Introduction: Bringing House of Hope to Your DnD Table
The House of Hope from Baldur’s Gate 3 is a perfect one-shot for three Level 12 players (ajustable according to your own group, packed with moral dilemmas, intense combat, and high-stakes exploration.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through how I translated this epic mission into a structured DnD adventure, including powerful enemies, puzzle-based exploration, and a climactic battle against Raphael himself (as a Pit Fiend).
Can your party free Hope, steal the Orphic Hammer, and escape before Raphael closes the portal forever? Let’s find out!
Brief explanation on my way of DMing : I use a flat TV to show the different scenes to my players, you will find here the different backgrounds I generated for this encounter and setup in Alchemy that I recommend for this !
The House of Hope: One-Shot Breakdown
Act 1 – The Summoning and Entry
The party begins in a simple wooden cabin, where a forbidden ritual has just been completed. A firery portal swirls before them, pulsating with red arcane energy. Hope’s voice calls out from the other side, a whisper laced with desperation.
Stepping through the portal, they enter the House of Hope, an infernal palace where every choice could lead to salvation… or damnation.
Here the players have a last chance to plan or discuss before entering the Hell’s plane.
Act 2 – The House of Hope Unveiled
The Grand Foyer (Entry Hall & Final Battle Arena)
The players emerge into a vast, circular hall of dark red marble and gold, illuminated by a thousand flickering torches. In the center of the room, a swirling portal hums with infernal power.
🔹 Encounter: Hope, a celestial imprisoned here, appears in ethereal form.
🗣 “I am the friend and companion of all. I am the flame of twilight, the blade of dawn, the first sprout after the wildfire… I am Hope.”
She pleads for silence, eyes filled with terror.
🗣 “Shhhh—the jailer is near. He sees all, he hears all. I do not want to burn. Not again.”
She proposes to disguises the players to move unnoticed, then asks:
🗣 “Can you save me?”
Objectives:
- Break the Chains (Hidden in the Dungeon) – with a specific Hammer
- Find the Dungeon Key (Held by one of the guard to reach the archive)
- Talk with the archivist to access the boudoir – get the key to go down to Hope
- From the Archive, open the Vault and get the Hammer
- Destroy Hope’s Contract (Sealed in the Boudoir or the Vault) – or she might be controlled by Raphael
- Free Hope and leave Hell
The Feast Hall (The Illusion of Luxury)
A lavish banquet hall, filled with golden platters, roasted meats, and flowing wine. But beneath the glamour lies rotting food and decay.
🔹 Arcana Check (DC 15) reveals: The feast is a magical illusion concealing filth and pestilence.
I made my players, who failed the test, run for the “delicious” food under the disgusted eyes of their friends.
The western door leads into the main corridor.
The Main Corridor (Servants of the House)
A circular hallway winds around a central chamber (the vault), with five doors leading to key locations. Infernal prisoners—clad in tattered rags—silently dust shelves and polish tarnished silverware.
🔹 Key Locations in the Corridor:
- South → Dungeon Entrance
- East → Portal Chamber (Guarded by a BlackGuard)
- North → The Boudoir & The Treasure Vault (center)
- West → Archives (Guarded by the Archmage Archivist)
- South-West → access to the dungeons and Hope’s prison
The Portal Chamber – Blackguard and Keys
This vaulted chamber contains five massive mirrors, one-way portals used by Raphael alone.
A solitary Black Guard patrols here, its glowing eyes scanning the room. Around its neck hangs a silver key—the key to the Archives
Combat or Stealth Options:
– Engage in combat and risk triggering an alarm.
– Steal the key without alerting the Black Guard
The Boudoir (Sealed Chamber & Long Rest Pool)
A chamber of silk and shadows, sealed by an arcane veil. The password is hidden behind a painting in the Archives. (or the Archivist might grant access to it)
Inside, players find:
✅ A mystical pool—bathing in it grants a full long rest. (only once per player – I had my Orc friend jumping in wasting half the water splashing it everywere)
✅ Hope’s infernal contract, bound by unholy magic (or hidden behind a painting).
Destroying the contract weakens Raphael’s control over Hope.
The Archives (The Infernal Librarian – Archmage)
A library of forbidden knowledge, where an infernal Archivist (Archmage) guards Raphael’s most dangerous secrets.
Roleplay or Combat Options:
- Convince the Archivist to add the party’s names to the Registry, granting access to the Boudoir.
- Steal the contract password and the treasure vault key, risking combat.
Loot: Amulet of Constitution +23, Gauntlets of Strength +23. (adapt accordingly to the group and strength desired)
The Vault (Infernal Weaponry)
Inside:
- The Orphic Hammer—capable of shattering infernal stones. (and made it combat worth +3 GreatHammer (2H) with knockdown effect on crit.)
- A caged Hellhound, waiting to be unleashed.
- Any other loot you wish your party to find here
This hammer is the key to breaking Hope’s chains.
Act 3 – The Descent and Escape
The Dungeon (Hope’s Prison & The Beholder)
A cavernous prison of molten rock, guarded by:
- One Beholder (Infernal Watcher)
- Two massive Soulstones trapping Hope’s essence.
Using the Orphic Hammer, players must destroy these stones to free Hope that is chained in the middle
I made the Beholder Ambush the Players as the logic would be the Beholder to look closely at this only entrance.
They freed Hope before killing the Beholder, and Hope joined the fight as a level 12 Life Domain Cleric.
Playing a Beholder and later a pit fiend can be quite tricky, the best book I would ever recommend to play great encounters is:
What Keith gets is that the monsters are the DM’s characters and his work has been super helpful in adding logic, flavor, and fun in my quest to slaughter my players’ characters and laugh out the window as they cry in their cars afterward.
The Alarm & Final Escape
Once Hope freed, the alarm is triggered:
The Hellhound is unleashed from the Vault (if not yet killed)
Prisoners turn aggressive, exploding into contact of players and turning into Magmins and Quasits.
At this point the players have to run for the entrance portal they came through.
Final Battle: Raphael the Pit Fiend
This is the top view I chose to play the last encounter on. (the grid was added in Alchemy)
As the players approach the portal, Raphael appears and closes it. I made Raphael monologue a bit than transforming into a Pit Fiend, flanked by:
- One Cambion
- One Blackguard
Boss Fight or Escape:
- Fight Raphael and his minions (brutal, but possible).
- Escape through the portal before it collapses. (I chose to close the portal to force a fun big encounter – but you can decide to leave it open for people to try and escape; but why wouldn’t Raphael just follow them???)
If Hope survives, she transforms the House of Hope into a true sanctuary.
Conclusion: Running the Ultimate House of Hope One-Shot
With high-level combat, intense roleplay, and deep moral choices, this DnD one-shot is a perfect mix of challenge and narrative depth.
🔥 Would you run this adventure? What other BG3 quests would make great DnD one-shots? Let me know in the comments!
