Fifty ways to kill a Kangaxx
jmerry
Member Posts: 3,881
This one owes its origins to a joke on the forum some time back; someone saying that there must be fifty ways to kill your Kangaxx. Well, I do have a Paul SImon compilation album, and that's a very good song ... so I decided to filk it. With guide-worthy illustrations, starring a collection of BG2EE NPCs.
And now, the guide portion of this post, illustrating the song's points. For the first half, we focus on how to efficiently hurt the demilich Kangaxx. He's immune to cold, electricity, poison, weapons of less than +4 enchantment, spells of levels 1-9, and various status conditions. He's 90% resistant to physical damage. And because he's wearing the Ring of Gaxx, he regenerates. That still leaves plenty of options.
[1]
The sword Daystar, found in the secret room of the inn at the city gates guarded by a lich, is extremely effective. It hits as +4 against evil creatures and does large amounts of bonus damage versus undead. All of that undead bonus damage is of the"magic" type, which the demilich doesn't resist at all.
For this shot, I had Keldorn wield it.
[2]
Direct mage and priest spells won't do any good, but thief traps will. Of particular note, the HLA Spike Traps deal magic damage and the level 15-20 version of the normal traps deal fire damage. Any traps you lay in the center area will hit Kangaxx's lich form... so we need to lay traps somewhere else and drive him over there. Enter the Ring of the Ram. It deals considerable magic damage and pushes its target away from the caster - preferably toward some traps you set up.
For this shot, I had Jan provide the traps.
[3]
Fire elemental attacks strike as +4 and deal fire damage. A perfect combination for hurting the demilich.
For this shot, Cernd is using the druid's Fire Elemental Transformation HLA.
[4]
The Sun Soul Monk kit has abilities which seem perfectly designed to hurt a demilich. Of particular note, Sun Soulray deals 5d8+6 damage against undead, striking at level zero so it goes through the demilich protections and dealing more than half of Kangaxx's hit points on average. In melee, a level 25+ monk's fists hit as +4, and the Sun Soul Monk can enhance them to deal an additional 2d6 fire damage for a few rounds with Flaming Fists.
This shot goes to Rasaad, of course.
[5]
The Mace of Disruption can destroy undead. Kangaxx is not immune. He's resistant to the bonus damage, but it's a 45% chance of dying instantly on any hit with the mace. You do need the improved version here; the basic version only hits as +3.
Anomen wields the mace in this shot.
But of course, offense is only half the battle. You also have to survive. The demilich opens with a Howl that is equivalent to Wail of the Banshee - save vs death or die. Protecting against that is fairly routine; boosted saves or Death Ward. After that, he switches to Imprisonment, about twice per round. And that's considerably harder to defend against. There is no saving throw. Magic resistance won't help. Still, there are options.
[6]
I went with a group shot on the protections; five members of the party each using different methods. (Additional buffs for the party: Haste, Strength of One)
- Korgan uses the berserker ability Enrage. Ten rounds of immunity to imprisonment, among many other things.
- Edwin uses a Protection From Undead scroll. The demilich simply can't see him. And in the current version, you don't have to worry about this interfering with the script that turns lich Kangaxx into his demilich form; he initiates conversation once he goes down to one hit point, just like without the scroll.
- Valygar uses a Protection From Magic scroll. Immunity to level 1-9 spells, just like the demilich has. That includes both of the spells the demilich uses, leaving the scroll user to attack with impunity.
- Haer'Dalis uses Spell Deflection. This is less effective than the other options, only blocking two shots of Imprisonment before being exhausted. Still, that buys you time. And Spell Deflection/Shield of the Archons is available to all bards, clerics, druids, and mages. I also tested Spell Turning ... that one reflects the Imprisonment right back on the demilich, instantly ending the fight. You do at least get the ring, as it has the "critical item" flag.
- Aerie uses Spell Immunity: Abjuration. Immunity to Imprisonment, for as long as it lasts.
[Edit: fixed a typo in the song, tweaked the formatting to set it off a bit more]
The problem is all inside your head she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be rich
There must be - fifty ways to kill that lich
She said: It's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself - at the risk of being crude
There must be - fifty ways to kill a Kangaxx
Fifty ways to kill a Kangaxx
You just chop him up well, Kel [1]
Make a new plan, Jan [2]
He can be burned, Cernd [3]
Just get his ring free
Shine like a boss, Ras [4]
You don't need to discuss much
Just mace for the win, 'men [5]
And get that ring free
Ooh, chop him up well, Kel
Make a new plan, Jan
He can be burned, Cernd
You just get his ring free
Shine like a boss, Ras
You don't need to discuss much
Just mace for the win, 'men
And get that ring free
She said: It grieves me so to see you imprisoned
I wish there was something I could do to save you from that end
I said: I appreciate that, and would you help my friends
About the fifty ways?
She said: Why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light
Then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be - fifty ways to save your party
Fifty ways to save your party
You just enrage some more, Kor
Hide from the dead, Ed
You say no to it all, Val
Just keep yourself free
Oh, deflection is fair, Haer
You don't need to discuss much
Just immunize me, 'rie
And keep us all free [6]
Enrage some more, Kor
Hide from the dead, Ed
You say no to it all, Val
You just listen to me
Deflection is fair, Haer
You don't need to discuss much
Just immunize me, 'rie
And keep us all free
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be rich
There must be - fifty ways to kill that lich
She said: It's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself - at the risk of being crude
There must be - fifty ways to kill a Kangaxx
Fifty ways to kill a Kangaxx
You just chop him up well, Kel [1]
Make a new plan, Jan [2]
He can be burned, Cernd [3]
Just get his ring free
Shine like a boss, Ras [4]
You don't need to discuss much
Just mace for the win, 'men [5]
And get that ring free
Ooh, chop him up well, Kel
Make a new plan, Jan
He can be burned, Cernd
You just get his ring free
Shine like a boss, Ras
You don't need to discuss much
Just mace for the win, 'men
And get that ring free
She said: It grieves me so to see you imprisoned
I wish there was something I could do to save you from that end
I said: I appreciate that, and would you help my friends
About the fifty ways?
She said: Why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light
Then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be - fifty ways to save your party
Fifty ways to save your party
You just enrage some more, Kor
Hide from the dead, Ed
You say no to it all, Val
Just keep yourself free
Oh, deflection is fair, Haer
You don't need to discuss much
Just immunize me, 'rie
And keep us all free [6]
Enrage some more, Kor
Hide from the dead, Ed
You say no to it all, Val
You just listen to me
Deflection is fair, Haer
You don't need to discuss much
Just immunize me, 'rie
And keep us all free
And now, the guide portion of this post, illustrating the song's points. For the first half, we focus on how to efficiently hurt the demilich Kangaxx. He's immune to cold, electricity, poison, weapons of less than +4 enchantment, spells of levels 1-9, and various status conditions. He's 90% resistant to physical damage. And because he's wearing the Ring of Gaxx, he regenerates. That still leaves plenty of options.
[1]
For this shot, I had Keldorn wield it.
[2]
For this shot, I had Jan provide the traps.
[3]
For this shot, Cernd is using the druid's Fire Elemental Transformation HLA.
[4]
This shot goes to Rasaad, of course.
[5]
Anomen wields the mace in this shot.
But of course, offense is only half the battle. You also have to survive. The demilich opens with a Howl that is equivalent to Wail of the Banshee - save vs death or die. Protecting against that is fairly routine; boosted saves or Death Ward. After that, he switches to Imprisonment, about twice per round. And that's considerably harder to defend against. There is no saving throw. Magic resistance won't help. Still, there are options.
[6]
- Korgan uses the berserker ability Enrage. Ten rounds of immunity to imprisonment, among many other things.
- Edwin uses a Protection From Undead scroll. The demilich simply can't see him. And in the current version, you don't have to worry about this interfering with the script that turns lich Kangaxx into his demilich form; he initiates conversation once he goes down to one hit point, just like without the scroll.
- Valygar uses a Protection From Magic scroll. Immunity to level 1-9 spells, just like the demilich has. That includes both of the spells the demilich uses, leaving the scroll user to attack with impunity.
- Haer'Dalis uses Spell Deflection. This is less effective than the other options, only blocking two shots of Imprisonment before being exhausted. Still, that buys you time. And Spell Deflection/Shield of the Archons is available to all bards, clerics, druids, and mages. I also tested Spell Turning ... that one reflects the Imprisonment right back on the demilich, instantly ending the fight. You do at least get the ring, as it has the "critical item" flag.
- Aerie uses Spell Immunity: Abjuration. Immunity to Imprisonment, for as long as it lasts.
[Edit: fixed a typo in the song, tweaked the formatting to set it off a bit more]
Post edited by jmerry on
10
Comments
Bypassing magic resistance isn't an issue, by the way. Kangaxx only has the 10% from his ring. It's the spell level immunities that you have to worry about.
Avoid Death does work as a defense, though. Nice. It's a pretty short duration, but it's not like this fight lasts a long time when you know what you're doing. Still - well, there's only five names per verse, and in the original they're the same names all four times. I wasn't going for an exhaustive list here, just enough for the song.
In my pictures, I included some "epic" material - level 25 monk fists and one HLA - but no items past Spellhold or the first level of Watcher's Keep. My group shot's +4 weapons were Usuno's Blade, Firetooth, the Staff of Rhynn, the Burning Earth, and the Mace of Disruption.
I was playing a variation on one of my custom anti-magic type parties and wanted to kill him without any magic, defined as no pre-buffing, spells, scrolls or wands. Additionally, I did not use the Mace of Disruption or Berserker’s Enrage.
The principal players were:
Stalker with Daystar and Burning Earth.
Inquisitor with Carsomyr.
Wizard Slayer with Tuigan Bow (5 pips).
Began the fight with all attacking, the Wizard Slayer gets a couple of spell failure hits in before defenses go up. Inquisitor hits with his high level Dispel. The Time Stop fizzles, then Stalker and Inquisitor pop Potions of Magic Shielding (the save one, not the magic resistance one), Inquisitor gets True Seeing up. The Prot from Magic weapons wears off and pummeling ensues. During the transition, the Stalker and Inquisitor pop Speed potions, then survive the Howl due to automatic save and proceed to slice and dice him before he cheeses them with Imprisonment.
In theory, the Wizard Slayer is unnecessary, but you would need some luck in surviving the debilitating spells cast during Time Stop. If one of the two strikers becomes incapacitated, I don’t think you can kill him quickly enough to avoid imprisonment. In that regard, I think that Daystar’s non-resistable damage type is the crucial thing to pulling this off.
A hearty "well done" to Jmerry for his dedication on rewriting the whole song. I'd go with Pilot's mid 70s pop song "Magic" for my method, at least for the opening.
Oh, oh, oh, NO magic!
Never believe it's not so.
I'm also quite fond of using MMMs with an arcane user. Each hit doesn't do much damage, so you have to stock up on spell castings and grind him down. Finally outpacing his regeneration after several rounds may feel more satisfying than just taking a swing with the iMoD and thinking "is that it?" ...
As long as the deflection effect has any levels left, it will fully absorb the next spell. That's how Spell Shield works, after all - Spell Shield is one level of deflection against spells of the "magic attack" type.
For this application ... if you're using SotA, you do want the full ten levels so you can absorb two Imprisonments, which means a level 20+ caster. Clerics get there at 2.7 million XP, while druids need 3.75 million.
https://web.archive.org/web/20010607071707/http://members.home.net/mrkevvy/kangaxx.html
Not applicable in the EE. The Ring of Gaxx can't be stolen because it's in the body armor slot. If you want two rings, you'll need to abuse something else later. Rasaad leaving the party at the end of his quest duplicates any critical items he's holding...
This is no longer a problem in the latest game version. I used those scrolls quite a bit in getting my pictures, and they didn't inhibit the transition at all.
Also, on a musical level, I'm annoyed by all the lines with too many syllables. Some verses have that for every line. Clearly, the writer of this one didn't worry too much about making it actually scan. Yes, it's hard to write the ideas into lines as short as the ones in this song - but I consider it worth the effort.
Good old Baldurdash... that definitely is going back a ways.
Nothing new under the sun.