So, basically, my runs have been focusing on the Magician -> Conjurer -> Wizard path that skips half the magician levels, gets conjurer to 13, and then levels as wizard to 30. In my initial trials, I have been able to get to Mangar in just over an hour, doing it relatively slowly in a “is it possible” mode. And it is.
I’ve decided to use the default heroes, particularly the firehorn on the bard, to farm the 66 skeletons in the catacombs. I roll a hobbit bard with 18 dex and 17 luck and they work about 2/3 times to wipe the skeletons. This gives the party about 6-12k in gold. This allows us to get a few quick levels as a Magician to build stats and get mystic shield, and then swap to Conjurer (Apar) and then Wizard (SPSP).
The main issue is the lack of the Magician’s REST. This is particularly an issue after the possession trap, when your hp is defaulted to 1. FLERE is not really a quick way to heal up, and it drains a lot of SP. It may be that we’re forced to get REST.
In any case, the bard lets us skip the red dragons, saving time spent healing. The rest of the run is just object collection and pathing. I’m completely confident that a 60 minute run is doable. It’s just a matter of luck.