1 - Upon entering this zone you will witness Carston the Magnificant inside of Lum the Mad's machine. Outside there will be some Githyanki and Mind Flayers doing battle. Carston will summon a demon and run them off. When you engage dialogue with him, save yourself some effort and don't anger him. If you do, he will summon things that you have to fight and it isn't worth the trouble. Don't expect much information from him. 2 - Search the cabinets in the first room and loot the normal weapons, which you will need shortly (make note of the color pattern on the triangle tiles in this room). Equip them and head into the next room. There is a pool guarded by two Magic Golems. If you have read the appendix scattered throughout the dungeon, you know that they are immune to magic weapons and magic. With normal weapons and decent melee, they are pretty easy to overcome. Loot the pool and snag the Blue oil. 3 - This room's layout is a mirror of area #2 but with a different monster layout. The first room is filled with chests, wait, no! Mimics! Hah, show them the pointy end of your sword and loot away. Note the color pattern again and move into the next room. This room has 6 torches, 3 per side. The color patterns on the floor of the previous two rooms are the lighting patterns. You will need to complete areas 4 & 5 before being able to light the torches.   4a - This first room is home to one Mind Flayer and four Umber Hulks. I like to use a pet to charge the room. This soaks the confusions and the flayer's attacks. It is also handy to run an invisible backstabber in behind the flayer to take them out quick. There isn't much in this room other than the greeting party. 4b - There are only three Umber Hulks here, its pretty easy without any flayer support so take them out and loot the circle in the middle of the room. Noteably the key. 4c - Another flayer backed by Umber Hulks. Clean these folks out but beware of the flayer attacks, then loot away. At z) there is an apprentice of Carston, the mage locked behind the glass at area #1. He is dying but you can get some information out of him before he takes the eternal nap, which will get you an additional 1,000 experience per party member. The upper left room has a loot area but it is trapped with a level drain, so be on the lookout. 4d - The hallway to this room has a trap, so detect and disarm it. The room itself has 2 flayers and an Illithid as well as a few Umbers. This can be a pain because of all the death fingers. Pets are a big bonus, as is a timely backstab. The center circle of this room is lootable but trapped with Maze. The illithid also drops an Illithid Rod (I looted it and it seemed to disappear?) I believe this opens the door to 4e. 4e - The room you came here for. Place pets and melee by the upper wall. Loot the pool for the red oil which spawns two Mind Flayer Vampires. They're easy if you are prepared but have restorations ready. 5 - 5a - Githyanki bunker. I found these to be a pretty easy fight. The only thing you have to watch for is their Invisibility Potions. Dispatch the first room's guards and then loot up. Important loots are: Adventurer's Robe, Scroll (Power Word Stun), various potions, and the Flint & Tinder. 5b - This is just a room of Githyanki. Take them out and loot what you can, then head to 5c. 5c - Again, more Githyanki are guarding this area. A few things you want to be sure and loot, the Wand of Spell Striking and a note by Lum the Mad. 5d - The Githyanki Captain confronts you and initiates a dialouge. It seems he attacks no matter what you say, so teach him a lesson and take his sword, Angurvadal +4. Then loot the pool for the purple oil and the dragon statue head for Montolio's Clasp, which is used in Cespenar's forge. y - This leads to a Demi-Lich, yuk! Imprisonment is the delicacy of choice. Quickly summon some pets to absorb the imprisonments if you can (items that summon are quick, as apposed to spells). For more help in defeating him, read our Kangaxx the Lich strategy guide in our Strategy Guides section. He is worth the trouble, as you'll not only earn 55000 experience, but also the Dagger of the Star +4 and 20,000 gold pieces. z - Good ol' Saladrex. Dragon tastes like chicken? Well flatter old 'drex and get what useful information you can out of him. Then go back out of his sight and ready up for a nasty battle. He puts up a good fight but in the end you will walk away with 64k XP, some gold, and the Staff of Ram +4 (which can be upgraded to +6 back in your Abyssal Fortress). 6 - After you have finished up areas 4 & 5 head to the room between 3 & 6 (torch room). Now that you have all the oils and the flint, light the torches in the pattern shown by the colored tiles Which are:
Red Blue Red Purple Purple Red 7 - Return to the central chamber and click on the crystal part of the machine. You need to tap the crystal six times to break the cage open and release Carston. From here you can let him go or kill him, whichever you feel he diserves. He has a journal that tells the combination to the next level, so try and get that from him. Now it is time to use all those odd scrolls Lum has left littered around the Keep. Remember, only use these combinations ONCE! Here are the codes that are listed in the notes:
Triangle Button, Green Wheel, Medium Lever = Storm Star +4 Mace Red Wheel, Green Wheel, Short Lever = Permanent +1 to Charisma Blue Wheel, Green Wheel, Long Lever = Permanent +5% to Magic Resistance Square Button, Short Lever, Medium Lever = Permanent +1 to Strength Circle Button, Blue Wheel, Long Lever = Permanent +1 to Intelligence Square Button, Blue Wheel, Short Lever = Permanent +1 to Dexterity Circle Button, Square Button, Triangle Button = Permanent +1 to Wisdom Circle Button, Red Wheel, Long Lever = Permanent +1 to Constitution Opening the door to level 5 grants you 25k XP per member and you are ready to take on the finale. |
