Rescue Wulbren

Wulbren is trapped in Moonrise Towers Prison.

Rescue Wulbren is a quest completable in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3. It can initially be started in Act One after completing the quest  Save the Grymforge Gnomes and discovering that the other gnomes were taken to Moonrise Towers. Otherwise, it can be started when encountering Wulbren in the Moonrise Towers Prison.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Travel to Moonrise Towers.

• We freed the deep gnomes in Grymforge, but more of their kin were taken to Moonrise Towers - including their leader Wulbren. We need to find and rescue them.
• We learned from Barcus that his friend Wulbren is being held captive in Moonrise Towers. If we free him, Barcus has offered to make us something remarkable.
• We agreed to save Barcus' friend, Wulbren, and the Ironhand gnomes he leads, from Moonrise Towers.

Break the gnomes out of jail.

• We found Wulbren and his fellow gnomes. They won't last long in Moonrise Towers without our help.

Give Wulbren something that can break stone.

• Wulbren has plans to break out, but he needs our help. The Warden confiscated their weapons, but anything that can break rock will do. Whatever we find, we need to pass it to him - discreetly.

Cover the gnomes' escape.

• The gnomes have broken free and are on their way to rescue the tieflings. We should watch their backs.

Help the gnomes escape.

• The gnomes are making their escape through the tunnels, but they're not safe yet. We need to watch their backs.
• The gnomes are making their escape through Moonrise Towers itself. Without our help, they'll surely die.

Find Wulbren.

• Wulbren fled Moonrise Towers on foot - hopefully he'll find refuge somewhere.
• Wulbren fled Moonrise Towers by boat - hopefully he'll find refuge somewhere.

Return to Last Light.

• Wulbren fled Moonrise Towers - hopefully he'll find refuge in Last Light Inn. Barcus will be thrilled. We should check up on them.

Talk to Wulbren.

• We found Last Light - a safe haven in the darkness. Perhaps Wulbren is here.

Talk to Barcus.

• Wulbren has arrived safely in Last Light. We should let Barcus know.
• We told Barcus the good news. He ran to find Wulbren immediately.
• Wulbren is dead. We should tell Barcus.

Talk to Wulbren.

• We've defeated Ketheric. Wulbren has some thoughts. We should speak to him at Moonrise Towers.

Quest Complete

• Wulbren treated us coldly after his rescue, but rewarded us anyway.
• Relieved that Wulbren is safe, Barcus rewarded us.
• Wulbren is dead.
• We never found the prisoners in Moonrise Towers.
• We abandoned the gnomes to their fate.
• Last Light was destroyed. Hopefully Wulbren escaped.
• We left the shadow-cursed lands without telling Barcus about Wulbren. He will likely assume his friend is dead.
• Wulbren apologised for how he acted at Last Light. He told us the Ironhand Gnomes plan to save Baldur's Gate, and he wants us to be part of it.

Walkthrough

If  Save the Grymforge Gnomes is completed, it is revealed by Barcus Wroot that Wulbren and some of the Ironhand Gnomes were kidnapped and sent to Moonrise Towers on account of his knowledge of runepowder. If  Save the Refugees was completed with the tiefling refugees and the Druid Grove was saved, the tieflings are also present. Otherwise, the party can learn about Wulbren by exploring Moonrise Towers Prison. If the tieflings in the prison are spoken with first, they explain that the gnomes are up to something, but they do not know what.

Finding Wulbren

Map of Moonrise Towers Prison.

To find Wulbren’s location, the party must go downstairs into the Moonrise Towers Prison at X: -173 Y: -194. The entrance to the prison is east to the audience chamber, and can also be accessed outside by the docks. From the stairs entrance to the prison, the party must go west to find a hallway with prison cells. Wulbren is in the fourth cell to the right at X: 569 Y: -626.

If attempting to speak to Wulbren, one of the prison guards intervenes and says that no one is allowed to talk to the prisoners, who are property of Balthazar. The party has three options to respond with:

• [DECEPTION] I have permission from Balthazar. Ask him. (DC 14)
• [PERSUASION] What are the prisoners going to do? Talk me to death? (DC 14)
• My apologies - won't happen again.

Alternatively, if slipping into the cells by  Misty Step,  Gaseous Form, or other means, the guards do not confront the party.

Wulbren is initially suspicious of the party, asking why someone who walks around the prison like they own the place would want to help him:

• Barcus told me you were here, and asked me to help.
• [PERSUASION] I know the tieflings imprisoned here - I want to break you all out. (DC 10)
• [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] ACCEPT MY HELP. OR DIE. CHOOSE. (DC 6 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Accept my help or die in this pit - choose. (DC 6 )
• [OATH OF VENGEANCE] [OATHBREAKER] [EVIL CLERIC] [PERSUASION] Helping you hurts the Absolute - and I take pleasure in that. (DC 6 )
• [OATH OF VENGEANCE] [OATHBREAKER] [PALADIN] [PERSUASION] My oath bids me so - I infiltrated this place just to undermine the Absolute. (DC 6 )
• [CLERIC] I am sworn to a higher power - I infiltrated this place just to undermine the Absolute. (DC 6 )
• [PERSUASION] My mind is my own - the Absolute has no control over me. (DC 6)
• [DECEPTION] I'm an undercover agent for the Flaming Fist. (DC 6)
• [ROGUE] [PERSUASION] You'll owe me a favour after. Besides - I never liked prisons much. (DC 6)

Convincing Wulbren of the party's will to help nets the following approval:

 +1  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1  +1

Conversely, telling Wulbren to "die for all you care" nets negative approval:

 -1  -1  -1  -1  -1  -1  -1  -1 (Bug: Appears to reduce Minsc's approval, even though he is not available until Act 3)

Fleeing the Towers

Leaving by Boat

Wulbren's Hammer is above the Warden's office.

The party can choose to follow Wulbren's plan to escape, which involves giving him an object that can smash rocks. This can be any weapon which causes bludgeoning damage, such as a generic Mace. Wulbren's Hammer can be found by climbing up the iron ladder in the Warden's office at X: 574 Y: -646. This area is guarded by a Scrying Eye and entering it is considered trespassing, so, if caught, the party must either sneak or deceive / bribe their way out of being sent to jail. If obtaining his hammer specifically, Wulbren is extremely grateful as he assumed he would never see it again. This also grants the inspiration  Escape Artisan to party members with the Criminal background.

Once a bludgeoning weapon has been acquired, the party must go back to Wulbren and talk to him. This initiates a trade screen where the item can be "donated" to Wulbren. Alternatively, the weapon can be thrown into Wulbren's cell and he will pick it up. Either option grants the  Simple Tools, Great Works inspiration to party members with the Guild Artisan background. The party can now speak with Wulbren and either tell him to start the escape attempt immediately or to wait until the party is ready. If long resting or fast travelling at this point, the deep gnomes begin the escape without the party. If standing around when Wulbren breaks the wall, the guards become hostile and combat starts.

The rocky ledge that leads to the back area of the cells.

One strategy to avoid combat is to get up the rocky ledge to the west of the cells by climbing or using  Fly,  Jump, or  Misty Step. The ledge leads to the back area of the gnomes' cell at X: 568 Y: -612 and the tieflings' cell at X: 600 Y: -617. Both back walls of the cells can be broken down with Force damage. There is also a boat at X: 575 Y: -576 fixed with brittle chains. After breaking down the walls, the deep gnomes and tieflings run to the boat. The party should also run to the boat to aid the characters breaking the chains. While this happens, the prison guards, alerted by the Scrying Eyes become hostile and try to hinder the prisoners from escaping. After defeating the guards, when all surviving prisoners are at the boat, the party must speak to Wulbren and decide if they want to accompany him to his next destination.

The party can suggest going to Last Light Inn if they have already been there. If the party have not, then selecting "I don't - but I'll join you on the boat. We'll see where we end up." sends the prisoners to the Last Light Inn and the party get a cutscene similar to which they would get from entering the Last Light Inn for the first time.

Leaving by Foot

The prisoners can be forced to abandon Wulbren's plan and go through Moonrise Towers Prison on foot by using a lever in the Warden's office. There are multiple levers behind the warden and each one opens the door to a specific cell, and the large lever on the floor starts an alarm and opens all of them. If the levers are used, the prisoners flee and combat starts, forcing the party to fight their way through or let the prisoners die. To free the prisoners, the party must fight all of the enemies, then follow the prisoners to the docks, where another fight breaks out. After this battle, the prisoners move to the north and towards the Toll House, disappearing. They then safely reappear at Last Light Inn.

Cleaning Out the Prison

The party can clear out the prison before dealing with the prisoners to safely ensure everyone survives the escape; the other characters of Moonrise Towers do not become hostile. An easy way to do this is to kill the Warden in her office, then wait. Enemies patrolling nearby intermittently walk in and can be slowly picked off. Alternatively, the party members can stand at either end of the path next to the chasm and push the guards in with  Throw,  Shove,  Eldritch Blast or  Thunderwave. A Scrying Eye killed in one hit does only cause other Scrying Eyes to turn hostile. Once both of the Scrying Eyes are destroyed and the two guards which patrol in front of the prisoners' cells are killed, the party can open the cells through the levers in the Warden's office, break the back walls of the cells or give Wulbren his hammer and the prisoners can safely escape.

It is possible for the tieflings and gnomes to become separated; if the tieflings take more than three turns to arrive at the boat after Wulbren has already hammered it free, then the gnomes depart without them. The tieflings attempt to leave out the side door of the prison, a long and treacherous path that also includes that the Absolutist Zealots and Adepts stationed on the outside perimeter of Moonrise Towers have to be dealt with.

Returning to Last Light

Once the prisoners have escaped, the party can go with them to Last Light Inn or fast travel there. Speaking to Barcus Wroot (or Wulbren if he is dead) resolves the quest.

Time Limit

While this quest is not limited by long rests, there is a story limitation. If  Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic is completed, then once returning from the Shadowfell, this quest automatically ends. When this happens, the quest journal says that the other prisoners were never found. The bodies of the dead prisoners can later be found in the Oubliette.

Rewards

• Brilliant Retort given by Barcus Wroot.
•  In the Palm of My Hand ( Guild Artisan backgrounds) - upon receiving the Brilliant Retort

Helping both the tieflings and the gnomes escape:

•  Always a Way Out ( Criminal backgrounds)
•  Breakout! ( Folk Hero backgrounds)

Giving Wulbren tools to support the outbreak from the prison:

•  Bugging Out ( Urchin backgrounds)
•  Escape Artisan ( Criminal backgrounds)

Notes

• As of Hotfix 6, taking the gnomes through Moonrise Towers has a number of odd glitches. Once the prisoners exit the prison to the docks, if any of the prisoners are left in the prison before the party leave, even if the prison has been cleared of enemies, then they remain in the prison and cannot be moved or talked to. If fast travelling or long resting, then they show up as dead.