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The first act in Baldur's Gate 3 is huge, and with the arrival of the full version, it has now become even bigger as the new functionalities and features add more depth to the world. However, Zhentarim Hideout has been available since the Early Access era.
Zhentarim acts as a base of operations for a secret shady gang in the game, that you can either side with or go against them. However, it's worth behaving friendly with them in the beginning, as Zhentarim Hideout hosts one of the multiple passages into the Underdark.
Updated by Mehrdad Khayyat on Aug 15, 2023: This guide has been updated to include several new helpful links for articles published since this articles original publication.
How To Enter The Zhentarim Basement
The entry to the gang's hideout is well-hidden inside a small house. You need to make your way to the northwest of the island to Waukeen's Rest fast travel station. The best way to reach this spot is to head to Blighted Village fast travel station and then head north. Once you exit from the northern gate, take the route to the west, pass over the broken bridge, and take the western route again until you reach the gates of a new village. Most buildings in this village are burning in flames.
Once you are in the middle square of the village, you can see a small passage on the northwest. Although the passage is burning, you can jump over the flames to get to the other side. Now, continue the path to the northwest, and you will spot the corpse of a dead Ox on the ground. Next to the Ox, there is a small house with a Shabby Door. You can also see a bunch of boxes in front of the door. Break those boxes and get inside the house.
Here, you will face a member of the gang named Salazon. Spotting him will trigger a conversation, and he will be eager to kill you, but you can still convince him that you are friendly, or kill him. Either way, it doesn't make much difference. Inside the house, and next to its southern wall, there is a hatch. Open that hatch and go down. If you behave friendly with Salazon, the hatch will be unlocked by default.
How To Enter The Zhentarim Hideout
Now, you will find yourself inside a small basement, but there is still a small way to go. Climb down the ladder and get to the corner of the room where there is a brown Wardrobe. Interacting with Wardrobe opens up a path that leads into the Zhentarim Hideout.
As soon as you are inside, you will find a fast travel station. If you go towards the Iron Gate you will be interrupted by the gang leader. This conversation will either lead to combat or peace. You will have multiple options such as Persuasion, Intimidation, and more to convince the gang leader that you oppose no threat to her.
If you manage to convince her, the Iron Gates will open up and you can explore the hideout. If you talk to the leader, you can make progress in the "Find The Missing Shipment" quest. There are also some other NPCs that you can talk to inside the hideout to receive new quests.
Hidden Path To Underdark
One last thing about Zhentarim Hideout is that you can actually make your way to Underdark from this outpost. To do so, look for a wolf inside the hideout named Istor. This wolf is standing in front of a rocky wall. If you get an "Investigation Successful" prompt from any of your characters, they will spot that the rock is indeed an illusionary wall. Going through this wall before Istor's eyes will cause the entire guards to begin combat against you. That's why, you need to switch to Stealth mode and get inside the wall from behind the wolf.
You will find an elevator as well as an elevator winch inside this cave. If you manage to lockpick the elevator winch, you can use the elevator to go to Underdark.