The Shadow Curse plays a huge role in Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3, covering the land around Moonrise Towers in strange, unnatural darkness. Hunted at every turn by the undead and terrifying shadow creatures, the party must navigate this oppressive landscape in their quest to stop the Absolute. But luckily there is a way to lift the curse entirely, allowing the land to heal once the party leave Act 2.

However, getting to that point isn't the easiest, and the Act 2 quest "Lift the Shadow Curse" can trip up the unprepared. This quest serves as Halsin's personal quest, allowing the Arch Druid to the party fully rather than just be a camp follower. With planning and knowledge of what steps to follow, BG3's Shadow Curse can be cleared, Halsin fully recruited and a powerful ally gained.

Save Halsin From The Goblins In Act 1

Obviously, in order to get Halsin’s personal quest, the leader of the Druid Grove will need to be rescued in Act 1. One of the earliest quests given to the party is to rescue Halsin from the Goblin Camp, with the idea being he will know a way to get rid of the illithid tadpoles. Halsin can be found deep within the Shattered Sanctum, in an area called the Worg Pens in the northwest area of the building, and when first met will be in bear form.

After a brief scuffle with the goblins guarding him, Halsin can be freed and will want the three leaders of the Goblin Camp killed. It is up to the party whether to take him with him as help or leave him in the Worg Pens until the task is complete, however as a temporary companion Halsin's skill set is limited.

Regardless of how it is accomplished, once all three leaders are dead, Halsin will make his own way back to the Druid Grove where he can be spoken to once more for him to the party's camp.

It perhaps goes without saying that the tieflings and the druids must be sided against the goblins or Halsin will not the camp. Although as of Patch #5 Minthara can be recruited alongside Halsin without too much trouble.

Speak With Halsin To Learn About Thaniel And Wake Art Cullagh

Once in Act 2, Halsin should be spoken to at camp where he will explain his history with the area surrounding Moonrise Towers and that he was there when the Shadow Curse was first placed. Conversations with companions are crucial in BG3 to learn more about them and move their personal quests forward. It is during this conversation that Halsin will talk about Thaniel, the nature spirit of the land, and Halsin believes that finding Thaniel is key to lifting the curse.

The next step can be found inside the Last Light Inn in a room on the western side of the ground floor, just to the right of the main entrance. Inside is Counselor Florrick and several Flaming Fists, one of which is tending to an unconscious man. This is Art Cullagh, and Fish J'ehlar will explain that they found him, and he appears to be one of the original Flaming Fist from over a century ago. Art will be unconscious and unresponsive but will be mumbling a song that mentions the name Thaniel.

From here go and speak to Halsin once more, who will immediately rush to Art's side. Back in the Inn, J'ehlar and Halsin can be spoken to and a letter of Art's can be read that points to the House of Healing. In the House of Healing, Malus Thorm will need to be defeated in order to gain Art's battered lute, which can be played for him back at the Last Light Inn to wake him.

Just as with all the Thorm boss fights in Act 2 the battle with Malus can be avoided with the right conversation choices and skill checks.

Once Art is awake, he will be able to help Halsin work out the next step in finding Thaniel. Art will explain that the land in the Shadowfell is always shifting, but Thaniel can be found by following the smell of lavender. After this, Halsin will ask the party to meet him by lakeside for the next stage of "Lift the Shadow Curse."

Defend The Portal For Halsin

At the lakeside, Halsin explains that he will open up a portal to the Shadowfell to find Thaniel. The party will need to defend the portal for five round or Halsin will be lost forever, and the quest will fail. This is the most difficult part of “Lift the Shadow Curse”, but can be made easier with the right preparations.

The best party for this are clerics and paladins are the enemies will all be undead, so having Shadowheart or some hirelings is a good idea. It is best to long rest before going into this fight to make sure all party are fully healed and have all their spell slots and abilities. Other useful party are those that have access to AOE spells or items, and those with multiple attacks such as barbarians and fighters to make sure to get the most out of each turn.

Good spell choices are: Spirit gGuardians, Thunderwave, Ice Storm, and Guardian of Faith for crowd control. Keep in mind that the cleric will have to concentrate on Spirit Guardians when choosing other spells.

There will be three waves of enemies with the majority being melee attackers which can be kept at bay with relative ease. However, during waves one and two Shadow-Cursed Harpers will spawn which will attack the portal from range. These must be the party’s priority targets to limit the damage the portal takes.

A good plan is to have the cleric on the raised area with the portal and cast spirit guardians to create a choke point. An excellent choice of weapon for this situation is the Blood of Lathander as it sheds holy light that blinds the undead giving them disadvantage on their attacks. The damage dealers should be on the main field to allow them to intercept the Shadow-Cursed Harpers quickly and other attackers.

War caster is a great feat for clerics to help maintain concentration on spells in battle.

The priority for the party needs to be taking out the ranged threats and stopping the melee attacks, so AOE attacks to take out large groups is essential. Turn Undead is also perfect in the event that a group manages to get close to the portal, while level five clerics will be able to use Destroy Undead to clear groups with 4d6 radiant damage to turned enemies. Once the timer runs out, the enemies will no longer actively target the portal and the party can more easily clear the battlefield.

Find Oliver And Wake Thaniel

Once Halsin emerges from the portal he will be carrying an unconscious Thaniel, who appears as a tiefling child. Halsin will explain that Thaniel was split in two when the curse was placed and his other self is needed to wake him. After speaking with Halsin back at camp, the powerful druid will become available as a full companion as the party seeks Thaniel’s other part.

The other part of Thaniel can be found in a farmhouse south-east of Last Light Inn, almost directly east of the Shadowed Battlefield waypoint. The spirit will again appear as a tiefling boy, named Oliver, and he will initially not want to go with the party. There are a couple of ways of resolving this section of the quest, either by playing hide and seek with Oliver or directly fighting his shadow creations.

During combat, Oliver will be inside a magic bubble. Targeting his shadow friends will deplete the bubble's hit point and once it reaches zero, combat will end and Oliver can be spoken to again.

After combatting Oliver, he again expresses how he feels abandoned by Thaniel and doesn't want to help him. Taking Halsin on his quest is a good idea as there will be an option to let him talk to Oliver. Oliver will then return to Thaniel who will wake up and can be spoken to in camp where he will explain that the final step to lift the curse is the death of Ketheric Thorm.

Complete The Rest Of Act 2 And Defeat Ketheric Thorm

The final stages of “Lift the Shadow Curse” tie in with the main questline of Act 2 as to ensure that the curse is removed Ketheric Thorm must be defeated. Once the Gauntlet of Shar has been completed, Thorm will no longer be invulnerable and the party can storm Moonrise Towers. If the Nightsong has been freed then Jaheira and the Harpers will the fight as will Dame Aylin until the party can fight Thorm on the roof of the tower.

After Thorm has fled and the party has made their way through the Mind Flayer Colony, they will be able to confront Thorm again. This battle can have two stages, although the first part can be skipped with the right dialogue choices, so long as letters from Thorm’s wife were found. Upon Thorm’s defeat, the quest will end and upon exiting the Act 2 area of Baldur’s Gate 3 a cutscene will play showing the land already beginning to heal.