Zhalk

Commander Zhalk is a cambion in the service of Zariel. He is an optional boss during the Prologue.

“

Take this ship or Zariel will have your head!

„

— Commander Zhalk

Involvement

Prologue

Zhalk is encountered at the helm of the Nautiloid, where he and his minions are fighting a  Mind Flayer. When at least one party member enters the helm, combat immediately begins. Although it is not required to kill Zhalk to end the fight, he can be killed for his  Everburn Blade and extra experience. His weapon can also be taken after he is disarmed, see Tactics.

Combat

Attacks and actions

 Fly ()

Fly to a target position

 Range: 18 m (60 ft)

 Main Hand Attack ()   –  Everburn Blade

Damage: 8~21

2d6 + 5⁠Slashing

+ 1d4⁠Fire

Make a melee attack with your equipped weapon.

 Melee: 1.5 m (5 ft)

Loot

• Everburn Blade

Allies

Wave 1

•  Lesser Hellsboar
•  Lesser Imp – 2x

Wave 2

•  Lesser Hellsboar
•  Lesser Imp – 2x

Wave 3

•  Cambion – 2x

Encounter Details

Zhalk is encountered at the helm of the Nautiloid, bellowing orders and threats in equal measure at his minions whilst they engage a mind flayer and the party. Despite his impressive stats and powerful weapon, he is not aggressive to the party so long as the mind flayer he is fighting is alive. However, considering the 15-turn time limit, along with the fact that Cambion reinforcements eventually arrive, he must either be bypassed hastily or defeated in combat.

Tactics

It is possible to obtain Zhalk's  Everburn Blade without killing him. Before starting the fight, have  Shadowheart – or a cleric or Fiend Warlock player character – use  Command: Drop to disarm the cambion. Zhalk does not pick up his sword, giving the party plenty of time to do so. If possible, Command should be used on the first turn to significantly decrease the speed at which Zhalk damages the mind flayer.

Killing Zhalk is far more challenging, considering his large amount of Hit Points, high AC, and resistances to many damage types. Nevertheless, there are several tactics which can be used to tilt the odds in the party's favour:

• Prior to the fight, Shadowheart can prepare  Bless, cast it on three party members, then refresh her spell slots before entering the fight. Having  Lae'zel equip the Everburn Blade helps, as its magical Slashing damage bypasses his Slashing resistance. Lae'zel's  Great Weapon Fighting passive also applies, boosting its average damage.
• Bards, druids, Light Domain Clerics, and Archfey Warlocks can cast  Faerie Fire on Zhalk for  Advantage on attacks against him, significantly hastening his demise.
• If the party is fortunate enough to have a  Candle spawn as random loot before the battle, weapons can be continually  Dipped into it for a flame coating, which grants an additional 1d4⁠⁠Fire damage on each hit (halved due to resistance).
• There are three (or four if one was picked up by the party in the last room)  Nautiloid Tanks, which are powerful explosives. While Zhalk is resistant to Fire damage, use of all the tanks can remove a significant amount of his health, especially if the damage rolls are high and Zhalk fails his saving throws.
• If Zhalk survives the tanks' explosions,  Caustic Bulbs,  Spiked Bulbs,  Magic Missiles, and normal attacks can help finish him off. If the  Caustic Brine left behind from a Caustic Bulb is hit with fire, it creates a  Fire surface which can be used to Dip weapons for a little extra damage.
• As long as it lives, Zhalk only targets the mind flayer, so party members between the mind flayer and Zhalk in the initiative order can  Shove the mind flayer out of Zhalk's melee range, forcing him to take  Opportunity Attacks as he re-engages the mind flayer. So long as the mind flayer is friendly to the party, it can be shoved without a skill check. If the mind flayer dies, Zhalk proceeds to target the party. Conversely, if Zhalk dies, the mind flayer proceeds to target the party, unless at least one of Zhalk's infernal minions remains active in combat (excluding his two cambion lieutenants, who appear later).
• Lae'zel or a high-Strength player character can work to position themselves for the opportunity to Shove him or his lieutenants to their deaths down one of the several openings present.
• On Explorer and Balanced difficulty levels, Zhalk cannot make Opportunity Attacks. As such, party members can run in, attack him, and run back out of his reach safely.

Related quests

• ⁠Escape the Nautiloid

Achievements

Devil's in the Details

Defeat Commander Zhalk on the nautiloid.

External links

• ⁠Zhalk on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Interactive map location on mapgenie.io