Punish the Wicked

He Who Was and his Raven

Punish the Wicked is a quest in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking with He Who Was in the Ruined Battlefield.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending player decisions and outcomes.

Find the ledger.

• He Who Was wants to bring justice to the victims of a murderer - to do so, he needs a ledger belonging to the killer. It is hidden in The Waning Moon.

Give the ledger to He Who Was.

• We found the ledger. We should give it to He Who Was.

Quest Complete

• We gave the ledger to He Who Was and punished the killer for her crimes. He was pleased.
• We refused to give the ledger to He Who Was, and do not know what became of him.
• He Who Was is no more.
• He Who Was wanted Madeline punished - we forgave her instead. He was furious.
• We forced He Who Was to stab himself over and over again during the ritual. He was furious.
• We left the shadowlands and may never know what became of He Who Was.

Walkthrough

A loose plank holds the ledger.

A Shadar-Kai called He Who Was X: 126 Y: 105 can be found in the Ruined Battlefield east of the Last Light Inn. He has a ritual circle set up and is using  Speak with Dead on a corpse. He Who Was initially tells the party to clear off, but his white raven suggests they might be able to help. He explains that the woman is Madeline, and she is a murderer. She worked at The Waning Moon and kept logs on all her patrons, betraying their secrets to the Dark Justiciars. He asks the party to find Madeline's Ledger at the tavern and bring it back.

He Who Was

The Waning Moon is in Reithwin Town, east of the Tollhouse and west of the Road to Baldur's Gate Waypoint. When the party enters, a cutscene is initiated with the bartender, Thisobald Thorm. The party must either fight the bartender, or pass several checks. There are three Constitution or Sleight of Hand checks, and three Performance checks.

The ledger is behind the bar, under a loose plank X: -223 Y: -78 that is detected with a Perception check. Open it and take the ledger, then return to the Ruined Battlefield to speak with He Who Was.

If handing the ledger to He Who Was, he will perform a ritual to channel Madeline's spirit through his own body, allowing the player to speak to her.

Madeline claims she had been instructed by Dark Justiciar Netasha to report everything, big or small; she was too scared to say no, which is why she reported her friends complaining about Ketheric while drunk. The Dark Justiciar promised she would simply chat with the two men. Instead, she gave them knives, and told them to stab themselves until she said stop - but she never said to stop. Madeline regrets it and is horrified that her actions led to the deaths of her friends.

There are several ways to deal with Madeline after learning of her story:

• [DARK URGE] I once ended one dear to me. There is no punishment which could atone for it.
• [PERSUASION] Anything? Then hurt yourself as Ben and Marc did - stab yourself. (DC 14)
• [BARBARIAN] [PERSUASION] You could have fought back. You deserve no forgiveness, COWARD! (DC 10 )
• [BARD] [PERSUASION] Yours is a classic tale of cowardice. Were you a character in a tale of mine, I would kill you off - immediately. (DC 10 )
• [BARD] [PERSUASION] When I tell this tale, you won't be the villain - I promise. The Dark Justiciar is to blame. (DC 10 )
• [MONK] [PERSUASION] You had the means to stop it - you chose not to. You let fear and cowardice ruin you. (DC 10 )
• [MONK] [PERSUASION] Forgiveness comes from within - I cannot gift it to you. But know that I would, if I could. (DC 10 )
• [PERSUASION] Pathetic - you murdered your friends. You're a coward. (DC 10)
• [PERSUASION] There's nothing you need do. This wasn't your fault - I promise. (DC 10)
• [GOOD CLERIC] [PERSUASION]  By the light of the one I serve, I forgive you. This wasn't your doing. (DC 10)
• [EVIL CLERIC] [PERSUASION] Stab yourself. Rip your stomach open. Feel the pain of your friends - only then will you be free. (DC 6)

If Madeline is made to stab herself once, or is shamed as a coward, then He Who Was will be satisfied with the results and gives the party the Raven Gloves as a reward. If you forgive her, or make her stab herself a second time, he will become enraged and attack the party. (Each stab inflicts 5 damage, which will carry over into combat.) Failing any of the rolls will have the connection fade, and while He Who Was will be slightly disappointed, he will still reward your efforts.

The Dark Urge may have a special interaction with Madeline if they previously killed their dearest companion. They will share this with her and say there can be no atonement for such a deed, at which point Madeline will become overwhelmed with guilt and fade away, with the same results as shaming her for her cowardice but requiring no Persuasion checks. (He Who Was will also comment on the Dark Urge's guilt, but will not attack.)

Paladins will break their Oaths during this quest if certain actions are taken:

• Oath of Vengeance: Forgive Madeline, prevent her from going through with stabbing herself, or attack He Who Was before the ritual starts
• Oath of Devotion / Oath of the Ancients: Make Madeline stab herself, or call her a coward

Companion approval

• When first speaking to He Who Was:
  • Tell him "I doubt you're here out of the goodness of your heart." +1  +1
  • Agree to help him, without specifying that you want to be paid  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1

• When judging Madeline:
  • Tell her to stab herself  -1  +1  +1  -1  -1  +1  -1
  • Tell her to "Start stabbing, and don't stop until I say so." or to "Prove you're sorry. Do it for Ben and Marc."  -1  +2  +1  -1  -1  +1  -1
  • Tell her to stop +1  -2  -1  +1  +1  -1  +1
  • Call her a coward +1  -1  -1  +1  +1  -1  +1
  • Forgive her  +1  -1  -1  +1  +1  -1  +1

Quest rewards

• Raven Gloves, if Madeline is stabbed only once or called a coward
• Loot from He Who Was' body, if Madeline is stabbed multiple times