Ad placeholder

House of Grief

From bg3.wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
House of Grief street view
Lower City
House of Grief → Upper City Gate Checkpoint
↓
Lady Jannath's Estate
The House of Grief is a Location within the Lower City in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3.
“
Originally we sought to help those who found themselves consumed by the loss of a loved one, but there are so many others who need our help. We unburden people of the suffering in their hearts
„
— Mirie, explaining the name of the House

Overview[edit | edit source]

Carved plaque above the entrance

The House of Grief is a small building in the farmost corner of the Steeps disctrict of Baldur's Gate. It stands detached from the other city areas, divided by a water stream. A bridge starting between the Elerrathin's Home and Lady Jannath's Estate leads to its porch. The building is one-storied and has a small garden surrounding it. The only entrance is at X: -264 Y: -10.

The House of Grief positions itself as a healing establishment, dedicated to lifting the plummet of cares which may burden their clients' hearts. To this end, the "Attendant of Grief" inside offers them to undergo the procedures of "mapping of the heart" and then the "unburdening". This is the top of the iceberg.

The reality is that the House of Grief is a covering structure for the regional base of operations for followers of Shar⁠Shar. Their cloister, led by Mother Superior Mother Superior lies deep beneath the building and is available only through a secret passage inside it.

Building layout[edit | edit source]

The interior of the House of Grief
(Environment concept by Jef Simons)

Inside, at the front desk is Mirie Mirie, the Attendant of Grief. Three other members of staff act as guards (uniquely named "Griefguards"). Mirie offers the party to partake in a Mapping of the Heart. If they agree and pay the fee (1000  gold), Mirie escorts everyone through the initially locked double doors to the Mapping Room. The doors require DC 15 Sleight of Hand Check DC 15 Sleight of Hand Check, or can be opened with the  Grief Key carried by Mirie or the guard Morann Morann.

Mirie can also act as a trader, selling the unique books on dealing with various 'heartforms', corresponding to the Mapping results (see Involvement section below).

The Mapping Room is empty and features a stone bench at X: -272 Y: 9. A passive DC 20 Investigation Check DC 20 Investigation Check near the wall across the bench exposes a button to open the secret passage which leads deeper, into the Cloister. The button reveals itself without a check if the party kill Mirie and her guards, but this turns everyone within the Cloister of Sombre Embrace permanently hostile. [1] The entrance porch leads also to the small garden behind the building, where several unique flowers can be picked up, like  Bixa Root,  Poppy Flower, and  Valerian Flower. All these, though, are renamed copies of the  Mergrass, and can be mixed with it to obtain the usual extract.

Near the outside of the building is Arves Arves, a wealthy-looking elderly man who seems to have lost at least part of his memory. Choosing certain optioons when speaking to him may bring the party some gold, and approval changes for certain companions as well. His name can be found on the  Client List of the House of Grief.

On the bridge leading to the building stands Lug Lug, constantly singing a catchy lullaby. Though her mental condition somewhat resembles Arves', she is not mentioned anywhere in the documents within the House of Grief.

Involvement[edit | edit source]

The Mapping Room interior. The entrance to the Cloister is behind the brick wall

Within the Mapping Room, a party member can undergo a brief, ritualistic interview with the Inquisitor of Grief to have their heart "mapped". It is conducted on the first party member who sits on the stone bench. Only one character per a playthrough can undergo this rite.

The Mapping consists of series of questions with multiple possible answers, each pulling the result closer to one of six possible heartforms. All questions, possible answers to them and the intermediate results are listed on the rite page.

The results of the Mapping, if finished, have an impact on the further exploration of the Sharran cloister beneath the House of Grief.

Companion interactions[edit | edit source]

The House of Grief is the focal point of Shadowheart's Shadowheart's personal quest, both origin and companion.

All interactions with the House of Grief staff (notably, with Mirie) depend heavily on Shadowheart's ultimate choice between Shar⁠Shar and Selûne⁠Selûne in the end of Act Two. If Shadowheart is present in the party, Mirie lets them into the Mapping Room anyway; Shadowheart's choice defines only Mirie's demeanor towards her and the party.

In the Mapping Room, if any party member except Shadowheart sits on the stone bench, she chimes in asking to go first. Refusing her earns Shadowheart disapproves -5 disapproval.

If Shadowheart undergoes the rite, Viconia DeVir appears in a projection form, and her dialogue with Shadowheart runs uniquely, revealing the details of her mission to secure the  Mysterious Artefact on Viconia's orders. After that, Viconia's projection disappears, and a secret passage to the Cloister of Sombre Embrace opens.

If the mapping is conducted without Shadowheart present, Viconia reveals her identity afterwards, orders the party to bring Shadowheart to the House of Grief, and disappears. After that, the only way to enter the Cloister is passing the aforementioned Investigation check.[2] Once the party returns with Shadowheart present, the passage reveals itself.

Related locations[edit | edit source]

Related Quests[edit | edit source]

Characters[edit | edit source]

Outside, near the building[edit | edit source]

Loot[edit | edit source]

The only container in the House of Grief is the Collections Lockbox standing on the cupboard behind Mirie. It cannot be lockpicked, but opens with the  Lockbox Key, carried by Mirie. [3] Contains assorted Valuables, gold, and random Rare potions.

Related literature[edit | edit source]

Footnotes and references[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ The House of Grief staff becomes hostile as well if the party win a fight in the Cloister, but only if Shadowheart had rejected Shar prior in Act Two (see below).
  2. ↑ Unlike some other questlines involving various companions, there is no option to tell Shadowheart about the results of initial investigating the House of Grief.
  3. ↑ If Shadowheart has remained loyal to Shar and becomes the new leader of the Cloister, she can also get the key from Mirie in dialogue.
Spotted an issue with this page? Leave a comment! Note that your IP address will be publicly logged unless you create an account. You can also edit the page to fix the issue. See How to Contribute to get started, and maybe join our Discord so we can coordinate our efforts.
Retrieved from "https://bg3.wiki/w/index.php?title=House_of_Grief&oldid=375729"