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Moonrise Towers Prison
| Moonrise Towers | ||||
| Oubliette | ← | Moonrise Towers Prison | ||
Overview[edit | edit source]
The prison can be found beneath Moonrise Towers in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
The prison can be accessed from inside the towers, as well as from outside, from the Docks. Both ways lead to a large square antechamber with open pathways on each side: one leading to Heavy Oak Doors to the Docks, one to the torture room, and the last to the prison proper.
From inside the Moonrise Towers, the prison can be accessed by following the stairs down from a room on the south-western side of the main floor. The bottom of the stairs is guarded by Adept Ghulen. Heavy Oak Doors leading to the Docks is guarded by Zealot Soreni and Zealot Zira.
Also, there are several ways to enter the Oubliette from here.
Torture Room[edit | edit source]
This is a small room with several racks, iron cages and other unpleasant objects within. Questioner Jasin and Questioner Sumera are located here, standing idle if there is no object for their scrutiny. The door to the room is closed by default, so neither deep gnomes participate if the party happens to fight the prison guards and the battle comes to the lobby.
Inside a 
Scroll of False Life, a 
Scroll of Speak with Dead, a 
Scroll of Hold Person and a plain 
Dagger can be found.
If Minthara survived in Act One and was condemned to death by Ketheric Thorm, the party finds her in this room with Jasin and Sumera, who are in the process of erasing her mind by lowering her mental fortitude before the Absolute. The player character then has two options: go through with the execution themselves, or try to trick the questioners and save Minthara.
If choosing to save Minthara, they must convince her to play along and then either defeat both questioners (Minthara joins the fight as an ally) or convince them to stand down. Afterwards, the "rescue party" must fight their way out of the prison or find a way to bypass Zira, Soreni and/or Ghulen, or to use a check-based option to placate any of them (depending on who spots the party first). As the room is assigned to mutilate and torture other beings, the guards in the outer lobby do not react to any ruckus and screams inside. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid a fight spilling out of the room.[1]
Saving tortured Minthara grants the following inspirational events:
(
background)- (
background)
There is also unique inspirational event for the Dark Urge characters, earned if they choose to torture Minthara themselves. Letting the questioners extinguish Minthara's mind does not grant this one.
- (
background)
Prison cells[edit | edit source]
The prison has several iron-barred cells and an inner tower (called hereafter "the Warden's office") in the centre.
Several imprisoned tiefling refugees and deep gnomes can be found here, guarded by The Warden, Adept Keris and Zealot Nadi. Also, two Scrying Eyes constantly patrol the main corridor of the prison, from time to time entering the lower level of the Warden's office. Nadi stands in the far end of the wide corridor along the cells, while Keris walks back and forth from his post to the entrance to the lobby.
There are total of five cells, numerated from the far end of the prison. The captives locked inside are:
- Cell One: Empty. If the party try to move on along the road to Baldur's Gate before defeating Ketheric, they are captured by the Absolute's army camping there and sent to this very cell. This cell is adjacent to the Cell Two where the deep gnomes are imprisoned, which helps the party to conspire with Wulbren Bongle through iron bars that form part of the wall and plan the escape together. Also, a
DC 16 Survival check helps to locate a Dig Mound here. - Cell Two: Three deep gnomes - Wulbren together with Nickels and Nimble, obviously captured in Grymforge by the duergar and transported to Moonrise on Nere's orders as being possibly useful for the cult.
- Cell Three: Empty, with a skeleton inside and remains of someone's attempt to dig their way out. It is possible to follow the trace of the unknown escapee - only to find out that the hole actually leads to the Oubliette. A
Prisoner's Journal lies on a bench nearby. If the party have no other clues on whereabouts of Ketheric's relic so far, this book contains some information on it. - Cell Four: Tiefling refugees who survived the cultists' attack in Shadow-Cursed Lands - Cal, Danis, Lakrissa, and Lia. They are caught and imprisoned only if they survived in the Emerald Grove in Act One.
- Cell Five: Empty.
The cells' grates cannot be lockpicked; they are opened only with levers in the Warden's office.
The back walls in Cells Two and Four are weak (but still 
), which provides the party with one of several ways to help prisoners escape. Both walls lead into the tunnels behind, which in the end merge into cavern with the Rowboat Dock (see below).
Warden's office[edit | edit source]
In the center of the prison area is the Warden's office. It is an inner two-floor tower with wooden bridges leading inside and to the Oubliette pit at the other side. The Warden can be found wandering around the first floor of her office. However, after the party enter the office door, the Warden begins to walk out of the tower and patrol the corridor together with Keris, occasionally stopping to talk with Wulbren. In this case, she is more likely to spot the prisoners' escape and rush to chase them down.
The first floor of the Warden's office is unremarkable, save for locked Wooden Chest with some gold and the levers that open the cells on the wall behind the Warden's desk (there are five separate levers on the wall and a bigger one "Communal Cell Lever" on the floor beneath them, all six marked off-limits to use). Using the levers that open empty cells does not provoke the guards, but opening those with prisoners immediately makes the guards and the Warden hostile. Using the communal lever opens all cells simultaneously, but turns on the alarm at the same time.
The second floor is free to climb up using an iron ladder. Upstairs, yet another Scrying Eye moves back and forth, never leaving this small room. Here the player character can find 
Wulbren's Hammer (on a table near the window) and 
Browbeaten Circlet (in a locked Evidence chest at X: Y: ). Two more locked chests contains some gold, valuables and alchemical ingredients. Also, some valuables can be taken from the desk here. However, if the Warden is at her office downstairs, any attempt to take something red-outlined in this room causes her to immediately proceed upstairs to investigate, regardless of the Scrying Eye's watching cone direction.
The tower of the Warden's office is surrounded by wooden footways, which can be jumped upon at X: 590 Y: -660 and X: 559 Y: -657. This is a relatively safe way to reach the second-floor room of the office without crossing paths with the Warden, as the upper point of the footways reaches the office's open window. Also, none of the guards react to the party members walking (let alone crouching) the perches, except once-per-turn checks for being seen, delivered by Scrying Eyes.
Reaching Oubliette[edit | edit source]
The Oubliette actually lies much deeper beneath the Moonrise Towers and its prison, at the same level with the Mind Flayer Colony. In fact, it is a separate part of the colony, collecting all the gory and bloody waste from the stronghold above.
However, Moonrise Towers Prison has several points to enter it to explore the Oubliette before the party has a chance to enter the colony proper. These points are:
- A red pit behind the Warden's tower at X: 580 Y: -680. It is possible to jump in here, but the party cannot jump back out.
Around the pit lie multiple skeletons, and occasionally a Hook Horror's screech may be heard from down below.
- A green-glowing hole in the floor of the Cell Three also can be jumped in, but provides no way out.
- Cave tunnels available by climbing / jumping cliffs at the far end of the prison at X: 545 Y: -650 lead to a Cragged Rock at X: 505 Y: -615 that not only can be used to enter the Oubliette, but also is the only way to leave it.
Entering and leaving the Oubliette grants the following inspirational events:
- (
background) - for entering the Oubliette by whatever way - ( background) - for leaving the Oubliette
Cave tunnels and rowboat dock[edit | edit source]
The back walls inside the two occupied cells of the prison are breakable. Behind each wall a short tunnel starts; both eventually merge into a cave with a wooden dock, opening into the river.
In the dock a Rowboat is moored with two Brittle Chains, vulnerable to 
Bludgeoning and to 
Acid. Around the boat, several 
Clubs lie in disarray. If the prisoners break out into the tunnels, they run towards the dock. Upon reaching the boat, they grab the clubs and try to break the chains. If successful, they flee on the boat.
Upon spotting the breakout attempt, the guards chase the escapees. Most often only the Warden, Keris and Nadi try to stop the breakout; the Scrying Eyes do not enter the tunnels and therefore will not use their Psychic Scream ability. Those prisoners who did not manage to jump into the boat are engaged in the battle immediately, but have almost no chances if the party does not help them.
At X: 520 Y: -607 (nearby to the Oubliette descent) and at X: 586 Y: -587 two Dirt Mounds can be spotted.
Rescuing the prisoners[edit | edit source]
Moonrise Towers Prison is the location where these two quests are fulfilled. The prisoners in both cells can be spoken with, but the conversation is quickly interrupted by Keris or the Warden; a successful DC 14 Deception, or Persuasion check allows the player character to speak with the captives freely.
There are several ways to help the captives gain freedom:
- Assisting them to break out through the back walls of their respective cells
- Opening the cells and escorting the prisoners out through the Heavy Oak Doors to the Docks
- Fighting and cleaning out the guards preemptively and setting both gnomes and the tieflings loose.
Rescuing the prisoners gains the following inspiration:
- (
background) - (
background) - ( background)
Also, fulfilling a particular stage of 
quest - providing Wulbren with tools to break the wall - gains the following inspiration:
- ( background)
- (
background)
Assaulting Moonrise Towers[edit | edit source]
During the assault, entering the prison from whatever point automatically starts a battle with several Myrkulites and their undead summons. In the lobby, a Death Shepherd awaits, surrounded by a pack of 10 Necromites. Deeper in the prison, at the start of the cells corridor, three Mistresses of Souls stand: Duckie Verish, Sarabayle and Willinx Jindlebee, who summon more Necromites each turn until defeated.
Out of the Absolutists who previously guarded the prison only Keris, Nadi and the Warden take part in the battle for the Main floor (if they survived up to the assault). All other guards, including the questioners, can be found dead at various places in the stronghold.
If the player character assaults the Moonrise Towers with the help of the Harpers, several of them are found already dead by the moment the party enter the prison. If the Flaming Fists dispatched by Florrick's also take part in the assault, they assist the party in cleaning up the prison. See the list of members of both factions who can be met in the prison area below.
If the player character convinced Jaheira to fight along them while attacking the Main floor of Moonrise Towers, she refuses to follow them down into the prison and waits for them near the stairs leading to the First floor.
Defeating all the skeletons (and their mistresses) in the prison during the assault grants an inspirational event to any character with a 
background.
Related locations[edit | edit source]
Related quests[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
Prisoners[edit | edit source]
Ironhand Gnomes:
Tiefling refugees:
Guards[edit | edit source]
Absolute Cultists
- Adept Ghulen - on guard by the stairs back to Moonrise Tower
- Adept Keris - patrols along the path circling the tower
- Questioner Jasin - in the torture room
- Questioner Sumera - in the torture room
- The Warden - patrols in and around the central tower
- Zealot Nadi - on guard at the southwest end of the path through the prison
- Zealot Soreni - on guard by the door to the docks
- Zealot Zira - on guard by the door to the docks
Assault on Moonrise Towers[edit | edit source]
When Assaulting Moonrise Towers, the following characters will be present:
Myrkulites posing as Absolute Cultists & their Undead Summons
- Duckie Verish
- Sarabayle
- Willinx Jindlebee
- Death Shepherd
- Necromites - 10x initially + several summoned during the battle
Flaming Fists (if Florrick brought the Flaming Fists to Last Light Inn)
Harpers
- Harper Branthos - as a corpse
- Harper Elindale - as a corpse
- Harper Manus - as a corpse
- Harper Skywin - as a corpse
- Harper Terradissia - as a corpse
Loot[edit | edit source]
Notable items obtained in this location, whether looted, purchased, or obtained as a quest reward:
Browbeaten Circlet can be looted from the area above the Warden
Moonrise Guard's Key can be looted from the Warden
Spellcrux Amulet can be looted from the Warden
Wulbren's Hammer can be looted from the area above the Warden
Achievements[edit | edit source]
Rescuing all imprisoned tiefling refugees and deep gnomes earns the following achievement:
- Under Lock and Key
- Rescue all the prisoners from the depths of Moonrise Towers in one playthrough.
Saving particularly Cal, Danis, Lakrissa and Lia from the prison is one of necessary conditions for acquiring another achievement:
- Leave No One Behind
- Save every tiefling refugee you can throughout the game in a single playthrough.
- ↑ It is possible to divide the party, use a single party member (leaving the rest behind the closed door) with necessary skills to escort Minthara out of the prison, and return back to others without hindrance or hostility if all checks went well