Zhalk

Commander Zhalk is a Cambion in the service of Zariel and an optional boss during the Prologue.

Involvement

Zhalk is encountered at the helm of the Nautiloid, where he and his minions are fighting several Mind Flayers. When the party enters the helm, the combat immediately begins. Though it's not required to kill Zhalk to end the fight, he can be killed and/or disarmed for his unique flaming sword and extra experience.

Combat

Attacks and abilities

 Main Hand Attack ()   –  Everburn Blade

Normal weapon damage Make a melee attack with your equipped weapon.

 Melee: 1.5 m / 5  ft

 Fly ()

Fly to a target position

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

Tactics

Zhalk is encountered at the helm of the Nautiloid, where he and his minions are fighting Mind Flayers. Despite his impressive stats and powerful weapon, he is not aggressive to the party so long as the mind flayer he is fighting is alive (he has a 80% chance of hitting it). However, considering the 15 turn time limit along with the fact cambion reinforcements will eventually arrive, he must either be beaten or bypassed hastily.

To gain his Everburn Blade, there is a way to get it without killing him. Before starting the fight, it's necessary to have Shadowheart or any other Cleric prepare  Command and use  Drop to disarm the cambion. Alternatively, it's possible to give Command to a warlock during character creation as one of their known spells, and swap it out during the level up to 2nd level. Zhalk won't even bother to pick up his sword, giving plenty of time to do so. If possible, Command should be used during the first time, while he is stunned by the Mind Flayer. Otherwise he has a chance of succeeding his save against the spell.

Killing him is far harder considering his large amount of Hit Points, AC and being resistant to most Damage Types. Equipping his Everburn Blade to Lae'zel will help, as its magical slashing damage bypasses his resistance and Lae'zel's Great Weapon Fighting style applies and boosts its average damage. However, there are three (or four if you picked it up in the last room), Nautiloid Tanks that are powerful explosives. While he is resistant to fire damage, all 3 to 4 tanks can take down half his health if the rolls are in favour of the party on both his Saving Throw and the damage rolled. It is recommended to only blow up the tanks once the Mind Flayer he is fighting against has softened him up first. Also, disarming him as stated above will greatly lower his lethality. If he is still alive, using Caustic Bulbs, Spiked Bulbs,  Magic Missiles (If running as a Wizard or Sorcerer) and normal attacks will finish him off. When he dies, the Mind Flayer will become hostile to party.

Notable loot

• Everburn Blade
• Scale Mail

Related Quests

•  Escape the Nautiloid

External links

• Zhalk on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Interactive map location on mapgenie.io