Act 1 Quirks and Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Little serpent, long shadow

If the player does not want to try their luck with a DC20 Dexterity save to prevent Rugan from blowing up the entire building, they must first secure this password. It can be obtained just northeast of the Risen Road waypoint, where two Zhentarim surrounded by Gnolls will graciously give the player the password once rescued.

Answer: Infinite

Every single trader in this game has their inventory refresh once the player takes a Long Rest. However, many traders are designed to leave their shop after the player does something. As well, all of them will either attack or have the player arrested if they are caught stealing from them.

Volo's inventory also regenerates. However, he is incredibly passive. If he catches the player stealing, he will flee the camp, only to return about 30 seconds later as if nothing happened at all.

The player can abuse this, by Long Resting continuously, causing Volo's inventory to refresh, stealing all of it, then rinsing and repeating. No matter what, doing this will never drive Volo away from the camp permanently. He is only driven away by an optional story event that the player never has to explore.

Because Volo can be pickpocketed indefinitely, and he will constantly regenerate gold, the player could in theory loot an infinite amount of gold from him. Because there is absolutely zero risk doing so and because doing so is surprisingly quick, this can be a way to "cheese" a ton of gold in the earlygoings of a playthrough. That could be quite useful if the player is enduring a challenge run, perhaps set on a high difficulty or even Honor Mode setting. The only drawback is that it's incredibly boring and disengaging to do for long...

Answer: Netherese Arcane Gem

It is casually referred to as "the orb" or in some cases "the Netherese Orb", but it's 'official' name is the Netherese Arcane Gem. It is a cataclysmically destructive gem with the power to wipe out an entire town in the blink of an eye. If Gale does not consume a satisfactory quantity of magical items, this is what will happen.

Answer: Scratch

Scratch the Dog is an NPC who the player can recruit early in Act 1. Once doing so, the player can eventually obtain Scratch's Ball, a simple chewed up rubber ball. For as mundane as it appears, the existence of this ball in the player's inventory grants them access to the Find Familiar spell. This particular Find Familiar summons Scratch to battle with the player. Once in combat, the player can use a Bonus Action to throw Scratch's Ball at an enemy, prompting Scratch to attack them.

Sadly, this is pure novelty. Scratch is unfortunately absurdly weak, at a pitiful level 1 and possessing 7 HP. He is almost certainly going to get one shot by anything that targets him. Fortunately, Scratch cannot permanently die. If he is defeated, he simply leaves combat and returns to the player's camp, to be summoned again once the player undergoes a Long Rest.

Answer: Wilted Dreams

Wilted Dreams causes the player to take a significant amount of Psychic damage the next time they take a Long Rest. This annoying, as Long Rests are easily the best way to restore the party to full health, which this potion will essentially deny one time.

Most of Ethel's potions have strictly negative effects, and should not be consumed. Some of them have really horrible effects, like how Lost Time disables Reactions for a stupendous 50 turns and reduces Armor Class by 2.

Answer: 81

There are a total of 20 Smokepowder Barrels, mostly found in the Zhentarim Hideout and Storeroom. There are 34 total Firewine Barrels, almost entirely found in the Goblin Camp with four of them found in the winery at the Rosymorn Monastery. 26 Oil Barrels exist in Act 1, and literally every one of them is either in the basement of Waukeen's Rest or in the Underdark. Finally, the mac daddy of explosive barrels, the Runepowder Barrel, is found in the Grymforge.

Answer: Throw

Place in World and Move are how the player can manuever their explosive barrels without interruption. NPCs, including the one whom the player is targeting, will not care one iota about the player choosing these options or Examine. However, if the player chooses to Throw objects to maneuver them, this will draw the ire of nearby NPCs. Combat being forced ruins Barrelmancy entirely, which would force the player to either restart their game or abandon the strategy.

As such, if attempting to pull off a Barrelmancy strategy, the player must stick to Move and Place in World, and they must avoid Throw at all costs.

Answer: One

Towards the very end of Act 1, the player can briefly encounter a dragon by the name of Qudenos. Qudenos works alongside the Githyanki squad guarding the Mountain Pass. However, the player cannot actually fight Qudenos here, as he flies away the moment combat with the Githyanki begins.

Answer: Non-Lethal Attacks

Minthara is the subject of this mechanic. When the game came out initially, it was not possible to recruit her along with Wyll and Karlach at the same time. The pathway to recruiting one side caused the other to either permanently abandon the party, or simply become impossible to recruit.

Down the road, Larian Studios adjusted this. In order to recruit Minthara without alienating the others, the player must side with the Emerald Grove and ultimately invade the Goblin Camp where Minthara resides. However, instead of killing her, the player absolutely must ensure they have toggled the Non-Lethal Attack setting on. They must then ensure to defeat Minthara with a melee attack. If done correctly, they will knock her out instead of killing her.

If Minthara was knocked out but not killed, she can be recruited in Act 2. If done this way, the player will not end up driving away Wyll or Karlach. They can then potentially recruit every single playable character in the game all on the same playthrough.

Answer: Swimming

The player has the chance to ask Shadowheart about herself in a non-Shar, non-tadpole context. One of the things Shadowheart mentions is not being able to swim.