Raphael — House of Hope
Location: House of Hope foyer (accessed via Helsik’s ritual in the Devil’s Fee, Lower City). Triggered when you attempt to leave with the Orphic Hammer or free Hope.
Optional but you fight him. You need the Orphic Hammer for Orpheus.
Pre-Fight Checklist
Before stealing the Orphic Hammer or freeing Hope:
- Long rest — full everything. Once inside, you can use the Boudoir pool (acts as Long Rest, one use only).
- Loot the ENTIRE House first — Archive (Amulet of Greater Health, Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength), Vault (Staff of Spellpower, Helldusk Helmet), Boudoir (Helldusk Gloves from Haarlep). Once the fight starts, you can’t go back.
- Heroes’ Feast + Aid — HP buffs mandatory.
- Elixir of Vigilance on everyone — +5 initiative.
- Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength on Lae’zel/Karlach (STR 27).
- Stoneskin on Lae’zel (Shadowheart pre-cast).
- Hope is your healbot — she has a party-wide heal and can banish devils. She’s level 10 and very squishy. Keep her alive (there’s an achievement and Gloves of Soul Catching reward).
- Yurgir can turn — if you helped him in Act 2 (Shars Gauntlet), high Persuasion DC 30 can convince him to fight FOR you. Huge swing in your favor.
- Bring Remove Curse — Raphael’s Cambions can curse.
Boss Mechanics
| Enemy | Detail |
|---|---|
| Raphael | Pit Fiend form, ~666 HP. Multiattack, Hellfire spells, Soul Ascension at low HP. Resistant to non-magical damage. |
| Korilla | Invisible Cambion rogue (Hope’s sister). Sneak Attacks. Can be killed without breaking Hope’s assistance. |
| Yurgir (if hostile) | Orthon with bombs, invisibility, and high-damage crossbow. Same as Act 2 fight but harder. |
| 2 Cambion Sons | Flying fire-based casters. Scorching Ray, Fireball. |
| 6 Soul Pillars | Each damaged pillar charges Raphael’s Soul Ascension. Destroying all 4 large pillars (each 100 HP, vulnerable to Force/Bludgeoning/Radiant) weakens him. |
Phase 1 — Opening / Pillar Destruction
Kill Order
- Soul Pillars FIRST. Destroy the 4 large pillars. They charge Raphael’s abilities. Each pillar has 100 HP.
- Force damage (Eldritch Blast scrolls, Magic Missile) and Bludgeoning damage (thrown weapons, GWM) work best. Pillars are Vulnerable to Force.
- Throwzerker: Enraged Throw + Extra Attack on pillars from range.
- Lae’zel: GWM attacks on nearest pillar.
- Sorcs: Magic Missile or Lightning Bolt on pillars.
- Korilla — kill her early. She’s squishy but her Sneak Attacks hurt. A single Disintegrate or Slashing Flourish drops her.
- Cambion Sons — Counterspell their Fireballs. Disarming Attack removes their weapons. Hold Monster (Heightened) lands on them (~60%).
- Yurgir (if hostile) — Persuasion DC 30 to turn him to your side. If failed, Hold Monster on him. Trip → Prone → melee gang-up.
Party Assignments
| Build | Priority |
|---|---|
| Storm Sorc | Wet → Lightning Bolt the pillars. Magic Missile spam on pillars (Force vulnerability). |
| Wild Magic Sorc | Disintegrate a pillar. Fireball the Cambions. |
| Shadowheart | Sanctuary on Hope. Heal whoever gets low. Spirit Guardians to damage nearby enemies. |
| Bardadin | Slashing Flourish pillars or Korilla. Hypnotic Pattern the Cambion clump (BA via Band of Mystic Scoundrel). |
| Lae’zel | Action Surge → GWM on nearest pillar. Trip Attack on Yurgir or Cambions. |
| Astarion | Snipe pillars with Sharpshooter. Arrow of Many Targets on Cambions. |
| Karlach | Enraged Throw pillars (bludgeoning vulnerability). Auto-prone on Korilla. |
Phase 2 — Raphael Direct
Once pillars are down, focus Raphael:
| Tactic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Radiant damage | Raphael has no special resistance to Radiant. Callous Glow Ring, Blood of Lathander passive — anything Radiant is good. |
| Hold Monster | ⚠️ Does NOT work on Raphael (Fiend with magic resistance + high WIS save). Don’t waste turns. |
| Prone-lock him | Trip Attack (Lae’zel), Enraged Throw (Karlach), Command: Grovel (Bardadin) — all work. Prone Raphael can’t act. |
| Counterspell his big spells | Both sorcs have Counterspell. Designate: Storm Sorc covers Raphael, Wild Magic covers Cambions. |
| Hope’s Divine Intervention | Hope can use DI once (Opulent Revival — full party heal + Long Rest restoration). Save it for when 2+ party members are critical. |
| Burn him fast | At low HP, Raphael gains Soul Ascension (damage boost + resistances). Don’t let him reach that point. Action Surge, Twin Chain Lightning, Disintegrate — dump everything. |
Soul Ascension (sub-25% HP)
- Raphael transforms — gains massive damage boost, Legendary Actions intensify.
- If pillars remain, he drains them for even more power.
- This is why you destroy pillars first. Without them, the Ascension is manageable.
Honour Mode Specifics
- Hope MUST survive for Gloves of Soul Catching reward. Put Sanctuary on her and heal her frequently. She has ~100 HP at level 10. If she dies, the gloves are lost forever.
- Persuasion DC 30 for Yurgir is critical — it turns a 4v5 into a 5v4 (plus Yurgir is very strong). Buff with Guidance + Bardic Inspiration + Friends/Charm before the check.
- Raphael’s legendary actions in Honour Mode: Hellfire (AoE fire damage in an area), Punish Divinity (massive Radiant damage to anyone who cast a spell on their last turn). Spread out to avoid AoE overlap.
- Fight near the entrance — don’t get spread across the foyer. The central area lets you control sightlines and keeps Hope near the party.
- Helldusk Armour (from Raphael) gives fire resistance + cannot Burn — extremely useful if you fought Haarlep first and got it early, but normally you get it AFTER this fight. Alternative: Elixir of Fire Resistance.
Post-Fight
- Loot Raphael: Helldusk Armour (legendary heavy, AC 21).
- Loot the Archive/Vault if you somehow missed it before.
- Hope reward: Gloves of Soul Catching (CON +2, +1d10 Force on unarmed, heal 10 HP on unarmed hit).
- Helsik gives the Helldusk Gloves if you return and report Raphael’s death (or you already have them from Haarlep).
- The Orphic Hammer is now yours for the endgame.