[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by JrKASperov: Your only chance to defeat rakshasha's is to have a good thac0 and smack em down! 5 or lower would do.

They actually turned out to be far less intimidating than I would have expected. I went back and re-started my game from the point where I had just defeated Kyland Lind and the Shadow Druids. After killing the myconids on the bridge, I went into the first shop I came to and saw what appeared to be a woman selling potions. That is where I stopped for the night and Saved the game.

This time around, I initiated dialogue and the "woman" went hostile immediately (since I had talked to the djinn before leaving Trademeet). Since I now knew my spells would be ineffective, I decided to just attack with my Upgraded Zerth Blade (which is a +5 weapon). I still had my Stoneskin in effect from the Shadow Druid battle and I managed to actually kill the primary rakshasa. The other two were hacking away helplessly at me, but eventually got through my stoneskin. That's when I decided to take my leave. I used my remaing spells to kill the spider behind the buildings and the first two Shambling Mounds. Between the Mounds and the last two rakshasas, I took some fairly heavy damage, so I had to drink two of my Potions of Extra Healing. I then rested for the night and regained my spells. The last Shambling Mound and the Myconids on the other side of the bridge went down very quickly to my renewed spells. I then paused when I saw Cernd and pre-buffed with Draw Upon Holy Might, Improved Invisibility, and Haste (one thing I learned is that if I cast Improved Invisibility before Haste, enemies will automatically detect me. If I cast Haste first, they don't know I'm there. Weird.). The next enemy was a group of grizzly bears. The "saw" through my invisibility and moved to attack, until I blasted them with a Fireball, then they ran away. I chased them down and hacked them up with my Haste spell - then moved down to attack Dalok and his cronies. I moved close enough for some AoE spells, but NOT close enough to actually see them yet. I cast Web, Cloudkill, and Fireball into the blacked-out area - then moved forward to get them on the screen. Two Skull Traps killed the 4 Animal Companions AND Dalok. The other two druids remained helplessly trapped within my web and I picked them off with Melf's Acid Arrows and Magic Missiles.

After defeating all the enemies, it was time to go see Faldorn. I SAVED the game because I wanted to try both options (going solo and having Cernd in my party). This time, I made sure to speak to Faldorn first (before speaking to Cernd). I asked if we could negotiate for the lives of those in Trademeet, but she wasn't in a negotiating mood. So I went back to tell Cernd what I had found out.

Now - according to what others have said - I should have the option of allowing Cernd to accept the challenge while I just stand on the sidelines as an observer, but THAT NEVER HAPPENED!!!

Once again, NO MATTER WHAT OPTION I chose, it was MY character that invariably got teleported into the pit with Faldorn. I tried adding Cernd to my party and having HIM speak to Faldorn when we returned to the Grove. I tried not adding Cernd to my party and he told me I could follow and observe his eventual victory or defeat - yet the game still plopped MY character into the pit every single time. In other words, I tried every, single option or choice available to me, and STILL ended up facing Faldorn with my bard every single time. {sigh} So I was forced to just use CNTRL-Y and forfeit any experience I might have gained from Cernd defeating her (however, the loss of that XP now "justifies" my use of the upgraded Zerth Blade. I consider it an even trade-off).

After the battle in the pit, I went back to the shop with the rakshasas. Stoneskin, Haste, and Improved Invisibility made very short work of both of them and prevented me from suffering any significant damage in the process.

So I went back to Trademeet, recieved a Heroe's Welcome, and promptly looted several choice items and scrolls from some of the vendors (sorry, I just couldn't help myself). Now I've been approached by two families to recover an item from the Crypt Tomb.