Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Technical & Gameplay Problems Bug: Companion Tadpoles Missing from Mind Map, Show Up in Inventory

Bug Report: Tadpoles Appearing in Player Inventory Prematurely – Companion Tadpoles Missing from Mind Map
Platform: PC
Mode: Honour Mode
Mods: None

📍 Summary of the Bug

After the first night following the encounter with the Guardian, I noticed several major inconsistencies with the tadpole system:

Companions (Astarion, Gale, Wyll) were missing their tadpoles when inspecting their minds via the tadpole mind map.
At the same time, three tadpoles appeared in my inventory — in addition to the three I had previously acquired through normal gameplay before meeting the Guardian.

These "extra" tadpoles:

Did not count toward the tadpole UI counter (top-right of the screen).
Only started registering properly after I transferred them to another companion (Lae'zel).
One of the tadpoles seemed to belong to Astarion — when inspecting his mind, the center node was empty. After placing the tadpole back into his inventory, the central node correctly appeared.
Gale and Wyll also had empty minds (no tadpoles shown), and once again, after manually assigning the "stray" tadpoles to them, their mind maps corrected themselves.
🧠 What Should Have Happened

Every companion should retain their tadpole at this stage of the game.
No tadpoles should be present in the player’s inventory unless explicitly obtained via story or exploration.
Tadpoles from companions should not migrate to the player’s inventory on their own, nor should they become unregistered in the UI/mind map.

🛠️ What I Did to Fix It Myself

Since I was playing in Honour Mode, I had no access to manual saves or reloads. Therefore, I took a manual, non-exploitative approach to restore balance and preserve the intended experience:

I identified the three “stray” tadpoles that had appeared in my inventory and did not belong to the player character.
I carefully assigned them back to Astarion, Gale, and Wyll, one by one.
This restored each of their mind maps, and the UI began functioning as expected.
I chose to do this to maintain game balance and avoid benefiting from an unintended bug.

🧪 Steps to Reproduce (hypothetical, since I cannot reload):

Progress through the early game until the first encounter with the Guardian.
Sleep through the night and enter the phase where you can begin using tadpoles.
Check companion mind maps via the tadpole interface.

Observe that:

Some companions may have empty centers (no tadpoles).
Tadpoles may appear in the player’s inventory unexpectedly.
These tadpoles may not be counted in the UI unless transferred.

🧩 Notes & Theories

This may be a rare desynchronization bug between the companion tadpole state and the inventory system, possibly caused by an event trigger misfiring during or after the Guardian cutscene.
It could also be linked to inventory handling scripts incorrectly pulling tadpoles into the PC’s inventory.

👉 Important note

This bug does not just affect immersion — it can also create a serious gameplay advantage. Since the tadpoles came from companions who are not part of the active party, they could have been redirected to boost my main character or preferred companions, giving them early access to powerful abilities. In Honour Mode, where every decision matters and resources are limited by design, this breaks intended balance and progression. I deliberately avoided this by returning the tadpoles to their original owners.

UPD.

I have conducted another round of testing and confirmed that this bug is consistently reproducible, at least in Honour Mode (I have not tested it in other modes).

To summarize briefly:

If the main character consumes their first tadpole immediately after the first dream sequence with the Guardian, without hesitation or refusal, then at least one extra tadpole appears in the top-right counter. This "illegitimate tadpole" is effectively removed from a companion’s mind map (in my tests, it was Gale, though it can also happen to others), and becomes available for free use by any party member — including the original owner.

However, if the player first refuses to consume the tadpole, choosing the “Close your mind” option, and then later manually consumes it from the inventory, the tadpole counter is accurate and the bug does not trigger.

As you can imagine, this bug has a critical impact on both story consistency and game balance, and I strongly recommend it be addressed as soon as possible.

It’s unclear how many players have encountered this issue — though I suspect the bug could be quite common, since many people are likely to consume the first tadpole without hesitation. Perhaps players simply don’t notice it, especially since the bug grants a gameplay advantage. Still, it’s strange that no one has reported it yet — maybe the specific conditions of my playthrough contributed to it. This warrants further investigation.

Below, I’m also attaching a more systematic write-up of the bug.


***

Critical Bug Report: Companion Tadpoles Removed After First Consumption – Root Cause Identified
===============================================================================================

Platform: PC
Mode: Honour Mode (unconfirmed in other modes)
Patch: Latest live version (not Patch 8 stress test)
Mods: None
Language: Russian, playing from Europe

Summary
-------
A serious and reproducible bug causes tadpoles to be removed from companions and reassigned to the player character, leading to both narrative inconsistency and mechanical distortion of progression.

Trigger (Fully Reproducible)
----------------------------
After the first dream sequence with the Guardian, the player is prompted to consume a tadpole.

- If the player accepts and consumes a tadpole immediately, without first refusing or delaying, then:
- One or more companion tadpoles may be silently removed;
- The tadpoles are reassigned to the player character (either in UI or logically in memory);
- The affected companions appear without tadpoles in the mind map;
- The tadpole counter in the top-right UI becomes inflated, even if only one tadpole was consumed.

In contrast:
- If the player first refuses the tadpole ("Close your mind"), and then later manually consumes it from inventory:
- The bug does not occur;
- All companion tadpoles remain intact;
- The system behaves as expected.

Consequences
------------
- This bug breaks core story logic: all companions are supposed to be infected.
- In Honour Mode, it can distort intended progression and create resource inconsistencies.

Ironically, the game about tadpoles has fallen victim to tadpoles.

UPD.

I’ve encountered a new form of the same bug in my current Honour Mode playthrough: some companions are now missing their initial (central) tadpoles.

Gale is missing his first (central) tadpole in the mind map.

Lae’zel, who I successfully convinced via dialogue to accept the tadpole, is also missing hers.

There are no extra tadpoles shown in the top-right counter or in the inventory — they are simply gone.

This effectively removes key progression for these companions unless I sacrifice tadpoles from my inventory to fix it manually. It clearly breaks both balance and narrative logic, especially in Honour Mode.

I also provide a couple more testimonies indicating similar bugs (there is no detailed description of the error, but it is clear to me that players encountered the same bug):

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3/comments/1duh6ti/no_first_tadpole_on_characters_bug/

2. https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/0/3823047940153799271/

It should be kept in mind that in different cases this bug manifests itself in different companions - not necessarily in Gale. Previously, a similar bug happened with Astarion.

UPD

I’ve recently discovered that the issue I’ve been reporting is actually a known problem among players and is commonly referred to as the “Illithid Persuasion bug.” I regret not identifying it under this name earlier.

The bug is even mentioned in the official BG3 Wiki:

“Normally, this power is automatically granted to all tadpoled companions. However, if a companion is convinced to use tadpole powers while not in the active party, a bug will prevent the ability from being granted. This forces the player to spend an extra tadpole to unlock their progression. This does not occur when the companion is in the active party as they are being convinced.”
Source: https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Illithid_Persuasion

Additional player reports also confirm the issue:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/1d9005s/illithid_persuasion_bug_help/
• https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/3/3880470762769752397/

UPD


About Illithid Persuasion bug and how to bypass it

How to Avoid Two Critical Tadpole Bugs in BG3 and Preserve Story Consistency.


Bug #1: "Missing Central Tadpole on Companions"

Summary: If Gale, Astarion, or other companions not in the active party at the time the first tadpole is consumed, they may be missing their initial (central) tadpole in the mind map.


Bug #2: "Extra Tadpole When Agreeing with Guardian Immediately"

Summary: If the main character consumes a tadpole right after the first dream with the Guardian (without hesitation), an extra tadpole appears in the top-right counter, even though it was never in your inventory.


Clean Workaround for Both Bugs - Step by Step:

Complete the first dream sequence with the Guardian
In the morning, choose the dialogue option "Close your mind" (Refuse).
(This prevents Bug #2 - the extra tadpole.)

3. Manually consume a tadpole from your inventory.

(The tadpole counter will now reflect the correct number.)

4. At this moment, Gale and Astarion must be in your active party.

(This ensures their central tadpoles remain intact.)

5. After consuming the first tadpole, you may remove Gale and Astarion from the party and add those who require persuasion.

6. Only persuade companions to use tadpoles when they are in your active party.

Otherwise, the dialogue succeeds but their central power (Illithid Persuasion) is not unlocked.


Result:

- Both bugs are avoided.

- All companions retain proper story progression.

- No mods or cheats used.

- Logic of the game world preserved.

Outcome: full narrative control, story integrity, and honour preserved.