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Locationmajor

Forge of the Nine

The Forge of the Nine is an open-air smithy and weaponsmith’s premises in the Heapside district of the Lower City.

Importancemajor

Key takeaways

  • Dammon is here in Act Three if he survived Acts One and Two If he is absent, his earlier deaths or progression failures are more likely than a hidden entrance problem.
  • Karlach’s final engine upgrade happens here Bring Karlach and a piece of Infernal Iron if you want to complete the final stage of The Hellion’s Heart.
  • The forge has three main interior levels or sections the ground-floor smithy, Dammon’s first-floor living quarters and a separately accessed basement.
  • The basement is not directly connected to the ground floor Enter it through the side door or reach it by breaking through from Devil’s Fee.
  • The location contains fixed loot, not a crafting system The ingots, enhanced weapons, journal and unwanted masterwork equipment are placed items.
  • Do not confuse it with the Adamantine Forge in Grymforge The Forge of the Nine is an Act Three city smithy and has no Adamantine Forge-style mould-and-ore production system.

About this guide

Scope: Base game, Act Three, Lower City of Baldur’s Gate Spoiler level: Major spoilers for Dammon, Karlach, Lower City exploration and some Act Three loot Status: Research-based guide. The Forge of the Nine is a small but multi-level Lower City location, not merely Dammon’s outdoor shop. Its scope includes the open-air smithy, the main forge building, Dammon’s living quarters, a separate basement and a concealed connection to the basement of Devil’s Fee.

Overview

The Forge of the Nine is an open-air smithy and weaponsmith’s premises in the Heapside district of the Lower City. It is best known as Dammon’s Act Three workshop and as the final location connected to Karlach’s engine quest, but the location also contains several rooms, a useful cache of weapons and ingots, a journal, a locked chest, and a concealed route into the Devil’s Fee basement.

The forge stands between Devil’s Fee, the Lower City graveyard, Armbrust’s Home and Highberry’s Home. Its street-level surroundings also connect towards the square outside Sorcerous Sundries, making it a useful northern Lower City landmark even when no quest currently points you towards it.

Location boundaries and layout

The Forge of the Nine is a single named location with several connected and semi-connected sections, rather than a broad district. The surrounding Heapside streets, graveyard and neighbouring houses are useful orientation points but should not be treated as part of the forge itself.

Neighbouring places that are not part of the forge

The following are adjacent or connected locations, but remain separate named areas:

The most important boundary to remember is the relationship with Devil’s Fee. A breakable wall in the forge basement leads into Devil’s Fee’s basement, but the two locations have separate identities and separate interiors.

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Reaching the forge

The Forge of the Nine is in the northern portion of the Lower City, near the graveyard and Devil’s Fee. From the surrounding streets, look for the open terrace and smithing equipment rather than relying only on the building’s front door.

The exterior smithy entrance is documented around X: 5, Y: -7. Farther along the terrace, the door into the main Forge building is around X: -11, Y: -6. The main building door is locked and normally requires either Dammon’s Forge Key or a successful DC 15 Sleight of Hand check.

The basement has its own side entrance around X: -15, Y: 1. This door is also locked, but opening it does not normally create a crime problem. The Basement Key can be found in the mailbox near the forge door on the terrace. A DC 15 Sleight of Hand check can also open the door.

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Recommended arrival order

  1. 01
    Enter the Lower City and orient yourself by Devil’s Fee or the graveyard.
  2. 02
    Visit the outdoor smithy first and speak to Dammon if he is present.
  3. 03
    If Karlach is with you, keep her in the active party before beginning the conversation.
  4. 04
    Check Dammon’s inventory before looting the building.
  5. 05
    Collect the Basement Key from the mailbox.
  6. 06
    Explore the upper floor before entering the basement.
  7. 07
    Enter the basement through the side door, then inspect the cracked wall leading into Devil’s Fee.

Dammon and the forge’s main purpose

Dammon is the Forge of the Nine’s central resident and its only documented trader. He sells weapons and armour, including several powerful Act Three items. The trader list identifies him as a normal Lower City merchant whose stock category is weapons and armour.

His presence depends on his survival earlier in the campaign. Dammon appears in different locations across the three acts:

If Dammon dies before reaching Act Three, the Forge of the Nine remains as a physical location, but it does not gain a replacement smith or substitute infernal mechanic. Dammon is the only character who can carry out Karlach’s infernal-engine work.

Dammon’s Act Three services

If the relevant materials and quest conditions are satisfied, Dammon can:

The Infernal Iron crafting options are separate from ordinary shopping. Dammon’s crafting work is tied to the materials you bring and the relevant dialogue options. Once he has crafted all pieces of the Flawed Helldusk set, the option to trade additional Infernal Iron or Infernal Alloy for that set no longer remains useful.

Karlach’s final engine stage

Bring Karlach when visiting Dammon if you intend to progress Forging a Heart or The Hellion’s Heart. In Act Three, Dammon requires Infernal Iron for the final tune-up. Documented Act Three sources include:

The precise timing of the quest can depend on earlier choices, but the important progression condition is that Dammon must have survived through the earlier acts. If he died during the grove or Last Light Inn sequence, there is no alternate infernal mechanic to continue the repairs.

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Dammon and the forge’s main purpose

ActLocationRelevance
Act OneThe HollowFirst opportunity to work on Karlach’s engine
Act TwoLast Light InnSecond engine upgrade and further repairs
Act ThreeForge of the NineFinal city-based upgrade

Main forge building

The main building contains a ground-floor interior, first-floor living quarters and a separate basement area.

Ground floor

The interior ground floor is a working forge rather than a public shop floor. It contains:

The heavy chest is in the rear area and requires a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check. It contains three Silver Ingots. The ingot placements are fixed environmental loot rather than random rewards.

The ground floor is worth exploring even if Dammon’s shop inventory does not interest you. It provides additional materials and confirms that the Forge of the Nine is a functioning smithy, not just a vendor marker.

First floor

The first floor serves as Dammon’s living quarters. It is a small residential space rather than another commercial area.

Dammon’s Journal discusses the unusually large amount of infernal weaponry reaching Baldur’s Gate and connects the city’s supply of infernal iron to concerns about events such as Elturel’s fall. The journal is a lore item rather than a quest requirement.

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Basement

The basement is the forge’s most easily missed section. It is not connected to the ground floor by an internal staircase. It can be reached through the locked side door or by breaking through a wall from the basement of Devil’s Fee.

Basement contents

The area contains a second forge-like space and several fixed weapons:

The Mace +2 is documented in a weapon rack in the Forge of the Nine basement.

The potion and recipe book are described as random contents, so players should not treat their exact names as fixed collectibles. The weapons and masterwork pieces, by contrast, are named fixed items associated with the area.

The cracked wall

A Cracked Wall in the basement, documented around X: 391, Y: 370, can be smashed to reach the basement of Devil’s Fee. This is a connection between two neighbouring Lower City interiors, not an expansion of the Forge of the Nine’s named boundaries.

A character with a suitable weapon or attack can break the wall. If you are already exploring Devil’s Fee, the reverse route may be more convenient, but the Forge’s side door is the simplest direct entry when you have collected the Basement Key.

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Outdoor NPC vignettes

Several ordinary named NPCs stand around the forge. They are ambient residents or passers-by rather than members of the forge’s staff.

South of the forge, Fast Neddio and Theda Grosz discuss attractive Flaming Fists. Their exchange is a short environmental vignette, and they dismiss the party so they can continue watching for patrols.

Near the fountain to the south-east, ‘Bigmouth’ Thimsen and Margolenn discuss the pictures in the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette. Margolenn is more interested in the illustrations than in reading the newspaper itself. These conversations help establish the Lower City’s everyday atmosphere but do not constitute a separate quest or service.

Named characters within the location

Dammon is the only one of these characters with a major mechanical role at the location. The others are ambient NPCs with short local dialogue.

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Shops and services

Dammon’s shop

Status: Functional merchant, conditional resident

Dammon sells weapons and armour. His documented Lower City stock includes:

These are listed as items sold by Dammon at the Forge of the Nine.

The Boots of Persistence are particularly notable because they grant the wearer permanent Freedom of Movement and Longstrider, along with a Dexterity saving throw bonus. Their listed Forge of the Nine position is around X: 5, Y: -7, corresponding to Dammon’s outdoor smithy.

Stock can vary with merchant refreshes and game progression. Do not assume that every listed item will remain available indefinitely after major story changes without checking Dammon directly.

Crafting and repairs

The Forge of the Nine does not operate like a general crafting station where ordinary ingots can be converted into weapons. The meaningful crafting services are Dammon’s special recipes and Karlach’s engine work.

The scattered Bronze and Silver Ingots are loot and scenery associated with the smithy. They are not documented as components for a player-controlled forge interface in the base game. The location therefore contains smithing materials without offering a complete conventional blacksmithing system.

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Loot directory

Basement

The Forge’s area page records eight Bronze Ingots in total and six Silver Ingots in total across the location. Because some are scattered and others are container contents, search the forge, upper floor and basement rather than stopping after finding the obvious pieces.

Access items

The Forge Key is relevant to the locked main building entrance. The Basement Key is the convenient route into the separate lower section. Both are distinct from ordinary loot and should be recorded as access items rather than equipment.

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Main building

Basement

Quests and activities

Forging a Heart

Forging a Heart is the Karlach-focused activity associated with Dammon’s repairs. In Act Three, the party can bring Karlach to the Forge of the Nine for the final known engine work, provided Dammon is alive and the required Infernal Iron is available.

The Hellion’s Heart

The Hellion’s Heart is Karlach’s broader personal quest. The Forge of the Nine is its Act Three location because Dammon continues to act as Karlach’s infernal mechanic there. The location is therefore important even if the party is not otherwise interested in looting or shopping.

Servant of None

The Forge of the Nine is also associated with Servant of None, including the related activity Forging a Heart. The location’s quest connections are primarily tied to Dammon and Karlach rather than to a local faction or boss encounter.

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Suggested exploration route

This route separates quest dialogue, shopping and theft-sensitive exploration. It also ensures that the Basement Key is not overlooked.

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For a complete visit with minimal backtracking

  1. 01
    Approach from Devil’s Fee or the graveyard. Identify the terrace and open-air smithy.
  2. 02
    Speak to Dammon first. If Karlach is present, keep her in the party.
  3. 03
    Resolve any Karlach or Infernal Iron dialogue.
  4. 04
    Inspect Dammon’s trade inventory. Prioritise unique equipment before leaving the Lower City.
  5. 05
    Take the Basement Key from the mailbox.
  6. 06
    Enter the main building. Search the ground-floor forge and collect visible ingots.
  7. 07
    Go upstairs. Take Dammon’s Journal and the Longsword +1.
  8. 08
    Open the basement side door.
  9. 09
    Collect the fixed weapons and masterwork items.
  10. 10
    Break the cracked wall if you also want to inspect Devil’s Fee’s basement from this side.
  11. 11
    Return to the surrounding square and speak with the ambient NPCs if you are recording every named resident or local conversation.

Progression changes and missable content

If Dammon dies

If Dammon dies in an earlier act, the forge still exists, but his merchant and infernal-mechanic functions do not transfer to another NPC. This can permanently stop Karlach’s engine progression and prevent Dammon’s special equipment crafting.

If Karlach is not in the party

You can still visit and trade with Dammon, but Karlach-specific dialogue and repairs require Karlach to be available for the relevant quest state. If the final engine conversation is your purpose, bring her rather than relying on a later return visit.

If Infernal Iron was left behind

Act Three offers additional Infernal Iron sources, including Flymm Cargo’s basement and Steel Watchers. The Forge itself is where the material is used, not necessarily where all of it is found.

Looting and locked doors

The main building and basement contain locked doors and containers. The documented checks are:

The basement side door can be opened without consequence according to the location documentation, but normal party stealth, ownership and NPC behaviour rules can still matter around other containers and items.

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Looting and locked doors

ObjectMethod
Main Forge doorForge Key or DC 15 Sleight of Hand
Basement side doorBasement Key or DC 15 Sleight of Hand
Heavy chestDC 20 Sleight of Hand
Cracked wallBreak it with suitable damage

Lore and atmosphere

The Forge of the Nine’s name and furnishings give it an infernal character, but its documented role is practical: it is Dammon’s city smithy and home. Dammon’s journal provides the strongest local lore. He observes that Baldur’s Gate is unusually rich in infernal weapons and Infernal Iron, far beyond what he had encountered before Elturel was taken.

That observation links the forge to the wider infernal history surrounding Karlach, Elturel and the city’s dangerous trade in advanced weapons. It also explains why Dammon is able to operate in Baldur’s Gate as a specialist rather than as an ordinary armourer.

The nearby NPC conversations provide a useful contrast. While Dammon works with infernal materials and the party pursues major conspiracies, residents outside discuss Flaming Fist patrols and the visual appeal of the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette. The location is therefore both a quest site and a small piece of ordinary Lower City life.

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Sources