Baldur's Gate 3: How to save Vanra - walkthrough Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough
Wondering how to safely get Varna out of Auntie Ethel belly in BG3? In our guide you will find tips on how to finally defeat the Hag - The Blushing Mermaid, magic mushrooms.
Last update: 04 October 2023
After reaching Lower City in Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3, you can initiate and complete Save Vanra quest. Read on if you want to learn how to find what you're looking for in The Blushing Mermaid and locate the witch's hideout. Additionally, we help with getting Vanra out from Auntie Ethel's belly and how to finally defeat the witch.
- Initating Save Vanra quest
- The Blushing Mermaid
- Getting Vanra out of Auntie Ethel's stomach
- Help the Hag Survivors
- How to find Auntie Ethel's hideout?
- How to kill Auntie Ethel?
Initating Save Vanra quest
The quest will be initiated during a conversation with Lora in Basilisk Gate Barracks in Lower City. Ask her about the details of her daughter's disappearance. The trail will lead you to The Blushing Mermaid inn.
The Blushing Mermaid
Proceed to the inn marked on your map. Talk to the man at the bar. Bosun Gannet will send you to Captain Grizly, who is on the upper floor of the inn.
Talk to Captain Grizly and ask her about Lora. When he offers you money to make Lora dissapear, refuse to learn the real identity of the woman.
Surprise! Captain Grizly will turn out to be Auntie Ethel. The witch will admit that she abducted the child and if you try to kill her, the girl will die with her.
When the witch disappears, a battle against 6 Redcaps will ensue. Defeat all the opponents and return to the tavern owner. Next to the counter there is a door to the basement, from which you can get to the witch's hideout.
Getting Vanra out of Auntie Ethel's stomach
You can't kill the witch right away if Vanra is to be saved. In order for the girl to survive, you must first extract her from Auntie Ethel's stomach. There are two ways to do this:
- You can engage the witch in combat, reduce her health points to 1 and knock her unconscious. Then you can cut the girl out of the witch's belly.
- Alternatively, you can use a special potion that will make the witch vomit the girl. The recipe for Hag's Bane (the potion you need) can be received during Help the Hag Survivors quest.
To learn more about knocking unconscious, visit How to use Knock Unconscious? page of our guide.
Help the Hag Survivors
Talk to Zena in front of The Blushing Mermaid tavern. If you ask about Vanra, the woman will say that a group of people hiding in one of the houses at the docks is behind the kidnapping.
Go to the house shown in the screenshot above and pick the lock on the door. On the desk, you will find an eviction notice. After reading the note, the Help the Hag Survivor quest will be initiated. In the house you'll also find a letter from Kled, from which contents you'll learn that people who lived in the house moved to Old Garlow's Place.
Old Garlow's Place is southeast of The Blushing Mermaid. When you enter the house, Adrielle and her allies will confront you. Convince them that you ultimately want to kill the witch.
If in Act 1, you've helped Mayrina (Save Mayrina quest), you'll meet her on the second floor of Garlow's Place. If you ressurected her husband and gave the wand back to Mayrina, he will also be there.
Mayrina got transformed into a sheep. When you attempt to talk to her, she will only mutter about a mysterious doll.
Break the spell on Maryina by destroying 2 dolls. One is at the stairs, the second at the desk at the end of the room. A conversation with Jatlo will begin, followed by combat.
Read the letter found on Jatlo's body and talk to Mayrina, she will give you a reward - Staff of Interruption.
Go downstairs and find the safe. Take 2 books and Dried Fey Flower. Read the diary to learn the recipe for Hag's Bane. Craft the needed potion and proceed to Auntie Ethel's hideout accessible from The Blushing Mermaid.
How to find Auntie Ethel's hideout?
There are wooden stairs leading to the cellar next to the innkeeper. In the cellar, you need to complete a Perception check to discover a magical door - this is the same illusion that you've encountered in Teahouse in Act 1.
Once you discover the door, rotate the camera so the cursor is on its other side and click anywhere. Your party should be able to safely get past the illusion.
Continue on to the next room and defeat a group of enemies. You can surprise them to gain an advantage in the battle. You can also try to sneak into the witch's hideout undetected and avoid fighting them.
How to kill Auntie Ethel?
The fight with Auntie Ethel will be very similar to the previous confrontation. The witch will use illusions and create clones. However, this time she will have additional help. Each time you kill Ethel, magic mushrooms will bring her back to life.
Before fighting the witch, equip yourself with outfits or drink potions that offer poison resistance. Also make sure that you have See Invisibility scroll or spell.
Start with saving Vanra. Knock the witch unconscious and remove the girl from her body or throw Hag's Bane at her. When the child is safe, you can finish off Auntie Ethel.
First and foremost, deal with the 3 magical mushrooms. Each mushroom regenerates its health points fully during its turn, so you need to destroy it completely within your turn. As a result, it is worth focusing the attention of the entire team on a single mushroom. Once mushrooms are destroyed, start attacking the witch.
Mushrooms are resistant to poison and melee attacks. The best way to quickly get rid of the mushrooms is by using fire spells.
When the magic mushrooms are destroyed, you can take care of Auntie Ethel. Her illusions require only a single hit to be dispersed. If your team is around levels 9-10, you shouldn't have too much trouble in this fight. Focus your attacks on the real witch and quickly end the fight.
On Ethel's body, you will find the Corellon's Grace weapon, Ring of Feywild Sparks and Tarnished Charm necklace. In the nearby chest, there is a bit of gold and 2 arrows.
Now you can go back to Mayrina and tell her that the witch has been finally defeated. You will receive the Fey Semplance Amulet from her as a reward. Don't forget to visit Lora and Vanra too. The girl's mother will give you the Amulet of Windrider and the Duellist's Prerogative weapon as a reward.