Seluvis’s Questline
Preceptor Seluvis is one of Ranni‘s followers, a sneering sorcerer who lives in Seluvis’s Rise in the Three Sisters. He looks down on you from the very first word, and he has a nasty hobby: he turns living people into obedient puppets with a special potion. His questline lets you choose who, if anyone, ends up in his collection, opens his sorcery and puppet shop, and finally reveals that he has his eye on the finest puppet of all, Ranni herself.
Tied to his story is Pidia, Carian Servant, a nervous little merchant who looks after the puppets in Caria Manor. The two men share more than you might think, and their stories end together. Expect some of the best spirit ashes in the game along the way, and a few choices you might feel a bit guilty about.
Rewards
- Seluvis’s Potion, when you accept his request
- Seluvis’s Introduction, if you ask him about the way to Nokron
- His sorcery shop, plus extra spells for the Academy, Conspectus and Royal House scrolls
- Puppet spirit ashes for runes and Starlight Shards: Finger Maiden Therolina Puppet (2 shards) and Jarwight Puppet (3 shards) once he admits to his chambers, Dolores the Sleeping Arrow Puppet (5 shards) after the potion went to Nepheli, and Dung Eater Puppet (5 shards) after it went to the Dung Eater
- Magic Scorpion Charm, for the Amber Starlight
- Amber Draught, after you reload the area
- Seluvis’s Bell Bearing and the Preceptor’s set (Preceptor’s Big Hat, Preceptor’s Long Gown, Preceptor’s Gloves, Preceptor’s Trousers), from his body
- Pidia’s Bell Bearing, from Pidia’s body
- Nepheli Loux Puppet from Pidia’s body if you gave the potion to Nepheli, otherwise Dolores the Sleeping Arrow Puppet
Walkthrough
- Join Ranni’s service. Follow Ranni’s questline until you have sworn yourself to her at Ranni’s Rise. Talk to the projections of Blaidd, Iji and Seluvis downstairs, then speak to Ranni once more.
- Visit Seluvis in his tower. Go to Seluvis’s Rise, just south of Ranni’s Rise, and talk to him. Agree to his request and he hands you Seluvis’s Potion. If you ask him how to reach Nokron, he also gives you Seluvis’s Introduction for Sellen.
- Decide who gets the potion. You need to pick one of three options to move on:
- Report back to Seluvis. Whichever route you took, return to him and talk until he has nothing more to say. His shop is now open, with sorceries such as Carian Phalanx, Carian Retaliation and Glintstone Icecrag.
- Hand him scrolls (optional). Give Seluvis the Academy Scroll, the Conspectus Scroll or the Royal House Scroll to add more sorceries to his stock, such as Star Shower, Glintstone Cometshard and Carian Slicer.
- Find his secret cellar. Head to the ruins northeast of Ranni’s Rise and walk through the illusory floor. Go down the steps into the cellar, where his puppets kneel in silence, and read the message on the ground that warns you not to touch them.
- Confront him about his chambers. Go back to Seluvis and pick the dialogue about his chambers. Instead of being embarrassed, he offers to make puppets for you in exchange for Starlight Shards. Buy at least one puppet to continue.
- Ask about his scheme. Talk to him again and choose the option about the scheme. He wants a very special shard: the Amber Starlight.
- Fetch the Amber Starlight. On the Altus Plateau, look in a small grotto northeast of the Altus Highway Junction Site of Grace, north of the giant staircase that leads up to the Tree Sentinel. Pidia sells a Weathered Map that points to it, if you want a hint.
- Give it to Seluvis. Choose the option to hand over the Amber Starlight and he rewards you with the Magic Scorpion Charm. Leave the area, come back and talk to him again to receive the Amber Draught, the potion he hopes will make Ranni his puppet.
- Visit Pidia in Caria Manor (optional). From the Three Sisters, follow the clifftop above Caria Manor to the southwest and drop down a series of ledges onto the manor roof. Pidia sits on the second floor near the Manor Lower Level Site of Grace. He sells rare goods, including Celestial Dew, a Larval Tear and the Weathered Map. Do this before Ranni gets the Fingerslayer Blade.
- Keep the draught to yourself. You can try to give the Amber Draught to Ranni, but she sees straight through it and her own questline stops. Most players simply keep it in their pocket.
- The end of the puppet master. Once you give Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade (or the Amber Draught), Seluvis is found dead in his tower, kneeling just like his puppets. Loot Seluvis’s Bell Bearing and his Preceptor’s set from the body. You can still interact with the body to use his puppet shop. At the same time Pidia dies in Caria Manor, surrounded by the puppet soldiers he used to look after. Take Pidia’s Bell Bearing and a puppet from his body.
Missable steps & failure conditions
- Pidia locks when Ranni gets the Fingerslayer Blade. Giving Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade ends Pidia’s part of the story no matter how far you got, and he dies. Visit him and buy what you want first.
- Do not give the Amber Draught to Ranni. Doing so stalls Ranni’s questline. Talk to her three times after that and she kills you outright. The only fix is to seek absolution at the Church of Vows.
- The potion has requirements. Nepheli can only be given the potion after the Omenkiller is dead and she is in the lower Roundtable Hold. The Dung Eater needs the full Seedbed Curse and gaol steps first. If neither suits you, Gideon is always an option.
- Buy a puppet. His scheme dialogue will not show up until you have bought at least one puppet after confronting him about his chambers.
- Do not worry about missing his shop. Even after Seluvis dies, his body still works as a puppet shop.
Endings & consequences
- Nepheli Loux. Give her the potion and she sleeps, her body ends up in Seluvis’s cellar and she becomes a puppet. Choose this only if you do not care about her own story.
- The Dung Eater. If he drinks the potion, he becomes the Dung Eater Puppet instead.
- Gideon. Taking the potion to Sir Gideon spares everyone and still moves Seluvis’s story forward.
- Ranni. The Amber Draught is meant for her. Giving it to her stalls her questline until you seek absolution.
- Sellen. Seluvis’s Introduction leads you to Sorceress Sellen, who owes him a favour, and one of the bodies in his collection, a sorceress wearing a Witch’s Glintstone Crown, plays a part in Sellen’s questline.
- Seluvis and Pidia. Both die when Ranni takes the Fingerslayer Blade or the Amber Draught. Seluvis dies kneeling like his own puppets, which is a big hint: many players believe Seluvis was himself one of Pidia’s puppets all along. The two share a voice actor, and Pidia’s lines sit inside Seluvis’s dialogue in the game files.