Enter the Troll Lair Depths¶

When you arrive on the next level, continue downstairs and into the first room where you’ll be warmly welcomed by a Trollhound and two Kobold Blades (4th-level Fighters, high Armor Class, decent Attack Bonus, low damage). Wipe out the weaklings, then turn southwest to find a lock door to the southeast you can’t open. Looks like there are still more keys out there. Pass a [Perception 16] check to find a floor tile with some gems hidden under it, then loot a board to score a Token of the Dryad. With that loot secured, return back northeast to find two more doors, one to the northwest and one to the northeast.

Jazon’s Last Stand¶

The northwestern door begs for a key to open, but unlike the other locked door to the southwest it can be opened with a [Trickery 30] check, which may take a little luck to manage. It doesn’t really matter anyway, because the door to the northeast will allow you to circumvent the door to the northwest. Pass through the northeastern door to enter a room where Jazon - if you spared him - now lurks.

The pacifist troll is understandably distraught at your assault on Trobold, and while he’s decided he must now defend his home from you, he refuses to compromise on his civilized ideals. He’ll even condemn - with more justification than is comfortable - your concept of justice as genocidal if you pick the [Lawful Good] response! Oh, Jazon, if only all the trolls of Trobold were like you…

A fight here is inevitable, but Jazon may not participate depending on choices you made earlier. If when you first encountered Jazon in the Dwarven Ruins area, you must have picked the dialogue option [Lawful] “All right, take me to your kings and we’ll see if trolls can hold a civil conversation. I’m the king/queen of the lands your Trobold stands on, and as such, your kings and I have much to discuss.”. This will cause him to take you into the Troll Lair for an ill-fated audience with Hargulka, during which you must say [Lawful Neutral] “You’re the king of trolls, I’m the king of humans. Let’s make peace, as rulers do. Your people won’t go near our villages, and in turn, we will leave you be.”. Your attempt at diplomacy will not have made an impression on Hargulka, but Jazon is a somewhat more idealistic troll, and if you took the steps listed above you’ll be able to pick the option “You brought me before your king, and you saw how it turned out. I wished to broker peace, but your king preferred war.”. This will be enough to convince Jazon to quit the battle.

Whether you end up having to fight Jazon or not (he’s stronger than your average troll, he’s not powerful enough to warrant special action on your part), the rest of the residents of Trobold cannot be persuaded. Along with possibly Jazon you’ll have to fight a Troll, a Kobold (despite lacking a title, this critter is a 5th-level Rogue that will happily attempt to land sneak attacks with its bow), a Kobold Archer, a Kobold Spark Shaman and a Kobold Dragon Shaman. In addition, a Troll Rock Thrower and a Kobold Blade lurk in the northern corner of the room - you won’t see them until the fight begins.

Target the Kobold Shamans with your archers or rush them with your warriors to hopefully knock them out of the fight quickly, as you don’t need them pelting you with spells as you deal with the Trolls. The Kobold Rogue is a nuisance if left alone, too, due to his Sneak Attacks and high Attack bonus. If this all feels like it’s stretching you too thin, a well-placed Glitterdust spell can achieve great results, and Haste is, as always, a potent buff. We spread our forces out with the aim of knocking out the aforementioned Kobolds while situating our tank(s) near Jazon and the other Troll. Hard to overstate how useful pets are in this fight, especially Leopards, which, with the help of Mage Armor are sufficiently well-protected to serve as secondary tanks themselves.

Thrash these foes, then loot Jazon (if you fought him) for a suit of Hide +3 and the Kobold Flame Shaman for a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2. The suit of Hide +3 is roughly comparable to a Breastplate +1, being lighter and allowing for a higher Maximum Dexterity Bonus, lower Armor Check Penalty and lower spell failure, which may make it more appealing to secondary warriors like Regongar or Ekundayo.

Be sure to loot a slab of rubble near a fire to the east of Jason to find a Dwarven Helm Shard, then note the dwarven rune on the wall to the northeast. Alas, the two adjacent symbols have been successfully vandalized by the trolls. Continue northwest and you’ll find a door to the southwest, and if you pass a [Perception 17] check you’ll find a poorly hidden door to the northwest.

Mimic and the Shock Light Crossbow +1¶

Go through the northwestern door first to reach a small room with four chests… one of which is a dreaded Mimic! For as wretched as some of the encounters in this chapter have been, this foe is actually pretty underwhelming. It has only a decent Attack bonus and damage output, and aside from immunity to acid it’s not really well-protected by Armor Class or Hit Points and has no Damage Reduction to speak of. There’s little chance you’ll detect it (it has a Stealth check of 60), so just waltz up with your tank and hope for the best. Once it’s disposed of, you can loot the three genuine chests in the room; in the easternmost one you’ll find a Shock Light Crossbow +1 (this thing can increase the damage output of your support characters considerably!) and 191 GP, the central chest contains three Potions of Cure Light Wounds and some gems and gold, while the westernmost chest is exclusively full of shiny stones and gold coins.

Trolls and Traps¶

Leave the room and head through the previously neglected door to the southwest to find yourself in the hallway beyond the locked door that connects back to this level’s entry chamber. Watch your step, however, as there’s a trap [Perception 20] down the hallway a short distance to the northwest. Spot it, disarm it [Trickery 20], then search back down the hallway to the southeast to find a hidden wall panel [Perception 16] which shelters two Scrolls of Acid Arrow and some gems and jewelry.

Loot the hidden coffer, then turn back around and head northwest down the hallway. Tread carefully and keep your high Perception character up front, as there’s another trap [Perception 21] along the way that you’ll need to disarm [Trickery 21] in order to safely continue. At the end of the hallway you’ll find more foes waiting for you in the form of a Branded Troll, three lesser Trolls, a Kobold Boomsayer and some Kobold Archers. The usual buffs and debuffs like Haste and Glitterdust will once again come in handy, and just like in the last fight, you’ll want to take out that Boomsayer before he can cause you too much trouble. The Trolls are pretty standard fare by now, too - just lead with your tanks and try to pick them off one at a time.

Defeat your foes and occupy their position in the hall to find yourself at a fork, with hallways running southwest and northeast. The path to the southwest leads to the more populated depths of the ruins, while you can wrap up the northeastern path quickly, so head northeast first.

Giant Spider Chamber¶

Continue northeast and loot a pile of rocks to score a Torag’s Pendant, then turn northwest to find a small side chamber occupied by around a half-dozen Giant Spiders… or more precisely, several Greater Giant Spiders. The “greater” in their name is a bit of an exaggeration, as their Attack bonus, Armor Class and Hit Points are all fairly unexceptional. They do a fair amount of damage, however, and can inflict poison.

Worse still, there’s a trap [Perception 22] [Trickery 22] in the middle of the room. We send our tank in alone, provoke the bugs, then lure them back into the hallway where you can bottleneck them. Complicating matters further is a Kobold Death Shaman who has taken up residence with these bugs, and he’ll be more than happy to stand back and pelt you with spells. You likely won’t be able to bring all your melee attackers to bear on the enemy, so equip ranged weapons and focus on picking off the Kobold first, then take pot shots at any foes not engaged with your melee combatants.

After the fighting is over, loot the Kobold Death Shaman for a Silver Dwarven Key, then look for two chests at the back of the Giant Spider chamber. The eastern one holds some gems and jewelry, while the western one [Trickery 23] will yield a suit of Chainmail +2.

Explore the Hallways¶

Backtrack to the fork where you fought a mob of Trolls and Kobolds and head down the southwestern hallway now. Pass rooms to the northwest and southeast and you’ll spot a trap [Perception 22] [Trickery 22] in the hallway ahead of you. Disarm it to be safe, then continue southwest - you’ll be coming back to these rooms when you’re done exploring this hallway.

Continue down the hallway to the southwest, and when the hallway turns southeast stop long enough to dispatch a Trollhound, two Kobold Sentinels and a Kobold Archer. As you explore down this second hallway to the southeast, keep your eye out [Perception 22] for another trap [Trickery 22]. Once past this hazard you’ll find two more doors, one to the southwest and one to the southeast. They’re both locked, and the former requires a key, while the latter can be opened with a heroic effort on the part of your Rogue [Trickery 30]. If you get this door open you’ll find yourself in the chamber the other set of stairs on the upper level led to, for what that’s worth.

Aside from the area transition, the only things of note in here are a pile of rocks near the stairs [Perception 7] that hides a Torag’s Pendant and a locked [Trickery 32] chest that you may just want to leave alone until you get a key that opens it. Even a relatively highly skilled Rogue will likely struggle with this lock at this point in time, but if the save/loads aren’t too tedious you’ll be rewarded with a Soot-Blackened Hammer (will go well with those gloves you found earlier!), two Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds and a Shock Frost Heavy Mace +1. Any weapon that adds 2d6 elemental damage per hit is a weapon to take note of, and Harrim and Valerie are both capable of putting it to good use.

Classroom Clash¶

Return back up the hallways to where you found the two rooms (a door to the northwest and a passage to the southeast) and enter the southeastern room first to find a class in session. Fittingly, a Kobold Teacher is instructing the class on words in the common tongue, and when he spots a “meat” specimen interrupting his class, he’ll sic his pupils on you. The collection of students includes the Kobold Teacher (an arcane spell caster who fights similarly to a Kobold Flame Shaman), several Kobold Blades and Kobold Archers, and some Trolls. None of these foes should present any significant difficulty, just focus on the Kobold Teacher to limit his casting.

How this fight plays out will probably be largely influenced by your Initiative rolls, especially in turn-based mode, as an inconvenient roll can end up with your party bottlenecked in the passageway leading to this room. If you want to just avoid that possibility outright, send your tank in to provoke your enemies, lure them out into the hallway, and pick them off the way you did the giant spiders earlier. Buffing your tank with the Shield spell will have the added benefit of nullifying the Kobold Teacher’s Magic Missile spells.

When your enemies are dead, search the northwestern wall to find a hidden panel [Perception 22] which is also trapped [Perception 22]. Disarm the trap [Trickery 22] then loot the coffer to score two Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds and a Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2. In the center of the room you’ll find a pair of sun and moon statues, which you’ll get to gawking at later. For now, concentrate on the loot and search to the northeast of these statues to find two chests, one of which is hidden [Perception 16]. In the larger, unhidden chest [Trickery 15] you’ll find a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds and some gems and gold, while the hidden chest will yield a Scroll of Hold Person, a Potion of Aid and some coins.

Solve the Celestial Puzzle¶

Now turn your attention to the statues you neglected earlier and note the runes on the ground near them. To the southwest of the moon statue is a rune shaped like an abstract angular fish (or a diamond with a “V” attached). Northeast of the sun statue is another rune shaped like an angular “S” (or “Z”). These almost certainly correspond to the rotating floor symbols on the level above.

Might as well go sort this out now. Ideally you cleared the way back to both area transitions to the previous level (including the locked door in the southern corner of the level). If not, you’ll have to do more wandering around in the upper level, but it’ll just waste more time - it won’t impede your ability to actually solve the puzzle.

First head out the southern-most area transition (the one beyond the locked door) to arrive on the western end of the upper level. You’ll find the moon rotating floor device here - rotate it twice until the northeastern “fish” rune is revealed, then head back down to the Troll Lair Depths.

Next, work your way to the western-most area transition and head upstairs to the room where you fought Nagrundi to find the sun rotating floor device. Manipulate the device twice until it reveals the southeastern “S” rune.

When that’s done, return once again to the celestial statues in the classroom and a panel on the floor near them should have moved, revealing a container you can loot. Inside you’ll find a whopping 2,122 GP and the Blessed Path suit of armor. Blessed Path is a suit of Full Plate +2 that gives its wearer a +2 bonus to Charisma and Wisdom, a +4 bonus to Saving Throws vs “compulsion effects and poison”, and if worn by a Paladin, they gain two more Smite Evil uses per day. It can only be worn by good-aligned characters, and was clearly designed for a Paladin protagonist. Given its restrictions, it’s surprisingly hard to find a home for it with your companions.

The Treasury¶

With that puzzle solved, it’s time to turn our attention elsewhere. Just across the hallway from this classroom (to the northwest) you’ll find a door, beyond which you’ll find a Troll and a Trollhound, which should be little more than speed-bumps by now.

Don’t get too cocky, however, as there are two more substantial encounters in this large room. The first is an optional encounter in the northern corner of the room, where you’ll find a group of Trolls and Kobolds fussing over the treasures they’ve pilfered from nearby villages. Like the Mites in the Old Sycamore area, their sense of value doesn’t necessarily conform with yours, and simply put, a lot of what they’re arguing over is junk. Once they find a whip, however, they’ll turn their attention to you.

Your opponents include two Trolls, two Kobold Blades, three Kobold Archers, a Kobold Sniper and a Kobold Boomsayer. Needless to say, we aim to pay special attention to the Boomsayer, as if left unimpeded he’ll happily stand back and blast us with AoE effects. Otherwise, none of the foes are particularly threatening, nor should they pose a significant threat. Just be sure to grab the Black Whip one of the Kobolds drops - it’ll come in handy in an upcoming quest.

As for the other encounter in this area, you’ll find it along the southwestern edge of the room. Your foes here include seven Trollhounds and a Branded Troll. The Branded Troll is a bit of a bruiser, but none of these foes are new, and hopefully this will be a pretty easy fight. The only potentially tricky part is having a sturdy enough front line to meet all the Trollhounds without getting flanked. Haste and Glitterdust will prove useful, as always, but it honestly felt like overkill here.

Defeat the Troll and Trollhounds, then search along the wall to the southwest to find a pile of rocks [Perception 7] hiding a Torag’s Pendant. If you follow this wall northeast you’ll find a trio of chests. The eastern-most chest contains a gem, 65 GP and the Commandant’s Journal (Second Half), the central chest contains some gems and jewelry, and the third yields an Old Dwarven Chest Key and a Scroll of Haste. If you follow the northwestern wall northeast you’ll find a pile of junk pilfered from nearby villages. Despite the apparent interest the residents of Trobold have in such fare, there’s little of any real value save for another Dwarven Helm Shard hidden in some rubble [Perception 7].

Return to where you fought the Branded Troll and the seven Trollhounds, then follow the northwestern wall down to the southeast, where you’ll run into two traps [Perception 23, 21] [Trickery 23, 21] before finding a door to the southwest. Beyond this door await three Branded Trolls ready to challenge your passage. Cut them down, then consider retreating, resting and healing, as beyond you’ll find the lair of Trobold’s two leaders.

Battle: Hargulka and Tartuk¶

This can be a pretty rough battle, and yes, a fight is guaranteed (although evil characters can make things significantly easier on themselves) no matter what you’ve done up until now. Hargulka is spoiling for violence, and he’ll get it, as Tartuk will quickly conclude that there can be no peace while violent borbas oppose them. It’s also a fight that can likely be won or lost before it’s ever even started, as initiative and spell-buffing can both significantly influence the outcome. Normally Blur would suffice to protect your tank, but for this fight, you might want to drop a third level spell slot on Displacement to provide extra protection. If you’re using the guide’s suggested tank (a Magus), obviously personal buffs like Mage Armor, Shield and Mirror Image are essential as well.

Spellbuff as much as possible, save, then engage the two leaders of Trobold (lead with your tank so Hargulka focuses on them). What you pick during your chat doesn’t make much difference, so use it as an opportunity to define your protagonist’s alignment or to accuse Tartuk of being a certain Gnomish rival of yours… The only unique option requires you to have an evil protagonist, who can pick the dialogue option “I see you haven’t taught your pet to heel, Tartuk. Serves you right - these trolls may be strong, but the village dog has more obedience and sense than they do.”. After this, the well has sufficiently been poisoned and whatever you say afterwards will result in Hargulka turning on Tartuk - a supremely stupid move on the troll’s part.

Hargulka’s Armor Class isn’t very impressive, but he’s got enough Hit Points to weather an assault, and his offensive powers are brutal. He sports nearly a +30 Attack modifier and can perform multiple strikes per round, dealing around 25-30 damage per strike, enabling him to easily fight his way through any warrior you put in front of him; he’ll even hit tanks regularly, and take them out of the fight in two or three rounds on average.

Tartuk, for his part, is less well-endowed with Hit Points, but his Armor Class more than makes up for it, frustrating mid-tier warriors like Jaethal and Valerie. A well-built protagonist warrior, Amiri or Ekundayo may find their attacks landing more regularly, but Tartuk has an answer for this, too, as he prefers to start the fight out with Stoneskin. This will shave off ten damage from every attack that lands, and while there’s a limit to the damage this can deflect, its primary purpose is to slow you down and allow Hargulka more time to wreak havoc. After Stoneskin he’ll likely cast Haste (which won’t benefit them as much as it does you, but Hargulka doesn’t need to be even more dangerous!), followed by several rounds of Hold Person. Be sure to flank Tartuk, as the bonuses this provides to your Attack rolls is significant.

Almost everything Tartuk does makes it more likely that Hargulka will be able to wipe out your warriors, and if Hargulka succeeds at this, there’s a very good chance of a party wipe. Suffice to say, the evil party has a significantly easier time with things if they can turn Hargulka against Tartuk.

Assuming you have to face both Hargulka and Tartuk, RNG will play a significant role in the outcome of the battle. Best case scenario, Tartuk’s initiative roll is poor, and in that case rushing him isn’t a bad idea, as his Armor Class will be hindered while he’s flat-footed. If you’ve got pets at your disposal, all the better - you don’t have to worry about their safety, their movement range is good, and if they can manage to trip Tartuk they’ll delay his routine and make this fight much, much easier.

If initiative is less favorable, you’ll have to get to Tartuk by other, more dangerous means - giving Hargulka a wide berth will inevitably delay you, but Haste should still enable you to reach Tartuk in a round or two. Your tank can hopefully occupy Hargulka in the meantime, and using Animate Dead to distract Hargulka (or just to provide some flanking opportunities) is a sound strategic move. Hargulka’s biggest weakness, however, is his low Will Save, which leaves him vulnerable to all sorts of exploitation. Tasha’s Hideous Laughter can take him out of the fight for a while, while Glitterdust and Slow can further blunt his offense.

While the intro conversation might not be too meaningful for most characters, you’ll get more options when you’re victorious, but how you choose to prosecute the fight will heavily influence your choices. Whichever foe you defeat first will be well and truly dead, while the second one to bite the dust will surrender when depleted of HP, allowing you to negotiate with them. This may influence how you decide to carry out the fight, although if the end result doesn’t interest you too much, it generally seems easier to dispose of Hargulka first, as he’s a softer target and is individually more dangerous.

Whichever of the two you save for last and hence end up negotiating with, the conversation goes quite similarly. You have a few more background questions you can ask Tartuk to learn about the Tartuk-Tartuccio crossover (some of his answers may require you to pass an [Intimidate 10] check, which should be nothing more than a formality at this point) but your choices ultimately boil down to: finishing off your foe, sparing them and letting them flee, or accepting them as a vassal. The last of the three options requires your protagonist to be [Chaotic] - it’s certainly not traditional to allow Kobolds or Trolls to remain on your lands as subjects! - and will not make Ekundayo happy, possibly to the point of abandoning your party, especially if you haven’t killed Kargadd yet.

Make what choices you will, but take into consideration the loot each of the two monsters will leave behind - treasures you won’t gain by sparing them:

Tartuk will leave behind a Headband of Alluring Charisma +4, a Ring of Protection +2 and a Ring of Luck, while Hargulka forfeits a Scroll of Cure Serious Wounds, a Mallet of Woe and a Belt of Physical Might +4. Most of these items are self-explanatory, although the Mallet of Woe is a Heavy Mace +3 that deals 2d6 base damage and gives the user Freedom of Movement (by far the best weapon you’ve found) and the Ring of Luck gives a +1 Luck bonus to all Saving Throws. Both will also drop an Iron Dwarvern Key, which will make getting back out easier, as this key opens all the doors you couldn’t open without a key earlier.

Having permanent Freedom of Movement on your Cleric is a wonderful idea, but the potency of a weapon like the Mallet of Woe is somewhat wasted on Harrim and Tristian, when Valerie could make much better use of it. On Valerie it’ll also allow her to freely wade into Grease, Entangle and Web spells, giving that aging strategy some new legs. The Headband of Alluring Charisma will go great on Regongar, should you have no other home for it, while the Belt of Physical Might +4 can replace the lesser +2 version you found earlier, which in turn can replace a Belt of Giant Strength +2.

Harrim at the Forge¶

If you brought Harrim with you, you’ll be able to complete his companion quest Unwanted Legacy by interacting with the anvil after the fight. If not, you can just fetch Harrim and bring him here later. The outcome of Harrim’s interaction with the anvil is inevitable, but you’ll get an extra reward if you took the following steps while exploring the Dwarven Ruins, Troll Lair and Troll Lair Depths with Harrim:

• In the Dwarven Ruins area, just before the entrance to the Troll Lair, examine a statue to the east.
• After meeting with Hargulka at the beginning of the Troll Lair area, examine the statue of Torag Hargulka smashed and pass a [Lore (Religion) 15] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.
• In the room where you encounter Jazon in the Troll Lair Depths, examine a rune on the northeastern wall and pass a [Lore (World) 17] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.
• When interacting with the anvil after defeating Hargulka and Tartuk, pass a [Lore (Religion) 17] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.

If you do all these things, Harrim should strike the anvil twice, revealing a gem. Ask him to give it to you and you’ll obtain the Heart of the Anvil along with some extra XP. If you missed one of the objects you need to examine, or failed to pass one of the associated skill checks, Harrim will only hit the anvil once, you’ll gain less XP, and you will not obtain the Heart of the Anvil. Harrim’s quest will finish, regardless.

Finish Exploring Trobold¶

If your appetite for loot is not yet sated, continue northwest to find Hargulka’s throne, next to which you’ll find two small chests (to the northeast) and a large chest (to the southwest). The smaller chests contain merely gold and gems, while the largest chest holds an Bracers of Armor +3, some Soot-Blackened Tongs and another Iron Dwarven Key.

Secure this loot, then make your way southeast opposite the forge to find a locked door, which the Iron Dwarven Key will open. Beyond is a large, abandoned hall that houses some more treasure. Loot two chests along the northeastern wall (one of which is locked [Trickery 16]) to find some gems, gold, and a Scroll of Cure Serious Wounds.

As you explore the chamber, note the hallway southwest of the large fire in the center of the room, which leads to an area transition. There’s an encounter waiting for you if you exit via this tunnel, but before you leave Trobold, there’s more treasure to collect. Along the southeastern end of this room you’ll find a barrel [Perception 0] that contains another Torag’s Pendant and three more doors, including two doors to the southeast and one to the northeast. The latter leads to the hallway that connects to the Trobold classroom (with the sun and moon statues), while the northeastern-most of the two southeastern doors leads to the chamber immediately beyond some stairs leading back up to the first level (the chamber where you’ll find the chest with the Shock Light Crossbow +1).

Go through the southwestern-most of the two southeastern doors (the Silver Dwarven Key you found earlier will grant you access) to find yet another small treasure room, occupied by three chests and a secret wall panel [Perception 16] [Trickery 16]. Just because the chests are out in the open, however, don’t be quick to trust them, as one of them is trapped [Perception 22] [Trickery 22] and the another - the large chest - is a Mimic.

Interact with the Mimic using your tank, then cut the duplicitous critter down so you can get to looting. Open the wall panel [Trickery 16] to get at two Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds, then disarm the trapped chest to safely plunder a Masterwork Greataxe, two Masterwork Daggers, a suit of Half-Plate and a Keen Longsword +1. In the final chest [Trickery 16] you’ll find two Scrolls of Scorching Ray and two Potions of Shield of Faith.

Now, there’s one more closed door left which you can now open. Make your way through the nearby tunnels to the northeastern-most area transition (the stairs down which you originally descended) and from this area transition head southwest to find this locked door. Open it with your Iron Dwarven Key, ascend the stairs beyond, then make use of the area transition they lead to. This will take you back to the first level of Trobold, namely the depressed central area beneath the broken bridge.

When you arrive make your way southeast, stopping only to loot a chest (inside you’ll find a Scroll of Aid and a gem) just past the bridge, along some rubble to the northeast. Another lootable container lies amongst some pilfered treasure to the south of this chest, but before you go after it, there are some more foes to attend to.

Continue southeast to find a large group of enemies, including three Branded Trolls and five Trollhounds. With any luck you won’t have to fight them all at once, but if you do, some Grease, Web, etc., spells may slow their approach and allow you to defeat them piecemeal.

Once they’re defeated, loot the aforementioned container [Trickery 19] to find a Scroll of Cure Serious Wounds and a Dwarven Urgrosh +1. A final bit of loot can be fished out of some fire, just make your way to the east to find a bonfire burning and loot the chest [Trickery 21] within to grab a Scroll of Raise Dead and the Starknife +1..

With all the loot in the area secured, return back to the Troll Lair Depths (the second level of Trobold) and make your way back to the hall just southeast of Hargulka and Tartuk’s throne room. Once here, head down the tunnel to the southwest and exit the area to find a group of Kobolds waiting for you. Pick the dialogue options “What are you doing here? What do you want?” then “Do any of you speak common?”. After this you’ll get more options including two [Intimidate 18] checks, one of which varies based on whether you spared Tartuk or not, while the other, a [Lawful Evil] moral choice, just boasts of your capacity to cause them more grief. Either inform them they can live in peace with Tartuk, warn them of the consequences of attacking humans in your lands, or exile them. Provided you succeed at your Intimidate check, the kobolds will move on and you’ll get some experience.

Plans After Troll Trouble¶

You’re now done with your quest to rid your lands of the troll menace. Yep. That’s it. No fanfare, no parade, no gratitude… Nobody ever said being a baron would be glamorous. About the only thing that heralds the completion of this dire threat to your burgeoning barony is an illustration promising “the true hardships [are] yet to come!”. If anything, those words rather understate things.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the end of Chapter 2. Chapter 2 is the longest in the game, and Troll Trouble is only one of the main questlines you’ll be dealing with. That said, there’s probably still a good bit of business for you to take care of before the [next main questline] starts up, especially if you’ve been following this guide. There’s a lot of quests we should try to complete before then, but before we discuss all the upcoming events and quests, we should take care of the quest [Lost Child], as it’s the last quest under the “Troll Trouble” . That’ll be our upcoming quest, but while we head north (assuming you need to return to the throne room rest and stash loot) there are some things we should take care of:

Retain Bartholomew¶

The first task you should see to is enroute to Tuskdale. On your way back, stop over at the Lone House area and pay Bartholomew (who is still in his laboratory) a visit. You’ll find him packing, as it seems the troll menace has grown too great for him to risk. Not surprising, considering the situation he was in the last time you saw him. He’s fine with a few stragglers, or a helpless prisoner, but groups of organized trolls who can fight back? Not so much.

Despite Bartholomew’s moral failings, he’s still a talented mage and could serve you well at your court. If you wish to keep him around, all you need to do is pick “Packing? Are you leaving us soon?” followed either by “Could I persuade you to stay? I could use someone familiar with magic.” or “I’ve an offer for you: stay as one of my councilors. There are so few people who see things in such a critical and rational way.”. In the former case, he’ll stick around the Lone House area, ready for your visits when you need him, otherwise you can peruse his services in Tuskdale, where he can be appointed as a Treasurer.

This will work well enough if you let him keep his troll earlier, but if not Bartholomew will have decided he’s seen more than enough of your heavy-handed rule. In this case, only if your protagonist is [Neutral] can you convince him to stay by picking the dialogue option “I regret what I’ve done. I shouldn’t have meddled in your affairs. If you agree to stay, I promise to never do so again.”

If you can retain Bartholomew’s services, so much the better. If not, there are other options out there.

If you obtained the Black Whip from Trobold, be sure to give it to Bartholomew for a reward. If you don’t give the whip to him now, you can give it to him in the throne room, later. If he leaves the region entirely, obviously you won’t be able to give him the whip later.

Ekundayo, Harrim and Jubilost in the Dwarven Ruins¶

These were covered earlier while you were exploring the Dwarven Ruins area earlier, but they’re worth another mention, as now is the time to take care of them if you haven’t already.

Ekundayo, Harrim and Jubilost all have business in the Dwarven Ruins area, although if you already killed Kargadd you’ll just need to talk to Ekundayo in the capital and tell him.

For Jubilost you need only take him a short distance into the Dwarven Ruins to appease him.

Harrim requires the most work of the three, as you’ll have to take him to various relics in the Dwarven Ruins, Troll Lair and Troll Lair Depths areas. Technically to complete Harrim’s companion quest, Unwanted Legacy you only need to take him to the anvil in Hargulka’s throne room, but to get the best possible outcome you’ll need to take the following steps:

• In the Dwarven Ruins area, just before the entrance to the Troll Lair, examine a statue to the east.
• After meeting with Hargulka at the beginning of the Troll Lair area, examine the statue of Torag Hargulka smashed and pass a [Lore (Religion) 15] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.
• In the room where you encounter Jazon in the Troll Lair Depths, examine a rune on the northeastern wall and pass a [Lore (World) 17] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.
• When interacting with the anvil after defeating Hargulka and Tartuk, pass a [Lore (Religion) 17] check and pick the corresponding dialogue option when talking to Harrim.

Harrim’s entire questline can be completed after you clear Trobold, in which case you’ll just need to fetch him at the capital, add him to your party, then return to Trobold and complete the steps above, and now is the ideal time to do this. Take care of all these quests now, lest you lose the opportunity to do so later.

When you’ve dealt with all that and you’re rested up and unencumbered and generally ready to embark on another adventure, continue on with the [Lost Child] quest.