Avenge the Drowned quest starts as a seemingly simplistic side quest in Baldur’s Gate 3, where you must uncover the beast who killed a Waveservant of Umberlee. However, discovering the beast leads to further quests and, most importantly, crucial allies.
How to start the Avenge the Drowned quest in BG3
To start the Avenge the Drowed quest in BG3, go to the House of the Water Queen in the southwestern part of the Lower City when you get to Baldur’s Gate. Along the way, you’ll pass by a harbor area wherein lies the source of the problem you’ll soon be tackling.
Once inside the House of the Water Queen, you will see a funeral procession coming through as the Waveservants of Umberlee are mourning one of their dead, Holli, who was tragically killed in the Grey Harbor.
The head of this procession, Flood Tide Allandra Grey, holds the victim’s last rites when you walk in. Talking to her leads to her asking you for a donation. If you donate, she tells you that Holli was killed by a noxious beast that patrols the waters of Grey Harbor.
Use the Speak with Dead spell (either via a character like Shadowheart or from a scroll) on the corpse of Holli to gain more information from her. She tells you that the beast patrols the waters of Grey Harbor and is responsible for her death.
After gleaning more details from Allandra and the corpse of Holli, you can choose to help them avenge their fallen by taking care of this beast for them.
Where to find the Beast in Grey Harbor in BG3
You can find the Beast in Grey Harbor in BG3 near Flymm’s Cargo warehouse on the eastern side of Grey Harbor. But before we find the beast, we need to know more about it.
If you stop by Grey Harbor and talk to its residents, they will cooperate since the creature also pollutes the harbor, killing most aquatic life there. One resident fisherman of the harbor will flock to your side and give you information to help you take it down. He tells you the beast was spotted near Flymm’s Cargo warehouse east of Grey Harbor, so your next priority is to visit that place.
Head down to the depths of the basement to find an underground docking area with a giant submersible next to Redhammer the Deviser, who is ready to pilot it.
Redhammer the Deviser is the beast’s creator and pilot. The beast is no organic creature as the Waveservants of Umberlee thought, but a giant iron submersible developed by Redhammer.
Talking to him leads you to learn that Gortash commissioned the device as a transport system. The submersible is responsible for transporting prisoners to and from the Iron Throne, an underwater prison that holds many prisoners.
You can kill Redhammer now and avenge Holli or put it off until later once you visit the Iron Throne. However, handing Redhammer over to the Waveservants at this point completes the Avenged the Drowned quest.
Instead, you can wait after you’ve gone to the Iron Throne and completed the following quests before turning him over. If you choose not to go to the Iron Throne, skip to our “Should you side with Redhammer or turn him in in BG3?” section. If you want to complete the Iron Throne quests, which you should because completing these quests will help you in the endgame, continue reading.
How to get to the Iron Throne in BG3
To get to the Iron Throne in BG3, you must use Redhammer’s submarine, as it’s the only way to get into the depths below. Just know going to the Iron Throne incurs the wrath of Gortash, so proceed with caution.
The next part of this guide details all the prisoners you can save from the Iron Throne to help you in your main mission against the Elder Brain. You get only six turns to save all the prisoners down here, so speed is of the essence.
How to save the Gondians in BG3
If you choose to defy Gortash and take down his Steel Watch Foundry, you need all the help you can get. The Gondians are perfect allies who will help you do that since their brethren are forced to toil in the factory all day long. Their cells are located in the western and eastern wings of the Iron Throne, so, send two characters to free them.
How to save Grand Duke Ravengard in BG3
Since the Grand Duke served his purpose, Gortash imprisons him in the eastern wing of the Iron Throne. Saving him grants you his help along with the Order of the Flaming Fist loyal to the Grand Duke. In addition, your companion Wyll thanks you for saving his father from his untimely end, and you can pursue further romance options with him.
If you want to romance Wyll, you must save his father. And he’s helpful in the final fight in Baldur’s Gate.
How to save Omeluum in BG3
The friendly Mind Flayer from the Underdark is also trapped in here. After your choices with Omeluum concerning your parasite in Act One, it is possible to find him trapped down here with the other prisoners.
You can find him in the southwestern wing of the Iron Throne, and saving him allows him to teleport back to the submersible immediately, so save him for last.
Now you’ve freed all potential allies from the Iron Throne, it’s time to escape.
How to save everyone in the Iron Throne within six turns
It is possible to save everyone in the Iron Throne within six turns. However, you need to make some executive sacrifices and strategic moves, including:
- Save before initiating the challenge. You might die or need to reset if a prisoner is killed. So, having a pre-challenge save file to load when you mess up is very helpful and makes this challenge less stressful. When you successfully save a prisoner, you can create a separate save file to reload from this point instead of the pre-challenge one if you need it.
- Prioritize your character and the prisoners. If you die, you have to reload and try again. So, having your character die isn’t worth it, and if you want to save the prisoners, you can’t let them die, either. There may be moments where you have to choose between your companions and the prisoners, and you should choose the prisoners because you can resurrect your companions via Withers. They may not like it, but at least the prisoners are alive.
- Use Haste. This spell not only grants Haste, meaning you get an extra action per turn for three turns, but your Armor Class increases by two, your movement speed is doubled, and you gain an Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws. So, this is an excellent spell to use if you need to increase the defense of one of your companions or yourself and get that much-needed extra action to either deal another attack, use a buff or debuff spell, or heal.
- Use Potions and Elixirs. Potions and Elixirs are replenishable, but the prisoners are not. So if you’ve got potions, use them. When completing this quest, I tried various potions to see what worked the best and which were a bit of a waste. While I don’t recommend relying on them, they can be great in a pinch.
- Potion of Speed: This increases your Haste for three turns, meaning you can have an extra attack each turn. When used on characters like Karlach or Lae’zel who get extra actions from their best builds, you can sometimes get three actions per turn, which can be very useful if you need to use a potion, heal, use a buff, or just go all out with attacks.
- Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: This increases your strength to 21 until your next long rest. It can be very useful for Karlach or Lae’zel.
- Elixir of Barkskin: This increases your Armor Class to 16 and can be very beneficial in increasing the defense of squishy characters or even tanks.
You can only use one Elixir at a time, meaning the effects do not stack. So, if you want to use the Elixir of Giant Strength on one character and then Barkskin, only the Barkskin effects will remain.
- Use Summons. Whether it’s spells or scrolls, summon minions, creatures, or balls of fire to help fight and protect you from danger. Some of the ones to consider using include:
- Scroll of Flaming Sphere: This summons a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby objects and enemies.
- Guardian of Faith: Summon a guardian to fight by your side. This is similar to the one you had to fight in Rosymorn Monastery.
- Create Undead: You can raise a small to medium corpse to fight by your side. This is a level six necromance spell, so depending on your level, you might not have it just yet.
- Use Invisibility or Misty Step. If you want to bypass enemies and go the stealth route, you can separate your party, use Invisibility or an Invisibility Potion, and slowly navigate past enemies to free the prisoners. Or use Misty Step to get around quickly.
With all this in mind, you can free the prisoners and hopefully give them enough of a buffer to escape without getting killed. If not, you can try again.
Should you side with Redhammer or turn him in in BG3?
You should side with Redhammer only until you complete everything in the Iron Throne, and then turn him over to the Waverservants once you’re done.
If you hand Redhammer over before completing the Iron Throne, you won’t be able to access it, and you’ll kill Wyll’s father, Duke Ravengard, and all the Gondians. Wyll doesn’t approve of you killing his father (obviously), which makes it difficult to romance Wyll. So, it’s easier to side with him initially and then hand him over to be punished when he’s no longer useful.
Once you return from the Iron Throne, Waveservants await you outside. If you turn Redhammer over to them, they thank you, and the quest is complete. If you side with him, the Waveservants attack you, resulting in an additional battle.
Regardless of your choice, the Avenge the Drowned quest ends here. Once you’ve completed the Avenge the Drowned quest, you must focus on gaining more allies for the final war against the Mind Flayer army.
