October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsPC HealthRecommendedCrashes, freezes, slowdowns? Check your PC nowSpot repairable issues before they interrupt work.Check PCOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
VGSources
Blog

Baldur’s Gate 3: House of Grief Walkthrough

A spoiler-heavy Act Three route through the House of Grief, including the hidden Cloister passage, Viconia’s ultimatum, and Shadowheart’s parents.
Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Spoilers: This Act Three walkthrough covers Viconia, Shadowheart’s parents, and the outcomes of Shadowheart’s personal quest. The House of Grief is in the Lower City’s Steeps district. Bring Shadowheart if you want to reveal the route into the Sharran Cloister without an Investigation check; then choose whether to surrender her to Viconia or fight. The quest continues afterward to Shadowheart’s parents and the optional Mirror of Loss.

Find the House of Grief

The House of Grief is in the Steeps district of Baldur’s Gate’s Lower City. Its entrance is at X: -264, Y: -10, reached by a bridge from the nearby city streets to the building’s porch. See the House of Grief location reference for the location details.

Arves, a confused merchant outside, is a useful lead for Shadowheart’s quest. He is near the northwestern Lower City, west of the Baldur’s Gate waypoint. Speaking with him can start the quest; you can also proceed to the House directly.

Complete—or bypass—the Mapping of the Heart

Inside, Mirie offers the Mapping of the Heart, a rite that leads to a back room and Viconia’s reveal. The fee is 1,000 gold, but Mirie waives it if Shadowheart is with you. Only one party member can complete the rite per playthrough, and its questions lead to one of six heartforms that affect exploration in the cloister.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Baldur's Gate 3 - For Playstation 5 (Japan Import) (Multi Language)
  • Online multiplayer for up to four players - allows you to combine your forces in combat, and split your party to follow your own quests and agendas. Concoct the perfect plan together… or introduce an element of chaos when your friends least expect it
  • Origin Character - offer a hand-crafted experience, each with their own unique traits, agenda, and outlook on the world. Their stories intersect with the entire narrative, and your choices will determine whether those stories end in redemption, salvation, domination, or many other outcomes
  • Evolved turn-based combat - based on the D&D 5e ruleset. Team-based initiative, advantage & disadvantage, and roll modifiers join combat cameras, expanded environmental interactions, and a new fluidity in combat that rewards strategy and foresight
  • Define the future of the Forgotten Realms - through your choices, and the roll of the dice. No matter who you play, or what you roll, the world and its inhabitants will react to your story
  • Player-initiated turn-based mode - allows you to pause the world around you at any time even outside of combat. Whether you see an opportunity for a tactical advantage before combat begins, want to pull off a heist with pin-point precision, or need to escape a fiendish trap. Split your party, prepare ambushes, sneak in the darkness -- create your own luck!

If you notice the Inquirer using Detect Thoughts, calling out the deception ends the Mapping early. The rite is not the only way to reach the hidden passage.

Open the passage to the Cloister

With Shadowheart in the party

Have Shadowheart sit on the bench during the Mapping. Viconia reveals herself and the secret passage opens, so you do not need to pass an Investigation check to discover it. Shadowheart’s presence can therefore change both the interaction and the route forward.

Without Shadowheart

If another character completes the rite while Shadowheart is absent, search near the movable brick wall and pass a DC 20 Investigation check to find the hidden passage. You can also return with Shadowheart; her presence reveals the passage without a check. The passage leads to the Cloister of Sombre Embrace, the Sharran enclave and prison beneath the House. See the Cloister of Sombre Embrace reference for location-specific details.

Decide how to answer Viconia

Viconia wants the party’s Astral Prism. If negotiations reach her ultimatum, you must decide whether to hand over Shadowheart or refuse. These are the main outcomes:

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Choice Immediate outcome Quest consequence
Surrender Shadowheart Viconia accepts her. Viconia’s support is added to Gather Your Allies.
Refuse You fight Viconia and the Sharrans. If you defeat Viconia, you can kill or spare her. Some paladin paths may carry oath implications.

Your decision in Act Two can alter the confrontation. If Shadowheart remained loyal to Shar, she can expose Viconia’s disobedience and sway some Sharrans to her side. This can change the dynamics of the encounter, but the central choice remains whether to surrender Shadowheart or oppose Viconia.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Continue to Shadowheart’s parents

After the confrontation, continue to the Chamber of Loss to find Shadowheart’s parents, Arnell and Emmeline Hallowleaf. The available interactions and consequences depend on Shadowheart’s chosen faith. This is a separate decision from whether you surrendered her to Viconia: you still face the question of preserving her parents or letting them die to end Shar’s hold.

Rank #3
Sale
Persona 3 Reload: Standard Edition - PlayStation 5
  • Experience the pivotal game of the Persona series faithfully remade with cutting-edge graphics, modernized quality-of-life features, and signature stylish UI.
  • Fully immerse yourself in an emotional, gripping journey with new scenes and character interactions, additional voiceover, and a reloaded soundtrack.
  • Choose how to meaningfully spend each day through various activities from exploring the Port Island to forging genuine bonds with beloved characters.
  • Build and command your optimal team to take down otherworldly Shadows and climb closer to the truth.

A 2023 GameSpot guide reports a dialogue route to keep her parents alive that requires a DC 20 Religion or Persuasion check. Dialogue and checks can change with game updates, so treat that specific route as version-sensitive and follow the options presented in your game.

Consider the optional Mirror of Loss

The Mirror of Loss is an optional object in the Cloister. Its exact current effects are not established here, so do not assume a particular bonus or penalty. A 2023 GameSpot guide describes an offered stat sacrifice that could be cleansed with Remove Curse, but also reports that its own character did not receive a benefit during the interaction. Check the mirror’s prompts and current game behavior before committing to an exchange.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More quests from Patch Notes

  1. How to Turn On Vibrant Visuals in MinecraftMinecraftBlog3min
  2. Best Multiplayer Games for Low-End PCsBlog4min
  3. Minecraft: How To Use And Install OptiFineBlog5min
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?Free driver scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.