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Baldur’s Gate III has so many sidequests that it’s sometimes difficult to discern what’s required by the main story or what’s optional. Even within the main story itself, there are countless ways for it to go, so just play at your own pace and determine what you think is right for your particular character to do.
That can come into play a lot when talking about characters to save or let die, and it turns out Moonrise Towers is one of the most prominent areas in the game for just that. One character that you can save here is Wulbren, who is the leader of the Grymforge Gnomes. Saving him isn’t the easiest of tasks, so let’s figure out what it will take to bring him home safely.
Quest Details Up Front
- Quest Location: Moonrise Towers
- Quest Length: 45 minutes- 1 Hour
- Quest Difficulty: 7/10
- Requirements: Save the Tieflings in Act 1
- Rewards: 600 gold upon requesting a reward
Brief Walkthrough
- Step One: Reach Act 2
- Step Two: Head to Moonrise Towers
- Step Three: Find the Gnomes in Moonrise Towers Prison
- Step Four: Figure out how to break the stones
- Step Five: Protect the Gnomes as they escape
- Step Six: Find Wulbren after
Extended Walkthrough
Saving Wulben requires that we’ve saved the Tielfings in Act 1. If you did that, then you’ll find that once you get to Last Light Inn in Act 2, you’ll find that more Tieflings need saving, and it turns out we’re the only ones capable of doing it.
In order to do it, we have to navigate to Moonrise Towers. You’ll find that this location is in the top right corner of the Shadow Cursed Lands, and it will be quite the treacherous road getting there.
At this point, hopefully, you have gotten protection from the Shadow Cursed Lands, but if you haven’t, then have your party wander around with torches lit to avoid being thrown into an annoying party vs. environment fight that Baldur’s Gate 3 is all too proud of an annoying amount of the time.
Once you approach Moonrise Towers, you’ll be confronted by two cultists. They’ll see you as one of them due to the tadpole in your head and suggest you go to the main audience chamber.
While you can do this if you’d like to progress the story, the main place we need to go is the door right behind them. You’ll find yourself in Moonrise Towers Prison, and that’s where we want to be.
The good thing is that this area should be combat-free at this point unless you’ve messed up royally by blowing your cover with the cultists.
In this area, there is a creature called the Scrying Eye. You may have encountered this in the Goblin Camp, and it’s basically a security drone that tracks you and works as an alarm if you do anything out of the ordinary. As much as you want to, do not attack it; pull out your best stealth skills and keep calm.
Our first Tielfing, Lia, is located in the main prison room, but you’ll find a cultist blocking your path.
Approach them and use either Persuasion or Deception checks to speak to her. Otherwise, you’ll have to get creative and cause a distraction or enter full-on combat.
You’ll find out from Lia that the gnomes are planning something. Check the other cells to discover that Wulbren is leading the gnomes on some plan, and he’s interested in acquiring your services.
Here, you will have the option to help them for free or charge 600 gold for your time and effort. I took the gold as it’s a healthy amount that’s not easy to come by in Baldur’s Gate 3, but what you do is up to you and you alone.
After passing further checks with Wulbren, you’ll discover the plan to break out and what he’ll need to perform the deed. It will involve tools to break the rocks in his cell however there is a way to get around this. Any weapon in your inventory that does blunt damage will work, so if you have a spare hammer, flail, or anything close to that, hand it over, and it will work.
Gathering the Tools
That solves one problem, but we still need to get Wulbren those tools, and it turns out the Warden is responsible for them. Follow the quest marker to find the Warden in a separate room and question her about the tools. You can do further checks here to reveal vital information, such as two levers behind her desk that open the cells and one that sounds the alarm.
Keep that information in your back pocket for now, as we need to focus on the tools. Unfortunately, in the next part, we’re going to get caught no matter what. Head up the ladder when the Warden isn’t looking and go get the tools, and you’ll likely get spotted by the Scrying Eye. There is a slight chance you make it past the eye, but the Warden will still confront you no matter what. If you want to make sure you’re not detected up here, you can use an invisibility spell or potion to sneak by the eye and grab the tools without it noticing.
If you want, you can destroy the Scrying Eye up top so the entire prison doesn’t attack you. The Warden will question your intentions, and you’ll have the option to try to talk your way out of the situation or do combat with her.
The Warden is all alone here, so I’d go with the fight attack option, as you can end her pretty painlessly and keep the rest of the prison none the wiser.
If you kill her, loot the body to get some good equipment like the Spellcrux Amulet as well as the Moonrise Guard’s Key.
Now that we’ve taken care of the Warden, go back into the room with the cells and hand the tools to Wulbren. You should still be unnoticed at this point, and this will trigger the gnomes to open up a path in the cells.
We need to pull the levers in the Warden’s room to rescue the Tieflings as well, but it is imperative that you do this only after you’ve given Wulbren the tools.
If you pull the levers beforehand, you’ll find that everyone you’re trying to save will try and leave through the front door and trigger a massive battle in which they can easily die. That battle involves tons of Necromites and three very frustrating mages, and it’s just not necessary. If you’re dying to take part in this nightmare of a fight, I’ve got you covered.
Once you’ve pulled the levers, the Tieflings should follow Wulbren out through the open path in his cell that leads out to the back of Moonrise Towers and reveals a docked boat that they will use to escape. You need to break the chains on this boat, and there are two of them, so use physical attacks to get the job done and send the freed gnomes and Tieflings on their way. This will complete the Rescue the Tieflings and Rescue Wulbren side quests.
FAQ
Question: Can the Tieflings escape through the front door?
Answer: Yes, but it’s a major hassle to do so, as huge fights will be triggered in the process, possibly killing the Tieflings along the way.Â
Question: Can you make it through Moonrise Towers Prison unnoticed?
Answer: Yes, but it will involve careful dialogue choices and passing every check possible. It’s going to likely involve a lot of saving and reloading, so it’s up to you if you want to go through that.Â
Question: Can you enter Moonrise Towers Prison instead of having the audience with Ketheric?
Answer: Yes, in fact, I didn’t meet Ketheric before the fight with him in my playthrough. There are tons of ways to progress the story in Baldur’s Gate 3, and part of the fun is discovering them.Â
Home Free
This is one of the more difficult quests just in terms of dialogue checks. At every turn, you’ll need to maintain your cover, or else the prison will break out into a complete warzone. We don’t want that as characters you need to save may die, so get ready to do some save scumming here, and you’ll be all better off for it. Â
Continue reading:
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Save Sazza