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CHAPTER 1
Targos, Docks
You standard opponents will usually be Goblins, who are still fairly easy even with Tactics. My archers, Alliria and Tithian, will take out any Goblin archers that show up in the background. Markus, Stygar, and Akutagawa will waste any Goblins on the front line. If I'm clearly outnumbered, Elanna can turn them into sitting ducks with a Sleep spell.
Another approach, and one that comes in handy when you venture into the Caves beneath the Docks, is the 'drawing out' technique. Basically get one character to slowly creep forward till the first monster comes out of the 'fog of war' and into view. Lead that monster and any other nearby foes onwards, away from their comrades, and straight to yours. This often allows you to whittle down large groups of monsters a few at a time.
One item to keep an eye out for is the Rabbit's Foot, an amulet which adds an enduring +1 bonus to luck. It can be found in a barrel just when you first enter the center of Targos after leaving the Docks. I have Elanna wear it to augment her spellcasting power. This will be explained more clearly when Elanna find the ring Tymora's Loop much later in the game.
Targos, Attack at the Palisade
The next significant series of combats is when the Goblin hordes will storm into the Palisade in force. The goblins themselves are still the same easy brats you will have first fought at the docks, but in combination with their three war leaders, well ... This is one of the most challenging battles as part of the tactics mod, and precisely because this is still a low-level encounter where your characters won't have a lot of hit points. So what you need is preparation and foresight. Below are some guidelines.
1) Every bonus you can get counts. Whatever you can do to increase your odds on the die rolls, whether its your own armor class or your own attack bonus, do it. It can make all the difference in a fight like this. The other guidelines below are variations on this theme.
2) Hit the 3rd level if you can. Do everything you can, including every side quest that you can, and you might just be able to get your characters to the third-level. At least, the ones who aren't special races like the Drow or Aasimar. That third-level will mean an increased attack bonus, and more hit points.
I was able to hit the third-level for some of my characters by killing the Goblins, and completing the following quests:
3) Get the best equipment you can. Don't be stingy with your gold. I'm normally not a big fan of spending gold on equipment that I won't be using for the rest of the game. But in battles like this, every point of attack bonus and every point of armor class helps. Sell your flaming oils, and Phaen's Staff (your mage's ability to attack physically won't matter that much anyway), and anything else you don't need. Milk the folks in town of whatever cash you can get from them for doing their quests. This of course means not letting a Paladin or a Monk do the talking. Buy whatever you can. This was my shopping list:
Goblin Hunter from Lady Elythra - I got this for Tithian, because the +1d6 damage to Goblins makes a real difference.
2 Half-Plate Armors from Deidre - Markus and Stygar are the guys I count on to step toe to toe with the Goblin leaders, so I definitely want to max their armor class.
Masterwork Sword from Deidre - Less expensive than an enchanted +1 weapon, but still provides a welcome +1 bonus to attack for Markus.
Masterwork Battleaxe from the Dwarf in the NW corner of the Trade Depot - I bought this for Stygar and for similar reasons.
2 Studded Leather Armor from Deidre - In order to maximize armor class for both Alliria and Tithian.
Masterwork Longbow from Deidre - I have Alliria attack with her bow instead of her knives at this point, because she'll hit more often this way. The bow adds +2 to both attack bonus and damage.
Healing Potions - Basic healing potions are adequate for these low-level battles. You won't need Potions of Extra Healing just yet.
Now the battle comes in three waves. The first pack will appear in the south side of town, led by a Goblin hound-rider named Vghotan. A Goblin Sorcerer will then blow out the wall in the north-east corner of the Palisade, to let in the next pack led by a large Goblin named Ghotrag. The Goblin Sorcerer, Caballus, will then blow out the southwest portion of the wall and then lead the last charge himself. In any of the battles, my strategy is fairly simple. I lead off with Elanna putting out a Sleep spell to try and take out as many Goblin minions as I can. Alliria picks off any archers that appear in the distance. The rest go all out for the leader. They can ignore any Goblin peons that are still standing after the Sleep spell. I can get away with this because buying the best armor available allows this luxury. It behooves the party to try and take out the leader first since he'll have the most potential to cause damage. Use your healing potions whenever you have to. Mop up once the leader's down.
Targos, the Aftermath
Before I venture out towards Shaengarne Bridge, its helpful to take stock of what I need to add to my inventory. Keep in mind that I prioritized certain items for the battle at the Targos Palisades. The others below can wait, especially since I'll be collecting a lot of loot before I ever leave Targos. Here's what I acquire when I can:
Sad Giant's Cap /
Shawford Crale actually gives this to me when I informed him of the Iron Collar mercenaries. It is a buckler that adds +4 to armor class, and only
increases arcane spell failure by 5%. It will thus be perfect for Tithian to use in conjunction with a certain short sword that he'll find later
on.
Houndstooth Collar (Beast Claw 1/day, immunity to fear and panic) /
This can be looted off of Vghotan's corpse. It allows its wearer to use Beast Claw once a day. That's not the point though. Stygar as a cleric
often has to cast fear if any of his comrades become panicked. He can't do this though if he himself is struck with magical fear. He thus wears the
Collar for its real benefit, immunity to fear and panic.
Black Raven Sash (+1 to attack, immunity to confusion and Feeblemind, Monks only) /
This can be bought from Lady Elythra, and is the Monk-specific belt that Akutagawa will wear for the rest of the game.
Girdle of Beatification (wearer under constant Bless effect) /
I get this for Alliria, in order to enhance her combat prowess.
Ring of the Wise (+1 to Wisdom) /
I got this from Ragni Bellows in the healing tent. Stygar wears it for the time being, in order to bring his Wisdom to 19 and enable the casting of
9th level spells. Ultimately, Markus will wear it towards the end. When he acquires the Holy Avenger, his Wisdom will be permanently increased by
another +1, and then another +1 during the Ritual of Purification. In conjunction with the Ring of the Wise, it will raise his wisdom to 16.
Shaengarne Ford
Orcs will comprise your next batch of foes. The strategy is pretty much the same as for the Goblins. Elanna drops as many as she can with a Sleep spell. Alliria and Tithian pick off any Archers that are still standing. Markus, Stygar, and Akutagawa take down any Warriors that are still standing.
Incidentally, this is the other point behind stocking up on Half-Plate armors and masterwork weapons. It will stand you in good stead for your battles through Chapter 1.
There is an extra consideration though. Sometimes there will be both an Orc Firestarter and an Orc Runner as well. The Runner will plant a Keg of Blasting, and the Firestarter will hit it with a flaming arrow, causing the keg to burst with a Fireball-type effect within three seconds. Other times there will already be a Keg of Blasting or two around with a Firestarter nearby as part of a trap. And yes, the Firestarter will still be dumb enough to do it no matter how many other Orcs happen to be close by. Given that Tactics will give both the Firestarter and the Runner more hit points, your best relative bet is always to try and smash the Keg before it can go off.
Shaengarne Village
The Tactics version of Torak is a Barbarian who can score pretty heavy damage, and takes quite a bit himself before going down. Therefore, go all out for him first. Elanna uses Sleep to help even things out a bit. Torak will also leave behind a Leather Armor +1, and a Battle Axe +1.
Troll Cave
In the Troll Cave, you'll find an assortment of monsters, several of which have damage resistance. These include Slimes, Slime Zombies, Olive Slimes, and an Ochre Jelly, which can inflict additional acid damage with each hit. Nothing particularly difficult so far.
Along the north parts of the cave you should find Interloper (+1 Studded Leather Armor, non-detection on wearer, +2 to Hide and Move Silently) and Haft over Head (which inflicts blunt damage instead of slashing damage).
The boss here is an evil Troll named Vrek Vileclaw, along with several Orc minions, including a Shaman. Vrek will regenerate, and can score plenty of damage. However, go for the Shaman first. The reason being that the Shaman can cast Hold Person, and you don't want any party members paralyzed while Vrek is still up and fighting. Now go all out for Vrek, ignoring his servants or putting as many to sleep as you can. If you have anything like Faerie Fire or Alicorn's Lance, use it on Vrek. Once Vrek goes down, you have to hit him with either fire or acid to deliver the coup de grace. Sunscorch or Flame Blade will no nicely.
In Vrek's chest is the Moonblade that Emma wants. In the previous guide, I had Alliria use it. Now I have Tithian use it. The reason being that my usual set up is for Tithian to use the Brilliant Short Sword +5 with the Giant's Cap Buckler, and the Expertise feat at the same time for more armor class. As it turns out, Tithian, being a Drow Elf, also has the Martial Weapon: Longsword feat, so he can also use the Moonblade as a secondary weapon, especially when faced with undead or spellcasters.
Shaengarne Pass
The major battle here involves a pack of Wererats led by Gaernat Sharptooth, along with a couple of Harpies, several Orc Archers, and a couple of Orc Shamans. They'll likely all come at you at once, and can easily overwhelm you if you let them.
Preparations first. I rested for random monsters and experience points until Elanna got her 5th level. The point being that she now has the Web spell. Stygar casts Magic Circle against Evil, in order to give everyone a deflection bonus to armor class, as well as Remove Fear, to protect against the Harpies' fear effect.
Now I send out a single character to lead them into a bottleneck. I then have Alliria plant Entangle, and Elanna plant Web, over that bottleneck. This set up acts as a crowd-control filter. Many of the monsters will get caught, while the odd one or two or three will make it through. The odd one that does get through becomes easier pickings for the warriors, waiting for the next batch to break through, and so on.
Shaengarne Dam
Here you'll run into groups of Malarite Priests, who are basically low-level Druids who can cast spells like Sunscorch, Faerie Fire, Entangle, Beast Claw, and Sun Scorch. They are often accompanied by animals such as Mad Cats, Arctic Boars, and Highland Snakes. These fights shouldn't be too difficult. If you happen to get Entangled, simply switch to missile weapons until they come within reach.
The one potentially dangerous enemy is the Malarite High Priest, who can cast Call Lightning. Even this shouldn't be too difficult as long as you remember to recoup your hit points with healing potions in anticipation of the next lightning strike.
Before progressing to the Bridge itself, I rest for random monsters and xp in order to advance Elanna to 6th level and obtain the Fireball spell, which will make saving the Bridge so much easier.
Shaengarne Bridge
There's three possible incomes, take your time and let the support beams get destroyed, let one support beam get destroyed, or race to the Ogres and kill them in order to keep the support beams and the Bridge intact. The latter will net you the biggest xp reward, but in Tactics can be quite a challenge.
So, I made a point of not coming in until Elanna can use Fireball and Alliria can use Spike Growth.
Now initially, you'll get assaulted by a group of Orcs and a Bugbear. Try to take them quickly without bringing in any other foes into view. Use missile weapons to take out their archers to avoid this.
Now head due north, and hug the right side as tightly as you can. At least a Bugbear, a couple of Snakes, and a Malarite will come into view. Take out the Bugbear and the Snakes as quickly as you can in order to open a path to the right side of the Bridge. Also try to immobilize the Malarite if you can. If he manages to get off Entangle, you may as well reload and try again.
Now head for the right side of the bridge. Make sure that a) none of your characters are too far behind, when you run into the boss here, so that all will be in a good position to head east and b) have a character with high Wisdom in the lead.
The reasons are as follows ... The leader of the force holding the bridge is a Sorceress named Xuki. A character with high Wisdom will get an xp bonus if he or she can call Xuki on her decoying tactic. But once the gloves are off, several Malarites will appear instantly nearby, including three Malarite High Priests. This is why it's important to have everyone in good position before bringing Xuki into view. You don't want anyone surrounded and unable to head for the east side of the bridge.
Once I do get everyone to the east side, I have my warriors take out the Ogres as quickly as they can to make sure the Support Beams stay intact. Alliria casts Entangle, and then Spike Growth. Elanna chips in with Web. Now Elanna blasts away with Fireball after Fireball.
Throughout this battle, make generous use of any healing potions you have to try and keep your hit points maxed. The reasons for this is that Xuki will unleash a Fireball herself at one point, and just in case any of the Malarite High Priests manage to get off a Call Lightning.
Once everybody else is gone, train everyone on Xuki. Her spell choices will include Stinking Cloud, Animate Dead, Web, Chromatic Orb, and Charm Person, and she will keep herself protected with defensive spells as well. Bottom line, you gotta take everyone else out first, but with persistence (and a little luck) you should succeed this way.
Xuki leaves behind:
The barrel near Xuki will have Footman's Folly - a +1 small shield that either Markus or Stygar can use as part of alternate weapon set.
Horde Fortress, Outside
Now you'll get quite a variety of foes, such as Half-Goblins, Goblin Hordlings, Orc Elite Archers, Goblin Shamans, Goblin Hound Riders, as well as the odd Ogre or Winter Wolf.
Control control won't work here, because the field is too wide and your foes will often be too spread out. Many of them will walk around your control spot anyway. Instead, send your scout into hiding and have him scope out a cluster of foes. Then have your arcane spellcaster hit them with a Fireball just outside the fog of war. This way you can get the first blow in and make the subsequent fighting easier.
Also, if you notice a drum, either go for that or whoever strikes the drum as your first priority. The reason being that the drum can end up calling limitless Goblin Hound Riders against you.
Lastly, an occasional foe that you'll find here are Hardened Ice Trolls. They can dish out good damage, which include bonus cold damage. They're resistant to slashing damage, but take bonus damage from blunt weapons. Here is one of your first reasons why your characters need to carry a diversity of weapons.
Goblin Warrens
Here we can set up crowd-control, because the narrow passageways allow you to set up a bottleneck. My monk, being the fastest character, goes forward by himself. He then leads the enemy forward and into the bottleneck. Alliria casts Spike Growth, and Elanna cats Web. When they're stuck, Elanna cranks out Fireball after Fireball. The warriors mop anybody who happens to make it through. Alliria and Tithian aim fire at any spellcasters.
Notable items that I made use of here include:
Ease of Use also adds here a Full Plate armor that only evil characters can use. It can be found in the lair of the Wooly Spider Queen.
Also, be on the lookout for Drums that can summon Worg Riders against you.
Horde Fortress, Inside the Wall
When you first enter here, you'll notice three Orc Elite archers here, and an Orc Commander heading for you. Have your archers take out their archers. Do not move your warriors forward to any degree. This is so that you don't bring the Verbeeg Giants and other foes into view. Simply have whatever warrior the Commander comes into contact with handle the melee. Your arcane spellcaster can help out if need be.
After this, its a matter of clearing out the perimeter. Foes here are spread out, and in smaller clusters, so either the drawing out technique for casting spells from outside the fog or war will work here.
Horde Fortress, The Base
Once you step into the base of the Fortress, you'll encounter two Bugbears. But soon they won't be by themselves. An Old Orc is going to show up, who has a lot of hit points and can dish out damage fairly good himself. He won't show up right away, so take a moment to cast summoning spells as meat shields. Take out the Bugbears first. Now go all out for the Old Orc. Use abilities like Fairie Fire and Alicorn Lance to make him easier to hit. Also use any abilities that can immobilize him, like Chromatic Orb or Stunning Blow.
Now for the base itself, the hallways themselves present opportunities for crowd-control. So what you can do is leave your party in the first room. Lead a group of foes into the hallway to the north, and set up your crowd-control spells. From there you can pelt them with missile fire and offensive spells.
Guthma
This battle is much tougher than in vanilla IWD2. First, make sure you clear out everybody in the perimeter of the base. Otherwise, they'll join in when you fight Guthma. Now, Guthma will be helped out by a Goblin High Chieftain, an Orc High Chieftain, a Goblin Sorcerer, and an Orc Witch Doctor. Two more Orc High Shamans will also approach from the southwest. Use any buff and summoning spells you have in preparation. Now, your warriors must take out Guthma first and foremost because he can hit hard and often, and with lingering poison damage with each hit to boot. Reduce his armor class with abilities like Alicorn Lance and Faerie Fire, and then immobilize him with abilities like Chromatic Orb, Ice Lance, or Stunning Fist if you can. Have your summoned help head for the two Orc Shamans to the southwest. Once Guthma is dead, you can mop up.
Guthma leaves behind:
Before I actually leave Targos, I've brought a lot of loot with me that I can sell. So I don't mind buying some 'interim' equipment, especially since their cost isn't much more than 1,000 or 2000 gp. My shopping list included:
Now away we go in Oswald's ship.
