The Waning Moon
More actions
| Reithwin Town | ||||
| House of Healing | ||||
| ↑ | ||||
| Baldur's Gate | ← | The Waning Moon | → | Reithwin Tollhouse |
| ↓ | ||||
| Moonrise Towers | ||||
“The fat cat's burst out of his breeches - Say, hey, for the pub!
Drink has torn his mortal stitches - Say, hey, for the pub!
Now we get to loot his riches - Say, hey, for the pub!„
Overview edit
The Waning Moon is located westward from the central square. It is a distillery and a bar, clearly the den of leisure and pleasure for the Reithwin citizens before the Shadow Curse fell. It is a huge building adjacent to a rocky ridge enframing the northern part of the city. Exploring the Waning Moon is key to progressing the quest 
Punish the Wicked, which can be started at the Ruined Battlefield.
The Waning Moon has several entrances both from the city streets and river shore. Like the Reithwin Tollhouse, its inner arrangement accomodates to the gradually lowering level of the ground; thus, some of entrances lead to the inner gallery, while the others lead to the ground floor of the distillery. The locked door at X: -187 Y: -53 opens into a small attic.
Main hall edit
The main hall has two levels; the upper level is a gallery running around three walls and connected with the ground level via two wide scaffolds. The upper level previously provided the additional space for the clients, and encompassed a lesser bar for "halflings and gnomes" as well.
On the lower level is a main bar counter and multiple complex mechanisms, pipes and cisterns for distilling and brewing. Of these, some are partly destroyed, while others remain partly functional with strange liquids under the impact of the curse. At the counter, the the bartender 
Thisobald Thorm waits for a traveller brave enough to try his special brew and share with him some stories of their adventures. He has a small retinue of zombies: 
Blighted Actor and 
Blighted Barman wander the ground level, while 
Blighted Patron and 
Blighted Troubador loaf about the gallery. If a battle occurs, all four side with Thisobald, but must amble to the conflict.
When the closest party member approaches the ground floor, approximately in the middle of the room, an automated dialogue with Thisobald Thorm begins. The bartender then offers them a drink of his special brew. If the interacting party member accepts, they notice the bartender's belly is swelled almost to the point of bursting; all they need to do is to "outdrink" Thisobald until he bursts open, to his death.
However, a variety of Saving Throws and / or Ability Checks must be succeeded to accomplish this. While succeeding rolls in two first rounds, the player character can also fish for information about the nature of the Shadow Curse and 
Ketheric Thorm's invulnerability. The overall scheme of dealing with Thisobald is as follows:
- Drink a tankard (
Constitution saving throw or 
Sleight of Hand roll) - Tell him a story (
Performance roll)[1] - Ask back for information OR Proceed to the next round
Thisobald remains docile until the interacting party member either refuses to drink or fails any roll within the dialogue; if either happen, he immediately attacks. All possible saving throws, stories to amuse Thisobald and corresponding rolls are listed on his page.
Dealing with Thisobald may grant the party one or more of the following inspirations:
A Story You Won't Believe (
Entertainer background) - for successfully passing all Performance checks- I've Had Worse (
Outlander background) - for actually drinking and succeeding on at least one saving throw - Lack of Moderation is Key (
Haunted One background) - for successfully killing Thisobald with his own brew - Safety-Averse Quaffing (
Guild Artisan background) - for drinking at least one portion of Thisobald's brew - Tricks of the Trade (
Charlatan background) - for taking each opportunity to use 
Sleight of Hand to pretend to drink, and succeeding on all of them
Also, the following inspirations can be earned, if not acquired earlier in the game:
- Power Corrupts for characters with the
Folk Hero background - for killing Thisobald Thorm regardless of the dialogue outcome. - The Best Offence is Virtually Nonsense for characters with the
Soldier background - for defeating him via dialogue options only.
Talking to Thisobald Thorm, revealing his story and defeating him is a necessary component as well for further obtaining the following inspirations:
- Familicide for characters with the Soldier background for killing all prominent members of the Thorm family, except Ketheric.
- Power Corrupts... Absolutely for characters with the Folk Hero background - same as above.
- Thorm Family Secrets for characters with the
Sage background - for discovering the fate of each of said members. - Town of Shadows for characters with the Entertainer background - for discovering the fate of each of said members plus Morfred, the head of Mason's Guild.
After Thisobald Thorm is defeated, the gore of his remains can be looted for some alchemical ingredients and the 
Worn Key, which opens the metal door in the end of the bar.
Behind the bar, a 
DC 10 Perception check reveals some loose planks hiding 
Madeline's Ledger, which is required for the quest Punish the Wicked. If the party have this quest active and leave the main building, the white 
Raven appears nearby and reminds them about the request from 
He Who Was, then teleports away.[2]
Several chests around the main hall and nearby contain various alchemical ingredients; the one at X: -208 Y: -90 has a 
Potion of Angelic Slumber inside. Also, leaning up against the bar is the 
Rat Bat. Several bottles of various sorts of wine and mugs of beer, inaffected by the Shadow Curse, can be gathered around the establishment to serve as Camp Supplies.
Backroom laboratory edit
This is a cavernous area, which served Thisobald both as an office, a private laboratory, and a storage for the most precious supplies and closet skeletons - literally.
In the middle of the area is a laboratory workbench with Thisobald's Research Notes which reveal a potent poison that he was developing. From reading the book, a successful DC 14 Investigation check) reveals where to find the last ingredient for the concoction; the marker is then added to the map.[3] In spite of what the notes claim, three pieces of 
Purple Worm Gullet can be found around the lab - just enough to uncover a new toxical coating recipe.
At X: -260 Y: -91 a locked chest (requires DC 10 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick) contains the 
Punch-Drunk Bastard and the treatise 
On Serpent Venom Toxin. Around the nearby table lie several potions and Thisobald's personal diary titled 
The Waning Moon: Consignments, shedding light on how the Selûnite resistance was uncovered.
A Small part of the cavern at X: -258 Y: -96 has been turned into a storage area, separated by a trapped metal cage door ( DC 15 Perception check to notice a trap, DC 14 Sleight of Hand check to disarm, and DC 5 Sleight of Hand check to lockpick).
Inside are three unlocked rustic chests with various alchemical ingredients, including 
Yellow Musk Creeper Petals needed to unlock the recipe of the 
Potion of Superior Healing. In the far corner of the storage area several barrels contain skeletal remains of a woman; the party's comments on it depend on whether they have already read Thisobald's diary.
Another locked chest at X: -253 Y: -67 ( DC 10 Sleight of Hand check) contains 
Ichorous Gloves and some more alchemic ingredients.
Outside the distillery edit
One of the exits from the ground floor leads to a sequence of stone stairs ascending to the central square of the Reithwin Town. Near its start at X: -210 Y: -49 is an outhouse. Inside, a skeleton can be found with a bottle of 
Antidote on it. Nearby lies the key to the distillery's attic.
In the front yard at X: -182 Y: -60 is a message board with several announcements of missing pets. This is actually only a part of a group of interactable objects; the second part is a heap of pets' collars near the Reithwin Tollhouse. The party members' comments depend on which of these two halves they have found first.
In a small barn at X: -248 Y: -4 is a secret stash where alchemical supplies requested by Thisobald Thorm are hidden. If the party succeeded the 
Investigation check when reading his research notes, a Dirt Mound is already revealed and can be dug up. Otherwise, a Survival check is required to find it. Inside, there is enough 
Corpse Rose to create a portion of the vile poison Thisobald invented, 
Thisobald's Brewed-Up Bellyglummer. Crafting it for the first time grants the following inspirations:
- Notes of an Amateur for characters with the
Criminal background - Special Iced Arsenic... Brew? for characters with the Guild Artisan background
A small stone footbridge straddles the road north-west of the distillery, next to the barn. If the party have been marked for death by 
Vlaakith, first approaching the footbridge causes a githyanki raiding party led by 
Tska'an to attempt an ambush on the party. If the party obtained the 
Qua'nith Psionic Detector from 
Voss, it rings here for the first time, giving warning; the party member's comments on it depend on whether they know of the device's function.
Characters edit
Related quests edit
Loot edit
Quest Items edit
Notable items edit
Chests and buried treasure edit
Entries here do not double those already mentioned in the article
Related Literature edit
External links edit
The Waning Moon on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
Footnotes and References edit
- ↑
Warlock characters have an additional option to roll 
Persuasion here, with formulation depending on the nature of their supernatural patron. If the "story" roll failed, there is a possibility to make a subsequent 
Deception roll to try and put the matters right.
- ↑ The Raven's message differs depending on whether the
Speak with Animals is currently active on any of party members: "Ledger. RETURN. Caw!" (without the spell) or "You found the ledger? Guess you're not so useless. Get back to master, on the double!" (otherwise). The devnote for the voice actors in the dialogue file recommends to watch some videos on real ravens mimicking human speech.
- ↑ The book can be read multiple times by different party members, and the dialogue each time is started anew with an option to make a roll. Thus, where one party member failed, another can try to succeed.