House of Sorrows in Baldur's Gate 3: how to find and save Shadowheart's parents

House of Sorrows in Songs of the Night.

In the guide we will tell you where the House of Sorrows is and how to find and save Shadowheart’s parents in BG3. Read further about all the secrets of the Monastery of Gloomy Embraces, whether it is worth killing Viconia DeVir and how to defeat her in battle, where the Hall and the Mirror of Loss are located.

Where to find a Sharite spy

Teleport to the very south of Rivington and go towards the Requisitioned Barn, on the approach to it you can find a Sharite spy (X: 45; Y: -105).

In a conversation with Ferg Droeger, you will hear that the Sharite monastery is hidden in the House of Sorrows in the Lower City. It is there that Shadowheart will have to bring to the end the matter associated with the loss of her parents.

Where to find the House of Sorrows in Baldur's Gate 3

The House of Sorrows in BG3 is located in the northwestern part of the Lower City, accessible from the Baldur's Gate rune circle. Move west and cross the bridge over the river to get to the desired bank opposite Lady Jannat's Estate.

How to get to the Monastery of Grim Embrace

Talk to Miri (X: -268; Y: -5) at the counter in the House of Sorrows to enter the Monastery of Grim Embrace. Before the dialogue begins, we advise you to put Shadowheart in the squad, otherwise you will have to pay 1000 gold. At the same time, you will still have to bring a priestess to get inside.

You can ignore Miri and deceive the guard Morann standing at the door (approves Astarion). If successful, you will have to break open the door, but you will still have the choice of going through the Heart Survey or skipping the ritual if you notice the button.

After the conversation, follow Miri and go through the door leading to the Heart Surveying room. Sit on the granite bench and go through the ritual with the Confessor of Sorrow, this can be done either by the original hero or by Shadowheart. Replica "Shadowheart, you better not interfere" will result in the loss of your partner's approval points.

When the Land Survey is over, you and Shadowheart can go down to the basement leading to the Monastery of Grim Embrace. For completing the ritual, heroes with Novice origin will receive Inspiration.

Alternatively, you can take an attentiveness test (KS - 20) and notice the button that opens the entrance to the monastery, which will allow you to skip the process of Heart Surveying.

On the way down you will find locked rooms “Infiltration Training” and “Interrogation Training” (KS - 15), in which you will learn a little more about Shadowheart.

In “Infiltration Training” you will read on the table "Report on the activities of Enver Gortas", which will allow you to get new options for lines in dialogue with Helsik from “The Devil’s Share”. Elegant and gristly chests (KS - 20) contain items of common rarity.

Viconia DeVir or Shadowheart

Following the corridors of the monastery, you will find yourself in a large hall, in the center of which stands Mother Superior Shar. In a conversation with her, you have a choice: take the side of Viconia DeVir or Shadowheart.

Viconia DeVir

Viconia DeVir will ask give Shadowheart her, but in this case the priestess will leave the team forever as a companion (they do not approve: Shadowheart). The only advantage of this decision is that Mother Superior will the heroes in the war against the Absolute on the task “Gathering of Allies.” Despite the agreement, when trying to go into the Chamber of Loss to use the mirror and see the priestess's parents, all the Sharites will become aggressive, including Viconia.

Shadowheart

Shadowheart implies battle with Viconia DeVir, whatever choice is made regarding the Song of Night. In this case, gain access to a full exploration of the area, including the Mirror of Loss, decide the fate of the priestess's parents and pick up the abbess's equipment.

If you went to the ways of Selune, then before the first dialogue with Viconia, place Shadowheart away from the abbess, in the area of the door. Lie to DeVir that you will bring her a partner, thanks to which you can arrange the squad. If persuasion or intimidation fails, the battle will begin immediately. You can read more in the paragraph “How to defeat Viconia DeVir.”

If chosen path Ball, then Shadowheart will have to replace Viconia and lead the monastery, so similarly he will have to fight with the abbess. In this option, you can recruit the Sharites standing in the hall in advance, which will facilitate the battle process.

How to defeat Viconia DeVir

Fighting Viconia DeVir in Baldur's Gate 3 requires tactics, but does have some tricks.

If the battle is too difficult, temporarily lower game difficulty – this can be done through the main menu in the corresponding item.
Viconia can be shot from afar, without provoking a battle and without aggravating the rest of the Sharites. This also works in dialogue - use one character to talk to Viconia, and the second to attack her.
It is not necessary to kill all the Sharites in the hall - it is enough Reduce Viconia's health to minimum, after which you can escape from the battle and return. The rest of the NPCs will no longer be hostile, all that remains is to talk to the abbess. The downside of this option is that heroes who find themselves on the verge of death (not dead) will be moved to the Lower City prison, from which they will have to get out.

If possible prepare for battle and arrange the characters in advance, to do this you need to start a conversation with Viconia without Shadowheart, leaving her at a great distance and disconnecting her from the squad. Next, in the dialogue with the abbess, start discussing the artifact, and then go through one of the checks:

Intimidation [KS – 20]: "Do not get your hopes up. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I cannot. The artifact is connected to me. He will kill you."
Conviction [KS – 20]: “Even if you receive the artifact, it will not save you. It’s better for us to unite against a common enemy - the Absolute.”

After success in the test, tell “Let me go and I will bring her to you”. If during the conversation you successfully ed the attention test (KS - 7), then the content of the phrase will change to “I can’t give you the artifact. But I can give Shadowheart.", the difficulty will remain the same, but you will have an advantage on the dice roll.

Depending on the composition of the team, it is advantageous to place the heroes separately in advance or, at one point - at the top of the stairs, so that the enemies are grouped as they move. Place a damage-absorbing character in front so that other heroes can deal damage while the enemies are busy with the tank.

Let's pay attention to some combat features:

Sharites with staves use two hindering skills: "darkness" to reduce the visibility of heroes and "bone-chilling cold", preventing treatment. The first spell can be canceled by attacking the NPC and breaking his concentration.
Justiciar Knights deal high damage to a single target.
At the start of the battle, Viconia DeVir has the fortune "Refuge", due to which she is immune to single damage, but can be hit by AoE abilities.
The Abbess will place a condition on Shadowheart "Lost Heart", due to which the priestess will receive critical damage from Viconia.
Shadowheart may become frightened when DeVir will appeal wolf along with a couple of followers. This form of enemies is considered a polymorph, so after a complete loss of health, they will return the amount of HP they had before the transformation.
During a protracted battle, Viconia uses a one-time priest spell "Divine Intervention", capable of causing colossal damage over an area.
Viconia may become invisible And start restore health, which should be interrupted by causing damage to it.

Let's give a few Boards on using abilities in a fair confrontation with the Mother Superior:

Use massive area skills, to simultaneously hit a large number of targets: “Ice Storm”, “Fire Wall” and others.
Spells are effective against Sharites in battle control, freezing, deceleration and acceleration.
Don't hit Viconia DeVir radiant damage, since it reflects him in human form. On easy and medium difficulty, other Sharites are susceptible to this type of damage, so we recommend using, for example, “Daylight” against them. At the tactics level, all enemies reflect radiant damage, so you can temporarily change the Shadowheart subclass and make it Lightning Domain Priest.
Use on the battlefield summoned creatures, don't forget about the scrolls. Note that the uncontrollable dead from Thay's Necromancy can endlessly attack an abbess who has already been taken out of battle.
Take at least one hero from "Counterspell"to cancel strong enemy abilities.
Among illithid abilities select "Black hole", capable of pulling enemies to one point.
Sharites have immune to blindness, but we advise you to check this on enemies, studying their properties, since vulnerabilities may change depending on the complexity of the game.

To kill or not to kill Viconia DeVir

When Viconia's health drops to low levels and the battle is over, you need to talk to the abbess again and decide: to spare the follower Shar or kill.

Kill Viconia DeVir

If you decide to finish off Viconia DeVir, get approval Astarion. You will pick up several items from the abbess’s corpse:

“Servant’s Mace” – crushing and poisonous damage, increases the strength of the equipped hero to 18 units.
Viconia's Robe is cloth armor that grants advantage on stealth checks and a +2 bonus on all tests.
Viconia's Walking Fortress Shield - When taking melee damage, you can use a reaction action to deal force damage to an enemy, causing them to fall flat on a failed Agility test. The bonus action “Reflective Shell” reflects projectiles aimed at the owner for 2 turns. “Protective Bonds” increases the ally’s resistance to all damage, gives +1 to tests and AC, but each time the ally receives damage, the same amount of damage is transferred to the caster and the owner of the shield.
Key to Viconia's personal chest.

After Viconia's death, you can use "Talk with the Dead" to communicate with the abbess.

Spare Viconia DeVir

If you spare Viconia DeVir, she will run away, which will prevent you from taking her equipment. This choice is approved Astarion.

Search the Monastery of Grim Embrace

After defeating Viconia, you will be free to explore the House of Sorrows. In the south of the main hall you will come across a Luxury Chest (KS - 20), containing arrows and gold. Nearby, examine the bookcases, where you will find several rare spell scrolls.

Dormitory

Climb the northern stairs to the Bedroom, which is a Sharite dormitory, to find some special items and run into an old friend, Shadowheart.

At the very end of the bedroom, open the “Jewelry Box” by using the “Key to Viconia’s Personal Chest.” In it you will find several jewelry and the “Key to Specially Protected Vault No. 8” - the personal safe of the abbess in the s Chamber.

Not far from Viconia's bed you will see an "Interrogation Protocol" related to the Githyanki. At the beginning of the dorm, you will notice “Nocturne’s Diary”, in which you will read about the experiences of Shadowheart’s friend during their service.

Meeting with Nocturne

A familiar face is Nocturne in Baldur's Gate 3; if you find the Sharites in the dorm, be sure to take Shadowheart to meet her. After the death of Viconia DeVir, the tiefling will disappear the very next day after the first long rest.

Talk to Nocturne as the priestess several times to learn a few moments from the girl's lost memories:

About Shadowheart’s pet mouse, whom she took care of against the rules, because of which one day Viconia forced her to get rid of Gryzkin - this is how the priestess developed a fear of becoming attached.
About the scar on Shadowheart's elbow, received during a fight in the cafeteria - this was a moment that Mother Superior was proud of.
About a secret corner, the Night Orchid Cave, where you can visit before the conversation to get an additional line. From it you will learn that Nocturne is a quartermaster, and it was she who helped hide the shelter.
About Shadowheart's hairstyle - Nocturne did it, listening to the priestess's instructions.

Don't forget to trade with the tiefling for scrolls, elixirs, and health potions.

Night Orchid Cave

Go to the Arsenal in the southeast of the main hall of the monastery and break the wooden barricade inside to enter the Night Orchid Cave.

Shadowheart will call the hidden hideout familiar, read "The Stained Book" about the altar and "The Hastily Written Note" about the Mirror of Loss.

If you haven't done this before, collect the Night Orchid so that during a long rest a special scene with Shadowheart will appear, thanks to which you can improve your relationship with her.

How to open the Threshold of Loss and enter the Hall of Loss

To the west of the Monastery of Grim Embrace, go through the door leading to the Chamber of Loss. In front of it you will notice the clue “Loss of the City Father”. You can open the Loss Threshold using several methods:

Place gold or items worth 1 gold on the altar (excluding the black diamond already on it).
Hack with thieves' tools (KS - 30).
Use the Silver Key recovered from the corpse of the Sharite guard Lamona.

What to do with Shadowheart's parents: save or kill

In the Hall of Loss you will see two prisoners, Arnelle and Emmeline - Shadowheart's parents. In a conversation with the Svyatolists, you will have to decide their future fate, which will have a key impact on the ending of your partner:

If Shadowheart remained faithful Ballthen donate by her parents so that she could lose her memories of them, become the right hand of the goddess and rule the temple. In this case, after defeating the Absolute, the partner will decide to go to a monastery and devote the rest of her life to serving Shar.
Kill Shadowheart's parents as she follows the path Seluneto free the priestess from the curse. Saints will be reborn as fireflies, who will look after their Jenevel even after death.
In any case, Shadowheart's parents can free themselves and survive, but to do this you need to one of the checks with a high level of difficulty. The Svyatolists will reunite with their daughter and settle in the camp, and after the end of the war they will plan to settle with her somewhere far away in a village and live in peace. If she believes in Selune, Shadowheart will remain with a cursed mark, and as Shar travels, all the memories of how she tortured her parents will return to her.

To help the Saints, select a replica “Don’t let yourself lose your parents—again. Pain is not scary", and then:

Religion [KS – 20]: “I sense great faith and great willpower in all of you. Rely on it. You don't have to break up."
Conviction [KS – 20]: “You are family, you can handle it. This is what you were striving for. Don’t deprive yourself of this.”

Replicas “You must choose, Shadowheart. Free your parents - or get rid of Shar's curse." и “It's your choice, Shadowheart. It’s not for me to tell you what to do.” will lead to the fact that the priestess decides to sacrifice the Saints, since the parents will insist on this action.

Killing Shadowheart's parents outside of dialogue will cause the companion to become hostile. If she is not nearby at this moment, she will leave the party after the main character returns to the camp and talks with her.

How to use the Mirror of Loss

In the very west of the Monastery of Gloomy Embraces, in the Hall with Shadowheart's parents, there is a Mirror of Loss. For full interaction, in dialogue with him you need to go through tests for magic and religion, and then exchange one old memory for a new one, which will reduce and increase the values of the two selected characteristics. All available responses and consequences when using the Mirror of Loss are described in separate guide.

We hope this article helped you complete the House of Sorrows in Baldurs Gate 3. If you encounter any problems while exploring the area, please comments. In the corresponding section of the site you can find other Baldur's Gate 3 guides.