A Bitter Rival

Follow this guide to navigate the Ancient Tomb, recruit a former companion, and defeat Tartuccio's mercenaries in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Includes combat tips and loot locations.

Walkthrough:

1. From Oleg’s Trading Post, follow these directions to reach the Ancient Tomb: South, Southeast, West, South, Southwest, Southwest, Southwest.
2. Once inside the Ancient Tomb, save your game and apply spell buffs like Bless or Bardsong.
3. Venture northwest to find Tartuccio berating his mercenaries.
4. You have two options:
• Leap to attack Tartuccio directly.
• Attempt a Persuasion check (DC 10) to lure one of your former companions back to your side. This is easier if you visited the Ancient Tomb before Thorn Ford. Having an extra party member will be beneficial.
5. After attempting to recruit a companion, Tartuccio will flee, taking the companion you didn't recruit with him and leaving his mercenaries to fight you.
6. The mercenaries consist of a high-Armor Class warrior to the north, and two more dangerous foes to the northwest: a spellcaster and a warrior with a Longsword +1.
7. Tactics for the fight:
• Send one character north to engage the high-Armor Class warrior.
• Focus the rest of your party on the mercenary to the west (the spellcaster's companion).
• Once the western mercenary is dealt with, focus archers on the spellcaster.
• Have your melee characters engage the warrior who accompanied the spellcaster.
• Use debilitating spells like Sleep, Color Spray, or Hideous Laughter on the warrior to neutralize him quickly.
• After the warrior is down, quickly defeat the spellcaster.
• Clean up any remaining mercenaries.
8. After the battle, loot the fallen mercenaries. Notable items include the Longsword +1 (a good replacement for Valerie’s Masterwork Bastard Sword) and a Scorched Fragment of a Necklace.
9. Loot the rest of the Ancient Tomb as desired.
10. Head to the southwestern corner of the tomb to find an area transition that leads to the next stage of the quest,