The Pocket Plane

Navigate the Pocket Plane in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. Encounter Ellesime, Illasera, the Forest Spirit, and Sarevok, and learn about forging powerful items with Cespenar.

You will find yourself in a previously unexplored section of the Forest of Tethir. Certain items, such as the Light Gem, are no longer useful and may be dumped. There are various stone heads on the ground. Save your game and interact with one to hear the words of the Forest Spirit. If you pay attention, the Forest Spirit will give you the basic plot of the expansion, although you may only figure that out if you've played the game before.

After they're done speaking, you will find yourself in the Obelisk Circle in the northwest. Buff up mildly and you will be warned that a foe approaches. If you have a romance active, you may see a romance dialog at this point. Note that if you romanced Viconia in the base game, it is possible at this point for her to leave the party, taking any stuff that she may be carrying. This is one way to get rid of her if you want to do that but you may want to load the save you just made and transfer anything that you want to keep to another party member first.

After a while, you will be confronted by Illasera the Quick and four Black Reavers. Illasera is a fellow Bhaalspawn. She is also a tutorial enemy in case the expansion is someone's first taste of Baldur's Gate and she isn't very difficult. When you kill Illasera, her allies will leave. Search Illasera's remains for a suit of Sylvan Chain +2, a pair of Boots of Speed and a Ring of Protection +1 which you probably grew out of some time ago. The Black Reavers drop +1 weapons which you may well decide to leave where they fell. A moment or two after killing Illasera, you and your party will be dragged back to Hell.

You will meet the Solar for the first time. The Solar is a representative of the divine powers and is here to prepare you for the fulfilment of Alaundo's prophecy. When she leaves you will unlock the Hell's Pocket trophy. Immediately afterwards, you will also meet Sarevok again.

Sarevok is literally a shadow of his former self and he longer has any of the divine power of your shared heritage or much in the way of ambition. He will tell you that you are in Bhaal's abyssal plane which will be controlled and shaped by you. He will want to make a deal with you: a small part of your essence will return him to life and he will give you the benefit of his knowledge in exchange.

Follow the "Is there no other way..." line of questioning to learn that Imoen can also restore him. Have her do so to unlock the Sister's Sacrifice trophy. Sarevok will tell you how to leave the Pocket Plane but will point out that you will go where you need to go rather than where you wish to go. He will also open the way to the first challenge.

Furthermore, he will offer to join your party, which is a surprise. Suggest that you don't trust him and he will offer to take an oath. If you want to "redeem" Sarevok, do not make him swear an oath. Regardless of your answer, accept him into your party (at least temporarily) to unlock the Welcome, Brother trophy.

New Companion: Sarevok

Sarevok is a near-perfect Fighter with Grand Mastery in two-handed swords and two points in two-handed weapons. Despite what will probably be a 1 million XP deficit or more, he is better in the front-line fighter role than either of his direct competitors, Minsc and Dorn. However, he lacks the utility of Keldorn and, as a two-handed weapon user, is less flexible than Mazzy or Korgan. Not shown in his character sheet, but hinted at in his biography, are his two special abilities. His normal attacks have a 10% chance of stunning the target if they fail a save vs. Spell at -4. Furthermore, he has a 3% chance of triggering Deathbringer Assault which is instakill against most enemies.

If you decide to use him, give him points in Halberds. Unless you have a PC with points in the proficiency, he is likely to be the party member best suited to wield the Ravager, a late game weapon which is arguably the most powerful weapon in the game. Until then, give him the Silver Sword or the Soul Reaver and he will lay waste to enemies very effectively.

If you look at his attributes, you'll see that you can dual-class him to Thief or Mage. The Thief option is a possibility if you don't want to use Imoen or Jan. He'll need around 1.5 million XP to regain his fighter abilities which won't actually take that long. The Mage path will take 2.8 million XP for him to recover his abilities and this will take the greater part of the expansion. He also won't acquire any high-level abilities until very late in the game if you dual-class him so either option is probably not worth while.

It is possible to "redeem" Sarevok by having critical conversations with him at various points. See this article for more details:

Make yourself known to the little imp flying around to meet your butler, Cespenar. Besides being cute and funny, Cespenar is able to forge powerful items for you. Assuming you brought the suggested scrolls over from the base game, you should be able to forge a couple of items right now:

• Bladesinger Chain Mail, Scroll of Protection From Normal Weapons + 40000G -> Asylferund Elven Chain +5
• Cloak of Protection +2, scrolls of Invisibility and Improved Haste + 20000G -> Improved Cloak of Protection

Interact with the wall to the side of the front door and you will invoke the Fate Spirit. She will allow you to summon companions who are not currently members of your party. Note that although Yoshimo is shown as an option, it is not possible to bring him here.