How did you kill Firkraag?

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A 2ton 2-story lizard that can incinerate a 30ft. diameter area with a sigh and fling 200lb. adventurers 150ft. by shrugging his shoulders tends to be cocky. IIRC, he happens to be the only enemy in the game that tells you to go and get stronger after you threaten to kill him in the future. He's not that tough if you're prepared, but to just run in and attack a mature Red Dragon without making preperations so you won't be "cheesy"....it's Baldur's Gate not Monty Python.Let's not be silly. In PnP, you could enrage the beast until he chased you to a more favorable battleground, or send hordes of summoned creatures from a safe location just to wear him out and then move in for the kill. Just because a method is easy doesn't make it cheesy. Does one of your characters have to be in grave danger in order for it to be an acceptable battle? The so called "cheesers" spend alot more time playing than creating new character sheets or reloading. Going back and doing it the hard way is an optional test of one's abilities.

 

Here is the revised "cheese free" (?) version of my tactic:
(Changes are in italics)

- Load Spell Trigger with three Lower Resistance (or two Lower Resistance and one Greater Malison if you can).

- If you have other triggers/sequencers load them with Magic Missiles. Use scrolls if you do not have these spells in your spell list.

- Always have Stoneskin on.

- Potion of Fire Resistance (50%) and Scroll of Resist Fire (50%) gives you a Fire resistance of 100%. This is a nice precaution to take.

- Resist Fear, Prot f Evil, summon five Mordenkainen's Sword and cast Haste on them. I do all this via a Project Image. (Plan the summons and Haste so that the Project Image ends just after you are done since the duration of Mord's Swords is only 1rd/level.)

- Mirror Image.

- Pretend that you enter the cave. You pretend that you did the summons in the upper level where the stairs start, instead of actually in the game doing it on the stairs in Firkraags cave.

- Standing on the stairs with your summons, start battle with the Spell Trigger containing the triple Lower Resistance and have the summons charge at the same time.

- Next cast Breach because Firkraag always starts w Stoneskin and you want the Mord's Swords to do damage.

- After this keep pounding with Abi-Dalzim's (2-3 castings) until he is at least badly wounded.

- Now unleash any sequencers/triggers you have with Magic Missiles.

- Cast more MM's if needed.

IMO the changes compared with my original post are marginal. Actually I guess Skeleton Warriors might work just as well as Mord Swords.

The only real change is not to surround Firkraag, although even that might be accepted.
"We just want to admire your flawless scales, oh mighty Firkraag!"
"What? The skeletons? But skeletons can appreciate beautiful scales too, oh wondrous dragon!

[ September 24, 2003, 11:25: Message edited by: Earl Grey ]

 

After my friend told me that he just fire a chromatic orb to use it up, not really expecting it to kill Firkraag, but it did, I decided to try it myself.
But only after I had cast the magic resistance spell to lower it's MR and a couple of greater malisons. It just drop dead when my chromatic orb hit it(before all this, I had Minsc(fire resisted: spell), Jaheira(fire-resisted: equipments) and Viconia(fire-resisted: spell)surrounding him at different position. Next, Minsc talk to Firkraag to start the battle>>Viconia, Edwin, Jan and I did the rest. When Firkraag did a wing buffet, on Minsc or Jaheira or Viconia, then the next one attack him, so that Firkraag will not be able to "fan" away all my decoys with 1 wing buffet and attack my spell-caster.)

[ September 24, 2003, 16:51: Message edited by: Skywind ]

 

I don't mind setting traps outside the "fog of War" -- I'd like to think that my thief can be fairly inconspicuous about setting such things, as long as he's not doing to right beside the creature. Then, I send in a speedy fighter or monk to whallop him and then run back -- he follows, hits the traps, and goodbye Firkraag!

 

I used several approaches. IIRC I did it best in my last run with my paladin and my mc kensai-thief attacking in melee wile my halfling archer and Mazzy sent out a swarm of arrows. The only spells I iirc used were the ones the pally and the archer had, for the rest I used potions, especially to beef up the mc char's AC. I don't remember exactly but iirc I was pally lvl-11 then.

Firekraag fell very quick, I expected a much longer fight.

 

But DMC, remember that Firkraag is pretty self-confident so he would meaby allow a summon or two plus a couple of battle preperations. After all, he don't know what you're preperating, he could just believe that you are preperating an Aid spell instead of a Stoneskin spell. Spell as spell for him, he will just kill you anyhow.

Remember, I do not support cheesy tactics or trap-laying around the "bosses", I support RP-ing.

 

Am I the only one who has found the Dragon Sword and the Dragon Halberd pretty useless?? Just trying, I gave them to my best fighter but I didn't score even one single hit to a dragon (any dragon..)!!, it's like being waving flyes around!!

I want my money back

 

LOL @ "I want my money back!"

Yeah. I didn't use the Halberd because I had no one in my party who can use it without a penalty.

My Paladin has 2 proficiency slots for Long Sword, so I wielded the Dragonslayer, and I was Hasted, yet I only connected for 1 hit vs. Firkraag, and it was for 15 (12+3) damage.

Even though Carsomyr is now my pally's only melee weapon, I'm still keeping the DragonSlayer, as well as all my other long swords for Minsc for 2-Weapon-Style fighting.

Dragonslayer is still a generally effective sword for a player who has trouble resisting fear.

 

Ctrl + Y.

 

@Trimm, you're right, some preparations are allowed if you know you're going to fight a dragon because he let you go the 1st time, they are cheesy only when you expect an encounter just because you've played the game before.

 

I've been trying to fight off Firkraag, but he totally slaughters me! The frikkin' halberd and sword á anti-dragon don't hit him at all... What do you get for killing him anyway? Except for the satisfaction

 

The answer is a spoiler, but you asked. You get the best 2-handed sword in the game, but it's usable only by Paladins. Firkraag is definately tough first time through, but there are lots of threads here that you can search to help you out.

 

Easiest and best way to kill Firkraag or any dragon for that matter, is load up a sequencer with 2*Lower Resistance and 1 Greater Malison. Once these have hit him he has close to or no magic reistance to speak of you can fire another Greater Malison for security if you feel you have the time and that his saving throws aren't low enought, then just cast Finger of Death!!

 

You just gotta love that Vorpal Sword.

 

I've played BG2 many times and each time I make a point of killing Firkraag because he really deserves to die. Plus his hide makes a really nice suit of armour even if you don't have anybody capable of wielding Carsomyr.

I never use cheese tactics: planting traps, firing cloudkill from the fog of war, etc. Neither do I cast the cleric spell Magic Resistance to lower his resistance while keeping him non-hostile. I also don't summon a horde of elementals with a brace of Mordenkainen's swords right under his nose. There's no point anyway as he casts a death spell without going hostile so that your summoned creatures all die.

One of my favourite methods of taking him down is Lower Resistance / Greater Malison / Feeblemind on a spell sequencer. Preferably twice. This gives him a roughly fifty-fifty chance of failing his save against the Feeblemind at which point you can hack him to pieces at your leisure. Even if he saves, his magic resistance is gone and his saving throws are significantly lowered and you can pelt him with every non-fire spell you've got: Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb (with a chance of sudden death: yay!), Holy Smite (sorry, Mr. Korgan sir!), Polymorph Other, etc. An Insect Plague should prevent him casting any magic of his own (thanks, Jaheira).

My last time through the game, Haer'dalis got him with the Feeblemind, so I allowed him the pleasure of killing Firkraag - it took a while but it was fun to watch. Another time, Imoen got him with the Feeblemind and the whole party got stuck in. Imoen hit him with the Staff of the Magi which dispelled the Feeblemind and then Firkraag slaughtered us. How I laughed as I hit the reload button. Another time, a hobgoblin archer (Wand of Summoning) struck a lucky fatal blow, thus denying any of my party the credit of taking him down.

 

Call me cooky, but I've never really had a problem with Firkraag. I always wait till I'm of a decent level before facing him, but the b*tch goes down just the same. Most recent success:

Party consisted of Me (Ranger), Minsc, Jaheira, Archer (self created), Jan and Imoen. Have Jan and Imoen chain some Lower Resistance and Greater Malison spells together, beef up the party with Remove Fear, Haste, Chant, and maybe Death Ward on your PC. I used potions of Fire Giant strength on myself, Minsc and Jaheira, drew upon holy might for all 3 as well, and sent Minsc into rage. Make sure you have at least 3 melee fighters going at him, one on each side of him (so when he does his wing buffet you still have at least one person in there doing damage). Go ahead and initiate the attack, he'll start fighting back immediately (no cheese here). I had my archer pelt him with the Gesen bow, but Tasherons works as well. Once Jan and Immy cast their initial weakening spells, they just pelt him with spells (magic missile, chromatic orb, chain lightning, acid arrow, nothing with fire except melf's minute meteors) while the melee fighters go to work.

Took about 7 rounds, completely cheese and cheat free.

 

I have completed BG2 one too many times -Firkraag is hardly any challenge anymore, no matter how I finish him. Still, I usually just summon a few spiders, let him waste his 'death' -spell on them (as well as his breath attacks) and then hammer him down from distance.

Piece of cake really.

 

Tip of the invisible hat to Rabbit....

 

If you wish a cheese-safe(r) fight, use the tactics mod.

Getting my hasted summons instantly killed by a death spell quite pissed me off... but then, that's what I would do were I in *his* oversized boots