Pools of Darkness
Hints and Mini Walkthru
by Matt Haag
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Published in the DIRTY LITTLE HELPER October 1996 with kind permission.
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Table of Contents
Part I: Getting Started
Phlan
Part II: The Sundering
Melvaunt
Taydome's Keep
Dragonhorn Gap
Sulasspryn
Manshoon & Zhentil Keep
Myth Drannor
Part III: The Road to Bane
Thorne & the Dragons
Marcus, the Red Tower & Tanetal
Zhentil Keep, the Drow & Kalistes
Mulmaster, Arcam & Gothmenes
Pools of Darkness (or POD for short) is somewhat atypical for a gold box
game. In particular, where the usual AD&D product pretty much leads you by
the nose so you have no trouble staying on track, POD goes in the other
direction, not giving you much help at all in deciding what to do or where
to go next. Sometimes, even when you think you know where to visit, nothing
seems to be happening there (or at least, nothing of much importance).
In addition, there are several set-ups in the game that you need to know
about so you can survive the experiences. A lot of damage gets tossed at
your party, and knowing when it's coming can help your people stay alive.
If you are creating a party from scratch (instead of bringing one over from
Secret of the Silver Blades, which is better than making a new one), you
don't want non-humans unless you plan on bringing them in as thieves or as a
multi-class something/thief. A thief is the only class where non-humans can
max out (unlimited advancement) in; as anything else there is a level
restriction after which the character will no longer gain experience.
My own party consisted of one human paladin, one human cleric (neutral), one
dwarven thief, one human mage, one human ranger/mage and one half-elf
fighter/mage/thief. The paladin was especially important, since having him
in the party let me control the various NPC's who joined us for varying
periods of time.
The other characters were to balance everything out. Since the cleric was
neutral, he could cast both versions of healing spells (i.e. cure light
wounds and cause light wounds, etc.). The ranger/mage started as a mage who
changed class right away so that I would have another fighter in the party,
but still have the spellcasting abilities of a 14th level mage when he
gained enough experience to become a 15th level ranger. The
fighter/mage/thief was for the extra punch of a fireball spell, the
abilities of a fighter and the thief component was so that he would continue
gaining experience after he maxed out in his other classes.
Another important trick in defeating the game is "sharing" equipment. This a
rather simple concept. If one player has Plate Mail +5, why shouldn't all
the other characters? What you need to do is to load your saved game at the
main menu when you have the option of adding and removing characters. Once
this is done, your next step varies based on who has the item. If a fighter
in your party has the item, remove him from the party and when the game asks
if you wish to update this character, say yes.
Next, add the character back into the game. View the character's items and
trade whatever you want other characters to have to the next party member.
Remove the first character, but this time don't update the character. The
game will ask you for a new filename. Hit escape to clear the field. Then
remove the second character (the one with the new armor and stuff) and
update him. Add both members back into the party and repeat the process.
Phlan
The game begins with the heroes on the docks in Phlan. Visit the council and
accept Sasha's mission. Rest and memorize spells before leaving Phlan. As
the party leaves town with Sasha's retinue, Bane appears and causes the sky
to cloud over, destroying the cities and effectively capturing the Moonsea.
Elminster then transports you to Limbo and explains what happened.
Part II: The Sundering
Melvaunt
After that, the party gets teleported near the crater of Melvaunt, on the
Northern edge of the Moonsea. Go East into the crater and join Priam in
investigating the temple of Tyr. Upon entering the public worship area of
the temple, a figure will run upstairs. Pursue the figure. Upstairs you will
run into a Vampire and some of his minions. Defeat them and record what the
journal entry you are given says (this will be important later). If you
explore the top floor you will find four unlit, iron braziers that you can't
seem to light, a belfry and a study where you can rest.
After resting in the study, go back down to the first floor. Go past the
entrance and downstairs to the first basement. This floor is dedicated to
acolytes cells and the temple kitchen. Continue down to the second basement.
This floor is the temple's crypt. Go into the room where two bodies lie on
the floor next to a coffin. A ghost, Brimwulf, will appear and ask if you
will be tested. Agree and pass behind him.
Upon entering the hallway behind the coffin room, you will notice an
indentation in the wall. Walk into it and perform the ritual of purification
correctly. Go to the door. Get the Vessel of Purity with Torm's Symbol on it
from the earth elemental. Then continue on to the room with Ilmater's symbol
on the floor. Defeat the fire elemental there and the Spirit Flame will jump
into the bowl. Continue on and take the Lamp of Vigilance and go back up to
the top floor of the tower.
Light the braziers with the Lamp and then go and ring the bell in the center
of the belfry. Brimwulf and his lover are reunited and you are finished with
the temple. Go back downstairs and make your exit.
Taydome's Keep
Go into the "stockade manned by giants and ogres" directly to the north of
Melvaunt. Upon entering, a group of giants will greet you with steel.
Destroy them and proceed north into the heart of the keep. You will discover
a guard from Phlan who claims to have been with Sasha. He is really Kimarr
in disguise. Refuse his help (but be prepared to defend yourself). After
defeating the giants summoned by Kimarr, go west and then north into a room
where 2 Phlanarian guards are being interrogated by giants. Kill the giants
and rescue the guards.
Return to where you met Roulin, then go north to a fork in the path where a
note suddenly materializes. Go east here, following the tunnel as it turns
south further on. Find Kimarr and his giant guards. Defeat them and clear
the keep of evil.
Dragonhorn Gap
Enter the steading near Dragonhorn gap and you will be confronted by giants.
Talk to them and they will let you pass. Proceed further and some other
giants will ask you who let you in. Your choice here is unimportant except
for purposes of deciding who goes first in the combat that follows.
After killing the giants, go either east or west into the hallways branching
off from the main courtyard where you came in. Go down either hallway until
where you find a set of doors which have signs saying "Private! Keep Out" on
them. Enter one of the rooms, claim the room as your own and beat the
monsters there. You now have a convenient resting place.
Go back into the main courtyard and proceed north. A pitched battle between
giants and ogres is taking place. The best option is to duck so that one
side kills the other before they turn on you. Defeat them and train any
characters you need to in the training hall to the west.
When you are finished clearing the "private" rooms, proceed into the Twisted
Horn, and inn directly across from the training hall. Approach a man that
eyes you and speak to him, then defeat the cloud giants in the room to the
south. If you used a lot of magic during the battle, go back to your save
point and save your game; this will be your last opportunity for a long
time.
Walk in front of the main gate in the second courtyard, which the inn opens
onto. Giants will pull you through the gate for an audience with the Hill
Giant Shaman. They tell you to go to the Northeast corner of the fortress,
but to get there you must go north and west into the northwest corner and
then go more or less due east to the other side. When you enter the Shaman's
room, be prepared for a battle against an overwhelming number of giants.
When you've defeated the giants, pick the lock to the treasure vault to the
north and then proceed to the northeast to enter the Fire Giant's cave.
After entering the cave, go north until you reach a crossroads. Make sure
you are in Area view, as you will spin about in the center of the road in an
effort to make you lose your sense of direction. Proceed east, where the
Fire Giant Mage thanks you for killing the Hill Giant and pays you to leave.
Continue into the cave, into a hallway on the far south of the map. Upon
entering the east bound tunnel, the world will get a little blurry and you
will notice that you can't use your map anymore. You will also notice a
skull on the ground which will disappear. Walk east and keep going until the
skull reappears in the middle of the path, this time with a ring embedded in
it.
Take the ring out of the skull and throw it to destroy it and break the
enchantment. Continue on to the end of the tunnel, and proceed north. When
you can, go to the west, then to the north. Go as far northwest as possible
by taking the long hallway that goes from the northeast end of the cave to
the western part of it. Search for a secret door a couple steps from the
western end.
Go through the door and into the Fire Giant's secret area. Make sure you
rested in the last 'quiet' room before this, as there are several difficult
battles coming up. When you go south, a Fire Knife Assassin approaches you
to talk on the Mage's behalf. Hear him out and agree to join the mage. When
you encounter the mage again, attack her and the retinue in the room with
her (about 15 fire giants in all).
After killing all the enemies, continue through the room to an antechamber
where 2 red dragons and a green dragon are preparing to take off. Defeat
them, rest and exit the fortress through the tunnels on the north end of the
room.
Sulasspryn
Upon entering the cave surmounted with the symbol of the Silver Blades, talk
to a hill giant and have him lead you to Vala. Vala will give you a silver
shield and join your party. Since there are many undead enemies in the cave,
be sure your cleric is of a level so that he can cast Restoration, the
opposite of the vampire's Energy Drain. After Vala joins your party, go to
the east, then proceed south. Upon entering a room with coffins in it,
search them to find the Lindenwood staff, the first item needed to control
the elementals. After taking the staff, a lich, some skeletons and some
wraiths will spring from the coffins and attack you. After defeating the
undead, explore the three doors in the room and rest in one of them.
Exit the room with the coffins and go to the south into a room with oak
roots growing out of all the walls and the ceiling. Search the room and take
the Oakroot staff. Upon taking the staff, five earth elementals will attack.
Kill them and then exit the room. Rest again in the quiet room.
Go north past where you entered the cave and continue on. Up at the top of
the map, fight three hill giants that were fighting over a pretty stone.
This is the Worldstone, which is used with the Oakroot staff. From there go
south into a room across the hall and get the Crucible of Flame from some
fire elementals.
After collecting all the artifacts, proceed to the main chamber in the
center of the map. Be prepared for a tough fight. As soon as you enter,
Vaasans will break through a breach in the wall along with some elementals.
Vala will take the artifacts and seal the breach in the wall by controlling
the elementals. She leaves you to deal with the Vaasan army. Cast fireballs
and destroy the mages first, then work on killing the Vaasan warriors. When
you have defeated them, leave the cave.
Manshoon & Zhentil Keep
Enter Zhentil Keep and go to the south, to the training hall and bribe the
man at the desk if you need to train. After training, go north and rest in
the Purple Plume Tavern. After resting, cross the road by going straight
east and finding a man in the shadows of the building. Say that you are
opposed to Bane, and Mabril introduces himself. He tells you of a halfling,
Traned, who is trapped under Manshoon's temple, and tells you of a way to
get into the building without having to go through the main entrance where
the clerics examine you.
Proceed through the secret door into the southeastern part of the temple. Go
around the courtyard and walk right up to the main (north) gate of the
temple. Kill the guards and enter the gate. You notice a hallway with gates
on both sides lining the walls. Go through the east wall and then proceed
back to the north. Go west, then north again and enter a hallway stretching
to both sides of you. Since the tower is circular, it doesn't matter which
way you go. Upon finding the purple door, go through it and up to level 2.
On level 2, go north into a room where Manshoon's fanatics scream at you.
Kill them and then go into the next room, which is a gloomy room with a high
ceiling. Go right through the other door, but be prepared for an attack by
spiders rappelling down upon you. Defeat them and proceed through the door.
Go to the north, through the next door and into the main hallway. Find the
purple door to level 3.
You will be in a hallway where it makes a corner. You are then presented
with a gate and two doors, one on each side. If you go through the central
gate, you will be ambushed by dragons. The other doors both empty into the
room with the dragons, however you will not be in the middle of the three
groups of dragons.
After killing the dragons, go through the gate to the north, where
Manshoon's adjutant, a beholder orders monsters to destroy the party. Kill
the beholder first, without using magic because it is magic resistant, then
worry about the other minor monsters. Go through either of the doors, and go
through the main door to the north and into the main hallway of level 3.
When you enter the hallway, go to the west (though it is a circle, this is
the shortest route). Manshoon speaks to you, telling you that the Gelt has
been released. This is a beast that is really a watchdog, but with x-ray
vision that hurts you if you get too close. So to pass the Gelt, you must go
down the hallway that it is guarding so that it can't see you. You really
have three options: make your party invisible by, blind the Gelt or put on
rings of invisibility. If your magic-user knows Power Word Blind, just walk
into the hallway and the game will ask you if you want to cast the spell. Go
up the stairs to level 4.
Once you've passed the Gelt and gotten to level 4, you will discover that
level 4 is simply one room, with a necklace in the middle. Avoid the
necklace to get to level 5, Manshoon's private chambers. However, if you
wish to avoid another battle, simply walk over the necklace. If you were
foolish enough to venture up the stairs, Manshoon will be casting, and if
you do anything but charge he will gesture and hidden enemies will ambush
you. If you charge, you fall through a trap door to the level below and land
on the necklace, triggering a trap.
The trap is rather simple (Manshoon was never known for being particularly
intelligent): a crystal prism surrounds the party, which happens to be right
in the middle of a conjuring circle, a circle of dust which keeps summoned
monsters confined. Manshoon gloats over your stupidity, and summons a Harpy.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know the creature's name, and the Harpy
offers to allow one of your party out to attack Manshoon for her, as the
circle prevents her. It doesn't matter who you choose, because the party
member who is chosen gets freed from the crystal prism and steps on the
conjuring circle, scuffing the band of sand.
The Harpy goes nuts, attacking Manshoon, destroying the room and causing the
ceiling to fall in on you. Since the party is now freed, go back down to
level 3, where you are no longer damaged by falling debris. Exit the tower
through the main entrance, where Manshoon's clerical guards would have been
had they not fled when he died.
Myth Drannor
Enter the promenade of Myth Drannor and Nacacia, elven princess meets you
and begs that you aid her in the retaking of Myth Drannor. It seems parties
of knights sent in to scout never return. Agree to go with her, take the
treasure she gives you and enter the ruins.
In the southern part of the ruins in a room where a rakasha is bending over
a knight with a glowing ball. The knight screams as his life is sucked into
the ball. Kill the rakashas there, using your weapons since they are magic
resistant creatures. After killing them, rest in a dusty room to the west.
Go west from there into the southwest corner of the ruins and kill the
Banite clerics and their new rakasha disciples.
>From there go northward into the northwest portion of Myth Drannor. Go east
through one of the narrow passages and find a lone rakasha. Threaten him and
he will talk about the rakasha's plans: to re-animate Tyranthraxus, pet of
Bane. Go north from there, and then west into a dusty room. Rest here, for
the biggest battle is about to happen.
Go back east into the room to the south which you passed on your way to
rest. Inside are many rakashas, all with globes of light. Tyranthraxus is
rising from the floor, only a shadow but becoming more solid by the second.
Of the choices presented you, choose to Dispel Evil, putting Tyranthraxus
out of commission by destroying the glass balls. Kill the many rakashas in
the room, and quest to reclaim Myth Drannor is complete, except for the many
basilisks that still roam around the ruins. Exit Myth Drannor, and Nacacia
promises to have master bards sing songs about you!
Part III: The Road to Bane
Thorne & the Dragons
Return to Dragonhorn gap where you defeated the Hill Giant Shaman, but
rather than entering the steading, go north up to the Crater of Verdigris.
Go due west and enter the ground where you see a dragon swoop into a large
hole. A horde of dragons will be waiting for you inside, so make sure you
saved outside the cave. Defeat them, cross the hall and follow a robed
figure through a door to the east. Take the scroll that was dropped, and go
west to the other side to rest. After exiting and moving north, you will
enter the main chamber, where a robed is figure reading from a scroll. Two
dragons, a blue and black are engaged in mortal combat. The black will kill
the blue and the gathering will depart.
You will notice six doors around the hall; two on the west side, two on the
east and two on the north (besides the two behind you). For now we'll
concentrate on the doors on the east and west. The order which you finish
the dragons' lairs behind the doors is not important, so long as you
complete them all. It is also a good idea to rest whenever you have the
chance in here because both the random and planned encounters are rather
nasty.
The southwest door contains the Blue Dragon lair. Explore the lair to find a
treasure horde and continue south until you come across a gathering of
blues. Kill the five dragons and take the blue steel key. Go back to the
main hall.
The northwest door contains the lair of the White Dragons. Upon entering the
main room, you will battle 9 Zhentil mages and 3 white dragons. Take the
silver key and exit to the main chamber.
The Black Dragon lair is in the northeast corner of the main chamber. Upon
entering the main room there, you will see 4 black dragons worshipping the
black who killed the blue dragon earlier. Kill them to receive the iron key
and exit to the main chamber.
The final lair is that of the Green Dragons. When you go through the
southeast door, the greenish air will have an edge of chlorine to it.
Proceed south from the entrance, and search the rooms for a secret door. Go
through the secret door and enter a room where a green dragon is giving
Modthryth a vial of vampire's blood. Modthryth leaves and four green dragons
attack you. Kill them, loot the treasure trove (in a room full of bones) and
go back to the main chamber.
After collecting all four keys, go north through the main doors in the
antechamber and you will be in a smaller room. Go through the northeast door
and burn the preserved corpses of dragons that lie there to gain experience.
Live dragons will attack immediately after this. Kill them, and then go to
the western side of the smaller room. Go through the door and rest in the
room to the south.
Go through the gate to the northwest and you will discover Modthryth there.
He will summon snakes to fight you. Defeat the snakes and continue north
until you discover a room with 2 doors, with 4 keyholes apiece. Save the
game and use the keys to unlock the doors.
On the other side of the doors, Modthryth is waiting for you. He attacks as
you walk in the door with his personal bodyguard, 2 Dragoliches, which are
immune to magic. Kill them all, then go through the portal to the north.
You will reappear in Elminster's camp in Limbo. Deposit you items (as
they'll be destroyed if you take them with you), train characters that need
to be trained, and memorize spells. Generally, just get your party as ready
as it can be.
Have Elminster transport you to Thorne. Upon entering this area on some
other plane, 2 red dragons will attack you. Defeat them and keep going. An
important note: you will not have a place to rest for a little while. Go
through the east door, then go north into a hallway. If you go west, you
will discover a room with treasure in it, along with a Ki-rin's corpse.
Go back to the east and rescue the prisoners. A woman who has a 'certain
look about her' will approach you. Raziel offers to join you party in return
for all the loot she can carry. Agree to her offer because where you're
going you'll need an extra pair of hands (besides, there is plenty of
treasure for everyone).
Continue east into a hall with two exits. The south exit leads to a room
with a red dragon busy hiding it's horde. Defeat the red dragon and take
everything you can carry. Continue through the room by going towards the
door to the north, where a patrol of human rogues will accost you; you can
beat them easily and take their weapons and armor. The other door in the
hallway bypasses this room, but it is not a great idea as you need to equip
you characters with some sort of protection.
In any case, continue on. Raziel will suggest that you go to the south in
hopes of finding treasure. Agree to her suggestion and go south. You will
enter a room with a door on each wall. The door of the western wall has a
golden light seeping out from underneath it. A Ki-rin is here, providing you
a safe place to rest and relax.
During my adventure here, I didn't find any treasure horde--only purple
worms and an empty room. Go back the way you came in and go north. Raziel
suggests you go east for more treasure, but this time proceed north, because
the Horn of Doom will sound again. Continue north and west searching for a
secret door. When you go through the door, several dragons who are
responding to the call of the horn will attack you. Defeat the rush of 2 red
and 2 green dragons and continue down the passage.
Upon turning south, you will notice the hallway ends with doors on the east,
west and south walls. The door on the west wall leads to a room which has a
Ki-rin in it and a place where you can rest and save. This step is
particularly important, as there are several tough battles ahead. When you
are rested and rememorized, go south through the door into an antechamber
where a small guard of red dragons awaits. Kill them and then go back to
where the Ki-rin is to rest so you are in top shape to battle Thorne.
Go back to where you killed the red dragons and go south through the double
doors, where Thorne is preparing to blow the Horn of Doom for the third
time, signaling the beginning of the war on the Forgotten Realms. He asks
you if you want to throw you life away like that Ki-rin. Yes is the right
answer, of course, so a battle begins.
Seven red dragons are spread out around the room, along with Thorne, who is
magic resistant and has an Armor Class of -11. Concentrate on killing the
other dragons first with Delayed Blast Fireballs and then work on Thorne.
The trick is to minimize the number of dragons living with fireballs so they
don't get the chance to breathe fire on you. After killing Thorne, the a
Ki-rin will appear and explain how Thorne happened upon the Horn of Doom.
Raziel takes all the treasure she can and bids the party farewell. Loot the
remaining horde and then, after resting, take the horn with you and depart
the cave by backtracking.
Marcus, the Red Tower & Tanetal
Upon entering the Red Tower in the middle of the Elven Court, you will be in
the garden. Go to the west initially, up and around the main structure of
the tower, avoiding the main entrance, as it is a trap. At the northwest
corner of the tower you will find a back door. Pass through the door and
inside a room where there is a mosaic of a hand on the floor and hundreds of
eyes are glaring at you. Go eastward into the hallway.
>From the hallway, go south and then west into a closet where you discover
Phlanarian guards. They seek Shal, a fighting mage of Phlan. Agree to help
search for her and exit the closet. Go north and then east down a flight of
stairs.
>From where you enter the basement, you will notice a large walled area to
the west. This is Phlan, trapped under the Red Tower. The citizens of Phlan
will not allow you to enter the city, but they beg you to help find Shal.
Follow the city wall northward, and when the path makes a second
intersection, go to the east. When you are given the option of which way to
go again, head north into the dungeon. Defeat the guards, rescue Shal and
proceed back up to Level 1, the straight west up the stairs to Level 2.
>From this point, all the party has to do is find the way up the tower,
however there are several encounters that must be taken care of before
making it to the top floor. On Level 3, the party runs into some drow. For
some reason, they don't attack right away. If you decide to talk to them,
they will explain that they oppose Marcus also, because when he transported
Phlan, it just happened to land on a drow city. They go on to say that a
woman mage, Petra, is aiding him and they want to kill her. The game then
asks you if you want to tell the drow about Shal. If you tell them about
her, they attack, mistaking her for Petra, after which you gain some
background information about Shal and Petra (which I got later on anyway).
If you don't share any information, you avoid the battle entirely.
The next major encounter occurs once you reach Level 7. At one point you
will enter a hallway and hear mages coming from both directions--1 group in
front of and 1 behind you. Out of all the choices the game gives you here,
the best choice is to move. Immediately duck into the door on your left
(which turns out to be a closet) and wait there. The mages proceed to kill
each other, saving you the trouble of killing them.
On the next level is the Circle of Moander, which in reality is a big shrine
where Moander Cultists have hung themselves from vines as sacrifices to
Moander. As much as you might like to leave them there to die, you must cut
them down, for which they attack you. After killing them, proceed to the
next floor.
A short while later, you will enter the Majestic Loft. Go into the rooms on
the sides of the loft and kill all the Black Circle Mages that are in them
(you can rest inside the rooms after the battles). From there, go into the
temple adjacent to the loft and kill the Banite clerics animating pieces of
Moander. When you exit the temple, you discover that the Black Circle--or
what is left of it--has formed to kill you.
After destroying the Black Circle, rest and then proceed into the Wizard's
Loft where the Red Wizards reside. One is saying to two others that if one
rival coven of wizards is planning on attacking the speaker's coven to knock
on his door and say 'red'. When he leaves for his room, enter the loft and
kill the two wizards you surprise there. Then knock on the first wizard's
door and when he responds, say 'red'. He charges out of his room, assembles
his coven and attacks another, killing everybody involved (but leaving you
unharmed). Keep going up the tower.
The next level is where Marcus is. But before you can visit Marcus, make a
stop in the Manufactory of Moander. The Manufactory of Moander more or less
covers the entire floor, so you must wander around killing Banite clerics,
mages and Bits o' Moander (with the exception of the people in the Temple of
Transformation). Kill the Banite Clerics and mages and the Bits o' Moander,
then go to visit Marcus.
When you get into Marcus' chamber, a spectral servant will appear. The
servant will tell you one of two things. Either that Marcus is not there,
nor is lady Petra, and they are visiting either (a) the Manufactory of
Moander, (b) the Black Circle, (c) the Wizard Loft or (d) the Circle of
Moander. This means that before you can meet Marcus you must go and
eliminate all the people living in the places he could visit. If you've
successfully eliminated everybody, then the servant tells you that Marcus
awaits, then proceeds to attack you.
The servant, who happens to be a banshee, attacks with a number of specters.
When they've been defeated, the second wave of attackers, hidden Moander
Cultists, Banite Clerics and Red Mages spring forward. After that threat has
been eliminated, Minions of Bane, Banite Clerics and Moander Cultists spring
forth. When the third wave is retired, you finally get to fight Marcus. Of
course, his personal bodyguard of Minions of Bane and Black Mages is there
too, but they shouldn't present a problem.
When Marcus is killed, Shal and Petra face off. Petra raises her hands to
cast a spell, Shal tosses her sword down and then they run into each other.
Shal comes out as one being instead of her two respective parts. As Petra's
influence is destroyed, the Red Tower begins to fall apart. Run into the
Temple of Transformation and up to the Vessel of Moander (Shal will join you
later). Jump onto the vessel and watch as the Tower falls apart beneath you.
Inside the Vessel is a Pool of Darkness, which the party should take to
Elminster.
Elminster fills you in on the next bit of your quest--to go to Moander's
body, which is sealed in another dimension and kill Tanetal, the lieutenant
of Bane staying there. From here, Elminster will teleport you to Moander.
Once you arrive in Moander's dimension, you will need to go two places. You
will need to visit the shoulder and the heart. Everything else is optional,
but remember that you have no weapons or armor, either. So if you go into
Moander's left foot you will find fanatical Moander Cultists who try to
forcibly impress you into their faith. One way to get weapons and armor is
to kill them and steal their armor.
>From the foot, proceed to the other end of the body and enter Moander's Tear
Duct, which is on the right side of the god's right eye. Kill the black
mages inside and look into the globes that they are installing in Moander's
brain. This will show you what recently to Moander (i.e. an army of elves
teleported here with a huge arrow, and were eliminated once they entered the
heart). That's all there is to see there, so exit the brain and go into
Moander's ear.
You must corner the hermit who lives there and talk to him. He tells you
about Moander, and tells you to talk to Agehweat, who lives in Moander's
shoulder. He also lets you train and rest here. From here visit Agehweat,
and clear his home of the minions of Tanetal sacking Moander's shoulder (the
hardest bit of this entire segment of the game). Upon successful completion
of the task, he gives you two potions which you need to get into Moander's
heart.
Leave Agehweat and the shoulder and go to the hole in Moander's side. You
will pass through a couple of chambers and into the area outside Moander's
heart. The game prompts you to try to enter into Moander's heart. Spread the
potions on the cell wall and cut through.
You can easily follow the arteries around the heart, but most of the
action happens in the muscle tissue. The first item the party needs
to recover is the Golden Cornucopia, which is in the muscle tissue between
the two exits to the heart in the northmost part of the heart, or area 1 on
the map to the left. The next thing the party needs to get is a cache of
weapons and weaponmaking tools, belonging to Tanetal, near the left atrium
(2). Take it and get back into the artery. After this point, if you run into
the Watcher she will suggest that you mix Agehweat's potions together you
might get rid of the annoying slimy things that are clinging to you.
>From there, go south to (3) near the left ventricle in the muscle tissue and
find the mouth, which is a piece of muscle that initially falls from the
cell wall. Talk to it. It says that it is hungry, so make sure to feed it.
It then allows you to take it. After taking the mouth, I had it snap at me,
then demand to be fed again. I did this, basically because it is harmless
and also because it also warns you when the heart is about to beat.
Once you've collected these three items, go to the Arrow (4), which is north
of the right atrium and fashion weapons out of the remnants of the Arrow.
You can make four weapons before the Arrow starts to shock you. From the
arrow, go straight east through an artery and into the muscle tissue to find
the Watcher (5). She is struggling with bits of Moander, who wrest the
Unguent from her, then run off. The Watcher thanks you, then says that
Moander is getting restless, and must put him back to sleep or you won't be
able to kill Tanetal. She says that she's lost the Golden Cornucopia, a
necessary component in putting Moander back to sleep. Give her the
Cornucopia. She begins to weave a magic spell and the invites you to help
her. She then gives you further instructions and a tuning fork and
disappears.
>From here, go to (6), where the Pulmonary artery branches off to the east
and west. Follow the east branch and you will run into a group of iron
golems. You weapons are instantly pulled from your hands and cling to the
golems, because these golems are magnetic. Use the tuning fork to reverse
the magnetism and retrieve your weapons (resulting in damage to you, but
that's life I guess), then defeat the golems. Your weapons are now magnetic.
Continue east under the left atrium to an area where you find bits of
Moander with a small vial (7). Take the vial from them and leave peacefully,
since they shrink from your metallic weapons. At this point you want to
proceed to the left ventricle (8), where Tanetal waits, but before you do
that, find the Watcher first. She rubs your weapons together along your arm,
and you receive a shock. She then hints that you might give Tanetal a
surprise if you did the same thing when you meet him. When you find Tanetal,
he won't notice you, as his back is turned, so rub your weapons together
against the wall. Moander's heart receives a shock, causing it to beat
suddenly and pumping everybody out of the heart, and causing Tanetal to drop
the Talisman of Bane.
You must find Tanetal again. This time he's on the east side of the left
ventricle inside the muscle tissue (9). Find him again and he will flee to
the right ventricle (10). Find the Watcher again and go to the right
ventricle and corner Tanetal. Some bits of Moander attack him, but they
disintegrate. Suddenly Tanetal clutches his chest and drops to the floor.
The Watcher checks his pulse and you discover that you ran him to death. The
Talisman of Bane appears, which the Watcher picks up. Unbeknownst to the
Watcher, Tanetal sits up, and before you can shout a warning, stabs the
Watcher in the back and grabs the Talisman. Tanetal calls his minions, and
you battle him for the final time. When he is defeated, take the Talisman of
Bane and leave the heart.
>From here return to Elminster. When you tell him of your adventures and show
him the Talisman of Bane, his eyes light up and says that the resistance may
have a chance! Rest and train here, then go back to the Realms.
Zhentil Keep, the Drow & Kalistes
After defeating Marcus, return to Zhentil Keep. Go into the Keep, and into
the chamber where the wagons pushed by drow disappear. In the northwestern
most corner is a path leading down into the drow city beneath Zhentil Keep.
>From the archway where you are standing, you will notice a room ahead of you
and another smaller room to the northeast which contains a dark well (marked
by a green dot on the map). These represent points where it is safe for the
party to rest. You can avoid the battle in the room to the east (1) by going
through the door to the south and east out into the main hallway.
Once you enter the hallway, you will be confronted by a royal coach
(2), the coachman occupied by the horses. If the party gets in the
coach, a prince and princess of the drow jump in and you accompany them to
the Central Hall (4) where you are paid to let them free. If you try to
sneak by the coach, the horses will spook carrying the carriage down the
hallway. You just have to walk to the Central Hall.
Since the Hall is heavily guarded by drow guards, go around and enter
through a doorway to the west of the hall. Proceed east from the doorway and
meet Traned, the halfling (3). She offers to join the party. Allow her to
join, then proceed into the Central Hall, surprising the guards inside.
After defeating the guards in the Central Hall, you will want to go north
and east, around some drow guards guarding a door on the east wall. Go to
the north and through another door, avoiding the guards entirely, and go
east. A drow abbess and her clerics are in the passage (5). She protects
herself, and sends her clerics to attack you. Immediately after destroying
the clerics, the abbess attacks you with the remainder of her retinue.
Defeat them and proceed south to the stairway leading down to level 2 (C).
>From the stairway, enter the drow barracks (6) from the west and defeat the
drow ambush inside. Stop in the room to the northeast containing the dark
well to rest if you need to replenish spells. Exit the barracks to the east,
and follow the hallway south and down the stairs to level 3 (D).
You are standing in a long hallway. As you walk north, you will notice a
room full of unguarded slaves on your right (7). Traned offers to go inside
the room because something doesn't seem right; the drow don't usually leave
slaves unguarded. If you allow Traned into the room, whispers tell her to
get down so the ambush isn't foiled. Traned barks a command and the slaves
drop to the ground revealing the armed drow. They shoot her with an arrow
and then the party falls on them. If you just charge into the room, Traned
commands the same thing of the slaves, and still takes the arrow. In any
event, the party surprises the drow.
When the drow have been vanquished, the poisoned Traned offers to take the
prisoners out of the stronghold. Allow her to do this; you'll catch up with
her again later. One prisoner approaches you and says that you must choose
if you are going to rescue the beautiful slaves or the majority of them. You
can actually rescue all of them, but you must rescue the beautiful ones
first.
Rest yourself in the dark well to the south, and go east into the hallway.
Go south down the stairs (E) and then to the east, through the door, into
another chamber and down another set of stairs (F). Upon reaching level 5,
go north, then east through the room with the statue of the drow king, and
south down the passage. Continue east when the path curves and into a room
with numerous umber hulks await you. Defeat the umber hulks, then go east
through the room. The southern door contains a dark well where the party can
rest and rememorize spells. The northern door contains a stairway (G) to
take you to the first drow temple.
Upon entering you will notice the walls are no longer made of rock,
but of hewn stone. Go east from the entryway and north around the
island in the center of the main courtyard. Enter the door on the east side
of the stone structure and go into the central room (9). Here you encounter
a drow woman with a silver streak in her black hair. Approach her, and she
introduces herself as Silk, a renegade drow and leader of the Swanmays. Silk
implores you to help her free her companions, who are prisoners in the
dungeon to the east, and joins the party. But first rest in the room as it
is safe, and will be your only resting point for a while.
Leave the central structure and go east across the courtyard, through the
drow guard post (defeating the guards) and then south to the guardroom (10).
Defeat the guards sitting around the table playing dice and read the letter
that was left by the captain. Go back into the main chamber and north past
the guard station, killing a patrol of jail guards and taking their keys on
you way to the Swanmays cell (11). The cell you are looking for is the first
one in the long row of cells on either side of the hallway.
Upon rescuing the Swanmays, Silk sends one of them to free the remainder of
the prisoners trapped there. When the Swanmay returns with the prisoners,
Silk bids you farewell, giving you advice as to how to handle some of the
traps on this level. She also gives you a cache of weapons, and tells you of
a secret door. Then the Swanmays guide the prisoners out, leaving you to
deal with the drow.
Proceed north along the line of cells, and follow the corridor to the east.
Just after the hallway turns again to the south, you will notice a door on
the east wall. Upon entering the party discovers an Alchemist's Laboratory
(12). Inside the laboratory is a Zhent woman, being strapped into a chair,
and a cap with wires attached to it fitted to her head while drow and Pets
of Kalistes watch in anticipation. No matter what you do, the party will end
up fighting everybody in the room.
After killing the people in the laboratory, talk to the woman in the chair.
She will tell you that the drow use the Essence of Pure Light and the Fire
of Night to make Pets of Kalistes. She will also tell you that if the
Essence and the Fire are mixed, that they will destroy one another. In any
case, from the laboratory go through the door to the south and into the
second storage area (13). In the northern half of the room the party will
find many vials of the Essence of Pure Light. Take the vials; you will need
them later. Go back the way you came and into the main courtyard. Rest in
the area where you met Silk if you need to replenish spells.
>From here go north to the main gate of the temple. Upon stepping up to the
door, you discover a drow ambush. When the drow are defeated and the party
enters the building, you will discover a room with black robes hanging up
and hear chanting in the distance. Upon moving into the adjacent room, the
chanting grows louder. When you step through the north door into the main
temple (14), you discover the source of the chanting: drow priests and a
spider. They won't notice you, if you just decide to wait and watch them
perform the ritual over the spider. However, it won't matter, as you will
fight them later, but in the interim the spider will become a Pet of
Kalistes.
>From the temple, go through the northwesternmost door into a small hallway.
On the other side of the hallway you will discover a room filled with
arches, and lightning dancing between them (15). The correct path through
the arches is illustrated on the map. Upon reaching the other door, go north
into the room full of the pit of spikes (16). When any one of the party
members tries to cross it, a bright light flashes from below and the
character attempting to cross falls for about 20 points of damage. That is
unless you have talked to Silk and covered you eyes as you crossed.
Upon reaching the other side, you will enter a room with glowing red runes
on the floor (17). When you step on certain runes, you are teleported
various places in the room. Your first step (a) will teleport you to (b).
Immediately turn 180 degrees around and walk to the west (c). Once you step
on this rune, you will be teleported to the other door (d), but you will be
facing the door from which you initially entered the room. Turn around and
proceed to the next room.
The next room contains a large iron golem (18). It perks up as soon as you
enter the room, noticing the party. Since the party has to traverse the room
anyway, you must enter the room and defeat it. A very difficult battle. The
next room (19), is a room which has a fountain in the center, from which
pours black liquid. If you didn't kill the priests and the spider in the
temple (14), you will be forced to fight them here.
You will notice that lightning dances across the surface of the black
liquid. Take the vials of the Essence of Pure Light and pour them into the
black liquid, which turns out to be the Fire of Night. As you pour more and
more of the vials into the liquid, the lightning weakens and as the last of
the Essence combines with the Fire of Night the fountain begins to spew
forth clear water.
Cross the room and you will find the secret door that Silk spoke of on the
east wall. You will enter the inner sanctum of the drow, the area
surrounding the Temple of Kalistes. In all the rooms are drow awaiting a big
ceremony, where the Night Spawn will swarm down upon the Realms. If you go
up to the main doors you will be turned away, the guard saying it is not
time yet. Your party must venture into all the rooms and either destroy all
the drow in there or free the slaves (or both). In the northeast corner is a
room with drow inside it shining their blades. This should be one of your
first stops, because when the drow have been defeated you can rest in this
room without interruption. You should encounter Traned again somewhere down
here. Allow her to join the party again, as usual.
Once all the slaves have been freed and all the drow in the room destroyed,
proceed to the southern edge of the temple grounds and go into the room in
the center. A drow priest is announcing guests and boasting about the
spectacle to come. From there go into the central grounds of the temple,
where a huge statue of Kalistes governs the room. The drow discover you and
the audience in the chamber empties, allowing the drow to eliminate you.
After killing the drow in the chamber, turn your attention to the statue.
Three of it's hands point at portals on the opposite wall, showing Thentia,
Thar and Hillsfar. The Night Spawn were going to invade through these
portals. The slaves charge into the temple, and run through the gates,
leaving the temple. Traned joins them. You look at the statue, trying to
decide what to do. You remember what the Oracle said: there is a certain
part of the statue you need to destroy. Type 'hands' when given the chance.
As you destroy the hands, the portals fade. The Realms are saved!
Go to the north and through a Pool of Darkness to Elminster's camp in Limbo.
Elminster will congratulate you on your thrashing of the drow, but then
tells you that you must venture to Kalistes' realm. Deposit you items and
teleport to her realm.
Upon arrival, you will be attacked by a room filled with spiders (however
there are no Pets of Kalistes present). Currently, you are in the ruins of a
drow temple. There's nothing of interest or value here (aside from the Pool
of Darkness). To leave, go south of your current position and through a door
into the room in the southeast corner. There's a gate to get out of the
fortress in that direction.
You will see the entirety of Kalistes Land upon exiting the temple. Follow
the depression in the path, as it is the main road of the realm. Try to run
from all the random encounters with the drow patrols and roaming monsters
because you can't rest anywhere (yet). If you look closely at the map, you
will notice a huge lava flow in the northwest corner. To the east is a large
mountain range. If you follow the range southward with your eye, you will
see that it stops before connecting with a smaller line of mountains,
forming a convenient passage between the cliffs. Go through the area there,
and you will come across some iron gates, which swing open at your approach,
daring you to enter.
After entering the gates, you will find yourself in a drow fortress, which,
in reality, is the drow testing area (where you test to become a full
fledged drow or something like that). Anyway, you will encounter resistance
upon entering the gates. Defeat the drow guards and proceed to either the
north or the south. You will come to a protrusion into the pathway, which
turns out to contain a door. The door is guarded by two drow. Have your
thief character try to sneak up on the drow and kill them quietly. If your
character fails, you simply get attacked by guards.
Once the drow guarding the door are dead, go into the room. Inside there are
a lot of driders. They say that if you try to fight them you will be killed,
but they offer to help you. They share a hint (which doesn't make a lot of
sense right now) with you and then disappear. There are four areas like this
around the keep, which you must visit before testing to become a drow.
Another note is that this is your one chance to rest and rememorize spells.
Pick any of the four corner rooms, kill the drow inside and rest just inside
the door.
Next, proceed to the room in the northwest corner of the keep and listen to
the conversation of two drow. If you follow the two drow out, they will go
into another building to the east, where you will see another elf give a man
a dagger, then exit. If you go east into the next room of this building, you
will enter a room where there are both a clear basin and a wand. If you
touch either, you will incur Kalistes wrath, and guards will attack you.
To test to become a drow, go to the southern part of the map right in the
center of the fortress. You will see a pathway leading north into the heart
of the keep. Go down this pathway. Your party should notice that the east
wall is 'odd.' When the game asks you what you want to do, select search.
Enter the hidden door into the room with an eerie glow, which is the
beginning of the drow testing grounds.
The testing grounds wind around the fortress in a counter clockwise fashion,
so just continue from one room to the next until you complete the tests. The
first test is a question of strength. Your characters will face a solid wall
where they must "be strong for Shest." Select your strongest character and
have him break through the wall. From here go east through a door and north
into the main hall. You will be filled with a strong sense of dread, as if
Bane is watching you. Simply push forward through the wall of fear and the
party will gain experience.
Your party will encounter a number of drider in the next room, which you
must defeat to continue with the tests. The next room contains drow mages,
which must be eliminated to keep going (nothing new here). The next test is
a riddle, about who is the most cunning and fearsome, yet little known or
something to that effect. The answer is, of course, Bane. Next you will
encounter a wall of heat. Think back to what the drider in the areas around
the keep said about illusions....simple press onward through the wall of
heat, which turns out to be pretty real, as you take damage.
The wall of heat does disappear, though, allowing you to pass. In the next
passage you will come upon a young elf with an amulet, who turns into a
drider and attacks you with a number of his brethren. This was the entire
test. In the next room is a treasure of several daggers, along with some
amulets to protect you from many of the random encounters. Of course, you
aren't quite finished with this segment of the game yet.
Continue north into the altar room where a number of the initiates wait
along with Locaste and some guards. Fight the guards, and the drow move into
the next room. Upon entering, Daris has a battle wills against a spider and
turns into a drider amidst a lot of screaming. Take the Ward of Kalistes.
Shest, a Pet of Kalistes appears, and attacks. After defeating him, take the
Ward again and leave for the Parlor of Kalistes.
The Parlor of Kalistes isn't very well marked. Follow the road across the
main river of lava and to the main castle in the northeast corner. The
castle doesn't have an entrance so you can forget going in through the main
entrance. On the other hand, there is always the back way.
In this case, you'll go in through the village that's just off the side of
the road on the way to Kalistes fortress. Upon entering the village, you'll
appear in the room in the southwestern corner. Go north and into the segment
of the village enclosed by the "legs" of the spider. It's midway up the map
and due east from the far left edge of the map. You'll come across an
unbroken wall of gossamer, which is the entrance into Kalistes' Parlor.
Locaste will come with her escort and approach the wall. Her drider becomes
skittish and much of her escort leaves. She commands the wall of gossamer
apart with the wand and calls upon the spiders that appear to devour her. In
any event, you should try to enter the parlor. The Ward will drive off the
spiders that would normally try to attack you here. You will enter the main
portion of the foyer, where Pets of Kalistes wait, but don't attack because
you are protected by the Ward.
>From the parlor, go north through the room you emerged into, which is the
center of the southern portion of your map. If you need to rest, go into the
southeast corner and kill the drow inside, after which you can rest. This is
a good idea anyway, since this is your last opportunity to do so for a
while.
After resting, go north to the next room, which is more or less in the
center of the map on the far east edge. Inside, the room is draped with
webs, and contains a drow servant. He doesn't call the guards, but instead
addresses you saying that you wish to kill Kalistes, a task which he will
help with. He beckons you to look into a bowl filled with a black liquid,
which you should recognize. It is a scrying bowl, allowing you to see
Kalistes.
The servant then directs you to the kitchen. The kitchen is in the northwest
corner of Kalistes parlor. Inside is an ogre cook, ready to kill a dwarven
girl to feed to the Hellspawn of Kalistes. Rescue the dwarf, Arta, and she
explains that prisoners are butchered for food here, then dropped down a
trapdoor to the larder to feed the Hellspawn. If you ask for more
information about the trap door, she'll tell you that you're standing on it.
Open the trapdoor and go down to the larder.
Inside the larder (1) are many prisoners chained to the walls, and
they begin to cry out when you enter the room. If you try to rescue
them, they say you might as well not because they won't be free until
Kalistes is dead anyway. Go east into a room directly across the hallway
from the larder (2). This room contains a number of women whom Arta was
captive with. She begs you to free them. Just as you are doing this, the
guards return. Once the guards are defeated, the women agree to wait until
Kalistes is dead before leaving.
The next room to the east contains a group of men (3), in the same situation
as the women, except without the guards. If you continue east, you find a
room (4) with gold inside, but it is guarded by drider. From here go south
where you will find an intersection with four room on each side of it (5).
These are torture chambers. All of the chambers are unoccupied, except the
one in the southwest corner.
If you continue south, you will enter the holding area (6) for Pets of
Kalistes. They will avoid you initially because of your amulet, but they
will mass and eventually attack. There's nothing important here, unless you
are looking for experience. The main area is to the west, which is where
Kalistes' eggs are (7). Upon entering the chamber you will notice the oblong
gelatinous eggs lining the walls, pulsing with light. Destroy the eggs to
gain experience and incur the wrath of Kalistes, who appears and challenges
you.
The battle is not that difficult; your magic users must disable the drow and
Pets of Kalistes before they have a chance to destroy you with their spells.
Though my party survived their repeated magical attacks (due in part to my
failure to cast a haste spell before battle), it is generally not
recommended that you do this. Once Kalistes has been defeated, you will gain
the Crystal Ring she used to keep the sunlight away from the Realms, which
is a major blow to Bane. Before leaving, simply rest inside the egg chamber,
then venture out the way you came in.
On the way out you will notice that the slaves have fled, and once you leave
the fortress, you will also notice that the drow training grounds have been
abandoned. But that is not your task. Your task is to go to the southwest
corner, into the ruins of the drow temple, and take the Pool of Darkness
back to Elminster's camp in Limbo. From here you should return to the
Realms.
Mulmaster, Arcam, Bane's Land & Gothmenes
>From Zhentil Keep, travel to the Black City of Mulmaster in the southeast
corner of the map. You must defeat the monsters in the arena to gain passage
to Arcam. The first wave is two black dragons; the second is Purple worms
and displacer beasts, and the third wave (which attacks maybe one time in
ten) consists of salamanders and pyro snakes.
A beholder will come up to you. It says that you have earned an
interview with Arcam. Will you go? Agree and follow the beast out of
the arena and into the tunnels below. You need to proceed south, through
Arcam's Hall of Victory (1). In the next chamber is the chancellor of Arcam.
If you come to the chancellor before this point in the game, he will assign
you a task (eliminating other allies, like Marcus, Manshoon or whomever,
offer to pay you for it, and have margoyles escort you out exit A). At this
point, he decides that you are becoming too dangerous and orders the legions
inside the chamber against you.
Defeat the chancellor and the many margoyles and you will see Arcam drift
out of view to the south. Follow him south and west, looping back around to
the east where you are confronted by a red mage saying that Arcam wishes to
parley. He offers a bag of gems in return. If you attack him, he utters a
command word and fire elementals jump out. After defeating them and
continuing east you will run into a dungeon (3) off to the north. Rescue the
prisoner in the northeast corner, then go down to level 2 (B).
Upon arrival in level 2, you discover that you are on the outskirts of the
Hall of the Dead. If you step into the hall, you are attacked by undead
(obviously). You can either use exit C or D to go down to level 3, however
if you go directly south to exit C you will be ambushed by more undead.
Looping around to the west and doubling back is much more effective.
When you arrive on level 3, go down the hallway. You will notice a door on
the south wall, which leads into the Labyrinth. Think back to the chant that
the Banites were using, if you happened to run into them. In any event,
you'll have to wander around until you find the exit, or you can simply
follow these directions. From just inside the entrance (4), take one step to
the east. Turn south, take three steps, then turn around without moving.
This is the exit, which will take you to the room immediately to the east
(5).
Go north from here into the next room where some of Arcam's allies are
trying to set up and ambush. They won't be prepared for you however, and as
you engage them in battle Arcam floats off north. Follow him north into a
large square room (6). This is Arcam's chamber, which contains organized
resistance. After defeating the group of monsters guarding the door, you
will be informed that the room is full of odd ornaments and stalactites,
which are good hiding places for defenders (or, in other words, if you move
too much you get attacked).
Proceed to the northwest corner of the room where Arcam finally faces you.
Arcam, who turns out to be a beholder is accompanied by another of his kind.
Don't bother with magic; you have to go right to the jugular because both of
the monsters are magic resistant. The ladder to the next level is
immediately to the west (F), but if you go to the southwest corner of
Arcam's chamber and go west through the arches to the southwest corner, you
will discover the treasure trove of Arcam (7).
When you reach level 4, you will enter a room to the east with a lone, stone
sentinel inside it, in the shape of a dragon (8). When you try to walk past
it, it senses the Horn of Doom, and calls its dragon allies from the north,
who swoop down on you and attack. Once they're defeated, you can rest in the
room to the north. Proceed east to the next room (9), which contains a huge
statue, this time of a spider with a thousand eyes looking down upon you.
You guessed it, when you try to walk by, the spider senses the Crystal Ring
and calls spiders from the room in the north to attack you. Once you defeat
them go to the east into the next room (10). Inside this room, the party
will notice a giant black hand jutting from the far wall. The hand is in the
shape of a clenched fist. When you approach it, it senses Bane's Talisman,
the fingers spread out revealing a portal, from which Bits o Moander and
walking trees attack you from.
Once you defeat them, go through the portal inside the hand and teleport to
Elminster's camp in Limbo. He congratulates you on getting this far, then
says that he's going to send you into Bane's Land. When you arrive in Bane's
Land, you will see several drow dragging Sasha out of a door. One continues
dragging her, the others turn and attack you. Once the drow are dead, you
can rest here.
Upon leaving, you will be swept along with a rushing tide of monsters to an
open are where an announcement is being made. As it turns out, the undead
form of one of Phlan's ex-councilmen, Porphrys Cadorna, announces to the
citizens of Dark Phlan that he intends to marry Sasha. The only real choice
you have is to listen to the rest of the announcement, since the other two
choices involve you fight a mass of monsters (trying to leave will jostle
monsters, who in turn attack you). Cadorna then retreats into the town hall
and the crowd disperses.
Once you begin to adventure around, you will notice the layout of the town
is just like the Phlan of the Realms, only here there are roaming monsters.
Go to where the Sunrise inn used to be and rest there. Then go into the town
hall. Minions of Bane demand that you leave, so you have to defeat them to
get to Cadorna, who is in the main chambers to the west. Cadorna screams
that you will not spoil his wedding plans, then orders his minions on you
and leaves through a secret door.
Defeat the minions, and go back the way you came. You will notice 2 doors;
one to your north and one to the south as you exit the chamber. The north
door contains the town's treasury, but it is guarded by vampires. Which
reminds me, don't bother trying to turn undead with you clerics at this
point; the evil is so great that with my 40th level cleric he was only
moderately successful in turning basic skeletons (sometimes it didn't work
at all). Through the south door is Gragnak Ulfim, who tells you his story,
which is really just a sidelight.
Rest and relax in the inn if you need to, then go to the south of the
council chambers into a room with a number of female drow into it. They are
enchanting a black wedding dress for Sasha, placing a powerful charm on it
so that she will obey Cadorna's commands. They notice you, then attack. Once
you defeat the drow, you should burn the dress. Go west into the next
building where Cadorna is undergoing an intricate ritual supervised by
Banites. He leaves, and turns the Banites on you . You obviously need to
defeat them, but afterward you are given the option of plundering the
temple.
>From here, go north (rest if you need to) to the room in the northwest
corner of the map. Enter the room and you will hear Gothmenes' voice
chanting part of a ceremony. Go around the corner to the west, and you will
see Gothmenes standing at a twisted altar. A malicious smile plays across
his face as Sasha is forced down the aisle by some drow. Sasha is forced to
kneel in front of the alter. She starts to scream, but then stops, since it
would be rather pointless. Gothmenes begins the ceremony, and Cadorna
laughs.
Now the game asks you if you will rescue Sasha. Once you interrupt the
ceremony, Gothmenes bellows his wrath at Cadorna, accusing him of his
inability to rule, even while Cadorna is directly supervised by Gothmenes.
He demands that Cadorna take care of you, of suffer his wrath. Gothmenes
then files off, blowing up a cloud of dust.
Then Cadorna attacks you with the remainder of his minions. After defeating
him and his followers, Sasha comes up to you, thanks you and opens a pouch,
presenting the party with two rings. Then she takes her leave. You should
follow her out, and then go west through the gates.
This is where the city differs from Phlan. There is only a huge iron wall,
which radiates black magic and saps your strength. When you approach the
wall, the game asks you what you want to do. You must blow the Horn of Doom
here. Upon putting the horn to your lips, Gothmenes appears, saying that
death will be swift and terrible and that he will take you to the Abyss if
you blow the horn. Then his minions attack as he flies away. Once you defeat
the minions, the party trudges through the carnage left by the minions, and
the game asks you if you want to go to blow the Horn now. Say yes, then type
6 when the game asks you the number of times you wish to blow it.
The iron wall comes crashing down with the sound of a thousand
tormented souls shrieking. Once you enter the Palace of Gothmenes,
you will notice that the area map feature is sorely missing. The map to the
left is an accurate rendering of the Palace. You appear in the southwest
corner (1). It doesn't matter if you move north or east, as the palace is
more or less symmetrical. You need to go to the one of the exits of the
room, which appears to be a dead end.
In reality, both dead ends contain secret doors. To find the secret doors,
make sure you either look when you are in the corner or are searching.
However, if you use your search ability while you are in the palace, the
game will tell you that you have three items of power: Bane's Talisman, the
Crystal Ring and the Horn of Doom. It then asks who you want to give the
items to. Right now it doesn't matter who has what item, just so long as
three members of the party have the items. Go down the hallways that they
lead into. If you chose north, you will have to turn right when the path
forks.
Either way you emerge into the main courtyard. You should hear a voice, or
rather, the person with the Horn of Doom will hear a voice. The voice asks
another if the second (Gothmenes) won't send for the minions of Bane to
protect himself from you. Gothmenes replies that he's studied you and that
you're weaklings and easily dealt with.
Continue through the courtyard. If you wander in the courtyard long enough,
you will hear the voices a second time. This time they are a bit harsher.
Gothmenes says to Xoham (the first voice) that he should invite Mashavad for
tea and to greet their 'guests.' Upon passing over the main intersection of
the courtyard (2), you will be confronted by Sasha leading a group of armed
Phlanarians. This should immediately seem very fishy because you just
rescued her (or if you haven't then that all the more reason for you to
suspect this entourage).
Well, 'Sasha' claims to have heard that Elminster has been captured, and
asks where he is so that she can rescue him. Of course this is a lie, and
you shouldn't tell her. She begins to get angry, and demands to know his
location. If you deny her again, her rage transforms her and her band into
rakashas, and they spread out to attack.
After defeating the rakashas, you will notice two doors before you, one on
the north wall and one on the east wall. You can rest outside the doors, and
in fact is almost necessary that you do so, for there is a huge battle on
the opposite side of each door. Once you step through the door, you will be
surrounded by enemies, who wait to see what you will do.
If you had stepped through the north door, you would have been confronted by
minions of Bane and Pets of Kalistes (3); the east door hides all manner of
dragons and some dragoliches (4). In any event, if you move you will be
attacked. What you must do first is to use the look option to get the game
to tell you that you have three items of power. It then asks you to
distribute them, and then asks you if you want to use them.
In order to really win the battle, you must use the artifact that you won
from either group of monsters against them. So, if you walked through the
north door, have one member of the party brandish the Talisman of Bane; if
you are facing dragons, have another member blow the Horn of Doom. The
creatures facing you will reel in dismay or terror, granting you a round
where you are free to attack them while they stand around and watch or try
to reorganize themselves. You must spend this round eliminating most of the
monsters, generally with delayed blast fireballs. The second round works as
normal, but you should have the advantage since many of the enemies are
already dead.
You will notice a path leading between the two rooms; don't use it unless
you want to fight another battle right away. In my opinion, the fight with
the minions of Bane was easier, but then you miss the treasure room (5) that
you can only reach by fighting the dragons and crossing that room to the
southeast. In the northeast corner of the minions' room, on the other hand
is a lair filled with beholders. You probably don't want to go in there.
The choice is up to you; both rooms lead to the inner palace of Gothemenes,
which is impeccably wrought in the finest materials, the design of a mad
architect. An important note: rest here and save the game. Then cast all
your protective spells, because you are going to fight several major battles
back to back and this is your last chance to save and protect yourself. As
soon as you leave the passage and enter the main room, a dark fog begins
pouring from the arches to the right. Suddenly, in a flash of light, a
figure appears. It is Elminster. He offers to join your party. This is also
sort of strange, since Elminster is supposed to stay in Limbo to provide you
a gateway home, right?
Well, as it turns out, the game gives you a choice of what you want to do.
You can either let him join the party, or turn him down or kill him through
battle. If he joins the party, he turns into Mahasvad the Rakasha and you
easily kill the lone rakasha. If you turn him down, he asks if he should
return to Limbo. If you say yes, Gothemenes knows where Elminster, the only
being with enough power to face him single-handedly, is located. If you
fight him, 'Elminster' becomes the rakasha and you kill him.
After the battle or slaughter--whichever you want to call it--is over, you
will hear Gothmenes curse, saying that you didn't babble about Elminster's
exact location (which makes him that much harder to find). However, though
the world is big, Gothemenes says that he will return with Elminster. Xoham
asks fearfully what will happen if you come by. Well, Gothemenes says that
he will wind the Tantalus clock, which is the countdown until he returns.
Gears grind, the clock strikes one, Gothemenes teleports to Limbo, and
ripples hiss evilly in the dark pool beyond the arches (9).
The clock strikes about every two minutes game time; you have about 75 ticks
to wander around before he returns. You're supposed to be looking for Bane's
Crystal, so you can go to the northwest and see the immense book collection
Tanetal has amassed in his library (7), or to the museum (8) where he has
many works of art. Both room contain minor treasures; nothing of any value.
You will be surprised that there are no monsters here, though.
The Crystal is really in the center of the dark pool. This is where your
selection of who holds what artifact becomes important. Whomever has the
Crystal Ring should be wearing it, but more importantly, you must choose who
wears it. The problem lies in the fact that whomever wears it stands a good
chance of being killed. The best choice here is to select the character whom
you can most afford to lose.
The person wearing the Crystal Ring must reach into the pool to retrieve the
Crystal of Bane. That character's hand will be chilled, but they won't
suffer the 20 damage anyone else will upon touching the surface. The
character should take the Crystal, and upon touching it will notice that
every evil-aligned monster in the Realms suddenly has their thoughts focused
on that character. Gothemenes notices this too, and rushes back with
Elminster, so that you only have until the clock strikes several more times
before he returns.
Once he arrives, you are teleported against your will right next to the
pool. Gothemenes holds Elminster at a wicked angle, tied up in his flail. He
demands that you give him the Crystal, saying that if you don't Elminster
will die. If you give him the Crystal, he will use it to directly channel
Bane's power and will kill the entire party and Elminster instantly with no
chance for escape. So you obviously turn down his request. Again he demands
it. Turn him down again. He loses his composure over being denied the
Crystal, and Elminster escapes.
Elminster and Gothemenes face off, human to balor, good to evil, dancing in
a circle of death around the pool. Creatures begin to bubble from the pool,
amassing and flocking to you. The person who has the Crystal of Bane is
presented with the option of using the Crystal to force the creatures back
into the pool, but the game warns you it may be deadly to try this. It's
right (I had to fight the battle twice; the first time my magic user lost 70
HP from trying this; the next time my paladin lost 182 of 183 HP trying
this). Anyway, it works. Most of the monsters retreat into the pool where
Bane kills them for disobedience. Oh well, he saved you the trouble. The
remaining monsters swarm forward as Xoham goads them on from behind.
Throw everything you've got against this wave; there are two more and it
gets worse, however magic won't help you with those two. The best way to
handle this wave is, as always, to use delayed blast fireballs. Once this
wave is defeated, you glance at the battle between the two titans and watch
them tire. Then Xoham attacks you with his fellow beholders.
Your spells will fail against the beholders' magic resistance; don't even
try casting. Spread your party out, but concentrate on killing one or two at
a time. After all the quicker you can eliminate more monsters, the better.
Rather than hitting each one once, make sure one dies before moving on to
the next, because though your attacks will disrupt their spellcasting, they
normally use their innate abilities anyway: flesh to stone, rays of
disintegration and death rays, among others. This is where your prayer and
bless spells will come in handy--your characters must make all their saving
throws or they will not be able to help you in the next battle.
Once the beholders have been defeated, you turn to watch the battle between
the Elminster and Gothemenes again. Suddenly, Elminster slips and falls into
the pool of darkness. Gothemenes looks around at the carnage you've left so
far, and a look of doubt over his ability to beat you crosses his face. He
says, that "Perhaps you have earned the use of my gem. With it you can rule
the Realms. I will teach you the command word if you let me go." The game
asks you if you agree to this. The obvious answer is no. Then he licks his
lips and calls his loyal minions to himself. He gets scared and then he
calls on Bane to protect his 'chosen one.' At first it seems as if nothing
happens. Suddenly, a weird light seeps from the pool and you feel you magic
draining away.
Looks like you'll have to do it the hard way. Gothemenes attacks. If you
haven't figured it out by this time, the bright blue minions of bane give
you an electrical shock if you hit them with a melee weapon (i.e. a sword,
axe, staff, etc.). You'll have to use bows and arrows, but to use these you
must be at least 1 step away from all enemies (the idea is that if you're
closer you have to defend yourself against other attacks, which doesn't work
too well with a bow & arrows). The first enemy you kill is Gothemenes,
followed by the minions of Bane, and finally Bits o Moander.
Once all the monsters have been destroyed, Gothemenes drags himself to the
edge of the pool and calls out: "Bane! Save your faithful servant!" But it
seems Bane doesn't hear, because the god eliminates those who fail him. The
cold flame from the pool which burns Gothemenes alive is merciless.
Suddenly the Crystal of Bane turns to dust in your character's hand and
Elminster reappears from the pool of darkness. He says that he has seen
Bane's realm and it is terrible, and all that fun stuff. A fog begins to
descend upon you, but suddenly it vanishes from your eyes. Elminster says
that only he and you will ever remember that this happened; the fog will
make the rest of the Realms forget it. Then he transports you to Phlan.
You are done with the game, in as much as saving the Forgotten Realms goes.
You can wander around Phlan and talk to the people who you met on your
journeys; they've forgotten all about the attack on the Moonsea; it's as if
it never happened, and they act as if they don't know you (though Shal seems
to recognize you from somewhere....). Sasha has canceled her trip to Thar to
inspect their forces there because it is such a peaceful time. Priam greets
you, but not as if you were any different than another passerby. Vala wants
to go to Vaasa and stir up trouble for you. Nothing has changed, or has it?
>From here go to the boat docks. Elminster steps out from some crates and
welcomes you. He explains exactly why nobody remembers anything about Bane's
attempt at conquest (it wasn't the fog after all!). When the greater powers
returned the cities, they also returned time as well--it's as if time
resumed right before the big catastrophe with the Moonsea and the
disappearance of the cities, only the nightmare that followed never
happened.
He goes on to say that you have passage on a boat to a realm far away from
the Forgotten Realms, should you so choose to go and live the rest of your
lives in that location (all the treasure you left with him in his vault in
Limbo is in the cargo hold). He also says that a mysterious boat has also
landed and has there should be one more challenge for you there should you
wish to undertake it before leaving the Realms. He's going back to
Shadowdale. He leaves. Go east to the door to the docks, and Rolf will ask
what you want to do.
If you take the fine ship, he asks you if you really want to bid a final
good-bye. If you say yes, you will pass from the Realms forever, knowing
that by your hand the Realms where saved and that your deeds will change the
face of the earth altogether.
On the other hand, if you take the other ship, complete with broken
mizzenmast, the captain explains that he met a man who loved
challenges--ones that involve death. Anyway, he asks if you are sure you
want to go. If you say yes, he allows the party to encamp and save the game
and rest beforehand. Afterward, he asks you to confirm your choice. If you
still agree to go (knowing there is no turning back), you all board the ship
and sail on calm seas for several days until you reach and island, your
destination.
Part IV: Dave's Challenge
Please Note: this portion of the walkthru is optional, and therefore I am
releasing the previous portion before the entire document is ready. Please
pardon the disorder in the rest of the document.
This deserves to be in a whole section by itself. The map included and the
directions should help you through Dave's Challenge itself (the area map
feature is off in this segment too). The object of Dave's Challenge, as Dave
himself will tell you after noting your deeds, is simple: Survival. To
achieve this end, you must recover four Bonds: the Fighter's Bond, the
Cleric's Bond, the Mage's Bond and the Thief's Bond, which are scattered
throughout the fortress, and then escape.
To complicate matters, all the enemies in the fortress are more powerful the
second time around, and have something in the neighborhood of two to four
times as many hit points. However, their other attributes seem to remain the
same. Good luck! You'll need it.
Upon entering the labyrinth, Dave speaks to you. In addition to what he
tells you, there are a couple important notes. First of all, there is only
one place where you can safely rest (29), and even so you can only rest for
a limited period of time (the longer each rest is the less often you can do
it). The best solution is to use the potions that you find and clerical
spells, and to also try not to rest until you have recovered all 4 bonds.
Also, the Rune will disappear after resting twice to regain spells lost in
these three locations: 3, 13 and 34. A couple more notes. Turning undead has
basically the same effect here as it did in Gothmenes palace: none. Don't
bother wasting your attacks. You should also know that the wandering
monsters are packs of vampires. The only other place to rest other than the
Rune is after the battle at 21. Off you go!
1. The entrance and a fight with Greater Basilisks and Carrion Crawlers.
2. Beholders will allow the party to talk with them 3 times to get clues to
the challenge; after this they attack.
3. All memorized spells are lost.
4. A fight with about 6 Pets of Kalistes.
5. A fight with a number of human thieves.
6. Treasure: Money, minor swords & armor and potions.
7. A fight with Red, Green and White Dragons; The Fighter's Bond is located
here.
8. A fight with vampires, IF you go into the center of the room.
9. Another battle with wraiths, spectres, and wights.
10. Several liches and spectres guard the Cleric's Bond.
11. A fight with skeletons, after which you advance to another encounter
with even more skeletons.
12. Treasure: Money, minor swords & armor and potions.
13. All clerical spells are lost.
14. A battle with a large force of vampires.
15. The Mage's Bond is here, along with a one way door.
16. There's an electric trap under the door, so go through the secret door
to the south.
17. The Thief's Bond is here.
18. Treasure: Potions, money and minor weapons & armor.
19. The secret door here will only appear after all bonds have been
destroyed.
20. The next step you take will teleport you to 21; this is your last chance
to cast spells!
21. All spells are lost. In the final battle, the party must face 2 waves:
the first consists of Gothmenes, Tanetal, Blue Bane Minions and Red Bits o
Moander. The second wave consists of Thorne, Kalistes, some Red Dragons and
Pets of Kalistes.
22. Type "Oh, well" here and be transported to 23.
23. A safe spot, believe it or not (no pun intended)!
24. Drink from the fountain to gain experience points.
25. Train your characters.
26. There's a pool of water here; it has no visible effect either good or
ill.
27. Treasure: 2 Vorpal Swords, 2 Girdles of Giant Strength, 3 Pairs of Boots
of Speed, other good stuff.
28. You can be teleported back to Phlan (but might as well keep going at
this point).
29. The Rune: the only place to rest (see notes above).
30. The clerics can destroy the altar.
31. One person must stand against fear.
32. Next is a fight with Blue Bane Minions, Bulettes, and Red Bits o
Moander.
33. An encounter with Large Iron Golems.
34. All mage spells are lost.
35. The passageway is charged with electricity; searching would be a bad
idea right now!
36. Disarm the trap on the secret door or you will take damage.
Credits
I would like to thank Ragan Roush for his contributions to the walkthru. I
would also like to thank SSI, TSR and MicroMagic for putting together such a
cool game and to GeoCities for hosting this site. Again, thank you to all of
you who have e-mailed me with your comments and suggestions.
The Pools of Darkness walkthru copyright ®1996 Matt Haag.
All rights reserved.
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