The de'Arnise Keep is the main building in the de'Arnise Hold area in Shadows of Amn.
For a basic and to the point "walkthrough" oriented description see the The de'Arnise Keep has been Invaded page. Information on this page and that page overlap in some subjects, but both together will fill out the questline.
First Floor[]
The quest to liberate the keep from its occupying invaders begins here.
Using the Secret Entrance to enter the keep releases the party into a couple of secret storage chambers. These lead to the Servants Quarters where they are beset by Troll after it kills a Servant. After slaying it, they can loot the various crates and barrels for a Light Crossbow +1, Bolts +1, Bolts of Lightning, a Potion of Defense, scrolls of Agannazar's Scorcher and Protection from Normal Weapons, 5 Potions of Extra Healing, and some normal sling bullets and throwing darts.
The Armoury[]
In this room, you will find the stable boy Daleson, one of the keep's few survivors who will give you some details about the invaders. Specifically, he warns the party about how they broke into the keep in the first place - with the aid of strange, burrowing monsters that seem to have a mind-befuddling gaze - and notes that their digging monsters have a strange fondness for dog stew. This is a valuable clue for defeating the Umber Hulks in the basement. He also mentions the Flail of Ages, a powerful flail that would certainly be handy for slaying the trolls. He wishes to remain where he is, as the trolls leave him be as long as he does mundane chores for them.
Looting the Armoury will provide the party with a Long Bow +1, a Spear +1, a Quarterstaff +1, Arrows of Fire, and Acid Arrows A secret door hidden in the north corner leads to the Forge room.
The Forge Room[]
In addition to a chest containing a Find Familiar scroll, this room is important; if one can retrieve the three flail heads hidden throughout the keep, they can be assembled here to create the Flail of Ages, a powerful magical weapon.
When complete, the Flail of Ages is a flail with +3 enchantment that inflicts elemental Acid, Cold and Fire bonus damage. It's also possible to assemble the Flail piece by piece, in which case the enchantment bonus and damage bonus are based on the number of heads added; adding the Acid and Fire heads, for example, would create a Flail +2 that does Acid and Fire bonus damage.
Assembling the complete Flail of Ages awards the party with 22,350 XP.
A secret doorway in this room leads to the Trophy Room.
The Trophy Room[]
This room contains 810 
, a Ring of Earth Control, and the Flail Head (Cold) for the Flail of Ages.
The Main Hall[]
A number of Troll Guards stalk this chamber and must be defeated to progress. The outer corridor has at its southernmost corner, a chest holding 450 gold pieces a Dagger +2.
Servant's Quarters[]
This room may be occupied by some more trolls (depends on party experience Level). Within, examine the two privies for a secret compartment containing a Star Sapphire. Within the Quarters proper are several chests, with a Scroll of Breach, and a Scroll of Protection from Normal Missiles.
The Kitchen[]
If you have the four pieces of Dog Meat from the Courtyard, you can cook up a pot of Dog Stew, earning the party 11500 XP. The woodpile has some Darts of Stunning concealed in it. It also has a door to an adjacent non-descript room which contains a staircase leading to the Second Floor. This room is inhabited with a troll terrorizing another hapless keep servant.
Courtyard[]
The courtyard is the external central area of the keep enclosed by the protective walls. The party cannot access the courtyard until they get inside of the keep and then work their way to the hallway that contains the exits to the courtyard.
An Otyugh roams the eastern area of the courtyard and must be killed to allow Captain Arat and his troops access.
In the western area of the courtyard there is found the surviving dogs of the keep. As Daleson mentioned when you spoke to him in the armoury, you can kill these dogs and take their meat to the kitchen to make dog stew, allowing for the completion of an unmarked side quest.
Once the Otyugh is killed, the stairs behind it lead to the keep's battlements, where a clockwise route takes the party to the drawbridge wheel. Lowering the drawbridge rewards the party with 29750 XP and triggers a battle that pits a Greater Yuan-ti and two Giant Trolls against Captain Arat and his troops that the party may choose to interfere in, but which Captain Arat and company will win regardless.
Second Floor[]
The Second Floor of the Keep hides a secret route down to the Cellar, and the player needs to travel through here to complete the quest. In addition, two of the three heads required to complete the Flail of Ages are to be found here.
Enemies encountered in this general area consist of Trolls, Giant Trolls, Ice Trolls and Spectral Trolls.
The Study[]
The Keep Key that opens the Locked Chambers and the room in which Nalia's Aunt is imprisoned is to be found here. However, the party will need to overcome a "Split Troll", the Tiny Trolls it creates upon death, an Ice Troll, and a Yuan-ti Mage to retrieve it.
There are also scrolls of Minor Spell Turning and Conjure Lesser Earth Elemental to retrieve here once the enemies are slain.
Locked Chambers[]
These chambers can only be accessed with the Keep Key. The northeastern locked door opens a series of secret passages that lead behind the study to a hidden room. There is a trap that needs to be disarmed here, but there is a Wand of Frost hidden in the fireplace and scrolls of Spell Thrust and True Sight hidden in the chamber between this room and Glaicus's Prison.
Glaicus's Secret chamber[]
Glaicus, a de'Arnise veteran retainer seemingly turned traitor, resides in this room. He is under the effects of an enchantment cast by one of the Yuan-ti mages, and if Nalia sees Glaicus first, she will drop a hint to this.
Glaicus is a difficult fight, being a strong Fighter who drinks potions of Fire Giant Strength, Extra Healing and Oil of Speed to enhance his prowess. Killing him rewards the player with 9500 EXP and the Acid Head for the Flail of Ages.
An alternate option is to counter Glaicus's enchantment with Dispel Magic or a Charm spell of the player's own - Dire Charm or Domination seem the best options, but the Ring of Human Influence will suffice as well. Successfully charming Glaicus is difficult but dispelling the effect is easy; in this case, he can be talked to and will explain what happened to him, giving the player the Acid Head and leaving. Breaking the enchantment and sending him to freedom rewards the player with 24800 XP.
Nalia's Aunt's Quarters[]
The southwestern door holds the chambers of Nalia's irksome aunt and her aggravated defender, Hendron. She will comment in disgust on the party and then leave, giving access to the Small Chapel and to the spiral staircase leading to the Cellar.
The Small Chapel[]
The Small Chapel houses three statues with enchanted weapons placed there for safekeeping - but also houses six golems to defend those items. Taking any weapon other than the Fire Flail Head will cause an associated set of golems to attack.
The left statue carries The Kneecapper and the Fire Head for the Flail of Ages. Taking the warhammer releases one Flesh Golem and one Stone Golem.
The middle statue carries the Elven Court Bow. Taking this releases one Clay Golem and one Iron Golem.
The right statue carries the Frostreaver. Taking this releases one Flesh Golem and one Stone Golem.
The Iron Golem is too large to fit through the door leading out of the chapel, so retreating there can be a valuable tactic.
Cellar[]
The Cellar of the keep is where the dungeon concludes.
The first chamber contains a trapped chest holding a Shield Amulet, whilst the second houses three Troll Guards. The chamber beyond that holds the last defense before TorGal himself; five Umber Hulks.
A party can try and fight them, but there is an alternative. As Daleson hinted too when you encountered him, if you have a stealth-cloaked Thief or an invisible character carry the dog stew through the gaols to the hulk burrow, they can place the stew there to lure the Umber Hulks back into their burrow. Moving swiftly, they can close both doors into the gaols, trapping the Umber Hulks without having to risk their deadly confusion attack. Doing this completes the unmarked Doggy Stew side quest and awards the party 18750 XP.
Finally, the party may confront TorGal and his Giant Troll bodyguards in the Family Chapel, a difficult battle indeed. However, the battle may be made easier if a thief or invisible creature enters the room where TorGal dwells. TorGal will follow the unseen assailant back to where the party waits, allowing the party to kill TorGal without his Troll Bodyguards. When TorGal falls, the column against which the former Lord de'Arnise is sprawled hides the treasure TorGal sought; 2126 , assorted gems, and a random scroll.
As a Stronghold[]
Governing the keep is not too involving. A Majordomo is available to handle the small details, but he will need you to visit the keep every few weeks in order to handle larger issues; a Keep Messenger may appear in other areas to summon you to the Keep for such matters.
Because the keep has peasants loyal to it, it generates a weekly amount of tax - 500 , by default. The player may opt to raise this amount, but this will anger the local peasantry.
An invisible "stat" associated with the keep is Revolt. This measures just how displeased the peasants are with the leadership provided by Gorion's Ward; starting with a value of zero, if it reaches a value of 10, then the peasants will revolt - the player will be permanently barred from accessing the keep and will lose all benefits of the Keep.
Talking to each of the four following individuals who inhabit the keep – Metigo the Butler, Olma the Cook, Talira the Maid, and Captain Cernick - will provide a subtle clue as to how high the Revolt score is. The less happy they are, the less happy the peasants are.
Approximately every seven to nine days, a notable problem that the player will need to handle will arise at the keep. There are eight of these in total, after which the keep no longer has quests associated with it, but it will continue to serve as a steady generator of .
For the specific mini-quests involved with the de'Arnise Keep as a Stronghold, see: Ruling the de'Arnise Keep and Lands.
Characters[]
- Daleson
- Glaicus
- Hendron – de'Arnise guard only identified by Nalia
- Lady Delcia Caan – Nalia's aunt
- TorGal
Notable loot[]
First floor[]
- Dog Stew – made in the kitchen by cooking 4 pieces of Dog Meat.
- Flail Head (Cold) – in the hidden room north of the forge.
Second floor[]
- Elven Court Bow – inside one of the chapel's statues.
- Flail Head (Acid) – dropped or given by Glaicus.
- Flail Head (Fire) – inside one of the chapel's statues.
- Frostreaver – inside one of the chapel's statues.
- Keep Key – inside a cupboard.
- The Kneecapper – inside one of the chapel's statues.
Cellar[]
- Dog Bones – inside the Umber Hulks' feeding room in the cellar.
- Orc Leather – inside a chest, in the Umber Hulks' room.
- Shield Amulet – inside a chest in the cellar's first room.
Related quests[]
Gallery[]
- Portraits from Portraits Portraits Everywhere
Bugs[]
As of BG2EE 2.6, several doors in various areas, including this one, would disappear when opened, leaving no way to close them. This is identified for correction in the pending Enhanced Edition Fix Pack (EEFP).
Reference: (ar0406.are, ar0711.are, ar1302.are, ar1307.are, ar1307.are, ar5007.are)
Mod Content[]
This section is about unofficial content that is only available via fan-made mods.
The Quest Pack mod can install New Fate For The Dryads’ Acorns component:
Are all dryads the beautiful, innocent creatures they appear to be? Originally created by Bons, this component adds an intriguing twist to the quest to return Irenicus’ dryads’ acorns to the Windspear Hills. Evil players may delight in the new opportunities afforded here, including a delicious gourmet meal. The quest begins with a new encounter which will take place in the south of the de’Arnise Keep if you have not already returned the acorns.
Installation of Sword Coast Stratagems Mod, and the Tactical Challenges for BG2 "Tougher de'Arnise Keep" component will add more trolls to the keep, including some powerful spellcasting spirit trolls, and upgrades Torgal a bit. The component, though not identical to the "Tougher Torgal" component of the Tactics Mod, is strongly influenced by it. The main differences from the Tactics version are a wider variety of troll reinforcements (not just spirit trolls) and a (hopefully!) cleverer, but slightly less tough, TorGal (who, in this version, has not stolen one of the flail heads).
Installation of the Golem Construction for Spellcasters Mod lets you have a chance to take control of one of the Golems in the Keep Chapel, assuming they weren't destroyed. You can see if any are available after you take the Keep as your Stronghold. These Golems are similar to a familiar and will travel with your party from area to area like a party member.