Fresh update time - I played TotL from the start through the Watchknight Crypts today.
Courtyard - have protective spells active before accompanying Hobart, and make sure you have at least one or two Exaltions memorized with every character that can cast it. Use Song of Kaudies if you have a bard. Otherwise, you know the drill. Summons take most of the pain while you focus fire. Use Call Lightning, as this is one of the only areas in the game where you can.
Static Charge is good too, and Chaos can help you out. Because the opening sequence puts your characters in a ring formation, begin by putting your best-AC tank out front a bit, to take as much of the attention as it can. As your tank should have adequate AC and saves to survive for a while with the aid of meatshields, focus the rest of your characters against the harpies harassing them, then engage in some constructive spellcasting. If you've used Call Lightning, don't wander around. Use a tank to draw the attention of more courtyard denizens then walk back to your party. That way, your Call Lightning is still active - it can kill maybe 1/3 of the harpies if you've used multiple castings, so it's well worth keeping active.
My paladin maxed out in the courtyard.
A -20 AC or so is quite effective even on HoF; most of the minor monsters (harpies, revenants) you encounter early in TotL can't hit very often.
Tower, Criek of Bane and cronies - Spike Growth and Melf's Acid Arrow to disrupt Criek and the mage makes your life easier. The nasties in this fight are the warrior (stunning battle axe) and the djinni. Get some summons to engage the warrior ASAP, and focus on the djinni. You can't do much against the whirlwind, so just hope and try to get rid of the djinni quick. This is a tough HoF fight because of the hard-hitting djinni and warrior, so break out your best summons. I had to Heal my F/D twice in this fight, despite using Creeping Doom and getting lucky with a Chromatic Orb stun of the djinni.
Tower, Harpy Queen - standard harpy drill of saves-enhancers, Kaudies, and Exaltion. As before, get the tank out front quick and give it some good summons support. It doesn't matter if the summons get panicked. A long-lasting AoE or six edging up against the harpies fighting your tank is a Good Thing; attrition + spell disruption never hurts. The major spells for me here were Stalker, Shades, Death Fog, Spike Stones, Chaos, Acid Arrow (on Mab), and protective spells. Make sure you don't cast all your protective spells before the battle: Mab casts a pretty mean Dispel.
Watchknights Crypt - If you've been using a paladin, the good news is that you can Turn/destroy about 60% of the undead you meet. I didn't really bother using summons at all here, only in emergencies when my paladin got teleported away. Nothing like blasting away Ghosts at 30 k per.
The bad news is that among the 40% you can't destroy via Turning are some of the most annoying; Crypt Things. The last thing you want is a weak character teleported across the map, so I recommend always leading with the paladin, keeping the rest of the party out of sight if possible. It has the best saves and has the best chance of getting back to the party because its Turn Undead skill makes it more than a match for normal undead. I recommend removing your ring of free action (you are wearing one, right?) and putting on the speed boots to help your tank get back quickly if teleported. Once a CT has tried to teleport you and failed, don't remove yourself from its sight - they only try once each per encounter but the encounter ends and a new one begins if you go away and come back. They are toast in melee against any multiclass warrior even on HoF, so don't be shy about taking on several at once if you have to, while bringing up the rest of the party.
Mummies, ghosts, boneguard skeletons, and skeleton warriors can all be turned, so if you get a mixed group of these undead with Crypt Things, destroy them with a Turn even if you have to take a few hits from the CTs. Keep turning even if these undead are just turned but not destroyed. They'll go sooner or later. A paladin with fire protection and the Wailing of Virgins (immune to Fear and Hopelessness) is ideal to take on the Greater Mummy all by its lonesome - just Turn for a couple of rounds first to get rid of the lesser mummies. Against Revenants (which don't seem to be undead - they are unturnable and don't take extra damage from anti-undead weapons), use high HP, high saves, high AC tanks. Revenants aren't too bad as long as you don't get paralyzed, but if you do it wears off fairly soon. Finish them with fire, just like trolls. Make sure you press Alt every so often, as there are plenty of goodies along the walls, including the Bastard Sword: Incinerator - which is ideal against Revenants.
[ 03-13-2006, 03:45 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]