Gromnir BG2
Gromnir is a Baldur's Gate enemy in BioWare's cRPG of 2000-01, Baldur's Gate 2. In Throne of Bhaal, Gromir Il-Khan is a 20th level Half-orc Barbarian Bhaalspawn BG2 notable for dual-wielding morningstars while under the effects of Barbarian Rage. Gromnir is a hard-hitter with solid tanking ability, but the battle mages backing him up are more threatening to the party than he is.
cf. Barbarian PC Games.
Gromnir Location
Gromnir can be found in his tower in the town of Saradush, standing before his throne flanked by a duo of Il-Khan battle mages. The quest related to him is caled Dealing with Gromnir.
While listed as Kensai BG2, and having access to Kai, Gromnir is more of a Barbarian BG2 because he activates Rage, not Kai. Also, Kensai cannot wear armor and Gromnir is wearing Full Plate Mail +2.
On the other hand, Gromnir does not have Barbarian damage reduction, Barbarians cannot wear plate mail whereas Gromnir does, and Gromnir has High Mastery in Flail when Barbarians can only Specialize.
So basically, Gromnir is just Gromnir. Seemingly, designing an authentic Half-orc Barbarian that adheres to the rules was not at the forefront.
How to Beat Gromnir
Like Illasera BG2 and Yaga-Shura BG2, Gromnir is a mundane martial. That is, he is a physical-based damage dealer and conventional tank. And by that I mean, he is predictable and easily tameable.
When battle begins, Gromnir rages hard, charges the party and starts whaling away on whomever he catches sight of first. Gromnir dual-wields enchanted morningstars and inflicts an average of 32.5 damage at a rate of 5 ApR. Coupled with an on-hand THAC0 of -17 and off-hand THAC0 of -14 (True GM), he will smash poorly defended BG2 companions to pieces in a single round.
Gromnir's AC is a pitiful -5 but his hit point pool is deep at 244 and his saving throws are low at 2/4/3/3/-2. Thus, he has a degree of conventional staying power.
However, any suitably equipped party warrior BG2 can go toe-to-toe with Gromnir. All we need is a good weapon, good armor and solid THAC0, AC, ApR and damage output.
Gromnir is laughable to Mage BG2. Buffed with Stoneskin, Mirror Image and / or PfMW, Mages ignore Gromnir and focus on his battle mage backup.
We receive 22,500 XP and 30,000 quest XP for slaying Gromnir. We can also loot his corpse for Ice Star +4, Morningstar +3, Lavender Ioun Stone and Roranach's Horn.
Karun the Black: Il-Khan Battle Mage
Due to the power of Best Spells BG2, the two 18th level Il-Khan Battle Mages are more threatening than Gromnir. While one battle mage is named Karun the Black, they are actually carbon copies of one another.
Aesthetics aside (sprite + paperdoll), the only difference is that Karun the Black is scripted to fire a defensive Spell Trigger: Mislead whereas the generic battle mage chooses to cast True Sight before the Spell Trigger, meaning he can be backstabbed while casting True Sight.
After firing their Spell Triggers, both battle mages cast Time Stop, Symbols and Wail of the Banshee followed up by Sunfire, ADHW and Finger of Death.
To beat them, we need to disperse the illusion (True Sight, Jan's Detect Illusions) and then Breach any weapon wards, such as Improved Mantle and PfMW.
Karun the Black and the Il-Khan battle mage yield 21,500 XP each when slain.
Three additional enemies appear near the stairwell once battle gets underway. Usually, these three are more of a flanking annoyance or distraction, not a threat.
Il-Khan Soldier
The Il-Khan Soldier is a 15th level Human Fighter BG2 with a single Called Shot (Archer BG2). He has a THAC0 of -1 and inflicts an average of 8.5 damage at a rate of 3½ ApR.
He fires +1 arrows from a Composite Longbow +1, and wears Studded Leather Armor +2.
The Il-Khan Soldier has an AC of 1 and 120 HPs.
12,300 XP.
Eler Had
Eler Had is a 15th level Human Thief BG2 that attempts x5 backstabs. He has a THAC0 of 1 and inflicts an average of 8.5 piercing damage at a rate of 1 ApR, wielding a Dagger +1.
Eler Had has an AC of 1 and 145 HPs. Most notably, he wears Grandmaster's Armor +6 [LEAT24].
12,500 XP.
Berena Elkan
Berena Elkan is a 15th level Berserker BG2. She has a THAC0 of -1 and inflicts an average of 20.5 piercing damage at a rate of 2½ ApR, wielding a +3 Spear.
She has an AC of 1, 170 HPs and wears Plate Mail Armor.
12,500 XP.
cf. SCS Gromnir.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.