During your attempt to escape the Nautiloid Ship in the prologue, you’ll come across other characters (and creatures) who ostensibly share your immediate desire, if not your ultimate goal. Reaching the helm of the ship and escaping will be much easier if you have assistance, plus leaving potential allies in the clutches of mind flayers might not be the best way to start a relationship. This page will cover how to free Shadowheart from the Mind Flayer Pod in the Illithid ship in Baldur’s Gate 3.

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Near the helm you’ll find a Mind Flayer Pod with a noisy occupant.

How to Rescue Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3¶

Make your way through the Nautiloid ship, past an obligatory encounter with Imps. After you climb some Aterial Meshes you’ll reach a circular room with a Mind Flayer Pod on the northern edge of the room (roughly x=0, y=346). Unlike most of the other Mind Flayer Pods on this ship, this one is occupied by a rather noisy occupant.

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(1 of 2) If you’re playing a Wizard or Warlock, you can pass an Arcana check on Shadowheart’s pod,

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If you’re playing a Wizard or Warlock, you can pass an Arcana check on Shadowheart’s pod, (left), and on the nearby console to free her without much fuss. (right)

Freeing Shadowheart - Warlock and Wizard¶

Investigate this pod and its occupant - Shadowheart - will implore you to free her, much to the consternation of both Lae’zel and Us, who want no delays in reaching the helm. Your dialog options with Shadowheart are limited right now, unless you’re a Warlock or a Wizard, in which case you can pick the option:

• [!Warlock/!Wizard] [Arcana 7] There’s magic at work here. Determine what kind.

Succeed at this [Arcana] check and you’ll deduce that some wards sealing the pod are connected to a nearby console. Afterwards, inspect the console to the east of the pod and, assuming you’re a !Wizard and you succeeded at the previous [Arcana] check you’ll get another option:

• [!Warlock/!Wizard] Inscribe the device with the glyphs you sensed from the pod’s warding runes.*

You can then attempt a subsequent [Arcana 10] Take a closer look at the powered-up console. check, but you don’t need to actually pass this check to get the pod opened. Pass or fail the second [Arcana] check, then pick the option Place your hand on the console. to free Shadowheart. You’ll need to make an [Illithid] [Wisdom 2] Will the pod to open.] check, which is awfully hard to fail. Once Shadowheart is free, all you have to do is talk to her and pick the dialog option All right then, let’s get going. I’m [charname]. to accept her into your party.

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(1 of 3) Everybody else will have to head into a room to the east and loot a Dead Thrall for an Eldritch Rune.

Freeing Shadowheart - Other Classes¶

If you’re not a !Wizard, freeing Shadowheart is a touch more complicated. Go through a fleshy door to the east to reach another chamber, and make your way to the eastern edge of this room to find a Dead Thrall on the ground. Search the corpse and you’ll find an Eldritch Rune - the catalyst you’ll need to get Shadowheart’s pod open. Backtrack west to the room where Shadowheart is trapped and interface with the console near Shadowheart’s pod:

• There’s a socket in the console, shaped like the rune you found. Insert it.

• Place your hand on the console.

• [Illithid] [Wisdom 2] Will the pod to open.]

Pick the options listed above and you’ll get the pod open, after which you can talk to Shadowheart and invite her to join your breakout attempt.