You’re wandering through the Lower City, maybe just trying to find a decent pair of boots or a suspicious clown, when suddenly everything goes sideways. One of your friends—someone who was literally just standing there in camp—is gone. Orin the Red has them. It’s a gut-punch moment that Larian Studios designed to make you panic. If you're looking for how to rescue Orin’s victim, you’re probably staring at a quest log and wondering if you have five minutes or fifty hours before they end up as a pile of gore on a Bhaalist altar.
Relax. Mostly.
The "victim" isn't a random NPC. It’s someone you know. Depending on your party composition, Orin usually nabs Lae'zel, Gale, Halsin, or Minthara. If all of those are currently in your active party, she’ll go for Yenna, the little orphan girl who’s been hanging around your camp. The stakes feel incredibly high, but Baldur's Gate 3 is a bit of a trickster here. You have more time than the dialogue suggests, but the path to the Temple of Bhaal is paved with some of the most annoying fights in the game.
The Trigger: When Does the Kidnapping Actually Happen?
It’s not random. Orin typically triggers her "reveal" in one of two ways. Either you encounter her in the sewers, where she's disguised as the victim, or she appears right in the middle of your camp during a Long Rest.
I’ve seen players try to "game" this by leaving their favorites at camp, thinking they’re safe. That actually makes them more likely to be taken. If you absolutely cannot stand the idea of Lae’zel being snatched, keep her in your active party of four. Orin can only kidnap someone who is idling at camp.
Once the kidnapping happens, Orin gives you a choice. She wants you to kill Gortash. She promises that as long as the Archduke is dead, your friend stays alive. But here’s the thing: you don’t actually have to do what she says. You can go straight for her throat, but you need to be prepared for the consequences of a botched rescue.
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Finding the Temple of Bhaal
To rescue Orin’s victim, you have to get into the Undercity. This isn't just a stroll through the park. You need to head to the Basilisk Gate and find a manhole cover. Get into the sewers.
The real hurdle is the "Investigate the Murders" questline. You can’t just knock on the front door of the Temple of Bhaal. You need an amulet. Specifically, the Amulet of Bhaal. To get this, you’re going to have to deal with the Tribunal. This is where you meet Sarevok Anchev. Yes, that Sarevok from the older games.
Honestly, the fight with Sarevok is harder than the fight with Orin for some builds. He’s a beast. He has legendary actions that will absolutely wreck a party that isn't prepared for multi-attacks. You can try to become an Unholy Assassin to skip the fight, but if you’re playing a "good" run, you’re probably going to end up painting the walls with his blood. Once he's down, loot his body. The amulet is yours.
Now, head further into the Undercity Ruins. You’ll find a massive stone door. Press the amulet against it. It opens. Welcome to the gauntlet.
The Fane of Bhaal and the Far Slayer
Before you even reach the altar to rescue Orin’s victim, you have to survive the Far Slayer of Bhaal, Ghislev. This guy is the definition of "annoying."
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He’s perched way across a chasm and starts chanting a ritual. You have a limited number of turns to reach him and kill him before he completes a spell that basically nukes your entire party. He also has "Unstoppable," a mechanic that Bhaalists love. It means the first few hits you land do zero damage. You need to hit him many times, rapidly, to break his shield.
- Tip: Use Misty Step or Dimension Door.
- Invisible Stalking: Send a rogue or someone with Greater Invisibility to sneak up on him.
- Magic Missile: This is your best friend. Every missile counts as a separate hit, instantly stripping away layers of Unstoppable.
If you don't kill him fast, you're dead. Simple as that. Once he's gone, the path to the Temple of Bhaal is clear.
The Altar Confrontation: Keeping Them Alive
You’ve reached the center of the temple. Orin is standing over your companion, dagger drawn. This is the moment where things usually go wrong for players trying to rescue Orin’s victim.
If you just run in swinging, Orin might kill the victim immediately. You need to pass a dialogue check. Usually, it’s a high Persuasion or Intimidation check (around DC 25). If you’ve explored the world and found Orin’s mother’s body in her private quarters, you get a much easier check. Telling Orin the truth about her lineage—specifically how her grandfather/father Sarevok treated her mother—sends her into a spiral.
She’ll transform into the Slayer. This is a big, ugly avatar of Bhaal.
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Strategy for the Slayer Fight
The Slayer has the Unstoppable buff again. If you’re playing on Tactician or Honour Mode, she has seven to ten stacks of it every single turn.
You need a strategy. My go-to is having a Wizard or Sorcerer cast Upcasted Magic Missile or Artistry of War. This clears her Unstoppable stacks in one turn, allowing your heavy hitters—like a Paladin or a Barbarian—to actually do damage. If you don't clear those stacks, your 50-damage Smite will do 1 damage. It's frustrating.
Keep your party spread out. The Slayer has a massive leap attack that can prone your entire squad. Also, watch out for the cultists on the sidelines. They are chanting to give her those buffs. You can ignore them if you have enough multi-hit attacks, but if the fight is dragging on, send a summon or a secondary DPS to take them out.
What Happens After the Rescue?
Once Orin is a puddle on the floor, the victim is safe. You’ll need to unlock the altar. You can pickpocket the key from Orin’s remains or just lockpick it if your sleight of hand is high enough.
The companion will be shaken. They might have some choice words about how long you took. If it was Yenna, she’ll usually head back to camp. If it was a companion, they’ll rejoin your roster.
A common misconception is that if you take too many Long Rests, the victim dies. In my experience, and based on community testing from sites like the BG3 Wiki and various subreddit deep-dives, the "timer" only really starts once you enter the Temple of Bhaal area or if you make specific dialogue choices that provoke Orin. You can generally finish up other Act 3 side quests before rushing here. Just don't walk into her house, see her with a knife to your friend's throat, and then decide to go have an 8-hour nap. That won't end well.
Actionable Steps for a Successful Rescue
- Preparation is everything. Before entering the Undercity, stock up on scrolls of Magic Missile and Dimension Door. You’ll need the former for the boss and the latter for the Far Slayer gauntlet.
- Investigate Orin's room. Go to the back of the Temple area (near the dormitories) and find the "Corpse of Helena." Use Speak with Dead. This gives you the leverage you need in the final dialogue to prevent the victim's immediate death.
- Check your party. If you are playing a class with low charisma, let a high-charisma companion like Wyll or a Bard lead the conversation. That DC 25 check is no joke.
- Loot the Netherstone. Don't forget to grab Orin's Netherstone and her legendary daggers (Bloodthirst and Crimson Mischief). They are some of the best melee weapons in the game for crit-based builds.
Rescuing the victim is a major milestone in Act 3. It effectively removes one of the two major players standing between you and the Elder Brain. Once Orin is dealt with, the mood in your camp shifts. You're no longer looking over your shoulder wondering which of your friends is a shapeshifter. You're just looking forward to the end.