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In Act Two ofBaldur’s Gate 3, clear skies and lush greenery become all but extinct as you’re thrust into a gloomy battlefield afflicted by the shadow curse—which continually saps your hit points and transforms the fallen into aggressive undead.
While there are temporary measures toshield yourself from the malevolent effects, the curse gets stronger as you delve deeper, making it a nuisance at best and deadly at worst. There is, however, a way to accomplish what even Halsin couldn’t: permanently cleanse the land of the shadow curse. Lifting Ketheric’s curse for good is no easy task, but this guide is here to illuminate the path.
Updated Jul 06, 2025, by Zoë J. Osik:With the recent updates to Baldur’s Gate 3, we’ve updated our guide to highlight the benefits of lifting the Shadow Curse and how the Dark Urge may struggle to heal the land. If you’re invested in the impact your choices make, it’s well worth the effort to try and lift the Shadow Curse.
How To Lift The Shadow Curse
The questline leading to the removal of the shadow curse is long and arduous, spanning much of Act Two in its entirety. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Each step will be discussed in greater detail below.
How To Recruit Halsin
The first step of this long questlinestarts in Act One, and ties in greatly with the main storyline:the Tiefling and Goblin conflict.
Upon arriving atthe Emerald Groveshortly after the Nautiloid crash of Act One, you’ll learn thatHalsin, their First Druid,has been kidnapped by goblins.
You’ll need totraverse into thegoblin campto rescue him. He’s not easy to find, however, as he’sstuck in bear formandimprisoned deep in the camp.Our guide to rescuing Halsinwill show you exactlywhere you may find him, andwhat you have to do to save him.
After saving Halsin, you’ll need todefeat the three leaders of the goblin campto properly win him over.
If you protected the Grove from the goblins, you’ll be able toenjoy a brief party with Halsin and the tieflings, during which he’llinstruct you to travel to Moonrise Towersin the shadow-cursed lands.
Until you reach a certain point of the questline (helping Halsin defend his Shadowfell portal),Halsin will not be able to accompany you in your party,but can be found at any timewithin your Camp.
How To Get To Act Two
Halsin is adamant that you shouldtravel to Moonrisefor answers about your tadpole, but how exactly do you get to these shadow-cursed lands?
There aretwo ways of entering Act Two, which marks the start of the shadow curse. you’re able to enter these lands through theMountain Pass—via a path near the Githyanki Crèche Y’llek, orthrough the Underdark—via Grymforge, a duergar outpost.
Our guide to reaching Moonrise Towersexplains in greater detailwhich path you should taketo the shadow-cursed lands, andwhat to expect from either choice.
How To Wake Up Art Cullagh
Once you’ve reached the shadow-cursed lands, you’ll eventually find yourself shepherded towardthe Last Light Inn, one of the few sanctuaries in these cursed lands.
In one of the rooms of the Last Light Inn, you’ll find the Flaming Fist desperately trying to wake upan unconscious Flaming Fist officer, Art Cullagh, who seems to have been wandering the cursed lands for a century.
Art Callugh can be found mumbling about a boy named Thaniel; after hearing this, you canhead back to Halsin at your camp, where he’ll recognize Thaniel’s name andrequest to meet Art Cullagh.
If youfinish Shar’s Sanctum(the dungeon under the Thorm Mausoleum) before waking Art Callugh, you will belocked out of this questline entirelyand willnot be able to lift the shadow cursefor your playthrough. verify tofinish up this questlinebefore heading in there!
Unfortunately, the key to waking Art Callugh lies elsewhere, to thesouthwest of the Grand Mausoleum waypoint. You’ll need to visit theHouse of Healinganddefeat Malus Thormto obtain theBattered Lute, which is the key to waking the unconscious man.
Our guide on waking Art Callughwill cover this step of the quest in greater detail, as well as explainhow to defeat Malus Thorm—a formidable mini-boss in his own right.
How To Defend Halsin’s Portal
After waking Art Callugh, the following quest is fairly straightforward—no more mysteries or scavenger hunts, just some good, old-fashioned monster-bashing.
For the unprepared adventurer, however, defending Halsin’s portal against thewaves of endless shadowy monstrositiesmight be one of themost challenging fightsof the game so far.
Our guide to defending Halsin’s Portalwill provide guidance and possible strategies to help you keep Halsin safe.
After this fight, you’ll finally be able to recruit Halsin as an active member of your party. Hooray!
How To Find Thaniel’s Other Half
When three rounds are up, Halsin will emerge with Thaniel from the Shadowfell—but the quest isn’t over yet. Thaniel has been fractured by the curse, and you’ll need to find his other half, Oliver, to reunite them.
you’re able to find Oliver in the House in Deep Shadows near the Shadowed Battlefield waypoint.
Nothing is everthateasy in the shadow-cursed lands, however, so you’ll need to play the world’s most unfair game of hide-and-seek and win Oliver over by killing his family and friends.
Our guide to finding Thaniel’s shadow halfwill go into more extensive detail about how to find Oliver and fight him.
How To Defeat Ketheric Thorm
Finally, after reuniting the two halves of Thaniel, he’llcome to your campand tell you that to fully lift the Shadow Curse, you’llneed to defeat Ketheric Thorm.
Unfortunately, as the game is fond of reminding us,Ketheric is immortaland cannot be killed by normal means. In order to take him down for good, you’ll need totraverseShar’s Sanctum,locatedunder the Grand Mausoleum,and descend into the Shadowfell tofree or kill the Nightsong, the source of Ketheric Thorm’s immortality.
This is amajor story beat for Shadowheart’s personal story, and we highly recommend bringing her along with you when you do this part of the quest.
Afterdealing with the Nightsong, you’ll finally be able toput Ketheric down permanently. If you’ve beenaligned with the Harpersup to this point, you canjoin them in a raidagainst Moonrise Towers, where they’ll help youstorm and kill all the cultists of the Absolutewithin the towers.
Ketheric Thorm Boss Fight
Ketheric Thorm is a penultimate,multi-phase bossof Act Two, and this will likely be thetoughest series of fightsyou’ll have faced in the game yet.
You’ll face him first on therooftop of Moonrise Towers, after which he’llretreat to the Mindflayer Colonydeep under the towers.
You won’t be able toleave,go back to camp to swap out party members, orlong restwhen you’re inside the Mindflayer Colony. Be prepared before jumping in!
But don’t fret; we’ve got you covered here too.Our guide to defeating Ketheric Thorm once and for allwill walk you throughevery phraseof this terrifying boss fight.
After defeating Ketheric, if you’ve followed all the steps so far,the curse will finally be lifted.
Though the area will remain rather gloomy, you’ll be able toprogress into the city of Baldur’s Gate in Act Three, knowing that you’ve done all you may help the land heal, and having made aloyal ally out of Halsin, the Archdruid.
If youdo not lift the curseby the time you enter Act Three,Halsin will remain in the shadow-cursed landsin order to try and do so himself and willleave your camp and party permanently.
Should You Lift The Shadow Curse?
Lifting the Shadow Curse has many benefits. Aside from the moral implications ofhealing the land and helping Thaniel, you’ll also gain favor with Halsin. This endears him to you and opens the way for you toromance the Archdruid, Halsin. While the romance is optional, you’ll stillgain an powerful allyon your way to the final act.
If you’replaying as the Dark Urge, there may be reasons why youdon’t want to lift the Shadow Curse. As the Dark Urge, you’re able to lift the Shadow Curse if you want toredeem yourself and play a noble hero, but you can also leave the land to its miserable fate if you haveno intention of being good.
Because you need Halsin to lift the Shadow Curse, siding with the goblins in Act One will prevent you from being able to.
Ultimately, thechoice is up to you. The additional work it takes to lift the Shadow Curse willgive you vital experienceand help you connect more with the plight of your party members, butit can be skipped with little to no impacton events later in the game,minus Halsin’s personal journey.
