Help, LoB Adalon kill
Wrathofrecca
Member Posts: 98
Hi, I'm trying to figure out the mechanics to kill Adalon on LoB. She dispels a lot and seems to throw up mega mantle of some sort and stoneskin, neither seem to show up in the combat log. I can eventually start damaging her after a few breaches and I've also tried using harm but she makes a saving throw vs it. It's not entirely clear what she's doing to live so long but she is a pain and protection from magic weapon doesn't seem to prevent her melee damage but maybe she dispels magic on hit. Whatever her case, she's infinitely harder than Firkraag by comparison. I vaguely recall trying to kill her years ago before EE with minimal effort and I might have been on core rules but the best attempt at killing her results in 2 or 3 health bars before she wipes my party. Any advice?
Edit: After a few reload tries, Adalon's magic resist is blocking Jaheira's harm spell.
Edit: After a few reload tries, Adalon's magic resist is blocking Jaheira's harm spell.
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LoB doesn't really change fights in terms of AI or enemy skills (except for SOD) so what you are fighting is the same adalon as per regular rules just boosted Hp, thac0, apr and ac.
Adalon has almost the same weapon equiped as Firkraag just better enchantment, they are both considered magical. Remember than Protection from magical weapons lasts only 4 rounds so if you don't buff it in combat it will run out before combat starts and even in combat you will need to rebuff. Of course if not protected with anything first dispel will render all your buffs useless.
If MR is an issue get any of your mages in the party to cast lower magic resistance x3 in contigency to get her MR to 0.
I don't have any saves near underdark to test but I don't remember that i had any specific issues killing her, although usually I just do egg quests since it's more XP and good rewards.
Edit: I have always remembered her being one of the harder bosses.
It doesn't add magic resistance as far as I'm aware, and doesn't increase existing resistances of any kind. But I could be wrong, too many mods involved with me to say anything for certain...
Cast Lower Resistance three or four times, follow up with Greater Malison, Chant, and Doom, the chance of success would be 60% in normal mode and 35% in LoB mode.
SCS makes dragons immune to Finger of Death, but Feeblemind is just as effective.
But yes... Called Shot is a pretty excellent way of guaranteeing a failed save. Called Shot on the Archer lasts for 12 seconds (that is, the Archer's missiles benefit from it for 2 rounds) and the save penalty from Called Shot lasts for 15 seconds on the target, so an Archer with 10 APR (possible with the Tuigan Bow or darts and Improved Haste) should be able to apply a -15 penalty to save vs. spell with a single use of Called Shot, assuming no misses. Use Called Shot twice, one round after another, and the save penalty should add up to over 20, enough for practically any enemy to a fail any save vs. spell at any difficulty. Only Chromatic Orb in LoB would still have a chance of failure in that case.
as it has already told the LoB better saving throws has to be factored in.
only lowering the magic resistance there is still a high chance that the dragon saves against the spell, being it finger of death, feeblemind, harm or whatever.
so you have to trust on the power of reload, but then even the chromatic orb becomes a reliable way to kill dragons, or you have to do more.
doom, greater malison and called shot can lower the chances of the dragon to save and even then it is not granted at all that he fails.
with a 70% chance that the dragon fails the save in normal i would have at least 2 FoD memorized, in LoB, where the chance is only 45% if i don't have an archer in the party i would probably not go to the battle without my mages having at least 4 FoD memorized or if i don't have a plan B if the dragon saves.
imho this is the only tactically sound way to go to the battle, the power of reload should protect a player from his own errors, or let him learn by trial and error sound tactics, avoiding him to start from the beginning of the game each time he screw up something, but i don't see it as a mean to make saving throws and critical hits and misses completely not meaningful.
given the number of battles you fight it is granted that a streak of critical hits from the enemy or critical misses from the party will happen, as well as that some spells will be saved, so you must have redundancy or a plan B.
to play ignoring this statistical truth is actually playing an other game, where no critical or saving throws exist. and i see no proud in beating a hard difficulty doing so, much better to lower the difficulty and play the game as it is designed to work.
and this is only my humble opinion, the way i play the game, as long as an other player has fun in a different way for me it is fine that he play as he likes.
but if he suggest a cheap way on the forums, like not lowering good saving throws where it should be done, i also tell:" if you have fun to play like that do it, is your own game, but you are suggesting a tactic that has little chance to work, your suggestion is not a god one...".
But to each their own. You're free to pursue other avenues if that one doesn't sit well with you. How and how much you use Power Word: Reload is entirely up to the individual.
My approach to dragons is usually fairly straightforward, just buff myself, dispel their protections, beat them to death. Nothing fancy, nothing weird. It takes more work with LoB (and things like SCS etc.) but it still works.
for your tactic you need raw mlee power, for mine i need redundancy, but both work pretty well.
and using my binary approach on ToB dragons, that are immune to imprisonment but not to flesh to stone, is not so OP, as it need redundancy, correct and very dynamic placement of the toons and on the battlefield, i call it "the dance around the dragon" and is almost tactically as complex as your raw physical power approach, as we don't want to rely on the reloads to succeed.