Traveling in the Shadow Lands is no easy feat in Baldur's Gate 3. With the Shadow Curse corrupting everything it touches, journeying into this land is not for the faint of heart. Even Isobel's blessing won't be enough to save you from the darkest shadows.
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While the task of reaching Moonrise first seems insurmountable, there is one item that will see you safely across the perilous lands: a Moonlantern. Unbroken and carrying a magical secret within, this singular item shall be your guide. That is, if you're willing to fight for it.
Updated February 22, 2024 by Alexis Campbell: Added new strategies and information regarding Kar'niss the Drider with Patch 6 Legendary Action, Sanctuary changes, and alternative approaches in higher difficulties.
Beginning The Quest For The Moonlantern - Meeting The Harpers First
The Moonlantern quest can only be started once you've spoken to Isobel, defended her, and received her blessing against the Shadow Curse. This takes place at Last Light Inn.
From the inn, you'll need to walk back to the entry bridge of the sanctuary. Here, a group of Harpers will be waiting to speak with you. Tell them to go ahead and set up the ambush, stating either for them to lead and you follow or that you'll meet them there.
Follow the quest icon on your map south, south-eastward to a decrepit building. Make sure to avoid the main road near the quest-marker, avoiding the sight of the person carrying the Moonlantern nearby.
When traveling through the lands to the ambush site, having spells like Daylight or Light is recommended. Otherwise, all members of your party should be equipped with a torch until reaching your destination.
Inside, a cutscene will trigger, where you'll be given the choice of when the ambush starts.
The best time to give the signal for the ambush is on your second prompting after the Drider, Kar'niss, has killed one of the goblins for running off. Instead of risking his high perception to hide, give the signal to initiate combat and surprise the foes.
If you fail to hide from Drider or step out, combat will begin with the goblins and the Drider getting the advantage and surprise against you.
Starting The Moonlantern Quest - Meeting The Goblins First
Rather than teaming up with the Harpers, you may have first encountered the goblins at their camp on the north side of the Shadow-Cursed Lands map. In this camp, they'll tell you that they're waiting on a guide to take them to Moonrise Tower and the person with the Spider's Lyre.
The Spider's Lyre can be taken from either Minthara or Nere, and playing the lyre will summon the Drider, Kar'niss, to the camp to escort you to Moonrise Towers.
The Drider will tell you to stay close by as you venture into the Shadow-Cursed Lands, so follow his lead. Eventually, you'll encounter a cutscene where you may notice an ambush from the Harpers in the decrepit building.
From here, you can choose to either side with the Harpers or side with Kar'niss.
- If you choose to side with the Harpers, you can continue to the ambush section below.
- If you choose to side with Kar'niss, you'll eventually be taken to Moonrise Towers. There, you can either craft your own Moon Lantern in Balthazar's room or pick up an already finished Moonlantern in front of the entry door.
How To Craft A Moonlantern
To craft your own Moonlantern, you'll need to enter Moonrise Towers and go through the cinematics with Ketheric Thorm in the throne room. After, venture upstairs to speak with Z'rell in front of Ketheric's audience chamber.
Should you pass Z'rell's inspection, she will give you a key to Balthazar's room.
You can alternatively try sneaking into Balthazar's room and lockpicking the door. The DC on most doors in Moonrise Towers, however, is quite high. You'll need a skilled lockpicker or the Knock spell.
From where you're standing, turn around and go through the rich, red office room on the far side. Past the bookshelves and a desk, you'll find the door to Balthazar's room.
Solving Balthazar's puzzle by pressing the far upper right book and placing a bloody heart in the sacrificial bowl, you'll gain access to his laboratory.
Inside, you should notice a sigil on the table to your right. As a Wizard or with Gale in your party, you will have the ability to use this sigil to craft a Moonlantern automatically or will otherwise need to pass a DC30 Arcana check.
If you're not sure whether you should use or dispel the circle, refer to our official guide on the consequences of crafting a shadow lantern.
You will be required to insert a Broken Moonlantern and a Dead Pixie in the sigil slots. The reagents required should be automatically added to your inventory, but if they are not, Dead Pixies are on the table, and you can find Broken Moonlanterns:
- On Nere's corpse
- At several locations around Balthazar's room
How To Defeat The Drider, Kar'niss
When combat begins, Kar'niss will attempt to cast Sanctuary on himself almost every round at the end of his turn. For this reason, it's a good idea to bring someone with the ability to Counterspell or use Silence. Otherwise, you won't be able to target him.
Several Harpers will be aiding you in this fight, but don't get overconfident. The goblins here are powerful and boast high levels with area attacks (like Cloud of Daggers) and powerful abilities (like Rage: Wolf Heart), so it's best to tread here with caution and focus.
You can make this fight several times easier if you decide to kill all the goblins at camp first before summoning the Drider. This will allow you to take on the entirety of this fight, focusing only on Kar'niss.
However, it cannot be done if you triggered the questline at Last Light Inn as the goblins will have already left.
Nearby, there's a ladder on the left side of the building. Use that ladder for any ranged support characters that would appreciate staying out of melee range and attack from the roof.
Spellcasters with spells like Fireball or Lightning Bolt should be used on Turn One to prevent any Harpers from getting mixed up in the attack.
Have one person (preferably a tank) focus on helping the Harpers with Kar'niss while the others focus on the goblins below. Arguably, the goblins are more dangerous and pressing than Kar'niss himself since he can only focus on one person at a time and will waste turns on Sanctuary.
You should beware on higher levels of difficulty that even the most stout of tanks can be obliterated by Kar'niss alone.
The Harpers are best used as cannon fodder for him as you cut down on other enemies.
Beware, however, that Kar'niss's Legendary Action in Honour Mode is not bound by distance. It can, however, be Counterspelled.
You'll want to prevent the goblins from reaching inside the home. With their area attacks, they can become quickly problematic and also take away your height advantage.
Move around where necessary, especially when they throw flaming area effects like Alchemist's Fire at you, but be wary of trailing too far away from Kar'niss or your party's source of light as you may fall under the effects of the Shadow-Curse if you aren't careful.
Their fire effects can also take out the ladder on top of the home. You'll have to sacrifice 2-4HP when leaving the roof later if they destroy the house, provided you have no Misty Step or Feather Fall to descend safely.
When the other goblins are taken care of, you can focus on Kar'niss at the end.
In all levels of combat, Kar'niss is exceptionally weak to area-effect spells, and the spell Witch Bolt will continue to be effective each turn so long as you casted it on a turn where his Sanctuary was inactive and you continue to concentrate.
To keep him away from your spellcasters, we recommend having a hardy tank stand beside him with the Sentinel feat, preventing him from sneaking away to butcher your squishy backline.
Upon killing him, you can take his special sword, Cruel Sting, and the Moonlantern.
The Moonlantern is an item with a strange truth to it. Beyond being a key item that will protect you from the Shadowcurse, it houses a peculiar creature inside: a pixie.
Whether you choose to trust and release the pixie or keep it within the Moonlantern will be up to you, and your decision could have dire consequences on your travels to Moonrise. Continue on your adventure, or look below if you don't mind spoilers.
Should I Free The Pixie?
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