Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Mild Spoilers: Please can someone explain Auntie Ethel's Well like I'm three

Right before you step into Auntie Ethel's riverside teahouse, you come upon a well. If you spoke to Mayrina's dead brothers, they will warn you "not to drink the water." This makes a lot of sense, because everything that Ethel gives out is kind of sus and probably poisoned.

In the previous patch I got to this area twice: once when the Sunlit illusion was still on, and once when the true nature of the area was revealed. In the Sunlit path, the well looked and smelled great, and drinking the water didn't do anything to my character. However, if the illusion was off the PC could smell that the water was foul and see that the bottom of the well as filled with the rotten flesh of humanoid victims. However, if you went ahead and drank, you got a buff and lots of approval from different party members, which led me to believe that MAYBE the rotten flesh, etc. was also an illusion that Ethel had put on the well to discourage her enemies to drink that powerful water -- she was hoarding the only clean source of the area, which makes perfect thematic sense.

But now we are in Patch 4, and that has changed again. When my druid got to the well seeing that she was in a Putrid Bog, and drank from its foul water, she still felt fantastic, and she got tons of approval from Shadowheart and Gale. But then, when she confronted Ethel in the teahouse, the hag said something like "enjoy my water!" which applied a Poisoned status to my dumb sandwich of a character.

So that was a bummer -- turns out the water was truly contaminated and not a ruse to trick her enemies. Oh, well.

However, if you go back to the well to drink again after everything's over, you still get approval from Shadowheart and Gale. I have many questions about that.

1) Is the illusion still working for them, and they think it's a perfectly innocent well?
2) Are they enjoying to see you get a human flesh smoothie for "power rush" reasons? Because that's more on Astarion's and Lae'zel's ballpark, and THEY don't care.

Any ideas? Am confused.

I always got approval from Lae'zel and Gale for drinking from the well, not Shadowheart. DId they change that with patch 4?

For me it was that before you kill Ethel, the water was always nice and gave you a buff, but after you kill Ethel, it was poisonous. I didn't really understand that.
Would love to hear an explanation for the whole waterthingy too.

It is a literal "Well or Font of Power". I have not yet tested it for changes as of this patch, but I abused the hell outta it before.

The way I read the entire floating meat chunks dirtiness of it is that it is the Hag's corrupting influence. She probably built her house/lair here specifically because it does have this font of power. When she is dead the well reverts to a pure clean state since her influence/control of it is over.

Before confronting Ethel it is +10HP for each toon you have drink from it. This stacks with the +5HP lvl 2 cleric aid spell and lasts all day as well so +15HP per toon per long rest. This is massive and EVERYBODY should be drinking from the well all the time for act 1. The only time you should avoid it is right when you are ready to confront Ethel.

The moment you confront Ethel she is able to assert her power through the corrupted water and changes the HP buff to a poison and psychic debuff. I actually have not tested, but I would bet if you don't immediately follow Ethel deeper into her lair and instead end the day to rest the debuff will be gone since the water only affects you till a long rest. Similarly if you drink more water at that point with Ethel's true nature known but not confronted yet you probably get the debuff again.

Once Ethel is dead the well reverts to the initial +10HP buff and losses all mention of floaty meat chunks when you drink from it. Ethel's death cleanses her corruption from the well and it reverts to its pure state.

Edit to add: I'd go as far as to say that the illusionary Sunlit Wetlands is probably the true initial state of the area before Ethel made her lair here. Her corruption of the well tainted the entire area over time turning it into the Putrid Swamp. With her dead and the well cleansed in time it would probably revert back.

Amazing explanation, thank you!

Yes, great explanation.
It seems, that what I experienced, was a bug then. With the well becoming poisonous after Ethels death.

I was always under the impression that the well's initial state, where it seems like fresh water and gives you a boost, is the illusion and the deception - it seems nice when the landscape seems nice; this bugs out if you see through and dispel the landscape before confronting Ethel.

After you confront Ethel, the deception is dispelled and revealed - you've been chugging human remains and rotten tainted water all this time; she delights in your suffering, and you feel sick. After she is dead, the well is properly revealed to be the polluted stagnation that it really is and always was (at least as long as she's been lairing here), just like the rest of the swamp... however, none of this, not your awareness of its state or how it appears to your senses, ever changes the fact that it gives you a buff when you drink (it's hard to tell what's bug and what isn't, however)

I haven't gotten into patch 4 yet(can't wait to be able to play this weekend), but does the well currently say it is filled with floating meat chunks and stuff after Ethel is killed?

On my last patch play through after Ethel was killed the well was described as clean when I drank from it, which is why I described the entire situation the way I did. It was meaty and gross while I was still under the Sunny Wetlands illusion but changed to clean and clear once I killed Ethel.

Playing on patch 4, the well remained polluted. My druid got the buff after drinking, but once it wore off, she was nauseated.

post patch 4. I drank from the well. Got the 10hp buff. After a long rest you have a sickened state for the next day. After another long rest it is gone but drinking from the well again causes instant sickness, probably until Ethel's death.