Steel Watch Foundry - eXputer Wiki

Key takeaways

The Foundry is in the south-west of the Lower City, immediately beside the Grey Harbour Docks waypoint.
Its meaningful boundaries include the outdoor compound, Main Floor, Security Office and Lab Level. The Grey Harbour Docks and Iron Throne are neighbouring or related locations, not subareas of the Foundry.
Speaking with Zanner Toobin begins or advances Save the Gondians and reveals that the workers are being forced to labour under threat to their families.
Visiting the Iron Throne before entering the Lab Level can change the Foundry’s battles, because rescued Gondians may rise against their Banite overseers.
The central objective is the Neurocitor, the control system that allows the Foundry to operate the Steel Watch.
Destroying the Foundry disables the Steel Watch across the city, but also makes the Foundry permanently inaccessible and can fail related quests if done in the wrong order.

Overview

Game: Baldur’s Gate 3 Continuity: Base game, Act Three Region: Lower City, Baldur’s Gate Type: Industrial location, quest dungeon and major story objective Major spoilers: This guide discusses the Gondians, the Iron Throne, Gortash, the Steel Watch, the Steel Watch Titan and the Foundry’s destruction.

Introduction

The Steel Watch Foundry is one of the most important locations in Baldur’s Gate 3. It is not merely a factory full of constructs. The building is the manufacturing centre, command hub and hidden control point for Enver Gortash’s Steel Watch, the armoured automata that enforce his rule across Baldur’s Gate.

The Foundry occupies the south-western edge of the Lower City, beside the Grey Harbour Docks. Its scope includes the fenced exterior grounds, the main production floor, the Security Office and the subterranean Lab Level. It should not be confused with the Grey Harbour Docks, the Iron Throne prison or Flymm Cargo, although all four locations are linked by the Foundry’s quests and surrounding routes.

The location is tied principally to Save the Gondians, Disable the Steel Watch, Avenge the Ironhands and Get Gortash’s Netherstone. Depending on the order in which you approach these quests, the Foundry can become a rescue mission, a stealth operation, a large multi-stage battle or a race against a destructive story state.

Location and boundaries

The Steel Watch Foundry is a massive industrial complex on the western edge of the Grey Harbour Docks. It stands between the stairway leading towards the Steeps district and the Water Queen’s House. The nearby Grey Harbour Docks are a separate Lower City location containing their own people, encounters, loading areas and waypoint. The Iron Throne is also separate, reached through the harbour’s maritime routes rather than being a floor of the Foundry.

For practical purposes, the Foundry consists of four connected parts:

The building has a vertical logic. The final assembly work takes place on the upper floor, while the deeper Lab Level contains the more disturbing stages of Steel Watch construction and the central control machinery.

Nearby but separate locations

The Foundry has no shops, inn, camp facility or ordinary merchant service. It is a restricted industrial site occupied by workers, guards and machinery.

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Location and boundaries: steps

01
Outside area and fenced compound
02
Main Floor
03
Security Office
04
Lab Level and Control Centre

Nearby but separate locations

Getting there and entering

The most straightforward route is from the Grey Harbour Docks waypoint. From the docks, approach the fenced compound and watch the patrol patterns of the Steel Watchers. The main gates are locked and marked as restricted. Both require a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check if opened by lockpicking.

The Foundry can be entered in several ways.

Main gate

The front entrance is the normal approach. Entering through the gate places the party near the small maintenance antechamber, where Gasper Throaks and Iron Consul Chadd may be found. This route is useful if you intend to deal with the main-floor guards directly or attempt to pass yourself off as a relief crew.

Roof hatch

A character can reach the roof by flight, high ground or other movement abilities, then enter through an open skylight. This is a good route for avoiding the front patrol, although it does not remove the danger inside the building.

South-side entrances

The southern side has additional entrances. One is unlocked but requires jumps or nearby levers to reach. Another is locked and requires a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check.

Vent shaft

A small vent shaft near the compound can be found with a DC 5 Perception check. It leads into the antechamber behind the main entrance, but it can only be used by Small or Tiny characters, including characters made sufficiently small through disguise or Wild Shape.

Access checklist

While inside the Foundry proper, fast travel and access to camp are unavailable. Prepare before crossing the threshold.

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The Foundry’s surrounding grounds are separated from the docks by an iron fence and two locked gates. The southern edge opens towards a rocky cliff and a small berth with a moored boat. The boat contains a heavy chest with three Gold Ingots. The area is patrolled by Steel Watchers, including one around the fence, one near the berth and another on the roof.

You can avoid these patrols with stealth, invisibility or turn-based movement. Destroying a Steel Watcher may provide the Down with the Steel Oppressors! or Kicking the Rust Bucket inspiration, depending on the characters’ backgrounds and what has already been earned.

The exterior is useful for scouting because it lets you examine the roof, south-side entrances and the main gate before committing to the interior. If you are trying to save every Gondian, however, do not assume that avoiding the exterior guards will make the interior peaceful. The Foundry’s main-floor encounter and Lab Level encounters are governed by separate quest states.

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Entrance antechamber

The main entrance opens into a small antechamber used for routine maintenance. Gasper Throaks and Iron Consul Chadd are positioned nearby. A crate in this area contains three Bronze Ingots. The guards’ sight cones do not immediately cover the entrance, making this a useful place to pause, split the party and decide whether to sneak, negotiate or fight.

Beyond the antechamber lies the main production floor.

Conveyor and assembly floor

The central area is a factory floor where Steel Watchers are assembled. Incomplete constructs hang from the ceiling or lie on worktables. The floor’s machinery illustrates that the Watchers are not simple clockwork soldiers. Their construction combines industrial manufacture, infernal power and the biological or necromantic components controlled from below.

The guards are members of the Cult of Bane. Several Gondians work under coercion on the gallery, overseen by Black Gauntlet Tamia Holzt. Their obedience is enforced by Motivator devices connected to explosive collars. Watching the workers being threatened can grant The Means of Coercion inspiration to a character with the Noble background.

Negotiating with Tamia Holzt

Approaching openly causes Tamia Holzt to initiate a conversation. A passive DC 7 Religion check can reveal an option to pretend to be part of the relief crew, followed by a DC 15 Deception check.

If the deception works, the party can explore the Main Floor more freely. Tamia also gives the party an operational Motivator, and certain exterior Steel Watchers disappear. If the negotiation fails, the party must fight or retreat.

The Motivators

During the main-floor battle, Banites can activate Motivators and drop them near the Gondian workers. A triggered Motivator detonates on the following turn unless disabled. Interacting with one requires a DC 5 Intelligence check. Do not focus solely on killing enemies. A quick character should disable Motivators as soon as they appear.

Allowing a Motivator to detonate can kill a Gondian and may count as an oathbreaking action for Paladins of the Crown or Vengeance Paladins.

Main-floor exhibition pieces

The gallery around the conveyor contains displayed components prepared for Gortash’s inspection. These are red-outlined objects, so taking them openly may be treated as theft. Four are especially important:

The Arm and Targeting Module are used with the Watcher Crossbow Blueprint to create the Hellfire Engine Crossbow in the Security Office. The Greatsword and helmet are separate loot or equipment components.

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The Security Office is at the rear of the Main Floor. It can be entered through locked double doors or from the upper gallery. The doors require a DC 15 Sleight of Hand check unless opened with Tamia Holzt’s key.

This is one of the most important rooms in the entire location.

Zanner Toobin

Zanner Toobin is a Gondian artificer and the quiet leader of the workers. He is blind, non-hostile and can be approached without immediately starting a fight. Speaking with him reveals the central structure of the Foundry’s tragedy:

Speaking with Zanner begins or advances Save the Gondians. He also provides information about the hostage situation and the lower levels.

If Zanner dies, the quest is not necessarily impossible. His corpse can be questioned with Speak with Dead. If the body has been destroyed and cannot be questioned, reading Property of Zanner Toobin and The Many Faces of Gond provides another route to the destruction code.

The elevator

A lever on the upper gallery calls the elevator and opens access to the Lab Level. The central conveyor elevator cannot simply be lockpicked. The Security Office lever is the intended way to reach the subterranean section.

Scrying screen

A screen on the wall shows a brief scene involving the imprisoned hostages. This helps confirm that the families are not being held inside the Foundry itself. The small southern storage room contains little of note.

Hellfire Engine Crossbow

The Security Office contains the Watcher Crossbow Blueprint. At the workbench, combine it with the Steel Watcher Arm and Targeting Module taken from the Main Floor exhibition to craft the Hellfire Engine Crossbow.

This is a functional crafting interaction, not a merchant service. The arm and targeting module are distinct components and should not be sold or discarded before using the workbench.

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The Lab Level is a large, split-level subterranean hall. It can be reached through the elevator or through a door from the Security Office. This is where the Foundry’s production process becomes more openly horrific.

The area contains conveyor belts, Watcher torsos, forges, pipes and platforms. The pipes beneath the ceiling provide useful alternative routes during combat. Characters with enough Strength can jump onto them, while Misty Step and flight make navigation easier.

The Lab Level contains additional Gondian workers, Banite enemies and Hellfire Watchers. Unless the party uses concealment or invisibility, combat may begin quickly.

Gondian battle state

If the party has already visited the Iron Throne and rescued Gondian prisoners, the situation can change. On entering the Lab Level, the Gondians may already be fighting the Banites. The rescued Gondians can become allies if the party joins the battle.

If the Iron Throne has not been handled first, some Gondian workers may remain hostile or unable to help. This is one reason to deal with the prison before committing to the Foundry’s lower levels. Saving all the enslaved Gondians in the Foundry can grant the In Need of a Hero inspiration to Folk Hero characters.

Brain jars and the Control Centre antechamber

Near the Control Centre are interactable brains in jars. Connecting with one through the tadpole reveals a Steel Watcher’s behaviour and may allow the character to interfere with its actions. These interactions require high Wisdom checks, or lower Illithid Wisdom checks, and are optional rather than a replacement for the final encounter.

The area also contains the decapitated body of Lu La Forza and information about the process used to place brains inside the Watchers. If Zanner survives, he may remain in the antechamber rather than entering the final room immediately.

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The Control Centre is the final major encounter area. Access to the Neurocitor is guarded by:

The Titan is a level 12 enemy, while the Hellfire Watchers are level 11. The fight can be bypassed with Invisibility, allowing a character to reach the Neurocitor without defeating the guards, although this sacrifices the Titan’s unique reward.

Fighting the Titan

The Titan is a dangerous construct with strong area attacks and a powerful defensive profile. Practical approaches include:

The Titan’s principal reward is Gontr Mael, one of the game’s notable bows. Other Foundry loot includes the Hellfire Engine Crossbow, Infernal Mace, Steelwatcher Helmet, Watcher Greatsword and Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens.

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There are several ways to destroy or disable the Neurocitor.

Fighting the Titan: steps

01
Spread the party so that one area attack does not cripple everyone.
02
Use lightning damage and other appropriate construct-hunting tools.
03
Prioritise the Hellfire Watchers if they are applying pressure from multiple angles.
04
Use the upper pipes and platforms to control line of sight.
05
Keep healing and revival options available because the encounter is the culmination of several battles.
06
Do not trigger the Neurocitor until you have collected the reward you want.

Method 1: Zanner Toobin

If Zanner survives and accompanies the party, he can destroy the Neurocitor once the party reaches the Control Centre. Speak to him after the Titan encounter and ask him to carry out the destruction.

This is the preferred method if you are trying to save the Gondians and complete the Foundry’s story without using the Runepowder Bomb.

Method 2: Runepowder Bomb

If Wulbren survived the earlier events and is available in Act Three, he can provide the Runepowder Bomb. Place it at the Neurocitor, then escape the Foundry.

This method is effective but morally and quest-wise significant because detonating the bomb can kill Gondians who have not been saved. Barcus Wroot argues for finding a less destructive solution.

Method 3: Destruction code

If Zanner is dead, use Speak with Dead on him and ask how to destroy the Steel Watch. If his body cannot be questioned, read:

Together, these provide the necessary information for overloading the Neurocitor.

Paladin considerations

Using the Runepowder Bomb at the Neurocitor is considered an oathbreaking action for Oath of Devotion Paladins. Earlier Motivator deaths may also have oath consequences for some Paladin oaths. If oath preservation matters, save the Gondians, keep Zanner alive and use the Gondian-controlled destruction method instead.

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For the safest and most complete run, use this order:

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Paladin considerations: steps

01
Complete the relevant Ironhand and Gondian conversations outside the Foundry.
02
Visit the Iron Throne before entering the Lab Level.
03
Rescue as many prisoners as possible, especially the Gondians connected to Zanner Toobin.
04
Reach the Foundry through the main gate, roof or vent.
05
Handle the Main Floor battle carefully, disabling Motivators before they trigger.
06
Search the gallery for the Watcher Arm and Targeting Module.
07
Enter the Security Office.
08
Speak with Zanner Toobin.
09
Take the Watcher Crossbow Blueprint.
10
Use the workbench to craft the Hellfire Engine Crossbow.
11
Pull the elevator lever.
12
Enter the Lab Level and protect the Gondians.
13
Search the lower rooms for lore, books and the Control Centre route.
14
Defeat or bypass the Steel Watch Titan and Hellfire Watchers.
15
Collect Gontr Mael before destroying the Neurocitor.
16
Have Zanner destroy the Neurocitor, use the destruction code or place the Runepowder Bomb.
17
Leave immediately and resolve the post-destruction confrontation at the docks.

Do not kill Gortash too early

Killing Gortash before completing Save the Gondians and Avenge the Ironhands can fail those quests. The Elder Brain takes control of the Steel Watch and destroys the Foundry, while the Iron Throne’s dead-man switch kills the prisoners inside.

Save the Gondians before destroying the Neurocitor

The Foundry is a timed-feeling rescue location even when the game does not always use a visible timer. The more Gondians you save in the Iron Throne and Main Floor, the better the Lab Level’s battle state becomes.

Keep Zanner alive

Zanner is the cleanest route to the Neurocitor’s destruction and an important source of information. If he dies, alternative methods exist, but the quest becomes less forgiving.

Collect Titan loot first

Once the Foundry is destroyed, it becomes inaccessible. Take Gontr Mael and inspect the Control Centre before initiating the final destruction sequence.

Watch the party member carrying the Runepowder Bomb

The quest state has edge cases involving which character holds the bomb when interacting with the control console. Keep the bomb on the character who will actually interact with the Neurocitor and place it.

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The following named characters are associated with the Foundry’s interior and its quest state. Some are present only in certain progression states, and some appear after the Foundry’s destruction or if the Ironhand gnomes survived earlier events.

Gondians

Lanpos Biggs and Lu La Forza are associated with deceased states. Menalda can replace Zanner in certain outcomes.

Clan Ironhand gnomes

These characters appear according to the survival state of the Ironhand gnomes:

Major hostile creatures

The Kobold Looters are associated with a special post-destruction recovery state if Netherstones are lost while exploring the Foundry.

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Equipment and crafting components

The Hellfire Engine Crossbow requires the Watcher Crossbow Blueprint, Steel Watcher Arm and Targeting Module, with the crafting interaction performed at the Security Office workbench.

Equipment and crafting components

Important books and documents

These documents provide background on Gondian engineering, Banite administration, the Watcher production process, the hostage system and the Neurocitor’s destruction protocol. The books are also important fallback evidence if Zanner cannot provide the code.

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The Foundry is controlled by the Cult of Bane, whose members operate the guards, supervise the Gondians and protect the production machinery. The Steel Watchers function as both security force and product. Their presence extends beyond the building into the surrounding compound and neighbouring docks.

The Gondians are not a conventional faction within the Foundry. They are coerced workers, divided between those who remain frightened, those who resist and those who can become allies after the Iron Throne prisoners are rescued.

The building’s design supports both stealth and combat. Upper galleries, pipes, vents, roof access and the Security Office provide routes around obvious patrols. Invisibility can bypass the final Watcher battle entirely, but doing so means giving up the Titan’s reward unless you return by another method.

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The Steel Watch is presented as Gortash’s instrument of authoritarian control, but the Foundry shows that its history is more complicated. The Gondians developed the prototype of a bipedal automaton, while Gortash added the infernal power supply and remote control system that turned the invention into a city-wide enforcement network.

The Foundry’s most disturbing revelation is that the Watchers are not purely mechanical. Their production depends on brains, necromantic processes and the Neurocitor’s remote command structure. The factory’s lower levels expose the human cost hidden behind Gortash’s promise of order: Gondian families are held hostage, workers are fitted with explosive collars and the machines are built through forced labour.

This makes the Foundry a physical expression of Gortash’s politics. Its upper floor displays clean industrial manufacture and military precision. Its lower levels reveal coercion, biological experimentation and centralised control. Destroying the building therefore weakens not only a military force but the infrastructure of his rule.

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The party is returned to the Grey Harbour Docks embankment after the destruction. Depending on the status of Disable the Steel Watch, Save the Gondians and Avenge the Ironhands, a scripted conversation takes place involving characters such as Zanner or Menalda, Wulbren Bongle and Barcus Wroot. The choices made there can lead to another fight.

The Foundry itself is destroyed and cannot be re-entered. If the party has somehow lost one or more Netherstones during the Foundry sequence, three white-armoured Kobold Looters can appear among the burning ruins. They are hostile and may carry the missing Netherstones.

Once the Foundry is gone, the Steel Watch across Baldur’s Gate is disabled. This substantially changes the approach to Gortash and removes his most important source of battlefield support.

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Sources

Steel Watch Foundry - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
Disable the Steel Watch - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
Steel Watch Foundry - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
Steel Watch Foundry - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
Save the Gondians - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki