Item from baldurs-gate-3 by Larian Studios
A crystalline githyanki artifact that shields the party from the Absolute's telepathic control — and contains the Emperor, a Mind Flayer who is either your greatest ally or your most sophisticated manipulator.
The Astral Prism is a pocket dimension in crystal form, a githyanki artifact designed to protect its contents from psionic detection. The party carries it unknowingly as a shield — without it, the Elder Brain would dominate them through their tadpoles the way it dominates every other True Soul. Inside lives the Emperor, a Mind Flayer who claims to be protecting you. He's charming, reasonable, and incapable of being fully trusted because he has every reason to lie. The prism is the game's most layered McGuffin: it protects you, contains a questionable ally, is hunted by Vlaakith's forces, can be shattered by the Orphic Hammer to free the imprisoned Prince Orpheus, and represents the fundamental BG3 question of whether safety is worth the compromise required to maintain it.
Also known as: The Prism, Astral Prism, Githyanki Prism, The Artifact