New Camp · Up to His Neck · find Bran
Gothic 1 Remake Bran: Where to Find Him in Up to His Neck
If you’re hunting the Gothic 1 Remake Bran for the Rice Lord’s “Up to His Neck” job, here’s the catch: he’s already dead. His body is in the flooded cellar under New Camp’s lake tavern — not in the rice fields. This page gets you down there, covers the dry-route alternative, and settles whether to hand over Bran’s Axe.
The 30-second answer
Bran at a glance — dead in the cellar, reached by water
Everything you came for in four lines. Finding the Gothic 1 Remake Bran isn’t a conversation — it’s a body recovery, a swim, and one decision worth 50 ore.
- Where the body is
- In the locked cellar under Silas's lake tavern in the New Camp — Bran is already dead. Search the flooded basement, not the rice fields where the Rice Lord's foreman went missing.
- How you get in
- Dive into the lake behind the tavern, by the fishing pier and the chimney, and follow the current through the flooded passage into the cellar. The locked door behind Silas is the slow way.
- The axe decision
- Loot Bran's Axe from the body and hand it to the Rice Lord as proof Silas killed him — that's an extra 50 ore and consequences for Silas. Keep the axe and you simply don't get the ore.
- Why you're here
- 'Up to His Neck' is one of Lares's New Camp admission jobs. Finding the Gothic 1 Remake Bran closes it; you need three of Lares's tasks at level 5 to join the camp.
From the lake tavern
The underwater route to Bran's body
The reason people get stuck isn't the tavern — it's the door. Bran is behind a locked cellar, and the intended way in is through the lake, not the lock. Follow this and you'll be standing over the body in under a minute.
- 1
Start at Silas's lake tavern in the New Camp
The tavern sits by the lake, up the hill near the main cave mouth. Bran's body is in its locked cellar — so don't burn time searching the rice fields where the Rice Lord says his foreman vanished. The cellar is the answer.
- 2
Go behind the tavern, to the water
Around the back, by the fishing pier and the chimney stack, you'll find the lake. This is the way in: drop into the water here rather than fighting the locked door behind Silas, which is the harder route.
- 3
Dive and follow the current into the flooded cellarSingle source
Dive in and follow the current — it threads through an underwater opening into the flooded basement. You can float up for a breath partway through, so you won't drown swimming it; just keep following the flow inward.
- 4
Surface inside — Bran is by the door
Come up the stairs into the cellar and the Gothic 1 Remake Bran is on the floor, to the left of the door. Loot the body, read the note he was carrying, and take Bran's Axe before you leave.
Not sure where the New Camp tavern sits? Plot the lake and the cave mouth on the interactive colony map, and the New Camp guide shows how the camp is laid out around the water before you go diving for Bran.
The part most guides bury
Bran's Axe: hand it over for 50 ore, or keep it
Looting the body gives you Bran's Axe and a note. That axe isn't loot to sell — it's evidence, and what you do with it changes the payout when you report back to the Rice Lord.
The note and the body tell the story: Bran owed Jacko a pile of nuggets, so Jacko sent him to rob Silas’s stash in the cellar — and Silas, the New Camp tavern keeper, killed him for it. Bran’s Axe is the physical proof. When you report to the Rice Lord, you can present the axe to show Silas did it.
Do that and you’re paid an extra 50 ore, and there are consequences for Silas. Keep the axe instead and the job still closes — you just forfeit the ore. There’s no real downside to turning it in, so always loot Bran’s Axe from the body before you swim back out. For where this ore sits in the wider economy, the Lares admission guide tracks what the New Camp wants from you next.
Where this sits
Who is Bran, and why the Rice Lord wants him found
Bran matters less as a person than as a checkbox — he's one of the jobs that buys you into the New Camp, and his disappearance is a small murder mystery you close on the way.
The Gothic 1 Remake Bran is the Rice Lord’s missing foreman. The Rice Lord sets “Up to His Neck” to find out what happened to him, and pointing you at the farmers leads to Jacko — beat or bully Jacko and he confesses he sent Bran to rob the tavern’s cellar to clear a debt. That’s the thread that ends at the body underwater.
Closing the case is one of the five jobs Lares hands out as your way into the New Camp— you only need three of them done at level 5, so finding Bran counts toward admission rather than being mandatory. For the full list of who’s who around the camp and which NPC starts which job, the NPC directory and the quest tracker lay it out.
Quick answers
Gothic 1 Remake Bran FAQ
Where do I find Bran in Gothic 1 Remake?
The Gothic 1 Remake Bran is already dead — his body is in the locked cellar under Silas's tavern by the lake in the New Camp, not out in the rice fields. Go behind the tavern near the fishing pier and chimney, dive into the lake and follow the current through the flooded passage. Surface up the stairs and Bran is on the floor to the left of the door. Loot the body, read his note and take Bran's Axe.
How do I get into Silas's basement?
There are two ways into the flooded cellar. The recommended one is underwater: behind the tavern, by the pier and chimney, dive into the lake and follow the current — you can surface partway for air, so you won't drown. The alternative is to lockpick the door behind Silas, which is harder and needs a decent lockpicking skill. Most players take the water; the locked door is only worth it if you'd rather not swim.
Should I give Bran's Axe to the Rice Lord?
Yes, if you want the extra ore. Bran's Axe is proof that Silas killed him, and handing it to the Rice Lord during the report rewards you 50 ore and brings consequences for Silas. If you keep the axe instead, the quest still completes but you forfeit that 50 ore. There's no downside to turning it in, so loot the axe from the body before you swim back out.
Why does finding Bran matter for the New Camp?
'Up to His Neck' — tracking down the Gothic 1 Remake Bran — is one of the five jobs Lares hands out as your route into the New Camp. You need three of them done at level 5 to be admitted, so closing Bran's case counts toward joining. Some early guides quote a 300 XP completion figure carried over from the 2001 original; that hasn't been confirmed for the remake, so treat the exact number as provisional and focus on the 50 ore and the admission progress.
Keep exploring
More Gothic 1 Remake guides
Gothic 1 Remake Guide
Case closed on Bran?
With the axe handed over and the ore in your pocket, you’re one job closer to the New Camp. See what else Lares wants, or read how the whole camp weighs your admission.