Throne of Bhaal. After reading my Cavalier notes, PfM, PfU, Invisibility, Speed, Reflection Shield and in. Couldn't convince Bodhi to leave, makes no difference really. Made Balty go to corner to have his last, short stand, where as I ran to the opposite corner to hide.
Although Solars were onto me and dispelled me I just refreshed my invisibility and waited, until Imoen transformed and left, and the pools opened. I ran to one of the pools to get rid of the Solars, and in no time both were Ravaged.
Interestingly Bodhi could see me through PfU, which was different from my Cavalier playthrough. But with BMU, Blunt Belt, Potion of Absorbtion and Gww's she was easy pray, I crushed the blood out of her.
Tanked Mariliths, changed to Ring of Regeneration to save my RoR's, and didn't have to waste any of them until all were dead.
With invisibility activated the first pool and ran to opposite corner, luring Balor and Glabrezu onto me. Both smacked down, then I picked everyone else one by one. I've to say that the worst enemies before the main battle are easily the Thac0 stealing Cambions, for melee character. I tried to Soul Reaver them myself but I think they are immune to it, because they quickly pwned my Thac0 to 40's. But with invisibility I waited my Thac0 to heal, and then I just kited them. Oh yeah and I could think one fitting punishment for them.
Besides the awfully grindy Cambions, the pools were pretty trivial earning me Focus against Time Stop, immunity against Imprisonment and Maze, and Pocket Plane was back on meaning I can escape there. Before activating the last pool Seven is going to have another rest though.
@histamiini: Good luck! Don't underestimate the enemy; the Five are much worse than anything you've had to face thus far. Bear in mind that Abazigal is a higher priority for PfM than Sendai.
Remember that you can use a Control Circlet on Sarevok, the only one who's vulnerable to charm, but since the rest of the Five would crush him, it's better to bring some of them to Near Death before charming him.
@semiticgod That's a good advice actually. Eventually I intend to keep him alive with RoR, because when everyone else is dead and Melissan has spawned, she will concentrate on Sarevok, and I can Vorpal the Solars, and escape to Pocket Plane to rest. At least that's what happened with my previous playthrough...
The Noble-Warrior-Challenge is getting trickier as i constantly hit the 10 magic item restriction. Once all core items are on board you wont be able to loot anything without dropping items which will decrease your gold income pretty hard. Looks like its best to delay the important items until really needed to leave space for loot.
However: Xaghul did the usual reputation quests without any problems. Kiting is so easy with the build-in speed bonus - but also running away from ambushes. With Reputation at 20 and Charisma up to 19 with Tome he bought the Sandthief Ring for 13k gold and used one charge to get down to Mulahey who was charmed and feeded like always. Xaghul quickly grabbed his loot and rushed out counting on his big HP pool (144). The slimes hit him two times but that wasnt by far enough to get him in danger zone.
Tranzig was tricked with tha Ghast from charmed Tiax who stunlocked the poor Mage down. The Bandit Camp was just getting in and out with invisibility (Ring + Potion) before Taurgosz got charmed and feeded to some Hobgoblins in the south. Too bad that Barbarians cannot wear Plate Armor...
Next Cloakwood. Xaghul just rushed through all maps ignoring enemies thanks to superior speed and ring of free action. One charge from sandthief ring let him reach Davaeorn where he charmed the Guard on his second try. Then it was all about soaking the trap damage with Potion of Magic Blocking while luring away the Battle Horrors and parking them in the sideroom near the entrance so that the Guard could slip through when Xaghul went inviible again. A short view on the Mage was enough to let the Guard start the onslaught without triggering his talking. This time the weapon did not broke and Davaeorn went down shortly after. Time to loot this place a bit more before heading to the city of Baldurs Gate again.
Drasus and the Boots of Speed can wait until later...
P.S. Good luck @histamiini even though i dont think its needed...
What happens if a Noble-Warrior sells an item? Can he rebuy it or is it the same like dropping it to the ground @Arctodus? This is an essential question with regard to charged items. Without recharging the challenge will get a lot tougher for any class lacking stealth (or Sanctuary).
If we play it hardcore my Barbarian is doomed - Sandthief Ring is already down to two charges so it will be all about Inv. Potions...
@Harpagornis Try things. If it gets too tough, go with recharge. For warriors, the limit of items is the real challenge. The no-recharge difficulty is entirely optional. The "spirit" of the challenge is to have a really small set of items to go through the game. If recharge is needed, by all means do so.
There is another option @Arctodus: No recharge but open the challenge for ALL classes. Hhhmmmm. Maybe later. Lets see how tough things will get. Looks like Xaghul will have to charm-feed the whole Thieves Guild for 10+ Invisibility Potions. This could get funny. Theoretically there should be more than enough of them around until reaching SoD...
Oh, and by the way, I'll probably be back in the challenge after a while. I started a "regular" no-reload game and I'm trying to learn how to make a kit mod, so it will probably take a while before I do so. But I'll be back, eventually !!
Hhmmmm... so many ideas... what about that one @Arctodus: To open the challenge for all classes but to limit the spellcasters a bit we could allow recharging for Warrior/Thieves only while all spellcasters single/multi/dual are restricted to one-way-usage. Good idea? Bad idea?
Would be cool to see you back in action @Arctodus!
@Harpagornis There should be enough invis potions for the tough parts, if you spend them wisely. My DD had the same problem, I didn't even know you could recharge the Sandthief Ring, so I got on with the one ring and few potions there are.
I believe that we shouldn't go overboard with the rules. As I said, the spirit of the challenge is to use just a small array of items. I think that, if even a powergaming combo like fighter/mage would complete the challenge with only 10 magical items, but would recharge them as much as he wants, I would be very, very impressed !!
Invisibility Potions wont be the problem but not being able to recharge Durlags Goblet will kill Warriors later on...
As you started this idea with the pnp paladin @Arctodus we might use it in the following way:
Oaths of Devotion
The Oath of Devotion binds your Warrior to rechargable items like Durlags Goblet, Sandthief Ring or a specific Wand which will allow you to recharge items without loosing them.
You gain oath items at the character levels listed:
Level 3
Level 5
Level 9
Level 13
Level 17
You dont have to pick your oath items at the specific levels - its up to you when and where the Oaths of Devotion will be spoken!
This would limit the number of items without killing the challenge - no?
Invisibility Potions wont be the problem but not being able to recharge Durlags Goblet will kill Warriors later on...
Does Belhifet have weapon speed 0? I've got no real experience of using hit & run on him, but if you were able to get some attacks in without retaliation then regeneration might be sufficient (if not that might doom nearly all my warriors to eternal torment ).
I dont know Big B´s weapon speed but its clearly above 0 so with quick hit&run you can avoid retaliation most of the time @Grond0.
Reasons why regeneration alone will get tricky without invisbility: 1. The always teleporting Demons will force you to move non-stop. Any misstep or wrong timing will leave you open to attacks. 2. The Erinyes Archers can be quite painful. Even if they need good rolls they will hit you from time to time. One might be manageable but if you get unlucky you will face several of them. 3. Big B will constantly call in more demon which will make things worse every two rounds...
I did this once with my Blackguard but it was really really painful especially as hit&run will take a long time. Without Durlags Goblet she would have died for sure. Tanking with Martyrs Morningstar and hoping for crits seems to be the "best" choice. Maybe you can leave open one slot for 24x Invisibility Potions if tanking does not work anymore. Will have to test this...
The Thieves Guild in Baldus Gate has "sponsored" Xaghul with seven Invisibility Potions:
Husam 4x Narlen Darkwalk 3x
A good candidate to smack the Thieves is Cyrdemac in Elfsong Tavern as he will not go hostile. Too bad the Guild Master cannot be charmed (Save vs Breath -4!)
Marek & Lothander were so kind to donate some more. Marek got charmed and killed Lothander afterwards - then Jacil in the Merchants League took down Marek without problems.
Marek 3x Lothander 3x
With three more from Sorcerous Sundries Xaghul is now sitting on 20 Invisibility Potions. Looks like there is no need the pick Sandthief Ring as an oath item.
Would invisibility potions not be a category choice rather than a single slot? If that's not the case then magical ammunition would seem to be a dubious choice for a warrior.
If you have grand mastery with flails then you can get Martyr's Morningstar down to speed 0 using the ioun stone in SoD. That might well be worth investing in if you decide you need to go for hit and run.
Thats what @Arctodus stated (or the pnp rules). Seems logical. But you are right @Grond0: Magic Ammunition will have to b treated very careful so i am always using normal arrows so far. The whole stock of Arrows of Dispelling and Detonation will only get bought right before facing Sarevok.
GM might be an idea when using hit&run but for the Barbarian its out of reach. At the moment i am planning to tank Big B as long as possible. With Potions of Power up and Durlags Goblet available this should give Xaghul quite some time.
Xaghul rushed through the city clearing the Dopplegangers while then smacking the Ogre Mage and sneaking into the Iron Throne. On his way out he just relied on Boots of Speed and Rage - which worked superb as the enemies reacted too slow.
He then sold his Flail +1 to get enough room for Protection from Fire and Lightning Potions. Time for Candlekeep. The Ogres had nothing to say against Boots of Speed and a late Rage so Xaghul was eating only one Magic Missile at the end.
In Candlekeep he got three more Invisibility Potions from Rieltars Assassin before going into the catacombs. Protected against Fire and Lightning he rushed to the first chests getting a PfM scroll and the Fire Protection Ring. With these he sneaked through the Phase Spiders canceled the Web Trap with Ring of Free Action and then combined Rage with DoHM to get the Strength Tome!
One Invisibility Potion made sure to get past the Dopplegangers, Prat and the Greater Basilisks. Time to plan for the final encounters.
At the moment Xaghul uses the following magic items:
Ring of Free Action Fire Protection Ring Chain Mail +4 Algernons Cloak Boots of Speed PfM Scrolls PfU Scrolls 22x Invisibility Potions
Cloak of Protection +2 Tome of Strength
The last two will get sold/used to get back some space. Gold is no problem at all. Its all about the lacking space.
EDIT: I updated the OP and opened the "Noble Warrior Challenge" for all classes. Its now called the "Noble Adventurer Challenge".
Well, in pnp, if I remember right, each potion count as a magical item. However, in pnp, a potion can have multiple "charges"; you can drink from a potion of Fire Giant Strenght 6 or 7 times before it's depleted. So, let's call it an adaptation of the rule in the IE world.
Yeah, i think this adaptation is quite fitting here @Arctodus. Even then you have to plan what to get and what to kick - which gets worse the longer your adventure takes. Maybe i should have taken Drizzts Armor only at the end as in most cases i am kiting with the Longbow anyway...
Xaghul grabbed the Con Tome by just running through negating Charms and Traps with Rage. The Sirenes did not get the chance to fire a single arrow so he was still at 100% HP when leaving the area again. With Con 20 regeneration finally kicks in...
It performs a different function to single weapon spec - for instance allowing you to regenerate during travel, thus making any withdrawal forced by ranged enemies less dangerous. It sounds from your earlier comment like that could have been more beneficial than Drizzt's armor .
Drizzts Armor however let most enemies miss their shots - which is not bad either!
Back to action! Xaghul decided to go for Durlags Goblet as it will be his first oath item in this run. But before: some work!
He buffed up against Fire & Lightning to negate most trap damage and used one invisibility potion sneaking to the skeletons guarding the Beril stone and the strange key to avoid getting trapped (sometimes a Phase Spider will port in blocking your escape path!). After that he opened the chest to grab the piece for the machine and activated Rage before opening the charm trapped chest with the grapes. Another invisibility potion followed to sneak through all enemies activating the Wardens.
But before starting the fight he traveled back to Sorrcerous Sundries buying a Potion of Clarity to negate Love´s permant Dire Charms while the Ring of Free Action was ready to cancel slow. With this setup, Oil of Speed active and the Tresher +2 in main-hand Xaghul activated the Wardens.
Once Love and Fear started attacking Rage made sure no charm or stun would land while luring Love to the stairs again. Too bad Fear followed this time so Xaghul went up once more and even though Fear followed again he made sure to get only vision on Love who moved right to the main entrance of Durlags Tower. Perfect!
As Love hits really hard and regenerates slowly over time (so no waiting or resting in between) Xaghul always attacked when he saw Love casting Dire Charm or Slow to get in at least one attack before leaving the tower again. This wait & hit & run game continued for nearly fifteen minutes before Love finally went down. Fun fact: Thanks to the good timing Xaghul was still at 100% HP - nice!
The rest was a short story: Rest and use one Rage to slip past Fear. Then active dummy two and three, grab the wardstones, wait. Rush past the Dopplegangers and grab Durlags Goblet. Use another Rage to trick Fear once more. Still 20 Invisibility Potions left - hah. Job done! Time to smack Slythe into the ground!
To be noticed: The first Oath Item picked is Durlags Goblet - not a bad choice!
Items before heading to Slythe and Palace: Kiels Helmet Chain Mail +4 (still there!) The Tresher +2 Algernons Cloak Ring of Free Action 20 Invisibility Potions Durlags Goblet 5x Protection from Magic Boots of Speed 5x Arrows of Dispelling
To get in PfU and Arrows of Detonation and Baldurans Helm & Cloak and Oil of Speed something has to be dropped.
There is one other thing we could do to add challenge to the game by limiting access to certain items: only allow a single magical item per fight/per day/per 8 hours/per rest. You could only switch from one to another between encounters; everything else would have to remain in your inventory. We might allow some wiggle room in allowing magical weapons, without which you couldn't hit many late-game critters.
This way, you wouldn't end up just using a handful of the "best" options for every single fight; you could use a broader diversity of items. It would also save on micromanagement, since you wouldn't have to ditch a stack of fire arrows in order to carry a stack of Antidotes--which would be much more convenient if you plan on fighting trolls and spiders one after another, like you do in the Druid Grove.
We could also extend the "no recharging wands" rule to once-per-day items if we wanted to avoid relying on Algernon's Cloak or Vhailor's Helm for every fight.
I dont know how he did it but the Doppleganger Mage managed to kill everything...
First Xaghul charmed the Mage and parked him nearby. Then Ramazith was charmed who called in a big Skeleton Warrior. Every Doppleganger got dispelled and the whole fight seemed easy going. In the middle of the fight they somehow switched their target and killed Liia in no time while Belt was still "barely hurt". Then it was only the Mage. I dispelled him several times and he was already close to death when suddenly Sarevok started his speech that the last Duke - Belt - has died. Shortly after Xaghul got killed too but even when pausing and scrolling in the log i couldnt find any text claiming that Belt went down (The Mage had cast Chromatic Orb earlier). Xaghul however went into oblivion for unknown reasons - what a pity...
Okay, with all classes now open to the Noble Challenge i will restart soon - time for revenge!
P.S. I will keep your idea in mind @semiticgod - could be another interesting option!
Hhhmmm... tell me @histamiini: How do you trick Thrix in Avernus so he opens the door without fighting? Is there a hidden requirement? Regardless what i say to him he refuses to open the door. I can trick him talking again before the demons are called in so he opens the door but in nearly all cases i cannot step through. Sometimes even the retalking isnt working. What am i doing wrong?
@Harpagornis Tbh I don't know why that sometimes happen, has happened to me at least three times. Last time was with my confused summons wandered to the end activating Thrix, he spawned more enemies, but quickly after started the dialogue to enter. Even though the door opened, I had to ran out of the level other way before I could enter. But I recall him doing that even when just running to the end sometimes. There might be something in the script.
Comments
Although Solars were onto me and dispelled me I just refreshed my invisibility and waited, until Imoen transformed and left, and the pools opened. I ran to one of the pools to get rid of the Solars, and in no time both were Ravaged.
Succubus vorpalled, Alu-Fiends vorpalled, Irenicus vorpalled.
Interestingly Bodhi could see me through PfU, which was different from my Cavalier playthrough. But with BMU, Blunt Belt, Potion of Absorbtion and Gww's she was easy pray, I crushed the blood out of her.
Tanked Mariliths, changed to Ring of Regeneration to save my RoR's, and didn't have to waste any of them until all were dead.
With invisibility activated the first pool and ran to opposite corner, luring Balor and Glabrezu onto me. Both smacked down, then I picked everyone else one by one. I've to say that the worst enemies before the main battle are easily the Thac0 stealing Cambions, for melee character. I tried to Soul Reaver them myself but I think they are immune to it, because they quickly pwned my Thac0 to 40's. But with invisibility I waited my Thac0 to heal, and then I just kited them. Oh yeah and I could think one fitting punishment for them.
Besides the awfully grindy Cambions, the pools were pretty trivial earning me Focus against Time Stop, immunity against Imprisonment and Maze, and Pocket Plane was back on meaning I can escape there. Before activating the last pool Seven is going to have another rest though.
Remember that you can use a Control Circlet on Sarevok, the only one who's vulnerable to charm, but since the rest of the Five would crush him, it's better to bring some of them to Near Death before charming him.
However: Xaghul did the usual reputation quests without any problems. Kiting is so easy with the build-in speed bonus - but also running away from ambushes. With Reputation at 20 and Charisma up to 19 with Tome he bought the Sandthief Ring for 13k gold and used one charge to get down to Mulahey who was charmed and feeded like always. Xaghul quickly grabbed his loot and rushed out counting on his big HP pool (144). The slimes hit him two times but that wasnt by far enough to get him in danger zone.
Tranzig was tricked with tha Ghast from charmed Tiax who stunlocked the poor Mage down. The Bandit Camp was just getting in and out with invisibility (Ring + Potion) before Taurgosz got charmed and feeded to some Hobgoblins in the south. Too bad that Barbarians cannot wear Plate Armor...
Next Cloakwood. Xaghul just rushed through all maps ignoring enemies thanks to superior speed and ring of free action. One charge from sandthief ring let him reach Davaeorn where he charmed the Guard on his second try. Then it was all about soaking the trap damage with Potion of Magic Blocking while luring away the Battle Horrors and parking them in the sideroom near the entrance so that the Guard could slip through when Xaghul went inviible again. A short view on the Mage was enough to let the Guard start the onslaught without triggering his talking. This time the weapon did not broke and Davaeorn went down shortly after. Time to loot this place a bit more before heading to the city of Baldurs Gate again.
Drasus and the Boots of Speed can wait until later...
P.S. Good luck @histamiini even though i dont think its needed...
If we play it hardcore my Barbarian is doomed - Sandthief Ring is already down to two charges so it will be all about Inv. Potions...
Would be cool to see you back in action @Arctodus!
As you started this idea with the pnp paladin @Arctodus we might use it in the following way:
Oaths of Devotion
The Oath of Devotion binds your Warrior to rechargable items like Durlags Goblet, Sandthief Ring or a specific Wand which will allow you to recharge items without loosing them.
You gain oath items at the character levels listed:
Level 3
Level 5
Level 9
Level 13
Level 17
You dont have to pick your oath items at the specific levels - its up to you when and where the Oaths of Devotion will be spoken!
This would limit the number of items without killing the challenge - no?
Reasons why regeneration alone will get tricky without invisbility:
1. The always teleporting Demons will force you to move non-stop. Any misstep or wrong timing will leave you open to attacks.
2. The Erinyes Archers can be quite painful. Even if they need good rolls they will hit you from time to time. One might be manageable but if you get unlucky you will face several of them.
3. Big B will constantly call in more demon which will make things worse every two rounds...
I did this once with my Blackguard but it was really really painful especially as hit&run will take a long time. Without Durlags Goblet she would have died for sure. Tanking with Martyrs Morningstar and hoping for crits seems to be the "best" choice. Maybe you can leave open one slot for 24x Invisibility Potions if tanking does not work anymore. Will have to test this...
Husam 4x
Narlen Darkwalk 3x
A good candidate to smack the Thieves is Cyrdemac in Elfsong Tavern as he will not go hostile. Too bad the Guild Master cannot be charmed (Save vs Breath -4!)
Marek & Lothander were so kind to donate some more. Marek got charmed and killed Lothander afterwards - then Jacil in the Merchants League took down Marek without problems.
Marek 3x
Lothander 3x
With three more from Sorcerous Sundries Xaghul is now sitting on 20 Invisibility Potions. Looks like there is no need the pick Sandthief Ring as an oath item.
If you have grand mastery with flails then you can get Martyr's Morningstar down to speed 0 using the ioun stone in SoD. That might well be worth investing in if you decide you need to go for hit and run.
Thats what @Arctodus stated (or the pnp rules). Seems logical. But you are right @Grond0: Magic Ammunition will have to b treated very careful so i am always using normal arrows so far. The whole stock of Arrows of Dispelling and Detonation will only get bought right before facing Sarevok.
GM might be an idea when using hit&run but for the Barbarian its out of reach. At the moment i am planning to tank Big B as long as possible. With Potions of Power up and Durlags Goblet available this should give Xaghul quite some time.
He then sold his Flail +1 to get enough room for Protection from Fire and Lightning Potions. Time for Candlekeep. The Ogres had nothing to say against Boots of Speed and a late Rage so Xaghul was eating only one Magic Missile at the end.
In Candlekeep he got three more Invisibility Potions from Rieltars Assassin before going into the catacombs. Protected against Fire and Lightning he rushed to the first chests getting a PfM scroll and the Fire Protection Ring. With these he sneaked through the Phase Spiders canceled the Web Trap with Ring of Free Action and then combined Rage with DoHM to get the Strength Tome!
One Invisibility Potion made sure to get past the Dopplegangers, Prat and the Greater Basilisks. Time to plan for the final encounters.
At the moment Xaghul uses the following magic items:
Ring of Free Action
Fire Protection Ring
Chain Mail +4
Algernons Cloak
Boots of Speed
PfM Scrolls
PfU Scrolls
22x Invisibility Potions
Cloak of Protection +2
Tome of Strength
The last two will get sold/used to get back some space. Gold is no problem at all. Its all about the lacking space.
EDIT: I updated the OP and opened the "Noble Warrior Challenge" for all classes. Its now called the "Noble Adventurer Challenge".
Xaghul grabbed the Con Tome by just running through negating Charms and Traps with Rage. The Sirenes did not get the chance to fire a single arrow so he was still at 100% HP when leaving the area again. With Con 20 regeneration finally kicks in...
Back to action! Xaghul decided to go for Durlags Goblet as it will be his first oath item in this run. But before: some work!
He buffed up against Fire & Lightning to negate most trap damage and used one invisibility potion sneaking to the skeletons guarding the Beril stone and the strange key to avoid getting trapped (sometimes a Phase Spider will port in blocking your escape path!). After that he opened the chest to grab the piece for the machine and activated Rage before opening the charm trapped chest with the grapes. Another invisibility potion followed to sneak through all enemies activating the Wardens.
But before starting the fight he traveled back to Sorrcerous Sundries buying a Potion of Clarity to negate Love´s permant Dire Charms while the Ring of Free Action was ready to cancel slow. With this setup, Oil of Speed active and the Tresher +2 in main-hand Xaghul activated the Wardens.
Once Love and Fear started attacking Rage made sure no charm or stun would land while luring Love to the stairs again. Too bad Fear followed this time so Xaghul went up once more and even though Fear followed again he made sure to get only vision on Love who moved right to the main entrance of Durlags Tower. Perfect!
As Love hits really hard and regenerates slowly over time (so no waiting or resting in between) Xaghul always attacked when he saw Love casting Dire Charm or Slow to get in at least one attack before leaving the tower again. This wait & hit & run game continued for nearly fifteen minutes before Love finally went down. Fun fact: Thanks to the good timing Xaghul was still at 100% HP - nice!
The rest was a short story: Rest and use one Rage to slip past Fear. Then active dummy two and three, grab the wardstones, wait. Rush past the Dopplegangers and grab Durlags Goblet. Use another Rage to trick Fear once more. Still 20 Invisibility Potions left - hah. Job done! Time to smack Slythe into the ground!
To be noticed: The first Oath Item picked is Durlags Goblet - not a bad choice!
Items before heading to Slythe and Palace:
Kiels Helmet
Chain Mail +4 (still there!)
The Tresher +2
Algernons Cloak
Ring of Free Action
20 Invisibility Potions
Durlags Goblet
5x Protection from Magic
Boots of Speed
5x Arrows of Dispelling
To get in PfU and Arrows of Detonation and Baldurans Helm & Cloak and Oil of Speed something has to be dropped.
The challenge is real fun and simultaneously its full of never-ending pain.
Pain, cause i am constantly crying when i have to drop another magic item.
Quite amazing that the Chain Mail +4 is still alive. But for how long...
This way, you wouldn't end up just using a handful of the "best" options for every single fight; you could use a broader diversity of items. It would also save on micromanagement, since you wouldn't have to ditch a stack of fire arrows in order to carry a stack of Antidotes--which would be much more convenient if you plan on fighting trolls and spiders one after another, like you do in the Druid Grove.
We could also extend the "no recharging wands" rule to once-per-day items if we wanted to avoid relying on Algernon's Cloak or Vhailor's Helm for every fight.
First Xaghul charmed the Mage and parked him nearby. Then Ramazith was charmed who called in a big Skeleton Warrior. Every Doppleganger got dispelled and the whole fight seemed easy going. In the middle of the fight they somehow switched their target and killed Liia in no time while Belt was still "barely hurt". Then it was only the Mage. I dispelled him several times and he was already close to death when suddenly Sarevok started his speech that the last Duke - Belt - has died. Shortly after Xaghul got killed too but even when pausing and scrolling in the log i couldnt find any text claiming that Belt went down (The Mage had cast Chromatic Orb earlier). Xaghul however went into oblivion for unknown reasons - what a pity...
Okay, with all classes now open to the Noble Challenge i will restart soon - time for revenge!
P.S. I will keep your idea in mind @semiticgod - could be another interesting option!