Moonrise Towers is located in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, an anathematized area accessed via Grymforge, located in the Underdark, or by traveling through the Mountain Pass. The Shadow-Cursed Lands include numerous puzzles and challenges, the most significant of which involves handling the oppressive Darkness blanketing the land.
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The player will discover the Thorm Mausoleum during their travels, a small dungeon with a big secret. This leads through the Gaunlet of Shar to Moonrise Towers, another significant location in BG3's story that players will explore in their search for the Nightsong.
Updated August 9, 2024 by Kristy Ambrose: The Thorm Mausoleum is easy to find once players reach the Cursed Lands in Act 2. Several clues and landmarks will appear that reference the Mausoleum and the story can't progress until the main character finds it. The location is one thing, but getting through the mausoleum involves solving a puzzle in a mysterious room with three cryptic murals. To better help players solve this riddle in Thorm Mausoleum and progress to the area past it, the following guide has been updated to include a short video.
How to Reach the Shadow-Cursed Lands
Explore Two Regions And Choose One Path
- A dreadful region plagued by a curse that causes the player and their party members to take constant and significant damage whenever in darkness. It is crucial to ready appropriate spells or equip items to generate the necessary light needed to ensure safe travel.
Entering the Shadow-cursed Lands moves the story to the next chapter in the game. The player will get a warning that progressing beyond this point will close off certain questlines and certain events or dialogue options, should they continue.
Grymforge
If the player ventures to the region by traveling through the Underdark and via Grymforge, they need to ensure they bring torches or equip spells that generate light. There are torches available in Grymforge that players can grab and equip when necessary.
Passing through Grymforge includes many quests, including the search for the Adamantine Forge, which starts in Act 1 with some random notes or clues.
- Help The Gnomes. Go to the Myconid Colony first, and you'll meet the escapee Thulla. She'll send you to Grymforge to help her friends. It's possible to turn on them and side with the Druegar and Drow.
- Deliver Nere's Head. The Sovereign Spaw wants revenge for what the forces of Moonrise Towers have done to the Underdark and asks the protagonist to slay the Drow in charge.
- Find The Adamnatine Forge. Clues about this mysterious machine are scattered throughout the Underdark. It's worth seeking out the crafted armor and weapons, some of the best in the game.
Related Quests
Take this path and the player finds assistance at the Last Light Inn thanks to some Harpers the party meets on the road. This is where the party can meet Jaheira and continue with the man quest as well as two of the Companion quests.
- The Pale Elf. Raphael is playing Lanceboard with Mol, and if Astarion is in the party he'll mention a deal and meet you later. His next location is next to the Mausoleum entrance.
- Our Fiery Friend. Advance Karlach's quest by visiting Dammon in the Last Light Inn stable, and make sure to bring some Infernal Iron.
- Daughter of Darkness. The Mausoleum opens into the Gaunlet of Shar, a major part of Shadowheart's quest.
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The Mountain Pass
- The player may gain assistance from a Drider NPC named Kar'niss. However, this method requires the player to side with the residents of Moonrise Towers against the Harpers.
Step into the Shaow-cursed Lands from the Mountain Pass and meet several of Kethric Throm's twisted allies, including a half-spider creature, known as a Drider in the D&D universe. Its name is Kar’niss, and it will escort the player and their party to the Moonrise Towers with the assistance of a magical light source called the Moonlantern.
Halfway through this trip, the party will be ambushed by a group of Harpers. The player can choose either side in this fight. If they join the Harpers, they have the choice to go directly to the Towers or travel to Last Light Inn.
Either route the party takes, the first time they take that path, Elminster the Wizard will appear looking for Gale. There are a few options here on how to proceed, depending on whether or not the Wizard of Waterdeep is a part of the party or not, and you can either send him to your camp or meet him there later.
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Where to Find the Thorm Mausoleum
- Be sure to grab the Grand Mausoleum Waypoint nearby.
The player and their party will first need to make their way past the House of Healing and Grand Mausoleum to reach the entrance to Thorm Mausoleum at coordinates (X:-118 Y:112). Players can find some standard loot and should also collect the two Diaries of Malus Thorm and the Stained Book if they come across them in their looting.
These tomes offer hints to solving the puzzle players will encounter within Thorm Mausoleum along with some background and exposition.
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How to Solve the Puzzle of Thorm Mausoleum
Three Murals And A Floor Covered In Traps
- Begin deep inside the Mausoleum, in the northernmost room, which appears to be a dead end
Players will discover a room featuring a variety of trapped Marble Plates which should be carefully disarmed. With the traps handled, players can safely explore and will notice three large paintings adorning the walls. These pictures are the key to solving the enigma and eventually reaching Shar’s Sanctum.
Consider splitting the party using the “Toggle Group Mode” command, bound by default to the G key. Then place their party out of harm's way and take only one character in to work on the traps. Astarion, or any character with a high Dexterity and Sleight of Hand, is great for this.
The three paintings in the room are labeled, with the names visible when mousing over the painting or pressing the Alt key. There is an interactive button on the wall just below each painting.
These buttons must be pressed in a specific order to open the doors on either side of the painting of the “General,” located at the back of the room featuring a large sarcophagus.
If the player selects the incorrect order, the room will fill with darkness, and they will have to attempt again. There are hints detailed in the three books the player may have collected, but players can solve this puzzle easily by pressing the buttons below the paintings in this order:
- Moonrise Towers (West)
- Grief (East)
- General (North)
Once the player has successfully executed this task, this completes the puzzle of Thorm Mausoleum. The doors on either side of the final painting will safely open, and the player can proceed into the Gauntlet of Shar.
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Engine
- Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full cross-platform play.
- Cross Save
- Full cross-platform progression.
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
