Sword Coast Stratagems Guide, Baldur's Gate 2

Sword Coast Stratagems Guide BG2

Welcome to my Sword Coast Stratagems guide for Baldur's Gate 2, a BioWare cRPG of 2000.

Parameters of Play Sword Coast Stratagems

• Consult Best BG2 Mods for the mods I've chosen to install.
• Consult Best BG2 Party for the party I'm rolling with.
• Consult SCS BG2 for the most recent release.

Chateau Irenicus has already been covered in my BG2 walkthrough, though with a different CHARNAME Baldur's Gate. This series of posts will be comparatively modest but I would like to think that it could hold more interest for veterans, who don't need a walkthrough detailing rudimentary things such as how to complete a quest, what the different merchants sell, and other boring stuff that we memorized ten years ago and haven't forgotten.

Sword Coast Stratagems Considerations

The following sections detail various Sword Coast Strategems considerations based on parameters of play.

Core Rules Difficulty: Sword Coast Stratagems

I've always played on Core rules difficulty setting so this time it will be no different.

Spell Scroll Itemization: Sword Coast Stratagems

There are enough spell scrolls itemized to facilitate a dedicated arcane party. Yes, not everyone has access to every key scroll straight out of the blocks, but so what? Not being optimal at every point is what makes the game fun, interesting and challenging. It can sometimes result in surprising combat encounter phases and outcomes, too. Plus, there is always a useful spell to cast for each and every arcane party member - always, and for each and every.

I have three components installed that affect the balance of spell scroll itemization.

• The first is SCS: "Add an extra copy of some hard-to-find spell scrolls", which I'm happy to take advantage of because it doesn't affect all merchants.
• The second is SCS: "Make Freedom scrolls available earlier" (weakens Maze and Imprisonment).

The third is aTweaks: "Allow Mages to scribe memorized spells onto scrolls → Scrolls can be scribed everywhere", which I won't be using at all because I think it will make the campaign too easy. Basically, you can create a scroll from any spell that you have memorized, and all it does is remove an instance of the spell from your memory and deduct GP representing the cost of the components needed to create the scroll, which then appears in your inventory (f.e, 9,000 GP for a ninth circle spell scroll). Again, the option is there but I'm not using it. Feel free, though.

Who can cast what

Being an Illusionist means Jan Jansen is banned from casting key necromancy spells such Animate Dead, Skull Trap and Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, but don't think for a second he'll be standing around twiddling his thumbs because of that: I'm sure you are aware that there are spell schools other than necromancy.

As Conjurer, Edwin BG2 is banned from casting Divinations - a comparatively underwhelming Opposition School. Everyone else sports Generalist access, though Haer'Dalis caps out at sixth circle. The Wild Mage Charname is in there for the "surprise me" factor. See BG2 Best Classes for more info.

Best Spells SCS

First of all, refer to BG2 Best Spells for a good starting-point. While all of those spells are still top-tier in SCS, you will need to employ a wider array of spells vs. rival spellcasters or you will get owned courtesy of SCS: Smarter Mages. For example, spell types you might not have used much before, or even needed before, such as spell protections and spell ward removers, suddenly become vital to success.

In addition, and unlike unmodded BG2, you also can't just rely on Stoneskin and Mirror Image to mitigate damage: you NEED PfMW. Also, if you want to take on Lavok and other epic Mages in Chapters 2 and 3 then Ruby Ray of Reversal is a must-have spell in SCS.

What is comes down to, is having knowledge of the following spell types (in addition to the basic spell types):

• Spell Protections BG2
• Spell Ward Removers BG2
• Combat Protection Spells BG2
• Weapon Ward Removers BG2
• Illusion Spells BG2 (deception, hiding)
• Scrying Spells BG2 (anti-Illusion / Divination)

Divine wards against negative status effects: Divine wards (Cleric spells) such as Chaotic Commands, Negative Plane Protection, Protection from Evil 10' Radius, Free Action and Death Ward are invaluable in their utility. Thank god for Aerie. Also, she can combine divine and arcane spells into sequencers and contingencies. (Once Aerie gets aTweaks' Gate things are going to get fun.)

Holding back the aggro. The lack of supertankers is not a problem because Mirror Image, Stoneskin and PfMW makes Mages better tanks than conventional warrior tanks, anyway. Summons and immobilization spells will in many cases make tanking unnecessary, though (e.g, Animate Dead, Web).

uXP Sword Coast Stratagems

Utility experience point rewards (uXP) for scribing scrolls to spellbooks is non-trivial when rolling with arcane-heavy parties (about ¾ mil per character when all is said and done), speeding up level progression and enabling each party member to break into higher circles a lil' earlier than may be expected. To a lesser extent, so will Jan's Thief skill uXP so make sure he is picking locks and disarming traps whenever possible!

Cash-flow Sword Coast Stratagems

GP can be an issue for arcane parties because you need to buy out the arcane libraries of all merchants you come across, and that isn't really balanced by selling off the weapons, armors and other mundane crap that you don't need. Plus, Rogue Rebalancing removes wealth accumulation cheese. To somewhat offset this I advise that you loot everything remotely valuable and have Jan working overtime taking things that aren't his.

More crap to kill. SCS areas are packed with foes and that means more experience point yield than vanilla. Take for example the Druid Grove. Instead of just a few packs of spiders, ettercaps and trolls (1.4k XP ea), you will be pitted against Spirit Troll x6 (12k ea), Shambling Mound x3 (8k XP ea) and an Elder Earth Elemental (16k XP). And that's not taking in account all the other crap to kill in the Grove.

Overworld waylays. Unlike the original BG which drew randomly from preset pools, area-transition ambushes are entirely scripted in BG2, and further expanded and extended in SCS. While the outlying waylay encounters are not particularly difficult, I do find it hard to believe that a party of mages - or any combo of heroes for that matter - would be so careless as to allow a pack of lowly orcs or ogres to get the jump on them, as shown in the pic below. There is even one with a single Ettin. How does a giant sneak up on anything? All I'm saying is, a bit of spacing would have been more realistic, and such close proximity should be the province of on-rest ambushes.

Suna Seni waylay spell scrolls: Magic Missile, Shocking Grasp, Vampiric Touch, Flame Arrow, Domination, Minor Globe of Invulnerability.

Renfeld Waylay spell scrolls: Chill Touch, Ghoul Touch, Strength, Monster Summoning I, Ghost Armor, Haste, Power Word Sleep.

Limiting resting. Some people like to self-impose rest restrictions under the Vancian magic system. Remember that Nalia can fire Tuigan at a rate of 3 ApR, Jan can fire Firetooth, and Aerie can wield the Flail of Ages, the Improved Mace of Disruption and the Sling of Seeking. While you won't want to rely on their token martial abilities as a rule, employing these weapons at key points in a combat encounter can notably reduce spell slot drain, and therefore the need to rest in order to replenish them. Take trolls for example. You could finish them off with Melf's Acid Arrow or a fire spell of some sort OR you could simply have Nalia finish them off with Tuigan loaded with fire or acid arrows which are readily itemized in the dungeon. Also, don't overlook wands and scrolls.

Potion of Genius: Due to their sub-optimal Intelligence scores most of the arcane companions won't be able to scribe many scrolls to their circles without quaffing a potion beforehand. Go to temples and bag 'em up!

Ease of Use Party AI Sword Coast Stratagems

Activation: Character Record → Customize → Scripts → Ease-of-use party AI.

Make sure the AI is switched on (bottom right). Now, each and every party member will automatically cast 12-hour-duration Stoneskin on themselves if they haven't already. Pretty convenient when you have a party of mages. I would like to see an option for Armor, Animate Dead, MMM (doesn't expire until the meteors are all fired), Invisible Stalker and Invisibility, though. And Chaotic Commands, Death Ward and Protection From Evil 10' radius would be nice, too.

Chapter One: Waukeen's Promenade

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Remove Minsc, Jaheira and Yoshimo from the party to stop them leaching experience points; they are not arcane-capable, anyway. Jaheira will go to the Harper Hold in the Docks and Minsc and Yoshimo will go to the Copper Coronet in the Slums. You may like to temporarily recruit Jaheira later because her personal quest will net you a second Ring of Wizardry (the other RoW is acquired as part of the Mage Stronghold.) 

Jaheira actually has two separate personal quests. You don't need to do her Curse questline (Baron Ployer) to get the RoW, though.

Spell Locations in Baldur's Gate 2

Mages without spells are USELESS. We NEED spells. You will not be able to afford all the key scrolls that you want at this point. Just remember where they are sold:

Head to Ribald Barterman's Adventurers' Mart to sell off your loot and buy key scrolls to scribe. Ribald sells Melf's Minute Meteors x4, Breach x2, Enchanted Weapon x3, Secret Word x3, Vocalize x2, Non-Detection x1.

At the back of the store, most notably, Lady Yuth BG2 sells Blindness x4, Web x4, Skull Trap x3, Slow x3, Sunfire x2, Stoneskin x2 and Melf's Minute Meterors x2. Also, Deidre BG2 sells the Robe of Vecna.

Don't forget Spell Store Baldur's Gate 2 above the Den of Seven Vales on the northern tier of the Promenade.

In addition, don't forget to purchase all relevant spell scrolls from Jayes BG2 and Cutpurse BG2.

 

Come back and get Breach scrolls as soon as you can afford them. Don't waste your money on any items at this point. Just... don't. All cash-flow must go towards the acquisition of key scrolls.

Buff yourself with the Friends spell before buying stuff.

Hit the Circus Tent to get Aerie. Just run past the illusions to face off against Kalah, who you should be able to take out with Animate Dead and Spider Spawn. Yes, Kalah is still as weak as piss in SCS. Eventually Aerie will want to visit Raelis Shae in the Five Flagons, but once that's done you can take all the time in the world rescuing Haer'Dalis from the clutches of Mekrath; after which, you will be on Haer'Dalis' timer to return to Raelis and complete the Planar Prison.

I note here that the effects of Aerie's Armor of Faith spell do not erroneously stack as they do in vanilla (fixpack).

Again, sell off loot and scribe key scrolls. It's now time to get Nalia and Jan.

Chapter Two: The City of Athkatla Unlocks

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Go to the Copper Coronet and get Nalia to unlock de'Arnise. You are now on a time limit to get there but don't worry about it until Nalia begins to remind you. You'll have about a week to get there. Just make sure you meet up with Daleson to satisfy Nalia; after which, you can safely delay the liberation of the keep for as long as you like (don't take on golems without Pierce Shield or MMM).

Unlock Windspear Hills by talking to Jierdan in the Copper Coronet of the Slums district. Also, unlock the back rooms of the Copper Coronet but leave both quests well alone for now. Ignore Anomen and Korgan. You can do their personal quests later if you keep your sixth slot open (Haer'Dalis won't be recruited until much later, as the Planar Prison is a non-trivial segment of the campaign).

Next, go to the Government District and get Jan, who will leave the party after a while but you can get him straight back by simply prioritizing his personal quest.

Unlock Umar Hills by talking to the boy near Jan (Delon).

Don't bother with Viconia or the licence to cast spells in public. The 5,000 GP is a total waste of money at this point. Besides, as long as you cast your spells inside buildings there will never be an issue. Against guys like the Mad Cleric in the Docks you just throw Melf's Minute Meteors which you pre-cast inside a building beforehand. Go back and get the licence when you feel comfortable with your wealth, but it won't be for quite a while.

Next, go to the Gates and unlock Trademeet by talking to Flydian. Remember that later on there will be a merchant here who sells a few key scrolls. There is another important merchant (Cutpurse) who appears in the southern section of the Bridge District at nightfall. Don't forget about him because he sells rare scrolls such as Minor Sequencer, PfMW, Spell Thrust, Improved Haste, Spell Immunity, Spider Spawn and Death Fog!

Death Fog is a step up from Cloudkill but Cloudkill will do just fine for now (it insta-kills umber hulks, and is in fact key against Torgal).

• Currently, your party should look something like this:

• Charname Baldur's Gate ◦ Wild Mage 9 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 5-5-4-3-3-2.
• Aerie BG2 ◦ Cleric 7/Mage 8 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 4-3-3-2 ◦ Spell Slots Divine: 5-5-2-1 → At the end of the day Aerie is probably the most powerful companion in the campaign. Not even Jan and Jaheira are on her level. This is due to her having access to both arcane and divine spheres of spellcasting. As a backup, Aerie can wield the Sling of Seeking on-hand and the Shield of Harmony off-hand while buffed with DUHM and Righteous Magic (24 dmg per hit) [1]. Or the Flail of Ages + 3 on-hand (Girdle of Hill Giant Strength) with the Shield of Harmony or Defender of Easthaven off-hand. The point is, Aerie can be made to work in ranged or melee if we want her to.
• [1] Sling of Everard +5 does not receive Strength bonus in my setup; only in vanilla.
• Nalia BG2: Thief 4/Mage 9 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 4-3-3-2-1 → Nalia has Project Image scribed by default. She's not a genius so you'll need to have her quaff potions of genius in order to scribe lots of scrolls to her circles. As a backup, Nalia can fire from Tuigan at 3 ApR (6 ApR under Improved Haste).
• Jan BG2: Illusionist 7/Thief 8 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 5-4-3-2 → Jan is one of the most powerful companions in the campaign; second only to Aerie in the high levels. His thief levels bring great utility to the party (Detect Illusions and Set Snares). Jan's Flasher Launcher crossbow is underrated in that it fires skulls, called Flasher Master Bruiser Mates, which inflict stun on enemies from range (stun is a very powerful on-hit effect). He also gets UAI for added versatility in the late-game. Don't forget that our lil' Gnome can fire from the Gesen Shortbow, and can backstab with Celestial Fury.

Everyone has Mirror Image and Stoneskin for defense and Melf's Minute Meteors for offense. These are vital spells in the first half an hour or so. I did not nerf MMM with the fixpack so that means the meteors still strike as +6 weapons (they penetrate Absolute Immunity) and inflict mundane, magical and fire - in addition to setting ApR to 5 (10 under Improved Haste). Thus, MMM is your early-stages ace card. Read on and you will see just how effective it is (especially in Part II).

Now with Jan in the party, raid the back rooms of the Copper Coronet, slay the Beastmaster for the key to the slave pens, and use it to free Hendak. Loot Lehtinan's corpse for Death Fog and Summon Nishruu. Give the Tuigan Short Bow to Nalia. Bernard's scroll library will now expand. You will have to return and purchase these scrolls when you get some cash-flow going and break into their circles. Don't waste money on any of them at this point. If you're feeling adventurous you can descend into the sewers, take out the trash down there, and even take on the Slaver Compound, but I would advise delaying it.

Suna Seni & Renfeld waylays. These are deceptively difficult encounters. Fledgling parties WILL be waylaid in district-transition by rival parties consisting of mage, cleric, tank, archer and thief. It's possible to be waylaid twice in a row, resulting in TPK. Thus, unless you simply run away with your tail between your legs, you will need to have key spells memorized such as Mirror Image, Stoneskin (damage mitigation), Chromatic Orb (Stun), Web (AoE immobilization), Spider Spawn (Web-immune summon), Melf's Minute Meteors (5 ApR, can inflict up to 14 dmg on a crit), Spell Thrust and Secret Word (dispel Minor Globe of Invulnerability), Confusion (divine and conquer: Jan default) and Cloudkill (poison nova AoE: Nalia default).

Left: Suna Seni and crew. The party survives the first round of combat by casting Stoneskin (to avoid snipes and quadruple backstab). Auto-pause: On Enemy Sighted is recommended. We then run like mad down the alleyway in order to avoid Unholy Blight and get some breathing space so that we can go on the offensive with Web, Chromatic Orb (Stun), Cloudkill and Confusion. After that, it's mop up time.

Right: The Renfeld rescue waylay triggers en route to an outlying destination such as De Arnise or Trademeet. It can also occur in the city itself. Melf's Minute Meteors is mandatory to fledgling arcane parties. We quickly take out the mage and cleric in this manner. The rest of the crew are trivial in comparison.

SCS: Smarter Mages

The only way to take on a Mage, is with another Mage.

But you need to employ advanced tactics and have key spells ready to cast. No point just casting Magic Missile, Fireball and summoning a whole heap of shit; it does absolutely nothing except make your arcane opponents thumb their nose at you (and then kill you).

In the early going rival Mages impede party power progression much moreso than in vanilla BG2. Even scrubs like Prebek and Sanasha will give you problems in that you will need to remove their combat and spell protections before you can smack them down. But really, they are still scrubs compared to Rayic Gethras (Docks) and Mekrath (Temple District sewers), who stand in the way of the party getting Edwin and Haer'Dalis, respectively. In SCS you will hate these guys more than ever. You see, they instantly fire contingencies to simulate pre-buffing which they are also scripted to refire in order to stay alive long past their expiry date. Your heart will sink when they manage to do this.

In addition, they sport Improved Invisibility, Shadow Door and even potions of Invisibility (duration: 12 hours), making Jan's Detect Illusion modal a godsend if you intend to take them on early (you probably won't have True Sight if you really want to fast-track Edwin's recruitment, like I do).

In general, these mages make major nuisances of themselves and that's why I advise that you have multiple party members scribe an array of counters to enemy Mage protections and illusions: Breach, Spell Thrust, Secret Word, Remove Magic and True Seeing. This will give you the flexibility and depth of casting that is needed to contend with them. Don't have these spells? Prepare to have the enemy Mage dictate the terms of the encounter, and its outcome.

I thought I was getting on top of Rayic with my low level party... I mean, we had already survived SO much - including Finger of Death - and he was starting to run about in what appeared to be desperation... but then, all of a sudden, he just auto-fired a Sequencer loaded with three Skull Traps. Do you know what Skull Trap is? It's an AoE that inflicts 1d6 magical damage per caster-level - uncapped - to each and every entity caught within it. And this was cast by a high-level spellcaster, so, suffice it to say, we all instantly died. Yes, Minor Globe of Invulnerability would have warded it off but I didn't know he could fire off such a devastating nuke. My fault, and lesson learned.

See that translucent, shimmering sphere around Rayic? Yep, that's Minor Globe of Invulnerability. With the exception of MMM, it protects him against the effects of all spells in circles one-through-three. These include Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Web, Melf's Acid Arrow, Flame Arrow, Dire Charm, Horror, Fireball, Skull Trap - they all do nothing. Indeed, MGoI is an immensely powerful arcane ward. And without Spell Thrust or Secret Word it's not going away anytime soon. Pierce Magic, Pierce Shield, Khelben's Warding Whip, Ruby Ray of Reversal and Spellstrike work, too, but scrubby low-level parties won't have access to them. How about Mantle? It protects Rayric against up to +3 weapons but MMM is +6 (it hits over Improved Mantle, too [Absolute Immunity]).

So yeah, without access to key protections and counters it's best to just leave these guys alone and look for wealth and experience elsewhere in the meantime. In fact, that's good advice for SCS in general: dig into a quest as deeply as possible in order to yield XP and wealth gains, STOP, and then back out until you have the wealth and levels to purchase and cast the key spells needed to counter the mages and other enemies that represent roadblocks. There is no shame in backing out and it's better than just hitting your head against a wall like that. Come back later when the fight is going to be fair.

In the case of Rayic, this only equates to about 30 mins of trivial exploration, questing, vendoring and scribing; after which, these types of mages will seem mortal again and you can lay down the smack. Then, you can make some serious headway in regards to wealth and level progression which will prepare you for more adventurous outings in, around - and beneath - Athkatla.

Tenth level example of the party getting better: My party of five mages - graced now with the presence of Edwin - faces off against Shadow Thief top-brass, Mae'Var; in SCS, a powerful Thief/Mage supported by a solid crew that includes a priest. Multiple Webs are unleashed and then followed up with Skull Trap, Fireball, Ice Storm and Cloudkill. Nothing moves and nothing lives. Eat that you assholes!

You will probably need Melf's Minute Meteors in order to feel like you completed the first part of the Skinner Murders quest, as the Bone Golem needs to be destroyed or it will follow you up two floors and out to the Bridge District to wreak havoc. (Yes, I did try running at first!) Sunfire is utterly useless against this beastly bag of bones, whose destruction yields a whopping 18,000 XP. Rayic's Stone Golems also drop to MMM (SGs sport on-hit Slow in SCS).

• Your party should look something like this now:

• Charname Baldur's Gate ◦ Wild Mage 11 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 5-6-5-4-5-2 → "Jaheira's" Ring of Wizardry: +1 spell slot to fifth, sixth and seventh circles.
• Aerie BG2 ◦ Cleric 9/Mage 10 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 4-4-3-2-2 ◦ Spell Slots Divine: 6-6-3-2-1 → Aerie has broken into the sixth circle for Chaotic Commands - a useful ward that bestows mind shield status.
• Nalia BG2: Thief 4/Mage 11 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 4-4-4-3-3 → Nalia is my weakest link but her full arcane casting is still very valuable.
• Jan BG2: Illusionist 9/Thief 11 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 5-4-4-3-2 → Jan has maxed Detect Illusions, Open Locks and Find Traps. He is now pumping Set Traps. Obviously, Jan will act as our thief from beginning to end. Being dual-classed at low level, neither Imoen nor Nalia have what it takes.
• Edwin BG2: Conjurer 10 ◦ Spell Slots Arcane: 7-7-6-5-5 → Edwin is coveted as a companion due to his single-class arcane circle progression and bonus spell slots per level. He is the most powerful companion in SoA but loses out to Aerie and Jan in ToB (at least, in the context of what they bring to parties). Edwin has a few key sixth circle spells scribed by default, such as the Death Spell.

Everyone has Mirror Image, Globe of Invulnerability, Stoneskin, Cloudkill, Melf's Minute Meteors and Fireball. Everyone has Skull Trap except Jan (Necromancy is his Opposition School) → Reiterating, but the usefulness of these spells in regard to offense and defense - especially in the early stages - cannot be overstated. Resist Fear is useful later on, too.

• Everyone has Breach except Aerie → Breach is vital in order to bring down combat, elemental and magic protections; most notably, Stoneskin and PfMW.
• Charname, Edwin and Nalia have Spell Thrust and Secret Word → key in stripping Mages of their powerful low-level protections.
• Charname, Nalia and Edwin have Sunfire → key against Drow and Illithid later.
• Charname and Aerie have Spell Immunity; Edwin and Jan have Chaos → Spell Immunity is a godly protection spell because it protects against the School chosen.
• Charname, Edwin and Aerie have Improved Haste scribed → we want this for 10 ApR MMM and +summon attack rate.
• Charname and Edwin have Protection From Magical Weapons and Mordenkainen's Sword scribed → PfMW is very key when Stoneskin gets cut through like hot-knife-butter.
• Charname has Pierce Shield scribed → It's better than Lower Resistance against MR-resistant or immune foes such as golems, and is key anti-boss material until the end of ToB.
• The party has access to a few sequencers and contingencies.
• Last but not least, Aerie has access to key divine spells such as Chaotic Commands, Negative Plane Protection, Protection from Evil 10' Radius, Free Action and Death Ward, but not enough slots to protect everyone.

Get these spells, scribe them, and cast them. See Best Spells Baldur's Gate for deeper commentary on spells.

Wrapping up the early stages & Looking ahead. Thus, having only scratched the surface of the massive city of Athkatla, we already have the ability to take on De Arnise, Temple Ruins and the Druid Grove. Or, at least, up until their bosses.

We are pretty much broke due to having to buy lots of scrolls and we don't have any choice items at this point, but Trademeet will certainly change things. That said, items are not particularly important to us in Chapters 1-3. The Bracers of AC3 and Robe of Vecna would be nice, but they are certainly not necessary. In time, we should be able to deck Aerie out into a juggernaut of melee destruction, if we really want to. Overall, the sun is shining for us but we won't get cocky because there are many big challenges ahead.

I'm delaying Haer'Dalis' recruitment until I feel like we can take on the Planar Prison. From memory, it's not easy in there.

Order of campaign progression will likely be:

• Trademeet (good wealth, XP and scroll progression; good +rep)
• De Arnise (pretty easy)
• Umar Hills (pretty easy)
• Planar Sphere (Mage Stronghold for 2nd Ring of Wizardry + Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting scroll)
• Planar Prison
• Guarded Compound
• Beneath Temple District
• Windpear Hills
• Alhoon (sewers beneath Temple district)
• CHAPTER 3 and vamps (I'm allying with the Thieves).

I'll report on the Sewer and Den rival parties, too.

Firkraag, Twisted Rune and Kangaxx Demi-lich will definitely be left until post-Underdark/Chapter Six. I don't want to struggle or cheese them; I'd rather take them on when it's epic vs. epic. It's just more fun and climactic. Not sure about Watcher's Keep yet; I might leave it until Throne of Bhaal.

Continued in Part II: SCS Torgal -- SCS BG2.