Welcome to Part X of my Icewind Dale walkthrough; this part covering the Upper Dorn's Deep cRPG dungeon.
Upper Dorn's Deep IWD
As with the Severed Hand of the elves, the dwarven citadels of Upper and Lower Dorn's Deep fell to the dark horde of the North hundreds of years ago. However, Upper Dorn's also suffered from a lich taking up residence, and this lich represents the main barrier to progression in Upper Dorn's.
Upper Dorn's Deep Location
Taking in three entire chapters, Dorn's Deep constitutes the meat and potatoes of the Icewind Dale campaign. Our adventuring experience has broadened considerably since our arrival in Kuldahar, and, while our travels have already spanned the length and breadth of the Spine of the World, we have not yet delved its depths. Thus, the time has come to delve Dorn's Deep all the way down to Durdel Anatha.
Neo Orogs
The snowy approach to Upper Dorn's is guarded by packs of neo orog avengers. Hidden among the stone-wall nooks, they come out in force upon catching sight of us. Neo orogs come in four kinds: avenger, marauder, general and Chieftain (Krilag). Orogs in general are basically orcs but perhaps with ogre blood in them. We learn soon that these orogs were created by the Red Wizard of Thay, Saablic Tan.
So much for the avengers. They avenged nothing.
Cave Complex: Upper Dorn's Deep
We take the entrance into the upper reaches of the Deep:
Elf- & Dwarf-lord seated upon a Dual-throne
The focal point of this complex, as divined by the Heartstone Gem and as recognized by Larrel, is a monument depicting an elf- and dwarf-lord seated upon a dual-throne.
There is some pretty detailed area design in this subterranean complex, complete with height-mapping, pockets of pitch-black darkness and luminous mushroom colonies. It's impressive:
Myconids
While orcs, orogs and hard-hitting ettins are lurking in the caves, the most troublesome battles are against the blue myconids getting around the greater cavern. One score in number, these Fungus Men spray spores that inflict confusion, panic, stun or berserk upon a failed save vs. Death or failed MR check.
Under such incredibly annoying affects combat units either run around like idiots, stand there doing nothing with no AC to speak of, get themselves killed or - worst of all - turn on the party. Imagine that AC -16/ApR 4 tank of ours suddenly switching sides to wave their weapon at us? Hate.
Free Action and mindshield status wards off such effects though Clerics - assuming we have one - may not yet have broken into the fifth circle for Chaotic Commands (which opens at ninth level or 225,000 XP). However, quaffing Potions of Clarity serve the same purpose and Dispel Magic also brings affected combat units back on-side, but prevention is the best cure.
There are six orogs in the orog cave, six orc elites in the orc one and four ettins in the ettin one. "Wait, orcs? They only yield 35 XP each! That is pathetic for 9th level!" Yes, it is. But then, putting a few mooks into the middle of a campaign allows the player to gauge their power progression. An enemy we formerly needed to take seriously [recap pic] now invokes laughter on-sight. Plus, it's realistic to have mooks getting about. And besides, this is balanced against the ten ettins yielding 3,000 XP each.
Razorvine Extract Location
The skeleton of Bandoth's assistant is found in the ettin cave. It is holding a container of razorvine extract.
Bandoth: Dwarven Watchtower
Who is Bandoth? A mage of no small standing, Bandoth has set up shop in the dwarven Watchtower that overlooks the entire cavern.
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| Look at that artwork! |
Heat emanates from the outpost due to the furnace that is ablaze inside. It seems Bandoth likes to keep warm in the Frozen North. Don't blame him. Bandoth is a solitary researcher much like Orrick. However, he is evidently much more adventurous than the grey mage of Kuldahar.
We can inquire into the whereabouts of Larrel's missing daughter, Evayne...
... ask him about Dorn's Deep in general...
... ask him about what's below the Dwarven Compound...
... and even find out how to get there after giving him the razorvine extract (42,000 XP).
Bandoth is also an arcane vendor. On offer are Summon Shadow, Feeblemind and Conjure Earth, Fire and Water Elemental. The elemental summons are particularly powerful due to their immunities and general tanking power. Hasted, they are dervishes of destruction. As a test, we summon a few forth and order them to rip Bandoth a new asshole. And a new asshole he was ripped.
So that's that, then! Having cleared the cave complex of its 50-strong aggro, helped out an adventurous mage and stocked up on some useful arcane spell scrolls, the party now crosses a bridge over a chasm and enters the Dwarven Compound in the southeast. We shudder to think what awaits us within.
Dwarven Compound Upper Dorn's Deep
This is one of my fave areas; mainly, because I like its initial ambush, the drow encounters, and the deadly circle of runes puzzle.
Dwarven Compound Map
Under the effect of invisibility we scout out ahead to see what we're up against. It seems to be some sort of welcoming committee...
... but it's actually an ambush consisting of orc elite archers, neo orog marauders and drow spellswords headed up by Mirror-Imaged drow sorcerers that Haste their minions and cast maximum Magic Missile not once, twice or three times but four times each. Of course, that MM spam assumes we are tactically inept and get pinned down on the bridge. But still, it's potentially very nasty. In addition, we are flanked by phase spiders.
Another thing to watch out for is our blood-thirsty party members chasing morale-failed orcs into adjacent rooms populated by packs of neo orog marauders headed up by generals of which there are five. This can result in us getting in over our head.
Drow Spellswords, Sorcerers & Vanguards
Deeper into the compound still, more drow spellswords, sorcerers and crossbow-wielding vanguards await our approach.
The vanguards are particularly nasty in that their bolts inflict stackable 14 poison damage per round on a failed save vs. Death. If no antidote is quaffed then that poison will eat through even the deepest hitpoint pool in short order. And yes, these drow sport 66-68% MR as per Realmslore (50% base + 2% per level). We find out later that Malavon is responsible for sending the drow forces to Upper Dorn's.
All in all, we face off against 70 enemies in this one middle-sized dungeon alone.
Mithral Field Plate Armor Location
See that pic on the right with the drow standing in front of a great furnace? Behind the sorcerer there is an easy-to-miss axe on the floor which is actually a pile of loot that yields Mithral Field Plate Armor +2 - the best armor in Icewind Dale. By virtue of having great AC, being itemized twice in the campaign, and being erroneously flagged as non-magical, I have ranked this armor fifth all-time on the Infinity Engine.
Saablic Tan: Red Wizard of Thay
The exit to the north leads to a very dark natural cave in the upper reaches of the Deep. It is infested with orogs and ettins.
Herein we encounter Saablic Tan, a Red Wizard of Thay specializing in the transmutation school. The wretched Saablic has been turned into a loathsome Umber Hulk by the drow sorcerer, Malavon. It is ironic that Saablic is threatened by his own creations in this very dungeon.
Krilag Badge Location
In short, Saablic wants us to dispose of neo orog chieftain, Krilag, who is guarding these upper reaches. This is easy-peasy because Krilag is just a brute.
The reward? 56,000 XP. Saablic takes his leave only to eventually be slain by the IWD2 heroes.
We also get 36,000 XP for retrieving Krilag's badge. Now, we won't know it yet but the "the six" referred to by Saablic are actually the six lieutenants of Brother Poquelin. Each of them carry a badge, a black steel plate, engraved with a sigil reflective of the carrier - and these badges are plot-critical in that they are keys that grant us access to Brother Poquelin himself.
The note to Krilag from Poquelin suggests the importance of the badges and also hints at who we should hunt down next. However, the badges may be acquired in any order. Even Krilag's badge can be acquired last (which would be after we have conquered Chapter Six & Dorn's Deep).
Lastly, the corpse of Kalebac is found in the southwest. It mentions a secret door and a puzzle that grants access beneath the Dwarven Compound.
Thus, we return to the Compound and make our way to the meeting hall.
The reward? 56,000 XP. Saablic takes his leave only to eventually be slain by the IWD2 heroes.
We also get 36,000 XP for retrieving Krilag's badge. Now, we won't know it yet but the "the six" referred to by Saablic are actually the six lieutenants of Brother Poquelin. Each of them carry a badge, a black steel plate, engraved with a sigil reflective of the carrier - and these badges are plot-critical in that they are keys that grant us access to Brother Poquelin himself.
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| Badge of Krilag (open palm with levitating sphere), of Joril (double-bladed axe), of Marketh (miner's pick), of Ilmadia (unicorn head), of Malavon (unsleeping eye) and of Perdiem (dove) |
The note to Krilag from Poquelin suggests the importance of the badges and also hints at who we should hunt down next. However, the badges may be acquired in any order. Even Krilag's badge can be acquired last (which would be after we have conquered Chapter Six & Dorn's Deep).
Lastly, the corpse of Kalebac is found in the southwest. It mentions a secret door and a puzzle that grants access beneath the Dwarven Compound.
Thus, we return to the Compound and make our way to the meeting hall.
Circle of Runes Puzzle Upper Dorn's Deep
Inscribed on a round table in three concentric circles are three dwarven symbols or runes. We need to take note of the symbols in each of the circles and then make our way into the adjacent puzzle room wherein we need to physically stand on three pressure plates related to the symbols in the order in which they appear in the concentric circles on the table (from outer to inner).
The order of the symbols is: Hammer & Anvil, Crossed Axes and Interlocking Rings. Stepping on an incorrect pressure plate results in non-trivial electrical damage; in fact, it's lethal. Once the pressure plates are set in place there will come a sound from the compound indicating the need to pull the handle on the statue in the round-table room. Once this is done there will come a sound from the puzzle room indicating that a retractable staircase has appeared there (56,000 XP).
There is naught to do at the bottom of the staircase but admire the artist's depiction of the gearworks that power it...
... and avoid the fireball trap that slew Dver, who left a note behind:
Temple of Moradin Upper Dorn's Deep
We now enter the Temple of Moradin; its focal point a monument representing dwarven mastery of metallurgy.
Norlinor
The temple is dead-cold and its forge lifeless at present. We find out what's going on from the only sentient dwarven spirit in Dorn's, Norlinor.
That is the problem in a nutshell: there is a lich down here that must be dealt with. However, Norlinor has a tale to tell:
On Terikan, and on The Battle of the Dead:
A good tale, that one.
On Liches & Their Phylacteries:
This is not just spoon-fed lore because, in this case, the phylactery is destroyed by unique means. We don't just smash it like in Hordes of the Underdark.
On the Dark Horde of the North:
Cf. Larrel's of the time of Prosperity, of the time of the Betrayal and Evayne's journal. We won't learn who was responsible for arming the dark-horde orcs until we reach Lower Dorn's Deep in Chapter Six (Cf. Nym).
Terikan Lich
Terikan lurks in the Tiers of the Dead and his phylactery is located in the Hall of Heroes. These are two separate areas. What we need to do is loot the key from the sarcophagus in the Tiers, enter the Hall, find the phylactery in one of the tombs and take the phylactery into Jamoth's tomb in order to utterly vanquish the lich (52,500 XP). However, this is made more difficult by the undead hordes and Terikan himself, who, providing his phylactery is intact, is immortal, hot on our heels, and mad as hell.
Tiers of the Dead Map
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| Tiers of the Dead |
Upon entry to the Tiers undead swarm immediately (30 enemy units). However, they are actually a step down from the Severed Hand in power [recap pic]. Indeed, relative to our level, some of the undead encounters in the Vale were tougher than this [recap pic]. We should really be going up against mid-tier undead at this point. Though I guess Black Isle thought that Terikan is tough enough to beat down as is, and also respawns indefinitely, so players may be overwhelmed. All in all, though, I think this lich encounter could have benefited from coming later in the campaign. This would have involved a higher level Terikan sporting a spellcasting repertoire more befitting of a lich.
So, of what does Terikan's repertoire consist? Well, he casts a souped-up version of Animate Dead to bring forth wights, ghasts and armored skeletons (3-6 per casting). Then, he follows up with Globe of Invulernability, Horror and Fireball. He is capable of casting Animate Dead without limit, is proactive in resummoning, but he can only call forth a maximum of six at any given time.
Terikan's Phylactery
Also in the Hall, the flamestrike-casting greater mummy can cause heartache for the party as well.
The cool thing about this area-spanning encounter is that it attempts to represent a genuine lich encounter as per Realmslore. Once the phylactery is taken into Jamoth's Tomb the lich is utterly vanquished. Otherwise, it is immortal. Full stop.
Let's quote the AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual:
In all cases, a lich will protect itself from annihilation with the creation of a phylactery in which it stores its life force ... In order to ensure the final destruction of a lich, its body must be wholly annihilated and its phylactery must be sought out and destroyed ...
There are no if, buts or maybes there. While Terikan lacks spellcasting as an 18th level caster along with a fear aura and on-hit paralysis, Black Isle got the main thing right. Besides, a reason is given in Terikan's journal as to why he lacks power (highlighted in the link).
Whereas no reason is given by BioWare as to why their liches lack phylacteries in Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal. Which is basically what defines a lich encounter and makes it unique. We just have to assume that they were lazy or uninformed in this regard.
Anyway, having vanquished Terikan, granted peace to the dead dwarves and got the forge flowing with molten metal, we can return to Norlinor for 84,000 XP.
Note the visual change to the area (cf. earlier). The artist has recolorized the backdrop and added an animation to represent the flowing metal. Nice.
The key to the Wyrm's Tooth glacier is found in the forge's receptacle.
Evayne's journal [pic] can be delivered to Larrel at any time after reaching the glacier [pic]. The reward is 56,000 XP.
- Experience points: 190,381 kXP + 329,500 qXP = 519,881 total XP (1,843,276)
- Killcount: 100 (1240)
The randomly itemized Bastard Sword +2: Conflagration is interesting with its on-hit 10% chance of Fireball. Coupled with 10 ApR that would be pretty devastating, right? However, it doesn't work like the Club of Detonation +5 in BG2. Instead, when the fireball triggers the combat unit stops attacking in order to literally cast the spell. There is no other weapon on the Infinity Engine that does this except for IWD's own Demon's Breath warhammer (20% chance). While nowhere near as useful as instant on-hit fireball, it's still pretty powerful. Of course, the wielder and any party members within the vicinity would want to have fire resistance...
• As for arcane spell scroll itemization, I already covered the summon elemental spells. The other spells found were Feeblemind, Monster Summoning III, Antimagic Shell, Chaos and Domination.
Feeblemind is powerful. It fully immobilizes the enemy and reduces its Intelligence score to 3. Not that you need the latter when you have the former. Assuming no Dispel Magic the effects are permanent, too: a party member inflicted by Feeblemind remains a gibbering idiot even after resting.
Antimagic Shell - our first 6th circle spell - grants us immunity to magic but we can't cast magic while under its protection. This is a cheesy spell but there are not many rival mages in IWD to cheese.
Chaos is an upgraded Confusion in that it disallows saves for mooks and demands a save vs. Spell at -4 on anything else not immune to its effects. Strong divide & conquer spell.
Domination is like Charm Person except it lasts for 12 hours instead of just 2 turns. Thus, we can rest for 8 hours and our dominated minion remains under our control.
Monster Summoning III... what would we rather summon: squishy lizard men, spiders, beetles and neo orogs or tanky earth, fire and water elementals of the same circle? Useless spell.
Summon Shadow calls forth up to six shadows that look like severed souls (three per casting). The shadows inflict on-hit disease but it is HP-draining, not Strength-draining. Cool! Summon six, haste them and then go for Strength drain kills! No. the Strength draining stops at a score of 1. Thus, pretty useless.
Next up: CHAPTER 5 ICEWIND DALE.
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