Before you clear this level, make sure you go back to Saradush and buy all the magic items you think you'll need for a while, since you can't get to the city again after you arrive at this sector. You have some breathing room when you start this area, so cast spells and take potions to prepare yourself for battle. You'll eventually be attacked from all sides, so choose a formation that leaves you with at least one capable melee fighter as a rear guard. You'll see some peasants being chased by Yaga-Shura soldiers, and by forcing an attack (they won't register as hostile), you can save some of them, although you won't get anything as a reward. Continue across the bridge.
Additional soldiers and officers will begin to attack you, but you must continue to march at least one character west until you see Yaga-Shura (150 hit points, AC 5, four attacks per round, 23 strength, immune to critical hits). As soon as he gives his speech, attack him, but don't waste your heavy ammunition or spells on him, since he'll disappear as soon as he's hit, only to reappear fully healed with reinforcements, including fire giants and a lieutenant of each main character class (fighter, mage, cleric, and thief). Give the mage and cleric enough attention to disrupt their spells, but concentrate the bulk of your attacks on Yaga-Shura himself, since enemies will continue to appear until he's killed. To minimize reinforcements, you should cast area of effect spells, blocking areas to the east and west (death fog, incendiary cloud, cloudkill, and so on), coupled with web or entangle to trap your enemies in the areas of effect.
One scary bodyguard. Opponents will continue to arrive all around you, even if you're in the middle of the bridge, so you're best off blocking off one or both sides of the bridge with area of effect spells or fearsome summoned creatures, like this pit fiend devil. |
As soon as you kill Yaga-Shura, you'll be dragged back to the pocket plane by the Solar, who will tell you a little about your past and gives all your characters a total of 50,000 experience points each in two separate grants, while opening the door in the pocket plane to the second challenge. As soon as the conversation is over, Melissan will appear and give you another quest as well as 15,000 experience points per party member.
NPCs in this sector:
- Melissan
- Yaga-Shura
- Solar (on the pocket plane)
Enemies in this sector:
- Yaga-Shura
- Fire giants
- Yaga-Shura soldiers
- Officers
- Lieutenant mage, cleric, fighter, and thief
Magic items in this sector:
- Yaga-Shura is equipped with the following items:
Runehammer +2 (war hammer)
Shuruppak's plate (full plate mail)
Shield of the order +4 (medium shield)
His fighter lieutenant is equipped with a halberd +2
- Inside a barrel near the western side of the bridge:
Arrows of fire
Bolts of biting
Darts +1
Sunstone bullets +1
- In another barrel to the far west:
Mage scrolls of fireball, Agannazar's scorcher, flame arrow, and burning hands
The second challenge requires you to fight a version of your main character that followed Sarevok's darker path. Appropriately enough, your evil alter-ego (15,000 experience points) is also accompanied by three of Sarevok's companions from the original Baldur's Gate game, Tamako (kensai, 6,000 experience points), Semaj (mage, 12,000 experience points), and Angelo (12,000 experience points). If you string some magic missiles together in sequences, you can take out Semaj before he casts any of his dangerous spells or better prepares himself. After clearing out the fire giant lair, this challenge isn't particularly difficult, especially since you have your opponents outnumbered. But it's worth it, as you'll earn 25,000 experience points per party member and 30,000 experience points for your main character.
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