First off, let it be known that I will be mentioning ToB special abilities, so if you do not wish to know, you may not want to continue reading. This also contains Temple Ruin spoilers.
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So here I was, soloing with a Cavalier, and I knew eventually I would have to kill Dragons and stuff, but I was nervous, because well, I never fought a Dragon before without Mage support.

So I dilly-dallied with subquests until finally, I reached level 19. Since Paladins gain a special ability per level after level 17, I had Whirlwind, Greater Whirlwind.

My only summon is a Genie, from the Genie Bottle I gained in Tradesmeet.

More confident now, I made my way to Umar Hills and began my quest to slay a Dragon. I reached the Temple Ruins and had a grand day running around( I had Boots of Speed from the Planar Prison quest) using my Turn Undead skill to destroy all the Shadows and Shadow Wolves.

Within the underground complex however, I had a heartstopping time at the lava room, I met a Lich, a Skeleton Warrior, a Skeleton Warrior Archer and 2 Greater Mummies... ...

I was like... what the Hell?!?! It was okay though, as I lured them out one by one, before proceeding to whack them with Azuredge.

I could Turn Undead the Skeleton Warrior, but I was not high-level enough for the rest. The Greater Mummies were a real pain in the a** though, because they needed a critical failure(1) on their saving throws to die instantaneously from Azuredge, and they hit real hard too with uncanny accurancy. The Lich was not a real problem, I had insane saving throws and I was immuned to fear. I darted in and out of sight and when the Lich casted his protection spells, I rested. Upon waking, the Lich's protection spells would have worn off, leaving him extremely vulnerable to a ranged Azuredge attack.

So I whacked them and went on to the next group of Undead, and lo and behold, it was the exact same combination... ...

In the end, I benefited though... the buttload of Xp I got from killing all the high-level Undead boosted me to level 20, and I chose Hardiness for my special ability.

One more Bone Golem and a snivelling Shadow later, I was finally at the entrance to the chamber where the Shadow Dragon lurked. I saved my game and proceeded downstairs... ...

The Fight
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Weapon setup, Frostreaver and Saving Grace. I decided to forgo Lilarcor and use a Shield instead, the +4 AC boosted my AC to -11 AC.

The moment I entered, I casted Hardiness, Draw Upon Holy Might, Barkskin and Armour of Faith, in that order.

Buffed up, I went to talk with the Dragon. The Dragon is surprised and leers at my Cavalier, going hostile. I managed to sneak in some damage through the Stoneskin thanks to elemental damage from the Frostreaver. The Dragon buffets my Cavalier and hurls his Dragon's Breath at me. I was worried at first, then I laughed... the Amulet of Power I was wearing rendered me immuned to his Dragon's Breath. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

I rushed at the Dragon again, but he casted Protection from Magical Weapons. Since I had no means of dispelling it, it meant running around for 4 rounds. So I summoned my Genie to distract the Dragon while I maintained some distance, Genie did not last very long, because the Dragon casted Death Spell.

Thank goodness for the Boots of Speed. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

When four rounds passed, I heard the spell wear off, which was my cue to charge. I activated Whirlwind and removed the Stoneskins, then I activated Greater Whirlwind and pummeled the Dragon. The Dragon was now near death, and with a few more blows, the Dragon finally dropped dead.

I drank 5 Potions of Greater Healing during the course of the battle, and gained a huge ego boost. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...miles/wink.gif It is an extremely wonderful feeling to tackle a Dragon with only one character.

The Death Blow

Thanks for reading! http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

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I added my report on Firkragg at the bottom of this page. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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[ 04-22-2002, 04:09 AM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]

Yeah, cavaliers make pretty short work of Dragons, my fight with Frikraag lasted all of 2 and a half rounds.

Great tip Dundeehttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no.../xyxthumbs.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no.../xyxthumbs.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no.../xyxthumbs.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no.../xyxthumbs.gif!

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Where there are monsters and barbarians there will be Byronas fighting against them.
Leader of Keldorn's Order

Why not kill firkraag in the beginning of the game, and have Carsomyr...
I did it once when my cavalier was at level 10...and the rest of my party too.
I spent like 10.000 on spells and such before, of course...but it was worth ithttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gif

Urm... that be because I am soloing and you have a party? http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gif You think I do not want Carsomyr? I am just bidding my time, in fact I am currently in Windspear Hills. I will then do my Paladin Stronghold quest and finish it off by slaying Firkragg.

His time will come, but I do not want to be squished just because I was too low-levelled.

thats extremely cool, but im a bit lost. i didnt think you could wear the amulet of power on a paladin. how did you do that? correct me if im wrong, but that is what i thought.

You think Firkraag is tougher than shadow dragon?!?!?!?!
I think not!
Yxiwhatever, was WAY more difficult, and I even did him later that Firkraag..
No, I'm not lousy...I found shadow dragon more difficult everytime I played!http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gif

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ReGiN: PROUD MEMBER OF KELDORN'S ORDER!

Amulet can be worn by all spellcasters, this includes Rangers and Paladins.

Firkragg has more Hp, better saving throws and Magic Resistance, plus the fact that he gives more Xp than Shadow Dragon. The only thing that is even remotely scary about the Shadow Dragon is its' Dragon's Breath which it rarely uses.

huh..... i could have SWORN i tried putting it on a paladin once..... well cool!