Spellhold Dungeon

Navigate the treacherous Spellhold Dungeon in Shadows of Doubt. This guide covers puzzles, enemies, and loot, including the Bag of Holding and powerful +3 weapons.

Alright, so you've made it to Spellhold Dungeon. Bodhi's playing games, locking you up and making you run a gauntlet for her amusement. Don't worry, though, she'll leave after a bit. Keep an eye out for Imoen – you'll have a choice to bring her along or not. If you've got Yoshimo in your party, you'll have an open slot. If you decide to ditch someone else to make room for Imoen, they're gone for good, so choose wisely!

Imoen joins with a nice chunk of XP, which is way better than it used to be in the original game where she'd lag way behind. Once you're ready to move on, head west up the stairs and through the door. You'll run into a Clay Golem – take it down, and then check a container nearby. You can disarm a trap on it to find a Bag of Holding, which is a lifesaver for inventory management. Another container nearby has gems, some magic ammo, and a Scroll of Prismatic Spray. Keep an eye on the 'Opal Stone' gem; it won't fit in your Gem Bag and is actually a quest item.

There's an exit to level two to the south, but we can ignore that for now. To the north, there's a nasty floor trap that's unremovable and will instantly kill anyone who tries. So, backtrack to the main area and head up the northern staircase. Grab the Star Sapphire from the container at the top and then go through the door to your right. You'll face some Gibberlings and Mutated Gibberlings. After dealing with them, you can loot a Spear +3, some magic bullets, and another one of those special gems, the Ruby Stone. There's also a barrel with some minor loot.

Head back to the corridor and go through the door to the west. Welcome to the Statue of Riddles puzzle room! You'll see eleven statues around the edge, each with a riddle, and a chest in the center. Your goal is to match each statue to the correct item found in the chest. Starting from the statue to the left of the door and going clockwise:

1. Statue: "Try to defeat me, but try in vain. When I win, I end your pain" — Answer: Grinning Skull (Death)
2. Statue: "I have two heads but one body. The more I stand still, the faster I run" — Answer: Hourglass
3. Statue: "Always do I tell the truth, yet cannot speak. Look at me and see what really is" — Answer: Mirror
4. Statue: "Name me and so you shall break me" — Answer: The Gagged Man (Silence)
5. Statue: "I will save your life, but yet you can die by me. I will settle disputes, yet not with words" — Answer: Sword Medallion
6. Statue: "To those within the dungeon, I am joy. To those fully beneath my gaze, I can be Hell." — Answer: Sun Medallion
7. Statue: "I have seen the mountains rise. I have seen the fall of Netheril. You shall die, but still shall I march on" — Answer: Sundial (Time)
8. Statue: "Here, in this place, you swallow me. Yet, were I more, I could swallow you" — Answer: Jar of Water
9. Statue: "Two brothers we are; great burdens we bear; all day we are pressed..." — Answer: Worn-out Boots
10. Statue: "No beginning. No end. I am a symbol of the world's cycles." — Answer: Golden Circlet
11. Statue: "At night, I come without being fetched; at day, I am gone without being stolen." — Answer: Star Medallion

Nailing all these riddles gets you 20000 XP, a Dusty Rose Ioun Stone, and a Sapphire Stone from the chest. Pretty neat!

After leaving the puzzle room, head through the door to the north. You'll find yourself in a corridor with two doors. Take the north door to a room filled with six mephits and a Ruhk (a Rakshasa spellcaster). Scout out the mephits first and try to hit them with an area-of-effect attack before focusing on the Ruhk. In the back of the room, there's a shimmering portal. If you want to avoid a fight, drop the Opal and Ruby Stones you've collected. If you're feeling brave, you can say 'bring it on,' cast Protection From Evil, Remove Fear, and fire protection, and make sure everyone's got a +3 weapon equipped. Interacting with the portal will summon different creatures based on which stones you have:

• Opal Stone: Summons a Greater Wolfwere (15000 XP).
• Ruby Stone: Summons a Pit Fiend (9000 XP).
• Sapphire Stone: Summons a Genie who congratulates you and gives you a suit of Doomplate +3. (Heads up, this plate isn't actually better than Full Plate +1, despite the higher enchantment.)

Head back to the corridor and go through the door to the east. This is another puzzle room. You'll see six faces on a central enclosure and six on the wall. Interacting with them teleports you to the center where you'll be asked riddles. Here are the answers, starting with the faces on the central enclosure, nearest the door and working right:

1. Face: "They follow and lead..." — Answer: Shadows
2. Face: "I have holes throughout..." — Answer: A sponge
3. Face: " I am free for the taking..." — Answer: Breath
4. Face: "Alive as you but without breath..." — Answer: Fish
5. Face: "Of all your possessions..." — Answer: A secret
6. Face: "I can have no color..." — Answer: A hole.

Now for the faces on the wall, working clockwise:

1. Face: "Lighter than what I am made of..." — Answer: Ice
2. Face: "A spirited jig it dances bright..." — Answer: Fire
3. Face: "The man who invented it..." — Answer: A coffin
4. Face: "The life I lead is mere hours or less..." — Answer: A candle
5. Face: "The more that there is, the less that you see..." — Answer: Darkness
6. Face: "They come to witness the night..." — Answer: Stars.

Solving all twelve riddles earns you a Ring of Regeneration and 5000 XP for each party member. Nice!

If you continue northeast around the corridor, you'll run into some Yuan-ti, including a Mage. Keep going and you'll hit that impassable trap corridor we saw earlier. For now, head back to the starting room. The west passage is blocked, so cast Chaotic Commands on your frontline fighters and take the stairs to the south. Then, go through the exit to level 2.

On Level 2, the first room is split into two halves. As soon as anyone steps into the lower half, gates will slam shut.