Discover the History of Prince Orpheus

Lae'zel recites The Prince of the Comet.

Discover the History of Prince Orpheus is a Quest in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3 that is added whenever a related story item is examined.

Objectives

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

Discover a method of deciphering the Orpheus texts.

• There may be a way to decipher these books. We should keep an eye out for something that might aid us.

Decipher books about Orpheus.

• We read a book about the lost Prince Orpheus. It claims that Vlaakith is not the true Queen of the Githyanki, and that Prince Orpheus is the true heir.
• We read a forbidden book about a certain Prince Orpheus. He seems to be a challenger to the Queen Vlaakith and the son of Gith, the one who freed the githyanki from the mind flayers.
• We read the third book in the series about Prince Orpheus. This one explains that Voss attacked Orpheus, but he lives.

Discover the fate of Prince Orpheus.

• We discovered all three books in the series. The final fate and whereabouts of Prince Orpheus are apparently unknown. What could have happened to him?

Quest Complete

• We learned that Prince Orpheus is trapped inside the Astral Prism.

Walkthrough

To complete this quest it is necessary to retrieve the following three Engraved Githyanki Discs

• Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part One: Betrayal
• Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Three: Resurrection
• Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Two: Sacrifice

The Arcane Tower

The Arcane Tower slate.

The first Engraved Githyanki Disc is on the third floor of the Arcane Tower X: -31 Y: -296. The disc itself is on a bookshelf, although an additional disc, The Careful Art of Tir'su Ciphers X: -34 Y: -288 is needed to interpret it if Lae'zel is not available. The disc is on a nearby desk on the same floor. Once the disc is read, its title changes to Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part One: Betrayal.

The Githyanki Crèche

The Classroom slate.

The second disc is at Crèche Y'llek, in the Classroom X: 1357 Y: -769. There is a young student named Youth Varrl who has been beaten badly in combat. He's being berated by his teacher, Sa'varsh, who says his next battle must be to the death. There are several options to proceed:

• Choosing "I'd bring him to the brink of death. Leave him asking why he deserves to live." or "Offer to fight the boy yourself." Then choosing to make a non-fatal attack (Dexterity DC 16). Then, once the boy is taken away, heal him.
• Talking the teacher down from having the boy fight by choosing "No, this is too far. He's learnt his lesson" (Persuasion DC 21).
• Pickpocketing the slate from Varrl.
• Killing Varrl and loot the disc off his corpse.

If Varrl is still alive, speaking to him results in him thanking the party for intervening. He almost calls them a certain name, but stops short. Questioning him on it:

• [PERSUASION] Just like who? If there's a like-minded soul here, I'd love to meet them. (DC 14)
• [DARK URGE] I just keep believing I can be better. I hope you will do the same.
• [DETECT THOUGHTS] Seek the name the boy refuses to reveal.
• I'm just like Orpheus? (if mind read)
• [GITHYANKI] It wasn't kindness. Vlaaketh needs every sword against the ghaik, even yours.
• [RANGER] Empathy is a tool in any good hunter's arsenal - no different to a notched arrow.
• [FIGHTER] Your teacher has forgotten what truly makes a warrior.
• Like Orpheus? Show the boy the chapter you stole. (if slate was stolen)

Varrl reveals he meant to say Prince Orpheus. If showing him the slate from the Arcane Tower, he hands over the second Engraved Githyanki Disc Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Two: Sacrifice.

Moonrise Towers

The Moonrise Towers slate.

The third and final Engraved Githyanki Disc Orpheus, Prince of the Comet, Part Three: Resurrection is at Moonrise Towers. It can be retrieved as part of  Infiltrate Moonrise Towers when the party gains access to the upper floor. The slate is on a bookshelf in Balthazar's room X: -127 Y: -182. The party can either lockpick the door or gain the key from Disciple Z'rell.

The Fate of Prince Orpheus

The party can learn the fate of Prince Orpheus at the start of Act Three, during  Help Your Protector. After finishing the quest,  Free Orpheus is initiated.