| abstract | - Vongoethe was a lich from Calimshan encountered in Amkethran in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. He had come to the town in pursuit of a man called Marlowe and set up a lair in the cave used as a graveyard for the town. The player is likely to first hear about Vongoethe from Marlowe, who asks for their help and will tell that the lich was after his daughter Malla and has now stolen her soul. He can also arrange access to the cave through the magical barrier Balthazar's monks have set up around the cave to keep Vongoethe from escaping. Once encountered, however, Vongoethe—who recognizes the player character as a "godling" and a fatal threat even to a lich—is willing to talk and reveal that it is Marlowe's soul he is after. He needs a soul given willingly, and Marlowe had bargained for his earlier on in exchange for worldly wealth and good fortune, but then escaped when payment was due. The lich will also destroy the stone containing Malla's soul if directly attacked. Otherwise, he's willing to hand it over in return for Marlowe being brought to him and made to willingly relinquish his own soul. Marlowe will be willing to do so to save his daughter, but the only way to save both is to cheat on the deal and attack the lich once having gained the soul stone. If the stone is not used to restore the girl, it can be used as a powerful but evil Ioun Stone. In the fashion of many Throne of Bhaal opponents, Vongoethe is extremely powerful in combat compared to most creatures in Forgotten Realms canon. He is on level 30 and uses such spells as the 10th-level Dragon's Breath. In addition, he is defended by a host of undead including two banshees. Vongoethe's name is reminiscent of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who wrote a version of Faust, the classic story about a man selling his soul. Likewise, a Christopher Marlowe originally penned the play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.
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