Clearing the Southwestern Second Cellar in Pool of Radiance

Clearing the southwestern Second Cellar is Event 102 of the full walkthrough: enter through the wooden door at the end of the southwest hall, fight through the undead, Drow and Cult forces in sequence, and exit via the staircase down to the Lower Keep. The route below comes from the AIssil walkthrough on GameFAQs, written for the original 2001 game.

Prerequisites

• Come from Event 101 carrying the Worn Elven Key (dropped by the Hoodoo there); it opens an iron gate in this event.
• Bring a Rogue, a healer, and undead answers: Turn Undead holds Master Wights, but Mohrg require Halt Undead (Turn does not work).
• Rest and cast defensive spells before starting; this is one of the longest stretches of the catacombs.

Route through the southwest

1. First rooms

   Through the wooden door at the hall's end, defeat 2 Wights and a Master Wight. Back in the hall, head southwest; at the clearing go northwest and open the wooden door on the alcove's southwest wall to fight 2 Mohrg and a Master Wraith (Turnable).

2. Drow scouts and the First Cellar loop

   Return to the clearing, defeat 3 Freth Drow Scouts, then take the metal double doors on the southwest wall. The stairs lead up into a sealed First Cellar area with ghost story rooms; loot the common weapons and go back down, killing 3 more Scouts on the way.

3. Worn Elven Key gate

   From the Well of Dreams door, go southeast through an iron gate, then south through a second iron gate opened with the Worn Elven Key. Northwest, approach the broken door: defeat a Mohrg and 4 Cult Soldiers, take the Blackened Elven Key.

4. Undead summit room

   West through the ruins (3 Shadows), then south into an open door: kill a Skeleton Lord, Master Wight and Zombie Lord. Next, in the southeast ruins, enter the wooden door on the southeast wall and clear 3 Mohrg, 4 Wights, 2 Skeletons, a Master Wight, a Skeleton Lord and a Skeleton Knight. The fancy barrel here grants +1 Charisma.

5. Drow war room

   Rest, go north to the boulder, then west to a wooden door. Open it from out of line of sight: 4 Freth Drow Warriors, a Commander and a Priest are inside — Confusion plus offensive magic clears them.

6. Cult Stronghold ambush

   Beyond the Drow room, unlock the Oily Iron Key door (from Event 105) leading to the Cult Stronghold. Fight Cult Soldiers and the Cult Lieutenant; the north iron gate needs the Large Iron Key, which only becomes reachable later via a portal. East of the metal doors, a two-room fight with 4 Enthralled Drow and a Cult Archmage follows — block the second door to take rooms one at a time. Finally, at the row of arches, open the wooden door just north of the iron gate, block it from inside, and weather the two-wave Cult assault with Chain Lightning, Disintegration and Confusion.

Completion is recognizable: the Cult Stronghold is empty, you have looted the Cult map of the Second Cellar and the Ring of Souls, and the staircase west past the arches leads down to the Lower Keep.

Next steps

• The Prison Key Ring page covers First Cellar locks you pass before reaching this staircase.
• The First Cellar center walkthrough precedes this event.
• The maps page helps if the directional route above feels dense.

FAQ

Which walkthrough event covers clearing the southwestern Second Cellar?

Event 102, "The Final Stand Room; Clearing the Southwestern Second Cellar," in the AIssil walkthrough.

What keys do I need?

The Worn Elven Key for the mid-event iron gate and the Oily Iron Key for the Cult Stronghold door. The Large Iron Key gate stays locked until a later portal.

How do I survive the final Cult ambush?

Open the door, immediately block it from inside, and hold it closed while Chain Lightning and Disintegration clear the room; then open up and blast the gathered magic users in the hall.

Where does the area exit to?

A staircase southwest of the arches leads down into the Lower Keep.

Route details come from the GameFAQs walkthrough by AIssil; game identity and release details come from the official Steam store page. The guide predates the 2026 Steam re-release, so exact key handling may differ slightly in the enhanced version — that part is unconfirmed as of 2026-11-07.