Dragon's Dogma 2 The Stolen Throne: Where to find the False Sovran at the Masquerade
A complete walkthrough for The Stolen Throne quest in Dragon's Dogma 2, including information on where to find Courtly Clothes to disguise yourself.
Along with Disa's Plot and An Unsettling Encounter, The Stolen Throne is one of a trio of Dragon's Dogma 2 quests that see you engaging in some light espionage to uncover the motives and methods of Disa, Vernworth's queen regent and a major antagonist of the game.
These quests aren't necessarily sequential and The Stolen Throne can be completed before or after the other two, or indeed in the middle if you prefer; but as the most audacious bit of social stealth you'll be required to perform, it has the feeling of a finale. That's how we played it, and thus how this walkthrough will treat some recurring characters and locales from the other two quests, but you shouldn't see too many differences if you choose to tackle it earlier in your time in Vernworth.
The Stolen Throne is a key quest in Dragon's Dogma 2, so beware major story spoilers below!
Where to find Courtly Clothes in Dragon's Dogma 2
The Stolen Throne quest will be added to your log during one of your regular check-ins with Captain Brant at the Stardrop Inn. He asks you to infiltrate one of the Sovran's masquerade parties, since the false Arisen hasn't been showing his face in public other than to engage in semi-regular revelry with Vernworth's poshest residents. He even provides you with an Eventide Mask to aid your disguise, but warns you that you'll need to come up with the rest of your courtier's outfit by yourself one way or another.
There are several places where you can acquire the required items — namely, a Courtly Tunic and pair of Courtly Breeches. Several houses in the Noble Quarter of Vernworth will have some either lying around in a bedroom or in a chest somewhere. Luckily, the well-to-do of the city never seem to object to you rooting around their houses and looting everything that's not nailed down.
Alternatively, you can grab the clothes you need from within the castle grounds if you're feeling particularly bold. A set of courtly clothes can be picked up in the Guest Quarters on the upper floor of the castle near the offices, and since you'll be back there several times as part of the Disa's Plot/An Unsettling Encounter quest arc, this represents a perfect opportunity to snaffle them. Or, if you'd like to do some reconnaissance at the site of the masquerade venue itself, you can freely enter the circular grand hall during the daytime and loot some suitable clothes from the storerooms.
Whatever you do, just don't bother buying your courtly clothes from Philbert's Sundries in the Merchant's Quarter. Philbert wants an arm and a leg for them, even if you've previously earned mate's rates on his stock by helping out his granddaughter. Relieve some rich household of a few clothes they'll never even miss and save your hard-earned gold for something more worthwhile.
Where to find the False Sovran at the Masquerade
Once you've sourced a suitable set of glad rags for yourself, you're off to the masquerade! Be sure to equip your courtly clothing and Eventide Mask before you head into the castle grounds after nightfall to begin the festivities. (I also unequipped my Arisen's weapons just to be on the safe side, but I'm not sure if this is strictly necessary or not to avoid detection — I can confirm that you won't need them during this quest, though.)
Upon entering the masquerade hall, you'll see a cutscene of a man walking along the corridor towards the back of the building. This is a hint as to where you need to head eventually, but you can still hang around in the circular main hall first if you want to enjoy the masquerade for a bit.
The only thing of particular interest to do in here, however, is to speak to the man pictured below. It's a completely optional conversation, but it provides a tiny bit of additional context for something that happens later. But the whole goal of this quest is to spy on the false Sovran and, since he clearly isn't here, you'll need to start looking elsewhere.
Once you've had your fill of hobnobbing at the masquerade, head out of the circular hall and along the corridor towards the back of the building. There are two storerooms back here, but while there's some good loot to be had in them, what you actually want to do is push against that suspiciously doorway-shaped bit of wall in between.
The man in question isn't in the secret room beyond this door either, but if you go through another set of doors onto the balcony and follow the staircase down to the right, and run along the lower balcony until you reach a doorway you can enter. Here you'll find yourself in the Rose Chateau. A secret(-ish) passage from the palace's grand hall to the local Bordelrie, who'd have thought it?!
From here on in, the remainder of this part quest is more or less one long cutscene. Wilhelmina (who you'll already know if you finished the quest An Unsettling Encounter first) hides you from palace guards and then lets you take a look through a peep-hole in her boudoir to see what that false Sovran chap is up to in her establishment.
I won't spoil all the plot details for you, but needless to say, you've got some useful information about the false Sovran, Disa, and mysterious newcomer Phaesus to take back to Brant by the time your eavesdropping is over. Wilhelmina will also give you a standing invite to enter the Rose Chateau, handing over the Myrmecoleon Card (essentially a membership pass to the Bordelrie) if you didn't already get it from An Unsettling Encounter.
To finish the quest, report back to Brant at the Stardrop Inn. Listen to his debrief before he rewards you with 900 XP, 6500G, and a Wakestone Shard for your troubles.
There's more legwork involved in uncovering the false Sovran in Dragon's Dogma 2, including a trip to the Nameless Village you'll need to make in order to get a more complete picture of what's happening in this game.