Reithwin Town is the heart of the Shadow Curse plaguing the region. Instead of shops and NPCs and quests, it features a variety of twisted and corrupted shadow creatures — including members of the Thorm family — just waiting for unwary travelers to wander by. Read our guide to avoid the perils of the town, and reap its bountiful rewards.
Note: The original version of this guide was written by Graves, and much of its information was sourced by him initially.
Exits A – Shadow-Cursed Lands B – Moonrise Towers C – Baldur’s Gate D – Morgue E – Gauntlet of Shar
Waypoints W1 – Reithwin Town W2 – Moonrise Towers W3 – Road to Baldur’s Gate W4 – Grand Mausoleum
Area Note
Reithwin Town is the heart of the Shadow Curse, and the curse’s effects are much stronger here. Regular light sources and spells will get snuffed out immediately, and even Isobel’s Blessing of Selune (given at the Last Light Inn) won’t be enough.
To move around the town without taking damage from the shadows, you’ll need a Pixie Blessing or a working Moonlantern. Both are available at the Harper ambush site in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Failing that, you can rush through the town to reach Moonrise Towers, and pick up a Moonlantern from Balthazar’s room.
Reithwin Town features several major structures:
Gauntlet of Shar (Exit E) – A dungeon full of trials; rewards a potential weapon against Ketheric Thorm
You can investigate these locations in any order, but we’d recommend saving the Gauntlet of Shar for last.
Points of Interest
1 – Crate
Inside a crate here, you’ll find a Key. It unlocks a traveler’s chest found on the eastern side of the southern bridge leading to the Shadow-Cursed Lands (Exit A).
You’ll encounter three Shadows and four Shadow-Cursed Harpers guarding the statue of Ketheric Thorm here. They’ll mostly be looking north, so if you sneak up to them from the south, then you can attack them unawares and possibly surprise them. Regardless, the fight should not be too difficult since there isn’t anything special about any of the enemies.
After the battle, you might notice three plaques on the base of the statue. Each time you approach one, you’ll trigger a passive DC-10 Perception check to highlight it, but passing these checks isn’t required. You’ll be able to read the plaques regardless.
Northern Plaque Our – L Mistr When – Ni Thorm –
Eastern Plaque ady – o ess – of ight – F Shal
Western Plaque f – Loss – Pain alls l – Rise
When you examine the plaques, you’ll just see a jumble of letters that won’t make any sense on their own. But if you read the plaques in the correct order — northern plaque, eastern plaque, western plaque — then you’ll uncover the message…
“Our Lady of Loss Mistress of Pain When night falls Thorm shall rise”
… and a passage will open on the southern side of the statue, leading down into a Sharran Sanctuary. If you have a Sage (like Gale) in your party, then solving the puzzle will earn you the Tenets of Loss inspiration.
Sharran Sanctuary
Inside the sanctuary, you’ll discover three statues of Shar, each one with a plaque. Reading the plaques will give you the opportunity to take a test. If you pass a test, then you’ll receive a buff until your next Long Rest. But if you fail a test, then you’ll receive a debuff until your next Long Rest, you’ll get attacked by a trio of sentinels, and you’ll forfeit taking any other tests. The buffs are pretty good, so you should rest before taking the tests, and you should make sure you have helpful spells (like Bless) available. Each test can only be taken once, pass or fail, but you can use a different character for each one.
The three tests are detailed below:
“Do you think yourself wise enough to be granted Shar’s blessing?” For this test, you’ll have to pass a DC-14 Wisdom check. If you succeed, then you’ll gain Dark Lady’s Awareness (+5 Wisdom). If you fail, then you’ll receive Dark Lady’s Reckoning (-5 Wisdom).
“Do you accept Shar’s test of your intellect?” For this test, you’ll have to pass a DC-14 Intelligence check. If you succeed, then you’ll gain Dark Lady’s Erudition (+5 Intelligence). If you fail, then you’ll receive Dark Lady’s Fool (-5 Intelligence).
“Are you bold of heart and sharp of tongue? Can you turn any and all to the Dark Lady’s cause?” For this test, you’ll have to pass a DC-14 Charisma check. If you succeed, then you’ll gain Dark Lady’s Grace (+5 Charisma). If you fail, then you’ll receive Dark Lady’s Ire (-5 Charisma).
Note: Clerics will have Advantage for all three tests. Shadowheart (as a follower of Shar) will automatically pass all three tests.
If you pass all three tests, then a secret door will open leading to a Shar Altar, where you’ll find a Ritual Dagger of Shar. If you beat a passive DC-10 Religion check when interacting with the altar, then you’ll sense that it wants a blood offering. If you use the dagger to sacrifice some of your blood, then you’ll be rewarded with an Elixir of Necrotic Resistance, a Potion of Angelic Reprieve, a Scroll of Blight, and a Scroll of Revivify. If you take the dagger from the altar, then three sentinels will attack you, but you’ll get to keep your statue buffs.
Note: If you have an Acolyte (like Shadowheart) in your party, then passing the three statue tests will earn you the Honing the Darkness inspiration. If you have a Sage (like Gale) in your party, then donating blood at the altar will earn you the Partaking in Local Customs inspiration.
Instead of taking the statue tests, you can destroy the statues. This will cause the three sentinels to attack you. Plus, you’ll lose out on the three statue buffs, and you won’t be able to get to the dagger. Shadowheart will disapprove if you steal the dagger, but she won’t care if you destroy the statues.
3 – Town Gate
Enemies
Ch’r’ai Tska’an – Lv. 9
2 x Veteran Raiders – Lv. 9
2 x Veteran Warriors – Lv. 9
Notable Loot
Hr’a’cknir Bracers
Psionic Ward Armour
If you angered Vlaakith during your visit to Creche Y’llek, then a githyanki hunting party led by Ch’r’ai Tska’an will ambush you here. However, if you later met Kith’rak Voss and acquired the Qua’nith Psionic Detector from him, then the detector will warn you about the ambush and give you the Qua’nith: Alert Active condition, which will grant you +5 Initiative plus Advantage on your first attack roll of the fight. The +5 Initiative in particular is important, because it will guarantee that your party moves first.
The githyanki will be set up well for an ambush, with their warriors in front of the gate, and Tska’an and the raiders on top of the gate. But they won’t be hiding, waiting for you to approach; instead, they’ll simply appear at their starting positions when you get within range, which means there isn’t any way for you to sneak up to them and initiate the fight. They’ll always trigger it.
Don’t approach the gate from the east. That will play right into the hunting party’s hands. Instead, take the path north just before the gate (at the brazier), which will allow you to approach the githyanki from the north — and also at the same level as the top of the gate, so they won’t have a height advantage against you.
Otherwise, the battle should be straightforward. Tska’an is a powerful Warlock, so target her first — and ideally kill her in the first round — and then worry about the raiders and warriors. After the battle, you’ll find Hr’a’cknir Bracers and Psionic Ward Armour on Tska’an’s corpse.
This is the stash where Thisobald Thorm’s alchemy supplies are delivered. If you read about the stash while in the Waning Moon, then it will appear as a dirt mound, which you’ll need to dig up with a Shovel. Otherwise, you’ll first need to detect the dirt mound by passing a DC-21 Survival check.
Inside the stash, you’ll find some rare alchemical ingredients, including Corpse Rose, which you’ll need for Thisobald’s Brewed-Up Bellyglummer.
5 – Skeletons
Notable Loot
Assassin’s Shortsword
Watcher’s Shield
On the two skeletons here, you’ll find an Assassin’s Shortsword (with Advantage on Stealth checks) and a Watcher’s Shield (with Advantage on Perception checks). Just bad luck, really.
6 – Arabella
Enemies
2 x Shadows – Lv. 5
You might remember Arabella from Act 1. She was caught trying to steal the Idol of Silvanus from the druids in the Emerald Grove, and as a result had to be rescued during the quest Save Arabella. If Arabella survived all of that, then you’ll meet her here by the entrance to the graveyard.
Arabella will immediately entangle two Shadows, and she’ll explain that she picked up a few things when she touched the idol. She’ll also mention that she’s looking for her parents. If you agree to help, then you’ll trigger the quest Find Arabella’s Parents. Otherwise, Arabella will run off, and you’ll later find her corpse in the front courtyard to the Waning Moon.
Note: The two Shadows will remain entangled for the rest of the game. If you feel so inclined, you can force attack them to earn some xp for killing them.
If you beat a passive DC-5 Perception check when approaching this skeleton, then you’ll detect and highlight it. This won’t change anything about the skeleton, as you’ll be able to interact with it even if you fail the check.
When you loot the skeleton, you’ll discover the ring True Love’s Embrace, the companion piece to the ring True Love’s Caress, which you can find on a skeleton inside the House of Healing to the west. The two rings work together, with the wearer of Caress being able to protect the wearer of Embrace.
This mausoleum will start out locked. To open it, you’ll need to beat a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check. Inside the mausoleum, you’ll find a sarcophagus containing Boots of Apparent Death (which allows the wearer to Feign Death).
9 – Mausoleum
Notable Loot
Icebite Robe
Inside one of the sarcophagi here, you’ll find the Icebite Robe.
10 – Raphael
You’ll meet everyone’s favorite devil here. He’ll give you the quest Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy.
You’ll find several graves here, including one where you’ll need to beat a passive DC-6 Survival check to detect it. If you loot any of the graves, and if you beat a DC-14 Religion check, then you’ll realize that they belong to Selune’s followers. You’ll likely find random spell scrolls and potions inside the graves.
When you approach the fishing hut here, you’ll get ambushed by a large group of Cursed Kuo-Toa, including a Cursed Kuo-Toa Chief. If you beat a passive DC-30 Perception check first, or if you have See Invisibility active, then you’ll detect the ambush, and it won’t surprise you.
When the fighting starts, note that the Cursed Kuo-Toa have Sunlight Sensitivity, so if you cast a spell like Daylight, then you’ll have a much easier time. The Kuo-Tua will also bunch up while Dashing to you, making them easy pickings for area-effect spells.
After the battle, you’ll find the +1 spear Lightning Jabber (which can Shock targets) on the corpse of the chief. You’ll also find a couple of chests in and behind the fishing hut.
If you beat passive Survival checks when approaching these mounds, then you’ll detect them, which will allow you to dig them up with a Shovel and reveal a chest. However, inside the chests you’ll just find some random loot.
The bridge to the Moonrise Towers can simply be walked across, but be ready to confront the front door guards should you do so.
C – Road to Baldur’s Gate
Until you defeat Ketheric Thorm at Moonrise Towers, you will find yourself unable to take this road to Baldur’s Gate, as it will be swarming with his troops. If you attempt to use the path while they are there, then you will be captured (off screen) and thrown into either the Moonrise Towers prison or, if you’ve already broken the prisoners free of it, into the corpse pit in the Oubliette of the Mind Flayer Colony.
After Ketheric is defeated, the path to Baldur’s Gate will be clear, and you can finally head to the titular city.
Main Entrance. Gathered here, you’ll encounter a collection of shadow creatures, including a Wraith. You’ll need to defeat them to use the entrance. It’s easiest to attack them from the south so you’ll have the high ground.
Ominous Crevice. This is the back entrance into the Morgue.
The game will mark this as the entrance to the Thorm family mausoleum, but once inside you’ll discover that the mausoleum is just a front for the Gauntlet of Shar.
W – Waypoints
There are four waypoints in Reithwin Town:
Reithwin Town
Moonrise Towers
Road to Baldur’s Gate
Grand Mausoleum
Where To Go Next
When you’re done with the main part of Reithwin Town, there are three places where you can go next:
Moonrise Towers: The obvious point of contact, Moonrise Towers is where Ketheric Thorm is, as well as the kidnapped Tieflings and a second Moonlantern if you don’t have Kar’niss’s.
Gauntlet of Shar: The Gauntlet of Shar is home to many trials (especially for Shadowheart) and a certain, very valuable resource to use in the fight against Ketheric. However, completing it before freeing the prisoners from Moonrise Towers will lead to their demise.
Baldur’s Gate: Once you’ve completed everything else and you are ready to complete Act 2 — never to return — you can finally take the road to Baldur’s Gate.
Starting with cassette tape games on the TRS-80, Steven has been playing, creating, and writing about games for a long, long time. This makes him experienced, not old. Lately, Steven has been focusing on walkthroughs, making sure everybody knows how to solve Towers of Hanoi puzzles.
