The Black Pits

The Black Pits is a side adventure to Baldur's Gate, created by Beamdog and introduced with their Enhanced Edition of the base game.
It received a sequel, The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay, together with the release of the base game's sequel's Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.
==Summary==
The Black Pits is a series of sequentially more difficult arena style battles, spread across 3 tiers, 5 battles in each, for a total of 15 excluding the opening battle. Gameplay is roughly 8 hours for first-time playthrough, 2 to 3 hours if importing strong characters.
Characters may reach roughly level 10 (level 9 for high experience requirement classes and level 11 for low experience requirement classes). You may export your characters anytime then start the main games with them. They'll remain at the levels at the time of exportation, but their experience cap will be reduced to 161,000 in BG1 or 500,000 in SoD. One default playthrough of The Black Pits earns the player 1,261,175 experience and 165,464 gold combined in total.
==Setting==
==Plot==
The Black Pits start with the player's party being abducted under unclear circumstances from wherever they were, and forced to fight in the arena (actually, multiple arenas of the same complex). For each victory the player gains some money to spend on upgrading equipment and gets some advice on the upcoming battle from a geased beholder. Finally, the owner of the place runs out of things to throw at the party and has to face them himself in the pits.
Between the fights you can get some backstory and inconsequential semi-side quests of no reward aside story-satisfaction, and a Potion of Power.
==Characters==
Talk to Baeloth the Entertainer (drow) to enter the arena battle, You may pre-buff your party before each fight, you may also repeat previously completed battles which will net you additional Gold and XP. 
Ghlouralk the beholder is here to provide insights upon the upcoming battle, it'll join Baeloth in the final fight if you killed Elan Garaq but not Baeloth first. 
* Baeloth the Entertainer – Drow slaver mageIn The Black Pits Baeloth is a mage, while in the main campaign he can be recruited as a sorcerer. and master of the Black Pits
* Najim – Baeloth's personal djinn
* Elan Garaq – A rakshasa, right-hand man of Baeloth, and dealer in magical clothing
* Thardek – A duergar who not only sells "light" weapons to thieves and mages (and others), but also information to drow slavers
* Gorch – Cousin of Thardek, suspecting him of betrayal, and in the meantime forging and selling heavy armor for the Pits' gladiators
* Brendak – Duergar, poor husband – kept away from his wife by Baeloth, thief, and merchant for the matching light armor
* Magda – Duergar, poor wife – being angry on her husband because she does not know why he's not speaking with her anymore, and saleswoman for "heavy" weapons, better suited for fighters and clerics and such
* Dinguer the Mad – A further duergar who plans to use the accumulated knowledge from the scrolls he sells in his very own plot against Baeloth – he bears his name for a reason
* Bellowgulp Bluefingers – A gnome who has gained much knowledge of the myconid spore language, which he uses as a facilitator for trading with the potions made by his partner
* The Concocter – A "giant talking mushroom" who has learnt to concoct marvelous draughts, which he lets market by his fellow gnome partner due to not being able to speak Common
* Devlin Taralon – A stuttering elven archer, dealing with ranged weapons, and not willing to talk too much about his – assumingly – experiences with torture from the drow slaver who's in earshot
* Xithiss – An illithid, not very talkative and apparently unable to put thoughts into other people's brains, who has a large range of wands and other magical accessories to sell
* Ghlouralk – A beholder who was captured by Baeloth, who is holding Ghlouralk in reserve to crush any would-be champions. Ghlouralk yearns to be free and offers information to the player characters about upcoming fights so that he might have a chance to earn his freedom by killing them.
These NPCs have stores from which you can buy various weapons, armors, accessories, spells, wands and consumable items. They'll have their own perspectives in serving Baeloth and minor stories, Elan Garaq and Thardek will fight alongside Baeloth in the final battle. The combatants of 5th, 10th and 15th battle will also appear in the prison cells. 
You cannot attack any of those NPCs.
==Best Classes==
All Hit Point (HP) values shown for Constitution of 18 with maximized Hit Dice rolls.
* Because any Multi-Class with fighter can reach 500,000 XP, these are all extremely powerful. For example, this allows a Fighter 9/Thief 11 (112 HP) whilst a pure Thief may only reach level 12. Sadly, there is little need for a thief in Black Pits, but other fighter multi-classes are outstanding too.
* Similarly: Half-Elf Fighter 8/ Mage 9/ Cleric 8 (83 HP and 24 Spells); and Half-Elf Fighter 8/ Mage 9/ Thief 10 (89 HP) are both very strong since the Experience Tables cap of 161,000 total for BG:EE is exceeded for all three classes with 166,666 allowed for each.
* Blade with Defensive Spin and Ghost Armor has the best AC possible of any class allowed in black pits making it near untouchable while spell casting, using Melf's Minute Meteors, or using a sling. Offensive Spin is powerful with its instant cast and works with purchasable Edventar's Gift. 80 HP at level 10.
* Totemic Druid reaches maximum efficiency at level 10 before level 11 cap and gain level 6 cleric spells inaccessible to clerics who are limited to level 10. 94 HP at level 11.
* Avenger can cast select mage spells up to level 6 not accessible to even pure Mages. They gain all benefits of class kit by level 11 cap. Also: contains the powerful Web and Sword Spider combo; and the Fire Salamander with accessible gear can be healed when hit by fire spells. 94 HP at level 11.
* Dwarven Defender gets 147 HP (more if dwarf bonus puts constitution at 19) and Defensive Stance (which exceeds the High-Level Ability Hardiness) 3 times by level 10.
* Barbarian gets up to 147 HP and access to Barbarian Rage which is extremely powerful early game. The lack of an extra half attack at level 13 like other warriors is not a penalty since level 10 is the cap.
* Berserker (level 7 (up to 8 for Cleric)) Dual-Class with anything is strong for the huge HP boost and kit bonuses which include Enrage. As an example: Mage 10 (60 HP) but Berserker 7> Mage 9 (110 HP). This does however have a significant period where both class benefits aren't active.
==Bugs==
== See also ==
* The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay – The successor
* Walkthrough: The Black Pits – A "work-in-progress" walkthrough and until finished kept as sandbox; currently2018-08-15 only the arrival is covered, alongside some general notes
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Category:The Black Pits
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