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Baldur's Mouth

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Facade of the Baldur's Mouth
Lower City
Elfsong Tavern
↑
Highberry's Home ← Baldur's Mouth → Nortale's Hostel
↓
Old Jol's
Baldur's Mouth is a Location within the Lower City in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3.
“
A Gazette a day keeps the ignorance away!
„
— Luan, hawking the latest edition

Overview[edit | edit source]

Baldur's Mouth is a large building in the Eastway district of Baldur's Gate, located west of the Basilisk Gate waypoint. It is a publishing house which main purpose is printing the daily newspaper distributed in the city and its suburbs: the Baldur's Mouth Gazette. Also, Baldur's Mouth produces various posters which can be found hanging around the city.

The building has several points of entrance:

  • The main entrance is at X: 66 Y: -52. On either side of the doors instead of doorplates is a gargoyle face with a scroll of paper hanging out of its mouth.
  • The backdoor on the balcony at X: 39 Y: -52 is accessible by jumping, or by means of spatial movement like Misty Step Misty Step or Fly Fly. This entrance is red-outlined, locked (requires DC 15 Sleight of Hand check DC 15 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick or the  Key (Inocente Bramm) to open) and guarded.
  • At the south-eastern corner of the roof at X: 65 Y: -63 is a destroyable barricade covering a hole. Being red-outlined as well, it lies out of sight of any NPCs. However, this way leads straight to the printing press elevator behind a guarded iron gate, and thus means of invisibility invisibility are recommended.

Despite the size, the building has the only floor with a vast newsroom and a small editor's office, and a basement where stands the printing press.

Involvement[edit | edit source]

Baldur's Mouth Gazette is the only edition available for the city dwellers and guests to keep up with the latest events. Unsurprisingly, it has become a powerful tool for swaying minds of baldurians for Enver Gortash Enver Gortash in his endeavour of taking power over the city. To achieve this, the Archduke nominee won to his side Ettvard Needle Ettvard Needle, the editor-in-chief of the print medium.

Due to their collusion the gazette covers the city events in favour of Gortash. The juiciest rumors and gossips are cobbled into prejudiced and one-eyed articles. As the plot goes on, the party might become an object of such slanted opinion on their actions. When they learn about the defamation penning, the Stop the Presses⁠Stop the Presses quest is started. However, it is possible not only to save the reputation, but even to use this opportunity to the party's advantage.

Building layout[edit | edit source]

Entrance[edit | edit source]

The main entrance opens onto a small plaza with a large tree, with Nortale's Hostel lining it up from the other side. Apart from the publishing house guards, the plaza is guarded by two Flaming Fists and a Steel Watcher Steel Watcher. Also, there are several Loose packs of the gazette copies laying on the tables around. Each contain the fresh issue of the gazette (though on interaction it is called "dog-eared"), which changes after every Long Rest. These packs are red-outlined, but the papers inside can be read with the means of stealth or invisibility invisibility.

Newsroom[edit | edit source]

The newsroom, with its bridge lifted.

The entrance to the publishing house opens into a single, large split-level hall inside. Part of it, though, is separated for the editor's office.

The upper part of the hall, where the entrance is, houses an elevator with a locked gate in the south-east corner, which leads to the basement. The elevator is operated with a lever inside the cabin (see the Basement section below).

In the middle of the room a bridge is lifted by chains to the ceiling. The red-outlined lever lowers it, allowing to reach the opposite side of the hall, but using it in plain sight alerts the guards. The lever on the opposite side operates the bridge mechanism as well. Double doors behind the bridge lead to the platform above the western balcony with a ladder to the rooftop.

A flight of stairs in the main room leads to the newsroom area where employees are working on the next issue of the gazette. On a small dais is the editor's desk. The editor-in-chief, Ettvard Needle Ettvard Needle, is here, pacing around.[1] Talking to him starts or progresses the Stop the Presses⁠Stop the Presses quest. If the quest is already in progress, speaking to Ettvard results in the party being expelled from the building. If this happens, the main entrance becomes red-outlined and locked, and the whole building is considered off-limits for the party.

Several desks are scattered across the room, behind them the reporters are working. On the western side is a locked door which leads to a small balcony where a guard stands. Two Steel Watcher Steel Watchers are keeping an eye on things.

Behind Ettvard's desk, under the upper part of the hall, is his locked office. It can be opened with the  Silver Key, carried by Ettvard.[2]. Otherwise, it requires DC 20 Sleight of Hand check DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick.

On the table here lies the  Key, which opens the gate to the elevator.

The locked Document Chest at X: 63 Y: -60 can also be opened with the Silver Key, or requires DC 20 Sleight of Hand check DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick. It keeps the  Ink-Spattered Key, gold and a random arrow. Two other chests in the office - a Gilded Chest on the lowest shelf across and a Heavy Chest in the opposite corner - are unlocked and contain minor loot.

To the south from the editor's office is a guarded stairway to the basement.

Around the newsroom are several wicker baskets with papertrash, some of which also contain varios printing blocks which can be used throughout Stop the Presses⁠Stop the Presses quest. Printing blocks can create either positive or negative article regarding the party, or dwell on neutral themes. The full list of printing blocks hidden in different corners of the publishing house, sorted by their effect, is provided in the special article section below.

Baldur's Mouth Basement[edit | edit source]

The basement can be accessed via either of two routes:

  • Through a locked metal door leading down a flight of stairs from the newsroom. The door requires DC 20 Sleight of Hand check DC 20 Sleight of Hand check or can be opened with the  Ink-Spattered Key.
  • Through the elevator on the ground level of the building, behind the iron grate at X: 66 Y: -61. The door requires DC 15 Sleight of Hand check DC 15 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick or the  Key.

While inside the Baldur's Mouth Basement, the party cannot fast-travel or visit Camp, regardless of whether the Stop the Presses⁠Stop the Presses quest is active.

Both ways eventually lead to a double corridor, patrolled by two Steel Watchers. Stealthy movement in turn-based mode or any means of invisibility invisibility is advised to avoid conflict.[3]

On the northern side of the basement are two rooms filled with old gazette issues and paper rolls for the printing press. In the western room are two more printing blocks needed for the quest (one "positive" and one "negative"). On the counter near the door lies the "Broadsheet" - a test issue for the tomorrow paper with slanderous articles about the party. Interacting with this item triggers a dialogue cutscene, where a DC 10 Intelligence check DC 10 Intelligence check, if passed, gives a hint that the printing press can be tampered with. [4]

The eastern room contains a locked Gilded Chest with five pouches containing minor amount of gold each: news hawkers' earnings from various city districts. The chest can be lockpicked, or opened with  Baldur's Mouth Chest Key carried by Guard Unilda Tiro Guard Unilda Tiro in the newsroom.

On the western side is a darkroom, where new  Heroic Portrait of Gortash posters are being printed. Two  Silver Ingots and another article block are here. In the corridor across the darkroom, approximately at X: -1021 Y: 1035 a passive Perception Perception check is made, but no item is highlighted.

On the southern side is the largest room with the printing press. In the room are multiple printing blocks of various regard toward the party. The press can be interacted with; it turns out to be operated by a pixie named Jelliwig Jelliwig, who considers themselves a "master pensman". They can be convinced to change the article block for Stop the Presses⁠Stop the Presses. All possible interactions with Jelliwig are listed on the quest page.

Discovering Jelliwig in the basement of Baldur's Mouth grants the following inspiration:

Rigging the news in the party's favour grants the following inspiration:

Rooftop[edit | edit source]

The Mouth's rooftop, with the planks over the hole in the covering.

The rooftop can be reached from the outer sides of the building:

  • By using series of wooden scaffolds on the southern side of the building at X: 53 Y: -67. This way requires means of spatial movement such as Misty Step Misty Step, Fly Fly or Jump Jump. From the platform a few more jumps get to the rooftop.
  • The wooden platform on the western side is much higher, but has a ladder going to the rooftop and double doors leading into the main building, onto the far end of the movable metal bridge inside. Unlike the first route, a character using this way can be spotted by the publishing house guard standing on the balcony below.

On the roof at X: 48 Y: -54 is a loose plank (requires DC 15 Perception check DC 15 Perception check to spot) holding random potions, two sets of  Thieves' Tools and two  Trap Disarm Toolkits.

The southeastern separate ground has a destroyable wooden barricade covering an entrance into the elevator. It is red-outlined, but out of reach for any possible witnesses to accost the party.

Outside the building[edit | edit source]

There are several NPC vignettes around the Baldur's Mouth publishing house.

  • In front of the main entrance, several employees are loading the copies with fresh issue of the gazette. One of them, Falael Falael, is counting the copies. Helping her or muddling her count earns approval from various companions.
  • Near the plaza a dragonborn doom sayer Augur Harxkellan Augur Harxkellan attracts the attention of a small crowd of bypassers by singing praises to Enver Gortash. After Gortash is defeated, Augur and his listeners disappear, and cannot be interacted with again.
  • If the Steel Watch Foundry is destroyed, three more characters: Korrinna Koreena Korrinna Koreena, Flo Hurlburl Flo Hurlburl and 'Gunny' Sacko 'Gunny' Sacko appear at the plaza. They pester the Flaming Fists trying to learn waht is happening from the first hands.
  • Almost across the entrance to the Elfsong Tavern Saer Manzarde Saer Manzarde and Frothilda Frothilda discuss the latest interview with Gortash in the gazette. Both are delighted with the installing of the Steel Watch as the prime city guard and tend to dismiss problems like high taxes and prices.
  • Behind the building, near the Old Jol's house, Fist Ernestus Fist Ernestus tries to placate several citizens outraged by the gazette printing, in their opinion, obvious lies about the state of the city. The protesting civilians, however, do nothing except crying out, so the Fist cannot accuse them of anything illegal.
  • Near the western side of the building Sister Lockhorn Sister Lockhorn and Lolo Fuzzletoes Lolo Fuzzletoes are dreaming aloud of a way to draw the attention of gazette reporters. Another citizen, Sadar Illanov Sadar Illanov, who walks constantly around the publishing house building, has even higher aspirations: she is rehearsing an imaginary interview with Ettvard Needle himself.

Printing blocks[edit | edit source]

These blocks are hidden in various containers and on the shelves around the newsroom hall of the publishing house and in the basement. Any of them can be used to replace the slanderous article which is ready to be published - but some of them can make things even worse.

Positive Articles[edit | edit source]

Neutral Articles[edit | edit source]

Negative Articles[edit | edit source]

Related quests[edit | edit source]

Characters[edit | edit source]

Staff, employees and reporters[edit | edit source]

News Hawkers[edit | edit source]

Guards[edit | edit source]

Outside, near the building[edit | edit source]

Related literature[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Footnotes and references[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ If Ettvard Needle dies, after a Long Rest his place is taken by Malek Stones Malek Stones. If both are dead, a replacement character Syril Valdemar Syril Valdemar appears.
  2. ↑ Copies of this key are carried by Estra Stir Estra Stir and Malek Stones Malek Stones.
  3. ↑ Parts of the corridor are initially divided by grated iron doors. However, once any of the Steel Watchers reaches it, the door opens and remains as such. If this is not happening, the internal breakable wall between two rooms in the corridor end helps to bypass the gate. The lever behind the grate closes and locks the doors.
  4. ↑ Launching the cutscene, in turn, sets off the Turn-Based mode and the turn counter for any effects active. After reading, the paper changes its label to "Gazette Proof Copy". It cannot be picked up, but can be read afterwards like any other document.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 This character is a field reporter for the gazette. They can be met far from the publishing house building.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pharnilla and Dellys stand at X: -64 Y: -98. They do not sell gazettes, as they are 'having a break' whenever approached by the party.
  7. ↑ Shows up once the Steel Watch Foundry is destroyed.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Can be found outside the building, in the mailbox.
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