Help the Hag Survivors

Key takeaways

These are the practical points to keep in mind before entering the survivors' hideout.

• Find the group in the Lower City Read an Anti-Hag Support Group poster or locate the group's hideout through exploration. The survivors are at Old Garlow's Place, east of the Counting House.
• Expect suspicion rather than a warm welcome The group is hostile or distrustful when the party arrives. Treat the first conversation as part of the quest's challenge and avoid assuming that the survivors will immediately accept help.
• Free Mayrina from the curse Mayrina has been turned into a sheep. Destroying the hex totem or casting Remove Curse can break the effect and address the central problem inside the house.
• Search for Hag's Bane A safe in Old Garlow's Place contains crafting ingredients and the Hag's Bane recipe. This discovery is important preparation for the later fight with Auntie Ethel.
• The quest leads into another hag mission Helping the survivors prepares the party for Avenge the Hag Survivors. The quest is best understood as both a rescue and an investigation into how to oppose Auntie Ethel.

Help the Hag Survivors overview

Help the Hag Survivors is an Act 3 side quest that follows the trail of people harmed by Auntie Ethel and brings the player to Old Garlow's Place in the Lower City.

The quest begins when the party discovers an Anti-Hag Support Group poster in the Lower City or finds the group's hideout by exploring. The investigation is not simply a matter of locating a named objective: the survivors are wary of outsiders because of their experiences with Auntie Ethel, so arriving at their refuge creates a social problem before it becomes a practical one. Players need to understand that the group is dealing with the continuing effects of the hag's cruelty rather than treating the location as an ordinary combat encounter.

The survivors are found at Old Garlow's Place, a house in the Lower City just east of the Counting House. Mayrina is among them, linking this Act 3 quest to the events of Act 1. On arrival, the party must deal with the group's hostility and investigate the curse affecting Mayrina, who has been transformed into a sheep. The curse is tied to a hex totem, and it can be broken either by destroying that totem or by using Remove Curse.

Exploration of Old Garlow's Place also provides a practical lead for the next stage of the hag storyline. A safe inside the house contains crafting ingredients and a recipe for Hag's Bane, an item that is important in the subsequent fight against Auntie Ethel. Helping the group therefore does more than resolve the immediate problem: it gives the party a way to prepare for Avenge the Hag Survivors and the confrontation that follows.

The quest's outcome is connected to the survivors' ability to resist Auntie Ethel, and successfully helping them can provide the Fey Semblance Amulet. The exact route through the encounter depends on how the party handles the group's suspicion and the curse, but the central objectives remain consistent: locate the support group, address the danger at Old Garlow's Place, free Mayrina, and secure the information needed for the later hag encounter.

Where this sits

Requirements

The quest is an Act 3 activity in the Lower City. The known entry points are discovering an Anti-Hag Support Group poster or locating the group's hideout.

• RequiredAccess to Act 3The quest takes place during Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3.
• RequiredReach the Lower CityOld Garlow's Place is located in the Lower City, just east of the Counting House.
• RecommendedFind an entry pointRead an Anti-Hag Support Group poster or discover the group's hideout while exploring the Lower City.
• RecommendedA way to address the curseThe curse affecting Mayrina can be broken by destroying the hex totem or using Remove Curse. The quest does not require both methods.

Objectives

1. Locate the Anti-Hag Support Group or its hideout.The quest can begin from an Anti-Hag Support Group poster in the Lower City or from finding the group's refuge directly.
2. Reach Old Garlow's Place.The survivors are gathered in a Lower City house just east of the Counting House.
3. Deal with the survivors' hostility.The group is wary of the party because of its experiences with Auntie Ethel, so the arrival must be handled before assistance can proceed.
4. Break Mayrina's curse.Mayrina has been transformed into a sheep. Destroy the hex totem or use Remove Curse to end the effect.
5. Find the Hag's Bane recipe.Search the safe in Old Garlow's Place for crafting ingredients and the recipe needed for later preparation.
6. Set up the follow-up against Auntie Ethel.Completing the rescue helps prepare the Avenge the Hag Survivors quest.

WalkthroughSpoilers

1. 01

   Locate the Anti-Hag Support Group

   Search the Lower City for the support group lead

   Begin by reading an Anti-Hag Support Group poster in the Lower City, or continue exploring until you locate the group's hideout. Either route points the party toward the survivors and establishes that the investigation concerns victims of Auntie Ethel rather than a routine local errand.

   Location: Lower City

   TipIf you have not seen the poster, finding the hideout directly can still initiate the quest.

2. 02

   Find the survivors' hideout

   Travel to Old Garlow's Place

   Go to Old Garlow's Place, the house where the support group is gathered. The building is just east of the Counting House, making that landmark the clearest orientation point when navigating the Lower City.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   Checkpoint
3. 03

   Deal with the group's hostility

   Approach the survivors carefully

   The people inside are hostile or suspicious when the party arrives, reflecting their fear of Auntie Ethel and their distrust of outsiders. Address the group's reaction before treating the house as a search area, because the survivors' attitude is part of the immediate obstacle.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   Watch outDo not assume that entering the hideout automatically makes the survivors cooperative.

4. 04

   Address the curse affecting Mayrina

   Investigate Mayrina's condition

   Mayrina, whom the party may remember from Act 1, has been transformed into a sheep by the hag. Identify the curse as the source of the problem and focus the investigation on the hex affecting her rather than leaving the house before resolving it.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

5. 05

   Destroy the hex totem

   Break the hex totem

   One way to restore Mayrina is to destroy the hex totem responsible for the curse. Search the area inside Old Garlow's Place for the totem and remove it, then confirm that the transformation has been lifted before moving on.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   TipIf you do not want to use a spell slot, the totem is the alternative method identified for breaking the curse.

6. 06

   Remove Mayrina's curse

   Use Remove Curse if preferred

   The curse can also be broken with Remove Curse rather than by destroying the hex totem. Choose the method that suits the party's available magic and positioning, and make sure the spell is applied to the cursed situation rather than used after abandoning the encounter.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   TipThe two known solutions are alternatives; the quest does not require both.

7. 07

   Find the Hag's Bane recipe

   Search the safe

   After dealing with the immediate problem, search Old Garlow's Place thoroughly and locate the safe. It contains crafting ingredients as well as the recipe for Hag's Bane, so skipping the house's containers can leave the party without an important lead for the next hag encounter.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   Watch outThe safe's contents are easy to miss if you leave as soon as Mayrina is restored.

8. 08

   Prepare for Avenge the Hag Survivors

   Use the information to prepare for the next quest

   The Hag's Bane recipe is relevant to Avenge the Hag Survivors, the follow-up quest involving Auntie Ethel. Keep the recipe and its associated materials available so the party can prepare before beginning the subsequent confrontation.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   Checkpoint
9. 09

   Complete Help the Hag Survivors

   Confirm that the survivors have been helped

   Finish the interaction with the group after resolving Mayrina's curse and securing the house's useful evidence. Successfully helping them can award the Fey Semblance Amulet and advances the survivor storyline toward its later response to Auntie Ethel.

   Location: Old Garlow's Place

   Watch outThe source material does not establish every dialogue branch or every condition that changes the reward, so verify the quest journal before departing.

Mission mechanicsSpoilers

The quest combines investigation, social tension, environmental searching, and curse removal. The support group is not presented as a neutral quest-giver location: the survivors' hostility is an immediate consequence of their history with Auntie Ethel. This means that the party's first task inside Old Garlow's Place is to establish enough control over the situation to investigate safely and help the people who live there.

Mayrina's transformation supplies the quest's clearest mechanical problem. She has been turned into a sheep, and the curse can be addressed in two documented ways: destroy the hex totem or use Remove Curse. These methods give the party a physical solution and a magical solution, allowing the encounter to be approached according to the party's resources without requiring a particular class or combat build.

The house also rewards deliberate exploration. The safe contains both crafting ingredients and the Hag's Bane recipe, which turns the location into a preparation site for the later Auntie Ethel storyline. The recipe is not merely a piece of background evidence: it provides the party with an item lead that matters when the survivors' story continues in Avenge the Hag Survivors.

The quest's structure makes it possible to overlook useful progress by leaving after the most visible problem is solved. Restoring Mayrina addresses the curse, but searching the house is what reveals the recipe and ingredients. A careful run therefore treats the conversation, the curse, and the safe as separate objectives rather than assuming that one successful interaction completes every useful task.

What works and what does not

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

• Read the Anti-Hag Support Group poster before finding the hideout

  This provides one documented route for initiating the quest and directs the investigation toward the survivors.

• Locate the group's hideout directly

  The quest can also be initiated by finding the support group's refuge through exploration rather than beginning with the poster.

• Destroy the hex totem

  This is one known way to break the curse that has transformed Mayrina into a sheep.

  Spoiler
• Cast Remove Curse

  This is the alternative documented method for breaking Mayrina's curse without relying on destruction of the hex totem.

  Spoiler
• Search the safe before leaving Old Garlow's Place

  The party can obtain crafting ingredients and the Hag's Bane recipe, improving preparation for Avenge the Hag Survivors.

  Spoiler

Completion checklist

• Read the Anti-Hag Support Group poster or find the group's hideoutEither is a known entry point for the quest.
• Reach Old Garlow's PlaceThe house is just east of the Counting House in the Lower City.
• Resolve the survivors' hostile reactionThe group is wary of outsiders because of Auntie Ethel.
• Identify Mayrina's curseMayrina has been transformed into a sheep.
• Destroy the hex totem or use Remove CurseThese are the two documented ways to break the curse.
• Search the safeDo not leave immediately after restoring Mayrina.
• Collect the Hag's Bane recipe and crafting ingredientsThese support preparation for the follow-up hag encounter.
• Confirm the quest rewardSuccessfully helping the group can provide the Fey Semblance Amulet.
• Check progress toward Avenge the Hag SurvivorsThe completed rescue prepares the next stage of the storyline.

Failure conditions

• Leaving before resolving Mayrina's curseIf the party departs without dealing with the hex affecting Mayrina, the central problem at Old Garlow's Place remains unresolved.
• Leaving before searching the safeThe safe contains the Hag's Bane recipe and crafting ingredients, so departing immediately after the rescue can cost the party useful preparation.
• Mishandling the survivors' first reactionThe group is hostile or suspicious on arrival. The source material does not establish every hostile-dialogue outcome, so approach the encounter cautiously rather than assuming the conversation is consequence-free.

Rewards and dropsSpoilers

• Fey Semblance Amulet
  Successfully helping the hag survivors can reward the party with this item.
• Hag's Bane recipe
  Found in the safe at Old Garlow's Place; it is important preparation for the subsequent Auntie Ethel encounter.
• Crafting ingredients
  The safe also contains ingredients associated with preparing for the later hag fight.
• Progress toward Avenge the Hag Survivors
  Completing the rescue helps prepare the related quest involving the defeat of Auntie Ethel.

AftermathSpoilers

Trivia

• The quest can be discovered through an Anti-Hag Support Group poster or by finding the group's hideout directly.
• Old Garlow's Place is located just east of the Counting House in the Lower City.
• Mayrina's presence connects the Act 3 survivor storyline to the party's earlier encounter with Auntie Ethel in Act 1.
• The safe in the survivors' house combines crafting materials with a recipe that matters to the next hag-related quest.

Relationships