Picking the poison

[firkrag]

Okay, are there any other options to going to spellhold besides the Shadow Thieves and Bodhi? I have been rummaging around Athkhala for quite sometime killing dragons and getting kids adopted. I think my party's experience is at an all time high. But are there any other options to getting to spellhold besides the above two aforementioned? Moreover, when I get there and I get sent down to drow land with all the beholders and those funny looking creatures that mind zap the crap outta you, how do you get out and back to civilization? You know the place I'm talking about with the dwarves stronghold and caves where you spawn evil creatures out of an incubator of sorts?

Sincerely and with much fondness for you all,

Firkrag

[SixOfSpades]

The Shadow Thieves and Bodhi are indeed your only choices in Chapters 2-3. Choose your poison, you've got to side with one of them.

There are at least 5 distinct ways of leaving the Underdark, but to take any of them, you must first visit the Svirfneblin Settlement (what you call "the dwarves stronghold") and talk to their mayor, Odendal Breachgnome. This will start you off on the Main Plot of Chapter 5, which is, in my opinion, the best damn quest in the game: You can roleplay just about anything you want to. Lies, Deception, Honor, Valor, Intrigue, it's all there. It just depends on how you roleplay it.

Just go ahead and play Chapter 5 the way you think your character would play it. And then, should you run into any problems, we'll still be here.