Travel through the Mountain Pass: Difference between revisions

If the party meets with Halsin as part of [[Rescue the Druid Halsin]], he explains that he cannot heal the party, but that he's been studying the Absolute cult's activities and knows they are sending people en-masse to [[Moonrise Towers]]. He suggests that the party head there to seek answers. During Save the Refugees, if the [[Druid Grove]] was protected, Halsin speaks with the party after a night of celebration. He explains that there are two paths to Moonrise Towers - one through the [[Underdark]] and one overland through the [[Mountain Pass]]. The area around Moonrise Towers is known as the [[Shadow-Cursed Lands]], and has a dangerous curse that can drive people mad. Halsin recommends the Underdark route, as it means traveling over less of the areas infected by the shadow curse.

If the party allies with Minthara, she tells them only about the Mountain Pass, providing a [[Spider's Lyre]] so that the party can summon one of her minions to cross the Shadow-Cursed Lands overland. She states that the party must go to Moonrise Towers to find their pace in the Absolute's Grand Design.

From the front gate of the camp, where Sentinel [[Olak]] and his worgs are, move west to where Warlock [[Tud]], Devout [[Wasp]], and Sharp-Eye [[Sluck]] are drinking. Continue moving west to find the entrance to the Mountain Pass (X:-160, Y:332)

** Alternatively, a player can brute force through all diplomacy checks by utilizing [[Illithid Persuasion]].

** [[Drow]], or characters disguised as one via the [[Disguise Self]] spell, also have special dialogue options that helps you bypass diplomacy checks.

* Avoiding the check-points through [[stealth]] or finding an alternative path (i.e. approaching the camp from the North-West).

** Note, approaching from the North-Western path requires the player to figure out methods to deal with a sleeping [[Bugbear (race)|Bugbear]] (who can be woken if the jumping character lands near him). A [[Silence]] spell can effectively cover this.

* Saving [[Sazza]] in [[Save the Goblin Sazza]] and allowing her to smooth the way through.

The path to the Mountain Pass is west of the Risen Road. If the party chooses this route, they must face a githyanki patrol (X:-101, Y:555) led by [[Kith'rak Voss]], as part of [[Find the Githyanki Crèche]].

As the party comes across the patrol, they are arguing with a group of [[Flaming Fist|Flaming Fists]]. Suddenly, a red dragon comes down from the sky and sets the fists aflame. If Lae'zel is in the party, she notes that the crèche must be near and goes to meet with the patrol. Go with her to start a conversation with the dragon's rider, Kith'rak Voss. Go [[Voss/Transcript|here]] to see a more detailed overview of the conversations below:

If Lae'zel is in the party, the encounter becomes much simpler.

Choose the first option to allow Lae'zel to speak, and Voss reveals the search for a githyanki artefact. He asks if Lae'zel has seen anything like that.

Succeed in any of the checks and Voss remains neutral.

A successful pass of any of these checks and Voss lets the party live. He tells them to go to the crèche - ahead, at the Mountain Pass. Otherwise, if Voss become suspicious that the party is infected with tadpoles or carries the artefact, then he flies off on his dragon and orders the githyanki soldiers to kill them all. [[Sarth Baretha]], Raider [[Clost]], Raider [[Zastri]], and Gish [[For'eth]] attack the party

There are several additional quests in the Mountain Pass, including a story-relevant quest - [[Discover the Artefact's Secrets]] and [[Lae'zel|Lae'zel's]] companion quest [[The Githyanki Warrior]]. There is also a trader named [[Lady Esther]] near the Trielta Crags Waypoint who provides the quest [[Steal a Githyanki Egg]] and a quest found in [[Rosymorn Monastery]] called [[Find the Blood of Lathander]]. However, completing these quests is not necessary to proceed to the Shadow-Cursed Lands.