Grand Mausoleum

Key takeaways

• The Grand Mausoleum lies at the northern end of the Reithwin Graveyard, beyond a large iron gate built into the rock.
• Its interior is the Thorm family burial place, containing the tomb of Melodia Thorm and evidence of the family’s tragic history.
• The mausoleum is the only access point to the Gauntlet of Shar in the main game’s Act Two route.
• Raphael waits outside and can introduce or advance Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy, depending on the party’s quest state.
• The mural puzzle is solved in the order Moonrise Towers → Grief → General.
• Entering the Gauntlet is not the same as completing its point of no return Before proceeding beyond the later warning associated with the Shadowfell, finish any Act Two content you do not want to risk losing.

About this guide

Overview

Baldur’s Gate 3, base game Act Two | Reithwin Town | Shadow-Cursed Lands

Baldur’s Gate 3, base game Act Two | Reithwin Town | Shadow-Cursed Lands

Introduction

The Grand Mausoleum is a compact but important location in Reithwin Town, Act Two. It is the ancestral burial place of the Thorm family and the concealed entrance to the Gauntlet of Shar, the large Sharran temple complex beneath it. The mausoleum is therefore both a self-contained tomb and a gateway into one of Act Two’s most consequential dungeons.

The location is associated with Ketheric Thorm’s family history, Raphael’s contract with the party, Astarion’s personal quest and Shadowheart’s devotion to Shar. Its visible section is relatively small, but it contains a puzzle, several named story interactions, hidden treasure, unique environmental storytelling and the transition point into the Gauntlet of Shar.

Do not confuse it with the Ancient Mausoleum in the Lower City during Act Three. The Act Three building is labelled “Grand Mausoleum” on the world map but is identified as the Ancient Mausoleum when entered. It is a separate location with different contents, characters and loot.

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Included subareas

From Reithwin Graveyard

The normal route is to enter the Reithwin Graveyard and follow its northern path uphill. The party reaches a small clearing in front of the iron gate. This is the clearest route for discovering the location naturally.

Suggested route

1. 01
   Enter the graveyard.
2. 02
   Follow the northern path towards the rock face.
3. 03
   Explore the exterior graves before entering.
4. 04
   Speak to Raphael while he is still outside.
5. 05
   Activate the Grand Mausoleum waypoint.
6. 06
   Enter the tomb and search the side areas before solving the mural puzzle.
7. 07
   Use the Traversal Gem when ready to begin the Gauntlet of Shar.

From the House of Healing

A second route reaches the mausoleum from the roof of the House of Healing Library. The route uses an arborous vine around X: -192, Y: 62. This approach can be useful if the party has already explored the House of Healing or is approaching from the centre of Reithwin Town.

From the Ominous Crevice

A third approach comes from the Ominous Crevice. After leaving the crevice, the party can climb the craggy rocks and cliffs westward to reach the mausoleum’s exterior clearing. This route is less direct for a first visit but connects the mausoleum to the surrounding cliffs and crevice area.

Navigation advice

The exterior is easy to overlook if the party follows the graveyard path without checking the side areas. Search the graves before entering, and speak to Raphael before walking through the gate. Some of the best context for the area is delivered before the puzzle rather than after it.

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The hurried graves

At approximately X: -174, Y: 102 are five graves that appear to have been made in haste. Examining their markings can trigger a passive Religion check, with DC 14 revealing that they follow Selûnite burial rites. The graves can also be looted for Selûnite clothing and jewellery, gold and other valuables.

These graves are useful environmental evidence. The mausoleum’s interior combines Selûnite and Sharran imagery, while the hurried burials outside suggest that the site’s history was not limited to orderly Thorm family funerals.

Raphael

Raphael waits close to the entrance, polishing his sardonic poetry. Approaching him starts a conversation. With successful Persuasion and Insight checks, both DC 10, he reveals more about the infernal creature inside the Gauntlet.

This encounter is especially important for players following Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy. Raphael’s target is Yurgir, an orthon in the Gauntlet of Shar. The Grand Mausoleum is therefore the place where the contract’s context is established, although the actual confrontation occurs deeper in the connected temple.

Exterior hidden treasure

A Survival check reveals a buried treasure cache at approximately X: -170, Y: 100. The listed DC is 6. Search around the exterior before moving through the gate.

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Note

The Thorm family tombs

The interior is a cavernous sequence of burial chambers. Sarcophagi and funerary urns line the walls, while bones have been removed from graves and arranged into profane sculptures. Frescos depicting Selûne stand alongside Sharran vessels and floor decoration.

The only tomb that remains intact and undisturbed is Melodia Thorm’s central sarcophagus. Ketheric Thorm’s own burial is part of the site’s history, but the game’s present-day events have already disturbed that history. The mausoleum consequently functions as both a family crypt and a record of Ketheric’s transformation from Selûnite worshipper to Sharran crusader.

Herald of Balthazar

Near Melodia’s tomb is a talking skull known as the Herald of Balthazar. It challenges intruders and assumes that likely trespassers must be Nere, Z’rell or Minthara. This interaction reinforces the mausoleum’s connection to the Absolute’s forces and to Balthazar’s mission inside the Gauntlet.

The Herald is not a conventional shopkeeper or resident. It is a story-associated guardian encounter attached to the tomb chamber.

Note

Stained Book and the mural clue

A Stained Book provides the clue for the mural order. Ketheric’s instructions describe a movement “from splendour, to tragedy, to infamy”. The three paintings represent:

Solving the puzzle opens the movable walls leading to the elevator chamber. A Sage character can gain the inspiration History Never Forgets for completing it.

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Stained Book and the mural clue: steps

1. 01
   Moonrise Towers, Ketheric’s earlier life as a Selûnite worshipper.
2. 02
   Grief, the loss of his family.
3. 03
   General, his rise as a crusader for Shar.

1. Explore the exterior first

Before entering, search the five hurried graves and the buried cache. If you have not activated the waypoint, do so once it becomes available. Speak to Raphael and resolve his dialogue before going further.

2. Search the burial chambers

Loot urns and containers carefully. Read the available documents, particularly the material connected with Ketheric and Balthazar. The area’s books provide context for the relationship between the Thorm family, Shar and the hidden temple.

3. Inspect Melodia’s tomb and the Herald

Approach the central sarcophagus and speak with the Herald of Balthazar. Read the inscription on the tomb. This is the narrative and visual centre of the mausoleum.

4. Solve the mural puzzle

If the party has not found or read the relevant clue, the sequence can still be entered directly. The result opens the route to the elevator.

Use the three buttons in this order

1. 01
   Moonrise Towers
2. 02
   Grief
3. 03
   General

5. Collect the interior hidden caches

Two additional buried caches are listed inside the mausoleum:

Coordinates can vary in usefulness depending on camera position and map interpretation, so use the relevant Survival prompts rather than relying solely on the numbers.

5. Collect the interior hidden caches

6. Read the Temple Map

A Temple Map can be found on a table in the central chamber at approximately X: -280, Y: -867. It is attributed to Balthazar and shows the Gauntlet of Shar, including notes about the intact wing, ruined wing and strange sounds.

7. Decide whether to enter the Gauntlet

Using the Traversal Gem takes the party into the Gauntlet of Shar. This is the logical continuation of the mausoleum, but the connected dungeon contains substantial combat, puzzles and quest progression. Consider completing nearby Act Two objectives first if you want to preserve the widest range of available dialogue and rescue opportunities.

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Find the Nightsong

The Grand Mausoleum is the entrance point for the Gauntlet of Shar, which is a major stage of Find the Nightsong. The quest’s decisive developments occur in the Gauntlet and beyond, but the mausoleum is where the party enters that chain of locations.

Infiltrate Moonrise Towers

The mausoleum and Gauntlet are connected to Ketheric Thorm’s relic and the larger Moonrise Towers plot. Balthazar is searching for the relic within the temple, while the party’s exploration can expose how Ketheric’s immortality is being sustained.

Find Ketheric Thorm’s Relic

This objective is associated with the Gauntlet route rather than the visible mausoleum rooms. The mausoleum is still the required entrance for reaching it.

The Pale Elf

Astarion’s personal quest is linked to Raphael’s information about the infernal creature in the Gauntlet. If Astarion is present, Raphael’s encounter at the mausoleum is particularly relevant.

Daughter of Darkness

Shadowheart’s relationship with Shar and her ambition to become a Dark Justiciar make the Gauntlet one of her most important companion locations. The mausoleum introduces the temple route, while the trials and later decisions occur inside the Gauntlet itself.

Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy

Raphael’s contract concerns Yurgir, who is encountered in the Gauntlet of Shar. The Grand Mausoleum conversation is the contract’s local starting point, but the boss encounter is outside the mausoleum’s strict boundaries.

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While inside the Grand Mausoleum, party members receive the Glutted Catacombs condition. This allows them to cast Animate Dead: Skeleton without consuming a corpse. The condition is an area-specific mechanical feature and is separate from the Gauntlet’s Umbral Gem and trial mechanics.

This can be useful if the party relies on necromancy or wants temporary skeleton support while exploring the tomb. It is not a permanent character ability.

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Fixed or specifically listed loot

The Grand Mausoleum’s location listing identifies the following notable loot:

The exact placement of some books and documents may require checking shelves, tables and containers rather than relying on the main route.

Exterior and interior caches

These should be checked before leaving the mausoleum, since they are easy to miss if the party heads directly to the elevator.

Exterior and interior caches

Grave loot

The five hurried exterior graves may contain Selûnite robes, brooches, earrings, gold and other valuables. Their precise contents are less important than the fact that the graves provide both loot and religious context.

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The following names are verified as being associated with the Grand Mausoleum listing or with its immediate story function. The Gauntlet-only entries are not presented as inhabitants of the mausoleum.

Places and landmarks

• Grand Mausoleum
• Gauntlet of Shar

Characters and creatures

The last group includes story-associated names referenced by the mausoleum’s dialogue and quest material. They are not all physically present in the location. The only clearly identified active character encounter outside or within the mausoleum is Raphael, alongside the Herald of Balthazar.

Characters and creatures

• Astarion
• Shadowheart

Creatures listed in the wider associated location data

These should not be confused with ordinary mausoleum residents. They are associated with the broader location data and connected approach areas rather than being a normal population of the Thorm tomb chambers.

Items

The Traversal Gem is a progression object used to activate the elevator into the Gauntlet. It should not be treated as a conventional loot item.

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Several nearby or similarly named subjects should remain separate.

Items

• Lightning Jabber

The Gauntlet of Shar

The Gauntlet is the major dungeon beneath the mausoleum. It includes the trials, Umbral Gems, Yurgir’s encounter, Balthazar’s operations and the route towards the Shadowfell. The party reaches it through the mausoleum, but the two locations have separate identities and should not be collapsed into one area.

The Ancient Mausoleum

The Ancient Mausoleum is in the Lower City during Act Three. It is accessed through a graveyard gate labelled “Grand Mausoleum” on the map, which is the source of much of the confusion. Its contents include a sarcophagus, two Grand Mausoleum Offerings Keys, opulent chests, a Crumbling Journal and a Corpse Rose. None of these should be attributed to the Act Two Grand Mausoleum.

The Reithwin Graveyard

The graveyard is the surrounding outdoor area and contains the route to the mausoleum. Its other graves and environmental features are not automatically part of the Grand Mausoleum location.

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For a first playthrough, this order gives the clearest progression:

The mausoleum itself is short enough to clear in one visit. The important planning decision is not whether to enter the tomb, but when to advance far enough through the Gauntlet to trigger irreversible progression.

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Before leaving the Grand Mausoleum, confirm that you have:

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The Reithwin Graveyard: steps

1. 01
   Explore the nearby Reithwin Town landmarks, including the House of Healing.
2. 02
   Visit the Reithwin Graveyard.
3. 03
   Speak with Raphael outside the Grand Mausoleum.
4. 04
   Search the hurried graves and buried exterior cache.
5. 05
   Enter the mausoleum and read the documents.
6. 06
   Inspect Melodia Thorm’s tomb and speak to the Herald of Balthazar.
7. 07
   Solve the murals in the order Moonrise Towers, Grief, General.
8. 08
   Collect the Temple Map and interior buried caches.
9. 09
   Enter the Gauntlet of Shar when prepared.
10. 10
    Before committing to the Gauntlet’s later point of no return, resolve any Act Two content that you still want to complete.

Is the Grand Mausoleum the Gauntlet of Shar?

No. The Grand Mausoleum is the Thorm family tomb and the entrance to the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is a separate underground temple location reached using the Traversal Gem.

What is the mural puzzle order?

Press the buttons beneath the murals in this order:

This represents Ketheric’s splendour, tragedy and infamy.

What is the mural puzzle order?: steps

1. 01
   Moonrise Towers
2. 02
   Grief
3. 03
   General

Should I speak to Raphael before entering?

Yes. Raphael waits near the entrance and can provide information about the infernal creature he wants dealt with. This is particularly important for Astarion’s quest and Kill Raphael’s Old Enemy.

Is there a boss in the Grand Mausoleum?

The mausoleum itself does not contain the main boss associated with Raphael’s contract. Yurgir is found in the connected Gauntlet of Shar. The mausoleum’s notable story encounter is the Herald of Balthazar, a talking skull near Melodia’s tomb.

Can I return after entering the Gauntlet?

The Grand Mausoleum and Gauntlet are connected areas, and the important restriction concerns advancing through the Gauntlet to its later story threshold rather than merely entering the first temple chamber. Make a manual save before committing to the game’s explicit warning about proceeding further.

Why do guides mention an Act Three Grand Mausoleum?

The Lower City graveyard contains a building labelled Grand Mausoleum on the map, but its internal location name is Ancient Mausoleum. It is unrelated to the Thorm family mausoleum in Act Two.

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Sources

• Grand Mausoleum - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Ancient Mausoleum - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Reithwin Town - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Temple Map - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Gauntlet of Shar - bg3.wiki — old.bg3.wiki