Daughter of Darkness: Difference between revisions

''Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions.''

During the night, the player character wakes up to Shadowheart holding a knife to Lae'zel's neck. She says she'll tell the party Lae'zel was transforming, so she put her down. If nothing is done, Shadowheart slits Lae'zel's neck and smashes her parasite as it crawls out. The player character can defend Lae'zel, causing Shadowheart to become hostile and have to be killed. Lastly, with a Persuasion check (DC 10), Shadowheart can stand down. In this case, Lae'zel and Shadowheart resolve their issues and agree not to fight again.

As part of her sacred mission for Lady Shar, Shadowheart has lost most of her memories about herself. She believes she can only regain them by returning to her cloister with the artefact. That said, Shadowheart does remember some things about her life. If, after learning about her Shar worship, the player character asks Shadowheart "Tell me something about yourself besides Shar, besides tadpoles," she says that she doesn't know how to swim and she likes night orchids. If asked for anything more she'd care to share, Shadowheart explains that she quite literally can't, as there is little she remembers about herself.

When faced with wolves, Shadowheart shows extreme fear and gains the Frightened status. This can happen as early as Act One, in the Inner Sanctum of the [[Druid Grove]]. There are several wolves near the entrance, which scare Shadowheart and prompt a dialogue with her. She explains that they are ravenous predators with fangs, so it's hardly irrational for her to fear them. If the player character has at least 10 approval to her, she asks that they avoid having her face wolves if at all possible, as they've been decent to her so far. Otherwise, she just says the player character shouldn't be surprised if she's reluctant to face them in the future. Another area this can be triggered is the captain's room in [[Creche Y'llek]].

With a high enough approval, the player character gains a dialogue with Shadowheart where she explains she wants to share something, as she's never felt more comfortable with anyone than she has with the player character. She says that it's difficult to put into words and asks the player character to connect their tadpoles so that she can show them what she wants to share. The memory shows a young Shadowheart as a group of Sharran worshippers corner a wolf in the woods. The leader of the Sharrans, the Mother Superior who raised Shadowheart, asked her name and took her away to be raised in the cloister. Shadowheart has no memory before the woods and can't remember what her name was before becoming Shadowheart. A passive Religion check reveals that a typical Selûnite ritual is to send children into the woods at night to find their way back home. If the check is passed, the player character can mention it looked like she was wearing Moonstone, which is typical for Selûnites. However, Shadowheart rejects this and says she was just wearing some meaningless bauble.

Within the [[Shadow-Cursed Lands]], a Night Orchid {{coords|57|179}} can be found in the [[Ruined Battlefield]], northeast of the [[Last Light Inn]]. By talking to Shadowheart, the player character can remind her that she told them about the flower, and that they have one for her. She teases the player character, initially saying she hopes they didn't pick them by hand as they're deadly poisonous. However, she was only joking - they're safe, and beautiful. She thanks for the gift, although she has nothing to give in return.

If the party chooses to [[Travel through the Underdark]] and enters [[Grymforge]], several signs of Dark Justiciar remnants are noticed. In the area near the deep rothe in the quest [[Get Past the Rubble]], there are several Dark Justiciar corpses that Shadowheart can comment on. Additionally there is a path past the rubble leading above the ground floor of Grymforge, through many sets of pressure plate traps which can be found through passing Perception Checks and then be disarmed. The path ends at a locked grate behind which there is a trapped Gargoyle Statue, a [[Idol_of_Shar|Statuette of Shar]] and lever. The grate can either be opened by lockpicking it, smashing it with force damage or by pulling the lever using [[Mage Hand]]. The grate can also be passed with spells such as [[Misty Step]] or [[Gaseous Form]]. Speaking to Shadowheart, she can be gifted the Statuette of Shar. That can unlock unique dialogue options, and an opportunity to improve her attitude towards the player character.

The tremors persist until the party moves west and encounters more Reconstituted Duelists. The tremors begin in earnest as more Umbral Tremors and Justiciars are summoned to attack the party. Several waves appear, until finally a [[Justiciar Crusader (Undead)|Justiciar Crusader]] appears. Defeat it and its minions and the path opens, revealing Balthazar, a servant of Ketheric Thorm who has been tasked with retrieving the Nightsong. Balthazar tells the party to go and complete the trials for him, as the Justiciars have been making it impossible for them to move forward. The party can either agree to help him or attack him outright. If the party agrees to help him, they can convince him to offer help in the form of a summoning item that summons his brother, [[Flesh]]. Otherwise, Balthazar attacks with flesh and three [[Ghoul Medic|Ghoul Medics]].

'''WARNING: Entering Shadowfell locks the party out of many side quests, and pushes the party to the end of Act Two. Do NOT enter until all other business in the area has been resolved.'''

If Balthazar was not killed, he arrives in the Shadowfell immediately after the party, thanking them for their service in completing the trials. He floats ahead and tells the party to come with him to witness greatness. Once the party leaps to the heart of the Shadowfell, they learn the Nightsong is not an object, but an aasimar woman named [[Dame Aylin]]. She has been held captive by Thorm using the power of Balthazar to share her immortal life with him.

Shadowheart can be convinced to spare Aylin in several ways. If the party does nothing and lets Shadowheart decide fully on her own, she chooses to throw the spear into the depths of the Shadowfell. However, she can also be persuaded by a difficult Persuasion check (DC 30), or by giving her the choice on her own and then passing a second, less difficult check. Another humorous method is to ensure the Spear of Night is not with the party when the time comes.

If Shadowheart kills the Nightsong, she becomes the Dark Justiciar and gains the [[Shar's Spear of Evening]]. However, the party loses a valuable ally in the Nightsong. There is a major consequence for Last Light Inn due to Shadowheart's actions. Isobel is overwhelmed and unable to sustain her protection magic over the Inn, causing all within to fall to the shadow curse. Shadowheart refers to this as cleansing the resistance to Lady Shar's will. Additionally, Jaheira may either die to the shadow curse or disappear completely and does not aid the party in the Last Light Inn fight.

When Shadowheart arrives in Baldur's Gate, she says that her peers are no doubt watching her. She can find [[Ferg Drogher]] {{coords|45|-98}} in [[Rivington]] near the [[Requisitioned Barn]]. He calls out to the party as they get closer to him, if Shadowheart is in the party. He explains that the Sharrans are in the [[House of Grief]] in the [[Lower City]], starting [[Investigate the House of Grief]]. If the party enters the House of Grief with Shadowheart in the party, she is immediately led further in by [[Mirie]]. From here, either she or the player character can undergo the Mapping of the Heart by an Inquirer of Grief. After the Mapping, the Inquirer reveals themselves to be none other than the Mother Superior herself, [[Viconia DeVir]]. She bids the party to come down further, into the [[Cloister of Sombre Embrace]].  

If Viconia is defeated in combat, she will normally be "knocked out", even if the party is not using non-lethal attacks. Talking to her after the combat triggers a conversation, which will include Shadowheart if present. Here the party has the choice to kill Viconia or spare her. Killing Viconia allows her equipment to be looted, but Jaheira will disapprove. The decision can also affect certain Paladin oaths, can otherwise be treated as an aesthetic/story choice.

If Shadowheart has followed the path of Selûne through her quest, her [[Arnell Hallowleaf|father]] tells her that she cannot both free her parents and free herself from Shar's curse. He asks her to free herself from the curse. If given the choice to make on her own, without any persuading from the party, Shadowheart's choice depends on whether three memories have been triggered during her time in the city. If they have not triggered, she chooses to put her parents to rest, transforming them into moon motes -- if the memories have triggered she rescues them instead.{{note|To have Shadowheart rescue her parents if left to choose on her own, requires the player character to trigger three memory-related conversations with her throughout the lower city. One is the gravestone of Allister Marnley in the Graveyard, another is a graffiti drawing tucked behind a billboard near the Baldur's Gate waypoint. The third memory, discussing the city smells, randomly triggers after finding these two.}}

* The decisions made throughout this questline dramatically affect a player character's [[Shadowheart/romance|romance]] with Shadowheart, as Lady Shar demands that Shadowheart give all of her heart to her, and no one else.