Infiltrate Moonrise Towers (Underdark Route) - Baldur's Gate III Guide - IGN (2024)

Once you've finished the Act One quest Travel to Moonrise Towers, it's time to infiltrate Moonrise Towers. Here's a detailed Walkthrough of this Act Two quest, including key item locations and advice on how to win the various battles you'll run into.

This is the Underdark route specifically- make sure to use the Mountain Pass version of this walkthrough if you didn't use the Underdark path.

To get the most out of this area, make sure to keep checking our Side Quest hub. There are lots of side quests that you can work through while taking on the Moonrise Towers area, and it's worth it to keep your party topped up with the best loot and strongest items.

Infiltrate Moonrise Towers BG3 Walkthrough

This is quite a long BG3 Walkthrough- use the links below to navigate if there's a particular part of the story you're looking to get a hand with.

• Getting to Moonrise Towers
• Into the Shadow Cursed Lands
• Entering the Last Light Inn
• Checking Out the Inn
• Entering Moonrise Towers
• Speak to the Disciple
• Tracking Down the Relic
• Beating the Gauntlet of Shar
• After the Gauntlet
• Meeting Yurgir
• Entering the Domain of Shar
• Back to Moonrise Towers
• Taking Down General Ketheric Thorm

This is a long questline, but it's packed full of tricky fights and intriguing lore. Keep an eye out for interesting Side Quests while you go, too.

Getting to Moonrise Towers

This Walkthrough follows on immediately from the Underdark route to Moonrise Towers, and starts from the Grymforge elevator exit.

Once you're out of the elevator, you'll be in a room with two staircases and a locked chest in front of you. The chest is worth lockpicking before you press onwards, as it usually contains some strong potions and a spare torch. Torches are about to become very important in this part of the game.

Head up the stairs to the left to continue.

If you have Gale in your party, you'll encounter an NPC initially shown as Weary Traveller, who is immediately revealed as someone Gale knows called Elminster Aumar.

Elminster will inform your party that he has a serious message for Gale, but complain that he's been on the road too long and needs some food. You'll need to meet up with him at your camp in order to progress here and learn more about what he wants.

The interaction here won't make a lot of sense unless you've made progress with the Companion Quest The Wizard of Waterdeep, but Elminster will inform Gale that Mystra wants him to use his condition to defeat the Absolute.

As a quick summary, Gale is inflicted with a terrible power that requires him to consume magical artefacts to stay alive. This power is a result of a clash with the Goddess Mystra, his former lover, and has essentially turned Gale into a ticking time bomb. If he does not consume enough magic - or Weave, as he calls it - he will explode with enough power to wipe out a city at the very least.

The interaction with Elminster essentially stabilizes Gale's condition, at the price of Gale promising to find the Heart of the Absolute and detonating his powers. This will end Gale's life, and he seems heartbroken that Mystra would will this.

For now, you'll need to press on and leave the camp to continue. Speaking to Gale before you leave will show you that Gale is determined to follow through with the suicide mission.

When you're back from camp, walk through the archway and up to the door leading to the Shadow-Cursed Lands to continue.

Make sure that you've got a torch equipped and out before progressing. It's worth saving your game, too, as this area of the game gets significantly tricky.

Into the Shadow-Cursed Lands

When you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands, your party will stop to observe the Shadow Curse and comment on how it feels. The land around you is dark and foreboding, and the target area is far to the southwest.

Keep walking down the path to continue.

As you go, Shadowheart will comment on the fact that the Shadow Curse does not seem to be affecting her as much as the others. She will theorize that this is because she's a follower of Shar, and note that you must keep an eye out for locations relevant to Shar, like Temples.

Keep an eye out for barrels and chests to loot as you keep heading southwest.

As you walk down a gnarled bridge made of roots, you will encounter a group led by Harper Lassandra. The Harpers are suspicious of you at first, but one of their party members ends up getting snatched away by something in the shadows.

You can choose to run or hide, but most options here will lead to you joining a battle against a group of 6 Shadow creatures.

This fight can be tricky, but you'll have the Harpers on your side to help. Losing them during battle is possible, so it's worth healing them up if you can. You'll need the Harpers to be alive in order to access a key location later in this area.

Before you do anything else in this fight, get to a light source.

There are nearby braziers which you can light, and torches work in a pinch too. If you stay in the dark, you'll get infected by the Shadow Curse and this can be a quick way to lose your entire party. Make sure to heal the Harpers where needed, you'll need the majority of them alive.

If you've been following our walkthrough closely, it's likely you'll level up after this battle. Once you've won the battle (and assuming the Harpers didn't all die) you'll get a supposed 'safe location' marked on your map to check out.

Loot, heal up, and double check that you've got your torches equipped. Then, press on towards the new map marker towards the west. This will help you make progress with the Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse sub quest for the Infiltrate Moonrise Towers quest.

As you continue down the path to the west, your party will roll for Arcana as they come across a strange raven corpse on the side of the road.

If you fail this Arcana check, a huge flock of corrupted ravens will swarm your party. This may seem initially- but don't worry, they've all got 1HP. Use AOE spells to deal with them quickly, then continue towards the safe zone quest marker.

As you approach the bridge at the end of the path, you'll notice that there is a break in the shadows and a group up ahead.

Entering the Last Light Inn

Walk up to the group of characters.

This safe zone is the Last Light Inn, and it's protected by the Harpers. You'll be immediately under suspicion here, with the Harpers who you haven't met assuming that you're a threat and binding you in vines so you can't move.

One of the Harpers has a parasite in a jar, immediately calling you out for being infected and naming you as a True Soul. This is their leader, Jaheira.

You'll need to persuade the Harpers that you mean no harm, which is made much easier by looking to the Harpers that you saved for support.

If you completed the side quest Save Arabella and defeated the Goblin leaders back in Act One, you will also get immediate support from a Tiefling child named Mol, who informs the other Harpers that you are trustworthy and reliable.

With this, you'll gain entrance to the Last Light Inn.

Checking Out the Inn

The Last Light Inn is a great place to heal up, sell spare items and gear up, and to generally get your party in the best shape possible. You'll also find a few side quests here.

Head into the Inn and speak to Jaheira, the Harper who was suspicious of you initially. She'll offer you a dubious glass of wine, and it's in your best interests to politely avoid it.

If it's not immediately obvious based on your party's reaction to Jaheira, the wine has a truth serum in it. Jaheira does not trust you, despite the Harpers and Mol vouching for you, and is suspicious of the parasite in your head.

It's important to roll well here to get to the bottom of why Jaheira is trying to drug you with a truth serum.

She will eventually inform you that the leader of the Absolutists, General Ketheric Thorm, is in the Shadow-Cursed Lands and that he appears to be invincible. She's on a mission to track him and kill him, and wants your assistance infiltrating Moonrise Towers. Luckily, that's why you're here.

Jaheira will tell you to find a Cleric named Isobel inside the Inn to receive a blessing to help against the effects of the Shadow Curse.

Isobel's Room can be found on the top floor of the Inn.

If you're doing a Dark Urge run-through, Isobel will look eerily familiar to you.

Isobel will speak to you then bless your party (much to Shadowheart's dismay, as she's a follower of Selûne) but the conversation will almost immediately be interrupted by a character named Marcus. Marcus was previously a part of the group named the Flaming Fists, and Isobel seems to recognize him.

Marcus has been brainwashed by the Absolutists and has been sent to kidnap Isobel, at the instruction of the Absolute. It's up to you how you want to respond here, but we'll look at the option of saving Isobel here for the sake of completion.

Marcus summons demons to aid him in the fight, and one of them kidnaps Mol, the Tiefling child who stood up for you earlier in the quest.

The subsequent fight is tricky, but definitely doable. You have the Harpers on your side, which can be very helpful for taking down the hard-hitting enemies.

It's important to stay on the top floor of the Inn to maintain a height advantage over the enemies.

The main focus in this fight is to keep Isobel alive and to keep Marcus away from her. It's entirely possible to win by slowing down your enemies by using spells like Tasha's Hideous Laughter and Sleep to control crowds, and Isobel has a self heal which makes the fight easier.

Make sure to take a Long Rest after this battle, as Marcus hits hard. If you're doing a Dark Urge run, you will be commanded to kill Isobel after this and let the Inn fall- but as with any Dark Urge quest, this is optional and you can refuse it.

Once you've won the fight, speak to the Harpers just outside of the Inn.

The Harpers will let you know that they're going to help you enter Moonrise Towers.

They're going to do this by ambushing a group of Cultists who are on their way to Moonrise Towers and taking whatever tool it is that they use to combat the Shadow Curse. The Shadow Curse gets a lot worse around Moonrise Towers, so it's an important task.

Follow the Harpers to the ambush location.

If you lose track of them or want to do something else first, there's a quest map marker which will lead you there. When you get to the ambush location, a short cutscene will play and you'll see the convoy of Cultists traveling with a Drider (half human, half spider) called Kar'niss who has a Moonlantern.

One of the Goblins will hear your party and you'll need to choose how to react.

The best choice here is to stay hidden and keep watching, as Kar'niss will fly into a rage and kill the Goblin who asked the question for speaking.

This removes at least one enemy from the upcoming fight.

You'll then need to make yourself known by signaling to the Harpers when you're ready to attack.

This fight isn't too tricky if you pick a good order to focus on the enemies in. Kar'niss has an ability called Sanctuary which is essentially an immunity to damage that lasts a turn and takes a turn to recharge, so focus down the other enemies first and free up the Harpers to help you tackle Kar'niss altogether.

Once you've defeated Kar'niss, pick up the Moonlantern.

As you do so, you'll notice that there's a Pixie named Dolly Dolly Dolly inside the Moonlantern who is begging to be let out. She tells you that the Moonlantern only works because she's in constant pain (which creates Pixie Dust) and asks you to set her free.

While Pixies are known for being tricksters, you can set Dolly Dolly Dolly free here if you'd like. She will give you an enchanted bell and bless your entire party with total immunity to the Shadow Curse.

Then, heal up, save your game, and press onwards. Your party is now safe from the Shadow Curse, so it's time to find Moonrise Towers and continue with the quest.

Make sure to loot any bodies nearby before you go, as they often have useful items like Greater Potions of Healing on them.

Moonrise Towers can be found to the southwest. Follow the quest marker along the path, keeping an eye out for enemies and lootable chests as you go.

You'll almost immediately end up passing through Reithwin Tollhouse as you head towards the map marker.

There's plenty to explore, loot, and kill in the Tollhouse, but nothing that's related to the Moonrise Towers quest.

You can head straight through the Tollhouse without incident and turn to the south to keep going. You'll find a Waypoint here, called Moonrise Towers, and your party will note that the Absolute's power feels incredibly strong here.

Save your game and press onwards.

Entering Moonrise Towers

You'll immediately be stopped by two Zealot guards as you approach Moonrise Towers.

Your parasite will cause the Zealots to 'recognize' you as the True Soul who left Moonrise Towers earlier. Remember, the aim is to blend in and infiltrate here, so pick dialogue options that match that.

You'll be told that General Ketheric's advisor went off on a field trip and that Z'rell is in charge for now. Z'rell is waiting for your report in the audience chamber.

Head in through the giant doors in front of you to find this audience chamber.

Keep walking forwards and go through the Absolute's Door in front of you.

Speak to the Disciple

If you're here from Infiltrate Moonrise Towers (Mountain Pass Route) after siding with Kar'niss in the battle against the Harpers, you're in the right place.

A cutscene will play, with Goblins being punished by Disciple Z'rell and General Ketheric for not finding the artefact. You will be immediately involved and asked whether the Goblins served the cause well, or if they deserve to die.

One Goblin will panic and attempt to kill Ketheric, who will repeatedly pull weapons out of himself and act as if he has not been wounded. He appears to be absolutely invincible.

You'll be 'given' the other Goblins to deal with as you see fit. Then, you'll need to report to Disciple Z'rell upstairs. Follow the winding stairs up to the top of Moonrise Towers to continue. Quicksave here, as the next series of events is quite important.

The conversation you will have here with Disciple Z'rell will focus on a series of rolls, aiming to prove your love for the Absolute. If you set the Goblins free, Z'rell will know this- but you can try to deceive her or persuade her that it was the right call.

You'll also need to withstand her probing into your mind to find how you really feel about the Absolute.

Once you've successfully passed these rolls, you'll be tasked with heading to the Thorm family mausoleum to find a relic that another Disciple, Balthazar, was sent to retrieve. Something appears to have happened to Balthazar, as all communication with them has been lost and the Scrying Eye accompanying them was killed in the process.

You'll be given Balthazar's room key so that you can get a Moonlantern from their chambers and instructed to set off on your mission.

Disciple Z'rell will warn you against snooping around Balthazar's chambers.

This mission for the relic starts the sub-quest Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic. Balthazar's room is two rooms over to the north if you want to explore it. You don't need to pick up a Moonlantern thanks to Dolly Dolly Dolly but there are valuables in his room (as well as traps - the bookcase sets off a poison gas cloud trap) that you can pick up.

When you're ready, use the Moonrise Towers Waypoint to leave quickly and get started on the mission for the relic.

Finding General Thorm's Relic

The Thorm mausoleum is directly to the north of the Moonrise Towers Waypoint. Follow the map marker to the north- it's pretty much a direct walk from where the Waypoint spawns you.

You will run into Shadows and Shadow-Cursed Harpers along the way. The Shadow Curse can't harm you, but these enemies can if you let them get too close. Use the various stairs and ledges around the area to your advantage here.

Once you've dealt with any enemies that attack, heal up, loot the bodies, and continue north towards the Thorm mausoleum.

As you head up the stairs to the graveyard, you'll see a young Tiefling girl named Arabella. If you did the Side Quest back in the Druid's Grove called Save Arabella, you'll recognize her- and she'll need saving again as she's lost where her parents are.

This isn't part of the Infiltrate Moonrise Towers quest, but you can send her to wait at your camp if you choose to take on the extra task of finding her parents.

Once you've decided what to do with Arabella, continue onwards to the Thorm mausoleum. The quest marker will veer slightly towards the northwest, taking you directly through the graveyard. If Shadowheart is in your party, she will remark on the presence of Shar and Dark Justiciars as you walk.

As you approach the mausoleum, another familiar figure will appear. Raphael will be standing against a nearby wall, reciting a passage about a foreboding darkness in the crypt below.

If you press Raphael for details (and roll well) he will tell you there is a monster ahead that he'd like you to kill for him. It appears to be another demonic presence, and one that he has a history with as well.

If you have Astarion in your party, he will attempt to bargain with Raphael for help understanding some runes that have been brutally carved into his back. This is an essential part of the Companion Quest The Pale Elf, so it's worth preparing for a fierce battle if you want to find out more about your mysterious, blood-thirsty companion.

Before heading into the mausoleum, save your game and heal up if necessary. This part of Infiltrate Moonrise Towers can be quite tricky.

When you enter, head through the big iron gate in front of you.

As you enter, a talking skull marked as the Herald of Balthazar will warn you to leave. Ignore it and keep heading onwards.

Entering the room straight ahead, you'll notice that there is an open, empty tomb. Your party will comment on how this is quite ominous.

Careful where you step, as the room with the open tomb is full of traps. Some are broken, though.

There's a large mural of General Ketheric here, with a button below it. Your party may notice that he's at the head of a Sharran army here, while he was displayed as a Selunite General outside of the crypt. If you turn and face the door, you'll see two more murals with buttons, showing Moonrise Towers and General Ketheric's deceased daughter.

To make progress here, there is a puzzle that you'll need to solve.

There is a hint which you can find by entering the room to the right of the mausoleum entrance. The hint is in a stained book on an altar, and is shown below.

If you're not keen on puzzles, open the spoiler tag below for the solution to the Thorm mausoleum puzzle.

Once you've solved the puzzle, it's time to get on the strange elevator in front of you and carry on.

The elevator in the crypt will take you to a new location with the mildly ominous name Gauntlet of Shar. Jump off the elevator when it stops moving and save your game before continuing.

Walk into the Gauntlet and keep heading towards the large circular door at the end of it. The circles on the floor look like traps, but they're actually plaques.

As you enter the new room, you'll hear a disembodied voice telling your party that 'the answer lies in darkness'. There is a statue, presumably of Shar, in the middle of the room and she is surrounded by a magic ring that will knock you back if you get too close.

The Gauntlet of Shar is full of riddles, and this is the first one. You need to either find levers in the side rooms to lower the lanterns, or extinguish all the lanterns with water or ice spells.

Once you've dealt with the aforementioned lanterns and Shar statue, head through the large circular door and follow the path into the next chamber.

Tracking Down the Relic

Inside this chamber, you'll encounter a group of Reconstituted Skeletons here, working on behalf of Balthazar.

Justiciar Nightweavers will spawn in here, and you'll be thrown into a decently tricky battle.

Focus down the Umbral Tremors before taking down the other enemies if possible (using spells like Sleep and Tasha's Hideous Laughter to incapacitate) as these spawn in other enemies.

The Reconstituted mobs will work on your side here, which makes the battle a lot easier.

Once you've beaten this battle, heal up and head down the stairs to the left side of the room. You'll discover a Waypoint for the Gauntlet of Shar here.

Head up the sets of stairs in front of you to continue.

You'll end up in a much larger room with more minions working for Balthazar, along with an altar and more statues of Shar. Tremors will be shaking the room, indicating trouble is on the way.

Much like the previous fight, Justiciar Nightweavers will spawn in and it's important to take down the Umbral Tremors as quickly as possible to avoid getting overwhelmed with enemies.

Unlike the initial battle, however, Umbral Terrors will spawn much more frequently and you'll have to deal with Deep Umbral Terrors, too. These types have double HP and are much more annoying to manage while trying to deal with Nightweavers.

Once you've finished this battle, a cutscene will play.

A room will open up nearby, showing Balthazar and a few Ghouls wandering around. Heal up, loot any bodies, then walk through the circular door to continue.

Balthazar will inform you that he needs your party to work as Scouts for him to help him recover General Thorm's Relic.

Interestingly, if you roll well then you'll find out that the relic is what gives Thorm his strength.

For now, agree to help Balthazar and head back out of the room. Refusing to go and look for the relic will start a fight in Balthazar's room with him and the Ghouls, and this can be pretty tricky to win, so it's best to stay undercover for now.

Head back towards the Gauntlet of Shar Waypoint. The next step is to complete the Gauntlet and pick up Umbral Gems. Take a look at our dedicated Walkthrough for the Gauntlet or keep reading here for the solutions to the puzzles.

Beating the Gauntlet of Shar

The first trial to solve is the Soft Step trial, shown below on the map.

Separate your stealthiest character from the group, and have them enter the wooden doors in front of you. Save before entering. Having one character do this trial makes it a lot easier to manage, but if you'd prefer to do it with everyone, enter Turn-Based Mode.

When you're in the trial room, head to the sacrificial bowl and spill some of your blood. It's important to note that you will need to be able to lockpick to continue with this trial, so you'll need Thieves Tools.

This will begin the Soft Step trial. Essentially, this is a Stealth maze with patrolling Shadows who will catch you. The aim is to get through the maze without being detected and to push a button which can be found on the northern wall.

It's worth quick-saving before starting. Get into Stealth mode, then head west into the maze. Take the door on the left side and head west.

You'll need to be careful, as the maze is full of traps.

Below is the easiest path to take through the maze. You may need to double back and hide at certain points, and if you're caught, you'll be teleported to the start.

You can look at your character buffs/debuffs for a hint on how you're doing and whether you need to move or stay where you are. A sun icon will show up if you're in plain view and easy to spot, and a hooded figure icon will show up if you're hidden well and likely to not get spotted by the Shadows.

The Shadows aren't perfect at spotting people, and they can walk straight past you (or even through you) if you're hiding well enough.

Once you've followed the path through, you'll end up at a locked iron gate.

Lockpick this (it's worth quick-saving again, just in case you fail the roll) and enter.

In this room, you'll find an Umbral Gem. Pick it up- this will cause the room to change slightly and a temporal flux to appear, which you can click on to get teleported back out to the front of the trial. Rejoin your group (toggle group mode back on) and press onwards towards the next trial in the next room over.

This trial is called the Self-Same Trial, and it's possible to do it with just one party member or the entire party. If one of your party members is more powerful than the others (it's possible to solo it easily with Shadowheart) then separate them from the group and head in.

Save before entering, then make a blood sacrifice to begin.

The Self-Same Trial is a mirrored battle where each party member will need to take down a clone version of themselves to progress.

Once you've won, loot the bodies. One of the bodies will have an Umbral Gem that you need.

Save your game, heal up, and press onwards by leaving the Trial room then following the nearby stairs down to the lower level of the Gauntlet.

The next trial is called the Faith-Leap Trial. It's best to take one party member into this trial, although it's possible to do it with more.

The aim here is to follow a hidden path and avoid dark spots, using a map shown in front of the sacrificial altar. It's possible to cheese this trial with a character who can jump very far, a spell scroll that lets you jump further, or a potion that affects jumping or flying.

It is possible for a character to die if they take the wrong step here, so make sure to quickly save before starting off. Look at the front of the altar to get a feel for where the path is, then make your way towards the furthest end of the room.

Once you get to the final platform, jump/fly up to the statue and pick up the Umbral Gem. You'll then be able to teleport back out to the start of the trial.

After the Gauntlet

After the Gauntlet, you will end up near the Silent Library puzzle.

This isn't an essential part of the Relic questline, but it's worth doing if you're interested in completing all the Side Quests and lore-related quests in the Mausoleum area.

If you want to complete this puzzle, take a look at our complete puzzle Walkthrough.

Once you've decided whether to do the Silent Library puzzle or not, head back to the Gauntlet of Shar Waypoint and head east until you get to a partially broken stairway with a Displacer Beast at the end of it.

Jump down (get right to the edge so the fall damage doesn't injure you) and head into the next room, following the Displacer Beast. It won't attack you right now, but it's worth saving your game or at least quick-saving as this next section can be tricky.

It's worth leading with your most persuasive and charismatic character here.

Meeting Yurgir

As you walk into this next section, you'll meet an Orthon named Yurgir who has been trapped by Raphael. If you remember from earlier, Raphael wanted you to kill someone in this Mausoleum- this is the target. Yurgir is bound by a contract to Raphael here, and there are three ways that this encounter can go:

1. You can immediately enter a battle with Yurgir, his minions, and the Displacer
2. You can convince Yurgir to let you try to help him out of his contract
3. You can persuade Yurgir to take out his minions as part of the contract

The first option is quite a monumental task, and the second will hugely impact your relationship with Astarion if he's in your party.

If you roll poorly or decide to attack Yurgir right off the bat, you will need to quickly get to higher ground and use spells like Tasha's Hideous Laughter to incapacitate some of the enemies so you don't get overwhelmed. Make the most out of the nearby ridges and ledges, too- fall damage can be lethal if you time it well.

If you want to take a non-violent approach at first, it's possible to persuade Yurgir to let you search the nearby area for clues to free him from his contract with Raphael. If you'd like to know what the outcome of this choice is, check the spoiler tag below.

It's important to note that this route can almost entirely ruin your relationship with Astarion if he's in your party, and you may need to roll to convince him to stay with your party.

If you want to take this route and find clues to let Yurgir out of his contract, head out of the throne room to the right, climb down the cragged rock wall to the floor below, and jump down to the next section of cragged rock until you reach the bottom of the cavern.

Here, you'll find a pentacle and candles set up at the base of the giant Shar statue.

At the ritual site, you'll find a book named Once Becomes Many. Inside this book, there's a note reading 'speak Istori Mustag thrice' which appears to be from Raphael. Once you've read this, interact with the nearby effigy until rats appear.

You'll get the option to 'notice that these aren't ordinary rats' and will eventually learn that every rat in the vicinity makes up the form of a person who has been shattered and cursed. From here, you'll have two options. You can choose to strike a bargain in return for Sharran Provisions (a cache with middling items inside) or to kill them all and start a fight with a Dark Justiciar, which will end Yurgir's contract.

If you decide to kill Yurgir after all, speaking to him before attacking him can be quite beneficial. You can convince him to take out the Displacer Beasts and his allies if you roll well.

You'll need to pass an Insight check after asking him about his contract in order to get the option to convince Yurgir that taking out his minions could be the loophole in his contract.

After successfully rolling here, Yurgir will complain that he doesn't think that was the solution and you'll get the chance to roll again to convince him to kill the Displacer, too. Fair warning- this is quite sad, as the Displacer is his pet and he's named her Tessa.

This roll is much trickier, but it's worth a shot.

The next roll is even more challenging. If you roll a 21, you can convince Yurgir to turn the weapon on himself with the promise that he will be reborn.

Whether you enter the battle against just Yurgir, Yurgir and some of his minions, or no-one at all, there will be the final Umbral Gem waiting for you on the floor.

Pick up the Umbral Gem. It's time to head to the nearby Altar and use the Umbral Gems to find Ketheric Thorm's relic.

Entering the Domain of Shar

Below is the location of the Altar you'll need to insert the Umbral Gems into.

Once you're there, insert an Umbral Gem into the Altar (dropping them nearby the Altar and dragging them in works the best) to activate the nearby Traversal Gem.

Get onto the moving platform, then hit the Traversal Gem to begin moving.

When the platform stops, you'll end up with another Altar and a locked stone door in front of you. Insert three Umbral Gems into this Altar.

Save your game, then enter into the new chamber.

You'll discover a new Waypoint here called Verge of the Shadows. The final test will be spoken aloud, demanding that you 'make a sacrifice and rise again as a Dark Justiciar'. Shadowheart will ask for a moment to pray before continuing.

You will be prompted before entering the watery pathway to the next location, with the game asking you whether you want to proceed as the region and quests nearby may change afterwards.

Agree, then press on. You will enter Shadowfell, the domain of Shar.

Balthazar will have followed you in, thanking you for letting him in and telling you that the Nightsong is being held in this domain.

Follow him (and the quest marker) down the path to the west quickly.

You will automatically have the Feather Fall buff here, meaning you can safely jump from floating platform to floating platform.

At the base of this mildly confusing path, you will find Balthazar speaking to a person who appears to be a Drow, trapped in a swirling mess of arcane energy and glowing hands. It seems that the Nightsong Relic is actually a person, and she's the source of Thorm's invincibility.

If you'd like to find a way to cheese this fight, quick-save before interacting with Balthazar and make sure you have a spell like Fear or Sleep ready to go.

From here, you've got a pretty difficult decision.

You'll need to decide whether to let Balthazar take the Nightsong with him, or whether to stop him and kill him yourself. You'll also need to decide whether to keep the Nightsong alive or not.

As the Nightsong is the source of Thorm's invincibility, it may seem like the best pick to kill her. Generally speaking, the best choice right now is to defeat Balthazar and keep her alive. This will preserve your relationship with Shadowheart, and influence the later events in the game (relating to Thorm and the general Shadow Curse) in your favor.

If you'd like to see a method for cheesing this fight and avoiding a battle with Balthazar and a large group of minions, click the spoiler tag. If not, keep reading below.

If you end up fighting Balthazar, the main things to watch out for are his AOE attacks and the large group of undead allies he summons in the first turn. Make the most out of the higher ground, avoid bunching up, and use any additional party members you have access to like Ranger companions.

Once you've won this battle, you've got another difficult decision to make. Shadowheart wants to kill Nightsong in honor of Shar, but you can also choose to interfere and make Shadowheart stop.

Your choice here will have a big impact on the story.

Without spoiling too much of it, letting Shadowheart kill Nightsong will decimate Last Light Inn and every NPC inside it- but it will also make Thorm vulnerable. Saving Nightsong will give you and the other characters fighting Thorm a huge advantage, but it will deeply harm your relationship with Shadowheart and her path.

For now, we will go with the path where the Nightsong lives. As you leave, a cutscene will play which shows the Nightsong flying away and banishing the darkness.

Take the portal near where the Nightsong's prison was, then speak to Shadowheart once you're back outside. She'll describe how confused and scared she feels, wondering what Shar will do now that the Nightsong is free from her domain.

The next step is to head back to Moonrise Towers, and luckily, you should have already unlocked the Moonrise Towers Waypoint. Save your game, then use this Waypoint to continue.

Back to Moonrise Towers

As you make your way back into Moonrise Towers, you'll notice that the entrance is littered with bodies. The Nightsong has clearly made short work of her enemies- and some of your allies have fallen in the process, too.

Loot the bodies as you head in. You will be able to find useful items like gold, camp supplies, and fire arrows, along with important items like Tadpole specimens and keys.

Speak to Harper Jaheira to learn more about what's happening. She'll let you know that the Nightsong has begun the assault on Moonrise Towers, and that it's your call what happens next. You do have the chance to add Jaheira to your party here.

The best choice is to inform her that you will secure the ground floor first, working alongside the Harpers, so that you can take on Thorm.

Get ready for a big battle, then head up the steps and press onwards towards the quest marker.

You have two options for how to proceed here. You can enter with the Harpers to fight Disciple Z'rell and her minions, or sneak up the side of Moonrise Towers and fight your way to Thorm alone.

The first option is certainly doable, but it's quite a tricky fight.

Watch out for moves like Hunger of Hadar- this AOE deals damage at the beginning and at the end of every turn. Try to avoid bunching up, and get up to the rafters as quickly as possible to gain a height advantage over the enemies.

The combination of Hunger of Hadar and Black Hole can make the fight quite visually confusing, so try moving your camera angle and using the character highlights (hover over their portraits) to avoid losing where you are.

If you'd prefer to take the second approach and skip the fight with Z'rell, let the Harpers go in first, then walk round the left side of the entrance until you find a climbable section of roots.

Climb up, then jump across the wooden platforms until you reach a ladder.

Go up the ladder, then unlock the door to the left. This will take you back into Balthazar's chambers, and you'll be able to walk through with no issue.

Once you're out of Balthazar's chambers, walk through the library and up to the main doorway. You'll enter a fight here, with three Necromites and Radija, Mistress of Souls.

Get out of the library as quickly as possible. Radija isn't hard to kill, but she has a powerful fireball that can set fire to the majority of the room and cause quite a lot of damage, so it's important to get out into the open as quickly as possible.

Once you're done, save your game and heal up. You're about to head into a tricky boss battle, and it's good to have a recent save on hand if you need it.

Taking Down General Ketheric Thorm

When you're ready to go, enter the Ornate Door.

You will enter what is essentially the arena for the Thorm boss fight. The Nightsong, now called Dame Aylin, will be here already.

The General will accuse you of being a traitor, and Aylin will back you up. Thorm will call Aylin a traitor for 'stealing Isobel' from him, then Aylin will begin the battle.

This is a difficult battle. The General can almost one-shot party members if he gets close enough to melee, and it's possible for Aylin to die as well. The General's dog Squire can call in reinforcements, as can Thorm and another one of his higher-ups, and there's a decent handful of minions to take down, too.

This is a battle where you should prioritize movement. If you have Misty Step or Shadow Step, use these to stay ahead of your enemies.

Spells like Hypnosis and Confusion can also be great for taking the lower-level enemies out of commission for a few turns so you can take out enemies with the ability to summon more.

When you get Thorm to the brink of death, a cutscene will play where he escapes somewhere below the tower while a monster destroys the battle arena.

This will end the Infiltrate Moonrise Towers quest. The next main Baldur's Gate 3 quest to work through is Defeat Ketheric Throm.