This is a complete walkthrough for Baldur's Gate and the Tales of the Sword
Coast expansion pack. Baldur's Gate is a role-playing game developed by
BioWare and published by Interplay.
The walkthrough is divided up by area. Most areas are (relatively) self-
contained and can be visited in any order, but I've put them in an order for
the walkthrough. Feel free to deviate and do things in your own order. Areas
from the expansion pack are labeled with an “*” symbol. If you've already
played Baldur's Gate and are only interested in the expansion pack areas, the
walkthroughs for those areas can be found in Chapter 5.
Also, in a few areas you can find objects lying on the ground. For those
areas I've listed the location of the object as an (x,y) coordinate. You can
see your current coordinate in an area by pressing the “L” key. The “L” key
also shows the identification number (ARXXXX) for the area you’re in.
Disclaimer: I provide no guarantees here. This is a walkthrough I developed
while playing the game twice using version 1.3.5512 and the default difficulty
setting.
You start out south of the Candlekeep Inn. Immediately head inside and talk
to Winthrop the proprietor. It doesn't matter what you say to him. You start
out with some gold, so go ahead and buy some body armor and a helmet (if you
can). Your staff isn't a terrible weapon, and you can use that for a while.
Then talk to Firebead Elvenhair, who is standing next to the fire. He'll give
you a quest -- to return the identify scroll he left with Tethtoril. Then
explore the rest of the inn. Depending on your strength and lock-picking
ability, you might be able to grab some extra gold and equipment. Just be
sure not to do any looting while people are watching. Sleeping people aren't
watching.
Then go back outside and head east. You'll see Phlydia, who recently
misplaced her copy of The History of Halruaa. Another quest! Keep walking
clockwise around the inner keep. Moo at the cows. Eventually you'll come to
a building called “Priest's Quarters.” When you go inside, somebody named
Shank will talk to you and then attack you. He's not very powerful, and you
shouldn't have any problem killing him. Loot the corpse, explore the room for
other odds and ends to pick up, and then go back outside. Parda will talk to
you and recommend that you get moving.
Walk east and talk to Dreppin. He'll tell you where to find Phlydia's book.
Get the book and return it to Phlydia for 50 experience and a gem. Return to
Dreppin, and he'll tell you he needs a potion for his sick cow Nessa. A guard
named Hull has it.
Continue moving clockwise. There is a Temple of Oghma, but it isn't useful to
you. Eventually you'll come to a man named Jondalar who will give you some
battle training. All you have to do is land a blow against him or Erik (who
will help out) to end the session. Nearby is ``The Storehouse'' with Reevor
standing next to it. Inside are some rats, and Reevor will give you 5 gold
coins (and 50 experience) if you kill them. Also inside, in one of the
barrels, is a silver ring. Basic jewelry like the silver ring is only useful
for selling.
Move south and you'll find Hull at the main gate to the keep. It seems he had
a little trouble waking up this morning and went to his post without his
sword. His sword and the potion for Nessa are located in his chest in the
barracks building.
Continuing south will bring you to the Gatewarden. He'll tell you how you can
practice fighting with multiple companions with Obe the Illusionist.
Regardless of whether you want to practice or not, tell the warden you do.
Then the warden will stand by Obe's door. If you do decide to practice, wait
until after you return Hull's sword. The practice session will net you a
small amount of experience.
East of Obe's house is a hospital. If you talk to the Priest of Oghma, he'll
give you a healing potion. In a curtained off area is a bed and desk, and in
the desk is another potion -- provided you can unlock it. Be careful if you
try to steal the potion; the reader and priest will detect you sometimes even
when it doesn't seem they should be able to.
To the west is a bunkhouse, and inside is another attacker, this one named
Carbos. Outside the bunkhouse is a box with 15 gold coins inside. Once you
kill the assassin and return outside, Karan will greet you and also recommend
you get moving.
West of the bunkhouse is the barracks. Inside the barracks is a guard named
Fuller. If you ask him about errands, he'll tell you to buy him some crossbow
bolts from Winthrop at the Candlekeep Inn. In the northeast corner of the
barracks is Hull's bunk, and in the chest at its foot are his sword and the
potion for Dreppin. When you bring the sword to Hull, he'll give you 20 gold
coins (and 50 experience). When you return the potion to Dreppin, you'll get
50 more experience.
Now explore the middle part of the keep where the library is located. Imoen
will greet you, and it doesn't matter what you say back. If you run into
Gorion, tell him you need a little more time. Somewhere wandering around is
Tethtoril, and he'll give you Elvenhair's scroll if you talk to him.
Return to the Candlekeep Inn and give the identify scroll to Elvenhair. When
you do, he’ll give you a potion of healing (and 50 experience). Then buy some
crossbow bolts for Fuller. When you deliver the bolts, Fuller will give you
10 gold coins (and 50 experience). Directly across from the barracks is a
barrel with some gold inside. Head back to the Candlekeep Inn, sell
everything you don't need, and buy provisions. Even if you don't plan to use
a bow yourself, you'll need some arrows shortly, so buy some.
Then head back to Gorion and tell him you're ready to start your grand
adventure!
Who's where?
------------
Dreppin: northern area
Erik: eastern area
Firebead Elvenhair: Candlekeep Inn
Fuller: barracks
Gorion: library steps
Hull: by main gate
Imoen: east of library
Jondalar: eastern area
Reevor: next to the storehouse
Tethtoril: outside library
Winthrop: Candlekeep Inn
Watch Gorion get killed, but remember that the “Armored Figure” can be hit by
magic missile attacks. That bit of information will be useful later.
* --------------------------- *
* East of Candlekeep (AR2700) *
* --------------------------- *
Imoen will join you. She's a reasonably good thief, and you need all the help
you can get right now. If you bought extra arrows, give her some. She has
some healing potions, and you should split those up between the two of you.
She also has a wand of magic missiles, which you should put in one of her
quick item slots.
Head north to where Gorion got killed. Be careful to stay away from bears.
If a wolf attacks, you and Imoen should be able to handle it. If things look
dicey, have Imoen use her wand. On Gorion's body is a letter from Elminster.
If you haven't figured out that you should head to the Friendly Arm yet, the
letter should make it clear. Also pick up the items from the two ogres Gorion
killed.
Explore the rest of the area. On the coast north of the path to Candlekeep is
a man named Chase. It doesn’t matter what you say to him but “OK” seems to be
the best choice. In a tree at location (4419, 1955) you can find a diamond.
Lastly, if you walk along the road at the southern edge of the area, you'll
run into Kolssed. He'll mention that he just saw two people. Those two
people are Montaron and Xzar. They are located farther along the road. When
you find them, they will give you a healing potion and ask for your assistance
in travelling to Nashkel. As with Imoen, there's no reason not to let them
join your group.
Who's where?
------------
Chase: along western coastline
Kelssed: on road near southeast corner
Montaron: on road on eastern edge
Xzar: on road on eastern edge
Talk with Elminster and then explore the area. There isn't too much of
interest around. Along the road at the northern edge of the map, you'll meet
Aoln. He'll tell you to be wary of wolves and gibberlings in the area and
that an ogre mage is the most fearsome creature he's seen.
In the eastern part of the area, south of a ridge, is an ogre. He's probably
too tough for you at this point, so if you see him, run away but remember his
location. He's part of a quest, and you'll need to kill him later. If you
want to try and kill him now, have as many characters as possible equip ranged
weapons (Imoen should use her wand so somebody else can use her bow), and have
one character act as bait. Have the bait run around and try to get the ogre
to chase it while everybody else attacks. Once you kill it, either now or
later, you'll get two girdles (one cursed and one for a quest), a scroll, and
a mace.
On a rock, at location (1004, 1115), is a ring of protection +1. On the road
at the southern edge of the map you'll run into Andout who will inform you
that Beregost is being garrisoned. Nearby you'll find Jase who will let you
know there are bandits in the area. North of Jase is an overturned wagon, and
by the wagon is a barrel with gold inside.
When you're ready to leave, exit the area to the north.
Who's where?
------------
Andout: southern part of map, near road
Aoln: northern part of map, near road
Jase: southern part of map, near road
* ------------------------- *
* Friendly Arm Inn (AR2300) *
* ------------------------- *
The inn is located in a former fortress with high walls and a single gate on
the southern side. Before going inside the fortress, explore the grounds
outside. Located at (2553, 3757) is a ring of wizardry (provided you have the
“right” version of the game). Also, following the road, you will come across
three groups of hobgoblins. The middle group (northwest of the Friendly Arm)
will have a hobgoblin wearing green instead of the standard red. That
hobgoblin is carrying Joia's Firedance ring, and you need it for a quest. The
other hobgoblins have bastard swords (which are better than long swords, if
that's what you have now), leather armor, helmets, and gold or trinkets. Once
the road is clear, head inside the fortress.
Inside the walls, just to the west of the drawbridge entrance, is a home. It
belongs to Joia, and she wants her ring back. When you give it to her, you'll
receive 400 points of experience and a point of reputation. She'll also leave
the home at that point, allowing you to do some search and seizure. Inside
one of the chests is some gold and a gem.
Talk to some of the commoners. You'll learn that there have been recent
problems with bandits and iron. To the east is the Temple of Wisdom. You can
get healing and antidote potions there, but you probably can't afford them
yet. You can also identify items there.
When you approach the staircase leading up to the inn, an assassin will attack
you. This one is named Tarnesh, and he is much more difficult than the two
you faced in Candlekeep. Luckily, the guards will help you out, so when you
hear him say “Hi, friend” head in their direction. Between the guards and
your party, you should be able to finish him off reasonably easily. On his
body you'll find some scrolls and a letter. The letter indicates that
somebody has put a bounty on your head.
The inn is made up of three levels. When you enter the inn (first level),
you'll meet Jopi. His uncle is named Ragefast, and you'll meet him later in
Baldur's Gate. Also on the first level is Whelp, a drunk who provides some
entertaining dialogue. In the western corner are Khalid and Jaheira, the two
people Gorion wanted you to meet. Go ahead and have them join your party, but
realize that Khalid and Imoen are good, Jaheira is neutral, and Xzar and
Montaron are evil. Eventually, somebody is going to have to go.
Bentley Mirrorshade runs the bar and shop on the first level of the inn. You
can sell to him most of the things you have been picking up, and you can also
buy useful things like more arrows and a large shield +1 (although probably
later). He also has for sale two books, the History of the Fateful Coin and
the History of the Unicorn Run. Go ahead and buy them; you'll need them
later.
On the second level is Unshey. He'll tell you that he lost his belt of
piercing to an ogre south of the Friendly Inn. That ogre should sound
familiar. When you give the belt back to him, he'll give you a measly 10
gold coins (plus 800 experience points). The belt is actually useful (+3 AC
bonus against piercing weapons), so you might want to keep it instead. Or,
you can give the girdle to Unshey and then kill him to get it back. It's not
possible to steal it from him. If you choose to kill him, it'll cost you 5
reputation points. Also, in the southern-most room on the second level, you
can pick open a chest with a healing potion and gold in it.
On the third level of the inn is a nobleman who will mistake you for the
laundry service and give you some golden pantaloons. The pantaloons aren't
useful, but if you give them back to the nobleman you'll receive 100
experience points. (Note: You can use the pantaloons in Baldur’s Gate 2, so
you might want to keep them if you plan to export your character to that
game.)
Also on the third level, in the common area, is Landrin. She lives in
Beregost and has a problem with spiders in her house. If your charisma is
high enough, she'll give you 6 antidote potions to help you in clearing her
house. Eventually you'll need to bring her back a spider body, her husband's
boots, and a bottle of wine.
It seems that every NPC you add to your group wants to go to Nashkel, so
that's the direction you should head next. However, you should leave the
current area to the north. That will add a new location to your map, and you
can still travel to the south.
Who's where?
------------
Bentley Mirrorshade: first level of the inn, behind bar
Genna Mirrorshade: Temple of Wisdom
Jaheira: first level of the inn, western side
Khalid: first level of the inn, western side
Landrin: third level of the inn, common area
Unshey: second level of the inn, east side
Whelp: first level of the inn
When you enter the area, Golin Vend will greet you and give you information
about the town. If you've read Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate, then Golin
won't tell you anything you don't already know. Commoners will also tell you
more about the iron shortage and bandit problems, plus mention other topics of
note such as the Ulcaster School, the Firewine Bridge, and Bassilus.
Directly south of where you enter the area is a group of four residences. You
can do some pilfering here if you want. In the most western house (the one
with the boy waiting for the Greycarts) is a chest with 96 gold pieces in it.
You can steal the gold with the boy watching and not face any repercussions.
There is also a bag on the ground next to the most southern house, and it has
a small amount of gold in it.
In the group of buildings to the south you will find Kagain, an evil fighter
and owner of an escort business. If your party is evil or neutral, then
Kagain is a good choice for the front ranks. In the back room of his shop is
a crate with some gold in it. You can also do some minor looting in the other
buildings.
South of Kagain's shop is the Feldepost Inn. When you enter, a man named
Marl, who doesn't like adventurers very much, will approach you. If you
answer...
-- “No need to get bent out of shape.”
-- “I just do what I think is right.”
-- “Hold on!”
-- “If you knew him like you think...”
-- “The Realms call...”
... then you'll gain 900 experience and Marl will go away. If you answer
anything else, you'll have to fight him, and he's only worth 650 experience.
Also on the first level is the bartender, who has a few magical items for
sale. Visit him again when you have more gold. On the second level is an
unfriendly man named Algernon. He's holding a cloak of charisma +2, which you
can steal.
East of the Feldepost Inn is a large monument. During the day the town crier
will be standing there, and he'll tell you about a reward for the killing of
the cleric Bassilus. South of the monument is another group of buildings. In
a home on the western side is Firebead Elvenhair (who you previously met in
Candlekeep), and he's looking for a copy of the History of the Fateful Coin.
You should have a copy of that from the Friendly Arm Inn, and when you give it
to him he will reward you with a copy of the History of the Dead Three (plus
300 points of experience and a point of reputation).
In the southeast corner of this block of buildings is the Jovial Juggler Inn,
and to the west of that is Landrin's house with the spider problem. Don't try
to clear Landrin's house until you have purchased some antidote potions, which
you can find in the temple east of town. There are four huge spiders in the
house, and if the battle becomes difficult, you can always leave, rest, and
then return to the house until the spiders are all dead. Remember to pick up
all three items that Landrin wants (boots, spider body, wine).
Inside the Jovial Juggler, you'll meet Bjornin, who wants you to kill some
half-ogres to the southwest, and Gurke, who lost his cloak to some tasloi in
the Cloakwood Forest. Upstairs is Oogie Wisham, who thinks Bjornin is out to
get him. Oogie needs some medication.
In the block of buildings north of the monument are three homes, the Red Sheaf
Inn, and the Burning Wizard Inn. Outside the Burning Wizard is Garrick, who
will offer your party a job acting as bodyguards for Silke the thespian. If
you agree to the job, Garrick will lead you to the Red Sheaf Inn where Silke
is waiting. Silke is a bad, bad girl and she'll try to get you to kill some
innocent merchants. If you're feeling evil yourself, you can kill the
merchants (15 experience points each), loot their potions of defense, and get
a 300 or 400 gold piece reward from Silke. However, you'll lose 2 points of
reputation and Garrick will not offer to join your group. If you take the
side of the merchants, you'll have to face Silke, who is a mage. She can cast
lightning bolt, so you need to kill her quickly. Let loose with the best
spells you have. You'll get 900 experience for killing her, and she's
carrying a quarter staff +1 plus the 400 coins she would have paid you if you
had killed the merchants. Also, if you talk to the merchants, they'll give
you a potion of defense, and if you talk to Garrick, he'll offer to join you.
Inside the Burning Wizard you'll meet Zhurlong, who lost his boots of stealth
to a tribe of hobgoblins. Every time you talk to him, he'll steal some gold
from you (but give it back later), so only talk to him once. Upstairs you
will meet Spen Gil'meh who will tell you a little about Beregost and the
Firewine Bridge. It's a good idea to spend the night here so you can memorize
spells after your bout with Silke.
When you enter the Red Sheaf Inn, you'll be attacked by Karlat, yet another
assassin ready to do you in. He's a tough fighter, and you should once again
hit him with everything you have. He's worth 270 experience points and has a
bounty notice plus some other items on him. The bounty notices aren't useful
in any way, although it’s fun to watch the bounty price go up. You can get
rid of the notices at any time.
Also on the first level is Perdue. If you answer...
-- “A dog's head?”
-- “Oh, a gnoll!”
-- “Never liked them myself.”
-- “You've got yourself a deal.”
... then Perdue will give you a quest to retrieve his lost short sword. It's
being held by some gnolls in the High Hedge area to the west of Beregost.
(Well, hey, 50 gold coins is 50 gold coins.) Upstairs is Raleo Windspear, who
like Spen Gil'meh, can give you some background information.
East of the Red Sheaf Inn is yet another block of buildings. The home in the
northeast corner belongs to Mirianne, and, if you talk to her, you'll learn
that she's awaiting word from her husband. The shop in the southeast corner
is the Thunder Hammer Smithy. Here Taerom Fuiruim will buy most items, and he
has some magical items for sale as well. Late at night the smithy will be
empty, and you can steal a bastard sword +1 from one of the chests inside
(provided your lock-picking ability is good).
The house in the northeastern part of town belongs to Gerard Travenhurst, a
member of the town council. Upstairs, in one of the bedrooms, is some good
loot, including a wand of lightning and a potion of healing.
When you're ready to move on, sell what you can, buy what you can, and then
stay at an inn to memorize spells. Then leave the area to the south.
Who's where?
------------
Alain: middle house
Algernon: second level of Feldepost Inn
Bjornin: first level of Jovial Juggler Inn
Dunkin: first level of Feldepost Inn
Firebead Elvenhair: southern house
Garrick: outside Burning Wizard Inn
Golin Vend: outside, northern edge of map, on road
Gerard Travenhurst: northeastern house
Gurke: first level of Jovial Juggler Inn
Karlat: first level of Red Sheaf Inn
Marl: first level of Feldepost Inn
Mirianne: eastern house
Mr. Colquetle: southern house
Oogie Wisham: second level of Jovial Juggler Inn
Perdue: first level of Red Sheaf Inn
Raleo Windspear: second level of Red Sheaf Inn
Silke: outside Red Sheaf Inn
Spen Gil'meh: second level of Burning Wizard Inn
Taerom Fuiruim: Thunder Hammer Smithy
Zhurlong: first level of Burning Wizard Inn
* ---------------------------------------------------- *
* Forest South of Beregost / North of Nashkel (AR3800) *
* ---------------------------------------------------- *
South of where you start the area is Shelligh, a little boy out picking fruit.
He's just reinforcement that people are having a hard time right now.
Continuing south along the road will bring you to an ogrillon. It is carrying
a letter from Roe to Mirianne, and you can give it to Mirianne later. Try to
hit the ogrillon with ranged weapons. It only uses its fists, but a single
punch or two can kill your characters.
If you follow the road all the way to the southern edge of the map, you'll
run into another ogrillon, which you should kill in the same way as the last
one, and a Flaming Fist mercenary. The mercenary will mistake you for
bandits, which is fine. Challenge him to a fight. He's carrying plate mail
and a cool plumed helmet, and you can kill him without losing a reputation
point.
Near the middle of the map, you'll run into a group of three hobgoblins, two
wearing red and one wearing green. The one in green will have Zhurlong's
boots of stealth. Near the hobgoblins is a cave, and inside the cave will be
5 potions of healing and some gold. Northwest of the cave is Bub Snikt, who
can give you some background information if you ask for it.
Scattered around the remainder of the area, you'll find some more hobgoblins
and some gibberlings. You should be able to kill them all pretty easily.
There might also be a ghoul or two around, and you should be a little careful
with them since they can paralyze your party members.
After you've explored the area, continue south towards Nashkel.
Who's where?
------------
Bub Snikt: western side of map
Shelligh: north edge, near road
* --------------------------------------------------- *
* Hills South of Beregost / North of Nashkel (AR4300) *
* --------------------------------------------------- *
If you follow the road, it will turn towards the west, and eventually it will
pass a hobgoblin camp. There are six hobgoblins there, two with bows. If you
advance slowly and attack the nearest hobgoblin with ranged weapons, it will
charge you, and you might be able to take out the entire group only fighting
one or two at a time.
There isn't much to the rest of the area. Lord Foreshadow can be found in the
southwestern corner of the map, on the road. He'll insult your attire.
Portalbendarwinden (say that three times fast) is in the southeastern part of
the map. He'll insult your aura. The rest of the area has a variety of
hobgoblins, ghouls, kobolds, and bandits. If you kill any bandits, pick up
their scalps (eww), but don't sell them until you meet Officer Vai later in
the game.
When you've explored the area, rest to heal your characters and memorize
spells. You'll have a battle on your hands when you get to Nashkel.
Who's where?
------------
Lord Foreshadow: southwestern corner
Portalbendarwinden: southeastern area, near a ridge
You'll find yourself just to the north of a bridge. Ignore the bridge and
head west and then head south along the western edge of the area. You'll come
to a farm and a field, and on the western side of the field at location (191,
2746) are a pearl and a set of ankheg plate mail. The ankheg plate has the
same armor bonus as full plate mail, but it is much lighter. On the down
side, it is enchanted, and so you can't use cloaks/rings of protection with
it. It's your best armor for now, so give it to your primary fighter. Later
give it either to your cleric or a weak fighter (such as Khalid).
Now head back to the bridge and cross it. Bardolan will confront you and tell
you to play nice while you're in town. He'll also mention Commander Brage.
That's a quest you'll get to later.
To the east is the Nashkel Inn. When you go inside, Neira will try to kill
you. She's assassin #5 if you're keeping track. She's also a spellcaster, so
let her have it with your best offensive spells. She's worth 650 experience
points, and she's carrying a helmet of infravision. The helmet isn't really
useful, but, like the Flaming Fist helmet, it's different from the standard
horned helmet, and so it's cool for that reason. The inn is otherwise boring,
except there is a small amount of gold in the rooms in the back.
Next to the Nashkel Inn is the Nashkel Store. Here you can sell most of the
stuff you've picked up in the last two areas. Be careful not to sell any of
the quest items. There isn't much to buy unless you need arrows or bullets.
By continuing down the road, you'll run into Berrun Ghastkill, the mayor of
Nashkel. He'll ask you to investigate the mines southeast of town. If you
hadn't heard yet, something is wrong with the ore the mines are producing.
East of the mayor is the Temple of Helm. Inside is Nalin, and he'll tell you
he might be able to help Commander Brage if you can bring him to the temple.
He'll also do the standard priest things. It's a good idea to make sure
everybody in your party has at least one antidote potion, so buy some potions
if you need to. In front of the temple is a graveyard, and you can amuse
yourself by reading the markers. If you read the one for “Mark D” Daer'Ragh
will confront you and tell you to leave the marker alone. If you click the
marker again, he'll return with several phoenix guards and kill you. (It's
possible to kill the phoenix guards later in the game when you're more
powerful, but it's not worthwhile to do so.)
Continuing down the road again you'll find Oublek, who will mistake you for a
bounty hunter named Greywolf. If you pretend to be Greywolf, you'll get 200
gold coins, but you won't be able to collect any bounties from Oublek later.
If you tell Oublek he's mistaken, you'll gain a point of reputation. If you
talk to Oublek again, he'll mention there are bounties for the return of
Commander Brage and the return of some emeralds stolen by an artist named
Prism.
Farther down the road is the garrison, which isn't very interesting, and next
to the garrison is Minsc, who will join your party if you agree to rescue the
mage (invoker) Dynaheir. Minsc is a good companion, a ranger with 18/93
strength. He's also good aligned. If you're trying to keep your party
good/neutral, now is the time to get rid of Xzar and Montaron.
South of the garrison is the Belching Dragon Tavern, where you can meet Volo
himself (and not learn very much from him), and at the end of the road is a
(locked) home. Inside the home is a female commoner, who, if you ask about
the mines, will tell you that her husband is down there somewhere. The
husband, Joseph, wears a greenstone ring.
To the south, between the tavern and the home, is another bridge leading to
the farm area. On the bridge is Edwin, an evil conjurer. He wants help to
kill the “witch” Dynaheir. If you agree to help, he'll join your group.
Otherwise he'll leave, and you'll have to attack him the next time you see
him. You can have Minsc and Edwin in your group at the same time, but I'm not
sure what happens if they're still there when you get to Dynaheir.
When you cross the bridge, you'll find Noober, the most annoying creature in
the game. If you decide to wait him out (he'll say “What about now?” about 20
times) you'll get 400 experience points. If you decide you don't want to
wait, you can kill him for 15 experience points and not suffer a reputation
penalty.
The area west of the river is devoted to farms and farmers, and there isn't
anything (else) interesting there. In the remaining area east of the river is
Manor House, but you won’t find any farm animals there. Instead there are
some scrolls you can steal (first floor) and a woman named Samantha (second
floor). If you ask Samantha her name twice and then tell her she's pretty,
her boyfriend Jamie will jump out of the closet and attack, and Samantha will
run away. You won’t lose any reputation for killing Jamie, but you will if
you kill anybody else in the house.
Before going any farther, it's a good idea to finish up some of the quests
you've completed but not yet been rewarded for. When you're done exploring
Nashkel, exit the area to the east and then select the Friendly Arm Inn. Give
Landrin the three items she wanted (click on her three times), and she'll give
you 295 gold coins (plus 800 experience points). Then leave the inn and exit
the area to the east, but select Beregost on the map.
In Beregost, go visit Mirianne and give her the letter from her husband Roe.
She will give you a ring of protection +1 (plus 300 experience points). Then
go to the Burning Wizard to visit Zhurlong and give him his boots of stealth.
He'll give you 100 gold coins plus whatever he stole from you before (plus 300
experience points). The boots are useful (+35% stealth) and you can kill
Zhurlong to get the boots back and gain 90 more experience points in the
process. Plus you won't lose any reputation points for the murder.
By this time your party will be tired from all the travel, so go ahead and
spend the night at the Burning Wizard. Then exit the area to the east.
Who's where?
------------
Bardolan: by northern bridge
Berrun Ghastkill: on road next to Temple of Helm
Edwin: on southern bridge
Minsc (and Boo): next to garrison
Neira: Nashkel Inn
Noober: near southern bridge
Oublek: on road next to garrison
Volo: Belching Dragon Tavern
There are vampiric wolves in the eastern part of this area, and you don't want
to mess with them yet. Instead follow the path northeast and enter the Song
of the Morning Temple. Inside you'll meet Keldath Ormlyr, and from him you
should buy a stone to flesh scroll. After that go ahead and visit the
vestibule to the north and talk to Blane and Bram. Then stay on the western
side of the map and travel south, eventually leaving the area to the south.
Along the way you might run into Ashen, who is just there for color, and some
normal wolves / dogs, which you should be able to kill. Select the Nashkel
Carnival on the map screen.
Who's where?
------------
Ashen: western side of map
Blane: vestibule
Bram: vestibule
Keldath Ormlyr: Song of the Morning Temple
The actual carnival is in the southern part of the area. In the northern part
are kobolds, which you should be able to dispatch easily.
On the western side of the carnival is the stage area. Not too many people
are watching the show, but if you want, you can ask The Great Gazib to do his
exploding ogre trick. If you ask three times, the exploding ogre (aka Oopah)
will decide he's had enough and attack your party. He's a tough opponent this
early in the game, but if you kill him you get 270 experience points, a mace,
and some other treasure object.
To the east of the stage are a boy and Lord Binky the Buffoon. North of those
two is a gambling tent. Save your game and then walk in. Vitiare, “master
thief and pickpocket extraordinaire,” will walk up to you, steal 100 coins,
and then leave. However, if you target him right away and throw in a couple
spells, you should be able to kill and get your gold (plus more) back. You
won't lose any reputation points for the deed.
East of the gambling tent are three more tents. The northern (largest) one is
another gambling tent, and the southern one houses a potion dealer. Even if
you don't care about the potions, go ahead and buy them because you can sell
them for more later. The middle tent contains an evil wizard (Zordral) and a
damsel in distress (Bentha). If you answer...
-- “What's this all about?”
-- “Why don't we discuss this...”
-- “Come on...”
-- “Ok, that's it...”
... then Zordral will ignore Bentha and attack you. Otherwise he'll use his
magic word to kill Bentha and still attack you. If you want to be cold-
hearted, the best option is to let Zordral kill Bentha so you can get her
equipment as well as his. Zordral is a mage, and he'll cast mirror image on
himself and then horror on your party, so you want to kill him quickly before
your party starts running around in a panic. So let loose with everything you
have. If you still can't kill him, then you might want to wait and come back
later. Zordral is wearing a knave's robe, which isn't all that exciting a
prize, but he is worth 900 experience points. After the battle, tell Bentha
(if she's still alive) that the good deed was reward enough, and she'll give
you a potion of heroism.
East of Zordral's tent are three more tents. The northern one sells
potentially useful magical items while the southern two sell some standard
weapons. Farther east is a rectangular tent selling standard armor. Among
the tents is Zeke who will offer to sell you a stone to flesh scroll for 500
coins so you can rescue a stone maiden (Branwen). You should already have
such a scroll from when you visited Beregost's temple. Branwen is located to
the north, and when you free her she'll offer to join your group. She's a
neutral cleric, and she’s useful to have around (if your only other healing
option is Jaheira). If you add her, she'll tell you that it was a man named
Tranzig who trapped her. You'll hear from Tranzig again.
On the far eastern side of the map is a lone tent. It contains a few people
intimate with “the black lotus” but there is nothing useful inside.
Once you’re ready to move on, exit the area to the north but then select the
Nashkel mine area on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Branwen: eastern side of carnival
Bentha: small middle tent
Lord Binky the Buffoon: east of stage
The Great Gazib: on stage
Zeke: among the tents
Zordral: small middle tent
Head west along the northern edge of the map. In the northwestern corner is
an old tree, and in the knot of the tree, at location (165, 178), is a wand of
frost. Retrace your steps to your starting position, and then circle around
the mine in a clockwise fashion until you hit the western edge of the map.
Head south from there and you will come across Prism, the artist who stole the
emeralds. Tell Prism you don't have anything to do with Greywolf, and then
agree to guard him while he finishes. Immediately thereafter Greywolf will
show up. Ask him to let Prism finish his work and he'll attack you. Greywolf
is a tough fighter, but he is worth 1400 experience points and he has a nice
sword on him -- Varscona, a long sword +2 with +1 cold damage. Once Greywolf
is dead, talk to Prism. Prism will kill himself, and you can pick up the
emeralds from his body. You will also receive 1000 experience points and a
point of reputation.
Still avoiding the mines, explore the rest of the map. You'll come across
some kobolds and wolves, which should be easy kills, and at the middle eastern
edge of the map you'll find a guard named Dandal. He'll tell you to talk to
Emerson about the mines. Also, in the middle southern part of the map is
Galtok. He's fleeing from a group of kobolds, and if you agree to help you'll
immediately have to fight four of them. Galtok disappears when the kobolds
arrive, so there is no prize for helping him.
Now head for the mines. Three guards block the mine entrance, and they won't
let you pass until you talk to Emerson. Emerson is southwest of the mine
entrance. Talk to him and then talk to the guards blocking the mine, and
finally they'll allow you to enter.
Who's where?
------------
Dandal: middle eastern edge
Emerson: southwest of mine entrance
Galtok: middle southern area
Prism: middle western area
When you enter the mines, Gord will come over and tell you to talk to Ruffie.
Ruffie is just to the south. Between the two you'll learn there are “demons”
in the mines. In this case, another word for “demons” is “kobolds,” so don't
get worried.
There isn't much to see on the first level of the mines. You can talk to
various miners who will paint an ugly picture of what has been going on. In
the southern half, a miner named Dink will approach you and ask you to return
a dagger to Kylee, who is on the second level. There are a couple of archer
kobolds around who shouldn't present a problem. There is also some ore in the
ore carts, but you shouldn't pick it up because it can contaminate your
weapons. The exit to the second level is down one of the southern shafts.
When you enter the second level, Beldin will come racing towards you screaming
about yipping demons. The demons are four archer kobolds, and they'll
immediately kill Beldin and then turn on you. They're still kobolds, yipping
or not, and you should be able to kill them easily. If you're getting low on
arrows, be sure to pick some up from the kobold corpses.
Level 2 is much like level 1, except there are more kobolds around. Kylee is
in the southwestern part of the mine, in a room with two Amnish soldiers.
When you give him back his dagger, you'll receive 200 experience points. Some
of the kobolds you find will have vials of “mysterious liquid.” This is what
they're using to contaminate the ore. If you drink it, you'll become poisoned
and lose 2 hit points permanently. The exit to the third level is down a long
southern shaft on the eastern side of the mine.
The third level is more interesting. There are traps around, so have your
thief lead the party to find them. If your thief runs into a group of
creatures, have him / her run away back to the group, have the group kill the
creatures, and then continue on as before.
Next to the entrance is Joseph's ring, so pick it up so you can return it to
his wife later. To the east and west of the entrance you'll find shafts with
lots of kobold archers. Kobold archers are sort of annoying in large numbers,
and they don't have good experience or equipment, so feel free to skip those
parts of the level. Instead, head generally south until you come to a bridge
spanning a red glowing chasm. There are two traps on the bridge, so be ready
for them.
South of the bridge you'll find more kobold archers, ghouls, and a couple huge
spiders in a chamber at the southern edge of the map. The exit to the fourth
level is down a shaft east of the spider chamber. You'll know you're on the
right track when you run into some kobold commandos equipped with fire arrows.
Have your melee fighters charge the commandos so they can't use their bows,
and finish them off as quickly as possible. The exit to the fourth level is
guarded by three traps, so approach it cautiously.
There aren't any traps on the fourth level, so you don't have to worry about
that, but there are some more kobold commandos with fire arrows. They are
guarding the bridge to a circular island, and you'll come upon them almost
right away. Charge them again with your fighters so they can't use their
bows, and then kill the ghoul hiding on the opposite end of the island. The
majority of the island is taken up by a large rocky dome, and you should enter
that next. The door is right next to the bridge.
Inside the dome you'll find Mulahey, who is responsible for the mine's
problems. He'll mistake you for Tazok's minions, ordered to execute him, and,
if you play along, he'll mention letters he has in his chest. Then he'll turn
on you and call for help. The help is pretty wimpy (kobolds and skeletons)
but they'll come in behind you, exposing your spellcasters. The best strategy
seems to be to leave your best AC fighter behind your group. Then the help
will target that character and almost always miss while the rest of your party
can concentrate on Mulahey, who is a spellcaster. Keep hitting Mulahey with
spells and ranged weapons, and he won't be able to concentrate long enough to
complete any spells, and eventually he'll surrender. He's lying, though, so
don't accept. (If you do accept he'll conjure in more kobolds and skeletons.)
Once everything is dead, explore some more and you'll find Xan, a poor guy
Mulahey was keeping prisoner. He'll join your party if you want him to. He's
a neutral enchanter, but I prefer to use Minsc and Dynaheir, so I never use
him. Back in Mulahey's room, you can open his chest -- it's not even locked
-- and when you pick up his papers the chapter will end.
Who's where?
------------
Beldin: level 2, near entrance
Cory: level 1: western side
Gord: level 1, near entrance
Lesley: level 1, western side
Mulahey: level 4, inside rocky dome
Ruffie: level 1, south of entrance
Xan: level 4, inside rocky dome
Reading Mulahey's letters, you'll find that Tazok is not especially happy with
how the ore-poisoning operation is going and that somebody named Tranzig is
one of Tazok's operatives. Tranzig is located at the Feldepost Inn in
Beregost, and you'll meet him later.
Between Mulahey and his chest, you should also pick up Mulahey's holy symbol,
which you need as proof that you've killed him, boots of grounding (+50%
electricity resistance), a ring of holiness (extra spells for clerics and
druids), and a mess of scrolls. When you've picked up everything you need and
have caught your breath, exit the area and then head north. Eventually you'll
come across some grey oozes, and beyond them is an exit to the surface. The
area the exit leads to is probably too difficult for your party at this point,
but feel free to take a look. It's a one-way exit, though, so save first. If
you're feeling more cautious, head back the way you came and exit the mine
surface area to the east, but click on Nashkel in the world map screen.
Back in Nashkel, give Joseph's ring to his wife (800 experience points),
collect the bounty on Prism (300 gold pieces, 200 experience points), and then
talk to Berrun Ghastkill to collect the reward for clearing the mines (one
reputation point, 900 gold pieces, 1000 experience points). Then save your
game and approach the Nashkel Inn. Assassin #6, Nimbul, will attack you, but
he'll talk a bit first and you can start attacking him while he's talking.
He's a spellcaster, but he should go down easily with the head start he gives
you. On his corpse you'll find a letter showing he was hired by Tranzig, plus
some magical items (ring of infravision, short sword +1, boots of avoidance).
Now you can go to the Nashkel Store and sell what you don't need and buy what
you do need, and then head to the inn for a rest.
* ----------------------------------------------- *
* Cloudpeak Mountains / South of Nashkel (AR5300) *
* ----------------------------------------------- *
In the northwestern part of the map is Albert who has lost his dog Rufie.
He'll give you Rufie's favorite chew toy so Rufie will recognize you as
friendly. Rufie is almost directly east from Albert, though about halfway
across the map. Once you find him, Rufie will follow you around, and all you
have to do is lead him back to Albert to finish the quest. Your reward?
1000 points of experience. (You can also kill Rufie for 1200 experience.)
Southwest of Rufie's location you'll meet a band of Amnish merchants: Sendai,
Alexander, and Delgod. They're a tough group, and if you're polite, they'll
go away peaceably (but you won't gain anything). Otherwise you'll have to
fight. Delgod is the spellcaster in the group, so target him first with your
spells and ranged attacks. If you still have the wand of lightning, this is a
good time to use it. Between the three merchants you'll get 1200 points of
experience, studded leather armor +2, and lots of arrows +1.
In the southeastern corner you'll find Larry, Darryl, and Darryl. They’re a
reference to the Bob Newhart Show, and you can even get their autograph.
Near the center of the map are Vax and Zal, “the fastest dart thrower in the
west.” Yes, this is a strange area. Anyway, Vax and Zal want your money, and
unless you want to oblige them, you'll have to fight. They're not very tough,
and once you close in on them with your fighters, they'll go down easily. You
get 1000 experience points for killing them, and on the bodies you'll find
about 150 gold, two potions of healing, and bracers of archery.
Scattered around the remaining parts of the map are xvarts, kobolds, and
skeletons. Plus, there is a hidden stash at location (1794, 412). Inside the
stash you can find scrolls of chromatic orb and cloudkill. You might also
find a winter wolf in the area. If so, close in on it quickly because it has
a nasty ranged frost attack. On its body you'll find its pelt, which you can
sell at the Nashkel Store for 500 gold pieces.
When you’re read to move on, exit to the west.
Who's where?
------------
Albert: northwestern area
Alexander: southwest of Rufie
Darryl (x2): southeastern corner
Delgod: southwest of Rufie
Larry: southeastern corner
Rufie: northeastern area, location (3786, 677)
Sendai: southwest of Rufie
Head west from where you start in the area and you'll meet the Dryad of the
Cloudpeaks. It seems two ruffians are intent on chopping down an ancient oak
tree, and she needs your help to stop them. Agree to help. The two ruffians,
Caldo and Krumm, are nearby, and when you announce you're not going to let
them harm the tree, they'll attack. They're wimps, so don't be worried.
They're also worth 350 experience points, and Krumm is carrying a girdle of
bluntness, which gives an armor class bonus against blunt weapons. Plus, when
you talk to the dryad again, she'll give you a healing potion, and you'll also
receive 500 experience points and a point of reputation.
Near the southern edge of the map is a waterfall, and if you click on the
waterfall you'll find a dead cat. Yay. At the top of the waterfall is
Drienne, and she'll tell you that her cat Pixie fell in the waterfall. Click
on her again, and she'll tell you that Pixie does this sort of thing a lot,
and that her dad will raise the cat from the dead. Plus, you'll receive 200
experience points, a point of reputation, and a scroll of protection from the
undead.
East of the waterfall is a cave guarded by a dire wolf. Inside the cave is a
halberd +1.
In the middle, northern part of the map is a group of four gnolls. They'll
demand you pay 50 gold coins in order to pass. Insult them and they'll attack
-- and then they'll die because they're gnolls. They seem to have better loot
than normal gnolls, with gold and some other random treasure object on their
corpses.
On the western side of the map you'll meet Ingot (a gnoll) who will mention
that he's an outcast from the gnoll stronghold. He’ll also mention that
there’s a captive (Dynaheir) at the stronghold. Around the rest of the map
you’ll find a scattering of wolves, gnolls, xvarts, and a couple more winter
wolves. When you're done exploring, exit the area to the west and select the
gnoll stronghold on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Caldo: next to old oak tree
Dryad of the Cloudpeaks: next to old oak tree
Ingot: western side
Krumm: next to old oak tree
You start out next to a bridge. Cross the bridge and you'll discover Gnarl
and Hairtooth, the bridge guards. They'll let you pass for 200 gold coins,
they'll even let you pass for 100 gold coins, but you want their equipment, so
keep refusing their demands and then fight them. Hairtooth has gauntlets of
dexterity, which raise a character's dexterity to 18, so the fight is
definitely worth it, and it's not like Gnarl and Hairtooth are very difficult
opponents anyway.
Past the bridge, the path branches in three directions. There isn't anything
to the north other than some encounters with gnoll elites, to the west lies
the gnoll stronghold, and to the south lies some caves. Clear out the north
path first, and then enter the stronghold.
There will be several gnoll encounters. Travel up the stairs, fighting as
you go, and then take the narrow stairs leading north. There are two
prisoner pits on this level, and Dynaheir is in the eastern one. To get to
her you'll have to fight even more gnolls, including gnoll veterans and
finally the gnoll chieftain. When you reach Dynaheir, she'll offer to join
your group, and you'll need to add her if you want to keep Minsc around.
From there go ahead and explore the rest of the stronghold, killing
everything you see. Then make your way back down to the bridge.
Exploring the southern path from the bridge will reveal encounters with
xvarts and gnolls, and three caves in the area. One of the caves has a tome
of leadership and influence in it, and reading the tome will raise the
character's charisma by one point permanently. So let your leader read it.
The other caves won't have anything but encounters, although one of them will
introduce you to the carrion crawler.
Exit the area to the east and head back to Nashkel. At this point in the
game you can be attacked (aka ambushed) while traveling between map areas, so
make sure you're in reasonable shape before the trip. When you get to
Nashkel, head for the store and sell all of the loot you've accumulated, and
stock up on arrows and bullets. Rest up at the inn if you need to, and then
head west.
Who's where?
------------
Dynaheir: eastern prisoner pit in stronghold
Gnarl: west side of bridge
Hairtooth: west side of bridge
* ------------------------------ *
* Hills West of Nashkel (AR4700) *
* ------------------------------ *
In the middle of the map is an xvart village. When you enter the village and
start fending off all the xvarts who attack you, Nexlit will come out and yell
at you for being mean. Then he'll call out the village's protector, Ursa the
cave bear. There isn't anything special about Ursa, and she should be easy to
kill. Northeast of the village is a cave with another cave bear in it. A
chest in the cave contains a flail +1 and bracers of defense AC 8.
Once you've killed all the xvarts in the village (or get bored killing them
because they regenerate so often), head west. You'll run into Borda, who is a
con man. Don't buy any of the potions or scrolls he is selling because they
are worthless. The rest of the map is pretty much empty, although you'll face
the occasional wolf or xvart. When you're done exploring, exit the area to
the west.
Who's where?
------------
Borda: middle western area
Nexlit: xvart village
Ursa: xvart village
* ----------------------------------------- *
* Forest North of Gnoll Stronghold (AR4600) *
* ----------------------------------------- *
Assuming you entered the area on the eastern side, head south. You'll come
upon Jared next to a bridge. Jared is excited about a bear on the other side
of the bridge, and if you kill it for him he'll give you boots of the north
(+50% cold resistance) and you'll also receive 150 experience points. The
bear is a mountain bear, which is a little tougher than the bears you've faced
before, but it should still be no problem.
Then head back north along the eastern edge of the map until you come to a
rocky outcropping. Go west from there and you'll meet Neville, a robber. If
you give the third answer, Neville will take 55 gold and otherwise leave you
alone. If you give either of the other answers, Neville will attack you, and
five hobgoblin archers will jump out of the bushes to attack you as well.
Neville has a long sword +1 and a scroll of dispel magic, so this latter
option is the one you want. Concentrate on Neville and then worry about the
hobgoblins after he is dead. If any of the hobgoblins flee west, let them go.
Save your game and then head west.
To the west is another bridge, but this one is guarded by two ogre berserkers
and three hobgoblin elite archers with poison arrows. If you still have the
wand of lightning, you might be able to take out all three hobgoblins with one
shot because they're standing in a line on the bridge. If not, concentrate
your spells and ranged weapons on the hobgoblins while your fighters work on
the eastern ogre. The western ogre won't notice you until after you start
crossing the bridge, so rest/heal up before dealing with him.
Cross the bridge and then head west. You'll first meet Laurel, who actually
needs some help killing gibberlings. Go figure. When you agree to help, 12
gibberlings will appear, and after you kill them and talk to Laurel, you will
receive 250 experience points. Continuing west, you'll find a regular ogre
eating dinner by a fire. Talk to him twice to attack him.
In the remainder of the area, you'll find varieties of dogs, ogres, and
gibberlings. When you're done exploring, exit the area to the north.
Who's where?
------------
Jared: by southern bridge
Laurel: west of northern bridge
Neville: east of northern bridge
From your starting position, head straight north. About halfway across the
map you should come to Charleston Nib and his group at an excavation site. Be
polite to him and agree to act as guards (for a fee) so his men can get some
work done. When Nib leaves, his partner Gallor will come over and try to
convince you to kill Nib so he can make a profit on the excavation project.
Play the Indiana Jones role and refuse. When Gallor leaves, walk over to Nib
and talk to him again, and you'll be transported inside the shaman's home that
Nib and his men have unearthed. The diggers will become possessed and attack
you, but they are easy targets. When they're dead, talk to Nib again and
he'll explain what he thinks happened and then pay you your fee. You'll also
receive 1000 experience points and one point of reputation.
If you're feeling particularly powerful (or foolish), try taking the artifact
from the sarcophagus. Then when you leave the shaman's home, a doomsayer will
attack you. The doomsayer is pretty tough, and it is much more likely to kill
you than you are to kill it.
After finishing with the excavation area, head west. Towards the western side
of the map you'll find Ba'ruk, who won't be happy to see you. (As far as I
can tell, Ba'ruk doesn't appear until after you visit the excavation site.)
Ba'ruk will attack, and five kobold commandos with fire arrows will join in.
Kill Ba'ruk quickly because he is an archer with poison arrows, and then kill
the commandos at your leisure. Ba'ruk won't have anything very interesting on
his corpse.
After finishing with Ba'ruk, head back towards the excavation site. Southeast
of this area, by an overturned cart, are Commander Brage and his cousin
Laryssa. Talk to Laryssa and ask who Brage is (even though you already know).
When he asks you a riddle, answer “death.” Then offer to take him to the
Temple of Helm in Nashkel. You'll be teleported there. Make sure your lead
character has a couple of inventory slots open because Brage will give you
items before the trip, and if your lead character's inventory is full, the
items will be dropped on the ground and you'll have to get them later. For
returning Brage to the temple, you'll receive 1000 experience points, 1000
gold pieces, a reputation point, and Brage's (cursed) sword -- plus a free
trip back to Nashkel.
While you're in Nashkel, visit the store and inn, and prepare yourself for
another journey into the uncharted territories. Then exit in any direction,
and select the hills to the northeast of Nashkel on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Ba'ruk: northwestern area
Brage: southeast of excavation site
Charleston Nib: excavation site
Gallor: excavation site
Laryssa: southeast of excavation site
In the southeast part of the map there is a body under a tree. In it you'll
find some gold pieces and potions. Nearby will be a variety of ogres and
hobgoblin elites with poison arrows. Advance slowly so you don't have to
fight them all at once. To the north of this spot is Sarhedra who will tell
you to attack the ogres to the south (which you just killed). Talk to her
again and she'll wander away mumbling that she's not very good at this quest
stuff. But you'll be awarded 300 experience points nonetheless.
Near the middle of the map you'll find Ioin Gallchobhair and his two friends
Billy and Dribben. They're robbers and they want you dead. None of them is a
spellcaster, and they should go down fairly easily. They don't have
interesting equipment, but they're worth over 1000 experience points.
South of the robbers is a farmhouse. There you'll meet Hulrik and find out
that xvarts are attacking his cow. If you can kill the xvarts before they
kill the cow, you'll receive 350 experience points, a point of reputation, and
the thanks of Hulrik -- and no doubt the thanks of Arabelle the cow, too.
Moo.
In the mountains on the western side of the map is yet another bandit, this
one named Arghain. He will want your iron and your life, but his support will
be to the north, and so if you approach from the south, you will be able to
attack Arghain and his friends in two separate battles. Arghain is worth 520
experience points and has a bunch of gold and a two-handed sword +1.
Next to Arghain, to the east, is a cave. Inside the cave is an ettercap, plus
some treasure. Now, the ettercap itself isn’t too difficult (although it can
poison you), but there is also a web trap right inside the entrance. So
toggle your thief to detect traps before you go in, and then have the thief
disarm the trap right away. Just outside the cave, at location (1574, 1486),
you can find a water opal under a rock.
The rest of the area contains mostly xvarts and ogres. When you're done
exploring, exit the area to the south, enter the carnival area, and then exit
that area to the east.
Who's where?
------------
Arghain: in mountains on western side
Billy: middle area
Dribben: middle area
Hulrik: south of middle area
Ioin Gallchobhair: middle area
Sarhedra: middle eastern side
* --------------------------------------------------- *
* Mine Exit / Hills East of Nashkel Carnival (AR5000) *
* --------------------------------------------------- *
You need to be careful in this area. There are ankhegs wandering around, and
they have a nasty ranged attack that can kill your spellcasters in a hurry.
When you come upon one, have your fighters close quickly to neutralize the
ranged attack. If you come upon two or more, blast them with the best spells
you have available. Each ankheg will leave behind an ankheg shell, and you
can sell the shells later for a tidy sum -- plus have another set of ankheg
plate mail crafted (at the Thunder Hammer Smithy in Beregost). Note that the
shells weigh 100 pounds, though, so only carry what you can. Minsc is a good
choice for transporting shells.
At the middle northern edge of the map you'll meet Zeela, Lamalha, Maneira,
and Telka, a group of female bounty hunters who have been tracking you for a
while and now want you dead. The first two are spellcasters and the second
two are archers. A well-placed web or silence spell will go a long ways in
making the fight easier to win. For killing the quartet, you'll receive 3300
experience points plus an assortment of equipment.
There are four caves in the area. The one at location (1760, 804) is the exit
from the Nashkel mines, and you can't enter it. The one at (4815, 2815) is
guarded by three ghasts and contains a wand of monster summoning, chainmail
+1, and more. The one at (908, 1735) is guarded by a ghoul and has some gold.
The last cave is at (1895, 2850). To the west of it Hentold will tell you
that he stole a dagger from the cave and ask you to return it. Inside the
cave is a revenant, which will ask you for the dagger back. The dagger is a
dagger +2 and the revenant isn't all that tough, so tell the revenant you're
not going to give it back. The revenant will attack you, and you'll kill the
revenant and receive 3000 experience points for the effort. You'll also find
some treasure items in the cave.
In the southeastern part of the map is Narcillicus Harwilliger Neen, a
scientist of sorts doing experiments with slimes, jellies, and oozes. Ask him
about his experiments, and then ask him to write the spell down for you. He
and two mustard jellies will attack. Neen is a spellcaster, so concentrate on
him first. The jellies are immune to arrow attacks, and they're resistant to
magic, so just gang up on them with melee weapons. You'll get 5400 experience
for killing the three, plus a knave's robe, a scroll of lightning, and more.
Other than the ankhegs, there are also skeletons, gibberlings, dogs, and
tasloi in the area. When you're finished exploring, exit the area to the
south.
Who's where?
------------
Hentold: southwestern area, near cave
Lamalha: middle northern edge
Maneira: middle northern edge
Narcillicus Harwilliger Neen: southeastern part of map
Telka: middle northern edge
Zeela: middle northern edge
* ----------------------------------- *
* Hills East of Nashkel Mine (AR5500) *
* ----------------------------------- *
Head west along the northern edge of the map and then south along the western
edge. Near the southwest corner you'll find a Flaming Fist mercenary. You
can goad him into a fight if you want, but you'll lose reputation points.
Instead, say that you're adventurers, and the mercenary will tell you that
he's looking for a deserter named Samuel. The reward is a whopping 50 gold
pieces.
After talking to the Flaming Fist mercenary, head east to location (1957,
2375). There you'll find a couple of gems and a ring of fire resistance.
If you haven't met Hafiz yet, head back towards the northwest corner of the
map. Hafiz is located around (850, 740). Tell him about yourself, and he'll
tell you about his dreams. Plus he'll give you a protection scroll.
Then go ahead and explore the rest of the map. You'll find mostly
gibberlings, but also the occasional wolf or bear. Near the center of the map
are Lena and the deserter Samuel, but don't talk to them until you're ready to
leave. When you talk to Lena she'll tell you Samuel is very sick and needs
medical attention. Agree to take him to the Temple of Wisdom at the Friendly
Arm Inn, and then head there right away. At the Temple of Wisdom, Genna will
take Samuel off your hands and give you two potions (plus 500 experience
points and a point of reputation). This is a much nicer reward than the
Flaming Fist mercenary would have given you.
While in town, stock up on arrows and bullets and antidote potions if you need
them, and then spend the night at the inn. When you're ready to move on, head
to Beregost.
In Beregost, go to the Feldepost Inn so you can have a friendly chat with that
fellow Tranzig. He's upstairs in the room opposite Algernon. Tell him to
surrender twice and he'll attack you. He's a spellcaster, but there's only
one of him versus six of you. After you've beat on him enough, he'll
surrender and give up the location of the bandit camp. Then go ahead and
kill him for his equipment. He's holding a wand of magic missile and a ring
of protection +1. (It's also possible that Tranzig won't surrender, but your
map should still be updated to show the location of the bandit camp.)
Then head over to the Thunder Hammer Smithy, where two people should approach
you. One is Chloe, who will tell you that Officer Vai is waiting for you at
the Jovial Juggler Inn. The other is Elminster, and he'll tell you that you
should search for bandits to the northeast. Both will also indicate that you
are famous for your actions in the Nashkel mines.
Go into the smithy, and if you have any ankheg shells, Taerom will offer to
buy them for 500 gold coins or make you a set of ankheg plate mail for 4000
gold coins. There is a bug in the game, and if you're holding multiple
shells, Taerom will only pay 500 for all of them, so if you decide to sell,
have all characters but one drop their shells, and sell the shells one at a
time. Once you agree to have the plate made, Taerom will stop buying the
shells, so weigh your options. You'll encounter numerous ankhegs later north
of the Friendly Arm Inn.
At the Jovial Juggler, Officer Vai will tell you that her contingent has not
received orders from Baldur's Gate in over a week and that she'll pay 50 gold
coins for each bandit scalp you give her. She'll also pay 500 gold coins for
winter wolf pelts, the same price as the shopkeeper in Nashkel.
In the eastern part of the area is Kivan, a good-aligned ranger. He's been
hunting bandits, and he'll be willing to join your group. I like Minsc better
as a ranger, but Kivan has 18+ strength, and he's good with a bow. Also on
the eastern side, next to the High Hedge, are two gnoll slashers with a gnoll
veteran. One of the slashers has Perdue's short sword.
On the western side of the map is a small cottage, and near the cottage you'll
find Permidion Stark, a thief. He'll talk himself out of robbing the High
Hedge, but he'll also mention that there are two flesh golems inside.
Sprinkled around the rest of the map you'll find spiders, dogs, ghasts,
gnolls, and a lot of skeletons. Pick up a skull from one of the skeletons.
Then head for the High Hedge, home to the wizard Thalantyr, located in the
southeastern part of the map.
The High Hedge is cramped inside, and there are two flesh golems who will
attack you until they’re dead or you speak to Thalantyr. The golems are worth
2000 experience points each, and they're not overly difficult to kill if you
have a low armor class. So only enter the High Hedge with two warriors, have
them kill the flesh golems, and then bring in the rest of your party to talk
to Thalantyr. Talk to Thalantyr twice, the second time telling him about
rumors and your desire to buy magical items. You can buy numerous magical
items from Thalantyr, including robes of the magi, which are the best robes
your wizard(s) can use.
When you've finished exploring the area, exit it to the south.
Who's where?
------------
Kivan: eastern area, location (3656, 1478)
Permidion Stark: south of cottage
Thalantyr: inside High Hedge
* ---------------------------------- *
* Hills South of High Hedge (AR3700) *
* ---------------------------------- *
In the northeastern part of the area you'll find a chicken and a wolf. When
you kill the wolf, the chicken (named Melicamp) will thank you. It turns out
that this is no ordinary chicken but instead an apprentice of Thalantyr's who
miscast a polymorph spell. Try out a few chicken jokes if you want, but agree
to take the chicken back to Thalantyr so Thalantyr can reverse the spell.
There's no hurry with Melicamp, so continue exploring the area. Head south
and you'll meet Footy, who has been spying on Bassilus, the evil cleric.
Remember that there is a 5000 gold piece bounty in Beregost for the death of
Bassilus. If you talk to Footy, he'll tell you that the undead around
Bassilus are “funny.” It seems Bassilus is telling stories, but his undead
minions aren't listening.
Continue south and you'll find the ring of stones where Bassilus is hanging
out. Bassilus has lost a few marbles and will confuse those around him with
his family. Play along. If you answer...
-- “Uhh... yes, son...”
-- “No matter.”
-- “It is not I who lies...”
... then most of the undead surrounding Bassilus will collapse, leaving you
with an easier fight. (No matter what you answer, you'll have to fight
Bassilus.) Bassilus is a spellcaster, but without any support you can gang up
on him and kill him pretty easily. On his corpse you'll find his holy symbol
(which you need as proof for the bounty), gauntlets of fumbling, and a war
hammer +2.
Near the middle of the map, south of the “beware of wolves” sign, you'll find
Zargal the hobgoblin and his two friends Geltik and Malkax. They want your
money, and if you don't give it to them, they'll attack you. Named or not,
they're still hobgoblins, and you should be able to kill them in any number of
ways. Zargal is carrying “The Whistling Sword,” a short sword +2.
The rest of the area has wolves, skeletons, ghasts, hobgoblins, and bandits in
it. When you're finished exploring, exit the area to the west, but then
select the Beregost temple on the world map. In the temple, collect the
bounty for killing Bassilus (1000 experience points, 5000 gold pieces), and
then head over to the Red Sheaf Inn in Beregost to give Perdue back his short
sword (500 experience points, 50 gold pieces). Finally, return to High Hedge
so Thalantyr can fix up Melicamp. But save first. There’s a chance the
“antichickenator” spell will fail (it’s random). Once the spell succeeds,
you’ll get 2000 experience points and one point of reputation.
If you're not saving up gold to make a purchase from Thalantyr, you can
reverse the above process and visit High Hedge before Beregost, and save some
hours of game time. When you're ready to continue on, exit the High Hedge
area to the west, and select Ulcaster on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Bassilus: in ring of stones
Footy: southeastern area
Geltik: middle area
Kissiq: middle area
Malkax: middle area
Melicamp: northeastern area
Zargal: middle area
The Ulcaster School is in the northeastern part of the area, and the rest of
the map is made up of rocky hills without too much else going on. There will
be a hobgoblin with boots of stealth just to the south of the middle of the
map. Furret, who has a “gem of true seeing,” will be on the western edge of
the map near the northwestern corner. Don't buy the gem from him; it's
another scam. If you want to, you can kill Furret without losing any
reputation points and get his gem which is really a turquiose gem. In the
rest of the map are skeletons, kobolds, and hobgoblins.
When you get to the Ulcaster School part of the area, you'll meet two
creatures of interest. Icharyd is a wraith who patrols the southern part of
the school. He wants to eat your flesh so he can become whole again. You
want to preserve the status quo. With six against one, and with a little
magical assistance, Icharyd shouldn't pose much of a problem. He's worth 950
experience, and he'll have a flail +1 on his body.
The other creature is the ghost of Ulcaster himself. He seems to wander all
over the school, but I usually find him on the western side. Click on him a
few times and he'll say, “Hope would return with the retrieval of the simplest
of tomes.” That's your quest, but you'll have to enter the bowels of the
school in order to find the book he wants.
The entrance to the dungeon area is on the western side of the school. There
is a sign next to it. Inside, you'll run into wolves, jellies, and spiders.
In the southern portion are some traps, so be sure to have your thief take the
lead. The book Ulcaster wants, the History of the Sisters of Light and
Darkness (or something else; this might be random), can be found past a
trapped body and a vampiric wolf. The pile of debris in which it is located
is also trapped. When you return to the surface and give the book to
Ulcaster, you'll receive 1000 points of experience.
Who's where?
------------
Furret: northwestern edge of map
Icharyd: southern side of school
Ulcaster: western side of school
On the northern side of the map is an abandoned home. South of the home are
some ex-miners trying to be fishermen, and east of the home, spread out along
the length of the lake, are the four half ogres that Bjornin (from Beregost)
wants you to kill.
Southeast of the lake is a group of three bandits. They want your gold and
weapons, blah blah blah. They shouldn't be much of a challenge at this point,
and they're not carrying anything interesting.
In the middle of the area you'll meet Drizzt Do'Urden. For some reason he
will ask you to help kill some gnolls. Even with your help, Drizzt will kill
most of the gnolls by himself. I've heard that it is possible to kill Drizzt
in order to get his equipment, but I've never been able to do it. You can,
however, steal his scimitar +3. After the gnolls are dead, Drizzt will stand
around waiting for you to talk to him. At that point you can pick his pocket.
When you do finally talk to him, Drizzt will mention that the human bandits
seem to be from the Black Talon while the hobgoblin bandits from the Chill.
He'll then suggest you try to infiltrate their ranks.
When you're done exploring, head back to Beregost and collect your reward from
Bjornin at the Jovial Juggler Inn. He'll give you a medium shield +1, and
you'll also receive a reputation point and 400 experience points. If you have
the scalps from the bandits you just killed, you can sell those to Officer Vai
while you're there. Then do whatever shopping you need and head east to the
temple.
Who's where?
------------
Chelan: at lake
Drizzt Do'Urden: middle of map
Jemby: southeast of lake
Teyngan: southeast of lake
Torlo: at lake
Zekar: southeast of lake
You've been in this area before to visit the temple. Now it's time to explore
the eastern half.
In the southeastern part of the area you'll find Cattack and his hobgoblin
bandit group. They're a part of Chill, but they won't let you join. In fact,
if you ask to join Cattack will get insulted and attack you. It's just as
well; he'll attack you regardless of what you do. Just pound on Cattack and
his group with your fighters, and they'll go down quickly.
Then move slowly from the southeast corner to the northeast corner. When you
see a wolf/dog, let it charge you so you only have to face one or two at a
time. This is especially important when you face the vampiric wolves. There
are two of them, and they can paralyze and quickly kill a character when
they're working together. Plus, you can only hurt the vampiric wolves with
magical weapons / magical ammunition. So when you see one (they're purplish),
zap it with magic and focus all of your attacks on it.
In the northwestern corner is a drunk who wants all of your money. He's not
really a lich. Just keep telling him to get lost. In the center of the area
is Galileus, who has been spending his free time examining the sky. He’ll
tell you there are “interesting times ahead” -- like you didn’t know that
already.
When you're done exploring, exit the area to the north and select the Larswood
Forest.
Who's where?
------------
Cattack: southeastern area
Galileus: middle of map
Head east along the southern edge of the map and then north along the eastern
edge. In the northeastern corner you'll find Osmadi, who thinks you're
responsible for killing his brothers. It doesn't matter what you say; he'll
attack you and call on a couple bears to attack you as well. After the fight
is over, talk to Corsone. Do not be polite, and eventually you'll learn that
Corsone is a shadow druid who needed your help to kill Osmadi. Corsone will
then attack, but you should be able to kill him before he can even get a spell
off.
Continue circling around the edge of the map. There are Black Talon elites
around, and they are nasty archers with flame arrows. Make sure your lead
character is wearing the ring of fire resistance because s/he's the one who
will get targeted the most. When you get bored of this, or when you've made a
complete circuit, head towards the center of the map.
In the center of the map you'll find Teven the bandit. Tell him you want to
join his group and that it's a bloodthirsty job. Teven will take you to the
main bandit camp to meet Tazok. You'll also receive 400 points of experience.
(You can also attack Teven and then fight your way to the bandit camp if you
want. But then you’ll need to stop at Peldvale next.)
Who's where?
------------
Corsone: northeastern corner
Osmadi: northeastern corner
Teven: center of map
You'll immediately be confronted by Tazok. The best course of action to take
is to answer his questions in such a way that he doesn't feel compelled to
fight you to test your capabilities. (I've heard people claim that you can
kill Tazok during the test, but I've never been able to do it.) Thus, you
should answer...
-- “You're strong...”
-- “Would you rather...”
... and Tazok will leave you alone. Then you can explore the area and not
have to worry about fighting the hobgoblins and bandits, who will consider you
friendly -- except in the southern half of the area, where the hobgoblins will
attack you.
In the northwestern region of the area is a group of five tents. In one tent,
Tersus will give everyone in your party a set of leather armor, which you
should drop right away so your characters aren't weighted down. In another
tent, there are three gnolls who will attack you. In yet another tent, you
can pump a bandit named Knott for information, and he'll tell you that Tazok's
tent is in the northeastern area of the camp. He'll also tell you there are
no traps in Tazok's tent, but he's lying about that. There isn't any way to
enter the fourth tent, and the fifth tent is empty save for some barrels and
crates you can steal from. You can find Ardenor Crush, leader of the Black
Chill, among the tents.
Completing the “circle” of the tents is a cave with some gnolls in it. In
front of the cave is a hobgoblin that will warn you not to go inside, but
ignore him and enter. There isn't anything but gnolls in the cave, and
they're pretty easy experience. The loot from their bodies doesn't hurt,
either.
When you approach Tazok's tent to the northeast, you'll meet Taugosz Khosann,
leader of the Black Talon, and Credus, who was the newest recruit until you
showed up. Credus will tell you that you are now in charge of guarding
Tazok's tent and then wander off. Around Tazok's tent you can find numerous
crates and barrels with useful things inside, such as a medium shield +1, a
short sword +1, a wand of fear, and a nice amount of gold. South of Tazok's
tent is another empty tent. It has some magic scrolls you might be able to
use.
Before entering Tazok's tent, make sure all of your party members are healed
and have their spells memorized. Tazok won't be inside, but you'll still have
to face Raemon, Britik, Venkt, and Hakt. Venkt is a spellcaster, so try to
disrupt him with spells and ranged weapons. Hakt is in the back of the room
and won't be visible at first. He's an archer with poison arrows, and he can
do a lot of damage if you ignore him. Send one fighter at him to make him use
his sword rather than his bow. Don't use area spells (like fireball) in the
attack because also in the room is a prisoner named Ender Sai, and you'll want
to talk to him after the fight is over.
Once the bad guys are dead, loot their corpses. The only real item of
interest is a long bow of marksmanship on Hakt's corpse. Then talk to Ender
Sai. For some reason he'll think you're bandits, and he'll ask if it's time
for his execution. It doesn't matter what you answer. Every conversation
path leads to Sai telling you that Tazok works for the Iron Throne, and that
something is going on in the Cloakwood Forest.
There is a chest in the room, but it is trapped. Have your thief disarm the
trap and then open the chest. When you take the two letters from inside, the
chapter will end.
Who's where?
------------
Ardenor Crush: among the tents
Britik: Tazok's tent
Credus: near Tazok's tent
Ender Sai: Tazok's tent
Hakt: Tazok's tent
Knott: southeastern tent
Raemon: Tazok's tent
Taugosz Khosann: near Tazok's tent
Tersus: northwestern tent
Venkt: Tazok's tent
Before leaving the Bandit Camp area, you might want to kill Taugosz Khosann.
He's carrying a medium shield +1, a war hammer +1, and full plate mail.
Remember, if you have strong fighters, the full plate mail is better than
ankheg plate, and so it is worthwhile to pick up. You can also wander around
and kill bandits for their scalps, but you won’t find any more interesting
equipment. Then exit the area to the south.
In the northwestern corner you'll run into Viconia, and she'll desperately ask
for your help. A Flaming Fist mercenary is on her trail, and he'll accuse her
of being evil and a murderess because she's a drow elf. Well, we can't have
any racism here, so defend Viconia against the mercenary. You won’t lose any
reputation points. Once the mercenary is dead, Viconia will offer to join
your group, but she's an evil-aligned cleric. I've never tried using her.
Explore the rest of the map quickly. Peldvale is the sister area to the
Larswood Forest, and it has the same sorts of encounters: gibberlings, dogs,
bandits, and Black Talon elites. If you had visited the two areas in the
opposite order, then you would have met a bandit here who would have taken you
to the bandit camp like Teven did in the Larswood Forest.
Who's where?
------------
Palin: northeastern area
Viconia: northwestern corner
* -------------------------------- *
* Forest East of Larswood (AR3000) *
* -------------------------------- *
In the center of the map you'll find a platform with four wizards on it.
They're the Red Wizards of Thay, and they won't be pleased with your
interruption. You can probably just charge in and kill them, but if you want
to do some planning, try to get a silence spell or a fireball in before
charging with your fighters. The wizards have a variety of scrolls on them,
plus a ring of energy.
Note: If Edwin is in your group, the wizards will simply talk to you and then
leave (since they’re all Red Wizards of Thay). But you can kick Edwin out of
your group, approach the wizards, and then quickly add Edwin back in if you
want to attack them.
Northwest of the platform you'll find Fahrington. He's missing a scroll of
wisdom, and he thinks a tasloi stole it and headed east to an ettercap lair.
Head east and kill all the ettercaps you find. One will have a magic
protection scroll, and that's the one Fahrington wants. When you return it to
him, he'll let you keep it, but it's really a cursed scroll of foolishness, so
don't read it. You'll also get 300 experience points for the deed.
The rest of the map features lots of encounters with spiders. On the eastern
side of the map are a couple of web traps with spiders nearby, so be careful
and scout with your thief.
When you’re ready to move on, exit the area to the south, but select the
Beregost temple on the world map. Eventually you’ll want to go to the area
east of the temple but before you go you’ll need to stock up on supplies.
You'll need some way to protect yourself from petrification (a few potions of
mirrored eyes will work), and you'll need a stone-to-flesh scroll. The former
can be found at High Hedge while the latter can be found at the Beregost
temple.
* -------------------------------------- *
* Hills East of Beregost Temple (AR3500) *
* -------------------------------------- *
Assuming you entered the area from the east, head north and notice Korax the
ghoul. If you talk to him he'll join your group -- sort of. He'll actually
become dire charmed, which means his friendship will only be temporary, but in
the meantime he can help you kill some basilisks. Continue north with Korax
in front of your group.
Around location (1350, 350) you should run into two basilisks. Have Korax
charge them while you attack them with ranged weapons. Korax is immune to
their flesh-to-stone attacks, so he won’t take any damage. Then at location
(2200, 900) you'll meet Mutamin, who has been using basilisks to create some
“artwork.” With him will be a greater and lesser basilisk. Use Korax to
distract the basilisks while the rest of your party attacks Mutamin. Mutamin
should die quickly. Then use your ranged attacks to kill the basilisks.
Korax will keep trying to close in on the basilisks, so you'll have to keep
moving him back away. While Korax is immune to the basilisk gaze, he's not
immune to their normal attacks, and he won't last very long if he goes toe-to-
toe with them.
At this point you should kill Korax. His charm spell won't last much longer,
and you don't want him turning on you in the middle of an encounter,
especially if the encounter is with basilisks and you were relying on him to
neutralize their petrifying stares. Just attack him. You won't lose any
reputation points.
In the northwestern corner you can find Shar-Teel. She'll challenge your best
male warrior to a fight. If you win (and you should win), Shar-Teel will
offer to join your group, and you'll receive 300 experience points. If you
lose, you'll have to pay her 20 gold pieces. Shar-Teel is an evil warrior,
but if that’s the type of companion you’re looking for, Kagain is a better
choice. Shar-Teel has a crummy constitution.
Southeast of Shar-Teel at location (1400, 820) is a petrified woman named
Tamah. Use the flesh-to-stone scroll to free her. If you don't ask for a
reward, you'll receive a point of reputation plus 300 points of experience.
Around location (3000, 2000) you'll meet a band of insulting adventurers from
Waterhaven. There are four of them: two spellcasters, an archer, and a
fighter. The spellcasters and archer will stay bunched together, so if you
have the fireball spell, it works well here. Regardless, do the normal thing
and take out the spellcasters first with your best spells and ranged attacks,
and then concentrate on the other two. When you loot their corpses, you'll
find two long swords +1, a morning star +1, bracers of defense AC 7, a golden
girdle (+3 AC bonus against slashing weapons), some arrows +1, and more.
Then explore the rest of the map. There are lesser basilisks scattered
around, so keep your lead character protected. Then have that character take
the role of Korax when you attack the basilisks. There are also a couple of
greater basilisks in the southern part of the map with the large skeleton
bones.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the south.
The northwestern part of the area is taken up by the halfling village of
Gullykin. Near the entrance to the village is Gandolar Luckyfoot, who will
ask your to help kill the kobolds that have been attacking the village from
the Firewine ruins. He'll also tell you that there is a secret door in the
winery / temple that leads to the ruins.
In the northwestern part of the village is the winery / temple. The staircase
leading to the ruins is on the eastern side of the building. Also there
you'll find Alvanhendar, a priest who can perform the same duties and sell the
same items as Keldath Ormlyr in the Beregost temple.
In the lower level of a halfling home in the southwestern part of the village,
you'll find a halfling named Jenkal. Most halflings will be thrilled to meet
you, but this one will not. In fact, he'll threaten to kill you. Tell him
that it smells like kobold in his home and he'll admit that he's been helping
the kobolds. Then he'll attack you and die pretty quickly. There is a secret
door in the room, and it leads to the Firewine ruins.
In the rest of the homes, you can meet some more halflings and do some minor
looting. In the middle, southern home is a sling +1.
There isn't much to see outside of the village. The map is divided into two
parts by a land bridge guarded by four ghouls, and on the eastern side, near
the southern edge of the map, is a group of four bounty hunters: Molkar,
Morvin, Drakar, and Halacan. On their corpses you'll find a morning star +1,
a long sword +1, chainmail +2, and other odds and ends.
When you're ready to move on, heal your party and memorize spells, and then
head to Jenkal's home and go through the secret door.
You'll start in the tunnels right next to an ogre mage. Since he's within
reach of your fighters and doesn't have any support with him, he should go
down quickly. The next mage in the area is a little trickier. He's down the
passage to your south and has a few kobold commandos around to help him out.
Plus he's likely to cast lightning bolt, and in the constricted confines of
the tunnels, lightning bolts can bounce all over the place and do all sorts of
damage. What you need to do is make the lightning bolt work for you. Move
your entire party except for your lead character as far west in the starting
room as possible, and then have your lead character walk to the doorway. Your
lead character will spot the mage, and the mage will probably cast
invisibility and then lightning bolt. Leave your lead character in the
doorway until the mage finishes the lightning bolt spell, and then move him /
her as far to the right as possible. The lightning bolt will travel through
the doorway (probably hitting your lead character), but then bounce back and
forth down the passage a couple times, hitting the mage and killing a few
commandos. The mage will then approach your group, and you should be able to
finish him off easily from there. He'll be holding a scroll of cloudkill,
which you might find useful.
There are some ogrillons in the tunnels, next to the spot where the southern
mage started out, and after they're dead it's just a matter of killing a whole
bunch of kobold commandos. The commandos will continually regenerate, and
they won't let you rest, so the best course of action is to do what you need
to do and then get out of the tunnels as quickly as possible.
Follow the tunnels to a large rectangular room in the southeastern part of
the area. There are five exits from this room. North leads back the way you
came. Northwest leads toward an undead knight, who will ask you to strike
him down and “take the armor back.” On his corpse you'll find a set of
ancient armor. That's the armor he's talking about. West (then taking the
first west and north exits) leads to a group of ghost knights. Talk to them
and you'll return the armor to them and gain 1500 experience points. East
leads to the surface of the Firewine Bridge area.
You'll start the area on the eastern side of the map. Head towards the
northeastern corner and meet Meilum, “the Sword Coast's most skilled
swordsman.” If you bow down to his prowess, he'll go away peaceably.
Otherwise you'll have to fight him. Go ahead and fight him. He has gauntlets
of weapon expertise, which will help your THAC0 and damage bonuses.
In the dried riverbed north of the bridge you'll find Carsa. She has an evil
jar. Keep trying to help, and then ask for the jar at the earliest
opportunity. Eventually Carsa will summon Kahrk, an ogre mage. Kahrk will
kill Carsa and then turn on you. Cast dispel magic on him to remove his
shield, and then just pound away. He'll have some gold and gems, plus a
scroll of non-detection.
On the bridge itself you can find Poe, a bard. He'll tell you the story of
the ghost knights in the Firewine tunnels if you ask him.
In the northwestern corner is Bentan, a follower of the god Ilmater. If you
want to hear more about Ilmater and how you'd be better off ridding yourself
of your worldly possessions, tell Bentan that nobody in your group worships
Ilmater. If you want Bentan to go away as quickly as possible, tell him
everybody in your group worships Ilmater.
Explore the rest of the map and kill all the kobolds you come across. Then
head back to Gullykin to collect your reward from Gandolar Luckyfoot (250 gold
pieces). Finally, return to Beregost to rest and stock up on arrows and
bullets.
Your next stop will be the lighthouse area southwest of High Hedge. You'll
need protection from magic in that area, so pick up a couple potions of magic
blocking from High Hedge along the way.
Who's where?
------------
Bentan: northwestern corner
Carsa: north of bridge
Kahrk: north of bridge
Meilum: northeastern corner
Poe: on bridge
The creatures to watch out for in this area are sirines. They're spellcasting
archers. The first spell they cast is usually invisibility, but after that
they rely on dire charm. Potions of magic blocking can prevent characters
from being charmed, and then you can use a strategy similar to killing
basilisks with the sirines. Alternatively, because dire charm isn't fatal
like the basilisk's gaze, you can just take your chances. Attack the sirines
like any other spellcaster, and if a character gets charmed, finish off the
sirine and then have everybody else run away from the charmed character. The
northern part of the area is largely empty, and you can run around there
safely until the charm wears off.
At location (3750, 2400) you'll meet Safana. She's a neutral thief, and
she'll join your party if you help her get to Black Alaric's buried treasure.
The treasure is in this area, and you don't need Safana to find it.
At location (1400, 3700) you'll meet Ardrouine. She'll ask for your help in
killing some worgs in the lighthouse. If you haven't spotted it yet, the
lighthouse is north of Ardrouine. When you return after killing the worgs,
Ardrouine will give you 50 gold pieces (plus 500 experience points and a
reputation point).
Starting around the middle of the map, west of a beach, is where you'll find
the sirines. There are six of them, including Sil their leader. Unlike
other creatures on the map, like the annoying hobgoblins, the sirines will
not regenerate, and so once they're gone, they're gone.
Past Sil to the north is a cave where the treasure Safana mentioned is
located. The treasure is guarded by three flesh golems and includes a wand of
paralyzation, a cloak of the wolf, and a manual of bodily health. The manual
permanently increases a character's constitution by one point. If you have a
character with 19 constitution, then let that character read the manual. A 20
constitution means the character will slowly regenerate hit points over time.
Note: If you rest in the cave, there’s a good chance a flesh golem will attack
you. So if the flesh golems aren’t difficult for you to kill, then resting is
a good way to make some extra experience.
Who's where?
------------
Ardrouine: location (1400, 3700)
Arkushule: south of Pallonia
Pallonia: near location (3500, 1600)
Safana: location (3750, 2400)
Sil: south of cave
* -------------------------------------------------- *
* North of Lighthouse / South of Candlekeep (AR3100) *
* -------------------------------------------------- *
At location (2900, 550) is Shoal the Nereid. Have one of your NPC characters
talk to her. The character must have a reasonably good charisma for Shoal to
respond. When Shoal does respond, she'll kiss -- and briefly kill -- the
character and then turn on the rest of the party. After taking a little bit
of damage, Shoal will stop, and you can then get her to raise the killed
character. Then Shoal will explain that her essence is being held by an ogre
mage named Droth, and that she must do as he commands. Shortly thereafter
Droth will arrive, and you'll be able to free Shoal by killing him. Droth is
worth 975 experience points, and freeing Shoal is worth 750 experience points.
Droth also has a helmet of defense.
When Shoal raises your character from the dead, she'll only return a single
hit point to the character. Heal the character a little because there are
ogres about, but don't worry about fully healing him / her. South of Shoal's
location is The Surgeon, and he'll heal your party using a series of cure
light wounds spells. Also, if you ask him who he is, he'll tell you that he
is the brother of a man named Davaeorn, and that he is now doing penance for
not killing Davaeorn when he had the chance. You'll learn more about Davaeorn
later.
At location (2000, 1300) is Mad Arcand. He'll ask you to retrieve something
from a pirate ship for him. The pirate ship is about two screens away to the
west, and the something is a ring. When you return the ring to Arcand, he'll
give you a potion of fiery burning, and you'll also receive 300 experience
points.
There are some more sirines in the southwest corner of the map, so be careful
there. When you're ready to move on, head to the Friendly Arm Inn to rest and
re-supply. Then exit the area to the west and select the Cloakwood Forest on
the map screen.
This is the part of the Cloakwood Forest where Gurke lost his cloak. The
offending tasloi are in the southeastern corner. Be careful with the tasloi
and make sure you chase down all the ones who flee. Gurke's cloak is a cloak
on non-detection.
In the center of the map is a hunting lodge, and in front of the lodge you'll
find Aldeth Sashenstar. He's having problems with some “uncouth savages” and
needs your help. If you agree to help, Seniyad and three other druids will
show up. They're the savages, and they're also (probably) the good guys in
the matter. However, it's more profitable to kill the druids. You'll get
over 6000 points of experience and the friendship of the Merchant's League in
Baldur's Gate (plus an extra quest later). Also, you can pickpocket a bastard
sword +1/+3 versus shapeshifters from Sashenstar before you talk to him. The
sword is the main prize you get if you help the druids.
On a bridge in the northern part of the map you'll find Coran, a hunter of
wyverns. If you agree to help him on his hunt, he'll agree to join your
group. Coran is good-aligned fighter / thief who has three proficiency points
with long bows and a dexterity rating of 20. He's a better offensive weapon
than Imoen, but he is bad at finding traps, and at this point in the game you
need the find traps ability. So weigh your options when deciding if you want
to add him to your group.
In the rest of the area you'll find tasloi, wolves, and giant spiders. None
of them should pose a problem at this point in the game. When you're ready to
move on, exit the area to the west.
Who's where?
------------
Aldeth Sashenstar: in front of lodge
Coran: on bridge
Upon crossing the river, you'll meet Tiber. He and his brother Chelak came to
the forest to hunt spiders, but now Chelak has been missing for a week, and
Tiber would like you to find him. Any guesses about whether you'll find
Chelak alive or dead?
West of Tiber are several web traps, usually with spiders or ettercaps nearby
to feast on whichever of your party members happens to get stuck. Foil the
dinner plans by scouting ahead with your thief.
If you keep moving west after talking to Tiber, you'll come across a huge pile
of dirt. This is the spider lair, and inside you'll find something called
Centeol and -- surprise, surprise -- a bunch of spiders. If you talk to
Centeol you can learn more about her history, but regardless of the
conversation choices you make, you'll still have to fight her and the spiders.
If you have the fireball spell, this is a good place to use it. Center it on
Centeol, and it will hit her and the spiders. Then just wade in and start
killing things. Spiders can't hit characters who have low armor class values,
so just make sure no spider sneaks away from the middle of the lair to attack
your spellcasters. When everything is dead, you'll find the very heavy body
of Chelak, the two-handed sword Spider's Bane (an excellent weapon for bards),
a ring of folly, and a wand of frost.
After leaving the spider's lair, immediately head back to Tiber so you can
unload the body of Chelak. You'll receive 800 experience points for the deed.
In the rest of the area are more spiders, more ettercaps, and more web traps.
Some of the spiders are phase spiders. If you see any of these, then stop
your group and wait for the spider to teleport itself to you. This way you'll
only have to fight one at a time. When you're ready to move on, exit the area
to the north. If you need supplies then head back to the Friendly Arm Inn for
a pit stop. Otherwise continue on to the next part of the forest.
Who's where?
------------
Centeol: inside spider lair
Tiber: location (4650, 1200)
Near where you enter the zone you'll find a bard named Eldoth. He has a
scheme to “kidnap” the daughter of one of the dukes of Baldur's Gate. If you
agree to help him, he'll join your group. He's evil, and I've never used him.
The area is divided into two parts by a river, and when you cross the bridge
spanning the river you'll meet Laskal, “the protector of the Cloakwood.”
He'll tell you that he has a message for those that serve the Iron Throne --
but the message is that the Iron Throne should leave the area, so don't
pretend to be a part of the organization. Laskal will also tell you that the
Iron Throne has a fort to the east, but it is far to the east, two areas away.
West of the bridge you'll find a ring of stones, and inside the ring you'll
meet Faldorn. If you agree to help her stop the Iron Throne, she'll agree to
join your group. She's a neutral druid, of course, but I don't like her as
much as Jaheira. You'll also meet other shadow druids in the area. They'll
attack you if you have Jaheira in your group or if you say the wrong thing to
them, but they're only worth 120 experience points and don't have anything
useful in their possession.
In a cave near the center of the area you'll meet Peter of the North. He's a
“woodsman” looking for “subterranean trees.” Yeah, right. Keep doubting
him and eventually he'll admit that he's training wyverns for the Iron Throne
-- and then attack. It won't be a tough battle, and you'll barely net 1000
experience points for killing Peter and the two baby wyverns.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the east.
Who's where?
------------
Amarande: inside tree house
Eldoth: middle, southern edge
Faldorn: in ring of stones
Izefiah: near tree house
Laskal: near bridge
Peter: in cave
Takiyah: near ring of stones
East of where you start in the area you'll find Hamadryad. (I'm not sure if
that's the name of a person or a type of dryad, but there is only one, so I'm
assuming the former.) Supposedly it can cast dire charm, but a couple magic
missiles or other ranged attacks should kill it before it can get the chance.
Past the bridge, on the eastern side of the map, is a wyvern lair. Inside are
two adult wyverns and three baby wyverns. (If you have Coran with you, these
are the wyverns he wants to kill.) The adult wyverns can poison you, so try
to finish them off first, and don’t be shy about using spells / wands. When
everything is dead, you can pick up a couple of wyvern heads. They're not
good for anything except to sell for gold. The mayor of Beregost will pay
2000 coins for one head, and many other shops will pay 500. There is also a
corpse in the lair, and inside you can find gold, gems, and a wand of fear.
In the northwestern part of the area, you'll find a few more baby wyverns.
Elsewhere you might be able to find guards, wolves, tasloi, and a wraith
spider or two. When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the east.
The mine buildings are surrounded by a moat that is shaped something like a
figure eight. There isn't much of interest outside of the moat, so feel free
to head directly to the bridge that leads across it. The bridge is on the
western side of the moat, south of where you start in the area.
If you decide to do some exploring, you'll run into Lakadaar in the
northwestern part of the area. If you answer his questions to his liking,
he'll leave you peaceably. Otherwise some guards will appear, and they'll all
attack you. This isn't a big deal since they're all easy to kill. You might
also find some tasloi and wolves in the area.
There are two guards watching the bridge, and they'll be easy to defeat. The
real defense comes further inside where you'll meet Drasus, Genthore, Kysus,
and Rezdan. Drasus is a fighter, and he'll charge you. The other three will
stay back -- and stay clumped together. Area spells such as fireball and web
work well on them. When the fight is over, you'll find some possibly useful
items including boots of speed. You'll also find a letter from Rieltar to
Drasus that mentions Davaeorn.
Explore the rest of the compound and you'll find some more guards. One will
tell you that the entrance to the mines is located in the second bailey.
Before proceeding to the mines, heal your characters and memorize spells. It
will be difficult to rest once you're inside.
Who's where?
------------
Drasus: inside first bailey
Genthore: inside first bailey
Kysus: inside first bailey
Lakadaar: northwestern area
Rezdan: inside first bailey
On the first level you'll find a lot of guards and miners. Kill the guards
and talk to the miners -- until the phrase “get me out of this hell hole” gets
on your nerves, and then only talk to the named miners. You should also talk
to the miner in the northeastern part of level who is wearing red and who is
standing next to a circle of silver. The circle is actually a plug, and the
miner will tell you that he can open the plug and flood the mines if you get
him the key. The key is carried by Davaeorn, “the master of the mines.” The
miner will also tell you to talk to Rill, who might be able to come up with a
plan to evacuate the miners before the flooding takes place. The exit to the
second level is at the end of the mineshaft that looks like an upside down
candy cane.
The second level is the prison level. There are two traps on the level, both
near an archway leading to the southwest. If you hit the first trap (magic
missile), then you'll know that the second trap (lightning) is nearby. Scout
carefully with your thief because the lightning trap will likely kill any
character who triggers it.
In the room past the traps you'll find the spellcaster Hareishan, who is
supported by several guards and Black Talon elites. The best way to handle
this group is to try and take them out one opponent at a time. Have one
character run into the room and then run back out to the rest of your party.
Some guards and usually Hareishan himself will chase after. Once you've
killed part of the group, go ahead and charge into the room and kill the rest.
Past Hareishan's room you'll meet Rill. Give him the 100 gold he asks for so
he can bribe the guards and get the miners out of harm's way. Near Rill is
Yeslick, a dwarf who will join your party. Yeslick is a good-aligned
fighter/cleric, but he doesn’t have great multi-class stats. He’s a better
option than Jaheira, but otherwise you should probably skip him.
The third level contains the living quarters, so you'll have to do a lot of
fighting here. Try to explore the area quickly because the bandits and
hobgoblins regenerate fairly quickly, and so you'll have to fight several
battles multiple times.
On the eastern side of the level you'll find Natasha, an enemy spellcaster.
She’ll have several scrolls on her that you might find useful. A room in the
southeastern corner has an ogre mage and several dead bodies in it, but
neither the mage nor the bodies carry anything useful. The staircase leading
down to the fourth level is located in the most southern room.
The fourth level contains Davaeorn's quarters. You'll first arrive in an
antechamber where you'll have to kill a guard, and you can use this room to
cast some spells (like bless or defensive harmony) before facing Davaeorn.
The passage leading to Davaeorn is trapped, so have your thief check it out
first.
Davaeorn is a fairly typical spellcaster, but he's larger and tougher than
most you have faced so far. His favorite spell seems to be dimension door, so
you'll have to chase him around a bit. He also seems to favor dire charm, so
try to disrupt his spellcasting with your own spells and ranged attacks. When
you kill Davaeorn, the chapter will end.
Who's where?
------------
Andarsson: first level, near entrance
Canticle: first level
Davaeorn: fourth level
Faber: first level, near entrance
Hareishan: second level
Natasha: third level
Phaersis: first level
Rill: second level
Stephan: fourth level.
Tipian: first level
Yeslick: second level
Finish exploring the level and loot everything that you find useful. Between
Davaeorn's corpse and chests on the level, you should be able to find bracers
of defense AC 6, several scrolls and potions, over 1000 gold pieces, the key
to the river plug, and three letters from Rieltar to Davaeorn.
The exit on the western side of the level leads back to the first level of the
mines. Use that and take the key to the miner next to the plug. He'll flood
the mines, and you'll receive 2000 experience points and two reputation
points. Then head to Beregost.
In Beregost, go to the Jovial Juggler Inn and talk to Officer Vai. She'll
tell you that her contingent has been recalled to Baldur's Gate, and you'll
receive a reputation point. Then talk to Gurke (also in the Jovial Juggler),
who will let you keep his cloak, and you'll also earn 300 experience points
for finishing his quest. Then go to the temple where Keldath Ormlyr will give
you 2000 coins for a wyvern's head. Finally, do whatever shopping you need
and head to the farm area north of the Friendly Arm Inn.
* ------------------------------------------- *
* Farm North of the Friendly Arm Inn (AR1400) *
* ------------------------------------------- *
In this area you'll find a lot of roaming ankhegs. These things can be
dangerous if they target your spellcasters with their ranged attacks, so try
to make sure your fighters are always in front. Also, you will only have to
face one or two ankhegs at a time -- unless you save while in the area, and
then you might have to face three or four at a time, which can be difficult.
So try to avoid saving unless ankhegs are easy experience for you.
In the middle of the area is a farm with Farmer Brun standing out front. Brun
will tell you that his son Nathan is missing, and that he probably headed
west. West of the farm you'll find a big hole in the ground. It's the ankheg
lair, but it shouldn't pose much of a problem. Unlike the surface area,
you'll only have to face ankhegs one at a time in the lair. In the
northeastern part of the lair is a treasure cache where Nathan's body is
located. You'll also find some magical darts, a dagger +1, chainmail +1, and
more. It's safe to save and (usually) to rest in the lair once you've cleaned
it out, so you can use it to avoid saving on the surface. When you return to
Farmer Brun, you'll receive 500 experience points for bringing him the bad
news (and Nathan), but Farmer Brun will tell you that he can now no longer
afford to run his farm. Talk to him again and give him 100 gold. You'll
receive 1000 points of experience and a point of reputation for the good deed.
In the northeastern part of the map you might meet Gerde (she wanders), who
will give you some information about the ankhegs. Feel free to ignore her
limit. After you've killed ten ankhegs, talk to her again and she'll give you
75 gold pieces.
On the road on the western side of the area is Ajantis. He's a paladin who
will join your group if you need him. His strength is 17, and it never hurts
to have a little extra healing around.
North of Ajantis you'll find a pair of cottages with three fishermen standing
out front. They'll tell you that they're being harassed by a priest of the
“Bitch Queen Umberlee.” If you agree to strong-arm the priest for them,
they'll give you a magical weapon (a flail +1) for a reward. The priest is
located in the area to the north.
Who's where?
------------
Ajantis: western road
Farmer Brun: near farm
Gerde: northeastern area
Jebadoh: near cottages
Sonner: near cottages
Telmen: near cottages
The first thing you'll notice in this area is probably -- surprise, surprise
-- the bridge to Baldur's Gate. But ignore it for now and head north. In the
northeastern corner you'll meet Tenya, the priestess the fishermen from the
previous area were complaining about. Tell her you just want to know what is
going on, and then tell her again. She'll attack you, but as soon as you
damage her she'll stop the fight and tell you that the fishermen tortured and
killed her mother. Agree to help her, and then continue north.
Before reaching the northern edge of the area you'll be attacked by an ankheg.
On its corpse you'll find “Nester's dagger.” Hang on to it. You'll learn
more about Nester later. Then exit the area to the north, but head back to
the southern farm area on the world map.
Confront the fishermen and they'll have another sad tale to tell. Keep
demanding the bowl, and eventually they'll give it to you -- and then they'll
attack. They're not disguised assassins or anything, and they'll die really
quickly. Then take the bowl back to Tenya. She won't have a reward for you,
but you'll earn 2500 experience points and the gratitude of Umberlee.
Continuing to ignore Baldur's Gate for now, exit the area to the north and
select the northern farm area.
Who's where?
------------
Tenya: northeastern area
* ------------------------------------------- *
* Farm North of Baldur's Gate Bridge (AR0400) *
* ------------------------------------------- *
Most of the area is taken up by a farm. The farmer, Wenric, is located in the
northwestern area of the map. He'll tell you that his farm has been overrun
by zombies, which you'll probably have already noticed, and he'll offer you a
reward for killing them all. Explore the rest of the area, kill the zombies,
and Wenric will give you 150 gold pieces (plus 800 experience points). He
also has a cloak of protection +1 in his house that you can steal if you need
it. Then exit the area and select Ulgoth's Beard on the world map.
Ulgoth's Beard is the springboard for the areas included in the Tales of the
Sword Coast expansion pack. Several inhabitants of the town will offer you
quests, but all of the quests will involve you leaving the area. So before
accepting any quests, first explore the town and see what it has to offer.
On the northern side of town is the Ulgoth's Beard Inn. When you go inside,
Hurgan Stoneblade will ask you to retrieve the dagger Soultaker from Durlag's
tower. At the back of the inn you'll find Galkin. He'll sell you a wardstone
capable of opening the dungeons beneath Durlag's Tower -- for a mere pittance
of 900 gold pieces. You don't need to buy the wardstone; there are two other
ways you can get a wardstone, and both will cost less gold. And speaking of
gold, you can buy all sorts of useful items at the inn: multiple large shields
+1, a cloak of displacement, a ring of invisibility, a quarter staff +3, and
more. Outside the inn is Ike, who will take you on a tour of Durlag's Tower
when you're ready to go.
In the center of town is Shandalar. He'll ask you to retrieve his missing
cloak from “another place.” Also near the center of town is Delsvirftanyon.
He'll offer to sell you some “small and shinies” for 500 gold. These include
two wardstones (one fake) and some other trinkets. You can also get a
wardstone from Ike if you take his tour.
In a home in the northwestern corner of town lives Therella. She'll ask you
to find her son Dalton in Durlag's Tower. South of Therella's home in the
southwest corner you'll meet Mendas. He'll tell you about a shipwreck and ask
you to retrieve the logbook from it. However, you'll have to steal some sea
charts from the Counting House in Baldur's Gate before you can find the wreck.
Outside of Mendas' home you'll meet two people: Calahan, who will indicate
that Mendas might be hiding something, and Fenrus, who will give you some
information on Durlag's Tower.
When you're ready to go on a quest, talk to Shandalar. He’ll give you a
wardstone and teleport you to your destination.
Who's where?
------------
Calahan: near Mendas' home
Delsvirftanyon: near center of town
Dushai: eastern side, near garden
Fenrus: by docks
Galkin: Ulgoth's Beard Inn
Hurgan Stoneblade: Ulgoth's Beard Inn
Ike: outside Ulgoth's Beard Inn
Mendas: southwestern home
Shandalar: center of town
Therella: northwestern home
You'll arrive on a small, icy island. Kill the polar bear and then enter the
cave. Inside, a couple of winter wolves will greet you, and past them is a
room with three spellcasters: Marcellus, Andris, and Beyn. They'll talk to
you but it doesn't matter what you say; they'll eventually attack. All three
are powerful spellcasters, but they are overly fond of casting dimension door.
I had the most luck by sending one character into their room, letting the
spellcasters notice him, and then having the character run back to the rest of
the party. One of the spellcasters would invariably chase the character or
teleport into the room with the party, and I was able to attack the
spellcasters one at a time that way. In total, you'll receive almost 10,000
experience points for killing the trio.
In the center of the map you'll find Garan. It doesn't matter what you say to
him either. He'll not only attack you, but he'll summon in four ankhegs to
help him out. Two ankhegs will appear in front of him, and two will appear
behind him. Kill the front two quickly so you can converge on Garan and kill
him as well. Then kill the last two ankhegs at your leisure. Garan has four
scrolls on him that might be useful.
In the room to the north of Garan you'll meet Cuchol. He, like everybody
else, will want the wardstone you're carrying, and he'll attack you for it.
Just rush him and take him out. He's standing behind a magic missile trap,
but it will do very little damage to whichever character triggers it, so feel
free to ignore it.
Shandalar’s cloak can be found at the end of a long, twisting passage off the
room that had the three spellcasters in it. There are several traps along the
passage, so make sure you scout with your thief. Along the way you'll meet
Tellan, a spellcaster who sounds like he might help you in later battles, but
then who attacks you anyway. (I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if
it's a bug or what.)
Finally, you'll meet Dezkiel who has the cloak. For some reason he won't just
hand it over to you, so you'll have to take it by force. Dezkiel is all by
himself, so he won't last long against the concentrated force of your entire
party. After he's dead, pick up the cloak and then head to the surface. Make
sure that the character with the cloak also has Shandalar's wardstone.
Shortly after exiting the dungeon, you should be teleported back to Ulgoth's
Beard. Shandalar won't be the most rewarding fellow around. You'll only
receive 500 experience points for your efforts.
Stay at the inn if you need to heal and memorize spells, and then talk to Ike
and pay for a tour. You won't be teleported to your destination this time;
you'll have to walk to Durlag's Tower on your own.
Who's where?
------------
Andris: near entrance
Beyn: near entrance
Cuchol: middle
Dezkiel: northwestern area
Garan: middle
Marcellus: near entrance
Tellan: western side
You'll immediately see Erdane. He'll offer to sell you a variety of items
including magical ammunition and potions of health and remove poison. Moving
away from Erdane you'll discover that your travel options are limited. In
fact, there is only one path to the entrance of Durlag's Tower, and you'll
have to do some fighting along the way.
The battle will occur right after you cross a narrow land bridge. There will
be two battle horrors waiting for you, but if you let them charge you, you can
attack them one at a time. Horrors are tough, but they have trouble hitting
low armor classes, and they don't do a lot of damage when they do manage to
land a blow. Just let your fighters take care of them. You might also have
to fight two dopplegangers on the way. They seem to appear on a random spot
on the map, and you might find them on top of the tower instead.
Continuing on, you'll find Ike. He'll give you a tour of the tower as
promised. Talk to him, follow him, and then repeat. Eventually he'll enter
the tower. You can either follow or do a little extra exploring on your own.
In the latter case you'll find some skeleton archers and doom guards on the
ramparts. When you're ready to continue on, follow Ike into the tower.
There isn't much to see or do on the first level. Ike will be in the center
room, and if you keep clicking on him and following him, you'll learn things
about Durlag and the tower. He'll point out a skeleton in the room and
mention a tourist who met an untimely, fiery end. The doorway to the west of
the skeleton is trapped with a fire trap, so disarm it with your thief so you
don't suffer a similar fate.
Eventually Ike will say that it is time for a break. Before talking to Ike
again, move all of your characters except for one to the room where you
started (or some other location far away from Ike). The character you use to
talk to Ike should have some sort of fire protection. When that character
talks to Ike, Ike will offer to sell a wardstone for 300 coins. Reject his
offer, and a demon knight will appear in the room and announce that the tour
is over. It will then proceed to cast a couple fireballs, killing Ike and any
nearby tourists. Try to get your character out of the way so s/he doesn't get
hit as well. The demon knight will then cast dimension door and leave. You
can now walk over to Ike's body and pick up the wardstone for free.
The second level has numerous ghasts and traps. Most of the ghasts are in a
room to the northwest. The door to the room is trapped with a hold person
spell, so try to draw the ghasts to you until you can get a thief to the trap
to disarm it. All of the chests you can open on the level are trapped, and
there are a few more traps in the passageways.
In the southeastern part of the level is a door leading outside to a balcony.
If you go through the door you'll immediately find a lesser basilisk, so be
prepared. Then if you go up the stairs and through the door, you'll find
three greater basilisks, so be even more prepared. At location (2300, 570),
you'll find 20 acid arrows and a scimitar +2. The cache is trapped, though,
so have your thief search the area first.
On the third level, in a room to the southwest, you'll find the ghost mage
Daital. It doesn't matter what you say to him; he'll eventually realize
you're intruders and attack. In a room to the east is Riggilo. Be polite and
don't attack him. We'll return to him shortly.
On the fourth level you'll meet Kirinhale, a succubus cursed to remain in the
tower forever. Answer her with...
-- “My dear lady...”
-- “I suppose I could...”
-- “Durlag put this curse on you?”
-- “Wait!”
... and Kirinhale with give you a lock of her hair. Now take the hair down to
Riggilo. Say to him...
-- “Actually, I've got a gift for you...”
-- “Don't you get it?”
... and he'll accept the hair and give you a potion of cloud giant strength in
return. Now go back upstairs and talk to Kirinhale. She'll leave without
giving you a reward, but you'll receive 4000 experience points, which is more
than you would have gotten for killing her. To sweeten the deal even more,
before you talk to her have your thief or bard pick her pocket and get a staff
spear +2. The spear is a better weapon than a quarter staff +3, and it is
useable by all classes.
(If you decide to try and kill Kirinhale, run away from her when she first
notices you and lead her into the center room. Then target her with spells
and magic before she starts talking. You might be able to damage her enough
that the fight will be over before she even has the chance to participate.
She's worth 3000 experience points.)
Now go back down a level and talk to Riggilo. He'll be upset with you for
some reason and proceed to attack, but he should be a pushover to kill. On
his body and in the chests nearby are some magic items, but the only thing of
interest is a wand of lightning. Past Riggilo is a temple, and on the altar
there is a tome of understanding (+1 wisdom). The altar is trapped with a
dire charm spell, so be prepared.
That's it for the tower. When you're ready to continue on, head back to the
first level and go down the stairs.
When you enter the area you'll see Bayard to the southeast. Talk to him
politely and he'll tell you what a nasty place it is below the tower. He'll
also mention that he has seen Dalton and that Dalton went “deeper than I
wished to go.” There are also some ghasts and traps about, so scout
carefully.
On the northwestern wall is the silhouette of a door. There's really a door
there, so have your party stand around it until it shows up. Through the door
lies the next level.
You'll find yourself right next to a doorway to a large room. There is a trap
on the other side of the door, so put your thief to work to disarm it. Then
enter the room and continue towards the center of the level. You'll find four
warders surrounding a door. You'll have to “solve” their riddles in order to
enter the door and go down to the next level.
Talk to the western warder first. He is “pride.” To solve his riddle, go to
the passageway leading southwest from the warders. The passageway is guarded
by no less than five traps. My thief wasn't capable of finding them all, so I
had to use my cleric to detect them and then my thief to disarm them. When
you get to the room beyond the passageway, you'll find two mustard jellies.
Their attacks will both slow and poison characters, so try to kill them
quickly.
There is a secret door on the northwestern wall of the room. Through the door
you'll find a monument called “Durlag's Pride.” From there move west until
you enter a circular room with four books in it. The books extol Durlag's
exploits, and when you read them all the sword in the monument will glow, and
you will have completed the warder's task. Go back and talk to him and he
will disappear (and you will gain 2000 experience points).
Then talk to the eastern warder. He is “fear” and must be “awakened.” On the
western side of the room is a barrel with a mallet handle in it. Get the
handle and then head northeast to the room with the table in it. From there
take the passageway to the southeast. You'll have to fight a phase spider,
which shouldn't be a problem, and then eventually you'll come to a room with
three greater dopplegangers in it. One of the bookshelves in the room has a
mallet head in it. The bookshelf, like just about every other container on
the level, is trapped, so don't blindly search it.
Then return to the room with the table in it and take the northwestern
passage. If you continue moving northwest, you'll find a room that looks like
an armory. There is an anvil in the room, and if the character with the
mallet pieces clicks on it, the mallet will be repaired. It will also be
called a “gong mallet,” giving you a hint about what to do next.
Now move southeast and then southwest to end up in a bedroom. There are two
secret doors in the room. The southeastern one leads back to the warders.
The southwestern one is the one you want to go through. It opens into a long
passageway leading back towards the area with the pride monument. There is a
single trap in the passageway, near where it bends. At the end of the passage
is another secret door, and past the door to the northwest is a display room
with a gong in it. Have the character with the mallet whack the gong to
complete the warder's task. Then go back and talk to the warder to make him
disappear (and to gain another 2000 experience points).
The northern warder is “avarice.” To complete his task, go back to the
intersection where you saw the mustard jellies and take the southern passage.
There is yet another trap in the passage. At the end of the passage you'll
find a bedroom. Northeast of the bedroom is a treasure room guarded by some
skeleton warriors. The big pile of treasure contains a beljuril gem. With
that in hand, go back and talk to the warder to make him disappear (and to
gain 2000 experience points).
The last warder is “love.” He wants a sweet crimson drink -- otherwise known
as wine. Back in the treasure room, in the small pile of treasure, you'll
find an odd-looking key. Take this southwest to the bedroom and unlock the
nightstand drawer. Inside you'll find a “switch for an engine.” Northeast of
the treasure room, through two secret doors, is the engine room. Climb up the
stairs and start the engine using the switch. Now go back to the bedroom and
enter the closet on the western side. Inside you'll find some grapes. Exit
the bedroom to the southeast, go through an oval room with two flesh golems
guarding it, disarm the trap in the subsequent passageway, and finally end up
in the winemaking room. Send the character with the grapes to the winepress
to operate it. You'll have to click on the winepress twice, and the second
time it will create a bottle of wine. There is a secret door on the
northwestern side of the room that you can use to get back to the warder
quickly.
The problem is that once you talk to the last warder, all of the warders will
appear and attack you. The warders are nasty spellcasters, and attacking them
all at once is pretty close to suicide. Instead, put all of your characters
except one in one of the rooms on the level, and then use the other character
to try and lure the warders to your party one at a time. Even if you end up
fighting two warders at once, that's still a much better option than trying to
attack all four at the same time.
When the warders are dead, check their corpses. One will have a wardstone
that you can use to unlock the door so you can climb down to the next level.
Who's where?
------------
Avarice: north of door
Fear: east of door
Love: south of door
Pride: west of door
You'll find yourself in a small, circular room. There are three locked doors
that you cannot open yet, so take the hint and go through the open doorway to
the southwest. In the room beyond you'll find some statues. Operate the one
to the north, and the northwestern door in the entry room will open.
In the room beyond you'll find three sparring dummies and seven traps. Behind
the dummies are containers where you can filch some scrolls, potions, and
magical arrows. Send all of your characters except for one into the entry
room, and then have the one attack the westernmost dummy. In the sparring
room, the door to the southwest will open, the door to the southeast will
close, and Durlag himself will appear before you. Well, not really. It's a
greater doppleganger, and after it talks to you three times it will cast
stinking cloud. Have your character run out of the sparring room to the
southwest, activate the northern statue again, and then run back into the
entry room with the rest of your party. The doppleganger will attack you
there, and without the stinking cloud helping it, you should be able to kill
it easily.
Now attack the middle sparring dummy. This will open the southeastern door
from the entry room. (You could also have operated the southern statue in the
statue room to do this, but that would have also closed the northwestern door
in the entry room.) Move one character into the sparring room, send another
character into the bedroom, and leave the rest of your party in the entry
room. On the desk in the bedroom is the Islanne wardstone. When you pick it
up, the two secret doors between the bedroom and the statue room will open,
the door between the bedroom and the entry room will close, and another Durlag
doppleganger will appear. Immediately have the character in the sparring room
attack the middle dummy to re-open the door between the bedroom and the entry
room, and then use the same plan as with the previous doppleganger.
Also in the bedroom you'll find the Fuernebol wardstone, the Kiel wardstone,
and a locked cabinet (that requires greater than 80% pick locks) with some
various magical items in it. When you take the Kiel wardstone, the
northeastern door in the entry room will open. (If it doesn’t, attack the
sparring dummies to make it open.)
Through the northeastern door you'll find the throne room. There are secret
doors on the north and south sides. Either pick or knock open the southern
door, put all of your group save one in the room beyond (the lever room), and
have the remaining character go to the helmet next to the throne. The helmet
is Kiel's helmet, and it is basically the same as a normal helmet except it
also protects against panic attacks. When your character picks it up, the
door between the throne room and the entry room will close, the northern
secret door will open, and three dopplegangers will appear. The dopplegangers
will cast stinking cloud and cloud kill, so have the character with the helmet
run back to the rest of the party, and then try to lure the dopplegangers in
so you can attack them one at a time. You can also wait a bit before trying
this. The dopplegangers will happily stand in their own clouds and take
damage, so you won't have to face perfectly healthy foes.
East of the lever room is a passage leading to some sort of wyvern trophy
room. There is a trap in the passage and six more in the room. Beyond the
trophy room is the bridge room. There you'll find three bridges crossing a
pool of lava -- plus five dopplegangers ready to pass the time of day with
you. As with the other dopplegangers, try to draw them out so you don't have
to fight them all at once.
Beyond the bridge room, past a winding corridor that amazingly doesn't have
any traps in it, you'll find the final resting place of Kiel the Legionkiller.
Four dwarven doom guards stand vigil over his bed, but they'll leave you alone
as long as you don't try to loot Kiel's equipment from the chest at the foot
of his bed. Kiel's equipment consists of a cursed morningstar and a small
shield with +1 dexterity, and the guards are pretty tough for the measly 2000
experience you get for killing them, so you might just want to skip the
encounter.
Past Kiel's room you'll come to a trapped, fake staircase. If you take the
staircase you'll just end up in the same room. The real staircase is through
the secret door to the south that you can't open yet. Beyond the staircase
room you'll find a passage with two traps and several ghasts in it.
The next room contains a statue and four basins. Each of the basins is
trapped but contains a healing potion. There is also a trap in the center of
the room surrounding the dusty book. The statue has some magical bolts in it.
On the southeastern wall is a secret door. In the small room beyond you'll
see a statue. Inside the statue is the wardstone you need to exit the level.
Grab it and leave quickly because the statue will cast cloud kill every so
often.
The next room is the teleportation room. It is cut in half by a wall, and the
only way across is to teleport from one side to the other. There are trapped
bowls on each side of the room, and inside each bowl is a teleportation
wardstone. Take the wardstone to the symbol on the floor, and the symbol will
activate. Now just click on the symbol to move from one side of the room to
the other.
The final room is the torture room. There are ten traps in the room, and near
the exit to the throne room you'll find Durlag's goblet, which can heal a
character at the expense of causing the character to become fearful.
When you're ready to continue on, head back to the real staircase, heal and
rest if you need it, and then go down the stairs.
You'll start off next to a circular room with a fire spout in it. About every
six seconds the spout will act like a fireball spell and fill the room with
fire. Send one character in and then immediately out of the room so you can
see the other exits. The exit easiest to deal with is the one on the
southeastern side of the room. One at a time, put a character at the edge of
the circular room, wait for the spout to go off, and then move the character
to the southeastern exit. The interval between spouts is long enough that the
character should be able to get to the exit without being burnt.
Beyond the southeastern exit you'll come to an area that looks a little like a
hedge maze. In the area you'll find some greater ghouls that are easy to kill
plus some ashirukuru that are a pain. The ashirukuru hide in the shadows and
backstab characters, so keep your vulnerable spellcasters well in back of your
fighters. Fortunately, most of the ashirukuru are in dead-end parts of the
maze blocked off with traps. If you don't disarm the traps then you won't
have to worry about the ashirukuru.
At the western side of the maze you'll find a statue. It's trapped, but
inside is Bala's axe. The axe is interesting; it'll affect the victim with
miscast magic, so it's useful to keep around for whenever you fight a
spellcaster.
Southwest of the hedge maze you'll come to a room with some giant stone heads
in it. The room is guarded by a couple of ghasts, and there is a trap next to
the heads. This room is the key to getting to the next level, but for now
we'll explore the rest of the level. So ignore the four doors on the western
side of the room, and move to the middle door on the eastern side.
Beyond the door you'll find numerous skeleton archers on platforms connected
by planks of wood. The platforms and planks house a lot of traps, and the
most difficult part of the area is keeping your fighters from running after
archers and tripping the traps. Luckily, the skeletons will often cheat and
walk over the traps without triggering them, allowing you to draw them to you
a couple at a time. Advance slowly, let your best AC fighters attract the
attention of the archers, and have your thief scout around for traps. Then
kill the archers nearby and repeat.
Back in the stone head room, go to the northernmost door on the eastern side.
It leads to a large chamber almost filled with the skeleton of some large
dragon-like creature. You'll be entering the chamber “backwards,” so have one
character skirt along the southern edge of the chamber until s/he spots a
talking skeleton. A stealthed thief is a good choice for this. The skeleton
will tell you that you can briefly control five heroes who are currently
encased in stone, and have them kill the three greater wyverns in the chamber
for you. The problem is that the heroes will really be dire charmed, and once
the enchantment wears off, they'll attack you. Luckily, the heroes and the
wyverns are evenly matched, and, if you let them duke it out, at the end the
survivor(s) will be badly damaged, and you'll be able to mop up easily.
Now head back to the stone head room, and click on all of the stone heads.
Through the four doors to the west you will find four groups of enemies, and
once you defeat the enemies the “game” will begin. From north to south you'll
find...
-- Kaldran the polar bear and four winter wolves. Kaldran is nasty so
concentrate on killing him first.
-- A fission slime. Heed the words of the stone heads and cast some sort
of fire spell on it first. Then you can attack it normally and it will die.
If you don't cast a fire spell, then it will divide in two rather than die.
-- An air aspect and three invisible stalkers. Let the air aspect come to
you, and you can fight it without the stalkers joining in. The aspect is
nasty, so zap it with some good spells.
-- Two phoenix guards. As soon as you kill the fighter guard, you'll be
transported to the chessboard.
The chessboard is the “game” the stone heads mentioned, and it works something
like regular chess. But leave your characters where they get teleported in.
Then, if the enemy pawns don’t come across on their own, use one of your
characters to lure them to you. (It appears you can move your characters
anywhere in the first two rows of the board, so it doesn’t matter if you
understand chess or not.) The pawns are pretty weak, and ranged attacks
should be able to finish them off easily enough, but you might need to use a
melee fighter or two to distract them.
The next row of enemy pieces is, not surprisingly, much more difficult to deal
with. The best strategy seems to be to use web. Aim the spell short of where
the king is located (so your spellcaster doesn’t venture too far from your
edge of the board). You won’t affect the king or queen, but you’ll likely
freeze their helpers. Plus, the king will charge your group. So have your
ranged attackers and spellcasters target the queen (otherwise she’ll cast
horror and mess everything up), and have your melee fighters deal with the
king.
Once the king is dead, the battle will be over, and you'll be able to move
your characters wherever you want without fear of getting zapped. Just move
them through the door on the opposite end of the board to go down to the next
level. But be sure to loot the corpses first. Some will have gold on them,
and the king will have a two-handed sword +3, plus a few magic scrolls.
Move your party a little to the east and you'll meet Durlag “more or less.”
Whatever it is will tell you that you must “seek direction” and take three
distinct paths before moving on.
The first path is through the door to the west of Durlag. You'll first cross
a pool of lava, and then you'll come to a room filled with ettercaps and a
variety of spiders. There is a trap just before the room, so have your thief
scout ahead. Advance into the room slowly, and let the creatures come to you
so you only fight them one at a time. When the room is clear, go talk to the
stone golem in the back. He'll test to see if you've been paying attention
lately. The answers to his questions are...
-- “Kiel” or “Islanne”
-- “Trollkiller”
-- “Thunderaxe”
When you answer the questions correctly, you'll be teleported to a circular
compass-like room. There will be four stone golems with you. Talk to the one
to the northwest first, and then proceed counterclockwise. The fourth golem
will ask you a question, and you should be able to figure out the answer based
on what that golem and the other golems have told you. The answer is: west,
south, east, north. When you answer the question correctly, you'll be
teleported back to Durlag.
Head northeast down a long corridor. You'll eventually come to a room with
Islanne in it. She'll offer to teleport you out of the tower. Northwest of
her position, past a pair of doors, you'll find a room guarded by two helmeted
horrors. The horrors aren't very tough and should go down easily. Inside the
room you'll find a trapped forge, and inside the forge you'll find a bone
wardstone.
Now go back to the room that had the spiders and ettercaps in it. On the
eastern side is a door with a trap in front of it. Go through the door and
take the northwestern passage. The passage leads to a machine where you can
insert the bone wardstone. Your character has to be right next to the machine
in order for it to work. Then go down the opposite passage and enter a room
with a long, rune-covered rug in it. When you inserted the bone wardstone
into the machine, you turned off the numerous traps on the surface of the rug,
making the room safe to walk around in. Past the rug you'll find three beds:
two will have chests next to them, and inside the chests you'll find a mace
+2, leather armor +3, a large shield +2, and a sling +3. The last bed will
teleport you to the compass room again. Don't click on that bed until you're
ready to go.
Use the same strategy as before in the compass room. Talk to the
northwestern golem and travel counterclockwise to talk to the other three.
The last will ask you a question, and the answer starts with “It began with
you and your need for a home.” When you answer the question correctly,
you'll be transported back to Durlag again.
Southeast of Durlag's position you'll find some caverns with nasty green
slime in it. The slime can do some minor damage, so watch your step.
Scattered about the caverns you'll find some greater ghouls and crypt
crawlers, and in the southwestern corner you'll meet a ghoul named Grael.
Grael will tell you about an evil creature called a Tanar'ri if you ask, and
you can help him out by killing him and taking his memory from the place.
Grael has a compass wardstone.
On the eastern side of the caverns is a secret door leading northeast. Beyond
the door you'll find a room with a chest in it. The chest contains a couple
of magical weapons that may or may not be useful to you at this point. Past
the room are some corridors with four traps in them, and at the end of the
western corridor is a locked door. The compass wardstone unlocks the door,
and inside you'll find a throne that will once again lead you to the compass
room. Give the answer that ends with, “In your eyes, you are the one to blame
for all that has happened,” and you'll be teleported back to Durlag again.
This time talk to Durlag, and he'll lead you northeast to a previously closed
secret door, and then he'll disappear. Through the door you'll meet Clair
De'Lain, and she'll give you some information on the demon knight, the
unfriendly guy you met way back at the entrance of the tower. Rest your party
and then head up the nearby stairs.
You start out on the northwestern side of the room / level. Take the time to
cast as many useful spells on your party as possible: haste, bless, and
defensive harmony are all good choices. Then move a character southeast down
the stairs. You'll find the demon knight, and he'll talk to you prior to
attacking. Next to him is the Mirror of Opposition.
You have two options here. You can either ignore the mirror and try to take
out the demon knight on your own, or you can click on the mirror to break it
and free several mirror fiends, who will then attack your party and the demon
knight both. The second option (using the mirror) is the easiest. The demon
knight can hit any armor class value, it seems, and he can cast some nasty
spells. The fiends will kill the demon knight if you release them, and then
you'll just have to mop up what is level of the fiends after the battle. If
you use haste and bless and so forth, the fiends aren't overly difficult.
When all the bad guys are dead, pick up the Soultaker dagger from the demon
knight's corpse, and then head to the eastern edge of the area. There you'll
find Dalton, and he'll leave once you talk to him. Follow his lead and exit
the level yourself. Then talk to Islanne to be teleported out of the tower.
Your next destination should be Ulgoth's Beard, but the reception you'll
receive there won't exactly be warm and friendly, so take the time to heal
your party. You might also want to do some shopping along the way so you'll
be stocked up on arrows and bullets.
When you arrive at the town, a cult enforcer will demand that you give up the
Soultaker dagger. He won't take “no” for an answer, and he’ll summon help.
Be ready to fight about seven cultists, including two cult assassins who will
be invisible and backstab your party members. But after what you faced in
Durlag's Tower, the cultists shouldn't pose too much of a problem.
Now go to the Ulgoth's Beard Inn and talk to Hurgan Stoneblade. He'll tell
you that the cult plans to use Soultaker to release a Tanar'ri, which you
might remember from talking to Clair in Durlag's Tower. If you can return
Soultaker to Hurgan, he'll be able to destroy the beast.
But first things first. A couple of your party members are probably severely
wounded from backstabs, so rest at the inn and get everybody healed up. Then
go visit Therella (northwestern house) and receive a reward of 300 gold coins
for rescuing Dalton from Durlag's Tower. Now head to the building on the
western edge of town that you have to enter on the second floor.
There will be a cult guard there guarding the door, and he won't be thrilled
to see you. In fact, he'll call on a few more cult guards plus a couple of
cult archers to help dispatch you. The main problem here is that the cultists
will attack from multiple directions, so you'll have to spread out your
fighters to keep your spellcasters protected. Zap the cultists with whatever
spells you have handy; you'll want to rest before entering the building
anyway.
Inside the building you'll find a cult wizard, a cult enforcer, a cult guard,
a cult archer, and two cult assassins. The most important enemy unit is the
archer. It is just the perfect distance away so you can cast web on it and
entangle the cultists while allowing your party to still move and pick off the
cultists one at a time. Concentrate on the two assassins first since they'll
probably attack your spellcasters (and not get entangled). You might want to
try casting invisibility purge as soon as you enter the building. Sometimes
that will allow you to beat the assassins to the draw. When you finish off
the cultists, head back to the inn so you can rest and memorize spells, and
then return to the building.
When you go down the stairs, you'll find the head cultist Tracea Carol and six
cult guards. Tracea Carol will immediately summon the Tanar'ri, Aec'Letec,
giving you eight enemies to kill. Aec'Letec is the most dangerous of the
bunch, of course, but if you “kill” it while any of the guards are still
alive, it will take over the guard's body and reanimate itself. So there is
no point in attacking Aec'Letec while the guards are alive.
The way I finished the battle was to combine a little bit of monster summoning
with a little bit of cheating. Aec'Letec has a paralyzing / killing gaze, and
so summoning in some creatures is a good idea so you can distract it. Then
have your party members attack the cult guards and Tracea Carol while the
Tanar'ri is busy elsewhere. If any of your party members get held or start
dying from Aec'Letec's gaze, have your cleric dispel magic. If you run out of
dispel magic spells, have your entire party run upstairs. When you're
upstairs, you're perfectly safe and can heal and cast spells -- and even head
back to the inn to rest if you need it. In this way you can kill the cultists
a couple at a time and then finally kill Aec'Letec when it is all alone. I
used three trips to finish the job.
After the cultists are dead, head back to Hurgan Stoneblade to receive your
reward. Oops, so much for the reward. Well, you should have received 16,000
experience points for killing Aec'Letec, and that will have to do. When
you're ready to move on, it's finally time to visit Baldur's Gate. Select the
bridge leading to the city on the world map.
Go ahead and finally cross the bridge. As you approach the western side, you
should first meet a guard who will collect a 6 gold coin entrance fee, and
then you should meet Scar. Scar will ask if you were involved in the Nashkel
Mine “fiasco.” If you answer in the affirmative, he'll offer you a quest to
investigate the Seven Suns trading center. If you deny involvement, Scar will
leave, but you'll still be able to get the quest later by talking to him in
the Flaming Fist compound.
At the western edge of the bridge you'll meet Quayle, who will offer to join
your group. He's a neutral illusionist, but I've never used him. He doesn't
seem very nice.
When you're ready to move on, follow the road to the western edge of the map.
Who's where?
------------
Quayle: western side of bridge
Scar: western side of bridge
When you enter the city, you'll meet Elminster again. He'll give you a few
hints about your background, that you have “bad blood” and that “thy lineage
is harder to escape than most.” Elminster's words will make more sense later.
At the end he'll also mention that you can trust Scar and his superior officer
Duke Eltan.
Now explore the streets of the area. There are several shops around. The
most important is Sorcerous Sundries, where you can buy and sell most of the
things you will need for the remainder of the game. Inside the shop you'll
meet Ordulinian, who will warn you to steer clear of necromancers Arkion and
Nemphre, and Halbazzer Drin, who is the actual shopkeeper. If you missed out
on any spells along the way, you can probably find scrolls for them here. On
the second floor of the shop are four unfriendly spellcasters who will claim
you've ruined their ritual. If you're polite, they'll go away peaceably.
Otherwise you'll have to fight them. The spellcasters aren't carrying
anything useful, but they have almost no hit points, and they're worth 5400
experience points in total.
Outside and to the east of the Sorcerous Sundries shop is Niklos. He'll want
you to talk to his boss, and he'll offer you 50 gold pieces for the trouble.
His boss is Alatos “Ravenscar” Thuibuld, master of the thieves' guild. Niklos
will also give you the password “fafhrd” so you can enter the guild.
In the northwestern part of the area you'll find a group of buildings. The
buildings are all connected and form the thieves' guild. Regardless of the
building you enter, you'll meet a thief who will ask you for the password,
which you should be able to give him. Inside, you'll be approached by Narlen
Darkwalk, who will ask for your assistance in a robbery. Agree to help. The
robbery will take place on the first evening you approach the Splurging
Sturgeon Inn, so you don't have to rush to find the place. Also in the guild
you'll meet Husam, who will give you some information on the Iron Throne, and
Alatos, who will hire you to do a bit of burglary at the Oberan estate.
Alatos' quest is one of the few timed events in the game, and you’ll only have
ten days in which to return the ritual book, artifact fragment and statuette
to him.
Note: In a barrel behind Black Lily, you’ll find a Manual of Quickness of
Action (+1 dexterity).
In the middle of the area is the Elfsong Tavern. Inside you'll meet Brevlik,
who will ask you to steal the telescope from the Hall of Wonders. He'll also
hint that you should check the guards' schedule before doing the deed.
Upstairs is Cyrdemac, but he won't become important until later.
On the southern edge of the area, next to the General Store, is a locked
house. Inside you'll find Arkion, who will ask you to do the “dirty deed” of
bringing him a dead body from the sewers. Before leaving, have your
thief/bard pick his pocket and get his bloodstone amulet. You'll need it for
a quest later.
There is a sewer grate next to the General Store. Use it to enter the sewers.
Who's where?
------------
Alatos Thuibuld: thief guild
Alyth: Elfsong Tavern
Arkion: house east of General Store
Black Lily: thief guild
Brevlik: Elfsong Tavern
Cauternus: Elfsong Tavern
Cyrdemac: Elfsong Tavern
Husam: thief guild/Elfsong Tavern
Lucky Aello: Lucky Aello's Discount Store
Maltz: General Store
Narlen Darkwalk: thief guild
Niemain: Sorcerous Sundries
Ordulinian: Sorcerous Sundries
Oulam: Sorcerous Sundries
Resar: thief guild
Silence: Shop of Silence
Weber Ott: Sorcerous Sundries
William Garst: Sorcerous Sundries
In this part of the sewers you'll find carrion crawlers and phase spiders.
Near the middle you'll also find an ogre mage, who will brag about the
“anguish” his “pets” have caused on the surface. You should be able to kill
all of these creatures pretty easily.
A passage west of the ogre mage contains the dead bodies Arkion is interested
in. They all weigh 175 pounds, so wait until you're ready to leave, and then
have your strongest character pick one up. There should also be a ruby ring
with the bodies. Pick that up for later. Then go up to the surface to give
the body to Arkion, and he'll give you 250 gold pieces (plus 1800 experience
points).
Return to the sewers if you want. There are two more areas to explore (to the
west), but they don't have any quests involved. In these areas you'll meet
Ratchild, Schlumpsha the Sewer King, and Shvertszche. You might also find the
Undercellar of the city (AR0112), but we'll get back to that later.
When you're ready to move on, emerge from the sewers, go to the middle-eastern
part of the city, and then exit that area to the north.
* -------------------------------------------------------------- *
* Baldur's Gate, Northern/Eastern Section, East of Wall (AR0300) *
* -------------------------------------------------------------- *
When you enter the area, you'll immediately be confronted by Marek and
Lothander. They'll warn you to stop interfering with the Iron Throne and then
leave.
The only building of interest in this part of Baldur's Gate is the Counting
House, where Mendas told you that you could find the sea charts he needs.
Inside you'll be confronted by a guard named Ulf. Tell Ulf that your business
is not his business, and he'll let you pass. Then go up the stairs and talk
to Captain Tollar Kieres. Ask him if there's anything he needs, and he'll
tell you to bring him some “swill” from De'Tranion at the Blushing Mermaid
Inn. (You can also kill everyone in the building to get the charts or simply
pickpocket them from Kieres.)
Then exit the area and select the southeastern part of the city on the world
map.
Who's where?
------------
Lothander: entrance
Marek: entrance
Tollar Kieres: Counting House
Ulf: Counting House
Along the northern edge of the area is the house where Nemphre lives. Nemphre
will ask you to steal a bloodstone amulet from Arkion. You should already
have that amulet. When you give it to Nemphre, she'll reward you with a
scroll of vampiric touch (plus 1000 experience points).
Note: You can also steal Nemphre’s onyx ring, and then give the ring and the
bloodstone amulet to Ordulinian at Sorcerous Sundries. You’ll receive 3500
experience points for your troubles. You can also complete Nemphre’s quest
and then kill her to get the amulet back so you can complete Ordulinian’s
quest as well. (You won’t lose any reputation points for killing Nemphre.)
In the middle of the area you'll find a block of residences. In one you'll
run into Taxek and Michael, two thieves who will give you their gold and run
away if you talk forcibly to them. In another house you'll find a sleeping
man named Gantolandan. Avoid his house for now. It'll be part of a quest
later.
In the northwestern corner of the area is the Blade and Stars Inn. Inside
you'll meet G'axir the Seer, who will ask you return the Sphene Gem from the
lair of the basilisk. You'll also meet Shaella. If you answer with...
-- “Who is Shaella?”
-- “Leira? Who's that?”
-- “But how can you worship...?”
-- “But I don't understand.”
-- “I'm not sure.”
... then Shaella will ask you to retrieve the Great Book of Unknowing from the
library at Candlekeep. Of course, if you find the book you'll never know it,
so take this quest for what it's worth. Upstairs you can meet Maple Willow
Aspen, who will blow up if you ask her about trees, and Reginald Worthington,
who will talk a lot but not say a lot.
On the opposite side of the map, in the southeastern corner, is an unnamed
inn. Upstairs you can talk to Sanadal Gwist, who will tell you that her
brother and cousin have been missing for months. Their names? Shank and
Carbos, who you might remember as the assassins during the prologue at
Candlekeep.
Also in the southern part of the map is a pair of warehouses. In the northern
one you'll find Nadarin, who will ask you to kill a basilisk that has gotten
free in one of the warehouses by the harbor. The warehouse in question is the
lair of the basilisk that G'axir the Seer mentioned before.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the west.
Who's where?
------------
Elkart: Blade and Stars Inn
Euric: southern inn
Gantolandan: middle house
G'axir the Seer: Blade and Stars Inn
Maple Willow Aspen: Blade and Stars Inn
Michael: middle house
Nadarin: warehouse
Nemphre: northern house
Nikolai: middle street
Reginald Worthington: Blade and Stars Inn
Sanadal Gwist: southern inn
Shaella: Blade and Stars Inn
Taxek: middle house
Well-adjusted Al: southern store
Along the eastern edge of the map is a row of buildings. In the southernmost
one you'll find Ghorak, whose name might be familiar if you've been talking to
the commoners in town. He's diseased in some way, and the only way to heal
him is to take his brother's skull from behind a painting at the Three Old
Kegs Inn and give it to Agnasia at the Lady's Hall. In the home north of
Ghorak you'll find Larriaz the sirine. She's going to die one way or the
other, so you might as well kill her and pick up the 30 experience points
she's worth. In the warehouse north of Larriaz you'll meet Noralee, who will
ask you to find her lost gauntlets. They're in a shipping crate somewhere
between the warehouse and the harbor. In the warehouse north of Noralee
you'll find Nivek, who will inform you that this is the warehouse with the
loose basilisk. The basilisk is a greater basilisk, and you'll need some form
of protection from petrification before you attack it. If you don't have
anything like that, you can get a potion of mirrored eyes from Sorcerous
Sundries. Don't forget to pick up the Sphene Gem after you kill the basilisk.
In the southeastern corner of the map is a ship named the Low Lantern. There
are four levels to the ship, and on the second level you'll meet Desreta and
Vay-ya. They're into entropy, and if you express interest, they'll eventually
attack. Desreta is carrying gauntlets of ogre power, which will set a
character's strength to 18/00, so she is definitely worth killing. On the
third level you'll meet Yago. Go ahead and kill him and pick up his book
of curses.
On the western side of the map is a group of three buildings. In the
easternmost one you'll find five ogre mages who have been hired to kill you.
The bounty they cite is 10,000 gold pieces, so you must be doing something
right. The best way to kill the mages is to use a web spell to entangle them
and then pick them off with ranged weapons.
The Water Queen's (Umberlee's) house is in the southwestern part of the area.
Nearby you can find Noralee's gauntlets. They're in a crate at location (750,
2700). Ignore Umberlee's house for now, as well as the harbormaster's
building (middle of map) and the Iron Throne building (northwestern corner of
map). You'll get to them later.
Now it's time to finish off some quests. Return Noralee's gauntlets to her
and receive one reputation point, 1000 experience points, and two potions of
infravision. (You could also keep the gauntlets, but they only give a +1
THAC0 bonus.) Then exit the area to the north but select the southeastern
corner of the city on the world map. Enter the Blade and Stars Inn to visit
G'axir the Seer. When you give him the Sphene Gem you'll receive 1000
experience points. Finally, go talk to Nadarin in his warehouse. He'll give
you 1800 gold pieces (plus 1300 experience points) for killing the basilisk.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area and select the center section of
the city.
There isn't anything of interest south of the wall. When you move north
through the gate, you'll find the Drakon Tavern. It isn't interesting,
either, but when you travel along its eastern side, you'll meet Lothander
again. He'll tell you that Marek poisoned you while you slept, and that you
only have ten days to live, but that he'll help you find the antidote if you
help him first. His problem is that the Iron Throne is controlling him
through the use of a geas, and he needs the help of a diviner to get rid of
it. Follow Lothander to the diviner, pay the diviner 50 gold pieces, and then
ask the diviner about Lothander's geas. He'll tell you that you must speak to
Jalantha Mistmyr at the Water Queen's house. Then talk to Lothander again,
and he'll agree to meet you and the Blade and Stars Inn when you've removed
the geas.
Tracking down the antidote is a long and involved process, but ten days is
plenty of time in which to do it. So take the time to explore the rest of the
area. In a house on the eastern edge you'll meet Nadine. She'll give you a
talisman to give to her son Euric. Euric is in an inn in the southeastern
part of the city. North of the Drakon Tavern you'll find a house with
Felonius Gist and some statues in it. Be polite to Gist or else he'll call
the guards on you. The statues will play a part in a quest later. In the
northwestern part of the area is a poultry store. Watch out! Inside are a
bunch of rabid chickens! Steer clear of the shop unless you're feeling
particularly powerful. Or hungry. Or something.
North of the marketplace (where the diviner's tent is located) is a large blue
and white house. This is Oberan's house, and there are two ways you can
acquire the items that Alatos wants. The first and simplest method is to just
walk in, climb to the third floor, kill the three sisters, and take the items
from a desk in their bedroom. The more sophisticated way is to sneak in with
your thief and steal the objects out from under the noses of the sisters.
Once you have the objects, leave the area to the north but head back to the
Water Queen's house. Ask to talk to Jalantha Mistmyr and pay 50 gold pieces
for the privilege. Ask Jalantha to help with the geas, and she'll in turn ask
you to retrieve the Book of Wisdom for her. You can find the book at the
Lady's Hall.
Then exit the area to the west but head to the southeastern part of the city.
Enter the inn in the southeastern corner of the area and find Euric. He
should be standing around on the first floor. When you give Euric the
talisman, you will receive 1100 experience points. (Or you can just keep the
amulet. It’s an amulet of protection +1.)
Finally, exit the area and head to the thieves' guild in the middle-eastern
part of the city. This sequence will involve a fight, so be prepared. Find
Alatos in the guild and talk to him. You'll receive 4000 experience points
for stealing the items from Oberan's house, but Resar, who you were actually
doing the job for, will want to tie up loose ends. He'll attack, but he's not
very powerful and should go down easily.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area and select the southwestern part
of the city on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Delorna: Oberan's house, third floor
Felonius Gist: northern house
Glanmarie: Oberan's house, first floor
Helshara: Oberan's house, third floor
Ithmeera: Oberan's house, third floor
Nadine: eastern house
Oberan: Oberan's house, second floor
On the eastern side of the area is the building for the Seven Suns. Go inside
and talk to a merchant. He'll eventually tell you that the organization has
been infiltrated by shapeshifters. With that information in hand, leave the
building and find the Flaming Fist compound in the northwestern part of the
area. Scar is just inside the entrance, and when you tell him what you've
learned you'll earn 5000 experience points and 2000 gold pieces. Plus, Scar
will ask you to go back and kill all of the shapeshifters. Do just that.
When you return to the Seven Suns, keep talking to the merchants until they
reveal themselves to be dopplegangers. There will be two on the first floor,
two more on the second floor, and a fifth in the basement (through the door on
the western side of the first floor). Also in the basement you'll find
Jhasso, the leader of the Seven Suns. He's not a doppleganger, so don't kill
him. Instead, talk to him to find out what happened and then return to Scar
and make your report. You'll receive 2000 experience points, two reputation
points, and 4000 gold pieces. Plus, Scar will have another job for you.
This second job should sound familiar. People have been disappearing off the
streets, and Scar will want you to find out why. In fact, you already solved
this quest when you killed the ogre mage and his “pets” in the sewers. Scar
will also want you to return a ruby ring from one of the victims so he can
give it to her family. You should have the ring from your travels in the
sewers, but if you don't it's no big deal. For completing the quest you
should receive 3000 experience points and 3300 gold pieces.
Scar will then leave to stand outside of the Flaming Fist compound. Talk to
him again and he'll introduce you to Duke Eltan. Eltan will ask you to
infiltrate the Iron Throne building and locate proof of the Throne's misdeeds.
Finishing Eltan's quest will end the chapter, so hold off before completing
it. Also in the Flaming Fist compound you'll find Fergus, who would like you
to find an angel skin ring for his lady friend.
East of the Flaming Fist compound is Ye Old Inn. Inside you'll find that
green slimes have overrun the place. Kill the slimes and then talk to the
surviving patrons. You'll find out that a wizard named Ramazith had a
disagreement with the bartender and called up the slimes. Also next to the
Flaming Fist compound is Tiax, an evil cleric/thief, who will offer to join
your group.
In the southwestern part of the area you'll find an unlocked house containing
the wizard Sunin and his servants. Regardless of what you say, they'll decide
you're thieves and attack. Sunin will have a ring of wizardry, making him
worthwhile to kill. In another house in the middle of the area you'll run
into a band of thieves led by Wiven. They won't have anything of interest
unless you're in need of fire arrows.
In the southern part of the area you'll meet Aldeth Sashenstar (provided you
helped him before). He'll tell you that something bad is going on with the
Merchant's Consortium, and he’ll ask you to help him find out what. Agree to
help and he'll open up the building so you can investigate. Wander around and
talk to people, and it should be clear that the problem here is the same as at
the Seven Suns. On the second floor you'll find a locked desk with
incriminating evidence in it. Talk to Aldeth and Brandilar, and Zorl's
doppleganger will show itself, allowing you to kill it. Then go up to the
third floor to visit the “anniversary party.” You'll find ten dopplegangers
there, but you should be able to kill them easily. Finally, return to the
first floor and find five more dopplegangers. When they're dead, talk to
Aldeth and you'll receive a reward of 5000 experience points, 100 gold pieces,
and a bastard sword +1/+3 versus shapeshifters.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the north and select the
middle-western part of the city on the world map. You'll arrive in a tiny
part of the area south of the wall that divides the city. The only thing of
interest here is the home of Fenten. He'll pay for ankheg scales if you ever
happen to kill another ankheg and decide to lug its scales all the way back to
the city. Then exit the area and select the northern-middle part of the city
on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Brandilar: Merchant's Consortium
Dilos: Flaming Fist compound
Dirk: middle house
Eltan: Flaming Fist compound
Fergus: Flaming Fist compound
Joular: southwestern house
Irlentree: Merchant's Consortium
Maka: southwestern house
Meakin: middle house
Sath: middle house
Scar: Flaming Fist compound
Sunin: southwestern house
Tiax: outside Flaming Fist compound
Wiven: middle house
Zorl: Merchant's Consortium
The majority of the area is taken up by the ducal palace. You can't get into
the palace yet, so ignore it for now. Northeast of the palace is Ramazith's
tower. When you walk by the tower, Ramazith (the slime guy, if you recall Ye
Old Inn) will approach you and ask you capture a nymph away from his colleague
Ragefast. Go ahead and agree to do the deed. Ramazith will then go into his
tower. Pick the lock to the tower and then enter and pick his pocket. You'll
get a ring of protection +2. Don't talk to him again, though, or else he'll
assume you've gone back on your word.
On the eastern side of the area is the Three Old Kegs. After trading insults
with Shep on the first floor, go up to the second floor and look around.
Behind one of the paintings on the northern wall is the skull Ghorak told you
about. Finally, on the third floor is an unnamed noblewoman who will have a
quest for you. She'll ask you to kill a man named Cyrdemac at the Elfsong
Tavern.
In one of the southern homes is Rinnie. She'll ask you to find information
about the Unicorn Run. Give her your copy of the History of the Unicorn Run,
and she'll give you a scroll of protection from poison. You'll also receive
900 experience points. (If you didn’t buy the book from the Friendly Arm Inn
before, you should be able to find a copy at the top of Ramazith’s tower.)
West of Rinnie's home you should find a little girl named Petrine standing in
the street. She'll ask you to retrieve a ring from her uncle's house. Her
uncle's house is just to the north, and the ring is on the second floor in a
chest next to the stairs. When you give the ring to Petrine, you'll receive
500 experience points.
In a northern home you'll meet Drelik, who won't be happy to see you. After
killing him, if you go upstairs, you'll also meet Jardak, who also won't be
happy to see you. Jardak is carrying the Helm of Glory, which will give an
armor class bonus and a point of charisma.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area to the west and select the middle
part of the city on the world map. From there exit to the west and select the
middle-western part of the city. (If you try to go directly to the middle-
western part of the city, you'll end up south of the wall again.)
Who's where?
------------
Bellamy: Three Old Kegs Inn
Bheren: southern house
Drelik: northern house
Ithlyl: Three Old Kegs Inn
Nantrin Bellowglyn: Three Old Kegs Inn
Petrine: southern street
Ramazith: Ramazith's tower
Rinnie: southern house
Shep: Three Old Kegs Inn
Most of the area is taken up by the High Hall of Wonders. If it's daytime,
then all you can do is look around and go on a tour. Sometime around
midnight, though, the guards will leave and you can steal the telescope. In
the process you'll meet Alora. If you agree to work with her, she'll
eventually offer to join your group. She's a good-aligned thief but I've
never used her. Once she's gone, use your thief to unlock the telescope's
case, and then take the telescope.
Northeast of the Hall is Ragefast's home. Inside you'll find Ragefast and
Abela the nymph, and you’ll have a couple choices for the encounter: you can
either talk Ragefast into letting Abela go, or you can fight him. If you
fight him, then you can either let Abela go yourself or take her to Ramazith.
The “best” option is to convince Ragefast to let Abela go, but as long as
Abela goes free she’ll give you a lock of her hair, which you can then take to
Sorcerous Sundries to have a cloak made.
In the northwestern part of the area you'll be approached by a man named Varci
Roaringhorn. He'll ask you to follow him to the house of his master, which is
nearby. Enter the house and talk to Tremaine Belde'ar. He'll ask you to
retrieve his son's body from the Water Queen's home so he can restore it to
life.
South of Tremaine's house is the Lady's House (aka the Temple of Tymora).
Inside, talk to Agnasia and she'll take Kereph's skull and restore Ghorak to
health. For the deed you'll receive 1000 experience points and one point of
reputation. Then talk to Chanthalas Ulbright. If you’re charismatic enough,
you can convince him that your lives depend on the book. Otherwise you can
pay him 500 gold pieces for it.
Now it's time to finish off some more quests. Exit the area and select the
southern-middle part of the city on the world map. Go to the Water Queen's
house. Inside, find Jalantha and talk to her. She'll accept the book and
give you an incantation to remove the geas from Lothander. Then talk to one
of the priestesses of Umberlee and ask to see Tenya (assuming you helped her
before). Ask her for the body of Tremaine's son and she'll give it to you.
Otherwise you'll have to talk to Jalantha again and pay 2000 gold pieces for
the body.
Note: If you tell Jalantha you don’t trust her, she’ll give you the geas
removal scroll before you give her the book. You can then decline to give her
the book and fight her and the priestesses. There doesn’t seem to be any
penalty for doing this, and you’ll not only get to keep the book (which is +1
wisdom), you’ll also get 6000 experience points for killing Jalantha.
Now go talk to Ghorak (in the southern house on the eastern side). He won't
give you a reward, but you'll see that he is finally happy and healthy. If
you haven't robbed the Hall of Wonders yet, go north to Jopalin's Tavern and
rest until it is evening. Then head back to the middle-western part of the
city (once again using the middle area as a way station) and rob the Hall.
Even if you've already done the robbery, you still need to go to the middle-
western part of the city so you can give Tremaine back his son's body. After
Tremaine has revived his son, talk to Varci for your reward. You'll receive
5000 experience points, 2000 gold pieces, and a large shield +1/+4 versus
missile weapons.
Now go back to the middle-eastern part of the city and enter the Elfsong
Tavern. Brevlik will give you a wand of lightning and 500 gold pieces (plus
5500 experience points) for the telescope. Upstairs you can kill Cyrdemac to
make the noblewoman happy. Then go to Sorcerous Sundries and talk to
Halbazzer Drin. If you tell him that you couldn't possibly sell the nymph's
hair, he'll offer to make a cloak out of it for 100 gold pieces. The nymph's
cloak is identical to Algernon's cloak, so you can have one made or not as you
wish.
Now head to the southeastern part of the city and enter the Blade and Stars
Inn. Lothander is on the second floor, and he'll reveal that he only has half
the antidote. Scumbag. The other half is with his partner Marek in the
Blushing Mermaid Inn.
Finally, go to the northern-middle part of the city. Enter Ramazith's tower
again, but this time confront him. He'll cast a lightning spell and then
scurry away to the top of the tower. There are several levels to the tower,
and each level has some creatures you need to kill. Space is limited, so the
best strategy is to pick about four characters from your party and have them
do all the work. Along the way you'll face mustard jellies, ghasts, hobgoblin
elites, and finally kobold commandos. Ramazith will be by himself, and he
shouldn't last long against your party. When you kill him, you'll be able to
pick up another ring of protection +2. Plus, you’ll be able to explore his
study and pick up a Tome of Clear Thought (+1 intelligence).
When you're ready to do some more exploring, exit the area and select the
northeastern part of the city on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Abela: Ragefast's home
Agnasia: Lady's House
Alora: Hall of Wonders
Be'land: Hall of Wonders
Brathlen: Hall of Wonders
Chanthalas Ulbright: Lady's House
Forthel August: Hall of Wonders
Ragefast: Ragefast's home
Tremaine Belde'ar: northwestern house
Varci Roaringhorn: northwestern street
You'll start in the area next to the Blushing Mermaid Tavern. Go ahead and
enter the tavern. When you do, you'll be accosted by an ogre named Larze. If
you claim you're not who he's looking for and suggest he go look at his
picture again, you'll earn 900 experience points and avoid a fight. Otherwise
you'll have to fight him (and earn 2000 experience points). If you fight
Larze, you'll get banged up, so it's probably more expedient to simply make
him go away.
Inside the tavern is De'Tranion. If you want to get some of his “foulest
swill” you'll have to cover Captain Kieres' dept of 900 gold pieces. If you
find that price too steep, you can just go back to the Counting House and kill
Kieres to get the charts that way. On the second floor you'll find Marek.
He'll attack you when you talk to him, but he won't be much of an opponent.
You’ll find his half of the antidote on his corpse, but as far as I can tell
you don’t need to drink it. You should see a message that you’re cured of his
poison as soon as you talk to him. Marek will also have an eagle bow on his
corpse, and it’s a pretty good short bow if you're in need of that sort of
thing.
If it is not yet dark outside, stay at the tavern until it is. Then exit and
leave all of your characters except your thief by the door, and have your
thief head south. Along the way you should run into Brielbara, who will ask
that you retrieve Yago's book of curses for her and then meet her at the
Splurging Sturgeon Inn. Continue south and then west, and you should find
the Splurging Sturgeon Inn with Narlen Darkwalk waiting out front. Talk to
him, and he'll tell you that your job is to keep watch while he robs a house.
He'll lead you to the house and then disappear inside. Shortly thereafter a
guard will wander by and challenge your presence. Give the alarm and then
have your group exit the area to the west.
Select the middle-eastern part of the city on the world map, and then head to
the thieves' guild. Find Narlen Darkwalk in the guild and talk to him.
He'll divide the loot (100 gold pieces!) and then offer to let you in on
another job, this time to rob a jewel fence named Gantolandan. Go ahead and
agree to help, and he'll tell you to meet him next to the Blade and Stars at
dusk. Once again, you can do the job any day at dusk, so there's no rush.
Then exit the area and select the northeastern part of the city on the world
map. Enter the Counting House and go upstairs to talk to Captain Kieres.
When you give him the ale, he'll drink enough to feel woozy and then ask you
to hold his sea charts. Gladly oblige and then exit the area and head back to
Ulgoth's Beard. Walk over to Mendas' house (southwestern corner) and talk to
him. He'll give you 2000 gold pieces for the charts and tell you to meet him
at the docks. If you're still feeling grumpy about paying Captain Kieres'
debts, you can relieve Mendas of 980 gold pieces by robbing one of the chests
in his house. Then go to the docks, talk to Mendas, and set sail for
Balduran's Island.
Who's where?
------------
Bork: Blushing Mermaid Tavern
Brielbara: western street
De'Tranion: Blushing Mermaid Tavern
Marek: Blushing Mermaid Tavern
* --------------------------------------------- *
* Balduran's Island, Southern Side (*) (AR2000) *
* --------------------------------------------- *
Say goodbye to your ship and then say hello to Solianna, who should be within
view of your starting location. If you're polite to her, she'll give you a
lot of background information. Then explore the area. The southern side of
the island is the “safe” side and houses all of the people who will give you
quests.
North of your starting position is a fortress of sorts, and inside you'll meet
Kaishas Gan, the leader of the people on the island. She will tell you that
if you can kill the werewolves to the north, then her people will build a ship
that will return everyone to the Sword Coast. Sounds like a good plan, so
agree to help.
Once you've talked to Kaishas, other citizens will start talking to you. West
of Kaishas' building is Delainy (aka Durlyle), who will ask you to retrieve a
lost cloak. South of Kaishas' building you'll meet Maralee, who will ask you
to rescue her baby Peladan from the werewolves. West of the fortress you'll
find Farthing, who will ask you to find her dolly. South of Farthing you'll
find Evalt, who will ask you to locate his brother Evan.
When you're ready to tackle the werewolves and the quests, exit the area to
the north.
Who's where?
------------
Delainy: fortress
Jorin: west of fortress
Kaishas Gan: fortress
Lahl: fortress
Maralee: fortress
Solianna: southeastern area
Tailas: fortress
Taloun: western building
* --------------------------------------------- *
* Balduran's Island, Northern Side (*) (AR1500) *
* --------------------------------------------- *
North of you starting position you'll meet Palin, who will ask you to help
rescue some people being attacked by werewolves. It's a trap, but it doesn't
matter what you say. You'll be attacked by Palin and four werewolves. Watch
the combat messages and figure out which of your party members is using a
weapon that is ineffective against werewolves. As far as I can tell, all
magical weapons work -- except for ranged weapons, in which case only magical
ammunition will cause damage. Palin is carrying Farthing's doll, which you
can pick up after he is dead.
On the western side of the area you'll meet Meym. He's a bad guy, too, and
after you talk to him long enough he'll turn into a werewolf and attack. He's
by himself, though, so he shouldn't pose much of a problem. To the northwest,
on a narrow land bridge, you'll find the Sirine Queen (aka witch) who ensnared
Evan. The queen will claim that Evan forced himself upon her and deserved to
die. You can believe her or not. If you choose to fight, four more sirines
will appear (two to the north and two to the south), and you'll get 14,000
experience points for killing the lot (plus some arrows of biting and Evan's
corpse from the bodies). If you don't fight, then the queen will hand over
the body and you'll receive 2000 experience points. Evan's corpse weighs 155
pounds, so now is a good time to head back to the south and give back the body
(900 experience points) and the doll (1400 experience points). Then head back
north.
Near the middle of the area you'll be approached by Kryla, who will want you
to avenge the death of Jondal. Guess what? It's another trap. Regardless of
what you say, Jondal and Kryla will turn into werewolves and attack. Nearby
and to the east you'll find the cottage of a wizard named Dradeel. Talk to
him, and he'll tell you what happened on Balduran's final voyage. He'll also
ask for you to return his spellbook from the lair of the werewolves. As a
down payment for your help, he'll give you an amulet with attack bonuses
against werewolves.
North of Dradeel's cottage is the lair of the werewolves. There are four
levels to the lair, and the levels are all similar. You'll enter a level and
find yourself surrounded by wolves of one sort or another. If you bring your
entire party in, then your spellcasters will come under heavy fire, so it's
best to let your fighters clear each level before bringing everybody else in.
There are also trapped containers in the levels, so be sure to scout with your
thief first before opening anything up.
On the second level, on the eastern side and in a trapped box, you'll find the
silver dagger Werebane. Hang on to it because you'll probably need it later.
On the fourth level you'll find Karoug and Daese. Regardless of what you say,
you'll have to fight them plus four werewolves. Karoug is a greater werewolf,
and so even fewer weapons will work against him than normal werewolves. The
sword Kondar and Drizzt's scimitar Frostbrand will work fine, but the sword
Varscona is ineffective except for its frost attack. If you're not sure about
a weapon, have that character use Werebane.
Note: Karoug and Daese will each cast a spell before turning into werewolves.
If you’re quick, you can kill one before the change.
After everything is dead, start collecting the loot. Dradeel's spellbook is
in a locked and trapped chest next to the stairs. Maralee's baby Peladan is
at the location where Daese turned into a werewolf. On the eastern side of
the level is a desk. It is not trapped, but there is a trap in front of it.
Inside you'll find the Sword of Balduran, which has bonuses against
werewolves, the logbook of Balduran, and the Butter Knife of Balduran.
With loot in hand, exit the lair and head back to Dradeel's cottage. When you
give him the spellbook, he'll dimension door away, and you'll receive 5000
experience points. With him gone, search the cottage. In a chest by the door
you'll find belladonna flowers (which you should take), the holy cloak Delainy
wanted you to retrieve, and a staff mace. In a desk in the next room you'll
find Dradeel's recipe book. Of most interest in the book is the part about
werewolves and how to dispel lycanthropy.
Now make your way back to the southern half of the island. Talk to Delainy,
be polite, and ask her to talk about herself and her people. At the end
she'll ask you to get some flowers for her. Talk to her again and give her
the belladonna flowers. She'll reward you with a kiss and her friendship.
Then go talk to Maralee and give her back her baby. For this you'll receive
4000 experience points.
Finally, pay a visit to Kaishas. She'll give you your “reward,” but then
Tailas will turn against you and attack. In fact, Tailas will have turned the
entire village against you (except your “ally” Kaishas), and so wandering
around the southern half of the island will suddenly be much more dangerous.
Use the same strategy as in the lair: let your fighters clear an area and then
bring in the rest of your party.
Head west and you should meet Delainy again. She's a real ally, and she'll
tell you how to escape to the ship. Follow her to a building, and there
you'll also meet Dradeel, who will tell you roughly the same thing as Delainy.
When you go through the secret door in the building, you'll find yourself in
some caverns. The exit is to the northeast, but along the way you'll find
pairs of werewolves, so have your fighters lead the way.
When you exit the caverns, you'll find yourself on a beach on the northern
half of the island. Kaishas will be waiting for you on the ship, but she'll
be all alone and shouldn't be too hard to kill. When she's dead, pick up the
sea charts and then “exit” the area by moving west on the ship. You'll end up
back on the docks in Ulgoth's Beard, and before you can even catch your
breath, you'll be confronted by Baresh, who won't be happy that killed
Kaishas. Follow him to Mendas' house, and, after a brief conversation, fight
him and Mendas. If you have difficulty with the fight, just have your party
exit the house, rest, and then try again until Mendas and Baresh are dead.
When the fight is over you'll find chainmail +3 on the floor.
That finishes the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack. Rest up and do
what shopping you need, and then when you're ready to move on, exit the area
and select the northern-middle part of Baldur's Gate on the world map. Once
there, go into the Three Old Kegs and let the noblewoman on the third floor
know that you've killed Cyrdemac. She'll pay you 500 gold pieces. You can
also blackmail her yourself and get 500 gold coins every ten days, but there's
no reason to sully your name in that way. Then exit the area and select the
northeastern part of Baldur's Gate on the world map.
Who's where?
------------
Daese: werewolf lair, level 4
Dradeel: eastern cottage
Jondal: middle area
Karoug: werewolf lair, level 4
Kryla: middle area
Meym: western area
Palin: southern area
Go back to the Splurging Sturgeon Inn, but this time go inside. Brielbara is
on the main floor. When you give her Yago's book, you'll receive 1000
experience points and one point of reputation. You can also demand some gold
if you want, but there's no need. On the second floor, you can meet a mustard
jelly on one side of the inn and Mr. Shade on the other. See if you can
discover Mr. Shade's business.
When you're ready to move on, exit the area and select the northwestern part
of the city on the world map.
In the middle of the area is a house with a plus-shaped roof. Inside you'll
find twin sisters Louise and Laerta. If you talk to them you'll find out that
some “bogeyman” peeks at them through the windows at night. After the
conversation, a mage named Gervisse will appear and tell you that a druid
named Voltine has evil plans for the girls. And after that conversation,
Voltine herself will appear -- and chastise you for watching her while she's
changing clothes. She'll be in the kitchen at the time, but she's a druid,
and maybe that's where druids change clothes. Anyway, if you talk to her,
she'll claim that Gervisse is a dirty old man who peeks through windows.
Believe Voltine and attack Gervisse. He should die quickly. Then talk to
Voltine again, and she'll give you a wand of polymorphing. Finally, talk to
Laerta again, and she'll confirm that you scared away the bogeyman (plus
you'll receive 1000 experience points).
Southwest of this house is another house with a plus-shaped roof. Inside
you'll be attacked by pairs of invisible stalkers, doom guards, and helmed
horrors. It's best to be prepared for this fight, so cast bless, defensive
harmony, and haste before going in. When all the nasties are dead, explore
the rest of the house, and you'll find Degrodel in a western room. He'll hire
you to retrieve the Helm of Balduran for him.
On the western side of the area, you'll find a house with Pheirkas in it.
He'll ask you to steal a cloak from Algernon, who is staying at the Feldepost
Inn in Beregost. Chances are that you stole that cloak a long time ago and
have been hanging on to it ever since. If you had a nymph's hair cloak made
at Sorcerous Sundries, then there's no reason to keep Algernon's cloak, and
you can give it to Pheirkas for 200 gold pieces and 300 experience points.
Otherwise the cloak is probably more useful than the reward.
In a house on the eastern side of the area, you'll meet Quinn. His friend
Nester got killed by ankhegs, and Quinn will tell you that he'd like an item
of Nester's so there is something of his to bury. You should still have
Nester's dagger with you, so give it to Quinn. He'll reward you with a
shandon gem, and you'll also receive 950 experience points and one point of
reputation.
On the southern side of the area you'll find the Cloak and Helm Inn. Go to
the bar inside and talk to Gorpel Hind and his Band of Merry Fools. Tell them
about your adventures in the Cloakwood Forest, and they'll make you honorary
members. This is important because right after you talk to the Fools, Gretek
and his Maulers will enter the inn and pick a fight with you. If the Fools
like you, then they'll join the fight on your side. Most of the Maulers are
spellcasters or archers, meaning they'll stay far away you, and so a web spell
followed by a couple of fireballs will go a long way towards winning the
battle for you. Then it's just a matter of picking off the survivors with
ranged attacks and spells. Upstairs in the inn you'll find a room occupied by
an emissary of Amn. In a locked cabinet in the room is an angel skin ring.
Wait until the emissary leaves the room before stealing it, or else she'll
call the guards.
Now you can finish off a few more quests. Go to the southwestern part of the
city and give the angel skin ring to Fergus. He'll thank you and you'll
receive 800 experience points and one reputation point. Then go to the middle
part of the city and visit Felonius Gist's house again. The statues in his
house are the mercenaries that Degrodel mentioned to you. Revive the statue
in the corner (Vail), and when it talks to you, be truthful but insist upon
receiving the helm. Vail will give you a note with clues to the location of
the Helm of Balduran (at the Cloak and Helm Inn) and the Cloak of Balduran
(with Quenash in the Undercellar). Then go talk to Nadine (in an eastern
house) again and tell her that you gave the talisman to Euric. She'll give
you a necklace of missiles, and you'll also receive 400 experience points and
a point of reputation.
Now exit the area, go back to the Cloak and Helm Inn (in the northwestern part
of the city), and climb up to the empty guest room at the back of the inn.
The helm is hidden behind a trapped painting. The helm is useful, with
bonuses to armor class, hit points, saving throws and THAC0, so forget about
returning it to Degrodel and keep it yourself. Then head to the Blushing
Mermaid Tavern (in the northeastern part of the city) and use the door in the
back room to access the Undercellar.
Who's where?
------------
Arlin: Cloak and Helm Inn
Borinole Mann: northern inn
Caturak: Cloak and Helm Inn
Degrodel: western house
Farluck: Cloak and Helm Inn
Gervisse: middle house
Gorpel Hind: Cloak and Helm Inn
Gretek: Cloak and Helm Inn
Laerta: middle house
Louise: middle house
Nader: Cloak and Helm Inn
Nelik: Cloak and Helm Inn
Pargus: Cloak and Helm Inn
Pheirkas: western house
Quinn: eastern house
Turpin: Cloak and Helm Inn
Voltine: middle house
Wilf: Cloak and Helm Inn
You'll find yourself confronted by a guard who will ask for an entry fee of 10
gold pieces. You can avoid paying the fee if you want, but does it matter?
There isn't much to see in the Undercellar. Mostly it's just a lot of random
courtesans and clients wandering around.
Near the center of the Undercellar, in a room off the hallway where you start,
you'll find Quenash. Talk to her and answer her questions with...
-- “Vail sent me.”
-- “Perhaps I cannot recall...”
... and she’ll give you the Cloak of Balduran.
Now exit the area and go to the Blade and Stars Inn (in the southeastern part
of the city). If it is not yet dusk, then stay at the inn until dusk. Then
leave everybody but your thief inside the inn, and have your thief go outside.
You should see Narlen Darkwalk next to the entrance. Talk to him, and he'll
tell you that you get to work inside this time. Then he'll walk over to the
house across the street and pick the lock for you -- and then disappear. You
won't have any help for the robbery. Go upstairs and notice the chest along
the northern wall. It's trapped, but it has the rogue gem that Narlen is
interested in. Gantolandan will wake up a couple times while you're at work,
and you should pretend to be a cat each time. If he wakes up a third time,
there's nothing you can do, and you'll either have to fight him or flee.
Gantolandan will also call the guards, but no guards ever came that I know of.
Once you have the gem, exit the area and head for the thieves' guild. Talk to
Narlen there, and he'll give you your share of the plunder -- three pearls.
Then you can watch Narlen chew out Alatos for setting you up before. That was
a better reward for me.
When you're ready to continue on, head for the southern-middle part of the
city and enter the Iron Throne's building. There are five levels to the
building. The only interesting level is the top one, where you'll be able to
find the proof that Eltan is looking for. Along the way you'll meet lots of
guards. Some you'll be able to bluff by claiming to be from Sembia, and some
you'll have to fight. It doesn't matter; they're all easy to kill. Also, if
you talk to some merchants and emissaries, you'll learn that Rieltar and
Brunos, two of the Iron Throne's leaders, have left for Candlekeep, and
Sarevok, Rieltar's son, has been acting like he's in charge.
Before going up to the fifth level, cast haste, bless, defensive harmony and
so forth on your party. As soon as you get up the stairs, you'll come under
attack by Zhalimar Cloudwulfe and five others. This should be a tough battle,
and if you have trouble with it you can use the stairs to your advantage. For
example, you can send one character up the stairs long enough for the enemy
spellcasters to start casting spells, and then send the character back down so
the spells are wasted. You can also send your party up the stairs, allow them
to do a little fighting, and then send them back down to regroup and heal.
Once the “acolytes” are dead, search the area. On one of the bodies you'll
find a ring of free action, in one of the back rooms you'll meet Thaldorn, who
you can let live or not, and in another back room you'll find some of
Sarevok's letters in a desk. You can also check out the roof from here, and
you might find that it looks familiar.
When you exit the building, you'll meet a Flaming Fist mercenary named
Caedmon. He'll tell you that you should go talk to Scar or Eltan -- like you
didn't know that already. Anyway, follow his advice and head to the Flaming
Fist compound in the southwestern part of the city. Tell Eltan (on the second
floor) what you've learned, and he'll give you the History of the Nether
Scrolls so you can enter Candlekeep and spy on Rieltar, and he'll also give
you 2000 gold pieces. Then the chapter will end.
You'll start outside the gates of Candlekeep, and even though you've been to
this location before, the area identification number is different, so you'll
have to explore all over again. To that end, walk around and notice that the
only thing of interest outside the gates is the Keeper of the Portal. Talk to
him and give him the History of the Nether Scrolls, and he'll transport you
inside the keep.
Wander around some more and catch up on old times with the people you haven't
seen since the prologue. Most will be excited to see you and hear about your
exploits. Then there will be others like the priest of Oghma (in the priest's
quarters) who will hiss at you and turn out to be a doppleganger. What fun
would it be if there was nobody to fight?
If you need supplies, go visit Winthrop in the Candlekeep Inn and buy what you
can. When you're ready to move on, enter the library in the center of the
keep.
Who's where?
------------
Cadderly: outside library
Dreppin: northern area
Fuller: hospital
Hull: southern area
Parda: bunkhouse
Phlydia: outside library
Reevor: Candlekeep Inn
Winthrop: Candlekeep Inn
Near the entrance of the first level you'll meet Karan. He'll tell you that
somebody named Koveras (note what it spells backwards) has been in the library
reading Alaundo's prophecies. In the center room you'll also meet Jessup and
Theodon, who will regale you with stories of your childhood in the keep. Also
on the first level you can find some scrolls of interest at locations
(1825,750) and (1700,650). You should now have a pretty good idea of who and
what you are, and what the opening movie to the game was all about.
When you climb the stairs to the second level, you'll be approached by
Bendalis. He'll tell you that Koveras makes him nervous, and he'll also
mention that Shistal has been acting strange of late. Elsewhere on the level
you'll meet Koveras himself, who will claim to be a friend of Gorion's. Sure.
He'll try to give you a ring of Gorion's, which you can accept or not. It's
just a ring of protection +1.
On the third level you'll meet Rieltar and his Iron Throne friends. It's
possible for you to guide your conversation with them so that they'll attack
you -- and you'll kill them -- but don't do it. Rieltar and his friends will
die during this chapter regardless of what you do, and if you fight them now
you won't get to see the rest of the library. So be polite and leave them be.
On the fourth level you'll find Shistal. Any guesses about why he has been
acting strangely? That's right, it's because he's now a doppleganger. Keep
talking to him and then accuse his of lying. He'll change form and attack.
And then die.
On the fifth level you'll run into Piato, who will tell you that Gorion's old
room is on this level. The room is just west of the staircase, and inside
you'll find a letter that probably won't tell you anything new. But just in
case you were lagging behind in the plot, it'll spell things out for you:
Sarevok is the big bad guy, and you need to kill him.
On the sixth level a gatewarden will approach you and accuse you of killing
Rieltar and his friends. You'll then be transported to the jail in the
barracks building. After a short wait, Ulraunt will saunter over and formally
accuse you of the murder. After another short wait, Tethtoril will sneak in
and spring you from the jail.
You'll find yourself in a small room lined with shelves. There are some
scrolls in the shelves you might find useful, but the only thing you can
really do here is exit to the west and enter the main area of the catacombs.
In the catacombs you'll find two things in abundance: traps and dopplegangers.
So scout with your thief and polish your weapons. Once you travel down the
hallway where you start, you'll come to a room with four exits. Take the
southwestern exit first. Down the first southern branch you'll find a room
with a sarcophagus in it. Inside the sarcophagus you'll find a ring of fire
resistance and a tome of understanding (+1 wisdom). Be careful because there
are three traps at the entrance to the room and another trap on the
sarcophagus. At the end of the northern branch you'll find another room with
a sarcophagus in it, but this time it will be guarded by traps and phase
spiders. Inside the sarcophagus you'll find a cloak of protection +2 and a
manual of gainful exercise (+1 strength).
Now head back to the center room and take the northwestern exit. Here you'll
find several ghasts, but there won't be any equipment of interest. Finally,
by taking the northeastern exit from the center room, you can go down to the
second level.
After killing the Dreppin doppleganger, head north. Inside the arches you'll
find Deder and Arkanis, who are real people and not dopplegangers. They'll
offer to help you while you're in the catacombs, but that basically means
they'll only help out in fights they happen to be close to.
The majority of the level is taken up by the large chamber where you start.
On either side of the chamber are small rooms where you'll find dopplegangers.
On the western side of the chamber are several skeleton archers. All should
be easy to kill. There will also be a few traps on the level, mostly under
the arches.
At the far end of the chamber you'll meet Elminster, Gorion, and Tethtoril.
Gorion, of course, is dead, and Elminster will ask that you stop killing
“innocents.” So take three guesses as to what these guys are. If you said
two dopplegangers and one greater doppleganger, then you win the prize! After
killing them, continue down the hallway, kill a few more dopplegangers, and
then exit to level 3.
Who's where?
------------
Arkanis: southeastern area
Deder: southeastern area
Southeast of your starting position you'll run into Prat and three other of
Sarevok's minions. The best way to handle this is to hide behind the cavern
walls and let the enemies come to you so you can kill them one at a time.
Prat will usually start things off with a lightning bolt, so make sure your
party is safely hidden away before initiating contact. If you're lucky, Prat
will kill himself with his own lightning bolt and you'll never have to face
him.
After killing Prat and company, head generally southeast. You'll first come
across some phase and wraith spiders guarded by web traps, so advance slowly
and have your thief scout ahead. Then, on the southern side of the area,
you'll encounter two greater basilisks. You'll know you're close when you see
statues around. Use whatever protective spells you have available and kill
the basilisks, and then head west. You'll meet Diarmid near the exit of the
area (in the southwestern corner), and he'll confuse you with Prat. You can
use his confusion to gain some information about Sarevok, but eventually
Diarmid will catch on and run away. You can also kill him if you want, but he
isn't worth much experience.
When you exit the caverns, you'll find yourself behind Candlekeep. As soon as
you move south, the chapter will end.
Who's where?
------------
Bor: northern area
Diarmid: near exit
Prat: northern area
Sakul: northern area
Tam: northern area
If you need to rest or buy supplies, head over to Beregost. From now on,
Baldur's Gate is going to be an annoying city. Flaming Fist mercenaries will
try to arrest you every time they see you, so you'll need to rush around a
bit, and the less things you need to do in the city, the better.
Before returning to Baldur's Gate, make sure all of your fighters have an open
weapon slot. The first time a Flaming Fist mercenary approaches you, he'll
arrest you and take you to the Flaming Fist compound. That's fine since you
can then escape by first being polite to Angelo and then repeatedly talking to
Neb (the answer to his question is 33). Every time after that the mercenaries
will simply attack. In order to keep your reputation from dropping down to
zero, have your fighters use their fists on the mercenaries. Then the
mercenaries will become unconscious rather than dying, and you can escape.
You can also just flee, but sometimes that will give the mercenaries free
shots at your spellcasters.
The first place to go in Baldur’s Gate is the middle/eastern part of the city.
When you arrive, Husam will tell you that Scar is dead and that Duke Eltan is
“diseased.” Heading west towards the middle of the area Delthyr will approach
you and, among other things, suggest that you investigate the Iron Throne
building in town. Then, near Sorcerous Sundries, Tamoko will approach you and
tell you that “the one who claims to heal Duke Eltan’s sickness is also the
one who breeds it.” It’s nice to be so popular.
So head to the Iron Throne building in the southern/middle part of the city.
Inside you'll meet Dhanial, who will give you some information about what
Sarevok has been up to lately. The short version is “nothing good.” Head up
to the top floor like you did once before, and talk to the fleeing merchants
in the process. They'll all reiterate what Dhanial told you. Notice that the
cooks aren't going anywhere. They may be rude, but they sure are dedicated.
On the top floor you'll find Cythandria. After you talk to her she'll attack
and summon in a couple of ogres to help out. Cythandria is a spellcaster, so
have your own spellcasters and ranged attackers concentrate on her while your
fighters take out the ogres. When you've hurt Cythandria badly enough, she'll
beg for mercy and tell you to look for Sarevok in the Undercellar. Go ahead
and kill her; she's worth 2000 experience points. Then pick up the letters
and diary on her corpse. The diary is especially important since it
implicates Sarevok in everything that has happened.
The best way to get to the Undercellar is to use the city sewers. You can get
to the sewers without leaving the Iron Throne building by going through the
building's basement. The stairs to the basement are in the southeastern
corner of the ground floor, and the door to the sewers is in the southeastern
corner of the basement. Once you're in the sewers, take the first southern
passage. The entrance to the Undercellar is at the end of that passage.
In the center of the Undercellar are the assassins Slythe and Krystin. Before
going to meet them, get your party spelled up. Slythe is hasted and blurred,
but don't dispel him or you'll likely dispel all of your fighters as well.
Simply concentrate your attacks on Slythe and then Krystin, and they should go
down quickly. When the pair is dead, check Slythe's corpse and pick up the
letter and the invitation. You'll need the invitation to enter the ducal
palace later, so be sure to hang onto it.
When you're ready to leave the Undercellar, take the southeastern exit. That
will put you in the back room of the Blushing Mermaid Tavern. In the main
room of the tavern you'll meet Ivanne, who will suggest that you explore the
Flaming Fist compound. If you need to rest and memorize spells, go ahead and
do that now while you’re in the inn. Outside the tavern you can talk to Husam
again, but he’ll just reveal that he’s with the Shadow Thieves and try to get
to you kill Slythe and Krystin (since they’ve been framing the Shadow
Thieves), which you’ve already done.
If you haven't been arrested yet, look around for a Flaming Fist mercenary so
he can escort you to the Flaming Fist compound. Otherwise just go there on
your own. Outside the compound you’ll find Tamoko again. She’ll explain a
few plot points to you and then ask that you not kill Sarevok. Agree to her
request.
Inside the compound you'll be attacked by several guards, some of which will
be spellcasters. Cast a web spell right away (aim for the archway), and then
pick off the enemies one at a time with ranged attacks. Once the guards are
dead, head upstairs to where you met Eltan before. Rashad the healer will
turn out to be a greater doppleganger, but he'll be all alone and should be
easy to kill. When the healer is dead, talk to Eltan and he'll ask you to get
him out of the city. Eltan weighs 200 pounds, so give him to your strongest
fighter, and then head to the harbormaster's building in the southern-middle
portion of the city. When you give Eltan to the harbormaster, you'll receive
2500 experience points.
Now it's time to break up Sarevok's inauguration. Go to the northern-middle
section of the city, and use your invitation to get into the palace. Once
inside, your goal is to keep at least one of the dukes (Belt and Liia) alive.
To that end, put your spellcasters and ranged attackers in the southern end of
the ceremony room, and put your fighters in among the noblemen. After
listening to everyone talk for a while, the noblemen will turn into
dopplegangers and attack the dukes. Immediately try to get your fighters
between the dopplegangers and the dukes, and have your ranged attackers target
any doppleganger next to the dukes. All of the Flaming Fist mercenaries in
the area will be on your side, and they'll help you in the battle. Once the
dopplegangers are dead, Sarevok will attack, but he'll retreat as soon as he
takes a little bit of damage. When the dust has settled, talk to either of
the surviving dukes. You'll find out Sarevok fled to the thieves' guild, and
then you'll be teleported to that location.
In the thieves' guild you'll be greeted by Denkod, who will tell you that
Saverok disappeared down the staircase to the east. Denkod will also suggest
that you get better prepared, which is good advice. If you need supplies, go
buy them now. If you need to rest, you can go down into the warrens because
the first room is safe to rest in.
When you enter the warrens you'll meet Voleta Stiletto, who happened to be in
the wrong place at the wrong time when Sarevok passed by. She's wounded, but
there isn't anything you can do but talk to her. She'll drop some hints that
the warrens aren't exactly the safest place to hang out.
Then start exploring the warrens. There are traps around, so scout ahead with
your thief. You'll first encounter a series of slimes: green slimes, mustard
jellies, and gray oozes. Then you'll find a couple of doom guards. Past the
doom guards will be a pair of skeleton warriors. They're tougher than the
ordinary skeleton warrior is, and they have a pair of traps on either side.
Have your thief quickly disable the traps, and then have your fighters charge
the skeletons. The skeletons are resistant to magic, so don't bother with
spells, but they can be hit with everything else. If you concentrate your
fire on one skeleton and then the other, they should go down easily enough.
Then remember to have your thief disable the traps on the other side of the
skeletons.
From this point on, there won't be too much to fight in the warrens. There
are two paths to the exit, and taking one will lead you to a couple skeleton
warriors and a doom guard, and taking the other will lead you to some
invisible stalkers. That's it. There are still some traps around, so
continue to have your thief scout ahead of the rest of your party.
Near the exit you'll come upon Winski Perorate. He helped Saverok escape from
the inauguration chamber, but it's possible you didn't notice him there.
He'll tell you that he was Saverok's mentor and hoped to carve a name for
himself in history by being the architect of Sarevok's ascension to power.
You can punish him by leaving him alone to die.
If you need to rest, it is perfectly safe to do so now (but not in the next
area). Then take the exit.
Who's where?
------------
Voleta Stiletto: near entrance
Winski Perorate: near exit
West of your starting position and near the center of the map you'll come
across Rahvin and five others. You'll know you're getting close when you see
a broken pillar to the south. Rahvin's group is from the Iron Throne and
wants to kill Sarevok just like you, but unlike you they also want to kill
your party. The best way to handle the encounter is to have one character
approach Rahvin while the rest of your party stays back. That character
should have protection from fire because the enemy group will start the fight
with two arrows of detonation. If your character can get close to Rahvin,
then the arrows will do more damage to Rahvin's group than to your character.
Then have your character retreat to the rest of your group and try to pick off
Rahvin's group one at a time.
In the northwestern part of the area is a church of sorts. That's where
Sarevok -- and some friends -- are waiting for you. The rest of the area just
has a variety of undead creatures, and they're more annoying than anything
else. Unless you have a character close to gaining a level, just head
straight for the church. If you need to rest first, go back to the warrens
and rest there. It is much safer.
In front of the church you’ll find Tamoko, provided you talked to her before.
She’ll demand that you fight her, but you can talk her out of it if you want.
If you do decide to fight, Tamoko is worth 5000 experience points, and you’ll
be able to get full plate mail +1 off her corpse.
Once inside the church, proceed carefully. You don't have to worry about
traps too much -- not because there aren't any traps, but because you can't do
anything about most of them. The skull symbol to the north is filled with
traps, but it doesn't seem possible to disarm them, so just skirt around it.
Also, the alcoves to the east have battle horror traps, but my thief with 100%
find traps couldn't detect them (so perhaps the battle horrors just appear
when you get close). Send your fighters into the four southernmost alcoves to
kill them one at a time. You don't want them appearing when you fight
Sarevok. To the west are a couple traps that you can disarm, so do so.
To kill Sarevok, you first need to take out some of his support. To that end,
send a character slowly north along the eastern edge of the room. Tazok will
attack when you get far enough. He'll first cast web and then stinking cloud,
so immediately have your character run away back to the rest of your party to
the south. If your character has boots of speed, then s/he should be able to
outrun the spells. Then Tazok will appear near your party, and you should be
able to kill him fairly easily.
Note: Once you encounter Sarevok, you won’t be able to leave the church. So
if the battle horrors and Tazok did some damage to you, feel free to run back
to the warrens to heal up before proceeding.
That will leave Saverok with Angelo and a wizard named Semaj. Angelo never
seems to help out in the final battle, but Semaj usually does. To pull
Semaj's teeth a little, again have a character creep north along the eastern
side of the room. Eventually he should come into visual range of Semaj (but
not Sarevok), and Semaj will start casting a spell. That spell will be
domination, and as soon as you see Semaj start waving his hands, move your
character back south. I'm pretty sure that's the only domination spell Semaj
has, and so he shouldn't cast it again.
Now have one character walk towards Sarevok. Saverok will say his piece, and
then you can say your piece, and then Sarevok will attack. Have your
character run back towards the rest of your party. Sarevok and (usually)
Semaj will follow.
The way to kill Sarevok is basically to distract him until he's dead. He
resists most spells, but not magic missile. If you have a high level wizard,
then magic missile will do about 20 points of damage each time it's cast.
Sarevok only has about 135 hit points, so if you can get him to chase around
one character while the other characters pelt him with magic missiles and
other ranged attacks, you'll eventually kill him. If a character is hasted
and has boots of speed, then that character should be able to run circles
around Sarevok, and Sarevok should never even get an attack off.
If Semaj joins the battle, immediately cast dispel magic on him so you can
attack him with ranged weapons, and then split your forces. If you have any
fighters without ranged attacks, have them attack Semaj, and you might also
want to add in a ranged attacker or two. Definitely keep your wizard
attacking Sarevok, though. With two rings of wizardry, your wizard should be
able to cast magic missile seven times and kill Sarevok all by himself.
When Sarevok dies, the game will end and you'll be treated to a closing movie.
Now all you have to do is prepare yourself for Baldur's Gate 2....
Who's where?
------------
Angelo: church
Carston: center of area
Gorf: center of area
Haseo: center of area
Rahvin: center of area
Sarevok: church
Semaj: church
Shaldrissa: center of area
Tazok: church
Wudel: center of area
*****************************************************************************
* Revision History *
*****************************************************************************
April 19, 2000
--------------
Initial release.
April 23, 2002
--------------
I’ve been playing through the game again, updating and correcting as I go.
This update includes everything up until the entrance into Baldur’s Gate in
Chapter 5.
June 27, 2002
-------------
Completed the update.
October 23, 2002
----------------
Corrected the spelling of Xzar’s name throughout the guide. (Thanks HDuffy
for pointing out the mistake.)
November 4, 2002
----------------
Corrected a mistake in the introduction. (Thanks DaveM.)
*****************************************************************************
* Permissions and Updates *
*****************************************************************************
This guide may be posted on any web site as long as the text is not changed
and as long as I am informed of the posting. I will always submit new
versions to GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) first, so if you are looking for the
most up-to-date version of this guide, that is the place to look.
