Iron Throne

The destroyed exterior tower of the Iron Throne, with Submersible docked.

The Iron Throne is a Location within the Lower City in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3. It is an underwater prison that can only be accessed by a Submersible from the basement of Flymm Cargo.

Information

Map of the Iron Throne

Arriving at the Iron Throne triggers a countdown, whose duration depends on difficulty: 8 turns on Explorer, 6 turns on Balanced, and 5 turns on Tactician or Honour. When the countdown finishes, any characters who have not returned to the submersible are instantly killed, possibly failing their respective quests. Killed party members, however, can be revived after leaving the Iron Throne.

Entering the Iron Throne instantly grants the ⁠Down to the Depths Below inspiration to party members with the Outlander background.

The prison is made up of a central area with four tunnels leading off in each cardinal direction. Each tunnel has  Sturdy or  Medium Toughness Double Glasshouse Doors at the end, which can be closed by using a lever inside the tunnel next to the door. All tunnels also have a pair of heat detectors. If these detectors are destroyed, or if any fire effect occurs in the tunnel (including the Oil Barrels), it closes doors at both ends of the tunnel.^[verify]

The cells can be opened using the levers next to them (which requires having an action available, but does not actually cost the action), or by hitting them with ranged attacks.

There are various types of hostile  Sahuagin patrolling the corridors, and more that spawn over time from the deep water (shown as bubbling pools in the initiative order, which cannot be damaged or interacted with) in the southern hall. With their low damage output and overall weakness they are unlikely to be a real threat to the party at this point, but they can kill the prisoners, who they may prioritize over party members, or ensnare characters with their nets.

Gondians

As part of ⁠Save the Gondians, there are thirteen Gondians located throughout the prison. Their locations are marked by  quest icons on this map, and on the mini-map in game. They take no actions besides  Dash which, together with their  Glimpse of Freedom condition, allows them to move very quickly.

Duke Ravengard

The cells containing Duke Ravengard

 Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard can only be saved if Gortash's coronation has been attended. If  Wyll has been recruited, it is highly recommended to speak to him after the coronation, and then return to camp to see  Mizora's bargain, as part of ⁠The Blade of Frontiers and ⁠The Grand Duke. Wyll does not have to accept Mizora's new pact to save his father, but must end it before traveling to the Iron Throne, or the Duke will be dead.

Duke Ravengard is in the block of cells directly east from the ladder to the submersible. He is in the middle cell, and is damaged to only 35 HP. He also has the  Fiendish Obeisance status, unless Wyll was not recruited. Upon opening the door to his cell, the Duke becomes an Attached Follower. If Wyll broke his pact with Mizora, she appears and attempts to kill the Duke: once he leaves the cell, she gives him the  Fiendish Obeisance: Kneel status for one turn, preventing him from moving and giving him Disadvantage on Dexterity saves, and summons multiple  Combustion Belly Spiderlings, which try to self-destruct on him. The Duke can be helped to survive or avoid the spiders with a variety of means including healing,  Invisibility,  Protection from Energy: Fire,  Shield of Thralls,  Dimension Door,  Sanctuary, or  Teleport to Submersible. Mizora does not appear if Wyll died before resigning their pact. Mizora cannot force the Duke to kneel if  Fiendish Obeisance is removed with  Greater Restoration.

Omeluum

 Omeluum can be found here only as part of ⁠Retrieve Omeluum. It is unavailable if it was previously killed or if ⁠Steal a Githyanki Egg was completed by giving the egg to  Lady Esther. It can be found down the southern path, in a cell, strapped to a chair, and must be freed with the Help action. Next to it on the table is a  Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen, and the nearby backpack contains valuable selections from Omeluum's merchant inventory.

Omeluum's  Teleport to Submersible allows it to teleport itself and another ally to the submersible, which makes escaping for the party member who freed it much easier. There may even be time for Omeluum to help others -- for example Omeluum can whisk Duke Ravengard to safety.

Cells

There are nine locked cells throughout the prison, each locked by a  Sturdy Glasshouse Door which can opened and closed by pulling a nearby lever, or lockpicked with a  DC 21-25 Sleight of Hand check. Hitting a lever with any ranged attack or even an explosive blast causes it to activate and open the door.

Tactics

General Considerations

• Attached followers can free up party members' actions by attacking Sahuagin, opening or closing doors, protecting prisoners, and interposing themselves between threats and Ravengard.
  •  Scratch's ability to use the  Help action is particularly useful when aiding  Ulder Ravengard,  Santoria, and anyone who has been hit by a  Net.
  •  Conjured Elementals have high mobility due to their  Elemental Warp ability.
• Increasing the number of actions available per turn helps alleviate the time pressure:
  •  Action Surge can only be used once per character while in the iron throne, but is useful none the less
  •  Hastened is very helpful, however the  Lethargic condition it imposes on ending can prove problematic or even fatal. When using the spell  Haste, care should be taken to prevent the caster from losing concentration, such as using  Sanctuary.  Potions of Speed avoid this problem, and their effective duration can be increased beyond the ordinary three turn limit (see: Potion of Speed#Notes)
  •  The Terazul Jitters act like haste, but can stack with it, and does not require an action or bonus action to apply
  •  Elixirs of Bloodlust, which grant an additional action once per turn when an enemy is killed
• Likewise, consider increasing mobility through:
  • Class actions such as  Cunning Action: Dash,  Soul Branding, and  Step of the Wind: Dash
  • Items such as  Crusher's Ring
  • Spells such as  Longstrider,  Misty Step, and  Dimension Door
•  Magic Missile can be used in rooms with multiple levers to open multiple doors simultaneously and without line of sight, as each missile can activate a separate lever.
• Strategically sealing doors once an area is clear of prisoners, either by activating their levers or setting off their fire detectors, can effectively neutralize Sahuagin without expending the actions to kill them.
• Omeluum can teleport itself and one character back to the submersible once per round
  • The southern area where it is held contains Sahuagin spawn points, making it particularly worthwhile to seal off with doors. If the two Gondians are north of the door, it should be sealed as soon as practical; Omeluum can then teleport itself and its rescuer to safety.
• Only one party member needs to make it back to the submarine in time. After returning to the surface, they can resurrect their fallen comrades.
• The game can be put in turn-based mode before leaving the submarine, allowing the party to apply limited duration conditions, such as weapon coatings, before the turn counter starts.

Time Limit

The time limit, particularly on Honour Mode, can seem daunting. However, even without an optimized party (e.g. specifically selected classes, summons, builds dependent on specific equipment, or barrels) it is entirely possible to release all the prisoners, including Ravengard and Omeluum, during the first turn, and to get everyone to the airlock by the end of the second. Walkthroughs with various levels of optimization are available online.

Related quests

• ⁠Rescue the Grand Duke
• ⁠Retrieve Omeluum
• ⁠Save the Gondians
• ⁠The Blade of Frontiers
  • ⁠The Grand Duke

Related locations

• ⁠Flymm Cargo
• ⁠Submersible

Related literature

•  Underwater Facility Plans

Loot

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

•  High Security Vault nº6 Key – north-western room
•  Infernal Iron – south-western cell
•  Mace +1 – northern room, on Prinski's corpse
•  Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen – south-western cell
•  Missive to Prinski – northern room, on Prinski's corpse

Creatures

Gondians

•  Caralee Grollo – central room, south-west cell
•  Ceres Olsin – western room, north cell
•  Deedle Ofran – eastern room, south cell
•  Featherweight Falson – western room, south cell
•  Flansy Thornwhist – central room, north-east cell
•  Hastar Biggs – western room, south cell
•  Marlono Rhandle – eastern room, south cell
•  Obelia Toobin – central room, not in cell
•  Ogro Nettles – western room, north cell
•  Phoenix Lubbins – western room, south cell
•  Santoria – southern room, tied to chair
•  Thindo Vintervur – southern room, in cell
•  Zumbo Pumbo – western room, north cell

Other Prisoners

•  Omeluum – south-western cell
•  Ulder Ravengard – eastern room, central cell

Enemies

•  Combustion Belly Spiderlings
•  Mizora – Conditional, flees before combat
•  Sahuagin Champion
•  Sahuagin Hunter
•  Sahuagin

External links

• ⁠Iron Throne headquarters on the Forgotten Realms Wiki