Nautiloid

Walkthrough

The area in the order you play it. Tick things off as you go: they tick off in the checklists below too.

1. 1

   Break Out in the Nursery

   When you break out of the Mind Flayer Pod, inspect the fragile pool of tadpoles in the center of the room with a DC 10 Investigation check, but avoid touching or shooting the glass unless you want to trigger an explosion that deals acid and force damage. Before leaving through the north sphincter door, loot the nearby Cartilaginous Chests and interact with the blue tentacle Restoration device along the west wall to fully restore your health and resources.

   Rune Slates: from the surgery room floor, examine the desk at coordinates X: 3, Y: -414 to inspect and read the slates New

   Tip: Pick up any purple Nautiloid Tanks you see throughout the ship, as they can be carried in your inventory to set up a massive explosive ambush later on the helm.

   Watch out: Interacting recklessly with the central pool shatters it immediately, inflicting avoidable early damage on your character.

2. 2

   Extract Us in the Surgery Room

   Climb the elevated platform via the Neural Apparatus to find a dying elf named Myrnath strapped to a chair, whose exposed brain addresses you telepathically. Inspect the tissue with an Arcana, Perception, or Investigation check, then carefully lever the creature free using a DC 10 Strength or DC 10 Dexterity check so it introduces itself as Us. Once the newborn creature drops to the floor, do not mutilate it unless you intentionally want a weakened pet; instead, let it follow you as a controllable companion for the rest of the ship escape.

   A friendly intellect devourer named Us can be extracted from the exposed skull of the thrall Myrnath by passing skill checks, becoming a temporary party member.Slave Mind: from the chamber east of Shadowheart's pod (the Ceremorphosis Chamber), look on the floor resting next to a Dead Thrall and a Cartilaginous ChestHow: pick it up into your inventoryMissable because: lost permanently once you trigger the transponder and the ship crashes Don't miss New

   Tip: If you want to weaken Us, a DC 10 Medicine check applies the "Lobotomised" condition, reducing its movement speed and hit points permanently, but leaving it intact keeps it stronger for upcoming fights.

   Watch out: Failing the extraction checks or selecting the option to crush the brain destroys Us outright, permanently costing you a companion and a summonable ally later in the campaign.

3. 3

   Clear the Balcony with Lae'zel

   As you step out onto the dragon-scorched exterior deck, Lae'zel ambushes you before forming a truce and joining your active party. Immediately target the three Lesser Imps that attack, using ranged attacks and Us to draw aggro while closing the distance. Before heading up the ramp to re-enter the interior hull, use the Restoration device on the upper ledge to top off your spell slots and hit points.

   Tip: If you are playing the Origin Lae'zel path, a githyanki fighter named Losiir will temporarily take her place in this battle instead.

   Watch out: Rushing straight ahead without grouping up can leave fragile spellcasters surrounded by the flying imps before Lae'zel gets into melee range.

4. 4

   Free Shadowheart in the Ceremorphosis Chambers

   Enter the ceremorphosis chamber to discover Shadowheart trapped inside a Mind Flayer Pod, which begins the quest "Rescue the Illithids' Captive". Ignore the nearby console tied to two unconscious cultists unless you wish to kill them, and instead head east into the adjoining room to loot an Eldritch Rune and a Gold Key from a Dead Thrall. Return to the pod's console, insert the Eldritch Rune, and succeed on the DC 2 Illithid Wisdom check—or bypass the mechanism entirely with a DC 10 Barbarian Strength check or DC 7 spellcaster Arcana check—to pry the pod open and recruit her into your party.

   Eldritch Rune: Looted from a Dead Thrall located in the chamber east of Shadowheart's pod Don't missGold Key: Found on a Dead Thrall inside the room east of Shadowheart's pod Don't missDark Mind: from the first room of the Ceremorphosis Chambers, look on a table/desk resting near Shadowheart's pod at coordinates X: 4, Y: -363How: pick up the jarMissable because: unobtainable once the prologue finishes and the Nautiloid crashes Don't miss NewElaborate Reliquary Chest: from the Dead Thrall in the chamber east of Shadowheart's pod, turn to the southeast corner of the room to spot the ornate containerHow: unlock with the Gold Key looted from the Dead ThrallMissable because: cannot return to the chamber after using the transponder Don't miss New

   Tip: In the room east of the pod, the Gold Key unlocks the nearby Elaborate Reliquary Chest, while the solitary button labeled "Perfect" behind the unresponsive captive will instantly transform her into an illithid.

   Watch out: Leaving Shadowheart in her pod means you lose an extra party member for the boss fight on the helm, and she will start with a cool, guarded attitude when you meet her again on the beach.

5. 5

   Escape the Nautiloid Helm

   Open the helm doors to trigger a massive brawl between a Mind Flayer and Commander Zhalk, initiating a strict 15-turn countdown to touch the transponder before the ship crashes. Advance down the hall to eliminate the initial Lesser Imps and Hellboars, then send Shadowheart to cast Command: Drop on Commander Zhalk so he drops the Everburn Blade onto the floor for your frontliner to snatch. If you choose to defeat Zhalk for the extra experience, stack your collected purple Nautiloid Tanks around him and blow them up with fire while using the Mind Flayer as a meat shield, but make sure a party member dashes forward to touch the Transponder Apparatus before turn 9 when Cambion reinforcements arrive and before the Mind Flayer turns hostile upon Zhalk's death.

   Key fight: Nautiloid Helm (Escape the Nautiloid)
   Everburn Blade: Carried by Commander Zhalk in the helm; acquired by defeating him or using the Command: Drop spell Don't miss

   Tip: Prepare Command on Shadowheart using your spellbook menu before entering the helm so you have two opportunities to force Zhalk to disarm on turn 1.

   Watch out: Do not linger after Zhalk falls; the surviving Mind Flayer immediately turns hostile against your party, and the two high-level Cambion reinforcements entering from the entrance corridor can quickly wipe out your squad.

What you decide here and what it leads to.