Mirror of Loss

A Mirror of Loss, in the House of Grief

For more details on permanent bonus, see Mirror of Loss

The Mirror of Loss is a large mirror found in both the Gauntlet of Shar at X: -645 Y: -735 and the House of Grief at X: -474 Y: -1650. The former is cracked and cannot be used for reflection, however the latter is functional and bestows a bonus and malus upon the user.

Interaction

It is highly recommended for the player to prepare and save before interacting with the Mirror of Loss. To access the benefits of the mirror, one party member must first pass either an Arcana (DC 25) or Religion (DC 20) check to recognize the purpose of the mirror. Each party member may then surrender a memory to the mirror, optionally attempting a Religion (DC 25) check beforehand to offer a prayer to Shar. The character who underwent the Mapping of the Heart receives Advantage on the Religion check to offer a prayer.

Surrendering a memory to the mirror requires choosing one Ability to sacrifice, which will be temporarily cursed with Stolen Vigour, a -2 penalty to the chosen ability. The curse lasts until taking a Long Rest or using the Remove Curse spell. If the character made the successful prayer check beforehand, they might unlock a dialogue choice of a second Ability which will receive a permanent +2 bonus (up to 24). Memory dialogue choice that triggers this additional dialogue is random and not class-specific, with "incorrect" choices yielding only curse and no boon.

If you have read the Necromancy of Thay and acquired the Forbidden Knowledge condition, you may surrender it instead of an Ability. This will allow you to receive the +2 bonus even if you failed the prayer check.

You may sometimes receive the following feedback from the Narrator which will provide an additional +1 (up to 24) to Charisma called Patriar's Memory: "Disappointment floods your mind. You were sure to succeed Stelmane, but Lord Enver Gortash has stolen your support. All that charming and cajoling in the parlours of the Upper City, Wasted." This memory will occur with a degree of randomness.

You have the option of attempting to trick the mirror with a false memory (Deception DC: 20). This will result in neither curse nor boon being applied.

Shadowheart

Shadowheart is generally denied the mirror's benefits. As the game's narrator says: "With so much of your memory already surrendered to the mirror, you have nothing to offer. A sorry outcome." As such, she is not given the chance to be cursed nor booned.

If she is no longer loyal to Shar she has disadvantage on the Religion check to offer a prayer to the mirror. Passing this difficult check ultimately still yields the above narration.

However, if Shadowheart becomes a Dark Justiciar, she can receive a permanent +2 bonus to any Ability of her choosing without sacrificing an Ability. Possibly, one has to do strictly everything Shar has asked of her (killing the Nightsong, killing Viconia and killing her parents).

Becoming a Dark Justiciar gives her an advantage on the Religion check to offer a prayer to the mirror. Passing it does not seem to do anything, as is not required to get the +2 bonus to Ability Scores.

Strategy

Only one character needs to pass the initial Arcana or Religion checks to identity the mirror, but each party member must pass their individual Religion prayer checks in order to receive the permanent ability buff. Items that boost Religion or Intelligence, which can be passed to each party member for each attempt, will skew the odds in your favor. These include:

• Warped Headband of Intellect
• Mage's Friend
• Shapeshifter's Boon Ring (when disguised or shapeshifted)

General spell and class-specific buffs to checks like Guidance, Enhance Ability and Bardic Inspiration additionally shine here.

Alternative to having the Warped Headband of Intellect equipped, the character can be temporarily respecced through Withers, giving them an Intelligence rating of 17 that can be further increased with the ability improvement feat twice, to 20. The character can be respecced back to their main build afterwards, retaining the Mirror of Loss stat enhancement.

Details

When a character offers a memory to the mirror, there is a hidden, random roll to determine the outcome.

• Rolled a 6 or higher and haven't already landed on this outcome: You feel the presence of something, ancient and unknowable. It has taken notice of you.
  • This option lets you select the +2 ability bonus.
  • You can only get this option after passing the DC 25 religion check for each character that uses the mirror.
  • Once you get this option, you won't be able to use the mirror again with that character.
• Rolled a 5 or higher and haven't already landed on this outcome: Disappointment floods your mind. You were sure to succeed Stelmane, but Lord Enver Gortash has stolen your support. All that charming and cajoling in the parlours of the Upper City, wasted.
  • This option gives you +1 Charisma from Patriar's Memory.
• Rolled a 4 or higher and haven't already landed on this outcome: You embody a merchant, deep in mourning. His wife died, and he cannot bear to go on. Only the House of Grief can help him.
• Rolled a 3 or higher and haven't already landed on this outcome: You embody a heartbroken heiress, desperate to forget an unrequited love. The sadness flees from you... along with a string of numbers. A safe combination?
• Rolled a 2 or higher and haven't already landed on this outcome: Your mind is that of corrupt alderman, eager to forget his transgressions. You feel them fade away... but your faith in the goddess Selûne is devoured along with them.
• Haven't already landed on this outcome: You embody an officer of the City Watch. A comrade died because of you. The dead man's face fades away... but the identities of informants vanish as well.
• Default outcome: A jumble of memories clamour for your attention. They range from ancient to new. But none are yours.
  • This option can be landed on multiple times once other options are depleted.

In total, each character will have 7 opportunities to roll (1 per ability plus 1 from passing the Deception check).

To more reliably get the extra bonus from the Patriar's Memory, you should use the mirror before offering a prayer. This way, you won't prematurely lock yourself out of subsequent rolls by landing on the +2 bonus. It will also make the Patriar's Memory the most probable outcome of each roll.

Notes

A character with base Charisma 8 being affected by the Stolen Vigour condition from the mirror.

• You may choose to sacrifice an ability with at least base 8 (see picture).
• More than one character may gain the same ability improvement (As of 2023-Nov-05, Tav and a hireling were both able to gain +2 Cha.).