The de'Arnise Keep has been Invaded, walkthrough
De'Arnise Keep is a cRPG dungeon in BioWare's cRPG of 2000, Baldur's Gate 2.
Side-questing in around Athkatla is conducted in Chapters 2, 3 and 6 of Shadows of Amn. As a rule, the object of side-questing is to accumulate wealth, acquire better items, and level-up the party. Accumulation of wealth is key to plot-progression in Shadows: without a sizeable sum of gold, we cannot pay for passage to Spellhold. de'Arnise hosts one such quest that rewards a sizeable sum of gold.
Medieval castles. Medieval castles are cool. But troll-infested ones? Even better. Trolls are worthy adversaries. They are tanks. Tanks that regenerate their hitpoint pools. Tanks that, once knocked down, need to be finished off by specific means or they will just get back up like nothing happened. A rather obnoxious trait, but it adds to the challenge.
The de'Arnise keep is not just a castle infested by trolls, though. There are hidden passageways, secret treasures, and even a mythical weapon of Realmslore to be forged. Within its chambers, dungeons and corridors, there are allies to be found, people to be saved, and a few opportunities to employ stealth.
Once liberated from the super-troll known as TorGal, the keep also potentially becomes a stronghold for Fighter-based protagonists (which features quests of its own, and grants us an ongoing income).
The quest to retake de'Arnise keep (a liberation and rescue mission) is offered by Nalia de'Arnise in the Copper Coronet of the Slums District in the city of Athkatla. Nalia is the daughter of the aristocrat, Lord de'Arnise, who owns the besieged keep and its fertile surrounding lands. Thus, she is of noble birth. Nalia refers to the commonfolk as "rabble", but she is not a snob like her aunt. Instead, her unfortunate choice of words is entirely innocent, and stems from her noble and sheltered upbringing. Like her kind father, Nalia actually assists the downtrodden and sympathizes with the plight of the poor; "your kind" as she so witlessly puts it in addressing them. Genuinely puzzled by their lack of reciprocation in her family's time of need, Nalia is actually a good person who is weak on the outside but possesses an inner strength - which is evidently what enabled her to escape the keep by stealthy means (Nalia is part-thief), unbeknownst to her domineering aunt, and make her way through leagues of perilous wilderness, in order to seek out external assistance against the encroaching troll-horde.
Why she sought assistance from drunkards, gamblers and brawlers in a hive of scum and villainy like the Copper Coronet, instead of from the Order of the Most Radiant Heart, is not known. While unreflective of her above-average intelligence (Nalia is a Mage-in-the-making), pleading for assistance in a tavern run by an obviously evil man (a slaver no less) is certainly consistent with her gobsmacking naïveté (which is well-written). In the end, though, the choice of venue for her pleading turns out to be in the keep's favor.
We can of course deny Nalia assistance. Heck, we can slay her on the spot if we are cruel crooks. Or, if we simply have no room in the party, we can agree to the quest and just meet Nalia in her father's lands to the east of Athkatla (and still undertake the dungeon crawl without her). As with all companion-based quests, though, it is more flavorsome and enjoyable to go out of our way to party with the quest-giver - and for the duration of their quest - so that's what I'll be doing.
Upon arrival to the countryside keep, Nalia notices the recent erection of a palisade which is indicative of the keep having fallen to the troll-horde. Now, spoon-feed us that troll-lore, Nalia!
Nalia theorizes that the trolls were driven from other lands by elves, or by the development of settlements in Tethyr to the south, but nothing concrete of their origins is known. What is known is that the drawbridge to the keep has been raised by the invaders in defiance of a frontal assault, but that a secret door exists along the eastern wall of the keep, and just north of the palisade, which is used by Nalia to come and go as she likes.
Nalia theorizes that the trolls were driven from other lands by elves, or by the development of settlements in Tethyr to the south, but nothing concrete of their origins is known. What is known is that the drawbridge to the keep has been raised by the invaders in defiance of a frontal assault, but that a secret door exists along the eastern wall of the keep, and just north of the palisade, which is used by Nalia to come and go as she likes.
At the palisade, decked out in shiny full plate, garrison commander Captain Arat stands guard along with two other remaining survivors. According to him, the keep's forces were driven out by the trolls twenty days ago. They were accompanied not only by yuan-ti but also by umber hulks that burrowed their way under the walls. The guards fought room-to-room in search of Lord de'Arnise and Lady Delcia (Nalia's aunt), but they were outnumbered and were ultimately forced to withdraw from the keep. Then, as the stumps indicate, they cut down the trees in the area and used the wood to erect the palisade.Having squatted outside the keep for twenty days twiddling his thumbs, the Captain somehow hasn't given up hope of retaking the keep and rescuing the royalty within. If we can infiltrate the keep, access the courtyard, and open the drawbridge from within, his paltry forces will limp through the gate and draw out the enemy, which will hopefully buy us the time needed to locate and rescue any remaining survivors.
De'Arnise Keep consists of three levels: ground, upper and lower. Armed with foreknowledge of its layout and itemization, it is actually possible to employ stealth all the way to the super-troll, TorGal, who, however, possesses innate true seeing and must be dealt with violently in order to satisfy the quest.
Upon entry, a hapless servant is shown being chunked by a troll, but the head servant, Daleson, is found alive and well in the next chamber (in which is itemized 50x Fire Arrows and one dozen Acid Arrows). According to Daleson, Lord de'Arnise was recently captured by the troll-boss, taken down to "the cellars", and imprisoned therein. The secret cellars were sealed off and mostly forgotten, as they were once a prison and torture chamber during the dark days of the keep. Now, that dungeon is guarded by umber hulks to whom Daleson has been ordered - by TorGal - to feed dog meat. This is actually a hint at how to bypass the umber hulks by stealthy means, but it requires the slaying of dogs in the courtyard, which is quite cruel.
From Daleson's account it seems Lord de'Arnise had been foolishly satisfied with his personal defense: instead of keeping his magical flail within arm's reach, he hid its heads away somewhere. These are found on the ground and upper levels. More on that later.
Before our parting, Daleson informs us that the trolls are perhaps thirty-strong in number. And he doesn't miss the opportunity to serve up our third spoon-feeding:
Thanks, Daleson! We didn't know.
Once the drawbridge has been lowered in the courtyard, several guards - though Captain Arat is noticeably absent - immediately spawn to take out a pathetic showing of the enemy, both outside and inside the keep.
Gee, thanks. That was hot-knife-through-butter, so why not stick around and help clean out the keep? Cowards!
Combat encounters on the upper floor are tougher, though. En route to Lady Delcia's bedroom and the secret passageway to the keep's dungeon, we face off against not only a yuan-ti mage, but also a non-standard troll that, once felled, releases two smaller trolls from its corpse.
Yuan-ti mages can be problematic for low level parties due to their spellcasting repertoire that includes the likes of Stoneskin, Shadow Door, True Sight, Chaos and Confusion. Yuan-ti mages also have access to Animate Dead, and can unleash non-trivial direct damage spells such as Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt and Skull Trap. It is notable that the quest-critical Keep Key guarded by this hostile pack can be stealthily acquired from the nearby bookshelf without incurring their wrath.
The Glaicas encounter is interesting. While Lord de'Arnise's personal bodyguard is initially dire-charmed and hostile...
... his charmed status can be reversed by casting our own Dire Charm upon him:
XP-wise and info-wise, this is obviously more rewarding than simply slaying him. It also saves an innocent's life. Understandably, Glaicas doesn't stick around: he's been through too much.
Lady Delcia's bedroom (which requires the above mentioned Keep Key in order to enter) is located in the western wing of the upper floor. Having wearied the guard who loyally watched over her to the point that he would prefer the company of trolls...
... it is time for Lady Delcia Caan to inflict her ungrateful self upon the heroic party who risked life and limb to save her...
Forgetting our lowly station in a medieval fantasy world, it is possible to protest against the Lady:
And if we're particularly uncouth, it is possible to threaten her life:
If this course of action is followed, however, Nalia will leave the party and the game-world - forever. While the quest can still be completed by slaying TorGal and talking to Captain Arat subsequent, there is no quest experience reward, no journal update, and the stronghold is not offered to the protagonist. It turns out that Nalia and Delcia actually died in the keep, and the ownership of the keep and its lands passes to the sniveling Lord Roenall, who is the villain in Nalia's personal quest. Not a good result at all.
While Lady Delcia is very well-written, the dialogue responses available to Charname are piss-poor. Glaringly obvious is the distinct lack of humble, patient or paladinly responses in the face of the Lady's harmless pomposity. Take for example the first choice pool...
... and the second choices on offer...
A suitable response would be as follows:
Milady, we are honored to rescue you. As a paladin, I vow to exterminate this murderous vermin from your home. For now, please allow us to escort you to safety.
Such remarks can turn the prickliest of pears into reasonable human beings.
Assuming the Lady is not threatened, she takes her leave along with the weary guard (it is presumed that the course is now clear).
The secret passageway that leads down to the dungeon - and TorGal - is accessible from a hidden door in the Lady's room. En route is a notable treasure room guarded by non-hostile golems of the flesh, stone, clay and even iron variety. The treasures are being held by stone statues. Once looted, the golems turn hostile as a security measure. While all of the treasures are significant, the third and final flail head for the Flail of the Ages is the most coveted prize of all.
Once its three heads are possessed, the party is able to use the keep's ground-floor magical forge to assemble the mythical Flail of Ages +3, a troll-bane weapon in that it inflicts fire, acid and on-hit, MR-bypassing, no-save Slow.
Armed with the Flail of Ages +3, the party's warrior can now wreck the golems and stand toe-to-toe against TorGal. But there is one last hurdle to overcome before the party can face off against the super-troll: the umber hulks lurking en route. For low-level parties, encounters with these subterranean monsters can easily go either way. Not only are they tanks, but they hit hard, hit fast, and their gaze attack inflicts confusion on victims that fail their save vs. Spells, lack MR, or are not mind-shielded (Chaotic Commands, Shield of Harmony, Minsc/Korgan Berserk etc.)
(cf. IWD umber hulks: pic & link.)
As mentioned earlier by Daleson, umber hulks love dogmeat. Thus, if the party cruelly slew the dogs in the courtyard, butchered them, and then cooked the meat up in the keep's kitchen, the resultant dog stew may be placed into a feeding receptacle inside a cell of the prison, thereby relocating the five umber hulks that formerly guarded the entrance to the chamber in which TorGal resides. This requires conventional stealth or invisibility status to pull off.
Of course, the umber hulks should then be slain for +XP.
The final encounter in the keep is staged in the de'Arnise ancestral chamber; its focal point a statue of Tyr towering over the Lord's private shrine. It is here that we face off against TorGal the super-troll, flanked by two giant trolls. And, unfortunately, the body of Lord de'Arnise can be seen behind him as well, spread out lifelessly at the foot of the shrine. We came too late for the noble landowner, but we can still liberate the keep.
Though he looks like any other troll, TorGal possesses a degree of intelligence that allows him to string words together:
In fact, he's capable of actually holding down a short conversation:
However, he cannot be bargained with and he cannot be reasoned with. The best we can hope for is to learn the identity of his master, but nothing conclusive is forthcoming. We only know that this master wanted to set up shop here, to use it as a base of operations. The invaders were ordered not to damage the keep (the umber hulks, for example, with their incredible burrowing ability, could easily undermine its foundations).
Thus, a battle is inevitable. TorGal is a magical troll that flaunts Immunity to Sleep, Paralysis, Stun, Charm, Panic and, most notably, Non-magical weapons. As well, he flaunts innate true seeing, Strength 20, AC -2, ApR 3, 140 HPs, and standard troll-rate regeneration. As an odd consolation, fire or acid is not required in order to utterly vanquish him. A party sitting on the lowest level possible will easily be able to win the battle, providing one member is wielding the Flail of Ages +3. But there are many ways to take him out; this is an easy, anti-climactic battle when one considers the quest's build-up.
Nalia's emotional interjection upon TorGal's death is well voice acted.
Thus, the trolls, yuan-ti and umber hulks are routed! Still, it's a sad ending...
... But the party has lined their pockets with gold...
... And there is hope for the future:
From Daleson's account it seems Lord de'Arnise had been foolishly satisfied with his personal defense: instead of keeping his magical flail within arm's reach, he hid its heads away somewhere. These are found on the ground and upper levels. More on that later.
Before our parting, Daleson informs us that the trolls are perhaps thirty-strong in number. And he doesn't miss the opportunity to serve up our third spoon-feeding:
Thanks, Daleson! We didn't know.
Once the drawbridge has been lowered in the courtyard, several guards - though Captain Arat is noticeably absent - immediately spawn to take out a pathetic showing of the enemy, both outside and inside the keep.
Gee, thanks. That was hot-knife-through-butter, so why not stick around and help clean out the keep? Cowards!
Combat encounters on the upper floor are tougher, though. En route to Lady Delcia's bedroom and the secret passageway to the keep's dungeon, we face off against not only a yuan-ti mage, but also a non-standard troll that, once felled, releases two smaller trolls from its corpse.
Yuan-ti mages can be problematic for low level parties due to their spellcasting repertoire that includes the likes of Stoneskin, Shadow Door, True Sight, Chaos and Confusion. Yuan-ti mages also have access to Animate Dead, and can unleash non-trivial direct damage spells such as Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt and Skull Trap. It is notable that the quest-critical Keep Key guarded by this hostile pack can be stealthily acquired from the nearby bookshelf without incurring their wrath.
The Glaicas encounter is interesting. While Lord de'Arnise's personal bodyguard is initially dire-charmed and hostile...
... his charmed status can be reversed by casting our own Dire Charm upon him:
XP-wise and info-wise, this is obviously more rewarding than simply slaying him. It also saves an innocent's life. Understandably, Glaicas doesn't stick around: he's been through too much.
Lady Delcia's bedroom (which requires the above mentioned Keep Key in order to enter) is located in the western wing of the upper floor. Having wearied the guard who loyally watched over her to the point that he would prefer the company of trolls...
... it is time for Lady Delcia Caan to inflict her ungrateful self upon the heroic party who risked life and limb to save her...
Forgetting our lowly station in a medieval fantasy world, it is possible to protest against the Lady:
And if we're particularly uncouth, it is possible to threaten her life:
If this course of action is followed, however, Nalia will leave the party and the game-world - forever. While the quest can still be completed by slaying TorGal and talking to Captain Arat subsequent, there is no quest experience reward, no journal update, and the stronghold is not offered to the protagonist. It turns out that Nalia and Delcia actually died in the keep, and the ownership of the keep and its lands passes to the sniveling Lord Roenall, who is the villain in Nalia's personal quest. Not a good result at all.
While Lady Delcia is very well-written, the dialogue responses available to Charname are piss-poor. Glaringly obvious is the distinct lack of humble, patient or paladinly responses in the face of the Lady's harmless pomposity. Take for example the first choice pool...
... and the second choices on offer...
A suitable response would be as follows:
Milady, we are honored to rescue you. As a paladin, I vow to exterminate this murderous vermin from your home. For now, please allow us to escort you to safety.
Such remarks can turn the prickliest of pears into reasonable human beings.
Assuming the Lady is not threatened, she takes her leave along with the weary guard (it is presumed that the course is now clear).
The secret passageway that leads down to the dungeon - and TorGal - is accessible from a hidden door in the Lady's room. En route is a notable treasure room guarded by non-hostile golems of the flesh, stone, clay and even iron variety. The treasures are being held by stone statues. Once looted, the golems turn hostile as a security measure. While all of the treasures are significant, the third and final flail head for the Flail of the Ages is the most coveted prize of all.
Once its three heads are possessed, the party is able to use the keep's ground-floor magical forge to assemble the mythical Flail of Ages +3, a troll-bane weapon in that it inflicts fire, acid and on-hit, MR-bypassing, no-save Slow.
Armed with the Flail of Ages +3, the party's warrior can now wreck the golems and stand toe-to-toe against TorGal. But there is one last hurdle to overcome before the party can face off against the super-troll: the umber hulks lurking en route. For low-level parties, encounters with these subterranean monsters can easily go either way. Not only are they tanks, but they hit hard, hit fast, and their gaze attack inflicts confusion on victims that fail their save vs. Spells, lack MR, or are not mind-shielded (Chaotic Commands, Shield of Harmony, Minsc/Korgan Berserk etc.)
(cf. IWD umber hulks: pic & link.)
As mentioned earlier by Daleson, umber hulks love dogmeat. Thus, if the party cruelly slew the dogs in the courtyard, butchered them, and then cooked the meat up in the keep's kitchen, the resultant dog stew may be placed into a feeding receptacle inside a cell of the prison, thereby relocating the five umber hulks that formerly guarded the entrance to the chamber in which TorGal resides. This requires conventional stealth or invisibility status to pull off.
Of course, the umber hulks should then be slain for +XP.
The final encounter in the keep is staged in the de'Arnise ancestral chamber; its focal point a statue of Tyr towering over the Lord's private shrine. It is here that we face off against TorGal the super-troll, flanked by two giant trolls. And, unfortunately, the body of Lord de'Arnise can be seen behind him as well, spread out lifelessly at the foot of the shrine. We came too late for the noble landowner, but we can still liberate the keep.
Though he looks like any other troll, TorGal possesses a degree of intelligence that allows him to string words together:
In fact, he's capable of actually holding down a short conversation:
However, he cannot be bargained with and he cannot be reasoned with. The best we can hope for is to learn the identity of his master, but nothing conclusive is forthcoming. We only know that this master wanted to set up shop here, to use it as a base of operations. The invaders were ordered not to damage the keep (the umber hulks, for example, with their incredible burrowing ability, could easily undermine its foundations).
Thus, a battle is inevitable. TorGal is a magical troll that flaunts Immunity to Sleep, Paralysis, Stun, Charm, Panic and, most notably, Non-magical weapons. As well, he flaunts innate true seeing, Strength 20, AC -2, ApR 3, 140 HPs, and standard troll-rate regeneration. As an odd consolation, fire or acid is not required in order to utterly vanquish him. A party sitting on the lowest level possible will easily be able to win the battle, providing one member is wielding the Flail of Ages +3. But there are many ways to take him out; this is an easy, anti-climactic battle when one considers the quest's build-up.
Nalia's emotional interjection upon TorGal's death is well voice acted.
Thus, the trolls, yuan-ti and umber hulks are routed! Still, it's a sad ending...
... But the party has lined their pockets with gold...
... And there is hope for the future:
Next up: de'Arnise Keep as a Player-controlled Stronghold. (to be posted.)
• Ranking de'Arnise:
◦ Area design: 8/10. Castles are cool. The layout of the keep's floors are well done. There are lots of hidden doors and little secrets to discover. Needed sub-basements. Stealth is facilitated. The artwork is excellent.
◦ Quest design: 6/10. Progression through the keep is logical and fairly interesting. The balance is good between dialogue and combat. The guards should have stayed with us for as long as they were able. Guards should fight to the death for their lords. Captain Arat should be ashamed of himself.
◦ Combat encounter design: 6/10. The courtyard battle is very weak. There simply isn't enough going on. Trolls, yuan-ti and umber hulks are formidable adversaries at low level. TorGal is disappointingly easy to take out.
◦ Writing: 6/10. Lady Delcia steals the show. Nalia is also amusing. Aside from that, there's nothing to write home about. It's just words anyone could write.
◦ Lore: 5/10. Troll-lore is spoon-fed not once, not twice, but three times. On the other hand, barely anything is said about yuan-ti or umber hulks. And yuan-ti following orders from a troll? Please. Even TorGal is dumb compared to a yuan-ti mage. I don't buy it. On the whole, BG2 just seems to think yuan-ti are scrubby minions. IWD and IWD2 showed how organized and intelligent they are. This score is saved by the lore description of the Flail of Ages.
◦ Itemization 6/10. There are quite a few interesting items to be found in the keep. It's a pity that troll-bane ammo falls in our lap, though. The Flail of Ages is OP (its Slow effect should not bypass MR).
Overall, I'd give the quest 65%.
de'Arnise Keep is also covered in my Part II of my Sword Coast Stratagems write-up.
EoP
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