This guide will walk you through Suldanessellar in Chapter 7 of Baldur’s Gate II. This area’s code in the game files is AR2600.
Map of Suldanessellar
Overview
When you arrive in Suldanessellar, Elhan (#1) will inform you that Irenicus is using “corruption magics” from the rakshasa to assault the city, and he’ll suggest that you meet with Queen Ellesime and Priestess Demin to learn how to counteract it. As you make your way to them, you’ll encounter lots of golems, plus some other creatures. Remember that you’ll need magical crushing weapons for clay golems, +2 or better weapons for stone golems, and +3 or better weapons for iron golems and adamantite golems. Adamantite golems in particular will give you problems with their high resistances, and it’ll probably take you a while to wear them down, even if you have the appropriate weapons.
When you reach Priestess Demin (#6), she’ll give you some background information about Irenicus and Bodhi — how they strove to steal power from the Tree of Life, and how their connection to the elves was severed as a punishment. Demin will then ask you to help in the defense of the city by summoning the avatar of the Leaflord, Rillifane Rallathil. To do this, you’ll need to collect three items:
Golden Goblet of Life. You’ll have to kill the black dragon Nizidramanii’yt (#7) to acquire this.
Moonblade. You’ll find this inside the House of the Moon (#9).
Talisman of Rillifane. You’ll earn this by solving the container puzzle inside the House of the Talisman (#5).
When you have all three items, you’ll need to take them to the Temple of Rillifane (#3) and place them on the altar that you’ll find there. This will summon the Avatar of Rillifane and earn each character in your party 65,000 xp. The avatar will then send elven spirits to defeat the creatures attacking the city (if there are any left), he’ll unlock the gate to the Elven Palace (Exit B), and he’ll give you the Staff of the Woodlands +4.
1 – Elhan
2 – The House of the Horn
Inside this house, you’ll encounter a clay golem and two stone golems. You’ll earn 24,000 xp for defeating them. When you loot the containers in the house, you’ll find a Cloak of Elvenkind and a Stone Horn. You’ll need the horn inside the Elven Palace (Exit B) to open the way to the Tree of Life.
3 – Temple of Rillifane
Inside this temple, you’ll encounter Suneer, a glabrezu, an iron golem, and a rakshasa. Suneer is the most powerful enemy in the group, but it might take you a while to remove his buffs and kill him, and so you’re probably best off killing his minions first. You’ll earn over 45,000 xp for defeating the quartet.
Also inside the temple, you’ll find an altar. It’s involved in the ritual to summon the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above).
4 – Boy and Girl
At this spot, you’ll meet a boy and a girl looking for their parents. It won’t make any difference what you say to them.
5 – The House of the Talisman / The Priest’s House
Inside the House of the Talisman (#5), you’ll find a shimmering container on the eastern side (with three dead elves on the floor next to it). If you interact with the container, then you’ll learn that to open it, you’ll need to press the runes for Corellon Larethian, Rillifane, Suldanessellar, the Tree of Life, and Water in “the Natural Order.”
To learn the correct order, you’ll need to go upstairs to the priest’s house (#5a). Inside one of the containers there, you’ll find the Elven Priest Stone. Examining the stone will show you the order: Corellon, Rillifane, Water, Tree of Life, and then Suldanessellar. If you press the runes on the container in that order, then you’ll receive the Talisman of Rillifane. If you press a rune in the wrong order, then you’ll get hit by an acid dart, and you’ll have to start over. You’ll need the Talisman of Rillifane to summon the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above).
6 – Demin’s House
Outside this house, you’ll run into Raamilat and a nabassu. Raamilat is a powerful mage, and fighting him is about the same as fighting a lich. That is, you’ll have to deal with Time Stop, Meteor Swarm, and lots of spell protections. So buff up before facing Raamilat, and try to kill the nabassu quickly to get it out of the way. You’ll earn 32,000 xp for defeating the pair.
Inside the house, you’ll discover Priestess Demin being threatened by Adsaan, a rajah, and a rakshasa. When the rakshasa trio spots you, they’ll attack, and you’ll earn 25,000 xp for defeating them. You’ll also find a Girdle of Stone Giant Strength on Adsaan’s corpse. After the battle, Demin will tell you how to summon the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above).
7 – Forest Clearing
Inside this clearing, you’ll encounter the black dragon Nizidramanii’yt. He’ll talk to you when you arrive, and this will give you two ways to acquire the Golden Goblet of Life from him:
If you offer to buy the goblet, then Nizidramanii’yt will demand “everything that you have.” If you agree to this, then he’ll take all of your equipment and all of your gold, but he won’t take quest items, containers, or items inside containers. So if you drop all of your gear first, then you can get the goblet for just your gold. Still, this isn’t the recommended option.
You can kill Nizidramanii’yt. He’s a tough dragon, but he’s a dragon you’re supposed to kill, and so he’s more straightforward than some of the other dragons in the game. He’ll mostly just hit you with piercing attacks, although he’ll also sometimes mix in things like wing buffets, Plant Growth, and Summon Insects — attacks more annoying than devastating. If you have a lot of trouble with Nizidramanii’yt, then you can flee from the forest clearing, heal yourself up and wait for his buffs to wear off, and then try again.
You’ll earn 52,000 xp for killing Nizidramanii’yt, and you’ll find Bladesinger Chain +4, the Golden Goblet of Life, and more when you loot his corpse.
You’ll need the Golden Goblet of Life to summon the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above).
8 – The Harpist’s House
Inside this house, you’ll find a Stone Harp. You’ll need the harp inside the Elven Palace (Exit B) to open the way to the Tree of Life.
9 – The House of the Moon
Outside the house here, you’ll stumble across four rakshasas trying to enslave some elves (but note: sometimes it takes a while for this scene to spawn). There isn’t really any way to save the elves, but you’ll earn 12,000 xp for defeating the rakshasas.
Inside the house, you’ll witness an elven warrior sacrificing himself to defeat a balor. You’ll then be able to loot a Moonblade from the warrior’s corpse. You’ll need the Moonblade to summon the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above). Also in the house, you’ll find Boots of Elvenkind.
10 – Locked Gate
You’ll meet an elven warrior in front of the gate here. With 15 Charisma, 15 Intelligence, or 15 Wisdom, you’ll be able to convince him to open the gate for you. If you mention Elhan (#1), then you’ll only need 10 Charisma. If you’re unable to convince the warrior, then you can also just pick the lock on the gate, and he won’t seem to mind.
11 – Captain Aduo’on and Reirra
If you need healing, then Reirra will cast Cure Serious Wounds on you. You can also safely rest inside most of the buildings in the city, or take your chances resting outside (where rakshasas might interrupt you).
After summoning the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above), Reirra will move over to the Temple of Rillifane (#3), where she’ll become a shopkeeper. She’ll then offer you a basic selection of ammunition, potions, and spell scrolls.
B) Entrance to the Elven Palace. You’ll only be allowed to use this entrance after you’ve summoned the Avatar of Rillifane (see the Overview text above).
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Luxrah
I love RPGs, MMOs, and weird little indie games. Anything that lets me build and decorate or just has a really good story. I've spent hundreds of hours in Bethesda games and even more time modding them. I also play a lot of World of Warcraft.
