Dorchadas Plays Baldur's Gate II, Part XVIII: Liches Get Stitches
Before I get into doing anything else, let's check my quest log and see what the game thinks that I should be doing:
Lichcraft Trial
The first thing to do is to go to the Crooked Crane Inn near Athkatla's gates, which has a secret door that I've been wondering about for the last twenty hours of gameplay. After sleeping in the inn, casting lesser restoration on Jaheira to cure her level drain, re-selecting her spells, resting at the inn again (woo Vancian magic!), I head up through the door in the northern wall of the inn and find a tomb. And in the tomb is...
...a lich. What is the lich doing here? Why is there a tomb built into the side of the inn? Was the founder of the inn some kind of superpowerful wizard who needed to live forever to make sure that its business venture lasted through the aeons? What is going on? Well, maybe there will be something on the lich's body. To arms!
Hah, if only. The lich snaps at the party for disturbing him and multiple chain contingencies trigger, loading the lich down with an enormous number of buffs and hitting the party with an Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting. My usual strategy of trigger all the initial spells and running doesn't work, because the lich seals off the entrance to its room. So I reload and set up some buffs. I run in and Chiyo gets in a couple hits before the lich's protections go up, Yoshimo runs to and loots the chest in the back, finding a sword called Daystar that I immediately pass to Minsc. Unfortunately, before Aerie and Xan can get off any debuffing spells, the lich chain casts two time stop spells back to back. Chiyo dies immediately under the massive ZA WARUDO as soon as time restarts. Reload.
This happens several times. I can strip off a lot of its protections, but once it gets off a time stop, that's basically it, especially since it frequently summons a dark planetar that I have to deal with. After half a dozen attempts fail, I realize I need a different tactic. I trek out to Trademeet, buy a scroll of spell immunity for Chiyo, who somehow never learned the spell, head back, retool my spells, and try again. I spend some time sending in Yoshimo alone to see if he can steal Daystar and get out before the lich can kill him, but that doesn't work. Sending in Aerie in mustard jelly form using the Cloak of the Sewers doesn't help either because she's not immune to the dark planetar's melee attacks.
This is getting frustrating.
Checking online, it turns out that I'm missing a step--I need to use ruby ray of reversal to strip off the lich's spell immunity to abjuration, then use breach to clear off his combat protections, which will theoretically let Chiyo carve him up like a turkey. I didn't realize that breach was only for combat protections and not magic ones. I really need to pay more attention to my strategy...
I retool my spells and try again, and this time it's incredibly easy. Ruby ray of reversal--which Xan had learned a while back but I hadn't been high enough level for him to memorize--followed by breach means that hasted Minsc and Chiyo are tearing into the lich, and it dies before it gets to do much of anything. Jaheira doesn't even finish casting false dawn before it dies. Yoshimo opens the chest and finds Daystar, a bunch of wands, and a rod of terror. I loot it all and leave. Then I reconsole in my Celestial Fury +5, Enhanced Robe of the Neutral Archmagi, and Spear of the Unicorn +3, because when I loaded up SCS to see what options I had installed it started copying files, overwrote some stuff from Item Upgrade, and deleted my new items.
Liches Ain't Shit
Having restored my items and flush with success against one lich, I head to the sewers under the Temple District, where the lich has much more impressive surroundings:
After I cast my buffs, Jaheira opens the sarcophagus, revealing two golden arms and two golden legs, then turns around as magic swirls in the air and something appears behind her. It speaks:Shade Lich: "Long have I guarded. Long have I suffered. Who are you, manling, to seek the mortal shell of Kangaxx? When Evil was torn asunder, three pieces were locked away. For a millennium I have guarded this piece, dispensing death to those that follow Darkness. You are no different, manling. Your death was ordained when Kangaxx fell."
Uh, I think you will find that I am an elfling.
The lich replies by casting Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and killing Xan. Reload.
The second time, I summon some ghasts and a nishruu on top of where the lich appears and send Chiyo off to open the sarcophagus while the rest of the party hangs out on the other side of the room. As soon as the lich appears, Xan runs over to cast ruby ray of reversal and strip away the spell immunity. Then the lich casts time stop and it's all over.
This time, I park the summons nearby and run everyone away, trying to bait the lich's spells with summons. That works pretty well, and I even kill the summoned demon, but when I run in to kill the lich it still has a time stop waiting for me. Reload.
The next time I win. I bait out the lich's spells with summons, running over the entire former Unseeing Eye's base and summoning gnolls and hobgoblins and ghasts. When I see the lich drop a comet on the gnolls, I know I've got it and rush Minsc, Jaheira, and Chiyo in. The lich still has a time stop, but the only spells it has left are breach, remove magic, and a single cloudkill, which doesn't do enough damage to kill any of the party before they lay into the lich and destroy it. As I wait for the cloudkill to disperse, Xan and Minsc have a conversation:Minsc: "I...I could use a bit of a lie down, lest I drop Boo on the battlefield. Have we a healer near?"
Xan: "As always, we do not. Abandoned and left to die, as I expected to be."
Minsc: "Do not say such a thing! Our leader is the epitome of goodness and butt-kicking!"
Xan: "Indeed she is. It is especially notable from the amount of attention she pays to her wounded companions."
Minsc: "It is not Chiyo, little elf, it is evil. Evil almost succeeded in making the Sandwiches of Goodness of our heroic butts, and even Minsc's trusty sword was not able to defend Minsc and Boo from the Claws of Wickedness! But we shall rise again, and put our heels into its stinky throat!"
Xan: "Of...of course. But hasn't it occurred to you that our illustrious leader carries evil within, as well?"
Minsc: "No. Chiyo is good. Evil is evil. Minsc is Minsc, and Boo looks upon you with suspicion! We'd best continue quietly, lest he gets angry."
I feel like there's a line or two missing there (since it's Xan, it's mod-added dialogue). Not to mention that Aerie and Jaheira are right there, Xan. They've healed you plenty of times.
I head back to the lich's sarcophagus and take the golden arms and legs, then rest.
Lich Slap
But before I head back, I have one more thing to take care of. Having beaten two liches, I head into the mind flayer base and walk to the end, where I left the alhoon alive--well, undead--previously. I buff everyone up, including making sure to cast chaotic commands on Chiyo, then I summon some hobgoblins into the alhoon's room. The alhoon triggers a bunch of spell and runs around eating hobgoblin brains and summons a glabrezu, the demon that murdered most of my party last time.
This time, I'm ready. When the glabrezu teleports into the room to fight, it faces a buffed Chiyo and her Celestial Fury. She and Minsc start ripping into the demon and, while it nearly kills Jaheira, I take it down without too much trouble. Then I summon more hobgoblins and run them into the alhoon's room, wasting more of its spells. Chiyo runs in, but can't see the alhoon--I think it's invisible--so Aerie summons up some ghasts and casts detect invisibility, and here's where I get incredibly lucky. They walk into the room, the invisibility drops, and a ghast gets a hit in on the alhoon.
And ghasts can paralyze.
The alhoon just stood there, helpless, unable to act while Chiyo and three ghasts ripped it apart. It's possible that the AI bugged out, but everything was going just fine until the ghast hit it and, unlike in 3.x, AD&D 2e didn't have a coherent, unified list of undead immunities. If you check the alhoon Monstrous Compendium entry, they're not immune to paralyzation. It looks like the RNG just went in my favor hardcore. I'll take it. Sadly, it doesn't have any treasure beyond what I already stole from the room, so I go back the surface.
I first head over to the Temple of Helm, reasoning that since Helm is the god of guardians and protectors, surely there would be someone there who is willing to take an orphan in. Unfortunately, this is a CRPG and not a TTRPG and the designers apparently didn't follow that same logic, and no one there has anything interesting to say to me. On the way out, I'm accosted by a woman named Reviane, who confronts Jaheira:Reviane: "Hold! And let justice take its rightful measure! You will know this day that you have suffered Harper justice!"
Jaheira: "What is this?! Reviane? What are you doing here? It is I, Jaheira!"
Reviane: "So I can see. It pains me to do this, but a traitor's death is all what you deserve!"
Jaheira: "What? If this is about the events in the Harper Hold, you know I would never do such a thing if I didn't have any altenative! They left me no choice!"
Reviane: "I know not of what you speak Jaheira. Explain yourself!"
Jaheira: "It was Galvarey, he had me bring my companion there on pretence of determining her danger, but he had no intention of letting Chiyo leave once there."
Reviane: "The Harpers know only that there was an attack, and Galvarey is dead. The loss of such a promising person sent waves through the ranks and..."
Jaheira: "Bah! He was a fool bent on advancing his own station! His intent was to use Chiyo as a trophy, hoping to gain enough influence to become a Herald!"
Reviane: "This seems far-fetched, Jaheira. You are well known to have hated Galvarey… And why should this woman command such value?"
Chiyo: "Tell her what I am if it will help your case, Jaheira. I will not keep secrets that can harm you."
Jaheira: "As you wish. Reviane, Chiyo is of interest because she is one of the Children. Galvarey wished to capitalize on the fear surrounding the prophesies of old."
Reviane: "This is a Bhaal child!? And you trust her over one of your own?"
Chiyo: "Stand down your weapons, Jaheira. We need not shed any blood here today."
Jaheira: "I will not draw arms against you, Reviane. This has been a huge mistake, and I will not be party to making another."
Reviane: "I know you to be truthful, Jaheira, and I have heard good things of Chiyo. I will try to sway the others, but passions run high in this matter."
And then they walked away. That went better than I thought it would. Hopefully I don't end up with the Harpers constantly attacking me the way assassins dogged Chiyo's steps in the first Baldur's Gate game.
And now, I head to the graveyard.
Lich I Might Be
Near the entrance to the graveyard are two halflings, and when I talk to them, they thank me for putting their son to rest and returning his teddy bear to them, then they leave the graveyard.
In the northern part of the graveyard, I find a Paladin of Helm, mourning the death of his son:
Kamir: "I extend greetings, my lady, on this darkest of days. My name is Kamir, Paladin of Helm. I beg your forgiveness if my demeanor is not more welcoming."
Chiyo: "What brings you to this place?"
Kamir: "I am no more unique than most who come here. My son lies in yon wee grave. I...I failed my oath to protect the lad, and he has been taken from me."
Chiyo: "I am sure there is no need to blame yourself."
Kamir: "You know not of what you speak, though I am sure you mean well. I took the boy under my protection when his mother was slain by foul orcs in the mountains. I knew not her name, and could not save her from her injuries after I killed the orcs. She gave her son to me...I swore an oath to look after him as my own. And I have. I mean...I mean that I did. I love...loved the lad dearly. Stefan I named him. Strong, honest boy. But I was called by duty to Tethyr...on my return I discovered Stefan had been slain by brigands. I... I should have...should been there for him..."
Chiyo: "You did all that you could. You are not to be blamed."
Kamir: "But I am. I failed my vow. And I know no way in which I can atone for my failure. If...if there was only some way...I would embrace it, gladly."
Chiyo: "I may know of a way. There is an orphan girl not far from here, accompanied by a priest of Lathander. Perhaps you could atone by caring for her."
Kamir: "An...an orphan, you say? Perhaps...perhaps that would be a way...to atone for my failure. Thank you, my lady...I shall go and talk to them at once."
And Kamir thanks her and heads off, new purpose speeding his stride. I'm not sure this is the best idea--I mean, his only qualification is getting his previous foster child killed--but he is a paladin who hasn't lost his powers, so I guess that's something. I'm glad I left that little girl hanging for over a month when I could have solved the problem by walking 200 meters, though!
Further down, Viconia is hanging out next to a tomb that's barred from the other side, and turning around to the other side of the graveyard is a large mausoleum containing two mummies and a skeleton warrior, which I murder without much trouble. The skeleton warrior drops a scroll of improved mantle, which I have Chiyo read, and the actual tomb just has a bit of gold and some low-level jewelry. Another two has two shadow fiends and a mummy, but Jaheira casts false dawn and it burns them to ash pretty quickly. That tomb just has a few bits of jewelry as well.
There are two tombs left. I enter the one that looks like a pyramid and find an entire complex beneath it:
A message greets me as well:The tombs are eerily silent yet you have the feeling of being watched. Best be careful. Traps and dangers abound within these tombs. Every step could be your last.
I'd ask what a party my level has to worry about, but just this post I've found a lich right next door to a highly-traveled inn, so I'll take it at its word. Yoshimo goes first to detect traps. He finds one almost immediately, across the threshold into the tomb, and disarms it and continues onward.
Past a few more traps is a group of spiders, which seems pretty odd for tomb-dwellers. They're not a threat. Even the once-fearsome sword spider dies in two hits without doing a single point of damage to the party. No one gets poisoned. I think that by itself helps drive home how much more powerful the party is now than they were in Baldur's Gate I. Spiders used to be one of the enemies I hated fighting the most, because their poison was so deadly, sword spiders could kill anyone almost by themselves, and phase spiders would often teleport into my spellcasters.
The center of the tomb is bizarre, a mix of pathways and platforms seemingly woven out of enormous amounts of spider webbing:
I'm not sure why they'd even pick a design involving an enormous shaft dug deep into the bowels of the earth. It's not like the dangers of the Underdark are somehow unknown here. I've already found a mind flayer nest in the sewers. Am I going to find a secret bunch of drow slavers hiding in the tombs? I'd ask why the city guard doesn't hire adventures to patrol the tombs so that mummies and shades and spiders don't take up residence there, but I think we've already shown that the guards don't care what happens in the city.
I send Yoshimo north, and pretty soon he runs into another group of spiders, which I lead back to the main party and slaughter mercilessly. To the west of where the spiders were is a route back up to the graveyard to what I thought was the other tomb, leaving with only the currently large complex to explore, and to the north is a room filled with out-of-place Egyptian-style statuary and a door with a powerful ward on it:There is a powerful sense of danger around this door. The lock is of a strange design and you're having trouble picking it due to the trembling in your fingers.
What that means is that I can't open it at all, so after a few tries I give up. The game is telling me this is quest related and to come back later, so I will. Yoshimo heads back to the party and goes east, finding a bunch of spiders and a gigantic web-spun fortress in the center of the catacomb shaft. Being good murderhobos, I immediately enter.
A woman immediately challenges me, and Chiyo ask what she's doing there:Pai'Na: "What is it you wish in this place? Quickly state your purpose and leave, before I take away the chance."
Chiyo: "What is this place? "
Pai'Na: "Like typical surface dwellers you will think this odd, but I have created a sanctuary. Here the eight-legged can prosper beneath the city, away from fearful eyes."
Chiyo: "Why would you care so much for their wellbeing?"
Pai'Na: "Someone must. Even now they are hunted as they move about in the sewers. It is because of fear and suspicion, nothing more. Perhaps you could be of some use. If you help me, I would allow you passage here as you wish. Let me tell you what I require. I am a hivemaster druid, and this is the 'grove' that I have chosen to build. It is haven for the spiders, but it is not enough. They die most tragic at the hands of louts and hooligans. The people you see in here are some of them. They are... serving... the spiders here until they redeem themselves for their crimes. I see it as fitting penance. I cannot stop them all though. There have always been losses, but now there are even more. The workers of the city have found some fell weapon that smites the spiders most unfairly. I need you to get it, and bring it here. I will dispose of it, and restore the balance beneath the city. If there are too few spiders then the vermin will rise up. The exterminators do not think of this."
Chiyo: "I will help you."
Pai'Na: "Good. Then go, and find the accursed blade that kills my charges. I would go myself, but my half-drow blood would be my death if I were seen. The blade is called Spider's Bane, and it is in the hands of the workers that clean the ducts and sewers. They are working in the sewers below the Temple District. Go."
Jaheira: "Her cause seems just, and she is druid kin of a sort. Let us do our best to aid."
Sounds good. Let's all just not mention all the spiders I murdered on the way here, yes?
South of the hive is an entrance to another section of the tombs, which is even more bizarrely Egyptian-themed and also crawling with undead who spring from their graves as I enter:
The undead rush in from all sides, but Aerie starts turning undead and half of them flee in blind panic. The two wights simply crumble to dust under the power of her holy might, and I mop everything else up and spread out, disarming a couple traps along the way. In the southern part of the room is a secret door, and past it is a series of passages filled with shadows and mummies. Aerie's turn undead renders these a minor inconvenience, so I pass through, destroying all the undead I find. Down one fork is a room with a sealed sarcophagus I can't open and some treasure, and down the other fork is a looted tomb and a couple jars with some money. Nothing else here.
No liches in the graveyard--I guess it would be too obvious. You know, not like in a room right next to an inn. On to the Bridge District after a quick stop off at the Planar Sphere to drop off some more loot and pick up my weekly potions.
Kill Liches Get Money
I don't remember what buildings I've been in here and which ones I haven't, so I start at the northern end of the District and just head south entering buildings as I go. The first building is a manor with no one inside, and I invoke murderhobo's privilege and ransack the place. There's mostly just minor gems, potions, and bits of gold inside, but in an end table by the bed I find a Silver Horn of Valhalla, which summons an einherjar once per day. I don't want to kinkshame, but maybe summoning a berserker for whom There Is Only War into your bedroom play is a bad idea? Or maybe I'm being ridiculous and this is the Dungeons & Dragons equivalent of sleeping with a gun on the nightstand.
Across the street is the home of Lord Balthis, vice-regent of the Council of Athkatla. His majordomo tells Chiyo this and asks her to leave if she doesn't have any business with the Council, and we don't, so I do. South of that is a commoner's house with attached commoner, who asks what I'm doing in her house, and Chiyo answers that she was just on her way out. Next door to that is a warehouse, and as soon as I walk in a party of adventurers rolls initiative with the words"I'll wipe your filthy lineage right out of the Realms."
The first attempt where I'm caught by surprise and Minsc and Aerie fall victim to a sleep spell goes pretty badly, though I almost manage to turn it around before the priest's blade barrier spell kills Xan (SCS means that priests cast blade barrier and then run into the middle of any concentration of PCs. Pretty clever, honestly). The second attempt, where I cast buff spells and then enter, goes much better. Aerie even kills an archer with disintegrate, which fortunately does not destroy the equipment of its targets. Even so, none of them have any loot worth mentioning, and so I head south to the Five Flagons Inn to rest.
The manor across the street is locked and south of that is the tanner where I solved the murders, so I head further south. There's an inn with some mercenaries and a few patrons, but nothing else. South of that is an empty house, and downstairs is an elaborate tomb that looks a exactly like the one I found in the sewers beneath the Temple District. I think I found another lich. And when I open the tomb, it's confirmed:Elemental Lich: "You are foolish to follow the whims of Kangaxx. He will not be grateful for your service."
Chiyo: "What are you talking about?"
Elemental Lich: "Regardless, your quest ends here. I have not sacrificed all to have idiot adventurers awaken our Doom. Die, fools!"
And battle is joined.
After two failed attempts, one of which got the lich to Near Death, I decide that the better part of valor is abusing the rules. Yoshimo lays down 7 traps and a hasted Chiyo and Minsc stand next to where I know the lich will appear. As soon as it appears, I use the attack button for both of them to attack. Chiyo hits, the elemental lich says its speech, it goes hostile, the traps trigger, and it explodes into bloody chunks and I collect my 22K XP. Mission accomplished! Now, off to return Kangaxx's golden body to it. I'm sure there can't be any negative repercussions from this action!
Resting Lich Face
I head to the docks, into the house where Kangaxx had first given me the quest. Since I'm pretty sure how this is going to go, I set up a bunch of traps where Kangaxx is likely to appear and then talk to it:Golden Skull: "At last, Chiyo! What have you found?"
Chiyo: "I have found the pieces."
Golden Skull: "At last! It is complete! Place the pieces in the tomb. The fools could not kill me!"
The lich Kangaxx appears.
Kangaxx the Lich: "Fools you are! Death shall rain upon the planes and Kangaxx will violate all!"
Xan: "But of course. It could be no other way, could it?"
Kangaxx the Lich: "But worry not, my saviour. You shall be well rewarded. You will have the privilege of a sweet, painful death at my hands!"
Then the traps trigger, Chiyo hits it, and it dies.
Or does it?
This isn't even his final form.Kangaxx the Lich: "Still you do not understand! Not only was I to languish in the tomb for all eternity but I also I must be destroyed by another to be free"
Xan: "Chiyo, run, or stand behind me! A Demilich form...he will imprison us all!"
Kangaxx the Lich: "You have truly freed me and the world will be burned to ash for your sin."
A demilich is a wacky floating skull with terrifying magical powers, just another one of those monsters thrown in to D&D over its lifespan. Normally they cast trap the soul, but that spell doesn't exist in Baldur's Gate so here they cast imprisonment repeatedly. As such, Chiyo immediately casts spell immunity: abjuration and begins channeling the sunray power of Daystar while Minsc unleashes his ring of the ram on the demilich. Then Chiyo gets mazed because apparently one of my mods changes imprisonment to maze. Oops!
Next attempt, I use spell immunity: conjuration instead and...Chiyo gets mazed anyway.
The combat log says "Demilich soul trap" so I bet it's some kind of unique power that can't be defended against with spell immunity. And another attempt makes that clear. Chiyo vanishes without a spell being cast. And after some experimentation, it seems completely impossible to defend against. It keeps hitting me through potions of magic resistance, spell immunity, saving throws...nothing works. I just have to keep reloading and hope I get lucky. Tactics!
Also, he's immune to Daystar even though Daystar should count as a +4 weapon when fighting liches. I'm not sure what's going on there.
In the end, my strategy boils down to "reload until all the dice rolls go my way." Jaheira's false dawn manages to blind the lich, Chiyo doesn't get imprisoned and attacks immediately as soon as the demilich appears, Minsc's ring of the ram blast does near-max damage, and before all Kangaxx's protections can activate, I burst it down. Not a glorious victory, but a victory nonetheless. All's fair in love and RPGs.
As the skull crumbles, Xan speaks up:Xan: "Chiyo, Chiyo... Chiyo...we were meant to die. Imprisoned forever...and yet I am able to say your name. Your name, instead of millennia of misery."
Maybe things aren't so terrible after all, Xan.
Kangaxx drops a scroll of grease, a random piece of jewelry...and the Ring of Gaxx, which immediately goes on Chiyo. Her Ring of Earth Control goes to Jaheira, who still isn't wearing any rings. I leave the scroll and the flamedance ring behind, and the party exits the building.
Game time elapsed: 80 days, 12 hours.
Shadow Thief Tasks Completed: 0/3
Liches!
This took hours to play through because of the number of reloads I had to do on some of those lich fights. The Inn Lich and Kangaxx were the worst, but there was no lich that gave me an easy time. Which is only appropriate for the game, after all. Liches are supposed to be immortal spellcasters with dozens of tricks up their sleeves from an unlifetime spent delving into the mysteries of magic. In an unmodded game, these powerful undead sorcerers can be defeated by using a protection from undead scroll, which makes them stand around in confusion while the protected character beats them to death. I'm not complaining about the changes in abstract, I just wish I had a better understanding of what exactly changed and how to deal with it. Why did Chiyo keep getting mazed through spell immunities and, later, potions of magic resistance? How come Aerie couldn't target Kangaxx with debuffs while Xan could, and why did only she get the message about not casting on invisible or sanctuaried creatures? Who knows!
I adapted a song based on my experiences here:I'm a lich, I'm a caster
Motherfuckin' necromancer
I'm an undead blasphemy,
Profane immortality
I chill touch, I've got spells
I'll send you straight to hell
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
I probably haven't even killed all the liches in the game yet, either. I bet there's more out there, waiting. At least I've proven I can take them down.
Oh, and it turns out that there is a lich in the graveyard, but it's part of a quest and doesn't appear unless you're doing Edwin's personal quest. Since Edwin is terrible and there's no way I'm having him in my party, I'm not going to be doing that quest. But the graveyard does get its lich pun title obliquely!
Next time I'll probably actually get to the main quest, because all I have to do is recover the spider-slaying sword for Pai'Na, investigate the Copper Coronet, and meet with Aegnor. That probably won't take very long, and then it's down to the docks, having passed through sidequest hell and into main quest purgatory. It only took me 75 hours of playtime!
Next: Part XIX: Escape from Sidequest Hell.
- Head down to the docks and meet Mook to help the Shadow Thieves.
- Recover Kangaxx's body.
- Find a caretaker for the orphan Risa.
- Investigate the back rooms of the Copper Coronet.
- Meet the elf Aegnor in the Government District.
- Finish the armor started by Rejiek Hidesman.
Lichcraft Trial
The first thing to do is to go to the Crooked Crane Inn near Athkatla's gates, which has a secret door that I've been wondering about for the last twenty hours of gameplay. After sleeping in the inn, casting lesser restoration on Jaheira to cure her level drain, re-selecting her spells, resting at the inn again (woo Vancian magic!), I head up through the door in the northern wall of the inn and find a tomb. And in the tomb is...
...a lich. What is the lich doing here? Why is there a tomb built into the side of the inn? Was the founder of the inn some kind of superpowerful wizard who needed to live forever to make sure that its business venture lasted through the aeons? What is going on? Well, maybe there will be something on the lich's body. To arms!
Hah, if only. The lich snaps at the party for disturbing him and multiple chain contingencies trigger, loading the lich down with an enormous number of buffs and hitting the party with an Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting. My usual strategy of trigger all the initial spells and running doesn't work, because the lich seals off the entrance to its room. So I reload and set up some buffs. I run in and Chiyo gets in a couple hits before the lich's protections go up, Yoshimo runs to and loots the chest in the back, finding a sword called Daystar that I immediately pass to Minsc. Unfortunately, before Aerie and Xan can get off any debuffing spells, the lich chain casts two time stop spells back to back. Chiyo dies immediately under the massive ZA WARUDO as soon as time restarts. Reload.
This happens several times. I can strip off a lot of its protections, but once it gets off a time stop, that's basically it, especially since it frequently summons a dark planetar that I have to deal with. After half a dozen attempts fail, I realize I need a different tactic. I trek out to Trademeet, buy a scroll of spell immunity for Chiyo, who somehow never learned the spell, head back, retool my spells, and try again. I spend some time sending in Yoshimo alone to see if he can steal Daystar and get out before the lich can kill him, but that doesn't work. Sending in Aerie in mustard jelly form using the Cloak of the Sewers doesn't help either because she's not immune to the dark planetar's melee attacks.
This is getting frustrating.
Checking online, it turns out that I'm missing a step--I need to use ruby ray of reversal to strip off the lich's spell immunity to abjuration, then use breach to clear off his combat protections, which will theoretically let Chiyo carve him up like a turkey. I didn't realize that breach was only for combat protections and not magic ones. I really need to pay more attention to my strategy...
I retool my spells and try again, and this time it's incredibly easy. Ruby ray of reversal--which Xan had learned a while back but I hadn't been high enough level for him to memorize--followed by breach means that hasted Minsc and Chiyo are tearing into the lich, and it dies before it gets to do much of anything. Jaheira doesn't even finish casting false dawn before it dies. Yoshimo opens the chest and finds Daystar, a bunch of wands, and a rod of terror. I loot it all and leave. Then I reconsole in my Celestial Fury +5, Enhanced Robe of the Neutral Archmagi, and Spear of the Unicorn +3, because when I loaded up SCS to see what options I had installed it started copying files, overwrote some stuff from Item Upgrade, and deleted my new items.
Liches Ain't Shit
Having restored my items and flush with success against one lich, I head to the sewers under the Temple District, where the lich has much more impressive surroundings:
After I cast my buffs, Jaheira opens the sarcophagus, revealing two golden arms and two golden legs, then turns around as magic swirls in the air and something appears behind her. It speaks:Shade Lich: "Long have I guarded. Long have I suffered. Who are you, manling, to seek the mortal shell of Kangaxx? When Evil was torn asunder, three pieces were locked away. For a millennium I have guarded this piece, dispensing death to those that follow Darkness. You are no different, manling. Your death was ordained when Kangaxx fell."
Uh, I think you will find that I am an elfling.
The lich replies by casting Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and killing Xan. Reload.
The second time, I summon some ghasts and a nishruu on top of where the lich appears and send Chiyo off to open the sarcophagus while the rest of the party hangs out on the other side of the room. As soon as the lich appears, Xan runs over to cast ruby ray of reversal and strip away the spell immunity. Then the lich casts time stop and it's all over.
This time, I park the summons nearby and run everyone away, trying to bait the lich's spells with summons. That works pretty well, and I even kill the summoned demon, but when I run in to kill the lich it still has a time stop waiting for me. Reload.
The next time I win. I bait out the lich's spells with summons, running over the entire former Unseeing Eye's base and summoning gnolls and hobgoblins and ghasts. When I see the lich drop a comet on the gnolls, I know I've got it and rush Minsc, Jaheira, and Chiyo in. The lich still has a time stop, but the only spells it has left are breach, remove magic, and a single cloudkill, which doesn't do enough damage to kill any of the party before they lay into the lich and destroy it. As I wait for the cloudkill to disperse, Xan and Minsc have a conversation:Minsc: "I...I could use a bit of a lie down, lest I drop Boo on the battlefield. Have we a healer near?"
Xan: "As always, we do not. Abandoned and left to die, as I expected to be."
Minsc: "Do not say such a thing! Our leader is the epitome of goodness and butt-kicking!"
Xan: "Indeed she is. It is especially notable from the amount of attention she pays to her wounded companions."
Minsc: "It is not Chiyo, little elf, it is evil. Evil almost succeeded in making the Sandwiches of Goodness of our heroic butts, and even Minsc's trusty sword was not able to defend Minsc and Boo from the Claws of Wickedness! But we shall rise again, and put our heels into its stinky throat!"
Xan: "Of...of course. But hasn't it occurred to you that our illustrious leader carries evil within, as well?"
Minsc: "No. Chiyo is good. Evil is evil. Minsc is Minsc, and Boo looks upon you with suspicion! We'd best continue quietly, lest he gets angry."
I feel like there's a line or two missing there (since it's Xan, it's mod-added dialogue). Not to mention that Aerie and Jaheira are right there, Xan. They've healed you plenty of times.
I head back to the lich's sarcophagus and take the golden arms and legs, then rest.
Lich Slap
But before I head back, I have one more thing to take care of. Having beaten two liches, I head into the mind flayer base and walk to the end, where I left the alhoon alive--well, undead--previously. I buff everyone up, including making sure to cast chaotic commands on Chiyo, then I summon some hobgoblins into the alhoon's room. The alhoon triggers a bunch of spell and runs around eating hobgoblin brains and summons a glabrezu, the demon that murdered most of my party last time.
This time, I'm ready. When the glabrezu teleports into the room to fight, it faces a buffed Chiyo and her Celestial Fury. She and Minsc start ripping into the demon and, while it nearly kills Jaheira, I take it down without too much trouble. Then I summon more hobgoblins and run them into the alhoon's room, wasting more of its spells. Chiyo runs in, but can't see the alhoon--I think it's invisible--so Aerie summons up some ghasts and casts detect invisibility, and here's where I get incredibly lucky. They walk into the room, the invisibility drops, and a ghast gets a hit in on the alhoon.
And ghasts can paralyze.
The alhoon just stood there, helpless, unable to act while Chiyo and three ghasts ripped it apart. It's possible that the AI bugged out, but everything was going just fine until the ghast hit it and, unlike in 3.x, AD&D 2e didn't have a coherent, unified list of undead immunities. If you check the alhoon Monstrous Compendium entry, they're not immune to paralyzation. It looks like the RNG just went in my favor hardcore. I'll take it. Sadly, it doesn't have any treasure beyond what I already stole from the room, so I go back the surface.
I first head over to the Temple of Helm, reasoning that since Helm is the god of guardians and protectors, surely there would be someone there who is willing to take an orphan in. Unfortunately, this is a CRPG and not a TTRPG and the designers apparently didn't follow that same logic, and no one there has anything interesting to say to me. On the way out, I'm accosted by a woman named Reviane, who confronts Jaheira:Reviane: "Hold! And let justice take its rightful measure! You will know this day that you have suffered Harper justice!"
Jaheira: "What is this?! Reviane? What are you doing here? It is I, Jaheira!"
Reviane: "So I can see. It pains me to do this, but a traitor's death is all what you deserve!"
Jaheira: "What? If this is about the events in the Harper Hold, you know I would never do such a thing if I didn't have any altenative! They left me no choice!"
Reviane: "I know not of what you speak Jaheira. Explain yourself!"
Jaheira: "It was Galvarey, he had me bring my companion there on pretence of determining her danger, but he had no intention of letting Chiyo leave once there."
Reviane: "The Harpers know only that there was an attack, and Galvarey is dead. The loss of such a promising person sent waves through the ranks and..."
Jaheira: "Bah! He was a fool bent on advancing his own station! His intent was to use Chiyo as a trophy, hoping to gain enough influence to become a Herald!"
Reviane: "This seems far-fetched, Jaheira. You are well known to have hated Galvarey… And why should this woman command such value?"
Chiyo: "Tell her what I am if it will help your case, Jaheira. I will not keep secrets that can harm you."
Jaheira: "As you wish. Reviane, Chiyo is of interest because she is one of the Children. Galvarey wished to capitalize on the fear surrounding the prophesies of old."
Reviane: "This is a Bhaal child!? And you trust her over one of your own?"
Chiyo: "Stand down your weapons, Jaheira. We need not shed any blood here today."
Jaheira: "I will not draw arms against you, Reviane. This has been a huge mistake, and I will not be party to making another."
Reviane: "I know you to be truthful, Jaheira, and I have heard good things of Chiyo. I will try to sway the others, but passions run high in this matter."
And then they walked away. That went better than I thought it would. Hopefully I don't end up with the Harpers constantly attacking me the way assassins dogged Chiyo's steps in the first Baldur's Gate game.
And now, I head to the graveyard.
Lich I Might Be
Near the entrance to the graveyard are two halflings, and when I talk to them, they thank me for putting their son to rest and returning his teddy bear to them, then they leave the graveyard.
In the northern part of the graveyard, I find a Paladin of Helm, mourning the death of his son:
Kamir: "I extend greetings, my lady, on this darkest of days. My name is Kamir, Paladin of Helm. I beg your forgiveness if my demeanor is not more welcoming."
Chiyo: "What brings you to this place?"
Kamir: "I am no more unique than most who come here. My son lies in yon wee grave. I...I failed my oath to protect the lad, and he has been taken from me."
Chiyo: "I am sure there is no need to blame yourself."
Kamir: "You know not of what you speak, though I am sure you mean well. I took the boy under my protection when his mother was slain by foul orcs in the mountains. I knew not her name, and could not save her from her injuries after I killed the orcs. She gave her son to me...I swore an oath to look after him as my own. And I have. I mean...I mean that I did. I love...loved the lad dearly. Stefan I named him. Strong, honest boy. But I was called by duty to Tethyr...on my return I discovered Stefan had been slain by brigands. I... I should have...should been there for him..."
Chiyo: "You did all that you could. You are not to be blamed."
Kamir: "But I am. I failed my vow. And I know no way in which I can atone for my failure. If...if there was only some way...I would embrace it, gladly."
Chiyo: "I may know of a way. There is an orphan girl not far from here, accompanied by a priest of Lathander. Perhaps you could atone by caring for her."
Kamir: "An...an orphan, you say? Perhaps...perhaps that would be a way...to atone for my failure. Thank you, my lady...I shall go and talk to them at once."
And Kamir thanks her and heads off, new purpose speeding his stride. I'm not sure this is the best idea--I mean, his only qualification is getting his previous foster child killed--but he is a paladin who hasn't lost his powers, so I guess that's something. I'm glad I left that little girl hanging for over a month when I could have solved the problem by walking 200 meters, though!
Further down, Viconia is hanging out next to a tomb that's barred from the other side, and turning around to the other side of the graveyard is a large mausoleum containing two mummies and a skeleton warrior, which I murder without much trouble. The skeleton warrior drops a scroll of improved mantle, which I have Chiyo read, and the actual tomb just has a bit of gold and some low-level jewelry. Another two has two shadow fiends and a mummy, but Jaheira casts false dawn and it burns them to ash pretty quickly. That tomb just has a few bits of jewelry as well.
There are two tombs left. I enter the one that looks like a pyramid and find an entire complex beneath it:
A message greets me as well:The tombs are eerily silent yet you have the feeling of being watched. Best be careful. Traps and dangers abound within these tombs. Every step could be your last.
I'd ask what a party my level has to worry about, but just this post I've found a lich right next door to a highly-traveled inn, so I'll take it at its word. Yoshimo goes first to detect traps. He finds one almost immediately, across the threshold into the tomb, and disarms it and continues onward.
Past a few more traps is a group of spiders, which seems pretty odd for tomb-dwellers. They're not a threat. Even the once-fearsome sword spider dies in two hits without doing a single point of damage to the party. No one gets poisoned. I think that by itself helps drive home how much more powerful the party is now than they were in Baldur's Gate I. Spiders used to be one of the enemies I hated fighting the most, because their poison was so deadly, sword spiders could kill anyone almost by themselves, and phase spiders would often teleport into my spellcasters.
The center of the tomb is bizarre, a mix of pathways and platforms seemingly woven out of enormous amounts of spider webbing:
I'm not sure why they'd even pick a design involving an enormous shaft dug deep into the bowels of the earth. It's not like the dangers of the Underdark are somehow unknown here. I've already found a mind flayer nest in the sewers. Am I going to find a secret bunch of drow slavers hiding in the tombs? I'd ask why the city guard doesn't hire adventures to patrol the tombs so that mummies and shades and spiders don't take up residence there, but I think we've already shown that the guards don't care what happens in the city.
I send Yoshimo north, and pretty soon he runs into another group of spiders, which I lead back to the main party and slaughter mercilessly. To the west of where the spiders were is a route back up to the graveyard to what I thought was the other tomb, leaving with only the currently large complex to explore, and to the north is a room filled with out-of-place Egyptian-style statuary and a door with a powerful ward on it:There is a powerful sense of danger around this door. The lock is of a strange design and you're having trouble picking it due to the trembling in your fingers.
What that means is that I can't open it at all, so after a few tries I give up. The game is telling me this is quest related and to come back later, so I will. Yoshimo heads back to the party and goes east, finding a bunch of spiders and a gigantic web-spun fortress in the center of the catacomb shaft. Being good murderhobos, I immediately enter.
A woman immediately challenges me, and Chiyo ask what she's doing there:Pai'Na: "What is it you wish in this place? Quickly state your purpose and leave, before I take away the chance."
Chiyo: "What is this place? "
Pai'Na: "Like typical surface dwellers you will think this odd, but I have created a sanctuary. Here the eight-legged can prosper beneath the city, away from fearful eyes."
Chiyo: "Why would you care so much for their wellbeing?"
Pai'Na: "Someone must. Even now they are hunted as they move about in the sewers. It is because of fear and suspicion, nothing more. Perhaps you could be of some use. If you help me, I would allow you passage here as you wish. Let me tell you what I require. I am a hivemaster druid, and this is the 'grove' that I have chosen to build. It is haven for the spiders, but it is not enough. They die most tragic at the hands of louts and hooligans. The people you see in here are some of them. They are... serving... the spiders here until they redeem themselves for their crimes. I see it as fitting penance. I cannot stop them all though. There have always been losses, but now there are even more. The workers of the city have found some fell weapon that smites the spiders most unfairly. I need you to get it, and bring it here. I will dispose of it, and restore the balance beneath the city. If there are too few spiders then the vermin will rise up. The exterminators do not think of this."
Chiyo: "I will help you."
Pai'Na: "Good. Then go, and find the accursed blade that kills my charges. I would go myself, but my half-drow blood would be my death if I were seen. The blade is called Spider's Bane, and it is in the hands of the workers that clean the ducts and sewers. They are working in the sewers below the Temple District. Go."
Jaheira: "Her cause seems just, and she is druid kin of a sort. Let us do our best to aid."
Sounds good. Let's all just not mention all the spiders I murdered on the way here, yes?
South of the hive is an entrance to another section of the tombs, which is even more bizarrely Egyptian-themed and also crawling with undead who spring from their graves as I enter:
The undead rush in from all sides, but Aerie starts turning undead and half of them flee in blind panic. The two wights simply crumble to dust under the power of her holy might, and I mop everything else up and spread out, disarming a couple traps along the way. In the southern part of the room is a secret door, and past it is a series of passages filled with shadows and mummies. Aerie's turn undead renders these a minor inconvenience, so I pass through, destroying all the undead I find. Down one fork is a room with a sealed sarcophagus I can't open and some treasure, and down the other fork is a looted tomb and a couple jars with some money. Nothing else here.
No liches in the graveyard--I guess it would be too obvious. You know, not like in a room right next to an inn. On to the Bridge District after a quick stop off at the Planar Sphere to drop off some more loot and pick up my weekly potions.
Kill Liches Get Money
I don't remember what buildings I've been in here and which ones I haven't, so I start at the northern end of the District and just head south entering buildings as I go. The first building is a manor with no one inside, and I invoke murderhobo's privilege and ransack the place. There's mostly just minor gems, potions, and bits of gold inside, but in an end table by the bed I find a Silver Horn of Valhalla, which summons an einherjar once per day. I don't want to kinkshame, but maybe summoning a berserker for whom There Is Only War into your bedroom play is a bad idea? Or maybe I'm being ridiculous and this is the Dungeons & Dragons equivalent of sleeping with a gun on the nightstand.
Across the street is the home of Lord Balthis, vice-regent of the Council of Athkatla. His majordomo tells Chiyo this and asks her to leave if she doesn't have any business with the Council, and we don't, so I do. South of that is a commoner's house with attached commoner, who asks what I'm doing in her house, and Chiyo answers that she was just on her way out. Next door to that is a warehouse, and as soon as I walk in a party of adventurers rolls initiative with the words"I'll wipe your filthy lineage right out of the Realms."
The first attempt where I'm caught by surprise and Minsc and Aerie fall victim to a sleep spell goes pretty badly, though I almost manage to turn it around before the priest's blade barrier spell kills Xan (SCS means that priests cast blade barrier and then run into the middle of any concentration of PCs. Pretty clever, honestly). The second attempt, where I cast buff spells and then enter, goes much better. Aerie even kills an archer with disintegrate, which fortunately does not destroy the equipment of its targets. Even so, none of them have any loot worth mentioning, and so I head south to the Five Flagons Inn to rest.
The manor across the street is locked and south of that is the tanner where I solved the murders, so I head further south. There's an inn with some mercenaries and a few patrons, but nothing else. South of that is an empty house, and downstairs is an elaborate tomb that looks a exactly like the one I found in the sewers beneath the Temple District. I think I found another lich. And when I open the tomb, it's confirmed:Elemental Lich: "You are foolish to follow the whims of Kangaxx. He will not be grateful for your service."
Chiyo: "What are you talking about?"
Elemental Lich: "Regardless, your quest ends here. I have not sacrificed all to have idiot adventurers awaken our Doom. Die, fools!"
And battle is joined.
After two failed attempts, one of which got the lich to Near Death, I decide that the better part of valor is abusing the rules. Yoshimo lays down 7 traps and a hasted Chiyo and Minsc stand next to where I know the lich will appear. As soon as it appears, I use the attack button for both of them to attack. Chiyo hits, the elemental lich says its speech, it goes hostile, the traps trigger, and it explodes into bloody chunks and I collect my 22K XP. Mission accomplished! Now, off to return Kangaxx's golden body to it. I'm sure there can't be any negative repercussions from this action!
Resting Lich Face
I head to the docks, into the house where Kangaxx had first given me the quest. Since I'm pretty sure how this is going to go, I set up a bunch of traps where Kangaxx is likely to appear and then talk to it:Golden Skull: "At last, Chiyo! What have you found?"
Chiyo: "I have found the pieces."
Golden Skull: "At last! It is complete! Place the pieces in the tomb. The fools could not kill me!"
The lich Kangaxx appears.
Kangaxx the Lich: "Fools you are! Death shall rain upon the planes and Kangaxx will violate all!"
Xan: "But of course. It could be no other way, could it?"
Kangaxx the Lich: "But worry not, my saviour. You shall be well rewarded. You will have the privilege of a sweet, painful death at my hands!"
Then the traps trigger, Chiyo hits it, and it dies.
Or does it?
This isn't even his final form.Kangaxx the Lich: "Still you do not understand! Not only was I to languish in the tomb for all eternity but I also I must be destroyed by another to be free"
Xan: "Chiyo, run, or stand behind me! A Demilich form...he will imprison us all!"
Kangaxx the Lich: "You have truly freed me and the world will be burned to ash for your sin."
A demilich is a wacky floating skull with terrifying magical powers, just another one of those monsters thrown in to D&D over its lifespan. Normally they cast trap the soul, but that spell doesn't exist in Baldur's Gate so here they cast imprisonment repeatedly. As such, Chiyo immediately casts spell immunity: abjuration and begins channeling the sunray power of Daystar while Minsc unleashes his ring of the ram on the demilich. Then Chiyo gets mazed because apparently one of my mods changes imprisonment to maze. Oops!
Next attempt, I use spell immunity: conjuration instead and...Chiyo gets mazed anyway.
The combat log says "Demilich soul trap" so I bet it's some kind of unique power that can't be defended against with spell immunity. And another attempt makes that clear. Chiyo vanishes without a spell being cast. And after some experimentation, it seems completely impossible to defend against. It keeps hitting me through potions of magic resistance, spell immunity, saving throws...nothing works. I just have to keep reloading and hope I get lucky. Tactics!
Also, he's immune to Daystar even though Daystar should count as a +4 weapon when fighting liches. I'm not sure what's going on there.
In the end, my strategy boils down to "reload until all the dice rolls go my way." Jaheira's false dawn manages to blind the lich, Chiyo doesn't get imprisoned and attacks immediately as soon as the demilich appears, Minsc's ring of the ram blast does near-max damage, and before all Kangaxx's protections can activate, I burst it down. Not a glorious victory, but a victory nonetheless. All's fair in love and RPGs.
As the skull crumbles, Xan speaks up:Xan: "Chiyo, Chiyo... Chiyo...we were meant to die. Imprisoned forever...and yet I am able to say your name. Your name, instead of millennia of misery."
Maybe things aren't so terrible after all, Xan.
Kangaxx drops a scroll of grease, a random piece of jewelry...and the Ring of Gaxx, which immediately goes on Chiyo. Her Ring of Earth Control goes to Jaheira, who still isn't wearing any rings. I leave the scroll and the flamedance ring behind, and the party exits the building.
Game time elapsed: 80 days, 12 hours.
Shadow Thief Tasks Completed: 0/3
Liches!
This took hours to play through because of the number of reloads I had to do on some of those lich fights. The Inn Lich and Kangaxx were the worst, but there was no lich that gave me an easy time. Which is only appropriate for the game, after all. Liches are supposed to be immortal spellcasters with dozens of tricks up their sleeves from an unlifetime spent delving into the mysteries of magic. In an unmodded game, these powerful undead sorcerers can be defeated by using a protection from undead scroll, which makes them stand around in confusion while the protected character beats them to death. I'm not complaining about the changes in abstract, I just wish I had a better understanding of what exactly changed and how to deal with it. Why did Chiyo keep getting mazed through spell immunities and, later, potions of magic resistance? How come Aerie couldn't target Kangaxx with debuffs while Xan could, and why did only she get the message about not casting on invisible or sanctuaried creatures? Who knows!
I adapted a song based on my experiences here:I'm a lich, I'm a caster
Motherfuckin' necromancer
I'm an undead blasphemy,
Profane immortality
I chill touch, I've got spells
I'll send you straight to hell
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
I probably haven't even killed all the liches in the game yet, either. I bet there's more out there, waiting. At least I've proven I can take them down.
Oh, and it turns out that there is a lich in the graveyard, but it's part of a quest and doesn't appear unless you're doing Edwin's personal quest. Since Edwin is terrible and there's no way I'm having him in my party, I'm not going to be doing that quest. But the graveyard does get its lich pun title obliquely!
Next time I'll probably actually get to the main quest, because all I have to do is recover the spider-slaying sword for Pai'Na, investigate the Copper Coronet, and meet with Aegnor. That probably won't take very long, and then it's down to the docks, having passed through sidequest hell and into main quest purgatory. It only took me 75 hours of playtime!
Next: Part XIX: Escape from Sidequest Hell.