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Among the hundreds of NPCs that we meet inBaldur’s Gate 3, few are as enigmatic as He Who Was. He is an NPC found in the Ruined Battlefields in the Shadow Cursed Lands at the beginning of Act 2, andhe gives you the Punish The Wicked quest.
Throughout interactions with He Who Was, his white raven companion, and completing his quest, players find themselves with many questions about his origin and intent. But the game offers next to no answers to these questions, shrouding the identity of He Who Was in mystery.
Who Is He Who Was?
While the game doesn’t directly indicate who He Who Was is, there are enough hints through dialogue and his character sheet to point us in the right direction. Baldur’s Gate 3 is set in the Forgotten Realms universe from Dungeons & Dragons, and there is more than enough lore and information on the universe to help paint a clearer picture of this character. Two of the most important hints that we get in his character sheet by inspecting him are that he is a Shadar-Kai and a Gloom Weaver.
You can learn a lot of information by using the inspect feature in the game, from resistances and special abilities to important information about a character’s background.
Shadar-Kai arean elven lineage who are trapped in the Shadowfell, bound to serve the Raven Queen. They are a mournful and joyless people, but they are neither good nor evil in their intent. Like their patron, the Raven Queen, they are obsessed with collecting memories of loss and despair. Whether it be through collecting trinkets, stealing the memories of mortals, or even collecting the souls of the dying.
Gloom Weavers are certain groups of Shadar-Kai warriors with warlock-like powers and innate magical abilities. They are often tasked by the Raven Queen to travel to locations of tragedy and despair, in search of memories to collect for their deity. These orders often come through raven companions, who will guide the gloom weaver to their destination.
It is clear where He Who Was comes from, and considering the massive battles and tragedy that took place in the Shadow Cursed Lands, the goal of him and his raven companion becomes obvious.They were sent to Faerun to search the ravaged landscape of this region for memories and trinkets to be added to the Raven Queen’s collection. But what became of these two and their mission?
What Happened To He Who Was?
What He Who Was is currently doing in the Shadow Cursed Lands, is not a typical mission that these gloom weavers are often tasked with. Making judgment and torturing the spirit of the dead, as he does during his quest, is quite extreme for a Shadar-Kai in the service of the Raven Queen.
The effects of the Shadow Cursed Lands can vary from individual to individual. Some turn to mindless undead abominations, and some retain their personality from their previous life. This is most apparent in variousmembers of the Thorm family, such as Malus Thorm the Surgeon or Gerringothe Thorm the Toll Collector. Although these people have lost their sanity due to the long-lasting curse, they retain the most extreme aspects and flaws of their personalities.
It’s these heightened flaws and extreme obsessions that allow us to avoid these boss fights in Act 2. By manipulating and pushing these cursed members of the Thorm family towards complete insanity, they lose whatever remains of their personality and destroy themselves.
The curse has had a similar effect on He Who Was and his raven companion. His name suggests that he has lost parts of his previous identity, but his obsession with collecting loss and despair has been driven to the extreme, where he tortures the souls of the deceased to amplify their misery even more. By speaking with his raven familiar through the Speak with Animals spell, the bird comes off as quite hostile and aggressive, a behavior that no longer resembles a divine messenger and a guide sent from the Raven Queen.
If you stay idle near He Who Was for a while, you may overhear a conversation between him and his raven. He can be heard saying to the raven “Our orders do not matter, we follow our own destiny now.” which proves their initial mission in this land, a mission that he no longer cares about.
