Crägholdt Bluffs

Crägholdt Bluffs is a location in The White March - Part I.

Background[ | ]

The domain of the great mage Concelhaut is currently under siege by a group of mercenaries calling themselves the Torn Bannermen. They are trying to force the mage to turn over control of a powerful magical artifact to them. Commander Baelorin acts under the orders of an undisclosed third party, which has also seen fit to distract local authorities so that he can attempt to seize the artifact and kill the great mage. However, the assault has stalled, as as soon as the siege engines breached the outer defenses, Concelhaut's undead legion shambled outside and attacked. The mercenaries remain in a holding pattern, waiting for reinforcements to finally storm the keep in force.

Points of interest[ | ]

You can travel to the area from the world map after receiving the quest Siege of Crägholdt from the stronghold steward. Be aware, all opponents are quite strong, so this is better played with a well equipped high level party, and carefully so you don't fight too many at once. You will instantly meet two guards, intent on preventing anyone from passing. You can try to regale them with tales of your adventures or affiliations, though the dialogue inevitably results in a fight.
A short distance to the northeast from where you started there is a camp with a sleeping Orlan and a locked chest that contains 1,800 and Camping Supplies. The chest can be opened with Mechanics 14, or a key which can be taken from the sleeping orlan nearby (see below for details).
Reaching Concelhaut is your primary goal, and can be achieved in two ways. One includes forcing your way through the camp and several insanely high level fighters (making this a very high level area). There are two routes to take, one along the eastern side of the cliffs and the other to the west.
- The eastern route contains the command tent with the Unsigned Letter and the primary firing range and fighting ring where the mercs practice. You can then choose to continue east to a waterfall cascading over the cliffs, ducking into the cave nearby (though expect more fighting inside), or loop around and continue northwest past more camps.
For a quiet(ish) approach, this route is your best bet, though will require high Stealth on all party members (ideally 10 or more). After entering scouting mode, you can just squeeze past the guards at the start sticking close to the cliffs on the southern edge of the map until reaching the cave at the eastern end of the area. Forget about skipping the rest of the level though, since the cave doesn't lead through to the manor (the way is sealed from the other side), so you'll have to fight your way back west along the edge of the upper cliffs. Be sure to draw the enemies back east to avoid aggro'ing all the enemies you snuck past.
- The western route goes through the outer camps and a ritual area on the cliffs between the fork. If you choose to go north from the starting point, you can cut out most of the fights, save for Crothar, a high level ogre. At any rate, Commander Baelorin waits at the entrance to the outer perimeter of the fortress to the northwest, giving you a chance to approach and talk him. Once you are finished talking, he will attack.

Sleeping orlan interaction[ | ]

In the southwestern corner of the area is a sleeping orlan holding a key to the nearby chest. The interaction is unchanged if you already picked the lock on the chest. If you choose to quietly approach him, you can choose who you send (yourself or anyone from the party who is close enough, < 20m away):

The chosen character will need Stealth 12 to avoid stepping on a dry twig, thus waking him up. If this happens at daytime, he will see you, then you have several options (following requirements are checked only on the character you have chosen):
- [Call to Slumber] (a Wizard's spell) → you make him fall asleep again
- [Puppet Master] (a Cipher's ability) → you make him fall asleep again
- [Wild Sprint] (a Barbarian's ability) → you charge and kill him
- [Long Stride] (a Monk's ability) → you charge and kill him
All abilities must have uses remaining, where applicable
- If you have a dagger, crossbow, hunting bow, war bow, or spear equipped in the primary slot, you can throw/fire it and kill him silently.
  - This kills the orlan instantly if the character is level 12 or greater, otherwise he is only wounded, taking 50 damage before starting combat.
  - If you threw a dagger, Hiravias is in the party, and you previously played a round of Orlan's Head with him in the party, he will remark: "You better not have learned that where I think you learned that."
- Charge him (no requirement), but you turn out to be too slow, and he will yell for help. This ends the dialogue and starts a fight with him, which enemies in the vicinity will join into.
- Do nothing. This also results in a fight.
If he wakes up at night time, he will not recognise you and think you are part of his dreams and fall asleep again, then you have the same options as if you had passed the Stealth 12 check, or if you subsequently cast a sleeping spell on him:
- Try to take the key. Success requires Dexterity 17, giving you the Orlan's Key. He will sleep on, but will awake and join the fight when you attack nearby enemies. If you fail, he will start the fight.
- Try to kill him silently. Success requires Might 17. You can loot the key from his body afterwards. If you fail, he will start the fight, and takes 75 damage from your attempt.
- Walk away: this leaves him as is. If a twig was stepped on previously, any character may freely approach again without needing to pass the Stealth check to avoid the twigs.