Confront the Elder Brain: Difference between revisions

[[File:Confront the Elder Brain Quest.jpg|thumb|The Elder Brain is the ultimate opponent, and the one and only way to escape the tadpoles.]]

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Follow the Chosen to Baldur's Gate.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Obtain the three Netherstones.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Meet Gortash at the Morphic Pool.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Face the elder brain.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Talk to the Emperor.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Get a mind flayer on your side.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Face the Netherbrain again.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Get to the Netherbrain.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Reach the Crown of Karsus.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Enter the portal to the Netherbrain's psyche.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Bring the Netherbrain to heel.</div>

<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.6;">Quest Complete</div>

[[File:Netherbrain.webm|gif|350px|thumb|The reveal]]Confront the Elder Brain is acquired at the end of [[Act Two]], after the Chosen Three are revealed to be controlling the Elder Brain as part of their plot to take over Baldur's Gate. However, the quest cannot be meaningfully progressed until [[Get Gortash's Netherstone]] and [[Get Orin's Netherstone]] have successfully been completed. Orin must be defeated and Gortash must either be defeated or his bargain accepted as part of [[Consider Gortash's Bargain]]. Defeating both Orin and Gortash causes a vision of the Elder Brain in the [[Morphic Pool]] beneath the city. If Gortash is allied with, then he reveals the Elder Brain's location and tells the party to use the boat under the city to meet him there.

'''Important:''' Boarding the boat to the Morphic Pool is a '''point of no return and the start of the endgame'''. After this, it is ''not'' possible to long rest or visit camp. Plan accordingly and choose the desired companions for the final battles.

* [STRENGTH] Muster the full might of your physical form - throw it into breaking through the brain's defences. (DC 20)

* [INTELLIGENCE] Your mind is yours to command - block out all possibility of failure and compel the brain to submit. (DC 20)

* [CONSTITUTION] You have survived this far - trust yourself. Dominate the brain. (DC 20)

* [DEXTERITY] The Crown is an unmissable target - set it in your sights, and trust that you will strike true. (DC 25)

* [WISDOM] A first attempt is just that - iteration is key. Aim for the Crown and try again. (DC 25)

* [CHARISMA] Nothing is immune to influence - determine to master the brain. (DC 25)

* Bow before the glory of the Netherbrain. Submit to domination.  

The Netherbrain tells the party she was the one who informed the Chosen of the [[Astral Prism]] and planted fear of what Orpheus could do to their plan. She was the one who let the Emperor slip its leash so that it could retrieve the prism and loosen the Netherstones from the Chosen Ones' grasps.

* [STRENGTH] You are strong. You are mighty. You will dominate the brain. (DC 30)

* [CONSTITUTION] Your resilience will not be shaken - cast the spell again. (DC 30)

* [INTELLIGENCE] It may not be easy, but it was always supposed to be possible - do it again. (DC 30)

* Bow before the glory of the Netherbrain. Submit to domination.

* [STRENGTH] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)

* [DEXTERITY] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)

* [INTELLIGENCE] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)

* [WISDOM] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)

* [CHARISMA] DOMINATE THE BRAIN (DC 99)

* Give up. Allow the brain to dominate you.

Regardless of what the party does, the brain is simply too powerful, and the party is knocked unconscious. The Emperor steps in to save them by bringing everyone inside the Astral Prism.

The party awakens in the Astral Prism having benefited from a Long Rest and '''losing all Elixirs and "Until Long Rest" duration buffs they may have had.'''

The Emperor states that only an illithid can hope to take down the Netherbrain in its current form and that the illithid must consume the power of Prince Orpheus in order to succeed. As an illithid, the Emperor says he can do this, and asks the Netherstones be relinquished to him.

If the party rejects the Emperor's proposition, he states that he has no other choice but to reassimilate with the Netherbrain, and leaves the party in the Astral Realm. This can be done by selecting "I don't believe a word you just said" followed by "I will never trust you", or by asserting the intent to free Orpheus if the party possesses the Orphic Hammer. Afterwards, if the party has the Orphic Hammer, they can equip it and attack the crystals binding Orpheus.

There is also the possibility of the party not retrieving the Orphic Hammer and spurning the Emperor. In this case, Raphael appears within the Astral Prism. He has front row seats to the final hour, and now he's come with the sole salvation of Faerun. There are no more deals: only master and vassal. Sign a contract for the Orphic Hammer in exchange for the Crown of Karsus, or the world ends. Failing to uphold the bargain means the party's souls are forfeit. Refusing to sign turns the party into mind flayers who assimilate into the Netherbrain, causing a game over. The party is forced to [[Fulfill the Deal]].

If the party made a deal with Raphael and forgot to bring the Orphic Hammer, the cambion will appear to deliver to them the hammer they negligently misplaced. If Raphael is dead and the hammer forgotten, the party transforms into mind flayers.

Once Orpheus is freed, he confronts the party on their choices, saying the party should have let his honor guard kill them, so they could have avoided this whole situation. He also confronts the party if they stole the Githyanki egg in Steal a Githyanki Egg. However, he agrees to stand down and works with the party. He states that the Emperor was correct and an illithid is necessary to take down the Netherbrain. Either a party member can make the sacrifice, or Orpheus will if everyone refuses.

[[Kith'rak Voss]] will teleport in with a group of githyanki to confront the party. If Orpheus was freed, he will offer his aid freely. If The Emperor consumed Orpheus, he will be angry; a {{Ability check|Persuasion|30}} or {{Ability check|Deception|30}} will make him stand down and begrudgingly lend his aid; otherwise, he will attack.

Moving forward, the party finds a building where all of their allies are gathered, along with a Flaming Fist named [[Beorn Wunterbrood]]. The individuals that appear are based on who was successfully recruited as part of [[Gather Your Allies]]. These allies grant a new action - Call Forth Allies - that can summon reinforcements or utilize powerful AoE attacks.

Upon approaching the courtyard, the party will come across [[Watchman Gyordi|Watchmen Gyordi]], [[Watchman Goodge|Goodge]], [[Watchman Fry|Fry]], and [[Watchman Ebber|Ebber]] running away. A passive {{Ability check|Insight|20}} followed by a dialogue option with a {{Ability check|Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception, Strength|20}} will convince them to stand and fight, joining you as allies for the courtyard battle only. On Explorer and Balanced difficulty only, there is also a single-use restoration pod that gives the benefits of a Long Rest.

Entering the courtyard leads to an all-out battle against various Absolutist cultists, [[goblin]]s, [[Mind flayers]], [[Illithid Arcanist]]s, [[Winged Horror]]s, [[Intellect Devourer]]s, an [[ogre]], and a [[Spectator]].

Instead of the courtyard, the party can take a hidden route through Upper City Sewers. This route features few goblins, a pair of [[Cranium Rat|cranium rat]]s, a mind flayer, Absolute cultists, [[Necromite]]s, and a [[Death Knight]] named [[Stalker Svignee]]. Here also can be found the corpse of Merug 'Curly' Dugald crushed under some debris, which is in possession of a [[High Hall Key]].

[[File:CTNB Quest Ending Gale Alone vs Brain Stem.jpg|350px|thumb|''"Though our time together will be exceptionally brief. Farewell, and happy landing."'']] Depending on the choices made prior to crossing the "point of no return" and if [[Gale]] is in the party, interacting with the Brain Stem can trigger a short conversation between him and the player character. It is now possible to let Gale climb the Brain Stem alone and use his orb to destroy the Netherbrain. If that happens then all the fights described in the rest of this article '''are completely avoided.''' After a cutscene with Gale activiating the orb, the party will get directly to the endings and after that to the epilogue of the game.

=== Stop the Netherbrain ===

Only an illithid party member that is "holding" the Netherstones can cast [[Karsus' Compulsion]]. To do this, the illithid party member needs to move close enough to the Crown of Karsus, and then cast Karsus' Compulsion for several turns. The party member can be attacked, possibly interrupted, and even killed while attempting to cast this spell. As no other party members can cast the spell in their place, the killed illithid party member must be resurrected to try casting [[Karsus' Compulsion]] again, at the next available opportunity.<ref> The resurrected illithid party member will still have the usual effects of being resurrected while in combat, and there may be multiple turns before they are capable of taking actions again.</ref>

Successfully casting [[Karsus' Compulsion]] opens up a portal to the "Mind of the Netherbrain" area, where a physical manifestation of the Netherbrain can be attacked. Killing it before the turn limit, leads to defeat the Netherbrain, once and for all.

If the final DC 99 check at the Morphic Pool to "DOMINATE THE BRAIN" was passed with a critical success, the Netherbrain will start with the [[Against All Odds (Condition)|Against All Odds]] debuff, lowering its HP by 20%.

At the start of each of the Netherbrains' turns, it may attempt to cast a spell called [[Orb of Negation]] which summons an entity of that name with an aura condition attached to it, and adds the orb entity into the turn order. When the turn of an orb entity arrives, any platforms afflicted with the orbs' condition be destroyed. The party members and summons on the platforms will be killed.

The first time within each round that the Netherbrain takes damage from another character, it may attempt to cast an ability called [[Retributive Brainquake]], which deals 10-60 damage (minimum of 5 damage if an unspecified save is passed) to all characters who are within 30m of the Netherbrain.

|[[Mol]]

|[[Fetcher's Favour]]  

|Equipped with [[Mol]]'s tricks of the trade, affected entities can cast [[Rays of Fire]], reduce all {{DamageType|Fire}} damage by 5 and gain an additional 1d4 to [[Charisma]] [[Ability Check|Checks]] and [[Saving Throw]]s.

|[[Volo]]

|[[Volo's Guide to Monsters]]

|With steadfast application of knowledge from [[Volo]]'s preeminent work, affected entities gain +2 to [[Attack Roll]]s, [[Saving Throw]]s, and [[Ability Check]]s.

|[[Halsin]]

|[[Spirit of the Land]]

|The reunited soul of [[Thaniel]] provides a +1 to all [[Ability Score]]s and an additional 2m [[movement speed]] to all affected entities.  

|[[Duke Ravengard]]

|[[Rallied (Endgame)|Rallied]]

|Galvanising word and will of [[Duke Ravengard]] runs hot through your veins - gain 30 [[Temporary Hit Points]].

|[[Prince Orpheus]]

|[[Orphic Favour]]

|While within 18m of [[Prince Orpheus]], the affected entity has [[Resistance]] to {{DamageType|Psychic}} damage and a +3 bonus to [[Intelligence]], [[Wisdom]], and [[Charisma]] {{Saving Throw}}s.

| Summon [[Zlorb]] - a shapeshifting monstrosity that can adopt the aspect of several monsters and beasts.

|[[Yurgir]]

|[[Hellstalker Yurgir]]

|Summon [[Yurgir]] the orthon - a deadly combatant at range or in melee who can become Invisible immediately after attacking.  

|[[Dame Aylin]]

| [[Sword of the Silverlight]]

|Summon [[Dame Aylin]], Selûne's shining paladin, to join your side in battle.  

|[[Isobel]]

|Call upon [[Isobel]] to offer a furtive prayer to Selûne, healing up to 6 nearby allies.

| [[Valeria]]

|[[The Watch]]

|Summon some of the City Watch's great weapon fighters to protect their home.

|[[Zevlor]]  

|[[Hellrider Platoon]]

|Summon [[Zevlor]]'s Hellriders to Smite foes and support frontline allies.

| [[Nine-Fingers]]

|[[Zhentarim]]

|[[Black Fist Enforcers]]

|Summon two elite assassin mercenaries from the Zhentarim's ranks.

| [[Jaheira]]  

|[[Silver Harp Squadron]]

|Summon elite Harper archers to provide ranged support from your back ranks.

|[[Astarion]]

| [[Retinue of the Vampire Lord]]

|Summon 2 [[Shadow]]s, 2 [[Giant Skeleton]]s, a [[Ghast]], a [[Shadow Mastiff]], and a [[Werewolf]].

| [[Wulbren]] or [[Barcus]]

|[[Rolan]]

|[[Rolan's Firestorm]]

| Damage: 20-120. Call upon Rolan, freed from the limitations of Lorroakan, to unleash a fiery barrage from the heights of [[Ramazith's Tower]].

|-  

| Damage: 20-120. Lorroakan uses all the arcane might of Ramazith's Tower to call down a fiery barrage.

|[[Kith'rak Voss]]

|[[Kirh'raki Inferno]]

|Damage: 12-72. Command the red dragon of [[Kith'rak Voss|Supreme Kith'rak Voss]] to breathe a wall of fire onto the battlefield.

| [[Mizora]]  

|[[Mizora, Agent of Avernus]]  

|Summon [[Mizora|Wyll's pactmistress]] to rain down powerful infernal sorcery and possibly Disintegrate your foes.

|[[Viconia]] or [[Shadowheart|Dark Justiciar Shadowheart]]

|[[Nightbringer's Shadow Adepts]]

|[[Auntie Ethel]]

|Channel [[Auntie Ethel]]'s magic to render 5 creatures within range invisible.