One of the more interesting locations you can visit during Act One of Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Adamantine Forge. This location is found within the Underdark’s Grymforge and comes with its own set of quests, challenges, and rewards.
But you are able to start an entirely different quest here, called Help the Cursed Monk.
How to grab the Sentient Amulet in Baldur’s Gate 3
This quest only starts if you grab the Sentient Amulet, which is found within a gilded chest in the lower platform next to where the Lava Elemental walks around. You will need to continue going down the rocks near the Adamantine Forge and then only jump over the rocks situated near the lava when they are not ready to explode. You also want to avoid running into the Lava Elemental, who walks around the lava in a circle. The amulet is found on the large platform in the center of the lava, as seen in the screenshot below.
By picking up this amulet, you will start to hear the laughter of a monk, one who has been trapped inside the amulet for years. He will ask you to help him gain some semblance of peace by returning him to his granddaughter, named Shirra. If you decide to help, you won’t be able to progress the quest until you reach the town of Wyrm’s Crossing in Act Three of BG3.
Finding Shirra Clarwen in Wyrm’s Crossing
Shirra Clarwen is located in the Open Hand Temple at Wyrm’s Crossing. You can reach this location after arriving at the Rivington waypoint in Act Three. The Open Hand Temple is found directly northwest of this waypoint, past the circus.
Make your way into the Open Hand Temple and speak to any of the people inside to ask about the whereabouts of Shirra. Unfortunately, it will be revealed that Shirra died a long time ago and has been buried inside a coffin in the basement under the temple.
You need to find the kitchen in the temple and then go down the Ornate Wooden Hatch to reach the basement. You can also access the basement from a well right across the street from the temple. Either way, you will stumble across a crypt near an altar in the basement. Read the plaques on each sarcophagus to find which one is Shirra’s (she’s in the back left).
Accepting the laughter curse or not
Open the lid and then place the Sentient Amulet inside the sarcophagus. This will make the decrepit body of Shirra come to life, but it will be the Cursed Monk who is talking instead of her. The monk says he will allow you to leave, but only if you take on the curse that has been afflicting him for all these years.
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If you say yes, which means clicking the dialogue option: “If it will bring you peace, I will bear this madness,” then the laughing curse will try to take hold of you. You need to pass two different checks to stop the curse from taking control of you. Succeeding will give you the spell Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, which leaves an enemy laughing on the floor prone for 10 turns.
But if you fail one of the checks or let your Wisdom drain because of the curse, it will result in your character losing -2 Wisdom permanently. I would reload a save if you fail a check or use Inspiration to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. Both failing and succeeding the checks will give you the laughter spell, though.
On the flip side, if you press the dialogue option “Gods, no, I don’t want to inherit your curse,” when the monk asks you to take the curse, then the other corpses in the crypt will rise and you need to fight them all to survive. Either way, at the end of it all, you will have completed the Help the Cursed Monk quest in Baldur’s Gate 3.
