Baldur’s Gate 3 presents you with a plethora of moral choices throughout the campaign. Many of these take place in the campaign, but you’ll be forced to make some while traveling through the game world and inside quests. One such side quest occurs in the Blighted Village in Baldur’s Gate 3, where you must rescue the Gnome.
As you approach the windmill, you’ll hear some cries for help accompanied by laughter from a pack of goblins. You will see that the goblins have tied a Gnome to the Windmill and are having some fun.
Confront the goblins and make a choice. You can either rescue him and cut him down or leave him hanging on the windmill.
How to start Rescue the Gnome quest
The quest “Rescue the Gnome” is found in the Northwest area of the Blighted Village in Baldur’s Gate 3. Explore a bit until you come upon a windmill, which is up a flight of stairs. The map above shows the exact location of the windmill and the quest.
As you reach the area, the Rescue the Gnome quest will automatically be added to your journal. All you need to do is save the Deep Gnome Barcus Wroot from his miserable fate.
Rescue the Gnome quest walkthrough
As soon as you reach the windmill, a cutscene starts, and you are confronted by the Goblin leader, Frezzerk. He threatens you with the same fate as the Gnome.
At this point, you will get two options. You can either persuade or intimidate the Goblins by passing unique checks or fighting them head-on. You can also investigate Frezzerk’s mind by using Detect Thoughts. This will let you know that he is afraid of fighting, and you can make him run away with his party.
Fighting the Goblins is not recommended, as it will turn the whole Blighted Village hostile. This is a brutal fight for beginners, so make sure you use more diplomatic means to get rid of goblins.
Once the Goblins are gone, go around the Windmill to find a broken wall. Enter the mill to find two levers (X: -13, Y: 429). Press and hold the Alt button to highlight them both. One lever says “Break,” and the other says “Release Break.”
Pull the Brake lever (left one) to stop the windmill. If you pull the Release Brake lever, it will make the windmill run faster and kill Barcus Wroot. You don’t want that, as he plays a major role during Acts 2 and 3.
Once the windmill stops, go outside and release the gnome. He will be very bitter because he thinks you want to extort him. Be kind to him, and he will tell you about his backpack. Once Barcus Wroot is gone, go back near the broken wall to find a hatch in the ground.
Enter the hatch (X: -12, Y: 435) to find a hidden basement. Here, you can loot a heavy chest and Barcus Wroot backpack as a reward for Rescuing the Gnome in Baldur’s Gate 3.
