Should I Kill the Hag in BG3?

When It Makes Sense

• Good fit: You are playing a heroic, good-aligned, or oath-bound party and want to stop a dangerous fey predator permanently. Auntie Ethel deceives desperate people with promises of miracle cures, imprisons victims such as Mayrina in her teahouse lair, and attempts to exploit the party’s own tadpole infection. Killing her ends that threat, rewards you with magical gear, and prevents her from reappearing later to cause more harm. Paladins of Devotion or other characters sworn to protect the innocent will find this choice narratively consistent.
• Good fit: You value combat rewards and a clean resolution over uncertain future bargains. Hags in the Forgotten Realms are notoriously unreliable deal-makers; their boons often come with hidden costs, and their word is never truly trustworthy. Removing the hag outright gives you experience, concrete loot such as the Staff of Crones, and certainty about one major Act 1 antagonist. It also removes the risk of her turning on you at the worst possible moment later in the campaign.

When You Should Avoid It

• Warning sign: You are playing a pragmatic, selfish, or evil-aligned character who wants every possible mechanical advantage. If you spare Auntie Ethel or accept her deal, she can eventually grant Auntie Ethel’s Hair, a permanent +1 bonus to one ability score of your choice. That is a substantial, irreversible upgrade that you forfeit by killing her immediately, and it can help meet feat prerequisites or improve a key saving throw.
• Warning sign: You are a completionist who wants to see every quest line, dialogue branch, and late-game encounter. If you spare Auntie Ethel, she can reappear in Baldur’s Gate during Act 3 and offer additional hag-related content; killing her early removes that specific continuation and may close off related dialogue options.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Moral clarity and victim safety: Killing the hag is the unambiguously heroic choice. It protects Mayrina and other potential victims, and it removes a creature whose entire business model depends on exploitation, deception, and suffering.
• Reliable loot and no hidden costs: Combat against the hag yields concrete rewards, including the Staff of Crones and other equipment, without the narrative strings attached to fey bargains. You also gain experience and do not have to wonder whether a deal will backfire at a critical moment.

Cons

• Lost permanent character power: The most significant mechanical downside is missing Auntie Ethel’s Hair, which provides a permanent +1 to an ability score. For optimized or min-max builds, that single point can matter for meeting feat, spellcasting, or multiclass requirements.
• Reduced content and flexibility: An early kill removes Auntie Ethel-specific reappearances, dialogue options, and potential quest continuations in later acts. Players who enjoy exploring every story thread may feel they have closed a door prematurely and lost context for later hag-related events.

Decision Checklist

• Alignment check: Does my character view hags as monsters to be destroyed on sight, or as useful sources of power to be exploited before being discarded?
• Build check: Do I need the permanent +1 ability score from Auntie Ethel’s Hair, or can my build function without that extra point?
• Content check: Have I rescued Mayrina, learned everything I want from the hag, and considered how this choice may affect Act 3 content before I draw weapons?

Alternatives to Consider

You do not have to kill the hag the moment you meet her. Common alternatives include negotiating for her boon and then betraying her later, letting her flee temporarily while you secure Mayrina and any other victims, or making the deal and accepting the role-play consequences of working with an evil fey. Some players save before the encounter, claim the hair, reload, and then kill her to experience both outcomes—though this requires metagaming and may not fit every character concept. If your only concern is Mayrina’s safety, focus on rescuing her first; once she is safe, you can still decide whether the hag deserves to die for her crimes.

Final Recommendation

Kill the hag if you want a heroic, low-risk resolution and prefer guaranteed loot over uncertain bargains. Spare or bargain with her if you value the permanent +1 ability score and want to keep hag-related content open for later acts. Because Baldur’s Gate 3 is a role-playing game, the best choice depends on your character’s values, your party composition, and your mechanical priorities. Save before the decisive conversation or combat so you can experiment with both paths without locking yourself into regret.