all the previous steps, then Gale is actually the instigator of your romance. For me, this occurred towards the end of act 2, just after I'd fought Ketheric Thorm in Moonrise Towers, but before I went into the Mind Flayer Colony. In camp, you'll see a projection of Gale, which will invite you to a romantic rendezvous if you speak to it. Take a long rest and your scene with Gale will occur.
Once a romance is established with Gale, you can discuss it further with him at camp, kiss him, or dump his ass. A warning vis-a-vis the dumping: if your playthrough is anything like mine, you won't be able to romance anyone else besides one-night stands with side characters. Overall, it kind of makes sense that Gale's romance scene is before you head down into the Mind Flayer Colony, considering that's where you'll encounter the heart of the Absolute and Gale will try to blow himself up.
Convince Gale not to—this is pretty easy if you're romancing him—and this will let you progress the game into act three and continue your romance in Baldur's Gate.
Act three and the Crown of Karsus
Gale's ending—and that of your romance—hinges on the path you choose in act three. Upon seeing the Crown of Karsus atop the Elder Brain, Gale decides that he wants to acquire it so he can ascend to godhood. Which ending you get hinges on three primary factors:
Whether you complete the Wizard of Waterdeep quest: You'll need to agree to help Gale and steal the Annals of Karsus book from the Sorcerous Vault below Sorcerous Sundries in Baldur's Gate and let him read it. Elminster will then reappear and ask Gale to meet Mystra at the Stormshore Tabernacle, west of Basilisk Gate.
Whether Gale agrees to give Mystra the crown: Upon meeting Mystra, Gale can either agree to abandon his ambitions in exchange for a cure to his orb and give her the crown, or refuse her. It's worth noting that the conversation in the section below can also occur before Gale meets Mystra if you take a long rest after giving Gale the Annals of Karsus.
Whether you encourage Gale to use the crown: The first time you take a long rest after giving Gale the book—or after you meet Mystra—Gale will want to talk. During this conversation, sailing in an illusory rowboat, you can either encourage him to take the crown and ascend or abandon his ambitions. If Gale already met Mystra and promised her the crown, he'll instead apologize.
Gale's endings
Depending on the choices you make above in act three, your romance with Gale has a few potential outcomes:
- Marrying Gale: If you completed the Wizard of Waterdeep quest and told Gale not to pursue the crown, he'll ask you to marry him and move to Waterdeep. If you'd rather not live in Waterdeep, you can also agree to marry him but not move in, in which case you'll continue traveling together.
- Gale becomes a god: If you told Gale to pursue the crown and ascension, he'll explain he's going to fulfill his ambition of becoming a god. During the epilogue gathering scene, Gale will reappear as a newly ascended deity and you can either choose to ascend with him or refuse.
- Gale sacrifices himself: If you choose to let Gale sacrifice himself to destroy the Nether Brain by detonating the orb inside him, your romance pretty much ends there. Gale's projection will still appear during the epilogue gathering scene and there's a special moment if you romanced him, but there's no happy ending via this route.
If you choose the evil ending to take control of the brain and become the absolute, you won't get a romance ending with Gale, so bear that in mind.
