Baldur’s Gate 3 has a lot of items that you can pick up, but don’t necessarily have a use. It would be very easy to write a lot of stuff off as set dressing or fodder. But, as any RPG fan knows, doing that could lead to you missing a truly pivotal detail.
In short, you never know whether you’re holding junk or treasure, and the Strange Chunk is a prime example of that.
The Strange Chunk of Amber from the Mountain Pass between Acts 1 and 2 seems like it should be important. But, to cut a short story even shorter, this item looks far more important than it is.
What Is The Strange Chunk of Amber Used For in Baldur’s Gate 3
The short answer is that the Strange Chunk of Amber isn’t used for anything. You pick it up from the display case in the hallway to the left of the Inquisitor’s Chamber in Rosymorn Monastery, and it updates your Blood of Lathander quest in your journal.
You can also have a character with a high Religion score inspect it if you’re interested in what they say. However, it ends up being clear that this piece of amber is just meant to throw off people searching for the Blood of Lathander, which is why it has drops of blood inside it.
I usually grab the amber just to sell it when I get to Last Light Inn, which nets me about 50 gold. Aside from that, there’s not much you can use it for.
If you’re looking for the real Blood of Lathander, then you need to take a look at the statues in that same hallway. The statue on the right needs to be turned to the east, and the statue on the left needs to be turned to the west.
However, the statue on the left is jammed. When you interact with it, you roll for Athletics to see if you can move it. I fail this roll almost every time I try it. Instead, I just have Gale cast Grease on the statue, which lets me turn it without a problem.
Finding the Real Blood of Lathander
Once the statues are moved, a hidden path opens up at the end of the hallway. Go through it, then down to the door at the bottom.
At this point, you need to go through puzzles where you need to deactivate traps. I separate Astarion from the party at this point and send him through to clear out the traps. There are two types of traps to watch for.
The first would be the crystals you see around the statues, which need to be destroyed. The second are the objects that look like mines on the ground, and those need to be disarmed. He usually has the best rolls as a rogue, but if you made Tav into a rogue, you can use them instead.
When you reach the last room, put the crest you picked up in the ruins of the monastery. If you don’t have the crest, you can still take the Blood of Lathander, but you have a high chance of dying.
Without the crest, you activate the protective measures around the Blood of Lathander, and the task of taking it becomes much more difficult than it needs to be.
The Blood of Lathander is a great early-game item, but the Strange Chunk of Amber is only useful for telling you that you’re in the right hallway to head towards the room that has the real relic.
Then, I would suggest simply selling it for the gold. As for the Blood of Lathander, you want to hold onto it even after you get better items, as I’ve used it during Shadowheart’s quests in Act 3.
It’s ability to cast Sunbeam and its constant aura of light are both insanely useful, even if the weapon itself isn’t as strong as other options for attacking at that point.
