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Hello, Gamers!
Within the Blighted Village are two smaller dungeons, the Whispering Depths and Ilyn Toth’s Lair. You must complete both dungeons to gain theNecromancy of Thay, a powerful book that, when read, will give you a permanent feat to a character of your choosing. This guide will walk you through the Whispering Depths' encounters.
The Whispering Depths can be accessed in two ways - by the Well in the middle of the Blighted Village square, or by going into a locked basement and destroying a cracked wall. The easiest method to get down there is through the Well.
Before you choose to head inside, I recommend coming here with a level 3 partyat least. The final fight of this small dungeon can be extremely dangerous, so make sure you have a few levels under your belt. You’re also going to want to make sure you have a character that can dealFiredamage, as well as a couple of characters that can do area of effect damage. If you have special Arrows, they are nice to have in this dungeon.
Once you have everything prepared, head on down the Well.
You’ll see immediately that there’s spider webs on the ground, as well as lootable objects. When you touch them, a red pulsing effect will shoot across the ground - indicative of the vibrations you’re making while touching those webs. The more you fool around with these webs, the more likely you are to be found by theEttercaps and Spiderssurrounding this entrance. There’s four monsters to be wary of in total, two of each.
Position your party accordingly activate the encounter when you’re ready. Ideally, you should open with a Sneak Attack, so you kill at least one enemy right away.
Encounter 1: Ettercaps and Spiders
A couple of things to keep in mind for this fight - the Spiders can teleport anywhere they can see, and the Ettercaps have a status effect called Infested. Don’t allow the Ettercaps to get too close to you, and ensure you useFireto attack them in the case that theydomanage to get close to you. If they hit you with a melee attack, you have a chance of becoming Infested as well - this will do damage to you every turn.
These monsters are not that tough, but the Spiders will serve to prepare you for what’s to come in the next encounter. Try not to use too many spell slots on this encounter. If you do, it may be wise toLong Restbefore you proceed to the next encounter.
Encounter 2: The Phase Spider Matriarch (and her babies)
The Phase Spider Matriarch was once a Lolth faithful, who did some magic ritual in this place to turn themselves into the boss of this cave. She’s a tough monster herself with plenty of health, but the real danger from this fight comes from her babies, and the 3 smaller adult spiders that join the fight to protect her.
The Phase Spider Matriarch has lain 3 clutches of eggs in this room. When she teleports to them, they hatch and spawn baby spiders that will teleport to the nearest party member and be an absolute nightmare. At level 3, I’ve seen them knock out a party member in one turn. Be very careful of them and try to eliminate the egg clutches with any area of effect arrows you have on you.
The Phase Spider Matriarch herself may stand on one of the web bridges she’s constructed throughout the map. For easy damage, you can bait her onto these bridges and then destroy them in a single turn, causing her to fall to the rocky ground below.
If you have Shadowheart or a cleric, usingSpirit Guardianswith either type of damage will kill the baby spiders. Eliminating this threat quickly is highly desirable.
