The Gnarled Door in Auntie Ethel’s lair does more than block your path-it reads your intentions. Whether you’re trying to save Mayrina or rob the hag blind, here’s how to trick its magic, slip past its warped roots, and reach the horrors hiding behind it.
Baldurs Gate 3‘s Auntie Ethel seems like a sweet old lady who just wants to help – which, based on everything that has happened (and will happen) to your character, should be a big red flag. After your conversation with her eventually descends into stabbing, you’ll have to chase her through a fireplace and into the Overgrown Tunnel. There, you’ll run into a giant, tree-faced Gnarled Door who refuses to let you pass.
Our Baldur’s Gate 3 Auntie Ethel’s tree door guide will explain how to get past the stubborn door-person and how to maintain your sanity while doing it.
How to open the Gnarled Door
The Gnarled Door blocks access to Auntie Ethel’s lair in Baldur’s Gate 3 and appears as a living tree pleading not to pass. Interact with it to trigger an Arcana check that reveals its illusory nature, allowing the party to walk straight through. If the check fails, grab a Whispering Mask from the nearby table, equip it on your highest-Wisdom character, move everyone across the threshold, and remove it at once to resist Ethel’s control. Alternatively, rotate the camera to spot the space beyond and click through directly, bypassing dialogue loops.
As you explore the Entrance Gallery of the Overgrown Tunnel under Auntie Ethel’s Gnarled Treehouse, there are a lot of poor, unfortunate souls to interact with, but not much to pick up. There’s only one other door – the Gnarled Door – on the west side of the tunnel.
No matter how much you talk, threaten, or attempt to persuade it, the door won’t let you past. There’s a table to the right of the door where you can pick up a few Whispering Masks.
The key to getting past the Gnarled Door is just having one member of your party wear the Whispering Mask when you do it. But there’s a big caveat to that.
How to protect yourself against the Whispering Mask
The Whispering Mask can quickly turn against you, so avoid putting it on if possible. If you already have it equipped, remove it using a successful Wisdom saving throw or by triggering combat, which will cancel its effects. Spells that restore or protect the mind, such as Protection from Evil and Good or Remove Curse, can also help resist its control. Keep backup party members ready to intervene if someone falls under its influence, as time is limited before they turn hostile.
Once you pass through the Gnarled Door, your character will start making Wisdom Saving Throws against Auntie Ethel’s Ephemeral Whispers. On a failed save, you’ll lose control of that character and they’ll fight against the rest of your party.
One way to avoid that is to put the mask on someone with a high Wisdom score and, preferably, proficiency in Wisdom Saving Throws like a Druid. This just means they have a better chance of saving against the mind control, though, and you’ll be relying on luck to get past.
Once your party is inside, you can take the mask off. This, however, will cause Auntie Ethel’s four level 4 thralls – the Masks of Terror, Vengence, Regret, and Servitude – in the next room to become hostile to you. Keeping the mask on will keep them from turning hostile, but you’ll have to keep making rolls against Ephemeral Whispers.
A much better way to deal with it is to have someone cast Protection Against Evil and Good on the party member wearing the mask. This is a level 1 Cleric spell, so Shadowheart will have access to it. That spell will give the masked character Advantage on their saves for 10 minutes – more than enough time to get past the thralls.
Which skill checks open the Gnarled Door without a mask
Arcana check succeeds on the initial dialogue with the Gnarled Door, revealing it as an illusion you can walk through without a mask. Some guides note potential Persuasion or Intimidation options during the conversation as alternatives if Arcana fails, though Arcana remains the primary and most reliable non-mask method [ from prior]. No lockpicking or physical interaction works-it’s always illusory, so select a high-Intelligence character like Gale for the best odds. Save before attempting, as failure prompts the mask route.
What Arcana check DC is required to open the Gnarled Door
DC 15 Arcana check reveals the Gnarled Door as an illusion during its dialogue, allowing passage without a mask. This passive or active check triggers automatically upon interaction in Auntie Ethel’s Overgrown Tunnel. Failing it prompts Persuasion DC 10 or Intimidation DC 10 as backups, but Arcana at DC 15 is the standard non-mask reveal. Use a high-Intelligence character like Gale for reliability, and save first.
