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Mod author: Ghreyfain

Version used for review: 16.4

The mod takes place in the coastal area south of Candlekeep, and involves the lighthouse, the treasure cavern, the sirines dwelling along the beach, and worgs. Also pirates. Everyone loves pirates. At the end of it all you should have either a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart, or a bunch of loot. This quest will especially appeal to druids, though any class can play it without missing any content, dialogue, or equipment.

Lure of the Sirine’s Call is a small mod, just a singular small quest added to the lighthouse area to the west of Beregost. It’s quaint, compact, and feels rather in spirit with the other quests to be found in Baldur’s Gate 1, with an optional component to expand the lighthouse itself.

The quest can begin in one of two ways — either by speaking to Sil by approaching her and her sirines as one usually would, or by starting Ardrouine’s quest just south-east of the lighthouse. The sirines that line the beach are still hostile and killing them earns you no ire with Sil.

What ensues is a quest somewhat reminiscent of Tenya’s quest against the farmers. You must choose a side between a supposed sailor or the sirines, both claiming that the other is an evil, destructive being. The good choice here is fairly straightforward — the sailor, simply referred to as ‘Old Man’ is staying in a house by the lighthouse, and his story doesn’t really line up with the reality of the area he’s staying in. A character with sufficient intelligence can deduce this fact and force him into a fight or be bribed to kill the sirines for a neat 1000 gold.

For a low-level party, the singular fight introduced with this mod is pretty enjoyable, but I can’t see it being too difficult for a group past level 2 or 3.

Whether you side with Sil or the Old Man, you can still end up getting the treasure in the cave as you would normally, so you’re not missing out on anything by siding with either person. It simply adds another situation into the game where the player can express their moral stance in the world.

Lure of the Sirine’s Call also gives the player some new loot. There are a few basic magical items like a sling and some studded leather armour, so nothing massive — killing the sirines still grants you the higher exp reward, so there’s a real benefit to doing so.

There is also an optional component to expand the lighthouse, which reuses two areas, one from Icewind Dale and one from Ramazith’s tower. It’s not terrible, or anything, there’s just… nothing in there, so it’s safe to skip unless you just like the idea of being able to enter the lighthouse and getting the 100 gold that lies at the top.

Although it’s small, Sirine’s Call is well written for what it is. The lines for Sil are all good and the Old Man has quite an engaging presence in his writing, though there are a lot of whitespaces that pervade the experience and became mildly distracting for me.

Overall, this mod is a worthy addition to any installation if you’re looking for small, interesting ways to increase the vibrancy of BG1’s world. It does exactly what it sets out to do, and does it well.

Thanks for reading.