BALDUR'S GATE 2: SHADOWS OF AMN FAQ/WALKTHROUGH INTRODUCTION Welcome to my FAQ and walkthrough for Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. Due to the inclusion of class-specific quests, it will be a long time before I complete this FAQ - but bear with me. For this preliminary guide up until v.1.0, I will be playing as a cavalier. Further versions will include all the extra quests I missed, as well as information on the different strongholds other classes can use. INFO By: hellkite_7 E-mail the dragon @: hellkite_7@yahoo.com Version: 1.2 E-MAIL POLICY Please please please e-mail me. I'm after corrections in particular, as well as any hints or tips you have, your discoveries, and any quests I've missed. Include in the subject line "bgate2", and I'll try to give an answer if I can. If its specially good, I'll add your info in the next version, and you'll get mentioned in the credits section. OK - let's go… ------------------------------------------------------------- HELP WANTED!!! ------------------------------------------------------------- Help me!!!! I'm looking for magic items - please PLEASE e-mail me if you discover ANY magic items not mentioned in this FAQ. In particular, keep an eye out for: Blade of Roses Celestial Fury Robe of Neutral/Evil Archmagi Glasses of Identification Wand of Wonder any items from BG1 not yet mentioned. Thankyou! CONTENTS 1. Walkthrough: chapter 1 a. Dungeon under Waukeen's Promenade b. Waukeen's Promenade 2. Walkthrough: chapter 2 a. The slums b. The city gate c. The docks d. Temple e. Government District **PALADIN STRONGHOLD QUEST** f. The Bridge District 3. Walkthrough: chapter 3 a. The aid of the Shadow Thieves 4. Walkthrough: chapter 4 a. Spellhold Island b. Spellhold c. The Underwater City 5. Walkthrough - chapter 5 a. The Underdark b. Ust Natha 6. Walkthrough - chapter 6 a. Exit from the Underdark b. Small Teeth Pass and North Woods c. Graveyard revisited d. Forest of Tethir 7. Walkthrough - chapter 7 a. Suldanessellar b. Woodland Clearing c. Hell 7. Walkthrough - other non-Athkatla areas a. D'Arnise Hold **FIGHTER STRONGHOLD** b. Windspear Hills c. Umar Hills d. Temple Ruins e. Trademeet f. Druid Grove APPENDICES ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.a. Dungeon under Waukeen's Promenade ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Goblins, lesser clay golems, mephits (lightning, magma, ice, steam, smoke, mineral, radiant, dust, fire, air), duergars, 1 cambion, 1 ogre mage, 1 otyugh, 1 vampire, 1 greater doppelganger. Treasures: Long sword +1, Bastard sword +1, Helmet of infravision, Bracers of defence AC 8, Amulet of metaspell influence, Helm of Balduran, Quaterstaff +1, Katana +1 (Yoshimo), Mail of the Dead +2 (Ilyich), Girdle of Bluntness, Ring of Protection +1, Sword of Chaos +2. NPCs: Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo. IMOEN (human; female; neutral good; mage/ thief; str.9 dex.18 con.16 int.17 wis.11 cha.16) JAHEIRA (half-elf; female; true neutral; fighter/ druid; str.15 dex.17 con.17 int.10 wis.14 cha.15) MINSC (human; male; chaotic good; ranger; str.18/98 dex.16 con.16 int.8 wis.6 cha.9) YOSHIMO (human; male; true neutral; bounty hunter; str.17 dex.18 con.16 int.13 wis.10 cha.14) After the opening cut-scenes, Imoen will come up to you and free you. Be nice to her and she'll join you (a very useful thief/mage). Head to the north-west room as she advises. Equip yourself with weapons and armour and take the key. You can now open Jaheira's cell (3000 xps) and let her join. Now talk to Minsc - if you're clever, he'll break free (dialogue options 1,2,1,2,1; 3000 xps), and join you. Once equipped, head SW into a room full of lightning mephits (they hurl electricity). Kill them and turn off the machine at the switch to stop more arriving (1000 xps). Now carry on into a room with crystals. Talk to Aataqh and answer his riddle (say you'd press the button). He'll summon an Ogre Mage. Kill it and he'll congratulate you then disappear. Head W still. Enter the room with the sewage golem. Talk to it. Search the room for goodies, inc. long sword +1. In the panelled corridors, enter the first room on the right, and talk to Rielev. Agree to release him (4000 xps) for some energy cells which you CAN use on the bodies in the room W of the sewage golem for some weird dialogue. At least be sure to search the room thoroughly (quaterstaff +1). Wade through into the library area. Head NW and kill the duergars. Collect the acorns from the dead body of their leader, Ilyich. Taking the NE corridor (trapped!) will bring you to a room containing a bizarre machine and beside it a cambion with a force-field around it. All weapons are useless until you activate the machine twice - doing this will drop the force-field and leave you free to kill your enemy. Get the activation stone from Rielev's table and give it to the sewage golem (3000 xps). Follow it and enter the door it opens (or any of the others). Fight, search, enter door (simple). Now head up the passage to the master's room, complete with traps. Search it, get the Air Elemental Statue. Head back to the corridor between the Cambion and the Duergars. The statue opens the locked portal. Inside, head N then W, fighting the mephits. Rub the flask and a genie will pop out and ask for the real flask in return for a weapon of yours. Head SE from the Master's room through the forested area. Accept the dryads' quest to deliver the acorns to the Fairy Queen (9500 xps). Also get the flask off them. Head back to the genie and give him the flask (15000 xps). He'll give you the Sword of Chaos +2, Sarevok's sword. S of here is the mistresses' room, very like the master's. Search for the key and other treasures. When you leave back to the master's room, two lesser clay golems may attack you (I believe it is necessary to look in their room first, it is found near Rielev's body). Now head NW to the teleportation portal and enter. On the second level, allow Yoshimo to join your party (he's very worthwhile). Search the crates and head NE into a room. As told by Yoshimo, kill the four elemental portals to stop the mephits coming through (5000 xps each). You'll now be treated to some dialogue as Jaheira finds Khalid's desecrated body. Head through the Westernmost of the two doors. A battle between a clone and an assassin will take place, with the clone winning then attacking you. Kill her for xps. Through the Emost door, go across the bridge (beware deadly steam trap!) and kill the duergars. With the keys, "activate" each of the pillars along the western edge to get the wands. All the wands have one charge left. Loot the statue. Through the W door you'll fight a vampire and shadow thieves - not too tough and probably worth it. In the NE there are two corridors. The N one leads through a goblin-guarded forge to a room containing four duergars, minor treasures and the Girdle of Bluntness. The lower one leads into a room with a division. On the other side of the division is Frennedan who asks for rescue. Check the chests for minor treasures and the key. Release him and he'll follow you. Go down the SE corridor from the wand room. You'll come into an area where three Shadow Thieves challenge you. Kill them. At this point, Frennedan turns into a greater doppelganger, so kill him (3000 xps). Follow the passage down and over the bridge. Simply continue along and leave the Irenicus' dungeon. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1.b. Waukeen's Promenade ------------------------------------------------------------- In the open, you'll fight Irenicus (cut-scene, don't worry) and some Cowled Wizards will come and arrest Irenicus and Imoen for illegal use of magic (34500 xps/head). Soon you'll have to get her back. First though, you have this area to explore. Monsters: Illusionary Werewolves, Shadows. Treasures: Girdle of Piercing, Ring of Human Influence, War Hammer +1, CURSED sword of berserking +3, Cloak of non-detection. NPCs: Aerie. AERIE (elf; female; lawful good; cleric/mage; str.10 dex.17 con.9 int.16 wis.16 cha.14) The only major thing here is the circus tent. Talk to the guard outside and say you'll try to end the evil inside. Inside, answer the genie on the bridge's riddle as 3 (19500 xps). Enter the tent. Talk to Aerie and agree to help her free herself. Head W and talk to the spider. Be nice. Now go over and kill the peasants. One of them has the sword that will free Aerie. Give it to Aerie (18500 xps) and let her join. Enter the door guarded by the pleasure slave. Inside, kill all the monsters and enter the door at the top of the staircase (the genie will reappear and give some information). Inside this circular room, Kalah will try to kill you, but first he tries to kill Quayle while some monsters kill you. Use part members to disrupt Kalah's spellcasting, and deal with the monsters. KEEP QUAYLE ALIVE. Kill Kalah (2000 xps). Everything will be back to normal, and Aerie will stay with the group. Take Kalah's treasure and leave. Outside, talk to the guard again for reputation +1. Otherwise, the only obvious thing to do here is shop (the Adventurer's Mart has a great selection, which I will cover soon). There are some distractions though: On the top floor of the Den of Seven Vales, there is a group of adventurers. Be nasty to them and they'll attack you. A tough battle, but ultimately rewarding. Search the bodies and chests for some of the magic items from BG1. Once you get Aerie's message (if she's with you), go into the Circus tent and talk to Quayle. He'll ask you to go and talk to a friend under the playhouse in the city gate section, see below. Near the NW entrance is a man in blue by the fountain. If he sees Viconia, he will yell out that she is a Drow and all the citizens of the Promenade will be your enemies - not the best way to get along. Either use another exit or make Viconia invisible/blind him. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.a. The slums ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Hobgoblins (Archers, Warriors, Shaman, Captain, Elites), Mustard and ochre jellies, 1 otyugh, Myconids, 1 Myconid king, Kobolds (Commandos, Shaman, Captain), Carrion Crawlers. Treasure: D'Arnisse signet ring (Nalia), Battle axe +1 (Korgan), Delryn Family shield +1 (Anomen), Shaman's Staff, Gloves of Pickpocketing NPCs: Nalia, Korgan, Anomen. NALIA (human; female; chaotic good; mage/thief; str.14 dex.18 con.16 int.17 wis.9 cha.13) KORGAN (dwarf; male; chaotic evil; berserker; str.18/77 dex.15 con.19 int.12 wis.9 cha.7) ANOMEN (human; male; lawful neutral; fighter/cleric; str.18/52 dex.10 con.16 int.10 wis.12 cha.13) On your way you may get ambushed by Suna Seni, Eldarin and some slavers. Kill 'em. Talk to Gaelan Bayle and agree to everything. Now chapter two begins. I'll cover the copper coronet in detail, now. There's a lot to do here. First, talk to Nalia, and accept her quest. You can let her join or not - see D'Arnisse Hold section for more on her quest. Talk to Amalas and he'll challenge you to a fight in the pit. Defeat him (9500 xps). You can also talk to Surly and bet 10 gp on a dog fight. You get 20 back if you win. Woohoo… Korgan has a quest to get a grimoire from a tomb in the graveyard and give it to a sage he knows. He wants to join up and get it done. Accept, if you like. Talk to Lord Jierdan. He'll ask for help on the Windspear Hills, agree - its for the cash. Talk to Garrol, and he'll refer you to Lehtinan, ask about 'entertainment' and 'other entertainment' and he'll let you through the locked door at the top of the stairs. Search the rooms for mostly minor treasures and the gloves of pickpocketing. Head SE and on and enter the second secret door, then go through the door here. You're in some sewers. Kill the Hobgoblins, then head in to a circular room SW, kill all and search the grate in the middle of the room for a hand. The hand is one of four keys to a sword. To get this quest, head onwards, SW and on, over the TRAPPED bridge, then NE, into a room with four pipes. A voice will talk to you, and then you should look at the four clues. Quallo, as the voice mentioned, is found SW of here (beware a very nasty cloudkill trap). Talk and he'll tell you about all the keys. The hand is the first, place it in the third pipe. Lastly, is the Shaman's Staff, carried by a Kobold Shaman E of the bridge. Doubtless there is more to do. I'll return to this section when new quests have been uncovered. When Brus has met you again, come back. Travel to Gaelan's house. On the way, Bregg and Cohrvale stop you. Kill 'em. At Gaelan's house, he'll lower the price to 15000 gps. You may well be able to afford this now. Accept or decline as you will. Tanova and two other vampires attack a bloke at the northern district exit. Fight or flee as you desire. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.b. City Gate ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: 1 Lich. Treasure: Daystar, Rod of Terror, Ring of Invisibility, Wand of Fire, Wand of Cloudkill, Wand of Lightning. NPCs: none. A very small area, the only interesting area is the Crooked Crane tavern. However, at the start you'll witness ANOTHER vampire vs. Shadow Thieves battle. Then talk to Flydian and readily accept his quest (10000 gps will get you nearly there). In the Crane, everybody is talking about Aulava and Tiiro. You can talk to them upstairs, if you so desire. I don't recommend trying this now, but later, enter the secret door in the tavern. It leads to a tomb guarded by a VERY powerful Lich. The tomb is empty, but the chest behind is not. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.c. The docks ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Mephits (Magma, Fire, Ice), Stone Golems, Vampires, Thugs, Muggers, Pirates. Treasure: Helmet of Charm Protection, Staff spear +2, Spear +1, Bracers of defence AC 6 (x2), Bracer of defence AC 7, Quaterstaff +2, Short sword +2, Katana +1, Two-handed sword +1, Cloak of protection +1, Ring of Wizardry, Boots of Stealth, Shadow Armour. NPCs: Edwin Odesserion. EDWIN (human; male; lawful evil; conjurer; str.10 dex.10 con.16 int.18 wis.10 cha.10) YOU CAN PROBABLY GET THEM ANYWHERE IN ATHKATLA, BUT THERE WERE TWO MESSAGES DELIVERED: FIRSTLY, TO AERIE TO SEE QUAYLE (SEE WAUKEEN'S PROMENADE SECTION), AND FOR JAHEIRA TO GO STRAIGHT AWAY. Next time you rest after Jaheira leaves, she'll come back, and tell you to go to the Harper HQ. Inside are five people who try to kill you. Get there first. If you have Yoshimo with you, he'll tell you that you need to see Renal Bloodscalp. On the way to the Shadow Thieves' Guild, you'll find a Mad Cleric who tells you to convert to Cyric. Say no then kill him (750 xps). Inside, go forward then up and follow round. Accept Renal's offer to spy on Mae'Var. Leave and go to Mae'Var's guildhouse. Inside, show Gorch the documents given to you, then go through and down. Accept Mae'Var's task. Go over to the TEMPLE area (see temple area section for details of what to do here). Having got the amulet or statuette, give it to Mae'Var (29500 xps), he'll tell you to visit his assistant, Edwin (yes, THE Edwin from BG1). Speak to Edwin and he'll give you a hard errand. Accept it, and search the chests and rooms for treasures. Go to Rayic's house and enter kill the mephits, then SAVE - it gets TOUGH. Upstairs are two stone golems. Kill them, then go upstairs and kill Rayic. Search his body. Tell Edwin, he'll give you another task: collect some documents from Marcus in the Sea's Bounty Tavern. If you have Jaheira with you, do this later - you'll find out why in a later version - I'm at boarding school and am REALLY cramped for time, so I can't do this bit just yet. If you don't have Jaheira, enter and get the documents off of Marcus for 200 gold. Give them to Edwin (10000 xps). Go to Mae'Var, accept. Go to Embarl and kill him. Bring back the dagger (28750 xps). Go to Edwin again, he knows the truth, agree for the key. Enter Mae'Var's chamber and open the locked chest. Take the letter to Renal (48250 xps). He'll tell you to kill Mae'Var. Everyone in his guild will know about it, so wade in and kill everybody. With Mae'Var dead, head back to Renal for your reward: ???? xps and 10500 gps. Back in the Sea's Bounty Tavern, there is a secret door. Inside is a bunch of pirates, search the water after killing them for cash. If you have the body of Renfeld (you'll get this if you try to travel to the D'Arnise Hold) , deliver it to the estate in the SW. Give it to Rylock outside for 14550 xps and 125 gps. As you leave, another old "friend", Xzar, will come up to you and give you a quest (accept it). Go back to Rylock and ask to enter. He'll make you perform a service first. Do this by going to Prebek's house and killing everyone inside (loot for treasure). Report back to Rylock (14500 xps), he'll let you enter. Inside, search the rooms especially the end room for an amulet. Put this on your best thief and send him upstairs. Doing this will stop the spectral harpers attacking. Search, but head into the first door you see. Enter the cage and take the bird. Deliver this to Xzar, who thinks it is Montaron, polymorphs it: it is Lucette who kills Xzar (don't know how many xps, but there are some). Loot his corpse. Near the first exit, a bloke will come up to you then get attacked by vampires. You can flee or fight as you wish, but three vampires is a tough prospect. The Dwarf Cromwell will forge items out of component parts and monster hides. Each work will lose you one day of possible adventuring and costs you 5000 gps. He makes: Red Dragon Scales – Red Dragon Scale Ankheg Hide - Ankheg Plate Mail 3 parts of the equalizer - Long Sword: Equalizer 3 parts of the wave - Halberd +4: Wave 2 parts of the Gesen - Gesen Short Bow ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.d. Temple ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Rakshasa, Kobolds, Kobold Commandos, Kobold Captain, Kobold Shamen, Kobold Witch Doctor, Sea troll, Gibberlings, Mutated gibberlings, Mephits (Ice, Dust, Magma, Fire, Lightning), goblins, Salamanders, Ice salamanders. Treasure: Hallowed Redeemer (Keldon), Firecam Full-plate armour (Keldon), Cloak of the Sewers, Rod of Resurrection, Necklace of Form Stability, Harp of Discord, Entropy (Haer'Dalis), Chaos (Haer'Dalis), Full plate +1, Wyvern's Tail +2, Hangard's Axe +2, Pride of the Legion +2, Large Shield +2, Helm of Glory. NPCs: Keldon Firecam, Haer'Dalis. KELDON (human; male; lawful good; inquisitor; str.17 dex.9 con.17 int.12 wis.16 cha.18) HAER'DALIS (tiefling; male; chaotic neutral; blade; str.17 dex.17 con.9 int.15 wis.13 cha.16) You will be waylaid by Orogs on the way - a tough fight. Here, a man will ramble on about the "Unseen Eye" cult. After his sermon, a priest of Helm will escort you to his temple. Here, talk to both High Watcher Oisig and Telwyn for quests (do them after finishing with the Shadow Thieves). Go now to the Talos temple. There are three rooms here with some handy minor treasures to loot. The amulet you were sent for is in the W room, collect it and leave (20000 xps). Head now back to the docks. If you were to find the statuette, go to the Lathander temple and in the E you will find a priest. Wait for a bit and he'll leave, you can now loot for the statue and cash. Once finished with all that, enter the sewers at the entrance by the Prophet. Inside, head straight on to a fight with Kobolds and a deadly Rakshasa (which carries the Cloak of the Sewers). Continue on to a fight with a sea troll (remember to use fire or acid on it when it drops!). At the last junction, head N, kill the gibberlings and continue. Let Keldon join - he's very good with cool magical items. Head NE, and kill the goblins. Here there is a secret door, go through, right and up. In this room (from BG1's Durlag's tower), kill the mephits then go south. Go round and enter Mekrath's room, threaten him and kill him (warning: hard wizard!). Search the room for a Cloudkill Wand and the Rod of Resurrection. Upon leaving you will be approached by Haer'Dalis, who can join. He'll ask you to get a gem and return it to its owner at the Five Flagons. This gem is a Portal Gem on this level (trapped shrine). Head NE from the secret door to a fight with six tough opponents. Try it - it's hard but rewarding. Talk to Roger the Fence south of the central area. If you're persuasive he'll give you 250 gps. You can buy/sell too. Outside Valen will tell you you are being spied upon and you should meet with her mistress in the graveyard. Directly after, Brus tells you to visit Gaelan Bayle again - they seemed to be linked… There is an exit NW of where you got Keldon to the sewers beneath the Bridge, but I'd leave this for later, as it's not at all easy. Telwyn in the Helm Temple wants you to get the services of Sir Sales. To do so, first go to Sales in the Jystevv Estate (Government District), then to the Ore Merchant at Waukeen's Promenade. Ask for real stuff, for 1000 gps she'll tell you to look for Unger in the Copper Coronet. He'll tell you Neb (yes, THE Neb, the evil child murderer who lets you out of prison in BG1) stole his ilithium and he is in the Bridge area. Go to the derelict house here, attack Neb. He'll go invisible and cower in a corner while four Child Spirits attack you. Now kill him with magic (this is one sick man). Take the ilithium and give it to Sales (21750 xps) and tell Telwyn (1000 gps, 20000 xps and Helm of Glory). He now gives you a second task. Go to Dawnbringer Sain inside the Lathander Temple and accept his task. Go to the N Slums exit by night and use some spell (Dispel Illusion, Detect Invisibility, Invisibility Purge, True Sight etc.) to reveal Travin. Pay him 400 gps for information. Enter Borinall's locked house, and either (if you are very evil or a priest of Talos) recite the vow OR (if you're anything else) refuse and kill him and his muggers. Take the Dawn Ring and also search for a Warhammer +1 and gold. Take the Dawn Ring to Sain and he'll give you 16250 xps and 1000 gps. At some point after chapter 5 a Githyanki will appear and demand the silver blade of you. Fight or give as you desire. ***PALADIN STRONGHOLD QUEST*** When you've been given a recommendation by Garren Windspear (see Windspear Hills), you can enter the High Hall of the Radiant Heart. Inside, tell Squire Cathras you want to visit the Prelate. Accept his offer, then talk to Sir William Reirrac. Accept his first task, head over to the Umar Hills directly. Here, a knight of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart takes you to the fight: two ettins, two ogre magi, four orcs and a spotted lion. Kill them all, keep the knights all alive. After the fight, a Squire will congratulate you. Head back to the High Hall and accept your next task, taking you to the Umar Hills again (10000 xps). Talk to the Baron in the Inn, then go outside and talk to Brunson, he'll leave. Go back to the Order HQ and you get another quest (1000 xps). Go to the appointed building at the docks. Talk, don't let her out. Fight the assassins upstairs and down. When her guardian arrives, let him take her. Return to the Order. You're given a final task and your reward (magical armour and 10000 xps). This task is to kill the Red Dragon under the Windspear Hills, this is Fikraag. He is exactly where you last left him. This time though, kill him. He carries the Holy Avenger: Carsomyr +5, Cloak of the Shield and some Red Dragon Scales. Return to the Order for 35000 xps. You've completed your stronghold quest. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.e. Government District ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: none so far. Treasure: Techno-Gloves (Jan), Spectroscopes (Jan), Flasher Bruiser Mate (Jan), Metal Repelling Adventure Wear (Jan), Ring of the Ram. NPCs: Viconia deVir, Jan Jansen. VICONIA (elf; female; neutral evil; cleric; str.10 dex.19 con.8 int.16 wis.18 cha.14; upon joining party loses reputation 2) JAN (gnome; male; thief/illusionist; str.9 dex.17 con.15 int.16 wis.14 cha.10) If Keldon is with you, he'll ask to visit his family. Just outside the prison Viconia is about to be burnt at the stake. Untie her and you'll have to fight three fanatics, then she can join. Visit Keldon's estate and his wife will admit to seeing another man. Go to the Mithrest Inn at the Promenade. Talk to Sir William and suggest a peaceful return to Keldon's home. Here, talk to his wife, and say Keldon must stay with you, at least for now (15500 xps). Head through the park and talk to Delon, accept. Carry on to the Council of Six building. Agree to Madeen and Tolgerias. Anomen will eventually demand he visit his father when he finds out his sister is dead. Take him to his home. In the dialogue, convince him to take the path of the magistrate (10500 xps), he'll be exiled from his family. Talk to the magistrate in the Council of Six building for 7500 xps, just convince Anomen to let things be. Jan is here and tries to sell you his inventions. Trax will come and try to arrest him. Tell Trax you were just discussing the weather for 8500 xps and the chance to let Jan join up (11500 xps). If you have Valygar's body, go to Tolgerias, threaten him for a promise of death or give it to him for 11250 xps, 500 gps, -1 reputation and the Ring of the Ram. Talk to Corneil after doing this and for 5000 gps he'll let you cast spells in Athkatla legally - very useful, and worth every penny. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2.f. The Bridge District ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: 1 Shadow Fiend, 1 Fire Elemental, 1 Ice Salamander, Githyanki, Umber Hulks, 1 Wyvern, 1 Elemental Lich, Muggers, Ghasts, Rune Assassins. Treasures: Kundane +2: Sword of Quickness, Staff of Air +2, Melodic Chain +3, Cloak of the Shield, Bracers of Defence AC6, Horn of Valhalla, Boomerang Dagger +2, Neb's Nasty Slasher (or something like that). NPCs: none. If Haer'Dalis is with you, go to the playhouse beneath the Five Flagons. Here he will give Raelis Shai her portal gem and she will open a portal and let stuff through, kill them. When they go through, follow. In here, basically go right round killing everything (avoid the disgusting bulbous things, they are portals into a room of spell-casting and invisible Githyanki). When you get the Orb of Mastery off of the Demon, use it on the brazier near the beginning to destroy it. This makes the fight against the warden much easier. Now when you fight the warden, it doesn't have its thralls to help it. Kill the Hulks and it (10000 xps for the warden). W of here is a jail, it contains Haer'Dalis and the other bards, beware, there is a Flesh to Stone trap! When you get through, Haer'Dalis can rejoin. Everyone now leaves. In a house S of Delosar's Inn, there is a basement containing an Elemental Lich. In Delosar's Inn itself there is a group of tough mercenaries, kill them for good experience, cash and a magical item. In a house in the NW there are several traps, minor treasures and the Horn of Valhalla, a handy item in a tight combat. In the E by the docks there is a house containing four people who fight you and a bunch of brigands. Lieutenant Aegsfield in the N tells you about some recent murders you can investigate. Go to the Merchant Square, buy Rampah's hide and get Rose's information on berries. Now talk to Bel, he'll give you samples of things that small like guril berries and identify Rampah's hide. Rose will tell you that it was the tannin she smelt. Go to the tanner and attack him, he'll admit to the crime and flee (23250 xps). On the second floor down, there are several traps as well as damning evidence (be sure to get the letter) and minor treasures. One more floor down and you're attacked by two ghasts and rune assassins. Kill them and search for the Gesen Shaft. ------------------------------------------------------------- 3.a. The aid of the Shadow Thieves ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Vampires, Phase spiders, Sword spiders, Spiders, Giant spiders, Fledgling Vampires, Greater ghouls, Grimwarders, Grimwarder archers, Ettercaps, 1 clay golem, Shadows, 1 Shadow fiend, Wights, Wraiths, Ghasts, Mummies, Skeleton warriors. Treasures: Amulet of power, Ring of protection +2, Mace of Disruption +1, Spear +1, Halcyon, Black spider figurine, Ashen Scales +2, Katana +2. NPCs: none. Go to Gaelan Bayle and accept his offer of 15000 gps (???? xps). Go to the Shadow Thieves' and head E then down the passage. Carry on, head NE from this room. Accept Aran Linvail's first quest. Head down to the shipyard docks. Talk to Mook. Lassal will appear and kill Mook, fight him, he'll eventually run away. Head back to Aran and accept again. Go to the Bridge and enter the five flagons. Upstairs, enter the far NE room of the four, kill the traitors. Then the contact will appear, his name is Gracen. Kill him (1400 xps). Again accept Aran's quest. Head to the graveyard district, enter the tomb S of where you meet Uncle Lester and his relative. Inside, follow on, beware of traps. Head N through the spiders' lair, then meet Haz and his golem. Kill the warders then purge the inner sanctum through the blue doors. In the NW door, kill and search the blood pool. Head S, kill the clay golem and stake the vampires in their coffins (9000 xps each). Head SE. Kill Tanova - don't enter the next room. Along the spider area, enter the "cocoon" thing over the "drawbridge". Kill those inside. Enter the Southern Dungeons. Kill all the monsters, beware the painting on the floor - it's trapped. Head S, killing as you go. At the junction, go E. Open the sarcophagus, kill the skeleton warrior and take his magical weapon. Further on is a small room with treasures. On the S branch, beware traps and enter room for more minor treasures. Head back to the Inner Sanctum. Go down the NE stairs. Go along, enter and fight the vampires and grimwarders. Search the NW and NE rooms for treasure. Lassal will appear and tell you to meet him upstairs. Head to the room full of spikes, blood and very deadly traps. Lassal is on the far E side. Kill him. Now head back to the room where you staked the vampires in their coffins. Stake the last one and Bodhi will appear, talk a bit, then attack you - you can't kill her, she'll run when wounded sufficiently (18750 xps). Now go back to Aran and he'll take you to a ship, which will take you all the way to Spellhold Island (??? xps). ------------------------------------------------------------- 4.a. Spellhold Island ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Pirates. Treasures: Quaterstaff +2, Flail +2, Leather Armour +3, Longbow +2, Light Crossbow +1. NPCs: none. Leave the ship, you'll be attacked by Del, Parisa and Valen, vampires. Kill them. Head to the tavern (The Vulgar Monkey), and talk to Sanik. He'll get assassinated (kill the assassin) before he can help you at all. Great. Now talk to the innkeeper who'll tell you to find Claire. To do this, go to Lady Galvena's Festhall and talk to the appropriate courtesan outside. For 100 gps you'll be taken to an inner room. Inside, tell her you'll leave then give her 100 gps to shut up about it. Outside, head NW, kill the guards. Enter the room guarded by the first guard and take the skeleton key. Head through the far NW door to the prison. Enter the NE door and kill Vadek and Galvena. Be nice to Claire and she'll take you to see her captain by the docks (10000 xps). Take his information (2000 xps). Go to Ginia, and agree to help her. Go to Chremy and kill him. Now head to Calahan and agree to pay (2000 xps). Go back and tell Ginia, she'll be very happy (9000 xps). Now go to the Pirate Lord's home. Tell the door guard and the lord himself that Golin sent you. Tell him you need to get into Spellhold and act mad. If Yoshimo is in your party, this is very easy (36500 xps each). Inside, get out and open the locked door S of where you are (talk several times to the bloke on the left and you get gems every time). Attack Wanev and Irenicus appears and takes you in. He'll explain Yoshimo's treachery and you'll be put in the same process Imoen went through. In your dream, enter the Library and talk to Imoen. Go back out, head W and tell Bhaal to "catch you if he can". Run back to Imoen and fight Bhaal. If you win, you're sent back to Irenicus' lab. You'll be put in the labyrinth under the asylum. ------------------------------------------------------------- 4.b. Spellhold ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Yuan-ti, Ice salamanders, Salamanders, Gibberlings, Mutated Gibberlings, Mephits (Ice, Fire, Air, Smoke, Steam), 1 ruhk, Umber hulks, 1 mist horror, kobolds, kobold commandos, kobold witch doctors, imps, quasits, shadow fiends, skeleton warriors, trolls, spirit trolls, minotaurs, shadows, wraiths, 1 mind flayer, murderers, goblin commandos, 1 djinni, clay golems, 1 stone golem, 1 spectral troll. Treasures: Spear +3, Ring of Regeneration, Ring of Free Action, Malakar +2, Flame of the North, Cloak of Reflection, Bone Club +2, +3 vs undead. NPCs: Imoen. Inside, Bodhi will gloat a bit and give you a "fighting chance". Talk to Imoen, she can join again (hurrah!). Head through the SW door, fight, loot the statue will give you a clue to how to leave (this is the exit). Head through the NW door. In the W door, search, E, fight and search - easy enough. Go through N door. The N from here leads to a tough fight. The E door leads to a room full of faces. Activating these faces will lead you to the Statue of Riddles who will pose a riddle. The answers (in no order) are: darkness; stars; candle; coffin; fire; ice; shadows; sponge; breath; fish; a secret; a hole. Answer all the riddles for 5000 xps per head. Carry on through, fight the yuan-ti, carry on again - beware squashing mechanism. Enter the room, fight the clay golem and search. In the next area (use the door from the main square), fight the umber hulks (v. hard, obviously). At the end of the corridor, head NE. Keep going until you find a yellowed book. Keep using it to make these enemies (in order) appear: Kobold captain, sword spider, umber hulk, mind flayer, beholder). Kill them all, the re-use the book for 2 spells, a Ring of Free Action and 8000 xps each. In the secret door, kill all the enemies. In the room with the kobolds' crystal, kill the "avatars" to get a crystal shard, which you need. Back to the end of the corridor. Head SW. Kill the enemies, there is a lot to search for here and in the library just N of your position. Go onwards, enter and kill Dace Solan, a very powerful vampire. When he retreats to his coffin, stake him for the hand you need to escape. Go back to the statue on the first level, use the hand on it to open the door (29500 xps per head). Go through. Down here, enter the W door. Go along a bit. Enter the S secret door, and turn the wheel to open the N one. Enter and kill the trolls, search. Head on, and when you've killed all the minotaurs, head NE. Search the water, then the statues - beware!!! W statue: troll painting, disintegrate trap N statue: umber hulk painting, cloudkill trap E statue: djinni painting, fireball trap Head right on, you'll soon encounter Bodhi. This bit's fixed. You will turn into the Slayer, avatar of Bhaal and attack everything, friend or foe. Bodhi will flee, you're the big danger here. Note: if you have a romance, you will transform again and kill your girl/boy. In this room are four globes. If you stand on the mosaic then activate them one-by-one, they'll cast spells: slow, heal, haste, lightning bolt. From this room, head N, wipe this place clean (not easy!!!). Go back then SW and search. With the two stone horns, use them on the statue to open the door - but do this later, first, go right back to the start. Now go down the E tunnel. Kill the yuan-ti, then enter, one by one, the doors corresponding to the paintings you should have. Behind them are: MIND FLAYER: kill the mind flayer (11000 xps) TROLL: Kill the Spirit Troll (8000 xps) DJINNI: kill the djinni (10000 xps) UMBER HULK: kill the umber hulk (10000 xps). Go on until you reach a junction. Go SW. Kill the Stone Golem guard, search. Now head SW again. In here is a machine that gives you magical items for mithril tokens, which are scattered around. I've found 21 so far. They get you: 5 tokens: Boots of the North 10 tokens: Boots of Grounding 15 tokens: Boots of Speed 20 tokens: Jester's Chain +4 Head back NE from the first junction. There is a bit of dexterity needed here. Inside is a chest guarded by three clay golems that attack when you open the chest. To do this, send one person in hasted. Unlock the chest then open it and pause. Take the contents then RUN! Shut the door behind and for some reason (presumably so it's actually possible to get the loot) the golems don't come through. Now leave into a room full of commandos, kill 'em all. Back at the stairs an apparition appears. Let him test you, it's the way out. For the first test you have to kill a big mushroom with spell abilities - not too hard. Now he'll ask a question, the answer is splinter. Now you go to a dining hall with four apparitions. Search the table then talk to any one and you'll get four questions, the answers are: nothing, a river, fear, memory. You'll now be taken on to a platform. The apparition will free you, go down the invisible steps. Through here your treacherous captain will appear again. Go upstairs and kill Lonik the Sane. You'll be taken to a room full of all the captives. Be nice and they'll join you as you attack Irenicus himself… Beware, they can be a liability, especially Wanev! Eventually Irenicus will run away and Yoshimo will arrive with a bunch of murderers and you'll be involved in a HUGE battle. Complete it (be sure to get the heart off Yoshimo's body) and rest. You'll have a dream in which you'll be granted the ability to shapeshift into the Slayer at will. Go back up, Saemon will appear again and offer you an exit over sea or through the Underdark. I'll be pursuing the sea route this time round. Back outside, head W and along, killing all and make your way to the SW corner where you can finally get to Brynnlaw at last! Back in the town, go to the Tavern and talk to Saemon. Accept, when it's night go to Cayia's house. Fight the guards, the horn is on the table. Take it to Saemon Havarian and you'll board ship. Desharik will appear, kill his lackeys and you'll leave. On your way your ship will be attacked by two different parties, and you're captured by the Sahaugin. ------------------------------------------------------------- 4.c. The Underwater City ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Rebels, Sahaugin, 1 Ettin, Sword Spiders, Ettercaps, 1 Bone golem. Treasures: Cloak of Mirroring, Cloak of protection +2, Boots of etherealness, Rod of Lordly Power. NPCs: none. You'll be taken to the underwater city by the sahaugin. You're taken to an audience with their king, Ixilthetocal. He'll explain you are to save the city as part of an old prophecy by their god. To prove your worth, you're put in an arena to kill an ettin. When dead, accept all. Go to their High Priest and she'll change everything - accept all. Go to the Drow SE section, beware traps. Kill as you go. You will come to an area where some imps will set you a challenge - accept. The answer is: Helmet - Piergorian Pipe - Elminster Scimitar - Drizzt Staff - Khelben Amulet - Alaustriel Get the treasures, head N, talk to the Spectator. Kill it (it's a Beholder, of course it's hard). The chest contains the tooth you need. Now head to the NE corner, go down the steps and through the door, fighting as you go onwards. Inside the door, accept an offer of an audience (if you kept the orb the Priestess gave you). Accept all his offers and head back to the throne area. Give the false heart to the King then you're discovered, so kill them all (the rebels will arrive to help you). At the end, the Prince of the Rebels will give you all the treasures and a way down to the Underdark you tried to avoid in the first place (60500 xps/head). ------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a. The Underdark ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Drow, Drow Warriors, Drow Priestesses, Earth Elementals, Air Elementals, Fire Elementals, Lizard Men, Kuo-toa wizard, monitor, warrior and leader, Myconids, 1 Balor, Umber Hulks, 1 Greater Elemental each of Earth, Air and Fire, 1 myconid king, Mind Flayers, Beholders. Treasures: Jhor the Bleeder +2, CURSED Spear +3 'Backstabber', CURSED Ring of Folly, Rod of Absorption, Bracers of Defence AC 4, Skullcrusher +3, Dragon's Breath +4, Necradon's Crossbow +3. NOTE: Drow equipment is typically better than any magic armour but will disintegrate above ground. Be certain to keep hold of old armour and weapons for when you leave. Drow equipment: Full Plate +5, Chainmail +3 (useable by mages!), Long Sword +3, Light Crossbow +3, Flail +3, Amulet of Spell Warding. NPCs: none. From your starting position after the descent (20000 xps/head), head E. Talk Duergars, buy a Freedom scroll. Beware the elemental respawn points, they keep coming every time you kill one. Head N. Fight Drow. You'll come to a crystal. By using the panels "lost souls" will come out and attack you (except one, who tells you to visit his village). Now cast the Freedom spell. Between the crystal and the duergars a mage named Vithal appears and gives you a quest - accept. Head back to the crystal and head along E, killing the bridge guards. Go back to the crystal now and head W, kill all the myconids, just further W are three Mind Flayers that come round and attack. From here, head N to the Dark Gnome village, accept peaceful entry, go around and talk to their chief, accept. The cave is in the village, a little E. Use the stone and kill the Balor (VERY, VERY, VERY HARD). Now return to the king for a Light Gem and Skullcrusher +3. In the next house along, talk to the Innkeeper and buy Vithal's book off him for 300 gps. The other Gnome is father of the gnome that you freed from the mage crystal prison, the one that walked off. Talk to him for 10000 xps and the Bracers of Defence AC 4. Now go to the Earth portal and give Vithal his book. He'll summon a Greater Earth Elemental, kill it (keep Vithal alive!!) and he'll disappear and return. You'll repeat this three times, once for each portal. At the end he'll reward you, press for more ONCE - more than once and he'll attack and win very easily. Be happy with this good reward. With the Light Gem go now to the Dark Cave near the entrance to Ust Natha. Inside, accept the Silver Dragon's quest. As Drow, enter Ust Natha. When you are back out again to hunt the illithid, a party of adventurers try to kill you, it's a tough fight. From here, go to the extreme SE, talk and kill those that appear. Head back to the Drow City at your leisure (20000 xps). When you've escaped the city, go to the Dragon, talk for your reward: 78500 xps/head and Necradon's Crossbow +3. You'll be taken to a gate, fight the Drow. Go through, fight again. There are fights in the next room, the next and the next. Eventually, you'll reach the exit to the Surface!!! At last!!! ------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b. Ust Natha ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Drow, Mind Flayers, Mustard Jelly, Gray Ooze, Green Slime, Ochre Jelly, Beholder. Treasures: BoneBlade +4, Ring of Spell Turning, Gorgon Plate +4. NPCs: none. At the Bazaar, you can buy and sell magical items and mostly scrolls. Go straight to the Male Fighter's Association. Talk to Solaufein outside, accept. Go right back to the exit (if asked which way the "quarry" went in a pre-death chase, it was that woman that legged it past yelling, respond as you wish). Now talk to Imrae and accept. You can rest/restock as you wish before. Refer back to the Underdark section now. Back in the city, a Duergar will tell you to talk to his master, go up to the tank, talk to Aboleth and accept. Qilue's house is guarded by Servants, all with up to level 8 spells - beware! Kill her, get her brain, take this to Aboleth for your reward, 10000 xps. Talk to Phaene as agreed. Accept, go to the extreme SE, talk then murder the Beholder (20000 additional xps). Go back to the tavern. You're given another task, this time to kill patrol of sverfneblin. Go to the Myconid patch and kill the gnomes. Take the gnomic leader's helm as proof of your feat. Give this to Phaere and she'll tell you to meet her again. Go to the Female Fighter's Association and accept. There is a Drow Priestess, accept her quest, go to the SE and kill the lot. There's no xps for completing that though. Go to Solaufein and kill him. Tell Phaere. If you are male, at this point, you sleep with her (I don't know what happens if you're female!). Go to the Temple of Lolth, accept the quest. Go to the Beholder cave in the Underdark (the southern tunnels on the map), and kill the Beholders, get the eye from the Elder. Go back to the temple (22000 xps). Go now to Phaere in her apartments at the Female Fighters' again. Accept. Enter the Temple, the treasury is in the NE. I suggest you cast (Improved) Invisibility first. Replace the Egg in the N bowl-thing, the golems will attack, shut the door on them. Kill the Egg Guards. There are now to ways. Hard and Easy: Hard: Take the Egg to Phaere (10000 xps). She'll vanish, an Imp will appear and give you instructions. Go to the Temple. In the ritual room, interrupt what Phaere is saying, kill the Demon and her (the demon is VERY HARD). Outside, every Drow in Ust Natha tries to kill you, you're only chance is to peg it outside the city gates. Easy: Keep the eggs and leave the city. Nearly no xps for that though. Refer to the above Underdark section again now. ------------------------------------------------------------- 6.a. Exit from the Underdark ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: none. Treasures: none. NPCs: none. A nice short section. When out of the Underdark, you're taken to an audience with Elhan, the War Elf leader. NOTE: Before you leave, remove all Drow equipment, there is a bug in some versions that means the dust doesn't stop re-spawning! Agree to everything and be careful to tell the truth. If Viconia is with you, she'll be put under a geas. He gives you a quest to find an artefact that allows the Elves entry to Suldanesselar. This is carried by Bodhi, you can ask for stakes and holy water to sort her out. The most interesting bit is that when you leave, Drizzt and his friends meet you. If you're nice, Drizzt will agree to meet you at Bodhi's guild and aid you. Of course, you can kill him and his friends, and nick all their brilliant items, but it's so hard I wouldn't bother. My advice is perhaps kill Drizzt when he's alone in the Graveyard District… ------------------------------------------------------------- 6.b. Small Teeth Pass and North Woods ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: 1 Efreeti, 1 Dao, Wolfweres, Ankhegs, Gnolls (Veterans, Elites, Slashers, Captains). Treasures: several +1 items. NPCs: none. These two small and boring areas have been put into a single section because it's pointless making two tiny sections. Small Teeth Pass is basically a small monster-thump. North Woods is a bit different, there are two groups, one of various adventurers, one of an efreeti and a dao. Each holds/guards some minor treasures. ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.c. Forest of Tethir ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Mist Horrors, Vampiric Mists, Poison Mists, Crimson Deaths, Panthers, 1 Greater Wyvern, 1 Baby Wyvern, Kuo-toa, Wolfweres, Wandering Horrors. Treasures: Mana Bow +4. NPCs: none. The main purpose of this place is as a gateway to Tethir. To navigate the map you must walk along the main tree-trunk down the centre and get off it at certain points. In the NW you find an old companion, Coran, who asks you to help him rescue Safana. Go to the Wolfwere camp. Here, Safana turns out to be very nasty indeed and both Safana and Coran will die. Kill the Wolfweres. You can search his cabin also. Defeat the nasties inside (Horrors, Mists, and Deaths) and search the cabin for several minor treasures and some healing/extra healing potions (very useful, but beware, all three chests in the N room are trapped with quite hard-to-spot traps. In the central W you can fight two members of a wyvern-worshipping cult and their idols, if you so desire. Not much on their bodies, however. In the E there is a cave (literally a door in the ground, Alice in Wonderland style). Inside is a pool to search for my favourite bow in the game, the Mana Bow +4, and two bands of Kuo-toa. ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.d. Graveyard revisited ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Vampires, Fledgling Vampires, Vampiric Mists, Skeleton Warriors, Grimwarders. Treasures: Cutthroat +4. NPCs: none. At the district entrance, Bodhi appears, runs off and leaves you with four vampires to fight. Now the crypts can only be accessed by the roof of the building in the E. Underneath, some minor treasures have been replaced or even changed. In the NW, Drizzt and his party appear (if you enlisted their aid, that is). Eventually only Drizzt will stay for you. If you got Holy Water from Elhan, you can pour this into the pool of blood to stop the vampires regenerating from it. Head downstairs and kill Bodhi. Go to her coffin in the NE room, stake her (55000 xps/head and you get her heart and the Lanthorn). In the rooms you can also find the Cutthroat +4. Tell Elhan of your success, and he takes you to the Elven city of Suldanessellar, where a bitter war is raging… ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.a. Suldanessellar ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Stone Golems, Clay Golems, Adamantine Golems, Iron Golems, Rakshasas, Rajahs, Maharajahs, Trolls, Skeleton Warriors, 1 Nabassu, 1 Sand Golem, 1 Balor, Earth/Fire/Air elementals. Treasures: Elven Chain Mail, Cloak of Elvenkind, Boots of Elvenkind, Girdle of Stone Giant Strength. NPCs: none. After entering (74500 xps/head), and talking to Elhan, fight your way to Demin's house. Inside, kill all your enemies, and talk to Demin, her route is the only way. Many rooms in the city have level 9 spell scrolls inside, I've uncovered Time Stop, Meteor Swarm and Gate so far. First, go to the House of the Talisman. Inside, use the puzzle box, the correct order is: Corellan, Rillifane, Water, Tree of Life, Suldanessellar. Now, go to the House of the Moon. Inside, simply get the Moonblade off of the Elf's body. Head to the NW now, and enter the Woodland Clearing (see that section) There are also two stone artefacts, a horn and a harp, one held by the House of the Horn, the other by the Harpists, which you need. When you return from the clearing, go to the Temple of Rillifane. Place the artefacts on the altar (65000 xps/head) and the avatar will appear and grant you access to the palace. Outside, Reirra will appear with useful items and the Staff of the Woodlands +4. In the palace, gather the nuts from the tree. Go through, and use the harp/horn on the statues (3000 xps each) and go down (use option 2 when talking to party members and they will stay). Accept Ellesime, and find the three parasites. Attack them, and two elementals will appear and attack. Kill them then the parasites. You are automatically taken to Irenicus, where you must kill him. However, instead of this being the end, you and all your friends are sucked into hell… ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.b. Woodland Clearing ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Nizidramonii'yt, a Black Dragon. Treasures: Bladeslinger Chain +4. NPCs: none. Only one thing to do here, but it's a BIG thing, a black dragon. No matter what you say, you are forced to kill it. In its horde is the final artefact of the elven gods that you need to summon the avatar. You're nearly there. ------------------------------------------------------------- 7.c. Hell ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Beholders, Gauth, Elder orbs. Treasures: Blackrazor. NPCs: none. Don't worry about deaths from your fight with Irenicus, all your party will be restored with their equipment. You must go down each tunnel in turn and achieve a Tear of Bhaal. In order from right to left, the tunnels contain: E: PRIDE - show no pride, question why you should kill the enemy and the demon will vanish. Walk through and talk to the dragon and you get your easiest tear. SE: FEAR - head along the N passage and kill all the Beholders (if you can!). Now grab the tear from the crystals at the end. S: SELFISH - to get the tear you must choose. Go down the right-hand path and your part member will die, and you will become a Fallen character, losing class-specific abilities (if you're good). The left path means you keep your friend and abilities, and also lose 2HPS from maximum, 1 dex., and some xps. You get the tear either way. SW: GREED - take the sword. I recommend giving it to the genie, but you can fight it (v. hard) instead. You get the tear one way or another. W: SAREVOK - in here, you are forced to fight a wraith of Sarevok, the main bad guy from BG1. Kill him for the tear. Note that he's every bit as tough as last time round! Now use the tears on the Abyssal Door. Save and prepare, this is the last battle… Irenicus will appear and summon two Glabrezus and two Balors to help him, in addition he turns into the Slayer! Here's how I did it. First concentrate on the demons. When dead, get rid of the Misleading slayer, then head S. Here, use pierce magic, breach etc. to remove his protections. Now fight him - use only hand-to-hand combat weapons, and change into the Slayer. With a bit of luck and skill, Irenicus will finally die! Now you can watch and enjoy the sinister cut-scene… I think there's a BG3 for the future… *****CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED BALDUR'S GATE 2***** ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.a. D'Arnise Hold ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Trolls, Ice Trolls, Giant Trolls, 1 Spectral Troll, Yuan-ti, Yuan-ti mages, Umber Hulks, Flesh Golems, 1 Stone Golem, Clay Golems, 1 Iron Golem, 1 Otyugh. Treasures: Ring of Earth Elemental Control, Dagger +2, Warhammer +1, +4 vs. Giantkin, Elven Court Bow +3, Battle Axe +3, Frostreaver, Shield Amulet, Flail of Ages, Orc Leather +3, Full Plate +1, Boots of Grounding, Staff of Striking. NPCs: Nalia. If you didn't get her in the Copper Coronet, she's in a palisade in the SW corner. See The Slums section for her stats. ***FIGHTER STRONGHOLD QUEST*** When you've completed this section, a fighter gets his Fortress. Initially, once you have the keep, all you can do is sort out taxes with your Major. I advise keeping the taxes as they are for now. Each week, you get 500 gps and a visitor to deal with. VISITOR 1: A merchant whose caravan has been robbed by bandits wants to be payed for the caravan. You can also hire mercenaries to deal with the bandits. I suggest this: give the merchant 500 gps (cha.15 or more) or 1000 gps (less cha.) and paying 500 gps for the mercs (15000 xps). VISITOR 2: Captain Cernick has caught a man thieving. H's excuse is that he needs money for his wife's medicine. Let him off entirely and buy the potions he needs for 15500 xps. VISITOR 3: Bolumir, Cleric of Tempus, wants to set up a chapel in the keep. This is advantageous as not only will you now have access to healing, he sells magic items (inc. Staff of Striking and Boots of Grounding), and accepting gets you 15500 xps. He is found on the upper floor in the room previously full of golems. VISITOR 4: Roenall himself demands your land. Refuse. VISITOR 5: Chantelle the maid wants to marry Jessup, but Malvolio wants to marry Chantelle also. Let Jessup marry and pay the full dowry for 15500 xps. VISITOR 6: Two moneylenders demand 2000 gps. Pay them 1000 and all will be fine. VISITOR 7: Four citizens demand 7000 gps for damage from a great flood and to build dikes to prevent further flooding. Pay the lot for 15500 xps. VISITOR 8: Finally, Lord Roenall attacks. You have a set time to kill him, or you lose the keep. If you succeed, you get 50000 xps. He carries Full Plate +1 also. In the SW, there is a secret door in the side of the Keep, marked on the map. Enter, the idea on this level is simply wander around killing any stray trolls and searching for the treasure littered around. In the NW, there is a special forge that can be used to repair the Flail of Ages (though it doesn't need all three heads, it's much better with them). Repair it for the item and 223500 xps. The second floor, head S. In the library, get the key, this opens the doors. Same as before, wander, kill, search. On the W side you can enter a room where you'll find Nalia's aunt. Free her. Through the far door there are two secret doors. One leads to the stairs that take you to the basement where Lord d'Arnise is being held. In the other room are six golems. Whenever you disturb the alcoves (containing powerful magical items), two golems attack. Take them two at a time, using your mace/halberd armed men/women to block the doorway and kill them all. You can access the roof from this level, but there isn't much to do up there. In the basement, go through the first two doors, searching - in the third room are the leader's pet Umber Hulks. In the room to the E are the trolls and their grand leader, it's a tough fight. Search the shrine and TorGal's body for some gems. Go up and out to the courtyard, kill the otyugh and leave the dogs alone. Nalia now rewards you (10650 gps, ??? xps) and if you're a fighter she gives you the stronghold as your, er… stronghold. ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.b. Windspear Hills ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Ogres, 1 Gnoll Elite, 1 Baby Wyvern, Orcs, Wild Dogs, Ankhegs, Black Bears, Goblins, Hobgoblins (wizards, elites, captains), Vampiric mists, Shadow Fiends, Ruhk Transmuter, Kamikaze Kobolds, Vampires, 1 Adamantine Golem, Iron Golems, Stone Golems, Clay Golems, Dread Wolves, Wolfweres, Greater Wolfweres, "Guardians", Orc Archers, 1 Greater Wraith, Orogs, Trolls, Mutated Gibberlings, Fell Ghasts, Werewolves. Treasures: Amulet of Protection +1, Battle Axe +2, Large Shield +2, Dragon Scale +2, Dragonslayer +2 (Peridan), Studded Leather +2, Two-handed Sword +2, Heartseeker +3, Holy Avenger: Carsomyr +5, Cloak of the Shield. NPCs: none. At the start you are forced to kill some monsters who turn out, when all dead, to be paladins (including Ajantis from BG1). Accept Garren Windspear's aid and be very good to him and all his friends who talk to you - some bandits will enter, make a spirited attempt to kill you and teleport Garren's daughter off. Say you'll save her. Head to the NE and enter the dungeons. Kill all, and in the main cavern, there are two smaller ones. Go through the N door (the only door!), fight all inside (beware the golems). Head W, accept Samia. Head NE, NW, NW, N, N, N, N and then prepare yourself. When you've cleared the floor of all its treasure (neat items!) Samia reappears with a powerful war-party. Kill 'em all (hard!). Now head back to the first golem fight and head E. Kill the vampires, carry on and take the Greater Wraith. Get the chapel key. Go now to the entrance to the maze and head down the W branch, kill the wolfies, note that Greater Wolfweres regenerate amazingly fast, so Disintegrate, Slay Living and similar are about the only ways to kill them. From the circular room, W heads into a room where to "men" try to lure you into their "den". To get the treasures w/out a fight, send an invisible character through past the two men and get the goodies from the rooms past there. When you re-enter their room they'll tell you to follow them, don't go through, nick the goodies from THIS room then leave. NW heads to a room where some squabble between a troll, a wolfwere and a hobgoblin leaves some minor items on the ground. Through the secret door is a very hard fight with some golems - their treasure behind them is the Heartseeker +3 longbow. The N passage leads to another golem fight, then an orog fight. Go through the locked door, over the stairs into the next room, where you find DigDag, two orc lackeys and an old "friend" of yours, the ogre Tazok. Kill 'em. Go into the cavern, talk to Fikraag, the red dragon (!) and when his wizard dimension doors, run upstairs quickly! Kill him, get the key and free Iltha (23750 xps). Now, leave! Back at Garren's cabin, you'll be rewarded. If you're a paladin, you can now enter the High Hall of the Radiant Heart, see Temple section. If you've kept the acorns from the dryads in Irenicus' dungeon, the Fairy Queen is found in the SE section. Give her the acorns for 32500 xps + 9750 xps. ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.c. Umar Hills ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Umber Hulks, 1 Killer Mimic, Shadows, Shadow Fiends, Spotted Lions. Treasures: Corthala Family Armour (Valygar), Corthala Family Blade (Valygar), Spear +1, Ilbratha +1. NPCs: Valygar Corthala. VALYGAR (human; male; ? ?; stalker; str.17 dex.18 con.16 int.10 wis.14 cha.10) There is a quest from the Government District in Athkatla to kill Valygar. You can let him join or kill him, it's you to you. He is the only way to enter the Planar Sphere in the Slums, I'll cover this in a later version. Most of this section centres around a series of odd murders. Go to the village in the SW. Around the fountain, listen, then go to Minister Lloyd's house. Accept his quest. Madaulf and his band are found in the centre of the map. Talk to them and they'll propose a peace deal, accept their quest to tell the village leader. Go to Lloyd and tell him, he'll wander off (27500 xps). If you speak to Vincenzo in the Inn, there is the amusing "Umar Witch Project" tale, which takes the rip completely (fine by me because I HATE the Blair Witch Project!). At the entrance to the town a group of youngsters give you 200 gps to buy them some swords and ale. Buy the swords and ale from merchants in and around the inn, give them the stuff for 2000 xps. In the village, a mage named Jermien wants some mimic's blood for a golem. This is found (along with a killer mimic and other monsters) in the Umar Cave - open the chest once you've killed the killer mimic for some other stuff as well. Give him the blood for 19250 xps and the Ilbratha +1. However, his golem will attack - kill it and talk to him for 21250 xps. You can now search for spells and potions. The concerns about a hired ranger voiced in the town can be realised in the SW, there are some interesting books to read here too. Valygar, and whatever fate you have in store for him, are found in the NW corner. If you come from the W, there are some rangers who may try to stop you, come from the E and you'll meet them on the way out, if you head E, anyway. Jeb, just outside the village will sell you some information for 300 gps. Accept, he'll tell you about Hendrick's chicken. Tell Hendrick you know about his item and offer to buy it for 50 gps - it's a priceless gem. If you've solved the Skinner murders in the Bridge district you should have a letter. Follow the instructions - by the History of the Zhentarim off Fael. His "secret name" is Darcin Cole. If you have the Human Skin on you, you can get silver dragon's blood as he requests. I'll continue with this in another, later version. ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.d. Temple Ruins ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Shadows, Shade Wolves, Shadow Fiends, 1 Greater Shade Wolf, Greater Mummies, Skeleton Warriors, Bone Golems, 1 Shadow Dragon, Wild Dogs, Giant Lynxes. Treasures: Cloak of the Stars, Halberd +2: Duskblade, Darkmail +3. NPCs: Mazzy Fentan. The Temple itself is found in the NE of the map. It is swarming with monsters. By activating the Stained-glass window, you can dispel any shadows that come into the light. Beneath the dungeon, head N from the junction. Kill everything in this room and the next, being sure to find the bones and the jail key. In the jail is Mazzy Fentan, a famous Halfling knight. She offers advice and can join your party. Head W from the jails and get the sun gem. You can head N as well to kill things, if you wish. With the gem you can pass through the first shadow barrier. Go through and over the bridge, get everything and kill everyone in this Room of Fire and the E room. In the W room from here, give the bones to the ghosts for part of the Sun Icon and the Shadow Dragon Wardstone, plus 17750 xps. Carry on and you'll come to a room with letters on the floor. This is done in the same way as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was done. The name is Amunator, just walk over those letters in that order and no damage is done. Only send one man over. In the next two rooms: the N room contains important items and the S room contains a Shadow that can't be trusted (kill it) and the second part of the Sun Icon. Head back to the Statue at the beginning. Answer his questions on the rituals, if you get them all right he gives you the last Sun Icon piece (45500 xps) and you'll complete the Icon (21250 xps). Go right back and now go straight past through the door into the cavern. If you have the Wardstone the Dragon leaves you alone. Use the exit in the NW. Here you have to defeat the Shadow Lord (25000 xps) and his Altar. When all the enemies are dead, light returns (44250 xps/head). Merella appears and dies. ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.e. Trademeet ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Dire Wolves, Giant Spiders, Wild Tigers. Treasures: Staff of the High Forest (Cernd), Cloak of the High Forest (Cernd), Shield of Harmony +2, Scimitar +2, Rashad's Talon. NPCs: Cernd. CERND (human; male; shapeshifter; true neutral; str.13 dex.9 con.13 int.12 wis.18 cha.15) Fight the animals and agree to help the city when challenged by the Militia Captain. Go to the High Merchant Lord's house, accept. Go downstairs and find Cernd. You should now head over to the Druid Grove. When that matter is resolved, tell the High Merchant (2000 gps) and accept his new quest. Go to the tent of the Dao Genies. Give their Khan the head of Ihtafeer (the Rakshasa in the Druid Grove area) for 10000 xps and a sword. Tell the Guildmistress in the Mayor's home for 7500 xps, gems and a magic shield. Tell the High Merchant himself and you'll be honoured and get reputation +1, 25250 xps/head and 10750 gps. You're also given the same quest by two feuding families. The best way to do this quest is this: go to either mansion and accept, you'll get the key. Go to the tomb and accept the High Merchant's offer when he appears. Go in, kill all and get the Circlet. Take it to the High Merchant for 250 gps, 8000 xps and reputation +1. There is found in Trademeet Neeber, presumably cousin of Noober (from BG1) or something. Talk to him loads of times and much like Noober, you get 1000 xps/head. ------------------------------------------------------------- 8.f. Druid Grove ------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters: Trolls, Ice Trolls, Myconids, Spore Colonies, Rakshasas, Sword Spiders, Phase Spiders, Giant Spiders, Spiders, Ettercaps, Spirit Trolls, Spectral Trolls, Giant Trolls. Treasures: Cleric's Staff +3, Amulet of Proof Against Poison, Scimitar of Speed +2: Belm, Bracers of Archery, Spear of the Unicorn +2. NPCs: none. Once you've agreed to help Trademeet, head to the NW. Here, meet Cernd and let him challenge Faldorn. Cernd will win, and you've freed the Druid Grove from the depredations of the Shadow Thieves, leaving Trademeet safe. That was easy. There is a cottage in the NE belonging to a woman who is actually a Rakshasa. Kill her and her friends. You can get her head, and there are some minor treasures in a chest in this cottage. In the deserted Ogre's Tower, there is a magical scimitar. There is a Troll Mound in the SW. Enter, kill all the (many) trolls, and you can search the bones at the far side for some nice treasures. ------------------------------------------------------------- NOTES ON THE SLAYER ------------------------------------------------------------- At a certain point you gain the ability to shapechange at will into the Slayer, an incredibly powerful avatar form of Bhaal. This may seem like an excellent idea, but I warn against it. Use only when ABSOLUTELY necessary. Once the ability is used, you get one chance to turn back and stay as a human. If you continue the transformation, you first lose 2 reputation points. After a short period you will start taking damage due to your slipping control on your self. Most likely if you start taking wounds as the Slayer you might die before you can change back - you can only use the change once a day, so if damage interrupts your "Shapeshift normal form" ability you're stuck as the Slayer for a day. You continue to sustain damage for roughly one turn. The Slayer's merits though is that it has huge strength, high resistances, causes horrific cold damage and looks very cool indeed. ------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL HINTS/TIPS ------------------------------------------------------------- a. Creating a character Due to higher levels than BG1, mages are finally powerful from the very start. At the end? Well, they're amazing. For experienced role-players, a mage can be extremely deadly, and is probably the best choice. For a novice or one who is not into the magical arts (or, like me, just loooves paladins), the cavalier is probably the ideal class. Loads of protective and healing abilities, resistances to acid and bonuses against the tougher monsties make them perfect at combat. However, the lack of ranged power is probably a bitter blow to the real newbie, so I recommend beginners pick a fighter. No restrictions and easy to get to grips with, there is no easier class to use. Class by class rundown: Fighter: easy to use, no restrictions, ideal for those new to TSR. Kensai: an even more dangerous fighter. Not recommended to new players due to the lack of any armour - careful use required. Berserker: probably a bit better than the bog-standard fighter due to the beserk ability but the disadvantages mean that it isn't as easy to handle as the standard fighter. Wizard Slayer: in my humble opinion the second weakest class. Sure they can do serious damage to all wizards including the game's main protagonist, but the lack of magical items means that against non-wizards they can be very weak late on in the game, which is when it counts. Mage & Specialist Mage: excellent now for a clever or experienced player. The reason they are not as good for beginners is their lack of staying power. Always choose a specialist over a standard one - the extra spells can make a HUGE difference to your game. Sorcerer: strong in the hands of a good player, but very hard to get to understand properly. Beginners should stay well clear until they have reached a respectable level of ability. Play up its strengths and try to hide its weaknesses. Ranger: Ahh, a characterful and powerful warrior. Racial enemies and stealth make them very dangerous when used correctly. Use them as trackers and hunters. The only real weakness is their lack of large bonuses, but stacks of minor ones can be nasty. Stalker: Good a stalking (obviously), high stealth, pretty good. A few mage spells are handy too. They lack metal armour, but it's a fair trade. Beastmaster: Good for bringing help to the fray and no lack of combat strengths. They just aren't powerful enough to over-rule other classes. Archer: Again, not an ideal beginner choice due to lack of armour, they are perfect snipers. Very good class this. Use called shots often. Bard: fairly weak at the lower levels, only really useful for identifying stuff and boosting morale. Blade: Good defensive power but they have a lack of rogue-ishness as the penalty. Can be good used carefully, but very poor in the thick of things, though they have staying power. Jester: Appalling. The ability to cause confusion against weak enemies (which are in short supply) traded for rogue abilities and just about everything worthwhile in a bard. Stay well clear, everyone. Skald: Nothing special at lower levels, but a very strong addition later on. Huge bonuses from their bard songs at high levels can swing entire battles. Paladin: tough, many abilities and ideal for beginners. Can't say much more. Inquisitor: a worthy addition to the class list, their ability to almost ignore defensive magics mean that they actually beat the wizard slayer at their own job. Cavalier: my favourite. Stacked full of defensive upgrades and offensive bonuses against the super-powerful monsters make them characterful and dangerous in the extreme. The lack of any ranged power is a gripe but is easily outweighed. Undead Slayer: very powerful against the undead, but there isn't enough dead activity in the game to recommend them - they're just too specialised. Monk: Weird and super powerful at high levels. Ki energy abilities means that they can get away with costing little to equip and doing powerful damage. A bit complicated but very good. My second favourite. Cleric: Can't get to high enough levels and their spells are mostly a bit rubbish. Not that bad, but in my opinion not worth bothering with. Priests are better but a bit similar. Thief: Cunning and guile in a PC can turn these not too tough characters into stealthy killing machines. Setting traps makes them even better. Swashbuckler: good in combat, but not good enough at their thieving skills to be as good as the standard thief. Assassin: a cunning player can take out very powerful characters very quickly with this kit. Deadly but quite difficult to use and not as good at thieving stuff as they could be. Bounty Hunter: the best thief, their custom traps and nasty abilities make up for the lack of thieving effectiveness. Druid: More poor priest spells, low armour and poor weapons. WTF is going on? Don't even bother. Totemic druid: a druid with very weak bonuses. Don't bother. Shapechanger: A better option but still not really worth your while. Avenger: the most powerful druid, but it still suffers from the often woeful restrictions of its mother class. Stay clear of all these classes if you want my advice (and if you don't, why are you here?). NOTE: I've had a lot of e-mails telling me Avengers are very good. Why? They lose 2 on two vital stats, their spells are mostly poor until level 6/7, they make poor fighters and can't use most weapons/armour. Multi-classes: Hmm… the best for a cunning player is the mage/thief. Annoying weapon restrictions aside, they can make themselves invisible and stab the enemy in the back, hard. If you insist on priest spells, a fighter/druid is the best bet. The fighter knocks off the terrible restrictions of the standard druid and improves the class vastly. I prefer to steer away from multi-classers, as they take too long to level up to satisfactory levels and often never reach high enough levels to do any real damage. My character is: human; male; lawful good; cavalier, with weapon abilities spread across all sorts of weapons and fighting styles. This gives you a close-combat monster. b. stats Charisma - use it! A high charisma is your best friend and can get you cheaper goods and makes people generally kinder to you. Coupled with a high reputation and it's a huge bonus. However, I say skip it. Why? Because before it becomes at all useful you can get the Ring of Human Influence. Problem solved. Wisdom - unless you're a type of spellcaster, I'd keep it down to 9 unless you have plenty of extra points. Intelligence - vital for mages but not that hot for anybody else. Mages should get it up, but keep it to 10 for others. Constitution - the most important. Get an 18 here if at all possible. It makes your character tougher, more resistant to all sorts of things and more likely to stay on his feet. Dexterity - handy for mages, thieves, bards and druids but those capable of wearing decent armour might as well forget about it. If the Gauntlets of dexterity turn up you might be able to ignore it altogether. Strength - second most important after constitution. Again, do your best to get 18+ on this. The 19s possible on str. And con. Make half-orcs an enticing prospect. ------------------------------------------------------------- MONSTER FIGHTING TACTICS ------------------------------------------------------------- Stone Golems (Edwin's first quest): Use polymorph self to get a mustard jelly, much less killable and more dangerous, then use magical spears to finish the job. It's the only way… The Umber Hulks' room in Spellhold: This is so @!"%* hard I'd just turn the difficulty down to Easy to do it. Cast spells galore and with a little luck you can take them down. It's not easy though. Drow parties: Drow AI means they are very hard. Aside from being fast, all carrying magical equipment as standard, having a huge magical resistance and being able to cast spells (now see why I love Viconia?), they help each other - great AI - if one Drow can't get to the fight but is near another taking a battering he'll cast healing spells, which showcases the AI. This is more to notify you of their cunning (they hide round corners too, just when you think you've finally got rid of them…), but I recommend this course of action - use your warriors and other tanks as a front line to fill the narrow Underdark corridors, and use sling/bow armed thieves/mages at the back to mop up the healers and spell-casters hanging about ruining everything - you won't do the damage to kill, but you can easily disrupt their spells in this way. Good luck! The d'Arnise Hold golems: Take them on two at a time by pillaging the alcoves one by one. Retreat to the doorway and use mace-armed, spell protected characters to take out the golems as they appear in the doorway. Easy when you know how! All especially hard characters (ie dragons): If you have to talk to them to attack, click to talk, then stop and attack. You've now got plenty of time to thump it before it wakes up and starts thumping back! ------------------------------------------------------------- PARTY SKILLS ------------------------------------------------------------- The ideal party should be capable of performing any task, and should include about one of each main class section. If I'm playing as the cavalier, my party is always as follows: Mazzy (a great fighter, pure and simple) Jan (the best thief with good stats and a few spells) Minsc (tough, good stats and versatile) Edwin (a very good caster) Viconia (VERY good dex. And wis., high magic resistance, useful in the Underdark) I also like Valygar, Keldon, Aerie, Haer'Dalis and Jaheira in my party. Select your formations carefully, based on ease of movement and various combat situations. That's my advice anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------- MONSTER/NPC INFO ------------------------------------------------------------- Monster Experience Notes Mephit (all types) 420 xps spell abilities Ogre Mage 650 xps spell abilities Goblin 20/60 xps some carry bows (60 xps) Duergar 420 xps ranged weapons Cambion 6000 xps protective field? Lesser clay golem 1000 xps magic resistance Otyugh 650 xps non-magic resistance Vampire 8500 xps level drain, undead Greater doppelganger 3000 xps --- Assassin varies --- Shadow 420 xps ability drains, non-magic resistance Shadow Thief varies --- Thug varies --- Mugger varies --- Stone golems 8000 xps only magical spears/ blunts kill Slaver varies --- Orog 600 xps --- Sea Troll 1400 xps use fire/acid to kill Kobold 6 xps --- Kobold captain 14 xps --- Kobold commando 34 xps uses fire arrows Kobold shaman 64 xps minor magical spells Kobold witch doctor 64 xps minor magical spells Rakshasa 3000 xps very resistant Gibberling 34 xps --- Mutated gibberling 14 xps --- Salamander 2000 xps minor spells Ice Salamander 3000 xps medium spells Fanatic 2000 xps --- Dire Wolf 124 xps --- Phase spider 850 xps poisonous Skeleton varies undead Pirate varies --- Sword spider 2000 xps poisonous Spider 10 xps --- Giant spider 450 xps poisonous Fledgling vampire 8500 xps vampire Grimwarder (archer) 4000 xps immune to normal weapons Greater ghoul 2000 xps haste, paralysis Skeleton warrior 4000 xps undead Clay golem 8000 xps only magical blunts kill Ettercap 650 xps poisonous Wraith Spider 2000 xps poisonous, immune to normal weapons. Zombie 974 xps undead, immune to normal weapons. Ghast 650 xps hold person, disease Vampyre 2000 xps level drain, immune to normal weapons Mummy 3000 xps undead, immune TNW Wraith 2000 xps immune TNW Shadow Fiend 2000 xps immune TNW Bandit varies --- Guard varies --- Yuan-ti 1500 xps --- Yuan-ti mage 7000 xps spell abilities Ruhk 7000 xps immune to magic, minor spell abilities Umber Hulks 4000 xps confusion, burrowing Mist horror 3000 xps minor spells, immune TNW Mind Flayer 9000 xps major spells, magic resistance Beholder 14000 xps very major spells Imp 1400 xps --- Quasit 2000 xps --- Troll 1400 xps regenerate, use fire/acid Spirit Troll 12000 xps minor spells, as trolls Minotaur 3000 xps --- Goblin Commando 34 xps --- Spectral Troll 3500 xps minor spells Myconid 420 xps confusion Sahaugin/Rebel 3000 xps some cast spells Bone Golem 18000 xps magic resistance Ettin 5000 xps --- Air Elemental 7000 xps immune TNW/air Earth Elemental 7000 xps immune TNW/earth Fire Elemental 7000 xps immune TNW/fire Greater Elementals 10000 xps immune TNW/xxx Lizard Man 270 xps --- Drow (all kinds) varies spells, magic resistance Efreeti 8000 xps medium spells Kuo-toa Leader 2400 xps --- Kuo-toa Monitor 1400 xps --- Kuo-toa Wizard 2000 xps medium spells Kuo-toa Warrior 1000 xps --- Hobgoblin Warrior 34 xps --- Hobgoblin Archer 34 xps --- Hobgoblin Shaman 34 xps minor spells Hobgoblin Elite 94 xps --- Hobgoblin Captain 420 xps --- Carrion Crawler 974 xps hold person, disease Mustard Jelly 2000 xps immune TNW, magic resistance, slow Ochre Jelly 5000 xps immune TNW, magic resistance Myconid King 1200 xps --- Sverfneblin 1250 xps --- Sverfneblin Leader 4000 xps --- Green Slime 64 xps magic resistance Gray Ooze 274 xps magic resistance Flesh Golem 2000 xps immune TNW, magic resistance Iron Golem 13000 xps only magic blunt/pierce weapons kill. Ice Troll 174 xps troll Orc (Archer) varies --- Baby Wyvern 6000 xps poison Spotted Lion 974 xps --- Killer Mimic 5000 xps hold person Fell Ghast 850 xps disease, undead Lich 22000 xps major spells, undead Giant Lynx 174 xps --- Wild Tiger 650 xps --- Poison Mist 3500 xps poison, immune TNW Crimson Death 9000 xps level drain, immune TNW Gnoll 10 xps --- Gnoll Captain 120 xps --- Gnoll Veteran 34 xps --- Gnoll Elite 64 xps --- Gnoll Slasher 64 xps --- Dao 5000 xps medium spells, immune TNW Rajah 7000 xps medium spells, resistances Nabassu 16000 xps immune TNW, magic resistance Pit Fiend 16000 xps magic resistance, gated Adamantine Golem 25000 xps magic blunts/piercing kills Gauth 9000 xps mini beholder Rune Assassins 4500 xps short swords +1, potions Child Spirit 1500 xps immune TNW, magic resist. NPC ENEMIES Ilyich 520 xps Mail of the dead +2 Kalah 2000 xps Girdle/Piercing, Ring/Human Influence Mencar Pebblecrusher 10000 xps Full Plate, W/hammer +1 Smaulev Orcslicer 4000 xps Cursed sword/berserking +3 Pooky 4000 xps --- Sorcerous Amon 6000 xps Cloak/non-detection, wand of lightning Rayic Gethras 9000 xps quaterstaff +2, BoD AC7 Eldarin 480 xps plate mail +1, mace +1 Suna Seni 4480 xps arbane's sword +2, s sword +1 Bessen 2500 xps BoD AC6 Kail 3000 xps short sword +1 Iko 3000 xps Katana +1 Nardinal ???? xps cloak/protection +1, ring of wizardry, q/staff +1 Amalas 1800 xps --- Mekrath 14000 xps major spell abilities Gaius 4000 xps spell caster Zorl 2000 xps spell caster Gallchobhair 7200 xps spell caster Rengaard 6000 xps --- Draug Fea 7000 xps wyvern's tail +2 Tarnor the Hatchetman 8000 xps full plate +1, helmet/ charm prot., hangard's axe Bregg 4000 xps --- Cohrvale 6000 xps --- Embarl 750 xps --- Gorch 14 xps --- Mae'Var 14000 xps shadow armour Caehan 1400 xps --- Jaylos 1400 xps --- Gellal 14500 xps vampire Embarl 750 xps --- Durst 14500 xps vampire Tanova --- vampire, major spellcaster Pai'na 4000 xps black spider figurine Lassal 11500 xps vampire Vadek 8000 xps spells, q/staff +2 Galvena 4000 xps flail +2, l armour +3 Dale Solan 8500 xps vampire King Ixilthetocal 4000 xps --- Alchra Diggot 22000 xps major spells Riti 8000 xps backstabber spear Raevilin Strathin 20000 xps major spells Madman Agnalo 6000 xps jhor the bleeder +2 Simbja 5000 xps --- N'ashtar 4000 xps medium spells Chandrilla 4000 xps medium spells Boz 6000 xps dragon's breath +4 Damien 4000 xps minor spells Qilue 4000 xps BoneBlade +4 Phaere 12000 xps minor treasures Solaufein 6000 xps drow stuff Glacias 9500 xps minor treasures TorGal 15000 xps troll Samia 9000 xps --- Legdoril 6000 xps s leather +2, m shield +1 Akae 8000 xps plate mail +1 Chak 6000 xps b axe +2, l shield +2 Kaol 8000 xps --- Chieftain DigDag 2000 xps --- Tazok 6000 xps 2-handed sword +2 Conster 6000 xps medium spells Fikraag 64000 xps major spells, red dragon Adsaan 15000 xps rakshasa Sarevok 20000 xps --- Captain Dennis 7300 xps boomerang dagger +2 Valeria 12000 xps priest spells Falchar 12000 xps --- Dracondro 8000 xps minor spells, BoD AC6 Pitre 6000 xps --- Neb 3500 xps Neb's nasty slasher. One day I'll put this in some kind of order. Don't hold your breath. Note that many of these characters carry potion etc. but I have only noted the most valuable items they have. ------------------------------------------------------------- SPELL TACTICS ------------------------------------------------------------- There are countless different spell combinations that can lead to victory. Here I'll show you through a handful of them. "Lay Down And Die!": A tactical spell to put any opponent out of the picture. Either naturally or in a Sequencer cast Greater Malison followed by Emotion (both level 4). This should make any opponent fall down on the ground in despair. If it still doesn't work, try a Stinking Cloud, but the original effects with a -8 penalty should be enough. Doesn't work on magic resistance though. "Don't cast that spell at me!": Similar to above, but replace Emotion with Creeping Doom or Miscast Magic. No spellcaster can handle that. Couple with a Wizard Slayer for maximum effect. The Elemental Risks: I don't recommend summon elemental spells (especially the lesser summonings) as either one of two things tends to happen: they either attack you or stand about doing nothing (this is especially true of Air Elementals, they just sit there doing nothing). The many uses of Magic Missile: Annoying spell protections nos. 1 and 2: Mirror Image and Stoneskin. Either of these (and Iron Skins too) fall quickly to one or two Magic Missiles. A level 9 missile will inflict this spell removal against any of these with almost guaranteed effect. Of course, Greater Malison is one of the game's best spells, and nearly all spells work under its effects. ------------------------------------------------------------- PLAYING MULTIPLAYER ON YOUR OWN ------------------------------------------------------------- A valuable tool that lets you make your own party meaning maximum effect against all enemies. I recommend this party: Human cavalier: The ultimate unkillable combat monster. Elf archer: The ultimate ranged beast. Halfling thief: Full thief skills, essential. Human conjurer: Spell casting power doesn't come any easier. Human priest of xxxxx: For healing and creeping doom. Half-orc Kensai: Tres tres nasty, my friends, with str. and con. at 19! ------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO KILL A DRAGON ------------------------------------------------------------- Possibly the most powerful and diverse species you encounter is the dragon. There are four in the game, all of different species, that do different damage. And you might think that your hero with 125% magic resistance, cloak of mirroring and the Dragonslayer sword is safe, but oh no… Here's a run down on the three dragons you fight (you help the Silver Dragon, and she helps you, see Underdark section). Red: The Red Dragon is actually Lord Jierdan Fikraag. He is found underneath the Windspear Hills. BREATH TYPE: fire damage, circular radius. MAGIC RESISTANCE: very high. ITS MAGIC: level 3/4 spells (hold person, dispel magic, stoneskin). HORDE: money, red dragon scales, Holy Avenger Carsomyr +5. Shadow: This Dragon is under the Ruined Temple. You can be rendered invisible to it by a Wardstone. BREATH TYPE: electric damage, cone radius. MAGIC RESISTANCE: medium. ITS MAGIC: level 3/4 spells. HORDE: money, shadow dragon scales. Black: Called Nizidramonii'yt, this is Irenicus' steed, found in the Woodland Clearing NE of Suldanessellar. BREATH TYPE: acid damage, cone radius. MAGIC RESISTANCE: low. ITS MAGIC: equivalent to level 1/2 with stoneskin too. HORDE: money, cup of life, bladeslinger chain +4. In addition all dragons do great damage with their slashing claws and have "wing attack", which blows your party away unconscious (I believe there is a save vs. Spells, but it has a very large penalty). Of course if you have Lower Resistance then suddenly that high magic resistance is not so much of a problem, and Finger of Death preceded by Greater Malison will finish off most any beast. ------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS AND ADDENDUM ------------------------------------------------------------- Credits: To Rasskazov Konstantin and eagle3 for information on the Plane of air bit. Jay h cunningham for some player character info. Medanmann for far too much stuff to list here! Michael Koo for plenty of stuff. Jody Hehenkamp for even more help. Drogo (keep up the Dragon's Breath Tavern!), Cyber_bob and many, many others for bringing stuff to my attention. There are literally dozens so instead of mentioning everybody here, I'll thank you all as a whole! To all of you who send e-mails of encouragement - it's appreciated! Page History: -preliminary 0.1 completed. -preliminary 0.2 completed. The slums section added. City Gates section added. The docks section added. Temple section added. New monsters + NPCs added to list. Misleading errors corrected. Clarity of FAQ improved. Added to Monster Fighting Tactics section. -preliminary 0.3 completed. Information added to Dungeon under Waukeen's Promenade section. Information added to Temple section. Government District section added. The aid of the Shadow Thieves section added. Spellhold Island section added. Information added to the Slums section. Information added to the Docks section. New monsters + NPCs added to list. Misleading errors completed. -preliminary 0.35 completed. Information added to Spellhold Island section. Spellhold section added. New monsters + NPCs added to list. -preliminary 0.4 completed. Information added to Spellhold section. The Underwater City section added. Added greatly to appendices. New monsters + NPCs added to list. -preliminary 0.5 completed. Information added to the Slums section. The Underdark section added. Ust Natha section added. New monsters + NPCs added to list. -preliminary 0.6 completed. Exit from the Underdark section added. D'Arnise Hold section added. Windspear Hills section added. Umar Hills section added. Temple Ruins section added. Trademeet section added. Druid Grove section added. Small Teeth Pass and North Woods section added. Forest of Tethir section added. Graveyard revisited section added. Bridge District section added. Suldanessellar section added. Information added to Temple section. Information added to the City Gates section. Information added to the Government District section. New monsters + NPCs added to list. -preliminary 0.65 completed. Woodland Clearing section added. Information added to the Forest of Tethir section. Information added to Suldanessellar section. New monsters added to list. Added How To Kill A Dragon appendice. -version 1.0 completed. Information added to Suldanessellar section. Hell section added. New monsters and NPCs added to list. Corrected some misleading errors. -version 1.1 completed. Information added to D'Arnise hold section. Information added to Government District section. Information added to Bridge section. Corrected some misleading errors. -version 1.2 completed. Information added to Government District section. Information added to Umar Hills section. Information added to Temple section. Information added to the Bridge section. Information added to De'Arnise hold section. Information added to Waukeen's Promenade section. Corrected a misleading error.