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Overview

Ulgoth's Beard is a small village added into the original Baldur's Gate by the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack. The three extra components of the expansion pack -- Durlag's Tower, Ice Island and Werewolf Island -- all have their starting points within Ulgoth's Beard, along with the quests that relate to them.

There is no combat within the village, and there are some nice items to purchase. However, access to the village itself is difficult early on, due to the ankhegs that can be encountered in the adjacent maps (AR1400 and AR0900). As such, most groups arrive at Ulgoth's Beard at some point in Chapter 4 or 5.

The village itself lies on the banks of the River Chionthar, just upstream from Baldur's Gate. The farm-dotted countryside is usually a peaceful haven from the turmoil of the Sword Coast, but lately that has stopped being the case. The simple fishing village has become the source of many evil tidings in recent days. There have been rumurs of an ancient cult risen again, unsubstantiated tales of a murderous creature stalking the night, and talk of strange goings on in the house of Shandalar, the powerful and eccentric mage who makes his home in the normally sleepy village. You have also heard with certainty that tours of Durlag's Tower operate from Ulgoth's Beard, and that it is truly a place where adventurers can test their mettle. Perhaps such a test will better prepare you to fight the darkness that threatens to destroy the Sword Coast and you with it.


1 - House

Inside this house you'll find a Bastard Sword +1, a cursed Oil of Speed, a Pearl, and more. Just be aware that if the commoner inside sees you looting any of her containers, then she'll call the guards.


2 - Dushai

You'll meet the gnome mystic Dushai here. When you first arrive in the village, she'll tell you that she's meditating and ask you to come back later. After you've spoken to Mendas (#9), Dushai is supposed to tell you about Balduran for the low, low price of 100 gp, but this has never worked for us in the EE. Of more importance, you can pickpocket Dushai for a Ring of Free Action and a scroll of Web.


3 - Ulgoth's Beard Inn

When you enter this inn, you'll be stopped by Hurgan Stoneblade, who will ask you to retrieve his grandfather's Soultaker Dagger from Durlag's Tower. However, after defeating the demon knight there and claiming the dagger, when you return to the village, cultists will steal the dagger from you, and you'll never get a chance to turn it in -- which means you won't receive a reward for the quest. To offset this, you can pickpocket Hurgan for The Kneecapper.

Galken (in the main room) will offer to sell you a Dwarven Rune Wardstone for 900 gp. However, the wardstone doesn't actually do anything, so you should save your money.

The Bartender (in the main room) will perform regular innkeeper duties, and he'll also sell you some intersting items, including Aule's Staff +3 (aka a Quarterstaff +3), a Cloak of Displacement, a Greenstone Amulet, a Large Shield +1, and a Sandthief's Ring.

You can also pick up a War Hammer +1 from a locked wardrobe in one of the rooms.


4 - Ike

Ike will offer to give you a tour of Durlag's Tower for 60 gp. If you agree, then he'll leave the village and meet you there. Accepting the deal will also put Durlag's Tower on your world map.


5 - Shandalar

When you approach this spot, the mage Shandalar will ask you to retrieve a cloak that he "misplaced" on Ice Island. When you tell him that you're ready to go, he'll teleport you to the island, where you'll have to retrieve the cloak before you can return. If you're in Chapter 5, then you should be able to survive the battles required for the quest. When you eventually deliver the cloak to Shandalar, you'll earn 500 xp.

Note: You can pickpocket several scrolls from Shandalar, including Feeblemind, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, and more.

Another Note: If you have a low Reputation, or if you killed Shandalar's daughters in Baldur's Gate Central, then he'll send you to Ice Island whether you want to go or not.


6 - Therella's Home

Inside this home you'll meet Therella. She'll ask you to look for her son Dalton, who recently joined some adventurers and went off to loot Durlag's Tower. After finding Dalton in the tower (on Lower Level 4), when you return to Therella, she'll reward you with 300 gp.


7 - Shandalar's Home

In the basement of this home you'll discover a large sigil on the floor, but you won't be able to do anything with it until after you've cleared out Durlag's Tower. See the Ulgoth's Beard (After Durlag's Tower) page for more information.


8 - Delsvirftanyon

If your Reputation is high enough, then the gnome shopkeeper Delsvirftanyon will tell you that he's going out of business, and he'll offer you all of his remaining wares for 500 gp. If you take him up on this offer, then you'll receive some jewelry, Leather Armor +1, a Dwarven Rune Wardstone, and a Wardstone Forgery. The two wardstones aren't needed for anything, but if you sell all of the other items, then you'll receive more than 500 gp, making the deal is worthwhile.


9 - Mendas's Home

Inside this home you'll meet the scholar Mendas. He'll tell you that sailors recently discovered a shipwreck on Werewolf Island, and that it might be the remains of the vessel Balduran took when he disappeared years ago. So Mendas will ask you to sail to Werewolf Island and search the wreck for clues about what happened. The only problem is that only the Merchants' League has the Sea Charts necessary for the trip, and so you'll need to acquire the charts from them before you can leave.

Note: After leaving Mendas' home, you're supposed to encounter the fisherman Calahan, who would tell you that Mendas is hiding something. We've never gotten this encounter to trigger in the EE.

You'll find the Sea Charts in the Merchants' League Counting House in Baldur's Gate Northeast. You can either fight your way to them or talk your way to them. See the Baldur's Gate Northeast (TOSC) page for more details.

When you hand over the Sea Charts to Mendas, he'll pay you 2000 gp, and he'll tell you that he's already hired a ship to take you to Werewolf Island. He'll then leave his house and head west to the docks. To take the trip, you'll just need to talk to Mendas at the docks.

When you reach Werewolf Island, you'll discover that it is appropriately named, as you'll run into werewolves and wolfweres while you're there. You'll also track down Balduran's ship, and when you search it you'll find Balduran's Logbook. For more details about the island, please refer to the Werewolf Island pages.

When you return to Ulgoth's Beard with the logbook, you'll be greeted at the docks by Baresh. He'll quickly reveal that Mendas is really Selaad Gan, the missing leader of the werewolves, and he'll ask you where Mendas' mate Kaishas is. You won't have any choice in the matter. You'll have to tell Baresh that Kaishas is dead, and that you killed her. This will cause Baresh to storm off to Mendas' home.

Inside the home, Mendas won't be happy with you, either, and no matter what you say to him, he and Baresh will transform into loups garous and attack you. Mendas' loup garou is more powerful than Baresh's, and you might need to use your special werewolf-killing weapons on him, but otherwise the fight should not be overly difficult. You'll earn 3700 xp for defeating the duo, and you'll find a Chain Mail +3 on Baresh's corpse. You can also loot a chest in Mendas' home for 980 gp.


10 - Fenrus

If you're nice to Fenrus then he'll tell you some of the history of Durlag's Tower.