How To Get And Use The Iron Flask In Baldur’s Gate 3

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 20, 2024 14 Views 7 Min Read
How To Get And Use The Iron Flask In Baldur's Gate 3



Most interesting encounters in Baldur’s Gate 3 almost always lead to equally interesting items, whether in the form of quest rewards or just seemingly-random loot lying about. The Iron Flask from Act One is a good example of the latter, and it’s one of those things that can easily shove a party either toward riches or disaster.



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Baldurs Gate 3 Cullagh

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BG3 players who come across this curious item have a choice to make: bring the item to its rightful owner, or open it up for their own benefit. Each decision leads to a different outcome, so for anyone who’s still undecided about what to do, here’s a guide covering how to get the Iron Flask and what decision leads to which consequences before players reach Act 2 of BG3.

Updated November 20, 2024: Players that explore every possible nook and cranny of Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 should eventually come across a chest containing the Iron Flask. This mysterious item is part of a question and players are instructed not to open the chest or use the flask, and for good reason. While seasoned players should already know where to get this flask and what to do with it, we’ve updated this guide to include an additional section about how to take advantage of the surprise hiding the flask.



Baldur’s Gate 3: Iron Flask Location

Shipment containing the Iron Flask in Baldur's Gate 3

The Iron Flask is located in a cave on Risen Road. Players can get there by jumping over the broken bridge by the Blighted Village, going up the hill with the gnoll pack, and following the trail of blood and paw prints to the northeast.

The cave is surrounded by a huge group of gnolls led by a Gnoll Warlord, and they’re trying to get the two men who are trapped in the cave. These men will not help the party when combat breaks out, so players will be on their own.

One way to deal with this large pack is by using the tadpole’s psychic powers to influence the Gnoll Warlord. You can convince it to fight its kindred, essentially gaining a very powerful ally while removing the biggest threat in the battle. After the fight, the warlord has a chance to consume herself, as it doesn’t tend to go for allies. Players must pass a check to make the warlord devour herself, but if they fail, they will have to go up against it instead.


Once the gnolls are gone, players will run into two men in the cave defending a nearby metal chest. There are three ways to get the Iron Flask in the chest: convince them to hand over the Chest in dialogue checks, kill or knock them out, or lockpick it from under their noses during dialogue. No matter how you get to the chest, to get the Iron Flask out of it, a DC 20 Lockpicking check must be passed. Use a party member with Sleight Of Hand proficiency to get this unlocked faster – just don’t try to return the chest to the Zhentarim after it’s been opened.

How to Use the Iron Flask

A suspicious iron flask in Baldur's Gate 3

To use the flask, simply right-click on the item and inspect it. Pulling out the stopper will unleash a hostile Spectator that will attack everything in sight. Basically, this will replace the hard fight from earlier with an even harder one.


However, players can use this Spectator to their advantage in the game’s later areas to sow chaos. For example, an invisible party member can walk up to an enemy camp and open the flask in their midst (or throw it at them), forcing all of them to fight the Spectator while the rest of the group watches the show. This will have consequences in the later acts of Baldur’s Gate 3, though.

Alternatively, players can leave the two men alone. They will tell players the location of their hideout. Go there to receive a reward from their leader as well as the favor of their group. The merchant in the hideout usually has a number of strong items for sale.

How to Control the Spectator

Normally, opening the Spectator flask in BG3 leads to unbridled chaos when done in the midst of other people. The monster will attack everyone in sight, but there is a way to control it for a limited time. Doing this involves a popular trick with the Oathbreaker Paladin class in the Shadow-Cursed Lands of Act 2.


Basically, you need to turn the Spectator into a zombie so you can use Control Undead on it. Go to a Deep Shadows area in Act 2, then throw or open the Spectator flask. Once it spawns, the Spectator will be afflicted with the Shadow-Cursed debuff, which will cause it to rise as an Undead when it dies. Once it comes back to life, cast Control Undead until it falls under your control.

Control Undead lasts until your next Long Rest, so try not to use all your spells while fighting the Spectator if you want to save some for the rest of the enemies in the area.

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