Planar Sphere

Detailed walkthrough for the Planar Sphere in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, covering Level 1, key encounters, item locations, and strategies for defeating powerful foes like Lavok.

You must recruit Valygar and have him open the door for you, otherwise you can't get inside. You'll want a +3 missile weapon: Azuredge, Tansheron's Bow or the Riftholme Axe.

Planar Sphere - Level 1

The entrance room has three doors leading from it. The one directly in front is locked and you can't pick it. The door on the right can be picked and leads to an observation room that shows the current location of the Sphere. There's also a Steam Mephit that you'll have to swat aside.

The door on the left leads to a store room guarded by a Clay Golem. Pick the locks on the chest and collect an Emerald, Arrow +2 (x40), Bolt +2 (x40), Bullet +2 (x40), scrolls of Haste, Polymorph Other, Breach, Conjure Lesser Air Elemental and Minor Spell Turning, a Planar Key, a Golem Arm and some Coal.

You can use the Planar key to open the other door in the entrance room but save your game before doing so. Interact with the door and something drastic will happen. On the plus side, you will earn 17500XP. On the minus side, there's no turning back. Go to the viewing room and you will see that you are somewhere very different.

Go through and a knight named Reyna will challenge you. You will learn that the group are Knights of Solamnia (from the Dragonlance setting, D&D nerds) and are trapped in the sphere. Ask whether there's anything that you should be wary of. They will mention cannibals the size of children to the west. Search the table in their room for a Scroll of Khelben's Warding Whip.

The room to the north is home to a Sahuagin war party. They're numerous but not very tough. Hit them with an area debuff and slaughter them. You can pick up some Bolts of Biting and a Cloak of Protection +1 from their remains.

Return to the previous room, buff up and go through the western door. You will be attacked by three cannibal Halfling Warriors (from the Dark Sun setting). These aren't very tough but don't get complacent. Have your Scout continue west. You will see a bridge guarded by four Halfling Warriors and a named individual, Togan. Using your scout as a spotter, hit Togan with Insect Plague and cast Web just behind him. Follow up with Greater Malison and then carpet bomb the area with wands while your Cleric hits the lesser warriors with Hold Person. Besides Togan, there are three other powerful individuals: Entu (another Fighter), Kayardi (Mage) and Mogadish (Cleric). They should all get hit with the same Insect Plague. Hit Kayardi with Breach and cut him down with arrows and take out anyone who makes it to your front line. When they're dead, you can loot their remains for the Ripper +2 composite longbow, a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Power and some Coal.

Continue through the Halfling Cavern where you may find a couple more of the lesser Halfling Warriors. Continue through the door to the north and kill the two Ettercaps and Sword Spiders beyond. Search the table for the Golem-Building Book, an Emerald, Dart of Wounding (x40) and some more Coal.

If you interact with the machine in the room, you will see that it is for creating the Guardian Golem mentioned in the book, but that the Golem is missing an arm and a head. You picked up the arm earlier, but the head is still missing.

Go through the door to the north to find more of the pesky Halflings: two lesser warriors and two Mages, Necre and Tallbela. Once again, use a scout to scope them out. Search their remains for the Stiletto of Demarchess +2. When they're dead, remove the trap from the floor.

There are three furnaces in the room and you need a piece of Coal to fire up each one. Fortunately, you should have acquired the three pieces that you need. Each time you light a furnace, a Fire Elemental will appear and you'll have to cut it down.

When all three furnaces are lit, remove the trap from the passage to the east. There are a group of golems in the room beyond, three small and one large. If you're here at a very high level, the large golem will be an Adamantite Golem, which is pain to deal with. Regardless, the large golem cannot follow you back into the furnace room so you have you scout trigger combat and run back to the rest of your party. Take out the Stone and Clay Golems and come back for the big one. If you have a +3 missile weapon (Azuredge or Tansheron Bow, for example), you can take out the large golem in complete safety.

When the golems have been cleared out, search the container for a Golem Head. There is also another piece of Coal if you managed to miss one earlier.

Return to the room with the golem machine and interact with it twice to create the Guardian Golem. You will earn 23500XP and the Guardian Golem will open the door to the east while it goes to deal with an intruder. Follow it at a safe distance. Go through the rune room - ignore them for the time being - and keep following the Guardian Golem east. Wait for the golem to attack the Elder Orb and then pelt it with missile fire in the hope of getting the kill yourselves.

The Elder Orb can't do much to the golem but it can cast Imprisonment on your party members so should not be underestimated. When the Elder Orb is dead, loot the dead body on the floor for gems and scrolls.

Buff up and head through the door to the navigation room. This is the lair of Valygar's ancestor, Lavok, the creator of the sphere. Lavok is an extremely dangerous Mage. Have only the character wearing the Belt of Inertial Barrier engage him in melee because if he gets off Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, party members may die. Use Breach to take down his melee defences while your other party members spread out and hit him with missile fire. He should waste time casting Power Word Stun on the party member wailing on him which is a lot better than casting Horrid Wilting on the party. When his HP falls to a certain level, he will come to his senses. You will earn 28750XP and you will learn that Lavok has been working to contain to an evil power which came to dominate him.