Baldur’s Gate 3 – How to get past the rubble in Grymforge

In Grymforge, an Act 1 area of Baldur’s Gate 3, there’s a Duergar named Herdmaster Skarjall who’s trying to get past the rubble blocking his path. This road will lead you to the Adamantine Forge down the line. His choice is to use a group of Rothe beasts. However, these creatures aren’t very happy and could cause a cave-in if you aren’t careful. While you can use explosives, there are other ways around this mess.

How to get through the Grymforge rubble in BG3

There are two large piles of rubble in Grymforge that you need to get past. First, there is the one near Herdmaster Skarjall. There are a few methods you can use to get past this rubble:

1. Explosives – If you have Smokepowder Bombs, you can use them to blast the rubble away, damaging the animals and Duergar in the process and likely starting a fight.
2. Animal Handling – You can pass an Animal Handling skill check to convince the Rothe to open the secret passage leading to the forge.
3. Speak with Animals – You can use the Speak With Animals spell or a potion to convince the Deep Rothe to work more on the rubble or join you in the fight against the Duergar.
4. You can have the Duergar whip the Rothe more – This will lead to the Duergar and the Rothe becoming hostile.

The best method is to rely on your animal handling skills if you have them. Of course, you can use any smoke powder in your inventory to clear it out as well, but that’s best saved for actual fights. Rather than go this route, you can also use force damage spells like Eldritch Blast. If you choose, you can also attempt to use your Persuasion and Intimidation skills.

You can find the pile of rubble near the docks that you arrive at. Simply go up the stairs and turn around. There is also an area here where you can speak with a Duergar historian who will ask you to make a few skill-based observations. For destroying the rubble, your reward will be the ability to venture further into the ruined city and ultimately discover the location of the Adamantine Forge.

The second, even larger pile of rubble in the area is for the “Free True Soul Nere” quest. To help the gnomes in this situation, you must get your hands on the Smokepowder Bombs or the Runepowder Vial from Philomeen, which will allow you to free Nere.