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You can pick up his quest early in Act 1 but can’t resolve it until Act 3. Is saving Duke Ravengard in Baldur’s Gate 3 worth the effort?
In Baldur’s Gate 3, Duke Ulder Ravengard is the Supreme Marshall of the Flaming Fist and father of potential companion Wyll. You won’t meet him in the game until Act 3, but he will strongly influence Wyll’s personal history if you recruit the Blade of Frontiers. Furthermore, Duke Ravengard will still appear in your play-through as the Grand Duke of Baldur’s Gate, even without Wyll’s presence. Unfortunately for the Duke, he has become unintentionally entangled in the schemes of the Absolute cultists. The choice to save him can have consequences in your relationship with Wyll, the contract with Mizora, your truce with Gortash, and more!
Therefore, this guide will contain some minor spoilers for Acts 1 and 2 and larger ones for Acts 3. Additionally, it will also include information about how this choice can impact companion relationships and the epilogue.
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Finding Duke Ravengard in Baldur’s Gate 3
You will first learn of Duke Ravengard in Act 1, see him in person during late Act 2, and finally meet and interact with him in Act 3. Furthermore, if you can find and save him later in Act 3, he will become a camp follower, and you can speak to him when you return for Long Rests.
Your first chance to learn about the Duke will come at the Waukeen’s Rest location in the northwestern portion of the world map in Act 1. When you first approach, you will find the large inn on fire and a contingent of Flaming Fists trying to save someone inside. Bring Wyll along in your active party if you have him recruited, and you’ll automatically pick up the Rescue the Grand Duke quest. Save Counsellor Florrick, and she’ll tell you cultists have taken the Duke.
Tracking the cultists will lead you to the Goblin Camp in Act 1 and then ultimately to Moonrise Towers in Act 2. You won’t find the Duke until the very end of the act, just before the final climax with Ketheric Thorm. The Duke has been captured and is now infected with a tadpole. You can do nothing for him now, as Orin and Gortash will take him with them as they leave for Baldur’s Gate.
Duke Ravengard in Act 3
Finally, you can meet Duke Ravengard once you arrive in Wyrm’s Rock Fortress in Act 3. The main story events will strongly suggest you attend Gortash’s investment ceremony in the Audience Hall. You will find the Duke there and can speak to him after the formalities have ended. While there will be a glimmer of the Duke’s former self, he remains under the control of the tadpole. While you could start a fight in the Audience Hall, your chances are not good, and a strategic retreat is the best course of action.
Outside the Audience Hall, Mizora will speak to your party. She will tempt Wyll with a choice: Remain bound to Mizora, and she will help the party free the Duke. Or, leave the Duke to his fate, and she will break her pact with Wyll. Both choices have interesting story consequences for Wyll.
Choosing to Save Duke Ravengard in Baldur’s Gate 3
If you agree to Mizora’s terms, she will tell you that Duke Ravengard is being held at a prison called the Iron Throne. However, even if you don’t accept her terms, you can still find a way to save him. Another side quest called Avenged the Drowned can lead you to the same location.
However, there are important consequences you should be aware of. First, entering the prison will anger Gortash. If you were in a truce with him before this point, entering the Iron Throne will break it. Upon your return to the city, the Steel Watch will become aggressive.
Secondly, after discovering you, Gortash will flood the Iron Throne to destroy it. This will turn the location into a timed event, where you only have a certain amount of turns to pull off your rescue. If playing on Explorer difficulty, you will have 8 turns, 6 on Balanced, and only 5 on Tactician.
Finally, there are other prisoners in the Iron Throne that you can save. Aside from the Duke, there are also Omeluum and 12 Gondian gnomes. Saving them all can be challenging, but it is possible.
How to save Duke Ravengard in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Visit the Water Queen’s House in the far southwestern portion of the city map.
- Speak to Flood Tide Allandra Grey and pick up the Avenged the Drowned quest.
- Speak to the fisherman at the docks, leading you to Flymm Cargo.
- Inside, go through the hatch into the basement.
- Find Redhammer and convince him to give you a ride on his submersible.
- Get the Duke out of his cell and back to the submersible before time runs out.
- If you have broken Wyll’s contract, Mizora will appear and try to kill the Duke.
Consequences of Saving Duke Ravengard in BG3
Once you and the Duke safely return to the submersible, you can speak to a clear-headed elder Ravengard. The Emperor has now extended his protection from the tadpole to the Duke. Ravengard will speak as if waking from a slumber. Thank you for helping him. Strangely, even if Wyll was at the rescue party, he and his son have not spoken yet. However, Duke Ravengard will now join your party as a camp follower. The next time you visit camp or your room at the Elfsong Tavern, you can speak to him and see a reunion between father and son.
Now that Duke Ravengard is free, you should take care of several pieces of fallout from the rescue. Additionally, the Duke will provide you with a possible new lead on protecting the city and defeating the Elder Brain.
Breaking your Truce with Gortash
As mentioned above, breaking into the Iron Throne to save Duke Ravengard in Baldur’s Gate 3 will anger Gortash. It would now be broken if you had agreed to a truce with him. Consequently, all of the Steel Watchers in the city will now be on high alert for you. They will become aggressive and attack should they catch sight of you.
It is incredibly convenient that you should be near the docks and the Steel Foundry. We highly recommend you go there next to disable the Steel Watch. Successfully doing so will cause all of the machines to collapse, allowing you to walk through the city again freely.
Save the Gondians
Strongly tied into the Steel Watch Foundry are the Gondians, who are forced to build the deadly machines. They are doing so only because they have been forced to, as Gortash was holding family members hostage. Those hostages are the Gondians in cells inside the Iron Throne. If you could save any of them, particularly Obelia Toobin, a gnome named Zanner at the Foundry is much more willing to help.
It can be challenging, but as you fight through the Foundry, do your best to keep as many Gondians alive as possible. Especially Zanner, as his help is vital to the ultimate destruction of the facility.
Destroying the Steel Watch Foundry and all of the active Steel Watch machines will give you a much easier time when you’re ready to face Gortash. Additionally, it will make it much easier for your party to move around the city streets.
Finding Ansur and the Wyrmway
When you speak with Duke Ravengard for the first time after rescuing him, he will tell you of Ansur, a legendary dragon that sleeps under the city. Supposedly, he waits to be called when Baldur’s Gate most needs his protection. Most people believed him to be a myth, but Ravengard confirms that the stories are true. Duke Ravengard and Counsellor Florrick are the only two NPCs with this information, and Wyll must have been recruited so either of them could share it with you.
Either way, you can only find Ansur by entering the Wyrmway and getting into the Wyrmway through a secret entrance in Wyrm’s Rock Prison. Look for the two dragon sconces on the wall on the west side of the prison. Next, hit them with lightning spells or arrows to open the doorway. Proceed, and you will encounter the Wyrmway Trials, which you must complete before entering Ansur’s lair. In this chamber, you will discover incredible revelations about the Emperor’s backstory, fight a dragon, and come away with fantastic loot.
Romance with Wyll
If you are in a romance with Wyll, saving his father, Duke Ravengard, is necessary for the relationship. If the Duke should die at the Audience Hall, later at the Iron Throne, or if you refuse to go there and save him, Wyll will break off the romance. He will state that he is too upset and afraid of hurting you in his grief.
If you saved Duke Ravengard, are in a romance with Wyll, and have enough approval, you can trigger the final romance scene with him. After your next Long Rest visit camp, Wyll should have an exclamation mark above his head. Speak to him, and this should imitate a scene where Wyll takes you to a spot from his childhood on the banks of the Chionthar. What happens next we won’t spoil, but it is here you can fulfill your romance with Wyll or break his heart!
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