#@*&% Firkag

[karlosovic]

once i get a mage high enough (or I just thought, use a scroll), I like to always keep a spell trigger loaded with 3xlower resistence for tough boss characters.

Because dragons are all such an elitist bunch, none of them will EVER attack you before talking to you and telling you how much better than you they are. This means you always have time to completely booby-trap them with theif snares before you pick a fight. I consider taking advantage of the enemy's arrogance and ego in the spirit of roleplaying, as opposed to the cheese tactic of exploiting rules bugs where casting magic resistance over-rides and lowers the dragons own resistence. (If you feel strongly about it, caste improved invisability on your thief first and pretend the dragon doesn't know about the traps)

Start off your assault by casting doom. This takes a while, and just as it's about to finish casting hit him with the lower-magic spell trigger. If you aren't high enough... work out how long each spell takes to cast, use as many mages casting lower resistence as you can, and then try to time them so the lowering spells hit just before the doom. Once the first one hits, the dragon goes hostile, the traps spring, the dragon takes heaps of damage.
hopefully the doom worked, follow up with mass magic missiles and powerful arrows/bolt/bullets. try to keep clear of melee. dragons are very good at it.

With luck, the dragon will fall dead very quickly. Without much luck, the dragon survives the initial assault and you settle in for a grudge match where half (or more) of your party dies, but so does the dragon. With no luck, you'll all be dead very quickly

here's a cheese tactic for those with Weimer's Item upgrade mod. Improved Kitthix seems to be almost indestructable. Use it for fodder, it seems to tie up pretty much anything (oh, a pun, lol) all day long while you sit back and kill enemies one at a time. Actually it will probably kill half of your foes while it waits for you to kill the rest. It seems a bit overpowerful to me, I dont use it anymore unless they're mindflayers (I HATE those things !)

[Alson]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: After trying legit tactics 12-15 times (or more-finally lost count) and getting my butt thoroughly kicked, I used Jaheira to cast Magic Resistance on him. This actually LOWERS his Resistance because it sets it equal to 2%/level of caster (I think)...so it brought his Resistance down to about 28-32%. The neat thing is that this is NOT considered a "hostile act", so Firkraag just sat still and did nothing. I then sent Imoen forward and had her cast Feeblemind. This IS considered hostile and it took a few more reloads before the spell finally made it past his Resistance and Saving throws.

Huh? Cerek, Feeblemind does not turn the victim hostile.
That is what makes it such a cheesy spell. Well, that and ...

Once he is "feebleminded", he will sit perfectly still while the entire party slices, dices, and julien-fries him.

[img]smile.gif[/img]

(kinda like the party in the Inn at Waukeen's Promenade. If you try to attack them right after Chateau Irenicus, you will probably have your head handed to you on a platter. Fortunately, they are nice enough to stay put and wait for you to gain a few levels.

I agree with Rataxes, here - this is usually the first place i'm headed after emerging from Chateau Irenicus. I find it to be an invaluable source of loot in early games, since i usually play with a party.

Right now, I am using my assassin and Yoshimo to go in and Set Snares right outside the door.

Have you tried the poisoned traps already? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[rhapsody407]

Originally posted by karlosovic: once i get a mage high enough (or I just thought, use a scroll), I like to always keep a spell trigger loaded with 3xlower resistence for tough boss

I like my original dragon-slaying (and hard-boss slaying) tactic, which was: two mage/clerics. one spell trigger would be 2xLR, 1xdoom, the other 1xLR,1xGM, and a finger of doom/flesh to stone or other powerful spells. (i always cleric dualed to a mage, but nowadays i use the multi, thx to this board "whats a multiclass?" LMAO)

Mage/cleric chain contingencies (when you can find a scroll) are quite powerful. Set it at protection from weapons, protection from missiles, and blade barrier, set it so that these cast on you when you get hit. Waltz into the fray. stand. pick up the loot.

[Zuvio]

Need helpdefeating Firkraag?

!! ITEM SPOILER INVOLVED !!

Check this method!!.

The battle has just engaged and this hit landed before he did a wingbuffet or anything else. Granted, its cheesy, so its your choice...

And some post-mortum conversation which is also nice

[ 01-03-2003, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: Zuvio ]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Alson: quote: Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: After trying legit tactics 12-15 times (or more-finally lost count) and getting my butt thoroughly kicked, I used Jaheira to cast Magic Resistance on him. This actually LOWERS his Resistance because it sets it equal to 2%/level of caster (I think)...so it brought his Resistance down to about 28-32%. The neat thing is that this is NOT considered a "hostile act", so Firkraag just sat still and did nothing. I then sent Imoen forward and had her cast Feeblemind. This IS considered hostile and it took a few more reloads before the spell finally made it past his Resistance and Saving throws.

Huh? Cerek, Feeblemind does not turn the victim hostile.
That is what makes it such a cheesy spell. Well, that and ...[/QUOTE]But he DOES turn hostile if the spell doesn't work. Then Imoen is standing in front of a very-angry red dragon by herself. NOT a pretty site. [img]graemlins/awcrap.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img]

Originally posted by Alson: quote: (kinda like the party in the Inn at Waukeen's Promenade. If you try to attack them right after Chateau Irenicus, you will probably have your head handed to you on a platter. Fortunately, they are nice enough to stay put and wait for you to gain a few levels.

I agree with Rataxes, here - this is usually the first place i'm headed after emerging from Chateau Irenicus. I find it to be an invaluable source of loot in early games, since i usually play with a party.

Right now, I am using my assassin and Yoshimo to go in and Set Snares right outside the door.

Have you tried the poisoned traps already? [img]smile.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]No, I still haven't figured out how to apply the poison to the traps. When I click on the poison icon, it applies it to whatever weapon I have in my hand. I DID use that to poison a crossbow bolt which I then used on the Promenade group to begin the battle. I fired it at the fighter standing just inside the door. I was hoping to "lure" him out into my neatly set traps. It didn't work...but it DID keep doing 1pt of damage to him. Next time, I'll use that on the mage to screw up his spellcasting. [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img]

But PLEASE tell me what I'm doing wrong with the traps...or how I can make the poison apply to the traps. I'm missing a step somewhere and can't figure out what it is.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Zuvio: Need helpdefeating Firkraag? !! ITEM SPOILER INVOLVED !! Check this method!!. The battle has just engaged and this hit landed before he did a wingbuffet or anything else. Granted, its cheesy, so its your choice... And some post-mortum conversation which is also nice

Zuvio - Is that Sihn's SoulReaver?

It's a MOST awesome weapon.....FAR better than the vaunted Silver Sword. Cerek carried it through about 1/2 of BGII, until a friend designed an even better sword for fighting mages. I would have to say that SoulReaver is the most powerful weapon I've seen for BGII.

[Alson]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: quote: Originally posted by Alson: Huh? Cerek, Feeblemind does not turn the victim hostile. That is what makes it such a cheesy spell. Well, that and ...

But he DOES turn hostile if the spell doesn't work. Then Imoen is standing in front of a very-angry red dragon by herself. NOT a pretty site. [img]graemlins/awcrap.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]That's wierd! Perhaps you played with an unpatched version?
In most games, including mine, Feeblemind does not turn the victim hostile, regardless of its success.

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: quote: Originally posted by Alson: Have you tried the poisoned traps already? [img]smile.gif[/img]

No, I still haven't figured out how to apply the poison to the traps. When I click on the poison icon, it applies it to whatever weapon I have in my hand. I DID use that to poison a crossbow bolt which I then used on the Promenade group to begin the battle. I fired it at the fighter standing just inside the door. I was hoping to "lure" him out into my neatly set traps. It didn't work...but it DID keep doing 1pt of damage to him. Next time, I'll use that on the mage to screw up his spellcasting. [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img]
But PLEASE tell me what I'm doing wrong with the traps...or how I can make the poison apply to the traps. I'm missing a step somewhere and can't figure out what it is.[/QUOTE]During the duration of the Poison Weapon ability, any weapon that the Assassin use is poisoned. So, regardless of the weapon you're holding or not holding, your traps will be poisoned as long as you set them in under the duration of Poison Weapon. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Gangrell]

Hmmm, actually, back at GW, they had this one dragon slaying tactic, and I really, no I REALLY doubt this works, but someone might wanna try it. What you do is cast Doom or Greater Malison on the dragon several times, where his saving throws and resistances are knocked down far enough where you can cast Chromatic Orb and kill him.

[Baros]

Originally posted by Alson: During the duration of the Poison Weapon ability, any weapon that the Assassin use is poisoned. So, regardless of the weapon you're holding or not holding, your traps will be poisoned as long as you set them in under the duration of Poison Weapon. [img]smile.gif[/img] [/QB]

I'm at work right now, but WILL test this when I get home and my fiance will have to wait until morning to see me [img]smile.gif[/img]

Can I clarify something? Is the trap poisoned only for the duration of the "poison weapon"? or is it (semi)permanent?

Or to put it another way - do I use PW before setting the trap or before the victim walks onto it?

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Hey Baros - and Welcome BACK to Ironworks. [img]smile.gif[/img]

That's a good question concerning the duration of the poison. Since the kit description says that the poison will be activated on the "next strike" of the weapon, I would assume it remains active until the traps are set off.

Thanks for the explanation Alson, and thanks a LOT for your patience with me asking the same question over and over. I did not realize the "Poison Weapon" ability lasted for more than one application and that it would affect ANY weapons (or traps) I handled during that time period.

I will also have to test this theory out later this evening.