Baldur's Gate 3 is a big adventure story with loads of chances for romance. Players can choose to share their stories with a variety of characters; all the companions and some NPCs are available to sleep with or to love. One of the possible romance options is the druid Halsin of the Grove, the bear from the infamous bear sex scene that caused a stir while BG3 was still in Early Access. This wood elf druid is all about nature, balance, and kindness, but it can be a challenge to find a way into his heart.
Warning: this guide contains many story spoilers for Act 2 of Baldur's Gate 3.
How to Rescue Halsin in Baldur's Gate 3
Players have the option to meet Halsin in Act 1 of Baldur's Gate 3. He is the archdruid of the Grove that is under attack by goblins; in order to romance him, players must first save him from his confines in the goblin camp; he is located in the Worg Pens at x:401, y:-23. In order to free him, however, players will need to take down the threat to the Grove.
This requires the party to eliminate each of the three leaders of the goblins: the Drow elf named Minthara (x:334, y:44), the Absolute's priestess named Gut (x:298, y:-16), and Drog Ragzlin (x:296, y41). Each of these leaders contains an Illithid worm that can be collected as well. Kill them before returning to Halsin's cell in the Worg Pens. He will return to camp to celebrate and become a permanent part of the camp, but he will not join the player's party just yet.
How to Get Halsin in Your Party in BG3
In the shadow-cursed lands, there is a location called the Last Light Inn. Players will meet Isobel and a hero from previous Baldur's Gate games named Jaheira. Follow all these steps to complete this quest chain; without its completion, players will never get the chance to romance Halsin.
- In the Inn itself, on the first floor, is a young man named Art Cullagh, who has been asleep for the past century. He is located at x:-66, y:126. He does not wake up, even when people talk to him, but he sings a song in his sleep about a boy named Thaniel. This is name players have heard before from Halsin.
- Go to the party's camp, and speak with Halsin about Art and Thaniel. He will go to the Last Light Inn.
- Next, go back to the Last Light Inn. Chat with Halsin, and he will send players on a quest to find something important to Art to wake him.
- The item needed to wake Art is in the House of Healing. Look for the cursed humanoid called Malus Thorm; he is the "doctor" that is cutting up a person in the surgical theater. Players can either fight him, or they can use a Religion check to make him the next victim for the nurses. Either way, pick up the lute off of his corpse. x:200, y:49
- Return to the Last Light Inn and speak with Halsin. Play the lute, and Art will wake.
- Talk to Art, then talk to Halsin again. He will ask the player's party to meet him right outside the shield surrounding the Last Lake Inn to the north along the coast at x:-72, y:211.
- Halsin will make a portal to go pick up Thaniel, and he will need the player's party to defend it. Players will need to keep the portal, which only has 150 life, alive for three rounds while being assaulted by a non-stop stream of undead and haunted. The best way to win this is to use ranged magic and attacks to take out the enemy ranged, then have Shadowheart with her Guardian Spirits set to Radiance damage surrounding the platform. Radiance does lethal damage to almost any shadow creatures that walk through it.
- Once Halsin is back, he will have Thaniel's body with him, but there is something wrong. Talk to Halsin in the Last Light Inn again, and he will say that part of Thaniel's soul is missing. He will finally be able to be a companion and leave the player's BG3 camp.
- The other half of Thaniel's soul is located in the House in Deep Shadows, located at x:77, y:37. This half of Thaniel's soul is named Oliver, and he asks the player's party to play with him.
- There are several ways to convince Oliver to come to the Last Light Inn and join with Thaniel, but one good way is to ask if knows Thaniel, then follow him through the portal he creates and defeat all the shadows he spawns. Talk to him after the fight, and tell him with Thaniel he will always have a playmate.
- Once players get Oliver to return to Thaniel, head back to the Inn and speak with Thaniel, Halsin, and Art there. Thaniel will inform players that he was only half of what is keeping the curse in place, and the other half is one of the Chosen Three: Ketheric Thorm. Players now have to complete the quest chain at Moonrise Towers, killing Thorm. Then the curse will begin to lift. Halsin wishes to continue with the party onto Baldur's Gate.
How to Romance Halsin in Baldur's Gate 3
Once all the quests above are complete, the bulky Druid will finally have time to think of something other than the curse. If players don't complete his quest chain before moving on to Act 3, they will never be able to romance Halsin. When leaving Act 2 for Act 3, if the cutscene showing the shadow curse lifting does not play, Halsin's heart will remain unreachable.
Next, players will want to have Halsin in their party; he is a fan of anything that is kind or promotes balance. Make sure to keep him happy with such choices as:
- Being kind to the pig locked in the Requisitioned Barn in Rivington. Don't call it bacon or attack it.
- Donating or helping out any of the refugees.
- Take him to the love dryad in the Circus in Rivington (x:-58, y:-56); choose "Comfort doesn't come naturally to him," "Protecting his Grove," then "Allowing the shadow curse to blight nature for a hundred years." He will approve of each of these choices.
- When at camp, make sure to exhaust all his dialogue options, especially asking about his former lovers.
- Once his approval is high enough, an overnight stay at the camp will finally trigger his love scene in Baldur's Gate 3.
If players are already seeing someone, Halsin will ask the player to get their approval before he starts a romance; the druid is poly and doesn't mind that the avatar already has a significant other. Many of the companions don't mind sharing, like the romanceable companions Shadowheart and Astarion, but some might not be open to sharing, like Gale and Karlach. If players truly want Halsin, they may have to break things off with whoever they have been building a relationship with up until Act 3.
Both Love Scenes with Halsin in Baldur's Gate 3
There are two possible Baldur's Gate 3 romance scenes with Halsin: one in his bear form and one in his elf form. Here's how to get each.
The Halsin in Bear Form Love Scene
- First choice: choose any of the first four options but not the fifth option, which is "You're not wrong, this was a mistake."
- Second choice: choose any of the four options.
- Third choice: after Halsin turns into a bear and back, choose the first option: "Don't apologize, I like it."
- Fourth choice: choose "Yes. Change back again. Let me have the beast... and the beast have me."
The Halsin in Elf Form Love Scene
- First choice: choose any of the first four options but not the fifth option, which is "You're not wrong, this was a mistake."
- Second choice: choose any of the four options.
- Third choice: after Halsin turns into a bear and back, choose either the first option or the second option.
- Fourth choice: Choose "Something for another night" if that is an option in this open-world RPG.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC.