Against the Demon Queen (quest)

Against the Demon Queen is the 4th quest in the Against the Demon Queen story arcStory arcs are chains of quests that make up a story line. Completing everything in a story arc often yields a nice reward..
The first three quests can be completed in any order to unlock Against the Demon Queen (quest).
Flagging occurs by collecting dedicated items rather than completing these quests.
An Offering of Blood • Chains of Flame • The Chamber of Raiyum • Against the Demon Queen • Zawabi's Revenge

The Court of Lailat is the heart of the demon queen's desert kingdom. From her throne, she commands a legion of servants; gnolls, efreet and demons all bend to her will.

Requires access to adventure pack
Definition: Adventure Pack
A list of all adventure packs
: Demon Sands

Against the Demon Queen
Heroic level:	12
Epic level:	22
Duration:	Very Long
Heroic XP:	♣3,660Solo/Casual ♦6,400Normal ♥6,700Hard ♠7,000Elite
Epic XP:	♣15,920Solo/Casual ♦26,790Normal ♥22,550Hard ♠23,000Elite
Takes place in:	The Court of Lailat
Bestowed by:	Zawabi the Elder Djinni
NPC contact:	Zawabi the Elder Djinni
Quest acquired in:	Zawabi's Refuge
Patron:	The Free Agents
Base favor:	8
Purchase:	Demon Sands or VIP
Extreme Challenge:	No

Loading screen

Overview

This is the pre-quest leading up to Zawabi's Revenge, a 12 man raid featuring Lailat, the Demon Queen. You don't flag for this quest directly by completing Chains of Flame, An Offering of Blood and the Chamber of Raiyum, but you have to hand over three items acquired in these quests to Zawabi the Elder Djinni. These items persist through reincarnation if not handed over. Since this is a regular quest, you may enter even if you are not flagged as long as one person in your party is.

Completing this quest is the last step of the flagging for the Zawabi's Revenge raid, but this persists until you start a new life (reincarnate). Note that you must 1) be flagged for this quest, and 2) afterwards turn it in for reward, to qualify as "completing" the quest to flag for the raid.

Be very careful that you have been assigned with this quest before entering – as players often forget that you need to talk to Zawabi again after providing the three items.

Spoiler Warning: Spoiler material below this point!

Objectives

Read the Tome of the Six Swords
Recite the Glyphs of the First Sword
Recite the Glyphs of the Second Sword
Recite the Glyphs of the Third Sword
Recite the Glyphs of the Fourth Sword
Recite the Glyphs of the Fifth Sword
Recite the Glyphs of the Sixth Sword
Confront Queen Lailat
Kill Lailat's defenders and force her to retreat
Investigate the chest in Lailat's summoning circle
Force Queen Lailat to retreat into the Circle of Eternity
(Optional) Defeat Vinaldor the Faithless — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 ) Epic( ♣1,592 ♦2,679 ♥2,255 ♠2,300 )
(Optional) Defeat Edrassa the Betrayed — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 ) Epic( ♣1,592 ♦2,679 ♥2,255 ♠2,300 )
(Optional) Defeat Dwalni Demonsbane — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 ) Epic( ♣1,592 ♦2,679 ♥2,255 ♠2,300 )
(Optional) Defeat the Hand of Olladra — Bonus (10%): Heroic( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 ) Epic( ♣1,592 ♦2,679 ♥2,255 ♠2,300 )

What to Expect

Riddle
Collapsible floor
Spawning/respawning monsters
Randomly placed lever (the second lever from the Octopus wing)

Known Traps

Trap DCs

Dropping floor and poison traps (Scorpion area)
Spinning blade (Octopus area underwater)
Sonic traps (Bat area)
Epic Hard and Epic Elite Only: Mordenkainen's Disjunction Traps (Main Floor, Monkey area, Lailat's Summoning Circle)

Tips and Misc

The Riddle

Against the Demon Queen requires you to solve a riddle – the riddle is different each time. It requires you to activate glyphs from each of the six chambers in the correct order:

Poisoner: Scorpion
Devious: Snake (Troglodytes)
Hungry: Wolf (Gnolls)
Grasping: Octopus (Mindflayers)
Mockery: Monkey (Wildmen)
Night: Bat (Mephits)

The first time you attempt to activate the glyphs in a wrong order, a DM voice will speak up and warn you. If you proceed to read it, you will be teleported to a jail. Climb up to the top of the jail and pull a lever to return to the main platform. Note: There is no DM voice warning on Heroic Elite or Epic difficulties. Note: You have to go to jail once if you want optional XP.

If you make a mistake, follow the quest objective notes; they refer to the parts of the riddles as "swords", and in the order of your solution, not the order listed in the riddle. You will have to re-fight any end-fight at a glyph before (re-)reading it.

For more details about riddle, see this article: Against the Demon Queen's riddle

The six wings

Four of the wings are straightforward – fight your way down a hall to the correct glyph, defeat some guardians, activate the glyph, defeat the Rakshasa (who keeps re-appearing), repeat with the next in the series. Dimension Door can be very handy for a quick return from several of these areas.

Note that two wings are slightly different, and worth additional comments...

Monkey wing

This wing requires some jumping and climbing (as is appropriate to "monkey"). Feather Fall is recommended.
Pulling the first lever (in the northwest area) opens the southern portcullis, but only for 15 seconds. Pulling the second lever (in the southwest area) opens the eastern portcullis, but only for just over 7 seconds! The lever puller has to move fast, or the party must leave someone behind to do the lever pulling.
- If you miss the first time, pulling the levers again reopens the portcullises and starts their timer again.
However: Minor bug: When the Rakshasa is defeated, both portcullises open (and both levers lock!), allowing you to return to the central area. But, after the Glyph is used but before the Rakshasa is defeated, the levers can still be pulled, starting the timer to close them again, likely locking everyone behind that gate, and then only Dimensional Door can get you out without re-entry. So do not use any levers in the Monkey wing after someone starts the fight, the first lever might lock you in and the second lever triggers a disjunction effect in the Rakshasa room.

Octopus wing

Put on your Underwater Action item,^* and swim into the first area and pull the lever in between the blocks.

(* If you're not familiar with the levers, a caster-level 14 Water Breathing spell might not last long enough!)

Swim into the second area, the gates will lock you in. Don't panic, you do have your underwater action item on... right?
The second lever is randomly placed on one of three possible spots; two on the ceiling and one behind the block you see on the ground as you swim in. Use the Q (the default key for selecting interactables) key to locate it.
The hidden chest is beneath a secret door in the floor of the second room, just before the locked door.

End fight

The end fight has three phases:

First you fight Lailat's minions, the Prince of Swords and friends
Then you fight Lailat.
Once you've "defeated" her, you can heal and rebuff, and advance to a teleportation circle, which will take you to a false chest and another fight with Lailat – this time to the end (and a real chest).

If your entire party dies while fighting Lailat, she resets and you have to fight her again from 100% hit points. Siberys Spirit Cakes and other party-saving items do not help.

Epic strategy

A person that can disable the traps and has Evasion is a highly valuable addition to your party.
Mobs in the Wolf and Monkey areas are especially deadly and should be approached with caution. The casters throw FREQUENT disintegrate spells!
Use the pit in the Scorpion area to your advantage. Pull every possible mob from every area (except Octopus) into the pit, in numerous batches if necessary, then you can nuke 'em down from a relatively safe position. Be careful when dealing with the Mephits, they cast cloud spells which can cause severe disorientation. Use Break Enchantment or Gust of Wind to remove the clouding effects.
The first two sonic traps in the Bat area can be safely bypassed (hug the north wall till the middle point, then hug the south wall, then hug the west wall), but for the last trap you either need a rogue, someone to raise you on the other side, or to time the sonic bursts (let the trap reset, then jump and Feather fall along the wall; or wait until the first two sonic bursts are done and run through).

Bonus XP

Aggression bonus: 101 or more monsters killed +10% Bonus.( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 )
Onslaught bonus: 127 or more monsters killed +15% Bonus.( ♣549 ♦960 ♥1,005 ♠1,050 )
Conquest bonus: 157 or more monsters killed +25% Bonus.( ♣915 ♦1,600 ♥1,675 ♠1,750 )
Tamper bonus: 4 or more traps disarmed +10% Bonus.( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 )
Neutralization bonus: 5 or more traps disarmed +20% Bonus.( ♣732 ♦1,280 ♥1,340 ♠1,400 )
Ingenious Debilitation bonus: 6 or more traps disarmed +30% Bonus.( ♣1,098 ♦1,920 ♥2,010 ♠2,100 )
Observance bonus: 1 or more secret door discovered +8% Bonus.( ♣293 ♦512 ♥536 ♠560 )
Mischief bonus: 62 or more breakables smashed +8% Bonus.( ♣293 ♦512 ♥536 ♠560 )
Vandal bonus: 79 or more breakables smashed +10% Bonus.( ♣366 ♦640 ♥670 ♠700 )
Ransack bonus: 97 or more breakables smashed +15% Bonus.( ♣549 ♦960 ♥1,005 ♠1,050 )

Loot

Chests: 4
- 1 in Octopus area
- 1 in Scorpion area
- 1 in wildman area behind secret door
- 1 spawns after end fight

There is no named loot specific to this quest (although the standard rare chance of non-specific named items exists)

Collectables: 6
- Rubble in the underwater section of octopus
- Moss past the first gate in monkey
- Adventurer's Pack in the cell where you go if you choose wrongly
- Adventurer's Pack in the first room in bat
- Adventurer's Pack below the collapsing floor in scorpion
- Rubble in the second gate-trapped room in wolf
NPC rewards:

Monsters

Name ^{( picture )}	CR	Type	Race
Air Mephit Warrior ^{( view • edit )}	♦14Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite ●♦17Epic Normal ●♥18Epic Hard	Air Outsider	Mephit
Cacodemon ^{( view • edit )}	♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Evil Outsider	Demon
Death Stalker Scorpion ^{( view • edit )}	●♥29Epic Hard	Vermin	Scorpion
Death Stalker ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite	Vermin	Scorpion
Drow Scorpion Cleric ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Aberration	Drow Scorpion
Drow Scorpion Rogue ^{( view • edit )}		Aberration	Drow Scorpion
Drow Scorpion Wizard ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Aberration	Drow Scorpion
Drow Scorpion ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠16Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Aberration	Drow Scorpion
Dust Mephit Warrior ^{( view • edit )}	♦14Normal ♥14Hard ♠14Elite ●♥18Epic Hard	Air Outsider	Mephit
Dwalni Demonsbane ^{( view • edit )}	●♦23Epic Normal ●♥32Epic Hard	Undead	Wight
Edrassa the Betrayed ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Undead	Zombie
Efreeti Malik ^{( view • edit )}	♠17Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥30Epic Hard	Evil Outsider	Efreet
Efreeti ^{( view • edit )}	♠14Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Evil Outsider	Efreet
Eternal Hunter ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♦21Epic Normal ●♥29Epic Hard ●♠44Epic Elite	Undead	Skeleton
Fiendish Firebrand ^{( view • edit )}	♦13Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Commander ^{( view • edit )}	♦12Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Conjurer ^{( view • edit )}	♦12Normal ♠17Elite ●♥31Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Gnoll ^{( view • edit )}	♦8Normal ♥10Hard ♠13Elite ●♥27Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Lieutenant ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Pyromancer ^{( view • edit )}	♦12Normal ♥14Hard ♠17Elite ●♥31Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Firebrand Sergeant ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Gnoll	Gnoll
Greater Air Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥27Epic Hard ●♠40Epic Elite OR Summoned by another mephit: ♠6Elite	Air Outsider	Mephit
Greater Dust Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♥27Epic Hard	Air Outsider	Mephit
Greater Fire Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite ●♦22Epic Normal ●♥27Epic Hard OR Summoned by another mephit: ♠6Elite	Fire Outsider	Mephit
Greater Hell Hound ^{( view • edit )}	♠5Elite	Evil Outsider	Hellhound
Greater Sand Mephit ^{( view • edit )}	♦6Normal ♥8Hard ♠11Elite	Earth Outsider	Mephit
Hand of Olladra ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Undead	Wraith
Mind Flayer ^{( view • edit )}	♥14Hard ♠17Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Aberration	Mind Flayer
Prince of Swords ^{( view • edit )}	♥15Hard ♠18Elite ●♦23Epic Normal ●♥31/32Epic Hard	Evil Outsider	Rakshasa
Pyrodemon ^{( view • edit )}	♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Evil Outsider	Demon
Queen Lailat ^{( view • edit )}	♦22Normal ♥24Hard ♠28Elite ●♦23/26Epic Normal ●♥32/37Epic Hard ●♠55Epic Elite	Evil Outsider	Demon
Thaarak Hound ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♥12Hard ♠15Elite ●♦21Epic Normal ●♥29Epic Hard ●♠44Epic Elite	Evil Outsider	Hellhound
Troglodyte Convoker ^{( view • edit )}	♠15Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Reptilian	Troglodyte
Troglodyte Warrior ^{( view • edit )}	♠14Elite ●♥28Epic Hard	Reptilian	Troglodyte
Vinaldor the Faithless ^{( view • edit )}	●♦22Epic Normal ●♥31Epic Hard	Undead	Zombie
Wildman Mystic ^{( view • edit )}	♦10Normal ♠16Elite ●♥29Epic Hard	Monstrous Humanoid	Wildman
Wildman Thrall ^{( view • edit )}	♦9Normal ♠15Elite ●♥25Epic Hard	Monstrous Humanoid	Wildman