Durlag Basement 2
Four books lay on the ground. Clockwise from the northern book, they read;
N: "Oh, Kiel, Clan-prince of this dark tower,
You made your death your finest hour."
E: "Islanne my wife, I love you still,
'Twas just your form they made me kill."
S: "Moved ne'er by rage and ne'er by anger,
Cold is the trait'rous doppelganger."
W: "Too young to fight, except to fall,
Here died my son, young Fuernebol."
"Kiel, Islanne, Fuernebol. Assuming Durlag wrote these limericks, this must be his family members that the doppelgangers impersonated," I summarised for the rest.
"Is it... important for us to know that much about Durlag?" Neera asked.
"That depends if whether or not you believe Durlag a prideful dwarf, who expects visitors to know his personal history to pass the challenges ahead?"
"Point taken," Neera replied.
---
This place was basically a whole lot of doors that open and shut if you do specific random things in the level. It's truly a headache to navigate.
Thankfully, BG1 is an old game. So a content creator for BG1 named Almar had made a quick list of suggestions to clear this level easily.
Step 1. Activate the southern statue in the Statue Room
2. Collect the Wardstone from the Bedroom Table (triggers Durlag ghost)
3. Collect the Wardstone from the Bedroom southern Endtable (next to bed)
4. Activate the northern statue in the Statue Room
5. Attack the yellow Sparring Dummy in the Training Room (triggers Durlag ghost)
6. Attack the silver Sparring Dummy to open the door to the Throne Room
From there, we will have access to the main switch room from where we can open all the doors that are activated by these wonky systems. There were more doors to open, but it's easy to figure out from there.
---
Step 1
To the south, an open doorway led to a creepy room full of statues, and a tapestry with a creepy depiction of a doppelganger on it.
We activate the southern statue in this Statue Room.
This opened the eastern room with the book talking about Islanne, revealing a Bedroom.
Step 2
Imoen looked in the bedroom while the rest of us waited outside.
Imoen collected the Wardstone from the Bedroom Table (triggers Durlag ghost)
This triggered the door connecting the circular corridor to the bedroom to close, but the doors connecting the bedroom to the statue room to open.
and
Step 3
Imoen also collected the Wardstone from the Bedroom southern Endtable (next to bed)
I'm not sure what that does, really.
As per step 2, a ghost of Durlag Trollkiller appeared, which caused Imoen to let out a shriek in fright.
"Mmm, Islanne. Your hair is down, my love…" it said. Then it Dimension Doored towards the bedroom.
The 'ghost' or Durlag kept mumbling something to itself then blew itself up with a fireball for some reason, and finally transformed into a (slightly charred) greater doppleganger. Go figure.
An injured Greater Doppelganger wasn't exactly a big threat. Rather than have it bother us later, we took it out by removing it's Mirror Images with double Magic Missile spamming and chopping it up before it could buff itself with Haste.
Step 4
Activate the northern statue in the Statue Room
This opened the door to the West with the book about Fuernebol.
Step 5
The West room with the book about Fuernebol had practice dummies in it and a LOT of traps, which Imoen disabled. Each practice dummy had valuable loot beneath it, which we helped ourselves to.
We attacked the yellow Sparring Dummy in the Training Room (triggers Durlag ghost)
This opens the door connecting the Sparring Dummy room to the Statue Room.
Step 6
I immediately went attacked the silver Sparring Dummy to open the door to the Throne Room.
The Throne Room was the room near the book about Kiel.
Again, step 5 caused a 'ghost' of Durlag to appear. I didn't shriek like Imoen though.
"Ah, Fuernebol, my son. Trade yor bow for a lute and play something mournful for your father, will ye?"
It mumbled something else while dimension dooring around the place, then cast Stinking Cloud into the Sparring Dummy room and reverted back into a Greater Doppelganger. It found itself alone and confused. This time we left it to enjoy the stink of the cloud by itself.
---
In the Throne room, there was only a helmet in front of the Throne. We stood near the side doors, while Khalid made a grab for the helmet and came back to us.
A 'ghost' of Durlag appeared near the throne.
"Kiel, my first-born, why so stern all the time? Come down from that throne and revel with your family for a spell."
The side doors opened, letting in ghosts of Fuernebol and Islenne.
"You and I have built ourselves a fortress here, son. The treasure lies safe and the Clan grows strong, so let down your guard a moment, fool…"
We ran past Islenne on the right, revealing a room full of levers.
"Thsssm Dwarfmeat, it you wish to fight then let us fight and be done with ye!"
Durlag, Islenne and Fuernebol cast Stinking Cloud and Cloudkill in the Throne Room, poisoning themselves before transforming into Greater Doppelgangers. We were already outside the Throne Room, in the switch room though.
Man, these doppelgangers are dumb.
This switch room we were in controlled most of the doors we were struggling with earlier. From here, it wasn't too difficult to keep flipping switches until we heard all the doors open rather than close.
While waiting for the Cloudkill to wear off, our buffs started to run out. We figured we may as well head back up to free some inventory space at the shop outside the Tower. A few backstabs and Magic Missiles, and we took out the Greater Doppelgangers in the Throne Room.
---
Up and out we went, freed up some inventory space with the merchant, scribed some spells to free up more inventory space, then back down we went.
---
Back down on Durlag's Basement level 2, past the lever room, was a trophy room which was filled with traps. Thanks to my fiddling with the levers, the Trophy room connected to the bedroom. Past the trophy room was a locked door which I could actually pick open, and beyond the locked door I scouted out a bridge with another two Fuernebols and one Islenne.
Two Fuernebols, huh? These were all Greater Doppelgangers, but unlike EVERY doppelganger in the game they would switch between the forms of Durlag's various family members to cast spells or shoot arrows. Another two would join later, triggering a fireball trap that blew themselves up.
Seriously, the doppelgangers were hitting themselves with their own spells and traps this whole level.
Since they were already blowing themselves up with a fireball, we added a couple of Oils of Fiery Burning and Potions of Explosions to the mix as well. And that was that.
---
We then passed a tomb with 4 dwarven doom guards, which stood over a corpse of a dwarf and two chests.
"Obviously they will attack if we raid the chests," Jaheira said. "But that's not going to stop us, is it?"
Not a chance. One of these chests holds and EXTREMELY valuable magic item that I want to use personally.
---
Dwarven Doom Guards were 'mostly' identical to regular Doom Guards. Like regular Doom Guards, they are martial powerhouses that are immune to ranged attacks and poison, resist fire and cold, and had decent saving throws. The 'only' difference was these Dwarven variations had an INCREDIBLE 4 attacks per round! And there's four of them at once, armed with Flame Blades! Certainly a challenge.
---
"So we just load up Khalid with buffs and let him tank them, right?" Neera said. "The swords on those things are on fire, so fire resistance should help him resist some of the hurt coming his way."
Poor Khalid's teeth were chattering. And who can blame him? Jaheira was nudging him with her elbow.
Buffing Khalid's AC high enough would take a lot of resources. Furthermore, even if his AC was maxed, 4 Dwarven Doom Guards attacking 4 times per round were going to get a lot of nasty hits in regardless. With their tough AC, we wouldn't be able to put them down quickly.
"Actually, I think Khalid could use a break this time around," I said. "There's a better way to do this which I've been meaning to try."
---
Neera stepped forward to the nearest Dwarven Doom Guard, gripping the Staff Spear +2 she had picked up from Kirinhale the succubus.
"For the record, I really really really really really hate this!" she shouted to us.
We were standing around the corner, out of sight.
"We heard you the first time!" I shouted back. I nudged Khalid. "Give her some tips."
"L-l-like what?"
"Anything!"
"T-t-try not to die!" Khalid shouted around the corner to Neera.
Jaheira planted her face in her palms.
"Thanks a LOT. I'll try my best to do that!" Neera shouted back.
Neera cast a spell on herself, then took a deep breath while holding up the Staff Spear+2.
"Hurry up, the spell won't last for ever!" I shouted around the corner.
"SHUT UP! GOD DAMN IT!" Neera shouted back, then took a swing at the nearest Dwarven Doom Guard. Her swing bounced of its armor uselessly.
That got the attention of ALL of them. The Dwarven Doom Guards surrounded Neera, and slashed Neera with their Flame Blades.
"AIEEEEE!" Neera screamed, swinging her Staff Spear +2 wildly as Flame Blades slashed her left and right viciously.
The rest of the party wasn't going to sit still and do nothing, of course. We charged forward and hacked away at the Dwarven Doom Guards with melee weapons while they were focused on Neera.
---
The pieces of armor that used to be the four Dwarven Doom Guards lay at our feet.
Neera had been slashed over twenty times with vicious Flame Blades.
She was absolutely fine. Well, physically anyway. She was sitting on the ground, holding herself while catching her breath.
Funny thing about Flame Blades. The spell description specifically states that a blade created by the spell "is not a magical weapon in the normal sense of the term, so creatures struck only by magical weapons are not harmed by it."
The Wraithform spell grants immunity to non-magical weapons. The fact that the weapon is made of flame doesn't matter. The spell lasts 2 rounds per level of the caster. Since Neera was level 9, the spell lasted 18 rounds. That gave us plenty of time to cut down 4 Dwarven Doom Guards.
I'm super pleased to have found a use for the spell after all! I was under the impression Wraithform was quite useless until I regarded this encounter in particular.
By the way, this also works on the Doomsayer, a powerful optional boss that guards an ancient temple of Kozah in the Archaeological Site south of the Lighthouse. It too is armed with a Flame Blade. Any doomguard would work as well.
"Neera, you've been sitting for a while now. Ready to move on yet?" I asked.
She gave me a look of deep dissatisfaction. "I can't. My knees have given out."
"Don't worry, that's normal," Khalid said, gently. "You'll get more used to it each time."
"Each time? There's not going to be a next time!" Neera protested while standing right up, shaking her fist.
Oh, yes there was.
---
This gave us Kiel's Morningstar, a cursed weapon of berserking which was useless, and Kiel's Buckler, which gave a bonus +1 to Dexterity. Kiel's Buckler was the bee's knees for thieves. With it, I had a full 100 in Move Silently, Hide in Shadows and Set Traps. Woot! This was the big fat magic item I had been waiting for!
---
From there, we finally found a stairs down!
"Nope," Imoen said. "The stairs be fake, and there be a trigger on the steps down."
Imoen dismantled the trap on the stairs. There was a secret door here which led to the real stairs down, but we didn't have the wardstone to open it yet.
Next up was a long corridor which had multiple alcoves on one side.
"What are the alcoves for?" Imoen asked.
Just then, we had the answer. A ghast stepped out of an alcove. Then another, and another!
"Keep them back! Open fire!" I commanded.
Neera cast Web, and Branwen focused on turning ghasts that reaches us away while we pelted them with ranged fire. That's all we needed to do. There were plentiful ghasts stepping out of the alcoves, but not infinite.
Next, a room full of urns. And traps, of course. There was a secret door here which led to an altar of some sort, to a dwarf or dwarven god. This contained the wardstone we needed to open the door to the real stairs down, near the fake stairs.
Man, Durlag's Basement is such a drag.