How to Complete the Self-Same Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

The Self-Same Trial, the second challenge in Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Gauntlet of Shar, pits you against shadow versions of your party who can turn invisible and use your spells against you. However, there’s a trick to completing this trial easily. Here’s how to get through it without minimal problems.

How to Complete the Self-Same Trial in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

• Make a blood sacrifice at the basin.
• Set your party to sneak and head on up the stairs to the right.
• Use radiant spells to defeat the shadow versions of your party.
• Start by defeating the shadow versions of your radiant damage dealers.
• Head to where your character’s copy died and collect the Killer’s Sweetheart.
• Once all enemies are defeated, head to the pedestal to collect the Umbral Gem.

Start the Trial

Head into the trial room and make a blood sacrifice at the basin with your main character. When she asks, let Shadowheart do it in your stead to earn extra favor with her, if you’d like. This will open the gates and you’ll be able to enter the main trial area.

This is a combat challenge that puts your party against Shadow Versions of themselves that can become invisible. It sounds simple enough, but there’s a catch: if you attack an enemy that is not a copy of the character you’re using, you’ll receive a debuff called Cheater’s Folly

Sneak Behind Your Enemies

This is a combat trial, so be prepared. It’s also a trial that’s all about using Shadowheart for her Radiant spells. Set your party to sneak and head on up the stairs to the right. You’ll spot your shadowy counterparts waiting to ambush you.

Make your way around behind the one on the stairs. Your enemies will be looking the other way, so you’ll be able to get the drop on them.

Use Radiant Spells

Swap to Shadowheart or any other divine caster and use a spell like Guiding Bolt. The radiant damage from this spell should take them down in one cast. Use the rest of your party to support Shadowheart where you can.

Use your divine caster to move around the area, taking out enemies when they become visible with her Radiant spells.

Do your best to avoid using a character to attack someone else’s clone and prevent them from receiving the Cheater’s Folly debuff. This condition reduces all their Ability Scores by 1 each time they attack the wrong target and stacks up to four times.

However, this effect doesn’t apply if you have already defeated the copy of that character. Therefore, it’s crucial to start by defeating Shadowheart’s clone first. This will make beating the Self-Same trial in BG3 a lot easier.

Note that Shadowheart might not be your only source of radiant damage if you have another cleric or a paladin in your party. If you do, don’t hesitate to purify the shadows with holy light. I had a lot of success using the Blood of Lathander as well.

Get Killer’s Sweetheart Ring and the Umbral Gem

If you managed to beat all Shadow Versions of your party without receiving the Cheater’s Folly condition, go where the copy of your main character died to collect the Killer Sweetheart magic ring before grabbing the Umbral Gem.

Once they’ve all been blasted into dust, you can head up to the pedestal and claim the Umbral Gem. This will complete the trial and you’ll be able to then teleport out.

Killer’s Sweetheart Overview & Stats

The Killer’s Sweetheart is a very rare ring in Baldur’s Gate 3 that grants the wearer a unique ability called Executioner. In order to get this item from your copy after you’ve defeated all shadow versions of your party, you must make sure that not a single member of your party received the Cheater’s Folly condition during the Self-Same Trial.

That’s all there is to beating the Self-Same Trial in BG3. It really is as simply as using Radiant damage on the shadow copies of your characters to take them out extremely quickly!

If you’re looking for more guides for the game, check out our guide to completing the Thorm Mausoleum Painting Puzzle in Baldur’s Gate 3.

The above article was updated on July 19, 2024 to add additional information about the Self-Same Trial and the Killer’s Sweetheart ring.