The Pit: 1st Furnace: Encounter 3

Once you reach the catwalk, you will immediately reach a ladder. Stop Do not climb it.

Look ahead and upward. Either across a break in the catwalk far ahead of you, or on a catwalk stretching to the right from there out to the central columns, you will see an another powerful Juibless Warlock. You may also see a less powerful but still formidable Juibless Apprentice, if you have not previously taken him out.


 * ''Tip: Like all the creatures you’ll encounter in this maze of pipes, these casters can be safely and easily destroyed using ranged attacks. If you stop at the bottom of the ladder here, you should be within your own range but barely outside the range of the troglodytes' casting abilities. Kill any you can see from the bottom of the ladder, then climb it, stop, and look around again in case a troglodyte was obstructed from view at the bottom.

If you choose to close with these arcane casters, they may hit you with Melf's Acid Arrow, Lightning Bolt, or Scorching Ray, so Acid, Electricity, and Fire resists will improve survivability. In addition, they may cast a Ray of Enfeeblement, reducing your strength, which will slow you, decrease your attack and damage, and reduce your jumping capability.


 * Tip: These two troglodytes frequently don't hide, so you may be able to eliminate them using ranged attacks from the floor of the furnace room. Since they don't respawn, if the party used ranged weapons to take any of them out upon first entering the room, or if they were eliminated in the previous encounter, they will not be encountered now.