Sassar is an essential NPC for gaining access to the levels at the bottom of the Pit of the Faithless as part of the quest to Investigate and Destroy the Cult of the Eyeless during the Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn campaign.
| “ | Ah...be wary, my friends! Someone has come before us, I can sense it! | ” |
Background[]
Sassar was once a high priest of the Cult of the Unseeing Eye until learning how evil the creature is. He and two of his nearby friends, Zaelas and Garuk, are now considered Cult Outcasts.
Location[]
Sassar is standing near a sarcophagus in The Old Tunnels, in an unconventionally locked section called the Inner Chambers, marked on the player's map as Lair of the Cult Outcasts. Access to this area is barred until you talk to Gaal and agree to his task to retrieve part of a rod from The Lower Reaches, at which point he gives you Gaal's Key (which cannot be stolen or dropped).
Gameplay[]
Sassar will speak to the party automatically upon approach, and has much to say about the cult, its god, and the rod that Gaal wants you to retrieve
If you are rude, brush him off, or threaten him, he will not impart any further information replying that "There is little we could do to stop you."
If Keldorn is in the party, he will urge you to listen to what Sassar has to say.
Asking questions will bring out some or all of the following information, relevant to destroying the cult.
"...I was once the One God's high priest. When I discovered the true depth of his evil I escaped and met up with others who had left the cult. We tried to stop the beholder, but we lost the senses he gifted to us for taking our eyes. We are truly blind, stumbling in our efforts to stop this evil! ...I discovered that [the Unseeing Eye's] purpose for coming here was to gain the powerful artifact below. It is an item of such destructive power that the gods themselves determined it should not be used again. It was split in two and this half was secreted here. It is protected against intrusion by powerful magic and beasts that live in the caverns. Many of the beholder's followers have perished trying to retrieve it. I know, my Lord, that the beholder has the other half of the rod! If he were to acquire this half, he would be capable of wreaking terrible destruction! We tried to get the second half of the rod ourselves, to use its destructive power to defeat the beholder. That is the only way to destroy the creature. The beholder has failed to acquire the rod because the gods have cursed the item. This lets you determine the artifact's true worth... or threat."
Sassar also explains that one half of the rod is not enough and says he will tell you how to get the second half once you return with the first half.
"...The beholder's half must be stolen for the power to be used. I know of a way to do this. Retrieve the first half and I shall tell you of it."
Shade Lich Sarcophagus[]
He also warns the party:
"This chamber we are in is safe...so long as the sarcophagus is not opened. I would ask that you do not try to open it yourself... I sense great evil from it. And I do wish my brethren and I to remain safe, here."
Rift Device part[]
Agree to get the first half of the rod and your Journal will update:
"I've stumbled across Sassar, who was once the high priest for the beholder until he learned of the creature's true intentions. It has come to this place to recover a piece of a powerful rod that lies in the dungeons below, the match to the piece it already has. Many in the cult have been sent below to make the attempt, and all have apparently failed. Sassar claims that the gods cursed the rod because of its great power, but he couldn't tell me more. He did say, however, that the only way to destroy the beholder would be to use the rod against it. I must retrieve the part of the rod below and then Sassar will tell me how to steal the other half from the beholder."
Returning from the Lower Reaches, after you have obtained the first Rift Part Device, Sassar will once again speak to you:
"Is...is that you? have you returned successful? ...Let me tell you, then, how the second half of the rod can be acquired. The Unseeing Eye is in a great pit in the center of the cult compound. You cannot enter the pit by the stairs-- the beholder's minions would slay you. But you must get into the pit. There is a niche where the beholder stores his treasure... including the rod. There is a safe way to get to that niche. One of our friends is still in the cult. You must approach him and say the phrase 'the eye is blind.' He will then know who you are and be able to help you. You will find him by the Pit of the Faithless...do hurry, my Lord! The beholder continues to mesmerize and murder the innocent even as we speak!"
You then learn the identity of a Cult Traitor, Sassar's friend Tad:
"...Remember, do not speak to Gaal. If he senses that you have half of the rod, the plan is doomed. Speak only to Tad!"
When you are through talking to Sassar, head back into the Cult Domain to speak with Tad. Your journal will also have a new entry:
"Now that I have returned with half of the rod, Sassar has told me of how to steal the other half from the beholder. The beholder lives in a great pit in the cult's temple that cannot be entered directly. I am to find a friend of Sassar's who stands near the Pit of the Faithless and, through him, gain access to a secret entrance to the pit and a niche where the beholder keeps his treasure...including the other half of the rod."
WARNING: If at anytime the cult becomes hostile, forcing you to kill them and their god, before you retrieve the first part of the rod, access to the levels below the Pit of the Faithless will be closed off, even if you have gotten Gaal's Key, and the first half of the rod. Furthermore, Tad will no longer be in the pit to open up access to the levels below the pit. Sassar will only have the following to say upon your return from the Lower Reaches, after which he and his two friends disappear from the game:
"You are a great and wonderful being for what you have done. May the gods smile upon you forever for doing this for that creature."
Related Quests[]
Bugs[]
- While Sassar is Cleric by class he has no priest spells, nor can he repulse undead. This is, perhaps, intentional because his former "god" has no "real" divinity that is able to grant him "divine" spell-casting ability; or BioWare simply overlooked it. Of course, whether intentional or not, he is no longer an adherent to his "god" thereby granting him no divine spell-casting ability whatsoever.
Gallery[]
- Portraits from Portraits Portraits Everywhere
