In Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3), you’ll be faced with a major, path-defining decision: Whether you should kill or save The Nightsong at the end of the Gauntlet of Shar. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know about the choice and our advice for how to proceed.
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| Should You Let Shadowheart Kill the Nightsong in BG3? |
| What Happens If You Kill the Nightsong in Baldur’s Gate 3 |
| What Happens If You Save the Nightsong in BG3 |
| Which Should You Choose? |
Should You Let Shadowheart Kill the Nightsong in BG3?
After descending to fight Balthazar, you’ll be faced with a major choice involving Shadowheart and The Nightsong in BG3. For those who don’t know, the Nightsong is an Aasimar that was imprisoned by Ketheric Thorm and is tied to his immortality. Ending that link is thus key to beating that villain.
Once you talk to the Nightsong, there are two paths to choose from. You can either let Shadowheart kill the Nightsong, or you can convince her to give the Nightsong a chance and spare her. The dialogue options that cause either result are pretty easy to understand, and the best way to think about this decision is as a simple choice between good and evil.
Here’s what will happen based on your choice.
What Happens If You Kill the Nightsong in Baldur’s Gate 3
If you let Shadowheart kill the Nightsong, she will go full Dark Justiciar of Shar mode. Be prepared for her to be dark, brooding, and rather evil for the rest of Baldur’s Gate 3.
In return for killing The Nightsong in BG3, Shadowheart will gain some powerful gear, the most impressive of which is the legendary weapon Shar’s Spear of Evening. It’s a 1H sword that deals 7 – 20 base damage plus bonus damage while obscured, which you can trigger yourself thanks to the spell that comes with the sword, Shar’s Darkness. The Dark Justiciar chest armor will be upgraded to very rare quality, and you also get Dark Justiciar gloves and boots. Each of these gear pieces have associated spells that can be cast without limit, which is very powerful.
The trade-off for the sweet new set of gear is quite severe, though. First of all, the light protection at the Last Light Inn will fall and every NPC there will either die or become undead. This can include important NPCs for other characters, such as Dammon who is very important to progressing with Karlach. In addition, all of your companions except Astarion will disapprove of killing the Nightsong. The fight against Ketheric Thorm will become much more difficult as well, as the Nightsong won’t be around to assist in the battle.
Looking further forward, in Act 3, Shadowheart will even want to kill some of her family members. That goes to show just how dark of a path this will become for Shadowheart if you take it. In fact, you’d only really want to take this path if you plan on siding with the Absolute rather than going up against it!
What Happens If You Save the Nightsong in BG3
Convincing Shadowheart to save the Nightsong will be the best option for most players in BG3. It sets Shadowheart down a path away from Shar and towards the light of Selune. She’ll become warmer, more caring, and much nicer to be around. Of course, you won’t gain the Shar loot, but you will receive a nice weapon from The Nightsong called the Moonlight Glaive that deals 2 – 14 base damage plus one D4 of Radiant damage. It’s also enchanted with light, which is a nice bonus for warding off the shadows. Additionally, you’ll get Selune’s Spear of Night, which does 6 – 11 base damage and has a bunch of other nice effects.
Everyone in the Last Light Inn will remain alive so that you can continue interacting with them, and your party will approve of your choice, which is always nice. You’ll also gain a very powerful ally to help you fight Ketheric Thorm later in Baldur’s Gate 3. The Nightsong is very strong and makes the initial fight much easier, so ultimately, this choice will best set you up to best take down the Absolute at the end of BG3.
Which Should You Choose?
With what happens when you kill or save the Nightsong in BG3 established, the question remains which you should choose. The choice is absolutely yours and depends a lot on how you’re playing the game. Overall, though, the “good” path makes a lot of the late game easier, and avoids a lot of characters getting hurt or dying. You should probably thus only take the “evil” path if you’re really going for an evil run.
If you’re looking for more on Baldur’s Gate 3 after deciding whether you should kill or save the Nightsong, check out our guide to the best mods for BG3.
