Baldur’s Gate 3: Should you free the Pixie from the Moonlanterns?

The Moonlanterns are the most important item you will need to get your hands on if you wish to survive the Shadow-Cursed Lands in Baldur’s Gate 3. This area will drain the health of your character and that of your companions continuously, making you look for ways to cross the area without many issues.

While even a bit of light from torches will help you explore parts of the cursed lands, there are areas in the depths where you will be required to use the Moonlanterns in order to make your way through.

You will find a broke Moonlantern during your Act 1 exploration of the Underdark; however, you will need a Pixie or Pixie dust to make it usable. Fortunately, you will be able to come across two more functional Moonlanterns in your playthrough, along with the option to either free the Pixie inside it, keep it locked, or kill it.

Hence, today’s Baldur’s Gate 3 guide will go over how to obtain a functional Moonlantern in the table-top RPG and if you should free the Pixie inside it.

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Getting a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3

Jaheira side quest to get Moonlantern (Image via Baldur's Gate 3)

There are three ways in particular that you can go about obtaining a Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3.

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1) From Jaheira’s quest

The simplest way of getting one will be through the sidequest that you undergo with Jaheira after meeting her in the Last Light Inn.

The quest will be to help the Harpers and Tav by defeating Drider Kar’niss and obtaining it from his corpse.

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2) Stealing it from Balthazar

If you are in the Moonrise Towers, you will be able to locate Balthazar’s Moonlantern. All you will need to do is to make your way into his room in the Ancient Temple of Shar Trials and then steal it.

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3) From Kar’niss by killing him

If you are making your way to the Moonrise Towers through the Overland Mountain Pass, you will meet Kar’niss, and you can either trick him into making him use his Moonlantern to guide you through the Shadow-Cursed Lands in Baldur’s Gate 3 or kill him and loot it from his body.

If you let him be the guide, you will eventually come across the Harpers and get the choice to either side with them or the rider.

Freeing the Pixie from the Moonlantern (Image via Baldur's Gate 3)

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What happens if you free the Pixie from the Moonlantern in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Once you have a Moonlantern, upon interacting with it, you can either kill the Pixie, keep it in the lantern, or free it.

If you relieve the Pixie, then it will help guide you through the cursed lands with a sense of gratitude. Hence, there is no objective difference between freeing it or keeping it caged in the lantern.

That said, Astarion and Lae’zel will disapprove of freeing it, and you will lose a fair bit of their trust if you do.

Hence, if you are looking to romance the two companions, you should leave the Pixie in the lantern.