Players jumping into the hotly anticipated Dungeons & Dragons RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 will likely want to skip through the intensely rambling licensing agreement. But for those players who actually decide to stay awhile and listen—er, sorry, wrong game—I mean read the mountainous EULA agreement, developer Larian has a small surprise to keep your eyes from glazing over.
Players and multiple outlets including Polygon spotted a small easter egg in the game’s long EULA agreement, which is instead titled “Our Cursed Pact.” Section 5, titled “Additional Obligations in Eldritch Law,” begs players to pause after “having endured the above numerous provisions of legal jargon.” Players are begged to “be wary that in accepting this Pact, you agree to refrain from striking a deal with another creature of Fey, Infernal, or otherwise Eldritch origin.” Those who heed the siren call of such malignant forces should know Larian reserves the right to sever ties with the user “and seek appropriate remedy from the Morninglord.”
For those not in the know, the Morning Lord, AKA Lathander, is a neutral good god in the Forgotten Realms of renewal, spring, new beginnings, and all things young and vital. The message could hint at events that happen in the game’s lengthy adventure. At least it’s not castigating anybody for their intended romance options, as that’s one of the things that has jazzed a whole lot of people about the game.
The entire document constantly refers to itself as a “Pact,” which is a much better term for any kind of binding legal agreement. Unfortunately, the EULA further excludes Section 5 when talking about the governance of the agreement. That’s a shame, as we would have loved to see Irish courts try and parse out an agreement not to sign any kind of deal with the devil.
Larian has done a similar thing with Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access release. All the way back in 2020, the company included a notice in the EULA agreement noting a kind of bardic quest. Those who accepted the “pact” also agreed to submit to Larian “one (1) recording of a chant, song, text, poem, or interpretive dance performed by you and extolling your interest in the Forgotten Realms.”
The notice hinted that those who declined to finish the “quest” after three winters would “forfeit subsequent fame, fortune, and/or infamy as a founding member of our Guild of Great Genius.” Supposedly, a few players must have heeded the call in the three years since the game entered beta, though the developers have yet to share any of these antics online. We’re hoping for some epic-level bardic madness, should Larian eventually decide to share.