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Viconia DeVir
| Overview | Combat |
“L'il Alurl! For Shar!„
Overview[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
Viconia was born to House DeVir in the drow capital city of 
Menzoberranzan in Underdark. She was a priestess of 
for many years. To prove her faith, she was tasked with killing an infant in a ritual sacrifice to the Spider Queen. Viconia refused and her house fell out of Lolth's favour. It seemed that the only way for House DeVir to regain their goddess' favour was for Viconia to prostrate herself before the Spider Queen. Viconia became fed up with Lolth's ways and believed that she could survive without her.
As a result, House DeVir was left vulnerable to attacks of other Houses. In desperation, Matron DeVir tried to sacrifice Viconia, but her wizard brother intervened and killed their mother. As punishment, Lolth turned her brother into a drider for his matricide and stripped Viconia of her clerical powers for breaking faith; Viconia then fled to the surface. Some time later, she found a new goddess to worship in Shar.
Being a possible companion in the first and second Baldur's Gate game, she canonically at the very least met (if not traveled with) Gorion's Ward (the protagonist of previous games) and their group, as Jaheira and Minsc remember meeting her. Depending on the party's actions in those games, and if Viconia was their companion, she could have also met Sarevok.
In the century that passed since Baldur's Gate II Viconia DeVir became the Mother Superior of the 
enclave in Baldur's Gate. She previously had a grander enclave in Waterdeep, but Lady Shar commanded her to raze it and kill all her loyal followers. As a reward for her loyalty, Viconia was charged by Shar with a new mission: take a daughter of 
and, in time, turn and raise them to be Viconia's replacement as the Mother Superior in Baldur's Gate.[2] At some point she likely surrendered a part of her memories to the Mirror of Loss.
Viconia and her group then ambushed a Selûnite family in process of a coming-of-age ritual for their half-elven daughter Jenevelle Hallowleaf. Her parents were captured and imprisoned, while the girl was raised a cleric of Shar under a new name – Shadowheart.
While obedient to her goddess' charge, Viconia has long been resentful of Shadowheart being chosen to replace her as Mother Superior and treated Shadowheart in a very harsh way. For example Shadowheart always dreamed of becoming a Dark Justiciar, but Viconia thwarted any attempts at doing so.[3]
Finally, shortly before the game is set to begin, Viconia tasks Shadowheart and other most skilled but expendable followers[4] with retrieving the 
Mysterious Artefact that can help the Sharrans against the Absolute. If Shadowheart happens to fail in this task, Viconia might still keep her place as Mother Superior and maintain plausible deniability with Shadowheart's demise due to Shar's known displeasure with those who fail her.[5][6][7]
Involvement[edit | edit source]
“Aluve„
On pursuing 
, it is necessary to visit the Cloister of Sombre Embrace, which is located in Sharran Ruins under the House of Grief. Viconia DeVir, disguised as the Inquirer of Grief, resides there and provides the Mapping of the Heart for those in need of Sharran guidance.
If the player character or Shadowheart undergoes the Mapping, Viconia reveals her identity by removing her hood, and invites the party to the cloister. She explains that she knows the party have the artefact in their possession and she needs it to destroy the Absolute. If 
or 
checks are passed, then Viconia relents. However, she demands Shadowheart to be handed over to her. The party can either agree, starting the quest, or refuse, starting a fight. If Shadowheart is a Dark Justiciar, she can convince some of the cultists to fight along with the party, taking over the cloister after Viconia's defeat.[8] In the room where the Mapping of the Heart takes place, Jaheira, Minsc, or both of them – if they are present – comment on the reunion with Viconia.
If the meeting results in combat, Viconia manifests the fears that she learned from the party: turning into a wolf to scare Shadowheart or – if the player character told her their fear of becoming one – temporarily turns the player character into a mind flayer.[9][10]
If Shadowheart is handed over to Viconia, Viconia becomes an ally in the final battle providing Nightbringer's Shadow Adepts support. Alternatively, if Shadowheart replaced Viconia as the Mother Superior, the same support is provided by Shadowheart instead.
If Viconia is still alive at the end of the fight, it is possible to speak with her again and either let her go or kill her. If they are present and not 
, Jaheira or Minsc admonish her directly on how she lost her way. Choosing to spare Viconia earns approval with Jaheira, while choosing to kill her earns approval with Minsc (approval is not lost with the other, if both are present). If spared, Viconia says "Aluve" in reluctant gratitude as she departs, and is not seen again in the game.
Changes to Viconia's backstory[edit | edit source]
Viconia's state in Baldur's Gate 3 is partially reflective of her default ending in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, wherein she found a Sharran cult in Waterdeep. However several differences can be found:
In her original epilogue[11] Viconia killed all cult members due to one's betrayal, shrugging off the admonishment of her goddess, which mirrors her early rebellious actions against Lolth. She then wandered the Realms and stopped several crises with the help of Drizzt Do'Urden, including saving the elven city of Suldanessalar, for which she received honours from Queen Ellesime. Her fate following the events above was unknown.
In Baldur's Gate 3, Viconia's motive behind the Waterdeep slaughter was changed to obeying Shar's order, and she remained obedient to her goddess ever since. Despite her having a history of refusing to sacrifice a child to another goddess, she performed all of Shar's tasks faithfully, such as abducting children and torturing their relatives, similar to what Lolth did to her beloved brother – which caused her nightmares in the previous game.
Combat[edit | edit source]
Loot[edit | edit source]
It is not necessary to kill Viconia to obtain these items. If defeated, she can be looted before the final conversation cut-scene with her.
Related literature[edit | edit source]
Cloister Budget
Exciting News!
In Service of the Night
Letter from Nocturne- Letter from Viconia
Nocturne's Journal
No Price Too High
Security Guidelines
Skeletons in Patriar Closets
Related quests[edit | edit source]
Quotes[edit | edit source]
“Loss is a gift, girl. Do you still not understand that?„
“What are you doing? Come back and finish this yourself! You owe me that!„
“Let go, Mother. Embrace loss.„
Speak with Dead[edit | edit source]
Viconia DeVir can be spoken to with 
.
- Who are you?
- Viconia DeVir
- Viconia... DeVir...
- What is this place?
- Viconia DeVir
- Lady Shar's sacred grotto...
- Has Shar rewarded your sacrifice?
- Viconia DeVir
- She will... she must...
- Where are you from?
- Viconia DeVir
- Menzoberranzan... Underdark...
- How did you come to be here?
- Viconia DeVir
- Lady Shar's command... Waterdeep, deception... slaughter...
- Why did you do all of this to me?
- Viconia DeVir
- My lady... bid me to...
- How do I enter the Chamber of Loss? (If the party have not entered the Chamber of Loss)
- Viconia DeVir
- Altar...
- What is this key for? (If the party possess Counting House Safe nº8 Key)
- Viconia DeVir
- Vault... Counting House...
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Viconia's model -
Character portrait by Edward Vanderghote -
Preparing for Battle
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ In Baldur's Gate 3, Viconia DeVir is voiced by Jess Nesling, replacing Grey DeLisle/Griffin from the previous games.
- ↑ In the Cloister of Sombre Embrace, if speaking to Viconia and asking her to elaborate on why she wants the Mysterious Artefact, she finishes by saying "I will not be replaced by Shadow..." If passing a Wisdom check, the player character grasps why Vicionia's answer trails off before completion and the Narrator explains their realization. This revelation can provide
Advantage with a choice as the conversation progresses. Later, after Viconia is defeated and Shadowheart is in the party, Shadowheart can then ask her why she, as a daughter of Selûne, was chosen and groomed to be Mother Superior, to which Viconia replies "To take a child of Selûne's, and turn her over to Lady Shar. To show that all light fades, and darkness will prevail in the end." Viconia also has written down part of her accomplishments for Shar concerning Shadowheart in 
In Service of the Night and 
No Price Too High.
- ↑ As the game progresses, and with certain conversation choices, Shadowheart may relay her upbringing to the player character, in which she explains the Mother Superior's harsh tactics, and her struggle to understand them. If so revealed, the player character may respond by saying, "Sounds like abuse."
- ↑
Artefact Mission: Agent Roster
- ↑ Faiths & Pantheons (3e, 2002) – 'Shar', p. 94, "Shar is cold and unforgiving, rewarding success with silence and punishing failure with oblivion. Clergy who are captured or deceived are considered weak and expendable."
- ↑ Champions of Ruin (3.5e, 2005) – 'Church of Shar,' p. 154, "The creed of Loss demands ruthless efficiency; a single misstep brands a Sharran as unfit, to be ‘returned to the night’ by her own comrades."
- ↑ Faiths & Avatars (2e, 1996) – 'Shar,' p. 138, "Those who blunder, are taken by foes, or reveal secrets are deemed unworthy of Shar’s grace and are cast out or slain by their peers."
- ↑ If Shadowheart is a Dark Justiciar and is not in the party, it is possible to negotiate with Viconia by passing
DC 30 Persuasion check to convince her to help in the final battle, without giving her Shadowheart. However, after that, all companions still condemn the player character for betrayal, as if Shadowheart disappeared from the camp forever.[Needs Verification]
- ↑ She gains unique spells depending on the "Heartform" (False Heart, Craven Heart, etc) which she discovers by exploring the the player character's specific fears during the Mapping of the Heart.
- ↑ Her final line before combat (L'il Alurl! For Shar!) is a direct reference to her battle cry from the previous games, see also Viconia's quotes in Baldur's Gate & Tales of the Sword Coast.
- ↑ Baldur's Gate Wiki: Viconia's original epilogues. Retrieved 2023-10-10.