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Overgrown Tunnel
“My word, this is a place where nightmares come to die.„
Overview[edit | edit source]
The Overgrown Tunnel is an optional dungeon, accessible through the illusory fireplace in the Riverside Teahouse. The illusion is taken off by Auntie Ethel herself, if she is somehow angered by the party. Then she flees deeper into her lair. Otherwise, the false fireplace can be detected by a 
DC 10 Investigation check.
This area has three sub-locations: the Entrance Gallery, the Ancient Abode, and the Acrid Workshop. A section between the Entrance Gallery and Ancient Abode does not have its own map name. While inside the Overgrown Tunnel, the party cannot fast-travel or visit Camp, as long as Auntie Ethel is alive and present.
The Overgrown Tunnel is guarded by Auntie Ethel's thralls and laden with dangerous traps. Also, party members wearing a 
Whispering Mask risk succumbing to Ethel's will and joining her other victims.
Entrance Gallery[edit | edit source]
The Entrance Gallery is the first main section of the dungeon. It features several alcoves between tangled tree roots, and a Gnarled Door leading to the other parts of the tunnel. A cauldron of boiling slumgullion stands in the centre.
If entering the Entrance Gallery without any means of stealth, or after confronting Ethel, she teleports to the gallery to give the party a last warning. Regardless of the conversation outcome, she disappears after it, without any opportunity to fight her.
Auntie Ethel's previous victims are scattered about the area. There are six of them, either dead, bewitched, or enthralled. Aside each one of them an item is placed; interacting with it prompts a comment from Auntie Ethel, shedding some light on their predicaments.
- The skull of Calim is mounted on a pedestal, facing a mirror. Passing a DC 5 Perception check draws the party's attention to the mirror, which reveals a figure captured inside, unable to break free. If a character shatters the mirror, they are afflicted with
until taking a long rest, and then 
until a second long rest. - Magron holds her decapitated head in her hands.
- A nameless Blinded Elf lies on the ground near her ever-crying eye, posted on a treebranch. Her body is available to
, telling her story and advising the party to run. - The
dwarf Efrin stands next to a family portrait. He can be revived with the help of 
Basilisk Oil, but dies in an instant if Auntie Ethel is still alive (even if she is forced to leave her lair). If the hag is killed, the party can speak to Efrin to find out the details. If Efrin dies, his corpse is available to . - The wood elf Lorin kneels in the far corner before several mirrors. He shouts at the party to stay back and not look into them. A successful passive DC 12 Arcana check reveals that the elf is seeing illusions. After Lorin tells the player character that he sees a mind flayer in their future, they can ROAR at him, earning these companions' approval:
+1 
+1 
+1 
-1. If Lorin is forced out of his corner, he dies in an instant. In this case, he can be spoken to via . If the hag is killed, Lorin regains just enough of his sanity to run away. - The Gnarled Door is actually another of Ethel's victims, an ill-fated thief, whose remains were transformed into a wooden barrier. However, the door has retained some of the man's personality. Upon approaching close, a dialogue with the door starts automatically; it speaks via sending imaginary pictures, begging the party to leave. If the interacting party member succeeds a passive DC 15 Arcana check or passes a DC 10 Persuasion or Intimidation check, it is revealed that the door is illusionary.
Near the door, across Lorin's corner, four Whispering Masks lie on a table. Wearing one of them helps to pass by most hazards further in the Overgrown Tunnel, but can have severe negative consequences.
Overgrown Tunnel[edit | edit source]
The next room is unmarked on the map, labelled only as the Overgrown Tunnel. This room is covered with patches of 
Mud and shelters four more victims of the hag. Each one is controlled by Ethel through the Whispering Mask they wear and immediately attacks the party on sight. Throughout the battle, on the start of their turn, each victim makes a DC 19 
Wisdom saving throw. If failed, they receive the 
condition for that turn and fight the party; a successful save allows them to pass the turn and do nothing.
Of these thralls, only the Mask of Regret (Overgrown Tunnel) can be saved. To do this, she must be knocked out in the battle. After Auntie Ethel is killed and the party takes a long rest, she has removed her mask and is sane again.[2] The party can then speak with her to learn her name, Hydrangea Wubb, and about her story. She then can be met again in Act Three. Freeing the Mask of Regret grants the 
inspiration for characters with the 
background.
A fight with the thralls can be avoided if the party members also wear Ethel's Masks. However, any character who equips a mask immediately receives the 
condition and must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw each turn. If failing a save, they break off from the party and attack the others. This effect continues for as long as Auntie Ethel is alive.
Negative effects from wearing the masks can be suspended by casting 
on party members wearing them.[3] Wearing a mask with the necessary precaution measures allows the party to pass the next part of the Overgroun Tunnel much more easier than without it.
Successfully using the mask to pass by Auntie Ethel's thralls earns the inspiration for characters with the 
background. Succumbing to Auntie Ethel's will is considered an oathbreaking action for 
.
A wicker chest at X: -324 Y: 567 contains two 
Potions of Healing and a 
Potion of Speed.
The Descent[edit | edit source]
Jumping through the waterfall at X: -338 Y: 563 brings the party to the next part of the Overgrown Tunnel. This area consists of thick tree roots twisting between boulders and stone cliffs, connected with climbable vines and wooden ladders. The paths laden atop eventually descend to the Ancient Abode.
The way down features many traps, laid in a deathly combinations. There are two unique types of traps which cannot be encountered anywhere else in the walkthrough, except the hag's lair in Act Three.
- Ruptured Stone - These traps resemble piles of rocks and work like vents, emitting
. A DC 15 Perception check is required to find them.
- Ruptured Stones can be covered by objects to block the fumes. It is possible to put or throw items onto the vents to disable them. Disarming a Ruptured Stone vent requires a DC 30 Sleight of Hand check.
- If any party member is wearing a Whispering Mask, the vents closest to them is revealed as an illusion and does not emit fumes. Thus, it is possible to temporarily disable a vent by a mask-wearer coming close, and guiding the rest of the party through the previously fumed area. Once the mask-wearer walks far enough away, the vent starts emitting again.
- If Auntie Ethel is later killed or ousted from her lair, Ruptured Stones stop emitting fumes.
- Ruptured Stones can be covered by objects to block the fumes. It is possible to put or throw items onto the vents to disable them. Disarming a Ruptured Stone vent requires a
- Peculiar Flowers - These traps are hidden until spotted with a DC 15 Perception check. They litter the walkways leading to the Ancient Abode and explode if a party member draws too close.
- Peculiar Flowers are Vulnerable to the
damage. Most can be safely destroyed at range by spells such as 
, though they need to be hit almost dead centre. Otherwise, they can be disarmed with a DC 10 Sleight of Hand check. - Some of Peculiar Flowers are planted deep in the area covered with Noxious Fumes, and the latter explode if a flower is triggered, dealing extra damage.
- Unlike vents, Peculiar Flowers remain and can be triggered even after Auntie Ethel has been dealt with.
- Peculiar Flowers are Vulnerable to the
A party member wearing a Whispering Mask does not need an ability check to detect any of these types of traps.[Needs Verification] If none of party members dare wear a mask, spells like 
, 
and 
are useful for passing by and avoiding traps.
At X: -353 Y: 578 another non-sentient gnarled door allows to enter the Underdark via a Mushroom Circle. To reach it, the player character must jump up the stone cliff (
at least 9 required). The door can be used only if at least one party member has a Whispering Mask equipped even after Auntie Ethel is dead.[Needs Verification]. The mushroom circle behind the door leads to another one hidden in a cave in the Underdark, which in turn is separated from the rest of the region by an illusionary wall. This wall does not require an equipped mask to penetrate and leads approximately to X: 98 Y: -283.
Using a Mushroom Circle to teleport to another location for the first time earns the inspiration for characters with the 
background.
Ancient Abode[edit | edit source]
The Ancient Abode is the final part of the Overgrown Tunnel, starting approximately at X: -392 Y: 563. It resembles a roughly circular stone perch with many levels running around a gaping pit.
When approaching the pit, the party can see Mayrina locked in a cage suspended over the pit. Depending on the party's actions in previous encounters with Auntie Ethel, and the dialogue choices up in the teahouse, the young woman cries to the party, begging either to kill Ethel or to stop angering her.
Initially Auntie Ethel is invisible, but as soon as any party member comes close to X: -405 Y: 554, she reveals herself and, after a short and spiteful rebuke, attacks.[4] On her first turn, she sets Mayrina's cage ablaze, and the party must to stop the fire if wanting to save her.
If the masked thralls from the Overgrown Tunnel are alive and conscious, Ethel summons them to fight the party. If they are unavailable, she eventually uses 
, and teleports Mayrina close to herself (this is the only way to get her out of the cage during the conflict).
After being brought below 20% of her HP, Auntie Ethel bargains for her life in exchange for a piece of her 
hair - a powerful buff which permanently increases a character's pre-selected ability score by one.[5] She also asks the party to allow her take Mayrina. The party must then decide whether to let the hag go with or without the young woman, or to finish her off. Accepting Ethel's bargain, regardless of Mayrina's fate, is considered an oathbreaking action for 
, 
, and 
.
If Auntie Ethel is killed, the 
Tarnished Charm can be looted from her body.
Acrid Workshop[edit | edit source]
The Acrid Workshop occupies a cavern behind a wooden door at X: -419 Y: 585. This is the heart of the hag's lair. About a dozen of Ethel's special potions in earthen bottles are arranged on stone shelves in the room. Very few can be useful if consumed, while some others can be used in battles against various foes. Consuming any of these special potions earns the for characters with the 
background.
A heavy chest and a wicker chest in the room contain a handful of common rings and several regular potions; a Potion of Speed can be taken from Ethel's desk. Aside it lies the 
The Ever-Seeing Eye and the 
Bitter Divorce wand - necessary to progress the 
quest.
At X: -412 Y: 606 a 
Staff of Crones stands, and at the end of the workshop a Mushroom Circle teleports the party back to the Putrid Bog, to the teahouse backyard at X: -74 Y: 210, where Connor Vinderblad's coffin stands.
Related Literature[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
Notable loot[edit | edit source]
Auntie Ethel's special potions[edit | edit source]
Related quests[edit | edit source]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Concept art by Dan Iorgulescu -
Concept art by Dan Iorgulescu
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ This comment, as well as similar ones from other companions, can be heard only if the party managed to enter the Overgrown Tunnel and reach the workshop without confronting Auntie Ethel and unnoticed by her.
- ↑ Killing Ethel is required here; accepting Ethel's deal and letting her go does not allow the party to save the thralls. Pickpocketing the mask while the victim is unconscious and Ethel is alive kills the thrall instantly.
- ↑ The saving throw against Ephemeral Whispers mentioned above is still made every turn, but failing it has no effect on the wearer.
- ↑ Ethel does not react to any party member walking around the pit from the opposite side if they approach by stealthy means. Thus, it is possible to ungroup the party and place them separately in convenient points, which can be useful for counterposing the hag's mind tricks later.
- ↑ Ethel initiates the conversation with the party member closest to her at the moment; this should be kept in mind for passing cut-scene dialogue ability checks and / or earning approval from companions.