Even though Baldur’s Gate 3 has been in the spotlight for almost two years, fans are still perplexed by some of its mysteries. One of the game’s greatest qualities is that players can form their own paths to get through the story, and they can be as chaotic or peaceful as they like. However, this can sometimes also be a flaw, as first-time players may not be inclined to seek out certain characters or areas, which can lead to later gaps in their knowledge.

There are lots of small side quests that are quite easy to miss, but many players seem to have misunderstood a very important aspect of the game. The second act is of particular notice, since if you’re not interested in characters like Halsin, it’s possible you might have been discouraged from engaging in the Shadow Curse quest. Here’s a rundown of the main plot points of the second act, which you may not have interpreted correctly if you didn’t uncover enough stones in your playthrough.

What Is The Shadow Curse In Baldur’s Gate 3?

A Curse Laid Upon The Land By Shar After Ketheric Thorm Called On Her

Custom Image by Garrett Ettinger

The Shadow Curse in BG3 is the main plot point of Act 2, though you have to do a bit of digging to piece together how it manifested over the land. Over one hundred years before the start of the game, Moonrise Towers was a safe haven for Selûnites and the home of Ketheric Thorm and his family. However, Selûne’s failure to prevent the death of Ketheric’s wife, Melodia, caused him to turn to Shar in his grief, denouncing his former goddess.

In-game, the Shadow Curse effect deals 2d4 necrotic damage, which doubles each round. As a follower of Shar, Shadowheart is immune to the lesser effects of the curse and can walk around the first part of Act Two freely without a light source.

Players can find a heartbreaking letter from Melodia in Ketheric’s room, which she signs off with “there is no loss; only temporary separation.” This is painfully ironic considering that Shar is widely known as the Lady of Loss. Once he became a Sharran, Ketheric formed an army of Dark Justiciars to carry out Shar’s will, but they were defeated, with some being hunted down by Yurgir. Now players can only find remnants of their lives throughout Act 2, especially throughout the Gauntlet.

In a final attempt to claim the land for Shar’s forces, Ketheric unleashed the goddess’s power upon it in the form of the Shadow Curse. The land has remained under the curse ever since, infested with living shadows and harming anyone who sets foot into it without a source of light. What gets more complicated is how the characters of Oliver and Thaniel link into this. You need to save Thaniel to lift the curse off the land, but how exactly does this work?

Who Are Thaniel And Oliver In BG3?

Two Halves Of The Same Whole, Though Oliver May Have A False Identity

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

One of my biggest mistakes in my first BG3 campaign was not lifting the Shadow Curse, which left me a little confused as to who Oliver and Thaniel actually are and how they’re related to the curse at all. It seems like my old strife has been shared by a few other players, like Reddit user madcarrot0, and even after properly doing the quest, many fans have missed exactly who these characters are. Halsin does allude to once having known Thaniel, but the wider story reveals much more.

Thaniel is far from a regular child. Although he takes the form of a regular tiefling boy, he is actually a fey creature and the spirit of the land itself. When Shar brought upon the Shadow Curse, it was effectively Thaniel who was cursed, causing him to split into two beings. Part of him remained stuck in the Shadowfell, while the rest of him stayed in Faerûn, taking on the identity of Oliver. The Shadowfell is Shar’s domain, so letting him reunite with his other half frees him of Shar’s influence.

“He’s much more than a child, but he doesn’t truly know that.” – Halsin

You can find journals about Oliver’s life as a normal child, but the Oliver we see is likely more of an imitation that has taken up the identity of the boy who used to live in the house you find him in. It’s possible that this “new” Oliver tried to fabricate a normal life for himself, since he blocks out his memories of being Thaniel and becomes agitated if the player brings him up. He projects familiar roles onto the shadow creatures around him, which implies he’s clinging to a false notion of having an earthly family.

Thaniel and Oliver’s designs actually slightly hint at their origins. You’ll notice that Oliver has standard devil-like tiefling horns, but Thaniel’s horns are more suitable for a fey. Although they’re not exactly the same, Thaniel’s horns are antler-like and more similar to the horns of dryads than any other tiefling character.

Art Cullagh’s connection to Thaniel may seem random, but in the context that Thaniel is trapped in the Shadowfell, it makes a lot more sense. Since Art is recovering from being exposed to the Shadow Curse, which originates from the Shadowfell, Thaniel is able to reach out and communicate with him. He seemingly does this in his sleep, since he’ll be unresponsive when Halsin retrieves him from the portal.

Why Does Halsin Feel Responsible For The Shadow Curse?

Halsin Knew Thaniel Before He Split Into Two

Custom image by Sara Belcher

Halsin feels responsible for fixing the Shadow Curse and will remain in the Act Two area if the player proceeds into the third act or goes back to the first without lifting it. He was originally going to have a lot more involvement in the curse’s origin, so this is probably a shortened version of the first concept of the story. You need to get Halsin involved in order to lift the Shadow Curse, and he’ll be the one to make the link between Art and Thaniel.

Halsin wants to see the curse lifted so he can see his old friend happy once again — when Halsin was a child, he was quite close to Thaniel. However, as he grew up into an adult, Thaniel remained the same age and was left without company. This is another reason why Halsin is relieved to see Thaniel recombine with Oliver. Although they are technically the same person, Thaniel will never be lonely knowing that Oliver is always with him, which is a surprisingly sweet conclusion to the gruesome trials of the second act in Baldur’s Gate 3.