Baldur’s Gate 3 is an incredibly long and absolutely wonderful role-playing game with a lot of twists and turns. Among these twists is the true nature of the Nightsong, who, if you’re reading this, you’d know is actually a person being kept against her will by the dreaded Ketheric Thorm.
This guide will show you what will happen if you spare or kill her. Take note that there will be potential major spoilers for both the second and third acts.
Should You Kill OR Save Nightsong?
After completing the challenges throughout the Gauntlet of Shar and defeating Balthazar in whichever way you saw fit, you’ll eventually find yourself in a conversation with the Nightsong within the Shadowfell.
By this point, you would have probably figured out that this is Shadowheart’s moment to shine, as this is one of the most important moments of her personal story.
With that in mind, it’s generally best to let her take charge and do her own thing, though this may not always lead to the outcome you want depending on her approval level, among other things.
Killing the Nightsong
Allowing her to kill the Nightsong is the easiest way to progress through this section, but it has major implications for more than just Shadowheart’s story. Here is what happens when you choose this path:
- First of all, killing the Nightsong will pretty much doom everybody at the Last Light Inn, as their protection will not be enough to withstand the curse’s powers.
- This can lock you out of Karlach’s personal quest, as Dammon will be among the casualties of the Last Light Inn if it falls.
- Jaheira, a recruitable companion and returning character from previous Baldur’s Gate titles, will also die if you choose to kill the Nightsong.
- You may also lock yourself out of romancing Shadowheart, as she essentially devotes her life to her worship of Shar. This will also lead to a potentially cruel outcome in her personal story later on, which you may not want unless you’re going on an evil run.
- You’ll be rewarded with Shar’s Spear of Evening, which is a legendary weapon that grants the holder an advantage on saving throws while obscured. They also can’t be blinded.
Saving the Nightsong
With a high enough approval, and if you’ve been generally good throughout your playthrough, Shadowheart should choose to save the Nightsong herself even if you remain silent throughout their encounter.
You can also convince her yourself, though you might have to pass a particularly difficult charisma check.
If you choose, you can repeatedly reload until you succeed, though players have reported cases where failing this will still result in Shadowheart deciding to spare the Nightsong.
Either way, sparing the Nightsong will lead to the best possible outcomes for everyone involved. The following is what happens if you choose to save her:
- You will gain a powerful ally during the fight with Ketheric Thorm later on. She’ll make both of the following boss fights significantly easier, especially since she can’t die.
- Jaheira and her Harpers will assist you in the fights leading up to Ketheric Thorm, where she can be convinced to join your party temporarily (and permanently a bit later).
- Everybody at Last Light Inn will survive, including the prisoners from the tower, if you saved them. This can potentially lead to you having certain characters and factions as allies in the third act’s final stretch.
- You’ll receive the Moonlight Glave and, a bit later, Selune’s Spear of Night, which gains an advantage on wisdom saving throws and perception checks. It also grants Darkvision, Moonbeam, and Moonmote.
Overall, you’re going to want to save the Nightsong on any playthrough unless you’re specifically going for an evil run.
Even then, there’s an arguably more evil betrayal that you can carry out in the third act if you choose to save the Nightsong, though that’s as far as I’ll spoil here.
Not only does saving her benefit you greatly in Act 2’s climactic fight, but you’ll also get the best possible ending for Shadowheart’s personal story much later in the game. Plus, there’s a pretty epic cutscene for choosing this path!
