Staircase to the Lower Keep in Pool of Radiance: RoMD

The staircase to the Lower Keep sits at the far southwest of the Cult Stronghold in the Second Cellar, just past a hall crossed by a row of arches — head west to the arches, then southwest, and take the steps down into the Lower Keep.

Route through the Cult Stronghold

The route below follows the detailed GameFAQs walkthrough by AIssil (Event 106, "The Cult Stronghold; Staircase to the Lower Keep"). It assumes you are entering from the catacombs and already hold the keys picked up in the First Cellar.

1. Unlock the southwest wooden door

   Use the Dull Brass Key (found on Cult soldiers in the Second Cellar) on the southwest wooden door.

2. Pass the first iron gate

   Go west from that door to an iron gate needing the Fragile Iron Key. You cannot open it yet — mark it on your map and move on.

3. Open the Oily Iron door

   Head southeast until you see a wooden door on the southwest wall and open it with the Oily Iron Key (dropped by a Dark Naga earlier in the First Cellar).

4. Explore the intersecting halls

   Go southwest to a wall, then northwest to an intersection with a log in the center and a row of arches crossing the hall. Go up the northeast hall to an iron gate on its northwest wall; go through and pick up the ring lying on the ground near a corpse.

5. Return to Stillwater (optional but useful)

   Back at the intersection, go northeast then northwest into a narrow north-running hall, through the wooden door on the northeast wall. Beriand tells you the powerful wizard Azmark Duathel has arrived in Myth Drannor to protect the Pool of Radiance and serve the Cult. To come back, Left-Click the cavern you emerged from and select "Return to the Cult Stronghold in the Second Cellar".

6. Fight through the metal doors

   West of your exit door, find the hall with a bench and metal doors. Block and then open the metal doors, and defeat 4 Cult Soldiers, a Cult Quartermaster and a Cult Lieutenant.

7. Clear the two-room battle

   Cross the hall and open the wooden door east of the metal door. This sets off a two-room battle with more Cult forces, including Enthralled Drow; keep your melee fighters up front so the enemy spellcasters cannot act freely. The room afterward holds a Cult map of the Second Cellar among the loot, which is worth grabbing for orientation.

8. Take the staircase

   Go west to the arches, then southwest to a staircase leading down. Take the staircase and enter the Lower Keep.

What to check if you can't find the steps

If you reach the arches but see no staircase, you've likely skipped past the southwest turn — the steps are past the arches, not in the arch hall itself. If the southwest wooden door won't open, you're missing the Oily Iron Key from the Dark Naga fight in the First Cellar, so return there before pushing on. If the metal-doors battle overwhelms your party, rest first: the walkthrough author rests and powers up between the tough Cult fights, and an optional detour to Stillwater lets Beriand heal you before you commit to the two-room battle.

Next steps

• Our full walkthrough continues with Event 107: from the bottom of the stairs you go north to a set of metal doors, then west to a bridge where you parley with Nathlilik of the Kilsek Drow.
• If you haven't cleared the center of the First Cellar yet, do it first — that's where you pick up the Oily Iron Key this route needs.
• The maps page helps you mark the two locked iron gates so you can find them again once you obtain their keys.

FAQ

Where exactly is the staircase to the Lower Keep?

At the southwest end of the Cult Stronghold in the Second Cellar: west past the metal-doors hall to the arches, then southwest, and the staircase down is there.

Which keys do I need to reach the Lower Keep staircase?

The Dull Brass Key and the Oily Iron Key. The Fragile Iron and Large Iron Key gates on the way stay locked for now.

What happens after I take the stairs down?

You enter the Lower Keep. From the bottom of the stairs, go north to metal doors, then west to a bridge where you meet the Kilsek Drow Nathlilik, who offers the Dark Lover Quest.

Where do I find the Oily Iron Key?

It drops from a Dark Naga in the First Cellar, before you reach the Second Cellar's Cult Stronghold.

Page checked 2026-11-07 against the official Steam store page for the current re-release and the AIssil walkthrough on GameFAQs (2002, original PC release). The route itself comes from that player walkthrough; exact room labels in the 2026 re-release's Legacy mode should match, but this hasn't been confirmed against the new build.