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Progressing throughBaldur’s Gate 3can lead you through all kinds of dungeons and adventures. But certain places will be unavoidable on your journeys, such as the Absolute stronghold of Moonrise Towers. Deep in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, you’ll need to find your way here after leaving Chapter 1’s Wilderness area.
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But how exactly you reach Moonrise Towers can depend on several choices. Whether you take theMountain Passor journey through theUnderdarkwill lead you toone of two locationsin the Shadow Lands. Deciding between the Tieflings at Emerald Grove and the Absolute cult can also have a major impact.
How To Reach Moonrise Towers From The Mountain Pass
Traveling through the Mountain Pass will lead you to the south side of the Shadow-Cursed Lands. This trail is very close to a camp of Absolute cultists. So if you sided withMintharaat the Emerald Grove, then the Mountain Pass is your best option.
Getting to the little Absolute camp takes no effort; it’s just a short walk down the path. But, be sure toequip your party with torchesor other forms of light. If they stray too far from light sources in areas affected by the Shadow Curse, they’ll start to take damage.
Summoning Kar’niss
Once in the camp, speak to the Half-Orc Kansif in order to summon the guide to Moonrise Towers. Kar’niss, a Drow-turned-spider-creature, wields a functioning Moonlantern that blocks out the Shadow Curse entirely. Meretorches and other simple light sources won’t workthe closer you get to Moonrise. The curse is just too powerful there.
Regardless whether you pass the Performance check with the Spider’s Lyre, Kar’niss will approach when summoned. you may speak with him to initiate the journey to Moonrise Towers. But, you still have alternative ways to get there even at this point.
You could follow Kar’niss all the way to Moonrise Towers, defending him and the Absolute cultists from the Harper ambush along the way. Or you could aid the Harpers in their surprise attack, but doing so will require you to go to their safe house to regroup afterward. You could even kill Kar’niss and the cultists right away in their own camp, although they’ll certainly put up a tough fight.
Path To Moonrise Towers
The most important thing at this point is the Moonlantern and its Curse-banishing light. You need it to get into Moonrise Towers, but how exactly you do that is entirely up to you. Just be prepared for the eventual consequences of whatever actions you take.
The path to Moonrise Towers itself is fairly straightforward.Further West beyond the Ruined Battlefield, there are a couple bridges leading over a moat. You’ll notice at the far end of these bridges there seem to be curtains of darkness. This marks the point where the Shadow Curse becomes too powerful for normal light to hold back, and the Moonlantern becomes invaluable. It also marks the borders of Moonrise Towers, and the end of your journey there.
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How To Reach Moonrise Towers From The Underdark
If you chose to side with the Tieflings and/or Druids at Emerald Grove, then the Underdark path is your easiest route to Moonrise Towers. Exiting into the Shadow-Cursed Lands this way will put you near theLast Light Inn, currently being used as a safe house by the Harpers. Just remember to have your partyequipsome light sourcesbefore you set off.
This path is considerably more dangerous at first than the way from the Mountain Pass. Shortly down the road from the Underdark exit, you’ll come across a band of Harpers led bythe legendary Jaheira. But, instead of a normal greeting, they’ll suddenly be attacked by shadow creatures. The easiest way to fight these is bystaying close to the nearby brazieror other light sources. After defending the Harpers, they’ll invite you back to their safe house.
Last Light Inn
Upon reaching Last Light Inn, you’ll meet up with a band of Harpers who are set on destroying the Shadow Curse at its source: General Ketheric Thorm,voiced by J.K. Simmons. The Harpers will reveal their knowledge of the Absolute cultists' Moonlantern, as well as their plans for the ambush on the spider-Drow guide.
Key to Jaheira’s plans is acleric named Isobel, located on the Inn’s second story. Speaking with her will trigger anambush by Ketheric Thorm’s minions, including a possessed Flaming Fist mercenary.Whether you succeedin fending off this attack will have a major impact on your journey to Moonrise Towers.
Getting The Moonlantern
If you fail to kill Thorm’s minions very quickly during their assault on the Last Light Inn, thenthey will kill most of the Inn’s inhabitantsand other nearby friendly NPCs. This will most likely lead to you ambushing the spider-Drow to get the Moonlanternwith no Harper aid.
But, it’s certainly possible tokill all of Thorm’s minions before they succeedin their attack. Doing so will allow you to ambush Kar’niss with the help of several Harpers. Either way, once you secure the Moonlantern from Kar’niss' corpse, you can then use its unique light to reach Moonrise Towers.
