Should you give Auntie Ethel your eye in Baldur's Gate 3?
Trust the hag or refuse the shortsighted bargain.
Deciding whether to give an eye to Auntie Ethel in Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the trickier choices you'll encounter early on in the game. You find Auntie Ethel on the road into the Sunlit Wetlands when travelling south from the Blighted Village, and again, in the Riverside Teahouse on the west side of the area.
Can this kindly old woman really help remove your Mindflayer Parasite? Also, perhaps she's less kind than she seems if she's asking for one of your eyes in exchange. Either way, here's what you'll get if you give one of your peepers to the hag, and whether it's ultimately worth it.
What happens if you give Ethel your eye?
Auntie Ethel will offer to remove the Mindflayer Parasite infesting your brain in exchange for one of your eyes—kind of her to let you choose which one, though. She'll only give you this option if you haven't yet gone through the illusory wall behind the teahouse fireplace as part of the Save Mayrina quest, or if you haven't made her hostile yet. So, what do you get if you agree?
First off, your character will visually get a whited out eye. This will give you the Paid the Price condition, meaning you have +1 on Intimidation checks but disadvantage on Perception checks or when you're fighting Hags. She will ultimately fail to remove the parasite because it's been "tampered with", but if you complain after her breaking the deal, she'll also give you Auntie Ethel's Charm. When you break this one-use item, it'll grant you all benefits from the Enhance Ability spell until your next Long Rest, giving +1 in every ability stat.
On the whole, it's not the worst deal, especially if you plan on intimidating people lots, but if you want to pursue the Save Mayrina quest, in which you'll have to fight the hag Ethel, gaining a disadvantage against fighting hags right before would make an already tough fight even tougher. Plus, I would say Perception is ultimately more useful than Intimidation—it's not like you have many other means for seeing traps and secrets, while Intimidation is usually just one of many approaches.