How to get past the Gnarled Door in Auntie Ethel’s in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldurs Gate 3’s Auntie Ethel seems like a sweet old lady who just wants to help — which, based on everything that has happened (and will happen) to your character, should be a Bigger is not always better.Red flag. After your conversation with her eventually descends into stabbing, you’ll have to chase her through a fireplace and into the Tunnels Overgrown. There, you’ll run into a giant, tree-faced The Gnarled DoorsYou are not allowed to go.

You can also find out more about us on our website. Baldur’s Gate 3 Auntie Ethel’s tree door guide will explain how to get past the stubborn door-person and how to maintain your sanity while doing it.

Open the Gnarled Door

As you explore the Entrance Gallery of the Overgrown Tunnel under Auntie Ethel’s Gnarled Treehouse, there are a lot of poor, unfortunate souls to interact with, but not much to pick up. There’s only one other door — the The Gnarled Doors — on the west side of the tunnel.

Image: Larian Studios via Polygon

No matter how much you talk, threaten, or attempt to persuade it, the door won’t let you past. There’s a table to the right of the door where you can pick up a few Whispering Masks.

It is important that one of the members in your group wears the Whispering Mask when you are doing this. But there’s a big caveat to that.

Whispering Mask: How to Protect Yourself

Once you pass through the Gnarled Door, your character will start making Wisdom Saving Throws against Auntie Ethel’s Ephemeral whispers. On a failed save, you’ll lose control of that character and they’ll fight against the rest of your party.

You can avoid this by putting the mask on a Druid or someone else with high Wisdom and proficiency in Wisdom Saving throws. This just means they have a better chance of saving against the mind control, though, and you’ll be relying on luck to get past.

You can remove the mask once your party has entered. This, however, will cause Auntie Ethel’s four level 4 thralls — the Masks of Terror, Vengence, You will regret itThen, Servitude — in the next room to become hostile to you. Keeping the mask on will keep them from turning hostile, but you’ll have to keep making rolls against Ephemeral Whispers.

Casting is a much more effective way of dealing with the problem. Protecting Against Evil and GoodThe mask is placed on the person wearing it. This is level 1 Cleric magic. Shadowheart The masked characters will be able to use this spell for 10 minutes, which is more than sufficient time to overcome the thralls. That spell will give the masked character Advantage on their saves for 10 minutes — more than enough time to get past the thralls.

Find out more about our classes Baldur’s Gate 3Check out our descriptions of the Barbarians (Bards), Clerics (Clerics), Druids (Druids), Fighters and Monks as well as Paladins. If you’re stumped by the choice, consult our guide on what class to start with.