Balthazar's Experiment Baldur's Gate 3 Quest
Group: Companions
"Balthazar's Experiment" is a subquest of "The Wizard of Waterdeep" quest, so you will be able to start it when Gale is one of your team members. To start this quest you must reach the Balthazar's secret study lab located in the Moonrise Towers and investigate the Ritual Circle located there.
Related points of interest
Ritual Circle
Shadow-Cursed Lands
Quest stages of Balthazar's Experiment
1. Deal with Balthazar's ritual circle.
We found a strange ritual circle hidden in a secret workshop within Balthazar's chambers. Gale was able to understand the strange sigils used to cast it, and says it was used to create the Moonlanterns that protect their wielders from the shadow curse. Gale says there is enough magic still within it to create one last lantern, one he claims he can make even better than Balthzar's. But this requires him to use a kind of magic forbidden by Mystra. To earn her good favour, he'd be better off destroying it.
To craft the Shadow Lantern get the Dead Pixie and Broken Moonlantern from the table where the Ritual Circle is and combine them in the Ritual Circle.
2. Quest completed!
Depending on what you decide to do, the following endings to this quest are possible:
1. If Gale created the shadow lamp:
We used a discarded pixie corpse to craft a Shadow Lantern using the strange ritual circle in Balthazar's chambers. Gale believes Mystra would disapprove of such corrupted magic, but she has shown no signs of condemning him further. And the lantern, with its ability to wield the very shadows that threaten us, should prove very useful indeed.
2. If Gale destroyed the circle:
We destroyed Balthazar's ritual circle, cleansing the corrupted shadow magic stored within. Though Mystra did not speak to Gale, for a fleeting moment he sensed her presence. She bestowed upon Gale a small token of her approval, a blessing to help him fight against the shadows.
3. If you tried to create a lamp with a character other than Gale:
We tried to use the ritual circle without Gale's input, and destroyed it in the process. Gale was not amused.
4. If you did nothing and moved on.
We left Balthazar's ritual circle alone. Its corrupted shadow magic will slowly fade, tainting everything around it. Unless someone else puts it to use.