Anyone who plays the Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be forced to make more than a few gruesome decisions during their playthrough. One of these choices is killing Isobel, a Cleric of Selune who resides in the Lost Light Inn.
This choice should not be made lightly, as killing Isobel will have a massive ripple effect on the rest of your adventure through the Sword Coast. This begs the question: is the reward you get for killing Isobel enough to outweigh its price? Here are the rewards and consequences of using your Dark Urge to kill Isobel in Baldur’s Gate 3.
What Happens if Your Dark Urge Kills Isobel in Baldur’s Gate 3?
After you’ve met Isobel and protected the Lost Light Inn from Flamming Fist Marcus and his Winged Horrors, your demented goblin butler Sceleritas Fel will appear to you in the night and ask you to kill her. To make this gruesome act of betrayal more appealing, Sceleritas promises you will receive a great reward.
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If you feel conflicted about killing Isobel (like I was during my playthrough), you can get her opinion by talking to her and admitting your intentions. Noticing your hesitation, Isobel implores you to follow your conscience and fight the monster inside you. This is your last chance to back out of killing her, so consider your options carefully.
Fighting Isobel
Refusing to back down initiates a fight that pits you and your Companions against Isobel and all of the Harpers and Fists in the Inn. Isobel can deal quite a bit of damage with spells like Guiding Bolt, but she only has 52 HP, and killing her instantly ends the fight.
As a Storm Sorcerer, I was able to make quick work of her by spamming Lightning Bolt, but no class will have a particularly hard time killing her. On the other hand, her companions can cut you down pretty fast if they get close enough to attack you, so you’ll want to kill Isobel as fast as possible.
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What Happens if You Kill Isobel?
Killing Isobel will cause the magical barrier she maintained around the Last Light Inn, allowing the Shadow Curse to seep in and turn most of the Inn’s inhabitants into hostile Undead. Jaheira will instantly confront you, and you can convince her that you weren’t responsible for Isobel’s death if you pass a fairly high Deception or Persuasion check.
Regardless of whether Jaheira believes your innocence, she will help you fight your way out of the Inn. There will be nineteen hostile Undead between you and safety, but they aren’t too hard to manage. I had Shadowheart with me during this encounter, and her Turn Undead ability made corraling the enemies into easily killable hordes easy.
Once you’ve dealt with the Undead, a bushel of Shadow Creepers will erupt from the ground and start attacking. These guys are much more challenging than your previous foes, but they can be dealt with if you focus your fire on them.
Does anyone else die if you kill Isobel?
The fall of the Lost Light Inn will result in the death of several quest-important NPCs, hindering your ability to clear their questlines or making them impossible to complete. Here’s a list of all the Quests that will be impacted by killing Isobel.
- Dammon will be killed, preventing you from furthering Karlach’s quest.
- Art Cullagh will die, making it harder to gain information on Thaniel and infiltrate the Moonrise Tower.
Once you’ve returned to your camp, Jahiera will once again confront you over Isobel’s death, and things will play out very differently depending on whether or not you convinced her you weren’t responsible for it. If she knows you did it, she will try and kill you on the spot. This shouldn’t be a hard fight since you’ll have your companions with you, and you won’t be able to recruit her or Minsc to your party.
Alternatively, if you convinced Jahiena that you didn’t kill Isobel, you can persuade her to stay in your camp by consoling her. This will cause her to be present during the battle against Ketheric Throm at the end of Act 2.
What Do You Get For Killing Isobel
For killing Isobel and condemning the Lost Light Inn to destruction, Sceleritas will bestow upon you the Slayer Form. A dark variant of the Druid’s Wild Shape, Slayer Form transforms you into a monstrous, crimson beast with 98 hit points and many deadly abilities.
Here is a rundown of all the Slayer Form’s abilities:
- Let The Slaughter Begin – Allows you to Brand a target, Dazing them temporarily. If you manage to kill that target within four turns, the Slayer gains +1 AC.
- Sumptuous Blood Bath – A strong melee attack that causes the target to Bleed. This will heal the Slayer.
- Relentless Lunge – A leaping attack that consumes your Bonus Action and 3m of Movement Speed. It deals damage in a radius around your landing and may knock enemies prone.
The Slayer Form can be helpful in combat, especially if your Dark Urge is a spellcaster with little durability or martial options. However, embracing the form will make progressing several questlines near impossible, so it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth it.
