How to Use Withers to Respec in BG3 — Full Guide

Respec at a Glance

How to Find and Unlock Withers

Withers is found in the Dank Crypt, which is accessible from the Overgrown Ruins in Act 1. The Overgrown Ruins are southeast of the Emerald Grove, near the Roadside Cliffs waypoint. To reach the Dank Crypt, enter the Overgrown Ruins through either the main entrance or a side passage (depending on your stealth or combat approach). The crypt is in the basement of the ruins.

Inside the crypt, you'll find a sealed chamber with a sarcophagus. Interact with it to wake Withers. He will speak to you briefly and ask philosophical questions — your answers don't matter to any mechanical outcome. After the conversation ends, Withers will appear at your camp. He sits in a chair near the camp fire and can be interacted with at any time for resurrection, hiring hirelings, or respec services.

Note: Withers can also be found during the Act 1 Nautiloid tutorial if you choose the extended version, or recruited through certain dialogue paths. If you miss the Dank Crypt in Act 1, there are alternative ways to encounter him later, but the crypt method is the most reliable and earliest.

What Changes During a Respec

A full Character Respec lets you rebuild your character from level 1 to your current level. You choose a new class (or keep your original), a new background (any from the list), redistribute all ability score points including your racial bonuses, select new skills, choose feats at the same ASI levels your level grants them, and repick all class features including subclass. This is effectively a complete character rebuild that only retains your physical appearance and race.

For spellcasters, Respec also resets your spell preparation. Wizards who have scribed spells into their spellbook retain the scribing knowledge (you don't lose scribes) but your prepared spell list resets and you may reselect from all spells you know. Clerics and Druids rebuild their spell lists normally. This gives you an opportunity to correct sub-optimal spell choices made in early levels.

Cantrips also reset during respec — this is important for any character who selected a cantrip they no longer want. For example, if you took Friends cantrip early but want to replace it with Blade Ward at higher level, a respec is the only way to do so mid-playthrough.

What DOESN'T Change on Respec

Your race, subracing, and all racial abilities remain exactly as they were — you cannot change Drow to High Elf or Halfling to Gnome via respec. Your appearance (face, hair, body type, tattoos) is locked. Your name stays the same. All story choices, dialogue decisions, quest outcomes, and companion approval ratings remain unchanged — Astarion still approves or disapproves of choices made before the respec based on your character's history.

Equipment is not affected by respec. All your carried items, equipped gear, and inventory stay exactly as is after a respec. However, you may find that certain equipment no longer works optimally if your new build has different proficiencies — for example, respeccing from Fighter to Wizard means you lose heavy armor proficiency and wearing your old plate mail imposes disadvantage on ability checks.

Importantly, multiclass prerequisites are also not enforced retroactively. If you respec from a pure Wizard to a Fighter 3 / Wizard 9 split, the game doesn't check whether your character 'should' be allowed that multiclass in tabletop rules. BG3 is permissive with respec — it will let you build any combination regardless of stat prerequisites.

Most Valuable Respec Scenarios

• Fixing a companion's default build: Many companions (Astarion, Shadowheart, Gale, Wyll) have sub-optimal default builds with misallocated stats. A 100-gold respec at Withers is worth it on every companion to fix these issues.
• Adding a multiclass dip: If you started as a pure Paladin and want to add 2 Fighter levels for Action Surge, respec at Withers. Your character is now Fighter 2 / Paladin 10 — exactly what you want, with zero story impact.
• Changing subclass: If you chose Oath of Devotion Paladin but want Oath of the Ancients for Aura of Warding, a respec changes everything including subclass. This also lets you change companion subclasses — Shadowheart's default Trickery Cleric subclass can be changed to Life or Light through Withers.
• Switching role in party: If you recruited too many damage dealers and need a healer, respec one companion to Cleric or Druid without losing their level progression.
• Picking up missed feats: If you took Ability Score Improvements thinking you needed them but your gear now provides equivalent stats, respec to grab offensive feats (Great Weapon Master, Sharpshooter) instead.

Recommended Respec for Each Default Companion