Moonrise Tower bookcase puzzle – how to open Balthazar’s bookcase in BG3

Should you destroy the ritual circle or forge the lantern?

If you’ve made it to Moonrise Tower in Baldur’s Gate 3, you might be wondering how to get into the secret room behind the bookcase with protruding books in Balthazar’s Room.

The bookcase itself is trapped, with three of the protruding books either summoning undead creatures or filling the room with poison gas while locking the doors. The first step in the puzzle is to interact with the top right protruding book (all others are trapped).

Once you have, you should hear a click. This click is a recess in the pedestal to the right of the bookcase opening up.

On the altar in the middle of the room, you will find a heart. Add it to your inventory and take it over to the pedestal.

When you interact with the pedestal and click the recess, it’ll open up your inventory. You need to drag and drop the heart into the recess – simply clicking on the heart in your inventory won’t do.

Do it right and the secrets of Moonrise Tower in BG3 are yours. If you have been following Gale’s companion story and he’s with you at this moment, you now have a choice to make.

BG3: Destroy the ritual circle or forge the lantern

In the room behind the bookcase, you will find a ritual circle, as well as a bunch of dead pixies and broken moonlanterns.

Forging the lantern

If you combine the broken moonlantern next to the bench with a dead pixie, you will forge the lantern. Choose this path and you get a lantern with a summon spell, but you miss out on a godly boon.

Destroying the ritual circle

Destroy the ritual circle and either Gale or yourself will get a boon later in the game that gives a bonus on concentration checks. 

If you're looking for more, check out our BG3 tips and tricks you probably don't know.