Baldur's Gate 3: How to Solve Thorm Mausoleum Puzzle (2024)

In Baldur’s Gate 3’s Act 2, players will set out on a journey to “Reach Moonrise Towers” after completing the quest “Rescuing the Druid Halsin.“ Moonrise Towers is a significant location in BG3's story that players will explore in their search for the Nightsong. The party’s adventure begins immediately at the start of Act 2 and may require significant exploration, battling, and questing before they reach their destination.

Moonrise Towers is located in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, an anathematized area accessed via Grymforge, located in the Underdark, or by traveling through the Mountain Pass. The Shadow-Cursed Lands feature numerous puzzles and challenges throughout the region, the most significant of which involves handling the oppressive Darkness blanketing the land. The player may also discover the Thorm Mausoleum during their travels, a small dungeon with a big secret. Read on to learn how to solve the puzzle of Thorm Mausoleum in Baldur's Gate 3.

Updated November 6th, 2023: To progress to the Gauntlet of Shar in Baldur's Gate 3, players will first need to navigate an area called the Thorm Mausoleum. This place is fairly easy to find once players make it to the Cursed Lands in Act 2 but getting through the mausoleum itself involves solving a peculiar painting puzzle. To better help players in how to solve the painting puzzle in Thorm Mausoleum and progress to the area past it, the following guide has been updated to include a short video.

Related: Baldur's Gate 3: Underdark or Mountain Pass Choice Guide

How to Reach the Shadow-Cursed Lands

The appropriately named Shadow-Cursed Lands are just that: a dreadful region plagued by a curse that causes the player and their party members to take constant and significant damage whenever in darkness. Therefore, it is crucial to ready appropriate spells or equip items that will generate the necessary light needed to ensure safe travel.

If the player ventures to the region by traveling through the Underdark and via Grymforge, they will need to ensure they bring torches or equip spells that generate light to ensure they don’t find themselves stuck in the dark. Luckily, there are torches available in Grymforge that players can simply grab and equip when necessary.

If arriving through the Mountain Pass, the player may gain assistance from a Drider NPC named Kar'niss. However, this method requires the player to side with the Goblins in Act 1 and kill the residents of the Druid Grove. However, Kar’niss will escort the player and their party to the Moonrise Towers with the assistance of a magical light source called the Moonlantern. The player may also find similar assistance at the Last Light Inn.

Regardless of how they access the Shadow-Cursed Lands and decide to handle the constant passive damage caused by the Darkness, the player will ultimately reach the Moonrise Towers. On the way, however, there are numerous areas within the lands that players can explore, discovering new challenges and puzzles resulting in experience gain and powerful rewards.

Related: Baldur's Gate 3: How to Rescue All the Prisoners from Moonrise Towers

Where to Find the Thorm Mausoleum

One such puzzle can be encountered in the northeastern corner of the Shadow-Cursed Lands, in the town of Reithwin, through a building called the Grand Mausoleum. While optional, it’s worth heading to this destination to experience an additional story that involves assisting the cunning cambion Raphael. Be sure to grab the Grand Mausoleum Waypoint nearby.

The player and their party will first need to make their way past the House of Healing and Grand Mausoleum to reach the entrance to Thorm Mausoleum at coordinates (X:-118 Y:112). Within each Mausoleum, players can find some standard loot and should also collect the two Diaries of Malus Thorm and the Stained Book if they come across them in their looting. These tomes offer hints to solving the puzzle players will encounter within Thorm Mausoleum along with some background story.

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How to Solve the Puzzle of Thorm Mausoleum

Deep inside the Mausoleum, in the northernmost room, players will discover a room featuring a variety of trapped Marble Plates which should be carefully disarmed. With the traps handled, players can safely explore and will notice three large paintings adorning the walls. These pictures are the key to solving the enigma and eventually reaching Shar’s Sanctum.

If the player is not confident in their ability to disarm the traps on the floor surrounding the paintings, they may consider splitting their party using the “Toggle Group Mode” command (bound by default to the G key). They can then place their party out of harm's way and take only one character in to work on the traps (Astarion is great for this). This helps avoid situations where the meandering of party members may result in unintentionally activating any of the traps.

The three paintings in the room are labeled, with the names visible when mousing over the painting or pressing the Alt key. There is an interactive button on the wall just below each painting.

These buttons must be pressed in a specific order to open the doors on either side of the painting of the “General,” located at the back of the room featuring a large sarcophagus. If the player selects the incorrect order, the room will fill with darkness, and they will have to attempt again.

There are hints detailed in the three books the player may have collected, but players can solve this puzzle easily by pressing the buttons below the paintings in this order:

1. Moonrise Towers (West)
2. Grief (East)
3. General (North)

Once the player has successfully executed this task, this completes the puzzle of Thorm Mausoleum. The doors on either side of the final painting will safely open, and the player can proceed into the Gauntlet of Shar.

Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. A PS5 version is set to release on September 6th, 2023, and an Xbox Series X/S version is currently in development.