Should You Kill Galahad or One-Eye?
Kill Galahad. Siding with the Southern rebellion is the choice the main story leans toward, it frees the South from a cruel Kamelot knight, and it drops the best loot of the two paths in Galahad's Mace and the Royal Butcher's Armor set. The cost is real, harder combat for the rest of the run and the loss of Kamelot's protection, but for most players that trade is worth it. Both paths reach Excalibur either way, so you are not locking yourself out of the main story whichever way you go. Here is the full breakdown so you can decide with eyes open.
The decision in Shadow of the Horns
This is the defining Act 1 choice, and it happens during the main quest Shadow of the Horns in the Horns of the South. Captain Breandan asks you to kill entity:galahad the Pure, a cruel Kamelot knight who has been terrorizing the South. The quest hands you a fork. You can go through with backing the Southern rebellion and kill Galahad, or you can flip and side with Kamelot by killing entity:one-eye instead. One of the two dies, and the choice sets the tone of your run.
The thing to understand up front is that this is not a small decision with cosmetic fallout. It changes your combat difficulty, your faction standing, the loot you walk away with, and a piece of lore you either learn or never see. Both routes funnel back toward entity:excalibur and the main story continues either way, so the question is which world state and which playstyle you want for the rest of the game.
Kill Galahad: side with the South
Choosing to kill Galahad means siding with the South, with Breandan, and with One-Eye against Kamelot.
What you gain:
- The Southern tribes unite with the Keepers and win their independence. The South gets peace.
- You gain access to Sewal's Tomb and learn Kamelot's hidden past, a thread of lore the other path never opens.
- Galahad drops the unique Galahad's Mace and the Royal Butcher's Armor set, the better gear of the two outcomes.
What it costs:
- The Traditionalists lose faith in you and never support you again.
- You lose Kamelot's protection for the rest of the run.
- Combat gets significantly harder without Kamelot's military backing.
This is the path community consensus and the main story both lean toward. You are choosing the harder road for a freer South, the unique loot, and the hidden lore.
Kill One-Eye: side with Kamelot
Choosing to kill One-Eye means siding with Galahad and Kamelot.
What changes:
- Shadow of the Horns fails and the quest Shuffling the Deck begins in its place.
- The Traditionalists support you, and you become an enforcer for the Round Table.
- Combat is easier from here on with Galahad's military aid behind you.
What it costs:
- The tribes stay divided and never welcome you. You destroy any chance of reuniting them.
- You never learn the secrets of Sewal's Tomb.
Guides flag this path as not recommended for benevolent characters, since it means executing One-Eye to prop up the same Kamelot order that put Galahad in the South in the first place. The upside is a smoother combat experience if you would rather not fight the rest of the game on hard mode.
The recommendation
Go with killing Galahad and backing the South. You get the unique Galahad's Mace, the Royal Butcher's Armor set, access to Sewal's Tomb, and a South that wins its independence. The penalty is harder fights and no Kamelot protection, which is a meaningful difficulty bump but not a dealbreaker, and it is one you can offset with a strong build. If you would rather coast through combat and you do not care about reuniting the tribes or the hidden lore, killing One-Eye is the easier ride. But the rebellion path is the one the story is built around, and it is the one that pays out the better gear.
Your build matters here too. Picking the harder South route is more comfortable when your character is set up to handle the difficulty bump, so it is worth tuning your skills before you commit. Plan your loadout with the skill tree planner tools and the wider build guides before you walk into Shadow of the Horns.
Quick answer
- Best pick for most players: kill Galahad, free the South, take Galahad's Mace and the Royal Butcher's Armor, accept harder combat and the loss of Kamelot support.
- Easier-combat pick: kill One-Eye, side with Kamelot, tribes stay divided, you miss Sewal's Tomb.
- Either way: the questline continues toward Excalibur.
This is the first major branch of the game, and it feeds the ending state down the line. For how this and your other big decisions resolve at the Charred Conclave, see the choices and endings hub.