Defeating the mighty Kahrk

TheArtisan

So a while back I suggested a tactic for beating the feared ogre magi Kahrk using the little-known spell Wraithform. Now that I'm playing BG1 again, I decided to put it into practice.

I set up my PC blade with the Cloak of Balduran and Eilistraee's Boon, then drank a potion of magic protection, boosting my magic resistance to a staggering 85%. I then cast Wraithform, disabling my spells but making me immune to normal weapons, and rushed forth to solo the ogre magi. The result?



After Kahrk's initial round of spells fizzled, he was left ineffectually swinging at my PC with his unenchanted katana, futilely attempting to bring him down as his defenses slowly ticked away.

Eventually, his buffs timed out and it was time for the rest of my party to advance.



Unfortunately, Wraithform had timed out at this point and Kahrk was wise enough to not waste his Chaos, which thankfully only affected one party member. Despite suffering some damage, my blade nailed him with Blindness, crippling him as the party loaded him with missiles.



Piece of cake.

Now, there is something you need to keep in mind if you wish to attempt this. My PC's Wraithform barely lasted long enough to stall out Kahrk's buffs at 8th level. Keep in mind he's also a bard so he levels faster than other casters. You also need fairly high magic resistance to avoid being wrecked by Kahrk's magic. 85% made his spells useless but with some good luck 50-60% should suffice. If you're having trouble with this fight this is an easy way to beat it without resorting to getting lucky with the wand of paralyzation.

fkirenicus

Why not simply cheat just a little? I trigger Carsa's dialog, then quickly run away when she ...disappears. Then I simply rest so that Kahrk's buffs wear out, and then rush in with the entire party and finish him off. I never attempt this battle until I am at least level 3 or 4 though.

CaptRory

I usually hit him with a couple Dispel Magics then try beating the crud out of him with magic weapons.

Belfaldurnik

Cloak of Balduran and Eilistraee's Boon? The former is available only late in the game. The latter is added only by a mod. And the later you return to him, the more options there are. Spider Spawn causes him major troubles.

The alternative to running away is invisibility. I am used to old school role-playing where you turn one or two party members invisible, leave the rest of the party behind in a safe place and move forward only with the 1-2 to engage a dangerous foe.

TheArtisan

I'll elaborate a bit more. You don't need 85% magic resistance. In fact, you don't need any at all if your mage is even a little bit durable. You can use the potion of magic shielding instead and just eat the damage from his spells since he can't hit you with attacks anyway. I suggest this strat because it's a lot more reliable than hoping you can dispel his buffs and less cheesy than running away. Invisibility works too I guess but you still need a way to tank his hits and Wraithform is guaranteed immunity to his attacks.