Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

It's been a while, but I'm back on my travels thru Faerun. And glad to see this forum is still alive and kicking. EasyTutu made BG1 great fun and now I'm on the hunt for ol' Jon again. Amongst others I have the Tactics mod installed and remember clearly to have beaten all the challenges in the past - but how? My plain Kensai PC (Lvl 17) is facing (improved) Faldorn (a mere joke in vanilla BG2) and gets a bleeding nose. Reloading and prebuffing gives him another 1 or 2 rounds before the lights go dark. Searched the forums, but the hints there seem to have never been put to the test:

Help from outside is obviously necessary - but
1. Ranged weapons or spells do not work (of course).
2. Area of effect spells do not reach into the pit.
3. Neither does a teleportation field.
4. Dimension door doesn't bring my mage into combat.
5. Someone mentioned to have dropped equipment into the pit. Well, when my NPCs drop an item, it remains exactly on the floor where they are standing. I have no idea how to "throw" the stuff!?

I doubt my PC will be able to beat her even if he was lvl 20 or higher, so I don't think just doing other quests and returning would be an option.
Please spoil me, what tactics might help?

My party:
Kensai lvl 17
Cavalier lvl 15
Priest of Lathander lvl 18
Archer lvl 15
Conjurer lvl 16
Assassin lvl 20

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

My solo kensai-mage had trouble with Imp Faldorn a while ago. Eventually i sub-contracted Cernd to take her out in a challenge, which was effortless, of course. By the looks of it, you're playing with a custom party and are unable to temporarily drop any members, yes?

Edit: After checking the old post, it seems that Cernd has to be outside the party to be able to do the bypass. Check Imrahil's advice in this thread and you should have no trouble. ;)

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

if you think that improved faldorn is ridiculous (even compared to the rest of the improved grove) you can delete her .CRE file from the override folder created by tactics

it can still be hard to take her out with a low-ish level PC i've got into the habit of leaving her 'til i get back from spellhold after which the situation changes*

* if you see what i mean . . .

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

Thanks for your advice.
There may indeed have been mod changes since I last played. It's almost three years and I don't remember Faldorn being so strong. But of course I installed Tactics to beat her with my own two (twelve) hands, not by ignoring or outCLUAing her. So I learned the hard way - about my own stupidity. It is actually possible to hand equipment from outside the pit to the champion inside. You don't have to throw it (as I assumed), you just have to place an NPC close to the pit (for me it was a spot directly next to the stairs) and hand stuff from inventory to inventory. Maybe it is not the way it was planned, but it's possible.
Against a prebuffed kensai with magical weapons and healing potions Faldorn didn't last long. Hail the Hero of Trademeet!

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

Good stuff. :)

I'm actually rounding off chapter 2 with an imported BG1 evil party now, but Trademeet hasn't appeared as a destination yet. Can anyone refresh my memory as to who or how Trademeet is triggered?

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

Easiest way is the City Gates... Remember now? If not, just head on over- it's easy enough to figure out.

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

Ah yes, i recall speaking to a child at the city gates in previous games to activate the quest, but i've cleared that map and didn't encounter anyone this time. Will check again when back in town, perhaps i overlooked them. The merchant who is embroiled in the argument was absent also, but maybe it was the wrong time of day. I cannot head to Trademeet until the quest is active. It does not appear on the map. ;)

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

It's not a child, it's the guy by the cart IIRC. ;)

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

Flydian. Trademeet can also be opened by Mazzy, or by asking about a gong.

[ADD] And yes, Cernd has to be outside the party for the "escape clause" to work: When he enters the ring, there's a 50% chance that he'll unavoidably win--I think Weimer gives him a MINHP1 item that also grants insane regeneration, or something like that.

Re: Improved Faldorn = ueberdruidess
 

That's a relief. Shortly after finishing up the Umar Hills quest, but before returning to Baldur's Gate, i noticed that Trademeet was on the map, and was wondering if it had always been there and if i'd simply been losing my marbles.