Baldur's Gate 3: How to romance Shadowheart

Want to know how to romance Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3? Shadowheart is one of the first companions that you'll meet in Baldur's Gate 3, but a romantic relationship with her is also one of the hardest to attain. Shadowheart really requires you to put in some graft before she'll commit to a relationship, and you'll get well into Act 2 before you can call her your girlfriend.

In this guide, we'll break down everything you need to know to romance Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3, including where to find her, how to gain or lose her approval, and the dialogue options and choices you'll need to select in order to enter a fully-fledged romantic relationship with her.

Note: if you're unsure about how romance mechanics work in Baldur's Gate 3, read everything you need to know in our Baldur's Gate 3 romance guide!

How to romance Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3

To romance Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3, you need to gain a high approval rating from her ahead of the refugee celebration that occurs after completing the Save the Refugees side-quest. We'll explain this in more detail below, but first let's explore how to go about winning Shadowheart's approval, and eventually, her heart.

You'll first encounter Shadowheart in a pod during the prologue. Pro tip: You can free her by finding and placing a rune in a console near where she is being held. If you don't free her there, you'll encounter her again, banging upon a door in the Abandoned Ruins. And, if you don't recruit her then and there, she'll then find you at your camp with a mind to kill you. But you're charming enough that instead of her killing you, you'll have her join your party — easy peasy, right?

Unlike some characters who align with fairly black-and-white values and views, Shadowheart has a little more depth. She favours cunning approaches to potential conflicts over violence. This means she's not above tricking people, so the correct approach isn't to be morally righteous so much as it is to choose options that will avoid outright bloodshed.

She holds anti-Gith views and will think lower of you if you support the Gith.

Gain Shadowheart's approval by:

• Using trickery and manipulation over violence
• Exposing lies
• Expressing anti-Gith sentiment
• Showing kindness to animals
• Aiding the less fortunate
• Demonstrating compassion to children

You'll lose Shadowheart's approval by:

• Decieving her
• Exercising unnecessary violence
• Espousing pro-Gith views
• Humiliation
• Showing favoritism toward the wealthy

Your companion Lae'zel is Githyanki, so Shadowheart's inherent dislike of Gith can lead to tension in the party. Be careful if you're flirting with the idea of a romance with both of them, as they may become jealous of one another. If you want to win Shadowheart's approval, your best bet is to disagree with Lae'zel whenever you can.

Throughout your interactions with Shadowheart, you'll want to keep in mind that she's an animal lover, so you can gain her approval by showing kindness to creatures and doing things such as petting the camp pup.

Shadowheart romance: dialogue choices

As with all companions, you'll be able to check Shadowheart's approval rating of you on the character sheet. The goal is to get this to high, and you'll ideally want to gain Shadowheart's approval before the Rescue Druid Halsin quest if you're seeking a romantic moment in camp. In a normal playthrough, it can take around 20 hours to reach this point.

If at that point Shadowheart's approval rating of you is high enough, then the refugee celebration that follows the Save the Refugees side-quest is your chance to seal the deal.

To successfully romance Shadowheart once you reach this point, you must choose the following dialogue prompts:

• Tieflings?
• Are you worried Shar won’t approve?
• I'd be glad to. (if she asks to share a bottle)
• I'll find you after everyone’s turned in for the night.

If you've managed to get this far, you then can head to a bedroll, where you'll have the option to go to bed alone or with Shadowheart (wink wink).

You'll then be granted a romance scene, though this one is relatively mild compared to some others. But perhaps that's only the beginning of your love story with Shadowheart. More spoilers follow below for Act 2 areas, quests, and how Shadowheart's romance plot develops.

For much of Act 2, Shadowheart's love will remain locked away. There are bigger things going on, of course, with the Shadow-Cursed Lands and your journey to Moonrise Towers presenting many dangers. However, to continue your romance with Shadowheart, you must head to the Gauntlet of Shar and follow the "Find the Nightsong" quest.

After completing the Gaunlet of Shar, you'll find the Nightsong, an Aasimar woman imprisoned by Shar. Here, you'll have two options that allow you to continue your romance: Let Shadowheart kill the Nightsong, or convince her to save the Nightsong. Any other options, such as handing the Nightsong to Balthazar or fighting Shadowheart to save the Nightsong, will cause her to leave your party and end your relationship.

However, the best option here is to save the Nightsong. This is because the alternative - killing the Nightsong - causes Shadowheart to become a Cleric of Shar, and she will then say that Shar wants her heart in full. You can convince her to leave a little room for you, which will get you a minimised relationship, but you can't fully romance Shadowheart unless you save the Nightsong. Doing this will cause her to become a Cleric of Selune, freeing her heart to find true love with your character.

That's everything you need to know about romancing Shadowheart. If you find that this half-elf leaves your head spinning in a bad way, you can try romancing Gale, Lae'zel, Astarion, or Wyll instead. Once your party is assembled, make sure to check out our list of the best builds in Baldur's Gate 3 to find the perfect playstyles.

Disclosure: Former RPS deputy editor Adam Smith (RPS in peace) now works at Larian and is the lead writer for Baldur's Gate 3. Former contributor Emily Gera also works on it.