Baldur's Gate 3: Hidden Vault and Rune of the Wolf Guide (BG3)

Will you rush it or wait?

My experience with Baldur’s Gate 3 led me to the big wolf statue in the Enclave Library in Druid’s Grove a bit too early, and my curiosity made me look for the missing stone slab as soon as possible. No matter what that statue did, I had to find the Rune of the Wolf and figure it out.

You probably ran past this statue after the awkward conversation about healing and poison with Healer Nettie in the library. You might have heard about the Hidden Vault after speaking with Rath in the Emerald Grove, when he asks you to bring the Druid’s real leader Halsin back. If you ask Rath for a reward for this quest, he promises to “open the grove’s greatest treasures” to you—but you don’t have to wait an entire questline for that.

Here’s how to enter the Hidden Vault in Druid’s Grove in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Pickpocket Rath in the Emerald Grove for the Rune of the Wolf. Then, interact with the rune slot in the missing slot in the Enclave Library, select the Rune of the Wolf, and press confirm to open the secret staircase to the Hidden Vault.

To do so successfully and safely, here are some important tips:

Once you’re right behind Rath, interact with him to open the Pickpocketing menu. Choose the Rune of the Wolf and wait for the check. If you fail, reload the previous save point and redo this part until you succeed.

When you steal, pass your turn and you should still be safe until it’s your character’s turn again. Walk south, upstairs toward the stone door, and leave the Emerald Grove with the character holding the Rune of the Wolf.

Your characters that stayed inside will be questioned by Rath, but he will be easily convinced they didn’t do it. When you return inside with your robber, Rath will have forgotten the crime and you can just walk past him toward the Enclave Library to open the Hidden Vault.

Attack and kill Rath to loot the Rune of the Wolf from his body. This will trigger a fight with everyone in the Emerald Grove, including Kagha, which will force you to kill them all as well. As a consequence, you will also be forced to kill all other Druids in The Hollow once you leave, and they will have already killed many Tieflings.

Going down this route is only recommended if you really want to pick a massive fight with the Druids and follow your story by being enemies with them. Otherwise, you will miss a big part of the lore development that includes Kagha and Halsin.

Speak with Rath after returning to the Druid Grove with Halsin at the end of the Rescue the Druid Halsin quest, and Rath will give you the Rune of the Wolf so you can open the Hidden Vault and grab your spoils.

In this case, you have to fight the goblins at the Goblin camp and kill their leaders to free Halsin and take him back to the Druid’s Grove. It’s important that you have not done anything too serious to the Druids until that point, like killing Kagha, otherwise, you’re better off just stealing the rune from Rath.

Here’s the full list of items you will find inside the Hidden Grove in Druid’s Grove:

Sorrow is a very strong Glaive for your melee-based characters that have proficiency with this weapon type. The transmutation cantrip Sorrowful Lash lets you deal 1d4+1 piercing damage for a Bonus Action from nine meters away. It pulls the target three meters closer to you, making it perfect to close the gap between you and the enemy when you need it.

Entering the Hidden Vault early is worth it if you pickpocket Rath and aren’t caught. It will let you have the best of both worlds: you get the items early while keeping the Druid’s questline active. I recommend not speaking with Rath again after you bring Halsin back to Druid’s Grove, just to be safe.

The Sorrow has high damage, and its cantrip helps you be more aggressive in fights and control part of your enemy’s movement. It will be very useful in most upcoming fights you have, even if you’re fighting Goblins soon.

Esports and gaming specialist and strategist working in the industry for over 8 years. A fan of Pokémon since I was 6 and an avid Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch player. Also, Slay the Spire is the best game ever.