Ok, I am almost off to Ch. 4, but before I go, I want one thing: The Staff of the Magi. How would I aquire this wonderful piece? Is it in a quest somewhere? In a chest somewhere? Who has it? Please help, any locational advice would be appreciated.

hmm... it is (spoiler ahead) in the bridge district...
in the lower area of the map... i think right below the tanner house but above the redmans quest house... there is a house there... and there are two doors... one leads to the part of the lich (Khanxx quest) and the other is a black void... you need a rogue stone to enter the black void... and BE WARNED... you will have to fight the people GUARDING the staff... they are way way way way strong and you have to have a good party to defeat them...i suggest saving before you enter...

you have to face like a beholder, vampire, a strong assasin, a lich and a mage (that holds the staff) good luck

It's currently in the hands of a tough mage thru a door in the bridge district.




SPOILER ....
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This is one of the VERY toughest battles in the entire game. Perhaps you've heard of it...
The Twisted Rune.
A mage, an assassin, a beholder, a vampire, and a lich ... all in one room.

So ... go ahead!!! Go for the Staff of the Magi. If you can take from these guys, you've earned it!!!

Hints? Wait until you're a whole lot tougher. I finally beat these guys this past weekend for the first time. There are no real tricks.

Perhaps one minor tip... Take down the lich and the beholder first.

major spoiler!!!!

easy way of taking out the twisted rune crowd

1-2 theives with good traps (optional)
1-2 mages with project image, farsight and delayed action fireball

first, get inside. save game
cast multiple farsight so you can see all corners of both round rooms
init dialog. PAUSE game.
note exact locations where vampires, thief, beholder and mage
reload.
cast farsight. have mage(s) cast project image. plant 4-6 delayes action fireballs where the beholder, mage and vampires gate in.
plant 4-8 traps where lich comes in.

a projected image will not use up your character's spellpoints, so 10-20 fireballs per site are possible. also image will not initiate dialog.

save (just in case) init dialog with lich.
beholder fries instantly
vampires are crisped
mage dies before single protect spell can be cast
lich might survive, most likey not.

send project image to trigger any remaining traps

loot little lumps of charcoal

Dam I wish I would have thought of that. Seems like that would be the thing to do know If I can rember all of that for when I go there.

I was gonna say - that's the easy way?

No, using the Astroid of Smiting +50 is the easy way.

Its easier than trying 6 times to keep to acceptable casualties.
besides, anytime you have a major mage battle, i have to

cast project image and summon 6 skeleton warriors, unless the encounter area is in a area that requires a load

cast stoneskin on all party who can
cast protection from evil if I plan to use demons
cast protection from energy if its a dragon or beholder
cast spell turning for my mages

equip one handed weapons and shields for the warriors with two handed weapons
quick item any devices or weapons I might need

any mage battle or major battle requires several minutes of preparation

this encounter killed off half my characters 6 times running. it is not easy. the lich uses symbol death whick killed my favorite skeleton warriors, beholder fried them with a death spell, and the demon turned them hostile.

pissed me off until I figured it out.

Well, I got pretty badly beaten first time I took on the twisted rune. Second time I pulled my party right back into the first room and picked them off one at a time; for the lich you can just summon cannon fodder to absorb the timestop/symbols, then holy smite, continual breach and regular attacks, same as any other lich. The beholder I lured into the room with a fireball, then beat up with myself, Jaheira and Korgan, all hasted. The vampire I beat alone with the help of chaotic commands and neg. plane protection, and I let the mage get killed by her own pit fiend. : )
Oh, and that unarmed assassin... well, he's not even worth mentioning.

This was definitely the toughest battle of the game for me as I was only level 11-12 when I took on these bastards. The demon being gated in actually works in your favor because it attacks the female mage. But still a toughie by all accounts. I actually stumbled into this house by mistake (had a rogue stone) while chasing the red man in the red man quest. I thought, holy shit! this guy has some MAJOR allies...

Thanks very much guys, you were all a big help. Now, I am off to the bridge district, perhaps with some ale afterward!