Durlag's Tower Walkthrough
Step right up! Step right up!
There's a sucker born every minute, and you're right on time! - Ike.
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There's a sucker born every minute, and you're right on time! - Ike.
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| The tip of the iceberg |
Welcome to my walkthrough for Durlag's Tower, a cRPG dungeon released by BioWare in 1999. This walkthrough accompanies my Baldur's Gate walkthrough and Werewolf Island walkthrough.
How to get to Durlag's Tower
Durlag's Tower is found in a barren wasteland east of Nashkel and south of the Firewine Bridge.
The legendary Durlag's Tower - the jewel in the Infinity Engine's crown - is a multi-level dungeon crawl added into the base campaign by the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, the existence of which is revealed to us upon reaching the far-northern town of Ulgoth's Beard, which is itself expansion content, a hub and launching pad for Durlag's Tower, Ice Island & Werewolf Island.
The tower can also be stumbled upon by exploring in an easterly direction from Nashkel, though in doing so Ike's sensational theatrics and the scripted encounter with the Demon Knight are bypassed, and lost forever.
The tower can also be stumbled upon by exploring in an easterly direction from Nashkel, though in doing so Ike's sensational theatrics and the scripted encounter with the Demon Knight are bypassed, and lost forever.
How to Beat Durlag's Tower
To beat Durlag's Tower, you must delve to its deepest point and slay the Demon Knight in order to recover the Soul Taker dagger.
How Hard is Durlag's Tower
Durlag's Tower is very hard for new players on a first playthrough. There are many traps, puzzles and tough enemies. Before going to Durlag's Tower, it is best to have significantly advanced the plot of Baldur's Gate.
The difficulty of Durlag's Tower is dependent on party level, party composition, and what Baldur's Gate items and spells the party has access to. However, it is possible for one character to venture into Durlag's Tower at first level, and beat it by leveling up in the tower, and by only using items found in the tower. If that doesn't pose a challenge to the reader, try doing a Baldur's Gate No Reload Run under those parameters.
Durlag's Tower is much easier if you are playing on EasyTutu or the Enhanced Edition, which make BG1 itself much easier because we have access to BG2 classes, spells and abilities in BG1, which was not balanced for such additions.
In terms of difficulty, the Durlag's Tower most people experience in 2022 is far easier than the original Durlag's Tower of 1999.
Ulgoth's Beard: Ike the Huckster
Standing outside Ulgoth's Beard Store & Inn is Ike the huckster, offering guided tours of the tower to gullible tourists for the price of 60 gold pieces; standing inside the inn is Hurgan Stoneblade, a noble dwarf who enlists your aid to recover the soultaker artifact (a magical dagger) from deep within the foreboding tower. Having accepted the quest and paid for the tour, Ike slinks away to meet the party at the "venerable death trap" itself.
I'm sure it's safe; they wouldn't let people in if there was any danger...
Fenrus references illithid, aka mindflayers:
Durlag's Tower Approach: Erdane
Just south of Erdane, across a narrow path of rock that forms a natural bridge over a chasm, two tough-ass Battle Horrors stand guard (+2,000 Exp ea), presumably placed there by the devs to scare off scrubby parties brandishing nothing but leafy twigs (i.e, a gating encounter).
Having fended them off and wound our way southward, Ike is caught up with on the moat-bridge, whereupon he continues his entertaining bardic recital of Durlag lore.
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| Erdane the peddler and Ike the Huckster |
The party step inside the tower...
Tourists huddle in the entry chamber listening attentively to Ike's tireless spiel; after which Ike sells you a "token", a fake dwarven rune wardstone, for 300 gold pieces (later, the acquisition of real DRWs is necessary in order to progress).
Tourists huddle in the entry chamber listening attentively to Ike's tireless spiel; after which Ike sells you a "token", a fake dwarven rune wardstone, for 300 gold pieces (later, the acquisition of real DRWs is necessary in order to progress).
Demon Knight Appearance
With the masterfully-presented theatrics over (BioWare outdid themselves!), Durlag's Tower now takes on a brooding aspect. We're talking here about a subterranean fortress made nigh-impenetrable by hundreds of lethal traps, devious puzzles and deadly denizens!
Durlag's Tower Traps
Thieving skills are almost mandatory in Durlag's Tower, which is, from its loftiest storey to its deepest pit, filled with proximity traps and trapped containers which, when tripped, threaten to inflict all manner of direct damage, debuffing and disabling effects on victims unlucky enough to be unprotected from their effects or fail their saving throw or magic resistance check.
Springing proximity traps doesn't normally disable them (like in NWN): they will reset and remain a threat until deftly dealt with by a thief with solid investment in the vital skill, Find/Remove Traps.
Chromatic Orb (Stun) and Hold Person proximity traps are bemusing in that it's possible to be caught within the proximity and held fast over and over again! (Until the victim makes their save/MR check, or the trap is removed from under their clumsy feet!)
By "solid investment" I really mean maxed to 100%. Sure, 80% is fine if you have a reliable supply of Potions of Perception (+20% to all thief skills for 6 hours), but I just prefer not to rely on buffs because I may be dispelled or need to rest.
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| Examples of the tower's trap density |
By "solid investment" I really mean maxed to 100%. Sure, 80% is fine if you have a reliable supply of Potions of Perception (+20% to all thief skills for 6 hours), but I just prefer not to rely on buffs because I may be dispelled or need to rest.
In addition, I say Find/Remove Traps is "vital" because unless you're a pro-player meta-gaming your ass off, having a capable thief is vital to sanity. Just a reminder, too, that "%" doesn't mean percentage at all; they're just points. "A roll" of sorts does happen, but your skill has to be within five or so points of the difficulty rating to have a hope of succeeding.
Trap Detection & Trap Removal
Traps include both Trap Detection & Trap Removal Difficulty ratings (TDD & TRD), with success in the latter usually requiring higher investment in the skill. Many traps in Durlag's Tower are 100-rated, and one I know of is erroneously flagged as undetectable! (At least, I would like to think it wasn't dev intent.)
In the screenshot below, the trap in question lies between the one being removed and the next one along the corridor, scorching the hapless thief who tripped it. Note also the multitude of corpses littering the area, strongly suggestive of danger being present!
Generic (i.e, non-scripted/hardcoded) monsters respawn at intervals to hinder the party as they backtrack through corridors and chambers in their attempt to solve the puzzles, but respawns can be suppressed by camping a party member in line-of-sight of the spawnpoint.
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| "Ah... 'tis but a flesh wound!" - Coran at Badly Wounded |
Generic (i.e, non-scripted/hardcoded) monsters respawn at intervals to hinder the party as they backtrack through corridors and chambers in their attempt to solve the puzzles, but respawns can be suppressed by camping a party member in line-of-sight of the spawnpoint.
Reloading also refreshes generic spawns and may add to already-existing ones (true of the campaign in general). Resting frequently results in ambushes, but having to defend the camp against a few Ghasts is preferable to hiking all the way back to town, which is time-consuming and may result in overworld waylays, anyway.
The gating encounters, the convo with Bayard (see the "cellar" section, below), the type and number of hostile denizens, the fifth circle scroll drops and the tough traps and locks all point to the design of Durlag's Tower catering to parties of maximum level, or not far off. Sure, veterans may start off with a first level party and rapidly gain levels as they go, but for the purposes of my treatment the party will be borderline-maxed, as that's what the design calls for.
In addition to a thief, new players are advised to bring along a bard for their valuable loremastery, enabling them to easily identify magical items instead of relying on the Identify spell, which consumes first circle spell slots that should instead be loaded with Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb and Blindness.
The rest of this post is given over to treatment of Durlag's Tower on an area-by-area basis, starting with the upper storeys; the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
[1] Examples of each traps' negative effects in the tower's first two storeys: Flamestrike, Hold Person, Silence, Chromatic Orb (Stun), Dire Charm, Miscast Magic, Lightning Bolt.
The gating encounters, the convo with Bayard (see the "cellar" section, below), the type and number of hostile denizens, the fifth circle scroll drops and the tough traps and locks all point to the design of Durlag's Tower catering to parties of maximum level, or not far off. Sure, veterans may start off with a first level party and rapidly gain levels as they go, but for the purposes of my treatment the party will be borderline-maxed, as that's what the design calls for.
In addition to a thief, new players are advised to bring along a bard for their valuable loremastery, enabling them to easily identify magical items instead of relying on the Identify spell, which consumes first circle spell slots that should instead be loaded with Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb and Blindness.
The rest of this post is given over to treatment of Durlag's Tower on an area-by-area basis, starting with the upper storeys; the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
[1] Examples of each traps' negative effects in the tower's first two storeys: Flamestrike, Hold Person, Silence, Chromatic Orb (Stun), Dire Charm, Miscast Magic, Lightning Bolt.
The Upper Storeys of Durlag's Tower
Before delving the labyrinthine environments below, players may explore upwards three storeys to partake in optional encounters, and one quest. As with the ground floor (the entry level, where the Demon Knight briefly appeared), the first floor is relatively tame, hosting a pack of Ghasts (nasty for their on-hit hold and disease), obligatory traps and basic treasure to loot.
The first floor also grants access to the exterior overlooking the courtyard, where the party may scale an external staircase leading to the roof upon which Greater Basilisks may be battled (also nasty for their petrifying gaze). A magical scimitar may also be spotted, stashed in a chimney (Rhashad's Talon +2).
Below left: The upper storeys.
Below right: Coran scouts the roof-top for Greater Basilisks as night (and rain) falls.
Below left: The upper storeys.
Below right: Coran scouts the roof-top for Greater Basilisks as night (and rain) falls.
The Ghost of Daitel
Lurking on the second storey is the ghost of Daitel, a high level mage who must be fought regardless of dialogue choice. He buffs himself with Mirror Image, then teleports (Dimension Door) into the central chamber where he conjures an Invisible Stalker and proceeds to unleash an array of disabling and direct damage spells at the party, including Chaos, Lightning Bolt, Fireball, Flesh to Stone and Cloudkill - an extensive repertoire, indeed!
Note: A chest in Daietel's chamber contains a unidentified potion that is cursed to petrify the imbiber. It is identified as a Potion of Invulernability with only a hint of it being cursed in the description: "A strange murky quality".
Riggilo the Rogue
This is an entirely optional quest, and rare, in that it can only be solved evilly. Sneaking around on the second floor is Riggilo the rogue, a seasoned and abrasive treasure hunter made nervous by the plundering party's competitive presence.
Initially, I have chosen the unfriendly dialogue options for just for fun (below left). As per Riggilo's request, the party leaves him be for the time being and ascends the spiral staircase to the next storey up.
The lavatory on the third (top) floor is occupied by a succubus who wishes us to gift a lock of her hair to a male victim, so that she may finally be released from her binding by Durlag. Mmm... who could we give this to I wonder? Riggilo, of course!
Kirinhale the Succubus
A female? After all this time I am found by a female? - Kirinhale
(Note the gender-based dialogue: very rare in Baldur's Gate)
The lavatory on the third (top) floor is occupied by a succubus who wishes us to gift a lock of her hair to a male victim, so that she may finally be released from her binding by Durlag. Mmm... who could we give this to I wonder? Riggilo, of course!
Under the impression the lock of hair is from a nymph, Riggilo gladly receives the gift and hands us a Potion of Cloud Giant Strength in exchange (below left). Now unbound, the succubus returns to the Abyss and the party receives 4,000 quest experience points (below right).
Returning to gloat at Riggilo turns him hostile (below left), but in the interests of the evil outcome he should be kept alive and eternally bound to the tower! Good-aligned PCs may prefer to simply dispatch the (ethereal-teleporting) succubus for kill experience (+3,000 Exp, Staff Spear +2), but there is no quest reward for doing so. There are no alignment checks to receive the quest and alignment-sensitive PCs won't become "Fallen" for unbinding a succubus at the expense of a human life. Those two mechanics are utilized in the sequel (though not satisfactorily so). Still, the quest is just there for a bit of fun.
Tome of Understanding Location
Incidentally, just to the north of Riggilo stands a chapel with a trapped altar (Dire Charm: TDD 90 TRD 100) containing a Tome of Understanding (+1 Wisdom), one of three found in the campaign (below right).
Well, that's all there is to report of the upper storeys! Let us descend to the cellar...
Durlag's Tower Cellar & Bayard
Bayard's lengthy lecture certainly gets the player thinking about whether or not they're ready for the real deal, one dialogue choice being: Perhaps I will leave this place for another day then. No need to go and get myself killed.
A secret door is detected on the northern wall, leading down to the first (of four) labyrinthine levels: Durlag's Tower Level 1: The Labyrinth of the Warders awaits!
A secret door is detected on the northern wall, leading down to the first (of four) labyrinthine levels: Durlag's Tower Level 1: The Labyrinth of the Warders awaits!
| 1. Durlag's Tower Walkthrough | 2. Durlag's Tower Level 1 | 3. Durlag's Tower Level 2 |
| 4. Durlag's Tower Level 3 | 5. Durlag's Tower Level 4 | 6. Aec'Letec Baldur's Gate |
| Werewolf Island Walkthrough | Baldur's Gate 1 Walkthrough | Baldur's Gate 1 (Index) |
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