We now know that a Baldur’s Gate TV show is in the works at HBO with The Last of Us show co-creator Craig Mazin at the helm (and zero involvement from developer Larian Studios). The show is set after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, and will pick up where the game left off. But that doesn’t tell us much, given that the game can end in a number of ways.

Baldur’s Gate 3 broadly has five main endings. Which ending a player gets depends on their general actions in-game (i.e. “good guy” behavior vs. “bad guy” behavior) plus additional factors like whether they undertake a Dark Urge playthrough, or what outcome they get for each companion character’s personal quest (for instance, letting Astarion ascend vs. convincing him not to take Cazador’s power for himself).

Here’s a quick rundown of Baldur’s Gate 3′s main endings, one of which will form the basis for the beginning of HBO’s Baldur’s Gate.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for Baldur’s Gate 3.]

The “good” ending

The standard ending requires the player to defeat the Netherbrain in battle at the end of Act 3, then convince it to effectively kill itself — and all those pesky little tadpoles writhing around in everyone’s brains. Pulling this off leads to a scene showing the player-character and their companions (assuming everyone survived) watching the sun begin to rise over Baldur’s Gate, followed by additional cutscenes providing closure for each companion-character’s story. How these scenes play out largely depends on how the player handled their companion quests. The game ends with various shots of the citizens of Baldur’s Gate recovering and the city returning to normal after the destruction caused by the Netherbrain.

The “bad” ending

To get Baldur’s Gate 3‘s bad ending, the player must defeat the Netherbrain in Act 3’s final battle, but rather than commanding it to destroy itself, they must claim its power for themselves. This sees the player-character taking their place on the throne of the Absolute, and commanding its cult of brainwashed, tadpole-infested victims. Naturally, your companions are horrified — especially because this ending requires killing whichever Mindflayer is helping you out. Depending on your choices, the Mindflayer assisting you may be The Emperor/Dream Guardian, Prince Orpheus, or one of your companions (Karlach often volunteers for the task).

Your companions aren’t upset for long, however — they’re still implanted with Mindflayer tadpoles, and now that you’ve taken the Absolute’s throne, you can control anyone infected with a tadpole, including all your companions, who immediately fall in line.

Some Githyanki Red Dragons attempt to take down the Netherbrain, but they don’t stand a chance against the player’s newfound power. The city is overrun with Mindflayers, who are brutalizing its inhabitants. Several Nautiloids appear around the player, and the scene ends with a shot of any surviving companions — now brainwashed — happily applauding the player’s actions. The player smiles, uttering the words, “In my name,” before the screen fades to black.

The “good” Dark Urge ending

To get this ending, the player must resist The Urge at every opportunity, refuse to become Bhaal’s Unholy Assassin, defeat Orin, and deny Bhaal’s offer to let the player control the Netherbrain. The player must then defeat and destroy the Netherbrain in the final battle. This results in The Dark Urge’s soul being purified, freeing them from Bhaal’s torment, and restoring their lost identity. The rest of the ending plays out similarly to the standard “good” ending.

The “bad” Dark Urge ending

The Dark Urge bad ending works much the same way as the standard one, though the player claims the Netherbrain’s power “in the name of Bhaal.”

“You shall soon amass an Illithid army to bring slaughter across Faerûn,” the Narrator says as the player overlooks a chaotic, partially destroyed Baldur’s Gate. “But now, it is time to unleash Bhaal’s adoration upon his beloved city. You are half an Illithid. Half a God. Below, the gawking onlookers line up to die. But there is one who deserves the honour of your first death. The beginning of your end.”

The player is prompted to kill whichever companion they are romancing, gutting them with a dagger while sharing one final kiss. Then, with a wave of their hand, the player gains control of any remaining companions’ minds, compelling them to throw themselves off the edge of the Netherbrain.

The player floats down to the ground, coming face-to-face with the inhabitants of Baldur’s Gate, and murdering everyone in their path, both humanoids and Illithids alike. The player revels in the pleasure of each kill as the streets of Baldur’s Gate run red with blood. Bhaal then gives the player a glimpse of their future.

“You are the end. The last creature living, with all else felled by your hand. Alone, amidst their gall, at the close of eternity. Then, and only then, Father will be proud…”

The explosive ending

This ending can only be achieved before the final battle. If the player has explored Sorcerous Sundries, spoken with Mystra, and completed Gale’s companion quest, the player can direct him to ascend the Netherbrain’s brain stem alone and detonate the Netherese bomb in his chest. This kills Gale, destroys the Netherbrain, kills the Illithid tadpoles, and weakens the fully grown Illithids that are terrorizing citizens on the ground. The people of Baldur’s Gate overpower the Illithids, and the scene cuts to a shot of the player and their companions (sans Gale) standing on the docks as the sun rises. The survivors commend Gale’s sacrifice, and are polite enough not to point out that you definitely could have achieved this victory without killing Gale.

There’s no telling which ending the show will canonize, though the “bad” Dark Urge ending is probably off the table, given how many significant characters die. One thing we do know about HBO’s Baldur’s Gate is that it will feature both new characters and familiar faces — something that obviously can’t be achieved if all those familiar faces are six feet under as a result of The Dark Urge’s end-game killing spree.Despite Larian having no involvement in the show’s production, founder and CEO Sven Vincke says the studio structured Baldur’s Gate 3‘s endings with future stories in mind.

“Crazy that a story that started out in a small hotel conference room eventually evolved into a narrative inspiring enough for it to become a HBO series,” he shared on X after news of the HBO series broke. “We worked incredibly hard on making Baldur’s Gate 3 worthy of its legacy. Its characters and narratives are the result.”