eXputer

QuestmajorSide mission

Investigate the Steel Watch Foundry

An Act 3 quest in Baldur's Gate 3 that sends the party into the Lower City's Steel Watch Foundry to uncover Gortash's operation and disable his mechanical army.

RoleInfiltrate the Steel Watch Foundry, learn how Gortash's automatons are produced, and determine how the facility can be destroyed while dealing with the Gondians and Ironhand Gnomes.
Statusavailable in Act 3
Importancemajor
RewardAccess to the Ironhand Gnomes or Gondians as allies after successfully dealing with the foundry.
  • ActAct 3
  • RegionLower City
  • Mission typeSide mission
  • Primary conflictSteel Watch production
  • Key factionsGondians and Ironhand Gnomes
  • Major consequenceGortash alliance ends

The quest has no single fixed combat difficulty stated in the supplied source material; its challenge depends on party choices and how the foundry is approached.

Key takeaways

The quest is built around infiltration, factional choices, and the consequences of disabling Gortash's industrial power base.

  • Investigate the source The Steel Watch Foundry is the production site for Gortash's mechanical army, making it the key location for understanding how the automatons are made and how the threat can be removed.
  • The Gondians are coerced The foundry's Gondian workers are not simply hostile operators. Gortash's subordinates force them to build the Steel Watch, which makes their survival a central concern.
  • There is more than one destruction route The party can work with Zanner Toobin and pursue a rescue-focused solution, or use the Ironhand Gnomes' runepowder bomb to destroy the facility immediately.
  • The choice has political consequences Dealing with the foundry ends the player's alliance with Gortash and can determine whether the Ironhand Gnomes or Gondians become available as allies.
  • The prison is part of the wider problem Save the Gondians connects the foundry to an underwater prison holding their families, so the investigation can lead into a larger rescue operation.

Investigate the Steel Watch Foundry overview

Investigate the Steel Watch Foundry is a major Act 3 quest in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate 3. It concerns Gortash's mechanical army, the Gondians forced to build it, and the competing plans of the Ironhand Gnomes.

The quest begins as a confrontation with the infrastructure behind Gortash's Steel Watch rather than with a single ordinary patrol. The foundry is the production site for the automatons that enforce Gortash's rule, so entering it gives the party a way to investigate the source of the threat instead of simply fighting Steel Watch units throughout the city. The quest can be connected to Wulbren and Barcus Wroot, whose earlier rescue affects the people available to advise the party.

Inside the facility, the party discovers that Gondians are being coerced by Gortash's subordinates into constructing the automatons. This changes the mission from a straightforward sabotage operation into a choice about how the foundry should be dealt with and who, if anyone, should survive its destruction. Zanner Toobin is an important figure in this part of the quest and can help the party pursue a solution that saves the enslaved Gondians rather than treating every worker as an enemy.

The central decision is whether to work through the people inside the foundry or use the Ironhand Gnomes' runepowder bomb to destroy the facility immediately. The immediate-destruction option is direct, but it does not represent the same outcome as investigating the coercion and attempting to preserve the Gondians. The foundry's fate also affects the wider political situation: completing the quest or destroying the facility ends the player's alliance with Gortash.

This mission is closely linked to Save the Gondians, which expands the rescue effort beyond the foundry by involving the Gondians' families and an underwater prison. Players who want the most complete resolution should treat the foundry and the prison as connected parts of the same conflict. Afterward, the party can potentially recruit the Ironhand Gnomes or the Gondians as allies, while Wulbren's demand that surviving Gondians be killed creates an additional conflict to mediate.

Where this sits

Set-upReconnect with Wulbren and Barcus Wroot
InvestigationEnter the foundry and uncover the Gondians' situation
ResolutionDestroy the foundry and settle the faction outcome
  1. 1Speak with Wulbren and Barcus WrootTheir earlier rescue provides the context for the Ironhand Gnomes' involvement.
  2. ●Enter the Steel Watch FoundryThe party investigates the facility in the Lower City.
  3. 3Learn the Gondians' situationThe workers are being coerced by Gortash's subordinates.
  4. 4Choose a destruction planWork with Zanner Toobin or use the runepowder bomb.
  5. 5Resolve the faction disputeThe outcome can affect the Ironhand Gnomes and Gondians.

This quest belongs to the Act 3 Lower City storyline and connects directly to the Gondian rescue arc.

Requirements

The known starting condition is tied to the earlier rescue of Wulbren and Barcus Wroot. The supplied material does not establish a complete list of mandatory quests, items, or party composition requirements.

  • RequiredAct 3 accessThe quest takes place in Act 3, in the Lower City.
  • RequiredEarlier rescue contextSpeak with Wulbren and Barcus Wroot after rescuing them in earlier acts to initiate or develop the quest.
  • RequiredA decision about the foundryThe party must ultimately choose how to destroy or deal with the facility.
  • OptionalRunepowder bombThe Ironhand Gnomes may provide a runepowder bomb for an immediate-destruction route.

Objectives

  1. Reach the Steel Watch Foundry in the Lower City.The foundry is the industrial source of Gortash's mechanical army.
  2. Investigate how the Steel Watch is produced.The party learns what the facility is doing and who is being forced to operate it.
  3. Deal with the coerced Gondians.The Gondians are being compelled by Gortash's subordinates to build the automatons.
  4. Destroy or disable the foundry.The quest can be resolved through a plan involving Zanner Toobin or through the Ironhand Gnomes' runepowder bomb.
  5. Determine the future of the Gondians and Ironhand Gnomes.The aftermath can involve mediation, factional conflict, and the recruitment of allies.
  6. Follow the linked rescue operation.Save the Gondians leads to the underwater prison holding the Gondians' families.Optional

WalkthroughSpoilers

  1. 01

    Begin the foundry investigation

    Reconnect with Wulbren and Barcus Wroot

    After the earlier-act rescues, speak with Wulbren and Barcus Wroot to establish the Ironhand Gnomes' connection to the Steel Watch problem. Their conversation provides the context for why the foundry matters and can open the route into the next stage of the investigation.

    Location: Lower City

    TipKeep both characters alive where possible, because their opposing views shape the quest's later aftermath.

  2. 02

    Reach the production facility

    Travel to the Steel Watch Foundry

    Make your way through the Lower City to the facility that produces Gortash's mechanical army. The foundry is the mission's central location, and entering it shifts the quest from faction discussion to direct investigation.

    Location: Steel Watch Foundry

    Watch outThe supplied material does not specify every entrance, guard position, or internal room, so do not assume that a particular route is required.

  3. 03

    Discover the truth behind Steel Watch production

    Investigate the facility

    Search the foundry and observe how the Steel Watch is created rather than treating the location as only a combat arena. The important discovery is that Gondians are working under coercion from Gortash's subordinates.

    Location: Inside the Steel Watch Foundry

    TipRead conversations and inspect the situation before committing to a destruction method; the workers' status is central to the ethical choice.

  4. 04

    Find help from the Gondians

    Find Zanner Toobin

    Locate Zanner Toobin among the Gondians and speak with him about the foundry. He is the key character for a plan that attempts to destroy the facility while saving the enslaved workers, so his dialogue provides the clearest route toward that outcome.

    Location: Steel Watch Foundry

    Watch outThe source pack does not establish Zanner Toobin's exact room or every condition affecting his survival, so verify his position in-game rather than relying on an assumed map route.

  5. 05

    Choose the destruction method

    Decide whether to use the runepowder bomb

    The Ironhand Gnomes can offer a runepowder bomb that destroys the facility immediately. This is the direct option, but it bypasses the slower investigation and does not produce the same rescue-focused resolution as working through the Gondians.

    Location: Steel Watch Foundry

    TipUse this route when speed is more important than preserving the full Gondian storyline.

  6. 06

    Attempt to save the Gondians

    Pursue the Gondian-assisted solution

    If the party works with Zanner Toobin, continue through the foundry with the goal of destroying the production site while saving the coerced Gondians. This approach treats the workers as people to protect rather than as interchangeable enemies.

    Location: Steel Watch Foundry

    Watch outThe exact combat encounters and individual survival conditions are not established in the supplied material, so avoid assuming that every Gondian is guaranteed to live.

  7. 07

    End Steel Watch production

    Destroy or disable the foundry

    Complete the chosen plan and bring the Steel Watch production operation to an end. Destroying the facility removes Gortash's industrial base and concludes the central objective of the quest.

    Location: Steel Watch Foundry

    Checkpoint
  8. 08

    Settle the faction conflict

    Resolve the Ironhand Gnome and Gondian dispute

    After the foundry is dealt with, Wulbren may demand that surviving Gondians be killed. The party must mediate or choose a side, and this conversation determines how the two groups regard one another after the shared crisis.

    Location: Foundry aftermath

    Watch outThis is a major consequence point: the outcome can change which faction is available as an ally.

  9. 09

    Rescue the Gondians' families

    Follow Save the Gondians if needed

    The foundry investigation connects to Save the Gondians, which concerns the Gondians' families and an underwater prison. Continue that quest if the goal is to address the wider hostage situation rather than ending the story at the production facility.

    Location: Linked Gondian rescue storyline

    TipTreat the prison objective as part of the broader Gondian rescue arc, not as a replacement for investigating the foundry.

Mission mechanics

The defining mechanic of this quest is route selection. The party is not limited to simply fighting through the foundry: the story supports an immediate-destruction option using the Ironhand Gnomes' runepowder bomb and a more involved route built around Zanner Toobin and the Gondians. These approaches differ in how much of the workers' situation the player engages with and in the faction consequences afterward.

The foundry also functions as a faction-resolution mission. The Gondians are coerced into building the Steel Watch, while the Ironhand Gnomes want the facility eliminated and may later demand that surviving Gondians die. The player therefore has to weigh the practical goal of removing Gortash's mechanical army against the lives and future allegiance of the people caught inside the operation.

The mission's wider mechanics are tied to quest sequencing. Save the Gondians extends the rescue effort to an underwater prison containing their families, while the foundry itself addresses the source of the Steel Watch. Completing or destroying the foundry ends the player's alliance with Gortash, so the operation is also a major diplomatic breakpoint in Act 3.

What works and what does not

Strengths

  • The quest gives the Steel Watch a concrete production site instead of leaving the mechanical army as an abstract city threat.
  • The Gondians and Ironhand Gnomes create a meaningful faction conflict with consequences beyond the foundry itself.
  • Multiple destruction routes allow the player to prioritize speed, investigation, or the survival of the coerced workers.
  • The link to Save the Gondians gives the foundry storyline a broader rescue objective.

Weaknesses

  • The immediate runepowder-bomb route can skip parts of the Gondian-focused investigation.
  • The faction dispute after the foundry can become morally and politically difficult because Wulbren may demand the deaths of surviving Gondians.
  • The supplied material does not document every interior encounter, making a room-by-room tactical guide impossible to verify here.

Best uses

  • Approach the foundry as a major Act 3 faction quest rather than only as a combat location.
  • Use the Zanner Toobin route when preserving the Gondians is the priority.
  • Use the runepowder bomb when the intended role-play choice is immediate destruction.

Choices and consequencesSpoilers

  • Use the Ironhand Gnomes' runepowder bomb to destroy the foundry immediately.

    The facility is destroyed through the direct Ironhand Gnome plan. This can bypass the more involved effort to save the Gondians.

    Spoiler
  • Work with Zanner Toobin and pursue a solution that saves the coerced Gondians.

    The party follows the Gondian-focused route and attempts to preserve the workers while destroying the facility.

    Spoiler
  • Accept Wulbren's demand to kill surviving Gondians.

    The Ironhand Gnome position is upheld, while the Gondians' survival and the possibility of their support are sacrificed.

    Spoiler
  • Mediate or reject Wulbren's demand.

    The party can oppose the call to kill the Gondians, preserving the possibility of a different faction outcome and later alliance.

    Spoiler
  • Continue into Save the Gondians.

    The story expands to the Gondians' families and an underwater prison rather than ending with the foundry's destruction alone.

    Spoiler

Foundry checklist

  • Speak with Wulbren and Barcus Wroot after their earlier rescues.This establishes the Ironhand Gnomes' connection to the operation.
  • Reach the Steel Watch Foundry in the Lower City.The facility is the source of Gortash's mechanical army.
  • Investigate the Gondians' working conditions.Confirm that they are being coerced by Gortash's subordinates.
  • Speak with Zanner Toobin.He can assist with a plan to destroy the foundry while saving Gondians.
  • Choose between the Gondian-assisted route and the runepowder bomb.These approaches produce different kinds of quest resolution.
  • Destroy or disable the Steel Watch Foundry.This ends the production operation.
  • Resolve Wulbren's demand concerning surviving Gondians.Mediate or choose a faction.
  • Check whether Save the Gondians should be continued.The linked quest concerns families held in an underwater prison.Optional

Failure conditionsSpoilers

  • A chosen destruction route bypasses the Gondian rescue effortUsing the runepowder bomb destroys the facility immediately and can skip the more involved path centered on saving the coerced Gondians.
  • The party accepts the demand to kill surviving GondiansThis sacrifices the Gondians' survival and can change which group is available as an ally afterward.
  • The party does not address the linked family rescueDestroying the foundry does not by itself resolve the wider Save the Gondians storyline involving the underwater prison.

On failure

The source pack does not provide a complete list of combat fail states, NPC death triggers, or reload checkpoints. Treat Gondian survival and the faction conversation as the principal documented failure-sensitive outcomes.

Rewards and outcomesSpoilers

  • Steel Watch disabled
    Successfully dealing with the foundry removes Gortash's mechanical army's production facility.
  • End of Gortash alliance
    Completing the quest or destroying the foundry ends the player's alliance with Gortash.
  • Ironhand Gnome allies
    The Ironhand Gnomes may become available as allies after the foundry conflict is resolved.
  • Gondian allies
    The Gondians may become available as allies when the party resolves the foundry while preserving their side of the conflict.
  • Runepowder bomb route
    The Ironhand Gnomes' bomb provides an immediate method for destroying the facility.

AftermathSpoilers

Destroying the foundry changes the political balance

The foundry's destruction ends the player's alliance with Gortash. The aftermath also forces a decision about the Ironhand Gnomes and surviving Gondians, with the possibility of recruiting either group as allies depending on how the conflict is resolved.

Trivia

  • The quest combines an investigation of industrial production with a faction dispute between the Ironhand Gnomes and Gondians.
  • The Steel Watch Foundry is both a physical facility and the central link between Gortash's city-wide mechanical enforcement and the coerced Gondian workers.
  • The runepowder bomb offers a notably direct alternative to the Gondian-assisted destruction route.
  • The foundry story is connected to an underwater prison through Save the Gondians.

Relationships

setting

  • Steel Watch FoundryLocationThe facility investigated and destroyed during the quest.
  • Lower CityRegionThe Act 3 district containing the foundry.

characters

  • GortashAntagonistThe political power behind the Steel Watch and its production facility.
  • Zanner ToobinKey characterA Gondian who can help the party pursue a worker-saving destruction plan.
  • WulbrenFaction representativeAn Ironhand Gnome connected to the quest's opening and aftermath.
  • Barcus WrootRelated characterA rescued character involved in the Ironhand Gnome storyline.