How to Recruit Halsin in Baldur’s Gate 3 – Guide to Save the Bear Druid

Would you like to recruit the majestic elf druid Halsin to your party in Baldur’s Gate 3? Read our guide to learn how to entice the shapeshifter to join your camp.

Baldur’s Gate 3 constitutes a deeply branched storyline determined by the consequences of your actions. In this ever-evolving story, having a strong and worthy companion like Halsin by your side can prove to be highly beneficial for your adventures through BG3. So, if you’re looking towards finding and recruiting Halsin, the First Druid at Emerald Grove, keep on reading to find out how. 

Guide to Recruit Halsin in Baldur’s Gate 3

To recruit Halsin, first rescue him and side with the Druids in the ‘Rescuing the Druid Halsin’ quest of the main story’s Act 1. Continue your journey through Act 2 until you come across the Last Light Inn, where you wake up Art Cullagh and, with Halsin’s help, recover Thaniel. After this, you will have the option of recruiting Halsin to your party permanently.

Halsin is not one of the Origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. Consequently, his recruiting process is comparatively trickier than other characters in the game. However, having a druid with strong spells and shapeshifting as your companion will be worth it.

Saving Halsin From the Goblin Fortress in Druid Grove Act

You will first hear about Halsin in Act 1 in the Druid Grove. He has been captured, and you must save him from the Goblin Camp, where he is being held prisoner in his bear form. Upon the request of the Druids, you have to make your way through the main area of the Goblin Camp, the Shattered Sanctum.

To find Halsin, go to the room near the back right from the entrance. There, you’ll see Halsin locked in beast cages and being tormented by Goblins. You can simply initiate combat with the Goblins or speak with Halsin with the Speak with Animals spell. Ultimately, Halsin will break out of the prison and help you in combat. After speaking with Halsin, you’ll have to side with him throughout this quest. This involves killing True Soul leaders of the Goblin Camp with or without his help.

After completing this quest and resolving the Druid Grove situation, Halsin will ask to join you on your journey to the Moonrise Towers. Accepting this invitation will lead to Halsin becoming a mainstay at your camp. However, you will not be able to recruit him just yet. Keep on going through the main story quests until you reach The Last Inn.

Waking up Art Cullagh in the Last Inn

After reaching The Last Inn, you can talk to Halsin by heading back to your camp. He will tell you a story about a boy named Thaniel, who’s the root of the curse that has gripped Shadow Cursed Lands.

At the Last Light Inn, you will also come across a man called Art Cullagh, who is under the curse of magically induced sleep. Talk to him, and in his dialogue, he’ll mutter something about Thaniel and that he needs an item to wake him up.

After hearing this, return to Halsin in camp and take the Druid with you to meet Art. Read Art’s last order letter, and make your way to the House of Healing situated deep into the Shadow Cursed Lands (X:-200, Y:-51). There, you need to kill the undead surgeon Malus Thorm and get Cullagh’s Battered Lute which you need to wake up Art Cullagh. 

Rescuing Thaniel With Halsin

After recovering the Battered Lute, you can go and wake Art Cullagh up, who will tell you that he was looking for a boy named Thaniel. You can later inform Halsin at your camp about this, and he will come and meet Art, where he will be informed by Art that Thaniel can be found where things smell like lavender.

After talking to Art, Halsin will decide to go to another plane to rescue Thaniel and will tell you to meet him by the lakeshore. Halsin will then go through the portal himself and you will have to defend it from waves of undead creatures that are trying to reach the portal. 

This combat will continue for multiple rounds as the creatures try to destroy the portal. Make sure you start it with a well-rested party and don’t hesitate to use your spells against the undead creatures. Having a Cleric or using Shadowheart can prove to be a really good way through this fight, because of their Turn Undead and Destroy Undead features that can take out multiple low-health creatures at once.

Recruit Halsin Permanently to Your Baldur’s Gate 3 Party

Once you have successfully defended the portal from waves of enemies, Halsin will finally emerge from the portal with Thaniel in his arms. After rescuing Thaniel from the other dimension, Halsin will ask you to meet him in your camp. Once you talk to him in the camp, you will finally have the option of recruiting Halsin permanently into your party.

You now have Halsin in your crew. However, you will still need to find the other half of Thaniel in the later quest to continue breaking the Shadow Curse.

Finding Thaniel’s Other Half

Thaniel’s other half, Oliver, can be found in his little house to the east of the Last Light. He is looking to play a game of hide and seek, with several undead entities threatening to attack your party. This encounter with Oliver eventually leads to him teleporting you to Reithwin where he encases himself in a shield bubble.

Multiple undead minions will spawn to protect Oliver. However, killing these minions also damages Oliver’s shield. Moreover, you can also attack the shield directly to break it. Once you’ve broken Oliver’s shield, you can then threaten or convince him to rejoin Thaniel.

After that, head back to the camp and speak with Thaniel to join his two halves. However, Thaniel won’t be able to break the curse. For that, you will have to finish the main quest of the Moonrise Towers to do so. But, at least now you have Halsin in your party once the bear druid has joined your side.

For more guides and information on Baldur’s Gate 3, check out these articles from our team: Baldur’s Gate 3 How To Free Shadowheart, How To Get to Baldur’s Gate in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Baldur’s Gate 3 – How to Sheath Your Weapon