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The first act inBaldur’s Gate 3is huge, and with the arrival of the full version, it has now become even bigger as the new functionalities and features add more depth to the world. However, Zhentarim Hideout has been available since the Early Access era.
Zhentarim acts as a base of operations for a secret shady gang in the game that you can either side with or go against. However, it’s worth behaving friendly with them in the beginning, as Zhentarim Hideout hosts one of the multiple passages into theUnderdark.
Updated by Abigail Angell on November 9th, 2023: A small section has now been added on the Free the Artist Side Quest located inside the Zhentarim Hideout. This is to assist players who are looking to experience as much of the location as possible before leaving.
Baldur’s Gate 3
How To Enter The Zhentarim Basement
The entry to the gang’s hideout is well-hidden inside a small house. You need to make your way to the northwest of the island to Waukeen’s Restfast travelstation. The best way to reach this spot is tohead toBlighted Villagefast travel station and thenhead north. Once you exit from the northern gate, take the route to the west,pass over the broken bridge, and take the western route again until you reach the gates of a new village. Alternatively, you can head West from the Risen Road Waypoint (where you saw the Gnolls and Rugan). Most buildings in this village areburning in flames.
Once you are in the middle square of the village, you can seea small passage on the northwest. Although the passage is burning, you can jump over the flames to get to the other side. Now, continue the path to the northwest, and you will spot the corpse ofa dead Oxon the ground. Next to the Ox, there is a small house with aShabby Door. You can also see a bunch of boxes in front of the door. Break those boxes andget inside the house.
Here, you will face a member of the gang named Salazon. Spotting him will trigger a conversation, and he will be eager to kill you, but you have several options to continue. If yousaved Rugan from the Gnollsand then spoke with him, he’ll have told you the passcode for the doorman. This makes the doorman friendly without any associated checks. Alternatively, you can attempt to deceive or persuade him to let you through. If you fail these checks, he will blow up the oil nearby - killing himself and possibly the party.
After dealing with the doorman, proceed inside the house. Next to the southern wall,there is a hatch. Open that hatch andgo down. If you behave friendly with Salazon, the hatch will be unlocked by default, otherwise, you will need to pick it.
How To Enter The Zhentarim Hideout
Now, you will find yourself inside a small basement, but there is still a small way to go. Climb down the ladder and get to the corner of the room where there isa brown Wardrobe. This wardrobe will be locked. If you gave the guard the correct password, he would have given you a key. Otherwise, you will need to lockpick this. Once unlocked, interacting with Wardrobe opens upa path that leads into the Zhentarim Hideout.
As soon as you are inside, you will find a fast travel station. If you go towards theIron Gate,you will be interrupted by the gang leader. This conversation will either lead to combat or peace. You will have multiple options, such as Persuasion, Intimidation, and more, toconvince the gang leaderthat you pose no threat to her.
If you manage to convince her, the Iron Gates will open up, and you can explore the hideout. If you talk to the leader, you canmake progress in the “Find The Missing Shipment” quest. There are also some other NPCs that you can talk to inside the hideout to receive new quests.
Hidden Path To Underdark
One last thing about Zhentarim Hideout is that you’re able to actuallymake your way to the Underdarkfrom this outpost. To do so, look forawolfinside the hideout namedIstor. This wolf is standing in front of a rocky wall. If you get an “Investigation Successful” prompt from any of your characters, they will spot thatthe rock is indeed an illusionary wall. Going through this wall before Istor’s eyes will cause the entire guards tobegin combat against you. That’s why you need to switch toStealth modeand get inside the wall from behind the wolf.
You will find an elevator as well as an elevator winch inside this cave. If you manage tolockpickthe elevator winchor get the key from a guard named Karad, you can use the elevator to go toUnderdark. This will set you down in an area to the right of the Myconid Colony.
Free The Artist
While in this locale, make sure to speak with the painter named Oskar located in the hideout. This will start a quest called “Free the Artist” (found in your journal), the end reward for which is a statue of one of your companions. To complete the quest:
This statue is a great addition to your camp decor, but make sure that you speak to Oskar with the character you want sculpted, and that they are wearing the clothes you want them to appear in.
