Iron Throne

The destroyed exterior tower of the Iron Throne, with Submersible docked
(by Elise Verhagen)

Lower City
Flymm Cargo
↑
		Iron Throne

The Iron Throne is a Location within the Lower City in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3.

“

I would rather yank Tiamat's tail than travel beneath the water again. <...> I have something of a feline nature – I do not like getting wet.

„

— Minthara, after returning from the Iron Throne

Overview

The Iron Throne is an underwater facility, secretly built on the orders of  Enver Gortash deep under the surface of the Grey Harbour, in the deepest parts of the mouth of the River Chionthar. It is used by Gortash and by his fellow followers of the Cult of ⁠Bane as a prison for most valued captives of Gortash's and (in lesser part) as a place for conducting egregious experiments on them.

History

View of the Iron Throne building in the waters of Chionthar
(by Elise Verhagen)

About a century prior to the game events, a bulging building named "The Iron Throne" stood near the Grey Harbour Docks and served as a headquarters for the Baldurian branch of the namesake organization specializing in armsdealing and mercenary services, lead by  Sarevok Anchev and his foster father. After the Bhaalspawn crisis, the five-storied building of the Iron Throne was torn from its foundation, levitated across the docks and plunged to the bottom of the Chionthar by the efforts of seventeen city mages.

When Enver Gortash needed a totally secluded place for preparing his power-wielding projects, he rediscovered the ruins of the building and arranged the installation of the underwater prison around its upper floors. The construction used parts manufactured at the Steel Watch Foundry and delivered to the site via the Submersible, and the whole process was overseen by Gortash's follower  Waldemar Prinski, who used the labour of sahuagin with the help of Umberlee renegade Antiope. In the time following, the hostages and supplies were delivered to the prison by the same submersible.

Access

The submersible is the only way to reach the Iron Throne and return alive. It is moored in the sub-aquatic docks of Flymm Cargo in the Grey Harbour Docks. To locate the possible starting point of the route, the party must progress either ⁠Save the Gondians or ⁠Avenge the Drowned quests to a certain point.

The docks can also be discovered by exploring the Lower City Sewers, using the "Greasy, Smelly Way Up" at X: -158 Y: 835.

Once the party enter the submersible to reach the Iron Throne, they cannot fast-travel or return to the Campsite to rest. The Iron Throne is unreachable if the Steel Watch Foundry is destroyed before visiting it.

Building layout

Map of the Iron Throne

The submersible docks at the upper dome of the sub-aquatic facility, which apparently serves as a sluice chamber. Another ladder leads below, to the prison itself.

The prison is made up of a central area with four tunnels leading off in each cardinal direction. Eastward and westward tunnels lead to the cell wings, southward is the half-flooded laboratory wing with several cells for the test subjects as well, and the northern one was apparently reserved for the personnel.

The tunnels have  Sturdy or  Medium Toughness Double Glasshouse Doors at the each end, which can be closed by using a lever inside the tunnel next to the door. Once closed, they cannot be reopened, and various party members then comment on this. This must be taken into consideration when planning the escape from the Iron Throne.

All tunnels also have a pair of heat detectors, located between the doors. If these detectors are destroyed, or suffer any ⁠⁠Fire or ⁠⁠Force damage (including the exploding  Oil Barrels, which are scattered about the tunnels), they trigger and block the doors at both ends of the tunnel in question. Although they can be disarmed with a  DC 7 Sleight of Hand Check, it is instead recommended to use these detectors to prevent attempts by prison guards to catch up with the party (see Tactics subsection below).

A heat detector, almost unnoticeable against the wall

The prison is guarded by hostile  Sahuagin of various types which patrol the corridors. Initially there are few of them, but more spawn over time from the deep water in the southern hall. Points of spawning are shown as "Bubbling Emergences" in the Initiative Tracker, which at this stage cannot be damaged or interacted with. With their low damage output and overall weakness, the Sahuagin are unlikely to pose an actual threat to the party, but they can kill the prisoners – who they may prioritize over party members – or  ensnare characters with their  nets.

The Sahuagin stop pursuing any prisoners or party members who ascend the ladder from the prison to the sluice chamber. They can, however, end their turn at the foot of the ladder, blocking the way up to the submersible.

Cells

There are nine cells throughout the prison, each locked by a  Sturdy Glasshouse Door which can be opened and closed by pulling a nearby lever, or lockpicked with a  DC 21-25 Sleight of Hand Check. Using the levers requires having an action available, though opening the cells by hand does not actually consume one. Ranged attacks (with either weapon or spell) are useful to trigger the levers from a distance.

Two prisoners in one of the cells in westward wing are already dead. Their corpses are labelled as "Civilian", and do not count for the purposes of completing the quest or obtaining corresponding inspiration (see below). Also,  Obelia Toobin stands in the beginning of the southern corridor instead of locked in cell. The Sahuagin which guards the central area does not attack her for some reason.

There are thirteen Gondian hostages in total who can be freed from the cells, and (possibly) two more prisoners as part of other quests which may be active due to the party's previous choices in-game. Their locations are marked by  quest icons on the map, and on the mini-map in game.

Involvement

Visiting the Iron Throne is a part of ⁠Save the Gondians quest, which in turn is connected to other quests, such as ⁠Disable the Steel Watch, ⁠Get Gortash's Netherstone, and ⁠Gather Your Allies.

On the way to the Iron Throne, Enver Gortash speaks to the party via a screen in the submersible console. The party can choose to dock at the prison or to return to the docks. If they choose to dock, Gortash triggers the explosion which eventually collapse the building, burying everybody left inside, and the bargain with Gortash (if striken) is considered terminated.

After docking, the party stays in the submersible at first, not yet engaged in a fight. At this moment, it is recommended to conduct a full check-up: drink long-lasting elixirs, prepare spells, and change/equip gear if needed, to avoid spending precious actions afterwards.

Arriving at the Iron Throne triggers a countdown, its duration depends on the difficulty level: 8 turns on Explorer, 6 turns on Balanced, and 5 turns on Tactician or Honour. When the countdown concludes, any characters who have not returned to the submersible die instantly, possibly failing their respective quests. Characters must climb up into the sluice chamber to be considered as saved. Party members and prisoners who die either during the escape or due to the structural failures are washed up on the small beach south of Old Garlow's Place. Dead party members can be revived as usual after the survivors leave for the surface.

The game can be put in turn-based mode before leaving the submersible, allowing the party to apply limited duration conditions, such as weapon coatings, before the turn counter starts.

Gondians

The eastern cell area, where most Gondian hostages are kept
(by Tim Wilmsen)

There are thirteen Gondian hostages located in various parts of the prison:

• Central area: two cells with a single hostage in each, and Obelia Toobin in the southern tunnel. A Sahuagin guards the central area near one of these cells.
• Eastern wing: two cells with three hostages in each of them. The wing is guarded by two Sahuagin, and has the doors leading to the corridors to the northern and southern wings, which are initially locked (require  DC 25 Sleight of Hand Check to lockpick each, or the  Knock spell).
• Southern wing: one prisoner is locked in a cell and another one,  Santoria is tied to a lab triage cot outside the cell. Initially there are no guards here, but two of them emerge on the second turn from underwater. The water surface in this wing does not have the  Difficult Terrain: Deep Water effect.
• Western wing: one prisoner is locked in a separate cell.

Once freed, the hostages take no actions besides  Dash which, together with their  Glimpse of Freedom condition, allows them to move very quickly. They know the way to the ladder and need no guidance, though it is advisable to defend them as they possess no weapons and do not engage the Sahuagin, even if attacked.

As soon as a Gondian hostage reaches the ladder from the sluice chamber to the submersible, their portrait is removed from the Initiative Tracker. This can be somewhat misleading, as the animation resembles removing a portrait due to the character's death. Attached followers (if present) remain in the Tracker until the end of the mission.

Omeluum

See also: Retrieve Omeluum

 Omeluum is imprisoned in the Iron Throne only if ⁠Steal a Githyanki Egg quest in Act One was not completed by giving the egg to  Lady Esther, or if it was previously killed. Otherwise, its presence progresses their corresponding quest (if active).

Omeluum is in the far end of the southern (lab) wing, strapped to a lab cot in a room with several workbenches. It must be freed with the  Help action. Next to it on a cupboard is the backpack with selected items from Omeluum's merchant inventory. On a table nearby is a  Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen, and the Opulent Chest aside the door contains gold and a random Very rare spell scroll.

In the corridor which leads to Omeluum's cell is another Bubbling Emergence, which activates when any party member approaches it. The Sahuagin who emerge from them go to the southern cells if they have no closer targets.

Omeluum's  Teleport to Submersible spell 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 enough time for Omeluum to whisk to safety other captives or party members.

If present, Omeluum connects to the player character's mind immediately upon descending to the sluice chamber, telling them of the purpose of the Iron Throne and of the  Duke Ravengard being held in the prison. The player character can also pass a  DC 20 Persuasion Check to convince Omeluum that the Gondians also must be saved, but this does not bear any consequence except minor approval changes with companions.

Automated dialogue with Omeluum, if any occurs, launches the countdown after it ends, which is another reason for finishing all preparations before descending from the submersible into the sluice chamber.

Duke Ravengard

See also: Rescue the Grand Duke

The cell containing Duke Ravengard
(by Tim Wilmsen)

 Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard can only be saved if the party attended Gortash's coronation in Wyrm's Rock Fortress.

If  Wyll has been recruited, it is highly recommended to advance his ⁠personal quest to the point of  Mizora offering him a new pact at the Campsite, otherwise the Duke will be  Dead. Wyll, though, does not have to accept the new pact conditions offered by Mizora to save his father.

Depending on the duke's condition, Mizora offers Wyll to either reveal his location or to resurrect him in exchange for Wyll's soul, forever bound to her and Zariel, with the alternative remaining the same – to break the pact immediately.

Duke Ravengard is kept in a separate cell in the eastern wing. If still alive, he has low HP, depending on the difficulty level (35 HP on Explorer, 29 HP on Balanced, 21 HP on Tactician and in Honour mode^[verify]). He has the  Fiendish Obeisance status, unless Wyll is not recruited to the party.^[verify] Upon opening the door to his cell, the Duke becomes an Attached Follower. By default, he is attached to the party leader, and not to the character who actually frees him. The same is true for Omeluum, if he is present and freed.

If Wyll broke his pact with Mizora, she appears here 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 (including movement by force) and imposing  Disadvantage on  Dexterity Saving Throws. She then summons six  Combustion Belly Spiderlings next to the Duke and teleports away. The Spiderlings use their self-destructive  Spiderling Burst ability on their turn or when killed and hunt the Duke as primary target.

The party can help the Duke to survive or avoid the spiders by a variety of means:

• Healing (all available options)
• Granting protective effects (prioritizing on ⁠⁠Fire resistance is recommended)
• Boosting the Duke's mobility or teleporting him out of the spiderlings' reach

Means such as  Shield of Thralls,  Invisibility,  Sanctuary can be helpful as well. Also, Mizora cannot force the Duke to kneel if  Fiendish Obeisance is removed prior to her appearance with  Greater Restoration. Mizora does not appear if Wyll died before resigning the new pact and thus does not summon the Spiderlings or force the Duke to kneel.^[verify]

Northern wing

The northern wing was apparently used by the prison staff. In the room behind the northern tunnel at X: -16 Y: 96 lies the corpse of  Waldemar Prinski. The westward tunnel instead of cells has a room which apparently served a dwelling for Prinski, and a smaller storage room. Two opulent chests in these rooms (at X: -33 Y: 106 and X: -49 Y: 100) contain  High Security Vault nº6 Key and three random elixirs, as well as gold and random Valuables.

The northeastern appendix of this wing does not contain any significant or useful items.

Tactics

The submersible is the only way to leave the collapsing facility

“

You must stretch your resources thin.<...> Act with speed. Act with efficiency. Good luck.

„

— Omeluum, encouraging the player character

Due to the limited number of turns and a rather vast area to be explored, the party must distribute their efforts and spend their actions carefully. This subsection (and the talk page) contains some advice on how to do so:

Increasing mobility

• Class actions such as  Cunning Action: Dash,  Soul Branding, and  Step of the Wind: Dash help to partially restore movement speed
  • For Partial-Illithid characters, their  Fly ability is quite helpful, as it consumes movement speed at half cost; Full-Illithid characters can use their  Levitate ability
• Abilities like  Rush Attack,  Force Tunnel or  Zephyr Flash can be used if the movement speed has run out, but the party member still has an unused action
• Items such as  Crusher's Ring,  Arrows of Transposition,  Boots of Speed or  Spaceshunt Boots
• Spells such as  Longstrider,  Misty Step, and  Dimension Door can help; it is also recommended to have some amount of scrolls with the last two spells in the inventory, as well as use items, spells and abilities which enhance jumping distance
• Any items and abilities which protect party members from being  Restrained and nullify the effects of  Difficult Terrain, if any appears due to the party's actions
•  Conjured Elementals have high mobility due to their  Elemental Warp ability
  • Summons acquired via  Planar Ally or  Sights of the Seelie: Summon Deva have useful abilities like  Fly or  Shifting Winds (Djinni)
• Omeluum can  teleport itself and one ally back to the submersible once per round

Increasing the number of actions

• Using  Haste,  Potions of Speed, and  Terazul grant additional actions; the effect from Terazul can stack with the other two, and using it does not require an action or bonus action to apply
  • However, the  Lethargic condition imposed on ending of any of these effects can prove problematic or – ultimately – fatal; if Haste is used, care should be taken to prevent the caster from losing concentration
  •  Haste Spore Grenades are not recommended due to buggy interactions with prisoners (taking an extra turn to apply)
•  Elixirs of Bloodlust grants an additional action once per turn when an enemy is killed
•  Action Surge can only be used once per character while in the Iron Throne, but is useful nonetheless
• Attached followers can free up a party member's action by opening or closing doors, protecting hostages, attacking guards or simply interposing themselves between threats and prisoners; many summons cannot interact with objects, but can still activate doors by attacking their levers
  •  Scratch's ability to use the  Help action is particularly useful when aiding  Ulder Ravengard,  Santoria, and anyone who has been ensnared by a  Net

Operating cell levers and tunnel doors

• Pulling a lever by hand to open a door does not cost an action. However, hitting a lever with any ranged attack or even an explosive blast causes it to open the door immediately. Spells like  Magic Missile or  Scorching Ray can be used in rooms with multiple levers to open several doors simultaneously, although Scorching Rays require line of sight. Some items (such as  Ne'er Misser or  Circlet of Blasting) provide these spells as an additional ability or add an additional dart of each ( Psychic Spark). The  Curriculum of Strategy: Artistry of War spell can be used as well (though it might seem wasteful to use it for triggering levers).
  • All levers should be activated with at least two to three turns remaining. The prisoners in the farthest cells should be released first, as they cannot escape to the submarine in only one turn without some method of mobility-boosting.
• Strategically sealing Glasshouse 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 actions to kill them. Keen on preventing prisoners to escape, Sahuagin often move to intercept them at the ladder via the shortest route and start attacking the doors, which is usually futile as they cannot do enough damage.
  • The southern area containing Sahuagin spawn points is particularly worthwhile to seal off with doors as soon as the two Gondians held there pass the tunnel; Omeluum can then teleport itself and its rescuer to safety.

Inspirations

Upon docking at the Iron Throne the following inspirations are given:

• ⁠Down to the Depths Below ( Outlander background)
• ⁠Lantanna Marvel ( Guild Artisan background)

Depending on the rescue mission outcome and on the party's previous choices, one or both of the following inspirations can also be earned:

• ⁠Always Trust a Dishonest Person ( Charlatan background) - granted if docking at the Iron Throne violates the party's bargain with Gortash
• ⁠Against All Odds ( Folk Hero background) - earned if all thirteen Gondian hostages are saved

Related locations

• ⁠Flymm Cargo
• ⁠Steel Watch Foundry
• ⁠Submersible

Related quests

• ⁠Avenge the Drowned
• ⁠Gather Your Allies
• ⁠Get Gortash's Netherstone
  • ⁠Consider Gortash's Bargain
• ⁠Rescue the Grand Duke
• ⁠Retrieve Omeluum
• ⁠Save the Gondians
• ⁠The Blade of Frontiers
  • ⁠The Grand Duke
• ⁠The Blade of Frontiers (Origin)

Characters

Notable

•  Enver Gortash
•  Mizora – - conditional, flees before combat
•  Omeluum
•  Redhammer the Deviser - conditional, stays in the submersible
•  Ulder Ravengard
•  Waldemar Prinski - deceased

Prisoners

•  Caralee Grollo
•  Ceres Olsin
•  Civilian - deceased
•  Civilian - deceased
•  Deedle Ofran
•  Featherweight Falson
•  Flansy Thornwhist
•  Hastar Biggs
•  Marlono Rhandle
•  Obelia Toobin
•  Ogro Nettles
•  Phoenix Lubbins
•  Santoria
•  Thindo Vintervur
•  Zumbo Pumbo

Creatures

•  Combustion Belly Spiderling - 6x
•  Sahuagin Champion - 4x initially + 4x afterwards
•  Sahuagin Hunter - 4x initially + 4x afterwards
•  Sahuagin - 1x initially + 3x afterwards

Loot

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

• High Security Vault nº6 Key
• Infernal Iron
• Mace +1
• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen

Related literature

• Aquatic Labour
• A Negotiation
• Downfall of the Iron Throne
• Guard Rotation
• Hostage Census
• Iron Throne - Windup and Shutdown
• Manipulations and Motivations: Amputation
• Manipulations and Motivations: Illusion
• Manipulations and Motivations: Sacrifice
• Missive to Prinski
• Parchment
• Redhammer's Journal
• Shipment Ledger
• Submersible Memorandum
• Underwater Facility Plans
• U. R. : For the Absolute's Glory
• Vessel Identified

Gallery

• 
  The prison facility built adjacent to the building
  (by Elise Verhagen)
• 
  A destroyed, waterlogged wing of the Iron Throne
  (by Tim Wilmsen)
• 
  The staff wing of the underwater prison
  (by Tim Wilmsen)

External links

• ⁠Iron Throne building on the Baldur's Gate Wiki
• ⁠Iron Throne building on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• ⁠Iron Throne organization on the Baldur's Gate Wiki
• ⁠Iron Throne organization on the Forgotten Realms Wiki