Halsin is the First Druid at Emerald Grove in Baldur’s Gate 3, which basically means he’s the chief in charge of the community. However, when you first arrive at Emerald Grove, it will be revealed that Halsin has gone missing, and you are tasked with bringing him back. If you do successfully, then Halsin will actually throw a celebration at your camp and leave the grove behind to travel with you. At this point, you might be thinking that you’re now able to add this powerful Druid to your party in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Unfortunately, you will have to go much farther in the game before you can even think about recruiting Halsin. In this guide, we will show you all of the steps you need to complete in order to successfully add Halsin to your party.
Adding Halsin to your party in Baldur’s Gate 3
First and foremost, you will need to save Halsin from the goblin camp. Whether you save Halsin before reaching Emerald Grove or if you head to the camp because of the events at the grove, saving Halsin is paramount to recruiting him. We have a separate guide going over where to find Halsin at the goblin camp, but here’s a quick summary:
- Head inside the Shattered Sanctum
- Go past Priestess Gut’s throne and take the wooden bridge on the right
- Enter the Worgs Pen door
- Rescue Halsin (who is turned into a bear) from the goblins around his cage
- Successfully kill all three goblin leaders as Halsin requested
- Meet him back at Emerald Grove once you are finished
After you have successfully defeated the goblins and returned to Emerald Grove, Halsin will throw a party at your camp with both Druids and Tieflings in attendance. It’s here where you will learn that Halsin has named a successor as First Druid and that he will be traveling with you if you’ll have him. You want to accept this proposal and continue on with your journey in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Advance to the Shadow Cursed Lands
At the start of Act 2, you will venture into the Shadow Cursed Lands. You can either take the Underdark or the Mountain Pass to reach here. Once you’re in the Shadow Curse Lands, you need to make your way to the Last Light Inn, which is found on the northeastern side of the map.
At the Last Light Inn, you will be confronted by Jaheira, a Druid in charge of the area. If you saved the Tieflings from Emerald Grove, a girl named Mol will convince Jaheira to let you inside. Once this happens, proceed inside the main building and speak with Jaheira again. She will let you know about everything going on at the inn and in the Shadow Cursed Lands.
After this conversation ends, head into the northern room on the first floor of the inn. Here, you will find several beds but only one of them is occupied. A man named Art Cullagh is occupying a far bed, and he has a blue halo above him as well as some text for a song that mentions someone named «Thaniel.» Talk to Art and pass an Arcana, Religion, and Medicine check to get the full scope of his condition. Once that’s done, return to camp and speak with Halsin to let him you have found a boy who mentioned the name Thaniel. Halsin has been looking for this boy, who has been trapped in the Shadowfell for a century.
Halsin will rush to Art’s side in the Last Light Inn, and you can join him there. Speak to Halsin, who is on the bed next to Art’s, and he will say that the man needs an item to wake him up and restore his memories. The item you need is called the Battered Lute, and it’s found on the body of a doctor named Malus Thorm. The doctor is located at the House of Healing, which is found in Reithwin Town. This is found directly south of the Last Light Inn.
At the House of Healing, you can either attack Malus Thorm, who is surrounded by undead nurses, or strike up a dialogue with him and actually convince the nurses to kill him for you. Either way, loot Thorm’s body to pick up the Battered Lute, which is the item needed to bring Art’s memories back.
Return to the Last Light Inn with the Battered Lute and speak to Halsin. He will tell you to play the lute for Art, which causes him to wake up and tell Halsin he needs to find Thaniel. Halsin will bid you out to a spot near the lake at the Last Light Inn, and meeting him there will reveal that he plans to go save Thaniel inside the Shadowfell region.
Halsin will create a portal to the Shadowfell while you need to fend off waves of enemies and stop them from attacking the portal. The portal has 150 health, so as long as you don’t let too many enemies get close to it, you should have no problem defending it. We were able to use Gale and the Fireball spell to destroy most of the enemies in one fell swoop. However, you want to watch out for the Wraiths and the plagued soldiers, as they tend to hit a lot harder than the other enemies.
After the waves of enemies have been defeated, Halsin will emerge from the portal holding Thaniel in his arms. He says he will take him back to camp and you should meet him there. Returning to camp and speaking with Halsin will eventually lead to dialogue that allows you to add Halsin to your party in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Halsin is a Druid that can transform into a bear, has terrific melee attacks and support spells, and can be an absolute tank for your party.
We have many more guides to help you through Baldur’s Gate 3, including romance options, quest guidance, build suggestions, and more. Find everything in our Baldur’s Gate 3 hub.