Round 1 — Match 8 / 23 — Yafeu vs. Auntie Ethel
Yafeu is a djinni in Baldur's Gate 3, found trapped within a Djinni Lamp in the Sorcerous Vault.
"you find this guy trapped in a lamp in the Sorcerous Vault and for one brief shining moment it’s like oh okay, weird little rescue encounter, fun. and then he opens his mouth and you realise he is actually a smug opportunistic asshole who will happily trap you in there instead if he gets the chance. which is great. i love antagonists who aren’t huge world-ending threats, they’re just personally rude and magically inconvenient. also the lamp situation is so memorable that he gets points from me on that alone. he’s not the biggest villain in bg3 but he is absolutely one of its more effective “wow, fuck this guy” encounters."
vs.
Auntie Ethel is a fussy trader of potions, lotions, quirks, and sundries who can be first encountered in The Hollow of the Emerald Grove. Later, she will return to her home at the Riverside Teahouse in the Sunlit Wetlands.
"she’s just so much fun to interact with while also being completely vile. like the writing for her is great. she’s charming in this horrible fake-cozy way, she’s constantly needling people, and she has some of the best “ohhh you are evil evil” escalation in the game once you get past the teahouse stuff and see what she’s actually been doing. i also love that she doesn’t feel one-and-done. if mayrina survives, the game actually lets the consequences of ethel keep going into act 3 with the hag survivors and vanra, which makes her feel more important than just “act 1 spooky swamp boss.” she leaves a mess behind her, which is exactly what a hag should do."
Which antagonist do you prefer?
Yafeu
Auntie Ethel
