Explore the Ruins (Dank Crypt) - Baldur's Gate III Guide - IGN (2024)

Explore the Ruins is a side quest in Baldur's Gate 3 that leads players into one of the earliest dungeons in the game, giving them multiple options for handling a few battles. Our walkthrough will guide you on how to gain access to the quest, in addition to listing all the available paths to the prize at the end: the ability to revive your allies or respec your character, which are invaluable in BG3.

How to Start Explore the Ruins

This quest can be received from Shadowheart if you didn’t free her from the pod in the prologue. You will find her north of your landing site after the Nautiloid crash. Otherwise, you can add the quest to your journal if you speak to the bandits exploring the area outside of the ruins. Whether or not you actually have the quest in your journal, you can still reap the rewards.

Entering the Ruins

The door Shadowheart is attempting to enter is locked, and unless you have a rogue and some other buffs, you might find it difficult to pick the lock. Luckily, there are three other entrances you can take.

All three alternatives involve heading up the cliffs to the higher level of the structure. Head west into the wreckage of the Nautiloid. You may encounter some Intellect Devourers along the way, but you and Shadowheart should be able to deal with them.

Then head north from the wreckage and to the east once you're out, possibly stopping to recruit Gale from the out of control sigil appearing on the cliff wall. If you head north from here, you can rescue Lae’zel from the predicament she’s found herself in, rounding out your party before heading into the ruins and a couple of fights.

The first option you have for entering the ruins involves sneaking over to the temple and shooting the crane that’s suspending a large stone block. It should instantly kill the two grunts loitering beneath it, but you’ll have to deal with their two surviving comrades. When the fight is over, you can jump down into the hole created by the stone block. This path is risky, because you can’t jump out afterwards (though you can teleport to any Waypoints from your map), and you’ll quickly find yourself in a fight with about 5 other bandits. You can also speak to the bandits and attempt to convince them to leave, after which you'll be free to break through the floor without any casualties.

The second alternative is to head into the courtyard north of the crane you destroyed and attempt to open the door. One of the bandits guarding the door will think that his allies have returned, and you have a few options to exploit that assumption.

You can also pick the lock, but either way you have a chance to kill him before he warns the rest of his crew. Then you can use a lever next to the other door in this room to open it and catch the other bandits by surprise; there’s a volatile barrel in the midst of the looters that will explode if exposed to fire. This can help you even the odds before they overwhelm you.

If you take one of the first two options, after the battle you’ll find a door in the southwest corner of the room where the bandits were gathered. This door cannot be picked, so instead you need to head through the door to the south.

A light shines on a large statue in the center of the room, and if you head behind it, one of your characters may perceive a skull-shaped switch. Activating it will open the door in the previous room, so head back and enter the next area known as the Dank Crypt.

Head north into a large room with several skeletons - and a statue of Jergal, the final scribe - lying around to proceed with the quest.

The final alternative - handy if none of your characters perceive the skull-shaped switch - to enter the ruins is to head east around the outside of the temple, climbing down the vines and over to a hatch. This will take you directly to the Dank Crypt, but it’s still worth it to fight the bandits for the experience. The adjacent room from here is the Jergal statue room, where you’ll need to be in order to proceed.

If you do manage to pick the lock on the door Shadowheart was trying to open, you’ll also find yourself in the Dank Crypt. Carefully traverse this room full of sarcophagi, because there are numerous traps that can kill your party in a few short seconds. If you have a trap disarming kit, and someone with sufficient dexterity, you can disable the traps and collect your riches from the sarcophagi. Once you’re done here, head through the small connecting room to enter the room with Jergal's statue.

Jergal's Statue Room

Now that you’ve made it to this room, be ready to fight. You can make this fight a little easier by looting the skeletons so they don’t have any melee weapons to attack with if they come to life. When you’re ready, head to the north side of the room, to the left of the large statue, and activate the button that appears. This will open a hidden chamber and revive the skeletons for a fight! Focus on the skeletons one at a time to defeat them, and don’t be afraid to use healing potions. They’re perfect for healing your low level characters early in the campaign.

Once they’re all defeated, head to the chamber you opened when you pressed the button. Interact with the large sarcophagus to speak to Withers, a non-hostile undead that waxes philosophical. Answer his questions in order to complete the quest! You can also loot his sarcophagus and the heavy chest in the room afterwards for some additional rewards, including an amulet that allows you to briefly revive a corpse to speak with it.

Once you’ve completed the quest, Withers will appear in your camp, offering to revive any dead allies, or even to reclass your character for 100 gold, letting you completely pivot to another class or rethink your class levelling choices at each level.

Use the links below for more Side Quests in the area:

• Free Lae'zel
• Rescue the Gnome
• Search the Cellar