Mirror of Loss

A Mirror of Loss is a large mirror located in both the Gauntlet of Shar at X: -645 Y: -735 (in Act Two) and the Cloister of Sombre Embrace at X: -474 Y: -1650 (in Act Three). The former is cracked and cannot be used for reflection, but the latter is fully functional and can be offered a memory by the user.

“

Where once the mirror showed nothing, there is now something. Memories, experiences, skills. All prised from the minds of others, and now offered to you, to choose from.
[...] Turn to the wisdom of a drow. Once of Lolth, then of Shar.

„

— Narrator, on the player character selecting a memory relinquished by Viconia

Overview

A character with 8 base Charisma being affected by the Stolen Vigour condition from the mirror.

The Mirror of Loss at the Cloister of Sombre Embrace can be used to gain a permanent bonus to one chosen ability score for the party member interacting with the mirror, and also a +1 to Charisma, in exchange for a temporary penalty. Each party member, including hirelings, may obtain these bonuses from the mirror independently, offering a sizable buff to the entire party.

Using the mirror

Recognising the mirror's purpose

To access the benefits of the mirror, one party member must first pass a check to recognise the purpose of the mirror:

• [RELIGION] An object of faith. Examine it closely. Try to understand its purpose. (DC 20)
• [ARCANA] Study the mirror. Try to grasp its true nature. (DC 25)

This check can be completely bypassed by reading the  Hastily Written Note found in the Night Orchid Cave behind a breakable wooden wall in the Cloister of Sombre Embrace's Armoury, which is accessible only by passing a passive  DC 15 Perception Check. It is also possible to fly over the wall instead of destroying it, even if the Perception Check is failed.

Only one party member must pass a check to identify the mirror for all party members to gain access to it, but the following Religion check must still be passed by each individual character to receive any bonus except for the  Patriar's Memory.

Sacrificing a memory

Each party member then has the option to surrender a memory or to pass a  DC 25 Religion Check to pray to Shar. Aside from one exception mentioned below, they must pass the Religion check to have a chance of receiving the +2 bonus to an ability score.

Party members may surrender up to 6 memories to the mirror, one for each of their abilities. Offering up a memory associated with a particular ability score causes a character to be temporarily cursed with Stolen Vigour, a -2 penalty to the chosen ability. This curse lasts until the next long rest, but can also be cured with  Remove Curse or  Greater Restoration. The curse is the only penalty for sacrificing a memory; there are no narrative consequences for doing so.

Each party member also has the option to pass a  DC 20 Deception Check to not sacrifice a memory, but this has no benefit; passing this check only gives a character the generic memory dialogue, and failing it results in using up one of their memories and receiving Stolen Vigour without then rolling for a memory.

A party member who has read the  Necromancy of Thay can also surrender the  Forbidden Knowledge passive obtained from it. If the party member has learned the  Danse Macabre spell, this is also surrendered, and the Necromancy of Thay then refuses to open, preventing the reacquisition of Forbidden Knowledge or Danse Macabre. This guarantees the character receives the +2 bonus without needing to pass the  DC 25 Religion Check and prevents them from receiving the curse. This is the only way to bypass the Religion check and still obtain a +2 ability score bonus.

Offering memories without the prayer

The way the mirror works is obfuscated to the player. After sacrificing a memory, the mirror makes a hidden roll for a number between 0 and 4 (inclusive), then offers a memory based on the result. The only beneficial memory among the five possibilities is the  Patriar's Memory, which grants a permanent +1 Charisma.

• *You embody an officer of the City Watch. A comrade died because of you. The dead man's face fades away... but the identities of informants vanish as well.*
• *Your mind is that of corrupt alderman, eager to forget his transgressions. You feel them fade away... but your faith in the goddess Selûne is devoured along with them.*
• *You embody a heartbroken heiress, desperate to forget an unrequited love. The sadness flees from you... along with a string of numbers. A safe combination?*
• *You embody a merchant, deep in mourning. His wife died, and he cannot bear to go on. Only the House of Grief can help him.* (if the party met  Arves outside the House of Grief, it will mention that he is the merchant in question)
• *Disappointment floods your mind. You were sure to succeed Stelmane, but Lord Enver Gortash has stolen your support. All that charming and cajoling in the parlours of the Upper City, wasted.* → gain Patriar's Memory, +1 Charisma

It is also possible to reroll a memory which was already rolled, in which case the mirror presents this generic dialogue instead:

• *A jumble of memories clamour for your attention. They range from ancient to new. But none are yours.*

The prayer

After identifying the purpose of the mirror, one of the following prayer options is available to each party member:

• [DARK JUSTICIAR] [RELIGION] Offer a prayer to the mirror. (DC 25 )
• [RELIGION] Offer a prayer to the mirror. (DC 25 ) (if Mapping of the Heart was performed)
• [RELIGION] Offer a prayer to the mirror. (DC 25)
• [SELÛNE] [RELIGION] Offer a prayer to the mirror. (DC 25 )

The +2 ability bonus can be achieved by rolling a 5 or higher on the hidden roll detailed above, which is normally impossible, or by sacrificing  Forbidden Knowledge.

However, if a party member succeeds the  DC 25 Religion Check to offer a prayer to Shar (see the guide for how to guarantee success), they gain a permanent +3 bonus on all future attempts at the hidden roll.

This means that each hidden roll is now between 3–7, giving the character a 20% chance of receiving a useless memory (3), a 20% chance of receiving the Patriar's Memory (4), and a 60% chance of successfully gaining the +2 bonus to any stat (5–7).

Each character has only one chance to pass the Religion check; failing it prevents them from ever getting the +2 ability score bonus.

Due to a dialogue scripting bug, characters make these checks against themselves, causing Karmic Dice to create guaranteed failures. The automatic failures this can impose override features such as  Reliable Talent.

Offering memories after the prayer

Once a party member has rolled a 5 or higher on the hidden roll, this dialogue appears:

• *You feel the presence of something, ancient and unknowable. It has taken notice of you. Where once the mirror showed nothing, there is now something. Memories, experiences, skills. All prised from the minds of others, and now offered to you, to choose from.*

The character is now able to select a permanent +2 bonus to any one ability, raising that ability up to a maximum of 24:

• Claim memories of strength from a long-dead general, who marched under the banner of a vanished kingdom. → gain  General's Memory, +2 Strength
• Help yourself to the memories of a seasoned thief's most daring exploits. → gain  Thief's Memory, +2 Dexterity
• Seize the memories of a barbarian, whose mind and body were tempered against hardship. → gain  Barbarian's Memory, +2 Constitution
• Glean the secrets of a wizard who once stalked the library of Candlekeep. → gain  Wizard's Memory, +2 Intelligence
• Turn to the wisdom of a drow. Once of Lolth, then of Shar. → gain  Mother-Superior's Memory, +2 Wisdom
• Warm to the guile of a bard who could charm even a dragon. → gain  Bard's Memory, +2 Charisma

Once a character has gained a +2 bonus from a memory, they cannot offer up any more memories to the mirror, locking a character out of receiving the Patriar's Memory.

Optimising strategy to acquire both bonuses

In Honour Mode, there are only 6 chances for each party member to use the mirror, and it is important to understand how making the prayer after offering different numbers of memories affects the overall chances of receiving both buffs. As stated above, gaining the +2 boost prevents the interacting character from surrendering more memories, making it impossible to try for the Patriar's Memory afterwards. This is why immediately trying to pass the Religion check typically leads to poor odds of getting both bonuses.

The Patriar's Memory can most reliably be acquired as follows:

• With the  Forbidden Knowledge passive, a character should sacrifice up to five memories before making the Religion check, and then, if they fail to receive the +2 bonus on the 6th attempt, they can still give up  Forbidden Knowledge to get it. If they get the Patriar's Memory, they should then immediately make the Religion check and surrender the rest of their memories, before finally giving up Forbidden Knowledge, if needed. Making the Religion check after the fifth memory does not hurt the party member's odds of getting both memories, as the chance of receiving the Patriar's Memory is 20% either way. However, it gives them a 60% chance of retaining Forbidden Knowledge, even if they fail to get the Patriar's Memory.

• Without  Forbidden Knowledge, it is mathematically optimal to sacrifice 3 memories to the mirror before making the Religion check. If a character fails to receive the Patriar's Memory after 3 attempts, they should then make the Religion check and spend the rest of their memories. If they obtain the Patriar's Memory before their 3rd attempt, it is always beneficial to immediately make the Religion check, as giving up more memories without it only wastes them. The probabilities shown below assume this strategy is used and the religion check is passed when taken.

Probability for each outcome

	Both improvements	Only +2 ability score improvement	Only Patriar's Memory (+1 Charisma)	No improvements
Immediately taking religion check	24.6%	75.0%	0.4%	0.0%
Religion check after 1st memory	39.0%	60.0%	1.0%	0.0%
Religion check after 2nd memory	49.5%	47.9%	2.5%	0.1%
Religion check after 3rd memory	55.5%	38.1%	6.0%	0.4%
Religion check after 4th memory	54.5%	29.5%	14.4%	1.6%
Religion check after 5th memory	40.3%	19.7%	33.4%	6.6%

Sacrificing three memories before attempting the religion check gives an impressive 55% chance of getting both improvements, and a 93.6% chance of getting at least the +2 improvement. Giving more than 3 memories before the Religion check only improves the chance of getting the Patriar's Memory, while significantly decreasing the chance of getting the +2 ability score increase.

Shadowheart interactions

Disloyal to Shar

If  Shadowheart is no longer loyal to Shar, she is entirely denied the mirror's benefits. The mirror states she has already surrendered most of her memories to it and cannot offer any more. She is not given the opportunity to be cursed, nor receive a boon.

Furthermore, if she spared the  Nightsong, she has  Disadvantage on the  DC 25 Religion Check to offer a prayer to the mirror, even though passing this difficult check yields no benefit. If she killed the Nightsong and only later turned her back on Shar, then she has  Advantage due to being a Dark Justiciar, but passing the check still does nothing.

However, the mirror can be used prior to Dark Justiciar Shadowheart making a decision about her final task. If Shadowheart goes straight to the mirror without speaking to her parents, then she is still considered loyal and can receive the benefit, even if she then rejects Shar when speaking to her parents.

Loyal to Shar

If Shadowheart becomes a Dark Justiciar, overthrows  Viconia DeVir, and kills her parents to become Lady Shar's Chosen, she automatically receives a permanent +2 bonus to the ability of her choice without receiving any curses. She cannot, however, receive the Patriar's Memory by any means.

Becoming a Dark Justiciar gives her  Advantage on the  DC 25 Religion Check to offer a prayer to the mirror, but it is unnecessary, as she receives the +2 bonus regardless.

Instead of giving over a memory from a stranger, the mirror returns one of Shadowheart's previously offered memories back to her:

• Claim the Strength found in a spirit who has had to fight for her place in the world. → gain +2 Strength
• Steal the deft-handed prowess of someone trained in stealth all her life. → gain +2 Dexterity
• Seize the fortitude that lies in a heart denied a thousand times. → gain +2 Constitution
• Adopt the curiosity of a young child who hungered for knowledge forbidden to her. → gain +2 Intelligence
• Absorb the wisdom of a novice who weathered harsh lessons and harsher punishments. → gain +2 Wisdom
• Embrace the cunning of a youth who learned to succeed through charm and deceit. → gain +2 Charisma

Related literature

• Reflections Upon the Mirror of Loss
• Teachings of Loss: Forgetting and Loss
• The Unburdening

Gallery

• 
  In-game
• 
  Model/render by Selena Tobin