How to do non-lethal damage in Baldur’s Gate 3

In the world of Baldur’s Gate 3, there are a lot of nightmarishly freaky creatures that you’ll be sending to their graves. Ignoring the implication that being a terrifying abomination of nature is deserving of instant death, let’s face the reality that — by default — you’ll probably be killing anything and everything that moves. But, what if you didn’t? What if you wanted to break the cycle of hatred and fear?

It is remarkably easy to be a pacifist in the world of Faerûn, so long as you know how to toggle non-lethal damage before you go into battle. Here’s how to do that in Baldur’s Gate 3.

How to toggle non-lethal damage

Non-lethal damage can be turned on or off from your action menu (on PC) or your action wheel (on PS5). The icon looks like a person being hit on the head with a hammer and doesn’t require any actions to turn on or off. But, keep in mind that once it’s turned on for one character, it’s turned on for the whole party. 

Also, it’s important to note that only melee attacks can be non-lethal. If you toggle non-lethal damage on and then throw a gigantic bolt of lightning or ice at your enemy — they’re going to die. Plain and simple. But, if you toggle it on and hit them with your sword or staff, they’ll be knocked unconscious and fall to the ground with one hit point remaining. In my experience, once enemies are knocked out, they won’t wake back up until you’ve left the area and returned. 

If you’ve knocked out quest-specific characters, there’s also a chance that will interrupt said quest. I accidentally started a fight with some characters who were in transit to the Zhentarim Hideout, and I knocked them out. By the time I fast-traveled in and out of the area, they were back to life but one of them wouldn’t talk to me, and the folks at the Zhentarim Hideout wouldn’t progress the quest.