[Scronan]

Hi Vaprakgruumsh (that's a cool nick btw, what does it stand for?),

SPOILER SPACE
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Level 13 is a little too greenhorn to take on the Queen and her minions. I originally tried at that level and I got killed many times and finally gave up to try later. I'd say level up to at least level 15 before taking them on. I waited until my party was level 16-17 and then went in there and cleaned house without any trouble.

There are many ways to do this battle, but here is some of what worked for me and my recommendations:

Cast every @##$! enchantment you can get, most specifically Magic Screen, Haste and Enchanted Blade. Also, Chameleon if you have it since you need the element of surprise.

The main problem with this battle is distance. You enter a castle where as soon as you walk in, you face a horde of formidable foes already in a good battle formation. Plan yours accordingly, since your first order of business will be to take out the 6 Cultists. You've probably seen how they will just call out a ton of Elementals, which will make an already tough battle even more difficult.

So, using Chameleon if you can, try your best to RUSH the damn place and get as close to the enemeies as you can. Before the Cultists cast any magical enchantments, you can use some spells. Whipping Rocks or an Earth realm spell work good, since they only have about 60-80 HP each and not a lot of resistance to Earth as I recall. Muting them will work, but its not very reliable most of time.

Another reason to wait until Level 15, it will enable your Priest to cast Resurrect, and you will need this as well as having some Resurrection Powder for the Death Wish spell.

Unfortunately, the Death Lords will kill some of your party with their spells, there's not a lot ways to prevent it. I've tried to mute them with no avail. Although they took out of one my characters with that damn Death Wish spell in the battle, he was resurrected and back in the fray before the Queen knew what happened.

Death Lords are really not that tough alone, but they are tough with other enemies around. You want to get within melee range ASAP and just hack away at them with your Fighters and other warriors. Their one weakness (besides Dispell Undead or Banish) is Blindess. If you have a higher level Gagdeteer, having him use his Omnigun to blind them, or try Blinding Flash (the Omnigun seems to work better). Once blinded, they can't cast spells or fight effectively, and will take double damage from your attacks.

Once the 6 Cultists are dead, work on the Death Lords and the Queen. She only has about 300 HP and will fall pretty fast if you have some high level warriors gang up on her. If you have a Ranger, give them your best arrows (Mystic Arrows work great here) and have them target the Queen and pick away as you fight the other foes.

Once the Queen or the Death Lords are alone, rush them and just keep attacking them until they are dead.

Converesely, having a Bard helps, and if you have some higher level instruments like the Dulcimer of Mending (Heal All), Arresting Aria (Freeze All), Cornu of Demonspawn (Banish), Silent Lyre (Silence), these will really help out, espeically in conjunction with a high level Priest.

If you need any more tips, let me know your party's classes and I could offer some other ideas.

Its a tough battle, but you will get some *NICE* rewards, which make it well worth all the trouble and then some. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Good luck!

Best

Scronan