Shadowheart's Hidden Score | 'Nightsong Points' Explained

Let's dig into the script files of Baldur's Gate 3 to discover Shadowheart's deepest, darkest secrets and some of what makes her tick. We'll find hidden dialogue, bugs, quirks, and a little bit of math.

[SlimXG]

This is only an explanation of Nightsong Points and how they work, NOT a guide on how to spare Nightsong. If that's what you're looking for, let me hopefully answer your comment/question(s):

1) First of all, having 40+ Approval with Shadowheart is the only thing that really matters when it comes to easily sparing Nightsong.

2) "I had to pass a DC30 Persuasion to convince Shadowheart to spare her."
That Persuasion option only shows up if you have 40+ Approval and, at the first options, pick, "Choose your own way, Shadowheart." If you choose one of the first two options (Trust her or "Do as you must), then you move on to the second set of choices with no check. If you fail the DC30 Persuasion, you can still move on to the second set of choices by picking, "You have my support."; it does NOT lead to Shadowheart killing Nightsong just from failing that DC30 check.

3) "I didn't have 4 Nightsong Points but Shadowheart still spared Nightsong with no skill check."
Yes, all that matters is having 40+ Approval and trusting her at the first choice. After that, anything you pick other than, "Kill her" will lead to Shadowheart sparing Nightsong. Having 4+ Nightsong Points will change some of the options that show up and some of Shadowheart's lines, but it's not necessary just to spare Nightsong with no skill check.

4) It's only if you have under 40+ Approval with Shadowheart that Nightsong Points really have an impact on how easy it is to spare Nightsong. And since you get +10AP from picking "Trust Shadowheart" or "Do as you must", you can have as low as 30 Approval going into the conversation and still get the easy spare.

(This was all tested and recorded on Patch 6, version 4.1.1.5022896 but is, so far, unchanged in Patch 7)

[stanleyparks]

I cannot even fathom how complicated this game was to script. So many flags, so many paths, it must have been a nightmare.

[rylog]

@8:34 "Tav, why are you dropping the spear?"
"It's a surprise tool we won't need later"

[TheSolidSnakeOil]

I had to click just for the thumbnail of Shadowheart calculating how badly guiding bolt will miss.

[jordanthomas]

Every time I play I just trust her with high approval and she spares the nightsong

[itsTrickstery]

Note that even without meeting the threshold for nightsong points, it still only takes 40 approval for her to spare the Nightsong on her own (ie going down the "say nothing" or "trust her" path).

Moral of the story: SH just needs moral support from someone she trusts, and she'll do something good for herself.

[jedne]

7:36 if you are a Selûnite, you get access to two other dialogue options. BOTH of them result in Shadowheart killing the Nightsong regardless of her approval or Nightsong points.

Source: I’ve romanced this woman as a Selûne cleric 10+ times.

[corvigae]

THIS is why it was so much easier to convince her on my first run??? Damn, I couldn't figure out what I'd done differently, but now I'm fairly certain I got the bugged wound glitch in that second run

[dVector]

Shart: "This is my sacred duty to shar i need that spear to become a dark justiciar!"
Me: Ok, ok, i gotchu
Also me: Oopsie poopsie butterfingers am i right haha.

[rettbull]

my first playthrough I let shadowheart decide whether to kill the nightsong or not. She choice not to. Did realize I had done so much to make outcome happen.

[MichaelDavis-mkme]

Thanks, I was frustrated why Shadowheart didn't want to kill the Nightsong on her own in my evil playthrough. I told her how cool Shaar was and everything the entire game, but in the end, it's clearly not what actually determines her choice. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that Shadowheart will basically always do the right choice, even when we actively try to make her do the bad one, she is genuinely just a good aligned character, making it weird she even followed Shaar for more than a second.

[havasimark]

This is a nice, detailed analysis. While you mention that you don't need to collect/trigger all of the points to work, AND the "ooops I might have misplaced that spear somewhere" cheese, I feel it needs to be emphasised that it's easier than it seems.

Her taking the shiny path is triggered by you playing nicely overall and being nice to her, which'll trigger her Selunite inheritance.

[Patton]

So I played a very stereotypical lawful good paladin, and ended up romancing Shadowheart. One funny thing though, is that, due to my irl lack of knowledge about the church of Shar, I just kinda took her word for it about how her faith in Shar makes her feel better and might be a noble thing. I was supportive with her doing her Shar thing all the way until we encounterred the Nightsong and then I was like, "I don't think this is the move." Passed the DC 21 persuasion check with a righteous nat 20 (I actually shouted irl at that lol). Will definitely take this video into encounter for future playthroughs, thanks for explaining all this!

[constipation]

Actually these kind of In-depth analysis on how mechanics work in games interest me a lot.
It reminds me of Illusory wall's Darksouls analysis on its mechanics and how things function in general. Helps understand just how detailed and appreciate the work of development people put into games, be it in unconventional ways or just plainly obscure mechanics that almost no one understood for a long while.

[kriers]

2:32 2 ways. If you select selune as a deity it also auto-passes.

[chadmwilliams]

I always figured she had more going on than just the influence points. Very cool. Throughout my playthroughways, I've noticed similar quirks with other characters as well. Very neat stuff,

[gigarat]

3:26 Since I just happened to stumble onto this video, I thought I’d mention something I also happened to stumble into in blighted village. Because I’m an absolute incurable loot goblin, I found two books, one of them a journal, in a bookcase behind Lump the Enlightened. Reading it triggered something with Shadowheart similar to what triggers at the statue behind the windmill. But if that journal scene triggers, the scene behind the windmill doesn’t trigger. Not sure if that’s interesting or useful info in the slightest, just thought I’d pass it along. 😄

[RockR]

Geez louise, with all these bugs it's a miracle I convinced her on my first playthrough.

[Akira-sscm]

Damn, this really put a lot into context. I was streaming my 2nd playthrough for a friend, and I was confused as to why we didn't see the same scenes of shadowheart being conflicted that I had in my 1st playthrough. Turns out accidentally missing the wolf memory scene had a huge impact. Good thing my bard with Persuasion expertise had no trouble convincing her still. Very well done video man!

[turbokralle]

You can also pick up a Selunite necklace in the Blight Village for an advantage on the Religion check of the wolfdream conversation, Shadowheart will remark on it if you pick up.