Introduction
This walkthrough is written with the speed of game completion in mind. Each section will lead you to the key items (Statuettes, magical items, and non-player characters). However, after you get the key items in each section, save the game and wander around. Look for trouble, get into fights to develop your characters. Even some mediocre monster can wander by, eat your lunch, and then have your entire party for after dinner mints.
Bug Reports
Any bugs found in the game will be reported when and where they are found. There are very few.
Map Coordinates
Throughout this walkthrough, you will find coordinate markers shown as (10,2). These markers are for ease of navigation through difficult parts of the game. Your current position is shown on the right center of the movement screen.
Object of the Game
Recover the 4 Statuettes from various persons and cities around the world of the Savage Frontier. Then face Vaalgamon and his minions in a combat arena that seems to have no end or exit.
Starting the Game
You can use the pre-generated characters that come with the game or create your own. A recommended party consists of a Human Fighter, Human Paladin, Human Cleric, Dwarven Fighter, and 2 Human Mages. The Human Fighter, Human Paladin, and the Dwarven Fighter constitute the front line of the party. The humans and dwarves can use any weapon and armor in the game, but the Dwarf gets a +2 hit factor if equipped with an axe of any kind. The Paladin is an excellent fighter and once-per-day medic — by HEALing an injured character, even during battle, the injured character recovers some hit points. The Cleric is the party's medic, casting healing spells during battle and serving as the encampment healer. The mages use magic to hit attacking characters from a distance. One mage could be a Mixed Class Mage/Thief, but level advancement for mixed class characters is slow and a thief is not really necessary in this game unless you wish to use the backstab ability.
TIP: Don't depend on the roll of the dice to get high attributes for your characters. After generating your own characters with first-roll attributes, manually change the attributes to their highest level (usually 18). Bring the hit points to their highest level as well. It gives your characters survivability. After your characters have entered the game and gained experience, you can't change the attributes. If you wish to be challenged, either leave the characters as rolled or increase the game play level. You start at Veteran level, which is the middle of the range.
TIP: When generating your own characters, you can obtain gold, weapons, and armor without spending any money. Generate 3 characters and bring them into the game, then bring in 3 of the pre-generated characters. Have the pre-generated characters trade their weapons and gold to your characters, then DROP the pre-generated characters. Load the last 3 pre-generated characters and repeat. Equip your characters with the new items and sell what can't be used, then use the gold to train characters later in the game.
BUG REPORT: This is a happy bug. When you drop characters, they generally disappear forever from the character load screen. In some versions, when the last pre-generated character has been dropped, he doesn't disappear — he reappears back on the character load screen, fully loaded with equipment and gold. Reload him, trade items and gold, drop him, and when he reappears, do it again until you have sufficient gold and items.
Fighting Strategies
Keep an eye on your front line characters during combat. If you see a character getting low on hit points, use the Paladin to HEAL a wounded character if he is close enough to lay his hands on him, or the Cleric to cast a healing spell during combat. Fatigue, loss of blood, and shock are not factors in this game. All characters hit just as hard with 1 hit point as with 100 hit points.
If you are facing magic users of any kind, hit them with spells (Magic Missile is best early in the game — immediate use and guaranteed to hit) and arrows if available. Later in the game, spread your characters out. A single area spell like a Fireball can kill or severely injure all of your characters at once if they are bunched up. If you have locked into close combat at the start of a battle, don't turn your back on the enemy to move — hits from behind drop your hit points faster than standing toe-to-toe with the enemy.
In an outdoor encounter, use Aim to determine who, what, and where the enemy is, then arrange your characters accordingly. Wait for the enemy to come to you (unless the enemy has spell casters; then have your mages cast spells to suppress them). While waiting for the enemy to charge, have front rank characters select GUARD during their turn. When the enemy arrives, the enemy is automatically attacked by your party members before the enemy can attack.
Search Mode seems to attract enemy encounters faster when turned on. When walking outdoors, if you want to gain experience, turn on Search Mode and wander around but stay near a town where you can go to heal.
Clerics and Paladins have the ability to TURN attacking undead characters. TURN forces some undead characters to disintegrate. The higher the character's level, the more effective it is.
Don't give a non-player character (NPC) anything you want back. An NPC cannot trade items. The only way to get something back is to let him get killed (or kill him), strip him of items, then DROP him.
Before you take a character to the Training Hall, make sure that he is fully healed. You will not get a full measure of new hit points if you don't.
Save the game frequently. If your party is wiped out in an encounter, you can reload and learn from your mistakes. Have the Cleric cast Bless and Prayer prior to a battle to raise the party's attacking ability and have the enemy miss more often.
Character Advancement
Generally speaking, most characters advance to level 6. The exception are the fighters who can advance to level 8.
Yartar
Mission: Find and help Krevish who has been attacked by barbarians so you can leave town.
The party starts in this town. There are no magical items or Statuettes here. Encampment to memorize spells or heal is allowed only at the inn. Go to the inn after the game has just started and advance your characters' attributes as mentioned earlier. Have your Cleric and mages memorize spells. At this stage you won't have much of a selection: mages memorize Magic Missile, Clerics memorize Cure Light Wounds, Bless, and/or Hold Person. Arrange your characters so the one with the most hit points (usually a fighter) is on top of the list and arrange the rest so that the mages (weakest characters) are at the bottom. When you are done, save the game and go to the armory. Sell any unusable items — you will need the gold later for training (1,000 Gold Pieces or 200 Platinum each).
You will not be able to leave town until you meet Krevish being attacked by bandits in the South East corner of the city. This is the only necessary fight in this town at this time. Help him, and when the fight is done, accept him into the party. He is a fighter and archer and will arrange himself at the back of the party. Leave him there. Go back to the armory and buy more arrows for Krevish. Krevish has a short sword — get him a long sword. If he runs out of arrows or gets cornered, he will need a weapon. Go to the inn and heal, memorize spells, especially Detect Magic, to prepare for the next stage.
Nesme
Mission: Find a Banite Cleric and his party, defeat them, and gain experience. There are no Statuettes here. There are magical items to be found. Encamp to memorize spells or heal is allowed indoors almost everywhere.
The fastest way to get here is by boat. Find the boat rental dock in Yartar, rent a boat, and go North along the river. In Nesme, the boat dock is in the South East corner of the city. Find the bridge that crosses the river and go straight until you see a sign that says “We banish Pests.” Turn on Search Mode, enter the shop, and bash down the wall in front of you. Go through every door you see until you get to a small room with a door on the right. Encamp and save. If you have a Bless spell, now is the time to cast it. Inside the door on the right is a tough fight — there are enemy Clerics, Lizard Men, and Orcs. When the battle is over, cast Detect Magic to locate magic items: Chain Mail +1, Ring of Protection +2, Mace +1. Take some swords and armor to sell. It is safe to encamp, rest, heal, and memorize spells on the battle site.
By this time, some of your characters should be ready to advance to the next level (their names will have turned purple). Go back to Yartar, first to the inn to heal, then to the armory to sell unneeded armor and swords, then on to the Training Hall. After training, go to the inn and memorize any new spells, then save the game.
You should go back to Nesme to look for trouble. In the North East and South East corners of the city are Trolls. Trolls are tough fighters. The secret to defeating a Troll is to cut the first one down, then have a character stand on the 2-square spot where the Troll was standing. This prevents the Troll from regenerating and getting up to fight again, fully healed. After the Trolls are defeated, encamp, heal, memorize spells, and go to Silverymoon.
Silverymoon
Mission: Seek out Broadhand for information and rescue Erek, Amanitas' assistant. There are no Statuettes here. There is a magic shop located in the South West corner of the city — items are too expensive for the party at this stage, so return later when gold is available. Encamp to memorize spells and heal is allowed indoors almost everywhere.
The fastest way to get here is by boat. Find the boat dock in Nesme and go East along the river. After arrival, go North to the Mieljkki Glade and the festival area. If banners proclaim that the festival is one or two days away, go to any indoor location and rest for that time. Turn Search Mode off and return to the glade. In the glade, locate Broadhand's Forge and Tack shop. Select Discuss Festival, then Sent From Nesme. Broadhand will take you to a secret room and tells a long story about the Zentarim and about Amanitas the Mage who has come to Silverymoon. Amanitas hopes to get information about the Zentarim after his messenger was killed here. Broadhand wants you to help Amanitas in his cause. Amanitas is a good source of information along the way.
Leave Broadhand's shop and go West then North across the bridge, then North West to the corner of the city. Enter Search Mode to find a secret door facing East near the city gates. Bash it down and go East to an encounter with 4 Orcs. Heal and memorize spells, then go East to an encounter with 2 Trolls. After the fight, there is a small secret room. Here is Erek, who is a level 3 fighter and Amanitas' assistant. Let him join the party. If you have a spare bow and arrows, consider giving them to Erek for a future fight in Everlund. He will stay with you until you rescue Amanitas or leave the Silverymoon/Everlund area.
There are other encounters in the city. Wander around in Search Mode and look everywhere for secret doors. If the party needs training, there is a Training Hall located in the North West part of the city.
Everlund
Mission: Rescue Amanitas, the mage. Amanitas has the only magical item here. There are no Statuettes. Encamp to memorize spells or heal is allowed indoors almost everywhere.
The fastest way to get here is by boat. Find the boat rental dock in Silverymoon, rent a boat, and go South along the river to Everlund. To save Amanitas, go North to a small stone fountain. Turn West and zigzag North and West to a wall with 2 doors. Enter the left door and stop — there are the sounds of a large animal feeding. Encamp and cast Bless, rest, save the game, and turn South where you will meet 3 Owlbears. Have the front rank stand fast with GUARD, have the mages cast Magic Missiles until the Owlbears charge. After the Owlbears have engaged the front rank, have the mages cast Stinking Cloud over them to attempt to make them nauseous. Then one arrow or one hit will take them out.
After the fight, rest, heal, save the game, and go South to the first door on the left. You may want to encamp and cast Bless before entering the door to engage 2 Owlbears and 1 Zentarim fighter. After the fight, rest, heal, save the game, and go East through 2 doors to engage 2 Owlbears and 2 Zentarim fighters. After the fight, Amanitas approaches you and gives you a magic Ring of Reversal. The ring magically links all 3 of the gold and storage vaults where you can store and recover items and money — it's sort of like an ATM machine.
Amanitas also gives 4 clues to the location of the 4 Statuettes:
- One is in a great tower that is filled with evil.
- One lies in a chest carved from pearl in an island out to sea.
- One is hidden somewhere that no one likes to go.
- One lies where birds don't want to fly.
After Amanitas gives his speech, Erek leaves the party to go with Amanitas to protect him. Rest, heal, save the game, and return to Yartar.
The Return to Yartar — Kraken Complex in Sub-Yartar
Mission: Try to complete this section without getting wiped out. There are magic items here. There are no Statuettes. You can't rest in this section because you are attacked if you try. This is a tough section to complete and the last fight at the end can be easily lost if you fail to ration spells and engage the enemy unnecessarily.
You can get back here by boat, or overland if you leave Nesme by the South gates (go South West). Go to the inn, rest, and heal. Go to the armory to sell unneeded items and replenish darts and arrows. At the Training Hall, train any characters that need it. Go back to the inn to rest, and have any magic users recently trained memorize spells. It is important that mages memorize more Magic Missiles and Stinking Clouds, and Clerics memorize more Cure Light Wounds for the coming battle.
When the party tries to leave Yartar, they are captured and imprisoned in the Kraken Complex in Sub-Yartar. The party starts in the South East corner of the complex. Turn off Search Mode. Go through the door and cross the hall. Turn on Search Mode and search for a magic user scroll. When found, turn off Search Mode. Go back to the hall and turn left to three doors. The door to the North has Lizard Men guarding it. Turn West through the door and follow the corridor to another door.
TIP: Try to run from encounters on the way to the last fight. If you can't run, fight using weapons only — no magic spells. It is recommended that you take a step or two then stop and save the game.
Go North through the door and ignore any doors on the left as they contain encounters with Lizard Men or Poison Frogs. Follow the corridor to a North-facing door, go through the door, turn East, take 1 step then stop and save the game. The next step East enters combat with 5 Lizard Men. No spells — weapons only. After the fight, encamp, cast Cure Light Wounds, Bless, and Prayer, save the game, then go through the door. You will face 6 Kraken Spies and 1 Kraken Captain. Use what spells you need to defeat this encounter. After the encounter, you are given a Long Sword +2. Encamp, rest, heal, save the game, then go up the stairway to the final battle in this section.
After you fall in the water, you will face 4 Kraken Squids. Arrows and darts are useless in the water. Krevish will automatically ready his sword and charge. After you have engaged the Squids, have the mages move up close behind the fighters and cast Stinking Cloud and Magic Missiles on the Squids. The Squids have a high number of hit points, so use up all the magic you have to win this battle.
At the end, you go up stairs and through a secret door into Yartar, where the door forever locks behind you. Go to the inn, rest and heal. Go to the Training Hall and train characters that need it. Go to the Armory to sell unneeded items and replenish darts and arrows. By now, the party should have enough money and gems to spend at the magic shop in Silverymoon.
Neverwinter
To get here from Yartar, exit by the West gates and go West.
Mission: None. This is a way station in the game. You will have to return to this town frequently to train, heal, and sell items. There are magic items in a magic shop here and you should have sufficient money and gems to buy items. There are no Statuettes. Encamp to memorize spells or heal is allowed indoors almost everywhere, except at the 3 indoor gardens until they are cleared. The best place to rest safely is at the Neverwinter inn.
The indoor gardens have been beset by monsters. Clear out the gardens for party experience. You will be attacked 3 times in each of the 3 gardens by Manticores, Displacer Beasts, and Zentil fighters. The best way to clear the gardens is to enter a garden, encamp, and try to FIX. You will be immediately attacked. If you are getting low on hit points or magic, go to the inn, heal, rest, and save the game. Then go back to a garden and finish it. Do this 3 times, then you can encamp, FIX, and move on to the next garden.
Port Llast and the Gallant Prince
To get here from Neverwinter, exit by the North gates and go North.
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes or magic items here. This place gains experience for the party. In Search Mode, enter the Gallant Prince and be prepared to fight several encounters with the undead. Use the Cleric and Paladin to TURN undead characters. Sometimes all will not turn and you may have to hack away at what remains. Take the first door on the right and look for a clue you need to enter the captain's quarters (KAS). When you enter the captain's quarters you will be faced by 4 Owlbears. If your mages have a Fireball spell, use it before the Owlbears can charge.
In the North East corner is a hidden door. Before you enter, encamp and cast Bless and Prayer if you have them, and save the game. When you enter, you will face many undead and 2 very dangerous Host Tower Mages. Hit them quickly with Magic Missiles, use TURN on the undead, and continue the assault on the Host Tower Mages. There is another secret door in the North West corner, but it is empty. Return to Neverwinter to train characters if needed.
Luskan
To get here from Neverwinter, exit by the North gates and go North to a river.
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes in this section. There are several magic items. At map location (9,9) you are near 3 high captains' homes where magical treasures are located. In these 3 high captains' homes are 4 Pirates and 2 Margoyles.
TIP: Margoyles can be damaged only by magic spells and magical weapons. If you have the chance, cast Fireballs on the enemy before they have the chance to move so you damage the Margoyles and Pirates while they are bunched up, then use Magic Missiles to continue to hit the Margoyles and let the other characters hit the Pirates after they have charged. You can rest safely in each of the captains' homes after each fight.
Captain's Lodges and Treasures
- North East — Captain's lodge with high stone walls: Fight the Margoyles and Pirates and collect the Mace +1.
- West — Captain's fortress with high stone turrets: Fight the Margoyles and Pirates and collect the 20 Arrows +1.
- South — Captain's lodge made with hand cut timbers: Fight the Margoyles and Pirates and collect the Wand of Ice Storm (works like the Ice Storm magic spell but can be used immediately and only 3 times).
- South West — Captain's mansion with hand crafted stone walls: Fight the Margoyles and Pirates and collect the Fine Composite Longbow +1.
- West, then South — Captain's tower on the promontory in the harbor: Before entering, encamp and cast Prayer and Bless. This is the final and toughest fight, with more Margoyles and Pirates. Collect the Sword of Icewind Dale +1 that does double damage on fire-based monsters.
There are more encounters in this town, including the North East and North West sides. When you are done, return to Neverwinter for training if needed. If no training is needed, go to the Host Tower of the Arcane located in the South West corner of the town.
Host Tower of the Arcane
Mission: Recover the Statuette of the East. There are magic items here. Encamp to memorize spells and heal is allowed almost everywhere. This section is broken down into 2 sub-sections: the scenic route with more combat, useful for character development, and the direct route to the Statuette.
Scenic Route
In Luskan, go West from the Inn, cross a bridge, and continue to the Host Tower. Continue through 2 doors where you will come to a door on the right. This door contains a library where mages study. When you enter the library for the first time you will face 1 Host Tower Mage and 1 guard. When done, you will automatically leave the library. To clear the library takes 5 battles. Each time you enter, the number of Host Tower Mages grows by 1 and so do the guards. By the 5th battle you are facing 5 Host Tower Mages and 5 Guards. Fireball works well here. After each battle, encamp, FIX, and save the game. Sometimes while camping, you will be attacked by wandering undead characters — use the Cleric to TURN them and then clean up what's left.
After the library, go West and follow the corridor around to a staircase. Each successive staircase leads to another battle, with increasing numbers of Owlbears and Host Tower Mages. After the fight on each floor, encamp, FIX, and save. After all the staircases, return to Neverwinter to replenish arrows for Krevish and darts for your mages before taking the direct route.
Direct Route to the Statuette of the East
TIP: As you travel the direct route to the Statuette of the East, go through clearly seen doors only, unless otherwise indicated. There are several secret doors that are unmarked and Search Mode will not warn you about them. If you blunder through one of these secret doors, you will get lost.
From the entrance of the Host Tower, follow the corridor to the first stairwell and go up. After you get off the stairs, turn right, take 1 step, turn right again. There is a secret door — bash it down. Through the next door are 5 undead characters. After the fight, encamp, FIX, save, and go to the South corner where there is another secret door. Bash it down and go into the dungeon. Go North to a wall, turn right through a door to a door on the right. Go through the door to a battle with 5 Owlbears. After the fight, encamp, FIX, save, and allow Brinshaar to join the party. He is a high-level magic user and will help in the coming fights, but he is a traitor who will turn against the party later on.
Go through the only 3 doors available. After you turn East and zigzag North and East, go through the only door seen. If you are proceeding correctly, you will face 6 undead characters one step into the room. After the fight, encamp, FIX, save, and proceed through successive rooms and doors, fighting undead, Displacer Beasts, Manticores, and Zentarim fighters along the way.
The final fight in this section is against several Zentarim fighters, 3 Manticores, and 1 Host Tower Mage. Use your mages to keep the Host Tower Mage from spell casting. A carefully placed Fireball (away from the party) is effective here and can damage several enemy characters. After the fight, the Statuette of the East (Fire) is picked up by the party. After the fight, Brinshaar will leave the party. If Brinshaar happens to be dead, strip him of his gold and items and DROP him.
Encamp, FIX, save, and go back through 4 doors. There is a secret door on the right — push through 3 secret doors, all facing West. The 3rd secret door brings you to the entrance of the tower and another fight. If Brinshaar was alive and left the party on his own, or you did not accept him into the party, he appears here and wants the Statuette. Fight Brinshaar and 3 Displacer Beasts. He will cast spells quickly, so use Magic Missiles on him as soon as possible to keep him quiet. After the fight, encamp, FIX, save, and go out the door to the streets of Luskan.
When you reach the gates of Luskan, 4 Pirates and 2 Margoyles attack. Use Fireball and Magic Missile on the Margoyles. After the battle, leave Luskan and head for Neverwinter.
Tuern
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes or magical items here. Encamp to memorize spells and heal is at your own risk North of the city. In the city, resting is allowed almost everywhere indoors. You can bypass this section and go to Gundarlun.
If you choose to complete this section, go to the North West corner of Luskan and take a boat to Tuern (boats depart only at 0800 for 100 gold pieces). After arrival, go North to a gate where you are warned that if you go, you go to your doom. Through the gate, go North to a wall, then turn East, North, then West. Go generally West along a twisty trail that briefly doubles back until you see a door facing North. Go through all doors until you get to the North East corner where the Meteorite Ore is located, guarded by 2 Fire Giants. Fire Giants are strong but can be defeated by Magic Missiles and close combat. After the fight, the Meteorite Ore is offered. Rest, heal, and save the game after the battle.
Return to Neverwinter to Allis Lhyssich Fine Hand Crafted Weapons shop located next to the South gate and have the ore crafted (after 3 days) into a Sword of Stonecutting +3 that is effective against all evil creatures and does double damage against stone creatures (Margoyles and Gargoyles). If the party has sufficient gold and platinum, consider returning to Silverymoon and buying Gauntlets of Dexterity. Even if your characters have a dexterity of 18, they will increase to 19 with the Gauntlets. They are expensive at 10,000 gold pieces each, but this is an opportunity to appraise gems and jewelry for gold and to spend your excess, heavy money (which slows down character movement).
Gundarlun
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes here. There is one magical item. Encamp to memorize spells, heal, and rest is allowed almost everywhere indoors.
To get here, go to the North West corner of Luskan and take a boat to Tuern (departing at 0800 for 100 gold pieces). From there, take a boat to Gundarlun (departing at 0800 for 100 gold pieces). This is the only island where training is available and there is an armory to resupply.
After arrival, go North to a 4-way intersection (13,2) then turn West. Walk into the wall in front of you and bash down the wall to the North. You will stumble and fall over each other and meet Jaderda, a young, wise-cracking, high-level female fighter. She will automatically join your party. You will then be presented before her father, King Olger Redaxe, who will present you with a Shield +1. Wander around and find encounters in the West and South parts of the island. Before departure, train all characters that need it. Go to the inn, rest, memorize spells, and save the game, then find the boat dock 2 doors North (the boat departs at 9:00 am).
No matter what destination you choose, there is a non-combat encounter with a Kraken (squid) just after you get on the boat, which destroys it, and you wash up on the shores of the Purple Rocks.
Purple Rocks
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes here. There are no magical items.
Go North and follow the corridor to an encounter with 3 Scrags. Defeat them and go North, following the corridor bearing East until you get to the door of a lighthouse. Through the door are four Pirates. Defeat them and douse the light. This is important because it gives you more time on the next island to get the Statuette of the West. Leave the lighthouse and go South, East, North, then East to a door. Through the door are Kraken guards and an Otyugh. Defeat them, encamp, rest, save the game, and go West to a boat dock where there is a small boat. Take it and go to Trisk, where the Kraken headquarters are located.
Trisk
Mission: Recover the Statuette of the West. There is one magical item if you want to recover it.
To find the Statuette, don't go West first. If you do, you will trigger an alarm that causes more battles and more chances of being defeated because you can't rest in very many places. Go South through the first door, then go generally West. There are a few encounters with guards and Otyughs, but the party is fairly strong by now and you can defeat them easily. Save your magic spells for the battle for the Statuette.
If for any reason you get delayed, the Statuette will be moved deeper into the complex until it is finally located in the South West corner where you have to retrieve it by fighting increasing numbers of guards through every door. If you doused the lighthouse lamp at the Purple Rocks, the Statuette is located at map coordinates (2,9). When you arrive at map coordinates (4,9), encamp, save, DO NOT attempt to rest or FIX, have the Cleric cast Bless and Prayer, then resume your trek West. The fight is with 6 Otyughs and 10 Kraken fighters. If you get the jump on the battle, have the mages cast Fireballs before the enemy can charge and have your fighters line up and GUARD. After the battle, encamp, rest, FIX, and save the game.
Back track East the way you came and return to the dock at map coordinates (12,7). If you wish to leave, you can do so. If you want the only magic item here, go North to a door, then generally West going through all doors you see until you encounter 2 Scrags through one door. A short distance away is another door (map coordinates (3,3)) where there are 3 Scrags. Here is a Shield +1. You may want to rest, heal, and save the game, because you have a fight coming. Back track East and return to the dock at map coordinates (12,7).
When you leave the island, Jaderda leaves the party. The boat will return you to Neverwinter. A short way into Neverwinter, you are attacked by 3 Fighters and 3 Manticores. Fireball the Manticores and attack everything else.
Secomber
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes or magical items here.
To get here, leave Neverwinter by the South gates. Go East to Yartar, go through the town, and exit by the East gates. Go South then East to Secomber. This town is where Amanitas lives. There is an inn and an armory. You may want to stop and see Amanitas for information before you go East out of town to Loudwater.
Loudwater
Mission: None. There are no Statuettes or magical items here. There is, however, a very big fight and a bunch of little ones.
As you enter the town, go to the inn located to the North. Encamp, FIX, and save the game. Leave the inn and go West. You will run straight into the fight: 20 Zhentarim fighters and 6 Manticores. Fireball the enemy as many times as you can. After the fight, you will be approached by Rishpal, a high-level fighter formerly in Vaalgamon's army who is surrendering. You can accept or reject him — he will fight well for the party, but he is a spy for Vaalgamon and will turn against the party in Llorkh. After the fight, return to the inn, FIX, and save the game.
Go East to Eanlin's Shop of Adventuring Supplies. Pick up a mirror for each party member. Exit by the East gates and proceed to Llorkh.
Llorkh
Mission: Get the Statuette of the North. There are magical items in the arena. This section is broken down into 2 sub-sections: Llorkh itself and the arena located below Llorkh.
The Arena Below Llorkh
After entering the town, go to the inn. You will be trapped and dropped into the arena below Llorkh where you meet Vaalgamon again. The Statuettes are removed from you but not your weapons. You will fight in the arena in 3 separate combats with no rest between each one:
- First combat: 4 Ogres
- Second combat: 4 Hellhounds
- Third combat: 4 Griffons
After the combat, you are tossed into a cell where you can rest, FIX, and save the game. Proceed to the door where you will be fed. Across the corridor, another prisoner attacks the guard and you get the keys. Release and allow Murthur to join the party. He may be as ugly as a stump, but he is a high-level fighter and will fight for the party. Go East and unlock the door as requested. The Ogres inside will go another direction and join the party later on.
Follow the corridor East, North, then West. Don't open the door with the loud rustling sound unless you want to fight the Griffon inside. Through the first door to the West are 4 Zhentil fighters. Have the fighters take care of business and save your spells for the next door to the West. When you step through the door, you will be in a closet facing a secret door. Through the secret door are 8 Griffons and 4 Zhentil fighters. The Ogres you released earlier join the party here. Carefully cast and place Fireballs on the Griffons, avoiding damage to your own party. Try to save at least one Fireball for the Statuette fight later.
After the battle with the Griffons, go West through a secret door, through 2 more doors where you fight 4 Griffons. Follow the corridor around where you will eventually get to the Statuette fight against 2 Griffons, 4 Zhentil fighters, and 1 Zhentil Commander. The Zhentil Commander is tough and hard to bring down. Use a Fireball on the Griffons and fighters. Have your fighters concentrate on the Commander, have your Cleric cast Hold Person on the fighters, and have the mages cast Magic Missiles and Stinking Cloud on the remaining Griffons and fighters.
After the battle, collect the last Statuette, all the other Statuettes that you brought in with you, and Chain Mail +1, Broad Sword +1, Light Crossbow +1, and 3 Quarrels taken from the Commander.
Back in Llorkh
Go West through a one-way door, out of the arena, to Llorkh. You are now at map coordinates (4,5) inside a Temple to Bane. Go back to the inn traveling East, South, then West. Encamp, FIX, and save the game.
If you wish to fight the Medusa in the castle, leave the inn and travel East, generally North through an arch, then turn East until you see a sign for the Valhalla Here Inn. Turn South through a door, East through a door, then South to a secret door. Bash it down and go through the West-facing door, turn South through 3 doors, and go through all doors seen. When you see statues after you pass through the 4th door, stop. View all of your characters and ready your mirrors — you will have to un-ready the shields to get the hand needed to hold the mirror. When all mirrors are ready, turn South and step forward. You will be attacked by 3 Hellhounds and the Medusa. Have the fighters hack at the Hellhounds and have the mages cast Magic Missiles or Fireballs to take out the Medusa. After she goes down, view each character and re-ready the shield. After the battle, keep your mirrors — you will need them again.
Back track to the inn, encamp, FIX, and save the game. If you need to restock supplies, go to Secomber and the armory there.
Star Mounts
Mission: Get the Statuette of the South. There are magical items here. Encamp to memorize spells and heal is allowed at the entrance of the Star Mounts and in any room (including after battles), but not in any corridor. This section is broken into 2 sub-sections.
Base of the Star Mounts
To get here, exit Secomber through the East gates or exit Loudwater through the West gates and turn North to the Star Mounts. Stay East of the river and follow it closely North to its source at the base of the mountains. Here you will meet the Aarakocra (giant birds) being attacked by 2 Shambling Mounds and 3 Giant Snakes. Battle strategy: let the enemy attack. Have fighters GUARD, have other characters use bows and arrows to attack, have mages cast Magic Missiles and Fireballs.
After the battle, you get: 2 Composite Long Bows +2, 2 Shields +1, 2 Cloaks of Displacement, 2 Plate Mail +3. The Aarakocra will offer to fly you to the Star Mounts. If you refuse they will still be there for you when you return later.
Star Mounts Interior
Fly with the Aarakocra to the entrance cave of the Star Mounts where they will wait for you as long as they can. There you can rest, FIX, and save the game. Follow the exact number of steps and directions because there are many one-way secret doors that you can stumble through. If you do, you will get lost.
From the entrance, follow the corridor to a door. Through the door go West where you are greeted by a projection of the beautiful but evil Ceptienne, who is a high-level mage. Follow the corridor to map coordinates (4,3) and turn East to a wall where there is a secret door. Bash through and go East. Go through 2 South-facing doors to an East-facing door. Through the door are 3 Ogres and 3 Hellhounds. After the fight, encamp, FIX, and save the game.
Turn North to an East-facing door (the door to the North is a one-way door). Go through the East door (the door inside, to the North, is also a one-way door) and follow the corridor East and South through a door to a wall (the door to the East is a one-way door). Turn and go West (Ceptienne will greet you on the way, she is getting bored with you). After Ceptienne greets you, stop and ready your mirrors, then continue West to a 4-way intersection. You will be attacked by 2 Hellhounds and 2 Medusas. A couple of Fireballs works well here.
After the fight, turn South to a South-facing door (the door to the East is a one-way door). Stop and ready your shields and step through the door where you will face 2 Ogres and 2 Harpies. A Fireball works well here. After the fight, encamp, FIX, and save the game.
Turn West one step, then North through 2 doors (Ceptienne will greet you on the way, she is getting very angry and screams at you). After Ceptienne screams at you, stop and ready your mirrors, then continue North. Turn West and bash through the door, then turn South (the North door is a one-way door). Turn West and bash through the door, then turn North (the South and West doors are one-way doors). Here you will be facing a North door and a West door. The North door is a one-way door and the West door leads to Ceptienne's chamber.
When you bash through the West door you will face Ceptienne, 2 Medusas, and 2 Harpies. Have one of your mages cast Magic Missiles at Ceptienne and if you have another mage, cast Fireball. Watch Ceptienne closely as she will cast spells if she gets a chance. Use Magic Missiles on her to keep her from casting spells.
After the fight, among the items are: Bracers of Defense +6, a Dagger +1, a Necklace of Missiles, and a Wand of Defoliation (good against Shambling Mounds). The Statuette of the South is taken by the party. You now have all 4 Statuettes. Encamp, FIX, and save the game.
Leave through the West-facing one-way door, turn North, and follow the corridor to a door facing East. Go through the door and follow the corridor to the exit where the Aarakocra are waiting to fly you down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain, go South to the path, then West to Secomber to the inn to rest and save the game.
Sundabar
Mission: Get to Ascore. There are no magical items here. You have to fight your way through this town and out the North East gates to get to Ascore. Encamp to memorize spells and heal is allowed at the Inn and any inside location. Have a mage prepare a Knock spell — it will be needed in Ascore.
To get here from Secomber, go out the West gates then go North to Yartar. Get a boat at the docks and go North then East to Silverymoon. There is the magic shop in this town in the South West corner — cross over the bridge to get there. Leave Silverymoon on foot by the East gates to Sundabar. In Sundabar, the Inn is just inside the gates. Go there to rest, FIX, and save the game.
Go East over the river and you will see a massive army waiting for you. It is an illusion. Go North then East to a fountain. The fountain offers gold for the Statuettes. If you give the Statuettes to the fountain, you get the gold and lose the game — it is another illusion working for Vaalgamon. Keep the Statuettes and you fight a Stone Golem. Go North to a wide chasm (in the town?) — it is another illusion. When you pass this illusion you are attacked by 3 Ogres and 3 Zhentil fighters. A Fireball works well here.
After the fight, you hear singing. If you want to fight 5 Harpies, go North through 2 doors then turn West. Otherwise, continue East to the last battle at the gates: 2 Hellhounds, 1 Harpy, and 2 Zhentil fighters. When you have finished dusting off these annoyances, you can go out the gates and encamp, FIX, and save the game in the open, or you can return to the inn and do the same. There are no more battles if you follow the path noted above.
Ascore
Mission: Get to the final battle against Vaalgamon and game end. There are magical items here. You have to fight your way through this town and out the East gates to get to the arena. Resting is allowed after defeating 8 encounters with Ascore Skeleton Guards and Ascore Mummies. If the fighting gets too tough, it is better to leave Ascore through the West gates to rest and heal in the open or even go back to the inn at Sundabar.
Magic Items in Ascore
Enter Ascore, go East to a wall. Turn South 1 step. To the East is a secret door. Bash it down. You will be pleasantly greeted at the door. Follow the wall around left or right — do not go through any doors — until you get to one of 3 mirrors/tapestries. You will be attacked by 8 Ascore Skeletons/Mummies combination each time. Have the Cleric use TURN to get rid of most of the attackers at each location. After the 3rd combat, one of the party falls into a hole. In there is a Cleric Scroll containing 2 Cure Disease spells and an Elven Longsword +2 vs. Undead, useful against all undead creatures.
Leave this area through the Northern-most of the West-facing secret doors. Turn North to coordinate (2,3) and turn West through a door, then North through 2 doors where there is combat with 1 Ettin. After the battle, you get a Dwarven Battle Axe +2 (+4 if used by a Dwarf), a Potion of Healing, and some gems.
Return to coordinates (2,3) and turn South, keeping the wall on your left until you get to coordinates (1,13). This door is locked — you must use a Knock spell to open it. Inside is a Kraken Mage. Tell him a story, which gets him to attack. In here are Bracers of Defense AC4 and a Dagger +1.
Leave the room and follow the hallway East, then North to a secret door. Bash it down, turn East through 2 doors, then go basically South and follow the hallway until it turns North at a door. Inside are 2 Ascore Mummies. Have the Cleric use TURN to get rid of them. There is a trapped chest as a prize — this is the only place where a thief would be useful. Inside is a Cleric Scroll with 2 Cure Light Wounds, 8 Arrows +2, and 1 Longbow +2.
At this point, it is recommended that you go back to the Silverymoon magic shop and get everyone a Potion of Speed and 2 Potions of Extra Healing each. The Healing Potions are useful if party members get hurt in the Final Combat Arena, and the Potion of Speed is good for the final battle with Vaalgamon.
The Final Combat Arena
TIP: The secret to the Arena is this: use AIM and move it around looking for the exits described below. Have your fastest character (usually a mage) head for the exit while the other characters act as a rear guard. You don't have to finish all the combats to win the game, especially the last one against Vaalgamon.
Enter Ascore and find a secret door at coordinates (2,9) or (2,6). Bash the door and be pleasantly greeted (again), then go through a door to the South East. Turn North, then East 1 step, stop, and save the game. The next steps East will reveal the gates that are guarded by 6 Giant Spiders. Spiders can kill with a poisonous bite. When they are defeated, rest, FIX, and save the game. This is the last opportunity you will get to do this.
Go through the Gates, turn South, and go through 5 archways until you are taunted by Vaalgamon. When he has finished, proceed forward into the Arena.
Arena Battles
- First battle — 12 Goblins: Save your magic. Have the fighters line up and GUARD, letting the enemy come to you. Exit: East, North, then East again.
- Second battle — 20 Goblins: Save your magic. The Goblins go down easy and rarely hit your characters. Exit: South East around a wall, West, then North.
- Third battle — 1 Goblin: If Krevish is still with you, he gets that Goblin on the first arrow shot. Exit: North, East, North around a wall, South East around a wall, then North.
- Fourth battle — 3 Shambling Mounds and 3 Ettins: Use the Wand of Defoliation against the Shambling Mounds and if you still have the Necklace of Missiles, use it against the Ettins when they are bunched up. Use Magic Missiles against Shambling Mounds while the fighters hack away at anything nearby. After the battle, there are several magic items: 3 Cloaks of Displacement, 3 Plate Armor +3, 3 Shields +1, 3 Ioun Stones of Pale Blue, and 3 Composite Long Bows +2. Exit: North East.
- Fifth battle — 1 Kraken Mage and 3 Zhentil Commanders: Fireball the group then charge, paying attention to the mage first. His magic spells can hurt the party. Exit: North East around a wall, South West around a wall, then West.
TIP: Have your fastest runner stop before exiting this area. Use the Cleric to heal who he can. Have everyone use the Potions of Extra Healing on themselves as needed. Then have everyone use the Potions of Speed. When this is done, have the runner exit the area.
Final Battle — Vaalgamon
This is it, the final combat. You will be facing 4 Zhentil Commanders, 4 Kraken Mages, 10 Shambling Mounds, and Vaalgamon (he has 150 Hit Points; he is a magic user and is protected against magic attacks, so Fireball and Magic Missiles do not work). The best strategy is to have the fighters step forward 3 steps and line up to allow your fastest runner to go North to the exit. If you feel bold, you can have the runner stop one step from the exit and see how far the combat goes before you are wiped out, then step out the exit.
You need 1 live character to finish the game. After you exit, the finale starts.
