So, I did a speedrun using the basic rules and clocked in a 2:52 and a few seconds. This time I substantially modified my approach. I ended with (probably after some Vampire Lord level drains):
- Level 30 Elf Paladin – no luckshield
- Level 21/24 Half-Orc Hunters – no luckshields
- Level 11 Elf Wizard (Conj. 13 / Magi. 13 / Sorc 13) – with a luckshield and Spectre Snare
The major change was that I completely gave up on using 6 heroes, and focused instead of creating a frontline with a BT1 Archmage.
The item drops were poor. Both Hunters finished the game with Tower Shields. Overall, there remains a substantial amount of room for efficiency improvements. After learning a lot this run, I think a sub 2:30 speedrun is a reasonable expectation with average RNG.
The run started by solo leveling the Paladin to lvl 11 on Ogre Lords, and the Hunters by solo leveling them on Samurai and Ogre Lords to lvl 7/8. Then the Conjurer was solo leveled up to 7 (for FLRE) on Samurai.
The gold for the spell advancement (as opposed to the XP) is the biggest bottleneck to obtaining SHSP, so the party then went as 4 to farm Catacombs until the Conjurer was level 10/11ish. Once the frontline had enough hp to survive the Grey Dragon breath, and enough gold to heal the team and resurrect the Conjurer, then Harkyn was attempted.
We farmed Harkyn 1 until APAR, then leveled a bit with the Spectre. The Conjurer was bumped to a Magician, and leveled on Harkyn 2. Then bumped to a Sorcerer with continued leveling on Harkyn 2. Then some more time was spent leveling with the Spectre and wraiths. This stage was rather inefficient and the item drops were very poor.
If I recall, the party finished Kylearan’s tower when around the time the Magician was lvl 13, long in advance of being ready for Mangar. The last 45 minutes or so involved leveling in the Catacombs the Sorcerer to 13, bumping him to a Wizard, and continuing the leveling process to Wiz lvl 11. In an awkward moment, the Sorcerer obtained level 13, but spell levels 6 and 7 were not paid for before advancing to Wizard. But this ultimately turned out just fine, and presented an interesting learning opportunity.
At 2:43 or so, the party left Catacombs and ran for Mangar, which took just a few minutes to complete. Gratefully, the red dragons were a quick fight and did not use their breath attacks.
The final battle was a blur and went rather badly from the start due to multiple Demon Lord breath attacks. But the party got a one or two breaks until it finally came down to a Demon Lord vs. Paladin battle. The Demon Lord kept summoning one additional Demon Lord and then dying to the Paladin. This went on until a Greater Demon was summoned, which, if I recall, missed a physical attack and died. The team was well prepared, but I had figured it was over after the bad start. In any case, Kylearan paid his respects and the game ended.