Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen Neutral Encounters Guide 1.0 Table o' Contents I. Introduction II. Version History III. Daddy, What's a Neutral Encounter? IV. The Neutral Encounter List V. My Utterly Random and Bizarre Commentary VI. Ending Pronunciation Arguments VII. Acknowledgements VIII. Legal Blah-di-blah IX. Communication: The Key to a Healthy Relationship I. Introduction Someone on the message boards said it would be nice to know the location of neutral characters. Well... here it is! I'm playing the SNES version, so all you PlayStation fanatics might have some slight problems with this FAQ ("Hey! Where's the A button on this controller?") I apologise, and I hope at some point in the near future to remedy this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad situation before it gets any worse and threatens to kill off a third of Europe. Or something. II. Version History (Note: In case you couldn't tell, I have no idea how to number a version; just be happy I made up a number, ok?) v.1.0 (29/4/03) I admit, I gathered this information from a couple locations, Ogre Battle: Official Secrets and Solutions (Limited Edition) by Ian Osborne of Prima Publishing and March On, Black Queen by Eric (I'm sure he has a last name somewhere), plus the format is inspired by Osborne's guide. Of course, what would the point of an FAQ be if I had simply pilfered everything from other authors? I could trust my sources, but what's the fun in that? I'll be checking them all on my own. If any of my information is outright wrong, slightly wrong, or poorly worded, just send me a message... Insanerest@aol.com, screen name Insanerest. III. Daddy, What's a Neutral Encounter? Anyone new to Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen will doubtlessly have no idea what a neutral encounter is. It's such a massive game that some moderately experienced players might have no idea what they are! Well, that's what I'm here to do. In every stage, when passing over certain types of terrain, there is a certain chance a unit will encounter a neutral character. It's pretty hard to miss when you hit a neutral character; the game will tell you so, and you'll enter a battle against one fully healthy character. Instead of a red background on the enemy unit window, you'll see a green one. There are three main routes to go: 1. Flee. If you need your unit to be healthy and strong because you're in the middle of a frickin' war, then by all means, just run! No use wasting time on a random monster. 2. Fight It Out! Get a little experience boost. If your unit's fairly strong, you'll probably be able to beat up the poor lone monster. Three/four/five on one isn't a fair fight. 3. Befriend. At any time during the battle, you can press the A button to bring up the usual battle menu. Tarot, Tactic, Animation, Flee... and what's this? Why looky there! It's a new command! When selected, one of two possible outcomes will occur: a. Your little monster buddy will flee from your evil barbarians and go crying to her/his/its mommy. b. Join the Rebel Forces! The higher your unit's levels (particularly in relation to the monster's level), the more likely the monster will be to join your cause. Any monster that joins will be put in the reserves of your army, ready to be placed into a unit! And that's pretty much all there is to be said about neutral encounters. Oh, except for where they are! IV. The Neutral Encounter List I organised the list in such a manner so that you could easily, say, copy and print it out for quick reference. Just the facts. Stage Name Level Location Warren's Castle Cockatris 8 ? Dragon 8 ? Wyrm 8 ? Sharom Border Dragon 1 Mountains Golem 3 Forest Hawk Man 3 Ocean Sharom District Gryphon 4 Mountains Giant 4 Mountains Octopus 4 Deep Sea Pogrom Forest Imp 6 Mountains Skeleton 9 Forest Ghost 9 Forest Lake Jansenia Were Wolf 5 Mountains Raven Man 5 Deep Sea Octopus 5 Deep Sea Deneb's Garden Pumpkin 1 Mountains Dragon 5 Mountains Faerie 8 Forest Slums of Zenobia Dragon 7 Forest Hellhound 9 Mountains Octopus 9 Deep Sea Island Avalon Mermaid 10 Deep Sea Octopus 10 Deep Sea Angel 10 Deep Sea Kastolatian Sea Octopus 9 Deep Sea Fire Giant 10 Volcano Devil 11 Devil Diaspola Silver Dragon 9 Snow Mountain Ice Giant 10 Snow Angel 10 Deep Sea Kalbi Peninsula Rock Golem 11 Forest Silver Dragon 11 Snowy Mountain Ice Giant 11 Snowy Mountain Valley of Kastro Red Dragon 12 Mountains Black Dragon 13 Desert Wyrm 14 Cliff Balmorian Ruins Rock Golem 10 Desert Black Dragon 12 Forest Wraith 15 Swamp Muspelm Red Dragon 15 Mountains Fire Giant 15 Mountains Raven Man 15 Mountains Organa Demon 14 Mountains Cerberus 14 Mountains Iron Giant 15 Mountains City of Malano Hawk Man 14 Deep Sea Wyvern 15 Deep Sea Fire Giant 15 Deep Sea The Tundra Silver Dragon 14 Mountains Ice Giant 15 Mountains Angel 15 Mountains Antalia Cerberus 16 Mountains Phantom 21 Swamp Wraith 21 Swamp Antanjyl Werewolf 16 ? Tiger Man 16 ? Vampyre 16 ? Temple Shangrila Eagle Man 18 High Sky Cherubim 18 High Sky Gryphon 18 High Sky Fort Allamoot Kraken 17 Deep Sea Tiamat 17 Desert Red Dragon 18 Mountains Ruined City (Shiguld) Tiamat 19 Mountains Gold Dragon 19 Mountains Red Dragon II 19 Mountains Dalmuhd Desert Red Dragon II 17 Desert Fire Giant 18 Desert Wyrm 19 Everywhere! Ryhan Sea Kraken 19 Deep Sea Nixie 20 Shallows Pixie 21 Mountains Fort Shulamana Salamand 23 Mountains Kraken 23 Deep Sea Phantom 25 ? Kulyn Shrine Pixie 23 ? Kraken 23 Deep Sea Cerberus 23 Mountains City of Xanadu Cockatris 20 ? Ice Giant 23 Snowy Mountains Platinum Dragon 24 Snow Zeteginia Raven Man 24 Deep Sea Cerberus 24 Mountains Tiamat 24 Plains Temple Shalina Seraphim 25 ? Ice Giant 25 Snow Gold Dragon 25 Snow Dragon's Haven Salamand 18 Mountains Zombie Dragon 18 Shallows Platinum Dragon 18 ? V. My Utterly Random and Bizarre Commentary Warren's Castle: These monsters are a bit fabled (i.e. someone found them, but no one really knows who). On one hand, they're uber-powerful and terrific for team building. On the other hand, THEY'RE FRICKIN' LEVEL 8! If you somehow met them early, they would simply pummel you. Befriend? Ha! Why would a Level 8 Dragon befriend the guy who's best character is a Level 4 Wizard? Sharom Border: The first REASONABLE place to get Dragons as well as the first place to grab Hawk Men. Don't be fooled by the Level 1 status of the Dragons; they're already pretty strong, and they'll only continue to grow! Hawk Men are convenient for either good or evil fliers. Flying is good. Sharom District: Some of the second class big beasties are here. Gryphons are excellent fliers, Octopi are the rare seafaring creature, and Giants smash stuff at various alignments. Pogrom Forest: Your first chance to grab some undead or Imps (it's a long road to Devil, but perhaps worth taking). Also note that killing off the undead is good for alignment-boosting. Lake Jansenia: Were Wolves! Free! Get them while supplies last! Raven Men can also be a nice addition. Deneb's Garden: If you want Pumpkins and aren't willing to sacrifice any reputation to get one, this is your only chance. Good luck leveling up a Level 1 Pumpkin; there aren't many weaker enemies. Also good to get Dragons if you need some or Faeries if you want to raise your own Sylph from scratch. Slums of Zenobia: Yet another chance for Dragons and the first opportunity for Hellhounds. Note that the Dragons are already at the right level to get a promotion; fool around with the alignment a bit and you'll quickly get the Dragon of your choice. Island Avalon: Mermaids are great for leading sea units and Angels, while terrible in the state you'll find them, quickly level up and, at Level 11, with the proper charisma and alignment, become Cherubim! Much better, and eventually grow into Seraphim! Kastolatian Sea: DEVILS. 'Nuff said. Oh, and Fire Giants for your evil bashing/burning types. Diaspola: First time you get an already promoted Dragon, the Silver Dragon. Pick up Angels if you missed them before or Ice Giants if you need some high alignment bruisers and your religion forbids the use of Dragons. Kalbi Peninsula: Better Silver Dragons and Ice Giants than before. Not much else. Valley of Kastro: First place to find Red and Black Dragons. Take note: Wyrms are already the right size for promotion to Wyvern! Balmorian Ruins: Ho-hum, though Wraiths are good for alignment growth. Muspelm: A bunch of fire guys. Nothing you haven't seen before. The Red Dragon's only a level away from becoming a Red Dragon II, though. Organa: If you skipped the Devils or need some full-grown Hellhounds, you can always recruit some Demons or Cerberi here. City of Malano: Nothing to see here... move along. The Tundra: More high-level Angels if you still haven't gotten your fill of Cherubim. Antalia: LOTS o' undead for alignment-building. Antanjyl: I would like to note this is the only stage where you can recruit a Fighter-class character with a leadership job. If you need some things that go bump in the night, Antanjyl gives you quite a variety. Temple Shangrila: Why weren't these Gryphons promoted to Cockatrises about 9 levels ago? Well, in case you need any Gryphon-class monsters... Fort Allamoot: NOW we're talkin'! Krakens rule the seas; Tiamats are as good as you're going to get from neutral encounters with evil dragons; and Red Dragons are ready and able to become Red Dragons II. Ruined City (Shiguld): In case you don't have any good dragons... here! Take two! They're small. Dalmuhd Desert: More Wyrms that should be Wyverns and Red Dragons II if you missed them before. Ryhan Sea: The ultimate swimmers are both here (Nixie and Kraken), and the Pixies can be automatically promoted to Sylph! Very nice if you're in need of some good ol' fashioned White whoopin'. Fort Shulamana: Red Dragons II are good; Salamands are even better. Kulyn Shrine: Nothing new, though you could get a few more Pixie-Sylphs if you so desire. City of Xanadu: PLATINUM DRAGONS! ::drool:: Nice. Zeteginia: By this point, why would you be paying any attention to neutral characters? You've got an imperial army to defeat, fool! Nothing interesting here anyway. Temple Shalina: Do you HONESTLY need to be recruiting on the last stage? Well, OK, Seraphim are nice, ESPECIALLY against the dark forces trampling you. Dragon's Haven: You'll probably have enough of a time defeating the 90 units flying at you, but in case you absolutely MUST get a couple dragons, they're here. VI. Ending Pronunciation Arguments I don't know about you and your friends, but I and mine have had a few heated debates about how to pronounce the names of certain unusual enemies. And neutral encounters are all about monsters... so here's the official word! Kraken: KRAH-ken, not KRAY-ken or KRA-ken. Cherubim: Exactly as it looks. Don't turn -im into -eem Seraphim: See above And our most hotly debated word... Wyvern: WEYE-vern, not WI-vern or wi-VERN VII. Acknowledgements Enix: I love you! Potomac Video: Thank you for selling me Ogre Battle for less than $10. That was definitely an excellent moment in my life. Some Person: Whoever it was in the message boards that suggested this kind of guide, thanks. I'd gladly give you a name if you have one. Ian Osborne: Thanks for giving me my basic neutral encounter information in a pretty darned accurate guide (as far as printed guides go). Eric: I really wish I knew your last name. March On, Black Queen is a beyond amazing website. http://www.houseofwacks.org/ogre God: Yeah, you seem to get thanked a lot. But thanks anyway. You: I know, a terrible cliche, but what would this guide be without people to read it? VIII. Legal Blah-di-blah You've seen it all before... but better to just get it all out than find out later some ratfink stole my guide. This guide is copyright M.W. Gribbin, 2003. All trademarks and copyrights used within this guide are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. If, for some bizarre reason, you actually like this guide and want to put it up on your own website, please send me an e-mail first to ask for my permission. As long as you send me an e-mail beforehand and give me my fair credit as author, I'm perfectly fine with you posting my guide elsewhere. If you post it without asking me first, I'll probably be more likely to tell you to take it down (which I can by copyright law) and not let you use it, so just send me an e-mail to check first, ok? Thanks. IX. Communication: The Key to a Healthy Relationship I'm not sending this guide out to an empty void lacking any humanity; I'm putting this out in reality. Seriously, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, flames, whatever, just send me an e-mail (Insanerest@aol.com) or an IM (Insanerest). I'm dedicated to making this little guide the best it can be, so if anything's confusing or useless or just plain wrong, it's better for everyone if I know. I'll still be updating, so this is far from the end; this is just the beginning.