Glen

[Nanu]

Help please, I have been trying to get the sword in Holthgars Glen...been trying for days....Do I need the sword and if so HOW do I kill all those mages and fighters..almost mad it a couple of times..Please help.....I want to go on but am really stuck..thanks

[Kakero]

The sword is Holy Avenger sword right? well, it's only for paladin. if you don't have any paladin. skip this battle.

if you do have a paladin, then try this, before the actual battle, cast animate undead ( every one of them, no spare )to the south of the tombstone where you touch. put every weak character behind the gate ( north of the tombstone )and strong ones at the gate.

after that start the battle, let your undead concerntrate on the single mage ( who like to summon undead ) while your party concerntrate on the fighters ( one at the time )who atttack you. heal when nessasary and soon you'll win.

[Nightowl2]

Do you need the sword? No, it's not an important or critical item in the game. It's a nice weapon if you have a paladin (only that class can use it), though not as good as the one in HOF mode.

If you don't have a paladin in your party, my advice is to skip this and move on in the game.

Nightowl2

P.S. Of course, others will be by shortly with suggestions on how to take down the nasties

[Micah Foehammer]

Okay, here are some details that might help:
(my apologies in advance for the length of this)

From the diary of Arianne de Montfort, Paladin of Helm

"At last I have found the location of The Lost Followers..The Six

1. Inhein_Who was taken
2. Broken Kree
3. Kaervas Death Head
4. Atalaclys The lost
5. Jaegar Fanged Season
6. Verdian Kairne

'tis glad I am that my friends and I paid heed to the description of the medallion for the strengths and weaknesses of the six are aptly decribibed. These six are the worst foes I have faced, and the fight was not without cost as our Tika Shadowsword fell in combat" yet we have prevailed, and I have claimed Cera Sumat as my own."

Spoilers:
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The Six each have distinct vulnerabilities - the description of the medallion describes them in great detail. READ IT CAREFULLY.

Kaervas is a duergar (subject to blinding and attack penalties in sunlight) and is virtually immune to piercing / slashing damage. Attack HIM with bludgeoning/crushing weapons and target him with a SUNBURST spell to blind him.

Verdian Kairne is resistant to magic / fire / acid / lightning and cold.

Broken Khree is a monk, and is highly resiant to elemental damage and piercing weapons. Use slashing weapons or crushing/bludgeoning.

Jaeger Fanged season is an archer with an ungodly attack rate. Make sure you have protection from arrows up on as many characters as possible. He appears to the NE of the tomb stone.

Atalaclys like to summon undead in great numbers. Make sure you have a Banishment spell in your clerics spell book at the ready AND the club of disruption if you finished the battle squares. Undead ward is ALSO useful if the banishment fails. He appears to due north of the tombstone.

Inhein will appear due south of the tombstone (almost out of your field of vision) - she is probably the weakest, but has some nasty spells.

Now for some combat tips (these are based on my party - paladin, figher, ranger, cleric, wizard, rogue):

Before you initiate the combat by clicking on the proper headstone, buff your characters with as many spells as possible. Plan your spell preparations carefully by casting the long lasting spells like stoneskin, bull's strength, cat's grace, etc. first and the shorter duration spells last.

Here is what I would recommend pre-casting:

Animate Dead x 4
Stoneskin on the fighter, ranger, paladin, Iron Skin on the Cleric,
Bull's strength on the fighter, ranger, paladin and cleric
Protection from Fire on the fighter and paladin, Storm Shell on the ranger,
Divine shell on the cleric
Magic resistance on the fighter and ranger
Protection from arrows on as many party members as you can spare the spell on, but the rogue and cleric are essential
Mirror Image, Ghost armor, shield, blur on the mage
Invisibility on the Rogue
Emotion:Hope, Prayer, Bless, Recitation, Protection from Evil 10', Mass Haste on the party
Any other defensive spells that can be cast from items (such as the short sword that casts minor mirrow image) can be used to augement these spells. USE THEM!
Defensive harmony is shortlived but if you can manage to get a second one off right when the first wears off it is extremely useful. I tended to bypass this spell for some other spells.

Have Sanctuary and Heal spells memorized for your cleric.

Positioning of the undead - this depends on who you perceive as the worst threat. The archer and atalaclys were the most troublesome to me so I tended to put them the undead to the north or northeast.

Now, click on the proper tombstone and when the Cera Sumat sword appears PAUSE the game! Have your paladin equip it IMMEDIATELY! It gives a 15% MR and has some other nice abilities INCLUDING unlimited Dispel Magics! Use them on the mages to the north and south!

Now take a deep breath, unpause the game and "Cry Havoc! and let Slip the Dogs of War!" [img]smile.gif[/img]

You have two options: Gang up ALL your fighters on ONE follower at a time or Spread the wealth and take them on singly - matching weapons to weakness and targetting the archer and spellcasters with arrows and spells. I can't tell you which is best, but I used the "spread the wealth" approach and was successful - losing my rogue to a lucky hit as the last follower died.

Target the rest of the followers carefully with the appropriate weapons - its tricky and you may have to give up some Bab to get the right weapon on the right follower, but make the best of what you have.

Sneak the invisible rogue up behind the mage to the north and backstab his giblets! Rinse and Repeat!

Try not to get your cleric involved in melee - use his heal and undead turning/banishing powers to keep the followers summoned undead off your fighters. If you have Symbol of Pain or Hopelessness Cast it First. You might get lucky and stun a couple of the followers first which gives you a major tactical advantage!
Have your mage move to the west to get out of the main combat area. Do NOT move closer to the archer or your mage will be a pincushion in NO time! Target Atalaclys or Inhein with magic missiles, force missiles, acid arrows, acid storm, ANYTHING to get rid of them or at the very least disrupt their spells. Atalaclys will try to get protection from arrows and stoneskin up so target him FIRST!

Be patient, pause the game if the combat is getting difficult to follow, and unpause when you've figured out what adjustments to make.

This is one of the toughest fights in the game, but Cera Sumat is a prize worth the effort. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Good Luck!

[Magness]

Good info, Micah.

As far as battle tactics, I suggest concentrating most of a party's forepower on taking out the "top" mage. He's a really nasty "bomber" who will nuke your party, if given half a chance. The "bottom" mage is "only" a summoner who should be ignored until the "top" mage is pushing up daisies.

After taking out the top mage, send one tank to engage the archer (who's to the right of the top mage) in melee. Thes enemy archer is a serious PAIN if left alone. But one good tank will turn him into sushi quicky.

Other than this, use micah's good info and take out the bad guys.

It's a really tough battle, but it's really great fun.