Part IV of the Icewind Dale 2 Walkthrough. Continuing from Part III: Shaengarne Bridge.
Horde Fortress IWD2
Lord Ulbrec heard of our success in retaking Shaengarne Bridge, and he believes a swift offensive has a chance to break the goblin horde and drive them from the region. He has asked us to meet two of his scouts, Ennelia and Braston, south and east of Targos and give them whatever aid they require to break the goblins' strength in the region.
Goblin Fortress Approach. Ennelia will force-talk you upon your arrival. If you have a healing potion, prevent her wounds from worsening (575 XP). Now, offer to free Braston.
Ok, buff up, summon your undead (hopefully, you will get the faster-moving Greater Boneguards), and make your way up along the eastern side of the chasm, preferably under cover of Invisibility, watching with glee as your summons tear the goblins and orcs new assholes all over the place. I wouldn't be overly concerned by enemies beating on the war drums: nothing can contend with your undead minions, and putting the place on alert serves up more crap to kill for more XP. Unleash the odd Fireball and Skull Trap as you go, just to increase killspeed here and there. Note that Hardened Ice Trolls sport slashing resistance so have your Zombie Lords punch them to pieces. I have literally walked off to make a cup of coffee while the undead have ripped through the aggro, map-wide. You shouldn't need to, but remember that you can return to rest at Ennelia's camp. You will note that you're getting no XP for most of these kills: don't sweat it.
All you need to do is slay the orc shaman, Trugnuk IWD2, and loot the Warren Key from his corpse which opens the gate in the southeast.
Slay Gark and the rest of the trash on the other side of the gate, rest, and enter the warrens.
SORCERER 11 (55,000): New Spells: Knock, Dispel Magic, Emotion: Hope, Sunfire. Knock is critical. Dispel Magic can be helpful but certainly you can do without it. Emotion: Hope is for non-undead summons/mordsword (both later in the campaign). Sunfire is an upgraded Fireball that radiates outward from the caster.
• Hostiles: Goblin x3, Goblin Archer Elite x6, Goblin Elite x6, Half-Goblin x7, Orc Warrior x4, Goblin Archer x10, Goblin x3, Half-Goblin Hordling x6, Goblin Worg Rider x12, Goblin Hordling x2, Winter Wolf x2, Goblin Shaman x5, Goblin Worg Rider Captain x1, Orc Archer x3, Orc Archer Elite x5, Goblin Overseer x1, Orc Shaman x1, Bugbear x1, Orc Archer x2, Hobgoblin x1, Hardened Ice Troll x5, Orc Witch Doctor x3, Trugnuk, Ogre, Gark.
• Killcount: 93 (478).
Goblin Warrens Level One
Note that if you manage to sneak into the fortress without alerting any of the camps (drums), you will receive 1,575 XP. However, it just isn't worth it. An XP bonus is also awarded to parties who successfully infiltrate the Temple of the World Serpent in the IWD-like Storm of Zehir. A cute but ultimately useless fact for you to ponder.
I once received a random drop of not one but TWO Gauntlets of Weapon Skill in this area. Another cute but useless fact for you.
While in the fortress, be on the lookout for Arrows of Impact, Sparking Bolts and Corrosive Bullets. They sell for a small fortune.
Anyway, this is the first area in which you will encounter traps. Just ensure that you are protected by Mirror Image at all times.
Slay the three chieftains...
... and their underlings as you make your way east. If you get cursed, don't worry: it'll wear off.
Head west through the door, slay the Wooly Spider Queen, loot the spider corpses, and backtrack to the hungry goblin, Pondmuk IWD2. Give him the normal corpse followed by the queen corpse (700, 1,575 XP). Take up his offer to rest, immediately cast Invisibility on yourself when the worg rider ambush spawns, exit the dungeon, resummon your undead, and send them in to tear the aggro apart. Moral of the story: never trust goblin-scum.
Make your way east now, slaying whatever moves. A hobgoblin will run to a drum; don't sweat it.
Speak with Vunarg IWD2 in the central chamber. To no surprise, Charisma is its dumpstat. You won't be able to convince the goblins to walk out peacefully unless you have invested in social skills (1,050 XP). It's no biggie, though.
Yquog IWD2, a barghest whelp, is found holed up deeper in the chamber. Do not attack it! Instead, do it's bidding. We need to find Kruntur IWD2 on the next level. What a coincidence, that's where we're headed. Buff yourself to the max before taking the northeast exit. Enter under the effect of Invisibility.
• Hostiles: Goblin x6, Goblin Archer x6, Goblin Hordling x2, Goblin Elite x3, Goblin Archer Elite x7, Goblin Shaman x2, Goblin Sorcerer x3, Half-Goblin Hordling x4, Worg x5, Orc Shaman x1, Orc Witcher Doctor x2, Orc Archer x3, Orc Warrior x5, Goblin Worg Rider x10, Goblin Worg Rider Captain x2, Wooly Spider x5, Wooly Spider Queen x1, Troll x2, Hardened Fire Troll x3, Hobgoblin Door Guard x1, Orog x4, Orog Chief x1, Mokrul, Gothog Zorgar, Ogrok, Pondmuk.
• Kill Count: 82 (560).
Goblin Warrens Level Two
Ok, now you can see why we wanted invisibility status. Move away from the oblivious mob, summon your undead, and watch them wreck house. Now, move eastward along the path as the undead effortlessly tear through the half-goblin, orc and bugbear ranks led by Pusmug, a neo orog chieftain.
Loot the Minotaur Taskmaster's corpse for the Black Ward Stone. There are two plot-critical ward stones to find. Hold onto them! Don't rest without picking them up, or they will decay on the ground and be lost forever. Bash the chests open if you like; it is possible that you will find something good, but highly unlikely.
Ward Stone Item Codes
- 30BSTONE Black Ward Stone
- 30SSTONE Silvered Ward Stone
- 30ISTONE Iron Ward Stone
Tequog IWD2 will demand a password from you: answer Xvim. Speak with Kruntur, fetch his Tamjan Bracers from Yquog, deliver them to Kruntur (3,150 XP), and then deliver the message to Yquog (1,400 XP). Why didn't we slay Yquog? Because it's more fun to talk to and then fight him in Chapter Six.
Once again, return to Kruntur. Head east, slaying the ogres. On the corpse of Gumph the hobgoblin you will find the Iron Ward Stone.
Take out the crap in the pens to the south if you like.
Give the password to Ilquog IWD2 as well. In the far northeast you will find the warded staircase exit that leads to the inner grounds, wherein a massive battle will be waged. You cannot proceed without having the two ward stones in your possession. Buff the hell out of yourself before proceeding. That includes Invisibility.
• Hostiles: Orog x11, Ogre x4, Orc x2, Orc Archer x4, Orc Archer Elite x1, Orc Warrior x17, Orc Shaman x2, Orc Witch Doctor x4, Goblin Shaman x2, Goblin Sorcerer x1, Goblin Hordling x3, Half-Goblin Hordling x4, Bugbear x3, Ogre Chieftain x1, Otyugh x2, Fire Beetle x8, Fire Beetle Queen, Troll x2, Ilquog, Pusmug, Taskmaster, Gumph.
• Kill Count: 73 (633).
Horde Fortress Courtyard
There are about 80 enemies to kill in just this small area: an assortment of goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, orogs, ettins, bugbears and trolls.
Find yourself a bottleneck, open with Fireball, and start animating dead. I cleared out the second tier of the southeast first. You can cast spells on the ettins who huddle below. Just be careful not to get too close to the edge because their spears have great reach.
Recast Invisibility and guide your undead to the other end to take out the orc shamans and goblins sorcerers. The orc high shaman and orc witch doctors should be prioritized, as they're dangerous.
Ok, they're dead. Make your way downstairs to take out the other mobs. They fall like leaves in autumn.
SORCERER 12 (66,000): Charisma +1, Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy, Sixth Circle Spells: Mass Haste. Now you can double your undead summon ApR. Also, they have better AC. Now you know why I called them machines in Part I.
• Hostiles: Orc Archer Elite x25, Orc Elite x3, Orc Shaman x4, Orc High Shaman x1, Orc Witch Doctor x3, Orog x5, Orog Commander x5, Verbeeg x4, Half-Goblin x2, Hobgoblin Sergeant x1, Hobgoblin Archer x5, Hobgoblin Elite x5, Bugbear x6, Hardened Ice Troll x2, Troll x1, Goblin Shaman x1, Goblin Overseer x1, Goblin Sorcerer x2, Goblin Hordling x12.
• Kill Count: 86 (719).
Horde Fortress Interior
Ok, buff up, enter the fortress, Sunfire the four bugbears, take out Old Orc IWD2 that flanks you, and loot its corpse for the key to the locked door that leads into the main area.
A cutscene will fire upon entry to the sanctum, showing Sherincal IWD2 reprimanding her underling, Guthma, for his failures. When it ends, start summoning undead.
Just wipe everything out. You will find Guthma IWD2 holed up in his quarters, flanked by Orc High Shaman and Orc High Chieftain. Light them up.
Remember Ennelia? Well, Braston is locked up in the jail in the southeast. Free him and he will follow you.
Exit to the inner grounds, take the main gate out to the approach, and deliver Braston to Ennelia (2,100 XP). You can slay them as they leave and loot Ennelia's corpse for magical items that are only good for flogging to a vendor.
Shawford Crale will regard your coming to Targos' as their salvation: that you carried the battle from the walls of Targos to the walls of the Horde, is amazing. Tell him that you consider it Ulbrec's attempt to keep from paying you your due, that you're here for the gold owed you, not words. When he coughs up, tell him to watch that tone of his (9,000 GP).
Report back to Ulbrec after breaking the strength of the goblins and saving Targos (2,100 XP).
• Hostiles: Bugbear x4, Old Orc, Orc Witch Doctor x4, Orc Shaman x1, Orc High Shaman x2, Bugbear x4, Goblin High Chieftain x2, Goblin Sorcerer x3, Goblin Shaman x1, Hobgoblin Chief x1, Orc High Chieftain x2, Orog x5, Orog Chief x1, Bugbear Jailkeeper x1, Ogre Cook x2, Guthma.
• Killcount: 35 (754).
Take me to Part V: Western Pass Icewind Dale 2!
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