Prima GamesA Division of Random House, Inc.

3000 Lava Ridge CourtRoseville, CA 95661

(800) 733-3000www.primagames.com

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Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Tri Pham

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The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries.Primagames.com is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.,registered in the United States.

© 2004 by Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may bereproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systemwithout written permission from Atari Interactive, Inc.

Product Manager: Jill HinckleyEditorial Supervisor: Christy SeifertLayout & Design: Graphic Applications Group, Inc.

Acknowledgments:Prima would like to thank Jeff Sehring, Todd Hartwig, and Serene Chan from Atari fortheir help on this guide.

Demon Stone, Forgotten Realms and the Forgotten Realms logo, Dungeons &Dragons, D&D, and the Dungeons & Dragons logo, and Wizards of the Coast and itslogo, characters, character names, and their distinctive likenesses are trademarks ofWizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used withpermission. © 2004 Wizards. Software © 2004 Atari, Inc. HASBRO and its logo aretrademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. Developed by StormfrontStudios. All rights reserved.

All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks of their respectivecompanies.

Please be advised that the ESRB rating icons, "EC", "K-A", “E”, "T", "M", "AO" and“RP” are copyrighted works and certification marks owned by the EntertainmentSoftware Association and the Entertainment Software Rating Board and may only beused with their permission and authority. Under no circumstances may the rating iconsbe self-applied or used in connection with any product that has not been rated by theESRB. For information regarding whether a product has been rated by the ESRB,please call the ESRB at 1-800-771-3772 or visit www.esrb.org. For informationregarding licensing issues, please call the ESA at (212) 223-8936. Please note thatESRB ratings only apply to the content of the game itself and does NOT apply to thecontent of this book.

Important:Prima Games has made every effort to determine that the information contained in thisbook is accurate. However, the publisher makes no warranty, either expressed orimplied, as to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the material in this book;nor does the publisher assume liability for damages, either incidental or consequential,that may result from using the information in this book. The publisher cannot provideinformation regarding game play, hints and strategies, or problems with hardware orsoftware. Questions should be directed to the support numbers provided by the gameand device manufacturers in their documentation. Some game tricks require precisetiming and may require repeated attempts before the desired result is achieved.

ISBN: 0-7615-4590-5Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004107110

CONTENTSThe Story Thus Far ..................................................3

Player Characters ........................................................3

Non-Player Characters ................................................5

Game Basics ............................................................6

Gameplay Overview ....................................................6

The Menu System ........................................................6

General Overview ........................................................7

Experience Points (XP) and Character Levels ..........10

Controls......................................................................10

General Strategies and Tips ......................................12

Chapter 1: War in Damara ....................................16

Chapter 2: Descent into Gemspark Mine ..............21

Chapter 3: Attack at Cedarleaf ..............................30

Chapter 4: The Wizard's Tower ............................36

Chapter 5: The Jungles of Chult ............................47

Chapter 6: The Yuan-Ti Temple..............................55

Chapter 7: Stand at Mithral Hall ..........................62

Chapter 8: Into the Underdark ..............................70

Chapter 9: The Dragon's Lair ................................77

Chapter 10: The Lord of Chaos ..............................86

Enemies ..................................................................92

Level and Item Upgrades......................................105

Hidden Areas & Unlockables................................111

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100 Years AgoOur story begins 100 years ago. In Rawlinswood, the great wizardKhelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun came across two powerful beings lockedin combat. The two combatants were Ygorl, the Slaad Lord, and aGithyanki General named Cireka. Both plotted the invasion of Faerunand fought each other for that right. They battled through differentplanes of reality and wouldstop at nothing until theworld was his or hers. AsKhelben watched themfight, he knew thatwhoever prevailed woulddestroy all of Faerun. Toprevent either of themfrom getting that chance,Khelben trapped them in aDemon Stone where theywould fight forever.

The PresentJust outside the Gemspark Mine in Damara, a lone warrior namedRannek stumbles across a raging battlefield. Unable to stand by idlyand watch innocents perish, Rannek rushes to the aid of the villagers.In the process, he meets the mysterious Zhai and saves her life. Stuckin the middle of the battlefield, they are aided by a young sorcerernamed Illius.

The three are then forced into the entrance of Gemspark Mine bythe battle outside. In the mine, they unwittingly free Cireka and Ygorlfrom the Demon Stone. Released from their captivity, the two renewtheir battle for the rights to take Faerun. They must be stopped ifFaerun is to survive.

Rannek, the Fighter

Unlike most travelers, Rannek journeyed to the Bloodstone land ofDamara in search of anonymity. He hadn’t come to fight in Vaasa, butrather to escape a tortured past.

Several months after settling down, Rannek made a costly error. Inhis home village of Nesme, he failed to recognize an impending trollattack. He misjudged the enemy, whom he thought were simplyscavenging for trace metals at the base of the Galena Mountains. Theadvancing group turned out to be a troll invasion force accompanied bya unit of battle-thirsty orcs. Nesme’s unsuspecting citizens, hearing noalarm call, were left defenseless as the onslaught ensued. Although adwarven countercharge eventually returned Nesme back to its folk,Rannek left the region indisgrace. After some time,the beleaguered fighterheaded east towardDamara, pulled in thatdirection by a force hecould not explain. Withlittle to lose, he followed.

Rannek specializes in theuse of melee weapons, thesword and the fist.

PLAYER CHARACTERSPLAYER CHARACTERS

Race: Human

Alignment: Lawful Good

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 240 lbs

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Illius, the Sorcerer

Descended from an ancient line of knights known as the Silver Guard ofSilverymoon, Illius was disowned by his family for one simple reason:he chose spell craft over the martial arts.

Yearning to learn moreof the world beyondSilverymoon, the sorcererset out like Rannek: he felta strong, unexplainablepull toward Damara.

Illius specializes in theuse of magic. He has noprojectile combatlimitations.

Zhai, the Rogue

Zhai is one of the rarest race combinations found anywhere in theRealms. Her mother was drow, a dark elf from the subterranean city ofMenzoberranzan, while her father was a wood elf from Cedarleaf.

Zhai never felt comfortable being raised on the surface world. Shewas not generally welcomed, as people didn’t trust one who soresembled a drow. Thus, at the first opportunity, she set out to make aname for herself in the Coldlands, hoping to alleviate that prejudice, aswell as the rage that brewed within her.

Zhai is the most athletic of the group. With her gymnastic abilities,she can tackle most obstacles. She can also avoid detection by hiding innatural shadows within the environment.

Race: Human

Alignment: Neutral Good

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 160 lbs

Race: Half drow, half wood elf

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Age: 125

Gender: Female

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 105 lbs

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The Story Thus Far

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Khelben "Blackstaff" ArunsunNamed for the magic staff hewields, Khelben Arunsun is apowerful agent of law andorder. An imposing yetbenevolent figure—possiblyone of the most powerfulmages in the land—he aidsadventurers and offerswisdom drawn from hisextensive knowledge of thehistory and lore of the Realms.

Drizzt Do’UrdenDrizzt Do’Urden is alegendary figure in theRealms. Armed with his twoscimitars, "Twinkle" and"Icingdeath," this enigmaticdark elf is renowned forforsaking the cruel ways ofhis people and working in theinterest of good on thesurface world of the Realms.

Ygorl, the Slaad Lord

A creature of chaos, this evilSlaad assumes humanoidform and seeks to ravage theRealms. He has a commandof magic and can summonSlaad minions from thechaotic planes.

Cireka, the Githyanki GeneralGithyanki are human-likewarrior creatures, organizedsolely for war. Cireka is one ofmany from this evil andmilitaristic culture bent ondestroying any opposingforce from the planes.Brandishing the traditionalsilvery sword of her kind,Cireka is locked in anunending conflict with Ygorl, the Slaad Lord.

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERSNON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

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This is an action-adventure game with RPG-like elements blended intoit. This section helps you get a handle on the basic, but essential, aspectsof the game.

This game is more than just hack-and-slash. Its RPG roots give it theadded depth of allowing the characters to grow as the game progresses.How they grow is up to you. This section explains the concepts of playerlevels, experience points (XP), and how to navigate around the menus.

Starting a New GameWhen you start a newgame, you must decidewhat kind of punishmentyou're willing to take.There are three difficultylevels to choose from: Easy,Normal, and Hard. Thedifficulty level you choosedetermines the toughnessof the enemies (but thenumber of enemies you

face remains the same). At higher difficulties, the enemies deal moredamage and attack more often. They are also smarter at higher diffi-culties; they block and use their special attacks more frequently. TheHero meter also drains more quickly the higher the difficulty setting.

Character Screen

This is the screen whereyou do all your charactertweaking. You can accessinformation about each of your characters andaccess the menus you need to upgrade their skills and items.

Character Status ScreenSelect Character Status toview all the goodies yourcharacters currently have.Scroll the screen left orright to view yourcharacter's skills, items,and other pertinent infor-mation. This menu ispurely informational; youcan't modify anything fromthis screen.

Level Upgrade ScreenThe Level Upgrade screen iswhere you pick and choosethe skills to upgrade eachof your characters. Alongthe screen’s top is a levelindicator bar. Each skillrequires a character to be ata minimum level in orderfor him or her to learn it.The highlighted levelindicates the minimum

level required for the skills listed. While you can browse upgrades thatare beyond your character's level, you cannot purchase them. Of course,even if your character is at the appropriate level, he or she needs to haveenough XP to pay for this skill.

Item Upgrade ScreenThe Item Upgrade screenallows you to purchase theitems necessary for yourparty to survive the battlesahead. Along the top of thescreen are three icons thatrepresent the categories ofitems: armor, weapons, andenchanted items. Unlikelevel upgrades, there is nominimum level

requirement to use an item. However, the items are increasingly pricedso that you can't simply buy the best items early in the game.

Each character can only equip one item at a time. If you try topurchase an item that is cheaper than what you already have equipped,you get some gold back.

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEWGAMEPLAY OVERVIEW

THE MENU SYSTEMTHE MENU SYSTEM

cautionOnce you pick a difficulty level, you're stuck with it unless you starta new game.

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Auto-Buy ScreenUse this option to have thecomputer select the bestlevel and item upgradesthat your party can afford.However, this does notnecessarily mean that theyare the best choicesavailable. The computerspreads out the XP andgold pretty evenly amongthe skills and items

available and thus cannot provide the specialization that you mayrequire. Don't worry, you can check out what the computer picksbefore buying them.

Use the Auto-Buy option as a guide to see roughly what items andskills the party can afford. If the Auto-Buy option is missing a skill oritem that you feel should be in there, simply buy it manually and returnto the Auto-Buy screen to let the computer pick the rest.

Chapter Select ScreenThis is the screen whereyou choose the level toplay. The game has a totalof 10 chapters or levels.You must complete theprevious level before thenext level is unlocked. Youcan return to levels thatyou have completed beforemoving on to earn moreXP or gold.

The completion of each level also opens the unlockables for thatlevel. To view the unlockables, simply select the level and choose"Unlockables."

Once you finish customizing the party to your liking, it's time to getinto the game. This section describes all of elements found duringactual gameplay.

HUD ElementsThe most important infor-mation of the game isfound in the screen’sbottom left. There you cansee the current character'sHero meter and, ifapplicable, his or herammo count. You can alsosee each of the characters'health and whether or noteach of the characters'Hero meter is full.

Health MetersEach character's healthmeter can be seen in theHUD and each is denotedby a unique color andposition in the HUD.Rannek's health meter isred and sits at the top of theHUD. Illius's health meter isblue and is on the left side.Zhai's yellow health meter isat the bottom. At all times,you can see the health statusof each of the characters.The currently selectedcharacter's health meter is brighter than the other two's.

Hero MetersThe Hero meter fills up each time a character lands a combo, kills anenemy, or casts a spell. As the Hero meter fills up, the backgroundbehind the character's image in the HUD fills with white. When the Herometer is full, that character's gem in the HUD begins to glow. Once acharacter's Hero meter is full, that character can perform a SuperAttack—an area attack that damages all enemies within a certain radius.

GENERAL GAMEPLAYGENERAL GAMEPLAY

Zhai's health meter is brighter herebecause she is the currently selected

character. The other two health metersare dimmed but still visible.

Zhai is the currently selectedcharacter, and her Hero meter isfull. Note the white backgroundbehind her image in the HUD.

Rannek is the currently selectedcharacter. His Hero meter is onlypartially filled, but the other twocharacters' Hero meters are full.

noteIf one hero dies, the adventure ends.

When all three partymembers' Hero meters arefull, the whole HUD beginsto glow. When thishappens, the party canperform a Team SuperAttack. This is a massivelypowerful team attack thatdamages the area aroundeach of the characters.

Ammo CounterThe number beneath Rannek's and Zhai's picture in the HUD indicatesthe number of projectiles the character has available. Illius uses spellsfor long-ranged combat and does not have an ammo counter.

Objective MetersIn certain situations in the game, you will see up to two other meters onthe screen. The first meter appears in the upper right-hand corner of thescreen and a second meter, if necessary, will appear in the bottom right-hand corner. These meters usually indicate a boss's health or the statusof a door or portal. Depending on the circumstance, the party musteither drain these meters or fend off enemies until the meters are full.

Pick-UpsPick-Ups are found throughout the game. These include anythingthat the enemies drop when they are defeated and treasure found incrates and barrels.

Potions of Healing

Health potions come in two colors: light and dark blue. The light bluehealth potion restores a bit of the health of the character who picks it up.The dark blue health potion recovers a larger amount of health. Healthpotions are most commonly dropped when an enemy is defeated,although some can also be found in breakable crates or barrels.

Scroll of Healing Spell

Health scrolls restore thewhole party's health. Thesecan be dropped by enemiesand can be found inbreakable crates andbarrels. Health scrolls areharder to come across thanhealth potions.

Potions of Heroism

Hero potions fill up thecurrently selectedcharacter's Hero meter.These are foundthroughout the game asmonster-drops and also insome breakable items.

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During boss battles, the meter inthe upper right-hand corner is

reduced each time the partydamages the boss.

In this level, the party must protectIllius long enough for him to open

the portal. When the portal's meteris full, the objective is completed.

noteHero meters drain over time unless the character lands a combo,kills an enemy, or casts a spell. Each time the character is hit by anenemy, the Hero meter also drains. To fill the character's Herometer, you must continue to use combos or spells until the meter isfilled. Once a Hero meter is filled, it does not drain until a SuperAttack or a Team Super Attack is performed.

When all three characters' Hero metersare full, the whole HUD glows and they

are ready for a Team Super Attack.

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Ammo

Ammo pick-ups provideammo for the characterwho picks it up. Rannekand Zhai can pick these upto refill their supply ofprojectiles. Illius uses spellsfor long-ranged combatand thus does not needammo pick-ups.

Gold

The party uses gold to purchase items. Gold coins are found in treasurechests and in breakable items. The triple-coin pick-up gives more goldthan the single-coin variety.

Bag of Holding

These sacks are found insome of the game's hiddenareas and contain gold.These bags contain evenmore gold than the triple-coin pick-ups.

Tomb of Clean Thought

Find these books in thehidden areas of the game.Grab them to earn a bigload of experience.

Smash-UpsTreasure Chests

Treasure chests are foundthroughout the game inplain sight and also inhidden areas. Treasurechests must be brokenopen to reveal theircontents. Besides gold,you can sometimes findhealth scrolls.

Crates and Barrels

Crates and barrels are scattered throughout the game. Many containgoodies like health or gold but some don't contain anything. There areno traps in the crates or barrels, so there's no harm in breaking openevery crate and barrel you find.

Hidden AreasHidden areas are hard-to-reach areas in the game.Accessing these areasrequires a keen eye fordetail as they can easily bemissed. Most of the hiddenareas in the game requireZhai's jumping ability butothers require that walls bedestroyed. The last sectionin this book provides a listof all the hidden areas in the game and how to reach them.

noteBreakable crates come in many different shapes and sizes.Swing your weapon at anything that resembles a box to see if itis breakable.

Experience PointsThe characters grow over the course of the game. With each kill, eachcharacter accumulates experience points (XP) which are then used topurchase skills or skill upgrades.

XP and Gold are divided evenly between the characters. One doesn't earnmore than the other for executing combos or regular attacks.

Character Levels After earning enough XP, each character increases in level. This isimportant for skill upgrades because every skill has a minimum levelrequirement. Characters can only purchase skill upgrades that are belowtheir current skill level.

Movement (Left Analog Stick)

Use the left analog stick to control your character. Move the stick all theway in any direction to make the character run and move it slightly tomake the character walk.

Character Switching (Directional Pad)

To effectively play to your party's strengths, you must be able to switchcontrol of the characters on the fly. To switch characters, use the direc-tional pad of the controller. Use the HUD as a reference as to whichdirection to use. Rannek's health meter is at the top of the HUD sopress w to switch to him. Zhai is on the HUD’s right and Illius is on itsleft; press the directional pad in the corresponding direction to switchto that character.

Character Switching

w Rannek a Illius d Zhai

Primary Attack (PS2: u, Xbox: 1)

This is your most basic attack. Press this button to take a single swingwith your character's weapon.

Secondary Attack (PS2: o, Xbox: 2)

This is your character's unarmed attack. Press this button to attack anenemy using only the character's punches or kicks.

Sneak Attack (Zhai only)Zhai can use specialshadows throughout thegame to become invisible toenemies. Once invisible,Zhai can come up behindan enemy to perform asneak attack. A sneak attackkills an enemy in one fellswoop, regardless of howtough their defenses are.

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EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP)AND CHARACTER LEVELSEXPERIENCE POINTS (XP)AND CHARACTER LEVELS

tipExcept for the later levels in the game, each level has a maximumamount of XP that your party can earn. You can return to previouslevels to earn more XP, up to the maximum allowed.

tipYou earn extra XP for every Team Super Attack that you perform.How many Team Super Attacks you perform for a given level isdisplayed after the level is completed along with how much XPeach was worth.

Lvl. XP Required

1 0

2 1,000

3 3,000

4 6,000

5 10,000

Lvl. XP Required

6 15,000

7 21,000

8 28,000

9 36,000

10 45,000

Lvl. XP Required

11 55,000

12 66,000

13 78,000

14 91,000

15 105,000

CONTROLSCONTROLS

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Parry or Block (PS2: p, Xbox: 3)

Hold this button down to block or evade an incoming attack. Not allattacks are blockable.

Riposte Attack(PS2: p + u, Xbox: 3+1)

Riposte Attacks are available to Rannek and Zhai after they advanceenough to purchase these skills. This attack stuns many enemes. ARiposte Attack is performed as the character is coming out of a block.This is a fast single attack that makes use of an opponent’s moment ofvulnerability after its attack is blocked.

Prone Attack (from ground, PS2: u, Xbox: 1)

Prone attacks are available to the party after the group advances enoughto purchase these skills. Press the primary attack button after a characterhas been knocked down. This move performs a quick attack as thecharacter gets up from the ground. It pushes any nearby enemies backand provides some breathing room for the character as he or she gets up.

Super Attack (PS2: i, Xbox: 4)

When your character's Hero meter is full, press this button to perform aSuper Attack that damages all enemies within a certain radius. Thisradius gets larger as your character improves. Late versions of this skillincrease the radius of the attack.

Coup de Grace (Finishing Move) (PS2: R, Xbox: 5)

Perform the Coup de Grace on an enemy that has been knocked to theground to finish it off. Some enemies get right back up after beingknocked down, so use the Coup de Grace to kill it and shorten the fight.

Projectile Weapon or Spell (PS2: hold L, Xbox: hold 7)

Hold down this button to target an enemy. Once targeted, use the leftanalog stick to switch targets and press your primary attack button tofire the projectile. To charge up a projectile weapon or spell, hold downthe primary attack button until the character finishes his or hercharging animation.

Charm and Protection Spells (Illius only)Illius's charm spells affect an enemy or group of enemies. Hold downthe projectile button and the secondary attack button at the same timeto put a holding spell on Illius's target. Illius's protection spells affectthe party and provide protection against damage from enemies. Bothcharm and protection spells must be learned as Illius advances in levels.The more advanced the spells, the longer the effects last.

Team Attack (PS2: hold l, Xbox: hold 6)

Hold down this button to get a nearby teammate to attack your target.When you hold this button down, the action slows down and ateammate helps you attack your enemy. This move uses some of yourcharacter's Hero meter.

Team Super Attack (PS2: R3, Xbox: hold ,)

Perform a Team Super Attack when all of the Hero meters are full. ATeam Super Attack causes each of the characters to perform a SuperAttack no matter where they are. This causes massive damage to all theenemies in each of the characters’ radii. As the characters gain in levels,so do the ranges and power of the attack. Team Super Attacks earn theparty extra XP, which is displayed at the end of each level.

Special Actions (PS2: r, Xbox: 8)

These special actions are unique to each character. At the end of"Descent into Gemspark Mine," each character receives an item thatenables them to perform these special actions.

Gauntlets of Ogre Power (Rannek)With the Gauntlets of OgrePower, Rannek performs asmashing attack on theground. This attack causesgreat damage to inanimateobjects but is only mildlyeffective against enemies.Rannek's gauntlets are bestused to destroy barriersthat block the party's path.

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Beads of Force (Illius)Illius's Beads of Force canbe used similarly toRannek's Gauntlets of OgrePower. The difference isthat you must press thebutton twice: once to setthe charge and a second todetonate the charge. Thismove is useful in dangeroussituations where it is bestto get in and out of thearea that needs destroying.

Ring of Jumping (Zhai)The Ring of Jumping thatZhai receives after defeatingthe Orc King boss allowsher to jump. With this skill,she can reach platformsunreachable by the othertwo party members. As thegame progresses, she canalso learn some jumpingattack moves.

CombinationsCombinations are attacks that make use of two or more successivebutton presses. These attacks earn the characters more XP thanregular single attacks. The following button presses describe the basecombos for the characters. As the party progresses, upgrades to thecombos increase their effectiveness. While the upgrades to the comboswill have different names as the skills advance, the button pressesremain the same.

Advanced Attacks and Advanced Unarmed AttacksAn Advanced Attack is performed by pressing the primary attackbutton twice in a row. Similarly, an Advanced Unarmed Attack isperformed by pressing the secondary button twice in a row. These arequick two-hit combos using either the character's weapon or kicksand punches.

Three-Hit CombosThree-hit combos are performed by pressing the primary attack buttonthree times in a row. Three-hit combos have different names at differentlevels but they all are powerful combinations that attack the enemieswithin your characters' immediate radii.

Knock-Down Combos (PS2: p+o+p, Xbox: 1+2+1)

This move knocks down most enemies in the game, making themvulnerable to the Coup de Grace finishing move.

Push-Back Combos (PS2: p+o+o, Xbox: 1+2+2)

Push-back combos do just that: they push your enemies back a fewsteps. This is useful near the edge of platforms where pushing an enemyover the edge saves valuable time.

Critical Combos (PS2: p+o+R, Xbox: 1+2+8)

A critical combo is a powerful three-hit combination where the finalblow is slightly delayed. During this slight delay, use the left analog stickto make any corrections in your character's aim.

Rannek, the Fighter

Rannek is the master ofmelee combat. Use him upclose against enemies withtough defenses.

noteNot all enemies can be knocked down and not all enemies that areknocked down stay down long enough to perform a Coup de Grace.

noteDeath Slaadi cannot be pushed over the edge of platforms.

GENERAL STRATEGIES AND TIPS

GENERAL STRATEGIES AND TIPS

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Rannek really shinesagainst large groups ofenemies. His swords have adecent reach and candamage multiple enemiesat once.

As powerful a melee fighterthat he is, it is possible forRannek to be overwhelmedby very large groups ofenemies, especially if theysurround him. If you seetoo many enemiesconverging on Rannek, gethim out of there andposition him so that mostof the enemies are on oneside of him. This allows Rannek to damage multiple enemies while alsogiving him room for escape if necessary.

Use the left analog stick toguide Rannek's sword as heperforms his combos.Many enemies continue tomove around duringattacks, so keep Rannek'ssword aimed at the targetto make sure it lands.

Illius, the SorcererIllius is the only characterthat enjoys unlimitedprojectile-attack capability.Since ammo is hard tocome by in the game, Illiusshould handle any targetsin the distance. Hisdefenses are weaker thanthe rest of the party, sofind an out-of-the-way spotfor Illius to cast his spells.

Charge up Illius'sprojectile spells to dealheavier damage againstenemies. As his spellsimprove overtime, thecharged projectile spellswill damage multipleenemies at once.

In heated battles, the timeit takes to fully charge aspell may be too much.Illius won't always be ableto stand in a safe spot whilehe casts his spells. In thesesituations, Illius will haveto block incomingattackers, which willinterrupt the charging ofhis spells. Using uncharged

spells ensures that Illius hits his targets, albeit with a weaker spell,before having to block his attackers.

Don't neglect Illius's charmor protection spells. Whilethey are weak and don'tlast very long at lowerlevels, as the spells getmore powerful, they canprovide the edge the partyneeds to survive.

Zhai, the RogueZhai's strength is herability to hide in the specialshadows throughout thegame. When Zhai stands inthese shadows for a briefmoment, she becomesinvisible to enemies. Thelength of time that shestays invisible increases asshe progresses through thegame and invests in theappropriate skills and items.

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The greatest benefit inbeing invisible is that Zhaican perform sneak attackson the enemies. Theseattacks instantly kill asingle target, regardless ofhow tough its defenses are.Sneak attacks are a greatway to reduce the numberof enemies and keep fromgetting hurt.

At the end of the secondlevel, "Descent intoGemspark Mine," Zhaipicks up a Ring ofJumping. This fancy pieceof jewelry gives her theunique ability to jump. Useher jumping ability toreach hidden areasunreachable by the othertwo party members.

Team Work

Illius can't cast his spells ifhe is constantly beingattacked. In battles, keepan eye on Illius and bringRannek or Zhai to help himif he gets surrounded.

Use Zhai's sneak attacks onenemies that are attackingher teammates. This takessome of the pressure off ofthem and may preventthem from beingoverwhelmed.

Keep an eye on each of theparty members' healthmeters. If one of the healthmeters is low, switch to thatcharacter and guide him orher to any available healthpotions. You can do thisfaster than the computerand those precious secondscan mean the differencebetween life and death.

Rannek and Zhai shouldbattle next to each otherwhen fighting large groupsof enemies. Having twomelee fighters next to eachother creates a small radiusthat allows time for a fallenteam member to get upwithout being constantlywhacked.

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tipZhai earns gold with each sneak attack she performs. What's arogue without pick-pocketing skills?

tipBlock, block, and block. Practice blocking early in the game so thatyou get the timing down. You won't get far in the later levels if youaren't a good defensive and offense player.

cautionZhai's sneak attacks do not work on bosses.

tipListen to the voice cues of the party members. They often tell youwhat the immediate focus or method of attack should be.

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Switch characters often inbattles and fill up each ofthe characters' Herometers. Team SuperAttacks are a great way toearn extra XP while devas-tating large groups ofenemies in the area.

Items and SkillsPeek ahead to levelupgrades that yourcharacters can't learn yet.Knowing what will beavailable in the near futurecan help you decide what tospend your experiencepoints on. Specializing inthe skills that you use mostwill give you an advantageagainst the increasinglytough enemies.

If you don't have enoughgold to buy a crucial item,you can sell back a less-important item for someextra gold. For example, ifyou had previouslyupgraded Zhai's projectileweapon but find that youdon't use her projectileattacks very often, you cansell that weapon and thenget some gold back by purchasing a lesser projectile weapon. In the ItemUpgrade screen, the cost of lesser items is listed in terms of how muchgold you get back.

If you don't have enoughgold or XP to upgradeyour characters to yourliking, go back and repeata few levels. The XP andgold earned for repeatinglevels is not cumulative, soyou must earn more XPand gold for that level forit to count.

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The story begins when Rannek stumbles across a massive battle inDamara. Orcs are locked in fierce battle throughout the city andinnocent villagers scream for help from caged wagons. Unable to resistinnocents in need, Rannek jumps into the foray.

In doing so, Rannek runsinto the mysterious Zhai.Upon meeting Zhai, youbriefly take her controlsand fight the orcs. It is notuntil Zhai reluctantly meetsup with Rannek again thatwe meet Illius, the sorcerer.

This first chapter is about getting a feel for the characters. You are incontrol of each of the three heroes, one at a time. Play to eachcharacter's strengths. Rannek is the fighter, so he does a lot of hackingand slashing. Zhai is the rogue, master of stealth and assassination-stylekills. Illius is the sorcerer, and his strengths lie in long-range attacks andspell-casting abilities, though at this point, he can't do much more thanshoot Magic Missiles.

Since you've been thrown into the midst of battle without warning, youhave only minimal items and skills. In the future, as you earn experienceand gold with each chapter completion, you can buy items and upgradeyour skills before embarking on the next mission.

But not now.

Rannek, the Fighter

The captured villagers arecaged in that nearbywagon, but you have morepressing business—Orcs.

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CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

tip

To see a list of your availablemoves, press the start button tocall up the Skills screen.

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The orcs are fighting eachother. Join in to mix it up abit. Use your Basic andAdvanced Attacks to dealdamage to the battlingorcs. The big wagon full ofboulders prevents youfrom proceeding until youkill all the orcs, or they killeach other.

After you dispatch of allthe orcs in this area, thevillagers are set free.Unfortunately, one of thecaptives doesn't make it,thanks to nearby orcarchers. Don't fret, there'snothing you can do.

The escaping villagers tellyou there are more peopleto rescue up ahead.Luckily, a stray catapultshot destroys that boulder-filled wagon so you cancontinue to the nextvillages. Clear your path ofthe next horde of orcs.

As you approach yetanother group of orcs neara huge catapult, you see(from across the gulch)orcs firing largeprojectiles. They are firingat "your" group of orcs,but you can also takedamage from theprojectiles. Run aroundthe orcs for now and

whack at the catapult. The catapult crushes the orcs across the gulch,leaving you to dispatch "your" orcs in peace.

Smash through the fence tomove on to the nextsection. Unfortunately forthe captives in the cage,you are too late to savethem from the dragon'sbreath. Next, more orcs.Plow through these, as wellas the next set, and meetZhai for the first time.

tip

Break open all barrels, crates, etc. There are often valuable pickupsunderneath. Not all breakable objects contain goodies, but sincenone of them contain baddies, get into the destructive habit ofsmashing them all.

A

– Barrel

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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Zhai, the Rogue

In all the commotion, frominside her cage, Zhai picksa couple of scimitars off ofan orc and frees herself.With attitude, she takes offon her own, away fromRannek.

As Zhai, you start here.Notice the pretty, shinyground. This indicates thenatural shadows that Zhaican use to her advantage.When she stands in theseshadows, she temporarilybecomes invisible to allenemies. You can tell she isin "stealth" mode when sheappears in outline.

Here's your first chance at astealthy kill. The orc herehas his back to you, perfectfor an assassin like you.Walk up behind him andpress your primary attackbutton to perform a slick,instant-death move on theunsuspecting orc.

Continue across the bridge.Just ahead there are moreorcs locked in battle. Luckyfor you, there are someshadows available. Stepinto the shadows and waitfor Zhai to go into stealthmode. Then quicklyposition yourself behind anorc and attack. As soon asyou take one down, moveback into the shadows. Repeat until you've cleared the area.

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noteYou can only see where these special shadows are when you areplaying as Zhai. If you are either Rannek or Illius, they appear asregular shadows.

A

B

– Barrel

– Shadows

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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It is important to dispatchthe orcs as quickly aspossible. If you haven'tnoticed by now, there arerandom fireballs rainingdown from farawaycatapults. Those fireballsdamage the orcs as well asyou. For more experiencepoints, make sure thatyou're the one to destroy the orcs, not the fireballs.

Continue onward until youreach a catapult. Forgo theorcs and slash at the catapultto fire it. This not only savesyou from taking damage, butsaves a few orcs for you tokill. The more orcs you fight,the more experience you get.There are two catapults inthis area; use the samestrategy for both.

In this next area, theshadows are smaller andyou have to deal witharchers. You can hide in theshadows and pick off theorcs, but beware thearchers. If an archer fires ashot at you before youbecome hidden, it can stillhit you. Beware the flamingarrows that may hit you,revealing you to the enemies.

Once you plow through afew more orcs, youeventually reach a doorway.Pass through it and beready to meet the third andlast member of your party,Illius, the sorcerer.

Illius, the Sorcerer

While Rannek barely savesZhai in the nick of time,they are now both pinnedbehind a rock with noescape from the archers.They need help.

cautionZhai's stealth mode only lasts for a limited time before she isvisible again. Later, you can improve the length of time she can stayhidden. But for now, if Zhai misses her target or stays out of theshadows for too long, she becomes exposed to danger.

B

– Barrel

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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Enter Illius. The archersthat have Rannek and Zhaipinned down are lined up atthe edge of the walkwayhere. Only one of them hasactually seen Illius and isfiring arrows at him. Fire afew Magic Missiles at theaggressor to knock him offthe edge. Use the directional

button to target the attacking orc before you fire the Magic Missile.

Stay back and charge your Magic Missiles beforeunleashing them into the backs of the orcarchers, knocking them off their perch.

After you clear this area,the boulder that wasblocking your way getsblown to bits, allowingpassage on to the next area.Don't venture too far,however. Remember thatyou are a sorcerer, not amelee fighter. Stand backand dispose of the orcsfrom a distance.

While moving past thesecave openings, a couple oflone orcs attack you. Theseones charge you head on.Without time or thedistance required for yourranged weapon, you mustengage in hand-to-handcombat. It's a good thingyou come from a long lineof Silvery Guards from

Silverymoon because with a few Basic and Advanced Attacks, you easilysend these orcs yonder.

Continue along the pathuntil you find Rannek andZhai on the far side of thegulch. Take a whack at thiscontraption to wipe outtheir attackers.

Now it's time to meet upwith your companions. Asyou reach the next clearing,you see a large group oforcs blocking your path.Keep your distance as youcharge your Magic Missilesto fire at them. Zhai andRannek join the fight soonenough, and it doesn't takelong until the three of you meet for the first time.

Unfortunately, the intro-ductions are cut short.That not-so-friendly dragonabove has just taken outthe bridge, and it looks likethere's only one way to go:into the Gemspark Mine.

tipHold down your ranged attackbutton to charge it. This takes afew extra seconds, but if you havethe time, it's worth it. WatchIllius's animation and release assoon as he has stopped revving up.

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tipIt is often easier and quicker to knockyour enemies off of cliffs. Positionyourself with the enemy between youand the edge. Use either armed orunarmed attacks to knock them overand off the cliff. Simple as that.

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By a twist of fate, our three heroes find themselves taking refuge in theinfamous Gemspark Mine. The legends tell of great riches hidden deepin this mine. That's good news to Zhai, but Illius is more concernedwith the orcs known to be riddled throughout these caverns.

The three walk deeper into the mine. We begin to learn a little moreabout Zhai and Rannek. Zhai reveals that she is half-drow, a race ofmurderers and thieves. Rannek tells the story of his hometown, Nesme,and his own failures at preventing trolls from overrunning it.

This level is the first chance you have to play with the characters as partof the team. The first level, War in Damara, was aimed at putting youright into the action. Think of this level as a tutorial level where youbegin to build the skills essential to surviving these treacherous lands.

Now that you'vecompleted the first level ofthe game, you should havea nice chunk of experienceand gold. Here's where youcan put that gold and XPto good use. You shouldhave earned at least 1,000XP in the first level.

If not, it's a good idea to return to War in Damara to get over thathump. With less than 1,000 XP, your team is still at level one, limitingyour upgrade ability.

At this early stage, theAuto-Buy option is a fineidea. The Auto-Buy optionpicks out what thecomputer thinks are yourbest upgrades and itempurchases. It takes intoaccount how much XP andgold you have to spend andit tries to even out all thepurchases between the

characters. Don't worry, you are given a look at what will be purchasedfor each character before you hand over your hard earned XP and gold.If you don't like what's been picked for you, simply cancel out of it andchoose your own equipment.

If you do decide to shop onyour own at this point,make sure you getRannek's Bull Rush and Improved TripCombination. The BullRush pushes an enemyback and is handy in thislevel. For Illius, goodupgrades are the FlameArrow, since his specialty is

ranged-combat, and Burning Hands, for lighting enemies on fire. Zhaiwould benefit from the same upgrades as Rannek, but also considerbuying Toughness to strengthen her defenses until she is able toimprove her assassination skills.

CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

tipIf you don't have enough gold or XP when trying to buy thatessential item or level upgrade, go back to the level selection screenand replay any of the last levels. The XP and gold are notcumulative, but if you get better numbers on subsequent tries,that’s the figure that sticks. This will ensure that you are well-equipped and prepared when you go to the next level.

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When purchasing items,buy the best of what youcan afford. Also keep inmind that you have threecharacters. Divide the goldyou have for the team bythree; that is your budgetfor each character. Ofcourse, you can vary thisdistribution according to

which character you prefer to play. The pitfall is that doing so leaves oneor two characters at a disadvantage. Remember, this is a team effort,and while you may be hacking away untouched, your teammate may bein the corner getting pummeled.

Team Effort

The first lesson of this levelis how to switch betweenthe three characters.Practice this until itbecomes second nature. Inthe later levels, fumblingaround while switchingcharacters will cost you.

cautionYou have a limited amount of experience points and gold to spend.Don't get carried away while shopping for one character and leaveanother ill-equipped.

tipUse the Auto-Buy option as a guide to an even distribution of itemsand upgrades. With that in mind, you can tweak the list to yourown choosing.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

tipWhen you switch characters, abrief glow appears around the feetof the chosen character. Use this toquickly find your character incrowded areas.

A

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– Barrel

– Shadows

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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Move along the curvedwalkway until you reach theblocked off area with thefireplace. Use Rannek tobreak through the barrierand destroy the orcs beyond.This is a good time topractice your newly-learnedskills. Use the Bull Rush topush the orcs into the forge.

Use the shadows to the leftof the forge to hide Zhai,then have her attackenemies from behind. Ifthis is done quickly andoften, it is one of the mostefficient combat methodsfor the team.

Illius can stand back andfire his projectiles at theorcs or cast protectionspells on his teammates. Ifattacked, Illius can defendhimself with a few swingsof his staff, but he's betterfrom afar.

When the first wave of orcsis destroyed, the wall next tothe forge crumbles and moreorcs rush through. Perfect.It's so nice of these piddlyorcs to give you practice withswitching characters, meleecombat, ranged combat,sneak attacks, and TeamSuper Attacks.

Go through the doorwayleft by the orcs and into thecorridor. When you turnthe corner, you find moreorcs. Beyond the normalaxe-toting orcs are archerorcs protected by somerubble. To reach thearchers, destroy the rubble.

Go past the crystallinespiders and onto thebridge. These spiders areeasily shattered, but areannoyingly plentiful. Zhai'sspeed makes her a goodpest control candidate.

Illius, the SorcererWhen you reach the end ofthe bridge, more spidersappear with orc archers onthe far ledge. Illius is theonly team member thatdoesn't run out ofprojectiles. Let Rannek andZhai handle the spiderswhile you fire at thefaraway archers.

tip

Keep your eye on the Hero Meter for each character. Once yourcharacter's Hero Meter is full, resist performing a Super Attack.Instead, switch to a character whose Hero Meter isn't full andperform different combinations on your enemies to fill their HeroMeter. Once all three Hero Meters are full, perform a Team SuperAttack to wipe out the area of enemies. The benefit of this is thatyou get bonus experience for each Team Super Attack you perform.

tip

When concentrating on long-ranged enemies as Illius, use yourmagical shield to block anyincoming projectiles.

24

Once all the spiders andarchers are gone, it's timeto figure out a way to lowerthe last part of the bridge.As the camera swingsaround, notice two chainson either side of the raiseddeck of the bridge. Chargeup your ranged attack andaim at the chains to lowerthe bridge.

Team Effort

Plow through the orcsscrambling on the loweredbridge. The narrow bridgeis useful for pushing theorcs off the side. Continuethrough the barrier andinto the next room. Preparefor a hectic fight in here.

The first thing to do in thisarea is to smash up some ofthe crates and grab thePotions of Heroism. Don'tsmash all of them becauseyou can't use all of thepotions at once. Let theroom fill up with someenemies, perform a fewTeam Super Attacks, and

then collect some more potions. Take control of each of the charactersto guide them to the potions.

Archers appear on thefallen pillar. These guyscan't be reached by eitherRannek or Zhai. Thatleaves the job to Illius andhis long-ranged attacks.Position him in a placeaway from the melee orcs.Illius needs time to chargehis projectiles.

Zhai has a couple ofshadowy areas to work withtoward the back of theroom, near the entrance.Use the shadows to hideand sneak up on the orcsfrom behind. These assassi-nation kills fill up Zhai'sHero Meter quickly.

There are many breakableobjects in this room thatcontain treasure or health.When you use Super orTeam Super Attacks, thosebreakable objects can beaccidentally broken. Toavoid missing out ontreasure, look over eachroom after each SuperAttack, and collect the items.

After you defeat the fewwaves of orcs, all seemsquiet. Zhai is the first to seethe smoke bomb come outof the crack in the wall andis able to jump behindsome boulders.

tipSmall, enclosed areas with many enemies are ideal for Super andTeam Super Attacks. While Team Super Attacks give the best XP,sometimes the situation makes it difficult to pull off a Team SuperAttack. In those cases, don't be afraid to settle for a simple SuperAttack to give you some breathing room.

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PRIMA OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE

cautionIn these heated battles with so many enemies, it's easy to lose sightof your teammates. Always keep one eye on your teammates' healthgauge. If you notice one of the gauges getting low, switch to thatcharacter, get him or her out of danger, and look for HealthPotions. If one of your characters falls, so does the team.

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The smoke from the smokebomb turns out to be asleeping gas. All threeheroes fall victim to it butbecause Zhai was able tohide, she alone was nottaken away.

Zhai, the Rogue

When she wakes, Zhaifinds herself alone anddecides to find the others.Passing through the samecrack in the wall where thegas came from, she findsherself in a tunnel systemwith plenty of shadows.

The guards here are onpatrol. Since yourspecialty is the sneakattack, you must wait forthe guards to turn theirback to you. Sneak attacksare the most efficientcombat technique forZhai. And besides, sneakattacks just look so cool.

Continue through thetunnels and rid each guardwith a well-placed sneakattack. Do not stay in thelight too long or the guardswill see you.

These barrels and boxeshave treasure in them.Smash them to reveal thetreasure and clear the path.

Finally, you reach the endof the tunnel. Through theopening, you see yourfriends and a couple ofguards. There are two waysto handle this. The firstway is to time your sneakattack on the first guard sothat when you are exposed,the second guard doesn'tsee you. If either guard sees you, they will call for reinforcements.

A

B

– Barrel

– Shadows

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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Wait in these shadows forthe right moment to attack.Your target is the guardclosest to you. When thesecond guard turns to faceyou, it's almost time tostrike. As soon as thesecond guard begins toturn away from you, moveout of the shadows andperform a sneak attack on the first guard. Once down, return to theshadows to easily pick off the second guard.

If you are seen by eitherguard, a bunch more showsup. This is the second wayto handle the two guards.The more guards there areto fight, the moreexperience you earn.

With the large group oforcs, use the shadows topick them off one by one.Since you become visiblesoon after each kill, lure theattacking orcs away fromthe shadows. If there aretoo many orcs near theshadows, they can easilywhack you before you get achance to hide.

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tipIf you choose to be seen by the guards for the XP value, don't juststand in the light and wave at them. Use the element of surpriseand dispatch one of them using a sneak attack. You only need thesurviving orc to see you and that's one less orc you have to worryabout when the rest appear.

B

– Barrel

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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Team Effort

After Zhai frees the others,a patrolling orc sees themand calls for help. At leastnow the full team isavailable to fight. The firstwave comes out of thelarge entrance. Pick yourcharacter and start thecarnage.

Rannek nicely handles thelarge groups of orcs withhis sheer power. Knockdown all your enemies atonce by swinging yoursword. When you see anorc raise both axes, block.The raised axes are awarning sign that they willswing at you at least acouple times. Blocking atthe right times can save your character's life.

After the initial wave, orcsbegin to come up from theledge and out of the twocracks in the wall. Positionyourself near the ledge soyou can knock them offthe ledge as soon as theyarrive. Super Attacks areuseful for knockingenemies off the edge.

As Illius, stand away fromthe main action. Charge yourranged weapon and fire itinto the crowd. Stand awayfrom the ledge to knockdown the climbing orcs.

These orcs can be tough tokill, even for a powerfulfighter like Rannek. WhileRannek can fight multipleenemies effectively, also useZhai's sneak attacks toreduce the their numbers.

Boss Battle: The Orc King

When all the orcs are gone,a large, lumbering orc infull armor comes chargingout of the hallway. This isthe Orc King.

Fighting the Orc King takespatience and persistence.The Orc King's healthmeter appears in the upperright. Attack him with allyou've got to reduce the redin the meter.

tipAs Illius, it's ok to fire at enemiesthat are off-screen. The nature of along-ranged fighter is that you mustbe far away from your opponent.This sometimes means that youcannot see your enemy. Trust theaim of your staff as it targets enemies off-screen.

tipWhen the Orc King's health meter flashes white, it means that heis taking damage. Use this information to see when he is vulnerableto attacks and when your attacks do absolutely nothing.

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Use the Team Attack tohave a teammate help whileyou are attacking. TeamAttacks cause heavydamage to your target, buteat up some of yourselected character's HeroMeter. This is the mosteffective way to damage theOrc King.

When the Orc King glowsblue, he is impervious toattacks. This is usuallyfollowed by a stunningelectrical attack as well as afire attack. If you attackhim in the glowing bluestate, your weapon simplybounces off him and youbecome vulnerable to thenext two attacks. Instead ofattacking him in this state, run away and out of his range until thesequence is over. Then, return and continue the attack.

Damage the Orc King asfast and as hard as you can.After a short time, heretreats to the top of thestairs where you can'ttouch him. To make thingsworse, he calls more orcs tofight for him as he watches.

Fighting the lesser orcsisn't a complete waste oftime. Fighting them givesyou a chance to replenishyou Hero and healthmeters. Pick up everythingthat the lesser orcs dropbecause as soon as youfinish off the last one, herecomes the Orc King again.

This cycle continues untilyou've drained the OrcKing's health meter. Afterhe is down, the party lootshis corpse to find someessential items: Gauntletsof Ogre Power forRannek, Beads of Forcefor Illius, and a Ring ofJumping for Zhai.

Chapter 2 Epilogue

With his new Beads of Force, Illius can blow up the wall. Illius is theonly one who can see the symbol on this wall. Switch to anothercharacter and the wall appears normal. Use the Beads of Force to set theexplosive and use them again to detonate it.

Before moving on past the newly-destroyed wall, take a moment togo to the throne in this room. Use Rannek's new gauntlets to smash

cautionThe Orc King's electric attack can stun you. If you are stunned,immediately switch over to a standing character and press on withthe attack. There is no gain from waiting for the stunned characterto revive.

noteZhai's sneak attack does not work against the Orc King.

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the throne. With the throne gone, Zhai can use her new jumpingability to reach the treasure chest at the top. Congratulations, you'vefound a hidden area!

Now onto the next areawith the platforms in thewalls. This is Zhai'sspecialty now that she hasthe ability to jump. UseZhai to jump to the toplevel where the switch islocated. To activate it, useyour primary or secondaryattack buttons.

The next wall has thesymbol of the trolls whodestroyed Rannek's town ofNesme. Only Rannek cansmash this wall. Use hisGauntlets of Ogre Power tosmash the ground anddestroy the wall.

Just when you thought thelevel was over, you passthrough that last doorwayto find two skeletal beingslocked in battle. One ofthem calls forth an army ofRed Slaadi and the nextthing you know, you andyour team are fighting theSlaadi just to stay alive.

Each time you use a SuperTeam Attack, pick up thePotions of Heroism left bythe disintegrated Slaadi.Chances are there'll bemany potions lying about.Switch up characters andpick up all the potions inorder to perform anotherSuper Team Attack. Repeatthis over and over.

As tough as the Slaadi are,Zhai's sneak attacks stillwork wonderfully. Use thesingle shadowy area here toget hidden and make use ofZhai's assassination skills.A few sneak attacks will fillup her Hero Meter andthen she can use a SuperAttack to clear the area. Orbetter yet, if the others'Hero Meters are full as well, perform a Team Super Attack.

Illius has a hard time in thesetight quarters. If you chooseto play as him, stay in areaswith as few Slaadi as possible.If there are no nearbyenemies, charge up hisranged weapons and fireaway. If forced into meleecombat, knock the enemyover the edge of the platform.

Stay alive long enough andyou make your escapethrough the same route asthe Githyanki. Once safe,Illius explains to the otherswhat just happened. Itseems the three heroeshave unwittingly been usedby the Slaad Lord to releasehim and his nemesis, theGithyanki. What a messwe're in now.

tipThe Slaadi are a bunch of tough customers. It takes many attacks toknock them down. Hopefully, if you invested in the Improved TripCombination at the start of the level, you can knock them down onceand follow it up with the Coup de Grace to finish them off. Without theCoup de Grace, the Slaadi just keep getting up. Another alternative isto knock them off the edge of the platform. The idea is to not spend toomuch time using just brute force. Fight smart and stay alive.

tipAs Zhai, you can defeat a lot of enemies by simply performingsneak attacks until her Hero Meter is full. Once full, she canperform a Super Attack to clear the area. Repeating this severaltimes can take a big chunk out of the Slaad Army.

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Now why would Zhai be curious about the safety of Cedarleaf, thecity of wood elves? Didn't she sneer at them earlier when she calledthem weak?

As Zhai leads the group to Cedarleaf and through a hidden entrance,she reveals that Cedarleaf was once her home. The three arrive intown just in time to catch the Cireka, the Githyanki general, begin toopen a portal. As the portal widens, her army filters through. If thegeneral succeeds in fully opening the portal, Cedarleaf and Faerûnare doomed.

There are a couple parts to this level. First, you must stop Cireka beforeshe is able to complete the opening of the portal. Illius's long-rangedattacks are required for this task. In the second part of the level, Cirekaand the Slaad Lord, Ygorl, are locked in a fierce battle and their armiesare endangering the Cedarleaf citizens. Your job here is to see that thecitizens safely evacuate town. Fifty-five wood elves must escape or youfail the mission.

At this point in the game, your characters should be at about level threein experience. Since there are no level three upgrades, and you aren'tallowed to purchase level four upgrades, now is a good time to purchasethe rest of your level two upgrades. If you can only afford a fewupgrades, and don't wish replay a past level for XP, be sure to invest inan upgrade for Illius's ranged weapon. Melf 's Acid Arrow will helpthings along in the first part of the level, as well as the second part,where hitting multiple enemies is key.

The items you can afford at this level offer moderate protection orenhancements to your equipment. If you prefer swinging your weapon atmultiple enemies, invest in weapon and damage enhancers. Spend yourgold on protection items if you like to use the Coup de Grace to quicklydispatch enemies; the Coup de Grace finishes off enemies quickly.

Illius, the SorcererThe portal is widening atopthe ledge next to Cireka. Toclose the portal, Illius mustuse his ranged weapon toattack the general and breakher concentration. Witheach hit that she takes, theportal closes a bit. Find arelatively sparse space onthe platform for Illius tostand and stage his attack.

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CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

tipIf you are higher than level four, by all means purchase a fewupgrades for level four. The coming battles in this level are toughand you can use all the help you can get.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

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The quickest way to closethe portal is to charge upyour ranged weapon andlet it loose on the general.This takes a little time andleaves you vulnerable to thequick attacks of theGithyanki warriors. As youcharge your ranged attack,keep an eye on nearby

warriors. If you see them charge, stop what you're doing and eitherblock or get out of the way.

Cireka's meter in the upperright of the screenindicates how close theportal is to completion.The red bars grow as theGithyanki generalcontinues to open theportal. When they reachthe top, you've failed themission. If you are attackedby warriors and mustdefend yourself, do it quickly. The more time you spend focused awayfrom the general, the bigger the portal opens.

While this is Illius'sproject, don't ignore yourteammates. The other twohave their hands fulltrying to keep theGithyanki at bay whileIllius does his work. Ifeither of them get low onhealth, it's your job to takecontrol and quickly guidethem to health potions.

tipIf you are confident enough in your battle skills, you can toy withthe general to earn more XP. Reduce the portal until it is almostclosed, and then concentrate on the warriors while watching thegeneral's meter. Let the red bars rise as much as you arecomfortable with, and then refocus your attacks on her. Repeat.

– Bag

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

LEGEND

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Team Super Attacks notonly clear the nearbyGithyanki warriors, butthey are also effective inhelping to close the portal.

When you finally close theportal, Cireka takes offacross the bridge. One ofher warlock goons drawsthe bridge in hopes ofslowing your pursuit. Theonly one that can access theswitch to restore the bridgeis Zhai.

Zhai, the RogueThe switch is in the hutacross the way. To getthere, hop across theplatforms near thewaterfall. Standing in yourway on the first platform isthe Githyanki warlock.Quickly hop up to him andget rid of him. There are noshadows here to hide in, sodefeat him the oldfashioned way; try to knock him off the platform.

Just above the platform,where the warlock oncestood, appears two Slaadiarchers. Hop up to themand defeat them with bruteforce. Alternate yourattacks between the two tokeep the both of themstunned so they can't firearrows at you.

Before you head into thehut to throw the switch,take a detour up theremaining platform tograb the treasure in thetreasure chest.

Hop down from the topledge and enter the hut.Once the bridge is restored,the rest of the team joinsZhai on the other side.

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tipA good way to clear the arena and buy Illius some time to attackthe Githyanki general is to make use of Super and Team SuperAttacks. Note which of the characters do not have full HeroMeters and switch to them to pick up any Potions of Heroismthat are dropped.

cautionIt is important to grab the treasure at the top of the platformsbefore you hit the switch. If you enter the hut, say goodbye to thetreasure, because you can't backtrack to it.

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Team Effort

The battle between Cirekaand Ygorl is really heatingup. The wood elves areright in the middle ofharm's way. Provideprotection for the elves asthey flee to the shelterbeneath the tree.

Note the counter in theupper right of the screen.The first number is thenumber of wood elves thathave escaped, and thesecond number is the totalnumber to be saved. Save asmany as you can early. Thatwill make it easier later.

Defeat the Slaadi near thetree to allow the elves toescape. The elves can't takemuch damage and willperish if you do not help.Make it your priority tostop the enemies that areattacking any elves. Keeptrack of where the elvesrun; sometimes theenemies chase the elves offthe screen and get them before they make it to safety.

When this first area iscleared, Rannek or Illiusmust smash the fallen treeto clear a path. Beyond thetree are more elves torescue. This time, theirattackers are the agileGithyanki warriors.

After the Githyanki aredefeated, the hammer-wielding Slaadi appear inlarge numbers. At least atthis point, the elves in thisarea have fled and you canfocus on ridding the area ofbaddies.

Zhai can use the shadowshere for sneak attacks.

If you prefer to stay back,use Illius to fire hisprojectiles at the group ofenemies. If you have Melf'sAcid Arrow for your rangedweapon, use it on multipleenemies at once. For addedsupport, cast protectionspells on your teammates inbetween projectile attacks.

Past the next fallen tree areSlaadi archers. Chargethese guys with Rannek orpick them off one by onewith Zhai's sneak attack. Ifyou choose Zhai, be quickabout it; the archers cancause a lot of damage.Illius's Melf 's Acid Arrow isgreat here. Use it to knockthe archers back while yourteammates go in for the kill.

noteDon't bother smashing the logs that block your path until theflames die down. Clear the immediate area of enemies in order toclear the logs.

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Go past the next log andwave of attackers. Theescaping elves are startingto add up, but you need torescue many more beforeyou can stop fighting. Stayclose to these two pillarsfrom which the elves areemerging. With somediligence, they can all makeit through.

After you reach thisclearing surrounded byburning homes, deal with afew Githyanki warriors andred Slaadi. The elves stuckin the burning homes arebest left there for now; it'ssafer for them there thanout in the open.

Once the enemies in theyard are gone, release theelves with the Gauntlets ofOgre Power or the Beads ofForce. As soon as yourelease them, be wary ofthe fresh batch of Slaadithat appear. Protect theelves with all you've got asthey head for the flamingbarricaded bridge.

Smash your way throughthe blockaded bridge sothat the elves can escapethrough the safety pointbeyond. Make yourselfcomfortable in this littleclearing because you areabout to spend a little timehere. This is where youmake your last stand andbuy time for the rest of theelves to escape.

The elves emerge from thispoint here, next to someshadows that Zhai can useto hide.

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tipDon't hesitate to use Super and Team Super Attacks as soon asyour Hero Meter gets full. The sheer number of enemies isdangerous and any attacks that can damage multiple enemies areinvaluable. If you can wait until all three Hero Meters get full, doso, but in a bind, a regular Super Attack will do.

noteThere are no shadows here for Zhai. Rannek is a good choice forthis part.

tipIf you're out of Super Attacks and must defeat each Slaadindividually, use the Coup de Grace immediately after an ImprovedTrip Combination. If you simply use the brute force hack and slash,it can take many blows before you defeat your opponent.

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To the right, a shortdistance from where theyemerge, is the wood elves'escape point. Make sureenough elves get through tobring the total up to 55.

When you are playing asZhai, post her up in theshadow near where theelves enter. From here, Zhaican quickly assassinate anyattackers as they charge onthe wood elves. A few killsshould charge up Zhai'sHero Meter, which you canuse to help the team, or savefor a Team Super Attack.

Rannek has great defensivestats, but even he cannotstand to be pummeled byso many Slaadi. Use hit andrun tactics to avoid takingheavy damage. ImprovedTrip Combinationsfollowed by the Coup deGrace is a good way toreduce the number ofSlaadi one at a time. Thefaster there are fewer of them, the better the elves' chances of escaping.The faster they escape, the better your chances of escaping.

Just because the escapingelves make it past the areaclosest to the entrancedoesn't mean that they'rehome free. After you clearthe entrance, follow themtoward the exit to makesure there are no moreenemies to harass them.

The number of enemiesand their strength makesthis area tricky for Illius.To use him effectively,place him away from theaction, where he cancharge up his projectiles.Keeping away from thefight does not mean thathe is safe, so be ready to

block any incoming creatures. If Illius gets knocked down, precioustime is wasted in recovering.

The battle continues forseveral waves beforeenough wood elves are ableto escape. Without herportal, Cireka is without anarmy and is thusoverwhelmed by Ygorl andhis Slaadi army. Cirekaretreats and leaves theSlaad Lord to destroy whatremains of Cedarleaf.

Cedarleaf is no more andZhai reveals more of herhistory. The destruction ofCedarleaf reminds Rannekof Nesme and the threevow to put a stop to Cirekaand Ygorl so that no moretowns will be destroyed.Where to now? Illius has awise mentor nearby whomay be able to help.

tipThe many Slaad that appear in waves are best defeated with TeamSuper Attacks. This is not always possible, so you must use all threecharacters wisely.

tipThere are many ways to fight this battle, especially when there arethree characters, each with different strengths. If you find that acertain strategy doesn't work, try something else. While you canplay as each character during the fight, you may just want to playas a single one. This can be just as effective, so don't feel like youneed to play any certain way. In the end, a victory is all that counts.

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The great Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun is one of the most powerfulwizards of the land and is Illius's mentor. When the three heroes arriveat Khelben's tower, he fills them in on Cireka's and Ygorl's impris-onment in the Demon Stone. Long ago, Khelben locked the two insidethe Demon Stone so that they couldn't wreak havoc throughout Faerun.To safeguard the gem, Khelben created an enchanted cell to house it sothat stray travelers could not disturb it.

Somehow, Ygorl reached outside the Demon Stone with his mind andbrought the three heroes to the cell. Together, they were tricked intoreleasing both Cireka and Ygorl from the Demon Stone. This is how allthe trouble began.

The only way to save Faerun from total destruction is to trap the pairagain in a new Demon Stone. Khelben knows of one that can be used toentrap the two, but it is being used by the devil-worshipping Yuan-ti. AsKhelben sends the three to retrieve the new Demon Stone, Ygorl showsup at the tower. The three heroes run off to use Khelben's portal, whichtakes them to Yuan-ti, while Khelben and Ygorl begin their battle.

By now, you should have every level upgrade for level two and below.With your newfound XP and ability to use level four items, you canafford a few improvements to your skills. Level four upgrades are also

where you can develop new skills. Rannek and Zhai can learn the Riposteand Prone Attack skills. The Riposte is a counterattack move thatlaunches immediately after blocking an enemy. The Prone Attack comesin handy when your character is getting up after getting knocked down.

While Illius can't learn theRiposte, he can learn theProne Attack. The othernew skill he can learn atlevel 4 is the ImprovedCritical, a skill learned bythe other two earlier.

Chapter 4 doesn't have many shadows for Zhai. If you're low on XP orgold, skip the items or skill upgrades that improve her hiding ability.You can come back later and purchase them. For this level, spend yourXP and gold on upgrades that improve Rannek's and Zhai's attacks andIllius's defenses.

™

CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

Rannek's Riposte Zhai's Prone Attack

Illius's Improved Critical

tipLevel upgrades or items that cause damage over time are very effectiveagainst tough enemies that require many hits to defeat. Illius's PoisonTouch skill, Rannek's Flaming Burst item upgrade, and Zhai's Bladeof Cutting item upgrade are examples of such upgrades. These skillsor items continue to deal damage to your enemies for some time aftermaking contact. For tough enemies, the extra damage can add up,especially if you attack multiple enemies at once.

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Team EffortTo use Khelben's portal,you must first get to it. Thisinvolves making your waythrough the many levels ofthe tower. Your journeybegins in the circularwalkway around the edgeof the tower. As you start,you are attacked bybugbears.

Bugbears are toughcreatures and are very hardto defeat with blindhacking and slashing.Improved TripCombinations are thefastest way to knock themdown. Improved TripCombinations alone don'tkill the bugbears, and theywill get up again if youdon't finish them off while they're down. Once they are down, use theCoup de Grace to deal the fatal blow.

Bugbears can block yourattacks with their crudeweapons. If your attack isblocked, you becomevulnerable for a briefmoment. This briefmoment is when thebugbears like to pick youup and flail you about (thisis not good). If you seethem go into their blockingstance, wait until they come out of it before unleashing your attack.

These little nooks along thewall provide perfectshadows for Zhai to hidein. They are also nicelyspaced along the walkwayso that you are never toofar from a safe hiding place.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH cautionThe wall along the walkway prevents the bugbears from being knockedover the edge and to their demise. Don't waste your time with attacksthat knock them back; they are not going to fall off the edge.

A– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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Destroy the ladders that thebugbears use to climb to thewalkway. A few whacksfrom a sword does the job,but be careful of thebugbears; they are smartenough to defend theladders so that their buddiescan add to the party.

Zhai's hiding ability makesher a good candidate forhandling the ladders. Usethe shadows to get hiddenand wait until the bugbearsget away from the ladders.Then rush over and destroythe ladders in peace whileyour friends fight thebugbears.

Zhai's quickness and assas-sination skills give her anadvantage over the slow-moving but tough-as-nailsbugbears. One by one, shecan quickly reduce thenumber of attackers. Usethe shadows to sneak up onthe bugbears as theysurround your teammates.

The narrow walkway makesit perfect for a ranged-weapon combatant likeIllius. A narrow walkwayforces enemies to approachfrom one direction andmakes aiming a lot easier.Stand back, charge up yourprojectile weapon, and letthem loose as the bugbearsunwittingly mill about in your line of sight.

With the bugbears andtheir access ladders gone,move on to the next area.More bugbears. What'sthis? The statues along thewalls are attacking thebugbears as the bugbearswalk underneath them.This should come to nosurprise; a powerful wizardlike Khelben is sure to have good defenses in his tower.

The corner railing makes agood pseudo barrier forIllius to keep his distance.Stand on the near side ofthe bend and Illius is ableto target the whole groupof bugbears on the far side.

Part of the ledge isbreakable. Position yourselfso that you can knock thebugbears over the ledge.Knocking the bugbearsover the ledge is a fast wayto reduce their numbersand it's possible to knockover multiple enemies.

™

cautionWhile Zhai can run to the nooks for safety, if a bugbear is close onher tail and is in the middle of an attack as she becomes hidden, itwill still hit her and reveal her. If a bugbear is chasing Zhai andshe needs to be hidden, put some space between them before leadingher into a shadow.

tipThe statues are stationary, so their help is limited. Lure thebugbears within reach of the statues.

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The bugbears are comingfrom the windows by wayof more ladders. Knock theladders over to preventmore and more bugbearsfrom coming through.

There are no shadows inthis area for Zhai. Use herspeed to quickly knock overthe ladders or use herImproved Critical attack todeal massive damage to thebugbears.

As the team approachesthe fireplace, they areattacked by a bunch ofSlaadi warriors. Inaddition to knocking themover the edge of the ledge,you can also knock theminto the fire.

Don't overlook the treasurechest near the exit. It's alittle dark and hard to see.

The next circular walkway has glowing traps in the floor. The way thetraps affected bugbear in the screenshot tells you that you don't want tostep on any of them. The switch to disarm the traps is on the far side ofthem. This is a job for Zhai.

Zhai, the RogueJump over the first set oftraps and take refuge in theshadows there. Beyond thenext set of traps is a Slaadarcher. Once hidden,quickly come out of hidingand jump over the traps tothe archer. If your hidingability lasts long enough toposition yourself for asneak attack, do it.

If your hiding ability is stillunderdeveloped, you haveto fight the archer the old-fashioned way. However,still stay hidden as long aspossible so that you havethe advantage whenfighting hand-to-hand.

tipIf you fight near the windows, you can knock out the ladders whilefighting the bugbears. The fact that the windows are near thestatues is a bonus as it allows you to knock the bugbears withinreach of the helpful statues.

tip

The flying books attack anythingnear by, so position your enemiesnear the bookshelves. Any little bit helps.

cautionDo not step on the traps. When fighting in the area between sets oftraps, avoid a lot of running around to avoid inadvertentlytriggering them.

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You must repeat thistechnique until you reachthe far end of the walkwaywhere a Slaad warrior, atreasure chest, and mostimportantly, a disarmingswitch await you. Use asneak attack to take care ofthe Slaad warrior and givethe switch a couple swipesto activate it.

Team EffortYou emerge from thecircular walkway into thebottom floor of the roomwith the helpful statues andbookshelves. At the edge ofthe room is a magical pool.Knock your enemies intothe pool for a littlesurprise.

With each enemy that fallsinto the pool, the poolbecomes energized. This ismarked by the yellowsymbols that appear abovethe pool. For each body thatthe pool gets, two symbolsappear and begin to fill asemi-circle pattern above thepool. The seventh symbolfills up the semi-circle with the fourth enemy that drops in the pool.

When the symbols fill out,the pool magically reachesout and damages all nearbyenemies.

Wave and wave of red andgreen Slaadi appear to stopyour progress to Khelben'sportal. The green Slaadi arethe archers and should bestopped first. Theirprojectiles knock you backand leave you stunned andvulnerable for a short time.

Herd the attackers so thatyou can knock them intothe pool. Not only do theSlaadi instantly perishwhen they fall in, but thepool uses the bodies to helpattack all the Slaadi stillstanding.

Clear the area of therelentless Slaad army andgo through the door to theleft of the pool. On theother side of the door isanother circular walkwaywith traps in the floor.

™

tipSince you are jumping over the traps to reach the Slaad anyway,why not perform an Acrobatic Attack on the way down? Simply pressyour primary attack button as you descend from your jump.

AB – Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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Zhai, the RogueThese sets of traps arealmost exactly like the onesyou encountered earlier.The difference this time isthat the second archerdoesn't appear until youland in his area. Thisprevents any hopes ofusing a sneak attack onhim. Give the archer a fewquick swipes and move onto the switch area.

Near the treasure chest atthe end of the walkway,two Slaadi warriors appear.The shadowy nook heregives Zhai all the tools sheneeds to safely defeat them.Go invisible and performsneak attacks on each.

As the three heroes traversethe trap-laden walkways ofthe tower, Khelben islocked in battle with Ygorl.The situation doesn't lookgood for Khelben as Ygorlis able to take Khelben'sstaff away.

Illius, the SorcererSafe from the traps, theteam finds itself on one oftwo platforms. Across theroom on the other platformare bugbears withthrowing-axes. Let Rannekand Zhai handle thebugbears on the platformon this side of the room.Take control of Illius andconcentrate on thebugbears on the far side of the room. Have Illius charge up his rangedweapon and fire it at the distant bugbears.

noteYou can also hit the switch to disarm the traps before you touchany of the Slaadi. If you do this, your teammates can join you inthe fight. But why would you want to do this? The enemies here arefew; nothing you can't handle. To let the other two join in the fightplaces them in danger of taking unnecessary damage.

B

C

CD

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

– Book

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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The axes thrown by thebugbears knock Illius downand stun him for a moment.Besides annoying, thisendangers the team. If yousee axes coming towardIllius, interrupt the attackand immediately hold downthe block button. The axeswill simply be deflected bythe magical force field.

Team Effort

Before you move to thenext room, crack open thetreasure chest here andtake a good look at the wallon the other side of thedoorway. Use Rannek'sGuantlet of Ogre Power orIllius's Beads of Force tocrack open the wall.

Look at all the goodies inhere. This is Khelben'streasure and he would wantyou to be prepared for yourmission ahead. Loot theplace and move on to thenext area.

Be ready for a fight in thisnarrow hallway. Thebugbears are thick innumbers in this smallspace. The statues that linethe hallway help, but don'texpect them to do all thework for you.

Illius can use thenarrowness of the hallwayto his advantage. Standhim at the end of thehallway and have him firehis charged projectiles atthe masses. This positionkeeps him out of the way ofthe main fight, but he hasto defend himself when thebugbears charge him.

The bugbears can easilyoverwhelm Rannek here.Block often to reduce thedamage he takes and runaway to a clear space if yousee a group of them gearingup to attack at once. Standin one place too long andRannek is bound to get hithard and often.

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tipWhen there are no more distantbugbears, or if there is simply a lullin the action from the far platform,stay put and aim your rangedweapon at the bugbears yourteammates are fighting. If yourranged weapon has a lock on a target, even if that target is off-screen, charge up your projectile and lend a hand to your teammates. caution

Your teammates' health drains pretty quickly with all the bugbearscrammed in here. Keep a close eye on the health meters. The nicething about having so many targets in a small area is that you arenever far from a health potion.

tipWithout shadows to make use of Zhai's hiding abilities, keep her onthe peripheral of the crowd. Zhai should attack from the outside ofthe crowd so that she can have room to use her speed to avoid blows.

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If a character is really lowon health and you want toplay it safe, pull thecharacter back through thedoorway through whichyou entered. This allowsyou to deal with one or two bugbears at a time.Hopefully, those ones willdrop a health potion torevive you enough to jump back into the action.

At the end of the hallway isa small set of steps thatleads to a treasure chest.

Moving onward takes youto the platform where thebugbears were throwingtheir axes earlier. Morebugbears are climbing upfrom the ladders at thewindows. You know whatto do about that.

The weapons on the wallare more than willing tohelp you fight the bugbearsin the immediate area. Youcan also knock thebugbears over the edge ofthe platform, but becausethe platform is so wide, it'stough to lure them over tothe edge unless they arealready close to it.

Things get quiet after youdefeat the last of thebugbears. Even in the nextroom, with the twin stairsleading down, the air iseerily quiet. Don't overlookthe three treasure chestslining the wall at the top ofthe stairs.

Head down either set ofstairs; it doesn't matterwhich. After you're outside,Illius points out Khelben'sShield Guardian, a huge,armored guardian. Illius isfamiliar with it and can useit to fight for the group.

Shield Guardian (Illius, the Sorcerer)The Shield Guardian isslow and is limited to twoswings at a time, but itspower and reach isunmatched. The ShieldGuardian must make itacross the walkway beforethe bugbears drain all ofIllius's health meter.Rannek and Zhai helpdefend Illius, but themajority of the work is in the hands of the Shield Guardian.D

E

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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Don't tap the primaryattack button indiscrimi-nately. The down timebetween the ShieldGuardian's double swing issignificant. To protect Illiuseffectively, time yourswings so that they wipeout as many bugbears aspossible. Wait until a goodnumber of them gather

around the feet of the Shield Guardian, and then tap the primarybutton twice to perform the double swing.

Work your way down theplatform as you let thebugbears gather around theShield Guardian's feet eachtime before you swing.There are ten ladders thatare supplying the steadystream of bugbears to thewalkway, five on each sideof the walkway. When youreach the first ladder on the

far side of the walkway, take a couple steps away from the center of theplatform so that the Shield Guardian's weapon can reach it.

The ladders are paired up;each ladder has a matchingone directly across thewalkway. This means thatafter you destroy one onthe far side of the platform,you know that there is oneon the near side eventhough you can't see it. Usethis knowledge so that youcan swing at the near sidewith confidence without having to bring the full ladder into view.

™ cautionIf you simply swing the Shield Guardian's weapon wildly, thechances of bugbears reaching Illius increases. Without carefultiming, the re-cocking time allows stray bugbears to reach Illius.The problem with this is that then you end up turning the ShieldGuardian all over the place to get one or two bugbears.

tipThe Shield Guardian's size makes it very sluggish to move around.Stay near the center of the walkway so that you don't have to taketoo many steps to reach any area of the walkway.

cautionIf you miss a ladder, bugbears can come up from behind Illius andthe team. Make sure you get all the ladders as you walk by them.

F

E

– Ladder

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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After all ten ladders aredestroyed, the team is safefrom bugbears. The ShieldGuardian was nice to usebut now it's gone. Theportal is now within sight.Unfortunately, the bigdaddy bugbear boss isthere waiting for you.

Boss Battle: Bugbear Boss

The bugbear boss is one tough customer and it knows how to block. The best way to deal with it is to charge Illius'sprojectile weapon and fireit at the boss.

Of course, it isn't going tobe that easy. The bugbear isoften invulnerable. Whenyou see a blue glow aroundit, it is invulnerable. If theboss is in the middle ofpicking up one of yourteammates, it is invul-nerable. If you see the bossdoing either of these, wait

it out and spend that time charging up your projectile so that it is readyto be unleashed when the boss finishes its attack.

The bugbear can also stunthe heroes from a distance.Once stunned, thecharacter is helpless. If thecharacter that you areplaying is stunned,immediately switch to acharacter that isn't stunnedand continue the attack.Don't worry, yourcharacter isn't dead until his or her health meter is empty; just wait afew seconds to regain control.

Keep Illius on the job longenough and the boss'shealth meter drains. If onlythat is all you have to do.

cautionThe shadows here can hide Zhai, but since sneak attacks don'twork on bosses, ignore them unless you need to hide to grab thehealth from the treasure chests.

tipThe two treasure chests on either side of the arena contain healthscrolls. Resist busting them open until your characters are low onhealth. It would be a shame to waste the scrolls on healthycharacters, and since they don't last long once released from thechests, you must use them or they are wasted.

tipIllius's ranged attacks are most effective because he can performthem from a safer distance. Use Rannek's or Zhai's Team Attacks ifIllius becomes stunned.

F – Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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Opening the PortalWith the bugbear bossgone, Illius can start theprocess of opening theportal. This takes time, soZhai and Rannek mustfend off the incomingSlaadi warriors to buy Illiusthe time he needs. Watchthe meter in the upperright-hand corner of thescreen to watch the portal'sprogress.

Post Rannek close to Illiusand hold down theprimary attack button tocharge Rannek's powerattack. Wait until a Slaadwarrior approaches Illiusand let the power attackloose. This initial attackwill give you a head starton the charging enemy.

Once the power attack connects, follow it up with as many hits as youcan land on the enemy.

The shadows around thearena now come in handy.Use them to hide Zhai andperform sneak attacks onthe Slaadi warriors. Thetwo shadows in the middleof the arena are long butthin. It takes some precisemovement to hide in them.The shadows to the left ofthe dais are easier to hide in, but can be too far from the action.

Even with all the shadows,Zhai's effectiveness in thisarena is limited. The Slaadiwarriors are too numerous.Zhai can definitely reducetheir numbers one by one,but for each one sheattacks, several others areattacking Illius. It onlytakes one Slaad to interferewith Illius's project.

Rannek is the bestguardian here for Illiusbecause of his effectivenessin large groups. Stay closeto Illius and swing thatblade of his in alldirections as the enemiesapproach Illius.

Buy Illius enough time bykeeping the Slaadi warriorsoff his back and the portalopens just in time. The lastthing the three heroes seeas they go through theportal is Ygorl destroyingthe wizard's tower.

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cautionIf Illius is interrupted in his task, the portal will begin to closeagain. Keep the enemies from attacking him so that he canfinish his job.

tipThe Slaadi come in waves, but only after the previous wave isdefeated. Rannek should stay by Illius's side, even if you see Zhaifighting the last Slaad of a wave. If you run to help her, the Slaadiwill be defeated faster, which only brings on the next wave thatmuch quicker. Zhai can usually handle one or two enemies byherself, so why not let her duke it out while Illius benefits from themoment free of attackers?

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The wizard's tower has been destroyed. Rannek, Zhai, and Illius barelymake it through the portal. The portal takes the three clear across Faerunand into the heart of the jungles of Chult. As soon as they pass throughthe portal, the portal crumbles, leaving the heroes to wonder about thefate of Khelben. Illius can sense that the Demon Stone is nearby, butbefore they can get on their way, they are attacked by strange creatures.Unconscious, Illius leaves the first fight to Zhai and Rannek.

The jungles of Chult are dense and treacherous. Huge spiders make ittheir home and are always hungry. The aggressive natural wildlife hereis only part of your worries. It's the very unnatural wildlife that mayprove to be fatal to the team.

Your party should now be around level six. With the XP and gold you'veearned so far, you can now afford some impressive level and itemupgrades. Unfortunately, your foes are also getting tougher to kill.

All of the level-four (and a few of the level-six) level upgrades should beaffordable at this point. If you choose not to Auto-Buy your skills and items,you'll have to pick and choose carefully. The jungles of Chult will call onIllius's range of skills, so make that your priority. Any increase in his

ranged-weapon skills can save valuable time when fighting the large groupsyou will encounter. The really hairy parts of the level don't have shadowsfor Zhai to hide in, so boost her defenses. Rannek will have to carry thebrunt of swarms of enemies, so boost his attacking skills and items.

Rannek and Zhai

You emerge from Khelben'sportal into this clearing inthe jungle. Illius is downfor the moment so it's upto Rannek and Zhai toprotect him against theattacking creatures. Whatare these things, anyway?

CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

tipWhen purchasing level upgrades, peek ahead to the upgrades beyondyour current level. This gives you an idea of what to purchasebecause many upgrades are built on other upgrades. For example,even though you are only at level six, the Stealthy upgrade for Zhaiat level eight requires you to have the level-six skill Move Silently.Without a plan for your upgrade path, you may unknowingly spendall your XP on other skills and find yourself having to wait an extralevel before you can purchase the skill you want.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

A

– Health Plant

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

A

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These things are called Yuan-ti Abominations. They arebred by the Yuan-ti andserve as their guards. Theyare tough as anything you'veencountered so far and havean unusually long reach.

Along the edge of theclearing are some thinbands of shadows for Zhai to hide in. TheAbominations aren't toonumerous and there isplenty of space for her tomaneuver. Using onlyZhai's sneak attacks, youcan clear this clearing ofAbominations very quickly.

These creatures can suretake a beating. Even withRannek's power, it takes alot of hits to bring onedown. Worse yet, his trusty Improved TripCombination doesn't workon the Abominations. Usehis Improved Critical todeal heavy damage.

There is a health planthanging over the rock nearIllius. These podsrejuvenate all members inthe party, including thedowned Illius. Throw aprojectile at it or use Zhai'sjump attack to release itssweet nectar.

Team Effort

Once the Abominations inthe area are gone, Illiuswakes up and senses thatthe Demon Stone you'relooking for is to the east.

Before you move on downthe path, backtrack to theclearing where you justwere. To the right of theclearing, in the brush andtrees, is a treasure chest.

Break open the healthplant above the trail torevive the party's health;you need the full healththat it provides. Justbeyond the plant is a smallgroup of Abominations.Illius can stand back andfire off his projectile

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tipKeep an eye on your pal Illius as he lies helpless in the clearing. TheAbominations will attack him as he's lying there. Zhai's sneakattack is a great way to put a stop to any such attacks.

tipUse hit-and-run attacks on the Yuan-ti Abominations. Their reachis long and if they grab hold of you, ouch. The best way to come outof this with only minor pain is to attack and then get the heck outof the way. Repeat.

cautionIf you see an Abomination raise itsarms, it means it is about to grab youand give you a pounding. You haveabout two seconds to either block orattack. If you fail to do either, sayhello to his little knubby hand.

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weapons. If you were able to purchase his Lightning Bolt upgrade, youcan damage multiple Abominations if they are standing near eachother. The Lightning Bolt jumps from one Abomination to the next,causing a lot of damage on the way.

Coming down over the littlegrade, more Abominationsattack the group. Along thepath's left side are somehandy shadows. Run Zhaiover to them so that shebecomes hidden. Use hersneak attacks on theAbominations, one afteranother. Let the carnagebegin.

Up ahead, the path isblocked by a giant spider'sweb. Beyond it, a band ofAbominations has its handsfull fighting spiders. Breakthrough the web and watcha bunch of baby giantspiders drop from the trees.

The giant spiders and theAbominations are yourmain concern. Zhai hasshadows on either side ofthe trail here at herdisposal for sneak attacks.Rannek can jump right inand simply start hackingaway as usual.

When you turn the next bend, you come across an abandoned mill;Zhai can hear a riverunderneath. Find a waydown to the river.

tipSure Rannek is the big, bad, damage dealer, but Zhai is in herelement here and even Rannek cannot match her speed in droppingthe tough-skinned Abominations.

tipIf you don't feel like fighting so many spiders and Abominations atonce, don't touch the web for a while and watch the two groupsdestroy each other.

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– Barrel

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– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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Rannek, the Fighter

As soon as the party stepsthrough the doors, Zhaiand Illius are pushedagainst the wall andwebbed up. It looks likeyou've stumbled across anesting place for the giantspiders.

Rannek needs to free hisfriends as quick as possible;this place is crawling withgiant and baby giantspiders. Ignore the spidersunless they attack you andquickly use the Gauntletsof Ogre Power to free theothers.

Team EffortNotice the nests hanging allover the rafters. These arewhere the spiders arecoming from. Zhai andRannek have limitedprojectiles and they arepretty weak. Illius is thebest one for the job ofdestroying the nests.

Pull Illius aside so that he isstanding at the nearside ofthe room. From here youcan see all of the nests andany incoming spiders.Charge up Illius's projectileweapon and aim them atthe nests. If any spidersapproach him, simplyretarget and fire theprojectile at the attacker instead.

If Illius gets in troubleand is attacked by a giant spider, switch overto Rannek or Zhai andbring him or her over to help. Illius can handlethe baby spiders but has a tough time with thegiant ones when they areup close.

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cautionDon't simply hack away at the webbing that is holding Zhai andIllius captive. Basic attacks take too long to free them andRannek is sure to take a lot of damage by the many spiderscrawling around.

cautionThere is a health plant hanging to the right. Be careful not to crackit open prematurely. Wait until you or your teammates getsomewhat low on health, otherwise you just waste it.

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– Barrel

– Health Plant

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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There is a hidden treasurechest on the rafters abovethe room. Zhai can access ithere by jumping up ontothe box and then onto thestairs.

Destroy all the nests in the room and walk overto the trapdoor to dropdown below. Below, youfind spiders andAbominations next to giant spinning gears.

The spinning gears cancrush the Abominations ifyou can knock them intothe gears. Always fight theAbominations so that theyare between you and thegears. This makes itpossible for Rannek topush them over the edge ofthe platform and into thegears. Illius do the samewhile standing at a safe distance.

Use Zhai's speed to get ridof the little spiders and toloot the treasure in thebarrels around the room.There is also a treasurechest in one of the corners.

When the room is empty ofAbominations and spiders,side doors open up and income the Yuan-ti. Thesehalf-human, half-snakecreatures are fast andskilled fighters.

The three Yuan-ti warriorsthat enter the room are notdifficult to defeat. Rannekand Zhai can take themhead on while Illius standsback and fires hisprojectiles their way.

tipTreasure is hidden inside the boxes and crates scattered throughoutthe corners of the room. Treasure doesn't last forever once it isreleased from the crates. If you want to make sure you collect it all,use Zhai for her speed and run around breaking boxes open beforethe battle gets too heated. During the battle, stray projectiles orsword slashes from across the room can open up a treasure chestthat you can't reach in time or even see.

cautionTo make sure you get the hidden treasure above the room, grab itwhile the battle still rages. If the battle ends while any of theteam is standing on the trapdoor in the room's center, you'vemissed your chance.

tipIf Illius has in his arsenal Poison Touch or another damage-over-time unarmed skill, have him run around and attack theAbominations with his unarmed attacks. The damage adds up andhelps the team clear this area faster.

tipYou can also lure the three Yuan-ti into the room and knock theminto the gears.

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Next, move out of theroom and onto the dockoutside. Across the riverare some Yuan-ti archers.Illius should alternatebetween firing hisprojectile at the archer andusing his force field toblock the incoming venomprojectiles.

In addition to the archersacross the river, melee-fighting Yuan-ti make theirway out of the river andonto the dock where theteam is standing. Zhai andRannek should have noproblem knocking themback into the water.

When a few waves ofYuan-ti attackers havepassed, it's time to crossthe river. Rannek decidesto pull the team across on a makeshift raft.Unfortunately, the wailingAbomination above theriver has other ideas. Itspits something nasty andgreen at Rannek, who lets go of the vine he was tugging on, and theraft goes down the river.

The riverbanks are ladenwith Abomination archersthat spit the vile venom atthe drifting raft. To makematters worse,Abomination guards fromthe water climb onto theraft to take swipes at theparty. Divide the work asyou've been doing: Illiushandles the faraway targets while Rannek and Zhai work at knockingthe up-close intruders off the raft.

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tipThere's a health plant hanging above the dock's end. Use asneeded.

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To Spider Boss

– Health Plant

– Connecting Points

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The raft drifts until it hits acrude barrier made ofvines that stretch across theriver. Slash through it toallow the raft to continuealong the river.

Move through a few morebarriers in the samemanner. In a couple placesare bridges that stretchhigh across the river. Thesebridges support moreAbomination archers. Treatthem with the sameprejudice as you did withthe ones on the river banks.

The river takes the party tothe mouth of a cave.Hanging above the cave is ahealth plant that shouldnot be ignored—the bossbattle is coming up and youneed all the health yourhealth meters can hold.

.Boss Battle: Spider BossBefore you meet the spiderboss, the raft gets hung upon a huge spider's web.Don't break through theweb just yet. Little spidersdrop onto the raft for youto attack. Destroy as manyof them as you need to fillthe Hero Meters of allthree party members.Entering the boss battlewith the ability to perform a Team Super Attack is priceless.

When you break throughthe web, the boss shows up.You immediately noticethat a lot of the fightinghere is done by Illiusbecause the boss is on theceiling, out of reach of theother two.

Illius is the only one whoshould attack the spiderboss. Position Illius in thecorner of the raft that isfarthest away from theboss. This makes it easierfor Zhai and Rannek toprotect you from the littlespiders that drop downfrom the ceiling.

tipTo rack up XP, refrain from hacking through the barrier rightaway. With the raft stuck at the barrier, finish off any archers onthe banks and let the Abomination guards climb up on the raft. Themore Abominations that you allow on and then knock off, the moreXP you get.

tipDon't forget to keep an eye on the health meters of the partymembers. There are a handful of health plants hanging above theriver. Shoot your projectile weapon at them even if you are close tofull on health. You only get one pass, so make it count.

tipAs soon as the boss gets near, use the Team Super Attack. Why notget the party started right?

noteThe spider boss moves around a lot, so the corner-of-the-raft-that-is-farthest-away-from-the-boss strategy will also change. Theimportant thing is to always move Illius to whichever cornerhappens to be farthest away at the moment.

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Besides draining the healthmeters, the spider boss'svenom shot paralyzes thevictim on contact. Make ityour priority to watch for itand block against it. Thegood news is that thevenom shot is quite slowmoving and there is plentyof time to call up Illius'sforce-field shield to deflectit away.

There is a rhythm to thisfight and it goes like this:keep Illius's force fieldactive (hold the blockbutton) until a venom shotis deflected off of it…

…then immediately chargeup Illius's projectileweapon and release itwhen, and only when, it isfully charged…

…and finally, call the forcefield again to block the nextvenom shot. Just keeprepeating this until thespider boss is dead.

Often Rannek and Zhai canstand is such a way thatthey block the view of thespider boss. This can causeproblems because if youcan't see the boss, it's verydifficult to know when avenom blast is coming yourway. If this happens, simplymove to the side until youcan see the boss again.

If Zhai and Rannek areparalyzed and the littlespiders get past them, theirlittle bites will break Illius'sconcentration and he willnot be able to charge up hisprojectiles. If this happens,simply bring up the forcefield and block the littlespiders until Zhai or Rannekcan take them off of you.

With the spider boss gone,the raft clears the last weband the party makes it outalive. The three are thankfulto have made it out of therein one piece, thanks toIllius. But the journey isn'tover yet. Illius can sensethat they are getting closerto the gem and things canonly get worse.

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tipZhai and Rannek will occasionally be hit by the boss's venom and itmay be tempting to take control of them to help them dodge it.Resist this urge and keep the controls on Illius; he's your man forthis fight.

tipIf Zhai and Rannek are paralyzed and Illius has a chargedprojectile ready, fire it at the little spiders instead of the boss. Andof course, immediately return to blocking.

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The Yuan-ti temple is nestled in the mountain just outside of the junglesof Chult. The Demon Stone is inside somewhere and you must get it.Don't let the handful of guards fool you; there are many more Yuan-tiinside the mountain. You're on Yuan-ti turf now.

This level is all about finesse. The first part of the level requires somecareful sneak attacks from Zhai while the rest of the level requiresdiligence and well-placed blows from all three party members. There'slittle room for error now, so gear up and move out.

The first part of the level is all about Zhai's sneak attack ability.Invest in any level or item upgrades that increase the time that shecan stay hidden. If you're at level eight, there's the Stealthy levelupgrade; if not, level six has a nice Move Silently skill focus. Thelonger Zhai can stay hidden in the first part of the level, the lessenemies the whole team will have to fight.

Illius is required to hold off many Abominations and Yuan-tisoldiers, but there is enough room so that boosting his defenses isn'ta priority. Concentrate instead on his ranged-weapon skills or hisenemy-charming skills. If you're at level eight, Hold Monster is agood monster-charming skill for this level. If you're not there yet orsimply can't afford it, don't bother with the simple level six Holdskill. The length of time the Hold skill lasts is too short for the fightsyou'll be facing here. Put your XP and gold into powering up Illius'sranged-weapon skills.

For this level, Rannek will benefit from fast attacks like the levelsix Torm's Vengeance. Power is great but the ability to knock asmany enemies off the edge of the platform in this level is moreimportant.

Zhai, the Rogue

There are only a few guardspatrolling the ledge leadingup to the temple'sentrance, but if any ofthem realize you're there,they will call more guardsto help. This sounds like aperfect job for Zhai.

The shadows are small butthere are plenty of themand they are evenly spacedout along the edge of thewalkway. Go from shadowto shadow to reach the firstYuan-ti guard. Notice thegong next to the hole in thewall. This is the Yuan-tialarm system. If the guardsees you, it will use the gong to alert reinforcements.

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– Bag

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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Wait in the shadow untilthe guard turns his back.Then quickly move out ofthe shadow and silentlyattack the guard frombehind.

With the first guard gone,use the shadows along thewalkway to move ahead.There are two guardspatrolling the next area.You can attack either thefirst guard or second guardfirst. If you decide to attackthe first guard first, comeout of the shadowsimmediately after thesecond one turns his back to you. The guards don't stand in one placefor long, so make it quick.

Attacking the second guardfirst is a much safer way togo because the secondguard is patrolling rightnext to the gong alarm. Ifyou attack the secondguard first and you happento screw it up, you'll beseen by the first guard. Allis not lost in this casebecause that first guard has

to go through you to reach the gong. If you had been spotted trying toattack the first guard first, the second guard would have easily been ableto reach the gong and call for backup.

In the next area are twomore Yuan-ti guards. Thistime the first guard is nextto the gong, so defeat thisguard and then his partner.

The path opens up in thenext area where anothertwo Yuan-ti guards are onpatrol. Move Zhai to thebig patch of shadows nearthe door. Position her sothat her back is to the doorand watch the guards dotheir route. Timing iscritical here, so anticipatethe other guard's intent to turn his back and then strike.

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cautionDepending on how much you've invested in Zhai's stealthy skills,the length of time she stays hidden varies. Stay in the shadows untilthe last possible moment before the guard turns around.

tipIf you are spotted and unable tostop the Yuan-ti from hitting thegong, the reinforcements comecrawling out of the holes in thewall. Once spotted, the new guardswill head for Rannek and Illius.Pop in and out of the shadows asyou tail them and attack them from behind.

cautionZhai's sneak attacks only work if she is behind or slightly to theside of an enemy. Make sure that you are in one of these positionsbefore you strike at a guard. If you hit a guard from the front, notonly does the guard not die, he can get quite upset.

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After the first guard isgone, the second should beeasy to defeat, with orwithout a sneak attack.Once the area is clear, moveto the courtyard's left tofind this little nook and acobra's head carved intothe mountain.

See those ledges? Zhai canjump up using the cobra'shead to reach the top for afew nice surprises.

tipIf Zhai is ever discovered by a guard, take her immediately to ashadow so that she can perform a sneak attack on the guard as hemakes his way to the gong. She can also defeat him using regularattacks but that increases the chances of the guard actuallyreaching the gong.

cautionIf you touch the door before you grab the hidden treasure near thecobra's head, you've missed it. Make certain you grab the goodiesbefore moving on.

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– Connecting Points

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Team Effort

As the team sneaks aroundthe inside of the temple,the chit chat between Zhaiand Illius reveals more ofher past as well as agrowing friendshipbetween the threeteammates.

When the three heroes spotthe Demon Stone, it isbeing tended to by a Yuan-ti priest. The priest is alonebut something tells you it'snot going to stay this way.

As soon as the priest seesthe three adventurers, hecreates a barrier around theplatform. The barrierprevents the three fromescaping and preventsthem from reaching thepriest. The symbols aroundthe circular platformdesignate the barrier.

With the barrier up, thepriest calls on his guardsfrom inside the mountain.There are four rope bridgesaround the platform andone concrete walkway thatgive the incoming Yuan-tiattackers access to theplatform. Use Rannek'sGauntlets of Ogre Power to

destroy the rope bridges. This forces the guards to come only from theconcrete walkway.

Rannek is a powerful meleefighter and can effectivelyfight in these crowdedconditions. Push theenemies over the edge ofthe platform or into thefiery pit in the platform'scenter.

Illius has enough room togive him plenty of time tofire off his projectileweapon. Find a relativelysafe spot and charge up theranged weapon. Hisranged weapon affectsmultiple enemies whenfully charged, so don'tbother with single shots. IfIllius is attacked, move him to another safe spot to work his magic.

Zhai has no shadows tohide in on this platform.Use her speed to providesupport for Rannek andIllius. If there are guardsattacking Illius, jump intothe fight to relieve some ofthe pressure. If Rannektries to take on more thanhe can handle, use Zhai toslash at the backs of hisattackers.

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tipWith so many guards to fight and plenty of room to maneuver,switch up characters in turn so that you fill each of the HeroMeters. Team Super Attacks work great on large and aggressivegroups of enemies.

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Defeat enough guards andthe priest realizes thatmere Yuan-ti guards justwon't do against such agroup of well-trainedadventurers. In response,the priest calls forth theYuan-ti god, Merrshaulk ofthe Eternal Hunger.

Boss Battle: Merrshaulk of the Eternal Hunger

This humongous beastgains its strength bydevouring living sacrifices.You watch in horror as itswipes up a Yuan-tiAbomination and swallowsit whole. So that's what theYuan-ti have been breedingthe Abominations for.

Merrshaulk can't eat justone Abomination. MoreAbominations begin tomarch down the concretewalkway and towardMerrshaulk. TheAbominations are beingcontrolled by the priest andare mindlessly marching tobe eaten by Merrshaulk.

A meter appears in thescreen's upper right handcorner to indicateMerrshaulk's health. Itstarts out only partially fulland drains slowly overtime. Each Abominationthat Merrshaulk dines onincreases its health meter.Your job is to make surethat Merrshaulk starves to death.

You know where theAbominations are headedto sacrifice themselves;keep an eye on the arealeading to Merrshaulk.None of the partymembers can pass thesymbols here, so if theAbominations cross thisline, Illius is the only onethat can stop them.

Illius should post up rightagainst the barrier so thathe is the last line ofdefense. From thisposition, you can't see alot of the action on thescreen, but as long as your ranged weapon istargeted on somethingoff-screen, you know youare contributing to the

action. The important thing is that you are guarding the walkway to Merrshaulk.

As Illius, charge up yourranged weapon to its fullestand unleash it on theencroaching Abominationsor Yuan-ti. At full charge,your ranged weaponknocks the creatures backand sometimes into thefiery pit or off the edge.

If it looks like anAbomination is reachingthe barrier's edge, forgo theranged weapon for amoment. As it nears Illius atthe barrier, reposition himso that his melee attacksknock the Abomination offthe platform's edge or intothe fiery pit.

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If you choose to useRannek or Zhai, you shouldmove them closer to theplatform's center. Sincethey are melee fighters,they need to deal theirdamage as far away fromMerrshaulk as possible.The Abominations aretough creatures to putdown, so fighting away from the hungry Merrshaulk gives them moretime to be effective against the Abominations.

Soon after theAbominations show up,Yuan-ti guards appear andtry to clear a path for them.Illius's ranged weapon,when charged up, damagesmultiple enemies. Thismeans that he can staywhere he is and dealdamage to both the Yuan-tiand their Abominations.

When the Yuan-ti archersshow up, they moveimmediately into positionnext to the priest. Fromhere, unreachable by Zhaiand Rannek, they shoottheir projectiles at theparty. If you can't stopthem from reaching thepriest, turn around andtake them out with yourranged weapon. They are easy to defeat but can cause much damage ifleft alone.

Hold off the Abominationslong enough andMerrshaulk decides todevour the nearest ediblething he can reach: theYuan-ti priest. With thepriest gone, the barrieraround the platform isdropped, giving you accessto the Demon Stone.

The bad news is thatthere's a shield around thegem that prevents you fromgrabbing it. In addition,with the priest gone, theAbominations are back totheir old selves and are nolonger simple walkingzombies; they are nowaggressive and full of rage.

To break through theshield that protects theDemon Stone, Rannekmust use the Gauntlets ofOgre Power or Illius canuse his Beads of Force.Unfortunately, the gem isright next to Merrshaulk.Get too near and he givesthe ground a damagingpound. To safely destroy

the shielding, Merrshaulk needs to be distracted by feeding on anAbomination.

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tipIf any Yuan-ti guards approach Illius, focus his ranged weapon onthem. This keeps the guard away while also damaging any nearbyAbominations.

cautionEach Abomination you let through to Merrshaulk increases itshealth meter. For each one that gets through, the longer yourfight will be.

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Notice also thatMerrshaulk's health meterhas partially been filledfrom his meal of the priest.The meter at the screen'sbottom right tells you howmuch shielding is left. IfMerrshaulk feeds toomuch, its health meter willfill up completely and youfail the mission.

The safest way to reach thegem is to fend off theenemies until Merrshaulk'shealth meter is drainedsignificantly. Once it isadequately drained, useRannek to push anAbomination within reachof Merrshaulk. As soon asMerrshaulk picks up theAbomination to feed on it,run up to the Demon Stone and hit the ground with the Gauntlets ofOgre Power. You should be able to get two hits in before Merrshaulkfinishes his snack and is ready to pound the ground again.

Another way to destroy theshielding around theDemon Stone does notinvolve feedingMerrshaulk. Simply bringRannek or Illius close to,but not within reach of,Merrshaulk. Lure it intopounding the ground, andwhen it does, head straight

for the Demon Stone. Give the gem a good smash from the Gauntlets ofOgre Power or use the Beads of Force to set an explosive and get theheck out of there before Merrshaulk attacks again.

Repeat whichever methodyou feel comfortable with.The second method ofgetting the Demon Stoneis riskier but much faster.The poundings fromMerrshaulk aren'tcompletely predictable, soRannek or Illius are boundto take a few hits. If theyget low, simply smack afew Abominations and Yuan-ti, and pick up the Health Potions thatthey drop.

With the shield around theDemon Stone gone, theparty can grab what theycame for. Without thepower of the Demon Stone,Merrshaulk falls to itsdemise and the threeheroes are on their way.

The first step in banishingYgorl and Cireka has beencompleted. Now the threeheroes just have to findthem in order to imprisonthem again. The Githyankionce controlled theUnderworld, so maybeCireka can be found there.Near Nesme, Rannek'shometown, lives a trackernamed Drizzt Do'Urden who was born in the Underdark. Perhaps heknows something.

tipIllius can use his ranged attacks to push the Abominations intoMerrshaulk's grasp. His Beads of Force are actually a safer way toattack the shield around the Demon Stone because once set, Illiuscan detonate it from a safe distance.

tipTo lure the enemies closer to Merrshaulk, fight on the walkway nearMerrshaulk. If the Abominations are too far away, they might notmake it all the way thanks to Rannek's powerful attacks.

tipAfter Illius sets the explosives on the Demon Stone, get him out ofMerrshaulk's reach and detonate it from afar.

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The party catches up with Drizzt Do'Urden in the fortified Mithral Hall.Drizzt is a drow but dwells on the surface along with the dwarves atMithral Hall. Being half-drow herself, Zhai criticizes him for becomingsoft because he's made many non-drow friends. The much wiser Drizztanswers her by giving her a lecture on the benefits of having allies. Afterall, the party would never have made it this far without teamwork. Butthe lecture is cut short when one of the dwarf guards alerts the partythat a band of trolls is headed toward Mithral Hall.

Get ready for some fast and difficult action. To change things upduring this level, you get to play as the famous Drizzt Do'Urden, a fastand powerful drow. You spend most of this level protecting the gatesof Mithral Hall against invading trolls. The trolls greatly outnumberthe team and are tough to stop. This level is set entirely in thecourtyard of Mithral Hall so there won't be much to explore. With thenumber of trolls that you have to fend off, you'll be lucky if you get achance to blink.

Illius is not a big part of the group during this level. He is playableonly in the beginning before his spot is taken over by Drizzt. Whatdoes this mean? It doesn't really matter for this level how Illius spendshis gold and XP.

Rannek and Zhai need upgrades in their attack abilities. The trolls arenumerous and deal a great amount of damage. While the trolls'weakness is fire, don't bother specializing in any fire skills orequipment. At the beginning of the level, the magic in all your weaponsis dispelled, making any fire enchantments worthless. Rannek's level-eight Power Critical and Improved Power Attack are good choices. You'llneed the ability to hit the trolls fast and hard. For Zhai, of the level-eightskills, invest in the Riposte and the Improved Prone Attack; goodcounterattacks are valuable in this level.

Team Effort

When the first troll clearsthe walls, Rannekrecognizes the trolls as theones who ransacked hishometown of Nesme.Rannek has a score tosettle here.

Trolls are tall, tough, andonly vulnerable to fire.They can only be killed bya Coup de Grace with afire-charged weapon. Ofcourse, to use the Coup deGrace, the troll must belying on the ground.Unfortunately, they areimmune to both the

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noteYou will be playing as Drizzt for part of the level. But unfortu-nately, you cannot choose his skills or items to upgrade. Drizztcomes as he is.

tipIf you can afford it, purchase a Gem of Contingency for eachcharacter. It automatically revives your character with full healthif he or she is killed. It can only be used once so don't let it happenmore than once.

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Improved Trip Combination and the Knockdown skills. To knock themdown, you simply have to damage them enough that they fall over.

Seems pretty tough, eh?But wait, there's more.Somehow the trolls are ableto dispel the enchantmentson the party's weapons.The party's weapons arerendered ineffectivewithout fire enhancements.

There are coals spaced outaround the walkways. Usethem to light your weaponon fire—simply swing itnear the fire and you'regood to go. The fire on yourweapon only lasts for ashort time, so you mustrelight it at regularintervals.

cautionEven if you damage a troll enough that it falls over, it's not deadyet. If you don't quickly perform a Coup de Grace while it's still onthe ground, it will get up and continue the attack. Leave no trolllying on the ground.

tipWhen lighting your weapon on fire, swing your weapon only once ifthere is no enemy nearby. If you swing your weapon any more thanthat, you perform a time-consuming combination. If there areenemies nearby, you can use the extra swings on them; but if therearen't, you must wait for the combo to finish before you can returnto the fight.

– Barrel

– Book

– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

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Rannek can use his PowerCritical attack to deal themost damage in a shorttime. A couple PowerCriticals will knock thetrolls down. Once down, gofor the fatal blow with theCoup de Grace while yourweapon is still on fire. Ifyour weapon is not on firewhile you perform theCoup de Grace, the troll is unaffected.

Zhai can hide in the fewshadows along thewalkway. These trolls are sotough that Zhai's sneakattacks don't kill them,even with her weaponsaflame. At least her sneakattacks knock them downinstantly. Make sure herblades are on fire andfinish off the prone trollswith a Coup de Grace.

Illius's ranged weapon iseffective in knocking thetrolls over from a safedistance. It should onlytake a few fully chargedprojectiles to knock onedown. As Illius, leave theknocked-down trolls foryour teammates to finishoff. You are the sorcerer ofthe group, so stay back andout of harm's way as you deal the damage around.

Defeat as many trolls aspossible before you getcalled up to the tower. Thetrolls are now attacking thegears that hold the gates toMithral Hall.

At the top of the tower,trolls attack the party andthe big gears on the side.No matter which characteryou play, focus on the oneor two trolls activelyattacking the gears. If thegears' health meter isdrained completely,Mithral Hall is doomedand Rannek will seeanother city overrun by trolls. Don't let this happen.

Use Illius's ranged weaponto knock down the trollsaround the gears. Rannekand Zhai are good atfinishing them off once thetrolls are on the ground.This is Illius's last chance toget some action on thislevel. After the gears aresaved, his place on theteam is replaced by Drizzt.

Melee combat with thetrolls is tricky. When yousee them begin to chargeup a bright ball in theirhand, stop attacking themand get the heck out of theway. While they arecharging, they are invul-nerable, and if you try toattack them during thistime, you are briefly unable

to move. This brief moment is enough for the trolls to finish theircharge and smash the ground with their balls.

Drizzt Do'Urden, the DrowOnce you successfully keepthe trolls off of the gears,take control of Drizzt. Thetrolls are climbing up toattack the gates. Now it's justDrizzt and his dwarf friends.Watch the gate's healthmeter in the screen's upperright. If that gets drained,Mithral Hall is doomed.

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tipThe barrels scattered around the walkways contain valuableitems. Whenever you are fighting near one, spare a sword slash ortwo to break into them. If you want to actually collect all of them,send the speedy Zhai to do the job.

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Drizzt's controls are similarto Zhai's except that hecannot jump. Use his speedand agility to deal damageto as many trolls as possible.His double scimitars are fastand deadly against thetrolls, but only if they are liton fire.

There are fire pits on eitherside of the gate. LightDrizzt's blades on the coalsand start hacking. Drizztfills up his Hero meter veryfast if you throw a fewRanger's Strikes into hisrepertoire of attacks.Attack multiple enemies atonce and watch the Herometer fill up.

As soon as the Hero meteris filled, refresh Drizzt'sblades on the nearby coalsand perform a SuperAttack. Drizzt's SuperAttack should knock a fewtrolls down in this crowd.While they're down,perform a Coup de Graceon each of them.

Team EffortIf Drizzt can hold off thetrolls long enough, the restof the team comes to jointhe fight. Illius is herefighting, but you cannotcontrol him. Watch the teamhealth meters to know whenthey return. If Drizzt's meteris the only one that is notgrayed out, your teammateshave not arrived yet.

The most important thingto keep in mind as youattack the trolls is to keepyour weapon on fire. Thefire pits are far enough thatby the time you come backto finish off a troll, it mayalready be dusting itself offand back to attacking thegate. The dwarvendefenders can help finishoff the trolls but don't depend on them.

Switch characters often sothat you can fill each oftheir Hero meters asquickly as possible. Butbefore you perform a TeamSuper Attack, make sureyour character's blade is onfire. The Team SuperAttack only knocks themover, so you must be readywith a flaming weapon tofinish off the trolls.

After a while, more trollsclimb up the walls andstart throwing devastatingprojectiles at the gate.These guys are around thecorner to the gate's right,so get over there quickly.Those projectiles cause alot of damage to the gateand you still have a longway to go before MithralHall is saved.

cautionThe gate must survive through a long fight without any repairs. It iscrucial that the trolls attacking the gates be stopped first.

tipHit the start button to get familiar with Drizzt's skills.

tipDrizzt's speed is perfect for hit-and-run tactics. Hit the trolls withall he's got and get him out of the way of the trolls' pounding.

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The first batch of the trollarchers is clumpedtogether. A few swipes ofRannek's or Drizzt's bladesshould knock them over.This is also a good time toperform a Super Attack ora Team Super Attack.

Follow the walkway somemore and find more trollarchers climbing up ontothe walls. Make your waydown the walkway andknock them back over thewall. This is much fasterthan using the Coup deGrace after knocking themto the ground.

The wave of troll archers issmall and should bequickly annihilated. Assoon as they're gone, Drizztnotices the outer gatesstarting to open. Drizztsends the dwarfThibbledorf to jam thegears to prevent the outergates from opening.

Continue along past thewalkway where the trollarchers came up and ontoto the tower above.Thibbledorf is busyjamming the gears andcan't defend himself.Attack any troll that getsnear him. The meter in thescreen's upper right-handcorner tells you how muchtime you need to buy for Thibbledorf.

For some hidden treasure,have Zhai go down the farstairs, next to the fire pit.You can use any characterhere but she is the fastest.

When Thibbledorf finisheshis task, he turns aroundand heads back for theinner gate. There is noannouncement, so watchthe meter in the screen'supper right-hand corner sothat you know when to getback to the inner gate.

On your way back, defeatany troll archers along thewalkway. When you getback to the gate, attackthe trolls with the samefervor as before. Thegate's health meter isdraining quickly thanks tothe many trolls here.

With the appearance oftroll archers, the fight is alittle different. Now youhave to worry aboutattackers that you can't seefrom in front of the gate.On your way to light yourweapon on fire, peekaround the bends on eitherside of the gate to check fortroll archers.

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tipBack on the walkway are small shadows for Zhai to hide in.Finally, a chance to use your sneak attacks again.

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Drizzt Do'Urden

Eventually, the outer gate isbreached and Drizzt dropsdown to face the intrudersall by himself.

Down below in thecourtyard are two groups oftroll archers busy firingprojectiles at the inner gate.Each group is protected bya few roaming trollwarriors.

Your priority is to stop thearchers from furtherdamaging the inner gate.Keep on the run and attackthe first group of archersfirst. Use the nearby fire pitto light up your weapons.

Beware the charging trollwarriors. The warriors' jobis to protect the archers.That means that they aregunning for you. Focusyour energies on thearchers but if a warrior isnear, defeat the warriorquickly before it can knockyou over or worse.

Once you finish off thefirst group, start workingon the second group at theback of the courtyard. Thisgroup of troll archers hasbetter protection from thetroll warriors. Concentrateon the archers and watchout for the steady streamof warriors from thebusted gate.

When the troll archers aredefeated, the rest of thetroll army finally breaksthrough the outer gates andinto the courtyard. Theybring with them a largecatapult to attack the innergates. It's time for Rannekand Zhai to jump back intothe action.

tipTroll archers cause a lot of damage to the gate but they do notattack you directly. When attacking archers, unleash all you've goton them; they don't fight back.

cautionDon't spread yourself too thin. If you try to take on both groups oftroll archers, the damage you deal to each one is too small toquickly knock them down. Stay with one group and get rid of thembefore moving on to the next group.

tipThere are four treasure chests scattered around the room thatare full of health. Save them until you really need it because theyneed to last.

tipIt can be difficult to see all areas of the courtyard. As you hit thetrolls and avoid the troll warriors' attacks, take a peak around theareas off-screen to find any stragglers.

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Rannek, the Fighter

The catapult needs to bedestroyed. Rannek'spowerful Gauntlets of OgrePower is the tool to use. Heneeds to pound the groundin three places: in front andto both sides of thecatapult.

The front of the catapult isthe easiest to destroy.Avoid any trolls that chaseRannek and position himin front of the catapult. Usethe gauntlets to smash theground in front of thecatapult. Depending on thelevel of Rannek's skills, itmay take one or two hits todestroy.

The sides of the catapultrequire more smashes thanthe front. Attack trolls onlyif they attack Rannek. Givethe sides a few smashes andthe catapult is destroyed.

Boss Battle: The Troll King

When the catapult isdestroyed, it leaves agaping hole in the outergates. Through the smokeand haze comes the trollclan's king.

Immediately, Rannekrecognizes the king as theone who led the raid againstRannek's hometown ofNesme. With vengeance inhis eyes, Rannek claims thefight. Regardless ofRannek's zeal, he can't dothis by himself. WhileRannek is the most capableto fight the king, Zhai and Drizzt are by his side to lend a hand.

Team EffortThe troll king is eventougher to kill and moredangerous than the trollwarriors. To defeat theking, the team must worktogether and use their mostpowerful attacks on him.

When the king picks upany of the party members,he siphons health from thatperson. The king glowsblue just before he's readyto pick up a character(much like the trollwarriors before they poundthe ground). During thistime, the king is invul-nerable and attacking him only makes the attacker vulnerable for him topick up. If you see the blue glow, get out of the way.

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tipJust because there are trolls standing next to Rannek doesn't meanthat he should attack them. The catapult is more important,especially if the inner gate is close to being destroyed. As long asthe trolls don't interfere with Rannek's smashing of the ground,leave them alone.

tipWhile the troll king cannot be knocked down and finished off witha flaming Coup de Grace, he is still most vulnerable to fire. Alwaysremember to keep your weapons on fire.

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The other sign that tips youoff that the king is about topick up another characteris when he pulls his rightarm to the side. Look forthis and don't get caughtoff guard.

Light Rannek's weapon onfire and approach the king.If the king begins to swingits arms or glow blue, backoff and wait for him to stopwhatever he was doing.Immediately after he stops,perform as many PowerCritical attacks that you canbefore he swipes at you orbegins to glow blue.

Throw in a few TeamAttacks if a teammate is also within reach ofthe king.

It may be tempting to jumpin and help a teammatethat is being picked up bythe king. Resist this urgebecause when the king hassomeone in his clutches, heis invulnerable. Instead,position yourself a shortdistance away, preferablybehind the king, and strikeonly when the king has dropped his captive.

If you corner the kingunder the tarps around thecourtyard, he becomes lessmobile and easier to attack.It also keeps you near thefire pits to light up yourweapons.

When the team finally isable to deal more damageto the king than he canrecover, the king finallyfalls. Rannek takes thehonor of administering thefinal and fatal blow,dedicated to Nesme.

After the fight is over,Drizzt tells the three adven-turers where they can findCireka, the Githyankigeneral. There's a portal atan abandoned Githyankioutpost where Drizztthinks Cireka can be found.It's time to move on.

cautionIf the king picks up your character,he or she will be stunned for a whileafter being dropped. If thishappens, switch to anothercharacter and continue to attackthe king.

noteWhen the king glows blue and you are not close enough to him, hepounds the ground like the troll warriors do. You can be far enoughaway that the king can't pick you up, but he can still damage youwith the pounding.

tipIf you haven't used all of the health in the treasure chests aroundthe courtyard, you'll probably need them now. If you fail tocomplete this part of the level and choose to "Try Again," thetreasure chests are restored when you reenter the game.

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The abandoned Githyanki outpost is below ground in the Underdark.The three heroes arrive to find that the abandoned Githyanki outpostisn't so abandoned after all. Upon arriving, Illius senses that Cireka isnearby and has started opening the portal. The party doesn't have muchtime before it is opened and her minions are unleashed onto unsus-pecting Faerun.

To stop Cireka and her army, the adventurers must first get throughthe guarded entrance. Luckily for them, there are plenty of shadowsfor Zhai to work her magic. Because of their speed, Githyankiwarriors are some of the toughest opponents in the game. You'llface a handful of them before you actually come face-to-face withCireka. After that, Ygorl makes an appearance along with his squadof Slaadi. This time the familiar Red Slaadi are joined bycharmingly named Death Slaadi. There are big fights ahead; comeprepared.

For this level, the brunt of the tough work is on Illius. The morepowerful his ranged spells are, the easier it is to complete the level.At level eight there is the Power Word Kill level upgrade; if theparty is at level ten, there's the Meteor Swarm. Both are powerfulranged spells that can reduce the time the party has to fight offattackers.

Zhai needs excellent hiding abilities for the first parts of this level. Shewill be assassinating enemies that will call for backup if she is discovered.Item or skill upgrades that improve her hiding ability is the way to go.Rannek will be taking a lot of heat from large groups of Githyanki andSlaadi that are much faster than he is; defensive items are key.

Zhai, the RogueBeing half-drow, Zhai seesthe many shadows in thistunnel and feels at home.She can use the shadows toperform sneak attacks oneach enemy withoutalerting the rest. This isimportant because oncealerted, the Githyankiguards call forreinforcements.

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CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

tipIf you run out of gold for any character, buy an item that is cheaperthan what you have equipped. For example, if you don't have enoughgold for Rannek's armor upgrade, you can earn some gold by fiddlingat the Item Upgrades screen. If your style of play doesn't make use ofRannek's projectile weapons very often, and you have Throwing Axe +3equipped, purchase Throwing Axe +1 to get some gold back. At the ItemPurchase screen, the items that are weaker than your currentlyequipped items are listed by how much gold you get back.

tipGem of Contingencies can only be used once. Check to see if eachcharacter still has one equipped. If not, it means that it hasalready been used and you need to buy another.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

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All the guards here arestationary except for one.The first one you encounteris the one that has a patrolroute. The problem withkilling this first one is thatthe second guard is facingthe first guard. If youperform a sneak attack onthe first one, there is a goodchance that the second guard will see you as you become visible.

Instead of attacking thefirst guard, have Zhaihurry over to the secondguard in her hidden mode.From the shadows behindthe second guard, waituntil the first guard has hisback to Zhai beforeperforming a sneak attackon the stationary guard.

Once the second guard isout of the picture, run upto the first guard andsilently assassinate him.

There are three guards left,but they are all facing thefront of the tunnel, andthere are no shadows forZhai to hide in until thelast guard. Zhai can't assas-sinate these guards in theorder they appear, and theshadows at the end of thetunnel are too far for her toreach without beingdiscovered. There must be another way.

To the left, just before thefirst guard, is a ledge thatZhai can reach. The ledgeleads up to a couple moreledges, one of which holdsa treasure chest.

cautionDrizzt gave Zhai a wood elf necklace at the end of the last level thatallows her to stay hidden after attacking an enemy. Don't getoverconfident with it, because although attacking an enemy won'treveal Zhai, the time it takes her to perform a sneak attack can belong enough that Zhai won't be able to return to a shadow beforebeing discovered.

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– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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The top ledge hangs outover the first of the threeguards. On the other sideof the tunnel juts anothersimilar ledge. Zhai caneasily clear this distance tograb the treasure on theother side.

From the top ledge on thetunnel's right side, use theledges along the wall to getZhai down and behind thelast guard. From this littlepatch of shadows, Zhai caneliminate each of the threeguards silently andefficiently.

When you're finished inthe tunnel, the team moveson to the next area. Fourwalkways intersect in thislarge cavern full ofGithyanki warriors. Thecrystalline doorway here isblocking the path into thenext area and is beingmagically reinforced byfour Githyanki warlocksposted on the wall around the doorway.

The crystalline doorwaymust be broken through byway of Rannek's Gauntletsof Ogre Power or Illius'sBeads of Force. But beforethey can do that, thewarlocks must be dealtwith. With the warlocksstill standing, the doorwayis unbreakable.

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tipIf Zhai misses the ledge on the other side of the tunnel, she dropsright in the middle of the three guards. If this happens, don'tpanic. Zhai's hiding ability should last long enough so that she canreach the tunnel's far end, behind the last guard.

tipNot up to sneaking? Would you rather face these Githyanki guardshead on, along with their reinforcements? Want to earn some extragold and XP? Let Zhai be discovered by any of the guards and letthe fun begin. When the others arrive, Zhai can pop in and out ofthe shadows to perform sneak attacks on the guards as they fightIllius and Rannek.

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– Book

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– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

LEGEND

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Illius, the SorcererThere are two ways to dealwith the warlocks. The firstand most obvious way is to use Illius's projectilespells. Find a relatively safeplace on any of the fourwalkways to start shootinghis projectile spells at thewarlocks.

There is nowhere on any ofthe walkways that isentirely free of Githyankiwarriors. A few warriorsare always trying to attackIllius during his attacks onthe warlocks. Instead offighting the warriors whenthey attack Illius, simplycall up his force-field shieldto block the warriors'attacks. Alternate between blocking the warriors and firing at thewarlocks to eliminate the warlocks as quickly as possible.

Zhai, the RogueThe second way to disablethe warlocks is to use Zhaito reach a hidden area at thetop of the cavern. Take Zhaiover to the walkway to theintersection's right. Noticeanything interesting? Jumpover to the crude walkwayand make your way to thetop of the cavern.

Right next to the treasure isa button. When Zhaipushes the button, thewarlocks are renderedineffective by the slabs ofconcrete that rise up toblock their access to thecavern.

As soon as the switch isthrown, manually bringZhai back to the actionbelow. If you simply switchto Rannek or Illius, Zhai isforced to find her own waydown. If you lead herdown, you guarantee thatshe does so the fastest waypossible.

Team EffortWith the Githyankiwarlocks unable toreinforce the door withtheir spells, the door isvulnerable to attack.Immediately, the Githyankiwarriors rush to defend thedoor. Send Rannek in touse his gauntlets, or sendIllius in to use his beads.

tipWhen firing Illius's projectile weapons, multiple single shots arebest. Charging the spell requires too much time and it's very likelythat a warrior will attack during that time. If you insist oncharging up the projectile every time, you'll find that you'll keephaving to block before you can get the shot off.

tipEven if you choose to use Illius to get rid of the warlocks, youshould still send Zhai up to the hidden area for the treasure there.

cautionIf Illius,and not Zhai, defeated the warlocks, the door must bebroken through quickly. Unless Zhai was able to throw that switch,the warlocks return after a while to reinforce what's left of thedoor. If this happens, the warlocks need to be dealt with againbefore the door can be destroyed.

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The warriors won't letanyone touch the door soeasily. It may be difficultfor Rannek to charge up hisGauntlets of Ogre Powerwithout being interruptedby an attack. Use Zhai'ssneak attacks to reduce thenumber of warriors aroundthe door. As she does this,her Hero meter fills upquickly. Once filled, she can perform a Super Attack to momentarilyclear the door area of enemies. Then, switch to Rannek and have himpound away.

Illius's ability to detonatehis beads from a distanceallows him to easily breakthrough the door. Simplyrun him to the door to setthe beads. Thenimmediately run him tosafety to detonate it.

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LEGEND

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After the crystalline dooris destroyed, finish off thelast of the guards andmove on to the next room.Break open the treasurechest by the candles andthe one in the nexthallway.

In the next section, a groupof Githyanki warriorsattack the team. Run pastthe main group and to theleft to get rid of the singlewarlock first. Then finishoff the rest of the warriors.

As the party gets fartheralong the walkway, theyspot Cireka. Her warlockgoons destroy the pathunder the party's feet,forcing them to jump ontothe central platform.Githyanki warriors attackthe group while fourwarlocks create a shieldaround Cireka.

Illius, the SorcererTo get to Cireka, thewarlocks need to bedisposed of. Illius is theman for the job. Post himon one of the side cornersof the platform. Fromhere, start firing projectilespells at the warlocks. Usethe faster single-shot spellsas opposed to the slowerbut more powerfulcharged-up spells.

Inevitably, warriors will tryto attack Illius in the middleof his shots at the warlocks.When the warriors springtheir attack, abandon Illius'sprojectile spell at the warlockand block the warrior. Assoon as the warrior isdeflected, continue theattack on the warlocks.

After the four warlocks aregone, Cireka's shield goesdown. Aim Illius'sprojectile spells at her andfire away. Stick with thesingle-shot spells even ifthe warriors give you achance to charge one up.Charged-up projectilesknock Cireka over, forcingyou to wait for her to getup before you can damage her again.

Repeat the cycle of aimingat the warlocks and then atCireka until she getsdamaged enough to letdown the shield. Just whenthe party thinks it's ok tograb Cireka, a bunch ofRed Slaadi appears out ofnowhere. And that canmean only one thing: Ygorlis nearby.

cautionKeep an eye out for incoming projectiles from the warlocks. Theirexplosive projectiles are slow moving and easy to block but arevery damaging. If one is headed toward Illius, call up his forcefield to block it.

cautionWhen dealing with the warlocks, defeat all four as fast as you can.If you take too long, by the time the fourth one is downed, anotherwarlock appears to take one of the others' place.

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Perfect, Cireka and Ygorlare again locked in battle.This is a perfect time toimprison the two into theDemon Stone. Illius whips out the DemonStone and begins the spellto entrap them.

Rannek and ZhaiRannek and Zhai need tobuy enough time for Illiusto complete his spell. Alongwith the Red Slaadi comeDeath Slaadi, fasterwarriors with razor-sharpteeth. The good news is thatthe Slaadi and Githyankihate each other as much asthey hate the party.

Let the Githyanki andSlaadi fight each other ifthey want to. Rannekshould stand next to Illiusto ward off any attackers.With his powerful blade,Rannek can clear Illius'simmediate area with somewell-placed swings.

Zhai won't last long in themiddle of all theseenemies. Use her on theperiphery of large enemygroups, or use her toreduce the number ofattackers by knocking themoff the platform's edge.

If there is a large crowdaround Illius, Rannek canuse his Gauntlets of OgrePower to smash theground. If the enemies areclose enough to the pointof impact, they get thrownto their feet. Rannek canrepeat this as attackersapproach Illius.

Hold off the attackers longenough and watch asCireka and Ygorl begin tofade. Just as Illius's spellbegins to take effect, Ygorlrecognizes the sensation ofbeing locked away in theDemon Stone. Ygorl sendsCireka through the portaland disappears himself justbefore Illius is able tocomplete the capture.

The party all of a suddenfinds they are alone.Rannek and Illius begin todiscuss the best course ofaction as Zhai jumpsthrough the portal afterCireka. This leaves theremaining two no choicebut to jump in after her.

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tipUse Rannek's and Zhai's Super Attack when their Hero metersget full. Since Illius can't increase his Hero meter during hisspell casting, Team Super Attacks are out of the question unlesshis Hero meter was full at the start of the spell. Super Attackswill have to do and are quite effective against these densegroups of attackers.

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The three heroes jump through the portal after Cireka and findthemselves inside a dragon's lair. Cireka fights for her life nearby as theyassess their situation. They need her alive and must go through hell tokeep up with the two fighting creatures.

This level is a long and arduous one. Red and Death Slaadi areeverywhere. To top things off, there's the small matter of the dragonthey must face.

This level will tax all three party members to their limits; you will needall the attack and defensive ability you can afford.

You should have all of Rannek's level-eight upgrades by now. If youcan use level-ten upgrades, Titan's Toughness is crucial. The other twoskills at level ten are nice to have and by all means, get them if you canafford them. For items, buy the heaviest defense and offense items youcan afford.

Illius needs the most powerful projectile spell he can get his hands on.Well, almost. The level-ten Meteor Swarm is the most powerful projectilespell that Illius can purchase. However, the Meteor Swarm does itsdamage from a barrage of fireballs that come down on the target fromabove. This is great for large, stationary groups of enemies but is uselessagainst moving targets. Illius will face many tough targets in this levelthat are moving—more importantly, moving toward him. The Power

Word Kill, a level-eight spell, is much more effective against such targetsbecause it shoots a beam that cuts through everything in its path.

Zhai will encounter many shadows in the right places on this level.Invest in the level-ten Vhaeraun's Shadow for longer invisible times.With Vhaeraun's Shadow, Zhai can stay hidden long enough to assas-sinate more than one enemy without having to return to the shadows.

CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

tipThis is a good time to return to previous levels to earn more XP andgold. You must be able to afford upgrading to your characters'maximum potentials.

cautionUnlike item upgrades, skill upgrades cannot be sold back. Forexample, if Illius has already learned the Meteor Swarm, he cannotgo back to the Power Word Kill.

tipPurchase Gems of Contingency!

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Team EffortThe team starts out on thisrocky walkway. First Redand then Death Slaaditeleport around you on allsides. Both can withstandmany hits while dealingmassive damage at thesame time. The faster youcan eliminate them, thegreater your party'schances for survival.

Look at all the shadowsnearby. The fastest way todeal with these powerfulcreatures is to use Zhai'ssneak attacks. Use theshadows to hide Zhai andthen start eliminatingenemies, one after another.

Rannek should knock theRed Slaadi over the edge ofthe platform. If Rannek isnot near the edge, the RedSlaadi are susceptible to theKnockdown followed by thetrusty Coup de Grace. TheDeath Slaadi are muchmore agile and will catchthemselves before fallingover the edge. And when

they are knocked down, they get up too fast to be hit by the Coup deGrace. With the Death Slaadi, Rannek must blend a careful mix ofattacks and blocks and defeat them with straightforward melee combat.

Illius's Power Word Kill ismost effective whencharged up. A fully chargedPower Word Kill cutsthrough every opponent inits path, including enemiesbehind the target. To makethe best use of the PowerWord Kill, try to positionIllius where multipleenemies line up in onedirection. The Power Word Kill does great damage to all in its path.

After the first batch ofSlaadi is gone, the groupcontinues down thewalkway. Thankfully thereare more shadows for Zhaito continue her sneakattacks.

As the team progressesalong the walkway, watchout for the groundsuddenly catching fire.Walk slowly along thewalkway when there are noenemies present. This givesthe party enough time toavoid the fire as it flares up.

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WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

tipWhile you can definitely use Rannek or Illius against these enemies,Zhai is the fastest and most efficient at safely moving the group onto the next area.

tipIf Illius has already learned the Meteor Swarm, the strategyagainst groups of enemies is different. Because the Meteor Swarmrains down on the target, Illius doesn't need the group to be linedup; he needs them to be stationary. This is dangerous when anattacker is headed toward Illius because the Meteor Swarm will justhit the ground after the target has already moved.

tipZhai's sneak attacks should be focused first on any Death Slaadinearby. Their speed and tenacity are tough for Rannek and Illius tohandle. Make quick work of the Death Slaadi to keep the groupfrom taking too much damage.

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Once the party makes it tothe hallway, they are safeuntil they reach the nextroom with some barrels. Inthe barrels is some treasurewaiting to be plundered.

Continuing on through theroom; a lone Death Slaadiappears. These guys aren'tso tough when it's three-on-one, are they?

The next area is a longwalkway. More Red andDeath Slaadi appear to stopthe party's progress. And asif they aren't enough,Green Slaadi archers jointhe fun.

There are shadows in theoutcroppings evenly spacedalong either side of thewalkway. Zhai should usethose to dispatch of theDeath and Green Slaadi.

cautionIf Zhai steps in the fire, she is unable to hide in the shadows. Shemust resort to regular melee attacks until the flames die down.

tip

Next to the three barrels are someledges sticking out of the wall.Hint: Jump, Zhai, jump!

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– Book

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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– Connecting Points

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Illius is most effective hereif he hangs back andshoots his projectile spells.Aim the spells at thearchers first because thereare a few of them beyondthe rubble that neitherRannek nor Zhai can reachuntil the rubble is cleared.

After the party clears therubble, a meter appears inthe screens' upper right-hand corner indicating thestatus of the door at thewalkway's end. Meanwhile,more Slaadi appear alongthe walkway as well as abunch of archers on thetower above the door.

Have Illius hang back andfire his projectile spells atthe Slaadi on the walkwayas the other two chargeahead. There is an endlesssupply of archers at the topof the tower, soconcentrate on the Slaadion the walkway.

You cannot completelyclear the walkway of GreenSlaadi. When all of theDeath and Red Slaadi aregone from the walkway,switch to Rannek and havehim smash up the doorwith a few hits from hisGauntlets of Ogre Power.

Through the door, the threeheroes catch up with Cirekaand the dragon. Theyarrive just in time towitness Cireka lose thebattle against the dragon.She drops the sword and isno more.

Rannek notices that thedragon fears the sword thatCireka dropped. A man ofaction, Rannek promptlydrops his own sword topick up the new sword.

As soon as Rannek gets thesword, the dragon sets itseyes on the party. Theynow must make it to safetyat the walkway's end. Theonly things that stand intheir way are some rubbleand a bunch of DeathSlaadi.

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tipIf an attacker charges Illius, switch to Zhai and bring her to Illiusto quickly perform a sneak attack on the assailant.

tipIllius's charged-up Power Word Kill can damage the door if hetargets enemies that are standing in a direct line between Illius andthe door. Try to fire Illius's shots so that they are in the direction ofthe door. If Illius has the Meteor Swarm, he must target enemiesstanding in front of the door.

cautionThere are no shadows on this walkway for Zhai to use. If youchoose to play as Zhai, you must fight while visible.

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With Rannek's new sword,he can defeat the DeathSlaadi more quickly. Whilefighting the Slaadi thatappear, stay behind thewall's short columns. Thedragon's fire breath is verydamaging.

Break through the rubbleand into the safety of thenext hallway. The hallwayleads to another little roomwhere more Death Slaadiappear. Use Rannek'snewfound sword to defeatthem as your teammatesprovide support.

There are some platformsagainst the far wall that leadup to a hidden area. Defeatthe Slaadi in the roombefore heading up toretrieve the treasure andhealth scroll. The fightahead is rough and youmust go into it with all partymembers at full health.

noteThe dragon only aims its breath at the player you are currentlyplaying as.

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– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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– Connecting Points

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In the next hallway, hordesof Red Slaadi appear. KeepIllius at the hallway'sbeginning so that he canfire his charged-up PowerWord Kill at the massesthat surround Rannek and Zhai.

Use Rannek's Knockdownmove to knock over theenemies. This move canknock down multipleSlaadi and buy Ranneksome time. Follow it upwith a Coup de Grace onone of the fallen to finishthe Slaad off.

Zhai has a few shadows tohide in along the walkwaybut they are far apart. Try tokeep the party near ashadow so that she can workon reducing their numbersas fast as possible. Whenchoosing Zhai's targets,focus on the Slaadi thatsurround Rannek and Illius.

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tip

It's easy to miss these barrels thatline the near wall of the room.Move to the wall's near side tobring them into view.

tipWhile Team Super Attacks are great, you may need to useindividual Super Attacks to clear the immediate area. These RedSlaadi attack in groups, and if you don't use the Super Attack, youmay not live to see the Team Super Attack. E

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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Work your way steadilydown the path to the hall'send. In the next room, agroup of Death Slaadiappears. Defeat them anduse Zhai's jumping abilityto reach the hidden area atthe top of these concreteblocks.

Take the group through thehallways and rooms. Whenthey reach the open cavern,they see the dragon and theportal. But it doesn't looklike the dragon wants to letthe group use it.

The party reaches theplatform at the walkway'send and is met by RedSlaadi. The dragon fliesback and forth landing onvarious perches a longdistance away.

Illius, the SorcererIllius must shoot hisprojectile weapons at thedragon. More specifically,the dragon's wings. Ahealth meter appears in thescreen's upper right,showing the status of eachof the dragon's wings. Illiusmust drain both metersusing his projectile spells.

The best spot for Illius topost up is near the wall offire at the platform's edge.From here, he can see boththe dragon and histeammates fighting theSlaadi.

The dragon occasionallyspits a very powerful fireattack at Illius. In response,Illius can move out of theway or call up his force field.If Illius has anything lessthan the Major Globe ofInvulnerability, he may stilltake damage. It is safest tosimply get out of the way.

Fire Illius's projectile spellsat the dragon. Single shotsare most likely to hit, butcharged shots regenerateIllius's health.

Illius must also be ready tohandle the Red Slaadi thatattack him. Thanks to thenarrow neck of whereIllius is standing, Illius caneasily knock the Slaadiover the edge.

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Keep firing at the dragonuntil it moves from oneperch to another. Illius'schances of hitting thedragon while in flight arenil. When the dragon is inflight, turn Illius's attentionto the Slaadi that areattacking him. If there arenone attacking him, lend ahand to Rannek and Zhai.

When both wings aredestroyed, the dragon fallsand the Slaadi disappear.With the platform clear ofthreats, Illius begins toopen the portal.

Boss Battle: The Dragon

Team Effort

Will this thing never die?Before Illius can completelyopen the portal, the now-flightless dragon climbs upto the platform and forcesthe party back into thehallway.

Back in the long hallway,the dragon rears its head atthe group. Keep the groupon the run until the dragonstops chasing them. Assoon as it does, sendRannek in to attack thedragon's head. After eachattack, immediately moveRannek to either side ofthe dragon's head to avoidthe dragon's snap.

After it takes some damage,the dragon retreats andcreates a wall of fire thatthe group cannot pass.Once the wall is up, RedSlaadi appear to give theparty more trouble. Fendthem off until theydisappear and be preparedto dodge some fiery breath.

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tipThere are a bunch of treasure chests on the platform where Rannekand Zhai are fighting. During the dragon's flight, switch to Zhaiand send her to bust open the treasure chests.

tipWhen Rannek is next to the dragon's head, perform only single ordouble attacks. Swipe at the dragon and get out of the way. IfRannek tries to get too many shots in, the dragon can grab Rannekand give him a good shaking.

cautionThe dragon regains a bit of health each time it creates the wall offire. Damage the dragon as much as possible or the fight may lastfor a while.

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From a distance, thedragon shoots a slowtrailing breath of fire. Keepyour character to one sideuntil the fire nearly reacheshim or her. Then move tothe other side to dodge theflames.

This cat-and-mouse gamerepeats itself until thedragon is heavily damaged.The most important partof this fight is to damagethe dragon while its head is down.

Use the Slaadi to fill eachcharacter's Hero meter butsave the Team Super Attackfor the dragon. A TeamSuper Attack takes away agreat deal of damage offthe dragon's health meter.

When the dragon's healthis reduced to a very smallamount, listen for cuesfrom the characters. If youare controlling Illius, hetells the group that he cancharm the beast. If you arecontrolling either of theother two, they suggest thatIllius charm the beast. TakeIllius close to the dragon'shead and cast his Hold or Hold Monster spell.

When Illius has the dragonin his spell, take control ofZhai and have her attackthe dragon's neck. Thenwatch as she jumps up tothe dragon's head andforces it down.

As soon as the dragon'shead is down, it's Rannek'sturn. Take Rannek towardthe dragon and watch as Rannek finishes offthe beast.

Impressed that this newsword can kill a dragon, theteam is renewed with hopethat perhaps it can killYgorl as well. But theproblem still remains ofwhere to find him. Illiusbelieves that GemsparkMine is where he is mostpowerful and the placewhere he most likely can be found. Back to Gemspark Mine it is.

tipWhen the Slaadi appear, keep Illius at a distance and charge up hisprojectile spells. Shoot them off at the Slaadi to damage multipleenemies at once. Rannek should perform the Coup de Grace afterknocking the Slaadi down. The shadows in this hallway are few andfar between but use them to dispose of the Slaadi.

tipWhen the dragon's head is vulnerable to attack, use Team Attacksto slow down the action.

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The three heroes have returned to Gemspark Mine to face Ygorl, theLord of Chaos. When the team gets to the room where they fought theorc king, there is a group of Red Slaadi running to greet them. Theregoes the element of surprise.

There is neither time nor need for exploration of this level because it isfamiliar ground. These will be the last and toughest fights the party hasfaced. Never mind Ygorl for the moment; you first have to survive hisdroves of Red and Death Slaadi.

This is it, the final battle. The party has matured enough that it can useall of the level upgrades available to purchase. The question is notwhich of the level upgrades to get, it's whether or not each characterhas enough XP to learn all of them. If not, return to a previous level toearn more XP. Make a note of how much XP each of the charactersneed and when you repeat a level, ensure that you use them more oftenduring the fights.

For item upgrades, purchase the highest level of every item for eachcharacter. Buy a Gem of Contingency and a Ring of Regeneration for

each character. The Ring of Regeneration slowly heals the character overtime and is expensive. Don't have the gold for it? Return to previouslevels and earn more gold so you can afford it. Rannek will need it themost. He will be taking a lot of hits from a lot of enemies.

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CHAPTER BRIEFINGCHAPTER BRIEFING

ITEMS AND UPGRADESITEMS AND UPGRADES

noteAfter slaying the dragon, Rannek now has the option to buy a RedDragon Scale Plate Armor. Also, Rannek is automatically equippedwith the Silver Sword of Gith, the very sword that Cireka oncewielded and that Ygorl is itching to get his hands on.

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– Shadows

– Treasure Chest

– Connecting Points

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Team Effort

The party starts in theroom in which they foughtthe orc king. This time,there are no orcs, but loadsof Red Slaadi warriors.

Rannek's new sword makeshim well suited to handlethe many Slaadi whoappear in this room. Theyare trained to converge ontheir targets from all sides.Don't let this happen.When you see a largenumber of Slaadiconverging on Rannek, getout of there.

Run until the group is onone side of Rannek. This isa better situation forRannek to fight in. Nolonger surrounded, Rannekcan hack and slash in onedirection, sending multipleSlaadi flying everywhere.

Rannek and his big swordneed to keep near histeammates. The Slaadi canknock any character down,and because there are somany of them, thatcharacter won't be able toget up. However, if thereare two characters fightingside-by-side, the characterstill standing can buy thefallen character the time he or she needs to get up. The more charactersstanding and fighting, the faster the Slaadi fall.

Zhai has a couple ofshadows on either side ofthe room in which to hide.If you play as Zhai, thenumber of enemies in thisroom requires that you beflawless in her executions.With this many enemies,Zhai must be preciseenough in her sneakattacks that she gets twokills before having to go to the shadows.

Illius can use his chargedup Meteor Swarm to rainfireballs onto the largegroups of Slaadi. This isuseful if you see Slaadioverwhelming Rannek orZhai. The Meteor Swarmknocks down multipleenemies and buys thesurrounded character timeto get up.

WALKTHROUGHWALKTHROUGH

tipAs Rannek runs around to find a clear space to face the chasingSlaadi, steer him toward Illius or Zhai. They are being pummeledby a circle of Slaadi. After Rannek defeats his pursuers, ordecimates their numbers, turn his sword toward the group ofSlaadi that have Rannek's teammate surrounded.

tipZhai should stay only in the periphery of large groups of Slaadiwhen she is hidden. Even though the Sladdi may not be able to seeher, their ground-pounding attacks can knock her off her feet andcause her to be exposed and attacked by the Slaadi.

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In the area above where thethrone used to be is atreasure chest containing ahealth scroll. Leave it aloneuntil the fight in this roomis over. The team needseverybody available to befighting and reducing thenumber of Slaadi in theroom. If Zhai grabs thehealth scroll too early, sheleaves her teammates to fight alone.

When the team survivesthe first battle, switch toIllius before moving theparty toward the hall. Asthe party enters the hall, agroup of Green Slaadiarchers appear at the end.When they do, charge a fewof Illius's Meteor Swarmsand let them loose onto thearchers. Illius can defeatthem as Ranneck and Zhai charge ahead.

Switch to Rannek as youbring the party past thehall and onto the platform.Inch Rannek toward theplatform's center and holddown the primary attackbutton to charge hisImproved Power Attack. Asthe Red Slaadi appear andconverge on him, let go ofthe button to cut apowerful swath across the Slaadi.

Rannek needs to avoidbeing in the center ofattacking Slaadi. Workhim toward the platform'sright side where it isnarrower. From this side,Rannek's attacks canknock the Slaadi over theplatform's edge.

There is a small shadowyarea to the platform's left.Zhai can use it to performquick sneak attacks to fillher Hero meter. Oncefilled, she can go to acrowded area and causesome damage.

To get Illius in on theaction, stand him on thenarrow walkway to theplatform's left. This keepshim out of the way to firehis Meteor Swarm spellsonto the large groups ofSlaadi. If attackers chargehim, the narrow walkwayincreases the chances ofhim knocking them off the edge.

When you beat the firstwave of Red Slaadi, GreenSlaadi archers appear onplatforms in the distance.Charge a few MeteorSwarms and let them looseon the distant attackers;enjoy the health regained asIllius destroys his targets.

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cautionIllius is vulnerable when he casts his spells. If a large group ofSlaadi approaches him, throw up his shield as they attack. AfterIllius blocks the Slaadi's blows, switch to Rannek and bring him toIllius so he can help clear the crowd around Illius.

tipIt's ideal to wait until all three party members' Hero meters arefilled so you can activate the Team Super Attack. If Slaadi areoverwhelming the other team members, however, have Zhai run overand spend her Super Attack to get her teammates out of the bind.

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When the archers are gone,another crowd of RedSlaadi warriors appears.Defeat it as before whenyou fill your Hero metersbecause after they're gone,another wave of archersappear, then come theDeath Slaadi.

Finish off the archers andbring the characterstogether around theplatform's center. Wait forthe Death Slaadi to appear,then perform a Team SuperAttack. The Team SuperAttack will kill most of theDeath Slaadi.

Survive through one moreround of attackers, and aportal opens. Illius explainsto the party that it leads toLimbo, an alternate planethat "is the breedingground of Chaos." Thelaws of nature don't applyin Limbo, which meansthat the party might have achance to destroy Ygorl.

Boss Battle: Ygorl, the Lord of Chaos

On the portal's other side,Ygorl awaits the threeheroes. With mucharrogance, Ygorl thanksthem for bringing him theSilver Sword of Gith.Ygorl's plans have cometo fruition, and after hehas the sword, Faerun will be his.

The fight begins after Ygorlbanters for a while. Thesetting is a platform with achess board pattern in thecenter. Ygorl's health meteris in the screen's upper-right corner.

tipAt this point, build and save each character's Hero meter. You areabout to face Death Slaadi you cannot knock off the platform's edge.When they appear, have a Team Super Attack ready to greet them.

cautionIf you weren't able to save up a Team Super Attack, you willhave to defeat the Death Slaadi by hand. Because you can'tknock them over the platform's edge, use Zhai's sneak attacks to defeat them.

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– Connecting Points

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Ygorl's main melee attackis a set of four swipes withhis hands. If he attacks thecharacter you haveselected, hold down theblock button until he isfinished with the sequenceof swipes.

Ygorl is alone at thebeginning of the fight, sotake advantage of it. UseRannek's Power Criticalattack to deal heavydamage to Ygorl.

Ygorl likes to teleport toother areas of the platformand charge at the party. Ashe does this, move Rannekout of his way and preparehis Power Critical attack.As Ygorl stops, he takesone big swing with hisarms at whomever isstanding in front of him.When he finishes his swipe,charge in and attack him.

Ygorl is invulnerableduring his blocks andbefore he teleports. If yousee him raise his hands,don't attack him. Attackinghim while he is invul-nerable makes yourcharacter vulnerable.

Damage Ygorl enough,and he teleports awayfrom the chessboard to adistant platform. As hedoes so, he regains healthand sends in a squad ofRed Slaadi to soften upthe team.

When Ygorl is in thedistance and the chessboardis crawling with Slaadi, thereare a couple of options toconsider. The first option isto use Rannek to clear theplatform of the Slaadi. Themore Slaadi Rannek clears,the fewer your worries whenYgorl teleports onto themain platform.

The second option is tohave Illius attack Ygorlwhen he is on the farawayplatforms. Illius's chargedup Meteor Shower doesdecent damage againstYgorl from a distance andhas the added bonus ofhealing Illius when the spellconnects. This is the betteroption of the two because

Ygorl regains health each time he teleports away from the mainplatform. Using this method, Illius can recover some of the hard worknegated by the teleport.

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tipFor Illius to attack Ygorl when he'son one of the distant platforms,Illius needs to find a relatively safespot in order to cast Meteor Storm.As no spot on the main platform isentirely safe, send Rannek in to clearthe area if Slaadi attack Illius.

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When Ygorl is on thedistant platforms, heattacks the group using oneof two attacks. The firstone is a paralyzing blueball of energy. It paralyzesany of the characters hit byit for a few moments.Watch for the incomingblue cloud and block it.

The other attack that Ygorluses consists of redprojectiles that come in setsof three. You can also blockthese, so keep one eye onYgorl when he is on adistant platform.

When Ygorl returns to themain platform, Slaadicontinue to appear. UseRannek to press the attackon Ygorl. Numerous PowerCriticals effectively drainYgorl's health.

Damage Ygorl enough andthe team hears a speechabout how they all came tobe there. Ygorl brags abouthow he bent the three partymembers to his will frominside the Demon Stone.After Ygorl claims that hewas the only one to ever careabout them, the partydefiantly tells him off. But enough talk…

After Ygorl finishes hisspeech, the fighting picks upagain where it left off—butthis time with the addedchallenge of Death Slaadi.The strategy here shouldcontinue to be the same asbefore the speech: attackYgorl. Only fight the Slaadi ifthey get in your way.

Continue the attack on Ygorluntil he no longer stands.

With Ygorl gone and Faerunsaved, the three friendsreturn to Cedarleaf for somewell deserved R&R. Peoplewelcome them with openarms, even Zhai.

Shortly, a portal opensand an old friend stepsthrough. Khelben informsthe three heroes that wordof their deeds has spreadand the King has grantedthem untamed lands toexplore. Among the goodnews is also the warningthat the Silver Sword ofGith is a highly revered artifact to the Githyanki and they would comefor it. Rannek's response: "Let them try."

tipDuring Illius's barrage of charged Meteor Storms on Ygorl, keep aneye on Rannek and Zhai. If Slaadi seem to overwhelm them,retarget the charged Meteor Storm onto the Slaad group.

tipWith Slaadi and Ygorl fighting side by side, make Ygorl yourpriority; Rannek's attacks and even Ygorl's own strikes can oftendamage and even eliminate nearby Slaadi.

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To save Faerun, your mission is to trap Cireka and Ygorl in the DemonStone. Along the way, you must fight through hordes of creatures,natural and unnatural. The information below helps you get an edge onthe enemies and bosses of the game.

BugbearsFound in: The Wizard's Tower

Bugbears are massive,savage humanoids namedfor their flat noses andsharp fangs. Compelled bygreed and hunger, thesebeasts attack prey in acoordinated manner, usingtheir bear-like claws andcrude weapons.

Bugbears attack byswiping their weapons atyou. Block their attacksand attack them whenthey're vulnerable: afterthey finish their swipes.

Use knock-down movesand follow up with theCoup de Grace. If you'renear an edge of a platform,knock them off for aquicker finish.

They block attacks. Afterthey block your attack, youbecome momentarilyvulnerable. That's whenthey like to pick you up andflail you about. Wait untilthey stop blocking beforelaunching your next attack;they are vulnerable as theyrecover from their block.

GithyankiFound in: Attack at Cedarleaf, Into the Underdark

Githyanki come from another dimension known as the Astral Plane.Corrupted by enslavement and hatred, these human-like creatures areconstantly honing their combat skills and crafting implements of war,most notably traditional swords made from hardened silver.

Githyanki Warriors

Highly skilled with two-handed swords, thesepatient warriors wait forthe perfect moment todeliver a single, powerfulattack.

Githyanki warriors aremelee fighters. They arefast and agile. They oftencharge their weapon for amassive melee attack. Theyare invulnerable duringthis position, so either getout of the way or blockbefore this attack hits.

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STANDARD ENEMIESSTANDARD ENEMIES

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If there are shadowsaround, use Zhai's sneakattacks to quickly disposeof them.

Githyanki Warlocks

These spell casters utilize adelayed blast projectile togreat effect. Fortunately,their magic is slow to cast.

Githyanki warlocks castprojectile spells from adistance. Their projectileshang around for a momentafter they hit their target.The real damage comeswhen their projectilesexplode, causing damage towhoever is near. If you seea glowing ball of energyjust sitting there, get out ofthe way.

Because Githyankiwarlocks stay out of reachof Rannek and Zhai, useIllius to cast projectilespells at the warlocks.

OrcsFound in: War in Damara, Descent into

Gemspark Mine

Orcs are aggressivehumanoids that attack andpillage other creatures,including other orcs,without pause. Theybelieve they must conquerto survive. Orcs oftenattack in large groups.

Orcs are the first creaturesyou encounter in the game.There are archer and meleeversions of orcs. Orcsaren't tough to beat, butcan be a handful in largenumbers. Hone your skillson these creatures in orderto be prepared for toughercreatures.

SlaadiFound in: The Wizard's Tower, Attack at

Cedarleaf, Into the Underdark, The Dragon's Lair,The Lord of Chaos

Slaadi are creatures of chaos. Fierce in combat, using a combination ofclaws and keen weapons, these beasts can instantaneously summonothers of their kind to aid in battle. There are numerous types of Slaadi,each treacherous in its own, unique way.

Red Slaadi

Red Slaadi are the footsoldiers in Ygorl’s army.They wield enormoushammers, which theycharge to inflict extradamage. While chargingtheir hammers, they areinvulnerable to all but themightiest attacks.

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Red Slaadi's standardattacks consist of multipleswings of their hammers.The swings are slow andyou can block them.

The hammers glow whenthe Red Slaadi charge theirattack. Invulnerable in thisstate, get out of the way.When the charged hammerpounds the ground, itknocks you down, makingyou vulnerable to furtherattacks.

In large groups, once youget knocked to theground, it may be difficultto get up because of thebarrage of chargedhammer attacks. Avoidbeing in the center ofgroups of Red Slaadi. Runaway and out of thecenter of the group sothat you can face them all.This allows your attacks to sweep multiple Slaadi while giving youroom to dodge the hammer blows.

Green SlaadiThese slaadi keep theirenemies at a distance whilelaunching magicallycharged, crystalline arrows.Green Slaadi are thearchers. Their arrowsbriefly stun their targets. Ifthere is a group of GreenSlaadi, stay out of theirrange, because by the timeyou recover from thestunning effects, more will be on their way.

Illius's uncharged projectilespells are the best way todeal with Green Slaadi.While a charged spell maycause more damage, itscharge time allows arrowsto hit Illius. Singleprojectile spells are fastenough that you candamage the archers andcall still use Illius's forcefield to block any incoming arrows.

Death SlaadiNot much is known aboutthese elite predators, forthose who encounter themrarely live to give adescription. They arereputed to be fast attackersarmed with razor-likeclaws. Death Slaadi areaptly named; they are themost dangerous of theSlaadi. They don't carry

weapons and don't need to. Equipped with great speed, agility, andsharp claws, they maneuver around their targets and deal damagebefore you have time to react.

You can't knock them offedges. To defeat them, youmust do it the old-fashioned way.

They have a high resistanceto damage. The Coup deGrace doesn't work onthese guys because they getup too fast. To beat DeathSlaadi in melee combat,block their vicious attacksand anticipate theirmovements to avoidswinging at air. If there areshadows nearby, Zhai canposition herself behind them for sneak attacks.

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SpidersFound in: Descent Into Gemspark Mine,

The Jungles of Chult

These highly adaptable arachnids are common to the Realms. Theyrange in size from small to enormous, and are either hunters that roveabout with quick reflexes, or spinners that patiently trap their prey.Spiders use poisonous bites to subdue or overwhelm potential victims.

Jungle Spiders

Jungle spiders are quickand vicious, fearingnothing as they hunt fortheir next meal. It isrumored that a hugejungle spider inhabits theriver caves.

Jungle spiders come in twovarieties: small and large.The small jungle spiders'strength is in theirnumbers. They attack ingroups but can't take muchdamage. Swing yourweapon in all directions todestroy as many of thesecreatures as fast as possible.

The large jungle spiders aretougher. They attack in aseries of quick snaps orrear up and lunge at you.Block the lunge andimmediately follow with anattack of your own.

In some areas, the spiderscontinue to come out oftheir nests unless the nestsare destroyed. Fight thespiders near their nests sothat any stray swings fromyour character's weaponalso damage the nests. Orbetter yet, have Illius shoothis projectile spells at thenests from a distance.

Crysmal Spiders

These small, gem-ladenspiders quickly surroundtheir prey beforeattempting to subdue anddevour it.

While quick, these spiderscan't take a beating. UseZhai and her speedyattacks to catch anddestroy these crawlingcritters.

TrollsFound in: Stand at Mithral Hall

These gargantuan beastsare found throughout theRealms. Driven by hunger,they tenaciously attackuntil all of their prey isconsumed. Trolls are mostvulnerable to fire, but evenwhen confronted with thiselement, they fearlessly andwildly attack.

Trolls cannot be killed bysimply hacking away atthem. Even with a flamingweapon, regular attacksmerely knock them down.The only way to finish onefor good is to perform aCoup de Grace on a fallentroll while your weapon ison fire.

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You only run into trolls inStand at Mithral Hallwhere your weaponenchantments aredispelled. Swing yourweapon at one of the manyfire pits on this level to giveyour weapon the flame itneeds to defeat the trolls.

Troll "archers" are trollsthat throw projectiles at thegate you are defending inMithral Hall. These trollsare so busy attacking thewalls that they do notdefend themselves.However, they can causemajor damage to the gatesand can cause you to failthe mission.

Yuan-TiFound in: The Yuan-Ti Temple

Yuan-ti are ingenious foes that resulted from the mingling of humansand snakes. They are devout evil worshippers whose existence revolvesaround their temple structures.

Yuan-Ti Priests

The priest is the leader ofhis Yuan-ti population.Because his warriors willdefend him to the death, hehas no need get his handsdirty. If necessary, thepriest may utilize magic inthe form of barriers andmind-control spells.

You don't actually faceYuan-ti priests in combat.Your only encounter withone is when one is callingthe Yuan-ti Abominationsto feed Merrshaulk. Todefeat the priest, fend offthe Abominations untilMerrshaulk gets hungryenough that it devours the priest.

Yuan-ti Archers

Yuan-ti archers are deadlymarksmen who fire poison-dipped arrows at their foes.

You meet Yuan-ti archerson the platform in theYuan-ti temple. Theirdefenses aren't high andyou can destroy them witha few of Illius's projectilespells.

Yuan-ti Melee

Armed with dual scimitars,these skilled warriors canshoot poison venom up to15 feet.

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The Yuan-ti melee fightersare fast attackers with theability to fire projectilesshort distances. In thebeginning of The Yuan-tiTemple level, Zhai's job isto defeat these fighterswithout being discovered.If she is discovered, shemust prevent them fromreaching the gongs to callfor help.

There are no shadows onthe platform in the temple,so the party must defeatthe Yuan-ti melee fightersby hand. Position yourcharacter so that he or shecan knock the Yuan-ti offedges or into the fiery pit.

Yuan-Ti AbominationsFound in: The Jungles of Chult, The Yuan-Ti Temple

These mutant creatures are the result of Yuan-ti experiments. Simplebeasts, they are the minions of their creators, used to defend templesand for sacrificial ceremonies.

Yuan-ti Abomination Guard

These monsters attack anycreature they see. They arebig, heavy, and nearlyunstoppable.

These creatures can take abeating. Even with Rannek'spower, it takes a lot of hitsto bring down one. Knock-down moves don't work onAbominations, don't try theCoup de Grace. Usepowerful combinationssuch as the ImprovedCritical attack to dealmassive damage.

Abominations have a longreach and will grab yourcharacter for a goodshaking. Use hit-and-runtactics to deal quickdamage and get out ofrange of their long reach.

Yuan-ti Abomination Archer

These eight-foot-tallmonsters can spit acidicvenom great distances withsurprising accuracy, despitetheir limited intelligence.

Abomination archersattack from a distance andare found along the river inThe Jungles of Chult. Likeall enemies at longdistances, utilize Illius'sprojectile spells to defeatthem before theirvenomous shots candamage the party.

Bugbear BossFound in: The Wizard's Tower

The bugbear chieftainappears at the end of theWizard's Tower level. Itcarries a heavy axe formelee combat and is alsoequipped with a projectileblast that stuns its targets.

BOSSESBOSSES

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The bugbear boss knowshow to block. ChargeIllius's projectile weaponand fire it at the boss.

The bugbear boss is invul-nerable when you see ablue glow around it. If theboss is in the middle ofpicking up one of yourteammates, it is invul-nerable. If you see the bossdoing either of these, waitit out and attack when itfinishes its attack.

The bugbear boss can alsostun the heroes from adistance. Once stunned,the character is helpless.If the character that youare playing is stunned,immediately switch to acharacter that isn'tstunned and continue the attack.

Dragon BossFound in: The Dragon's Lair

When the party comesface-to-face with the reddragon, it has already lostits wings from Illius'sprojectile spells. The fighttakes place along a longhallway and also involvesDeath and Red Slaadi.

Keep the group on the rununtil the dragon stopschasing them. As soon as itdoes, send Rannek to attackthe dragon's head. Performsingle or double attacks onthe dragon, then get out ofthe way. If Rannek tries toget in too many shots, thedragon grabs Rannek andgives him a shaking.

After the dragon takessome damage, it retreatsand creates a wall of firethat the group cannot pass.When the dragon retreats,it regains some health.Each time the party attacksthe dragon, the party mustdamage it more than itregains. Once the wall isup, defeat the Red Slaadithat appear.

From a distance, thedragon shoots a slowtrailing breath of fire. Keepyour character to one sideuntil the fire nearly reacheshim or her. Then move tothe other side to dodge theflames. After the dragon isfinished shooting its flame,it returns to within strikingdistance of the party.

This cat and mouse gamerepeats itself until thedragon is heavily damaged.Most importantly, damagethe dragon while its head islowered, then use TeamAttacks.

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Use the Slaadi to fill eachcharacter's Hero meter, butsave the Team Super Attackfor the dragon.

When the dragon's healthis low, listen for cues fromthe characters. If you arecontrolling Illius, he willtell the group that he cancharm the beast. If you arecontrolling either of theother two, they suggest thatIllius charm the beast. TakeIllius close to the dragon'shead and cast his Hold orHold Monster spell.

Once Illius has the dragonin his spell, use Zhai toattack the neck of thedragon. Then watch as shejumps up to the dragon'shead and force it down.

As soon as the dragon'shead is down, it'sRannek's turn. TakeRannek toward the dragonand watch as Rannekfinishes off the beast.

Merrshaulk of the Eternal HungerFound in: The Yuan-Ti Temple

Merrshaulk is a powerful god worshipped by the Yuan-ti. It gets itsstrength from the sacrifices the Yuan-ti offer: the Yuan-ti Abominations.The party doesn't fight Merrshaulk directly, but must prevent it fromfeeding on the entranced Abominations. Each time Merrshaulk dines,its health meter increases. If the health meter fills up, Merrshaulk

reaches its full strength andthe party is doomed.

The Demon Stone is usedby the Yuan-ti to call forthMerrshaulk. In addition tostarving Merrshaulk, theparty must also retrieve theDemon Stone that sits nextto it in order to completelydefeat it.

Illius should positionhimself against the barrierso that he is the last line ofdefense. From thisposition, you can't see a lotof the action on thescreen, but as long asIllius's ranged weapon istargeted on something off-screen, you know you arecontributing. The

important thing is that you are guarding the walkway to Merrshaulk.

As Illius, charge yourranged weapon to its fullestand unleash it on theencroaching Abominationsor Yuan-ti. At full charge,your ranged weaponknocks the creatures back,and sometimes into thefiery pit or off the edge.

If it looks like anAbomination is reachingthe edge of the barrier, it'sbest to forgo the rangedweapon for a moment. Asit nears Illius at the barrier,reposition him so that hismelee attacks knock theAbomination off the edgeof the platform or into thefiery pit.

If you use to use Rannek orZhai, move them closer tothe center of the platform.Since they are melee fighters,they need to deal theirdamage as far away fromMerrshaulk as possible. TheAbominations are toughcreatures to defeat, sofighting away from thehungry Merrshaulk givesthem more time to be effective against the Abominations.

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Yuan-ti guards appear andtry to clear a path for theAbominations. Illius'sprojectile spell, whencharged, damages multipleenemies. This means thathe can stay where he is anddeal damage to both theYuan-ti and theirAbominations. If anyYuan-ti guards approach

Illius, focus his ranged weapon on it. This keeps the guard away whilealso damaging any nearby Abominations.

When the Yuan-ti archersarrive, they moveimmediately into positionnext to the priest. Fromhere, unreachable by Zhaiand Rannek, they shoottheir projectiles at the party.If you can't stop them fromcrossing the barrier, turnaround and take them outwith your ranged weapon.They are easy to defeat, but can cause much damage if let alone.

Once Merrshaulk's healthis nearly depleted, it grabsand devours the Yuan-tipriest. With the barriergone, the shield-protectedDemon Stone is nowaccessible. To breakthrough the shield thatprotects the Demon Stone,Rannek must use theGauntlets of Ogre Power or

Illius can use his Beads of Force. Unfortunately, the gem is next toMerraulk. Get too close and he gives the ground a damaging pounding.To safely destroy the shielding, Merraulk needs to be distracted byfeeding on an Abomination.

The safest way to get to thegem is to fend off theenemies until Merraulk'shealth meter is drainedsignificantly. Once it isadequately drained, useRannek to push anAbomination within reachof Merraulk. As soon asMerraulk picks up theAbomination to feed on it,run up to the Demon Stone and hit the ground with the Guantlets ofOgre Power. You should be able to get in two hits before Merraulkfinishes his snack and is ready to pound the ground again.

Another way to destroy theshielding around theDemon Stone does notinvolve feeding Merraulk.Bring Rannek or Illius closeto, but not within reach of,Merraulk. Lure Merraulkinto pounding the ground.As soon as he does, headfor the Demon Stone. Givethe gem a good smash from

the Guantlets of Ogre Power or use the Beads of Force to set anexplosive and get out of there before Merraulk attacks again. Illusshould get out of reach before detonating his beads.

Repeat whichever methodyou feel comfortable with.The second method ofgetting the Demon Stone isriskier, but faster. Thepoundings from Merraulkaren't completelypredictable, so Rannek orIllius are bound to take afew hits. If you they get low,fight a few Abominationsand Yuan-ti and pick up the health potions they drop.

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tipIllius can use his ranged attacks to push the Abominations intoMerraulk's grasp. His Beads of Force are a safer way to attack theshield around the Demon Stone, because once set, Illius candetonate it from a safe distance.

noteMerraulk's health meter has partially been filled with his meal ofthe priest. The meter at the bottom right of the screen tells you howmuch shielding is left. If Merraulk feeds too much, his healthmeter fills up completely and you fail the mission.

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Orc King BossFound in: Descent into Gemspark Mine

The Orc King boss appearsafter the party defeats theorcs in Descent intoGemspark Mine. He's apowerful melee fighterwith a projectile spell thatstuns his targets. The fightis regularly interrupted bygroups of orcs as the OrcKing takes rests out ofreach at the top of thestairs. Defeat the king promptly to avoid prolonged fights with theregular orcs.

Use the Team Attack to havea teammate help while youare attacking. Team Attackscause heavy damage to yourtarget but eats up some ofthe currently selectedcharacter's Hero meter. Thisis the most effective way todamage the Orc King.

When the Orc King glowsblue, he is impervious toattacks. This is usuallyfollowed by a stunningelectrical attack as well as afire attack. If you attackhim in the glowing bluestate, your weapon simplybounces off him and youbecome vulnerable to thenext two attacks. Instead ofattacking him in this state, run away and out of his range until thesequence is over. Then, return to continue the attack.

When the king rests, lesserorcs arrive. Fighting thelesser orcs gives you achance to replenish yourHero and health meters.Pick up everything thelesser orcs drop, because assoon as you defeat the lastone, here comes the OrcKing. The cycle continuesuntil the king's health isfully depleted.

Spider BossFound in: The Jungles of Chult

The spider boss in theJungles of Chult appears inthe cave at the end of thelevel. The boss has nothingagainst the party exceptthat the party is in thespider's territory. The partymust defeat the gargantuanspider to pass through tothe Yuan-ti temple.

Illius is the only one whoshould attack the spiderboss. Position Illius in thecorner of the raft that isfarthest away from the boss.This makes it easier for Zhaiand Rannek to protect himfrom the little spiders thatdrop from the ceiling.

Besides draining the healthmeters, the spider boss'svenom shot paralyzes thevictim on contact.Prioritize watching for itand block against it. Thevenom shot is slow-movingand there is plenty of timeto call up Illius's force fieldshield to deflect it away.

cautionThe Orc King's electric attack can stun you. If you are stunned,immediately switch to a standing character and press on withthe attack. There is no gain from waiting for the stunnedcharacter to revive.

noteThe spider boss moves around a lot so the corner of the raft that isfarthest away from the boss will also change. Always move Illius towhichever corner happens to be farthest away at the moment.

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There is a rhythm to thisfight and it goes like this:keep Illius's force fieldactive (hold the blockbutton) until a venom shotis deflected off of it…

…then charge Illius'sprojectile weapon andrelease it when, and onlywhen, it is fully charged…

…and finally, use the forcefield again to block thenext venom shot. Repeatthis until the spider bossis dead.

If Zhai and Rannek areparalyzed and the littlespiders get past them, theirlittle bites break Illius'sconcentration and he can'tcharge his projectiles. Ifthis happens, retargetIllius's projectile weapon atthe little spiders and fire.Alternatively, bring upIllius's force field and blockthe little spiders until Zhai or Rannek can take them off of you.

Troll Clan King BossFound in: Stand at Mithral Hall

The troll king appears atMithral Hall to see whythe gates haven't beenbreached yet. Illius is outof the fight for this one,being replaced by DrizztDo'Urden. Without Illius'spowerful projectile spells,the fight in the courtyardis all melee. The troll kingis even tougher to kill and

more dangerous than the troll warriors. To defeat the king, the teammust work together and use their most powerful attacks on him.While the troll king cannot be knocked down and finished off with aflaming Coup de Grace, he is still most vulnerable to fire. Keep yourweapons on fire.

When the king picks up anyof the party members, hesiphons health from thatperson. The king glows bluejust before he's ready topick up a character, similarto the troll warriors beforethey pound the ground.During this time, the kingis invulnerable andattacking him only makesthe attacker vulnerable. If you see the blue glow, get out of the way.

If the king picks up yourcharacter, that characterwill be stunned for a whileafter being dropped. If thishappens, switch to anothercharacter and continue theattack on the king.

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noteWhen the king glows blue and you are not close enough to him, hepounds the ground like the troll warriors do. It is possible to be farenough away that the king can't pick you up, but can damage youwith the pounding.

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The other sign that revealsthat the king is about topick up another characteris when he pulls his rightarm to the side.

Light Rannek's weapon onfire and approach the king.If the king begins to swingits arms or glow blue, backoff and wait for him to stopwhatever he was doing.Immediately after he stops,perform as many PowerCritical attacks that you canbefore he swipes at you orbegins to glow blue. Throwin a few Team Attacks if a teammate is also within reach of the king.

It may be tempting to jumpin and help a teammatethat is being picked up bythe king. Resist this urgebecause when the king hassomeone in his clutches, heis invulnerable. Instead,position yourself a shortdistance away, preferablybehind the king, and strikeonly when the king hasdropped his captive.

If you corner the kingunder the tarps around thecourtyard, he becomes lessmobile and easier to attack.It also keeps you near thefire pits to light up yourweapons.

Ygorl, the Slaad LordFound in: The Lord of Chaos

The party has beenwatching Ygorl fight withCireka throughout thewhole game. In the finalbattle of the game, thethree finally face Ygorl andsee what he's made of.Ygorl is armed with fiercemelee attacks as well as acouple of long range spells.

He can also teleport around the platform and heal himself as he sendsRed and Death Slaadi to soften up the party.

Ygorl's main melee attackis a set of four swipes withhis hands. If he is attackingthe character you haveselected, hold down theblock button until he isfinished with the sequenceof swipes.

Ygorl likes to teleport toother areas of the platformand come charging at theparty. As he does this,move Rannek out of hisway and prepare a PowerCritical attack. As Ygorlstops, he takes one bigswing with his arms atwhoever is standing infront of him. As soon as hefinishes his swipe, charge in and attack.

tipIf you haven't used all of the health in the treasure chests aroundthe courtyard, you'll probably need them now. If you fail tocomplete this part of the level and choose to "Try Again," thetreasure chests are restored when you reenter the game.

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Ygorl is invulnerableduring his blocks and rightbefore he teleports. If yousee him raise his hands,don't attack him.

When Ygorl is off in thedistance and thechessboard is crawling withSlaadi, there are a coupleoptions to consider. Thefirst option is to useRannek to clear theplatform of the Slaadi. Themore Slaadi that Rannekclears, the fewer yourworries when Ygorlteleports back onto the main platform.

The second option is tohave Illius attack Ygorlwhen he is on the farawayplatforms. Illius's chargedup Meteor Swarm doesdecent damage againstYgorl from a distance andhas the added bonus ofhealing Illius when thespell connects. This tendsto be the better option of

the two because Ygorl regains health each time he teleports away fromthe main platform. This way, Illius can recover some of that hard workthat got negated after the teleport.

When Ygorl is on thedistant platforms, heattacks the group usingone of two attacks. Thefirst one is a paralyzingblue ball of energy. If thishits any of the characters,he or she is paralyzed for afew moments. Watch forthe incoming blue cloudand block it.

The other attack that Ygorluses from the distantplatforms consists of redprojectiles that come in setsof three. You can blockthese, so keep one eye onYgorl when he is on adistant platform.

When Ygorl returns to themain platform, Slaadicontinue to appear. UseRannek to press the attackon Ygorl. Numerous PowerCriticals are effective atdraining Ygorl's health.

After Ygorl finishes hisspeech, the fighting picksup where it left off—thistime, with the addedchallenge of Death Slaadi.The strategy here shouldcontinue to be the same asbefore the speech: attackYgorl. Only fight the Slaadiif they get in your way.

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tipFor Illius to attack Ygorl when he's on one of the distant platforms,Illius needs to find a relatively safe spot from which he can cast hischarged up Meteor Swarm. As no spot on the main platform isentirely safe, send Rannek in to clear the area if Illius is attackedby Slaadi.

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Rannek, the Fighter

The following is a table showing the dependencies of skills. Skills on theleft are required before you can learn the skills to the right.

noteOnce you purchase a skill upgrade, you cannot return it.

LEVEL UPGRADESLEVEL UPGRADES

Level UpgradesLvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

1 Whirlwind Known None Hits and knocks down enemiesAttack in a 360-degree arc with

massive power

Torm's Strike Known None 3-hit sword combination

Unarmed Attack Known None Gauntlet strike

Improved Known None 2-hit gauntlet combinationUnarmed Strike

Coup de Grace Known None Instantly kills a fallen enemy

Basic Attack Known None Sword attack

Advanced Attack Known None 2-hit sword combination

Block Known None Hold to block incoming attacks

Torm's Smash Complete Gauntlets of Smash attack effective against Chapter 2 Ogre Power objects, but less effective against

monsters

Throw Axes Known None Throws axes: tap for quick throws, hold for more power

Team Attack Known None Other hero comes to your aid, slightly drains Hero meter

2 Improved Trip 325 None 3-hit combo that trips enemiesCombination

Bull Rush 325 None 3-hit combo that pushes back enemies

Improved Critical 325 None 3-hit combo that delivers damage

Power Attack 400 None Slow but powerful attack(hold to charge)

Sword Focus 550 None Familiarity with the sword adds to damage

Throwing Axe Focus 500 None Familiarity with the axe adds to damage

Toughness 500 None Adds to Rannek's maximum health

4 Riposte 1,200 None Quick attack launched after defending

Prone Attack (from 1,200 None Attack initiated while getting up knocked-down position) from the ground

Throwing Axe 2,000 Throwing Axe Mastery of the axe adds Specialization Focus significantly to damage

Improved 2,000 Toughness Adds to Rannek's maximum Toughness health

6 Sword 2,400 Sword Focus Mastery of the sword adds Specialization significantly to damage

Level Upgrades (cont’d)

Lvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

Dwarf 's 1,800 Improved Adds to Rannek's maximum Toughness Toughness health

Giant's 2,200 Dwarf's Adds to Rannek's maximum Toughness Toughness health

Torm's 1,600 Torm's Improved 3-hit sword Vengeance Strike combination

Fists of Iron 1,600 Improved Improved 2-hit gauntlet Unarmed Strike combination

Power Whirlwind 1,800 Whirlwind Hits enemies in a 360-degree arc Attack Attack with massive power

8 Dragon's 2,800 Giant's Adds to Rannek's maximumToughness Toughness health

Knockdown 2,800 Improved Trip Improved 3-hit combo that trips Combination enemies

Improved 2,800 Bull Rush Improved 3-hit combo thatBull Rush pushes enemies

Power Critical 2,800 Improved Improved 3-hit combo that Critical delivers damage

Improved 3,600 Power Slow but powerful attackPower Attack Attack

10 Titan's 7,000 Dragon's Adds to Rannek's maximum Toughness Toughness health

Improved 7,000 Riposte Quick attack launched afterRiposte defending

Improved 6,000 Prone Attack Attack initiated while getting Rising Attack up from the ground

Skill Dependencies (Level Required to Learn)

Bull Rush (2), Improved Bull Rush (8)

Improved Critical (2), Power Critical (8)

Improved Trip Combination (2), Knockdown (8)

Improved Unarmed Strike (1), Fists of Iron (6)

Power Attack (2), Improved Power Attack (8)

Prone Attack (4), Improved Rising Attack (10)

Riposte (4), Improved Riposte (10)

Sword Focus (2), Sword Specialization (6)

Throwing Axe Focus (2), Throwing Axe Specialization (4)

Torm's Strike (1), Torm's Vengeance (6)

Toughness (2), Improved Toughness (4), Dwarf's Toughness (6), Giant'sToughness (6), Dragon's Toughness (8), Titan's Toughness (10)

Whirlwind Attack (1), Power Whirlwind Attack (6)

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Illius, the Sorcerer

The following is a table showing the dependencies of skills. Skills on theleft are required before you can learn the skills to the right.

Zhai, the Rogue

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Level UpgradesLvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

1 Mystra's Might Known None Greatly damages all enemies in a 360-degree arc

Mystic Combination Known None 3-hit staff combination

Unarmed Strike Known None Palm strike

Improved Known None 2-hit combinationUnarmed Strike

Magic Missile Known None Missile of magical force

Shield Known None Defensive shield

Coup de Grace Known None Instantly kills a fallen enemy

Basic Attack Known None Staff attack

Advanced Attack Known None 2-hit staff combination

Beads of Force Complete Beads of Explodes and greatly damages Chapter 2 Force objects

Team Attack Known None Other hero comes to your aid, slightly drains Hero meter

2 Improved 475 None 3-hit combo that trips enemiesTrip Combination

Bull Rush 475 None 3-hit combo that pushes back enemies

Flame Arrow 500 Magic Missile Bolt of fire

Melf 's Acid Arrow 1,200 Flame Arrow Magic arrow made of acid

Burning Hands 325 None Adds fire to the Sorcerer's hand attack

Sleep 375 None Holds enemies for a short period of time

Protection 375 None Helps reduce damage against From Evil all heroes

4 Improved Critical 1,400 None 3-hit combo that delivers damage

Prone Attack (from 1,400 None Attack initiated while getting up knocked-down position) from the ground

Fireball 2,000 Melf 's Ball of fire that explodes in a Acid Arrow small radius on impact

Lightning Bolt 3,200 Fireball Powerful stroke of electrical energy

Poison Touch 900 Burning Adds poison to the sorcerer's Hands hand attack

Minor Globe 1,000 Shield Improved defensive shieldof Invulnerability

6 Cone of Cold 4,800 Lightning Bolt Creates an area of extreme cold

Otiluke's 6,000 Cone of Cold Freezing ball of extreme cold Freezing Sphere that explodes in a small radius

on impact

Ghoul Touch 1,900 Poison Touch Adds negative energy to the sorcerer's hand attack and does negative energy damage

Hold 2,000 Sleep Holds enemies in place for a moderate period of time

Level Upgrades (cont’d)

Lvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

Magic Circle 2,000 Protection Reduces moderate damage vs. Evil From Evil against all of the heroes

Mystra's Power 2,400 Mystra's Massively damages all enemies Might in a 360-degree arc

8 Power Word Kill 7,000 Otiluke's Ray of death that kills all but the Freezing Sphere toughest enemies

Hold Monster 4,300 Hold Holds enemies in place for a while

Fire Shield 4,300 Magic Circle Greatly reduces damage vs. Evil against all heroes

10 Meteor Swarm 12,000 Power Fiery meteors strike down on Word Kill enemies

Major Globe of 7,000 Minor Globe Strong defensive shieldInvulnerability of Invulnerability

Mystra's Light 8,000 Mystra's Grievously damages all enemies Power in a 360-degree arc

Skill Dependencies (Level Required to Learn)

Magic Missile (1), Flame Arrow (2), Melf 's Acid Arrow (2), Fireball (4),Lightning Bolt (4), Cone of Cold (6), Otiluke's Freezing Sphere (6), PowerWord Kill (8), Meteor Swarm (10)

Burning Hands (2), Poison Touch (4), Ghoul Touch (6)

Shield (1), Minor Globe of Invulnerability (4), Major Globe of Invulnerability (10)

Sleep (2), Hold (6), Hold Monster (8)

Protection From Evil (2), Magic Circle vs. Evil (6), Fire Shield (8)

Mystra's Might (1), Mystra's Power (6), Mystra's Light (10)

Level UpgradesLvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

1 Manyshot Known None Flurry of throwing knives that stun enemies

Hide Known None Uses patches of darkness from which to hide and launch sneak attacks

Jump Complete Ring of Jump over attacks and onto Chapter 2 Jumping ledges to find secret areas

Jump Attack Complete Ring of Strike attack in mid airChapter 2 Jumping

Eilistraee's Strike Known None 3-hit knife combination

Rogue Known None Kick attackUnarmed Attack

Improved Known None 2-hit kick combinationUnarmed Strike

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The following is a table showing the dependencies of skills. Skills on theleft are required before you can learn the skills to the right.

The costs of the items in these tables are their base prices. The pricelisted in the game for an item is the price difference between it and theitem of the same type that you currently have equipped.

Rannek, the Fighter

Level Upgrades (cont’d)

Lvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

Coup de Grace Known None Kills a fallen enemy

Basic Attack Known None Dagger attack

Advanced Attack Known None 2-hit dagger combination

Evade Known None Hold to evade incoming attacks

Throw knives Known None Throws knives: tap for quick throws, hold for more power

Team Attack Known None Other hero comes to your aid, slightly drains Hero meter

2 Improved 400 None 3-hit combo that trips enemiesTrip Combination

Bull Rush 400 None 3-hit combo that pushes back enemies

Improved Critical 400 None 3-hit combo that delivers damage

Toughness 800 None Add's to Zhai's maximum health

Acrobatic Attack 300 Jump Attack Increases damage done from the jump attack

4 Riposte 1,200 None Quick attack launched after defending

Prone Attack (from 1,200 None Attack initiated while getting upknocked-down position) from the ground

Dagger Finesse 1,400 None Improves dagger damage

Precise Shot 1,800 None Improves throwing knife damage

Improved Toughness 1,800 Toughness Adds to Zhai's maximum health

Eilistraee's 1,700 Eilistraee's Improved 3-hit knife Whirling Blades Strike combination

Skill Focus: Hide 900 Hide Increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

6 Circle Kick 1,700 Improved Improved 2-hit kick combinationUnarmed Strike

Knockdown 1,700 Improved Trip Improved 3-hit combo that trips Combination enemies

Improved Bull Rush 1,700 Bull Rush Improved 3-hit combo that pushes back enemies

Power Critical 1,700 Improved Improved 3-hit combo that Critical delivers damage

Skill Focus: 1,400 Skill Focus: Moderately increases the timeMove Silently Hide Zhai stays undetectable

Spring Attack 1,400 Acrobatic Moderately increases damage Attack done from the jump attack

8 Dwarf 's 3,200 Improved Adds to Zhai's maximum healthToughness Toughness

Improved Riposte 2,900 Riposte Quick attack launched after defending

Improved 2,900 Prone Attack Attack initiated while getting up Prone Attack (from from the groundknocked-down position)

Stealthy 2,400 Skill Focus: Greatly increases the time Zhai Move Silently stays undetectable

Lolth's Venom 4,200 Manyshot Flurry of throwing knives that stun enemies and hit for a longer time

10 Rising Moon (from 6,000 Improved Strong attack Attack initiated knocked-down position) Prone Attack while getting up from the ground

Two Weapon 2,000 None Increases Zhai's fighting skill, Fighting adding to damage

Level Upgrades (cont’d)

Lvl Name Cost (XP) Requires Description

Improved Two 7,000 Two Weapon Greatly increases Zhai's fighting Weapon Fighting Fighting skill, adding to damage

Vhaeraun's Shadow 3,600 Stealthy Only secretly taught, increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

Improved 7,000 Dwarf's Adds to Zhai's maximum healthDwarf 's Toughness Toughness

Skill Dependencies (Level Required to Learn)Jump Attack (1), Acrobatic Attack (2), Spring Attack (6)

Eilistraee's Strike (1), Eilistraee's Whirling Blades (4)

Hide (1), Skill Focus: Hide (4), Skill Focus: Move Silently (6), Stealthy (8),Vhaeraun's Shadow (10)

Improved Unarmed Strike (1), Circle Kick (6)

Improved Trip Combination (2), Knockdown (6)

Bull Rush (2), Improved Bull Rush (6)

Improved Critical (2), Power Critical (6)

Toughness (2), Improved Toughness (4), Dwarf's Toughness (8), ImprovedDwarf's Toughness (10)

Riposte (4), Improved Riposte (8)

Prone Attack (4), Improved Prone Attack (8), Rising Moon (10)

Manyshot (1), Lolth's Venom (8)

Two Weapon Fighting (10), Improved Two Weapon Fighting (10)

ITEM UPGRADESITEM UPGRADES

Rannek's ArmorBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Armor Enchantment +1 1,000 Imbues armor with a light magical defense

Armor Enchantment +2 4,000 Imbues armor with a moderate magical defense

Armor Enchantment +3 9,000 Imbues armor with a medium magical defense

Armor Enchantment +4 16,000 Imbues armor with a large magical defense

Armor Enchantment +5 25,000 Imbues armor with the maximum magical defense

Banded Armor Equipped Offers medium protection

Half Plate Armor 2,000 Offers good protection

Plate Armor 8,000 Offers great protection

Mithral Plate Armor 16,000 Offers fantastic protection

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Illius, the Sorcerer

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Rannek's WeaponsBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Sword +1 2,000 A magical sword that never dulls

Sword +2 8,000 A magical blade of superior quality

Sword +3 18,000 A magical blade forged by an elven master

Sword +4 32,000 An amazing dwarven constructed blade

Sword +5 50,000 An ancient blade enhanced with great magic

Lesser Defending 2,000 Enhances the wielder's defense

Defending 8,000 Moderately enhances the wielder's defense

Greater Defending 32,000 Greatly enhances the wielder's defense

Flaming Weapon 2,000 Sheaths the sword in light flame and lights enemies on fire

Flaming Burst 8,000 Sheaths the sword in medium flame and lights enemies on fire

Flame Tongue 32,000 Sheaths the sword in large flames and lights enemies on fire

Frost Weapon 2,000 Coats the blade in light frost that freezes enemies in place

Icy Burst Weapon 8,000 Coats the blade in medium frost that freezes enemies in place

Frost Brand 32,000 Coats the blade in heavy frost that freezes enemies in place

Shock Weapon 2,000 Light crackling energy covers the sword and electrocutes enemies

Shocking 8,000 Medium crackling energy covers the sword and Burst Weapon electrocutes enemies

Lightning Brand 32,000 Heavy crackling energy covers the sword and electrocutes enemies

Throwing Axe +1 2,000 Magical throwing axe

Throwing Axe +2 8,000 Superior magical throwing axe

Throwing Axe +3 18,000 Magical mithral throwing axe

Rannek's JewelryBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Ring of Regeneration 90,000 Heals damage over time

Amulet of Health +2 9,000 Increases Rannek's health

Amulet of Health +4 18,000 Increases Rannek's maximum health

Gem of Contingency 16,000 Restores life to Rannek, if killed

Ring of Protection +1 1,000 Adds a light deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +2 4,000 Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +3 9,000 Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +4 16,000 Adds a large deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +5 25,000 Adds a maximum deflection bonus to defense

Rannek's Special ItemsBase Cost

Name Type (Gold) Description

Belt of Jewelry 9,000 Increases the damage the character Giant Strength inflicts, especially with the Gauntlets

of Ogre Power. Available after completing Chapter 2

Belt of Greater Jewelry 18,000 Greatly increases the damage the Giant Strength character does, especially with the

Gauntlets of Ogre Power. Available after completing Chapter 2

Red Dragon Armor 45,000 Offers unmatched protection. Available Scale Plate after completing Chapter 9

Illius's ArmorBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Bracers of Armor +1 1,000 Magical arm bracers that add a light defense

Bracers of Armor +2 4,000 Magical arm bracers that add a moderate defense

Bracers of Armor +3 9,000 Magical arm bracers that add a medium defense

Bracers of Armor +4 16,000 Magical arm bracers that add a strong defense

Bracers of Armor +5 25,000 Magical arm bracers that add the maximum defense

Robe Equipped Offers light protection

Robe of Protection 2,000 Made of magically fortified cloth

Robe of Blending 8,000 Magically tempered robe that offers moderate protection

Robe of 16,000 Colorful robe enhanced with strong Scintillating Colors protection magic

Robe of Archmagi 45,000 Robe of a master mage imbued with unmatched protection

Illius's WeaponsBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Staff +1 2,000 Finely crafted magical staff that inflicts more damage

Staff +2 8,000 Superbly carved staff enhanced with magic

Staff +3 18,000 Ultra fine staff, magically hardened and lightened

Staff +4 32,000 Staff created by a master elven druid

Staff +5 50,000 Carved by an elven master craftsman and enchanted with great magic

Sonic Impact 2,000 Burst of intense sound

Sonic Burst 8,000 Greater burst of intense sound

Thundering 32,000 Thunder clap that shocks enemies

Pain 2,000 Inflicts pain on enemies

Wounding 8,000 Inflicts moderate pain on enemies

Agony 32,000 Inflicts massive pain on enemies

Shock 2,000 Light crackling energy covers the staff and electrocutes enemies

Shocking Burst 8,000 Medium crackling energy covers the staff and electrocutes enemies

Lightning Strike 32,000 Heavy crackling energy covers the staff and electrocutes enemies

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Level and Item Upgrades

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Zhai, the Rogue

Illius's JewelryBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Pearl of Power 1st lvl 1,000 Magical pearl that adds mild damage to all ofIllius's spells

Pearl of Power 3rd lvl 4,000 Magical pearl that adds light damage to all ofIllius's spells

Pearl of Power 5th lvl 16,000 Magical pearl that adds moderate damage to all of Illius's spells

Pearl of Power 7th lvl 25,000 Magical pearl that adds strong damage to all ofIllius's spells

Pearl of Power 9th lvl 32,000 Magical pearl that adds tremendous damage to all of Illius's spells

Brooch of Windwall 25,000 Increases defense against incoming missiles

Amulet of Health +2 9,000 Adds to Illius's maximum health

Amulet of Health +4 18,000 Adds to Illius's maximum health

Amulet of Health +6 25,000 Adds to Illius's maximum health

Amulet of Health +8 32,000 Adds to Illius's maximum health

Ring of Regeneration 90,000 Heals damage over time

Gem of Contingency 16,000 Restores life to Illius, if killed

Ring of Protection +1 1,000 Adds a light deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +2 4,000 Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +3 9,000 Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +4 16,000 Adds a large deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +5 25,000 Adds the maximum deflection bonus to defense

Zhai's ArmorBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Armor Enchantment +1 1,000 Imbues armor with a light magical defense

Armor Enchantment +2 4,000 Imbues armor with a moderate magical defense

Armor Enchantment +3 9,000 Imbues armor with a medium magical defense

Armor Enchantment +4 16,000 Imbues armor with a large magical defense

Armor Enchantment +5 25,000 Imbues armor with the maximum magical defense

Slick 2,000 Ease of motion in this armor increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

Silent Moves 8,000 Magical sound dampening increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

Stealth 32,000 This armor cloaks Zhai in darkness, increasing the time she stays undetectable

Hide Armor Equipped Offers medium protection

Leather Armor 2,000 Offers good protection

Studded Leather Armor 8,000 Offers great protection

Elven Chain Armor 16,000 Offers fantastic protection

Armor of Shadows 45,000 Offers unmatched protection

Zhai's WeaponsBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Dagger +1 2,000 Finely crafted elven daggers

Dagger +2 8,000 Masterwork elven daggers lightened with magic

Dagger +3 18,000 Razor sharp elven blades enhanced with magic

Dagger +4 32,000 Dwarven forged mithral razors

Dagger +5 50,000 Ancient elven daggers endowed with great magic

Lesser Defending 2,000 Enhances the wielder's defense

Defending 8,000 Moderately enhances the wielder's defense

Greater Defending 32,000 Greatly enhances the wielder's defense

Blade of Cutting 2,000 Mild dark magic on the daggers makes the enemies continue to bleed

Blade of Wounding 8,000 Moderate dark magic on the daggers makes the enemies continue to bleed

Blade of Withering 32,000 Strong dark magic on the daggers makes enemies continue to bleed

Blade of Darkness 2,000 Covers the daggers in mild negative energy that burns enemies

Blade of Shadows 8,000 Covers the daggers in moderate negative energy that burns enemies

Dark Blade 32,000 Covers the daggers in strong negative energy that burns enemies

Venom Blade 2,000 Sheaths the daggers in mild poison that weakens enemies

Spider Fang 8,000 Sheaths the daggers in strong poison that weakens enemies

Snake Bite 32,000 Sheaths the daggers in deadly poison that greatly weakens enemies

Throwing Knife +1 2,000 Magical throwing knives

Throwing Knife +2 8,000 Superior magical throwing knives

Throwing Knife +3 18,000 Magical adamantite throwing knives

Zhai's JewelryBase Cost

Name (Gold) Description

Ring of Regeneration 90,000 Heals damage over time

Charm of Lolth 8,000 Adds damage to jump attack

Amulet of Health +2 9,000 Adds to Zhai's maximum health

Amulet of Health +4 18,000 Adds to Zhai's maximum health

Gem of Contingency 16,000 Restores life to Zhai, if killed

Brooch of Elven Kind 16,000 A brooch that increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

Brooch of Lolth 32,000 The drow goddess's brooch increases the time Zhai stays undetectable

Ring of Protection +1 1,000 Adds a light deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +2 4,000 Adds a moderate deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +3 9,000 Adds a medium deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +4 16,000 Adds a large deflection bonus to defense

Ring of Protection +5 25,000 Adds the maximum deflection bonus to defense

Abyssmal Sheath 8,000 Magical sheath holding many throwing knives

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Armor

WeaponsOnly the highest quality of each type of sword, staff, and daggger is shown.

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Banded Armor

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Half Plate Armor

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Plate Armor

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Mithral Plate Armor

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Red Dragon Scale Plate,avail. after Ch. 9

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Robe

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Robe of Protection

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Robe of Blending

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Robe ofScintillating Colors

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Robe of Archmagi

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Hide ArmorZh

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Leather Armor

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Studded Leather Armor

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Elven Chain Armor

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Armor of Shadows

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Greater Defending

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Flame Tongue

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Frost Brand

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Lightning Brand

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Throwing Axe +1R

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Throwing Axe +2

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Throwing Axe +3

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Thundering

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Agony

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Lightning Strike

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Greater Defending

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Blade of Withering

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Dark Blade

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Snake Bite

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Throwing Knife +1Zh

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Throwing Knife +2

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Throwing Knife +3

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Amulet of Health +2

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Amulet of Health +4

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Gem of Contingency

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Ring of Protection +1

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Ring of Protection +2

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Ring of Protection +3

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Ring of Protection +4

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Ring of Protection +5

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Ring of Regeneration

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Belt of Giant Strength,avail. after Ch. 2

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Belt of Greater Giant Strength, avail.

after Ch. 2

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Amulet of Health +6

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Amulet of Health +8

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Brooch of Windwall

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Pearl of Power 1st level

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Pearl of Power 3rd level

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Pearl of Power 5th level

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Pearl of Power 7th level

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Pearl of Power 9th level

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Abyssmal Sheath

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Brooch of Elven Kind

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Brooch of Lolth

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Charm of Lolth

Jewelry

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Chapter 1: War in DamaraThere are no hidden areas in this level.

Chapter 2: Descent into Gemspark MineLocation: Throne room where you fight the Orc King boss

What: Treasure chest containing gold

The throne in this room can be destroyed to reveal platforms that leadto the hidden area. Use Rannek's new gauntlets to smash the throne.With the throne gone, Zhai can use her new jumping ability to reach thetreasure chest at the top.

Chapter 3: Attack at CedarleafLocation: At the top of the platforms near the waterfall

that leads to the hut with the switch

What: Bag of gold and treasure chest containing gold

Make sure you grab the treasurebefore you go to the hut. Once youpass the hut, there's no turningback and you will have missed thehidden area.

Chapter 4: The Wizard's TowerLocation: Behind a cracked wall on the balcony, just

before the long hallway with statues and bugbears

What: Three treasure chests of gold and a book pick-up

Use Rannek's Gauntlet of OgrePower or Illius's Beads of Force tocrack open the wall.

Chapter 5: The Jungles of ChultLocations: One is hidden in the bushes to the right of

the start location, and another is above the mill

What: Treasure chest of gold

Before you leave the clearingwhere the party starts the level,look in the trees to the right of theclearing. In the brush and trees isa treasure chest.

There is a hidden treasure cheston the rafters above the upperlevel of the mill. Zhai can access ithere by jumping onto the box,then onto the stairs.

Chapter 6: The Yuan-Ti TempleLocation: To the left of the courtyard outside, just before

you enter the temple itself

What: Treasure chest with gold, bag of gold

See those ledges? Zhai can jumpup using the cobra's head to reachthe top for a few nice surprises.

HIDDEN AREASHIDDEN AREAS

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Chapter 7: Stand at Mithral HallLocation: On the far side of the tower where you protect

Thibbledorf as he jams the gears

What: Treasure chests with gold

For the hidden treasure, have Zhaigo down the far stairs, next to thefire pit. You can use any characterhere, but she is the fastest.

Chapter 8: Into the UnderdarkLocation: A crude walkway that shoots off the right

"arm" of the four-way intersection

What: Bag of gold and treasure chest of gold

At the four-way intersection, take Zhai over to right of the intersection.Notice anything interesting? Jump over to the crude walkway and makeyour way to the top of the cavern.

Chapter 9: The Dragon's LairLocations: There are three hidden areas in this level.

They are all in the smaller enclosed rooms of the level

What: Treasure, book pick-up and health scroll

The first area is in this enclosed room with three barrels by the ledges.Use the ledges to reach the top area to find a book pick-up and atreasure chest.

Past where you watch the dragon kill Cireka is a small and dark room.Use the ledges to reach the dark hidden area at the top.

The last hidden area of the level isin another small room. Find thisroom right after the party makesit through the long indoorhallway.

Chapter 10: The Lord of ChaosLocation: This is the same hidden area as in Descent

into Gemspark Mine

What: Treasure chest with health scroll

You'll need the health scroll in thistreasure chest.

There are things to unlock in each level. Each level has concept art forthat level in the game. You can also unlock character backstory and thehistory of Faerun. To access the bonus material available in certain level,you have to complete the level once.

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Ch. Bonus Material

1 Introduction Movie, Battlefield Concept Art

2 Gemspark Concept Art

3 Zhai's Past Movie, CedarleafConcept Art

4 Khelben's Letter, Wizard's Tower Concept Art

5 Illius's Youth, Jungles of Chult Concept Art

Ch. Bonus Material

6 Nesme's Fall, Chult Temple Concept Art

7 Prologue: Cireka's Vow, Drizzt's Journal, Mithral Concept Art

8 Ygorl and the Dragon, Githyanki Outpost Concept Art

9 Dragon Concept Art

10 Conclusion Movie, Limbo Concept Art

Unlockables

UNLOCKABLESUNLOCKABLES

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