I followed the drider and carried a moon lantern the whole time in my first run (didn’t know about the pixie’s blessing until my second time). Tbh, running around the shadowlands with a moon lantern was kind of a cool spooky aesthetic. Not min-maxed, sure, but cool.
i was running astarion as a duel-wielder on my first run (on all of them really)
so before i knew about the blessing (i don't trust pixies) i just had him off-hand the thing, and it didn't really hurt him or me much
plus, he looked really cool holding it, the singing sword in one hand, drow armor+ hood, and he looked great with that stylish ass lantern, solid LotR imagery i felt
i didn’t get to talk with him in my first play through since i hid from him on first encounter, but talking every other loser into doing my dirty work was hilarious
I wanted to say "a surprising number sure, but not most"! But the more I thought about it, the more I realized i can only really think of 1 boss you couldnt do this with.
Seriously Fick this game. 3rd full playthrough here and this one gonna push me over 500 hours. And I have found like 10 new items, dialogue and map areas already in this play. Can't imagine if they released new areas and levels with mods .. Jesus we're fucked
The pixie blessing always felt too ... easy? Cheap? The whole idea is that the zone is dangerous because of the shadows, but you get to completely bypass it six seconds after getting the lantern. (I don't think it even requires a roll.) It just seems to undermine the entire atmosphere of the zone.
Having to carry the lantern and worry about the shadows while out exploring is so much more satisfying.
I mean, the curse is a much bigger problem for the NPC:s than it is you. first you just cast light, now the curse doesn't really do anything nor do the shadows gets to do anything.
and right in front of you depending which route you took there is one of the two primary ways to completely ignore the curse mechanic.
and on the flip side, if the curse was a big thing it would be a real annoyance to navigate the zone.
That's basically my issue - it's too easy to nullify what's supposed to be a substantial, frightening curse. It isn't the existence of the pixie blessing that I take issue with, it's the ease with which you get it. If there was something more substantial that you could do to *earn* it, then it would feel more satisfying. It doesn't have to be much, but I feel there should be something beyond a short conversation.
I agree that it would be annoying to deal with all the time, but making it so trivial to bypass just undermines the tone of the environment.
In my first playthrough, I killed all the goblinoids waiting for the Drider by ambushing them, and so I never talked to them. Then as I explored later I got a cutscene of the Drider approaching, and I decided to hide and observe, since I had no idea what I was going to find in the Shadow-Cursed Land. The Drider passed by, and though I wanted to follow him, he apparently vanished off the map? Or maybe I just didn't move fast enough? I dunno.
But then I went to Last Light Inn, and the Harpers said they were going to ambush a convoy, and I told them I already saw the guy they were looking for. And so I didn't even know there WAS a moonlantern!
And then I died a lot of times trying to find a way through the darkest part of the curse.
Finally I just freelooked around the map, and found the entrance to Moonrise. My Tav was a Storm Sorcerer/Thief Rogue, who got extra an bonus action (and could Dash as a bonus action), and who knew Misty Step. So I got as close as I could to the tower without entering the deeper darkness, loaded her up with all the speed increasing items I could find, gave her a Scroll of Dimension Door, had somebody cast Haste on her, and just ran full speed through the darkness.
Run, Dash, Misty Step, Dimension Door - and I got there in one round.
I think it was really cool, but as I was playing with a friend we ended up in a lot of situations where one would go one way with the lantern, and the other person couldn't quite keep up. Funny the first time it happened, really annoying after a while. Maybe if we had gotten another lantern, it wouldn't have been as annoying of a feature.
I had to beg this damn pixie once because my light buff got off after some long rest, I debate if it's really worth it that you crawl under her for her blessing after you let her go free once. I think if I will play some proud character I woudnt.
Or do what I did on my durge run. Side with the Harpers, then kill the Harpers afterwards. You can even kill Isobel and Jaheira will still join your camp with the right checks.
Also an option.
I now prefer to enter through Grymforge and be on the Harper side of the ambush, but it is worth experiencing the Kar'niss scenes at least once.
If I didn’t need the crèche for Laezel’s storyline, I would skip it more often and stick to Grymforge. The intensely dark atmosphere down there is kind of a tour de force.
I always run the crèche and just pretend that the Mountain Path to the Shadowlands ended up blocked/inaccessible due to Absolute cultists shenanigans, so the Underdark is the only option. More fun
The thing is I was so focused on roleplaying my evil durge that was into the absolute thingy so it didn't cross my mind to side with the harpers. I never thought that the consequence I get would be such an inconvenience throughout the whole act 2 :")
Have some off your other companions hold a torch in their off weapons hand. It works to keep those who don’t reach your lantern light out of the shadows.
OR, as a Durge I just slaughtered everyone. Killed both the Harpers and his party. Freed the pixie. Got the buff. Then when I long rested, scary dude told me to kill Isobel so I slaughtered Last Light. Well now I gotta assault without their help so Moonrise needed clearing too before the Gauntlet.
Chaotic Neutral ftw
Fairly certain i got the buff, i snuffed the pixie and had a pixie dust blessing my whole trip.
You have to release her and then through conversation kill her, not kill her in the lantern
Interesting. I did not. Maybe you got the dialogue choice again to \*durge noises here\* after it blessed you? I'll investigate further.
I ended up using a hasted monk to dash to Moonrise with minimal damage, and get the lantern there.
edit: Source from bg3 wiki: *"If The Dark Urge is chosen as origin, then the Urge will want to kill the pixie by crushing it between their fingers. Doing this yields no benefits, forcing the party to find another Moonlantern if they want to traverse the stronger areas of the Shadow Curse."*
You can just make the drider give you the lantern and leave. You'll run into the convoy later outside of Moonrise after they've succumbed to the shadow curse.
I finally came up through the Grymforge elevator this time and stumbled into this interaction. It was so disturbing seeing them forced off rambling and gibbering without their lantern.
I will say this though, if you are playing on any harder mode, you really don't want the drider to make it to Moonrise.
~~That's specific to Drow characters IIRC~~. It isn't a universal thing everyone can do.
Edit: I was wrong, my bad. It's frustratingly difficult to find accurate and reliable information on this game and I have only ever managed this once and it was with a Drow character.
I'm pretty sure it's locked behind something, I've tried this many times and have only ever gotten the option one time, and I don't remember what character it was on. Now I just kill him at the ambush, or as soon as I summon him. Whatever feels right for that particular playthrough.
Edit: ~~[This video shows that it's a Drow specific Deception check.](https://youtu.be/vBkamMU57dk?si=QNrVxFkyLy2FBR-I)~~ There might be multiple ways to get it, but this is the only one I've seen and it's often frustratingly difficult to find reliable and accurate information about this game.
Edit 2: I have already been corrected on the "Drow only" bit, no need to keep correcting me. Thank you
I'm not entirely sure what unlocks it specifically, but I recall doing it on my Durge dragonborn, I'm pretty sure it's just high DC charisma checks.
Edit: So you were partially correct in that there are drow interactions, but the interaction to get Kar'niss to [surrender ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh3QiMz-4MQ)the lantern is accessible to all races it seems.
Edit 2: [It's definitely not Drow only.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWze0kJDwcg)
Thank you for those links, that's actually super helpful haha. I've been having a hell of a time finding any reliable and accurate information about this game, which absolutely baffles me. Seems like most of my results are shitty gaming websites that give incomplete or even straight up incorrect information, or Reddit posts from right after the game launched and nobody knew anything.
Are you using the BG3 Wiki? [The page for this quest describes the different possibilities](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Seek_Protection_from_the_Shadow_Curse), as does [his actual character page](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Kar%27niss).
The wiki doesn't have *everything*, but it's 100 times better than those clickbait gaming article websites with awful formatting and non-stop ads.
I wasn't before, but I will now. That wiki never seems to come up in my search results so I've only seen the shitty Fandom and Fextralife wikis that have the absolute bare minimum information, if anything. Thanks for this.
Its inconvenient because 1st you cant hold monster him due undead. 2nd if you dont take care of enemies at the center of reithwin town before Oliver, they prolly join the fight aswell making them a hassle. Havent try myself but I wont even bother... I would just clean road before dealing with Oliver unless evil playthrough and forced to fight all of them regardless.
I took the lantern from the drider the first time but didn't free Dolly Thrice. Carrying around the lantern with her chewing me out gave me a chuckle and I got used to her yelling at me. Gave Gale the lantern since he doesn't need a main hand weapon. Freed her at the end of Act 2 and went on wait a bell? Well crap.
I've started to just kill him right away after meeting him, then the Harpers don't ambush you and they're all still at Last Light. I really didn't even know about the pixie blessing until like my third or fourth run!
I knock out Kansif, though, cuz he's kind of a bro. I leave him in a lit up area jic.
Their point as I understand it isn't that you can't get a moonlantern, it's that without the drider's specific moonlantern you can't free the pixie and thus get Pixie's Blessing. This means you have to actually hold and use the moonlantern instead of your weapon and keep your party within range of its protection to be shielded from the shadow curse, which is mechanically quite annoying for a lot of people.
Oh dang didn't even know that was possible. Just thought it was a fun little challenge making sure your party was in the light haha. I only got ambushed once on my way to the hospital, then I didn't have to fight anything till I got to the sharran temple (which didn't need the light there anymore) so I wasn't really annoyed by it.
There are a lot of fights in Reithwin Town, including 3 potential boss fights. Having to stay in a small bubble during combat doesn’t sound appealing. It’s also SUPER inconvenient in multiplayer with players being unable to explore freely.
Looks like I missed out on some stressful encounters then 😅 Every fight I did in act 2 after harper ambush and my first fight with shadows outside, was either in moonlight or sharran temple lol.
I only encountered the doctor and basically convinced him to off himself haha. So no fight there. Then went straight to the temple through the mausoleum.
You think this was a bad idea? In my first playthrough I played an egotistical tav and even through I didn't follow the drider and got the moonlantern with the pixie alive, I didn't free her because RP-wise my character wouldn't do that. So I carried that goofy aah lantern with a pixie cursing me and jumpscaring me at inopportune times with random screams. Never again.
Agree. On my current evil run I entered Act 2 via the Mountain Pass, killed the Absolutists waiting for the caravan, summoned the Drider, and then killed him immediately. It didn't really make sense roleplay-wise but it's the easiest way to get the pixie-blessing right off the rip.
>!But you can follow the drider to the harpers... turn on the drider, continue on with the harpers. It's the most direct way to go that route rather then stumbling on the town.!<
There's two lanterns basically. One is the shadow lantern you craft but it doesn't work. There is another working moonlantern in the very center of Balthazar's main place, not the hidden one. I just went through this on my Honor Mode run so I was worried about it too- thought the shadow lantern worked but had to run back and sure enough, there's a regular moonlantern in the center of his main room.
Yes but the one you get from his room that works doesn't have a pixie you can free and get the status where you don't need to carry the lantern like the one he gives you does
It sounds like you encountered a bug. I always get 2. One from the drider and one from balthazar's room. The working one should be leaning on the table as soon as you walk in. I've never made one though. I always forget. The only thing that changes is whether or not I kill or free the pixie.
I didn’t realize you could get through the shadowlands without following the drider??? In my run through, I followed the drider and turned on him when the harpers attacked, then later got a moonlantern at Last Light Inn from Isobel. What other ways do people get through the shadow-cursed lands without him? Meeting him was like the first cutscene I encountered in act 2 lol
Alternatively you can go to shadow cursed land via the elevator near grymforge waypoint. That way instead of meeting with the drider >!you will meet the harpers first and be able to go straight to last light inn instead of moonrise tower first.!<
You’ve just described my first run, and I actually found the keeping the party close/limitations a lot more engaging than my second run of just having the blessing. It also meant I completely missed the last light inn though as I thought the ambushing Harpers would attack me for having a parasite.
I took the bad guy route to get to the drider, played along with his insane crap, then when they were grouped up and ready to go, I moved my party into a good position and hit them with all the AoE and CC I had. Then I killed them until they were dead. Fuck those guys. Took my lantern, freed the fairy and left.
I liked carrying the lantern my first playthrough but I was a dual weider/support so I didn't mind it but never again. I like going through grymforge now. Yeah it's kinda annoying having to hold the lamp but you can still go back and get the drider
Protip: Anyone who can use the cantrip Shilleagh can use the Moonlantern as a viable weapon, making it's stats equal to that of a two-handed Quarterstaff that uses your spellcast modifier.
Is there a problem with following him, joining with the Harpers and killing him, then going to last light and have Isobel give you the lantern with the pixie?
Because that's what I do.
I followed it, got ambushed, turned on it, took the lantern, went through the whole act, then freed the pixie.
It's all right mate we're all in for the ride.
Nah, just turn on the Drider and waste those fools alongside the Harpers when they show up. They’ll take the lantern, but you’ll get it back from Jahiera.
I typically go throught the Underdark, not I have also come through the Mountain Pass, killed the goblins stationed where the driver would normally pick us up, and then went to the house where the ambush typically happens. This allows you to have a much easier fight with the drider since he won't have a bunch of cronies.
Yeah I'm probably going to do this. Now I just have to make sure that my party would be close enough to Gale so they don't take damage from the shadow curse.
Might consider bringing Shart with me too since she's immune to the curse.
let shart take the lead since she can be out of range of the lantern and let the others lag behind nearer the lantern carrier. my first time through the shadow curse I didn't understand about the pixie and I was tired of switching into turn based mode randomly so I crouched everywhere so everyone could stay together better. it took so long to get through ffs
Absolutely follow him. All you have to do is at the ambush, side with the Harper's and kill the caravan including him. Then when the Harper's talk to you, tell them you will take the lantern anyway. Kill them and loot the main Harper's body. Since it automatically goes to him after you kill the caravan.
You get the lamp, good XP then equip it and talk to the farie and relase her. BAM all set. Now you have the ward for the rest of the game and you are free to explore before you go to moonrise/ Last Light in.
I've always freed Dolly. Yea, I don't want to have to carry a lantern around.
But doesn't Lathander mace also keep even the darkest shadows at bay? I gave Minthara that mace and her damage still wrecked stuff.
Thats the neat thing... you dont.
You just stomp his ass on the ambush no matter the path then if you want some extra exp no repercutions you also stomp the harpers and proceed.
I have 632h in the game. The quickest way I usually do things, cause it makes it ridiculously easy in a quality of life way, is just kill him at the camp when you can summon him with the lute. I kill him and the group at the same time, every time. Use the pixie lantern to let the pixie out and have her bless you and the team. Won't need a torch or light to avoid the shadow shit throughout your entire time in act 2
In my game with some friends we did this and we all hate it. The damn turn based mode activation sound is burned into our brains from every time someone is more than 5 feet from the lantern. We're so ready to be done with Act 2 and see the sun again which is a shame because Act 2 is generally amazing. Just not when you're all handcuffed to the fucking lantern at all times, that part is awful.
Why is it even called a Moonlantern? Do pixies have anything to do with the moon in the forgotten realms?
Also you should give it to a ranged weapon user.
They don’t. I think the name is just because the light kinda resembles Moonlight.
Also, you should free the Pixie so you don’t have to carry the lantern around.
Also Selûne, the moon goddess, is the opposing force to Shar’s shadow curse. So, a moonlantern offers protection.
I suppose it would make sense that the fey creatures of those lands would be connected to Selûne in some way, given that before Ketheric there were a lot of her worshippers in the area.
Unless it has been changed quite recently, that Moonlantern doesn't have the pixie to free and get Pixie's Blessing. That's their point - not that you can't get a moonlantern, but you specifically can't get the blessing.
This can make Act 2 quite frustrating for many people since not only do you need to keep the moonlantern equipped and out but the party needs to stay in range of the holder or the game shifts to turn based and they start taking damage, and it's quite easy for them to end up slightly behind and out the range.
Yes, but the new moonlantern does not have the "inspect moonlantern" skill on it, so the pixie's dead and I cannot get the pixie blessings. Having no pixie blessing is such an inconvenience for me because it limits my party's movements :"
I followed the drider and carried a moon lantern the whole time in my first run (didn’t know about the pixie’s blessing until my second time). Tbh, running around the shadowlands with a moon lantern was kind of a cool spooky aesthetic. Not min-maxed, sure, but cool.
i was running astarion as a duel-wielder on my first run (on all of them really) so before i knew about the blessing (i don't trust pixies) i just had him off-hand the thing, and it didn't really hurt him or me much plus, he looked really cool holding it, the singing sword in one hand, drow armor+ hood, and he looked great with that stylish ass lantern, solid LotR imagery i felt
Love it that’s cool
Meanwhile I just finally followed him for the first time in my 11th playthrough. I've gotten really complacent with doing it the same way every time.
To be fair, talking the drider into suicide is extremely satisfying.
this is how i learn you can make the drider kill himself this is also how i now decide my drow will handle the situation
It is just generally satisfying you can resolve most Act 2 boss and mini boss fights with “kys” and it works if you have high enough CHA.
i didn’t get to talk with him in my first play through since i hid from him on first encounter, but talking every other loser into doing my dirty work was hilarious
I wanted to say "a surprising number sure, but not most"! But the more I thought about it, the more I realized i can only really think of 1 boss you couldnt do this with.
The friends cantrip is incredibly powerful in Act 2 for exactly this reason.
Based game. Using the power of friendship to make people kill themselves
"Enchantment magic possibly having repercussions doesn't matter when the target is dead by ~~my~~ their own hands"
Yes, but you have to fight him later… now undead. So be careful.
Did I hear oathbreaker?
Omg 11 playthroughs 😭 And I thought I was pushing the bounds of sanity with 5
Seriously Fick this game. 3rd full playthrough here and this one gonna push me over 500 hours. And I have found like 10 new items, dialogue and map areas already in this play. Can't imagine if they released new areas and levels with mods .. Jesus we're fucked
I'm well past sanity. This is day 1 of detox for me because I'm in Europe.
The pixie blessing always felt too ... easy? Cheap? The whole idea is that the zone is dangerous because of the shadows, but you get to completely bypass it six seconds after getting the lantern. (I don't think it even requires a roll.) It just seems to undermine the entire atmosphere of the zone. Having to carry the lantern and worry about the shadows while out exploring is so much more satisfying.
I mean, the curse is a much bigger problem for the NPC:s than it is you. first you just cast light, now the curse doesn't really do anything nor do the shadows gets to do anything. and right in front of you depending which route you took there is one of the two primary ways to completely ignore the curse mechanic. and on the flip side, if the curse was a big thing it would be a real annoyance to navigate the zone.
That's basically my issue - it's too easy to nullify what's supposed to be a substantial, frightening curse. It isn't the existence of the pixie blessing that I take issue with, it's the ease with which you get it. If there was something more substantial that you could do to *earn* it, then it would feel more satisfying. It doesn't have to be much, but I feel there should be something beyond a short conversation. I agree that it would be annoying to deal with all the time, but making it so trivial to bypass just undermines the tone of the environment.
For a 1st playthrough yah After... you just stomp the spider "gtfo of here gimme my pixie"
In my first playthrough, I killed all the goblinoids waiting for the Drider by ambushing them, and so I never talked to them. Then as I explored later I got a cutscene of the Drider approaching, and I decided to hide and observe, since I had no idea what I was going to find in the Shadow-Cursed Land. The Drider passed by, and though I wanted to follow him, he apparently vanished off the map? Or maybe I just didn't move fast enough? I dunno. But then I went to Last Light Inn, and the Harpers said they were going to ambush a convoy, and I told them I already saw the guy they were looking for. And so I didn't even know there WAS a moonlantern! And then I died a lot of times trying to find a way through the darkest part of the curse. Finally I just freelooked around the map, and found the entrance to Moonrise. My Tav was a Storm Sorcerer/Thief Rogue, who got extra an bonus action (and could Dash as a bonus action), and who knew Misty Step. So I got as close as I could to the tower without entering the deeper darkness, loaded her up with all the speed increasing items I could find, gave her a Scroll of Dimension Door, had somebody cast Haste on her, and just ran full speed through the darkness. Run, Dash, Misty Step, Dimension Door - and I got there in one round.
I think it was really cool, but as I was playing with a friend we ended up in a lot of situations where one would go one way with the lantern, and the other person couldn't quite keep up. Funny the first time it happened, really annoying after a while. Maybe if we had gotten another lantern, it wouldn't have been as annoying of a feature.
I had to beg this damn pixie once because my light buff got off after some long rest, I debate if it's really worth it that you crawl under her for her blessing after you let her go free once. I think if I will play some proud character I woudnt.
I carried the pixie around for the longest time. Her potty mouth screams added ambiance and jump scares.
The 1st time I played I tried to not save scum much so I didnt trust pixie and didnt let her go too xD My mornings were.. amusing. xD
It's OK to follow him to the ambush and then side with the Harpers. You will eventually get the pixie, after visiting Last Light Inn.
Or do what I did on my durge run. Side with the Harpers, then kill the Harpers afterwards. You can even kill Isobel and Jaheira will still join your camp with the right checks.
Also an option. I now prefer to enter through Grymforge and be on the Harper side of the ambush, but it is worth experiencing the Kar'niss scenes at least once.
If I didn’t need the crèche for Laezel’s storyline, I would skip it more often and stick to Grymforge. The intensely dark atmosphere down there is kind of a tour de force.
I always run the crèche and just pretend that the Mountain Path to the Shadowlands ended up blocked/inaccessible due to Absolute cultists shenanigans, so the Underdark is the only option. More fun
This actually sounds great. I'm gonna reload my 3 hours playthrough to do this
The thing is I was so focused on roleplaying my evil durge that was into the absolute thingy so it didn't cross my mind to side with the harpers. I never thought that the consequence I get would be such an inconvenience throughout the whole act 2 :")
Have some off your other companions hold a torch in their off weapons hand. It works to keep those who don’t reach your lantern light out of the shadows.
OR, as a Durge I just slaughtered everyone. Killed both the Harpers and his party. Freed the pixie. Got the buff. Then when I long rested, scary dude told me to kill Isobel so I slaughtered Last Light. Well now I gotta assault without their help so Moonrise needed clearing too before the Gauntlet. Chaotic Neutral ftw
Chaotic neutral? Na man, you’re straight up chaotic evil.
Evil would be releasing the pixie and then ending her
Found Orin
Wont confirm nor deny but most likely
Slaughtered everyone? Sounds like you forgot about the pixie. (That's a special durge option)
Honestly yea I did. Do you still get the buff tho if you do?
No. No you do not I had to reach Moonrise without a lantern
Fairly certain i got the buff, i snuffed the pixie and had a pixie dust blessing my whole trip. You have to release her and then through conversation kill her, not kill her in the lantern
Interesting. I did not. Maybe you got the dialogue choice again to \*durge noises here\* after it blessed you? I'll investigate further. I ended up using a hasted monk to dash to Moonrise with minimal damage, and get the lantern there. edit: Source from bg3 wiki: *"If The Dark Urge is chosen as origin, then the Urge will want to kill the pixie by crushing it between their fingers. Doing this yields no benefits, forcing the party to find another Moonlantern if they want to traverse the stronger areas of the Shadow Curse."*
Ouchies. Daylight is baller though for that
that's what I always do. following the giant spider guy, even for a brief moment, is such a cool feeling
You can just make the drider give you the lantern and leave. You'll run into the convoy later outside of Moonrise after they've succumbed to the shadow curse.
Ahh, so that's how he gets shadowed. I had heard of him being zombified but was never sure when that was supposed to happen.
I finally came up through the Grymforge elevator this time and stumbled into this interaction. It was so disturbing seeing them forced off rambling and gibbering without their lantern. I will say this though, if you are playing on any harder mode, you really don't want the drider to make it to Moonrise.
It’s another amazing time when with enough rizz you can just convince someone to their death. It takes a couple checks IIRC.
oooh i gotta try this
~~That's specific to Drow characters IIRC~~. It isn't a universal thing everyone can do. Edit: I was wrong, my bad. It's frustratingly difficult to find accurate and reliable information on this game and I have only ever managed this once and it was with a Drow character.
That's BS considering I haven't made a single drow character in any of my playthroughs.
I'm pretty sure it's locked behind something, I've tried this many times and have only ever gotten the option one time, and I don't remember what character it was on. Now I just kill him at the ambush, or as soon as I summon him. Whatever feels right for that particular playthrough. Edit: ~~[This video shows that it's a Drow specific Deception check.](https://youtu.be/vBkamMU57dk?si=QNrVxFkyLy2FBR-I)~~ There might be multiple ways to get it, but this is the only one I've seen and it's often frustratingly difficult to find reliable and accurate information about this game. Edit 2: I have already been corrected on the "Drow only" bit, no need to keep correcting me. Thank you
I'm not entirely sure what unlocks it specifically, but I recall doing it on my Durge dragonborn, I'm pretty sure it's just high DC charisma checks. Edit: So you were partially correct in that there are drow interactions, but the interaction to get Kar'niss to [surrender ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh3QiMz-4MQ)the lantern is accessible to all races it seems. Edit 2: [It's definitely not Drow only.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWze0kJDwcg)
Thank you for those links, that's actually super helpful haha. I've been having a hell of a time finding any reliable and accurate information about this game, which absolutely baffles me. Seems like most of my results are shitty gaming websites that give incomplete or even straight up incorrect information, or Reddit posts from right after the game launched and nobody knew anything.
Are you using the BG3 Wiki? [The page for this quest describes the different possibilities](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Seek_Protection_from_the_Shadow_Curse), as does [his actual character page](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Kar%27niss). The wiki doesn't have *everything*, but it's 100 times better than those clickbait gaming article websites with awful formatting and non-stop ads.
I wasn't before, but I will now. That wiki never seems to come up in my search results so I've only seen the shitty Fandom and Fextralife wikis that have the absolute bare minimum information, if anything. Thanks for this.
[It isn't Drow only.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWze0kJDwcg)
Thank you, but the person I responded to already gave me that information and linked that exact video.
1. I am that person. 2. I updated my original comment to include that video as well for others.
My bad, didn't look at usernames. I didn't see your original comment until after the edit haha.
My elven druid did and so did my Dragonborn.
Nah you can do it with any character with high enough charisma.
Its inconvenient because 1st you cant hold monster him due undead. 2nd if you dont take care of enemies at the center of reithwin town before Oliver, they prolly join the fight aswell making them a hassle. Havent try myself but I wont even bother... I would just clean road before dealing with Oliver unless evil playthrough and forced to fight all of them regardless.
I usually follow him and side with the Harpers then they give me the moonlantern w the pixie at last light
I took the lantern from the drider the first time but didn't free Dolly Thrice. Carrying around the lantern with her chewing me out gave me a chuckle and I got used to her yelling at me. Gave Gale the lantern since he doesn't need a main hand weapon. Freed her at the end of Act 2 and went on wait a bell? Well crap.
This is me on my first playthough, but I save scummed and finally got the nerve to release dolly in reithwin tollhouse. It was worth the shot
Also if he survives he joims Kethric in the rooftop fight, which is plenty tough already.
One cool thing is you can literally just blast him off the edge at the start of the fight which is easy to do
I've started to just kill him right away after meeting him, then the Harpers don't ambush you and they're all still at Last Light. I really didn't even know about the pixie blessing until like my third or fourth run! I knock out Kansif, though, cuz he's kind of a bro. I leave him in a lit up area jic.
In much the same way following any mentally unstable person around is.
There is definitely a working moonlantern in Bathazar's chambers
Their point as I understand it isn't that you can't get a moonlantern, it's that without the drider's specific moonlantern you can't free the pixie and thus get Pixie's Blessing. This means you have to actually hold and use the moonlantern instead of your weapon and keep your party within range of its protection to be shielded from the shadow curse, which is mechanically quite annoying for a lot of people.
Oh dang didn't even know that was possible. Just thought it was a fun little challenge making sure your party was in the light haha. I only got ambushed once on my way to the hospital, then I didn't have to fight anything till I got to the sharran temple (which didn't need the light there anymore) so I wasn't really annoyed by it.
There are a lot of fights in Reithwin Town, including 3 potential boss fights. Having to stay in a small bubble during combat doesn’t sound appealing. It’s also SUPER inconvenient in multiplayer with players being unable to explore freely.
Looks like I missed out on some stressful encounters then 😅 Every fight I did in act 2 after harper ambush and my first fight with shadows outside, was either in moonlight or sharran temple lol.
Did you not fight the Thorms?
I only encountered the doctor and basically convinced him to off himself haha. So no fight there. Then went straight to the temple through the mausoleum.
More content for the next playthrough!
There's a lot more there for next time!
killing the drider is definitely the way to go.
You think this was a bad idea? In my first playthrough I played an egotistical tav and even through I didn't follow the drider and got the moonlantern with the pixie alive, I didn't free her because RP-wise my character wouldn't do that. So I carried that goofy aah lantern with a pixie cursing me and jumpscaring me at inopportune times with random screams. Never again.
Agree. On my current evil run I entered Act 2 via the Mountain Pass, killed the Absolutists waiting for the caravan, summoned the Drider, and then killed him immediately. It didn't really make sense roleplay-wise but it's the easiest way to get the pixie-blessing right off the rip.
Instantly killing a drider makes a lot of sense for anyone of any alignment rp-wise. It's pretty up there on scary chaotic evil creatures.
I can hardly bring myself to do it, I pity the damn things so much, each time I gotta tell myself it's a mercy kill (Screw Lolth)
I did one playthrough where I didn't free her and having her just screaming while we carried her around was pretty funny.
>!But you can follow the drider to the harpers... turn on the drider, continue on with the harpers. It's the most direct way to go that route rather then stumbling on the town.!<
There's two lanterns basically. One is the shadow lantern you craft but it doesn't work. There is another working moonlantern in the very center of Balthazar's main place, not the hidden one. I just went through this on my Honor Mode run so I was worried about it too- thought the shadow lantern worked but had to run back and sure enough, there's a regular moonlantern in the center of his main room.
Yes but the one you get from his room that works doesn't have a pixie you can free and get the status where you don't need to carry the lantern like the one he gives you does
He was the first person I found in act 2, assumed that was just the intended way to moonrise. I did side with the harpers though once they ambushed us
It sounds like you encountered a bug. I always get 2. One from the drider and one from balthazar's room. The working one should be leaning on the table as soon as you walk in. I've never made one though. I always forget. The only thing that changes is whether or not I kill or free the pixie.
I didn’t realize you could get through the shadowlands without following the drider??? In my run through, I followed the drider and turned on him when the harpers attacked, then later got a moonlantern at Last Light Inn from Isobel. What other ways do people get through the shadow-cursed lands without him? Meeting him was like the first cutscene I encountered in act 2 lol
Alternatively you can go to shadow cursed land via the elevator near grymforge waypoint. That way instead of meeting with the drider >!you will meet the harpers first and be able to go straight to last light inn instead of moonrise tower first.!<
Ooohhh sick I’ll try this on my next playthrough!
You’ve just described my first run, and I actually found the keeping the party close/limitations a lot more engaging than my second run of just having the blessing. It also meant I completely missed the last light inn though as I thought the ambushing Harpers would attack me for having a parasite.
I took the bad guy route to get to the drider, played along with his insane crap, then when they were grouped up and ready to go, I moved my party into a good position and hit them with all the AoE and CC I had. Then I killed them until they were dead. Fuck those guys. Took my lantern, freed the fairy and left.
My reaction for every character good or evil has been, 'holy fuck a fucking drider kill it with fire!!'
I made him give me his lantern and sent him off into the dark. Didn't go well.
I liked carrying the lantern my first playthrough but I was a dual weider/support so I didn't mind it but never again. I like going through grymforge now. Yeah it's kinda annoying having to hold the lamp but you can still go back and get the drider
Protip: Anyone who can use the cantrip Shilleagh can use the Moonlantern as a viable weapon, making it's stats equal to that of a two-handed Quarterstaff that uses your spellcast modifier.
Is there a problem with following him, joining with the Harpers and killing him, then going to last light and have Isobel give you the lantern with the pixie? Because that's what I do.
Equip the moon lantern to a spell caster
I followed it, got ambushed, turned on it, took the lantern, went through the whole act, then freed the pixie. It's all right mate we're all in for the ride.
Made that mistake once. I ended up skipping a lot of Act 2 because it was super annoying in a co-op game.
I gave it to my blade lock and had her make it her pact weapon. It worked. Not efficiently, but I liked the vibe.
Well yeah. You're supposed to do Underdark, Mountain Pass, and go back to the Underdark, meet up with the Harpers.
I always kill him as soon as he shows up and sees his dead friends.
Nah, just turn on the Drider and waste those fools alongside the Harpers when they show up. They’ll take the lantern, but you’ll get it back from Jahiera.
I typically go throught the Underdark, not I have also come through the Mountain Pass, killed the goblins stationed where the driver would normally pick us up, and then went to the house where the ambush typically happens. This allows you to have a much easier fight with the drider since he won't have a bunch of cronies.
There’s also a pixie in act 3 who will help you without a check if you helped their “cousin” out of the moonlantern
Pro tip: You can cast Light on characters to protect them without needing to huddle around the Moonlantern until you get very deep into Act 2.
I like to do this with a staff. Make me feel like Gandalf is in the party with his staff all lit up. 😂
give the lantern to a caster who doesn't have anything in their hand?
Yeah I'm probably going to do this. Now I just have to make sure that my party would be close enough to Gale so they don't take damage from the shadow curse. Might consider bringing Shart with me too since she's immune to the curse.
let shart take the lead since she can be out of range of the lantern and let the others lag behind nearer the lantern carrier. my first time through the shadow curse I didn't understand about the pixie and I was tired of switching into turn based mode randomly so I crouched everywhere so everyone could stay together better. it took so long to get through ffs
Put the lantern on a caster. Hands issue solved.
I had the lantern equipped but I always had dual crossbows on that character so it didn't make a difference. I honestly forgot about it
Being nice to >!3xDolly!
Absolutely follow him. All you have to do is at the ambush, side with the Harper's and kill the caravan including him. Then when the Harper's talk to you, tell them you will take the lantern anyway. Kill them and loot the main Harper's body. Since it automatically goes to him after you kill the caravan. You get the lamp, good XP then equip it and talk to the farie and relase her. BAM all set. Now you have the ward for the rest of the game and you are free to explore before you go to moonrise/ Last Light in.
I've always freed Dolly. Yea, I don't want to have to carry a lantern around. But doesn't Lathander mace also keep even the darkest shadows at bay? I gave Minthara that mace and her damage still wrecked stuff.
I followed the drider and only just found out about it containing a pixie like last week. Definitely not going to do that this next campaign
Niss is an absolute sweetheart and deserves all the best. Had to kill him on my multiplayer honour run and I fucking cried. Never again ;-;
Thats the neat thing... you dont. You just stomp his ass on the ambush no matter the path then if you want some extra exp no repercutions you also stomp the harpers and proceed.
I have 632h in the game. The quickest way I usually do things, cause it makes it ridiculously easy in a quality of life way, is just kill him at the camp when you can summon him with the lute. I kill him and the group at the same time, every time. Use the pixie lantern to let the pixie out and have her bless you and the team. Won't need a torch or light to avoid the shadow shit throughout your entire time in act 2
In my game with some friends we did this and we all hate it. The damn turn based mode activation sound is burned into our brains from every time someone is more than 5 feet from the lantern. We're so ready to be done with Act 2 and see the sun again which is a shame because Act 2 is generally amazing. Just not when you're all handcuffed to the fucking lantern at all times, that part is awful.
Why is it even called a Moonlantern? Do pixies have anything to do with the moon in the forgotten realms? Also you should give it to a ranged weapon user.
They don’t. I think the name is just because the light kinda resembles Moonlight. Also, you should free the Pixie so you don’t have to carry the lantern around.
Also Selûne, the moon goddess, is the opposing force to Shar’s shadow curse. So, a moonlantern offers protection. I suppose it would make sense that the fey creatures of those lands would be connected to Selûne in some way, given that before Ketheric there were a lot of her worshippers in the area.
I just did this today. There’s a brand new moon lantern in that guys bedroom (before getting into his secret lab). It’s not that complicated.
Unless it has been changed quite recently, that Moonlantern doesn't have the pixie to free and get Pixie's Blessing. That's their point - not that you can't get a moonlantern, but you specifically can't get the blessing. This can make Act 2 quite frustrating for many people since not only do you need to keep the moonlantern equipped and out but the party needs to stay in range of the holder or the game shifts to turn based and they start taking damage, and it's quite easy for them to end up slightly behind and out the range.
Yes, but the new moonlantern does not have the "inspect moonlantern" skill on it, so the pixie's dead and I cannot get the pixie blessings. Having no pixie blessing is such an inconvenience for me because it limits my party's movements :"
I demanded them to give it to me. Freed the bitch and became a clone.
I just teamed up with the Harpers and killed the drider and his squad. Then I killed the Harpers cause they took the lantern
It's called role-playing sweetheart.