cannot damage .... [spoiler]

Quill_Armguard

anybody have advice on vidyadhar, the spirit that looks like a rakshasa? It's one of the spirits you see with the spectacles. So far, nothing seems to damage it.

Purudaya

Try using the mage spell "enchanted weapon." Some enemies are immune to +2 weapons and below (not sure if that's the case here, but I remember killing it with a fighter who had that spell active). Also, try wands and offensive spells that have no damage save.

Avenger_teambg

Did you actually pull it from the astral plane? Before pulled, all those creatures are invulnerable.

Quill_Armguard

yes, I did pull it from the astral plane. It actually says: "you don't have any weapons to harm me". I will try the enchanted weapon and perhaps lower resistance once my party can restock on spells.

rapsam2003

Quill_Armguard said:

yes, I did pull it from the astral plane. It actually says: "you don't have any weapons to harm me".

As per the 2E canon books, these kind of monsters require magic weapons to damage them. Beamdog decided that means you need a +2 weapon OR a +Fire/Ice/etc. weapon to hurt this spirit.

Quill_Armguard

it seems there's something more than that. Tried again, I could hurt it a little bit in the begining. Once its spells are in place none of the +3 weapons, +3 missiles or spells can hurt it. True sight in place, two lower resistances and still no damage even with two dozen hits. I play on insane, perhaps that makes a difference.

Wraith_Sarevok

Sounds like it's casting Protection From Magic Weapons, in which case you are screwed because IIRC Rakshasa are naturally immune to all spells below lvl 8.

Maybe try running away or waiting out the protection spell, or try your luck casting Breach. There's definitely a way to take it down.

Ammar

In the vanilla game breach will not work as it is a level 5 spell. Wait it out, the spell lasts only 4 rounds. Or use dispel magic. That spell bypasses the immune to spells below level x thing.

SpaceInvader

He casts Stoneskin, PfMW and Mirror Image.
And yeah, his rakshasa immunities are: immunity to spells till level seven and to +1 weapons or normal.

You couldn't harm it with +2 weapons because he was most certainly affected by PfMW.

Quill_Armguard

hmm, tried your suggestion twice. Had three different characters cast dispel magic in short succession without being able to hit with +3 weapons.

Quill_Armguard

Grr, managed this time. I think I was unlucky with dispel magic and it casts multiple PfMW but it leaves before dying. Also, it's Rasaad's sunsoul beam that got through (no save). Gives you an item and some XP but not the 10000 XP, modron's amulet, a scroll of Protection from Magic and a Scimitar +3 as is listed here: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/749726#Comment_749726 Any clues?

SpaceInvader

You need to kill him and not let him teleport away, simple

Quill_Armguard

simple you say. Had another go at it, I am completionist like that. Threw every spell at him - dispel magic 6x, enchanted weapons, true sight, detect illusion, and than down the list -- while three fighters-types hack away at him with +3 weapons. Easily enough to fell a dragon. It lasted at least a dozen rounds since all spell books were nearly empty so enough to outlast the protection from magical weapons three times over. In that whole time only Rasaad's sunsoul beam gets through. Than it teleports away.

Fardragon

Have you tried the sword with the on hit Dispel Magic?

It sounds like this fight is designed like the Drizzt fight - designed to be almost unwinnable. He actually says "I don't believe you can harm me, mortal".

Quill_Armguard

good idea, I have not. I am presuming it can be killed because someone wrote down the XP and items that it leaves behind but perhaps you are right. Has anyone killed it? If so, how?

Fardragon

He can be damaged by + fire damage on weapons. Oil of Fiery Burning may work, maybe some damage dealing magic items, like Ring of the Victor?

I think it's scripted to depart after a certain amount of time, rather than by damage taken (I could be wrong though) so you would have to kill him quickly.

lansounet

There's a dialog path that leads to a riddle and if you answer correctly he gives you the Modron Heart. I haven't tried fighting him though because it's a Rakshasa

Quill_Armguard

the fire did it but it's nowhere close to a sensible fight. Before it gets its magic defences up injure it just enough for it not to leave, which is about half of its hitpoints. Than try to time all 6 party members to throw some sort of area of effect fireball in its direction. It died while teleporting away. That seems to be the trick, killing it in one round for more than half its hitpoints. Thanks everyone for the advice, I would never have thought of the fire AoE as it hurts my skeletons and there are crusader guards that turn hostile but that did it.

SpaceInvader

You're timing your attacks/spells wrong then.

I dispelled his protections, lowered him to 3/4 hp and killed it with a backstab using a buffed Safana (19Str, Potion of Power, Chant, Bless and +4 thac0 for invisibility).

Quill_Armguard

good for you. Backstabing never made a difference. I never managed to hit it with +3 swords/hammers etc with level 10+ fighters. Not once, not a bit of damage, not for 12+ rounds straight and dispel magic constantly flying in.

Wraith_Sarevok

You might try your luck swinging Bala's Axe from TotSC. Since the Miscast Magic is an effect and not a spell, and it has a chance to land on every hit with a -2 save penalty. If it hits, he'll be crippled and completely useless.

Fardragon

SpaceInvader said:

You're timing your attacks/spells wrong then.

I dispelled his protections, lowered him to 3/4 hp and killed it with a backstab using a buffed Safana (19Str, Potion of Power, Chant, Bless and +4 thac0 for invisibility).

Given that the chance of successfully dispelling magic is random and depends on caster level, you either need to be very lucky, have a pocket inquisitor, bust the level cap, or save-reload many times in order to "dispel his protections".

The advantage of the fire method is you don't need to dispel any protections.

helmo1977

Wraith_Sarevok said:

You might try your luck swinging Bala's Axe from TotSC. Since the Miscast Magic is an effect and not a spell, and it has a chance to land on every hit with a -2 save penalty. If it hits, he'll be crippled and completely useless.

However, I doubt a lot Miscast Magic will prevent him from teleporting. It should, but teleporting, in the game, is not a spell or ability, but the most powerful creation ever made: a script (well, the most powerful thing ever made after reloading ).

SpaceInvader

Wraith_Sarevok said:

You might try your luck swinging Bala's Axe from TotSC. Since the Miscast Magic is an effect and not a spell, and it has a chance to land on every hit with a -2 save penalty. If it hits, he'll be crippled and completely useless.

Bala's Axe is a non enchanted weapon, it won't touch him.

Fardragon said:

SpaceInvader said:

You're timing your attacks/spells wrong then.

I dispelled his protections, lowered him to 3/4 hp and killed it with a backstab using a buffed Safana (19Str, Potion of Power, Chant, Bless and +4 thac0 for invisibility).

Given that the chance of successfully dispelling magic is random and depends on caster level, you either need to be very lucky, have a pocket inquisitor, bust the level cap, or save-reload many times in order to "dispel his protections".

The advantage of the fire method is you don't need to dispel and protections.

He has only one PfMW and it last for 4 rounds. After that, he has just 2 Stoneskin.
You're fire strategy could work only if all your characters use a potion at the same time while he is already hurt, since you need to deal 69 fire damage.

If you simply have to wait for his PfMW to wear off and then start to attack him.
He can't even see invisible targets.

TurnipKnight

If you have the Myconid Bloom-Sac, summon some myconids. Vidyadhar's not immune to their hallucinator spores. Those should keep him incapacitated while the Protection from Magical Weapons wears off. Be sure to keep at least one or two myconids at a distance from him, so they can blast him again with the spores if need be. In the meantime, he is susceptible to fire. Corwin used her fire arrows +2 and managed to do some damage with those occasionally when Vidyadhar didn't make his save.

Thrasymachus

I managed to kill Vidyadhar by having my thief set a number of traps before summoning him. The traps explode as soon as he turns hostile.

It's a bit cheesy, I guess, but it did the trick.

JLE

Can layers of Stoneskin be dispelled if he is hit with a weapon (or a spell) that he's immune to?

The same with Mirror Image?

Because I wonder if it should be possible to shoot him with normal arrows - or Magic Missile - until his stoneskins and mirror images are gone, then resort to the magic weapons that can actually hit him.

jmerry

Stoneskin and Mirror Image only get depleted if the hit would otherwise have dealt damage. If you try a nonmagical weapon here or a low-level spell, that protection blocks all effects of the hit including damage, before the Stoneskin and Mirror Image can even get involved. So, no point in that.
What you can use: dispels and divination attacks like Oracle and True Seeing; those hit as level 0, ignoring the rakshasa immunity to spells.

Basic stats on Vidyadhar:
Rakshasa, with the standard immunity to spells of level 1-7 and nonmagical weapons. Upgrade that weapon immunity to protect against weapons below +2; the most basic "rakshasa" enemies in BG2 don't have that level of immunity, but all of the higher-rank ones (rukh, rajah, maharajah) do.
Fighter/mage class, levels 11/12.
Base AC -5, 18 DEX, 2 pts single-weapon style for overall AC -11.
Saves 7/7/8/8/8.
87 HP, no damage type resistances.

If you fight and get him below 50% HP, he gives you the Modron Heart amulet (which he's wearing), awards 5K XP, and teleports away never to be seen again. Actually killing him gets you twice as much XP, plus a +3 scimitar (that he wields) and a scroll of Protection From Magic in addition to the amulet, but you need serious burst damage to get past that trigger.

You can also get the amulet without a fight by solving his riddle. But no XP that way.