Barcus Wroot is one of the NPCs that you can recruit during the quest Gather Your Allies if you manage to save him in BG3. Barcus Wroot appears in several quests, and this Gnome tends to get caught in trouble and needs rescuing all the time. This guide will help you work out how to save Barcus Wroot through Act 1 to Act 3.
How to save Barcus Wroot in Act 1 and get his backpack
You need to save Barcus Wroot multiple times during Act 1. Below are the sequences where you can find Barcus Wroot and save him from his grizzly fate multiple times in BG3.
Save Barcus Wroot from Windmill
Barcus Wroot first appears in a side quest called Rescue the Gnome during Act 1 when you reach the Blighted Village on your way to the Goblin Camp. You’ll discover that he has been captured by the Goblins and is tied to a windmill.
When you approach Barcus Wroot, the first thing you need to do is deal with the Goblins surrounding him. Talk to Frezzerk, the leader of the goblins in the blighted village. There are three approaches that you can take here:
- Persuade the Goblin leader to let you pass calmly. However, this will end up killing Barcus Wroot and failing the quest.
- Intimidate Fezzerk to leave the area immediately. Upon passing this check, Fezzerk will take his goblin party and leave the blighted village.
- Attack Fezzerk and defeat him and his party.
The best outcome, in our opinion, is the second one. This will save you a lot of trouble and give you ample time to search for the means of saving Barcus Wroot in BG3. Once you’ve dealt with the Goblins and they’re all gone, the next step to save Barcus Wroot is to release him from the windmill in BG3.
A side of the Windmill is crushed, so if you move around it, you’ll find an opening. There are two levers inside the windmill.
- Brake lever
- Release Brake lever
If you can’t distinguish between the levers, press the Alt key on your keyboard to highlight them. The next step is of utmost importance. Only interact with the Brake lever. This will stop the Windmill and allow you to free Barcus Wroot. However, if you pull the Release Brake lever, the windmill starts moving frantically, killing Barcus Wroot in the process.
After talking to Barcus Wroot, search the area around the windmill once more. You will find a hatch leading to a cellar. Enter it to find Barcus Wroot’s backpack and a treasure chest. The loot from the pack is meager, but you can sell it to merchants for some gold.
Free Barcus Wroot from slavery
Once you find Seargent Thrinn’s Boots and want to return them, this will take you to the Grymforge area during Act 1. You’ll meet our friend Barcus Wroot there again. Though as much as he’d love to talk to you, he and other Gnomes have been enslaved by True Soul Nere. So, you need to save Barcus Wroot here once more in BG3.
This will start a new quest: Save the Grymforge Gnomes in BG3. You need to keep in mind that this quest has a time limit, which may cause complications. Play through the quest within the time limit and save all the Gnomes. Apparently, a lot of them have been trapped alongside Nere due to a cave-in.
The first thing you need to do is clear the Grymforge Cave-in. To do so, you need to find Philomeen and request a rune powder bomb to clear the rubble. Once the rubble is cleared and True Soul Nere is freed, stop him from hurting and killing the enslaved gnomes. Persuasion is not an option here, and you need to defeat True Soul Nere in a battle.
This will save all the gnomes inside the Grymforge, including Barcus Wroot in BG3. At this point, you can talk to him and recruit him for your camp. However, there is a problem with the game where talking to Barcus Wroot with the main character doesn’t initiate dialogues. Switch to any other character and talk to Barcus Wroot to recruit him.
Barcus Wroot in Act 2
If you manage to save Barcus Wroot during Act 1 and recruit him successfully, he will appear in the Last Light Inn as a merchant. At this point, you can talk to him and obtain Gloves of Automation from him for 580 gold. This rare armor piece weighs 0.5 and grants you +1 on all your saving throws.
Side with Wulbren or Barcus Wroot in Act 3
During Act 3, while passing through the South Span checkpoint, your party will be stopped by some guards. While you are arguing with them, a party of gnomes will ambush the guards. Use this opportunity to escape and make sure to follow the gnomes to their hideout, Angleiron’s Cellar.
There, you will meet both Wulbren, their leader, and Barcus Wroot. Wulbren will explain that he has a plan to defeat the Steel Watch. He devises the plan to hit the foundry with a bomb and gives you a runepowder bomb. The quest would be initiated, and you’d have to go to the Iron Throne. Barcus, however, asks you to give them a chance to plead their case. It’s best to side with Barcus in this case.
Once you reach the Iron Throne, Gortash recognizes you and finds out that you plan to destroy the Iron Throne. He will give you a warning, but you should attack the throne anyway. You must save all the Gondians from the prison during the attack since the region is bound to explode. Make sure that you save everyone in six turns, including Grand Duke and Omeluum from Iron Throne Prison.
One of the Gnomes will explain that they were held as hostages here and turned into slaves. Make sure you help the foundry workers rebel and begin a mutiny. Once you’ve blown up the Steel Watch Foundry, you’ll meet with Wulbren outside.
To save Barcus Wroot in BG3, you need to let Zanner Toobin explain his case there. Wulbren will decide to attack and kill the Gondians; however, Barcus will show up to defend them. You’ll have to choose once again to side with the Gondians and protect them from Wulbren. You could also use the Persuasion skill check to overthrow Wulbren and make Barcus the leader of the Ironhand Gnomes. This will save both Wulbren and Barcus Wroot, making it the best outcome.
And that’s it. You’ve not only saved Barcus Wroot and his people but also made a great friend who will answer your call for help during Gather Your Allies’ main quest.
