eXputer
Subscribe

Locationmajor

Baldur's Mouth

Baldur’s Mouth is a publishing house in the Eastway district of the Lower City in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Importancemajor

Key takeaways

  • Baldur’s Mouth is west of the Basilisk Gate waypoint, south of the Elfsong Tavern, and beside Nortale’s Hostel.
  • Stop the Presses becomes time-sensitive after speaking with Ettvard Needle If the party takes a Long Rest without changing the planned headline, the negative article is printed.
  • After Gortash dies, the quest can no longer be started if it has not already been picked up.
  • The safest route to the printing press is usually through the roof and the concealed elevator entrance, rather than through the guarded newsroom.
  • The basement is patrolled by two Steel Watchers, and the party cannot fast-travel or visit camp while inside it.
  • The building contains printing blocks, documents, keys, minor loot, silver ingots, thieves’ tools, trap-disarming kits and the quest-critical positive article.

About this guide

Spoiler warning: This guide covers Act Three, the Lower City, the quest Stop the Presses, the Baldur’s Mouth interior, its basement and roof, and several progression-dependent NPC changes.

Overview

Baldur’s Mouth is a publishing house in the Eastway district of the Lower City in Baldur’s Gate 3. It prints the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette, the city’s principal newspaper, as well as posters displayed throughout Baldur’s Gate. The building is not merely a decorative newsroom. It is the setting for Stop the Presses, an Act Three quest involving Enver Gortash’s political influence, editor-in-chief Ettvard Needle, a magically operated printing press and the pixie Jelliwig.

The location’s practical scope includes the street and plaza outside the newspaper, the main newsroom and editor’s office, the basement printing works and the accessible rooftop. Nearby buildings such as Nortale’s Hostel, Elfsong Tavern, Old Jol’s and Highberry’s Home are neighbouring Lower City locations, not internal subareas of Baldur’s Mouth.

Geography and boundaries

Baldur’s Mouth is a single large publishing building rather than a broad neighbourhood or a district of its own. Its external area is a small plaza with a tree, tables holding newspaper copies and several groups of city residents. The main entrance is on the eastern side of the building, close to the road running between the Basilisk Gate area and the Elfsong Tavern. The building is west of the Basilisk Gate waypoint and south of the Elfsong Tavern.

These places belong to the surrounding Lower City and should not be treated as rooms or wings of the newspaper building.

Included areas

The nearby crowd scenes, reporters, guards and protesters are associated with the Baldur’s Mouth exterior category, but some stand in the surrounding street rather than inside the publishing house.

Reaching Baldur’s Mouth

The simplest approach is to travel to the Basilisk Gate waypoint and follow the road west. The building is recognisable by its newspaper-themed facade and the gargoyle faces beside the main doors, each with a scroll of paper hanging from its mouth.

The main entrance is initially usable. However, once Ettvard Needle has spoken to the party and expelled them, the front door becomes locked, making later entry more difficult. For that reason, it is sensible to explore the public parts of the newsroom and inspect available documents before confronting the editor, especially if you want to avoid repeated infiltration.

Alternative entrances: There are three useful approaches

  1. 01
    Main entrance The normal route into the newsroom. This is the least suspicious option before the quest progresses.

Alternative entrances

  1. 01
    Guarded rear balcony door The back door is on a balcony and can be reached by jumping or by spells such as Misty Step or Fly. It is locked and normally requires a DC 15 Sleight of Hand check, unless opened with the key carried by Inocente Bramm.

Alternative entrances

  1. 01
    Rooftop and elevator route The southern side of the building has wooden platforms and scaffolding leading to the roof. From there, the party can reach a destructible barricade above the elevator and enter the basement from an angle that is difficult for witnesses to observe. This is one of the most useful routes for Stop the Presses.

Building layout

Exterior plaza

The plaza contains several tables with loose packs of newspapers. These copies are red-outlined, but can be read while hidden or invisible. The issue changes after each Long Rest. The plaza is watched by Baldur’s Mouth guards, two Flaming Fists and a Steel Watcher.

Several conversations and crowd scenes take place here:

Some of these scenes disappear or change after major Act Three events. Augur Harxkellan and his audience vanish after Gortash is defeated, while the three additional onlookers appear after the Steel Watch Foundry is destroyed.

Newsroom

The main floor is a large split-level hall. The upper section near the entrance contains the elevator leading down to the basement. The editor’s office occupies part of the same floor, and the area contains baskets of discarded paper and printing blocks.

Before speaking to Ettvard, players can inspect the newsroom, search baskets and collect material relevant to the quest. The main floor includes:

A locked document chest in the office contains the Ink-Spattered Key, gold and a random arrow. It can be opened with the Silver Key or a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check. Two further chests contain minor loot.

Editor’s office

The office belongs to Ettvard Needle, the editor-in-chief. It is the narrative centre of the location and the place where the party learns that the next issue is intended to damage its reputation.

Ettvard’s stated reason for attacking the party varies according to the party’s previous actions. He may refer to the Open Hand Temple murder investigation, the Circus of the Last Days murders, the destruction of the Steel Watch Foundry, increased Absolutist activity or the treatment of tiefling refugees.

If Ettvard dies, he can be replaced after a Long Rest by Malek Stones. If both Ettvard and Malek are dead, Syril Valdemar takes the editor’s place. This is a progression detail rather than a separate location state.

Basement

The basement is the most important functional area. It contains:

Two Steel Watchers patrol the basement corridors. Invisibility, Greater Invisibility, hiding, turn-based movement and careful use of Dash can allow the party to pass without combat. The internal gate can be lockpicked, while wooden barricades in the northern rooms provide an alternative route around it.

The basement has a special restriction: the party cannot fast-travel or visit camp while inside it. Prepare spells, healing and equipment before entering.

Rooftop

The roof is accessible from the building’s southern scaffolding or from a higher western platform with a ladder. The western route leads to double doors opening onto the far end of the newsroom’s movable bridge, but the character may be spotted by a guard below.

A loose plank on the roof requires a DC 15 Perception check to notice. It conceals:

The southeastern section of the roof contains a destructible barricade covering a hole above the elevator. It is red-outlined but positioned away from NPC sightlines, making it an effective stealth entrance.

Residents, workers and visitors

Principal residents and story characters

Jelliwig is not a conventional shopkeeper or combat boss. The pixie operates the press and can help replace the hostile headline if the party earns its cooperation.

Guards and security personnel

The Steel Watch presence is especially important. One Steel Watcher observes the plaza, while two patrol the basement. The remaining listed units are associated with the building’s guards and internal or nearby security layout.

Named people outside or near the building

The following named characters are associated with the Baldur’s Mouth exterior or nearby street scenes:

The category listing also records a broader set of named characters associated with the location, including Bronte, Delcan, Glimmer Whistleborn, Jarlath, Salene Freig, Trina and Ty Willowbrook. Their exact placement or appearance can depend on scene conditions, and the available location category does not establish that every one is permanently present inside the building.

Factions and security

Baldur’s Mouth is aligned with the city’s political information network rather than being an independent neutral newspaper. The Gazette has become a means for Gortash to influence public opinion, and Ettvard’s cooperation allows the paper to frame events in Gortash’s favour.

The building’s security reflects this relationship. The entrance plaza is publicly visible and patrolled, while the basement is protected by Steel Watchers. The party can trespass, steal documents and infiltrate restricted areas, but open violence may create a wider confrontation depending on how it is handled.

Stop the Presses walkthrough

Starting the quest

Stop the Presses can begin in either of two ways:

Estra reveals that the party is due to appear in the next edition. Ettvard confirms that the article will be hostile and then ejects the party from the building.

Time-sensitive progression

The quest becomes time-sensitive after speaking with Ettvard. If the party takes a Long Rest without changing the planned article, the negative headline is printed and the party’s reputation suffers around the city. Speaking only with Estra does not start this countdown.

If the quest has not been picked up before Gortash dies, it becomes unavailable. The paper then reports on the Archduke’s death instead, and Ettvard treats the party as old news.

Alternative outcomes

The quest records separate completion states for destroying the press, preventing the slander, printing a favourable article and allowing the damaging edition to appear.

Starting the quest

  1. 01
    Speak with Estra Stir near the Basilisk Gate.
  2. 02
    Speak directly with Ettvard Needle inside Baldur’s Mouth.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Prepare before entering the basement. Bring thieves’ tools, invisibility or Greater Invisibility if available. Do not rely on leaving for camp once underground.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Enter through the roof if possible. Reach the southern scaffolding with Jump, Misty Step or Fly. Move across the roof to the southeastern barricade.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Break through the roof barricade. Drop into the elevator area. Use the lever to reach the basement while avoiding the more visible newsroom route.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Pass the Steel Watchers. Use turn-based mode and stealth. Invisibility is the cleanest option, though the northern rooms and breakable barricades can also bypass sections of the corridor.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Find the test broadsheet. The basement contains a draft article describing the planned slander. Interacting with it can produce a DC 10 Intelligence check that hints that the press can be altered.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Speak with Jelliwig. The pixie operates the magical printing press. If Dolly Dolly Dolly was freed from the Moonlantern in Act Two, Jelliwig recognises the party and offers help more readily. Otherwise, dialogue and skill checks are required.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Find a replacement printing block. Positive and negative blocks are distributed through the newsroom and basement. The positive article is the most useful choice if the party wants a favourable newspaper.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Change the headline. Jelliwig can replace the hostile block with a positive one, remove the party from the article or otherwise alter the issue depending on the available options.

Recommended route

  1. 01
    Take a Long Rest only after completing the alteration. Then inspect a later newspaper copy in the city to confirm the result.

Items, documents and collectibles

Fixed or quest-relevant contents

The exact placement of printing blocks is important for the quest, but the building also contains numerous documents that provide context about the newspaper’s work, Gortash’s propaganda and the running of the press.

These documents are associated with the publishing house, although not every title represents a major quest clue.

Suggested exploration route

For a first visit, the safest order is:

Suggested exploration route: steps

  1. 01
    Visit the plaza and read the available newspaper copies.
  2. 02
    Speak with Estra Stir before entering if you want the quest introduced naturally.
  3. 03
    Explore the public newsroom and editor’s office.
  4. 04
    Search baskets for printing blocks.
  5. 05
    Loot or unlock the document chest if practical.
  6. 06
    Speak with Ettvard only when ready to proceed.
  7. 07
    Leave by the front entrance if possible, then return through the roof.
  8. 08
    Enter the basement and avoid the Steel Watchers.
  9. 09
    Read the test broadsheet.
  10. 10
    Speak with Jelliwig and install a favourable replacement.
  11. 11
    Long Rest only after the press has been altered.
  12. 12
    Read a later edition to confirm the outcome.

Lore and significance

Baldur’s Mouth represents the civic power of information in the Lower City. The Gazette is presented as the city’s only publication, making it an unusually effective tool for shaping public opinion. Gortash does not need every citizen to support him personally if the city’s dominant newspaper can frame his policies as necessary and portray opponents as dangerous or disreputable.

The location also connects several recurring Act Three themes:

Jelliwig’s presence adds a darker comic element. The newspaper’s modern-looking press is not wholly mechanical, but powered by a fey worker who treats the production of headlines as an artistic craft. Discovering the pixie can grant inspiration to characters with suitable backgrounds, including Sage, Criminal, Noble, Entertainer and Charlatan characters depending on the actions taken.

Sources