Cleric Stronghold – Baldur’s Gate II

This guide will walk you through the Cleric Stronghold quests in Baldur’s Gate II.

Overview

To claim a cleric stronghold, you’ll need to complete the Cult of the Eyeless quest in the Temple District. As a reward, the temple you worked for in that quest will offer you the use of their temple as your stronghold (assuming that you’re playing a cleric). An acolyte in the temple — Lara in the Temple of Lathander, Byron in the Temple of Helm, or Vilon in the Temple of Talos — will work with you and tell you your duties. For starters, you’ll need to talk with three seekers.

Seeker #1: Glinden

Glinden will tell you that he caught his wife having an affair with another man. You’ll need to advise him on what he should do about it. You’ll have four choices for this:

• You can tell him to kill his wife and her lover. This is the best answer for Talos.
• You can tell him to not worry about it.
• You can tell him to remind his wife of the sanctity of their vows. This is the best answer for Helm.
• You can tell him to forgive his wife and let her move on. This the best answer for Lathander.

One day after talking to Glinden, he’ll return and tell you how your solution worked out for him. Three days after talking to Glinden (the first time), your acolyte will return to the temple. When you talk to them, they’ll grade your interaction with Glinden, and you’ll earn a reward — or not. If you gave the best possible advice, then you’ll earn 20,000 xp. If you gave the worst possible advice (for example, picking the best Talos answer when working for Lathander, or vice versa), then you might get kicked out of the temple and lose your stronghold.

Note: If you’re working for Talos, and if you tell Glinden to kill his wife and lover, then you’ll be able to turn him in to Inspector Ardis, who will automatically talk to you in the temple. This will net you 200 gp when Acolyte Vilon evaluates you.

Seeker #2: Ti’Vael

Ti’Vael will tell you that he killed a man in a duel when he could have let him yield. You’ll need to advise him on what he should do about it. You’ll have four choices for this:

• You can tell him to kill the witnesses. This is the best answer for Talos.
• You can tell him to turn himself in. This is the best answer for Helm.
• You can tell him to make restitution to the victim’s family. This is the best answer for Lathander.
• You can tell him to do nothing about the duel and let it pass.

Two days after talking to Ti’Vael, he’ll return to let you know how your solution worked out for him. If you told him to kill the witnesses, then the encounter might turn deadly, which will result in you finding Ti’Vael’s Head on his corpse. If you’re working for Talos, then you’ll be able to take the head to Inspector Ardis in the Council of Six building in the Government District. He’ll be standing in the back near Chief Inspector Brega. If you’re working for Helm or Lathander, then Ardis won’t be there, and you won’t be able to do anything with the head.

Three days after talking to Ti’Vael (the first time), your acolyte will return to the temple. When you talk to them, they’ll once again grade you, and you’ll earn the same reward as before — that is, 20,000 xp if you gave the best advice, and possibly being kicked out of the temple if you gave the worst advice. If you’re working for Talos, and if you delivered Ti’Vael’s Head to Inspector Ardis, then Acolyte Vilon will also pay you 500 gp when he evaluates you.

Seeker #3: Rania

Rania will tell you that she’s lost her faith. You’ll need to advise her on what she should do about it. You’ll have four choices for this:

• You can kill her for being a heretic. This is the best answer for Talos.
• You can remind her of her duty to the church. This is the best answer for Helm.
• You can tell her to take some time and think about things. This is the best answer for Lathander.
• You can tell her to leave the church and never return.

Rania won’t return after your conversation, even if she’s still alive. But two days later, your acolyte will return to the temple, and when you talk to them, they’ll grade you. As before, if you gave the best answer, then you’ll earn 20,000 xp, and if you gave the worst answer, then you might get kicked out of the temple.

Cotirso

After dealing with the three seekers, a fellow member of the temple named Cotirso will confront you, angry that you’ve been promoted past him. He’ll then challenge you to a duel. You’ll have up to four ways to respond:

• You can fight Cotirso and kill him easily. This is the best answer for Helm.
• You can offer him your position. This is the best answer for Lathander.
• You can threaten to tattle on him to your acolyte.
• If you’re working with Talos, and if you killed Rania earlier, then you can pretend to give up your position, but really head to Inspector Ardis in the Council of Six building in the Government District and frame Cotirso for Rania’s murder. This is the best answer for Talos.

Your acolyte will return to the temple immediately after you’ve settled the matter. As before, if you gave the best answer, then you’ll earn 20,000 xp, and if you gave the worst answer, then you might get kicked out of the temple. If you’re working for Talos and framed Cotirso, then you’ll earn an additional 700 gp and 10,000 xp.

Assassination

For your final quest, your acolyte will ask you to kill or defend a major priest from one of the other temples: Acolyte Lara (Lathander) will ask you to kill Weathermistress Ada in the Temple of Talos, Acolyte Byron (Helm) will ask you to protect Dawnmaster Kreel from Talassan assassins in the Temple of Lathander, and Acolyte Vilon (Talos) will ask you to kill Dawnmaster Kreel in the Temple of Lathander.

There isn’t any clever way to complete this quest. Your enemies will know that you’re coming (except for Weathermistress Ada, who might be sleeping), so you’ll just have to enter a temple and kill all who oppose you, including your target (if you have one). After completing the slaughter, when you return to your acolyte, you’ll earn 1000 gp and 35,000 xp. If you’re working for Talos, then Acolyte Vilon will give you an extra 1000 gp.