When you start in Baldur’s Gate 3, one of your first stops is the Emerald Grove. However, the druids who live there are anything but hospitable and sometimes even downright nasty. However, that’s not even her fault.
Which Druids are we talking about exactly? The Druids from the Emerald Grove are currently at the center of a discussion. The location is one of your first port of call in Baldur’s Gate 3.
The mood is tense: Due to the goblin threat, the druids plan to seal off the grove from the outside world. However, their leader Halsin has allowed a group of refugees to seek shelter with them. Halsin’s deputy Kagha wants to get rid of her as quickly as possible – for her the refugees are a thorn in her side.
Kagha’s attitude also seems to negatively influence all other druids. They avoid their “guests” and speak openly about the fact that their leader, Halsin, should vacate his place.
Druids are expected to love nature, enjoy life and live in harmony. Not the dismissive attitude and open rejection of their leader.
You can read about the impact your decisions regarding the Tieflings, the Goblins and the Emerald Grove have on the story here:
Baldur’s Gate 3: The 5 most important decisions in Act 1 and what they do
Spoiler alert: From here it’s all about things from Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3! So if you don’t like spoilers then please don’t read any further.
Why are the Druids so unwelcoming? Unfortunately, the Druids themselves are a pretty big thorn in the side of an antagonist who isn’t introduced until Act 2: Ketheric Thorm.
He is behind the events surrounding the Towers of Moonrise, is one of the Absolute’s most important servants and is also responsible for the coordinated goblin threat against the Emerald Grove.
Ketheric expects that in time the Druids will rebel against him. To stop this, he began influencing another druid clan with the mind flayer worms: the Cloakwood Druids, who players of Baldur’s Gate 1 may recognize from earlier.
Over time, the Druids became the so-called Shadow Druids. They almost no longer leave their grove and do not help anyone in need. This group began trying to win over Kagha at the start of Baldur’s Gate 3. She was supposed to bring Ketheric’s influence to the Emerald Grove without even knowing about it.
How is this information known? If you visit the Towers of Moonrise in Act 2, you can find documents detailing these steps. They explain Kagha’s behavior and why the Druids are prepared to take such drastic steps as isolating themselves from the outside world.
Depending on what you decided in Act 1 – for or against the druids, refugees and goblins – the problem will at least be resolved for you.
But if you poke your characters’ noses into all possible corners in advance, you can find clues about Kagha’s contact with the Shadow Druids and confront them about it.
How are you all doing? Have you already been able to uncover Kagha’s contacts? Did you help the refugees or did you invade the Emerald Grove with the goblins? We look forward to reading about your adventures in the comments!
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