Aliens vs Sarevok (Baldur's Gate) Boss Battle

[ArlEammon]

It's Baldur's Gate. The xenomorphs are invading. Down in the temple grounds are Sarevok's minions outside, as well as inside Bhaal's temple. Ghouls, ghasts and skeletons litter the area, as does the initial encounter with his thugs. Can Sarevok survive a small army of xenomorphs invading Bhaal's temple?

[dancrilis]

It's Baldur's Gate. The xenomorphs are invading. Down in the temple grounds are Sarevok's minions outside, as well as inside Bhaal's temple. Ghouls, ghasts and skeletons litter the area, as does the initial encounter with his thugs. Can Sarevok survive a small army of xenomorphs invading Bhaal's temple?

Yes - and easilly.

Xenomorphs are effectively unbeatable for low level characters without weapons - however Sarevok is a mid-level character with weapons, and supported by traps and magic.

One fireball and the invading army of xenomorphs will likely die like an invading army gibberlings - ignoring active magic every attack Sarevok does likely hits and kills one and he can make multiple attacks per round, they on the other hand might only be hitting on a natural 20 due to his armour class.

You can see how Xenomorphs fight low level ranged characters in Aliens - they do not have good AC (or many hitpoints).

[GloatingSwine]

Sarevok is weak to swarms of stuff, that's why everyone uses wand of summoning cheese to beat him :P

[golentan]

You can see how Xenomorphs fight low level ranged characters in Aliens - they do not have good AC (or many hitpoints).

I dunno that this part is true. The Marines have 10 mm rifles with burst fire at rates of several hundred rounds per minute if they just hold down the trigger and whose ammo is described as "Armor Piercing and Explosive Tipped." Their pistol sidearms do nothing. People with civilian weapons managed to bag... one, judging by their initial sweep of the colony. And Hicks' shotgun does kill a Xeno, but it doesn't even slow the alien down until the barrel is actually put into its mouth and the trigger pulled. Similarly, in the other (good) works of the series, most non-military grade weapons succeed in doing no more than antagonizing chestbursters.

Never having gotten far into Baldur's Gate, I can't comment on Sarevok. But Xenos are SCARY, especially in swarms.

[ArlEammon]

I dunno that this part is true. The Marines have 10 mm rifles with burst fire at rates of several hundred rounds per minute if they just hold down the trigger and whose ammo is described as "Armor Piercing and Explosive Tipped." Their pistol sidearms do nothing. People with civilian weapons managed to bag... one, judging by their initial sweep of the colony. And Hicks' shotgun does kill a Xeno, but it doesn't even slow the alien down until the barrel is actually put into its mouth and the trigger pulled. Similarly, in the other (good) works of the series, most non-military grade weapons succeed in doing no more than antagonizing chestbursters.

Never having gotten far into Baldur's Gate, I can't comment on Sarevok. But Xenos are SCARY, especially in swarms.

Sarevok can survive melee with xenomorphs because of his magical life draining sword, and with three battle horrors or more in the battle, I can see an epic fight in the Temple. Angelo has explosive arrows, Semaj is a mage and Tazok is probably the only chump in this group of enemies. There are swarms of skeletons and ghouls/ghasts in the under city. But yeah, that's right.

[Traab]

Is there anything special the aliens can capture and assimilate? Its kind of their specialty. They can take on the traits and some of the bonuses of whoever they spawn out of. Sort of a biological borg, though not as efficient. If its just standard drones, then it probably depends on how many there are, and if there is a bottle neck sarevok can keep them pinned inside. Otherwise in the end, he may get buried under sheer weight of numbers.

Other potential issues, his magical life draining sword? I hope it doesnt melt due to ludicrously high end acid capable of melting its way through multiple ship decks with a couple drops. Or that his life draining will get offset by same acid blood being splashed on him, as CQC is a terrible TERRIBLE idea against xenomorphs. Best to keep them at range as long as possible. There has to be a limit to how much healing he can do with his sword, and I think being bathed in acid will reach it.

[The Glyphstone]

What actual defensive gear does he come equipped with? The biggest weapon Xenomorphs have is, indeed, their acidic blood. if he's packing any items that give a magical resistance to Acid-typed damage, which is entirely a legitimate and not-unreasonable thing to have as a general defensive item in BG/D&D settings, that plus his armor+sword will make him almost alien-proof. Otherwise he can easily get swarmed under and eventually acid-splattered to death, with his gear melted away. But I'm not sure what Saravok's canonical defensive equipment is.

[ArlEammon]

Is there anything special the aliens can capture and assimilate? Its kind of their specialty. They can take on the traits and some of the bonuses of whoever they spawn out of. Sort of a biological borg, though not as efficient. If its just standard drones, then it probably depends on how many there are, and if there is a bottle neck sarevok can keep them pinned inside. Otherwise in the end, he may get buried under sheer weight of numbers.

Other potential issues, his magical life draining sword? I hope it doesnt melt due to ludicrously high end acid capable of melting its way through multiple ship decks with a couple drops. Or that his life draining will get offset by same acid blood being splashed on him, as CQC is a terrible TERRIBLE idea against xenomorphs. Best to keep them at range as long as possible. There has to be a limit to how much healing he can do with his sword, and I think being bathed in acid will reach it.

Well it's weakened in Baldur's Gate II and only drains a couple of hit points, but it's hinted at being far more powerful during the time he had it. Keep in minds the aliens can't assimilate zombies and skeletons though. The Temple of Bhaal is full of traps, and Semaj can cast a confusion spell if I remember right.

[golentan]

Yeah... If this guy is a Close Quarters Combatant, and doesn't have acid resist, he's way deader than disco. (DISCO NEVER DIES!)

[ArlEammon]

Yeah... If this guy is a Close Quarters Combatant, and doesn't have acid resist, he's way deader than disco. (DISCO NEVER DIES!)

I don't know. Predators seem to fight pretty well against them. He also has a team of people backing him up with undead.

[golentan]

I don't know. Predators seem to fight pretty well against them. He also has a team of people backing him up with undead.

With the aid of specially constructed equipment and a biochemistry which is shown to be basic, yes, the Predators weather it better than humans. However, killing a single xenomorph is capable of dissolving its way through 5 or 6 floors of a metallic structure without stopping, and the spray of killing a xenomorph within a few feet incapacitates humans with what appear to 3rd degree chemical burns.

[Traab]

I don't know. Predators seem to fight pretty well against them. He also has a team of people backing him up with undead.

Preds also have gear specifically designed to deal with the acid blood. And they tend to go for plasma cannons first, only closing to melee when they have to. And for the coup de grace, they generally dont fight armies of aliens, so they can stab one, drop their spear weapon as it melts, then throw a smart disc through a couple more, discard that, etc etc etc. They go into the fight with gear they consider disposable since they know its only useful for the first time its used. When faced with a swarm? Well thats why they have a nuke on their arm band.

Oh, and golen? Its polka, get it right, POLKA WILL NEVER DIE! /gets grabbed by zombies.

[golentan]

Preds also have gear specifically designed to deal with the acid blood. And they tend to go for plasma cannons first, only closing to melee when they have to. And for the coup de grace, they generally dont fight armies of aliens, so they can stab one, drop their spear weapon as it melts, then throw a smart disc through a couple more, discard that, etc etc etc. They go into the fight with gear they consider disposable since they know its only useful for the first time its used. When faced with a swarm? Well thats why they have a nuke on their arm band.

Oh, and golen? Its polka, get it right, POLKA WILL NEVER DIE! /gets grabbed by zombies.

BOTH WILL LIVE FOREVER IN MY HEART! Gets grabbed by Vampires.

[gooddragon1]

Can any of them summon incorporeal undead? Because that could be funny.


BOTH WILL LIVE FOREVER IN MY HEART! Gets grabbed by Vampires.

Rock and Roll never forgets.

Gets grabbed by Bob Seger.

[Winthur]

Of course Sarevok has already won. In order to penetrate Temple of Bhaal, the xenomorphs must have laid waste to the entire city. Sarevok's entire plan hinged on having thousands die to accelerate himself into godhood. The xenomorphs are just a good way to do so. Baldur's Gate never stood a chance. Sarevok becomes Bhaal. Once he's god, he's going to wreck them.

Otherwise, Angelo Dosan is his right hand man, and he has a ton of arrows of detonation, and as Aliens has taught us, xenomorphs aren't exactly immune to fire.

[Psyren]

Xenomorphs sort of exist in D&D (Kythons from BoVD.) I don't know Sarevok's stats offhand but I think he can handle a pack of them.

[J-H]

Magic items are pretty resistant to damage, and if Sarevok is careful with his cuts, most of the blood won't be spraying on him anyway. His sword was linked to him and partly fuelled by his Bhaal power, so it should be immune to destruction. We don't know what his armor stats were, but he's got some magic resistance which may help if you class the super-acid as "magical" vs "mundane" due to its powers.

His reduced Sword of Chaos healed 1hp/hit. The full-power one was probably around the power of Foebane +5, which casts a maximized Larloch's Minor Drain on-hit (5hp extra damage to enemy, heals wielder by +5 temp HP, stacking). He should be landing 2-3 hits per round (with Haste), so he'll be getting 10-15hp of healing/round. Bite attacks typically do d4 or d6 damage, and he's got a good AC, so I think he can tank a limited number of xenos for a long, long time.

Eventually, haste will wear off, fatigue will kick in, Semaj will run out of spell slots, etc. Go long enough and he may be the only one standing... which, well, he might not mind.

In the TOB Epilogue, Sarevok is said to have singlehandedly fought off an orc army and caused it to retreat.

[GloatingSwine]

Yeah... If this guy is a Close Quarters Combatant, and doesn't have acid resist, he's way deader than disco. (DISCO NEVER DIES!)

He has a lot of acid resist.

He resists most damage types to some degree/


Of course Sarevok has already won. In order to penetrate Temple of Bhaal, the xenomorphs must have laid waste to the entire city. Sarevok's entire plan hinged on having thousands die to accelerate himself into godhood. The xenomorphs are just a good way to do so. Baldur's Gate never stood a chance. Sarevok becomes Bhaal. Once he's god, he's going to wreck them.

Yeah, but the people in the city might not be dead yet.

[Seppl]

In the TOB Epilogue, Sarevok is said to have singlehandedly fought off an orc army and caused it to retreat.After TOB he would be level 30-ish, equipped with some of the finest items in the whole Forgotten Realms. He could probably become king of all orcs without so much as breaking a sweat :smallsmile:

Still, if BG1 Sarevok had lived in the real world, he would be the most epic person of legend ever. As a level 15 D&D-fighter with very good stats, very good equipment, and special divine boosts, he would be an unstoppable one-man-army. Just compared to the rest of the Forgotten Realms, where each village tavern is run by characters of equal feats, he is relatively small scale.

[Wardog]

How would getting splattered by xeno blood compare to being hit with Melf's Acid Arrow? Both would be pretty lethal for commoners and low-level guards or adventurers, but a high-level char with lots of hp and resists might not worry so much.


Of course Sarevok has already won. In order to penetrate Temple of Bhaal, the xenomorphs must have laid waste to the entire city. Sarevok's entire plan hinged on having thousands die to accelerate himself into godhood. The xenomorphs are just a good way to do so. Baldur's Gate never stood a chance. Sarevok becomes Bhaal. Once he's god, he's going to wreck them.

But would getting killed/eaten/impregnated by xenos count as 'murder'?

[GloatingSwine]

How would getting splattered by xeno blood compare to being hit with Melf's Acid Arrow? Both would be pretty lethal for commoners and low-level guards or adventurers, but a high-level char with lots of hp and resists might not worry so much.

One would think Hicks had at least a few levels under his belt, and it messed him up real good.

Sarevok has good acid resist, but he's going to take some damage every kill he makes, can't avoid it. And his gear is also going to start getting eroded. In fact given its effect on space future metals and armour it wouldn't be unreasonable to call for sunder checks on his gear every time he chops an alien.


But would getting killed/eaten/impregnated by xenos count as 'murder'?

Killed in war apparently counts, but maybe only because the war was engineered to produce the death.

I dunno, Cyric seemed to be in a bit of a snit about the whole affair.

[Pronounceable]

I dunno, Cyric seemed to be in a bit of a snit about the whole affair.
Cyric could only find his ass with a map on a good day. Sarevok would've been Bhaal2 only if he summoned xenos.

[The Glyphstone]

One would think Hicks had at least a few levels under his belt, and it messed him up real good.

Sarevok has good acid resist, but he's going to take some damage every kill he makes, can't avoid it. And his gear is also going to start getting eroded. In fact given its effect on space future metals and armour it wouldn't be unreasonable to call for sunder checks on his gear every time he chops an alien.



Killed in war apparently counts, but maybe only because the war was engineered to produce the death.

I dunno, Cyric seemed to be in a bit of a snit about the whole affair.

It is possible to reduce elemental damage taken to 0 and it's a per-instance reduction that also applies to your equipment. So it really depends on Sarevok's Acid Resistance versus how much damage Xenomorph blood actually does. If [Resist>Max Damage Die of blood splatter], then Sarevok is invincible. If [Resist<Max Damage Die of blood splatter], he will eventually get worn down, and his equipment will gradually lose hit points as well.

[ArlEammon]

It is possible to reduce elemental damage taken to 0 and it's a per-instance reduction that also applies to your equipment. So it really depends on Sarevok's Acid Resistance versus how much damage Xenomorph blood actually does. If [Resist>Max Damage Die of blood splatter], then Sarevok is invincible. If [Resist<Max Damage Die of blood splatter], he will eventually get worn down, and his equipment will gradually lose hit points as well.

His armor would not likely disintegrate or wear away, neither would his sword. His armor does indeed have magic resistance and possibly acid resistance in the Baldur's Gate pen and paper RPG. Or might not, the point is it's magic full plate mail.

[The Glyphstone]

His armor would not likely disintegrate or wear away, neither would his sword. His armor does indeed have magic resistance and possibly acid resistance in the Baldur's Gate pen and paper RPG. Or might not, the point is it's magic full plate mail.

Exactly, but even magical plate armor doesn't come with innate resistance. It just has a buttload of internal hit points and Hardness, but Acid damage will ignore the Hardness and go straight to HP. Thus, if the sword/armor can be damaged by splatter, its HP will be vulnerable to chip damage, and then it becomes a question of how many xenomorphs he can kill before they overwhelm him 1dx HP at a time. If it can't because his Resist is too high, see above.

[ArlEammon]

Exactly, but even magical plate armor doesn't come with innate resistance. It just has a buttload of internal hit points and Hardness, but Acid damage will ignore the Hardness and go straight to HP. Thus, if the sword/armor can be damaged by splatter, its HP will be vulnerable to chip damage, and then it becomes a question of how many xenomorphs he can kill before they overwhelm him 1dx HP at a time. If it can't because his Resist is too high, see above.

Well then what happens when his sword is absorbing their hit points?

[The Glyphstone]

Well then what happens when his sword is absorbing their hit points?

If it's a life-drain spell, those sorts of magical effects generally go towards the wielder, not the equipment. So the sword will keep Sarevok himself topped off for as long as the sword stays intact, then he'll be resorting to armored fisticuffs, then I suppose bare-handed melee (which for a fighter of his level is still fairly effective) once his gauntlets go the same way as his sword.

[ArlEammon]

If it's a life-drain spell, those sorts of magical effects generally go towards the wielder, not the equipment. So the sword will keep Sarevok himself topped off for as long as the sword stays intact, then he'll be resorting to armored fisticuffs, then I suppose bare-handed melee (which for a fighter of his level is still fairly effective) once his gauntlets go the same way as his sword.

Still, I see Sarevok being as good as at least a few Predator hunters. If memory serves, Angelo possesses explosive arrows, if not Sarevok's men outside the Temple. Sarevok isn't the only concern, there's also ghasts, skeletons, zombies and a handful of thugs outside the Temple.

[The Glyphstone]

Still, I see Sarevok being as good as at least a few Predator hunters. If memory serves, Angelo possesses explosive arrows, if not Sarevok's men outside the Temple. Sarevok isn't the only concern, there's also ghasts, skeletons, zombies and a handful of thugs outside the Temple.

Well yeah, I'm not arguing that Sarevok won't go through the Xenomorphs like a hot knife through butter. I'm just saying that if he doesn't have functional immunity to their acid blood, and if the xenomorphs have enough numbers, they will eventually win via attrition alone. It depends on how big a 'small army' actually is. Whereas if his resistance exceeds their ability to damage him, he can fight xenomorphs literally until the end of time with his life-drain sword constantly restoring his HP.