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The Mind Flayer Colony is a Location within the Shadow-Cursed Lands in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3. It is located under the Moonrise Towers Prison in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Map of the Mind Flayer Colony

Access[edit | edit source]

This area is accessed by jumping down into a tower after the fight against Ketheric Thorm Ketheric Thorm on the Moonrise Towers Rooftop. Upon arriving from the Moonrise Towers Rooftop, the party must destroy the membrane to move forward. The colony has many intellect devourers moving around, which only become hostile if a fight breaks out nearby.

While inside the Mind Flayer Colony, the party cannot fast-travel or go to camp.

Points of interest[edit | edit source]

Morgue[edit | edit source]

Corpses strung up at the morgue

The morgue is run by Chop Chop, a strange bugbear who butchers humanoids to create new Intellect Devourer Intellect Devourers.

If not killed on the Nautiloid, Us Us can be found imprisoned here. After talking to Us, the party can convince Chop to give a Morgue Cage Key with a successful DC 14 Persuasion check, DC 18 Intimidation check, or Illithid Wisdom. If freed, Us rewards the party with the item Summon Us.

If threatening to kill Chop, he responds as though he wants the party to kill him. Despite this, attacking him still makes Chop and the surrounding intellect devourers (except for Us) hostile. Nonetheless, as he is killed, Chop comments that he is "free at last". The intellect devourers outside of the morgue remain neutral.

There is also a mechanical device called Touch, which controls the pipe that transports corpses. Upon the first interaction, the pipe drops a corpse, on which Speak with Dead Speak with Dead can be used.

Necrotic laboratory[edit | edit source]

Balthazar's Necrotic Laboratory
Main article: Necrotic Laboratory

Balthazar's Necrotic Laboratory can be found in the south-east of the map, at X: 715 Y: -49. Upon entering the area, a battle with a large number of undead commences, including a Death Shepherd Death Shepherd, four Winged Horror Winged Horrors and Greater Zombie Greater Zombies, as well as six Zombie Zombies.

Further southeast is a Brain Mapping Puzzle, consisting of four mental faculties (Emotion, Speech, Memory, and Reason). To solve this puzzle, each mental faculty must be connected to its identical matching faculty on the far side of the puzzle by selecting intervening nodes. Successfully solving the puzzle grants the Inspirational Event Brain Blast! (Sage) and access to the Blade of Oppressed Souls and the Waking Mind. Beside the Waking Mind is a skeleton at X: 750 Y: -138 with the Circlet of Mental Anguish and Braindrain Gloves.

The Mind-Archive Interface at X: 699 Y: -117 allows the party to talk to the brain jars found scattered across the area.

Mol's Eyepatch and a Prayer for Forgiveness shedding some light on The Dark Urge can be found on a table near the mind-archive interface.

Tadpoling centre[edit | edit source]

The tadpoling centre
Main article: Tadpoling Centre

The Tadpoling Centre is a roughly-round room filled with Mind Flayer Pods; some contain non-hostile humanoid characters, including Zevlor Zevlor (Find Zevlor Find Zevlor quest), while others contain Mind Flayers. A Neural Apparatus at X: 689 Y: 17 gives the party a choice between purging all of the pods (illithid and humanoid alike) and opening them all.

If choosing to purge the pods, Zevlor and all the other characters in the pods die; if opened, the party must fight several mind flayers and intellect devourers (though the newly-freed characters fight alongside the party, providing significant aid.)

Zevlor and the other survivors may turn hostile if damaged by the party, including via spell AOE effects such as Cloud of Daggers Cloud of Daggers or Flame Strike Flame Strike.

Brine Pools room[edit | edit source]

The brine pools room

In the next area (Brine pools room), Mizora Mizora is stuck in a pod. The party can free her to advance The Blade of Frontiers The Blade of Frontiers, Wyll's companion quest.

Mizora's pod has its own controls. The left is "annihilate," the right is "unleash", each requires DC 10 Arcana check to decipher its function, but can be passed automatically if the same words were deciphered on the Nautiloid in the Ceremorphosis chambers. If freeing Mizora with Wyll in the party, she rewards them ( DC 14 Persuasion check required) with the Infernal Rapier. Killing Mizora via the "annihilate" button results in Wyll's death as well.

Interacting with the brine pool near Mizora ( DC 16 Perception check) yields a Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen.

Barracks[edit | edit source]

In the north-eastern corner of the colony are the barracks, where the party can meet Kressa Bonedaughter Kressa Bonedaughter and her Skull Lashers. After brief dialogue, it is possible to fight against Kressa or convince her to stand down with a successful DC 21 Deception check. If friendly, Kressa can be persuaded ( DC 18 Persuasion check) to grant her blessing, Myrkul's Gift Myrkul's Gift, to each party member that speaks to her. Only one check is needed for the whole party.

Kressa recognises The Dark Urge, if present and undisguised, and recalls the time spent under her care in the colony. This conversation inevitably leads to combat.

In the chambers are also several notes in the area that can shed light on The Dark Urge.

Advance to Ketheric Thorm[edit | edit source]

To complete Defeat Ketheric Thorm Defeat Ketheric Thorm, the party must head to the lift in the eastern part of the Mind Flayer Colony. Before descending down the lift the party can use the Restoration Pod to the right of the lift to receive the benefits of a Long Rest.

Upon descending, a cutscene is triggered, wherein the party can watch Ketheric Thorm Ketheric Thorm, Enver Gortash Enver Gortash and Orin Orin the Red, learn of their plans, and see the The Netherbrain Netherbrain, thus discovering the true identity of the Absolute. If Gale Gale is in the party, there is the option to allow him to explode the Netherese Orb, killing the Netherbrain, all three Chosen, and the party, resulting in a very early endgame. Otherwise the cutscene continues with the Elder Brain infecting Ulder Ravengard Duke Ravengard with a Tadpole, before the Chosen of the Dead Three unleash their assault on Baldur's Gate.

Fight with Ketheric[edit | edit source]

The platform for fighting Ketheric

If passing multiple Persuasion Persuasion and / or Intimidation Intimidation checks, both atop Moonrise Towers and in the Mind Flayer Colony, Ketheric Thorm can be asked to repent. Doing so skips the first half of his fight in the Mind Flayer Colony as Ketheric gives himself to Myrkul.

Otherwise, when the second fight with Ketheric starts, Ketheric begins by calling on Myrkul Myrkul for aid. As Ketheric remains invulnerable as long as he has the Aylin Aylin captured, the party's initial goal should be freeing her with the Help Help action, as she is trapped inside a soul cage by Ketheric.

After the battle there are a series of cutscenes. The party is teleported back to Moonrise Towers ground floor, where they can speak with some of the characters met in the Shadow-Cursed Lands before heading west to Baldur's Gate. It is also possible to travel to the Last Light Inn and talk with the remaining characters there.

Characters[edit | edit source]

Available to Speak with Dead[edit | edit source]

Related locations[edit | edit source]

Related quests[edit | edit source]

Loot[edit | edit source]

Notable items obtained in this location, whether looted, purchased, or obtained as a quest reward:

Quest items[edit | edit source]

Quest rewards[edit | edit source]

Other[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • It is possible to overhear Chop from the Oubliette, suggesting that the Morgue and Oubliette share a wall. However, the Mind Flayer Colony cannot be accessed until the end of Act Two, and the player character notes aloud there is no way through.

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