Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Issues with meeting Halsin in act 1 (Act 1 Spoilers)

I take issue with the interaction in which you meet Halsin in the goblin camp. For the evil path, it makes perfect sense. You join in on torturing the bear, and then fight and kill Halsin. If you aren't doing an evil playthrough, especially if you don't already know that the bear is actually Halsin, there's a lot of problems with that interaction. The only way to help Halsin is to either side with the bear and kill a bunch of children, or else fail a roll before the interaction and have goblins be hostile from the beginning, still ultimately killing a bunch of goblin children. If you actually have the interaction, the only scenario where I would actually choose to side with the bear is as a druid RP. Otherwise, ideally I would persuade them to let me have the bear and proceed to take it out without having a fight. In a case where the bear breaks down the gate, or is let out and immediately attacks the goblins, then frankly I have a hard time seeing any good character siding with an animal against the goblins, even if they were torturing it right before.

Would it be possible to add an additional option to take the bear out without a fight, or at the very least persuade the goblin children to leave first?

I don't know, how often I have to repeat that: You don't have to kill those children. Just get rid of everything above and let them run to get help. Or let them run to get help in any case, you have to fight those enemies anyway. But no one forces you to kill those children, if you do that, it's your decision. Halsin will kill them, when he breaks free, but they are usually far away by that time, if you don't stop them.
So yeah, you decide, what you do here.

Even if you don't have to kill the children, I'd still like a way to get through without a fight at all. Don't see why you should be compelled to side with an animal over adult goblins either.

Well, it's pretty obvious that it's Halsin if you've done some talking around.

You know from the grove that Halsin "is a bear", I think you also learn from Aradin (if he survived the goblin attack), that Halsin transformed into a bear. Or maybe it's the guy being tortured in the goblin camp that tells you this, or maybe both. Can't remember for sure. But at least you can easily learn that Halsin transformed into a bear while at goblin camp if you follow the quest directions. There's also more clues to the fact that Halsin most likely will be a bear when you find him.

If you miss all that and enter the prison without a clue that the bear is the druid you're looking for, and you feel it's wrong to side with a bear over humanoids, then I'd say that's part of the game and what makes it fun. You have three options, leave it there, help it, or kill it. It's pretty obvious that there's no peaceful solution here since the bear is clearly raging (=uncontrollable). So even if you'd have the option to convince them to let you have the bear and leave peacefully with it, the bear isn't going to just come out nicely and leave the tormentors alone. It's pissed and it wants revenge. So it's clearly going to attack the goblins first chance it gets.

You do also have the option to just leave the bear there if you don't want to fight. And I'm pretty sure you can convince the kids to stop throwing rocks at it?

By that time, at least 3 people - or even 4 - have told you, that Halsin has the presence of a bear, if you have talked to anyone in the grove and paid attention. ANd even without that - there is a bear caged and mistreated, maybe if you play a good character, you might want to put an end to that?
It comes down to personal choice again. And the fight there isn't really hard. Just let the kids run away and deal with the rest

I've never seen such an option - is it tied to a particular class or background?

I thought if the kids ran away, they alert the rest of the camp.

Granted I guess if you are freeing Halsin you are planning on killing most of the camp anyway...

That's what I mean, either kill the bosses and their minions first, then the kids can't alert anything, or prepare your stand down there, you will have Halsin helping you

I usually just knock the kids out.

I usually free Halsin last - by that time, there is no one alive above, but Abdirak and the Maglubiet follower and I don't think, they are keen on coming down, fighting us. So I just let the kids run.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there's a persuasion roll. But I don't think it necessarily stops them completely.

I talked with the Goblin children outside ... now I always take care to kill those outside Halson's cage, in spite of there being no XP for them.
"The only Good Gawblins are Dead Gawblins, and I'm here to MAKE YOU GOOD!"

Paladins can intimidate the goblin kids to stop throwing rocks and release the bear. Halsin then attacks and you're forced to choose a side.

Maybe half the time I've played it, Halsin kills one of the goblin kids, making him a less sympathetic figure.

Heck, one time in EA I didn't side with him but helped him kill the goblins anyway. He remained hostile. After defending the grove, he still returned and during a scripted dialogue you have with him, I donated enough gold to turn him yellow again. Dunno about V1.3?

Even if you don't know that the bear is Halsin, you're just gonna let some little shits throw sharp rocks at a caged bear?

No, but I'm not going to kill them for it. Fortunately there is exactly one dialogue option which sounds threatening but not murderous, and which results in Halsin breaking down the door and starting the fight himself (and puts you on his side, not theirs).

It's almost like there's non-lethal attacks or something

"And that, love, is that."

I always just kill the kids because they run to go get the guards and I don’t like that. However, you can be threatening and also spare the kids quite easily. What you do is, tell them to stop, the battle initiates, then they both disengage and start running to get the guards. They run out the door, three guards come rushing in. Then the kids are gone. You don’t have to kill them or fight them. You just have to let them run away. The goblin who gets crushed under the cage door is an adult goblin. Problem solved!

Dude, you have to talk to people, or maybe start listening... by the point you reach Halsin, several people have told you, he is the bear. You are also not forced to kill the goblin children, but I don't mind after seeing Waukeen either.