Rescue the Grand Duke

A Flaming Fist attempts to rescue those within Waukeen's Rest.

Rescue the Grand Duke is a quest in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by approaching the burning inn on The Risen Road, Waukeen's Rest.

Objectives

Find a way into Waukeen's Rest.

• We approached a burning inn called Waukeen's Rest. Flaming Fists are trying to break down the door - a Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate is trapped inside.
• We couldn't get through the door. There must be another way in.

Search for survivors.

• We managed to get inside. We need to find the Grand Duke and fast.
• We found a survivor trapped behind a locked door.
• A man is stuck under some rubble. He's not the Grand Duke, but he still needs help.

Speak with Counsellor Florrick.

• The woman we rescued survived. Maybe she saw the Grand Duke?

Search for Grand Duke Ravengard.

• We learned that the Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate was kidnapped.
• We learned that the Grand Duke was captured by drow and taken westwards.
• We agreed to look for the Grand Duke. We should investigate the area.
• Moonrise Towers is a popular location - at least for the cult of the Absolute. Perhaps the Grand Duke was taken there too.
• We agreed to look for the Grand Duke. We should head to Moonrise Towers.
• We learned nothing from the woman we rescued. Someone else must know what happened to the Grand Duke.
• We refused to help Counsellor Florrick. But we should keep an eye out for the Grand Duke - he'd make a powerful ally.
• We didn't find the Grand Duke or anyone who'd seen him. We should still keep an eye out, though - he'd make a powerful ally.
• We met Counsellor Florrick at Last Light Inn. She urged us to search for Grand Duke Ravengard. She believes he is being held in Moonrise Towers.
• We finally reached Moonrise Towers. Grand Duke Ravengard must be here somewhere.

Pursue Ravengard's captors to Baldur's Gate.

• Grand Duke Ravengard was infected with an illithid tadpole, and taken to Baldur's Gate.

Search for Grand Duke Ravengard.

• We finally found Grand Duke Ravengard - standing by Gortash's side as he crowned Gortash the new Archduke. He disappeared after the ceremony.

Talk to Mizora.

• Grand Duke Ravengard is dead. Wyll's patron, Mizora, awaits us in camp. Perhaps she can help.

Rest at camp.

• Mizora asked us to meet her in camp. She has an important proposal to make regarding Wyll's father, Grand Duke Ravengard.

Search for Grand Duke Ravengard.

• Wyll severed his pact with Mizora, even after she hinted that she could help locate and rescue Grand Duke Ravengard. It would seem the duke is as good as dead, but perhaps we might still find and save him.

Find the secret command centre.

• Wyll made a pact with Mizora and the archdevil Zariel in exchange for information about Grand Duke Ravengard's whereabouts. He is being held prisoner at Gortash's secret command centre.

Search for Grand Duke Ravengard.

• We reached Gortash's underwater command centre, also known as the Iron Throne. We need to find Grand Duke Ravengard.

Lead Grand Duke Ravengard to safety.

• We found Grand Duke Ravengard. We need to lead him to safety.

Speak to Grand Duke Ravengard.

• Grand Duke Ravengard is safe at last. We should speak to him at our camp.
• In exchange for an eternal pact with Wyll, Mizora resurrected Grand Duke Ravengard. We should speak with him.

Quest Complete

• Grand Duke Ravengard is dead.
• Grand Duke Ravengard is safe, and grateful for our help.
• Grand Duke Ravengard has been brought back from the dead and is free from the Absolute's influence, thanks to the Emperor. He will make a formidable ally when the time comes to face the elder brain.
• Wyll broke his pact with Mizora, even after she offered to resurrect his father. Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard is no more.
• Wyll broke his pact with Mizora. Duke Ravengard is no longer our concern.

Walkthrough

Waukeen's Rest

Florrick thanks the party for rescuing her from the burning inn.

Warning! Travelling to Rosymorn Monastery Trail, or approaching Waukeen's Rest closely enough to trigger companion dialogue and then long resting or fast travelling (eg. to camp), will cause the trapped survivors to die.

Waukeen's Rest is an inn located on the Risen Road at X: -65 Y: 609. As the party approach, they smell smoke and hear shouting.

Through the front door

At the front entrance there is a group of Flaming Fists trying to bust down the door. Gauntlet Yeva explains that Grand Duke Ravengard could be in there.

There are following options to react:

• Asking Wyll, if he is in the party to break open the door, which he does with ease.
• Asking What happened to this place?
• Asking Grand Duke Ravengard?
• Passing a DC 10 Strength check to push against the wreckage. Paladins can choose an alternative option that provides advantage on this check.

If the first two options are chosen, Yeva explains that the inn was raided by drow and goblins. Grand Duke Ravengard was lost during the raid.

A successful Strength check smashes the door open and the Fists rush inside. The party must go straight into the room to find a set of stairs, and climb it to find the two remaining survivors Counsellor Florrick and Benryn. Attempting to rescue Benryn starts  Rescue the Trapped Man. Following the orders to go into the burning inn also grants the  Chain of Command inspiration to party members with the Soldier background.

Florrick is in the northern room at X: -57 Y: 618, which the Fists swarm as they enter the building. Attacking and destroying the broken door frees her. She then runs out of the inn with the Fists in tow, granting the following inspiration:

•  Rescued from the Flames ( Folk Hero backgrounds)
•  Protector of the Duke ( Noble backgrounds)

Through the south-eastern building

In the south-eastern building there's a room filled with crates and barrels. This room has a broken ceiling. Using  Misty Step,  Fly or utilizing  Jump with a combination of stapled crates gets the party on the first floor. The party must head through the door, which has to be smashed or lockpicked. Behind the door is a small bridge that leads to another door that also needs to be smashed or lockpicked. Behind this door is the room where Florrick is found. Approaching her makes her leave the room, head to the bridge and through the second door. She then jumps or climbs to the ground floor and runs to the Flaming Fists at the front door.

After Florrick is saved

Outside, she requests that the party rescue the Duke, then leave to organize her own efforts. Before she leaves, however, she gives the party three rewards to choose from:

• The Joltshooter
• The Sparky Points
• The Spellsparkler

After learning of the Duke's kidnapping, it is also revealed that Ravengard is Wyll's father. This starts part of Wyll's companion quest,  The Grand Duke.

By casting  Speak with Dead on a Dead Drow Raider near the entrance of Waukeen's Rest, the party can learn that the Cult of the Absolute is related to the kidnapping, and that the Grand Duke might have been taken to Moonrise Towers.

At the Goblin Camp, the party can learn slightly more. If the party do a toast after poisoning the booze tub at X: -99 Y: 442. As part of the toast, Warlock Gurk says "To tha' duke's face when we gave 'im to the drow!"

Last Light Inn

During Act Two, the party can encounter Counsellor Florrick at the Last Light Inn with an entourage of Flaming Fists. She asks if the party have made any inroads with Moonrise Towers. Regardless of the response, she implores the party to keep looking. Florrick, however, departs for Baldur's Gate to seek reinforcements.

Moonrise Towers

Duke Ravengard is infected by the Chosen Three.

In Moonrise Towers Prison, the party can ask the Warden if she has seen the Duke. However, she responds that he sounds important and that she only deals with the dregs down in the prison. The party can also interrogate the corpse of a dead goblin scout, Sharp-Eye Lora, who reveals that she took prisoners to Moonrise Towers including a duke.

The Duke can eventually be found near the end of Act Two, during  Defeat Ketheric Thorm. In the Mind Flayer Colony, as the party chase after  Ketheric Thorm, they encounter the Chosen Three - Thorm, Orin the Red, and Enver Gortash, and with them Ulder Ravengard. The party watch in the shadows as the trio infect Ravengard with a mind flayer tadpole and then whisk him away to Baldur's Gate.

Wyrm's Rock Fortress

Duke Ravengard swears Gortash in as Archduke of Baldur's Gate.

In Act Three, Duke Ravengard is encountered once again after completing  Find a way into Wyrm's Rock fortress. Once the party enter Wyrm's Rock Fortress, Gortash takes control of a Steel Watcher and invites the party to his coronation. Ravengard is in the Audience Chamber with Gortash and officiates Gortash's swearing in as Archduke of Baldur's Gate. Immediately after the ceremony, Ravengard can be spoken to. If the party mention that Florrick sent them, he says that Florrick is a black widow who betrayed the city, and that she was punished. Choosing to connect with Ravengard's parasite to seek information about Florrick reveals that she is imprisoned in Wyrm's Rock Prison and set to be executed, starting  Free Counselor Florrick. If the party prods Ravengard's mind further, they find that deep uncertainty and fear of an illithid invasion is within him, indicating his mind has not fully been taken over.

Once the coronation is complete, Mizora appears and reveals that Duke Ravengard is already being moved to another location to be disposed of. She refuses to elaborate further and tells the party to go to camp. After a Long Rest, Mizora appears before Wyll to present a new contract - an eternity of servitude for Zariel in exchange for rescuing the Duke. If Wyll signs the contract, she reveals that Duke Ravengard is in Gortash's underwater prison, the Iron Throne and promises to keep him from harm. Otherwise, if Wyll breaks the contract, Mizora states that he is as good as dead, but that she plans to stick around to see what happens.

If the party ignore the coronation and move into the Lower City, then Duke Ravengard remains in the Audience Hall with Gortash until the ceremony is completed. If the party complete the  Disable the Steel Watch without attending the coronation, then the entirety of Wyrm's Rock Fortress becomes hostile, including Duke Ravengard. To ensure that the Duke can be rescued, it is advised to attend the coronation, speak to Mizora, and take a long rest to ensure that he can be found in his intended location.

The Iron Throne

After the previous events, Duke Ravengard is moved to the Iron Throne, either alive or dead. The party may find the Iron Throne either by exploring the Lower City, or be led there as part of the quests  Save the Gondians, or  Avenge the Ironhands.

Map of the Iron Throne

Duke Ravengard is in the block of cells directly east from the ladder to the submersible. Normally, he is in the middle cell, alive, and with only 35 HP. He also has the  Fiendish Obeisance status, unless Wyll was not recruited. Upon opening the door to his cell, the party gains control over the Duke's movements. However, once he leaves the cell, if Wyll broke his pact with Mizora, then she appears and summons multiple Combustion Belly Spiderlings to kill the duke. She orders him to kneel while the spiderlings explode on their turn. The Duke can be saved by healing him while he is in his cell (via  Healing Word, throwing healing potions, or other tactics) or through spells like  Arcane Gate.

Under some circumstances, the duke is found already dead. After escaping the Iron Throne, the party may be able to make a deal with Mizora to resurrect the duke in exchange for renewing Wyll's pact, or reject the deal in order to break his pact. The availability of this option may depend on Wyll's status and earlier choices.

If Duke Ravengard is saved, he stays at camp under the protection of the Astral Prism. If Wyll was recruited, the pair can reconcile, and Ravengard asks the party to seek out Ansur, Baldur's Gate's guardian dragon who sleeps under the city.

If Gortash is defeated before traveling to the Iron Throne, the prison is automatically destroyed and Duke Ravengard is killed, although only implicitly. But if Wyll made the pact with Mizora, she brings him back to life in camp as if nothing happened.

Quest rewards

After rescuing her from the burning inn, Counsellor Florrick grants the party a choice between three items, which all have similar abilities:

• The Joltshooter
• The Sparky Points
• The Spellsparkler
• If Duke Ravengard is rescued, he becomes an ally as part of  Gather Your Allies.