[HoTU] Mestophales...spoilers...

[Tancred]

Okay. usually I command Meph to return to Cania with his True Name(tm), but after seeing this thread, Alec Stann the Invoker returned to fight him once more - and this time, kicked his ass. Here's how.

Alec was farily well kitted out. Wearing Isaac's Robes, a Ring of Power, his golem control amulet, Gargoyle Boots and wielding a Staff of Power... although none of this equipment really mattered, in the end, except for the robes maybe.

What really mattered were my two henchmen; Valen and Aribeth. This pair are lethal when kitted out to the max. Valen had an awesome 31 strength from a variety of items I gave him. Aribeth, with over 500 HP, has almost indestructible. As a final touch, both of them packed 5 Heal potions (natch)

This was important, as I needed them to fight Meph and not die. I managed to convince both of them to stay with me and fight without needing a True Name. Go me.

Spells that I found worked:

1) Mordenkainen's Disjunction. Vital for lowering Meph's goddamn spell resistance. I had two stored in my brain, plus three scrolls I'd picked up from various places. Never sell your scrolls ever. Collect them in a box or something.

I already had several feats allowing me bonuses against magic resistance - +8, or something, something epic - and even after two Disjunctions he resisted every spell in four. Hey ho - roll with it.

2) Time Stop. V. handy for getting those Disjunctions in early.

3) Horrid Wilting, Chain Lightning, Lightning, Greater Ruin, Prismatic Spray, Cone of Cold - the key here is DAMAGE. My usual anti-boss spell is the wonderful Isaac's Missile Storm - the Valsharess didn't last two of those in the face -but as that spell is several little missiles and not one big one, Meph's damage resistance just soaks it up. Spells like Firebrand, Delayed Fireball and others that are normally staples of my arsenal are also useless, because he's a Duke of Hell and they're fire spells.

Again, I had several scrolls of these stored away.

4) Mass Haste. Good for getting Valen and Aribeth into superchoppy mode.

5) Mordenkainen's Sword. Good for distracting the big scumbag - and, as an Invoker, this is one of the few create-an-ally spells I have.

Each time he left the ground and soared away, I used the Demon Grappling Hand to zoom up to the vantage point, and my allies followed me. This way all the little nasties (ice demons, elementals) have to deal with us in a big knot, and get smashed. I have Greater Spell Mantle, Elemental Shield and Premonition stored in my Sequencer Robe, and a few more of these in my brain, in case the baddies get close.

Each time he came back down, I found myself having to re-use Mordenkainen's Disjunction. *sigh*

Whenever he brought me closer to him, I walked away. Easy. If you stay a bit close to him but not very, he never tries to bring you closer.

In the end, though, the battle was definitely won by the Hanchmen. My spells couldn't have done more than 300-400 damage all told, and the two fighters accounted for the rest. Despite Valen and Aribeth resembling walking lasagne, I didn't take a scratch. Victory is mine sayeth the Wizard!