Yaga-Shura’s Lair – Baldur’s Gate II

This guide will walk you through Yaga-Shura’s Lair in the Throne of Bhaal expansion for Baldur’s Gate II. This area’s codes in the game files are AR5201 and AR5204.

Marching Mountains Map

Map Legend

1. Fire Giants
2. Hammer Sphere/Barrier
3. Skull Sphere/Barrier
4. Fire Pit (Flame Wardstone)
5. Fire Pit (Blood Wardstone)
6. Strange Device
7. Fire Pit (Hammer Wardstone)
8. Fire Pit (Skull Wardstone)
9. Berenn
10. Brazier
11. Giant Doors
12. Imix
13. Yaga-Shura’s Bed
14. Slave Woman

• Exits:
• A) Marching Mountains
• B) Levels 1-2

Overview

Note: Be careful of the lava pools in the lair. They’ll deal non-trivial fire damage, and your party won’t try to avoid them. The lava rivers, on the other hand, are perfectly safe.

Walkthrough

1 – Fire Giants

When you enter the lair, you’ll immediately get attacked by four fire giants, and two nearby elite fire giants will probably wander in as well. You’ll earn 116,000 xp for defeating these giants. If you have trouble with the battle, then you can always jump right back outside (via Exit A) to heal and regroup.

2 – Hammer Sphere / Barrier

When you examine the golden sphere here (#2), it will show you the symbol of a hammer. If you touch the sphere without the item it wants, then you’ll get energy drained. But if you touch it while carrying the Hammer Wardstone (#7), then it will remove a nearby barrier (#2a), and each character in your party will earn 5000 xp. Either way, touching the sphere will burn you for some fire damage.

3 – Skull Sphere / Barrier

When you examine the golden sphere here (#3), it will show you the symbol of a skull. If you touch the sphere without the item it wants, then you’ll get energy drained. But if you touch it while carrying the Skull Wardstone (#8), then it will remove a nearby barrier (#3a), and each character in your party will earn 5000 xp. Either way, touching the sphere will burn you for some fire damage.

4 – Fire Pit (Flame Wardstone)

This room will start out blocked by a barrier (#2a). To remove the barrier, you’ll have to take the Hammer Wardstone (#7) to a nearby golden sphere (#2).

Inside the room, you’ll encounter a burning man, two fell cats, two fire salamanders, and a flaming skull. They’ll be guarding a fire pit, where you’ll find the Flame Wardstone. When you loot it, two burning men and two greater fire elementals will teleport into the room and attack you. You’ll earn 92,000 xp for defeating both groups of enemies.

5 – Fire Pit (Blood Wardstone)

This room will start out blocked by a barrier (#3a). To remove the barrier, you’ll have to take the Skull Wardstone (#8) to a nearby golden sphere (#3).

Inside the room, you’ll encounter a burning man, two fell cats, three fire salamanders, and a flaming skull. They’ll be guarding a fire pit, where you’ll find the Blood Wardstone. When you loot it, two bone fiends and an erinyes will teleport into the room and attack you. You’ll earn over 80,000 xp for defeating both groups of enemies.

6 – Strange Device

When you examine this device, you’ll see that it has depressions labeled blood, flame, hammer, and skull. After collecting the Blood Wardstone (#5), the Flame Wardstone (#4), the Hammer Wardstone (#7), and the Skull Wardstone (#8), when you interact with the machine again, it’ll remove the barrier blocking the way to Level 2 (Exit B). This will earn each character in your party 20,000 xp.

7 – Fire Pit (Hammer Wardstone)

Inside the fire pit here, you’ll find a Girdle of Fire Giant Strength and the Hammer Wardstone. When you loot these items, two fire salamanders and four fire trolls will teleport into the room and attack you. You’ll earn 19,000 xp for defeating them.

Note: Remember that you’ll need acid or cold damage — or Crom Faeyr +5 — to kill fire trolls.

8 – Fire Pit (Skull Wardstone)

Inside the room here, you’ll encounter three fire giants and two elite fire giants. They’ll be guarding a fire pit, where you’ll find the Skull Wardstone. When you loot the fire pit, an adamantite golem, a clay golem, and a magic golem will teleport into the room and attack you. Remember that adamantite golems require +3 or better weapons, clay golems require crushing weapons, and magic golems require non-magical weapons. If you don’t have any non-magical weapons on hand, you can find some on the corpses of the fire giants. You’ll earn 141,000 xp for defeating the fire giants and the golems.

9 – Berenn

Around here, you’ll run into Berenn (fire giant cleric) and his entourage: two fell cats, four fire giants, and two elite fire giants. Try to draw the enemies to you (rather than charging at them) so you don’t face them all at once, and ignore Berenn until the end since he’ll mostly only cast Flame Strike and Hold Person, which you should be able to resist pretty well. You’ll earn over 170,000 xp for defeating all of the enemies, and you’ll find Balor’s Claw and a Rogue Stone on Berenn’s corpse. The claw will allow Cespenar in the Pocket Plane to upgrade the Axe of the Unyielding +3 to the Axe of the Unyielding +5.

10 – Brazier

Inside the brazier here, you’ll find Yaga-Shura’s Heart. When you take it, each character in your party will earn 20,000 xp. You’ll need the heart for Nyalee’s quest in the Forest of Mir.

11 – Giant Doors

You’ll need a character with at least 19 Strength to open these doors. Wearing the Girdle of Fire Giant Strength (from #7) will do the trick.

12 – Imix

In this part of the lair, you’ll encounter Imix, the self-proclaimed Prince of Fire. He’ll have two burning men with him. The battle shouldn’t be too difficult, but it’s best to draw the enemies to you so you don’t stumble into the three traps in the room. You’ll earn 74,000 xp for defeating the flaming trio, and you’ll find an Amulet of the Master Harper and Ravager +4 on Imix’s corpse.

13 – Yaga-Shura’s Bed

Inside the (trapped) chest beneath the bed here, you’ll find a Bag of Plenty +1, a Beating Heart, and Yaga-Shura’s Journal. You’ll need the heart for Nyalee’s quest in the Forest of Mir.

14 – Slave Woman

At this spot, you’ll meet Ehlastra, one of Yaga-Shura’s slaves. If you release her, then each character in your party will earn 15,000 xp, and she’ll reveal a few things about Yaga-Shura, including that Nyalee in the Forest of Mir might know how to defeat him.

In the (locked and trapped) container next to Ehlastra, you’ll find the Stone Golem Page, which Cespenar in the Pocket Plane can use to upgrade the Clay Golem Manual into the Stone Golem Manual.

Exits

• A) Exit to the Marching Mountains.
• B) Stairs between Levels 1 and 2. To use this exit, you’ll have to activate the nearby strange device (#6).