Baldur’s Gate 3is all about the choices you make on your journey, each small decision a critical piece in a large puzzle. But few pieces are as big or difficult to put in place as liberating the Githyanki prince, Orpheus, from his bounds in the Astral Prism.

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Should you wish to progress both Orpheus and, by extension, Lae’zel’s questlines, you’ll want to be invested from day one to get the full picture. And when the picture comes together and all the smaller pieces are in place, what will you do when the choice to free Orpheus comes at the cost of betrayal?

How To Begin The Orpheus Quest - Optional Prerequisites

There are a few interactions that begin this questline, butthe only hard requirementsfor this quest are:

You can alsoprogressLae’zel’s questline, The Githyanki Warrior, as an optional endeavor.This questline includes:

Orpheus Restrained By Emperor Is Forced To Use His Powers In Astral Prison In Baldur’s Gate 3

No matter what you’ve done up to this point, theformal beginningof freeing Orpheus stems frompaying a visit to Raphael, and potentially Voss,at Sharess' Caress.

How To Obtain The Orphic Hammer - Make A Deal With Raphael

The easiest way of obtaining the Orphic Hammer is bymaking a deal with Raphael at Sharess' Caress.You can find him on thethird floor in the farthest northern room(accessible via the balcony).

When you enter the room, you’ll be able tospeak with Raphaelwho proposes a deal:Give him the Crown of Karsus in exchange for the Orphic Hammer.

Voss Tells Player And Lae’zel To Meet Him At Sharess' Caress

There areno in-game repercussionsfor agreeing to do this, but thestory is impactedin a few major ways:

You can avoid these endings entirelyif you accept this deal and choose to break into the House of Hope. By freeing Hope from her prison, you’ll be able to kill Raphael, subverting the deal entirely.

Raphael Tells Player About The Orphic Hammer In Sharess' Caress Baldur’s Gate 3

How To Steal The Orphic Hammer

Tosteal the hammer,you need to firstenter the House of Hope.This is done through completing a ritual at the Devil’s Fee, a shop in the Lower City.

It is a dungeon area, and stealing this hammer willresult in a boss fight with Raphael.

Raphael Tells Player About His Ambition To Become Supreme Overlord Of Hell In Baldur’s Gate 3

Once inside the home, you’ll want toask Hope’s astral projection in the first room about the weapon.You can agree touse the weapon to free her, but agreeing to do so does not mean you must.

With theDebtor’s Disguiseshe gives you, you’ll be able to explore the home freely.

Player Places Diamond In Ritual Circle At Devil’s Fee To Open house Of Hope Portal In Baldur’s Gate 3

As you enter the home, eithergo left through the locked dooror, to avoid lockpicking, goaround the halluntil youreach the west wing. Hope will stand outside your destination:the Archives.

Asking Hope for more information, she’ll tell you that theArchivist is afraid of Zariel’s High Inquisitor,Verillius Receptor.

Player Offers To Save Hope In The House Of Hope In Baldur’s Gate 3

This information can also be gained byreading the Archivist’s thoughtson the guest list.

Inside the Archives, you’llspy the hammer behind a magical forcefield. You cannot free it from there yet, sospeak to the Archivist.

Player Finds Hope Standing Outside The Archives In The House Of Hope In Baldur’s Gate 3

You can eitherDeceive the Archivistinto believing you’re Verillius Receptor (DC15) orpickpocket himto receive theBoudoir invitation.

The Boudoir, located on the north side of the house,will contain the passwordneeded to lower the arcane field around the hammer. However, you’ll have anencounter with the incubus, Harleep,once you near the password’s secret location.

Player Chooses To Deceive The Archivist In House Of Hope In Baldur’s Gate 3

You can eitheraccept the dealHarleep offers by sleeping with themor attack and kill Harleep.Either way will lead to thepassword’s location behind a portrait of Raphaelon the west side of the bed.

See our guide on whether youshould accept Harleep’s deal.

With the password, you’ll be able to steal the Orphic Hammer.Once you remove it, however,you’ll have to fight all inhabitants of the House of Hope and Raphael himself.

Having the Orphic Hammer will also mean that you’ll have theoption to free Hope.

Harleep Tells Player Raphael’s Safe Is Behind A Portrait Of Himself In Boudoir In Baldur’s Gate 3

At this point,making any deals with Raphael will no longer be available. This choice also appears to anger the Guardian, the Emperor, so those who have chosen to romance them should be wary of this decision.

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Sidequest: Where To Find Voss After Obtaining The Orphic Hammer

After obtaining the Orphic Hammer, you canfind Voss in the Lower City Sewers.

He’ll be speaking with an individual. After their conversation, you shouldspeak with Voss with Lae’zel in your party and the hammer in your inventory.

Gale Uses Arcana Check To Inspect Magical Barrier Around orphic Hammer in House of Hope In Baldur’s Gate 3

Updating Voss on the hammer isnecessary in gaining the Githyanki as potential alliesin the final battle, updating the Gather Your Allies! quest.

Additionally,telling him about the Orphic Hammer with Lae’zel in your partywill progress her quest.Voss will grant the Silver Sword, a legendary weapon uniquely suited to the Githyanki:

Silver Sword of the Astral Plane

Legendary greatsword; two-handed. +3 Enchantment.Deals damage equal to 2d6 Slashing + 1d6 Psychic (Conditional) + Strength modifier.

Githborn Psionic Weapon:Githyanki wielding this weapon grants it a bonus 1d6 Psychic damage.

Githborn Psionic Resistance:Githyanki wielding this sword have Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma Saving Throws. They also gain Resistance to Psychic damage and immunity to the Cursed condition.

Soul Breaker:As an action and once per short rest, potentially stuns the enemy on a failed Constitution saving throw. Deals 2d6 Slashing + Strength modifier + 1d4 Fire + 3 Psychic damage.

How To Free Orpheus

With the Orphic Hammer, you’ll need toproceed to the near end of the game.This means that you’ll need to havecollected all three Netherstonesandventured to the lair of the Elder Brain.

After your brief encounter with the Elder Brain (failing all three checks to dominate it), you’ll be pulledinto the Prism spacewith the Emperor.

Ensure that you have the Orphic Hammer in your inventory- not your camp - before having your encounter with the Elder Brain. You will otherwise not be able to free Orpheus.

When the Emperor states he will consume Orpheus and asks for the Netherstones,refuse him and state:

There is another way - we will free Orpheus.

Continue to press that youchoose Orpheusand do not trust the Emperor. This willcause him to leaveand become an enemy in the final boss fight.

When the Emperor has left,equip the Orphic Hammer. Destroy both crystalson either side of Orpheus’s prison.

With both crystals destroyed,Orpheus will now be free. However, there is a new problem:there must be an illithidto use the Netherstones and control the Netherbrain. This leaves you withthree options:

Karlach can only become an illithid if she is in your active party and her approval of you is high enough. There is also a known bug that if Gale is in the party, he will speak over Karlach and render her unable to offer herself to become an illithid.

No matter what option you choose, Orpheus will now be free.He’ll join your partyfor the remainder of the act andfight with you in the final battle.

With Orpheus on your side, the future of Baldur’s Gate and the future of the Githyanki people has never been brighter.