Gale: Difference between revisions

== Involvement ==

[[File:Gale Icon.png|right|125px]]

{{Hatnote|See main article: [[The Wizard of Waterdeep]]}}

''The Wizard of Waterdeep'' is Gale's personal quest. It is added to the journal upon recruiting him and spans all three acts of the game.

Gale can be found at the Roadside Cliffs [[Ancient Rune Circle|rune circle]]. Likely trapped as he hastily escaped the crashing [[Nautiloid]], he asks the party for assistance in getting him out. Once free, he recognizes the party as other victims of the [[Illithid]] abroad the sieged ship and quickly offers his services as a wizard of great renown.

If Gale dies at some point during his adventures, his body will start emanating a necrotic aura that will harm those near his corpse. The first time this happens, a projection of him will appear nearby that will begin {{Quest|In Case of Death...}}. The projection will give precise instructions on how to revive Gale, and stress the importance of doing so before it is too late. Following the instruction grants a {{SmRarityItem|Scroll of True Resurrection}}, reviving Gale with it will result in his gratitude and some information on his condition. If Gale dies again, it will be up to the party to find the means to revive him. Should the party leave him dead for too long, it will result in a Game Over screen when the netherese orb within him explodes after being left hungry for too long.

While exploring the [[Shadow-Cursed Lands]], Gale and the party can find a hidden chamber belonging to {{CharLink|Balthazar}} in [[Moonrise Towers]]. The chamber is clearly used for the necromancer's experiments, and upon inspecting a nearby table, Gale will be attempt to make sense of the writings on it, beginning the quest {{Quest|Balthazar's Experiment}}. He reveals that the sigils are used in the fabrication of {{SmRarityItem|Moonlantern|Moonlanterns}}, and that given enough time, he can create a better one himself. The ritual does require using dark magic forbidden by Mystra, leaving the decision up to the party whether to encourage or dissuade Gale from finishing the necromancer's work. Allowing Gale to complete the lantern results in the party gaining a {{SmRarityItem|Shadow Lantern}}, an upgraded version of the regular moonlanters found, while destroying the sigils rewards Gale with [[Mystra's Benevolence (Condition)|Mystra's Benevolence]] until the next long rest.

Gale can be convinced to do otherwise, however, by passing certain dialogue ability checks in order for him to stand down. Alternatively, he can be left in camp when adventuring through the illithid colony, skipping his interactions. Though he will be disheartened at having defied Mystra and thus eschewed redemption in her eyes, he quickly shifts his focus to the artefact controlling the elder brain. Gale will identify it as as the Crown of Karsus, one of the regalia of the ancient archwizard Karsus, and an exceptionally powerful arcane object thought long lost. Convinced it is the key to defeating the Absolute for good, and asks the party to help him find more information about it. Since the group's destination is Baldur's Gate, he believes the famous [[Sorcerous Sundries]] must have information on netherese magic, making it worth a visit.

Once at Baldur's Gate, Gale will recommend visiting Sorcerous Sundries with haste, sure that the renowned bookstore will have tomes on netherese magic that can be of use in defeating the Absolute. There, when inquired about possible books on the matter, {{CharLink|Tolna Tome-Monger}} will answer that a tome containing information on Karsus' Folly and Netheril exists, yet it is kept under lock in the vaults as the information is too sensitive for most readers and access is strictly forbidden. The party can convince her to volunteer information on how to reach the vaults, or break in themselves through subtlety. Whatever the case, once in the vaults, the party must follow the correct path to reach Karsus' vault, containing the ancient tome {{SmRarityItem|The Annals of Karsus}}. Gale can be given the tome after reading, and he will exclaim that it not only contains information on the Crown of Karsus, but also details on how it was constructed, making it possible to reforge it after destroying the elder brain. Gale's ambition grows at the prospect of the power he could wield with the Crown, speculating that he could become a god strong enough to challenge even Mystra. The party can support his plans to be free from the yoke of Mystra, or challenge him about them, warning against treading down the same path Karsus once did before the fall of his empire.