THE ELEMENTAL FACTION QUESTS
As previously mentioned, each of the four Temples is competing to become supreme over the others. There is literally nothing they'll stop at to gain the edge. This is where your party may come in. Each of the four High Clerics has 3 tasks to assign to the party in order to undermine his rivals. To a limited degree, you can do quests for each Temple. However, as will be seen, some quests are in direct conflict with each other. Furthermore, in the end, the party can only do all 3 tasks for one of the High Clerics. Once you've completed all 3 tasks for one of the High Clerics, you'll be taken (or shown the way) into the presence of the High Priest of the Greater Temple, Hedrack. This leads to Hedrack's Quest, with the possibility of ending the game by joining the Temple of Elemental Evil as initiates. However, I didn't take it this far for a reasonÂ…
Please note that completing any of the 3 tasks for any of the High Clerics leads to a Paladin becoming 'Fallen'. It does not matter how innocuous the task may seem. Apparently the Paladin's path to defeating the Temple does not contemplate subterfuge. Oh well. As such, I simply ended up slaughtering anything and everything that stood in my way. Nonetheless, solutions for all of the quests are provided below.
[PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PARAGRAPH NUMBERS ON THIS PAGE DO NOT REFER TO THE NUMBERS ON THE MAPS!]
1. Kelno can be found at #11 of Level 2. He is clearly in the most precarious and desperate position of the High Clerics. This reflects in the first task he has for the party. He wants you to convince Bugbears in the employ of the Water Temple to defect to the Air Temple. The Bugbears can be found at #28 of Level 2.
You'll need to find their chieftain and talk to him. There's a number of ways to go about this. One is to pay him 500gp to defect. Another is to display your Air Robes to the chieftain. A sufficient Diplomacy or Intimidate skill can then convince him to defect. The easiest way is simply to select the dialogue option that involves him seeing a 'sign'. He then convinces himself to jump ship to the Air Temple.
2. Once the party returns with the good news, he then hands you a vial of Unholy Water. He wants you to use it to desecrate the shrine of the Earth Temple, at #22 of Level 1. The Earth Shrine is a pyramid which is itself a container like a chest or a barrel. Have a character with the Unholy Water click on the pyramid, then move the Unholy Water from the character's inventory to one of the Pyramid's slots. Be wary, this may provoke the Earth Elementals nearby to attack the party.
3. Kelno's third task will now be to assassinate either the High Cleric of the Fire Temple, Alremm, or the High Cleric of the Water Temple, Belsornig. He can't make up his mind which he hates more, so he leaves the choice to you. He'll poison the other. Alremm is the easier target and can be found at #19 of Level 2.
Belsornig represents the more intense conflict, and will be found at #25 of Level 2. For advice on defeating Belsornig, refer to the Earth Temple Quests below. Incidentally, once you've accepted Kelno's final task, Belsornig will know of it beforehand and will respond accordingly.
1. Romag is rather smug in the superior position of his Earth Temple, and can be found at #23 of Level 1. However, he's smart enough not to take that for granted. A Giant Viper has taken over his kitchen, killing his best Ogre Chef in the process. He'd like you to kill it for him. The Giant Viper can be found at #14 of Level 1. Having few hit points, and its poison easily taken care of by the right priestly spell, this battle shouldn't present any problems.
2. Upon bringing the good news to Romag, he then hands you a Sealed Note. He'd like you to deliver it to Rentsch in the Waterside Hostel, in #10 in Nulb.
However, if you've completed the Triple Cross quest, chances are Wat will have already had Rentsch assassinated. Upon giving the bad news to Romag, he has an alternative quest for you. Arrange the deaths of the underling priests of the Fire Temple, Tubal and Antonio. They can be found at #17 of Level 2. Whether you pull this off by straight out killing them, or by way of exploiting the Rivalry in the Fire Temple doesn't particularly matter to Romag.
3. Romag's final task for you is to kill his closest Rival, Belsornig of the Water Temple. Belsornig can be found at #25 of Level 2. Incidentally, once you've accepted Kelno's final task, Belsornig will know of it beforehand and will respond accordingly. Once combat begins, Belsornig will be assisted by a Juggernaut, two Gargoyles, two Priests, and some Bugbear warriors. The Juggernaut is a huge golem-like construct resembling a lobster, has Spell Resistance of 18, has a lot of hit points, and can deal out devastating damage with its three attacks per round. A casting of the Haste spell is earnestly recommended. Use any spells that you can to bolster your physical defences; Mirror Image, Protection from Evil, Stoneskin, etc. The ideal strategy here is to use spells like Fireball, Flamestrike, and such, to thin out the less powerful monsters as quickly as possible. Have your hasted fighters train their guns on the Juggernaut to take it down as quickly as possible. Once the supporting cast is gone (Belsornig included, by the way), Lanatir can pump the Juggernaut with Magic Missiles, notwithstanding the Spell Resistance.
1. You'll find Alremm at #19 of Level 2. He's all but slavering at the mouth with hatred for his rivals. His first task for you is to convince the troll chief, Oohlgrist, to join the Fire Temple. He'll throw in a Ring of Lesser Fire Resistance as a bargaining chip. Sounds great for a troll chief, doesn't it? Problem is, Oohlghrist already has such a ring and doesn't particularly feel in need of another one. Nonetheless, a bribe of 1000gp, or sufficient skill in Intimidation, will convince Oohlgrist to join the Fire Temple.
On the other hand, if you already recruited Oohlgrist for the Water Temple, Alremm will simply skip to the next quest.
2. When you come back with the good news, Alremm explains that some Ogre raiders have been sighted at a nearby cave. He wants you to recruit them to his faction. The cave will be marked on your world map, although I earnestly recommend selecting the dialogue option that takes you there immediately. The Ogre Chief will be at the west end of the cave. Sufficient skill in Diplomacy, or pummeling him with non-lethal damage, will convince him to pack up and leave for the Fire Temple.
3. Your final task will be to retrieve the Orb of Golden Death from a Wizard named Falrinth. Falrinth can be found at #22 in the Temple of Elemental Evil, level 3. You can Intimidate Falrinth into giving up the Orb. For killing Falrinth and then finding the Orb, refer to notes in #22 in the Temple of Elemental Evil, level 3.
1. Belsornig can be found at #25 of Level 2. He exudes supreme confidence in himself. Nonetheless, his first task for you is to convince the troll chief, Oohlgrist, to ally himself with the Water Temple. Oohlgrist can be found at #22 of Level 2. A bribe of 1000gp, or sufficient skill in either Diplomacy or Intimidation, will convince the troll chief to join Belsornig.
On the other hand, if you had already convinced Oohlgrist to join Alremm as part of the Fire Temple Quests, Belsornig will simply skip to task #2.
2. His next task for you is to kill the High Cleric of the Fire Temple, Alremm. Alremm can be found at #18 of Level 2. However, Belsornig is not just content with simple murder. He gives you a vial of poison. He'd like you to plant the poison on the body so as to implicate Kelno, the High Cleric of the Air Temple. Once Alremm is dead, simply click on his body, and move the poison from your inventory to one of his slots.
3. His final task is for you to kill jailor guards in such a way as to implicate Romag, the High Cleric of the Earth Temple. He gives you a robe of the Earth Temple for the task. The guards can be found at #6 of Level 2. Once you've killed the guards, plant the robe on one of their bodies.